Easy Cards with Style

I've been playing with my new stamps again and made two cards that took less than 15 minutes and minimal supplies.  I can't even remember the last time I made a card with so few supplies.  I was inspired by the Clean and Simple Card ideas from the class by the same name - from Online Card Classes.

The first card uses a flourish from the set I designed for Paper Wings Productions, called Flourish Fun.  I wanted a white card where the flourish could be the focus.  All I needed to do was add a simple sentiment, and voila!

The second card features the Whimsical Pattern Alphabet set used for the sentiment.  The letters were stamped and then colored using Prisma pencils. While looking through my stash, I came across the Basic Grey buttons that were my color inspiration. 

Supplies:

Hello Card
Stamps: Flourish Fun - Paper Wings Productions
Ink: Colorbox Chalk Ink - Lipstick Red
Paper: Papertrey Ink
Other: American Crafts Thickers

Thanks Card
Stamps: Whimsical Pattern Alphabet - Paper Wings Productions
Ink: Memories Black
Paper: Papertrey Ink
Other: Buttons - Basic Grey, Prisma Color Pencils


Just one more day to wait before the Paper Wings Productions website goes live!  Be sure to check out the site for all of the stamps starting March 1st.  And if you want to see more stamp sneak peeks, check out my friend Shay's blog and the Paper Wings Productions facebook page.

Could you use a little coffee???

So after a VERY long day, I finally complete a card, and I could really use a cup of coffee. But, I don't have any coffee here, except for my new stamps. :) 

I had so much fun making this card.  I got such a kick out of stamping my first stamp and coloring it in.  I also got to dig in my Basic Grey 6x6 paper stash and found this one in the Out of Print set.  I wanted to use my Prisma colored pencils on kraft cardstock, and I really like the way it came out.  I added some Signo gel pen to highlight the cream and the steam.  I can't wait to make more!!!

I also have another project to share.  I was using another set coming out very soon from Paper Wings Productions and I had to put my thinking cap on.  I used these Muertos to create a dimensional wall art that could also be used on a shrine for Dia de los Muertos.

I had an old wooden tic-tac-toe board that I painted black and added the stamped images to the playing pieces.  The paper I used has a coating that looks like a satin sheen.  The Marvy markers worked really well on this paper and I think it looks more vibrant that way. I made the marigold from the Stampin' Up! scallop circle punch and SU! paper.  I put several layers together with a mini brad and I snipped between the scallops to create a better petal, and then fluffed up each layer, And, last but not least, hit it with a spritz of Tattered Angels.  I added a few gemstones to finish the project and think it turned out pretty good.

Well, I hope you enjoyed these sneak peeks.  I hope you will come back for more later this week, and be sure to go back to the Paper Wings Productions facebook page to enter for the giveaway and check out their website that goes live March 1st!!! Entries on the facebook page must be posted before 10pm CST to qualify. Good Luck!

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!!!

Julie

Paper Wings Productions ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hi everybody!  Guess what??  Paper Wings Productions is about to open for business.  We are so very excited to get started with this new company, and we want you to be part of it.  Carrie Avery, owner of Paper Wings Productions just posted this announcement on our Facebook page (if you haven't liked us yet, you should! :) )  Check out this post below:

Here's our first giveaway! Lots of opportunities to win. (1.) Like this post (2.) "Share" our page with your friends on Facebook (3.) Give us a shout out on your blog (4.) Mention us on Twitter @PaperWingsProd (5.) Come back here [PWP facebook page], comment on this post and tell us how many of these you did. You get one entry for each one of the steps listed above that you complete. One winner will be drawn randomly from all the entries entered by Wednesday February 22nd at 10:00pm. Winner will receive a free goody bag from Paper Wings Productions.

Isn't that awesome?! I can't wait to see who wins!  Now, remember, you need to go to Paper Wings Productions Facebook page to comment to win.  Comments on this blog post will not qualify for the giveaway.  BUT, check back here this week for some samples using our awesome new stamps!!!!

Clean and Simple Cards

I finally made some time to get back into the lab (the name we gave our office/crafting space) and make a few cards.  I used a few techniques I learned in the Clean and Simple Card Making Class by Jennifer McGuire, Kristina Werner and Julie Ebersole.  I often have trouble getting started on a card and I want to stop "overthinking" it.  There is a time and place for lots of embellishments, and then there is a time for clean and simple.  Here are a few of the cards I have worked on recently.

This card is inspired by both Shari Carroll's layout in the online class and Julie Ebersole's Flower Trio on Kraft card here. I used a Stampin' Up wheel (Classic Stars wheel - shown above) with Versamark ink and white embossing powder (also on the sentiment from Hero Arts).  I used markers to color in the stars and I think they stand out nicely against the kraft paper and white stars.  This was my husband's birthday card.

In this shot you can see the striped paper added to the inside of the card.  The front right part of the card is cut shorter and a thin strip of blue paper added to the front edge to contrast the stripe.  Makes me think of baseball - and he's an Astro's fan, so I thought it was a great theme.

This next card is one I made for my cousin Candy.  I used the same layout/technique on this card but added a scallop punch (Stampin' Up!) to the paper on the inside of the card. 

Here is a close up of the card - I really like the "ice cream" colors put together with the kraft paper. I had this one scrap of paper with the cute cupcakes and they were already glittery, so I decided to cut those out and mount them with pop dots.

The last card I have has a different layout, but still a clean and simple look.  I had this stripe paper that I really like and wanted to use it on the card, but didn't know for sure how I wanted to tie it in to the cupcake, so I paper pieced the cupcake wrapper with the same paper.  I sent this card for my friend Shay - and the stripe reminded me of her - she likes those aqua's, greens and greys for sure! Then I found some scrap hot pink paper that coordinated with the stripe and used my trusted Marvy scallop and circle punches to set up the focal image. I also used the We R Memory Keepers corner rounder - I don't use that enough and I really want to get the new one - I think I might have to do some online shopping :)

I had fun with the icing on this cupcake - I used some watercolor pencils from SU! and a blender pen to color with and then, the best stickles to date -- ROCK CANDY --Love it :)  It gives you sparkle with out being too glitzy, and in this case, makes me think of the large sugar crystals you see on some bakery goodies.  YUM!  I want to eat that cupcake!!!

These were great fun!  Now, I'm looking forward to testing some new stamps in my "lab".  I've had all sorts of good ideas today - now it's time to put them into action.

Hope these cards inspire you to get crafty this weekend!

Julie