House of Cards Challenge Sequins or Colors

Hello everyone! For April, House of Cards has come up with a fabulous challenge that I KNOW a bunch of you will want to enter.  You can use the colors below and/or sequins!

With sequins making such a huge comeback and how easy shaker cards are to make, I am hoping there are tons of entrants (that is your hint to play along!) Speaking of shaker cards, this is what I created for the challenge:

Of course, I made my shaker card the old way since I don't have any of the new foam cut outs and such; at least not yet (and right after I made this card I received an order of the Pop Up Shaker cut outs that Queen & Co. has released. Typical!)

What I Used to Make My Card:
Pink Card Base
Neat & Tangled Floral Heart Stamp Set
Neat & Tangled Floral Heart Nice & Neat Die Set
Neat & Tangled Sequins (I got mine free, but I think this mix matches)
Lindy's Gang Imperial Crown Purple Gold & Midnight Violet Embossing Powder
Embossing Ink
Paper Smooches Streamers Dies, # KFBD029
Tim Holtz Crazy Talk Stamp Set, # CMS236
Pop Dot Waste (see picture in post)
Purple, Pink and Dark Pink Cardstock
Purple Ribbon
Corner Rounder Punch

I am so in love with this set from Neat & Tangled! I won a gift certificate from them back in January and waited until both pieces of this set were in stock before I used it (absolutely fabulous customer service by the way!!)  I ordered some other gorgeous stamps that I will be using very soon; this is definitely one of my new favorite companies!

Anyway, I first stamped and embossed the floral heart with the Imperial Crown Purple Gold embossing powder and then die cut it.  I knew I was going to

Pop Dot Waste

make a shaker card with it, so I also die cut a piece of acetate and attached that.  Once that had dried I began making my "pocket" for the shaker goodies to go into.  What I used is what I call Pop Dot Waste - it's all of the outline of the pop dots once they are used.  So, I placed the pop dot waste around the floral heart, filled it with sequins and then attached it to a piece of pink paper.  I typically use a piece of paper that is much larger than I need to stick my shaker "pocket" because I keep the "pocket" on the table, wrong side up, and stick the paper on it so the filler doesn't fall out. If your paper that your shaker "pocket" is on won't lie flat to properly adhere to your card use some small bulldog clips but be sure to pad them; you don't want marks on your card! The last thing I did to the focal piece was cover the outside with ribbon I had in my

stash.  There were some places that the white pop dot waste was just too noticeable for my liking.  Sticking that ribbon around the pop dot waste was a test of patience as I had to keep checking it and tamping down the ribbon so it would get into the little nooks and crannies that were caused by the different shapes of the waste. I love shaker cards; especially 
now that they are so easy.   I just got a kit from Dies R Us, made by Cheery Lynn, that has everything 

Another Look

you need (it even has 2 dies to make filler with! One is a teensy, weensy little heart that says Love You on it - Sooo cute) to make shaker cards.  

So once the main card was done, I used the sentiment from Tim's Crazy Talk Stamp Set to stamp and emboss using Midnight Violet embossing powder.  I attached the sentiment onto a banner I had die cut and I was done. I think it may be a tad crooked, but I can't tell for some reason.  I look at it one day and it looks fine, the next day it's crooked.  Ah well.  I hope you can pull out your sequins, or colored cardstock, and join us at House of Cards. We vote on the winner and the top choices and we'd love it if you made it really hard for us to choose, so come play with us!  Have a wonderful day! Fondly, Christi

I would like to enter my Shaker Card in the following challenges:
Allsorts - #413, Embossing
My Time to Craft - #344, Sequins and/or Buttons
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - #340, Embossing
{PIN}spirational - I used "Thinking of You"

Follow Your Bliss at House of Cards

Hello everyone and thank you for joining me today as I share my take on the House of Cards April challenge:

You can use feathers, the color palette or both!  

I was inspired by my good friend Jane's recent card (see it on the right) and I decided to CASE it (too bad it's too late to enter this card in the challenge; it fits perfectly in my opinion!)

What I Used to Make my Card:
Vanilla Card Base
Turquoise, Dark Turquoise, Medium and Light Brown Scraps
Graphic 45 Artisan Style Collection, 8x8, #4501113
DCWV Linen Closet Stack (old version click here for info)
Memory Box Stamp "Follow Your Bliss" #B2060
Distress Ink in Faded Jeans
Darice Nested Craft Dies, Classic Circles, #2014-74
Household Twine, enough for bow

I have no feather stamps or dies, so I went and Googled 'feathers' and traced the ones I liked using my trusty Silhouette CAMEO.  I also used the Silhouette to cut the feathers out of the turquoise scraps I had.  Once I had cut a few feathers, I moved on the the circles.

Using the Follow Your Bliss stamp, I stamped the sentiment on light brown card and then used the circle dies to cut the first circle.  The second circle is cut from medium brown card, the third from the DCWV stack and finally the fourth is cut

Colors are closer to real life in the above card,
but here is another look

from the coordinating paper I found in the Artisan Style Collection.  I attached all the circles together, then placed the feathers on the side. The finishing touch for this card is the bow I made using plain old household twine.  I hope the card I made inspires you to come and play along at House of Cards!  I honestly wasn't crazy about the color scheme this month but it grew on me.  Look through your stash and see if you can find any patterned papers that match the scheme; you'll be surprised how often blues & browns are used -- at least I was.  Off to catch up on my other design team commitments {and figure out a special announcement! Don't you just hate love surprises? }~ Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Follow Your Bliss card in the following challenges:
Crafty Friends Challenge - M, #54 - B is for. . Bliss!!
Making Memories Crafting Challenge - M, #3 - Add Some Layers
Die Cuttin' Diva's - #310, Anything Goes
AAA Cards (CAS Challenge) - M, #86 - Use Die Cuts
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - Anything Goes
Classic Design Team Challenge - M - Anything Goes 
Aud Sentiments - #176,  Anything NOT Birthday
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

I found these challenges, and MANY more, at Challenges for Days!

Irish Blessing

Happy March Everyone! This month at House of Cards you can use the following colors and/or Make a Scene.  Look at those moo cows! How cute are they!

Make a Scene and/or Use Color Palette 

I am mostly Irish (in fact, I have a family tree that dates back to the 1500's) and I have had this Irish Blessing stamp since 1999.  It's one of my oldest, but most cherished stamps.  I really only use it for St. Patrick's Day and I should break it out more often; it really is a lovely poem. 

What I Used to Make my Card:
Vanilla Card Base (square 5 1/4" x 5 1/4")
DCWV Linen Closet Stack (I have the OLD one, picture below)
Irish Blessings Stamp, PSX, K-2483
Hero Arts MMH January, heart die (sold out)
Martha Stewart Medium Scroll Heart Punch (discontinued but available)
Poppy Stamps Dianna Border Die, #1029 (retired but available)
Green and Gold Glitter Cardstock
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

Before I get into the tutorial on how I made this card I have to share about the heart on the upper Dianna Border (the green glitter die cut.)  I knew I wanted to put a heart in the middle of the border and I happen to have the Hero Arts January My Monthly Hero kit still on my desk (shocking! Not really) so I decided to try one of the heart dies included in the kit.  I cut the heart out of gold glitter card and it fit perfectly on the border.  I felt it was kind of blah, so I fished out the Martha Stewart punch.  I have had this punch for ages and have never used it but I thought it would work to spice up my card. So, I punched out the heart in the same green glitter card and the hearts fit almost perfectly!!! I mean, it was like they were MADE for each other! I was SO excited but since this card wasn't posting until this month, I had no one to with whom to share this with, until now.  The Man didn't share my enthusiasm, but I know all of you will!

Another look at the card. If you enlarge
this picture you can see the texture of the dots.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, back to your regularly scheduled program.  I made a square card out of vanilla card and cut the dotted panel out of the DCWV Linen Stack.  You can't really tell, but the dots on the panel are raised just a bit.  I stamped my sentiment on a piece of scrap vanilla card and trimmed it down to fit in the middle of the card.  Then the border and the heart were die cut, and the over heart punched out.  I adore how this came out; it is so sparkly in person and I am awestruck by how cool that heart looks.  When things come together and look even close to what I picture in my mind it is a good day! 

Thanks for reading and I do hope you will join us at House of Cards! Grab your cow stamps, your green goodies from your stash and make some cards.  We would love to see what the prompt inspires you to create.  Fondly, Christi

PS: Here is the picture of the DCWV Linen Closet Stack I use.  Seems that this one is retired and they have come out with another one, so if you are looking for the papers I used be sure you get the "old" Linen Stack.  If you do an internet search for the stack, you can find it in a multitude of places. 






I am entering my Irish Blessing card in the following challenges:
Frilly & Funkie - Welcome Spring
Work it Wednesday - Use the Color or Word Green
Paperminutes - #476, Spring
Crafting by Design - Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers - #183, Go Green

In my thoughts. . .

Hello everyone - I hope you had a fabulous holiday and New Year.  In case you missed my last post I am on a new Design Team! This is my first card for House of Cards, a monthly challenge, which typically involves your choice of a color scheme as well as a theme - you can choose which one you'd like to play with.  This months challenge is:

You can use either the Colors or use a Building, or both, in your creation. 

For this challenge I chose to work with the colors.  I have been cleaning out my craft room and I literally just gave away a perfect stamp set that I could have used for this, but, such is life.  Here is my card:

What I Used to Make my Card:
Kraft Card Base
Maroon Cardstock
Scrap Silver Cardstock
Unity Stamp Co. "Bunches of Love", UK-669A (739) - sentiment
Unity Stamp Co. "Blossoming thoughts & wishes", UK-754A (930)- flourish
Embossing Fluid
Stampin' Up Sterling Silver Embossing Powder (disc, but they still have silver)

I recently was able to buy a few sentiment sets from Unity Stamp Company so I broke those open to use on this card as well as trying my MISTI (that I am embarrassed to say I have had for months!) after studying many You Tube Videos (how did we ever learn anything before You Tube?!?) anyway. . . 

I started this card by lining up the sentiment and the flourish with each other, inking them up with the embossing fluid, stamping, then taking the flourish and repeating the steps.  I finished off with the silver embossing powder.

Another look

After trimming the maroon panel, I attached it to the silver panel.  Now, that might seem like an easy step.  Should be an easy step.  Was it easy? Not the first time.  I didn't realize the maroon card was thinner stock than I'm used to using. And I typically use a wet glue when making my cards because I get a bit of grace time to wiggle stuff around before it dries.  Well, I put my glue on the back of the maroon card and slipped it under the tile I have on my desk so it would dry nice and straight.  I checked on the card a while later and was horrified to discover that the maroon panel had a HUGE blob of glue right under the sentiment and nothing I did helped.  I ripped the card apart, hoping I could somehow spread the glue.  Nope.  Dried it with my heat gun to try to lessen the buckle the blob of glue had created.  Nope.  Only one thing to do - start over.  I took a long break (as I am prone to do as opposed to wrecking my craft room like a crazy person) and made another maroon panel.  This time I used a dry adhesive and it worked. I'd rather not learn these little lessons but it could have been worse.  I didn't save the panel, or the other two I made with another embossing powder or the one I made with a different sentiment.  I did fussy cut the pretty flourish out before I trashed the other tries - who knows, they may show up on a different project.  

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read through my trials.  I do hope to see you entering in the challenge at House of Cards.  Honestly, there is a whole month and you could win a cute badge to display as well as some well earned bragging rights.  As for me, I am off to shop for some glue dots, double stick tape or something like it.  Fondly, Christi

PS: Since I am entering so many challenges were the subject is NEW I thought I would make it simple and tell you what I used that is new.  The stamps are new, both sets that I used were just bought and while I have had the MISTI for a while, it's new to me as this is the first time I've used it :) 

I would like to enter my In My Thoughts Card in the following challenges:
Just For Fun Rubber Stamps (January) - Anything Goes 

Just Us Girls - Word Week - Word is NEW 

Sweet Stampin' - Something New 
Simon Says Stamp, Wednesday Challenge - New
Little Red Wagon - #375, Something New
The Artistic Stamper (January) - Anything Goes
Craft Stamper Magazine - (January) - Anything Goes

A New Year and a New Design Team!

I am thrilled to announce that I have been selected to be a part of the House of Cards Design Team! The term is 6 months, and it is a monthly challenge blog - you can get there from HERE and make sure you bookmark or follow so you can play every month (come on, I KNOW you can make a card once a month to fit our themes)! Speaking of themes, here is the theme for the month of January:

Add a Building and/or Use these Colors

So, along with the New Year I am embarking on a New Team - I am SO excited and I hope you are too!  My teamies are so sweet and have welcomed us newbies with open arms :) My first project will be posted next week so please stay tuned ~ I hope your New Year is filled with fun, health, love & happiness ~ Christi