You Are Pretty Amazing

I am SO sorry this is late - I thought I had scheduled it correctly! I am off to lunch with my mom, sister & cousin :) 

Hi all! Today is the last day to enter the Die Cut Diva's August Challenge, Silhouettes.  If you get a chance to enter, you will be in the running for a gift certificate from our sponsor, Cheapo Dies.

I had to make at least one cat card when I start crafting for my Design Teams, and this one is made with some new goodies I just got.

What I Used to Make my Card:
White Card Base
Kraft Card
Black Card
Penny Black, FeLINE die, #51-145
Simon Says Stamp You Matter Stamps, #SSS101645
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Stitched Rectangle {actual die cut was a gift}
Tim Holtz/Tonic Stamp Platform

I love the way this card came out; I am always surprised when a project actually looks the way I envision it!  And it's a super easy card to make.  To begin, I took the FELine die and cut it out three times - once from white card, once from black card and once from Kraft card.  I pieced together the white cats, using the black cut as the background.  Then I trimmed one of the Kraft cats and just glued it on right over the corresponding white cat.

The cats were then layered onto a white stitched rectangle that a dear friend sent me; I inched the cats closer to the top so I had plenty of room for my sentiment.  This was the first card I'd made with my brand new Tim Holtz Stamp Platform.  I'd been using my MISTI until my sweet friend offered me a Stamp Platform at near cost; how could I resist such a great deal!?!  I have to be honest, as much as I adore my MISTI, the Platform is easier for me to use.  The big game changer for me is the ability to switch from clear stamps to red rubber stamps by just flipping the top around.  So much easier!  Anyway, I lined up my sentiment and stamped it directly onto the stitched rectangle.  I just have to say how amazing it is to be able to get a clear, semi-straight {straight is NOT one of my many talents - I still struggle and I imagine I always will} image, and not

Another Peek

worry if you don't since you can ink it up again!  I shudder when I think of the "old days," using wood mounted stamps and not being able to see exactly where you are putting the image, and how much cardstock I wasted because the stamp didn't give me a good impression {mostly due to my error, but still}.  I would have NEVER stamped directly onto a card as one of the last steps; it had to be done first, just in case I flubbed it and had to begin again.  

Anyway, once the sentiment was stamped onto the rectangle, I adhered that to a trimmed piece of Kraft card that was then glued onto my card base.  There you go!  An easy card, ready to be popped in the mail.  

I hope you have been inspired this month to get inky with silhouettes, and if not, never fear, as tomorrow the new month begins and a new challenge starts at Die Cut Diva's.  Thanks so much - Christi

I am entering my You Are Pretty Amazing card in the following challenges:
CARDZTV - #63, Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Sunny Day Crafting - Anything Goes including an Animal
Papercraft Challenges - #19, Animal
That's Crafty! - Animal Magic
4 Crafty Chicks - #418, Anything Goes

Lawn Fawn Coffee, Tea and Treats

Hi everyone! When I saw the current Lawn Fawnatics Challenge, Coffee, Tea & Treats, I knew I had to play along.  See, the very first Lawn Fawn stamp and die set I purchased was Love You a Latte; I bought it solely due to the coffee cups and truly didn't give it another thought.  I've since become totally addicted to the adorable little critters and the amazingly creative interactive cards that they produce.  In fact, I think I have more Lawn Fawn product than any other company!  

What I Used to Make my Card:
Kraft Card Base
Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte Stamps, #LF704
Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte Dies, #LF705
VersaMark Ink
Light and Dark Brown Card
Die-Namics Wonky Stitched Circle STAX
Zig Clean Color Markers
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

The purchasing of the Lawn Fawn products shows my growth as a stamper to me.  In the beginning I was very artsy, nothing but Acey Duecy {now owned by StampDiva.com}, A Stamp in the Hand, MadRat Rubber, Zettiology, Magenta and so many other small companies {you can find many of the type of eclectic stamps I played with, and quite a few of the smaller, out of business companies at Stampfrancisco}.  I remember {and still have} Tim Holtz' first stamp release through a Big Box store {can't recall if it was Joanne's or Michael's}, long before he was designing for Ranger and Stamper's Anonymous.  I was a non-cute stamper.  Slowly, these companies began to pop up and the images weren't as weird.  I know that Tim Holtz'  Bird Crazy, Crazy Cats, and Crazy Dogs enabled me to spread my wings and actually work on some really

Another Look

cute images.  Now, here I am - waiting with bated breath for each new release from so many cute companies.  If I didn't have the wood mounted stamps to prove how eclectic I was, you'd never believe me.  Which brings me back to my card.  As I said, this was the very first Lawn Fawn set I ever owned; I mixed old with the new to construct this card.

First thing I did was choose a dark brown card and stamped the coffee beans all over it with VersaMark ink for my background paper.  I mounted that onto a lighter brown card and finally onto a kraft card.  All of the stamping is done in black ink; I cut the sentiment out using Wonky Stitched Circle die.  The cup is colored red, leaning toward the winter holidays; the hot cocoa is brown so the little marshmallows peek out.  The plate is just white card.

I adhered the plate and the cup first, then the sentiment, and I was done.  It seems like such a beautifully simple card considering the stamps history!  I hope my post encourages you to spread your creative wings a bit; in fact, I just might get out some of those old funky images and play around a bit! Thanks for popping in, Christi
PS: I think this just might count as my first holiday card of 2018!


I am entering my Warm Wishes card in the following challenges:
LawnFawnatics - #35, Coffee, Tea & Treats

Everybody Art Challenge - #430, Stamp
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Food and/or Drink 
Addicted to Stamps & More - #306, Anything Goes
Through the Purple Haze - #147, Make it CAS
Cardz for Galz - #78, Use Dies and/or Punches
Alphabet Challenge Blog - K is for Kraft card
Jo's Scrap Shack - #248, Anything Goes