Stampin' With Michelle Pepper

This is my version of this masterpiece . I wanted to be prepared in case a stamping expert turns up at the lunch hour workshop at the Dare To Dream Conference. Sponging is one of my favourite techniques and this tree image? Well, I don't think I can ever tire of using it.

It really is birthday month in the Pepper extended family. This time, it's my Nathan's 8th birthday, and the fact that he asked me if I have made his card yet warms my heart. I mean, doesn't that tell you that my boys look forward to receiving a hand made card from me? Well, I had such warm and fuzzies that I just wanted to make him a special card. So here's the effort, combining the last two birthday cards. A flip flop card AND a treat cup card with a trap door. And of course, it had to be Lego minifigure in the cup, for a boy who only had Lego on his wish list. The fruity DSP is retired, but I just had to use it for this boy who loves fruit. Strawberries...hmmm...and it just so happen to be strawberries season now too. Yeah! These interactive cards are truly fun and if you didn't want to figure out the tricky way to make it, it is easy to make with one of the Thinlits Card Dies recently released by Stampin Up!

Known by a variety of names, mainly swing and flip flop, these interactive cards are back in popularity. Now with Stampin' Up!'s new Thinlit card dies, these cards can be made quickly and easily. Confession: I made today's feature card the conventional way as I haven't got these new products yet, and I knew I wouldn't get it before Grace's birthday. There are many youtube videos out there showing how to make these, but this one I found the most efficient, short and sweet :-) So, here it is, a precious little card for my precious little niece: My own added feature to the interactive card is the square tag with the cupcake image. Inside is where I will be able to write a birthday message to Grace. Circle Card Thinlits Die (133480) $67.95                                                            Label Card Thinlit...

As promised , today's card features the second card we made at my monthly class this week. We used the stamp set, Wetlands, but this time we used two other techniques to achieve the look we got. The first is called "sponging" technique, because you sponge the ink onto the cardstock with a sponge, starting with a light pressure and increasing pressure to achieve the shade you want. You can also layer colours on. You can create similar effect with a brayer, but I can't get the hang of brayering, so sponging it is, and I love it! Isn't it amazing the kind of scene you can create with a humble sponge and some ink? The second technique used is "Masking", where you use or create a template using copy paper to mask off a section of your card so that it doesn't get inked up with the colour you're sponging (or stamping or brayering) with. In this card, our template is the shore line, which we created by tearing a copy paper, and also the horizon line...

Do the leaves on this card look familiar? It is the "left over scrap" from this Freshly Made Sketches winning card . The leaves in that card were cut out from a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock. What did I do with the "negatives", ie the part left over? By laying it over a piece of Basic Black card stock, I made it the main feature on the card pictured above. Let me encourage you, next time you go to use your dies or framelits or punches, think strategically about using the "negatives". By the way, this card was promptly sold about two days after I made it. I was still deciding whether to put a sentiment on it, and if so, what kind (birthday, thinking of you, thank you, sympathy, get well...oh the decisions!). Apparently, "blank" cards can be popular too. I'd love to hear your feedback - cards with a sentiment, or no?

It's Master JP's birthday in 2 days' time so I thought I'll try and make him a card based on this week's CASE Study Challenge. My initial idea didn't actually come together. I wonder if there are many entries like mine, where the initial idea met a few bumps along the way so that the end result wasn't really what you first had in mind at all! I have used one of the Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape from Stampin Up, this time I adhered to the Summer Starfruit card stock because I thought it will bring about some cohesiveness to the colour choices on the card. I had originally intended to only use the 2012-13 In Colours, which I did almost succeed, except in the end I had to bring in the Sycamore St DSP, and the washi tape. Oh, and the black embossed sentiment. The sentiment did not raise, however, like it's supposed to when you emboss, so I can only conclude that either I have a faulty emboss powder, or it is old and that's wh...

I am really starting this journey with a hiss and a roar...created 2 cards tonight! Freshly Made Sketches is a weekly challenge blog, with new sketches posted on Wednesdays. Below is the sketch for this week . Provided I don't change my mind, this card will be given to a happy couple for their wedding in August. Wow, I am super organised, for a change! The flowers are done using the Faux Stained Glass technique. Stamp the image in versamark on Vellum card stock, cover with White Emboss Powder, heat emboss then let dry. Turn the vellum over, and colour the back of the image. I tried two ways of colouring...the lighter flowers were coloured using a blender pen to pick up Calypso Coral from the inkpad. The darker flower was sponged with Calypso Coral. The blender pen way created a more subtle look, whereas the sponged way is a lot quicker! I didn't make a banner from the sketch as it didn't look quite right.  I had done the stained glass technique befo...