Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Happy Little Stampers ~ CASE the Designer September Challenge

Good morning friends~  It's hard to believe that it's September already.  The air has definitely changed here on the east coast and fall is here!
The beginning of the new month brings along a new challenge over at Happy Little Stampers ~ CASE the Designer Challenge and this week we are CASE-ing the ever so talented Asa.  Here's her CAS and CUTE card!


Here's my take on Asa's card:

Marianne Designs makes the cutest animal dies and this Panda Bear is the newest addition to my collection.   The sentiment is from MFT's Snuggle Bunnies.  My daughter's name is Amanda and when she was just a little thing, we used to sing "Manda ~ Manda Panda" to her, so this card went right to my grown up little girl to bring her some sunshine.  

I hope you'll check out all the designer's takes on Asa's beautiful card at the Happy Little Stampers Blog and then join in on the fun!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

PTI's Make-It Monday ~ Ombre Cluster Stamping

Good morning, I'm playing along with this week's PTI's Make-It Monday Challenge.  Dawn has a great video about Ombre Cluster Stamping.

I did my cluster stamping all lined up on the left.  I hope that's ok.  I used PTI's Bowl Of Sunshine, stamping them starting at the bottom with Mint Julep, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Ocean Tides and Pinefeather.  I topped the bowls off with the pears stamped in Mint Julep to tie the two ends together and the stems and leaves are stamped in Saffron Spice.  The sentiment is from A Cheerful Heart.  

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit

Down In The Meadow

Good morning friends~  It's my turn to post over at the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog and I've got a sweet baby gift to share with you.

I made this little framed deer scene to give to a new mom as part of her baby gift.

I started by cutting lots of different types of greens and flowers using some fabulous dies from Dies R Us.  I'll list everything I used at the end of this post just to make it easier, since I cut way more than I needed or used for this project.

I then added color using Tim Holtz Distress Inks and assembled the flower pieces.  The Marianne Designs Deer were a special order from Dies R Us.  I highly recommend adding your name to their e-mail list so you'll get the first in on special orders and lots and lots of magnificent sales!

I built the base of the scene to fit into a 5"x7" frame, using stitched landscape dies.  You can see where I had to add length to the scene to fit it into the frame but that line isn't going to show once I add all the other pieces.   The fern dies are from Spellbinder and are no longer available but there are a lot of other fern dies available at Dies R Us.

I played around with different layouts until I found the one that made me happiest and then started adhering the layers on.  

I built up the layers and added depth by using foam squares and glue dots that I rolled between my fingers for smaller pieces, like the cattails.

I added some sparkly Stickles to some of the flowers and butterflies for added detail.

I stamped the sentiment from Sweet N' Sassy Stamps "Vintage Baby" onto the space left in the sky.  Some cut grass fills the rest of the front.


 Here's a list of products I used that can be found at Dies R Us:


Be sure to stop by the Dies R Us Inspiration Blog daily for fresh new ideas and inspiration!

Join in on the challenges at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog and you could be their next winner! 
click below for:
STORE
CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG
Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit

Monday, August 29, 2016

Marcia, Patti & I ~ A Challenge Between Friends

Good morning friends~ Last month marked Marcia's and my one year anniversary of challenging each other each month to get creative in a new way.  Our dear friend Patti from Stationery Styles said she wanted to join us and we couldn't be happier!!  

This month we chose to challenge each other to use PTI's Tiny Town series and / or Petite Places to create 3-D projects.  This post is kind of picture heavy so forgive me ahead of time and I hope you'll bare with me til the end.  

House #1 ~ Bird House.

I used flowers from Petite Pots and the Goldfinch from Spring Woods.  I added a bit of lattice to each side using Sue Wilson Australian Background Die.

You'll notice that my creations got more detailed as I went along.  The ideas of using different dies just kept popping into my head.  

House #2 ~ Spooky Candy Shoppe
I'm a big fan of Putz houses but I don't own any, I just hoard save them on Pinterest.  I started thinking that maybe I could make a platform and create little scenes, like the Putz houses that I so enjoy.
It's a super simple base.  I just cut a square of chip board to the size I wanted and added an inch so I could score the sides at 1/2" each.  I then cut a little wedge out of the corner tab so it would fold in better and secured each tab with Glossy Accents.  Any strong adhesive will work.

I added a Spooky Tree from Cheery Lynn, cutting it twice from black card stock and gluing them back to back, except for the roots, which I scored and folded out to secure it to the base.

The pumpkins are from MFT and I used the little sign from Tiny Town Sweet Shoppe. 
The scalloped edge on each of the houses is cut using MFT's Blueprints #14.

House #3 ~ Ice House

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There's no reason that tree has to be spooky all the time!  I cut it out of white card stock and after gluing it together, I painted some icicle stickles over the entire tree.  I then added two little cardinals from PTI Make-It Market Holiday Folk.  The blue ice plant is cut using Elizabeth Craft Designs Seaweed and covered in Martha Stewart glitter and the two Impression Obsession Small Deer cut out of white card stock are also covered in white glitter.

I made the base of this house a little bigger, giving me more room for more stuff.  

The large snowflake at the top was made by cutting 4 of the snowflakes from PTI out of shimmery blue card stock (the same on the windows and door) and scoring them down the center and gluing them together, with a small strip of card stock at the base, to make a four faceted snowflake.   I then cut a slit through the top of the roof and slid the strip of card stock through the slot and glued it heavily before assembling the house.  


House #4 ~ Gingerbread House
See what I mean when I said the houses got more detailed as I went along?  Lots of dies were used on this one.

I cut the roof using PTI's Tiny Town Series Sweet Shoppe and stamped the little candies from PTI's Candy Cane Christmas on each of the scallops and then I cut and stamped one of the straight candy canes and scored it down the center and glued it to the peak of the roof.  A generous layer of chunky glitter gives the roof a sugar coating of sweetness.  I added the awnings from PTI's Petite Places Main Street over the windows and the wreath is made by cutting a small scalloped flower from MFT's Build-able Blooms Dies and stamping one of the little dotted flower stamps several times in two shades of green.  I added another little candy to the center.  The walk way is from PTI's Walk In The Park.

The fence is from MFT and after cutting 5 of them, I scored the bottom of each section at about 1/4" to bring the scale down and give me a place to add glue to adhere it to the base.  I added more cut and stamped little candies from Candy Cane Christmas.

The gingerbread people and the chocolates are from Quickutz and the large lollipops are from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  I added more chunky glitter to the lollies to give them a yummy coating of sugar!




Finally, I have a going back to school gift set that I sent to all my little great nieces and nephew.
This little school house is so charming!  Betsy thinks of every detail.  


I added the window boxes from Sweet Shoppe and the littlest shrubs from Topiary Trio


I found these fun colored blank books, pencils and erasers in the dollar section at Target.  I tucked some cute stickers inside the books and made a pencil wrap to neaten this all up.  Small treats will go inside the school house treat box.

These were already sent to my great littles and they all enjoyed getting some "Happy Mail" from their Auntie Birgit.  <3

That's it for me today!  If you stuck with me til the end, thanks!
Be sure to hop on over to Marcia and Patti's blogs to see their beautiful creations!!  I know they'll just blow your mind with their projects!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit





Sunday, August 28, 2016

Cupcake Inspirations #373 ~ A Theme Challenge

Hello friends, the summer just continues to fly by and it's time for a new challenge over at Cupcake Inspirations blog and it's ooey gooey and scrumptious!



Yes, the challenge is to make the inside of your card as sweet as the outside.  I confess that I often leave the insides of my cards blank so this is a good challenge that I should use with every card I make.  

This week's sponsor is the Greeting Farm
They're offering up a $25 gift certificate to the winner.  So what do you have to lose?  Join in on the fun, make a fabulous card to brighten someone's day and you could be the next winner!!

Now on to my card:
I had a request for a masculine birthday card and this challenge was coming up so it seemed like a perfect match!  For the front of the card I used Clearly Besotted "Recipe For Love" and PTI's "Bowl Of Sunshine".  After stamping each image multiple times using the Misti, I outlined each image in a very soft, light grey Copic marker.
To make the inside sweet, I added a pop up element using Sugar Pea Designs "Bring On The Cake".  I decorated the back panel and fussy cut the cake and applied it so that it would pop up when the card is opened.



I hope the inside of this card is sweet enough for the recipient and brings a smile to their face.  
Now be sure to visit each of the design team members to see their delicious batch of amazingness and then hope on over to the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge Blog and join in on the fun!
Birgit ~ That's me!
Kamila
Sandy

I'll also be adding this card to the following challenges:
Color Throwdown

Word Art Wednesday

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Pig In A Barrel

I am getting this card in, so under the wire for the Marianne Design Challenge using Kraft on a card.
I used Marianne Design Collectable Pig and Banner to create this card.  The barrel is from Elizabeth Craft Designs Barrel Basket and a Sunflower from Frantic Stamper.  The sentiment is from MFT's Harvest Mouse.


I'll also be adding this card to the following challenges:

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit


Sending Sweet Sunshine

Hello friends~  I've got a card to share that fits perfectly into the challenge going on over at The Paper Players for something sweet.

I used the sweet Lollipops from Elizabeth Craft Designs in warm sun-shiny colors.  I added some chunky clear glitter to sugar them up and make them extra sweet.  

They are nestled inside a PTI small Mason jar cut from vellum.  The sentiment banner is cut using MFT's Blueprints #20.

I'll also be entering this card into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday ~ Anything Goes
CASology ~ FUN
Crop Stop ~ Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Blessings~ Birgit