MEERKAT CELEBRATE

During Sale-A-Bration, which is going on until March 31!, have any of you ordered the SAB freebie, The Gang's All Meer (page 3 in the brochure)? A darling -- very nonserious -- set, it can be used in so many ways. For example, do you remember the huuuuge gang I shared with you in this post, where I incorporated lots of masking? 

In these very uncertain times, we definitely will want to grab all the levity we can. Don't you agree? 

I had lots of <technical> fun figuring out the card my girls made at the March Stamp-In, shown below. With a vision in my head of how I wanted the card to function, it took some trial and error to get it right, so it opens and closes smoothly without any glitches.

The photo below shows the card starting its opening process.

A little closer, more detailed photo of the grand opening, 

I wanted to highlight the beautiful texture of the background 

made possible by a great new embossing folder, Coastal Weave Embossing Folder, 

found on page 39 of the current Mini Catalog. 

Here is a tutorial on how to recreate this card on your own. If you don't already have the Sale-A-Bration set, The Gang's All Meer, now's the time to make a $50 purchase and get your own set for free!

SUPPLIES:

Crumb Cake cardstock

Cherry Cobbler cardstock

The Gang's All Meer (Sale-A-Bration brochure, page 3)

Retired Celebrate stamp (still have yours??)

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Light Crumb Cake Stampin' Blend

White Gel Pen

Big Shot

Layering Circles dies (page 193, Annual Catalog)

Coastal Weave Embossing Folder (page 39, Mini Catalog)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, and, with the Simply Scored, score at 2 1/8", flip it around, and score at 2 1/8" again. Fold on the score lines and burnish the creases with a bone folder. You just made a traditional gatefold card.

Run two pieces of Cherry Cobbler cardstock that measure 1 7/8" x 5 1/4" through the Big Shot inside the Coastal Weave Embossing Folder. Adhere these to both gatefolds of the card base.

On a 3" piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, stamp the meerkat gang in Memento Tuxedo Black cardstock. Use the Light Crumb Cake Stampin' Blend to color them all in. No need to be careful with the coloring, except skip the teeth on the middle guy. Use a white gel pen to whiten his teeth. Set this aside so the white pen can dry completely.

Using the 2 5/8" die from the Layering Circles Dies, cut a circle from Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Surround this cut-out circle with the scallop die that measures about 3" in diameter. Once you have it centered in place, carefully add a few strips of sticky tape to hold it. Run through the Big Shot. You should have a scalloped open circle.

By now, the white gel pen should be dry. Take that piece with the meerkats on it, and using the same circle you used on the Cherry Cobbler cardstock, center the gang and cut it out.

Adhere the meerkat piece to the left gatefold, putting adhesive only on the left side. This should be approximately centered and about an inch or so from the top of the embossed piece.

Add adhesive to only one half of the scalloped circle. Carefully holding it in place over the meerkat piece for positioning, attach this frame to the left gatefold.

In black, stamp "celebrate" on a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that measures 1 1/4" x 3". Adhere this piece to the left gatefold.

Katty

Smiles.

#dailycreating OCTOBER 2019

Whoa! Looking back through my drawings from October, it became quite clear that it was not a good month for me to draw. I found only ten -- out of 31! -- drawings that I thought fit enough to share with you. 

I belong to a Facebook Group, #dailycreating, hosted by visual artist and creative encourager Terry Runyan. Each Sunday we members are given a week's worth of prompts that we can either follow or not. Terry is just trying to encourage us to create something every day, whether it is prompt related or something else we are moved to create.

Many of us follow the prompts quite faithfully. I am one of them. Usually. 

It's been a month since I shared my September 2019 creations with you, so I thought it was time for another installment of #dailycreating.

As always, I will include the prompt above each drawing, as well as any particular information I may have about the subject matter.

Here goes:

#hummingbird

#montypythonsflyingcircus

#periodcostumes

#alienlifeform

#edwardgorey

#dogurday

bloodhound

#robot

#red

#green

#blue

I will probably bring you the next installment of #dailycreating a little sooner than a month from now, especially since I am only up to October, and it's the middle of March. Stay tuned!

The Small Print: Please keep in mind that his is my own original artwork. Please don't copy or use any of them without my express permission. Thank you for this consideration.

#dailycreating

Smiles.

THANKS FOR MAKING ME SMILE

This card, which my girls made at the January Stamp-In Workshop, features something from a Hostess Set, something from the Annual Catalog (many things actually) and two of the freebies you can get with purchase during Sale-A-Bration. Keep in mind that Sale-A-Bration ends at the end of this month. Only a few more weeks!! Take advantage before it's too late.

The item from a hostess set is the darling sentiment. It comes from Make A Splash, found on page 73 of the Mini Catalog. Besides the fish and their fishbowl environment which I showed you in this post, Love in a Fishbowl, there are also four cute phrases. This is one of them.

Also featured are the Stitched Rectangles dies on page 196 of the Annual Catalog. I use these dies all the time. They are so great for layering.

The Sale-A-Bration items used in the card include the gorgeous Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper (page 6 in the brochure) and the Lily Pad Dies (page 4).

Following are the Supplies List and the Directions on how to reproduce this card.

SUPPLIES:

Flirty Flamingo cardstock

Whisper White cardstock

Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper (page 6, Sale-A-Bration brochure)

Blackberry Bliss ink

Make A Splash (hostess set, page 73, Mini Catalog)

Big Shot

Lily Pad Dies (page 4, Sale-A-Bration brochure)

Stitched Rectangles Dies (Page 196, Annual Catalog)

Blackberry Bliss Ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Add to this card base a piece of the Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper that measures 4" x 5 1/4".

Using the water lily dies, cut two small and one large flower from Whisper White cardstock. Adhere these flowers to a 1 1/2" X 5" piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock, with the larger flower in the center, flanked by the two small flowers..

Using Stampin' Dimensionals, attach this to the DSP, leaving even margins on the top and the sides.

On a 3" x 1 1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the sentiment in Blackberry Bliss ink. Use the 7/8" x 2 7/8" Stitched Rectangles Die to cut out the sentiment.

Use the 1 1/4" x 3 1/4" Stitched Rectangles Die to cut a rectangle from Flirty Flamingo cardstock.

Cut a 4 1/2" piece of Blackberry Bliss ribbon. Sandwich the ribbon between the sentiment piece and the Flirty Flamingo piece and glue together. Trim the ends of the ribbon to angles.

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add the sentiment piece towards the bottom of the card, about 1/2" from the lower edge.

Lily

White

Smiles.

CLEAN AND SIMPLE

When speaking of cardmaking, are you familiar with the term, Clean and Simple, or as it is often referred to, CAS? 

This term refers to a card that is devoid of all the frou-frou you often find in the form of embellishments and layer after layer. A CAS card is one that gets the thought across without all the fuss, but is still attractive to view.

The card I made this afternoon qualifies for the Clean and Simple distinction.

I used absolutely no embellishments whatsoever. I did think about using a smidge of ribbon, but decided to keep it as unembellished as possible. The embossed background is popped up onto the card base with several Stampin' Dimensionals, as is the sentiment, but that's as fancy as I got.

I'm not sure where this colorful piece has been hiding, since I colored it a few years ago. But, I came across it the other day and was sorely tempted to use it in a creation. With my creative juices flowing, I decided on spotlighting the small piece in this way.

The thank you sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut out with one of the Stitched Shapes dies.

Notice the embossed background! Don't you just love its texture? It is one of the new embossing folders, Coastal Weave 3D Embossing Folder, and can be found on page 39 of the Mini Catalog. Look at the wonderful samples on page 38 of the catalog using the folder. Cool cool cool!

I thought it had just enough interest to serve as the background for the colored piece that already possesses enough busyness without overwhelming it.

Which do you prefer in cards? Clean and Simple or Fussy and Complicated? Sometimes it feels good not to have to spend an hour and a half on a card and still get something beauteous and pleasing.

CAS

Smiles.

LOVE IN A FISHBOWL

I'm not sure why, but I seem to have something of an affinity for fish in captivity. Take me to a pet store, and I have my eyes glued to the fish, especially BIG fish, who always look so weird. It's my favorite aspect of many medical waiting rooms: the big aquariums. My husband and I had a community fish tank for many years when we first married. I adored our huge koi in our pond. My granddaughter, had a carnival goldfish, Luna, for years -- and she grew very large and turned white! I've had bettas on and off over the years. 

I don't know what it is, and it certainly doesn't seem fair to the poor fish. But watching fish in captivity is so relaxing. I guess since I'm not a mermaid able to live with the fishes up close and personal, this is the next best thing.

So, when I spotted the darling hostess set in the new Mini Catalog, I was immediately smitten. Found on page 73, Make A Splash is so very appealing to me. Once again, I couldn't wait to get it in my possession.

I spent quite a lot of time playing with this set, with lots of trial and error. Mostly trial and error. Finally, this image seemed sorta OK, so I decided to make it into a card.

The card is a precious 4 1/4" square. The fishbowl image fits perfectly inside a 3 5/8" circle die, so that's how I cut it out and mounted it with Stampin' Dimensionals against a cute heart-y DSP I had in my stash. 

I stamped the fishbowl itself in Smoky Slate, and added the water line in Pool Party. All the rest of the water stuff was done in Pool Party also. The bit of coloring in the water is accomplished by using an Aqua Painter and removing a bit of color from the Pool Party Watercolor Pencil, and applying it that way. This gives it a little more of a watery appearance..

The two loving fish are stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink. I used a fine line black pen to add details to it. The gravelly bottom was stamped in Crumb Cake and I added a few Pool Party colored sequins at the bottom to complement the air bubbles I'd added by the fish. 

I didn't want to clutter up the front of the card with a big sentiment, so I opted for a very subtle loving sentiment with a bit of baker's twine. 

Captive

Smiles.