Birthday Card | Cut It Up! Challenge #201 - "Boys Will Be Boys" Masculine Project

Hello There!

I'm so excited to be sharing this masculine project with you today as we start a new challenge at the Cut It Up! Blog: "Boys Will Be Boys!" Our generous sponsor, Wendy from Digital Delights by Louby Lou, is donating a $5 gift code to her on-line store. She provided the digital papers that the design team used to create an amazing group of steampunk-ish inspired projects! Go check'em out!!!

I created a connected gear cover plate with a 1/4" outside frame (in the Cricut Design Space) to fit onto the front of an A2-sized card. I die cut this image twice from heavy-weight dark gray card stock and glued the cuts together. I ink-blended, spattered and dry brushed the gears to add age and metal accents. I decided that I wanted some additional single gears to be attached to the inside of the shaker so I die cut and colored them in the same way.

I printed the digital oxidized/gradated background paper, cut it to size, adhered it to an A2 card stock panel with tape runner and spattered it with gold, copper and silver inks. I used the cover plate to determine where to place the single gear pieces and glued them into place on the background paper.

I adhered a piece of acetate to the back of the cover plate frame with Scor-Tape and added a 1/8" wide strip of double thickness foam tape around the entire outside frame on top of the acetate. I gently rubbed my anti-static powder tool along the inside edge of the exposed foam tape to remove some of the tackiness, blew out the excess powder and peeled off the release paper. I dumped a mix of metal-colored sequins onto the background and gently placed the acetate cover frame on top. The gold heat embossed sentiments were attached to the front with glue dots to finish up the card.

I have never tried a project quite like this before and was happy with the way my finish turned out on the gear pieces - sometimes you just never know??? This is why I like challenges that push you a bit out of your comfort zone! 

Additional Challenges:

Artsystamper Digitals Challenge - #16 It's a Guy Thing

Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge "We're Going Around in Circles"

The Paper Girls #200 - "All About Boys"

Inkspirational - Word Prompt - SHAKE

Krafty Chicks - #509 - Occasions

Your Next Stamp Challenge #140 - Sparkle and Shine

Thanks for spending time with me today and we can't wait to see your masculine projects over on the Cut It Up! Challenge - and don't forget the die cut!

Rachelle ♥

Christmas Card | Christmas Card Creations - "Use a Die Cut"

Hi!

We have another great challenge this month over on the Christmas Craft Creations Blog..."Use a Die Cut". My reminder card uses a lot of coordinating paper in a somewhat non-traditional holiday color palette (which I absolutely LOVE!) Head over to see the wonderful Design Team inspiration projects!

This merry little mouse and gift box were die cut with Cricut images. I added a chunky glitter to the gift bow and adhered it to the box. To add a bit of texture to the mouse, I used a black matte brad for his eye, a piece of ink-blended felt to create the ear and a small pink pom pom for his nose. I tied a piece of red silk ribbon around his neck as a scarf and that finished him up!

All that was left to do was to trim the two pattern papers to size, adhere them onto a top-folding A2 card base and run a length of plush ric rac along the seam. I layered a piece of white card stock onto a dark teal base, attached the mouse/gift with tape runner and mounted this finished panel to the card front with strong two-sided tape. 

Additional Challenges:

Path of Positivity Challenge - #80 - Opt. Twist - Furry or Feathered Friends

Christmas With The Cuties - #38 - AG with Ribbons or Bows

Allsorts Challenge - #573 - Ginghams, Stripes and Dots

Crafty Catz Challenge #507 - Spots and/or Stripes

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - #556 Christmas

Cute Card Thursday - #635 - Critters

Sparkles Christmas Forum - #112 - Add Ribbon, Lace or Twine

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - #72 - Anything Goes

Try It On Tuesdays - Cut It Out! 

Thanks so much for joining me and for all of your comments! They make my day!

Rachelle ♥

Encouragement Card | Picket Fence Studios - "Sunshine Friends" | Alphabet Challenge "D" is for Dry Embossing

Sending paper hugs out today!

We have a great new challenge beginning today over on the Alphabet Blog - "D" is for Dry Embossing! There are so many different ways to use this technique and the one I chose was to use a stencil as my embossing/printing tool!

I recently bought several of the older "Sunshine Friends" Stamp Sets from Picket Fence Studios and the one I used is called "You Are My Sunshine!", which was released in 2018. This was my first order with Picket Fence and I was so surprised to find a free gift included in my package - the "Triangle Collage Stencil". This is such a nice image and it reminded me of sun rays and so I decided to use it as my sunny background behind the main image! Thanks to the Picket Fence Folks for this lovely gift!

I ink blended my main panel with Fossilized Amber and Wild Honey Distress Oxides, spattered it with pearlized ink and die cut it with an A2 stitched rectangle die; this panel was glued onto a top-folding A2 card base. 

The stencil was lightly inked with the same inks, carefully placed onto a piece of white card stock and run through my die cutting machine - this created an embossed/inked image that has a letter press feel. I spattered this panel, die cut it with MFT's Elegant Rectangle Die and glued it onto the card front. The sunshine girl was stamped, colored and fussy cut. I heat embossed the sentiment with white powder on black card stock and trimmed it to size. I popped both of these images into place with foam tape and added light yellow sequins to the circular points on the embossed stencil. I love that this looks like happiness is radiating around her!

I used the stencil in the traditional way to ink blend a positive background to the inside and it was a cool effect when you opened the card...I love it when a plan comes together! Yippee!

Thanks so much for joining me today and head over to the Alphabet Challenge Blog to see the great projects and inspiration from the Design Team!

Additional Challenges:

Creative Knockouts #351 - Embossing Delight

Aud Sentiments #251 - Anything Goes + Sentiment

Crafter's Cafe - #242 - Feminine

STAMPlorations - Anything Goes / Stencil

Retro Rubber Challenge #135 - Tic - Tac - Toe (Flowers/Embossing/Die Cut)

Tuesday Throwdown #457 - Tic-Tac-Toe - (Image/Die/Embossing)

Use Your Stuff #398 - Patterns

I truly appreciate your comments!

Rachelle ♥

One Word Wednesday - "HAPPY" | Hello Bluebird - "Bee Happy" Stamp Set

Hey There!

I'm starting a new Wednesday Series that will feature a large one-word focus and today's word is "HAPPY!" I have paired this large die cut (free image to download below) with Hello Bluebird's adorable images and I hope this card will remind the recipient to BEE HAPPY on their birthday!

I used washi tape to create the pattern border stripes at the bottom of an A2 horizontal fold card base. A piece of 3.25" x 5.5" white card stock was embossed with a honey comb pattern, and glued to the card front. I created the word image in the Cricut DS and glued/stacked together three die cuts to give me dimension/stability. 

I stamped, colored and die cut the bee/dandelion images and then adhered them into place. The "happy" die cut was popped into place with foam tape and iridescent enamel dots finished off the card. I just love the cute expression on this bee's face as he lounges on the dandelion! The inside reads: "Happy Bee-Day - Wishing You a Wonderful Birthday!"

Challenge Submissions:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - "We're All A-Buzz"

AAA Birthday - #13 - Things with Wings

Tuesday Throwdown #457 - Tic-Tac-Toe - Embossing/Die/Image

Animal Friends Challenge - Insects

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Through the Purple Haze - AG W/Opt Twist - Black and White #167

Crafty Creations - AG #409

Sisterhood of Crafters - Birds, Bees or Butterflies

To Bee or Not To Bee Blog Hop

Thanks so much for joining me today and for taking the time to comment!

Rachelle ♥

Birthday Card | Sparkles Monthly Challenge "Use a Real Stamp" - Lawn Fawn

Hola!

Sharing a festive bridge card card with you today that mixes Hero Arts, MFT Stamps and Lawn Fawn products together! I did some friendly bargaining with one of my neighbors and traded some homemade face masks for hand crafted birthday cards; this special creation was designed for her daughter! This is also my DT submission for the new challenge over on the Sparkles Monthly Blog - "Use a Real Stamp (Non-Digi)." 

Using a stencil, I ink-blended a large cloud panel with Salty Ocean DO Ink and spattered it with water. This card ended up being 5.5" x 7" and I trimmed the cloud panel to fit the 5 sides of my scored bridge card base and adhered them in place. I really like how this creates a continuous sky in this scene!

I colored two sets of Hero Arts' Tree Arch Fancy Die and glued stacked them together. Once I determined where I wanted my piñata to hang, I trimmed and scored the trees in order to fit inside. Similarly, I die cut/ ink blended two grassy border panels the scored them the same way to fit behind the trees to give me more dimension. I began the assembly by adhering the grassy panel in place inside the niche using strong two-sided tape and then added the trees in the same way. I LOVE the shadows and depth created by these trees!

The Lawn Fawn piñata was stamped/colored/die cut and hung from the tree with a piece of twine. I cut stitched Ric Rac strips using MFT Stamps' Die in colors to match my piñata and glued them together to create my bottom border. The ric rac band was reinforced by gluing it to a smaller piece of white card stock before adhering it to the card front. This really helped keep the card together since this is the pressure point necessary for stability. The sentiments and sequins were added to finish up the card. 

We can't wait to see your stamping skills over in our Sparkles Monthly Gallery!

Additional Challenges:

Watercooler Wednesday - All About Occasions #271

Cute Card Thursday #634 - Birthdays!

Cardz 4 Galz #121 - Birthday

Crafty Creations - May #409- Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge #54 - Use Dies

Southern Girls - May - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz #506 - AG Opt. Twist - Outdoors

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!

Rachelle ♥

Graduation Card | Cut It Up! Challenge #200 - "Shoot For The Stars"

Hello!

We've got a stellar new theme over on the Cut It Up! Challenge Blog..."Shoot For The Stars!" We would love to see any type of congratulatory projects featuring stars or star motifs! Our wonderful sponsor, Karin Martin from DRS Designs, provided the Design Team with a selection of amazing images (including the large sentiment stamp spotlighted on my graduation card!) Karin is giving a $20 gift code to the winner of this challenge and we can't wait to see your projects in our gallery! And remember,  don't forget the die cut! : )

The background panel was ink-blended with Shaded Lilac, Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide Inks, spritzed with shimmer spray and spattered with gold watercolor; this panel was die cut with an A2 stitched rectangle die. I die cut a thin frame to fit just inside of the stitching from heavy white card stock and glued it into place. The silhouettes were created in the Cricut Design Space and die cut from #110 black card stock (see free template below.) The hands were cut to size using the same frame die and glued at the bottom. After prepping the background panel with my anti-static powder tool, I stamped the sentiment with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it with gold powder. This embossed image shown brightly on this background! I adhered the front panel to a top-folding A2 card base and finished up this project by adding the flying hats and matte gold stars!

This was the inside sentiment (Pinkfresh Studio - now-retired Word Series: Brilliant) I chose for my niece who is graduating from high school - she really is powerful, brilliant and brave!!!

Thanks so much for joining me today and for your inspiring comments...they make my day!

Additional Challenges:

Bitten By The Bug - Graduation (of Any Sort)

Crafty Cardmakers - Celebrations #256

Watercooler Wednesday - All About Occasions #271

Aud Sentiments #251 - Anything Goes + A Sentiment

Rachelle ♥

Birthday Card | Alphabet Challenge "C" is for Checks - Stampin' Up "Birthday Wit" & "Birthday Brew"

Hi!

Today we start a new theme at the Alphabet Challenge..."C" is for Checks and I decided to go with a fun, quirky stamp set from Stampin' Up! that I have never used before entitled "Birthday Wit" and I LOVE this sentiment! I chose a bold graphic design for this card, mixing a dotted stencil pattern (see free pattern below - I created and cut in Cricut Design Space) with the black & white checker board strip, and when I finished it up I realized that it reminds me of the old NYC yellow taxicabs! I spattered the sentiment panel with metallic watercolors and added a few clear sparkling sequins to up the shine factor!

I decided to add a surprise pop-up feature inside since this card was going to a special friend who eats a very healthy diet but splurges on a beer or two for her "Cinco de Mayo" Birthday! I ink-blended another panel, die cut it and added the pop-up cut in the center; this panel was glued inside the outer card front. I stamped, die cut and assembled the the beer bottle images (Stampin' Up's "A Birthday Brew"). The bottles were adhered to the pop-up with foam tape and I added the inside sentiments to finish off the card! This quick pop-up added a big bang to this card and was so easy to create!

Thanks so much for stopping by and we can't wait to see your "checks" projects in the Alphabet Challenge Gallery!

Here is the free stencil pattern for you to download:

Additional Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Use Dies and/Or Punches

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Happy Birthday or Fun Fold or Both

Get Creative Challenge #91 - Make It Sparkly

Crafty Cardmakers - #256 Celebrations

Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge - Spritz & Splatter

Die Cut Divas - May - Make It A Beverage

The Male Room - #135 - Sentiment in Focus

Krafty Chicks - #506 - Week 1 - Stamp Act 

Thanks so much for all of your comments!
Rachelle ♥

All Occasion Card | Cut It Up! Challenge #199 - "Friends"

Hey Everyone!

Thanks so much for stopping by as we start another Cut It Up! Challenge! We are need some positivity right now and our very timely theme is "Friends"! I'm sure we all have people we are missing in our lives right now and we would love to see any projects celebrating, thanking or representing friends/friendship - and don't forget the die cut! The design team has come up with some great inspiration for you so head on over to the Cut It Up! Blog to check it out! We are lucky to have TWO GENEROUS Sponsors for this challenge: Shery Russ (STAMPlorations/$20 Gift Code) who provided the design team with a wonderful selection of her CUTplorations Dies for us to use on our projects and Michele Gross, who owns CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! She has offered one winner a $20 gift code as well!

I began with a simple distress oxide ink blended background and added extra pattern with a simple mandala stencil that reminds me of fireworks! I spritzed this panel with gold shimmer mist, spattered it with metallic watercolor and cut it with a dotted rectangular die. This panel was glued onto the front of an A2 stitched rectangle die cut and set aside. 

I die cut the "Life Is Good" CUTplorations Phrase sentiment six times - two from black card stock and four from white card stock. These were carefully glued together in pairs. I stamped one set of white card stock dies with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed it with gold powder; this process was repeated two more times and produces a foiled effect. Once cooled/dry, I glued the embossed sentiment die cut just offset from the black version and then added the white cut offset as well. This gave me a really dimensional effect that pops right off the card front!

I stamped the additional sentiment by mixing and matching words from MFT's "Bitty Thanks and Gratitude", which is an awesome set of great small sentiments/words. I cut several words separately and put them back together using the MISTI to create my final thought. This was stamped with VersaMark Ink, heat embossed with the same gold powder and trimmed with a skinny sentiment strip die. This long strip was glued into place on the bottom of the front panel and the stacked die cut was popped just above it with small bits of foam tape. I added a mix of coordinating sequins to finish off the card and the entire panel was adhered onto an A2 top-folding white card base.

This card really sparkles and has a festive, celebratory feel to it...I can't wait to share this one with a very special long-time friend! Hope to see your "Friend" projects in our Cut It Up! Gallery!

Additional Challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz - #243 Use Dies as the Main Element

Watercooler Wednesday - #269 Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

The Male Room - #135 Sentiment In Focus 

Krafty Chicks - #505 Anything Goes

Southern Girls - Anything Goes

Art Impressions - Best Friends Challenge

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!

Rachelle ♥