HOC September Challenge

This month at House of Cards we have an inspirational photo for you.  I managed to get a sneak peek at some of the other designers and I must say I certainly missed the mark on this one.  I used the colours as opposed to the actual photo for my cards.  Yes cards.  I have two cards for you today.  The first card uses the top three colours and the bottom card uses the bottom three colours.

Here is the photo inspiration:

Now for my cards:

My first card I used the honeycomb stencil from Heidi Swapp.  I didn't have the correct stencil paste and never having done this before I tried gesso and slightly coloured it with my ink.  I was pretty happy with the results.  I then took some plain coloured CS and stamped randomly over it and sponged the edges just to give it a more grungy look.  The pieces were set in place using dimensionals and glue.

My second card again used the honeycomb stencil, but this time I sponged over the stencil with my inks once and then slightly moved the stencil and using a different colour I sponged lightly again.  After embossing my butterfly and embellishing it with seed pearls I used my Stamp-a-ma-gig to place the sentiment on the card so that it would surround one of the honeycombs.

I hope you like what I have come up with but I know for sure you will love what the other Designers have come up with.  

Now it's your turn. Try something new or experiment with what you have. Don't forget to link your fabulous creation up with our challenge sight here. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please remember to leave one.

TST #129

Time once again for Try Stampin on Tuesday.  Today we have a sketch for you that offers a lot of suggestions.  

When I first saw this sketch I thought iphone.  You could certainly make a great tween card using the icons for the iphones.  However I needed a card for my daughter to give to her boyfriend. Since her recent surgery on her hand she has been unable to do much on her own because it is her right hand.  So now we have a Sergeant in the army not only preparing all the meals and cleaning the house he is now in charge of hair duty.  Trust me she says he does a much better job defending our country than simple pony tail duty.  We love him anyway!

Using a black grey and white theme I started by cutting out the grey centre piece and running it through the Diamond Plate embossing folder.  Then with simple DSP I ran that through the Gadget Gears die.  I had a piece of DSP from the Dollar Store that had a chevron and the hand on the same piece so I cut those out.  I stamped the white CS using the Clockworks stamp and then using my spritzing tool I spritzed the entire card.

The cut outs were layered onto the card using dimensionals and then stamped out the sentiment and used the Round Tab punch to cut it out.  I reinserted this cut out one again and made a second punch to make the tab a little smaller.  Then I stamped out the "11" on a separate piece of CS.

I added three smaller cogs in the upper right corner along with a flag - kind of a "I surrender" touch just for my daughter.  She thinks that she can do it all but has quickly found out that through all of this she needs her family around her to help her get through it.  

I am also happy to report that her Teachers at College have gone to bat for her (bad choice of words since she broke her thumb playing baseball) and the Dean will allow her to continue so that she will be able to complete her Dental Hygiene studies on time.  Dedication and good work ethics have certainly paid off for her and her Teachers have taken this into consideration when fighting for her.  Very proud of her. 

So what to you see when you look at the sketch?  Need more inspiration?  Hop on over to the Try Stampin site and see what the other great designers have in store for you.  You will not be disappointed.  Don't forget to post your creation for all of us to see.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please remember to leave one.

Giving the Gears

I made a Valentine's card for my Hubby and was very pleased with the results.  This is the card made for him.

When I looked at the card even though it was clean and simple it packed a lot of punch in person.

 

Because I liked that card so much I decided to try it a second time but using a different theme.  This time I went with a masculine card using gears.  

 

Unfortunately the outcome was not as great as the first card.  I did not stamp a sentiment on the card, like I do for a lot of my cards.  I do this for two reasons.  It allows me to choose a card and then the sentiment once I know who and what the card is being used for.  I could probably turn this card the other way as well.

 

Rather than a bow or knot of some sort I decided to make the twine simply look like it was holding the gears from moving.

Although this card did not turn out as hoped I know that I will find the perfect person for it along with the perfect sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me, so please remember to leave one.

 

TST #104 Tick...Tock

It's once again the time to bring out the sketch challenge over at Try Stampin on Tuesday.

 

I loved this sketch and I started to go through my DSP paper for inspiration.  First I thought dark green, but had a hard time finding the right DSP to go with it until I found one that was very muted, but had just the right hint of the green that I wanted.  Then once I had the basic form together it was too plain looking.  I wanted to use the Clock Works stamp set so I decided to run just the dark green and the DSP strip through the Clocks Embossing folder.

 

So now with the DSP and the green CS embossed I still needed something to make the clock stand out so I pulled out my Cog Punch (one of my better purchases in punches).  The larger cogs were adhered to the base and the smaller ones were adhered to the clock front, which was lifted with dimensionals.  Still missing something and having no chain I decided to use butcher twine to make pulleys and adhered the smaller cogs to the ends.

 

Now that the outside was complete I decided to use the same colours and with the scraps that were left over I made a simple inside to the card.

I hope that you like what I have come up with.  Now hop on over to the Try Stampin website and see what the other great Designers have in store for you.  I know you will be pleasantly surprised.  Don't forget to upload your version of the sketch for all to see.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me, so please remember to leave one.

 

Same DSP...Two Different Outcomes!

I have had a little more time these days to play with my stamps so I hope that over the next few weeks I will be able to share more cards with you.

First I started with my sketch over at Try Stampin on Tuesday for the Sketch 103 challenge. Then with the paper that I have left over from that sketch I decided to play around with another option for the same papers.

This was the card for my Try Stampin Challenge.

This was my scraps creation.  

By using the scraps from the first card in a different colour scheme it gave a totally different look to both the colours and appearance of the card.  

 

I hope that you like what I have done with the same papers, but differently.  Don't forget to check out the Try Stampin site and see the other great cards.  Or just give what I have done a try.  Use the same papers, but make a totally different card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me, so please remember to leave one.

TST #92

It's Tuesday again so time to take part in the Try Stampin on Tuesday challenge.  This week CherylAnn has given us not only a sketch to work with but to add the colour Red into the card somehow.  So with that in mind I searched out Dynamic Duos and their challenge was to use the colours Sahara Sand and Cherry Cobbler. Perfect!

I actually started out using a different stamp set, until I realized that Paula Reid from our group had used the same one, so off to the drawing board to find another alternative.  I know I probably could have used the same set, but I really felt that the cards looked too much alike.  Clockworks to the rescue.  

 

Even though this card has a little bit of ribbon on it I really do think that it could be used as either a masculine or feminine card.  What do you think?

Hope you like what I have come up with.  Now it's your turn.  Hope on over to Try Stampin on Tuesday and lets see what you come up with.  Don't forget your RED!

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please remember to leave one.

TST #88

Once again we are here at Try Stampin on Tuesday with another great sketch.

Not long ago I received my shipment of new toys from Stampin Up and when I saw this sketch I thought "Clock Works".  I was really disappointed when SU retired Sense of Time but when they brought out Clock Works I forgave them.  With this set you have a variety of choices and they work well with the original Sense of TIme.  Here is what I came up with for this sketch.  I hope you like it.  

I would have like to have a small piece of chain go from the clock to the cog, but didn't have one, not even an old piece of jewelry that I could have used.  So I used butcher string and ran it over the ink pad to give it some colour.

Another thing that I thought about was "Timex".  I don't know if you remember the old commercials that used to play on TV (boy am I showing my age).  If you remember they only showed the commercials from what I remember in the evening and the time on the watches was always set at 1:50 or 10 and 2.  I read somewhere that Timex did this and showed the commercials in the evening so that people would not think that the time was actually 1:50 in the afternoon or morning.  That's my story and I'm stickin to it!

Now it's your turn.  Let's see what you come up with.  Don't forget to post your creations on the Try Stampin blogsite.  Also check out the other great Designers on the site as well.  You will not be disappointed. 

Thanks for stoping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me, so please remember to leave one.

Cardabilties #61- Giving the Gears

"Giving the Gears" is what I have decided to call my card this week for Cardabilities.  I first thought of all the different stamp sets that I could use for a flower embellishment like the sketch, but then I needed a masculine card and bingo the gears came to me.

I started with a 2" strip of tin foil and adhered it to the card front.  Then I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the Gear Embossing Folder and shims on both sides of the CS to avoid embossing the other sections of the CS.  Then a simple frame was cut out of Black CS and adhered directly to the tin foil.  A series of cogs were punched out and sponged.  In order to give dimension to the cogs I used small strips of foam and inked the sides with black so that they would not be noticed when the card was seen from the side.

                     

You can see from the picture on the left the tin foil  embossed without any tearing.  I would highly recommend using this for any "metal" look when you don't have regular tin, plus it is safer (no cuts or scratches).

I hope you like what I have come up with.  Hop on over to Cardabilities now and see what the other Designers have in store for you.  Don't forget to give the sketch a try. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for dropping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot, so please remember to leave one. 

Twisted Thursday Challenge - September 27th: "Wheels"

TT092712

I was scouting out the different challenges available for today to come up with a card for my boss who is celebrating 35 years with the company...however I came across a challenge over at The Outlawz and decided to go in a different direction and create a birthday card for an avid mudder!

The challenge was to create anything but it was to incorporate wheels into the card.  I put a twist on it and decided to go with tire tracks.  This was created using my MDS along with a great image put together by another great card maker, but my brain is fried and I just can't remember her name...sorry!  

I hope you like what I have come up with.  I know it's stretching the "wheels" part a little, but I thought is still worked.

Thanks for stopping by.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot, so please remember to leave one.

Masculine Monday

Ok so I am confessing before I get into my blog today that the card I am showing you was made a while back.  The past week has been filled with family issues and I just have not had time to stamp so please forgive me.

This is an Aperture card I made for my Hubby last year.  I never get tired of using Sense of Time and the combination of this stamp set and the Cog punch just automatically go together.

Thanks for stopping by.

Life Happens...Stamping Helps!

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please remember to leave one.

Masculine Monday & I Spy Sketch

Good morning.  Hope you all enjoyed your weekends.  I know I did because I booked it off (first one off in over two months) to celebrate my dear Husband's birthday.  Great weekend just being able to spend time with him.  Our scheduled don't allow us a lot of time during the week to sit and just talk.  So Happy Birthday Dear Hubby!

Well on to our Masculine Monday Card.  I am combining this card today with a sketch challenge over at I Spy.  When I saw all the circles and what others had done all I could think about were cogs and gears, so that's what I went with.

My version of this sketch uses a variety of gears from Tim Holtz' Gadget Gears die along with SU Cog Punch. 

I hope you like what I have come up with.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please don't forget to leave one.

Remembering Mom

With all that has gone on over the past couple of weeks I have really been thinking about my Mom.  She passed away 20 years ago of Alzheimer's and as most of you are aware you lose the person mentally long before they pass. Mentally I lost my Mom 10 years earlier.  I was blessed with a very tallented and special Mom.  She taught be at a very early age (2 years old) how to sew and although her tallents far surpass mine, her creativity has rubbed off on me.

This week at Cardabilities the sketch caught my eye and my creation was inspired by my Mom.  There was also another Challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges that was tag related as well.

My Mom had taken an old watch, she never threw anything away and always repurposed items, and make a pin that I still wear today.  I get so many wonderful comments on the pin and I used this pin as my inspiration.

I hope you like what I have come up with and Mom Thanks for watching over me!

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please don't forget to leave one.

Masculine Monday - Wheels of Motion

Ok so I have had a few problems this week with not only trying to put together my Masculine Monday card, but also with my computer.  Just as I was about to start writing my blog, my computer froze on me.  Nothing I could do would bring it back. Just when my husband said OK time to visit the Apple Store I think it heard him and decided to come back to life.  I just hope it continues to work and does not need shock therapy again in the near future.

I put together this card using the Cardabilities challenge and incorporated it into my Masculine card for this week.  My husbands bosses father passed away suddenly last week and he was the backbone of the company my husband works for.  I thought that this card reminded me of how the wheels of motion sometimes throw us curves and allows us to continue forward in the right direction.

I hope that you like what I have come up with.

Nancy

Your comments mean a lot to me so please don't forget to leave one.

Masculine Monday 30/04/12

It's Monday Morning again and I have a birthday card to show you today using once again Sense of Time.  It is such a shame that this set was discontinued.  I think  this was one of the very first SU stamp sets that I purchased and it probably gets ten times more use than any other set that I own.

I started with a black base and layered on Chocolate Chip CS 1/8" smaller all the way around. Then I used Very Vanilla 1/4" smaller all the way around. I distressed the edges all the way around and tore small "V" shaped openings on either side of the CS. The clock and gear images were stamped in Chocolate chip, then I crumpled it up slightly and then laid it out flat. With Soft Suede I used the ink pad directly onto the CS and the areas that were creased picked up the ink. The cogs were punched from Chocolate Chip CS and adhered to the front of the card. Using the round tab punch I first stamped the birthday greeting and then accented it with a cog on either end. Twine was wrapped around the top layer of the card and through the two smaller cogs.

The inside of the card was done basically the same way but only using the gear stamp and then a greeting from Cloud 9 Design Simple Thoughts-Happy Birthday.

The envelop was stamped on the outside with the gears as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Nancy

I like to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 23/04/12

Good Monday Morning to you.  Today's Masculine Monday card uses a new technique for me.  Ink embossing.  I have seen this done on several cards before and was always afraid of ruining my embossing folders with the ink, but I have found that it is very easy to remove and I am having a blast with it.

I started with a manilla tag from Staples, but you can easily cut your own tag.  I used Soft Suede on the inside portion of the embossing folder and ran it through the Cuttlebug.  Once that was done I accented it with Marina Mist and Old Olive to give an aged look then sponged the edges again with the Soft Suede.  This piece was mounted onto a piece of brown CS 1/8" larger than the tag.

My card base was a piece of grey CS.  My final layer was a piece of CS that I made with my MDS program and it again was cut  to 4" x 5 1/4" and mounted again on a piece of brown CS cut  to 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  The edges were sponged using the Soft Suede.

The large clock from Sense of Time was stamped to the side and the tag was placed on top using dimensionals.  My sentiment was stamped and the ends were punched using the Round Tab Punch and then again mounted on a piece of brown cut slightly larger.  The cogs were punched from brown CS but before punching them I sponged the CS with the Marina Mist and the Old Olive to give a more aged look.  These were then adhered to the front of the card.

I really enjoyed the embossing technique and the finished product actually looked metallic.

I hope you enjoy todays card.

Nancy

I like to hear what you think so please leave me a comment.

Masculine Monday 19/3/2012

 This card was actually inspired by one that I had seen on line by Mary Brown.  I decided to take it and make a masculine twist to it.

The colours are grey with white and the cogs and gears have been punched from the grey and brushed with black.  So Please Do Not adjust the colour settings on your computer.

Once I got it finished I think it would have looked better without the four squares, but I had already glued them on so no going back.



The cogs and gears were built up using dimensionals, then the sentiment on the inside was framed with the largest of the gears from the Tim Holtz die.

Hope you enjoy!

Nancy

TST #57

When I saw this weeks Try Stampin on Tuesday sketch I knew right away I would be using Lovely as a Tree.

It could be used as a masculine card, but I needed a Thank You for friends who had us over for a sprimp boil while we were in Florida.  I thought it would be just the thing with me being from up north and them from Florida.  No palm trees up north.

I stamped the tree by first loading up the stamp with Daffodil Delight ink and then lightly brushed over the yellow with the Old Olive.  By using the Daffodil Delight first you don't dirty up the pad with the Old Olive.  Always start with your lightest colour when loading up a stamp.

Once I had the card completed I thought it needed just a little bit more so I spritzed it using Chocolate Chip.

Your turn now.  Let's see what you can do!

Hope you enjoy!

Nancy

I love to hear what you think, so please leave me a comment.