FRESHLY MADE SKETCHES

Hello everyone! This is my second post today. Please scroll down to see my Father’s Day Card.

This week, Freshly Made Sketches has a great sketch that I wanted to try out.  I like to quill flowers when I have time, and I wanted to use them on this card, so here it is:

The card is going to Operation Write Home* which is an organization that collects handmade cards to send to our troops so they have nice cards to send home.  If you have never heard of them, please check out the website after you leave comments here!

The flowers are on top of two Spellbinders beaded ovals and a Classic Ovals. Tiny self-adhesive pearls are used as flower centers.

The papers are from My Mind’s Eye So Sophie and the sentiment is from Verve’s One Person set.

Now I just need to find time to quill more!

THIS CARD QUALIFIES FOR:

Freshly Made Sketches FMS39

I also made this card for:
Mynnette’s Spread the L-O-V-E challenge:

*Operation Write Home: Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.
Thank you so much for stopping by! I am always so happy to see that you have been to my blog. Please leave comments so I know you were here! PLEASE HELP ME GROW! If you are not a follower yet, would you please click follow?
hugs,

SUPPLIES
SIZE: approx 5.5 x 4.25″

My Mind's Eye - 6x6 Designer Paper Pad - So Sophie - Graceful	Classic Ovals LG	Beaded Ovals	Big Shot
Purple Hemp Twine

InLinkz.com

OMG I WON IBSIC#11

Just a quick note! I am soooooo excited! I just learned that I won the IBSIC#11 challenge with this card:

Thank you to Joanna and the DT Team at Inspired by Stamping! I feel so honored to be a winner and look forward to being a Guest Designer for Joanna in the future. 

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am always so happy to see that you have been to my blog. Please leave comments so I know you were here! PLEASE HELP ME GROW! If you are not a follower yet, would you please click follow?
hugs,

CAS-UAL FRIDAYS CFC41

Happy Saturday crafty friends! I hope you are having a beautifully crafty day, as I have.  Finally, I had time to make some cards and did I have fun!

I have been sharing a lot of Mother’s Day cards since I am participating in Operation Write Home’s* Mother’s Day challenge. Even though it is not for the Mother’s Day challenge, it will be sent to our troops for mailing home.

Today, I decided to take a break and make a fun card for CAS-ual Friday’s CFC41 challenge ~ Jest for the Pun of it.  Use a pun, or a sentiment in a silly way to create a joke, on your Clean And Simple creation.

The panel is made using Distress Inks on watercolor paper.

The sentiment was created on my computer and printed out on card stock. The drink is popped up on a pop dot to add dimension to the card.

I won these cute stamps in the OWH Stars and Stamps VCMP challenge. They are from DeNami Design and were perfect for this card. I quilled one of the lime slices to add dimension. 

I think I am beginning to enjoy making CAS cards, but I don’t think it will ever replace the fun I have making vintage/shabby cards.

In addition to the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, I made this card for:

Mynnette’s Spread the L-O-V-E challenge since this will be sent to our troops and will make it’s way home to a friend or loved one.

*Operation Write Home: Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

Thank you so much for stopping by! I am always so happy to see that you have been to my blog. Please leave comments so I know you were here! Oh, if you are not a follower yet, would you please click follow?

hugs,

Ellen

STAMPS

• DeNami Designs

PAPER – Recollections

INK

• Stayzon Black
• Tim Holtz
• Peeled Paint Distress Ink
• Wild Honey Distress Stain

TOOLS

• Quilling tool
• Quilling strips

ACCESSORIES

Really Reason Ribbons – Stars on Apple Green Grosgrain

Green ric-rak

A NONTRADITIONAL VALENTINES CARD

Hi everyone! The weather has been GORGEOUS here for a couple of days and I have been getting outside to enjoy it.  This is that time of year that we don’t know from one day to the next what our weather will be, so when it is as nice as today, you just drop everything and get outside!  I hope your week is going well.

Thank you for stopping by to look at my card. Today’s card is for the Splitcoaststampers technique challenge hosted by my friend Judy Rozema! In the  TLC361 Inspired By Belleek Pottery  challenge, “We want our backgrounds to look reminiscent of porcelain or bisque pottery/china, so we will be limited in what colors we can use.” Please scroll down to see all of the challenges this card is entered into!!!

I was completely enchanted by the Belleek Pottery that I found on their website. In particular, the items with the tiny flowers inspired me. 

My background was made using Umber Versacolor ink in the front of my Cuttlebug embossing folder and embossing a white piece of paper.

For the medallion, I used Spellbinders Big Scalloped Circles Large, pierced it using 2 different stencils from Erika Fortgens, and stamped it using Rubber Stamp Tapestry’s Be Mine Floral Set . I then quilled a flower for the center and finished it with white pearl beads and purple rhinestones.

The above photo shows the sentiment and the detail of the paper piercing.

The inside has a coordinating piece of cardstock attached for the message.

Oh I wanted to share with you a picture of what I am seeing as I work on this post!

So, I am sitting in the recliner working on this post and Joy is on the foot lying there watching me work while she chews on her treat.  At least she is not walking on the keyboard as she usually does!

So, what do you think of this non-traditional Valentine’s card? Please let me know because  I need feedback before I give this to someone very special!!!!!

Other challenges:

RRR Challenge #40 - Valentine's Day Theme

The theme for Challenge #40 is Valentine's Day.
Create a card, layout, multi media piece, tag, ATC, hair bow, you name it. Just be sure to follow the theme above and use ribbon/lace or trim somewhere on your project.

Complete instructions for this card are listed below, so if you want all the details, please scroll down.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my card today and will leave comments before you leave! Thanks for stopping by….

hugs,

Ellen

STAMPS

• Rubber Stamp Tapestry
• Be Mine Floral Set

PAPER

• Craftwell cardstock
• 12 x 6” folded for base 
• 6 x 6” & 5 1/4 x 4  dark purple
• 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 & 5 x 3 3/4 light purple
• 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 white crimped (cut this 6 x 6) (see note in instructions)
• White card stock
• 4 3/4 x 3 1/2
• 4” square or round for Spellbinder
• Watercolor scrap for sentiment

INKS

• VersaColor
• Lilac
• Heliotrope
• Bamboo
• Olive
• Boysenberry
• Umber
• Pebbles Earth Tones chalk

TOOLS

• Big Shot
• Sizzix Sizzlits Heart #2
• Spellbinders Big Scalloped Circles Large
• Cuttlebug embossing folder
• Fiskars crimper
• Erika Forgens stencils
• Paper Piercing tool
• Quilling tool
• Quilling paper strips 1/8” wide and 1/4 strip @ 1/16” wide

ACCESSORIES

• Purple satin 1/8” ribbon
• Lace trim
• Purple rhinestones
• White pearl beads (3mm)

Instructions

1. Cut all paper
2. Use Spellbinders and Big Shot to cut large scalloped circle (I used the largest die for this)
3. Use Big Shot and Sizzlits heart with watercolor paper to cut heart shape (the watercolor paper give it great body and texture)
4. Crimp the 6 x 6 piece of white card stock.  Crimping changes the shape of the paper and the size so always crimp a piece larger than you need, then cut it to size.
5. Use Judy’s instructions to make the Belleek inspired background using the white card stock and Cuttlebug embossing folder
6. Determine the center of the scalloped medallion and mark it with pen or with the paper piercing tool
7. Use paper piercing template and tool to pierce the small hearts around the scallops. Also pierce the hole in the middle of the heart for placement of the rhinestones.
8. Use template to pierce the lined from the center out towards the scallops. (later these will be covered with beads)
9. Now use the RST stamp set to stamp the flower designs between the lines of holes
10. Either quill a flower for the center or use a pre-assembled flower for the center of the medallion
11. Add white pearl beads along the lines of holes
12. Add purple rhinestones in the middle of the hearts
13. Ink outside edge of the medallion
14. Trim the medallion with lace
15. Attach all layers and purple ribbon to the card base
16. Adhere the heart Be Mine sentiment using dimensionals
17. Adhere the large scalloped circle using dimensionals
18. Adhere all to card base

TSTR WEEK 95: TIME FLIES – MY QUILLING PROJECT

I don’t usually have more than one post for any challenge, but this week I have 2 submissions for The Shabby Tea Room.  And this one is not a card. Instead, it is a quilled floral project that I completed and had framed in a shadowbox.  This is what I did for the first 2 weeks after I broke my ankle since I could not get around very well.  I hope you like it!!

This is the full picture including the frame and it was way to big for my light box, so I just had to make do as best I could in taking the pictures.

Now for some close-ups:

The project is made using the technique called quilling. The butterfly was stamped using EK Tools Butterfly stamp. The size of the actual design is approximately 10 x 7”.  A lot of people have asked me what quilling is so I thought I would just give a brief description. 

Quilling started in 14th or 15th-century Europe with Italian and French nuns and monks incorporating gorgeous quilled designs into book covers and religious items. Their quilled works resembled ironwork of their day and was cheaper to produce than ironwork.  It spread to England and eventually became a pastime for “ladies of leisure”.  Quilling arrived in America with the colonists, but lost favor once paper became so readily available.  Today there are many new papers and techniques that are available, bringing added interest to this art. Once again, this old art form is taking root and becoming a popular craft of our time.

Quilling is the art of rolling strips of paper around a quilling tool and then forming a circle from that coil of paper. The circles are glued and then pressed with fingers to make it into different shapes which are then used to form designs.

Additional tools are used as well, In this picture you can see the effects achieved by using a fringing tool.  The paper strip is fringed all along the edge and then rolled around the quilling tool to give the flower the ruffled effect that you see in the purple flowers and buds above and the purple flowers below. 

Punches are also used as evident in the picture above. A small circle punch was used to make the little white 4-petal flowers. Lastly, the fringed white flowers are made using a punch and scissors to create a fluffy fringed flower.

Now for The Shabby Tea Room! Isn’t this week’s inspiration photo adorable?  I just love the colors in it and the butterflies caught my attention.

This week we are supposed to create a card or project inspired by the above photo and USE SOMETHING WITH WINGS!  My quilled project picks up on the pretty spring colors and the inspiring butterflies!

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project and reading more about quilling.  Thank you for stopping by my blog today. Please be sure to leave me comments so I know you stopped by and also let me know what you think about quilling!

hugs,

Ellen

THE SHABBY TEA ROOM GUEST DESIGNER

Happy Monday to all my blogging friends. I am so excited today because I am the Guest Designer at The Shabby Tea Room.  I just love those Shabby Girls for all of their inspiration and encouraging comments and thank each and every one of them for choosing my card as winner in week #79 - ‘Boys Will Be Boys’! If you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to see this weeks challenge Week #92 – ‘The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney With Care’ at The Shabby Tea Room. 

I saw this cute sleigh template from Card Carousel and just had to find a reason to make it this season. I decided to make the sleigh match my card and create a gift set for a small special gift.  Here is what I did (but be prepared for a lot of pictures!) ……



…which is based on this inspiration photo and the challenge to create a card or project inspired by the attached photo with a stocking(s) on it!



Isn’t that inspiration photo just gorgeous? I ended up including stockings a couple of ways: 1) from the stamp set used on the card and sleigh and 2) from the stocking I quilled to go on the card.

My card is a 5x7 that uses MME Lost and Found Christmas paper that is crimped into a beautiful diamond pattern and lightly rubbed with red ink with distress ink around the edges to soften and “age” the paper.  Before crimping, I  used Rubber Stamp Tapestry’s Holiday Stockings Set to stamp a wreath on the lower right corner.  The same stamps set was used around the border of the card.



The stocking is one that was quilled by me and glued over a gold trim that I crocheted.



The large poinsettia flowers are made from strips of red satin ribbon and the small ones are punches from the McGill Petite Petals Punch.  I just used the 5-petal flower and layered it to create the poinsettia effect. Seed beads create the centers of the poinsettias.  The sentiment tag is stamped with the RST stamp set and with their Merry Christmas peg stamp.



Santa’s sleigh was so much fun to make. The template is available from Card Carousel and is very easy to assemble.  Decorating it is where the fun begins. 



I decided to make my own template for the sleigh’s skids so I could cut them from metallic gold paper. I like the way they turned out, but you can also create the skids by outlining that portion of the original template with glitter, cord, or an element of your choosing.



Santa’s sack opens and is large enough to include a small gift like chocolate, tea, or jewelry.



The sleigh is decorated with the same stocking stamp set as the card…Rubber Stamp Tapestry’s Holiday Stockings Set



The distressed paper, crochet trim and doily give this card a nice vintage feel..  I like the way they turned out, but what do you think?

Complete instructions for the card are listed below, so if you want all the details, please scroll down. The template and instructions for the sleigh are available from Card Carousel.

I hope you like my card and will leave comments before you leave! Thanks for stopping by….


STAMPS

• RUBBER STAMP TAPESTRY:
  • Merry Christmas peg
  • Holiday Stockings Set

PAPER

• MME Lost and Found Christmas 4x6
• White paper  5x7

INKS

• VERSACOLOR
  • Neptune
  • Evergreen
  • Burgundy
  • Olive
  • Green Tea
• Pigment Copper
• Jim Holtz Distress Ink – Antique Linen

TOOLS

• Fiskar’s Crimper
• McGill’s Petite Petals  Punch

ACCESSORIES

• Red satin ribbon
• Crochet trim
• Gold & clear seed beads
• Gold metallic ribbon
• 1/2 baker’s doily
• Gold half-pearls
• Red rhinestones

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut all paper
2. Use RST’s Holiday Stockings Set to make border on white 5x7 paper and lower right corner of the MME 4x6 paper
3. Use Fiskar’s crimper to make the diamond design. Click here for instructions
4. Make large poinsettias from red satin ribbon. Click here for instructions
5. Use McGill’s Petite Petals Punch to create small poinsettias.
6. Glue seed beads in center of flowers
7. Cut baker’s doily in half and rub with Jim Holtz Distress Ink – Antique Linen and adhere to 4x6 panel
8. Adhere gold crochet trim over top edge of baker’s doily
9. Attach quilled stocking to gold trim
10. Add flowers
11. Tie metallic ribbon to sentiment and attach to panel.
12. Add glitter, rhinestones, half-pearls