An Easel Card for Two Challenges

I seem to be on a bit of a challenge kick at the moment, and since I had a new stamp set to try out, a challenge or two seemed the way to go.

Easel card -- closed



Easel card -- open

First, I have to admit that I bought the Unity August 2010 Kit of the Month when it came on sale only because it came with a Dickens quotation. The chance to own a Dickens stamp was just too good to pass up! But to justify my purchase, I thought I'd use an image from the set, too. I tried the trees first all in black, but they looked a little stark, so I inked the foliage in Almost Amethyst ink and the trunks in black. Then I didn't like them just floating on the white square, so the ribbon came out. I like how the polka-dots echo the trees.
The colour scheme of my card is for this week's Play Date Cafe Challenge #66, black and white with a splash of lilac/purple. (My kind of colours!) Over at All Things Unity, the challenge (#23) is to create either an easel or tri-fold card. This is my first try at an easel card, but the tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers made it easy. I did have to do a little mental visualization to make sure I got the textured cardstock base facing the right way. ;) I'm not sure I'll be making a lot of easel cards, but it seemed to work well with the stamps I'd picked.
Charles Dickens. Happy sigh. ☺

Supplies: white, black & Stampin' Up textured almost amethyst cardstock, Unity August 2010 Kit of the Month (All You Need) & Bevy of Butterflies, Memento tuxedo black and Stampin' Up almost amethyst inks, scallop border punch, dollar store ribbon Pin It Now!

A Triple Challenge Valentine

You could even say this card is a quadruple challenge card, if the fourth challenge is coming up with a valentine that a six-year-old boy won't find too mushy. ;)

I used the sketch from this week's Get Sketchy Challenge #71. I stamped the penguin from the Stampin' Up set Animal Crackers without the sentiment, so I could incorporate the pun into the popped-up tag that I printed on the computer. His beak and feet are coloured with a Sharpie, and the ice cube is lightly shaded with a Prismacolor pencil. (Too lightly to show up in the pic, alas.) This card also fits the Animal Antics challenge at Simon Says Stamp and fits the into the Valentine's Day Craft Carnival at Craft Critique. Best of all, I have a boy valentine card! ☺

Supplies: white, red & SU kraft cs, Stampin' Up Animal Crackers penguin, Brilliance graphite black ink, Sharpie, Prismacolor pencil, maraschino Twinery twine, pop dot tape Pin It Now!

Congratulations to Emily!

The talented Emily is this week's featured artist on Splitcoast Stampers. Well deserved and overdue, I'd say! And what a great excuse to take a look at her gallery and CASE (Copy And Share Everything) a card or two!

Before I even picked the inspiration card, I knew I wanted to use kraft cardstock, twine and the flower image from Unity's October 2010 Kit of the Month. Emily uses both kraft cs and twine so well, and in so many ways; and her varied use of the flower image was one of the reasons I picked up the October KOM a few months ago. I played with the three image layout that Emily used, but decided to go with the single image instead. That led to making a square card base rather than the usual A2 size. I also decided to incorporate one of the die cuts that Emily generously sent to me a while back. And that's how this card came to be.
My second card is a more direct CASE of this card:

The layout is exactly the same. I actually ADDED layers, which is very unusual for me. I changed some of the colours, added twine where Emily used a stamp, and added a stamp where Emily used a die cut. Well, and switched out the butterflies for hearts. Valentine's Day is coming, after all. ;)
Looking for some inspiration, or just enjoyment? Check out Emily's gallery or blog!

Supplies (flowers) white, black & SU kraft cardstock, Unity October 2010 Kit of the Month & Bevy of Butterflies, Versamagic Red Magic chalk and Brilliance graphite black inks, Divine Twine red twine, Recollections black half-pearls, dimensionals; (hearts) white & pink cardstock, Studio G heart & frame, Unity Mix-Up of Cuteness sentiment, Memento angel pink & rose bud and Versamagic purple hydrangea inks, pink sorbet & lilac Twinery twine, dimensionals Pin It Now!

Mini Cards!

The current challenge at the All Things Unity blog (ATU22) is to make mini cards, no bigger than 3"x3". What they don't tell you is that making these mini cards can be kind of addicting! With their small size, you can make them as simple or as detailed as you like. My first one is really simple.

Both images are from Unity's October 2010 Kit of the Month. I stamped and cut out the happiness banner, and popped it on the card base, where I'd stamped the small hearts image and added a strip of razzleberry cardstock.
For my second card, I added a little layering and colouring.

The image and sentiment are from the Unity set Mix-Up of Cuteness. I was going to make the kettle stainless steel, but then decided to go for a retro red enamel one. My dream kitchen has always been red and white; in real life, it's green and cream. Funny how that happens. ;)
My third card gets very fancy... for me, anyway.

Patterned paper AND multi-media colouring! These cherries are also from Mix-Up of Cuteness. The cherries and leaves are coloured with Sharpies; the stems with Prismacolor pencils.
These were all fun and quick to make! I think there will be more mini-cards in my future. ☺

Supplies: (Hey Hottie) white & yellow cardstock, Unity Mix-Up of Cuteness, Brilliance graphite black ink, Prismacolor pencils; (Happiness) white & SU rich razzleberry cardstock, Unity October 2010 Kit of the Month, Versamagic perfect plumeria ink, pop dot tape; (Cherries) white & SU ruby red cardstock, AmberINK schoolgirl plaid - picnic gingham: tiny iPaper, Unity Mix-Up of Cuteness, Brilliance graphite black ink, Sharpies, Prismacolor pencils Pin It Now!

CAS... or PAB? (Unity Friends with Flair, January 21st)

As with any good cult hobby, the world of rubber stamping and card-making has its share of jargon and acronyms. Probably the one closest to my heart is Clean And Simple, or CAS as it's known to those of us on the inside. While I can admire and appreciate detailed, layered, distressed or embellished creations, it's not in my (admittedly tiny) style range. Which brings me to this card.

This, I am afraid, may be less CAS than it is PAB -- a new acronym I've invented! It stands for, of course, Plain And Boring. Two colours of cardstock, one colour of ink, two images, no highly original layout, no embellishments. But I have to admit, I kind of like it anyway. ☺
Check out the Unity blog for the entire list of participants in today's Friends with Flair Hop. You'll find lots of flair!

Supplies: white & blue cardstock, Faded Jeans distress ink, Unity October 2010 KOM Take Time to Laugh Pin It Now!

Passing the Torch

Yes, it's that time... my month as an AmberINK torchbearer has come to an end. It was a crazy month of balancing holidays, family... and creating! Here's a little summary of what I made, all while running with a flaming ORANGE torch...

And now, drumroll please, as I announce the next ORANGEtorchbearer...



I don't think this is really Meg...

 Meg is a stamper and cardmaker extraordinaire with a wicked sense of humour whom I'm glad to say has become a friend in the past few months. I know she will carry the torch high and dazzle you with her AmberINK creations.
I'd also like to thank the equally über-talented Angela for entrusting the torch to me for the past month. They were big shoes to fill, so I hope I did you proud!   Pin It Now!