Warm Hearts!

I just love these dog stamp sets from There She Goes.  I actually got this set as an incentive after another TSG dog card was published in PaperCrafts last year.  It's like the circle of life.  Or the circle of dog stamps.  This is (if I remember correctly) 4bar size, which is 3½ by 4⅞ (<-- look at me all HTML fractiony!) I made a mask of the snowman and doggie so I could use my Hero Art envelope background stamp.  I usually do ok at masking small things, but when every I try to use a background stamp over masking I always end up with a white border around my masking--any hints on what I'm doing wrong?  I'm using a post-it, so I don't think it's a thickness issue.  Should I be trimming on the inside of my shape more?

Anyway, I still liked it even with the aura, so I did some quick Copic coloring and added some Stickles, then I totally copied Angela's first published card by highlighting "warm hearts" with a copic since (a) it was a thank you note and (b) that was better than crossing out "frosty nights" since I'm not really a big fan of those. 

Speaking of warming hearts, I have some fun Christmas RAKs to share! 

Look at those mathy hexagons!  And that cute striped bow!  Thanks, Angela!

Seriously, can you believe that coloring?!?  No wonder Maria is now a part of the Eat Cake Graphics design team!

Clean.  Simple.  With a touch of glitter.  Must be another great card from Lindsey!

Oooh, it's a card AND a gift all in one!  Emily sure knows how to pack a lot of punch into one envelope; she even included this thank you, too:

Oh, I see how Jessi's going to be.  Not only does she make the perfect pup card with fun snowy accents, but she also paper pieced the same doggy on the envelope! 

This last card is not a stamped card, but a store-bought one we received from Mr Corgi's cool Seattle aunt.  After opening this one, I decided I should just give up cardmaking because this is cardmaking perfection:

PEOPLE IT IS PRINTED ON WOOD AND IT INVOLVES A RED BUG, PINK PIG, AND A FOX THAT HAS CORGI EARS.    The most random part?  It is made by Night Owl Paper Goods, which, as I read the back of the card, is based in Birmingham, Owlabama.   Which means not only are they based in my CITY, but they even made a PUN FOR MY STATE.  I wonder if they need an intern.... 

Hope your hearts are staying warm wherever you are!

Happy Gnome and "I love you this much" tutorial

Yes, turns out I can make a card without my Silhouette:

Ok, if you say so, gnome, I'll be happy, but only because you're so cute!  This My Mind's Eye Darling Dear paper seemed to be very gnome-y, and I must admit I'm kind of in love with all the border strips that MME has for their kraft line.  The "happy" is from A*muse (I bought this set when the website was going out of business. I think it is on the retirement list for the new A*muse, which is kind of sad, not happy.)  The gnome is from There She Goes "My Little Friend," colored with prismacolor pencils (man, it's been a long time since I've had those out!).

As requested and promised, here's a quick-and-dirty tutorial of my "I love you this much" slider card, first seen in this post.

I'll try to upload my Silhouette files tonight, but it would also be easy to make in Word.  The main cover (left) is 4x8 1/4 (I forgot the 1/4 on my "diagram) and the slider portion is 3 1/4 x 8 1/4.  Make sure the text is centered vertically in both boxes, and you should be good to go.  You'll also need a 3 x 1/2 scrap.

Now it's time to make the base.  I made mine 8 1/4 x 8 so it could fit in a business size envelope and still have some mitten overhang.  Score at 4 inches.  Make your slider notches 1 inch from the top and bottom of the front of your card, about 3/4 inches in from the left and ending about 4 3/4 inches in.  Make sure your cuts end evenly or else it will make your slider be wonky at the end.

Slip your 3 inch scrap into the slits you've made and put some glue on the exposed ends.  This is where your slider will attach.  You may also want to go ahead and put some Scor-tape on the top and bottom of your card for adhering the big front portion.  I just used my ATG gun and tried to be careful.

Slide your slider into the slit in the front panel (that's what she said).

Now comes the tricky part in both picture-taking and action.  You want to attach your slider portion to the two glued tabs of your scrap piece, while at the same time not bending the front portion too much.  Then adhere the top and bottom of the front portion to the card base (this is where scor-tape would be helpful since you can wait until this step to reveal the stickiness).  If you notice, I have two 1/2 inch strips decorating my card at the top and bottom. I did plan on those, but they also had the added bonus of hiding any crease marks I got from bending the front piece while attaching. 

My hint: make a quick-and-dirty prototype with just some plain copy paper so you can understand the idea in person.  It really is one of those hard-to-describe-easy-to-do things. 

Hope it makes you happy!  :)

So You're Saying There's a Chance?

I was not really a fan of Dumb & Dumber, but this joke always cracks me up:


Lloyd: What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?
Mary: Well, Lloyd, that's difficult to say. I mean, we don't really...
Lloyd: Hit me with it! Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary: Not good.
Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.
[pause]
Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance... *YEAH!* 


I always think of it when I submit to Papercrafts that even if there's 1300 entries, there's still a chance.  Sometimes, however, I think my card can do a little better than one out of a million, like everything came together to make the perfect card for the theme and really I should just go ahead and mail to them now.  


And then they pick the other two that I submitted.  


NOT that I'm complaining, of course, because this is the first time they've ever picked two for the same issue from me, but just goes to show you it's always a surprise.  One of the "chosen ones" was a card I made for Gallery Idol, but then went in a completely different direction.  I mention that because another Gallery Idol contestant, Amber, is hosting a Paper Craft Reject Hop, so I thought I'd join in.  


Wow, that was a lot of work to get to this card:

Ok, so yes, I think it would have been better if the colored gnome was maybe half an inch to the left, but I sure as heck was not going to restamp the panel.  It was definitely a fun card to make, trying to be "random" in my gnome placement but still not have the same gnomes too close together.  And Chowderhead font makes every day a party, doesn't it?  The colored strip of paper is becoming my go-to accent: it doesn't add as much weight to card and is easier to mail than a bow.   


Scheduling update: I think I was too excited about TAR last week, but unfortunately it doesn't start until next Sunday.  Fortunately that gives Mr Corgi and I more time to get through The Good Wife (we should be finishing up disc 4 today).


I hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend!  I have some blog commenting to catch up on and then some fun cardmaking planned.  Yippee!


Gnome Like You Supplies:

There She Goes My Little Friend	Chowderhead Font	Memento Tuxedo Black	Abyss Green BG75 Copic	Pale Olive YG95 Copic	Egg Shell E50 Copic
Acid Yellow Y08 Copic	Prawn R24 Copic	Chamois E35 Copic	Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse Cardstock	A Muse Studio Eucalyptus	Papertrey Ink White Cardstock

InLinkz.com

From The Corgi

Of course Miss Addison had to make a card for Mr Corgi's birthday!

She kept it pretty CAS, what with the lack of opposable thumbs and such.  Can you believe how well she colored that stamp from There She Goes "Puppy Love" set?  There was also some fur in my Antique Linen distress ink, so I think she may have used that to color in the sign with an aquapainter.  I had to help her use the cuttlebug to die cut those banners (the C plate, Addison, the C plate!^[1]), but she tiny-attached them and foam taped them all by her onesies.  And corner-rounded the top corner, too! 

Also, I just had to share this photo I took this afternoon (with apologies to all those poor Northerners still stuck in snow):

Isn't that just gorgeous?  We just got this at Lowe's this weekend and I hope the other four or five buds blossom before I kill it  (I'm all about setting realistic goals).

Anything growing in your garden yet?

^[1]Typing this line about made me pee my pants. I grew up watching Lassie every morning (shocker, huh?) and my favorite episode was where Timmy's mom gets trapped in a cougar trap, so she sends Lassie to get the C-clamp.  Except Lassie comes back with a cheese slicer instead!  Silly Lassie!  So Ruth repeats, "No, the C-clamp, Lassie!  Get the C-Clamp!"  I searched for a video to link, but I couldn't find one.  So I hope someone out there can back me up on how awesome that episode is, or you'll just have to take my word for it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  Are any of y'all planning on venturing out tonight?  Fill me in on your awesome plans!  I think DH is cooking me a nice steak, served with a amaretto sour, of course.  Speaking of DH, here is my {second} card for him:

This card is also for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.  The poochie is from There She Goes Puppy Love set.  It was a gift from DH, so double awesome (the fact that it is a dog is first awesome)!  I colored her with copics, then stamped a Waltzingmouse Vintage Labels 4 border in Bashful Blue.  Each layer is attached with pop dots for some great dimension.

The sentiment is from The Cat's Pajamas, with a little Martha punch action at the end.  Of course I had to use some of my favorite paper, and I added a little stitching for fun.  The top corner seemed lonely, so I made some 3 faux brads using Real Red cardstock.

The second Valentine is for my friend to give to her husband.  I couldn't resist these little turtles from Amber Ink!

This one is also for the Embellish Color Trends Challenge. In Word, I drew a 4 x 5.25 rectangle, then inserted the row of turtles.  I resized them to be .8 inches tall, then copied and pasted the picture until I had 5 rows of turtles (I flipped some of them horizontally to break up the pattern a bit).  After printing and cutting, I colored the two that were gazing at each other with copics, then added some glossy accents to their shells.  The sentiment is from Unity, die cut with scallop circle nestability.  Then I matted the image with Kiwi Kiss and adhered to an Ocean Tides base.  Here's a close up of the turtles so you can check out the shiny shells:

I hope y'all have a wonderful Valentine's day!

2010: The Year I Became a Real Stamper

First, I do have a card to share:

I've had this card by Belinda Chang Langner in my google notebook for quite some time, and could finally CASE it since I received the PTI cloud die for Christmas. I also got the fabulous chock-full-o'-pups Puppy Love set from There She Goes.  I colored the image with copics, cut out the clouds, and popped it up onto some Echo Park paper.   Squee!

So, now for the reasons why 2010 was the year I became a Real Stamper.
1. Started a blog and now have 36 (!!) followers--you guys make me feel like a Real Stamper with every visit and comment!
2. Was a Splitcoast CAS Challenge Guest Designer twice (here and here).
3. Featured on the Splitcoast Facebook page eight times. Lydia of Understand Blue does such a great job highlighting cards on there. What an awesome gig that must be!   Splitcoast posts for the cards featured here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
4. Won an Embellish Magazine Challenge and a Taylored Expressions Challenge.
5. Made it onto my first offical Design Team for Eat Cake Graphics
6. Made all sorts of new stampy friends!
7. I was published!!!!!  I still can't believe it!  Must have had beginner's luck since it was the first card I'd ever submitted.  You can check it out now in the January/February issue of Papercrafts, page 42. :)

If 2011 is anything like 2010, I'm in for a wild stamping ride!  Hope 2011 brings all sorts of fabulous things your way as well!