"Fleur de lys" inspired card..............

Yesterday I came across a digital cutter file (for the Craft Robo) that was designed by SylviaF at the UK Scrappers site and it was so lovely I decided to convert the file to cut using my Pazzles Inspiration and of course if I was going to cut it out then I just had to make a card. I wound up using it to make a little birthday card. One of the things I liked about the file was that she designed a mat that you thread with ribbon! The file is named “Fleur de lys Frame with Lattice” and can be found in the “Craft Robo Templates” section at the UK site. Her design actually has a top mat that is latticed but I decided just to create “Happy Birthday” using the Pazzles “Impress BT Reg” font and I added a mat and cut it using my Pazzles Inspiration. I embossed “Happy Birthday” using VersaMark and white opaque embossing powder. I did this three times. I also decided to make a bow to match the laced ribbon, added Liquid Pearls on the “fleur de lys” mat and a butterfly embellishment.
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25”x5.5”

Papers: GA Pacific (White CS Card Base), Wausau “Creative Collection Textures Cardstock” (White Mats & Sentiment), Bazzill
Ink: Tsukineko “VersaMark Watermark”
Tools: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug, Ranger “Heat-It”

Accessories: Offray “Polyester” Ribbon, “Petal Pink” Liquid Pearls, Stamp-n-Stuff “Detail White Opaque” Embossing Powder, Plaid “All Night Media Paper Toppings (Butterfly), Cuttlebug “Swiss Dots” Embossing Folder

Thank You for a special "Forum Friend"...........

I designed this card today for a very special friend that I’ve come to know at one of the forums that I frequent. She’s the type of person that goes out of her way for others and I just wanted to say a special “Thank You” to her. I will announce who she is “after” she receives this card in the mail!LOL

The design of this card all started with my favorite flowers that I make using a file designed for the Craft Robo by “Doris the Crafter” at the UK Stampers site. Her design consists of five different layers, which I like to “paper sculpt” using my embossing stylus. I actually converted her file into a file format that I can use with my Pazzles Inspiration, which I used to cut the flower layers. For the center of the flowers I just used a white cardstock circle that I cut with my eyelet tool, then “paper sculpted”, glued to the center and then covered with “Stickles”. The other element that was crucial to this design is the beautiful metallic “crumpled” purple paper that I used. I am sorry, but I cannot tell you anything about this paper except the fact that I think I purchased it from Paper Wishes years ago and have been “hoarding” it ever since! I then decided I wanted a border at the top and bottom of the card and decided to use my “Lace” border punch. I punched the bottom border large enough that I could run a piece of the lavender cardstock through the middle of it, covered with the lovely orchid ribbon and pearls. Both borders were heat embossed using a sparkly embossing powder. I used my Nestabilities for the ovals and heat embossed the largest one. The sentiment was done using Photoshop CS3 and the “Edwardian Script” font. I hope my friend really likes this card!

I do want to add one thing.....this card was so hard to photograph and I'm afraid my photography skills are lacking! I was unable to pick up the true beauty of the metallic crumpled paper as well as the "Star Dust" embossing on the borders....but at least you can get an idea of what it looks like!

Finished Card Size" A7/5"x7"

Papers: Royal Brites (White CS), Ampad "Pastels Cardstock" (Lt. Lavender CS), Imagine that "Textured Cardstock" (Purple CS) & Paper Wishes "Crumpled Metallic Paper"

Ink: Tsukineko “VersaMark Watermark”

Tools: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug, Ranger "Heat It", Fiskars "Lace" Border Punch

Accessories: Nestabilities LG Petite Ovals & LG Petite Scalloped Ovals, "Crystal" Stickles, Stamp-n-Stuff " Star Dust Transparent" Embossing Powder, Crystal "Pearls" Stickers, Offray "Sheer Peiti Dot C2 Lt. Orchid" Ribbon

"White Out!"

This is the card I made for today’s Splitcoast Stampers “Limited Supplies” Challenge (LSC186), called “White Out!”, meaning you had to make white or vanilla as the main color of your design and the second color had to be black, brown or any shade of gray and you could choose any color as your third color. I chose White/Black/Silver. Wendy, aka/”Wendybell” also had a list of guidelines:

1. White/Vanilla as main color – I used a shimmer white
2. Second color MUST be either black, brown (any shade) or gray – I used black
3. Add a third color to accent the first two colors – I used silver
4. Use ONLY ink that matches the cardstock colors you have chosen – no extra colors here! – I used black
5. NO patterned paper or background stamps – I did not use any
6. Stamp only ONE image, ONE time, somewhere on the white piece of cardstock. Remember that you are LIMITED to only THREE colors – TOTAL!! No cheating by adding extra colors to a line art image that has to be colored in! – I totally forgot about this and had to add the “granny” stamp after I had completed this card!
7. If you use punches or a Nestabilities-type die, please stamp the image on white or vanilla there as well, keeping your top background layer white/vanilla, too!
8. Stamp a sentiment and add to your card (this step is optional) – only use it once
9. Embellish as you like (ribbons, brads, Cuttlebug embossing folders)
10. NO “distressing” the white cardstock – (that would be sponging!) – we want to keep these layers “clean”

This challenge was a lot of fun and I got to use some of my supplies and tools that I’d never used before….one of them being the beautiful white shimmer cardstock from the Wausau Paper “Creative Collection Metallic Cardstock” pack. I also used some of my silver rhinestone stickers that I recently purchased at Michaels, not to mention that beautiful ribbon that I purchased from All That Scraps. The flourish embellishment (Flourish Embellishment from Luck Pg.) that I used was designed by “ibpamelac” at the Yahoo KNK Group. I converted it to a WPC file and cut it using my Pazzles Inspiration.
Finished Card Size: A2/4.25"x5.5"

Papers: GA Pacific (White CS for card base), Wausau Paper Metallic Cardstock "White Gold" (top two white layers), Best Occasions Metallic Paper Pack (Black CS)
Inks: StazOn "Jet Black"
Stamps: Studio G (granny)
Tools: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug
Accessories: EK Success "Venitian" Cardcreator, Cuttlebug "Elephant Thanks" & "Diamonds in the Rough" Embossing Folders, May Arts "3/8" Reversible Black/Silver" Ribbon, Michaels "Silver" Rhinestone Stickers

Yesterday I posted a Wedding Card that I made for my friend Tina’s daughter, Sarah and this morning I made a vellum envelope with an embossed liner to match. Since I am going to be mailing this card, the whole thing is going into a bubble-lined envelope to protect it. Besides that, it has a long way to go…..all the way to the UK!

I used my Scor-Pal to make my vellum envelope. To make an envelope for an A7 (5”x7”) card, I use a letter sized piece of paper, I score each side at 5/8” (length-wise), then turn the paper 90 degrees and score at 2” and 7 ¼”…….then I folded and trimmed it and rounded the corners.

For the front of the envelope I used four of those beautiful “Silver Classic Photo Corners”, one for each corner. I designed three hearts, three different sizes and the largest one is scalloped. I did the design using my Pazzles software. I used my Pazzles to cut them. I embossed the scalloped one using my “Textile” embossing folder. The center heart is cut from some mirror type cardstock that I have on hand…do not know who it is made by and truthfully, I’ve had it so long that I can’t even remember where I got it from! I used my Pazzles with the Pen Tool and the "Edwardian Script" font to draw “Robert and Sarah” with my “EraserMate” pen, then I embossed it using silver embossing powder and my heat gun.

I cut a “liner” just a bit smaller than the envelope out of Epson Bright White Paper and also embossed the liner “flap” using my “Textile” embossing folder. I also cut a smaller scalloped heart using my Pazzles, embossed it and used it for a “closure”. I cut a “slit” in the back of envelope that the bottom of the heart fits into to fasten it.

I almost always make my own envelopes to match the cards I make!

Papers: Strathmore "Pastel Vellum", Epson "Premium Bright White Paper", Royal Brites (White CS)

Tools: Pazzles Inspiration, Scor-Pal, Cuttlebug, Ranger "Heat-It"

Accessories: Cuttlebug "Textile" Embossing Folder, The Paper Studio "Silver Classic Photo Corners" Peel-Off Stickers, PaperMate "EraserMate" Pen, Old Town Crafts "Ultra Fine Silver" Embossing Powder

A Wedding Card for Sarah & Robert..............

During the past couple of years I have become very close friends with a very special lady named Tina (aka/silverst170)at the UK Scrappers site.....I just think the world of her! For those of you that use digital cutters she designs and sells lovely digital cutter files in different formats...you can find them here. Her lovely daughter Sarah just had her wedding on the 2nd of September and what's so funny is that her daughter's wedding date of September 2 is the same as my youngest son, Chad! At any rate, I knew that even though I didn't know Sarah, because of my friendship with Tina, I wanted to make a very special wedding card for Sarah and it just so happened that day I was at the Splitcoast Stampers site checking out the "Limited Supply Challenge" for that week and Judy, aka/StampingQueenJAR, had come up with the idea of "A Little Something", in essence "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue", which was a perfect fit for the card I was getting ready to create! Thank you Judy!!! So here's mine:

Something Old: "Textile" Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and of course, "me"!!!
Something New: "Heart Frame" that I designed for my Pazzles

Something Borrowed: "Heart Swirl" from Pazzles "Swirls & Twirls" CD

Something Blue: Bazzill Blue CS

I have had the "With Love" ribbon in my stash for some time now and it was perfect for this card....I just love it! I designed the "Hearts Frame" using my Pazzles Inspiration Studio software and a "Heart Swirl" file from the Pazzles "Swirls & Twirls" CD. "On Your Wedding Day" was done using my Pazzles Inspiration "Pen Tool" with the "Edwardian Script" font and my "EraserMate" pen and , which stays wet and enables me to heat emboss using silver embossing powder. The silver "lines" on the card front are "Peel-Offs" that were a gift from another friend at the the UK site, Cal (aka/Hysteri-CAL). You can check out her blog here.

For the inside of the card I decided to make a white base, using the same Martha Stewart Border Punch ("Embossed Scroll Lace") and then I used Photoshop CS3 to type a beautiful poem I found online by Joanna Fuchs. In fact, I just finished the inside of the card this morning, as I was looking for a very special poem and I found it last night. When I printed it onto the lovely blue vellum I used the "Transparency" setting for my Epson R200 Inkjet Printer....you just have to make sure that you give it plenty of time to dry! The font that I used is the same font that I used on the front of the card, "Edwardian Script". The lovely silver corners at the top are The Paper Studio "Silver Classic Photo Corners" Peel-Off Stickers...the ones at the bottom are "Silver Ornate Photo Corners". I absolutely love the "Peel-Off" stickers and I was actually introduced to them at the UK site. I am now able to find some of them at Hobby Lobby, but I wish they would carry a larger selection! By the way, please excuse my poor photography for the photo of the inside...it was very hard to capture.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this card as much as I enjoyed creating it...I think it's one of my favorite creations. Have a really great day!

Papers: Bazzill (Blue CS), Royal Brites (White CS), Strathmore "Pastel Vellum" (Blue Vellum)

Tools: Pazzles Inspiraton, Cuttlebug, Epson R200 Inkjet Printer & Ranger "Heat-It"

Accessories: Nestabilities Petite LG Ovals & Petite LG Scalloped Ovals, Cuttlebug "Textile" Embossing Folder, Offray "Salutation with Love" and "Silver" Ribbons, Crystal "Pearls" Stickers, "Peel-Offs" (silver strips on card front were a gift from the Cal in the UK), The Paper Studio "Silver Classic Photo Corners" & "Silver Ornate Photo Corners" Peel-Off Stickers, PaperMate "EraserMate" Pen, Martha Steward "Embossed Scroll Lace" Border Punch, Old Town Crafts "Ultra Fine Silver" Embossing Powder

Appreciation Card

Even though my husband is retired, he still does some consulting on a contract basis for the company he used to work for and last Wednesday evening the wife of the man that owns the company called me and asked me if I would make her an "appreciation card" and I told her I would, but it would be a first! She had to have it right away, so I really only had a few hours to come up with a design and produce it. Here it is:

Some time back I had designed this card base using my Pazzles Inspiration Studio (software for my Pazzles Inspiration digital cutter)....so at least I already had a pattern for the card base. I based my layout around the designer CS from the DCWV "Pocket full of Posies Stack" , so I cut my card base out of the yellow textured "Imagine that" CS. I then chose the lavender Ampad "Pastels Cardstock" to complete my paper selections. I then found some Target ribbon that would work with the paper selections and took off from there! I used my Nestabilities LG Petite Scalloped Ovals and LG Petite Ovals for the yellow oval and I used one of my Cuttlebug "Frills Set" border embossing folders to emboss down each side of the patterned paper and brushed my "Platinum Planet" ink pad over the embossed area to make it "pop"! The sentiment was done using my "EraserMate" pen with the Pazzles Pen Tool, which I then covered with the silver embossing powder and heat embossed. The font I used was a "Pazzles" font called "Complex. I punched the little flowers, inked them with VersaMark, covered them with the clear embossing powder and heat embossed. I used the "Paper Sculpting" technique to sculpt the flowers and then I used Stickles to make the centers of the flowers. I'm truly not all that happy with this card....but she liked it very much and I guess that's all that really matters!

Finished Card Size: A7/5"x7"

Papers: "Imagine that", DCWV "Pocket full of Posies Stack" & Ampad "Pastels Cardstock"
Inks: Tsukineko “VersaMark Watermark” & Tsukineko Brilliance “Platinum Planet”
Tools: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug, Ranger “Heat-It” Accessories: Nestabilities LG Petite Ovals & LG Petite Scalloped Ovals, EK Success Flower Punch (SM lavender flowers), Target Ribbon, "Crystal" Stickles, Stamp-n-Stuff "Detail Clear Transparent" and Old Town Crafts "Ultra Fine Silver" embossing powders, Cuttlebug "Frills Set" Borders Embossing Folder, PaperMate "EraserMate" Pen

WOW....my 1st award!!!

What a great surprise.........Barb has presented me with this award and believe me this was a total, but pleasant surprise! You need to go check out Barb's blog. By the way, she's also known as "thecountryrose" and her blog is bookmarked in my "Favorite Blogs" list.

Here are the rules for this award:

1) The winner can put the logo on their blog
2) Link the person you received your award from
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Put links of those blogs on yours
5) Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated

I would like to pass this award on to some of the blogs that I visit often, that inspire me in my creative endeavors! So please visit these blogs and get some inspiration too!

1] Kerry Cox

2] Clare Kent

3] Jessie Rone

4] Jennifer Meyer

5] Jeanne Streiff

6] Michelle Wooderson

7] Jackie Pedro

I wish everyone a great Sunday!

Hugs, Pam

Happy Birthday Sharon............

On the 15th of this month a very special person in my life is having a birthday and I made this card for her today. I am also using this card for the Splitcoast Stampers “Ways to Use It” challenge (WT182), “Specialty Paper”.

For the background I used some Bazzills cardstock and my brand new “Autumn Leaves Flourishes v2” stamps by Rhonna Farrer to design my own “designer” paper. I stamped using my VersaMark “Watermark” stamp pad, then some “Detail Clear” embossing powder and my heat gun. That and the bow that I made using some “Harvest” ribbon that I purchased from Walmart some time ago were the main design elements of this card. The corners were designed by me using the software for my Pazzles Inspiration (digital cutter) and after cutting them I ran them through my Cuttlebug using the “Textile” embossing folder. I then added the pearl elements. Needless to say, I am going to have to make a box to put this card in, as it’s too bulky to fit into an envelope! The "sentiment" was done using MS Word and the "BrockScript" font.

Fall is quickly approaching and next year my friend will be 50! I wanted to use fall colors for this card as she is approaching the “fall of her life”! I sure am glad that she’s not into crafting/card making, etc…..so she won’t be reading this!lol

Finished Card Size: A7/5"x7"

Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Flourishes v2" by rhonna farrer

Inks: VersaMark "Watermark"

Accessories: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Brides "Ivory Pearl Seal", Offray "Green Satin Ribon" & Harvest Ribbon

Celebrate...................

This is the card that I made for yesterday's Splitcoast Stampers Technique Lovers Challenge called "Black Magic". For this technique you start with a dark cardstock and stamp your images with white or vanilla craft ink. I was not having very good luck...I think I need to purchase a reinker for my Moonlight White as it did not stamp very well and I wound up adding some "Detail White" embossing powder and using my heat gun and then I used my Prismacolor pencils and "Goo Gone" to color the cart. The rubber stamp of the "flower cart" is one that I purchased years ago from a stamp store that is no longer in business.....and I don't think that I've ever used it before!

I knew that I wanted to use some flowers in the cart and I decided to use a cutting file that was designed by Jennifer {aka/pokrplyrjn} at the Yahoo Pazzles Inspiration Group. I altered the file so that I could use my pen tool to make an inner line that I could emboss with gold embossing powder after the Pazzles cut all the flowers out for me! After they were cut out I used my Prismacolor pencil to color them and I used my embossing stylus to "sculpt" them. I punched some little yellow circles, dotted them with my brown Sharpie, "sculpted" the circles with my embossing stylus, glued them to the centers of my flowers and added "Crystal" Stickles to them. The leaves I used were some I had left over from another project. I used my Nestabilities large petite ovals. I used my Cuttlebug and my "Leafy Branch" embossing folder to emboss the blue metallic cardstock and then used my Scor-Pal for the embossed lines. I added the green ribbon flat bow and adhered the "faux" metal "Celebrate" sentiment, which I made some time back using a Studio G stamp. I want to add that because of the metallic elements on this card, it was rather difficult to get a really decent photo. Below is a close-up of the "faux" metal.


Finished Card Size: Custom/5.5"x5.5"

Stamps: Parked on Rubber (Flower Card), Studio G (sentiment)
Inks: "Queen's Gold" by Ranger & "Moonlight White" Brilliance
Accessories: Pazzles Inspiration, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Ranger "Heat It", Scor-Pal, Offray Ribbon