Truly Retro

Freedom! The kids went to play at a friends house today. Woo Hoo! That means my house will stay clean for more than 5 minutes and I get some STAMPING TIME! I'm taking every second I can get these days. We're still right in the middle of Harvest. I swear this is the longest year ever, or at least it feels like it. Probably because it's keeping me from my woman cave.

I felt a bit like Cinderella today. Mentally thinking, "Now if I manage to get all of my house cleaning done, I might have enough time to squeeze a card in." Rambling to myself is nothing new. My kids think I'm crazy. I like to have a conversation with the vacuum cleaner. It knows all my deepest and darkest of secrets.

As it turns out, I had JUST enough time to crank this one out. I created it for Retro Sketches challenge #74. I had fall colors in mind for this one. We're getting closer and closer to those pumpkin spiced drinks that I love! I also decided to change the way I photograph my cards. I'll work on the lighting...

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Core'dinations in Early Espresso, More Mustard cardstock, Very Vanilla cardstock, Specialty DSP

Ink ~ Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Baked Brown Sugar, More Mustard

Stamp Sets ~ Truly Grateful, Chalk Talk 

Embossings ~ Brads (coated with Pool Party embossing powder), White linen fabric (colored with the Brayer tool and More Mustard ink, Vintage Brads

*The embossing folder used for the background on this card is not from Stampin' Up!

Oh, Hello Friday!

Another week has flown by. We're wrapping up week 2 of Harvest. The combine sat at the shop for a better part of the day having a new tire put on. Seems like a simple task right? How about when your tires are taller than you are? I stood around and watched the guys work on the combine for a good 5 minutes before I decided it was just too darn hot for me (even though I was in shorts and a tank top and the guys were all in coveralls). I ran home and locked myself in my woman cave. I wanted to do something with a "wheat" color in it. This just popped into head. I've been wanting to combine these colors for a while. I think it worked out well. I created this card for Fab Friday's challenge #23 and will also double for A.R.T. Card Challenge #7 (Anything Goes).

Supplies Used: 

Paper ~ Wisteria Wonder, Basic Gray, Whisper White

Ink ~ Wisteria Wonder, Basic Gray, So Saffron, White StazOn 

Stamp Sets ~ Daydream Medallions, Oh Hello, Gorgeous Grunge, Chalk Talk

Other Supplies ~ Floral Frames framelits, 1 1/4" circle punch, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Antique Brads, Brayer tool

Misc. Supplies (non-Stampin' Up!) ~ white linen fabric, tule 

*For the cute little linen flower, I cut a strip of white linen fabric, colored it with So Saffron ink and the Brayer tool and then folded layers onto the Antique Brad. 

*For the Oh, Hello banner, I started off with Whisper White paper, colored it with So Saffron ink and the Brayer tool.  

Distress Success!

I posted a tutorial on how to make a distressed flower this morning. I finally got a chance to sneak down to my craft cave after I fed the horses tonight. I can't believe how EASY this flower was to make!

Supplies used for this card:

Paper ~ Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Core'dinations Card Stock in Primrose Petals

Ink ~ Primrose Petals

Stamp Sets ~ Hearts a Flutter, misc letter stamp

Other supplies used ~ Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Apothecary Framelits, Paper Punching tool, Antique Brads

*This card was entered in Freshly Made Sketches Challenge 79

Distressed Flower Tutorial

OMG I am in LOVE with this flower! I have been searching for a distressed embellishment and I think this is PERFECT! I stumbled upon this tutorial on Pinterest. It is my go-to place for inspiration. 

This tutorial was created by HandstampedStyle. She has SO many great ideas! 

I can't wait to get down to my craft cave to get some of these started! I can't believe how easy they are

 (or look to be)

Hope you enjoy this tutorial and go out an create your own!

Happy Stamping!

Just Because

Just because I had nothing to do. Just because I was lonely. Just because I've been cooped up in the house on bed rest {I had surgery last week}. Just because I'm addicted, I created this card.

I fell in love with this stamp {Feeling Sentimental} set the moment I saw it. It totally fits into my vintage themed style. I put together a few different layers. Of course, I had to include my one of my favorite Stampin' Up! colors... Pool Party.

Primrose Petals

These cards turned out exactly like I had pictured in my head! It's hard to see in the picture, but I raised the sentiments in the center and tacked them down on each end. I love the raised layered look! I also embossed the center shape on both cards. This one is from Everything Elenor set. The bottome one is from the Oh Hello set.

Stamp sets used:
~Fresh Foliage
~Sassy Salutations

I stole the design from Pinterest but made them each a little different. This seems to be a pattern. Oops! I fell in love with the layout. It's so simple. Layered stamping on the base and a few layers on top. Sweet and simple.

Stamp sets used:
~French Foliage
~Feeling Sentimental

Colors used for both cards:
~Very Vanilla
~Sahara Sand
~Crumbcake
~Pool Party
~Primrose Petals

Happy Day!

The photo doesn't do this card any justice. I really need to figure out a better way to photograph my cards. I have a lightbox, I just haven't had time to set it up yet. Truthfully, I don't have the room!

This card was created around some floral patterned paper that I had leftover from an old project. It's not Stampin' Up! paper so I rarely use it. However, it caught my eye as I was looking for inspiration. It just so happened that it went perfectly with River Rock, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, and Very Vanilla. 

Of course I had to create a card that had a vintage feel. I antiqued the edges of almost every piece of paper. In fact, I think I did EVERY piece. I did the texture on the base color (River Rock) with a stylus and my Simply Scored plate. I went every 3/4" on the diagonal. I added pearls at every cross section. 

A few different layers of different shapes, a designer builder brad and a stamp from the "Ciao, Baby!" set completed this card. It was such a simple design. It went together so smoothly! I'll definitely be making a few more of these!

 I kept the inside of the card fairly simple. Antiqued the edges. Added a sentiment from the "Vintage Verses" stamp set and a "Happy Birthday" stamp on a banner of River Rock paper. 

Perfectly Perfect

 I totally stole this layout from a card I saw on Pinterest a few days ago. Good ole' Pinterest! I absolutely HAD to put one together. I love all the different layers. To me, you can't have too many layers! I used a couple of my new stamp sets for this one. Vintage Verses for the little note inside the envelope. Pretty Petites for a few of the squares on the banner. Along with a few from the 2012 - 2013 catalog. I also used the new designer brads from the Spring catalog. Of course I gave it an antiqued look. This is a generic card that can be used for any occasion.

The inside of the card is decorated too! I used my old favorite  Fresh Vintage for the outside trim in coordinating colors from the front. LOVE this look!

From My Heart

I FINALLY got this stamp set! I am so excited to use it. I made this card for my hubby for Valentine's Day. He's not the hearts and flowers type. Trying to come up with a manly man card is SO difficult...at least for me. I used the Adorning Accents Folder for the first time too. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. Tape was my friend. Once again, I gave this card a vintage feel by antiquing the edges. I think I'm probably going to drive this into the ground but I just LOVE the feel it gives to the card!