MFT Sketch

I'm running late for a brunch so just a quick post this time with the MFTSC156 sketch.I may do this one again with a different color combo.

Supplies :

• Stamps:MFT Pretty Poppies, Get Well Wishes
• Paper: SU Basic Black, Soft Sky, white
• Ink: SU Sahara Sand, Poppy Zing! Rogue EP
• Accessories: Ribbon
• Tools: Nestabilities, corner rounder, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder

~Olga

Cupcakes Galore

What is your ideal day? I'm not talking about extraordinary, all your wishes coming true kind of day, but what if you didn't have the usual work/family/house obligations for a day and could do whatever you want? What would it be? Being off these past few days gave me a chance to do more of the things I love. I went for a 14.5 miles run this morning, I stamped, I hung out on Splitcoast forum which I haven't done in ages and I played with the dogs. Now I just need to add some sushi, ice cream and wine to the mix and it'd be pretty close to my ideal.

Since I've had more time to stamp, I had a chance to catch up on a few challenges and play with some new stamps. Here are two cards from the Verve December sketch challenge:

This one is "Cupcakes Galore." Since I've been slacking on my marathon training, these cupcakes are a lot safer to partake in than the bakery kind. To make the cupcakes pop out a bit more, I cut out the base twice - once from cardstock and once from vellum. I scored and folded the vellum to give it a bit more pop and realistic look. I also used dimnesionals under the top cupcake. Yum.

This second card, a bit of a shabby chic. Seems no matter how much I use kraft cardstock, I don't get tired of it.

Supplies:

• Stamps: PTI Cupcake Collection; Hero Arts Starbursts
• Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, Soft Sky, Basic Grey, Laura Ashley vellum; Tempting Turquoise, Basic Grey, Kraft
• Ink:Brilliance Moonlight White, SU Close to Cocoa, Tempting Turquoise
• Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Chocolate Chip ribbon, Recollections Glitter on a Roll; rhinestones, twine, MFT Berrylicious button, Spare Parts lace
• Tools: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder, Modern Wallpaper, Nestabilities, PTI Coordinating cupcake die cuts

~Olga

Riley Post Christmas

Now I know you're probably tired of seeing Christmas cards, but I like to continue making them in the winter. That way I don't have to rush to make as many next year and I'm more inspired to use my winter stamps now when it's cold out rather than in October when it's often still in the 80's or 90's here in Austin.

On that note, this is a gift tag and a card combo using Riley Carrying Tree set from the clear stamp collection.

I also made a tri-fold card with the same image. The snow on the card is flower soft. It looks cute, but I'm a little worried about how it would do in transit.

Supplies

• Stamps: Carrying Tree Riley, PTI To You From Me, SU Warm Words
• Paper: GinaK white, SU Real Red, Garden Green, Cool Caribbean, Kraft
• Ink:Memento Black, SU Wild Wasabi, Copics (E37, E57, E44, E74, E49), Twinkling H2Os
• Accessories: MFT Twine, button, Ivory Flower Soft, Hobby Lobby ribbon
• Tools: MFT Tag You're It die, SU oval punches, Nestabilities

~Olga

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! It's been  a while. In summer and fall any free time I had was preoccupied by triathlon training. I finished the full Texas Tri series this year including my 2nd Half Iron. For Thanksgiving I was traveling and finishing up my Christmas cards. Now I finally have some time off to create and actually post.

Kicking off with the holiday card recap. Here are few from this year.

Of course I had to get the PTI bike stamp and die cut combo and most of my tri and cycling friends got some variation of the bike card.

The second is the snowflake using SU glitter paper. My snowflake punch had a hard time punching through this paper, but I managed to make a few.

Finally, I made a few more variations of the penguin card, like I do every year. These little guys are so cute I can't pass up using the stamp.

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: PTI Pedal Pusher, Sincere Solutations, Whipper Snapper Pile of Penguins
• Paper: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Basic Grey DP, SU DP
• Ink: Sahara Sand, Certainly Celery Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Copics
• Accessories: Michael's and SU ribbon, rhinestones, brads, SIE buttons
• Tools: PTI Pedal Pusher die cut, Martha Stewart punches

~Olgy

Budget Friendly Copic Storage

Spring blindsided me a bit this year. Today was my first tri of the season and lets just say I was much happier with my results last year.  There have been too many things going on at home and at work so I've been slacking on my training and slacking on my posts. If you're reading this though, chances are you're more interested in Copic storage than a race report so I'll get to the point of this post - my new budget friendly Copic storage.

A few months ago I started looking at various options to store my growing collection of Copics markers. There are some pre-made options on the market, but most that fit in with the rest of the things in my space either didn't have the right dimensions or were more than I was willing to spend. I also saw some neat tutorials for cubbies made out of foam board, but I wanted something that could handle more weight if I wanted to store things on top. I was able able to alter store bought bins and the 'semi custom' project ended up under $25 total.

Close up:

What you need:

• Craftologie Rectangle Storage bins.I  got mine from Joann's website. They're priced $12.99, but you can get them with the coupon or on sale for under $7 each. I couldn't find the dimensions anywhere so if you're interested, the external dimensions of each bin are 5.5"W x 5.75"D x 11.125"T. The internal dimensions are about 4.75"W x 4.875"D x 10.5"T.  

• Particle board or foam board or acrylic that you can cut into 4 3/4" strips.I used 1/4" particle board from hardware store that was leftover from another home project. I cut the pieces with a saw and then pained them to match but if you use foam board  you can cut them with a knife.

• Thumb tacks
• Small hammer
• Small ruler or tape measure
• Bolt cutters

Directions:
I apologize for the lack of pictures here. The ones I took as I was working on the project turned out blurry. If something doesn't make sense, feel free to leave a comment on the post.

1. Cut and paint the particle board if you haven't already. You will need 2 pieces for each box to make 3 cubbies, but if you want smaller compartments you can divide each bin into 4 compartments. My pieces were ~4 3/4" to fit inside but measure each box because I found that there were slight variations in size.

2. Measure off and mark where you want the front of your first shelf to be. For my cubbies, I measured off 1/3 of the height and marked it on each side inside the shelf. I then measured off 1/4 - 1/2" below the front measurement and made the marks in the back of the box. This is to tilt the shelves down a bit so the markers don't fall out when you pull one out. You can see what tilt works better for you, just use the same offset for the rest of the project.

3. Measure the length of the pin part of the thumb tack you're using. If its longer than 2/3 of the side wall of the box, you'll need to use bolt cutters to cut off part of the tip so when you insert the pin, it doesn't pierce through to the outside of the box. You'll need 4 pins for each shelf and maybe some extras in case a few break. I'm sure other things will work here too so if you find something that doesn't need alternations, let me know.

4. Push or hammer in the pin into each of the marked locations. If the pins are not going in, you can try using one uncut one to make the initial indention and then hammer the shorter one in.

5. After you put in the first 4 pins, put in one of the shelf pieces to make sure it fits and looks as expected. Then finish inserting the rest of the pins and sliding in the shelves on top.

The one thing I still need to do is add small labels to the caps of my Ciao Copics.

If you want to see more pictures of my craft room, you can find them on this post.

~Olga

Quick Post

It's Monday already? I didn't get to play at all this weekend so I sneaked into my craft room for a little bit this evening and made a quick card using MFTWSC113 sketch.

Hope to have more for you later in the week. By the way, for those of you left comments in the past week, thank you so much! I love hearing from you and I always do my best to leave comments in return. I've been a hectic week, but I promise I'm not forgetting about you. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Inque Boutique Chai Latte, MFT Clearly Sentimental About Coffee 
• Paper: SU Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, SEI Dill Blossom DP
• Ink: SU Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Distress Ink in Old Paper, Copics: R59, R39, R29, W4, W1, E31
• Accessories: Tulip puffy paint, chunky glitter, Spare Parts brads
• Tools: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folder

~Olgy

Woofin' It Up Birthday

I needed a birthday card for my dad and think this is pretty gender neutral. The inside of the card reads "From all of us" and its singed from me as well as my dogs, aka the "grand kids." The color combo on the card is for the Verve In Love with Color SCS Love Fest Challenge and the banner is for Bellarific Friday on Stampingbella blog. To adhere the banner I attached eyelets to the cardstock, looped the twine through and then glued the sentiment to the twine. 

  

Supplies:

• Stamps: Stampingbella Woofin' It Up, Heidi Grace Birthday 
• Paper: SU Cool Caribbean, More Mustard, GinaK Luxury White, paw prints DP (unknown)
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU More Mustard, Copics: W1, W4, E71, E74, E33, E08, YR24,  Y02, C-1, C-3, B000
• Accessories: Seweasy fancy floss, Making Memories eyelets

~Olgy

Wine Run Still Counts

The running season is over and the tri season hasn't started yet so I'm happy stamping. I had to postpone my marathon this year due to an injury and illness earlier in the season so I actually did nothing a good part of the winter. It's still ok to go to an end of the season party, right? I got some hilarious Funny Bones stamps from Riley and this one seemed especially appropriate for a thank you card for my coach.

I used the My Favorite Things sketch MFTWSC112 and made this quick, almost CAS, card. The humorous Riley sentiment is for the Riley Blog challenge. I didn't have a wine related image stamp to go along with it, but the wine bottle die cut worked well.  Here's another view with the envelope.

By the way, does anyone have recommendations on a wine glass stamp? I'm looking for one at least 1.5" or larger to go with all the wine related sentiments I bought. Hmm, if someone saw the number of caffeine and alcohol related stamps I own, they might think I have a problem....

Supplies:

• Stamps: Riley Funny Bones Wine Run, SU Sincere Salutations
• Paper: SU Kraft, Baja Blue, Ginger Blossom DP, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, white; Envelope: We R Memory Keepers Down the Boardwalk
• Ink:Chocolate Chip
• Tools: QuicKutz wine bottle die, MFT Die-Namics border, Scor-Pal

~Olgy

MFT New Cave

I have friends who just bought their first house and I want to send some happy mail to their new address. For this card I used the MFT March guest designer sketch. I really liked the sketch and selecting Basic Grey papers for all the different layers, but I didn't leave myself room for a sentiment. The great part is that the clear stamps are so flexible that I was able to take the sentiment from MFT set and manipulate it into a semi circle to fit around an existing die cut. This is the first time I've tried that and am happy with how it turned out. The sentiment reads "Congrats on your new cave." 

Because the pattern paper was already kind of busy, I didn't add a lot of establishments, just the eyelets at the bottom and covered the hair bone with Glossy Accents. Thanks for taking a look.

Supplies:

• Stamps: MFT (My Favorite Things) Pure Innocence Prehistoric Girl
• Paper: SU True Thyme, Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey Archaic Collection - Primitive, Ancient, Prehistoric, Dino
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, SU Always Artichoke, Sky Blue, Copics: E51, E53, RV42, W1, W4, E35, E37, E47
• Accessories: SU Jumbo eyelets, Glossy Accents
• Tools: MFT Die Namics Jumbo Squiggle

~Olgy

Love Fest on Splitcoast

It's the last day for the Love Fest on Splitcoast celebrating member companies and I had a chance to make a couple of cards. This first Tickled Pink card is for Taylored Expressions challenge to create a mini card. It was fun doing something tiny tiny. Overall the design is really simple but I added a small pearl tiara for the piggy for an extra girly touch. 

The second card is for The Cat's Pajamas inspiration challenge. I loved the black/white/yellow combo and created another CAS card using MFT die cuts and Heidi Grace stamps. 

Tickled Pink Card Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Very Punny
• Paper: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose
• Ink:Regal Rose
• Accessories: Decorative trim ribbon in LT pink from Hobby lobby , 
• Tools:Bigz Top Note die cut, Swiss Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder, 1 3/8 & 1 1/4 circle punches

Make a Wish Card Supplies:

• Stamps: Heidi Grace Birthday stamp set
• Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Yoyo Yellow
• Ink: Basic Black, Yoyo Yellow
• Accessories: rhinestones 
• Tools:MFT DieNamics Prima Donna Petals

~Olgy

Basic Grey Guest Designer Week 2

I've had a lot of fun playing along as a guest designer at Basic Grey Challenge blog this month and this time the theme was wide open with anything goes. I find that having the creative freedom to do ANYTHING can often be a lot harder than having a set bounding box. So many ideas flying around, its harder to get started. Well, I ended up combining the BG challenge with LOVEFEST2013C - Bring on the Bling  for this Girls Night Out card.

I stitched the background papers on my sewing machine. The chipboard swirls are embossed with black EP for a uniform look. The girls are colored with Copics and I wanted to color one of the dresses black until I realized I don't actually own a black Copic so instead my Bella wore a sequin dress improvised with Stickles. I'm pretty sure they had a great night out, but I'm off to get more Copics. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Stampingbella Uptown Girls Victoria and Juliette's Night Out
• Paper: SU Basic Grey, Real Red, Basic Grey Among the Ruins from Scarlet's Letter collection
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Real Red, Basic Grey,  Copics: E51, E53, R59, R29, R27, R20, C-1, C-5, Y15, Y21, E33, E35 
• Accessories: Basic Grey chipboard flourishes from Periphery [un]dressed collection, black rhinestonesa, Icicle Stickles, Perfect Pearls
• Tools:Nestabilities, Dienamics flourish, sewing machine

~Olgy

What Vacation?

Ever feel like you need a vacation after a vacation? The house is in a disarray, the chores are waiting, all the work work is piled up... What happened to that peace and relaxation? Despite being exhausted this past week, I'm still glad I managed a short ski getaway this year. New Mexico got some great snow and it was a first time the dogs came with and they were having a blast. Here's a photo from the slopes. Isn't it pretty?

Well, with so much on my plate a quick CAS challenge was a perfect way to knock out a card or two. Both of these are for CFC90 challenge to make a black & white plus one color card. I loved it! My first card is a wedding one, although I could probably use it for a birthday too. I cut off scalloped border from a die cut paper and then cut it into different length strips to make layers on the cake. A few Primas and pearls add a bit of a pop. No stamps on this card... Gasp!

The second card came together in minutes. I used black and white embossed patterned paper as a focal background and added yellow ribbon and embossed sentiment. It looks a bit like a stationary note, but I like it.

Supplies Cake Card:

• Paper: Antique Cream Collection, SU Whisper white
• Accessories: Primas, pearls

Supplies Thank You Card:

• Stamps: SU Sincere Solutations
• Paper: SEI Bissette collection, SU Whisper White
• Ink: Versamark, black EP
• Accessories: SU Ribbon, MFT Die Namics Frame Greetings Die

~Olgy

Technical Difficulties

I actually had a post for you on Thursday, I was saving it as I typed (or so I thought) but couldn't preview it. Without thinking much of it, I decided to close and reopen the page.... As it turned out, it wasn't saving either so I lost the whole thing! I was too frustrated to try and retype it so just fast forwarded to today. 
I'm catching up on some cards after my vacation last week (more on that later) and one of them is a belated non-traditional Valentine card for Riley challenge. My shelves in the craft room are lined with pink right now post Valentines so this challenge was an interesting twist.

I used the Rockstar Riley stamp paired with MFT Lovey-Dovey Sentiments which were perfect together. Instead of the traditional pinks and reds, I used blues and browns. 
Supplies :

• Stamps: Rockstar Riley, Lovey-Dovey Sentiments 
• Paper: SU Whisper White, Basic Grey, Serendipity collection, scraps of brown 
• Ink: SU Buckaroo Blue, Memento Black Tuxedo, Copics: E74, E37, E47, E35, B93, B97
• Accessories: Brads, Basic Grey Urban Couture ribbon

~Olgy

Basic Grey Challenge Guest Designer

I'm super excited to be a designer for Basic Grey challenge blog this month! I love Basic Grey products, especially their paper and I've enjoyed playing along on a few challenges with talented ladies over at Basic Grey Challenges so being a guest designer is an honor. The challenge this week is titled "Your Favourite Challenge"  and the goal is to use favorite stamps, papers, embellishments etc. Here's my card

Fuggy Pudding was my favorite BG paper collection, with Blush being a very close second. All the paper except base cardstock is from Basic Grey including the distressed white piece I stamped the image on. Recently, I've been using a lot of images that I need to color as my focal point and I wanted to do something different here. Turned out to be a little shabby chic, but I like it. Hope you do too.

Supplies  :

• Stamps: Agapanthus cluster by Stampendous
• Paper: SU Baja Blue, Basic Grey Figgy Pudding DP
• Ink: SU Baja Blue, Chocolate chip
• Accessories: Lace, ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware, rhinestone brads

~Olga

Thoughts of Spring

The Bellariffic Tuesday challenge for this week was to create a card with the theme Thoughts of Spring. Well, it's definitely spring here in Austin. Its been getting into 70s during the day for the past few weeks. The trees are budding, my spring flowers are peeking from the ground and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed we won't get a typical February freeze. Spring for me also means the start of the tri season and I'm starting to put together my race schedule. Spring just motivates me to get more done and I'm glad it's early this year!

Here's my spring Bella card. Love the new Uptown Girl collection and that the stamps are cling mounted. I used paper piercing technique on her rain boots and umbrella and the rain boots are slightly stepping out of the main image.  Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies :

• Stamps: Stampingbella Uptown Girl Lolly and Her Brolly
• Paper: SU Certainly Celery, We R Memory Keepers Good Day Sunshine DP
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Copics: E00, E01, E53, Y15, YR04, E33, E35, E47, G21, YG91, YG41, G02, 
• Accessories: Brads, Making Memories shaped clips, SU ribbons
• Tools: Nestabilites

~Olgy

Cup of Latte Card

It's a second day in a row where all I have for you is a card and not much to talk about. It's just a regular, uneventful Monday. A kind of day where I could use a few more cups of coffee, but I'll have to settle for a Latte card instead.

The card was made using the VLVFeb2013 sketch from SCS. I don't have Verve stamps yet, so I'm using one of my old time favorites from Stampin'Up! It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but I punched the window at the bottom of the card using border punch, but didn't punch it all the way to the edges of the card and added brown and pattern paper borders on the inside that show through. The foam on the latte is done with puffy paint and some brown glitter on the top for chocolate shavings. Thanks for taking a look.

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps:Like It a Latte
• Paper:Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, SEI Dill Blossom
• Ink: Always Artichoke, Tulip puffy paint
• Accessories: Brads, SU Chocolate Chip ribbon, Recollecitons Glitter on a Roll
• Tools:MFT Die-namics flourish, circle Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Scallop with 2 Dots punch

~Olgy

Quick Post with Bella Sketch Card

Another weekend flew by, but I got a lot done - worked in the garden, ran, spent time with friends and even made a couple of cards. Here's one for Bellariffic Friday challenge. The sentiment makes me smile every time I see it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies :

• Stamps: Stamping Bella Big Girl Pants
• Paper: SU Basic Black, GinaK White luxury cardstock, Basic Grey Urban Prerie
• Ink:Memento Tuxedo black, Copics: E00, E02, E51, E53, E33, E57, Y21, Y15, YR24, R59, BG10, B000, C-1
• Accessories: Basic Grey ribbon, SEI button, SU jumbo eyelets

~Olgy

Clean and Simple Valentines

I enjoy making CAS cards, especially when I'm short on time. Today I spent most of day day working in the yard so a few quick Valentine cards was all I had time for. I don't know what's happening in Austin, but it's been getting into 70s during the day. It's great, but my garden is convinced it's spring and the plants are waking up from slumber. Unfortunately, the weeds are waking up too. Definitely doesn't feel like February right now. It actually feels like I'm late making these Valentine cards.

For this first card is for CAS-ual Fridays CFC88 challenge - Love Letters. I cut out a heart from felt and attached it to the card by stitching parallel lines on my sawing machine to kind of mimic lines on a notebook paper and added an embossed sentiment.

The second card is for Basic Grey 'Love is in the Air' challenge. I used Basic Grey paper from Blush collection (I stockpiled a few stacks of it a few years ago because I loved it so much). I used Nestabilities die to emboss the edges of the stamped image and I colored the center of the heart with Liquid Pearls.
Thanks for stopping by!

Love Letters Card Supplies :

• Stamps: MFT Valentine Stamp
• Paper:Kraft
• Int: Versamark, Zing! Aqua EP
• Accessories: Felt
• Tools: Sewing machine

Love is in the Air Card Supplies(All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Time Well Spent
• Paper: Whisper White, Basic Grey Blush Collection DP
• Ink: Real Red
• Accessories: Petal Pink Liquid Pearls, rhinestone
• Tools:Square Nestabilities, MFT Die-namics Dainty Dots Border

~Olgy

Riley Golf

The Riley challenge this week was to create a masculine card. I've made my first tri fold card and it came together very quickly except for the handwritten the sentiment. I found some funny golf sayings on the web and instead of printing them out I wanted to work on my handwriting skills. The truth is I really don't like my handwriting and since nowadays I primarily type it hasn't gotten better, but it's something I want to work on. I'm in awe when someone has such a pretty handwriting that they can sign their cards without relying on stamps.

The top is the open view of the card and the bottom is the closed version. I know, I still need a lot of practice, but hopefully the humor makes up for the crooked handwriting.

Supplies :

• Stamps: Riley Golf
• Paper: SU Certainly Celery, Whisper White, We R Memory Keepers Good Day Sunshine DP
• Ink: SU Chocolate Chip, Memento Tuxedo black, Copics: E33, E35, E47, E49, W2, C-3, G21, G40
• Accessories: Basic Grey buttons
• Tools: Scor Pal

~Olgy

MFT Sketches

I was traveling part of last week and couldn't play along with some of the challenges I've been wanting to do weekly. Stamping and sports are so great at relieving stress, but since I haven't been doing much of either lately I've been grumpy. Why is the work week 5 days and weekend only 2?! Don't you sometimes wish you had a choice to work shorter weeks and scale the pay? I'd do that in a heartbeat if I could. Sorry, I don't mean to bring everyone down, after all, I have some cards to share today so it can't be all bad. If you have tips for carving out time for hobbies in a busy schedule or while traveling, I've love to hear them so please leave a comment.

The first card is for My Favorite Things sketch for guest designer challenge. I love the sketch, but don't have a lot of stamps yet and had to use an embossed sentiment instead of an image as a focal point.

The second card if also for MFT, but for the weekly sketch challenge on SCS. The sketch was perfect for using up some pattern paper, which I've been challenging myself to do lately. The die cut flowers and border are from MFT and the sentiment is from Riley. 

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: MFT Valentines set from Dec Triple Scoop, Riley Funny Bones 
• Paper:Real Red, Very Vanilla, Kraft, Basig Grey Blush collection, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Basic Grey Serendipity collection
• Ink: Versamark + red EP, Real Red, More Mustard
• Accessories: Metal heart from Craft Essentials Love & Wedding collection, Heidi Swapp heart shapes
• Tools: Nestabilities, MFT Die-namics Mini Royal Roses, Dainty Dots Border

~Olgy

Riley Make It Sparkle

I started on this card a while ago, but I kept playing around with different embelishments and nothing looked right. Sometimes when that happens it helps me to work on something different and come back to a project, but other times I just start from the beginning. I dind't have time to recolor the picture so I tried to salvage what I've had. Flourishes and Primas don't scream Las Vegas, but this is Vegas in Riley world after all...

I love adding bling to my cards so I have lots of sparkle for this challenge - Stickles on the sign, glitter paper and rhinestones on the flowers. I didn't stick with the actual Vegas sign colors, but you all know that in the stamping world its more important to coordinate with the papers :)

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Welcome to Las Vegas Riley
• Paper: SU True Thyme,  We R Memory Keepers Down the Boardwalk
• Ink: Memnto tuxedo black, Copics: E33, E35, E47, E49, RV21, BG93, Y21, BG15, C-1
• Accessories: MFT Die-namics Fancy Flourish, Prima flowers, rhinestone brads, Stickles, Nestabilities Labels One

~Olgy

CAS Christmas Candy

Popping in for another quick post. I had a chance to play along in the SCS Featured Stamper challenge today and case a cute CAS Christmas card from Allee's gallery. I know, its a little late... or early to be posting Christmas cards, but you could easily change it into a valentines day or birthday card.

The chanages I made from the original were to pop up the candies and wrap them up into clear packaging to look like real hard candies. I repurposed plastic cover from a paper stack, but you can also use the clear envelopes or other gift packaging. I also added silver chord and punched the bottom of the card.

Supplies :

• Stamps: Craftsmart candy stamp from Michaels, SU Best Yet
• Paper: GinaK white, chipboard
• Ink: SU Real Red, Versamark and silver EP
• Accessories: SU silver chord,  plastic packaging
• Tools: Martha Stewart scallop with 2 dots punch

~Olgy

Lulu Loves Poppies and Self Control

For those of you who are just interested in seeing the card for the "Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words" (no sentiments) Bellatastic Tuesday challenge, here is my Lulu Loves Poppies. The sketch is from the weekly MFT106 challenge, but I don't have enough MFT stamps yet that would work well with sketch so instead of fussing with something for a long time to try and make it work, I combined the two challenges. Leaving off sentiments usually isn't a problem for me, I often do that anyway and then I add on an appropriate one when  I'm ready to give the card. It's and old tip I got from someone and I love it because even when my card stash is low I can usually find a card that fits a particular occasion.

For those of you still reading, I have another side story to share about this card. You already know I'm a pattern paper addict, I've mentioned it before. Well right after I bought my Lulu Loves Poppies stamp, while it was still in the mail on its way to me, I was walking through Joann's on a mission to buy a new cutting blade and NOTHING else when I noticed a Heidi Grace Tweet Memories paper stack full of different poppies papers. Ok, I may have taken a slight detour down the stamp isle, but I justified it as being thorough in my search. I was standing there looking at this adorable paper stack, dual sided, with some glittery pages, great colors and a good mix of small and bold patterns and all I could think about is how perfectly it'll coordinate with my future stamp. Never mind that I told myself that I'm only buying one thing that day. Never mind that just that week I was going though my paper storage frustrated that I was out of room and telling myself that I absolutely have to use use some of my existing stash before I can buy any new prints. I decided I had to make an exception because the find was such an incredible coincidence and to top it off the paper was marked 40% off. I mean it just doesn't get better than that.  I grabbed the paper, happy and a little ashamed about my lack of self control at the same time and now, 2 months later it's finally made its way to a project. Please don't judge, at least I kept myself from buying multiples... How about you, what things do you find hard to resist be it paper crafting related or otherwise? I'd love to see your comments.

Supplies  :

• Stamps:Stamping Bella Lulu Loves Poppies
• Paper: SU basic black, Heidi Grace Tweet Memories collection
• Ink:Memento tuxedo black, SU Summer Sun, Copics: R27, R29, R59, RV21, E51, E53, G02, C-1
• Accessories: Making Memories ribbon tag, Glossy Accents
• Tools: Nestabilities oval die, Marta Stewart Arch Lattice punch

~Olgy

Winter Blues

I've come down with something. Not really sure what it is, its a flu or some sort of bug, but I spent the last weekend either in bed or on the couch and had no strength or motivation to do anything else. Even stamp [gasp]! I grabbed my box of Copics and some pre-stamped images and spent 6 hrs laying in bed and coloring. It was soothing and fun at the same time and I felt like a little kid. I also came to the conclusion that I really really need to practice my coloring technique (or lack thereof). I also convinced myself that getting more markers is the key :) All in all I colored 5 images (2 of which are usable) and I bought  30+ markers - seems reasonable, doesn't it? Copics are wonderful, but most of the time I can't dedicate enough time to color and perfect an image like I see so many talented artists do so we'll see how much use my markers will actually get. Hopefully I'll be posting improved cards here over time. 

For now here's a quick clean and simple card for for CASology winter challenge with some simple Copic shading. Love the GinaK 120lbs cardstock because the Copics don't show through the single layer. And I just can't resist adding Stickles or glitter to this image. Thanks for stopping by. 

Supplies :

• Stamps: Pile of Pinguins by Whipper Snapper, SU Warm Words
• Paper: GinaK white cardstock, SU Bashful blue
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copics: B93, B97, B32, G02
• Accessories:Backer's twine, Stickles
• Tools:Oval punches

~Olgy

Basic Grey Blush Cards

I have a slight addiction to pattern paper. On average, for every sheet I use, I buy 10. Alright, sometimes its more. For example, the Basic Grey Blush collection, sure it's gorgeous, but I bought 3 stacks when it came out! Needless to say I still have tons of it. I still love it, but I'm looking for ways to use more DP and put a dent in my stash. This week's Mojo Monday sketch was perfect for that because of all the layers.

Since I already had all the papers laid out on my table, I also made a CAS version of the card for CASual Fridays Thank You card challenge. It's not a typical CAS card because of the pattern paper there's not a lot of white space, but its super quick and easy to make. Just punched out the flower center with a circle punch, added a stamped border and a rhinestone.

Supplies :

• Stamps: SU Seeing Spots, Inkadinkado cupcake
• Paper:Chocolate chip, Basic Grey Blush Collection - Fancy, Adore, Infuse 
• Ink:Chocolate chip, embossing powder; Copics R20, R22
• Accessories: Hobby Lobby pink ribbon, rhinestones
• Tools:Circle punches, piercing tool

~Olgy

Martha Stewart Microbeads

I've had a few jars of Martha Stewart microbeads for a couple of years now. They looked so cute in the bottle I just couldn't resist buying them. However, a few times I've tried them on projects in the past, I've had trouble with them staying put after some time and didn't look like they could make it intact in the mail. 

This time I was determined to find ways to adhere the microbeads and ensure they stay put. Here are a few fun results.

1. Shaker card filling. Since I originally had trouble with the adhesives I tried, the first thing that came to mind was something that didn't require adhesive at all. I wanted to make a shaker card with these for a while and it was perfect for a FS308 SCS challenge card.

You have tto flip the card on the side to uncover the 3rd pinguin. Its a fun little Christmas card. I think microbeads worked really well here, but the only plastic packaging I had was pretty thick so I'm not sure if I can send this card in a regular envelope.

2. Securing microbeads with Crystal Effects or Glossy Accents. This seemed to be the most popular method when I searched online. Definitely works better than regular glue, but I still found that some beads continued to fall off when the project was dry. Gently pressing the beads into the glue helped.

3. I didn't make a project for the 3rd example yet, but this is a Glue Dot covered in microbeads. I'd expect similar results with sticky tapes. They actually seem to stay on pretty well. 

Shaker Card Supplies:

• Stamps: Pile of Pinguins by Whipper Snapper
• Paper: Kraft, Snowfall Ice Blue by Basic Grey
• Ink: White embossing powder
• Accessories: Martha Stewart blue topaz microbeads, rhinestones, clear plastic from packaging
• Tools: EK Success snowflake punch

Bella Card Supplies:

• Stamps: Stamping Bella Pheobe Ketto
• Paper: Very vanilla, Me & My Big Ideas DP, SU Bali Breeze DP, shimmery pink cardstock from stationary store
• Ink: Memento tuxedo black, SU Sahara Sand (for sponging)
• Accessories: Stickles, liquid pearls, Glossy Accents, metal tag (sorry forgot the brand), lace
• Tools: Nestabilities

~Olgy