I should stick to paper :)

first attempt

My youngest son Zachary wanted to be Gumby for Halloween.  The problem is, you cant find kids Gumby costumes.  Kids today don't know who Gumby even is.  Zachary came across some Gumby shows on Netflix.  I checked online and I could only find adult Gumby costumes.  I figured I would just make one, how hard can it be right?  I mean, I own a sewing machine.  I got it when I got married 18 years ago and have only used it a dozen or so times, and only to make straight things.  I turned some shower curtains into drapes for the play room just a few months ago, so I should be able to make Gumby right?  I laid Zachary down on a roll of paper, and traced him.  I then thought I was so smart to add a few inches around my traced image for a seam allowance.  Problem is, Zachary is not flat.  I did not add any allowance for dimension.  Take two, only this time I traced his pajamas.  And I added a lot to that in hopes that the costume would be a little big so that he could wear some clothing layers underneath, in case it gets cold on Halloween.  This one fits a little better, but it still looks ridiculous!  Zachary, however, LOVES IT!  He was so happy he wore it all day Friday.  I'm going to be embarrassed when he wears it to school, but I have to let him.  How can I tell him to wear something else? He is happy with it and he has the cutest smile, so I will just have to deal with people seeing my crazy Gumby creation.  From now on though, I am going to stick to paper!  Happy Halloween everyone!!

Delicate Doilys

I am a paper hoarder, who is really trying to stop being a paper hoarder.  This paper though, was the toughest for me to cut up.  I've had it for over four months, but I just couldn't do it.  So today was the day.  I decided to just go ahead and do it!  The Flirtatious Specialty Designer Series Paper comes with two sheets of paper that are made up of 16 connected doilies! How cute is that!!  You can use the doily paper with the doilies intact, or you can cut them apart.  I decided to cut them apart on this card.    In fact, I cut them apart twice.  I cut the large doily, then cut the center out of it as well.  I made this card for a challenge at splitcoaststampers, to make a card using the same shape twice, but in two different sizes.  Here I used the circle doily as my shape.  The flower is from the Friends Never Fade stamp set.  I used Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, and Wild Wasabi markers to ink the stamp. 

This second card is also for the challenges.  This challenge was for the "Looking Up" challenge.  I choose flying Butterflies as my "up" inspiration.  I used the Scallop Oval die and my Big Shot.  I still had Wild Wasabi and Melon Mambo out, so I decided to keep with those colors for this challenge as well.  I added some pearls to the centers of the butterflies for a little extra pretty.  The Images on this card are from the "Precious Butterflies" Hostess set.  You can earn this set by hosting a party, or attending one of my stamp camps.  I have a punch card for those who purchase at stamp camps, and when your card is filled, you can choose $15.00 in hostess benefits.    If you're in my area, contact me if you would like to attend a stamp camp!

Field Flowers Thank You

Todays card is again for a challenge on splitcoaststampers.  This challenge was to make a card thanking those caregivers who do so much for those going though cancer.  I just sent out a pack of cards yesterday to the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, and I hope to have another pack all set to go out early next week.  This challenge was set up by Cathleen Torina, who is an expert at bows!  I usually try to avoid bows and just go for a knot.  Since this challenge was from Cathleen though, I decided to go with a full bow.  Hopefully she will not be too embarrassed for me!  Seriously, her bows are amazing!!  I threw a few pearls on my flowers in a nod to her way with embelishments, too!  The stamp set I used for this card is called Field Flowers, and the stamps are "Two-Step stamps".  This means that you have two or more stamps that work together to make up the finished image.  I stamped to base image in the lighter color, Pretty in Pink used

here.  Then I used Regal Rose with the top layer stamp.  The flower center was stamped the same way, with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  I stamped the images on very vanilla and then cut them out.  I stamped the stem on some First Edition Designer Series Paper in Always Artichoke.

I sprayed my card base with some Gold Glow Smooch Spritz, unfortunalty its hard to see in the picture but its really pretty in real life.  I also distressed the edges of the center image with some Crumb Cake ink and by distressing the edges of the paper.

 Want to see one of Cathleen's Bows?  check out her Gallery here at Cathleen's Gallery

Grinch!

I have seen some really cute Grinches made from the 'Top Note Die', but I wanted something smaller.  I thought that the Curly Label punch is sort of like a mini Top Note, so why not a Curly Label punch Grinch?  Here he is, I hope you think he's cute.  I made him out of Lucky Limeade and Riding Hood Red.   Mr. Grinch uses quite a few punches.  The Santa hat is made from the Petite Pennant Punch, the Scallop Square Punch, and a retired punch that was called Triple Blossom, or something like that.  I forgot that the Triple Blossom was discontinued, or I would have used a similar punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  I like to use only current products on my blog in case someone is trying to recreate the project.  I want you to be able to get the products you need to make what you see. Luckily, just about any tiny flower would work.  I used the Scallop Square Punch to make the trim for the bottom of the hat.  In order to do this, I punched a strip 

from the square punch out of a scrap of Whisper White card stock.   You just need a little bit, so this is a great chance to use up those little strip of White.   Once you have your small bit of Square Scallop punched out, you need to put the punched out piece back into t he punch.  This is sort of hard the first time, but then it gets easy.  Line up the punched scallops with the ones on the punch, making small circles.  I don't know how to explain this for some reason.  I'm a visual person, so I'm hoping that this picture 

helps with my explanation.   If you find that your having a hard time getting that tiny piece into the punch correctly, you can use a bit of adhesive and stick the strip onto a bigger piece of thin paper, such as copy paper or something.  This way you have something to hang onto while placing the small piece back into the punch.  You can put the adhesive in a spot that's just going to get punched off anyway.  Clear as mud?   The eyes are just circle punches and then little strips of Early Espresso for those menacing eyebrows.   I layered it all onto a large Scallop Circle and put it all onto a candy bar wrapped in Lucky Limeade Designer Series Paper.   I made the tag from a stamp set called Punch Pals, which co-ordinates with the Tag Punches.    Here are my other Candy Bar Creations.

Thank you for stopping by!!

Circle of Butterflies

I don't often make circle cards and I'm not sure why not because they are so cute!  This card was made for a challenge at, you guessed it, www.splitcoaststampers.com.  I'm having a lot of fun with all of these challenges.  I used the "Big Shot" to cut out the large scallop circle in Early Espresso, and the inner whisper White circle.  The Circle die that I used for the white circle is actually a clear die, so I was able to glue the strip of Rose Red Designer Series paper onto the white, then line it up where I wanted on the die.  Because I could see through the die, it worked very nicely.  I also decided to add a strip of Certainly Celery punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch.   I used markers to ink up the sentiment.  I love making the sentiment in multiple colors.  For this one, I used Early
Espresso and Rose Red.  I've been using that combo a lot lately- hope you're not getting sick of it!  The butterflies and sentiment are from a set called "Butterfly Prints".  This is another set that has a matching paper punch! So Easy! I stamped then punched out the butterflies, but then I had to cut out the little butterfly bodies. I have to say I wish there was a punch for the bodies, too.  I made the butterflies stand off the base by attaching them with dimensional stickers.  Because the card base is so dark, I added another Whisper White circle to the inside of the card, so that a person can write a greeting.  I also stamped a butterfly inside too:)

There are several ways you can make a circle card open, but I opted for the easiest, a brad.  I had my paper piercer and brads out on my desk from the lighthouse card, so I just grabbed them.   I hope that you like today's project.  Thanks for stopping by.  Remember, if you have any questions about the projects of products used here, feel free to send me an email.  I'd love to hear from you.

 

The challenges continue...

The challenges continue, but these are good challenges!  I am still working on the challenges at www.splitcoaststampers.com splitcoaststampers-Hope you can cling to.  This card is for the Masculine card challenge.  If you are familiar with my blog, you will know that I have a bit of trouble making masculine cards.  They always come out a bit on the girly side.  And this challenge has a bit of a catch, the card has to be masculine, but have pink on it somewhere, since it is for the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.  I decided to put some pink in my sunset.  I have made sunsets before, but usually with yellows and oranges, so pink is new for me, but I have to say that I think it works! 
I started this card by stamping my main image on whisper white card stock.  I then made an oval mask on vellum cardstock.  I like to use vellum when making a mask because I like to be able to see through it.  I started at the bottom with my lightest color, Pretty in Pink.  I used a sponge to apply ink, being careful not to get ink on the cliff part of the image.  I didn't worry about getting ink on the lighthouse itself.  I'll explain way in a few pictures down. I then added a touch of So Saffron, just a tiny bit at the bottom, in the center.  I wanted this to look like the moment that the sun just goes down, so I couldn't help but use a bit of yellow.  Next, I added a bit of blue with Bashful Blue ink.  You can make your sunsets darker of lighter as you wish, by using deeper colors.  The final color that I used on this card is Night of Navy, perfect name for this card, right?     That was the end of the sponging.  I then removed the mask to see if I wanted to go back and add any more color, but I decided to leave it as it was.
In the past, I have made cards like this, but I put a mask over the main image as well.  This time, I used a second light house and just glued it on top of the original one.  I was given this idea by a friend of mine, thanks Kathy.  She said, if your going to cut one out to use as a mask anyway, why not just glue it on top, its easier.  And she's so right! You can't even tell!  The Sailboat card at the bottom is the card she made, which introduced me to this way of covering the image.  I finished off the card by layering it on some Basic Black cardstock.  I added some black brads to the corner.  A good way to line these up is by using a template that is sold though Stampin' Up!  It comes in the "Mat pack" and it is great for so many things!  Paper Piercing, lining up brads, eyelets, and making faux stitching.  Love it.   The piercing tool is sold separately for $3.50.  

mat pack $9.95

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you found some bit of inspiration! Why not try out on of the challenges yourself? Its fun!

Hershey Wrapper

I was asked by three different people how I would change the candy bar wrappers I made here:(http://bethrush-bethspapercuts.blogspot.com/2011/10/more-candy-wrappers.html) if I didn't have the skinnier candy bars, and instead used a regular Hershey candy bar.  This was a good question since I planned on making a lot of these and might have run out of the skinner fundraiser candy that I have, and may need to get regular candy bars at the grocery store.  I actually had a Hershey bar in my cabinet, so I whipped up a version like that. I thought I would post a quick picture of what that would look like.  Santa and Rudolph are exactly the same as on the other candy bars.  The paper I used here is an older retired Christmas paper from Stampin'  Up!  I needed to keep my current paper for the other version, to be used at an upcoming stamp camp.
Thanks for stopping by!

More Pink!

The Hope You Can Cling To campaing releases new challenges each day, and I am trying to keep up! The challenges are great for me because I am trying new tecniques and using color combinations and stamp sets that I haven't used in a while.  Today's cards are for the Paper Embellishments only challenge, and the sketch challenge. 

 This card features a quote from Hellen Kellar "Life is either a Daring Adventure, or Nothing".  For my paper embellishments I rolled strips of paper into little flowers, and added a grean leaf.  I used my markers to ink up the stamp so that I could highlight the different words in the quote.

 
The second card is for the sketch challenge.  I rarely make square cards, so this was a treat for me.  I used the "rock and roll" tecnique on the flowers of this card.  With the Rock and Roll tecnique, you stamp the image in the lighter color (in this case Regal Rose), and then roll the edges of the stamp image in the darker color (Rose Red used here). I then cut them out and added them to the card with dimensional stickers.  Both cards used Rose Red, Regal Rose, and Early Espresso, with a tiny bit of Old Olive as an accent.  I really like this color combination. 

 

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you were inspired to create something today!

Kindness Matters

I made this card for the "Hope You Can Cling To" campaign at splitcoaststampers.  The name of the set is Kindness Matters, and I think that goes so nicely with this campaign.  The cards made for this campaign go to UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.  Visitors and staff will be able to choose cards to give to patients going through Breast Cancer treatment. I hope that one of my cards adds a bit of brightness to a patients day.

For this card I decided to use a new Embossing Folder.  I bought it the second it was introduced, but then I never used it! Crazy me!  Its so cute.  The folder is part of a set of two folders that make little embossed frames. The set of "Designer Frames" Embossing folders is nicely priced at $8.95 for the pair.   This card uses the oval, and there is also a rectangle frame.  Since I was in an embossing mood, I also broke out my much used Framed Tulips Embossing folder.  To make the texture of these folders really stand out, I used a sponge to antique the raised portions of the images, with Early Espresso ink.   Next I stamped a butterfly from the Kindness Matters set onto a piece of  First Edition Designer Series Paper.  I love the look of the newsprint on my projects so you'll see this paper a lot!  I punched out the image with the Extra-Large Oval punch, which is made to co-ordinate with this embossing frame.  One of the great things about Stampin' Up! is the co-ordination of the products! I love that! I colored the butterfly in with Pretty in Pink, then added highlights with Perfect Plumb.

I then took my sponge and added some ink around the edges of the oval.  I wanted the butterfly to be a little shimmery, without too much glitter, so I grabbed the Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in "Illuminate Top Coat.  This is a product that I've just recently started using.  Its great because it adds a shimmer, but no bulk of glitter, and no mess of glitter.  And sometimes glitter is too much.  I love glitter, but this product is a great addition that I didn't think I needed, but now that I have it, I love it.  And, is easy to apply, like nail polish!  I painted it onto the butterfly image.  Done!

I them put all my pieces together.  I added some Pretty in Pink 1 1/4 inch striped ribbon, gathered at the top with an Antique Brad. I attached my ribbon to a piece of Chocolate Chip Paper with distressed edges.  I used a glue dot, or three, to attach my framed butterfly to the ribbon and Chocolate Chip paper, and put it all on my Crumb Cake base layer.    

 Thanks for stopping by!
Beth

more candy wrappers

I loved my little Rudolph candy bar wrapper so much, that I decided to make a few more varieties.  You can see the Rudolph tutorial here:http://bethrush-bethspapercuts.blogspot.com/2011/10/Rudolph.html   I used my paper punches to make the pieces.  The snowman is just circles, the square punch, and the tip of the pennant punch, so I wont bother to show step by step for him.  The Santa is a little harder to see what its made of, so I decided to show the steps to make him.  I started by wrapping the candy bar in Cherry Cobbler Designer Series Paper.
The dimensions of this are 3 by 8, but that works only for this type of candy bar, you will have to measure your own for this step.  I used Sticky Strip to glue it together, and on the ends to keep them closed, too.  Next I punched out all my shapes.  The beard is made from the Ornament punch, the mustache from the Bird Builder Punch.  The face is made up of an oval in Blushing Bride, as well as a a Blushing Bride circle and two Basic Black eyes.  The hat is made with a scallop oval in white, a large oval in Cherry Cobbler, and another white poof ball made from the Boho Blossom punch.  
Put all the pieces together and you have a very cute Santa face.  The tag was made from the Punch Pals stamp set, as well as the two different tag punches, layered on top of each other.  I used the Cherry Cobbler bakers twine to tie the tag onto the candy bar.  One of the great things about Stampin' Up is that all of the products work together to make quick, easy, and very cute projects!

Stampin' Up Punches are my some of my favorite things!  Love them all!  If you don't have the punches needed to make these projects, click on my shop now button and pick some up today!

Pretty in Pink

I am still doing the "Hope you can cling to" challenges on www.splitcoaststampers.com.  I completed two of the challenges today.  The first one is to make a card using a pink animal.  I don't have a lot of animal stamps, except butterflies and birds.  I right away grabbed this stamp set because it is so pretty, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet.  The set is called  "Elements of style."  I colored in the flowers using my markers.  Stampin' Up! makes a variety of pinks and they work really well together to give you the ability to add shading and depth to the image.  I started with the lightest color pink first, Pink Pirouette, and colored in the whole flower.  Next I added some shading with Pretty in Pink.  Finally, I added Regal Rose to the centers of the flowers and along some of the creases between the petals.  The leaves were done the same way with Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi.

I used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch to make the Certainly Celery accent at the top and bottom of the main image.  I love the look of the small scallops, so i punched out a strip and them cut it down the middle to make a scallop for the top and the bottom.   

This stamp set comes in cling mount for $19.95 and wood mount for $27.95.   It is so pretty and can be used for many occasions.  I am so glad I got a chance to play with it today!

The second card I made for the " Hope You Can Cling To" challenges is for the "Bling" challenge.  This challenge asks you to create a card with some sort of rhinestone on it, preferably pink.  I decided to use some of my retired paper for this card because the paper has some glittered elements that give it even more bling!  Its hard to tell in the picture but the paper is very glittery.  The stamp is from the Perfect Punches set.  $17.95 cling mount, $24.95 wood mount.

Thanks for stopping by!  Why not try out some of the challenges yourself! Here is the link to the challenge forum at Splitcoaststampers!   Hope you can cling to