"Ruff" Time

Have you seen the new doghouse stamps and dies (found here) that came out this month from The Stamps of Life?  They are super cute!  And they are perfect for making cards for all of those dog lovers that you may know. 

I created this card using a variety of Stamps of Life products.  The card base is the amazing Basics Step-ups Die Set (found here) by Sizzix.  This is one of my "go-to" die sets because it is so versatile and it allows you to be really creative and add plenty of dimension to your cards.  I added two fences by cutting with my fence die (found here) on heavy white cardstock.  I wanted to give the fence a slightly "aged" look by sponging the base and tips with a little bit of Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink.  For the rain drops, I used my Umbrella4you stamp set (found here) with Tsukineko VersaMark clear ink and then heat embossed them with white embossing powder.  I wanted the rain drops to have a slightly raised look & feel to them and heat embossing is great for providing this effect!  I used my Copic alcohol markers to color the doghouse, dog, dog bowl and tree base.

On a side note, the dog in the stamp set is actually smiling.  However, I wanted mine to look a little bit the way that my dog did any time that she got in "trouble".  In order to do this, I masked the smile when I stamped her image and drew in the little frown with an extra-fine tip black marker.

If you're not one into coloring, it would be very simple to stamp these images on either solid or patterned cardstock, cut and simply attach to the base.

Thanks for looking!   

    



Products Used:

1) Sizzix Basic Step-ups Card Die Set
2) House4cookie (Dog House)
3) Birthday4cookie
4) Treats4cookie 
5) Sizzix Flowers & Fence Stamps & Dies
6) Umbrella4you Stamp Set by The Stamps of Life
7) Sizzix Triplits Hello Sunshine (for the clouds)
8) The Stamps of Life Grass Die
9) Sizzix Birds & Trees Stamps & Dies 

Sizzix Rectange/Gift Card Flit-its

Hello!  Today I would like to share a card that I made using the Sizzix Rectangle/Gift Card Flip-its Card Set (found here).  This die set is amazing!  It takes all of the hard work out of the equation. It also comes with a nifty little die that can turn this card into a gift card holder! The hardest part is choosing what color paper you want to use!  Fortunately, I had all of my color options picked out for me by using The Stamps of Life "Believe" April Card Kit (found here).  I recently joined the Stamps of Life Card Kit Club (you can never have too much patterned paper, right?) and I love it! These kits are great!  Each month, Card Kit Club members receive a box full of coordinating cardstock & patterned paper, an exclusive stamp & die set and matching embellishments.  Although the kit is not necessary for making beautiful cards, it does help you save time by taking away any guesswork.  Everything coordinates! 

In this card, I simply used the dies from the Sizzix Gift Card Flip-its set for my base and side panel layers.  The base of the card was created from Strawberry Cardstock from the Stamps of Life (found here).  For the front of the card, I used some stitched rectangles dies by My Favorite Things (found here) for layering.  The Stamps of Life also offer a nice set of stitched rectangle dies that are a little less expensive.  I just happened to receive my set as a gift and love them.  The cute little cupcake was cut from the Sizzix Triplits Cupcakes Die Set (found here).  I used my "Believe" patterned paper for the base of the cupcake and outlined it with some solid "Ocean Cardstock" from The Stamps of Life (found here).  The top of the cupcake was cut from white felt and is shadowed by solid plain white cardstock.  For the candle, I added some gold glitter to the flame to give it a little more life.  The embellishments on the cupcake are some teal and sapphire rhinestones.  You can pretty much embellish the cupcake any way you want.  I just used what I had on hand.

I added a bow with "Ocean Dots" polka dot ribbon (also included in this month's card kit).  When using patterned ribbon, you'll need to follow a few different steps if you want the patterned side of the ribbon to show!  If you tie it the way that you normally would, one side of the ribbon will be showing the pattern and the other part will be showing the solid underside.  I have found this video by Kerry's Paper Crafts (here) to be very helpful in figuring out how to tie bows with patterned ribbon properly.

Lastly, I used the Sizzix Tags & Words Stamps & Dies (found here) for my sentiment.  I simply cut it on white cardstock, added some Bundled Sage distress ink and tied it to the ribbon with some baker's twine.  The small little wooden flower at the bottom left-hand side of the card also came from The Stamps of Life April Club Kit.

Thanks for looking!  Feel free to message me with any comments or questions.

Products Used:

1) Sizzix Rectangle/Gift Card Flip-its Card Set
2) The Stamps of Life April Card Kit Club
3) Sizzix Triplits Cupcake Die Set
4) My Favorite Things Die-Namics Stitched Rectangles
5) The Stamps of Life Strawberry Cardstock
6) The Stamps of Life Ocean Cardstock
7) Sizzix Tags & Words Stamps & Dies

Let's Do Lunch

I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous and yet excited to be starting my blog! This is completely out of my comfort zone since I usually tend to shy away from social media.  But, it's never too late to try!  The first card that I wanted to share with you is one that I made using products from The Stamps of Life by Stephanie Barnard (The Stamps of Life).  I can't say enough about this company or its products.  They are absolutely amazing and not to mention reasonably priced!  This was the first box card that I had ever made and it did take some time.  However, I think (now that I know what I'm doing) it will be a lot easier the second time around.  It was totally worth the effort as my recipient loved it!  I used the Stamps of Life Exclusive Box Card Die set for my base.  This die set is SO versatile.  You can be as simple or as creative as you want and your card will still look amazing. I used the Sizzix Flowers & Fence Dies for the flowers.  The stems were die cut with the dies from the Box Card die set using 100lb green colored cardstock.  They held up better than I thought they would!  No stamping involved with the flowers, just die cutting.  I tried to add some dimension to the flowers by sponging various shades of Distress Ink by Tim Holtz on the tips of the petals.  The hippo and stamp sentiment are exclusively by The Stamps of Life.  I thought it would be cute to put some grass in the hippo's mouth to match the sentiment. The sentiment is held up by some crafting wire.  The cute little bumble bee in the background is also from The Stamps of Life.  I just stamped, cut and colored him and then attached him using a thin strip of acetate.  Thanks for looking! 

Products used:

1.  The Stamps of Life Box Card Die Set
2.  Sizzix Flowers Flowers & Fence Stamps & Dies
3.  Hippos2Stamp
4.  Solids4Hippos
5.  Hive4Bees