"YOUNG LOVE"

It's about time!!! This card incorporate some newly purchased, and not-so-newly purchased - but never used - items. The stenciled birch background is a recently released stencil from Memory Box, and I was sooooo anxious to try it. I've always loved the look of birch and/or aspen trees (I usually can't tell them apart)! The "seasoned citizens" sitting on the park bench is such an adorable stamp and I felt would be a perfect fit for a park-like setting for my card. The grass is a die from Impression Obsession.

Thanks for visiting! Come back ANY time!!

To purchase any of the Memory Box products used here, please visit www.thefruitofmyhands.blogspot.com  for excellent prices and top-notch customer service!

DEER IN WINTER

Recently, I learned a technique of adding dimension to snowdrifts (or sand dunes, mountain ranges, etc.) by using torn strips of paper as masks, and sponging the edges with ink. I LOVE the way it turned out on this card! I spritzed the card with Perfect Pearls mist to give it a little sparkle and give the appearance that snow was still falling! Now that I live in California, I definitely don't miss the cold of our many years living in Canada. But, I sure miss the beauty of the sparkling and serene snow-covered hillsides!

CHALKBOARD NATIVITY

I'm either really late....or REALLY early with this post, but I'm just now getting around it it!!  The chalkboard look is extremely popular right now, and I'd been wanting to make use of my recently purchased Hero Arts Chalkboard background stamp. I loved the simplicity of this nativity stamp (Penny Black) and thought it would look great stamped in white ink on a black "chalkboard" background and colored with colored pencils (to look a bit like colored chalk. So...this is what I came up with:

Thanks for taking a look!!

HERO ARTS FLICKR SCRAMBLE

One of the things I enjoy the most about the Hero Arts Flickr group is their 90 minute scrambles! There are so many talented and gifted individuals in the group, and it often amazes me to see what they create in 90 minutes or less. Here's my card:

Here's how I made it:

One of the requirements of the scramble was to incorporate snowflakes onto a tag shaped piece of paper. I happened to have some large manila tags, but I didn't really care for the manila color. So, I swiped "Chipped Sapphire" Distress Stain over the tag in order to change the color. Once the tag was fully colored, I spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mist to give it a shimmer. Since I only had a short amount of time, I used my heat tool to quickly dry the ink. Once dry, I inked my Hero Arts snowflake stamp with Versamark ink, stamped it randomly onto the tag, then heat embossed it with "Winter Wonderland" embossing powder. The tag was then adhered to the card base and accented with the blue ribbon bow.

For the nativity image, I swiped a piece of white cardstock with the Chipped Sapphire stain. Once dry, I inked the same snowflake stamp with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink for a tone-on-tone look. (I also wanted to incorporate the snowflake onto the nativity image.) Again, I spritzed the paper with Perfect Pearls Mist. Once dry, I inked my stamp from Papertrey Ink's "Star of Wonder" stamp set with Versamark, stamped the image, and heat embossed with the same embossing powder as the snowflakes on the tag. I then cut the image using a circle die, placed onto a slightly larger white cardstock circular cut, and lightly distressed the edges with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.  This image was adhered to the card base with foam strips. Here's a closer image of the nativity stamp:

Finally, I inked the sentiment stamp (from the same PTI stamp set) with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and stamped it onto the card front.

Thanks so much for looking!!  Be sure and check out the Hero Arts Flickr Group here, too!!

CAS MASCULINE BIRTHDAY

Here's a quick and easy, clean and simple birthday card for a guy. I love the various woodgrain patterned papers....gives it a nice rustic look!

Here's how I did it:
The kraft card base is 5"x7". All patterned paper came from the same source: MME "On The Bright Side - One". The feathers were die cut with SSS dies.("Feathers" and "POINTED FEATHERS") The blue wood strip and wood oval were adhered to the card base with a tape glider. The feathers were adhered with foam dots to give them some dimension. For the sentiment, I used this stamp set and cut the "Happy Birthday to You" stamp in half, inked it with Versamark, curved it to fit the curve of the oval, stamped it, and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.

Thanks for looking!!

QUICK & EASY MASCULINE CARD

So.....patterned paper has become my best friend! I have a VERY large family, and I like to make handmade cards for each of them for their birthdays. Often, the date sneaks up on me and I'm frantically trying to put something together that is acceptable and will reach the recipient on time! My "go to" in those situations is good old patterned paper. They go a long way in making a quick, easy, and attractive card!

Here's mine:

And...here's my supplies:

Neenah Solar White Cardstock	*My Mind's Eye 6 x 6 BE AMAZING Paper Pad Follow Your Heart FYH113	Scotch ATG (tape glider)	*Hero Arts Clear Stamps CALICO BORDERS Studio Calico 2012 331074	Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Double-sided foam tape

InLinkz.com

SUMMER BIRTHDAY

The inspiration for this card came from this pin on Pinterest. I wanted to make an "outdoorsy" card for my daughter, who has a summer birthday. She loves the outdoors, and lives in a place that provides amazing scenic beauty and year-round outdoor activities. I loved the idea of stamping on canvas! Once I had my stamped image, I wanted to assemble my card with various textures and embellishments that complimented the outdoor/beauty of nature card. So.....here's my card:

Here's how I did it:

The canvas center was created by inking my stamp with Versamark ink and stamping it onto sticky-back canvas. Then, I swiped various colors of Distress Ink horizontally across the canvas. The edges of the canvas were lightly distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The canvas piece was adhered to a slightly larger piece of adhesive-backed cork sheets. Prior to laying my cork piece onto my card base (made with white wood-grain paper), I placed the three pieces of white jute across my card base and adhered the jute to the card base with a small piece of tape. Then I pealed the backing off my cork piece and attached it to the card front. The jute was brought to the front and tied in a bow. The laser-cut butterfly was attached to the center of the bow with Glossy Accents.

Here's my main supplies: