Spring Time

I suddenly realized that I got my new Um Wow Studio kit a while ago but haven't used it yet.  So I made this card.  All the embellishments, including the ribbon, are from the kit.  The backing cardstock is kraft, there's a trellis stamped in cream on the green paper, and the stems were done with markers on a Papertry Ink stamp (Daydreamers - I love that set!).  And there you have it, a quick, attractive, spring card.

I'm such a lucky person

Sorry for the lack of posts this week.  I worked extra and have been rather tired because of it.  Which means I haven't had time - or energy - for card crafting.  That doesn't excuse my not posting older cards, but whatever.

This is the last 'winning' post I've got, as the last of my December/January prizes just showed up.  I love blog hops, and how generous craft companies are when sponsoring them. :)  And I was lucky in that I not only had the time to participate in quite a number of hops, but that I won several prizes. :D

This is what I got from A Blog Named Hero's Christmas-travaganza 2012.  Their sponsors were Hero Arts (hence their name) and Clearsnap, which makes the Color Box inks.  The green ink is a colour I've wanted for a while, so that was quite lucky, and I've been admiring people's solid inked image cards for ages, but didn't have any stamps to try the effect with, until now.  As for the white pigment ink, I've got a mini one, so this larger one is great too.

And the second kit from Um Wow Studio:

It's so pretty!  I love the butterflies and flowers.  I'm getting lots of ideas about how to spruce up embellishments from these kits.

Now I just need to find the time and energy for more crafting, so I can put these new supplies to good use.

Cupcake Party

This card started with another item from my Um Wow Studio kit, the paper flags.  I've never used flags on a project before (though I did use hanging letters on a string once), so I wasn't quite sure what to do with them.  I ended up picking out the blue cardstock, punching 2 small holes and threading the string through to tie the flags to the paper.  Then what?

The flags made me think of a party, which is when I remembered my new There She Goes: Make a Wish stamp set.  I pulled it out and considered the images, settling on the cupcakes.  I stamped the pieces in black and grey, then coloured it in with blue and grey markers (to match the paper and flags).  To mimic sprinkles, I dabbled on some glue and then sprinkled the icing with blue mica pieces.

Voila!  The sentiment is from the same set as the cupcakes.

Winter Scene

I've had the idea for this for a while, to do a window scene.  Originally I had the oval scene without the blue frame, but it looked odd, so I added it.

I used a acetate cover to make the oval window, and sponged green ink down 3 times, moving acetate and paper covers so the grass is darker further away.  It occurred to me when I was done sponging the green that if I wanted a winter scene I should have used blue/grey instead.  Ah well, it's an Ontario winter, where there's still green grass under the snow. :P

I stamped the tree and deer and some white snowflakes (which I should have embossed), then inked a bit of blue around the top of the oval so there was a bit of definition to the edge of the oval.  As mentioned above, the frame was added at the end, which meant I had to rip off some of the embellishments and reglue them on.  Namely the wire tree from my Um Wow Studio kit and one of the 3 roses (which, I'm proud to say, I made myself).  Had I added the frame first I'd have put the flowers around it, rather than having them make a line to the side.  They were supposed to balance the tree, but the frame makes them look out of place.

The flowers were my first attempts with the Spellbinders rose creations dies.  I'm very happy with how they turned out.  I used 2 layers for the smallest flower (almost a bud), three for the opposite one and 4 for the one in the center.

For the ribbon, I tied it using a template I made based on the instructions from this blog post by Becky Gerrison.  It worked beautifully, and took less time than usual, as I wasn't fussing with the bows and trying not to waste ribbon (by having my ends too long and cutting the excess).

I used liquid applique last to make some puffy snow on the scene.

Anyway, here's my card:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Stampendous - Winter Trees
Inks: Memento, Versa Magic white, Crayola markers (deer)
Silhouette - cut oval frame
Die: Spellbinders rose creations dies
Embellishments: Um Wow Studio wire tree, brad, ribbon, liquid applique

Showers of Sympathy

An odd choice for my next card, I know, but I did this last week and I don't want my cards to get too backed up.  This is the first dedicated sympathy card I've made.

The clouds are from the Um Wow Studio kit, the jewels from the dollar store (they included the only tear shaped ones I have), the sentiment is from Hot off the Press's Stamp and Punch set and was stamped in white Versa Magic ink.  The medallion is a Spellbinders standard oval large die cut, with Local King Rubber's poppy 2 stamp done with several crayola markers (I did the 2 tone thing again).  To finish it off, I sponged some grey memento ink around the flowers.

Blue Rose Card

Despite feeling horrible I managed to do some crafty things today, including making 2 cards.  Here's the second card I made, using the first of my Um Wow Studio embellishments.

I started by die cutting and embossing the oval out of white cardstock.  With the metal die still in place I stamped both the rose (using markers) and notation (using ink).  I tried to sponge tan ink around the edges so it would go with the corrugated cardboard heart better, but I forgot to wipe the excess black ink off the die first, so it's much darker than I'd intended.  Live and learn.  I used pop dots to affix the oval and glue tape for the hearts.

The hearts and embellished paperclip are from the Um Wow Studio December kit. :)

I've posted a close-up of the rose stamp.  Normally when I colour stamps with markers I only use one shade, this time I added a second blue and green making the rose a bit more realistic.  I really liked how it turned out. 

Supplies:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Close to My Heart - Sweet Moments, Stampendous - Cling Music Score
Ink - Memento
Markers - Stampin' Up, Crayola
Um Wow Studio Embellishments
dollar store rhinestones
pop dots, glue tape

Um Wow Studio December Kit

The first of the three kits I won from Um Wow Studio arrived last night.  Here's a picture of it:

And yes, it arrived wrapped in a pattern.  I'm wondering if I can incorporate that into one of my projects...  The kit uses a lot of embellishments I've never used in card crafting before, a fabric flower, a wire nest, painted corrugated cardboard.  In fact, shy of the doily and the printed heart I'm not sure I've used anything like these at all.  DeeDee just unveiled the January kit, which is so pretty - pink and white (and I'm not generally a fan of pink).

So, another goal for this year: Use all of the products from the Um Wow kits on projects this year.  That should help stretch my creativity. :)

I also took a trip to a bead store in Toronto yesterday and picked up some pin supplies for those embellishments.  If things go according to plan I'll made up some pins to use on upcoming projects.  I've also decided, again to push my creative boundaries, to enter more challenges.  I entered a few last year and had a lot of fun with them.  It's time to get crafty!