CASEing Kim's CASology Card

CASEing Kim's CASology Card, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

(Yeah, say THAT three times real fast!!)

So....way the heck back in October, CASology's Cue Word challenge was WILD. One card really caught my eye: Kim's over on her Joyful Creations blog.  (**When you check out her blog, look on the left side of the page for a chart that shows different ways to layer Stampin Up punches--very cool ideas there!**)

I loved the layout and the clean look of the card and knew I would get around to shamelessly copying it some day.

Today is the day.

I ran a piece of white cardstock part of the way through an embossing folder. Then I die cut more white cardstock and did that cool edge-embossing thing you can do with Nestabilities.

I stamped the leaves sort of lightly, to get a blurred kind of effect.

I scored a line below the embossing, stamped a sentiment then adhered everything to a white card blank.

I'm thinking this would be awesome for Christmas. Use a snowflake embossing folder...maybe even die cut the middle of that panel instead of adding another layer. WOW. The possibilities for this kind of layout are really endless!!

Thanks for the inspiration, Kim!! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank); Neenah (Solar White cardstock)
Stamps: Making Memories (Autumn Splendor: Thankful)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge); Memento (Tuxedo Black)
ETC: Cuttlebug (Forest Branches embossing folder); Scor-Buddy; Nestabilities (Labels One)


I can't believe it's Friday already! Where did this week go?? Have a great weekend and I hope you find some time to get all inky! =D Thanks for stopping by!


~Cynthia

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

At the rate I'm making Christmas cards, I should be done by the end of the month. You know, right before I SHOULD be sending out Thanksgiving cards....which are NO WHERE near done! LOL!!

My local scrap shop got in some new die cuts that I've gone crazy over: Dee's Distinctively. Here's just one example of how cool and really intricate they are.

This one's called Christmas Tree No. 2. It actually goes with a cone-shaped die cut so this one looks like garland around the cone. I like it open like this...but I might go back and get the cone one too. ;-)

These dies can be also used as a stencil or mask over the cone shape. Lots of cool options for your creativity!

Another cool thing is that Dee's Distinctively is based out of Canada and the dies are made here in the US.

Anyway. Enough pimping my new favorite die cuts! =D

I die cut the tree, glued it to a kraft card blank and then hit the berry shapes with Stickles.

I think this would be gorgeous if you used white cardstock for the tree and black or navy for the card blank. Hmmm. I wonder what would happen if I die cut two trees and layered them one face up and the other face down...hmmmm.......



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (kraft card blank); Reminisce (I think, not sure--green sparkly paper)
ETC: Dee's Distinctively (Christmas Tree No. 2); Ranger (Distress Stickles--Xmas Red); Zig Two-way Glue Pen



Have a crafty day!


~Cynthia

CASology #18: ORANGE

CASology #18: ORANGE, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I think I'm FINALLY beginning to catch up here. I'm only a day behind with challenges this week! ;-)

This card is for the CASology challenge--Cue Card: ORANGE.

I hope Rusty Hinge is good enough to be considered ORANGE. ;-)

This card is a riff off of another one of Susan Raihala's cards. Super simple design--love that. And easy to mass produce too!

I stamped the leaf, stamped it off on scratch paper, then stamped it on the card blank to make the leaves fade into the background.

Then I die cut the rectangles from orange and white cardstock and stamped the sentiment on the white piece.

I adhered them together and used pop dots on the larger piece to attach it to the card blank.

Easy! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank); Bazzill (orange cardstock); Neenah (Solar White cardstock)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Real Leaves); Stampabilities (Happy Thanksgiving)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge)
ETC: Nestabilities (Large Labels); EK Success (3D Dots); Glue Glider Pro



I'm off to get a few more cards done today. Be crafty, my friends! =D


~Cynthia

LIM Week 92: PINK

LIM Week 92: PINK, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I saw that Less Is More's challenge this week is to use the color (or colour) PINK! So I decided to use PINK to CASE one of Susan Raihala's cards I saw on her blog several weeks ago.

See, this is how I roll. I see a card. I like the card. It takes me like FOUR WEEKS to get around to actually MAKING the card.

*sigh*

But here it is.

In all its lovely PINK simplicity.

=D

Directions:
1. Stamp circle.
2. Die cut circle.
3. Stamp present.
4. Stamp Happy Birthday.
5. Stamp the present and the Happy Birthday like sixteen more times because they are super tiny stamps and almost impossible to line up correctly in that tiny punched circle and almost cuss because it probably would have been waaay the heck easier to use that StampaMaJig thing that just sits in the drawer for such occasions and in the end attach the circle crooked and just call it a day and wish you had a few bits of Halloween candy left over to make yourself feel a smidge better.
6. Post the card on your blog.


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank); Neenah (Solar White cardstock)
Stamps: Hero Arts (Birthday Messages; birthday present); Gina K (The Giving Tree--circle)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry); Memento (Tuxedo Black)
ETC: Marvy-Uchida (circle punch); Sakura (Gelly Roll--Clear Star pen)


Go on over to Less Is More and see all the lovely (and non-crooked) PINK creations! Then play along with us!! =D

~Cynthia

Tim's November Tag

Tim's November Tag, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

It's November first and you know what that means...TIM TAG TIME!!!

Check here for Tim Holtz's step-by-step directions on his tag's techniques.

Here's my take! I stamped the wheat in VersaMark then covered it in clear embossing powder. Heated it.

Stamped the "gratitude" with Archival Ink so it wouldn't run when I spritzed the tag with water before coloring with various Distress Stains. Dried it, then I flicked water on the tag and dried it again to create a mottled effect.

Then, as per Tim, I ironed the embossing powder off the tag--such a cool COOL effect!!

I randomly stamped bits of a larger background stamp on the tag.

Added a bit of warm brown ink on the edges and then distressed the tag.

Colored some seam binding and string with more Distress Stains.

For the embellishment I cut a piece of (desperately forever-hoarded) burlap. I added a chipboard button and some leaves I cut from brown core'dinations paper. I sanded the leaves and distressed the edges with more brown ink before using glue dots to attach them.

Whew! I think that's all I did! As always...so much fun to create! I think that coolest part for me is going all MacGyer on these tags--seeing what I have that can be used as a substitute for what I don't have! =D

Check out Tim's blog and play along!


Supplies:
Paper: Stash (office supply tag); core'dinations (brown cardstock)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (wheat); Studio G/Hampton Arts (sentiment); Glitz Design (Distressing set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Gathered Sticks); Distress Stain (Frayed Burlap, Rusty Hinge, Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold); Archival Ink (Jet Black); VersaMark
ETC: Stash (button, string, unknown clear embossing powder); the Sewing Place (Daffodil seam binding); Glue Dots



Thank you so much for stopping in to check out my version of Tim's tag! It fills me with gratitude!!!! =D

~Cynthia

Nature Walking with Susan

Nature Walking with Susan, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Well, I wasn't *exactly* walking with Susan Raihala when I made this card. Susan was using the Stampin Up set called Nature Walk. I just copied her layout. =D

I'm not too sure about this one. I'm letting it sit out on my craft desk to see if it will grow on me.

I like Susan's card WAAAAAY better.

Super easy card to make though. You could also assembly-line these for a stack of cards. Christmas images would be so cute!

I stamped the leaves then the sentiment on white cardstock, cut them out and adhered them to an orange card blank.

Done and done.

I think my problem here is the images are just way too big for the card. If I used tiny ones, like Susan did, I think the card would be much cooler.

You know, cool like Susan's card. ;-)


Supplies:
Paper: DCWV (Brights card blank); Neenah (Solar White cardstock)
Stamps: Stampin Up (small leaf); Stamp Craft (maple leaf); Studio G/Hampton Arts (sentiment)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge)
ETC: Glue Glider Pro


Happy Halloween to you! Be safe and have fun tonight! I'm (not so) secretly hoping we have TONS of leftover candy!! Shhh...don't tell the trick-or-treaters! ;-)


~Cynthia

CASology #17: Sugar

CASology #17: Sugar, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

This week's CASology challenge is the Cue Word SUGAR.

When I think of sugar, I always (and immediately!) think of CUPCAKES. Plenty of sugar in cupcakes, right?? =D

After three attempts at the cupcake, I had almost given up when I decided to try one last time.

Turns out...fourth time's the charm! ;-)

I stamped the cupcake, colored it, then fussy cut it out.

Verrrrrrry carefully!

Then I die cut one small white Pinking Circle, one slightly larger pink Standard Circle, then a larger pink Pinking Circle.

(Ha ha! Pink Pinking Circle! That's just fun to say!!)

After I embossed each circle, I popped up the cupcake, adhered it to the white circle, then the middle circle, then popped that whole thing up on the largest pink circle.

Then I stamped the sentiment and called it a day!

Now I'm hungry, of course. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white card blank); Bazzill (pink cardstock); Neenah (Solar White cardstock)
Inks: Memento (Tuxedo Black); Tim Holtz Distress Markers (Pine Needles, Barn Door, Worn Lipstick)
Stamp: Endless Creations (Happy Birthday)
ETC: Nestabilities (Standard Circles Large, Small Pinking Circles); Cuttlebug; EK Success (3D Dots); Glue Glider Pro


We managed to survive the far side of Hurricane Sandy here in SC. High winds, but no snow. Not even a bit of rain. The rest of the American East Coast didn't do as well. I was watching The Weather Channel and a live blog Monday night and I just cannot fathom the destruction. If you would like to donate to relief efforts, here are some really wonderful organizations:

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief
Samaritan's Purse
American Red Cross


~Cynthia