Snow Lottery/Thank you mingle/Vintage Toy ATC

I got a Spellbinders embossing template a few weeks ago to use for this lottery.

Then as I was cataloging my Technique Junkies files, I came across the Frosted Glass background technique and tried it with this template. I kind of went crazy with it.

I used it as a background for the snow themed lottery card. for that one I used the Lace Snowflakes set from Stampin Up. Layered and matted with Brilliant Blue and silver glossy cs.

Then I cut a couple of the pieces with my Sizzix frame die and used the Elegant Greetings set for the Thank You mingle.

Of course, the frame die leaves behind a perfect ATC which can't go to waste, so I punched some scalloped photo corners and stamped the carousel horse from the Snow Globe set to use for the Vintage Toy ATC mingle.

Snow Man Mingle

This snowman was SUPPOSED to be a shaker card, but I didn't get enough shaker stuff in the card.

The base card is Brilliant Blue cs stamped in white with the Blizzard Stampin Around wheel.

The shaker I made by printing a 3 inch square envelope template from Red Castle's Fit-It cd on white cs. I stamped Stampin Up's snow globe and then masked it so I could wheel the background in Brilliant Blue ink with the same wheel as the background. I cut the window with my Colluzzle cutter and put in some acetate for the window.

I stamped the snowman on a 3x3 piece of cs and mounted him to the back flap of the envelope and then colored him with markers and did some snow with liquid applique. I used poster mounting tape to create the depth for the shaker and poured in some glass beads and gold glitter before sealing everything up.

Merry Christmas ATC

When I looked at the other entries into this ATC mingle, they all had an antique look to them so I went to my Stampin Up Old Fashioned Christmas set for this Santa. He's colored with shimmering watercolors and sponged with Real Red ink around the edges. I matted him on glossy black cs then used a red and silver Christmas background paper from my stash. Everything went on the base glossy silver cs. I finished him off with some antique silver metal photo corners from Tim Holtz.

Rubber Stamps Only

The theme for this swap was rubber stamps only. The hostess said it was to get us to use some of our neglected stamps.

My most neglected stamps are my wheels, one of which I used for the background. It's Stampin Up's Double Line Stitched Plaid wheel. I rolled it one way in Real Red, the other way in Tempting Turquoise.

Then I thought my Sock Monkey and Favorite Teddy Bear would like to have a party together. Trouble is, they both face the same way, so I stamped them on acetate so I could mirror the teddy bear. I colored them with Radiant Pearls and embossed with clear embossing powder since RP's don't dry on plastic. They are matted on Tempting Turquoise paper and the base card is Apricot Appeal.

The Color of Beauty

I found the stamp for this in my stash. I got it in a grab bag or prize package, I can't remember which. But little girls playing in pretty dresses struck me as fitting the theme for this ATC swap.

I pulled the base card from my stash of retired color cs and the bg paper from a book of jewel background from Paper Pizzaz. I colored the girls with shimmering water colors and highlited around them in a metallic pigment ink.

Cat Card

I made two of these cards to do double duty. I used it for Stamper's Corner Card of the Month and Technique Junkies Just One swap for November.

This card used two techniques from Technique Junkies: Flip Flap Fold and Faux Suede.

The Faux Suede was done with Liquid Applique mixed with a bronze Pearl Ex. The bg paper was from a prize pack I got from Stamper's Corner. The cat is from I Break For Stamps (I think) and the sentiment from Sparkle N Sprinkle.

Christmas Card

I hosted a mingle for non-religious Christmas cards. That is because while I celebrate Christmas, I don't accept the religious aspect of it. That is a whole 'nother discussion about when Jesus was actually born and what the Bible says (or rather doesn't say) about celebrating His birth.

For this, I chose a piece of green polished stone in my stashed and stamped the Christmas tree in versamark and embossed it with gold detail embossing powder. I matted it on Forest Foliage cs that had been punched with one of my favorite corner slot punches. Then I mounted that on gold glossy cs.

Sports Card Mingle

One of the non-winter swaps this month was the sports mingle. To me sports themed cards are masculine and nothing is more masculine to me than the cork paper I used here. I found this 12x12 adhesive backed cork at Michael's a while back and had to have it.

The golfer stamp is from I Brake for Stamps' Father's Day set. I stamped it with Staz On to get the best image on the textured surface, and colored with chalks.

Let it Snow ATC

Many of the swaps this month are winter themed. This one was Let It Snow, so I used a couple of stamps from Stampin Up's Snow Globe set.

I colored the snowman with chalks applied with a blender pen and the snow at the bottom is Liquid Applique. It's mounted on silver glossy cardstock.

Birth Month Lottery

I won the October ATC lottery on Stamper's Corner and I got to choose the theme for the November lottery. The theme I chose was Birth Month. My birth month is June, so I used this rose from Stampin Up's Flower of the Month Club. I used a technique called Aura Stamping that was developed by a stamper named Kim MacNutt. Luckily for me, I printed out the directions from her website as it is no longer active and the instructions are not on her blog.

I did another ATC similar to this, except I used November's flower stamp and then made it as the focal point for a card for a birthday card contest

Double Embossed Mingle

This one didn't scan as well I I would have liked. The swap it's for called for embossing one sheet of cs with 2 different embossing folders. I chosed the Argyle and Happy Birthday folders. I embossed with the argyle first, then sponged with a little purple metallic ink. Then I embossed with the Happy Birthday and sponged with a little more purple metallic ink.

The base cs was a purple that is retired from Stampin Up. I found some purple ribbon in my stash. Then two more shades of purple from Stampin Up. The image and sentiment are from the Digital Girl set from My Favorite Things. It's colored with chalks.

Time Lottery

The card lottery theme this month was Time. I chose to do a shattered glass background. Choosing my main color from SU's color wheel (More Mustard), I used the inks that coordinated with it. I stamped images from Stampin Up's Antique Collectibles and from a collage sheet from I Brake For Stamps.

I used a layout from one of Stamper's Corner sketch challenge (193).

The layered "ribbon" is gold and cloudy white vellum punched with a lace corner punch with the corner guides taken out. For the focal image (again from the college sheet from I Brake For Stamps), I stamped in Not Quite Navy on More Mustard CS. The sentiment is Ecclesiastes 3:1 printed in an old English font with navy ink from my computer on More Mustard card stock. They are both matted on Not Quite Navy cs. I put the corner guides back in the punch to do the corners on the focal image and rounded the corners on the sentiment.

Thanksgiving ATC

I made this for a mingle that had a Thanksgiving theme. Since I didn't have a Thanksgiving stamp that was small enough for an ATC, I stamped a regular image on opaque shrink plastic. Then I colored it lightly with colored pencils since the colors intensify when you shrink the plastic. I shrank it, then stamped leaves and the sentiment in champagne metallic ink on designer paper. I mounted the shrink plastic (which I punched before it shrank) with brads to the paper, then mounted the designer paper on Pumpkin Pie cs. Then to finish it off, I used some antique looking hardware corners.

Hearts Desire

A couple of weeks ago, I made a card for the September Card Lottery on Stamper's Corner. I had embossed a piece of Shimmer White cs in Cuttlebug's Tapestry embossing folder. Then I cut it with a frame die by Sizzix. That piece that came out of the center was a perfect ATC size and the creative monkeys said "You must make an ATC for a mingle with it" Ok, but which one? Then the new Technique Junkies newsletter came out and in it was the Faux Turquoise Stone technique. The creative monkeys saw that and said "That would make AWESOME photo corners." True, but I didn't have a crackle stamp the technique required. But the creative monkeys kept insisting I needed to try this techique, and I needed some autumn, pumpkin and thanksgiving stamps anyway, so I started looking around at I Break For Stamps. When I couldn't find the crackle stamp I wanted, I e-mailed Della, the owner and she pointed out her Grunge Backgrounds sheet. The creative monkeys insisted we get them. So I did. When the stamps came, I tried the technique. The monkeys were right, it did make awesome photo corners. Della always includes a free stamp in her orders. This time it was a beautiful heart shaped flower. When the creative monkeys saw it they screamed "That's it!! This one belongs in the Hearts Desire mingle." So I sponged the base card with some Tempting Turquoise chalks, mounted the turquoise stone corners and then stamped the flower on a scrap of Shimmer White cs and cut it out. The creative monkeys were very happy.

Glamor Shots ATC

I had some scraps left over from making an envelope for another ATC and the creative monkeys said "Those are too big to throw away, but just the right size for an ATC!" Then they said "Look here are two card stock scraps that you can cut with the smallest sizes of your rectangle nestabilities." Then they whispered "Look through your new stamps from Sparkle and Sprinkle, we saw a pretty lady that will fit, and isn't there a glamour mingle???" When they saw her all layered and stamped, the said "Silver!! You must sponge and emboss with silver!!" After coloring her with chalks, they were satisfied. At least for the moment.

Postage ATC

An ATC is a card the size of a playing card. I had scraps left over from the Thanksgiving Mingle and I started to see if I could duplicate the layout in miniature.

It started to come together when I found a pack of stickers I got from Creative Memories. In a grab bag of stamps from Third Coast Rubber Stamps was the small "postage" stamps, so the creative monkeys in my brain said "you have to enter this card lottery with it". So I stamped the postage on one sticker and the sentiment (from Stampin Up) on another, and there it was.

Pumpkins Mingle

The layout for this card was copied from one of the example cards for this technique from the Technique Junkies newsletter. The technique was Sepia Tones.

Base cs is Garden Green. Then a piece of embossed copper foil mounted on Creamy Caramel cs.

Pumpkin is from I Break For Stamps. Colored with chalks.

October Card of the Month

This month's theme was Autumn. I took a piece of copper foil from Spellbinders and used the AI Foil technique from Technique Junkies using Cranberry and Butterscotch inks. Then I embossed it with the Autumn Cuttlebuge embossing folder.

Base cs is Creamy Caramel. Next layer is Sage Shadow. Corners were done with a corner punch from EK Success. I stamped leaves from an autumn set from I Break for Stamps and cut out. Sentiment is from Stampin Up.

Thanksgiving Mingle

The layout is from a Stamper's Corner sketch challenge, but I can't for the life of me remember which one. The two bg papers were in a pack I got in a Tuesday Tip prize package along with a ribbon sticker from Creative Memories.

Started with Really Rust cs with a layer of Bordering Blue for contrast.

The image is from I Break For Stamps and is stamped with Really Rust ink on Natural Ivory cs. The sentiment is from Stampin Up. I sponged both with Really Rust too.

Heated Pearls

I saw that one of the mingles for the first part of October was for the technique Heated Pearls, which uses Pearl-Ex. I LOVE Pearl-EX. Well, anything with shimmer and sparkle, really.

I did the heated pearls with Duo Red/Blue and Duo Blue/Green Pearl Ex on black glossy cs.

Then I mounted it on plain black cs. The image is layered on Tempting Turquoise (one of my favorite colors) and Cameo Coral cs. The image is from I Break For Stamps and was stamped in Versamark and embossed with silver detail ep. Topped with a tied black organdy ribbon. The basic layout was from the Split Coast Stampers website and is one of the example cards they used for the technique.

September Card Lottery

The September card lottery was Red and White with a touch of Green.

I used Stampin Up Real Red card stock for the base. The frame is Shimmer White card stock embossed with the Cuttlebug Tapestry embossing folder and cut with a Sizzix frame die. I dusted the frame with a little bit of green chalk.

The corners inside the frame are the new photo corners punch I got at the local scrapbooking store.

Flower is from Stampin Up's Rose Rhapsody set, and the sentiment is also Stampin Up. Both were stamped with Versamark and embossed with glitter white ep.

Halloween Mingle

This one was for a Halloween Mingle. I used a new stamp set from Stampin Up that I got at the yard sale at my local scrapbooking store.

The background papers are from Creative Memories. The corners are a new punch I got at the local scrapbooking store.

Things with Wings

For the Stamper's Corner Card of the Month theme of Things With Wings, I chose this fairy stamp from Faerie Song stamps that I got in a prize package from Stamper's Corner.

I worked with a layout that was sent to us on the SC group sketch challenge. The sample card from that sketch showed a textured cs layer with a bg paper layer under the matted image.

My printed paper layer was a bg paper embossed in a Cuttlebug folder. The textured layer was the TJ technique of Faux Whitewash done on Tempting Turquoise cs.

The base card is Taken With Teal as is the mat for the fairy. She is colored with stamps and the Natural White cs was sponged with glue and dusted with turquoise Pearl Ex.

I finished it off with a couple of silver photo corners in the embellshment pack I bought from Hobby Lobby. Now I need more photo corners!

Faux Silk

For this month's Technique Junkies swap, since the only theme is a technique that has appeared in the Technique Junkie's Newsletter, I went with an old technique: Faux Silk.

Also, since I had already cut and folded a sheet of 12 x 12 cs to show a friend about the Triple Play technique, I had to use it.

Again, out came my trusty SU color coach. Since the base card was Yo Yo Yellow, I paired it with Orchid Opulence.

The flower is from a grab bag I got from I Brake For Stamps and the sentiment is from Stampin Up's Wonderful Words set.

Orange Gold and Green Mingle

This one was really a color combo I would not have thought of on my own.

I wasn't going to join the mingle until I found this piece of background paper in the stack I got from a Stamper's Corner prize package.

It had images with just the right outlines for me to trace over with an embossing ink pen and emboss in gold.

I found a pack of gold vellum at Hobby Lobby and embossed it with some green ep I got as a sample from Sparkle N Sprinkle. The brads were in a jewel brad assortment from My Favorite Things.

Penguin Mingle

This one was done simply with a piece of background paper I got in a prize package from Stamper's Corner.

The textured pieces were done with the Faux Felt technique from the Technique Junkies newsletter.

Colored the image with chalks.

Stamps are from Stampin Up's retired Happy Healing set.

Music Mingle

This one was simple. The mingle theme was Music. I did the Technique Junkies AI foil technique with the Cuttlebug music embossing folder.

Card stock is Regal Rose and Apricot Appeal. I love using SU's color coach as it inspires me to use color combinations I would not normally think to use.

I cut the rose tag using a tag punch from Creative Memories, and the apricot mat from it, I did free hand.

The brad is a tag shaped brad I got in an assortment pack from Hobby Lobby. All stamps are Stampin Up's retired Music Speaks set.

Brad Mingle

The final mingle I participated in this month on Stamper's Corner is called Brad Basics.

It was opened themed, but you had to use at least 2 brads on the card.

I've used this layout before, done with a different techique for the background.

This one is done with the AI Foil technique from the current Technique Junkies newsletter.

Brads are from an assortment set I got at Hobby Lobby and a bunch of jewel brads I got from My Favorite Things. Stamps are I Brake for Stamps. The mask was stamped using a glue pad and glitter from Sparkle and Sprinkle.

Scene Sillhouettes

One of the techniques in the current Technique Junkies newsletter is called scene sillhouettes and was inspired by the brayer work of Michelle Zindorf.

That fit in with the Stamper's Corner mingle that called for using a Zindorf technique.

I used 4 inks from Stampin Up (2 greens, 2 blues) and the stamp is from I Brake for Stamps that came in a prize package I won on Stamper's Corner.

CS is SU Glorious Green and Brilliant Blue.

Bargello

One of the mingles this month (mingles are one on one swaps) on Stamper's Corner is Grey White and Yellow.

I tried the Bargello technique from the TJ newsletter in yellow pattern papers I had in my stash.

I thought it would look great with this stained glass fish from I Brake for Stamps.

Textured Spectrum

The August card lottery on Stamper's Corner has a theme of pastels and flourishes.

After seeing the August Just One my partner on Technique Junkies sent me in the Textured Spectrum technique, I just knew it fit perfectly with this theme.

I used a spectrum pad from Stampin Up and the flourishes embossing folder from Cuttlebug for the background.

The rose is from I Brake For Stamps and the sentiment is from the Noteworthy Stampin Up set.

CS is Bliss Blue and Blush Blossom and the ribbon is a sample from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

Travel Card

The card here was done for the August Card of the Month swap on Stamper's Corner.

It is done using the Triple Play techinque from Technique Junkies. This technique enables you to get 3 cards from a 12x12 piece of cs. You can mail them in a business size envelope.

I used a piece of Creamy Caramel cs from SU as the base. The bg paper is from a Jewel Tone Power Pallette from Creative Memories, as is the luggage sticker.

The tag and the focal image are from Sparkle N Sprinkle.

AL Foil Technique

For the August Just One swap on Technique Junkies (which I HIGHLY recommend--go to www.techniquejunkies.com) I decided to do the AI Foil technique.

I tried it with regular ink and alcohol, and did not get as good results as I would have liked, but the background came out well enough to use for the swap.

The stamps are from a grab bag from I Break For Stamps.

The CS is some retired Stampin Up I had in my stash.

ATC to Birthday Card

This card came as part of an ATC swap I joined on Stamper's Corner. The theme was monochrome.

I have been getting in to unmounted stamps and I decided to unmount my 2-step Stampin Up! stamps to make them easier to line up when over stamping.

I never got a good overstamp until now. The rose focal image is on the same ATC I did for the swap. It is the retired Rose Rhapsody from SU. It is stamped on Regal Rose cs using Rose Red ink. The overstamping was done with Tsukineko's essential glue pad, which is an ink pad that has glue instead of ink. Then it was covered with red glitter from SU.

The bg is SU's retired Victorian bg stamped on Regal Rose cs in Rose Red ink. I also unmounted all my bg stamps to give me more storage space. I discovered that I can store my acrylic blocks, Spellbinders dies and Cuttlebug embossing folders in the cases the bg stamps came in.

July Card Lottery

This is my entry into the Stamper's Corner July Card lottery. The theme is Black & White & One Bright.

My bright is a rose from I Brake For Stamps, done in Candy Apple Radiant Pearls direct to rubber.

Background is a butterfly wheel from Stampin Up.

The winner of the lottery gets all the cards entered in the lottery and gets to choose the next theme. Hope it's me.

Scallopped Mingle

Stamper's Corner has "mingles" every month. A theme is posted, then you make a card based on that theme and upload it to the photo gallery on the list.

Then the hostess of the mingle sends you a name of one of the other people in the mingle and you send your card to them.

This is the card I'm putting in the Something Scalloped Mingle.

The base cs and bottom layers are Pretty In Pink. Image and sentiment from My Favorite Things are stamped on watercolor paper. I got to try out my new watercolor crayons to color it in.

The scalloped layers were cut with the Scalloped Ovals Nestabilities.

July Birthday cards

I had this idea in my head for a while. I like the poem "When I am Old" by Jenny Joseph, which is all about aging flamboyantly. I thought it would make a nice birthday card.

So I copied the first two lines of that poem into MS Publisher and chose a font from Stampin Up's Write Me A Memory Volume 1. I printed it out on a scrapbooking paper from my stash and cut the oval with my Coluzzle.

The dress and hat are from I Brake For Stamp's fashion plate. Both are stamped on scrapbooking paper and cut out.

The background is done in the Shimmering Silk technique from Technique Junkies.

I did two versions of this. One was on the Perfect Plum and Pale Plum you see here. The other was on Tempting Turquoise and Taken with Teal. Both turned out great.

July Just One

For the Technique Junkies July Just One swap, I used 2 techniques instead of one. The light green patterned layer is done with the Fabrilayers technique using a piece of quilting fabric from a fat quarter bundle in my stash.

The focal layer is done in the newsprint reveal technique. I used E-Sword (a great FREE bible software I heartily recommend) to cut and paste the 23rd Psalm into MS Publisher. I changed the font to an Old English font I liked.

The stamp is from I Brake for Stamps.

Colors are Glorious Green and Handsome Hunter.

COTM For July

This month's theme was 2 different patterned papers. I used two from a book by Hot Off The Press. The layout is from the Stamper's Corner weekly sketch challenge 185.

Colors are More Mustard and So Saffron. The stamp is from I Brake For Stamps and is done with Radiant Pearls direct to rubber, then embossed with clear embossing powder.

The scallopped "ribbon" is done with a Spellbinders Borderabilities die. I love that I can use other company's dies in my Sizzix.

The "friend" in the circle is from Stampin Up's Noteworthy set.

June Twice Is Nice # 2

In order to do my Twice is Nice cards for June, I had to borrow fruit stamps from friends.

This card uses Stampin Up's retired Gorgeous Grapevine stamp set. It's a two step stamp set.

The base grapes were stamped on Natural White cs with Radiant Pearls applied direct to rubber as were the base leaves.

The 2nd stamp for the highlights was stamped with Eggplant Envy for the grapes and Forest Foliage for the leaves.

I then masked over them and stamped the Antique Cracking bg stamp with Going Grey.

Since I had smudged the edges somewhat handling them with Radiant Pearls still on my fingers and the cosmetic sponge still had useable RP on it, I sponged all around it.

I chose Lovely Lilac for my base card and went to my trusty SU color wheel to choose the mat color from the wheels suggested coordinating colors. I chose Old Olive. Hope my partner likes it.

Baby Shower Present

We had a baby shower for one of our Interior Designers the other day. I wanted to do something unique in wrapping her present.

I took a 1 liter soda bottle (but this will work with any soda bottle, just match it to the size of your gift), removed the label and cleaned off the serial number stuff that was stamped on the bottle with rubbing alcohol.

Then I cut a slit in the side with an X-acto knife (top to bottom) and a horizontal slit at the top and bottom of the slit. Then I slipped a sleep and play suit into the bottle.

Next I cut a piece of 12x12 scrapbooking paper down to fit the label of the bottle and wrapped it around the bottle, covering the slit and securing with double stick tape.

The top layer is cut from a piece of 12x12 blue vellum and punched with a corner punch that I took the "wings" out of. I stamped some baby feet from I Brake For Stamps on the vellum and wrapped that on top of the scrapbook paper.

June Birthday Double Bugging

This is the card I made for my June birthday cards. I used the Double Bugging technique from the most recent Technique Junkies Newsletter.

This technique uses the Cuttlebug embossing folders. I used the argyle and happy birthday folders. The inks are Tempting Turquoise and Brilliant Blue as are the cardstock.

The rose is from I Brake For Stamps and is stamped on some blue vellum. Colored with markers.

Pyramid Technique

I sent this card for my June Just One swap on the Technique Junkies list.

It uses the pyramid technique from the most recent Technique Junkies Newsletter.

The stamp is a stained glass stamp that was part of a set from I Brake For Stamps.

I did a little bit of coloring to highlight one of the flowers with colored pencils.

Twice Is Nice #1 for June

This card is done with the Depth of Field technique found in the most recent Technique Junkies newsletter.

The fruit stamp is from Stampin Up's Sun Ripened set.

The sentiment is a freebie that was included in an order I got from I Brake For Stamps.

To choose the color theme I used my trusty color wheel from Stampin Up and chose the Ruby Red/Cameo Coral dynamic duo recommended on the wheel.

Simple Masculine Card

The theme for the Stamper's Corner Card of the Month was "Masculine".

I think masculine cards just scream for simplicity, so I went simple.

I used Chocolate Chip card stock for the base and this really neat cork adhesive paper I found at Michaels.

The golfer is part of the Father's Day sheet from I Brake For Stamps. The saying is also from IBFS from a stash of 100 stamps I won in their giveaway contest.

Graduation card

My nephew graduates from high school tonight. His class colors are lime green and black, so that is the color scheme I used for the card.

I used Gable Green cs for the base card. Then I made a sheet of polished stone using 2 shades of Radiant Pearls and a gold Marvy Metallic Marker.

It is mounted on black glossy card stock.

The "congratulations" is from SU. The cap and diploma is a stamp from I Brake for Stamps.

Embrace Life--Chalk Lines

This was done for the May Twice is Nice swap on Stamper's Corner.

The base cs is SU's Soft Sage as is the tag.

The next layer is Handsome Hunter that is embossed with the Cuttlebug Tapestry folder.

The label is the chalk lines technique done in 3 colors of green chalk on shimmer white cs.

The flower and saying are from SU's Embrace Life set.