Shabby Balloon

Morgan showed me a picture of a box from GypsyJingles Boutique to use as a basis for her balloon. This is what I came up with. The ribbon on the upper portion of the balloon was created by gathering the sheer brown ribbon, "aging" the pink velvet ribbon with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, then I tatted the top layer. There are flowers made from ribbon, paper that I created simple svg files to cut, and with stamps from Unity Stamp Company. The balloon base and basket are modifications to files from SVG Cuts along with some of my own. I've never been crazy about the Shabby Chic look, but it could grow on me (=

Rainy Saturday Morning Card Making

Card made using clock mask designed in Adobe Illustrator then cut with Sizzix eClips. Distress Ink layered over masks. Stamped with Unity Stamp Company's rubber stamps. Embossed with white embossing powder. Distress Ink to age the edges. Butterfly from SVG Cuts, layered on vellum.

Paper Hot Air Balloons

I finally made one for me to keep. I've lost count of how many have been made as birthday and newborn gifts. I've made a few modifications to the file since the first one I made. I made the side panels of the balloon a bit longer. The sides are from SVG Cuts teapot. The basket was adapted from the base of SVG Cuts cupcake box, with the top half of the side panels removed. I used a white core cardstock for the basket and lightly sanded it after embossing. The pennant shapes were created in Adobe Illustrator and saved as svg files.

Christmas Challenge 2012

SVG Cuts hosted a Christmas Challenge. They selected a small number of their kits that could be used for this contest. I used the 3D Evergreens, Santa's Visit, and Kate's Holiday Silhouettes to create this, along with a rectangle from the SCAL basic shapes library for the tree trunk. I got it done just in the nick of time. The morning that the contest ended, I took it outside to shoot it in that lovely golden hour. I think the light source made the picture as much as the subject itself! I was delighted to get a phone call from Leo a week later saying that I won 1st place. I will soon be the very happy new owner of a Sizzix eclips, eCAL software and a gift certificate to SVG Cuts. Mary and Leo are the best! I love Mary's designs and Leo works behind the scenes to make sure the photos and how-to videos are beautifully done and very professional.

The Cricut & Some Embossing Folders

I'm spending the evening being lazy and creative... I got the idea for this card from Pinterest and gave it my spin with basic shapes from the Sure Cuts A Lot library. I love stamping and using acetate for card fronts. Such a unique look.

Then I got to playing with a beer can that came over with some friends and family last weekend. Sadly, the friends and family are gone...but, the can was still in a paper bag in the laundry room waiting to be recycled. Who knew beer cans could be so cool looking! Guess it's been a while since I've spent much time in the micro-breweries around the state. Anyway, the can sat still too long so I got a hold of it and had to see if my cheapy little Sizzix Texture Boutique could muster up enough oomph to emboss tin. It got it done! I had to add a couple layers of cardstock to the "sandwich" to get it to leave a good impression. Now, I can't decide which side of it I like the best.