Man Oh Man Monday No. 19 | Enjoy the Journey

Good evening! Using some chipboard pieces from the Fact & Fiction collections by Basic Grey along with some patterned paper from Fact by Basic Grey, some stamps from Basic Grey and Sn@p! Studio by Simple Stories and a new die (it also comes with cool stamps too) from 7Gypsies/Hampton Art/Sizzix I made this vaguely office-y/vintage card:

That's it for me for now.  Hope you have a joyous week.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: carbonated background, Basic Grey/Hero Arts; snapshots, sn@p! studio by Simple Stories
Ink: charcoal mid-tone, Hero Arts Shadow Ink; weather vane, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific
Patterned paper: 6x6 paper pad from Fact collection, Basic Grey
Other: designer chipboard stickers from Fact & Fiction collections, Basic Grey; Gypsy Files Stamp & Die-cut (file die cut), 7Gypsies/Hampton Art/Sizzix; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; sewing machine, Brother; tiny attacher, Tim Holtz; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers; dimensional adhesive

Man Oh Man Monday No 18 | Dude You Are Amazing

Tonight I decided to again pull out the June Simon Says Stamp! Card Kit: Something Awesome featuring the Dude stamp set by Kelly Purkey.  Such a fun kit and I love the stamp set.
This card is all about the Dude stamp set and Basic Grey's Hipster 6x6 papers and snippets from the kit.   I did do a little sewing as well.

Now let's get to the card:

 
Of course I used a little dimensional adhesive on the card to pop up the dude speech bubble.

And the last peek of the card:

That's all from me for now.  Have a glorious week!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Card kit: June Simon Says Stamp! Kit: Something Awesome, Simon Says Stamp
Ink: pale tomato and cup o'joe, Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Ink
Cardstock: Georgia-Pacific
Other: sewing machine, Brother; Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool, Ranger; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers; dimensional adhesive

Avery Elle's June AEI♥U Challenge

Ever have some products parked in a shopping cart because you are eyeing them something awful, but the craft money is already spent?  This was me with Avery Elle for a few months before I vowed that I would buy something.  When they sweetened the offer for their first anniversary with an adorable free stamp set, Party Animal, I knew the time had come.  That stamp set was way too cute to pass up!  For your information, the offer is good until the end of this month, June 2013 {wink}.  Let me also assure you that their customer service is excellent! 

Avery Elle has a monthly AEI♥U Challenge that I am finally going to enter using this great card sketch:

I took a chance and went with purple.  I decided to mix the purple with a lot of white and touches of grey and silver.  Here is what I created:

I used a mix of stamps and dies from Avery Elle and just had fun playing around.  I love the Chevron Border die and used the little diamond pieces from inside the die designed by JJ Bolton (for more examples on how to use this die and others check out JJ Bolton's blog).  I plan on experimenting with this awesome die some more!  Another fun stamp set with matching dies are the Simply Tags: Everyday stamp set and dies designed by Nina Yang (who also designed that cool sketch above).  I used the larger tag die which I embossed and stamped the sentiment in purple only to stamp over it with VersaMark and emboss with silver embossing powder.

For the subtle background behind the diamonds I stamped the ikat chevron (love!) from Ikat Additions in grey.  This stamp set is a doozy and under $5.00!

One last picture where you can see the silver of the embossed sentiment a little better:

So the moral of the story is that if you have been itching to buy some Avery Elle products I recommend doing so before July 1st or any time really as you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for taking the time to visit!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Ikat Additions and Simply Tags: Everyday, Avery Elle
Ink: weather vane and lavender sachet, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger; VersaMark, Tsukineko
Cardstock: solar white, Neenah Paper
Patterned paper: Hero Arts
Dies: Simply Tags: Everyday ELLE-ments and Chevron Border ELLE-ments, Avery Elle
Other: Zig Zag embossing folders, Lifestyle Crafts; Cuttlebug, Provo Crafts; silver embossing powder, Ranger; jewels and pearl, Hero Arts; dimensional adhesive

Man Oh Man Monday No. 16 | Remember Smile

Hello there my friends.  How is this Monday treating you? 

For today's MOMM I decided to pull out the arrowheads 6x6 stencil/mask by Prima Marketing, my ink blending tool and pumice stone Distress Ink to create my own background paper.  I added some stamping of the Plano stamp by Studio Calico/Hero Arts over the arrowheads for a little more interest.

I also printed out another set of journaling cards from Hey There by my new best digital designer, Emily Merritt Designs.   I don't know Emily Merritt, but I sure do dig her journaling cards!

I first went with the triangle yo. because it is cool and works well with the arrowheads design, but then I did some sewing (or too much sewing) on the card and it just wasn't working for me anymore so I went with the speech bubble journaling card and paired it with the ephemera from Pink Paislee's Portfolio collection that happen to be in colors that work great with the card (maybe due to my printer changing the colors of the cards).

I rounded one of the corners of the journaling card and adhered the journaling card to the card base using dimensional adhesive.  Lastly, I rounded all the corners of the card base.

 

I think this card would be great for encouraging some guy either when he's going for interviews, working on a big project or having some troubles at home, school and/or work.  It could even be used to say hello.

I hope you are encouraged to create something fun for the guys in your life.

Happy creating,

Shay.

Supplies:

Digital: Hey There, Emily Merritt Designs

Stamp: plano, Studio Calico/Hero Arts

Ink: pumice stone, stormy sky and tumbled glass, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger

Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; solar white, Neenah Paper

Other: ephemera from Portfolio collection, Pink Paislee; Arrowheads stencil/mask, Prima Marketing; Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger; dimensional adhesive; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers; bluebell "smile" enamel dots from The Sweetest Thing collection, My Mind's Eye

Dear Mama Elephant

Dear Mama Elephant:

How do you do it?  How do you make such cleverly designed stamp sets that are nearly impossible not to covet?  My bank account does not thank you one bit.  I do though.  How could I not?  You have an adorable typewriter that works for men and women which I used to make a simple birthday card for my younger (don't ask by how much) cousin who plans on becoming a writer.  Perfect?  Yes, indeed Type It was.  You can even just stamp it right on your cardstock with the little separate sheet of paper without losing one iota of its beauty.  I also love the little typed sentiments...happy b-day. and to you. are just right.   Let us not forget the ever useful, Trifecta because I certainly have not!  I reach for that baby when I want some filler without it being fussy and still trendy.

Any success of my card I contribute to your designs:

I am looking forward to inking up more of your stamps and adding to my growing collection (again angering my bank account).  Should you like to give me special sneaks of upcoming releases for a very biased reaction, don't hesitate to ask.  I am on it!

A fan,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Type It and Trifecetta, Mama Elephant
Ink: weather vane, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger; raspberry fizz, Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; raspberry fizz, Papertrey Ink
Patterned paper: Soleil 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey
Other: sequins, Studio Calico; pearls, The Paper Studio; doily

Man Oh Man Monday No. 15 | Birthday Card with Layers

Hello there!  Man Oh Man Monday comes to you a smidgen late this week...only 2 days.  Geez.  I won't go into detail, but we lost one of our beloved dogs.  Now that I am able to see through the trail of tears and have stopped wailing (slight exaggeration for dramatic effect), I wanted to share a birthday card I made back in the fall of last year for an uncle of mine.

Don't ask me too many questions on what I did and what I used because I am sort of fuzzy on both.  I do know I was going through a phase of using layers of die cuts and patterns.  The journaling cards are from Studio Calico as is most of the stamps.  I think the die cuts come from My Mind's Eye and possibly Studio Calico too.

The inside (I can't recall where the happy stamp comes from):

Note to self: when using a strip with stars actually use a strip with full stars.

That's it from me for the moment.  Enjoy your day!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: celebrate from Twisty Slide Add-On Kit and chevron arrow from Couple's Skate Add-On Kit, Studio Calico; date roller stamp, American Crafts; birthday wishes from Central High Card Kit, Lawn Fawn for Studio Calico
Ink: brushed corduroy and spiced marmalade, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific 
Patterned Paper: No Limits 6x6 paper pad, Heidi Swapp
Other: die cuts, My Mind's Eye and Studio Calico; tiny attacher, Tim Holtz; Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger; Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, We R Memory Keepers

Dear Sassafras

Dear sassafras aka Tim and Beck:

How I love your unique designs full of vintage touches, quirkiness, humor and flamboyant color combinations.  I find your products beautiful, intriguing and fun to use (I don't like to play favorites, but Sunshine Broadcast is one of my all time most beloved collections *ever*).  Case in point, Soleil which you designed in collaboration with Basic Grey last year (it happens to be on sale on Basic Grey's website right now).  I love it.  I love it even more today than I did when I first saw it displayed on my computed screen on Basic Grey's blog when they unveiled their Summer CHA 2012 collections.  And I love that I can mix in a stamped flower I had sitting on my work table from a previous doomed card to create something wholly new for my friend's birthday.  I decided to let myself be free as your designs foster creative adventures.

Here's my card which was delightful to make, although I am not sure it does your designs justice:

I plan to use Soleil all over the place and if I could I would wallpaper my room in your paper.  That isn't much of a hyperbole....as I type it I am considering whether I could wallpaper a wall of my room with your paper, but I hate to wallpaper...the preparation, the glue that doesn't quite work or works too well, the air bubbles, arms raised for long moments above the head and most of all the thought of in the future when I may want to/have to change things removing said wallpaper.  Will you be disappointed if I don't wallpaper my room with your paper?  Instead I may just place your papers in frames to hang on the wall.

You are awesome.  I hope to see many more of your designs in the future (please!!!!), but until then I will be (not at all like a crazy person) fervently admiring (soon in frames) and occasionally even using my vintage sassafras stash.

A fan,
Shay.

By the way, if you want a chance to win some free art products including stamps this weekend, check out my Paper Wings Productions' Design Team Blog Hop post HERE.

Supplies:
Stamp: Funky Florals (limited edition), Papertrey Ink
Ink: harvest gold, Papertrey Ink; bubble gum, orange soda, stone wash, Hero Arts Shadow Ink
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; piece of cardstock previously sprayed with mists
Patterned paper: Soleil 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey
Other: tag sale #3 die collection, Papertrey Ink; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; element stickers and title stickers from Soleil collection, Basic Grey; doily; dimensional adhesive; Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger

Man Oh Man Monday No. 13 | Father's Day Edition No. 5

Good Monday to you!  Yes, I am back on the appropriate day this week.  I got my...act together and took advantage of some time yesterday to get crafting with Simon Says Stamp's June Card Kit: Something Awesome.  When I first saw previews of the June's kit I was stoked as it was perfect for MOMM, father's day and any dude card.

I am a fan of Kelly Purkey and was thrilled with her Dude stamp set which is still available while the June card kit is sold out (I obviously wasn't the only one stoked).  If you haven't had a chance to check out her blog I recommend perusing it.  She's one hip and happenin' gal (unlike this dusty relic) and I love reading about her adventures and I am endlessly intrigued by her journey to build her own brand (seriously makes me happy to read about how creative brands/companies come about and are run and may only be trumped by seeing creative spaces or reading foodcentric memoirs with recipes included.  Big happy sigh.).

Also, this weekend I caught up and watched all of the videos from the His & Hers class from Online Card Classes which was really informative and inspiring.  I am always running so behind on my online classes, but believe me that although the class may no longer be live it is still packed with great material.  I like to stuff my mind with as much inspiration as possible and see what pops out.   Sometimes I clearly see where I took my inspiration and other times it was ideas that grew together from this card, that blog, this layout, that technique and so on and so forth. 

 

I created this simple, but fun card from the kit which is for father's day, but could also easily be for a birthday or a memorable thank you.  I can't get enough of playing with several sentiments together and used a mix of stamps from the Dude stamp set along with a saying from Basic Grey's Hipster snippets found in the card kit.  I love that I could add the little man wood veneer that matched exactly the shape of the man icon in the stamp set.  I had a wood veneer the exact same size, but I chose one slightly smaller so that the stamped image looks like a shadow or like the projection of the man is larger or grander than the size of the man himself (as in "he was larger than life" or "he cast a long shadow").  I am getting a little allegorical in my old age.

The colors of the pictures are more blue and less green than in real life.

 

I hope you enjoyed the card and have a fabulous week!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Card Kit: Something Awesome, Simon Says Stamp
Ink: cup o'joe, Hero Arts Shadow Ink
Other: wood veneer, Studio Calico; notebook border punch, Fiskars; dimensional adhesive; chestnut memory marker, American Crafts

Man Oh Man Monday No. 12 (on Tuesday) | Father's Day Edition No. 4

Man Oh Man It's Not Monday.  No excuses from me...my Memorial Day was spent mostly watching movies with my family including "Argo".  I hope you also had a wonderful Memorial Day with family and friends.  I want to thank those who serve/served our country to allow us to do just that. 

So today we are going with a card to honor the men in service who are also proud papas because although we have days marked off on the calendar to commemerate our service men and women, I think any day of the week is a good day to honor them as well.  

 

 

The background is actually something I started on Saturday using the Watercolor Wonder stamp set by Papertrey Ink for another card for Papertrey Ink's May Blog Hop, but it was all sorts of shades of wrong for the floral card I envisioned and reminded me of camouflage.  I saw it again sitting upon my table and decided it would be perfect for today's card.  I added more stamping and a banner sentiment stamped from Papa Love by Mama Elephant which I gold embossed.

 

 

 

I think it is turned out pretty striking and cool.   What do you think? 

 

Thank you for taking the time to visit and have a wonderful week!

 

Happy creating,

Shay,

 

Supplies:

Stamps: Watercolor Wonder, Papertrey Ink; Papa Love, Mama Elephant

Inks: Versamark, Tsukineko; peeled paint and shabby shutters, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger; limeade ice, Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: stamper's select white and spring moss, Papertrey Ink

Other: detail metallic gold embossing powder, JudiKins; heat embossing tool; dimensional adhesive

Man Oh Man Monday No. 10 | Father's Day Edition No. 02

Happy Monday to you!  A quick card and post today as allergies have pinned me to the mat.

 

 This card is all about using tons of different stamps that catch your fancy to create a background that says a lot about the awesome dad in your life.  To finish off the panel I simply stamped out "dad" with an alphabet stamp set (inking the edges) and added it to the background using dimensional adhesive. 

For more interest I added the stamped panel at an angle and curled up the edges (under the edges I also added some dimensional adhesive).

That's it for Man Oh Man this Monday.  Have a rad week!

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: all stamps Studio Calico/Hero Arts except Neat Things, Hello Forever for Studio Calico and "you are loved" from Halley's Comet kit, Paislee Press for Studio Calico
ink: green hill and orange soda shadow ink, Hero Arts; broken china and black soot, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger 
cardstock: grey from stash
patterned paper: Hey You! 6x6 paper pad, Basic Grey
Other: dimensional adhesive; foam ink applicator, Inkssentials by Ranger

Man Oh Man Monday No. 9 | Father's Day Edition 01

Today is the first MOMM focusing on Father's Day. Today's card is traditional in color, design and pattern so it can easily be given to a grandpa too.  I have a thing for travel related anything.  I can't seem to pass up maps, planes, air mail iconography on fabric, stamps, papers and elements.  Perhaps this has to do with so many good memories travelling in the car.  I still love car rides, plane trips, boat expeditions and travel excursions.  I think travel themes are a natural fit with guys too.  I know the male members of my family all have affection for one type of vehicle or other or just in travel in itself.  You will see this theme come up time and time again from me.  I just can't help it!

 

When I thought about making a Father's Day card I pulled out some of my travel themed stamps from Tim Holtz.  Nearly all Tim Holtz products are a crafty gal's best friend when you need to make some testosterone enriched cards.  In particular I grabbed the Travel Labels stamp set.

 

 

I really love creating backgrounds with stamps.  Using the larger Fiskars stamp press and all of the stamps from the stamp set I created a pattern that I stamped in Versamark upon a piece of patterned paper from the He Said She Said He Said 6x6 paper pad.  I then heat embossed the images with clear embossing powder.  

This is when I pulled out my Distress Inks.  You can't go wrong with some Distress Inks and ink blending tool.  There is fun to be had (I don't get out much obviously) in seeing the images being revealed as more and more ink is placed on the paper and the embossing powder resists the ink. 

I wrapped some ecru crochet cotton around the resist panel and attached a round tag that I stamped with a sentiment from Fillable Frames #4 using some Hero Arts pool ink.

I finished off the card by adhering the resist panel with dimensional adhesive to a piece of patterned paper from the same 6x6 paper pad and then a kraft card base.

MOMM Tips:
MOMM Tip No. 1: Go with Tim Holtz.  Products designed by a man with a man's sensibility.

MOMM Tip No. 2: Customize pattern paper.  Heat emboss on patterned paper for a new look that is perfect for your project.

So there you have our first MOMM Father's Day card.  I'll be back next week with another card to inspire you to tackle your father's day cards.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:

Stamps: Travel Labels, Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous; Fillable Frames #4, Papertrey Ink

Ink: Versamark, Tsukineko; tumbled glass, shabby shutters, stormy sky, faded jeans, black soot, Tim Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger; pool, Shadow Ink by Hero Arts

Cardstock: kraft, Papertrey Ink; white, Georgia Pacific

Patterned Paper: He Said She Said He Said 6x6 paper pad, Teresa Collins

Other: Inkssentials non-stick craft sheet, Ranger; Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger; large stamp press, Fiskars; clear embossing powder, Ranger; heat gun; Tag Its Kits cutting dies, Lifestyle Crafts; Cuttlebug, Provo Craft; dimensional adhesive; ecru crochet cotton, DMC

Mama Elephant Sketch Challenge 03

Happy Sunday!  Today I am here with a quick card for Mama Elephant's Sketch Challenge 03.

Triangles and arrows are all the rage right now.  Perhaps I am not trendy, but with Mama Elephant stamps at least I can pretend to be!  For some reason I thought about paper weaving which became the the beginning of this card.  I picked out a rainbow, ombre triangle patterned paper from Studio Calico's Snippet 6x6 paper pad.  Ombre + rainbows + triangles = trend-tasticness!

Here is the card I came up with:

Fun, right?  I was happy that I was able to stack the sentiment from Geotagged over the bull's eye from On Target.  All of the arrows are from On Target as well.

I accented the patterned paper with three enamel dots following the sketch.

That's it for now, but I will be back tomorrow for Man Oh Man Monday.

Happy creating,
Shay.

Stamps: On Target and Geotagged, Mama Elephant
Inks: limeade ice and ocean tides, Papertrey Ink; charcoal, butter bar, soft cantaloupe and pale tomato shadow inks, Hero Arts
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific
Patterned Paper: Snippets collection 6x6 paper pad, Studio Calico
Other: He Said She Said (She Said) enamel dots, Teresa Collins; dimensional adhesive

Man Oh Man Monday No. 5

Happy Monday!

I am bringing you a very simple card today.  Men like simple, right?  Or at least some men do.  The card focuses almost entirely on a stamp I fell in love with by Paper Smooches called appropriately Dapper.  It is an amazing two-toned background that is perfect for guys as well as gals.  The design is fabulous and makes you look like a stamping pro (that of course you already know you are).

I would qualify this card as Easy Going.

I went with a fresh green and white color scheme (this would obviously be great for St. Patrick's Day too!).  I simply stamped Dapper once on a piece of white cardstock and then stamped the distinctive handwritten sentiment also by Paper Smooches sideways to the right.  I was going to leave it at that, but I decided to go with an added dash of flash in the way of matching glitter tape...dapper indeed!  I then adhered the white card panel to a green card base with dimensional adhesive and called it done.  Clean, simple and debonair which can be attributed to a fantastically designed stamp.  Thanks, Paper Smooches!  I don't think we've seen the last of Dapper.

MOMM Tips:
MOMM Tip No. 1: Use a well designed background stamp as the focus of your card.  With that one design you don't need much to dress it up.
MOMM Tip No. 2: Monochromatic can be magnificent.  Choose one color and go for it!

Have you used Dapper before?  What did you think?  Is there a background stamp that you have a design-crush on? 

Happy creating,
Shay.

Supplies:
Stamps: Dapper and Sentiment Sampler, Paper Smooches
Ink: seed packet, Jenni Bowlin for Ranger
Cardstock: white, Georgia Pacific; new leaf, Papertrey Ink
Other: evergreen glitter tape, American Crafts; dimensional adhesive, American Crafts