Easter Greetings!

Wow, it's been a very long time! I've been busy this year and had to shift my priorities a bit. Hopefully I will be able to post from time to time with some of the card (and other) projects that I'm doing. Just wanted to take a moment to say "Easter Greetings". I hope you have time to spend quality moments with family, friends and community this weekend.

Below is a card that I made some time ago with a Spellbinder's die cut placed on a sponged background with heat embossed sentiment.

Have a great weekend!

Stay inspired,
Sabrina

Pleasant Poppies (1)

Hello!  I hope everyone is well--especially those who were in the path of the hurricane the last few days.  Super storm Sandy packed quite a punch! The area where I reside fortunately did not see catastrophic damage like areas both north and south of the region that were hit pretty hard and are still affected by flooding. My prayers go out to all those who have experienced loss due to this storm.

Today’s blog post is another “all Stampin’ Up!” card. I’ve had a little time lately to play with some new goodies that I recently received. This card is actually a sympathy card that I made for a friend but the sentiment could easily be changed to something else. The color scheme was intentionally made to be masculine. The kraft in the color scheme happened to fit the theme for this week’s CASual Friday challenge so I am submitting it to: CFC76: Create a Clean And Simple project using Kraft.  Thanks for dropping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

I've Got Heart

Hi!  I’m here this week with a card that I am submitting to a challenge: CASual Fridays CFC74: Create a Clean And Simple project with a heart.  I got a little carried away with the texture on this design so I’m not sure it’s still considered “clean & simple”.  I used quite a bit of tone-on-tone so hopefully that helps to present a cleaner appearance. The heat embossed background panel is the first layer of texture. The heart is actually made from two die cuts that are designed to layer (I love using the Memory Box dies).  

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Welcome, Autumn!

Hello and happy Fall!


My favorite time of year! I enjoy the beauty of the colorful leaves, the cool mornings and evenings and, yes, the return of football season. :-)

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to play in a challenge and I’m happy that I had time to play this week. All of the cards in this post fit the fun theme for this week’s CAS-ual Fridays challenge to create a CAS (clean and simple) design inspired by autumn (CFC71). The design for the third card below was made for last Wednesday's Splitcoast Stampers challenge sketch (SC403). I used alcohol inks to create some of the background and accent papers and plain metal accents for the sketch challenge card. I also used distress inks to color in the leaf images and a combination of distress inks and alcohol inks to color in the die cut pear.

Thanks for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

         

Heartfelt Thanks

Hello!  I am here this week with a couple of cards that I made using an August Hero Arts sketch and a Hero Arts background stamp. I heat embossed the stamped background image with white embossing powder before coloring the design with two colors of Ranger Distress Re-Inkers. I spritzed the panel with water and blotted to soften the colors. I then cut the panel in half to create two cards. I added die cut butterflies (cut from metal using Stampin’ Up! and My Favorite Things dies) to one card and I added a large sentiment on the second card using the same basic sketch.  That’s all for now. Thanks so much for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Butterflies were die cut from metal.

Here is a close up shot of the butterflies:

Below is the Hero Arts sketch for a contest that I submitted my designs to on Aug. 22, 2012:

Purple Haze

Hi there!

I recently tried a technique called “water stamping” that was featured on the Splitcoast Stampers website and I just couldn’t stop at one (see Fall Thank You for my other creation with a water stamped background). I’ve had a lot of fun trying out different kinds and colors of inks with the technique. Below is a card that I created using the Hero Arts Zig Zag backgrounder stamp on a panel that I made with a purple ink gradient (sponged as well as direct to paper application of Stampin’ Up! and Distress Inks). I’m not certain of the maker of the sentiment stamp but it is a wood-mounted stamp that was likely on clearance at one of the local craft stores. I absolutely love using the dollar or bargain stamps whenever I see ones that I like. This one was appealing to me because of its size and the pretty script. Well, that’s it for today. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Closer view of the water stamped background.

*This design was submitted to a Hero Arts contest on Aug. 22, 2012.

Sweet Baby Shower Card

Hi there!

I am back to share a card I made for a friend’s baby shower to prepare for the arrival of her son. I am also submitting this one to the CAS-ual Fridays Challenge (CFC67) to create a card featuring banners or flags. I made this one with several layers and used one of my favorite background stamps (CHF) to create a denim look for the main panel. I added just a tiny bit of Copic coloring on the stamped focal image before layering it on die cut circles and a label die cut. The label was placed on a satin ribbon (banner).

While I was making my friend’s shower card, I thought I would also make a set of Thank You note cards as part of a her gift. These cards are smaller than A2 size and very simple in composition and style. I used stamps from the same Fiskars baby collection as well as a sentiment from a retired Stampin’ Up! set (Teddy & Train).  The banners were die cut with a MFT Sentiment Strip die. There are six cards total in the set that I made for her:  three in green shown in the photo below and three more in blue.

Well, that’s all for now.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Fall Thank You

Hello!

Welcome and thanks for stopping by. Today’s featured design is a fall themed thank you card that fits into a Splitcoast Stampers challenge.  I followed a technique called water stamping outlined in Splitcoast Stampers to make the background paper. I also followed a sketch issued for a contest by Hero Arts for the design (although I did not enter the contest). I’m in a fall sort of mood these days--I am looking forward to seeing the many colors as the leaves change and the temperature cools. Now that football  pre-season is underway, fall will be here before we know it. :-)  I made the leaf focal point by die cutting metal and coloring the metal with alcohol inks. I used a Fiskar's clear backgrounder stamp (from a set called Henna Petals) on paper that had been sponged with various SU! orange toned inks to create the water stamped background. That’s all for now.

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Square Birthday

Hi!

I’m here with a post that I submitted to the CASual Fridays Challenge CFC65.  The challenge is to create a clean & simple square card.  I’m not sure how clean and simple my card is but I thought I would submit it anyway. My card is based on a technique/pattern called “the Traditional Pattern Card 1” from a book titled “The Art of Card Making” by Claire Sun-ok Choi, Lisa Kerr, and Susan Jaworski-Stranc (2005).  The technique involved overlapping triangles and trimming to create a flat, sort of patchwork design with crinkled papers and faux stitching. I strayed from the technique outlined in the book which called for using graph paper, metal ruler and an awl among other tools. I opted for simply punching squares and forming triangles from the squares. I then simply tucked the corners of the squares instead of creating an actual flat patchwork. For my cards shown below, I used the overlapping triangles to create a focal point for a masculine birthday card. The triangles were cut from patterned paper that I made with background stamps and I also used a die cut (from metal) as a centerpiece.  I’ve included photos of two different cards I made with the same copper centerpiece--I stamped a sentiment on one and I used a rub on “Happy Birthday” sentiment on the other. That’s all for now--thank you so much for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Believe -- CAS182

Hi there!

I’m back with a post for another card I submitted to the Splitcoast CAS182 color challenge to use dark blue and white. This card is a winter/Christmas themed card with a bit of sparkle and lots and lots of heat embossing. I tried focusing on stamping as opposed to using die cuts (my usual inclination) for the two cards I created for CAS182 (see Clear, Cool Night for my other submission). The holiday season card in this post involves using a border stamp (positioned back to back) to create a larger snowflake flourish background design.  I took a photo of an impression I made in black ink to show what the border stamp looks like (below). I then layered the embossed sentiment over the point where the back to back borders met. I heat embossed the flourishes, the sentiment and even the edges of the top panels. Some SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter adds just a tiny bit of sparkle. Thanks for stopping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Below is a photo of the impression of the Hampton Art border stamp that I used to create the background...

card details:

Paper:  SU! Not Quite Navy, White card stock

Stamps: Inkadinkado sentiment, Hampton Art snowflake border

Other: White and silver embossing powders, SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Versamark ink, Zig 2-way glue, dimensional adhesive 

Sympathy and Prayers -- CFC62

Hi!  I’m back today with a second entry to CAS-ual Friday’s CFC62 challenge “Back in Black”.  This time, I used a white card base with a large black panel. I heat embossed a stamped image of a flower in white and used alcohol inks to add a bit of color. A white heat embossed sentiment completes the front of the card. Thanks for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

card details:

paper:  white and black cardstock

stamps:  Hero Arts Potted Plant, SU! Petite Pairs

other:  corner rounder, gold glitter, Adirondack Alcohol Inks, white embossing powder

Gratitude... -- CFC62

Hi there!  I hope all is well with you and yours.  Thanks for visiting my site--I have very much enjoyed the wonderful comments and I appreciate you checking out my posts!

Today’s post is a simple card for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge which I have had lots of fun playing in. This week’s challenge is called "Back in Black" where the challenge is to create a Clean & Simple card using a black card base...

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

The ribbon used in this project is cream with a gold edging.

card details:

paper:  Black, SU! Soft Suede

tools:  Unity Co. Dream tree stamp, Hampton Art Studio G sentiment stamp, Provo Craft herringbone embossing folder, Celebrate It ribbon, black and gold embossing powders 

Sending You Birthday Wishes -- CAS179, CFC61 & CASology

Hi!  Just popping in to share a simple card I made for some challenges:  The Splitcoast Stampers CAS challenge to use twine, the CAS-ual Fridays challenge to use strips of paper in a CAS design and for the new CASology challenge to make a "happy" card. For this card, I used strips of paper to make the birthday “present”.  I dyed normal baker’s twine in SU! Rich Razzleberry re-inker to create the bow. That’s all for now. Thanks for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

card details:

Paper:  SU! card stock in certainly celery, pacific point, whisper white

Ink:  SU! Rich Razzleberry

Other:  Hampton Art Studio G sentiment stamp, MFT Die-namics Solid Bracket Border die, baker’s twine

Flowering Christmas Tree -- CC384

Hello!  I hope all is well with you and yours. It’s been a busy week this week as well as last week but I finally had a little time today to play in my studio. Today I made a Christmas card for the Splitcoast Stampers Color Challenge. I used a die cut for the main focal point but I did manage to incorporate a bit of stamping. :-) The flowers were layered and I added a bit of sparkle with gems and glitter. The sentiment as well as the "container" for the tree were heat embossed. I also experimented with some Copic markers in shading parts of the Christmas tree--something else I will having fun playing with more in upcoming projects.  Thanks for visiting!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Below is a different view...

card details:

Paper:  from Stampin’ Up!-- Very Vanilla and Certain Celery card stock, Certainly Celery (subtles collection) DSP

Tools:  SU! Apothecary Accents, Memory Box Flowering Christmas Tree, ProvoCraft Ribbon Slide dies; Corner rounder; Circle punches

Stamps:  Unity backgrounder, clear Christmas set (cannot recall the manufacturer)

Other:  satin ribbon, red glitter, red embossing powder, Copic markers, dimensional dots, Swarovski crystals

You Make My Heart Sing!

Hello!  Just popping in with a simple card I made for a recent CAS challenge in Splitcoast Stampers.  The CAS177 challenge was to use the color combination of Navy, Olive and white. When I began this card, I thought it would be easy to do a direct to paper background and use one of the new music dies I just purchased (and could hardly wait to use). I struggled to find a sentiment in my stash to go along with the theme so I (reluctantly) used a pen to print one. The vellum panel was a suggestion from my husband who walked by while I was putting elements together and noted that the background I created was a bit “too water color like”.  :-) I placed the panel there to humor him but liked the result in the end.  Well, that’s all for now!  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Card details:

Paper:  Heavy white card stock base, black card stock panel, water color panel, Vellum panel

Ink:  Ranger Distressed Inks Faded Jeans, Spanish Olive Versamagic Chalk

Other:  Memory Box “Virtuoso Music” die, Sizzix Triple Chocolate Truffle Hearts Sizzlit, Swarovski flat back crystal gems

Love U...

Hi!  I’m back with a second entry for this week’s CAS-ual Friday challenge. This card is actually my first crack at the technique I did in my previous post (Love, Always & Forever) for the CFC60 challenge to use text in a clean and simple design.  The same steps are involved but I used a larger heart die and consequently more of the text can be seen. I used a QuicKutz alphabet die to cut out the “u” in the top panel.  Thanks for looking!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

Below is a closer shot of the heart with the layered die-cuts...

card details:

Paper:  white card stock, SU! Sahara Sand

Tools:  “love” dies from BossKut, Sizzix and QuicKutz, Memory Box Grand Heart die, “u” alphabet die from QuicKutz, Die-namics Solid Bracket Border die

Other:  Satin Sensations ribbon in Copper, Swarovski crystals

Love, Always & Forever: CFC60

It’s that time again--time to play the CAS-ual Fridays CAS challenge! This week's challenge (CFC60: Text Me) is to use text in a Clean and Simple card design. I knew the technique I wanted to use right away after reading the challenge description.  Since I love die-cutting (more than stamping it seems), I wanted to use die cut words in my design. I rarely use die cut words as sentiments on my card designs--it just rarely turns out the way I want. "Love" was the word that I had multiple dies for and I just didn’t have the time patience to use various fonts to cut each letter and spell out "love" over and over. I die cut the word “Love” multiple times and adhered them to paper. I then die-cut a heart from that layered "text" paper making sure that the full word was centered. Originally, the wording was all white on white but then I changed it to highlight one word once I selected gold for the stamped and embossed sentiment.

I am planning to give this card to my dear hubby for our anniversary. Next month (August), we celebrate 22 fun and blessed years of marriage! I cannot believe so much time has passed--I am truly counting my blessings for such a special mate.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

A closer view of the die-cut heart:

Card Details:

Paper:  white card stock, pearl, gold metallic

Tools:  “love” dies from BossKut, Sizzix and QuicKutz, Memory Box Cupid Heart die

Sentiment: Ditto from Studio G

Other:  Stampendous gold embossing powder, Versamark ink

Winter Wonderland (in July)--CFC59

Hello!  I have a second entry in this week’s CAS-ual Friday Challenge: CFC59: round and round.  It’s been so very hot here lately--the triple digit temperatures and high dew points make it difficult to breathe outside!  So, I’ve been staying inside, trying to "think cool thoughts" to help cope with the July heat. Christmas came to mind! This may be the earliest I have ever started my Christmas card designs. :-)  I went with a snowflake theme and found one more way to incorporate those glass micro beads that I mentioned in my recent “Pretty In Pink” post.

Thanks for visiting!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

I had a difficult time photographing this card to capture the beauty of the microbeads. I wish you could see it "in real life" to see the subtle sparkle.  Below is a close up of the focal image--a snowflake surrounded by a circular sentiment (Winter Wonderland).  

         Card details:

• Paper:  Heavy card stock base, SU! Bashful Blue, Silver paper
• Tools:  Martha Stewart Border Punch, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles (lg), Marvy Uchida circle punch
• Stamp: Unity Stamp Co. Winter Wonderland circle stamp
• Other:  Martha Stewart Holidays Clear Microbeads, Stampendous silver embossing powder, SU! Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Pink Ribbon Note--CFC59

Hi there!  I am back with an entry into this week’s CAS-ual Friday challenge. The current challenge is CFC59: round and round where two circles are used in the design.

I opted to make a small note card--a 4 inch square card with my Aunt in mind. She can use this for a thank you note for one of her Avon Breast Cancer Walk supporters or use it for a small display. This card is just the right size to perch on her desktop at work. She is always looking for ways to bring about awareness of breast cancer research and the walk she does annually to raise funds and I think this may be a great little conversation starter with anyone who comes by her desk...

Here it is:

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

        Card details: 

• Textured white card stock base
• SU! Sahara Sand card stock
• SU! Pink Pirouette card stock
• Die-namics Dizzy Doily Dies
• Cuttlebug Awareness Ribbon Die
• Spellbinders Standard Circles (lg & sm)

Baby Boy Denim

Hi everybody!  I'm back with another baby boy card to share. I made this one to give to a dear friend at her recent baby shower.  I have wanted to use my new denim stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms for a while now and thought this occasion was the perfect one! I also used some cork (colored with acrylic paint) to make a "belt".  I had a lot of fun making this one!  Thank you for stopping by.  Until next time...

Stay inspired,

Sabrina

       Card details:

• SU! Crumb Cake card stock--textured and smooth--(textured card stock has been retired - 124274)
• SU! Midnight Muse ink (126860)
• SU! Summer Starfruit ink (126991)
• CHF Denim background stamp
• CHF Linen background stamp
• Cork (cut from flat sheet on a roll)
• Spellbinders buckles die
• Bosskut “Baby” word die 
• Diamond Glaze