I forgot the stripes!

I forgot the stripes!, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

So I'm still playing catch-up over here. This card was inspired by Week 54's challenge over on the Less Is More blog. Chrissie had this lovely card--done in greens--that I really loved.

And since the challenge was to use stripes on the card, Chrissie's card had...well...stripes on it.

So I CASE'd her card.

And then I totally could NOT bring myself to add the stripes. I just figured if I continued with this card, adding more stuff, I was FOR SURE going to mess it up. ;-)

And therefore, I give you my stripe-less card!! ;-)

Once again I used Eclipse paper to mask off an area. Then I brushed Rusty Hinge Distress Ink in the square opening, followed by the cute dandelion stamp in Rusty Hinge too.

Then I stamped the sentiment in Rusty Hinge after removing the mask. That's a new stamp for me--I wanted a smaller sentiment with a more formal-type script font. I think this one totally fits the bill! :-)



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamps: Great Impressions (dandelions--G298); Endless Creations (sentiment--B199)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge)
ETC: Stampland Chicago (Eclipse paper)


Happy Wednesday--we're half-way to the weekend!! Yay!!


~Cynthia

Birthday Background

Birthday Background, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I had fun making this one! It's headed to the same 14-year-old nephew that I had trouble making a Valentine's Day for--the one I posted a few days ago.

I love that swirly border stamp on the bottom. It reminds me of those tribal band tattoos. Heh heh.

The other stamp (which is not really clear in the picture) is a seriously cool background stamp from Michael's. They had bunches of them a few years ago, all for under $2. Sometimes cheap Michael's stamps can either be really really good or really really bad. I've noticed the past year or so that the quality of their stamps have improved greatly. These background stamps work wonderfully.

I got some Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink on the edge of the large white panel after I adhered it, so I masked off the card itself and then brushed on more of the ink around the edge of the panel. Looks like I meant to do that! =D

For a final bit of pop, I stamped the birthday sentiment then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It looks kind cool in real life. :-)


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank, white cardstock); Bazzill (blue cardstock)
Stamps: Lost Coast Designs (Swirls); Studio G (Circle Background); Stampabilities (Happy Birthday 01)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot)
ETC: unknown clear embossing powder; Glue Glider Pro; Eclipse Paper (Stampland Chicago--for masking)



It's good to be back blogging again. I haven't had a lot of time to create anything, but I've so enjoyed visiting everyone's blogs. And thanks for your encouraging comments--I love it when you visit!! =D


~Cynthia

Scattered Straw and Tea Dye--who knew??

Scattered Straw and Tea Dye--who knew??, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Goodness, I am so behind on my blogging. The inspiration for this card came from the Less Is More challenge....way back in JANUARY.

So bad. :-o

Anyway, Laney on Laney's Place blog used a color combination I had never thought of before--Scattered Straw and Tea Dye. I LOVED it on her card and wanted to try it out.

I gently rubbed the Scattered Straw Distress Ink on a leftover piece of cardblank. (That's what the odd line on the left side of the panel is all about--I just cut the cardblank up and started playing around!) I kept the ink kind of mottled and then heavily inked the edges.

I stamped the butterfly in Tea Dye, which totally changes the color of that ink--it becomes more rusty orange than tea-colored.

Finally, I stamped the sentiment in Tea Dye too and adhered the butterfly panel on the left side of the cardblank.


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (ivory cardblanks)
Stamps: Stampin Up (birthday stamp); Michael's Dollar Bin (butterfly)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw and Tea Dye)
ETC: Glue Glider Pro


Tuesday I saw this young Bald Eagle in a tree in MY FRONT YARD!  For a youngin' he was HUGE!!  Check out the BEAK!!  WHOA.

~Cynthia

DITL (Finally)

DITL, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here (finally!) is a page from my Day In The Life.

I assure you, the rest of the pages are just as exciting as this little number. That's right. I lead an exciting life, filled with things like counting birds for eBird and doing the crossword puzzle (IN INK!) after eating leftover Mexican food.

Woot.

This does give you an idea of how I approached Day In The Life. I checked out some of the blogs fellow DITL'ers posted on Ali Edwards' blog...and I (ahem)...didn't do my mini album quite like anybody else.

I used the same letter stamps for each headline. I specifically stamped them all wonky and messy. I used number stickers (also adhered wonk-ily) for the time. And instead of photos, I added ephemera from my day.

I freely admit I had a totally different idea in my head when I woke up that morning. I think the biggest lesson I learned was to prepare BEFORE I started. I found myself *documenting* the day instead of *living* the day.

And another problem was that I just really didn't have anything going on that day. I was way busier the day before and the day after. Weird.

One cool thing I did was to ink up the tire on my stationary bike and press it on a manilla shipping tag to create skid marks. It represents my workout. :-)

I also adhered the labels off of the shampoo, the body wash, and the cereal I used/ate. I added the newspaper headlines, samples of my makeup, cool quotes I read, the weather map, and bird feathers I found outside. I listed the weather and temperature at certain times during the day and everything I ate.

So for my first go 'round, I think I did OK. I like that there's continuity throughout, but it is a bit boring. I would really love to do this again later...with proper forethought and planning though. ;-)


Thanks for stopping in today!


~Cynthia

Manly Valentine's Day?

Manly Valentine's Day?, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I finally finished my Day In The Life project...but I haven't taken pictures of it yet. Soooo, in the meantime, here's the last of my Valentine's Day cards.

I made this for my 13-year-old nephew. I never know what kind of card to make him. That age is hard. But I hope this works. ;-)

I stamped the swirl--which I love. It's also hard to find a good swirl stamp, no?

Then I stamped the sentiment over the swirl--just eyeballing it, as they are both wood block stamps. I LERVE the ink color--Aged Mahogany Distress Ink. It looks fab on kraft paper. :-)

So, what do you think? OK for a 13-year-old boy??



Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank)
Stamps: Craft Smart (sentiment); All Night Media (Swirl #331)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany)



Happy Monday! As usual, my To Do List today is about a mile long. I'm going to try to get everything done that I can--the weather tomorrow is supposed to be a bit rough. The weather folks are throwing around words like SNOW and SLEET. Not that it will stick, but you know people will be driving like idiots!! I should do my part for public safety and stay home in the craft room. =D

Thanks for visiting today!!


~Cynthia

Falling Hearts

Falling Hearts, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's a variation on a birthday card I posted earlier.

Totally clean and simple! ;-)

I stamped the sentiment, then the hearts. I felt OK leaving the hearts in an even number because the sentiment made the fifth image.

At least that's what I'm telling myself. ;-)


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamps: Stampin Up (heart); Craft Smart (sentiment)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick)


I'm still working on my Day In The Life project. I will admit it was a lot harder than I had anticipated...maybe because my life is just so darn boring. ;-) I hope to finish it up today and post a few pictures.


Craft happy!


~Cynthia

LIM Again--Aqua

LIM Again--Teal, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's another card for this week's Less Is More challenge: Use aqua.

I totally CASE'd host Chrissie's card...although she added a little tag and I didn't. I really love the look of the tone-on-tone!

To create the panel area, I masked off a section then brushed on the ink--Broken China Distress Ink.

I stamped the script from Stampin Up's French Foliage set off the left side of the cardblank. Gosh, I love that set! Every time I see someone using a stamp from it, I have to pull it out again and create something! :-)

Then I stamped the flower image randomly and in an odd number.

To finish the panel look, I scored it after I stamped everything. It looks cool like that, I think! ;-)

Finally I stamped the sentiment using Broken China again.

Simple, quick, fun. I love the color too!


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamps: Stampin Up (French Foliage set); Hero Arts (Birthday Messages set); Stacy Stamps (Floral Minis set)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Broken China)
ETC: ScorBuddy


Ali Edwards is documenting a Day in the Life on Wednesday (the 8th)--anyone else taking up the challenge?? I'm planning on playing along, but I think I'll use only ephemera from the day--not photos. I think that's more of a challenge. ;-) I plan to cut the newspaper headlines out, stick in receipts or business cards, leaves from the yard--stuff like that. Oooo...maybe if it rains, I'll hold a Distress Ink-covered snippet of paper outside and let the rain react with the ink!! Oh, the possibilities!! =D Wanna join in? Head over to Ali's site for all the details and some ideas and inspiration!



~Cynthia