The Open Sea Birthday - Stampin' Up!

Today's card is inspired by Try Stampin' or Not on Tuesday's sketch challenge.  Since I need a masculine card for my stamp a stacks this month I used it just for that.  Sorry, no St. Patrick's theme.  That's the extra part of the challenge you can do if you want to though! :)

Here's the sketch we're playing with this time around.  Click HERE to check out the other fun cards created by the design team using this sketch.  If you get a chance make sure you play along.  We'd love to see what you create! :)

Here's the colors I used for this card.  Pretty simple huh?!

Basic Black

Smoky Slate

Just a couple more pics of what I did.  I inked the "journal" stamp with Smoky Slate, stamped it on a piece of scrap paper, then onto the banner (I wanted it nice and light).  Then I stamped the world stamp with Smoky Slate and stamped directly onto the banner so it is darker.  Last I stamped the ship using Tuxedo Black.  I sponged around the edges of the grey banner with Smoky Slate, and around the edges of the little strip that says Happy Birthday too.  I stamped Happy Birthday with Tuxedo Black.  I also embossed the front of the card base with the World Traveler embossing folder, then I sponged in a circular motion a little bit of Smoky Slate over the world map to make it pop a bit.  

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Marbled Sea

It's Friday and I'm excited because I'm enjoying a weekend away for a bit of a fall color tour.  Could be why my post for the Friday Mashup is late!  I totally forgot to get it ready since I was so focused on packing and leaving! lol  This week's mashup from Lynda is a fun one!  I love the sketch and this technique is new to me too.  Well, kind of new...I've seen it before, just never tried it.  It's a good thing we have these challenges because it pushes me to do techniques that I normally wouldn't bother to try.  Here's the mashup for challenge #180...

Create a project with "the Sketch". 

Create a project with the "Marble Rolling Technique".  Link to technique HERE.

or Mash it Up! and create a "Project using the Marble Rolling Technique & Sketch". 

I decided I was going to use The Open Sea set with this sketch, and have white card stock for my background.  I thought the blue marbling on the white kind of looked like a map.  However when I tried to put all of my white circles on the white card stock it just didn't look very good.  So I decided to do blue and white marbling on blue card stock.  I love how it turned out too!

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup HERE to see all the other great cards made using this technique and sketch, and play along too if you have time.  We'd love to see what you create!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Supplies used: 

 Marbles (in my case beads since I don't have any marbles! lol)

small plastic container 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

No Stamping on Card Stock for Father's Day!

Since it's Friday you know I've got a card for the Friday Mashup, and I think it's kind of a fun one this week.  First you have to check out what the challenge is from Lynda so you know what I'm talking about...

Create a project for "Father's Day or that special guy in your life".

Create a project with "Stamping on anything other than Card Stock".

or Mash it Up! and create a "Father's Day project with Stamping on anything but Card Stock".

The first part of the challenge is a Father's Day card (which mine really is...not lying!). ;)  It's just on the inside and I forgot to take pics of it.  The second part is to stamp on anything other than card stock.  I opted for aluminum foil.  Yup, kind of a weird thing, but I didn't know what else to use! lol  I've seen it run through the big shot and thought that was pretty cool, so why not try to stamp on it.  I have to say the only thing I really stamped on it with is VersaMark, but then I heat embossed it with black embossing powder.  To get the moon I punched out a circle and stuck it where I wanted it, then very carefully rubbed and dabbed where I wanted the ink with black StazOn.  When I was done I pulled the circle off carefully and there was the silver moon.  I loved making this card.  Hope you like it too.  Make sure you check out what the other designers made HERE.  Lots of neat ideas!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Stamp Set:  The Open Sea

Card Stock:  Basic Black & Whisper White

Aluminum Foil

StazOn:  Black

VersaMark

Punch:  3/4" Circle

Stampin' Emboss Powder:  Black

Embossing Folder:  Argyle

Sponges

The Open Sea

It's Tuesday so that means it's time for a Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch challenge.  Another great challenge this week.  Since I needed a masculine card for this month's stamp a stack I used the sketch to make up my card.  Love the set The Open Sea!  There's SO much you can do with it. 

Don't forget to check out all the other great cards using this sketch HERE.  And make sure you play along if you get the chance!

A quick peek at the inside of the card...

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea & Banner Greetings

Card Stock:  Basic Black & Very Vanilla

StazOn:  Black

Embossing Folder:  Argyle

Framelits:  Circles Collection

The Open Sea Map

Today's card was for my January stamp a stacks that were rescheduled from last week since we had a ton of snow here in Michigan!  I'll have to share a few pics that I took in our back yard at the end of today's post.  Anyway, today's card makes me think of warm weather, not the cold.  I guess you could sail in cold weather and many have, but I'd have to say I would be a fair weather sailor...if I was sailor (sorry, Dad!) lol  I've combined the World Map stamp with the sailboat and globe stamps from the Open Sea, and did a bit of sponging over the map.  I really like how it turned out and it was pretty simple to make.

Ok, here are a couple of pics from my yard.  We always get a bit of a drift through our backyard because of where we live and how the wind blows around the buildings.  The drift really doesn't look that big in this pic at all...

but this is me actually standing behind the drift taking a pic. 

I moved to the right a little bit and this is what the edge of the drift looks like.  I think it's kind of funny how the wind whipped around our garage and left the ground bare, but move over a few feet and the snow was as high as my waist.

One last pic of me behind the drift.  I must have stepped a little closer to it this time.  Boy is that going to leave one wet mess when it starts to thaw!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea, World Map & Express Yourself

Card Stock:  Night of Navy & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Night of Navy, Island Indigo & Garden Green

Sponges

Creative Crew Challenges for December

Today I will be posting a LOT of pictures because I'd like to show you all of the creations I made for the December Creative Crew monthly challenge.  ***If you think you came to this blog by mistake looking for another card or project just keep on reading and scrolling it will probably be on this post somewhere.***  Anyway, it's been a fun journey, but my time is up and there will be new designers starting in January.  This month started out with 

"Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation" - Mason Cooley

As we end 2013, let's CASE someone else's work and give them credit for inspiring us.

CASE someone else's work?!  Hmm...I not sure about that.  I just don't usually do it, but for this...OK!  There are some ladies...(and guys too!) that do some pretty great cards out there, and I had an excuse to copy their cards! :)  **Just a side note...I did ask permission to copy and post these cards.  Remember to always respect other people's work and give them credit when you CASE their work.**

Here is the first challenge:  DSP/Color Focus: Modern Medley or basic black and very vanilla. Check out the gorgeous cards on SCS or Pinterest that only use black and vanilla. CASE someone you admire.  

I found my first card to CASE while I was checking out the colors Basic Black and Very Vanilla on Pinterest...  This CASE'd card is from LeAnne Pugliese. I didn't know it was her card at first until I checked out the watermark, and guess what?  I know her from the Paper Players blog challenge.  Maybe some of you know her from there too, or or you follow her blog.  As soon as I saw her card I knew it was the one to CASE.  No more looking for me! lol  I have to admit I didn't case it 100% because I didn't have the DSP she used or the embossing folder, but I came as close as I could.  If you'd like to check out her card click HERE.  Thanks for the inspiration LeAnne! :)  Now I'm going to have to wait until Father's Day to use it. ;)

Now on to the second part of the challenge...

Catalog Focus: candy dots

Copy someone's artwork that loves brads or candy dots. Use candy dots generously on your project.

Candy dots, huh?  I use them every now and then and really like them, but who do I know that uses them?  One of the blogs I follow is Michelle Zindorf's.  She makes amazing cards using the brayer a lot, and I remembered she uses candy dots and brads.  I glanced through a bunch of cards on her blog to find one that had dots on it AND that I had all of the things I needed to make it.  I was only missing one thing for this card and that was a stamp.  I just used an embossing folder instead.  Now I must say I did NOT use the brayer for the scene on my card.  The brayer and I do NOT get along! lol  I'm a sponging girl and my sponges and I get along just fine, so that's what I used instead to create these cards.  If you'd like to see Michelle's card and her very distinctive work check out her blog HERE.  Thanks for the inspiration Michelle!

I opened this card and turned it to the side so you could see a hint of the inside, then totally forgot to take a pic of the inside. :(

Yes, I made two of them. I figured if I was getting everything out for one I'd do two.  I always think it's pretty interesting how two of the same cards that are sponged can turn out differently.  I guess you can't see as much of a difference in the pic, but one scene is a lot darker than the other in person.  

Believe it or not, I didn't copy anything for the third part of the December challenge.  So on to the third challenge...Holiday Focus: December 24th is National Chocolate Day.

While eating the best chocolate you can find, make a card using chocolate chip on it. If you CASEd someone fabulous, give credit to this wonderful stamper.

My first pic had to be some chocolate! lol  I have a large bag of Ghirardelli chocolates waiting for my December stamp a stacks.  I always have these on the table for the last sas of the year. :) Notice the chocolate chips...yup, they are one of my favorites too.  I'm sure many of you have a stash of chocolate chips handy somewhere when you get a craving for chocolate! lol

Since I had to use chocolate chip card stock I decided to make flowers out of them.  Have you ever seen an all chocolate covered cake with chocolate flowers on it?  I have and they look pretty cool!  I decided to let that inspire me for my next card...

Chocolate chip roses. :)  

This card took a little time to make since I needed to make the flowers, then let them dry overnight.  I put dazzling diamonds in the center since I used crystal effects to hold the flowers together.  The "dazzle"  looks great in person, but boy was it hard to get a good pic with the flash on.  That's all you could see was the dazzle! lol

I couldn't put a rose on the inside, so I just went with the leaves.

I also HAD to make an envelope using the envelope punch board.

The little strip along the back is so the envelope will close without needing to tape or glue it.

And finally the last project for December...

Scrapbook and More Focus: Make a calendar, to do list, booklet or journal for a friend to use in 2014.

My plan was to make a one page calendar with all of 2014 on it.  Nope, didn't happen since my printer decided to go wacko!  It sounds like it's printing, shoots out the paper like it printed, but nothing.  Just a blank page...err!  And yes, it has plenty of ink!  So on to plan B.  I needed a birthday card for me niece and decided to make her a little booklet/journal and slide the birthday card inside the folder.  I got the idea for this from Steph at the SU! Convention back in July.  It was one of the pillow gifts she made for me and the other ladies.  You can check out what she made on her blog HERE.  I just downsized it and made it the perfect size for a little girl. :)  I quickly snapped a few pics of it and decided I'd get her sister's made too!  Whoa!  I'm ahead on one thing!  Amazing! 

I still need to put crayons in it, but I managed to get a pic of the birthday card with this one. :)

I've added the dimensions for this mini journal/booklet and pocket.  The score lines are marked too.  Hope this helps if you want to make one yourself. :) 

I hope you enjoyed my Creative Crew Designs for December!

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

First Card

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea, World Map & Teeny Tiny Wishes

Card Stock:  Basic Black & Very Vanilla

Ink:  StazOn Black

Embossing Folder:  Woodgrain

Punches:  1 1/4" Circle & 1 3/8" Circle

Black Brads

Baker's Twine:  Whisper White

Second Card

Stamp Set:  Wetlands

Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip, 

Crumb Cake & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Old Olive, Soft Suede,

Soft Sky & Pacific Point

Embossing Folders:  Modern Mosaic & Woodgrain

Framelits:  Deco Labels

Candy Dots:  Neutrals (Soft Suede & Chocolate Chip)

Sponges

Third Card & Box

Stamp Sets:  Perfectly Penned, Everything Eleanor

& Teeny Tiny Wishes

Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pad:  Chocolate Chip

Punches:  2 3/8 Scallop Circle & 1 3/4" Scallop Circle (for roses)

Sizzlit:  Little Leaves

Embossing Folder:  Delicate Designs

Ribbon:  1/2" Seam Binding in Very Vanilla

Envelope Punch Board

Crystal Effects

Stampin' Glitter:  Dazzling Diamonds

Sponges

Fourth Card & Journal/Booklet

Stamp Sets:  Too Kind, Loving Thoughts

& Apothecary Art

Card Stock:  Strawberry Slush, Wisteria Wonder

& Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Strawberry Slush, 

Wisteria Wonder & Pistachio Pudding

Ribbon: 3/8" Tafetta in Whisper White

Sponges 

Sailing Chevron Birthday

I made today's card to practice up on my sponging technique since I plan on having a sponging class.  Let me tell you this is definitely not how my card started out!  I had actually sponged a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Natural White card stock, but couldn't figure out how to put that size onto a card without it being boring.  So I gave up last night and surprise, surprise I couldn't fall asleep.  That's when I started thinking about the different sketch challenges I went through yesterday and how I could use one of them to put my pic on the card.  So how did I come up with it?  I used the Mojo Monday sketch challenge #318 to layer my sponged picture on, but knew I needed a bit more.  So I used the chevron half of the Friday Mashup challenge #134. I know my daughter will love it because there's no white! lol

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

Stamp  Sets:  The Open Sea & Express Yourself

Card Stock:  Island Indigo, Night of Navy,

Basic Black & Naturals White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Night of Navy, Island Indigo,

Cherry Cobbler & Crushed Curry

StazOn:  Black

Punch:  1 3/8" Square (for chevrons)

Sponges

The Open Sea World Map

Today's card is inspired by Friday Mashup #130 - Let's Cut it Up.  I needed a stamp that was big enough to tear and another stamp that I could cut out, but I didn't want it to be too fussy! lol  Since I need a masculine card for this month's stamp a stack I figured World Map and The Open Sea would work great for this sketch.  Just stamp the world map twice in two different colors, tear one of the maps and place it on top of the other map.  Since I didn't want to cut the whole ship out I figured the globe would be easier to cut.  So I stamped the globe first and the ship over top of it.  That way I only needed to cut the water and just a little bit on the ship and the rest was a circle. :)  

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea, World Map & Express Yourself

Card Stock:  Island Indigo, Garden Green & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Island Indigo & Garden Green

Punch 1 1/4" Circle

Sponges

Black & White Open Sea

Today's card is one I made early last week to send off to my cousin for his birthday.  It's made using the Paper Craft Crew sketch challenge, but I made it after it closed.  My colors are from the ColourQ challenge.  I needed to use basic black, white and one spot of color.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea, World Map 

& Express Yourself

Card Stock:  Basic Black & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pad:  Island Indigo

StazOn:  Black

Punch: 1 1/4" Square

The Open Sea

Today's card is inspired by another challenge from Try Stampin' on Tuesday.  I needed a masculine card and thought their sketch was a great fit for what I needed, and it went together very quickly! :)  I even managed to stamp a little on the inside of my card too. 

I'd also like to let you know I'll a part of a blog hop tomorrow with my upline's group...the Red Hot Stampers and with her friend France along with her group...Inking with Frenchie.  Everyone in the blog hop will be making cards and projects using supplies in the Holiday Catalog.  So don't forget to stop by and do a little blog hopping for some great inspiration!  See you again tomorrow...

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea & Teeny Tiny Wishes

Card Stock:  Basic Black, Basic Gray & Whisper White

Classic Stampin' Pad:  Basic Black

StazOn:  Black

Punches:  1 1/4" Cirlce & 1 3/8" Circle

Bakers Twine:  White

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

It's Sunday so that means it's time to post another Red Hot Stampers' sketch card.  Since it's my hubby's birthday today I thought I'd use this week's sketch challenge to make his card.  It went together pretty quickly too.  Well, except cutting out the anchor, but that wasn't too bad. :)  Don't forget to check out what the other Red Hot Stampers made this week HERE.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  The Open Sea & Perfectly Penned

Card Stock:  Pool Party, Island Indigo & Very Vanilla

Classic Stampin' Pads:  Pool Party & Island Indigo

Punch:  1 1/4" Circle

Sponges