Friday, October 20, 2017

SBTD Blog Hop Masculine Country Livin'



Welcome to SBTD (Stampers by the Dozen) Blog Hop for October. We are a group of 12 Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world, sharing our creativity.  This month we are exploring Masculine projects to help inspire you. Creating cards for the men in our lives can be a challenge. I hope that the projects I have to share will help you with your own creations.

The stamp set I chose for this month's theme is Country Livin'.  It is a wonderful line art stamp set from Stampin' Up! with amazing possibilities for coloring. This month I am sharing 3 different cards that showcase different ways to color your images.

This first card uses the old fashioned truck image and I chose to use Stampin' Up!'s Watercolor Pencils to color the image. I love how easy it is to color with these watercolor pencils and when you use a blender pen, the color blends into a beautiful watercolor look. The background of this card was created with the Pinewood Planks 3D Dynamic Textured Embossing Folder (item #143708) and Crumb Cake Cardstock. I used a Sponge Dauber to rub Crumb Cake Classic Ink over the textured background to add extra depth. The card base has been created with Cajun Craze Cardstock. I stamped the image on Very Vanilla Cardstock and matted it with Early Espresso Cardstock. Even masculine cards need a little embellishment and I chose the Old Olive 3/8" Mini Chevron ribbon. I love the rustic feel to this card and the colors work well for a masculine card.


The 2nd card I created is almost a mirror image to the 1st card but this time I chose to use the New Stampin' Blends Alcohol Markers, which will be available to purchase starting November 1st. I love the way these markers color and I can't wait to experiment with them in future projects. 

For this card I chose Cherry Cobbler Cardstock for my card base to coordinate with the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Markers for the truck. I added a thin matte of Basic Black Cardstock to make the Crumb Cake Cardstock layer pop. I embossed the Crumb Cake Cardstock with the Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (item #139673) and I lightly sponged the background with Crumb Cake Classic Ink to bring out the detail in the tree trunks. This time I chose to use the Basic Black 3/8" Shimmer ribbon to embellish the card and I added a Basic Black matte around the stamped and colored image to frame it. The Happy Birthday stamp is from the stamp set, Guy Greetings. I love that I could create two different cards using similar supplies with a very different feel to them. The Stampin' Blends provide a bolder, richer color to the stamped image that is very striking.

My final card has a more worn, distressed feel to it. I chose Dapper Denim Cardstock for the card base and added a layer of Marina Mist Cardstock, which I stamped with the Hardwood Background stamp in Dapper Denim Classic ink. I lightly sponged the edges of the Marina Mist Cardstock with Dapper Denim Classic ink to add texture and a distressed look. 

The boots were stamped with Early Espresso Classic ink and Versamark and I embossed the image with Clear Embossing Powder for more definition, onto Soft Suede Cardstock cut out with one of the larger Stitched Shapes Circles. I used the two smaller Stitched Shapes Circles to cut out a circle in Night of Navy and Copper Foil (the Copper reminded me of a shiny penny). I sponged the Night of Navy circle with Whisper White Craft ink for a weathered look. The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and was embossed with Copper Embossing Powder onto Night of Navy Cardstock and accented with Soft Suede Cardstock, both cut with the Classic Label Punch. 

To color the boots, I used the Light Crumb Cake Stampin' Blends Alcohol Marker to accent the lines and shadows of the boots as well as the heel and soles. I sponged the circle with Soft Suede Classic Ink to give the look of worn leather. 

For the final touch, I added a lasso created with the Jute Twine from the 2017 Holiday Catalog. I love the way this twine adds to the country feel of this card. I love the clean and simple design of this card and the way the colors work together. 


I hope that my cards have helped to inspire you to create your own masculine themed projects. These 3 cards would work well for a variety of occasions and for boys/men of all ages. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. Now it is time to visit Lyndsay LaRae Carara and see what she has created this month. Click the link below to visit her blog. Or if you get lost, just click the link in the Blog Hop Roll Call below.

Lyndsay LaRae Carara

Happy Stampin',
Tricia Butts
Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here
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Blog Hop Roll Call
Rachel Pine         
Karie Beglau       
Carly Middleton                   




Sunday, October 8, 2017

2nd Annual Pink Blog Hop



Welcome to the 2nd Annual Ultimate Pink Blog Hop. This blog features talented Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world, sharing their amazing projects to inspire you to get creative. You may have just visited the blog of the talented Pip Todman (Queen Pip) - UK or perhaps you are starting your journey here. Our theme for October is Pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. I think we have all been touched in some way by this terrible disease and participating in this blog hop and sharing my creativity is my way of sharing the beauty of love and hope through art.

My project for this hop features the Lovely Words Thinlets dies from the Lovely Inside & Out Bundle from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog. The stamp set I chose for the flower accents is from the Colorful Seasons stamp set and the Seasonal Layers Thinlets dies, from the Colorful Seasons bundle, which is also in the Annual Catalog. 



In times of need, receiving a card can make a world of difference. I chose to create a card that I would give to a friend to help lift their spirits when they are feeling down. The card base was created with Powder Pink cardstock and I added a layer of Berry Burst cardstock to create the background for my card design. I die cut the "friend" sentiment from Silver foil and used one of the oval dies from the Stitched Shapes Framelits to cut the oval frame. I layered it on top of a scalloped oval cut from Fresh Fig cardstock die cut with one of the scalloped ovals from the Layering Ovals Framelits dies and centered it on the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I die cut the flowers from Powder Pink cardstock and attached them to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. I highlighted them with Wink of Stella. The flowers on the Berry Burst cardstock layer were stamped with Berry Burst Classic ink and I embossed them with Clear Embossing powder to make them shine.

I loved that I was able to create this card using the 2017-2019 In Colors (Powder Pink, Berry Burst and Fresh Fig) and the Silver Foil just added that touch of elegance. I don't often create with the color Pink, but I must admit, I do love these colors and I feel that I will be using this combination more often in the future.

I hope you have enjoyed my project today and I hope it helps to inspire you to create your own card to someone special to let them know you care. Now it is time to visit Teri and see her amazing blog post. I hope you enjoy the rest of the blog hop.

Happy Stampin',
Tricia Butts
Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator

Like What you see? Visit My Online Store Here
Visit my Facebook Page






Friday, October 6, 2017

GSF Blog Hop Spooky Cat Halloween


It's time for October's GSF ( Global Stampin Friends) Blog Hop and this month we are focusing on Halloween. You may have just visited Mary Ann's blog or perhaps you are starting your blog journey here. Either way, I hope you will enjoy all the amazing projects.
I chose the Spooky Cat bundle (item #146014), one of my favorite bundles from the new 2017 Holiday Catalog. I love the versatility of the Spooky Cat stamp set combined with the coordinating Cat Punch and I had so much fun creating my project for this blog hop. 

My project features the Cat Punch (item #144666) and the thought of creating a black cat with green eyes came to mind. I started with a Basic Black cardstock card base and added a layer of Perfect Plum Cardstock to create the look of a twilight sky. I lightly sponged the Perfect Plum with Smoky Slate Classic ink to create the look of a spooky night. The moon was created using the Layering Circles Framelits (item #141705) cut from Crushed Curry Cardstock and then I lightly sponged it with Crushed Curry Classic ink to create the look of a Harvest Moon. I also sponged a little Smoky Slate Classic ink across the face of the moon to add a little depth.  Using the bat image from the Graveyard Gate stamp set, I stamped the bats in the night sky and one on the moon. 
My beautiful black cat was punched from Basic Black Cardstock with the Cat Punch and I colored two of the small Basic Rhinestones with a green permanent marker to get create the look of glowing green cat's eyes. 

The wall was created from a piece of Basic Gray Cardstock that I embossed with the Brick Wall Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (item #138288) and I sponged the debossed side with Smoky Slate Classic ink for a little extra depth and texture. The top part of the wall was created from a strip of Smoky Slate Cardstock and I also sponged the edges with Smoky Slate Classic ink.


The sentiment is from the Labels to Love stamp set, which coordinates perfectly with the Everyday Label Punch (item #144668).  I heat embossed the sentiment using a little trick with Versamark ink. First I inked the stamp with the Versamark ink and then I inked the stamp with the Archival Basic Black ink and stamped it onto Smoky Slate Cardstock. I then immediately covered the stamped image with Clear Embossing Powder and then heated it with my Heat Tool. This added a glossy finish to my sentiment. I punched it out with the Everyday Label Punch and embellished it with two of the smallest Black Rhinestone Jewels (item #144639). I attached a piece of 3/8" Basic Black Shimmer Ribbon (item #144129) across the brick wall and added the sentiment with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I hope that you enjoyed my Spooky Cat Halloween card. It is just one of the fun projects that I have created with this bundle and I look forward to sharing more of them with you in the future. Now it is time to head off to Jenn Curtis Charles' blog and see what she has created. Please click the Next button or use the Blog Hop Roll Call list below to find your way if you get lost. 

Jenn Curtis Charles


BLOG HOP 14 Halloween
ROLL CALL