Summertime Birthdays Can Be So Cool!

The Woodware team are celebrating summertime birthdays this week. Since my own birthday is the 24th of June, I qualify. I never liked having a summer birthday growing up, as school was over, leaving me with no chance to treat my class to cupcakes, or to feel like a "big deal" to my classmates. On the other hand, our family vacations were usually right after school was out in June, so my birthday was celebrated on one of our holidays. On one of these, we met up with both sets of grandparents in Montana. My grandmother on my father's side somehow had baked me a chocolate cake, but there were no candles for the top. So my Gran (mother's side) used pink nail polish to paint some matches to stick on top of the cake. I had to blow them out really quick! It was one of my best birthday memories!

Now that I've reminisced, I'll share with you this sweet House Mouse Designs' card that is perfect for a summertime birthday. No chocolate cake here, but there is plenty of icy cold ice cream to be shared! The image is the House Mouse Ice Cream Kitty, and has been colored with markers in yummy sherbet colors, that also happen to match some very bright tags and cording.

For the fun of it, I placed the card in a translucent envelope so that the recipient gets a "sneak peek" at their lovely card. I happened to have the envelope on hand, but you can easily create your own with the Artemio Envelope Template and Vellum Paper.

Yummy! I just had to add a few ice cream drips off the mouse, because...hey! Ice cream can be messy, especially in the summer! I added a very simple sentiment from the Stampendous Birthday Assortment clear stamps on a small part of tag for a unique styling to this card.

Be sure to check the Woodware Witterings blog each day this week for more summertime fun!

With a Little Bit of Luck

Graduations aplenty have been swarming this season, and I wish every single one of the graduates, "a little bit of luck", as navigating this world is never easy.  It also happens to be the weekly challenge for the Woodware team. Sometimes with luck, the stars need to be aligned just perfectly, for all of that hard work to pay off. And speaking of stars...don't you love the Star Swirls stencil from Dreamweaver? For this card, I've pasted it in silver, and sprinkled it with Stampendous Aged Black Embossing Enamel. When heated all of these items melt and bubble for beautiful shine and texture. This panel was popped up above the card base with the Dreamweaver Dot Spiral pasted in Glossy Black for a cool black on black effect. A strip of the negative portion of die-cut letters from the Dreamweaver Alphabet set was adhered over mirror cardstock to finish the card. If you've missed the rest of the team posts this week, head on over to the Woodware Witterings blog.

Color Blocking with Woodware

This week on this side of the "pond", the USA have been celebrating our "Independence" from YOUR side of the "pond". Lol. Good naturedly, of course. Our theme this week on the Woodware blog is "Colorblocking", which is always an effective way to highlight an image in a different way. For my Fourth of July/Independence Day card, I used three colors of core paper, designed to be embossed and then sanded to reveal the design. The design that I chose was the Dreamweaver Fireworks Embossing Folder, but can easily be done with the stencil version as well. I had one large panel of each color to run through my embossing machine with the folder. Once embossed, they were sanded lightly to reveal the design, and cut into thirds to be adhered on three cards.

The sentiment uses images from a few Stampendous Perfectly Clear sets, including the Vintage Alphabet set. This same design would work well for several occasions, including Christmas, as it's a quick way to complete three cards at once! For more color-blocking ideas, visit the Woodware Witterings blog.

Woodware/Crafty Cardmakers Challenge

The Woodware team are playing along with the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers once again. This time the theme is "Shabby Chic". I thought this canvas would be perfect for this.

Featuring the Stampendous Birds with Blossoms Stamp set and matching set of dies, along with Andy Skinner's crackle background stamp from the Stampendous Industrial set, the Vintage Decor stencil from Dreamweaver, a bit of embossing paste, a bit of acrylic paint, a sprinkling of Stampendous Color Fragments, patterned paper, and a large 12 inch square canvas, this was layers of shabby chic fun!

Shown here, the Vintage Decor stencil is pasted in Glossy White, and when dry, given a wash of light blue thinned paint. The Dreamweaver Faux Cross Stitch screen was used with a dauber and ink to add textural interest over the various sections of the canvas.

Here, the Vintage Decor was stenciled with Frisket, a resist medium, and when a wash of pink went over the top, the frisket could be rubbed off having resisted the paint.

The matching die set for the Birds with Blossoms stamp set makes it easy to add additional shapes for more interest. Finally, the washed panel was torn to reveal a pretty paper underneath.

The canvas itself had been washed with blue paint, and stamped with the crackle design using black ink.

Hip, Hip, Hooray! It's Janelle's Birthday!

The Stampendous team is having a surprise party today! It's Janelle Stollfus' birthday, and we want her to have an extra-special one...filled with lots of friends, family, food and fun as the sentiment on my card suggests. Janelle is the team "wrangler", "cat herder", and uber-patient assistant to Laura Weed (who is our Grand Pooh-bah). She deals with most of the social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest), writes the blog posts for the Stampendous Impressions blog, gathers all of our links for each weekly challenge as well as the plethora of blog hops that we have with our crafting buddies. Oh, and so many little things, that most of us are unaware of, to promote the Stampendous team and products. She is one really busy girl. And all of this while planning fabulous birthday parties for her kids, family fun, and the ho-hum-everyday-household-stuff as well! She's pretty amazing! Please wish her a happy birthday in your comments! Head over to the Stampendous blog for more birthday links!

The card above features the Stampendous Balloon Duo stencil set and the Perfectly Clear Birthday Assortment set, plus Glossy Black Embossing Paste, and a background inside created with the Creative Palette. All items can be found on the Stampendous website HERE.

Woodware: A Flower Free-for-all!

Over on the Woodware Witterings blog, the team has been challenge this week to a "Flower Free-for-all". Can I just say that I have hundreds of stamps, stencils, and paper that qualify? It was really hard to narrow it down to just one card. I love this one. 

 

This card features the Dreamweaver Large Orchids stencil design, pasted first in Matte Black, and then in Crackle Paste. The Crackle Paste dries white, so I replaced the cleaned stencil over the design, and proceeded to stencil on pigment ink. With the ink still wet, I sprinkled on Stampendous Crystal Embossing Powder for added sparkle. I ink-stenciled a soft background on the focal panel and the purple panel using the Dreamweaver Quatrefoil stencil, and added a sweet sentiment from Stampendous.

Be sure to visit the Woodware blog for more floral inspiration!

Gifts from the Sea

Today is my birthday, and there is no place I'd rather be for it than the seaside, which I fully plan to be (as I'm writing this post). I love all of the treasures of the sea, so I created this mixed media bottle of shells and sand using oodles of fun products from Stampendous and their crafty partners.

First of all, I mixed a bit of Dreamweaver Pearlescent and Translucent Pastes on my craft mat, and brushed the surface of the bottle with this, leaving space for the seahorse to be added. A heavy sprinkling (more like coating) of Teal Micro Glitter was added over the wet paste, and the bottle was set aside to dry.

I taped the Seahorse stencil to the bottle, and pasted it in Metallic Gold. While wet, the paste was sprinkled with Stampendous' Golden Sand Embossing Enamel, and heated it until puffy and set. I followed a similar process on the sides of the bottle with the Waves and Dots stencil, and embossed with Aged Teal Embossing Enamel. Little bits of sprinkles were added to the warmed bottle and melted to mimic bubbles, etc. A bit of Regular Embossing Paste was added to the bottom edge of the bottle, sprinkled with more Golden Sand, and heated for more dimension.

Now comes the really fun part! I adhered some May Arts® webby ribbon, an Aged Teal embossed starfish, some gold tinsel, shells which I embossed in gold, around the neck of the bottle with Beacon Quick Grip adhesive.

I brushed a bit of Beacon® Fast Finish™ over the surface, and sprinkled it with Teal Color Fragments, and adhered a flat glass marble using the Quick Grip again.

To "top this off", I used an interesting wine cork which I inked a bit on, and embossed partly in the Aged Teal EE. I had a cool shanked button for the top, so I dug a small indentation in the cork, and Quick Gripped that frosted button onto the top. This was just the kind of project that I loooooove to make! How about some more seaside inspiration? Here you go...
You can find all the details on the Stampendous! Impressions blog.

By the Seaside Mini Canvases

Three mini canvases to brighten up your decor for the summer! All created using Dreamweaver stencils by Stampendous (Sea Turtle, Sandcastle, and OiOi Fish) with Matte Black Embossing Paste, and Aged Spice and Golden Sand embossing enamels.

The base of each canvas was painted with a mixture of Dreamweaver Pearlescent Paste and Translucent Paste and sprinkled with Color Fragments.

I love the chunky sides on these canvases!

Each canvas also features one of the sentiments from the new Perfectly Clear Ocean Wisdom stamp set, which has been doodled around for more substance.

A bit of Beacon® Fast Finish was brushed over the surface and sprinkled with Stampendous Teal Micro Glitter.

Make these as gifts, or as a fun addition to the beach cottage in your dreams! But wait, there's more. Visit my teammates posts on the link list from the Stampendous Impressions blog.

Collecting Seashells by the Sea Shore

Yes. I'm a collector. I collect feathers, driftwood, sea glass, rocks ('cuz hey, my dad was a geologist!), and a lot of seashells! Apparently, for just such an occasion as this!

I love to add nature to my projects, and this one features it all. However, the basis for all this was the new Cling Rubber Seashells set of stamps from Stampendous, and their matching dies. I created this tray/wall hanging using a small painted tray from the Target Dollar section (actually was $3), which I white-washed with some thinned white DecoArt® acrylic paint. I added a heavier coat to the slats inside the tray.

I stamped several of the shells on tissue paper with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and colored them with Copic Sketch Markers. The shells were then die cut, and decoupaged onto the slats with Beacon® Fast Finish™...my favorite "go to" for decoupage. I white-washed a bit over the shells, brushed more Fast Finish on, and sprinkled Stampendous Color Fragments over the wet surface.

Now I pulled out my nature collection, and began to adhere rocks, shells, sticks, feathers, and Color Fragments, to the inside, along with my favorite May Arts® web ribbon in teal, using Beacon® Quick Grip™. Using a die cut (Fitted Frames) piece of teal blue cardstock, I swiped a bit of white paint in the center, and when dry, I stamped one of the great Perfectly Clear Ocean Wisdom Sentiments on my "sign" before adhering it to a piece of driftwood. I used a couple more pieces of driftwood, wrapped in the rope handles of the tray, and tied with twine to create the handles for the tray/wall hanging.

Finally, for a bit more visual "weight" in the upper left corner, I stamped shells on a piece of May Arts® Cotton Ribbon, tied it in a bow, adding more web, a button, and a tiny twine bow.

Pour yourself a nice glass of lemonside, and imagine yourself at the seaside while you visit the rest of the team players for today...
You can find the links on the Stampendous! Impression blog.

It's Raining Cats and Dogs (and Hummingbirds and Frogs)!

Rebel that I am, when challenged to a theme of "Raining Cats and Dogs", I took the raining literally, but skipped the cats and dogs and went with "Hummingbirds and Frogs". Mainly, I just wanted to post this fun card. Using the Stampendous Pop Up Die Set, I cut the insert from their Mixed Media White cardstock, and proceeded to Dreamweaver it up! I used the "Rain" stencil and the scalloped edge of the Picasso tool to ink-stencil a cloudy and rainy background using a light blue ink. The foreground was inked in lime green before ink-stenciling the "Petals" Background over it in teal blue. This was folded and adhered inside the card base.

I paper-pieced from turquoise pre-embossed paper the Umbrella stencil onto a cutout of the umbrella in black. Bright pink pompoms were added along the edge and top before curving it, and adhering it to an inked bamboo "skewer", which was inserted into the center pop-up slit. I stamped, colored, and cut out the Stampendous "Pen Pattern Frog" and "Pen Pattern Hummingbird". These were adhered to the base bump-out and one of the upper die cut flaps. To complete the card, I die cut blue and white "Nested Frames" (also ink-stenciled with the Petals background), stamped a sentiment from the Stampendous Perfectly Clear "Life Words" set (and its tiny border additions), and adhered this to the bottom of the card. A strip of web ribbon from May Arts with some sprinkles of Stampendous Color Fragments, was adhered for more textural interest.

If you'd rather go back to "Raining Cats and Dogs" now, I totally understand. I love cats and dogs. We have two floofy freeloaders, and a new puppy ( 5 months) that has stolen our hearts! 

Be sure to check out the C & D creations over on the Woodware Witterings blog.

Be Happy! Life is a Picnic!

The Woodware team are celebrating "happy days" this week. There are so many to choose from! Birthdays, weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, etc. My card celebrates the happy times of summer...especially picnics! I have great memories of picnics with family and friends.

This card features the Stampendous Cling "Life Picnic" sentiment, the Cling "Lunch Line" (yum), and the Cling "Picnic Ants". This last was stamped as a border along the bottom of the white card. The food bandits were stamped on white cardstock and colored with markers, edged with red ink, and adhered to a ClearScraps® acrylic banner. The checkerboard pattern was done with Glossy Red Embossing Paste using the Dreamweaver OpArt Checkerboard. This piece was adhered to the card with Foam Mounting Tape, and ribbons were attached for fun.

Hope your days are filled with happy!

Shaking Things Up with the Woodware Challenge

Over the years I've done a few "shaker cards", all with the element of FUN. Birthday fun. Kid fun. Goofy and silly fun. This time I went for PRETTY. Using the "Time Flies" paper pad, I started with a panel adhered to the front of my purple card. I carefully selected a panel from another paper with a purple and blue butterfly that would show through the opening on top. I matted this panel with lavender cardstock, and set it aside.

I die cut a lavender frame using the Stampendous Fitted Frames die set, and stamped a sentiment from the Clear Magic "Tiny Phrases" set from Woodware. I had the negative portion of a piece of vellum which I had die cut one of the Stampendous Butterflies. I sprayed the back with spray adhesive and adhered it to a panel of clear acetate. Now I adhered the lavender frame over the front.

All the way around the back of this panel I adhered foam tape with no gaps. (Mind the gap!) Using some Stampendous Color Fragments, I added sprinkles to the inside of the taped panel. I removed the carrier from the tape and adhered the matted panel from earlier, sealing in the "pretty" sprinkles. The entire shaker panel was then adhered to the card. The result? A very PRETTY shaker card!

Showers of Summer Fun with House Mouse Designs®

All this week the Stampendous team has been preparing to keep cool this summer along with the House Mouse Designs® friends. You, too? Jump on in...the water's fine! Look how much fun Monica is having under the downspout! Almost like, "Singing in the rain"! 

The Cling "Spigot Soak" image was colored with Copic markers, and then I fussy cut our little mouse friend and the spigot so that I could make her stand out from the rock wall. To highlight the water spray, I added drops of DecoArt® Liquid Glass. It is hard to photograph, but trust me...those droplets look REAL!

For this House Mouse Designs® card, we have a squirrel helping the mice to cool off with a watering can shower. Everybody say, "Awwwwwwwwwww"! So cute!

The Cling Squirrel Showers image was colored with Faber-Castell® Aquarelle pencils. Some parts I brushed with water, and others I left with the sketchy color pencil look. The panel was layered and adhered to a piece of gorgeous Oceanside by MyColorsCardstock. I added a banner piece with a sentiment from the Perfectly Clear House Mouse Designs® "Beary Mice" set, and a button with a bit of twine.

More summer fun can be found at these links...

Stampendous Blog

Pam Bray

Laura Drahozal

Janelle Stollfus

Pam Hornschu

Kristine Reynolds

Lea Fritts (Thursday Post)

Lea Fritts