No Layer Graduation Card

I made this about a year ago and wasn't blogging then, so I wanted to share my no layer card. We are off to 4 Grad Open Houses and a birthday party today and tomorrow. Busy time of year! I also wanted to tell you that there are new Sneak Peeks of Hanna's coming Monday - Friday in anticipation of the release of 3 new sets on the 6th. Also, new Rubbernecker images will be unveiled on Tuesday with news about the exciting artist behind the stamps! Be sure to check out Jeanne's Blogger challenge on Tuesday as well as the treasure hunt. My card combines a stamp shown in the photo from Hero Arts Fancy Script messages set. I used the rest of the word graduate that is retired SU! as is the cap, little letters (for Zeeland High School) and the striped background stamp that was stamped 2 ways. The cap was stamped in versamark and dusted with Gold pearl ex. School colors are Brown & Gold, exciting Huh??? Simple card, but I think it is elegant and works for either gender. Hope you all have a great weekend and be sure to check back for all the exciting new stuff next week.

ISCC3 Sketch Challenge

Here is the Innovative Stamp Creations sketch challenge for this week. Be sure to post a comment with a link to your ISC card HERE. Entries using ISC stamps will be put in a drawing for a free stamp sheet. A random name will be chosen Sunday June 8, 2008

Stamps used for my card are from several stamp sheets.

Art4Frames I & II, Summer Elements, Textures & Sentiments, Rustic Artsy Swirls & Butterflies.

My very 1st card....

Here's a blast from the past for you. This is the first card I ever made. Well, the first card with rubber stamps that is. This was back in 1999 with my SU! starter kit in hand. Back then, you didn't have the options for your kit like you do now. They just threw in an assortment of CS from whatever color family they put their hands on first I think. I ended up with soft subtles CS and inks in bold brights. Sure made it hard to make something with limited supplies. I forged ahead and used the dots & stripes stencils. (remember those?) The set was called Cupcake Birthday I believe. The flowers were made using the candle flame from the set. Not sure if the sentiment was in a different set or not.

Anyway, I am busy stamping some Design Team stuff today that I can't show you yet. Exciting stuff coming from Rubbernecker and I will post that on the 1st. We have new images designed by a mystery artist that will be announced very soon. There are also new Hanna's coming and I will start sneak peeks with those on Monday June 2. So for now, I wanted to show you my humble beginnings. I would like to think I have come a long way in 9 years............ Oh!!!! tomorrow will be Innovative Stamp Creations 3rd blog challenge and it will be a sketch challenge, so check back for that on Thursday.

P.S. Can you believe I made a card without any ribbon, embellishments or matting under my main image?

Missing you...

Here's my color challenge and Rubbernecker Blogger challenge card for today. Many distractions got in the way already this A.M. It all started at about 11 P.M. last night when a loud whisper came from the boys bedroom. "Mom??????, I need a sack lunch for school tomorrow" WHAT!!!!! I then lay there awake realizing that the same child ate the rest of the bread, lunchmeat, cheese, and finished off the milk before going to bed. Grrrrrr. So, I say "what do you suppose you will take as you ate the only lunch stuff for a bedtime snack?" He has the solution. I can just "pick up" the rest of the stuff when I run to the gas station for milk at 6 AM. Yeah, that will be economical..... So, I set my alarm for 5 and get up so I can go to WalMart and be back to get kids up and out the door on time. Said child then fell back asleep after I woke him up this morning and I ended up having to drive him to school. At least Marissa got out the door on time and with an approved amount of make up and Mom approved clothes today. I am down to child #3 that I must get over to school with all his gear for their much anticipated 5th grade camp trip. At least I will have one less to deal with until Friday..... Edited to add: DD calls to say that the Mom approved pants have self destructed and can I bring new jeans to school? Gee, why not? I have now been to Walmart, Middle School, Elementary School and High School this morning and it isn't even 9:00!!! Now the card.

Jeanne's blogger Challenge is Paper Piecing today and I combined it with the color challenge. Most of my Rubbernecker images are not candidates for paper piecing, and the floral party dress just didn't seem to be the right choice in sage and brown. The suitcase came to mind next and was stamped on a twill My Minds Eye DP. I stamped the travel stickers on the luggage a second time on cream parchment, sponged them and cut them out. The buckle and strap wers also cut out and pieced on. The road map is stamped on parchment paper, folded and on dimensionals. I stamped the petite luggage tag on vanilla CS and it is also on dimensionals. The sentiment is part of a stamp that says No matter where you go or what you do, just remember.... I'll be missing you! Well, I will miss my 5th grader somewhat this week.

Challenges & Treasures

I'll be back with my challenge card as soon as I see a kid off to camp.
There are some fun changes to the Rubbernecker Blogger Challenge and….. today is Treasure Hunt day at Rubbernecker Stamp Co! For Treasure Hunt details and the first clue go —-> HERE to go the Rubbernecker Home Page. Broni & Kittie are offering Blog Candy today.
Today’s Rubbernecker Blogger Challenge (RBC11) is to make a card using the Paper Piecing Technique.
If you are not familiar with this technique, check out Jeanne's tutorials:
Paper Piecing 1
Paper Piecing 2
New ways to play the Rubbernecker Blogger Challenge!!!!
1. Link a card you made with my posted weekly challenge. See Above
2. Link a card you made for this week’s SCS Color Challenge:
Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla (or similar colors)
3. Link a card you made for this week’s SCS Sketch Challenge.
Link will follow when it’s posted!
4. Any combination of the above!!!
Please link your card or project back to this challenge post using at least one Rubbernecker (or Stamp Oasis or KK Originals image) to be entered in a random monthly prize drawing.
***Don’t have a blog? That’s OK. Just link your card from any online gallery!!!
***Feel free to participate in the challenge with other images, but they won’t be entered into the monthly drawing.
Check out the Rubbernecker DT’s challenge cards!
Sherry
Kittie
Candy
Broni
Jeanne

Linda

Victorian Gothic Friend

Happy Memorial Day, I hope you are all enjoying it . I decided to venture out today and cruise some blogs. Kris from Nostalgic Collage AKA Parkerquilter on Splitcoast is hosting a challenge on Stampin' D'Amour today. You had to incorporate a gothic arch, victorian english garden images, soft pastels, use at least 2 stamps and 1 embellishment. The stamps I chose to use are available from Rubbernecker Stamp Co. I have also included a photo of the stamps I used as it will help explain how I created the frame around the Spirit of Spring image. To do this, I stamped the image on scrap paper and carefully cut out the center portion of the lady, bird and frame around her. (do this with a craft knife so you preserve the outside portion as you need both masks) I created a polished stone background using Adirondack Alcohol inks in Wild Plum, Denim, Meadow and Pearl. Cut it out using the template found in the link from Kris's site. I stamped the spirit of spring woman on my stamp positioner sheet and attached the outer portion of the mas to the back side of the sheet with removable adhesive. While holding the mask down pull the stamp positioner sheet off and stamp the center portion with the lady over the mask using Black Stazon. Then, I used the center portion of the mask to cover the lady up and stamped the victorian frame around her on my gothic arch. The edges were done with a Zig silver painty pen. The gothic arch is matted on Prism majestic Purple Dark and then layered on Prism Twighlight Light that was stamped using the Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee stamp in Versafine Smokey Gray. I sponged the edges of the layer with Tim Holtz distress ink/milled lavender. The folded card is Prism Intense Amethyst. I added some decorative brads that were swiped with the silver Zig pen, some lace trim and a row of flat pearls. The Sentiment was also edged with the silver pen and is from a sticker tag by Marcella.

IC129 Schumacher Flourishes

I love the inspiration challenge and today's inspiration was some advertising from an interior design company. I chose the burgandy ad as seen here. The Flourishes are by the Paper Studio and the package is Studio G. I embossed the flourishes with Tim Holtz tattered rose distress EP. The frame was made by punching a 1/14" square in the middle of a piece of burgandy cardstock and then trimming the edges to make an even border. I then had to go back with the punch and make my opening a little more rectangle when I decided on the image to put inside. Too much of the pretty crushed velvet and lace was covered up when I added the layer, so I cut slits and pulled the trim through the frame. The variegated organdy is by May Arts and was heated so it crinkled. I finished it off by sponging the edges of my layers in black and adding a pearl head pin.

How cool is this?

I upload some of my work to a small on line community called Stamp Shack and much to my surprise, I stumbled across the creative corner for the 1st time today. Well they feature different users each week in challenge categories and mine was in the Double Take category. I know I shared this card w/ you at the beginning of last week I believe, but isn't it cute with it's blue ribbon on it? Here's the write up from the Stamp Shack site. Be sure to check them out, there are some very talented artists there!

Have you ever done a double-take in the gallery? Spot a stamped project that just made you say, "WOW! Check this out!!!" The Creative Team would like to recognize stamped projects that have made us say exactly this! We want to showcase the best of the best and this doesn't necessarily mean projects with the most embellishments, use the "hippest and trendiest" stamps, or what is currently popular in the rubber stamping scene. Recognition for this section is given at the discretion of the Creative Team for exemplary creativity and execution of stamping techniques. We are looking for artwork which utilizes creative techniques; that are non-cookie cutter, or artists who bring to the Stamp Shack unique ideas which have never been tried before.

Papermoon04/Shelly: This card is filled with great details! Take a 2nd look at the alcohol ink tag and center, the great use of the paper shapes of the arch and the photo turn and the metal chain and bottle cap. Beautiful mixed media card!

I just went outside and watched the international space station pass over, off to bed now...

Ribbon Organized!

Introducing Snickers. She is my sidekick and stamping companion. She thinks that my photo box is her personal domain and anything I am working with is fair game. I got lots of help with my latest organization project - go figure! All was fine and I didn't mind until she lunged at me to play with the string on my hoodie instead of the piles of ribbon. It just startled me was all. She is now back outside on her leash stalking birds, bunnies and shrews. Not much luck with the birds and bunnies, but she does manage to catch and play with several shrews a week. Unfortunately, she doesn't play well with others andthe shrew ends up dead by the end of the play session in most cases. At least she doesn't bite their heads off like another unamed kitty in this household..... Snickers is a tiny cat that tops out at around 8 pounds with her lazy winter weight and drops to about 7 pounds in the summer cuz there's no time to eat or rest!

If you know me at all, you know I love to organize. I can come over and help you, just give me a holler. Here's how this happened. I have all my smaller lots of ribbon on cardboard spools made using SU's round tab punch and they are in jars. Spools of ribbon are all in drawers in my roll top desk and cards with assortments were in a different drawer. Here is how my scraps were stored. Yes, that's a giant make up bag measuring 12" x 8" x 5". After dumping them all out yesterday to find what I wanted, I knew there had to be a better system.

I happened upon this neat expandable floss organizing system by Westex at Joannes. The binder is sold seperately from the zip bags. I bought 4 binders and 72 bags and put 18 bags in each binder. Now, all my carded ribbon assortments, fibers and ribbon scraps are contained and easy to flip through. I put them in my drawers like books opened to the middle and they are really easy to find what I am looking for at a glance. There is a spot on the bags to write a color or manufacturer, but I left ribbons on the original cards when possible. The actual bags are 3 1/2" x 5" and worked perfectly for my needs. I was able to eliminate the make up bag and an entire drawer with my new organization.

I hope I have inspired you to do some organizing of your own!

Flag Day

I combined 3 challenges today with this card. It covers LSC169/no hardware and 2 Hanna Stamps challenges, chipboard and to make a Flag Card. The darling stamp is part of a new Hanna Stamps set now available. I made a chipboard frame and covered it with DP by The Paper Studio. The star is also punched from chipboard and the script paper is also by The Paper Studio. I stamped Hanna using Brilliance Graphite Black in and colored her with Copic Markers. That chick has some super skinny arms making it a challenge to cut out! I guess that's about all that I can say, pretty simple card. Stay tuned for my next post, I am organizing my fibers and ribbon scraps and carded ribbons.

Masculine Travel Passage

Today's Ways to use it challenge on SC is masculine cards. I can do those! Actually, I have wanted to use these mini images available from Rubbernecker Stamp Co. and make a tag window card for a long time, so today was the day. The windows in the tag front were punched with a 1 3/8" punch. To get them evenly spaced, I started with the bottom one and slid the punch all the way to the edge of the CS so I couldn't punch any further in. Use the punch upside down for best results. With the punch upside down and inserted as far as it will go, line up the left edge with the short end of the CS. Punch and then slide the punch up to the middle position lining up the left hand edge of the punch with the top punched edge from the first sq. Move up and repeat a 3rd time. The finished window tag card measures 6 1/4" x 3 1/8". I cut a strip of Daisy D's paper about 1/2" wide for my outside binding and affixed half to the front tag and the other 1/2 to the backside of the back tag. There is also a strip to finish off the inside binding. Cardstock includes: Ivory, Ruby, Mustard & Light Navy. Inks: Stazon Timber Brown, Versafine Vintage Sepia, TH Distress Vintage Photo, Fired Brick, Weathered Wood, Scattered Straw. Foam dimensional tape is under the punched 1 1/4" colored squares, they are actually attached to the inside of the tag card. the tag is held shut by tying Rhonna Farrer Travel twill through 2 square eyelets.

Here's the stamp list:

Rubbernecker Old World Section

Map Background 193-01, P2 Postmark 193-02, MK Postmark 193-03, MC Postmark 193-04

Travel Section

Travel map 44-01, Petite Arline Ticket 44-02, Petite Passport 44-07, Petite Luggage Tag 44-13

KK Originals

Key 24-13 KK

Stamp Oasis

suitcase 190-?, Petite Travel images 190-3, 4, 6 & 7

ISCC2 Color Challenge

So, this is our 2nd Innovative Stamp Creations weekly challenge. We chose a color challenge this week. The colors I chose were inspired by my current favorite shirt.

Here are the details to play along. WIN a FREE ISC stamp sheet To qualify for the FREE stamp sheet of your CHOICE, you must use ISC images only and post your link on the ISC blog I will have a deadline for entries very soon.

Colors are:
Soft Sky

Certainly Celery
Sage Shadow

Chocolate Chip

River Rock or Neutral

Well, in the end I never used the neutral. Don't worry, there are no right or wrong cards. This is for fun. I happened across a fabulous piece of DP/CS by My Minds Eye today that was perfect for the challenge colors. It is 2 sided with a sagey blue solid and the celery/blue/sage print on the other. I decided to use it as my folded card cutting the 12 x 12 paper to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and folded it with the solid side out. Then, I cut 1" off the bottom of the card front. I added a layer of the same DP matted on Chocolate Chip CS and then the main image layer stamped on the DP and matted on Soft Sky and then Choc. Chip. The oval is punched from the lg. SU! oval using the dp that was edged with a brown marker. I stamped the sentiment "let your heart soar as high as it will" on acetate, punched w/ the lg. oval and layered over the top. The Glass leaves were a find from the jewelry section at WalMart today. They come w/ the loop attached and in assorted sizes. The edges of my folded card were scraped with my craft toothbrush inked with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. The ribbon is May Arts and I NEED to find more of it because it is one of my faves.

P.S. Next week's Thursday Challenge will be a Sketch Challenge.....

Fresh Cuts Thank You

I decided to use this new set from SU! for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast. It is so chilly here today, I guess I was in a fall color mood. All images were stamped in Stazon Timber Brown except for the small flower which is Ruby Red. I sponged the main image panel using Ruby Red, More Mustard and Old Olive. The panel is wrapped in gold thread and there are a total of 15 brads on this creation. (note to self, don't attempt to do this again after 3 cups of coffee and one Diet Coke!) I took the stazon pad and scraped it around the edge of the card base. The flower thing under the brad is of unknown source, but everything else is SU!

The Winner is....

Hilmarose is the winner of the Rubbernecker blog candy this week.

Congratulations, email me for your code so you can go shopping!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2008-05-21 10:14:03 UTC

Get Well Wishes

I just love today's color challenge combination. Funny thing is that it is very close to the ISC Blog challenge colors for Thursday. If you liked today's colors, stop back on Thursday for my blog color challenge. I honestly picked my colors and sent it out to the ISC team yesterday! Anyway, I chose to use Innovative Stamp Creations images for my card, they are from the Flair of Summer sheet. The DP is by K&co. and the main image was stamped on ivory parchment paper with Stazon Timber Brown before watercoloring with Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery inks. I finished the layer off by DTP'ng with Tim Holtz distress ink/Old Paper and then scraping the edges with a toothbrush inked with Versafine Vintage Sepia. I also used the toothbrush on the DP edges. I prefer Versafine ink for doing this because it is an oil based pigment that I can move the ink around easily with, yet it dries very quickly. The sentiment was also stamped on parchment paper and dtp'd with Old Paper. The yummy ribbon is May Arts and the metal frame was picked up at a recent stamp convention. Oh, forgot to tell you that I also spritzed the main image with a combination of water/perfect pearls-pearl for a shimmery finish. I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Hooray for BLOG CANDY

OK, so it is Treasure Hunt Tuesday and blog candy day already again. It seems like Tuesdays come around really quickly. Here's the deal if you are new to the Treasure Hunt and Rubbernecker Blog Candy. Clicking on the link above will bring you to the Rubbernecker HOME page where the treasure hunt begins. Follow the clues to the treasure (a stamp image) and simply add it to your shopping cart. The treasure is absolutely free with any purchase!

I am also offering Blog Candy this week.

Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what your favorite instrument is and you will be entered into the drawing by Random.org The winner will be announced on my blog Wednesday morning so don't delay. Candy is also offering blog candy today, so swing by her blog and enter there too. If by chance you are lucky enough to be drawn by both of us, you will only be eligible for one Rubbernecker Bucks certificate. (yes, it really has happened)

Now for my card. I needed a special thank you card for the 5th grade orchestra teacher. This is the kids last week and Mrs. Balcer has tirelessly given up her time by teaching the kids before school M-F the entire school year. Mason has decided to switch to the Clarinet in the fall with hopes of moving on to the Saxaphone. That means even more practice on his part, because only the top clarinet players will be given the option. I have not made a triangle card in a very long time, so today was the day. They are very easy to make and are supposedly mailable. I have not mailed one in quite a while, but with the P.O. getting so picky about things that are non machinable, I bet they will charge more for these now. The envelope is really easy to make and I promise to get the template on my blog as soon as I mail it to a friend to scan and make into a file for me. (no scanner here...) The card starts with a 5 1/2" square of CS that is scored from one corner to the other and folded into a triangle. I painted the edges with TH crackle paint, let it dry and then sponged with distress inks. The main image is on an alcohol ink polished stone background that was highlighted with a little extra distress ink and I used a scratch tool to get back to the white core of the glossy paper for highlights. The outside sentiment was created in Microsoft Publisher, printed on computer paper, DTP'd with distress Old Paper ink an placed under a Tim Holtz Fragment. The edges of the fragment were finished with a Zig gold Painty pen. I have attached a supply photo so you can see the images I used as well as some of the other goodies. All stamps are available from Rubbernecker Stamp Co. Don't forget to leave a comment and good luck!

Amazing Friend

This is a combined challenge today. I made the double pocket bag for today's TLC challenge and also for the ISC Tag challenge. (see my post on May 14) I used stamps from Innovative Stamp Creations new sheet called Fancy Designs. The tag stamp works perfectly with the small SU! tag punch. I also used the horizontal slot punch, 1/2" circle punch and the lg. tag punch to layer my tag. The scalloped circle was cut with scalloped scissors. The DP is by Rhonna Farrer and went perfectly with the wired ribbon by Dots & Dashes. Ink used was Cool Caribbean and Tim Holtz Distress ink-Worn Lipstick. I used a black marker to stamp my sentiment on 2 lines instead of one line. I plan to put a little card and money for my Niece who is graduating soon.

Amethyst En Fleur inspiration

I quickly made this tonight for Saturday's inspiration challenge as well as Sharon's stamp simply blog challenge. Stamps are by Innovative Stamp Creations using the flourish flower from Art4 Frames II & the triple floral panel from Beautiful Flowers. The tri-panel is raised on dimensionals. Sorry for the small Inspiration Piece photo, I tried to resize it, but it came out too pixelated.

I love the IP today and hope to make another card. We shall see....

It's been one of those days...

I'll tell ya, I am posting this and then going to eat a gallon of ice cream or something. This shouldn't have taken me a good share of the afternoon. I should have learned to put the cut out layer that had Glossy Accents applied in a different room. I should have put it in a different county. First, I picked it up and stuck my finger in it. No problem, I added some more. I did put it further from my work station this time. Then, I just wanted to lay it on my card to figure out my layout. That went fine and then I dropped it upside down on the table. Added a 3rd layer and set it aside again. Finished the card and went to check on it and got my sleeve in it. I

started to add layer #4 and realized that 4 layers just won't work out. So, I had to start my layer from scratch. At least I learned from the mistakes on the first one and managed to get my card done.

I used the bouncing brayer technique with a Kalaidacolor blue frost pad. I sponged Cool Caribbean outside of the dark blue center and the edges with Taken with Teal. Riley is on dimensionals and colored with Copic markers. All stamps are by Hanna Stamps! except for the "Hey" which is SU! Classic Alphabet upper & lower.

ISC Blog Challenge

The challenge is open to anybody and is to use tags or tag art in your stamped project. Play along and link the key words ISCC back here to be entered in a drawing for ISC goodies! Any stamps are allowed to play in the challenge, but only those using Innovative Stamp Creations images will be eligible for the drawing.

My first project uses Art4Frames1 & II along with About Me! the project starts with a
4 1/4" x 5 1/2 " book made of chipboard that has a tag card inside. I will have another sample using Fancy Designs.

The butterfly was embossed on Thermo Acetate and colored with copic markers from the back.

DP is by The Paper Studio & MME. The text parts were torn from a crossword dictionary. Distress inks were used for all the stamping. The words and butterflies were stamped in Black Stazon.

Want to WIN a FREE ISC stamp sheet?
Important: to qualify for the FREE stamp sheet of your CHOICE, you must use ISC images only and please post your link on the ISC blog only A randon name-email will be chosen and you will win a FREE ISC Stamp Sheet of your choice!The challenge is to use at least 1 tag in what you create!! Must use only ISC images!
Hope you'll play along too!
Make sure to post your link with the ISCC1 Tag Art design . Challenge ends Saturday May 25th!