Manly Mondays - Week 38

I've been experimenting with color combinations with the technique that I shared with you in this post. I have to admit that I felt very creative as it was coming together.  

Just because Valentine's Day is over doesn't mean the Love has to stop.  I just might slip this into the Magic Drawer - Evan's sock and underwear drawer that always seems full on any given day. "Do I have any clean socks?" my reply is always "Look in your Magic Drawer."

Colors used were Not Quite Navy, River Rock and Cherry Cobbler with some Gold Embossing.  The River Rock was brushed with a Stipple Brush using Marina Mist to give it a softer look. Added some Cherry Cobbler Seam Bidding and Gold Cord.  The stamps sets are Vintage Vogue and Occasional Quotes.

Here's the inside  

 Have you tried this? Would love to know how it worked for you.

What's Up With Frankii

Frankii was not a happy canine yesterday.  He did have an extremely good week as he got to spend not only 1 day with Dolly but 3! His 7:00pm curfew turned into a self encouraged 6:00pm. He could barely lift his head up after dinner. She sure keeps him busy all day.

Here he is right after being told that he was not going to have a lot of outside squirrel chasing time. Oh Man he is right P O'd. Reason being: this is what was happening right outside our back door.

So much for seeing the bridge beyond that tree on the far right. There's a fire pit in front of that chair that's frozen in place since November. The snowflakes are about dime size and there does not seem to be an end in sight.  It is barely 7:30AM!!  The sun is not even up yet.  I asked Evan to make it stop.  His reply was "Sorry Sweetheart, I don't have that much power.  It will stop in a few weeks."  Excellent, I think. That's the spirit. Frankii is spending the day with Dolly today so he will have a much better day.

A La Prochaine! 

Freestyle Fridays - Regina's Envelope Boxes

Good morning from a very cold and windy part of Alberta. The present temperature is -26C, add the wind chill factor it's -34C.  The wind has been extremely cold this week and more so today. If you're experiencing the same weather in your part of the world hopefully Regina's completed mission will warm you up some and give hope to warmer days ahead.

The above card is part of Regina's mission for this week. Although she ran into a small glitch her project is definitely a WOW. She treats you with not only 1 envelope box but 2 so make sure you take the time to have a look and leave her a comment to let her know how much you appreciate her sharing her talent with us all.  

Stay tuned next Friday for a new project and mission.

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays

StampTV has some awesome and fun techniques. This is one that appeared last week just screaming to be tried with Stampin' UP products. I'll be doing this with other colors as I just love how it turned out.

The cardstock colors are So Saffron and Early Espresso.  Stamp sets used, Elements of Style and Afterthoughts (blocking the words under the Thanks).  I still had the Distressing Essentials Kit on my table that I used to make the flower on Friday so I went with the ink spots from it. On the layer of So Saffron the image was stamped with Tea Stain. That was followed by using a stipple brush and Blue Azul. The edge also has Blue Azul applied with a dauber. Then the same image was stamped with Mahogany and the magic happened. This combination of colors is just amazing. I know the picture looks a little green but it really isn't.

Regina reminded us in this post what a great tool the crimper is. Thank you Regina for the nudge to take it out for some air now and then. A 1" piece of Early Espresso was ran through and applied to simulate ribbon. Not feeling particularly ambitious with the all the sniff, sniff and cough, cough going on in the background (beloved husband has a cold) and the world being blown up by way of the Xbox, I didn't make any folds like Regina did. The Thanks was stamped on So Saffron with Blue Azul and punched using the Decorative Label Punch.

It's Monday so it's also time for some "What's up with Frankii". Besides falling asleep with my slipper covering his nose

he's still trying to get a hold of that squirrel.  The endless pursuit! Here he is under one of the trees in the backyard positive it's under there.

A La Prochaine!

Freestyle Fridays - Gift Box

A few weeks back Valita Reynolds posted a tutorial on SplitcoastStampers for a Envelope Gift Box.  This is my attempt and version of it.

I did make the closure at the top a little different and added magnets to ensure the box would stay closed. The base is Rich Razzleberry Cardstock and the DSP used is Old Olive. The dies used with the Big Shot are: Circle Scallops #2, Island Floral and the Beautiful Wings Embosslit.

This is the card that goes inside

The same paper used for the box were used here.  The flower was made with the Original Blossom Party Die by layering petals and cutting them inside each other. I sponged the edges with Rich Razzleberry, added a pearl from the Pretties Kit and dropped Crystal Effects here and there to give it a "dew-y" look. Before putting it all together I used the Distressing Essential Kit to curl the top of the petals inwards. It was adhered with glue dots. The DSP was ran through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The sentiment is from the Hostess Set Afterthoughts. 

I'm not a fan of making boxes.  I must admit I rather enjoyed making this one and Valita's instructions were easy to follow.

***REGINA'S MISSION ***

Regina, since one of your favorite colors is Rich Razzleberry your mission will be to use it and make a set like this using the link to the tutorial at the top of this post. It will be amazing!

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays with a Valentine

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU!

In celebration of this much celebrated day here are some of this year's creations.  This first one is a card I made for my husband:

The LOVE is from an old hostess set that I embossed on Vellum and punch out the letters separately.

One design, two sizes.  I mailed these to some friends over a week ago. Hopefully they will arrive today.  Wonder who is getting the square one J Here is what I did on the inside:

And finally, a little box that I will be giving a co-worker today:

The box is filled with Hershey's kisses covered in red, pink and silver foils. There is also a card to go with this that was entered in a challenge. The winner will be announced soon. Once the announcement is made I will share the card.

A La Prochaine! 

Freestyle Fridays Regina's Complete Mission

Regina has completed her mission from last Friday to make a candle/card ensemble. Here's the candle

On her blog she shares with you the card that she made using one of her favorite colors, Rich Razzleberry, and her method of embossing the material she used around the candle to get a continuous image. Her combination of colors and the details that she applied are flawless. Always in awe of her talent and envious that she completes these missions with style and perfection. Have a look for yourself and I'm sure you'll feel the same way. 

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays Week 36

It's Monday so it's Blog Candy Day!

The other day I was searching for a background stamp called Harlequin.  I was so sure I had it I turned the stamp set shelves upside down from looking with no luck.  I was stumped, where could it have gone?? I'm meticulous at putting a set away, in it's right place, once I'm done with it.  Paper and embellishment on the other hand, is a work in progress. A couple of days later I realized the stamp I had was called Print Pattern. For some reason Stampin' Up will retire a stamp/set just to have it come back ever so slightly different.  With the Print Pattern in hand I set off to make this card.

I started with a base of Night of Navy and stamped the Print Pattern in Night of Navy Craft Ink and embossed with Clear Powder. Made two different sized and colored die cuts - Rose Red and Very Vanilla. The Rose Red was ran through the Big Shot a second time with the Harlequin Texturz Plate and "brushed" (direct to paper) with the Night of Navy Classic Ink Stamp Pad.  The Very Vanilla was stamped with the Gratuitous Graffiti background stamp in Night of Navy Craft Ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder also. 

To finish off the card a Very Vanilla die cut was added inside.

When I make a dark colored card I always like to add a light color inside so that the recipient can easily read the inscription.

BLOG CANDY WINNER

Before I show you this week's little blog candy I better announce last week's winner.  So without further ado the winner is:

Mickie said...B&W on a card is very striking to my way of thinking. Very pretty. By-the-way, just read your post of Tex, so sweet and heart rendering. He puts me in mind of Garrett whom we had to put down also, such a sweet loving dog.

Congratulations Mickie!! Please make sure you contact me from the email link on the left hand side by Wednesday Midnight to claim your prize and provide your mailing address.

BLOG CANDY FOR THIS WEEK

This week I'm offering a sampling of these paper flowers. They look great with a brad in the middle either one color or the rhinestone type.  They also look great by layering two or three colors together also. 

A winner will be chosen by comments left on Sunday at Midnight and announced next Monday. Will this week's card be included? I'll leave that as a surprise. Good luck!

Frankii says hello and wants to know if you've seen THE squirrel.

A La Prochaine!

Freestyle Fridays with a Valentine Touch and Regina's Mission

Something I really really love besides my Husband, Frankii and post-it notes, and some days not necessarily in that order, are sheet protectors.  I buy them at Costco. They come in a package of 2 boxes with 100 sheets in each for under $10.00.  Nothing like buying in bulk.  In the package they include project folders in 5 colors which have been saved up in the "I can use this on a card one day" bin. 

I was cruisin' blogs the other day and came across this candle.  Just had to give it try. No red candle and the vellum on hand just didn't seem to fit the bill, I went with a white candle, the red project folder and gold cord. I used the Full Heart Punch and Scallop Heart Sizzlet, see it still works just fine from having broken a hinge making Dolly's Valentine card.  I actually ran it through the Big Shot 25 times without a problem.

Threaded the hearts by making a hole with a hand punch in the upper right hand corner. Then I just wrapped the cord around the candle making sure the hearts where not sticking up anywhere.  Strategically moved the hearts under the cord so that they would lay flat. There was a bit of fiddlin' but not much.

GThis will just be used as a decoration. I'd be a bit skeptical to burn the candle. Even though this particular candle does not melt evenly when lit, the wax on the outside still gets hot and the hearts would just warp and melt and most likely catch fire. If you plan on making one of these as a gift using the same type of material please let the recipient know not to light the candle.

Once the candle was done I just had to make a card to go with it.  The "red" of the folder is not your typical red. It's more of a Regal Rose. I have about a foot high of 6x6 sheets of designer paper just begging to be used. Leafing through the stack I came across the designer paper used in the background. I may have acquired it through a paper share a lot of demos have when new paper comes out. Don't rightly recall or the name of the paper.

Isn't it beautiful? This is the designer paper Stampin' Up use to carry before going double sided.  Before cutting it to measure, I ran a piece of Whisper White Cardstock with the Framed Tulip Embossing Folder through the Big Shot.  Then applied Regal Rose Ink with a Sponge Dauber ever so lightly as to only catch the raised image and trimmed the edge. Adhered the Designer Paper, cut to fit inside the frame. Something else Stampin' Up use to carry was Sticky Cuts Letters and the sheet came with a few hearts. You can now purchase sheets of these without any pre-cut images. I stuck the hearts right on the paper then applied Coral Reef Glitter in the Kunzite color by MS. In hindsight I should have used my Embossing Buddy on the paper prior to doing this as some of the glitter was clinging to the outside of the hearts. I used a brush to remove it and it took awhile. I stamped the Feb 14 from A Happy Heart in Regal Rose on Whisper White and punched it out with a small scallop circle punch. All of this was adhered to Basic Black Cardstock. I found it made the whole front of the card POP.

On the inside a layer of Whisper White was added and a couple of small hearts punch out using the designer paper. 

Hope you all like it. Would love to know what you think.

****REGINA'S MISSION****

Guess what Regina, you get to play with FIRE!  Just kidding JJ Your mission this week is to decorate a candle and make a coordinating card. Your choice on what theme and colors. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

See Ya Next Week!