What do you do with a scurvy pirate?

. . . make him walk the plank!
If you have little ones around and they watch Backyardigans, then you are probably familiar with that song. It is from the episode Pirate Treasure and is one of Bree's favorites.
We bring scurvy pirates into many of our playtime activities. In the pool she sits on the pirate ship (raft) and we sail through the sea dodging sea dragons and sharks, and waving at the dolphins and mermaids. Wouldn't it be awesome to see what's going on in her little mind!
Anyway, I used Stampin' Up! cardstock to make a couple of tube pirates and used the paisley background stamp to make the bandana for the lady pirate. Bree picked out the fish and stamped him in white craft ink on the pirate's hat.
I'm also in the process of making her a pirate hat (the first one I made was too small...so its back to the drawing board). There's another pirate project in the works, but all I'll say about that right now is that I need the Zutter Bind-It-All to finish it.

Sudsol Challenge 121

This is for today's Chat & Challenge on Sudsol. I decided on my colors ahead of time. Sometimes choosing colors seems to take more time than actually making the card. The color combo comes from a Splitcoast challenge (#168). I stamped the background Canvas in sage shadow on sage shadow card stock to give some texture to the card. The patterned paper is from the retired designer paper Au Chocolat. . . loved that collection. This paper is layered on chocolate chip. The measurements: cc layer 3 3/4" x 5" the patterned paper 3 5/8" x 4 7/8".
The flowers and sentiment are from the new Fresh Cuts set.

SCS Challenge WT171

Today's SCS Ways to Use It Challenge is called Rick Rack Revisited. So it was time to pull out the rick rack I bought on clearance ages ago and use it on a card.
The image and sentiment are from the Summer by the Sea stamp set. This set is on the dormant list and will still be available for purchase until mid-January. Both the image and the sentiment are stamped with Versamark and embossed with Black embossing powdered. I used the aqua painter to color the image. The card base is mellow moss and the layer is soft sky textured paper.
Wouldn't it be nice to spend a lazy day on the water with your feet in the water!

SCS Color Challenge #171

Wow! I did a SCS color challenge 2 weeks in a row. And I combined today's with a sketch challenge.
I like kraft and black together and think the soft sky looks great with them. The card base (kraft) is the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". The black layer is 4" x 5 1/4" and the soft sky designer layer is 3 3/4" x 5 ". I used the ticket corner punch on both of these layers. The image, (Fresh Cuts) is stamped in versamark, then embossed in black. I used the 1 3/8" punch on the image and layered it on black (scallop punch) and used stampin dimensionals to attach it to the card. The strips are simply kraft layered on black, the "for you" is embossed, and 2 black brads are added. Also, I used white gel pen to add dots to the black scallop. That's it!

Weekend Sketch Challenge #52

I had to make Father's Day cards for Jill and decided to use Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for the layout for one of the cards. Beate writes a lot of the tutorials at Splitcoast Stampers and does awesome work...great inspiration! And that's what I needed today.
Barb and Bill will be here in the morning, so needless to say, there was a ton of cleaning happening here today. Jill was busy with her Creative Memories stuff at a Baby Expo in Wilmington and I volunteered to make her cards for her(I'm such a nice mom!).






Last week I made a card with basic gray and blue bayou and Jill really liked the colors together. So I tried those colors here except I used going gray as the card base. I think the basic gray layer would look better if it was wider like the layer in the sketch. This picture really does not do the card justice. My lighting was terrible and I was in a hurry to have them ready for her. I finished just as she was pulling into the driveway. She and Gary unloaded her Creative Memory stuff, I wrapped Chris' gift for her, she got her cards and was gone! Service with a smile!

Cuttlebug Cards

I had fun making some new stationery with my new cuttlebug embossing folders and Scor-pal. I saw cards like these on Sue Nelson's website. Her cards are awesome.
The first card has a black layer which makes the white embossing really "pop."

I made this card as for example of an elegant wedding card/thank you note.
It is simply white on white with a sheer white ribbon added.




















The last picture has a brown (chocolate chip) layer with brown ink.
Too bad I didn't have these things when both of the girls got married...
All three cards would make great wedding note cards, as well as elegant personal stationery. I have more colors I want to try for both the background layer and ink. I will also make the background layer slightly larger. Oh, the possibilities are endless.
Hopefully I will be selling these at Gary's store. Wouldn't that be wonderful...I could buy more embossing folders. I like that logic!

Splitcoast Color Challenge 170

I used a simple layout so I could make a card for today's color combo challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. The color combo is real red, regal rose, and so saffron. I used the markers to color the flower image from Petal Prints. That speckled stuff around the flowers is made with one of the stamps from Itty Bitty Backgrounds. The dots from Polka Dots and Paisley provide the background on the base of the card. In real life the ribbon is truly real red.
That was quick and easy. Now if I hurry and get some work done in the house I should be able to justify an hour in the pool!

Sudsol C&C 119

I actually participated in another Sudsol card challenge. I was not quite sure about this color combination: basic grey, black, and blue bayou. But then, I guess I need to try different colors. I tend to get stuck using the same ones over and over.
It's difficult to see, but on the bottom of the card I stamped the vine from the Fresh Cut set in grey ink. (The picture is not great...I was in too big a hurry.) Using the 2 tag punches helps make layering quick and easy. What's so sad is that it takes me longer to decide on what colors and images to use than it does to make the card. Guess I need more practice!
Totally off subject! A friend just called to tell me she was in the Scrapbook Addict in Shallotte (she had to buy the Scor-Pal after trying mine). The swiss dot cuttlebug folder is now in stock. Yeah! I've been waiting and waiting (practicing patience). So she's getting one for me (along with the paisley folder). More toys!

Julie S Mixon Photography

Julie was home this weekend which meant Bree came to visit with her Aunt Julie. It was really, really hot outside ...close to 100; so we waited till early evening to pick peaches. Well, Bree carries the bucket and what does Julie carry - her camera. Is there any other way for Julie to pick peaches?
But I'm not complaining at all. Look what she picked! They both had so much fun. It was one of those priceless moments.










Bree loved showing off what she picked. She even found a ladybug hanging out in the peach tree.














She helped her Papa carry them back to the house.
Then later I made peach crisp which could only be eaten with vanilla ice cream...mmm! It was a good day!

Sudsol Challenge

I participated in another card challenge last night. You're given a layout as a pattern...colors, stamps, etc. are your choice. The challenge for me is having my computer in a different room as my stamp stuff. I have to run back and forth to get one more thing.
But again, the challenge was fun and the other cards were great (and they're an inspiration for more cards).
I used the new Fresh Cuts stamp set for the first time. I only used one color (soft sky) on the background stamp. Next time I hope to have more time to play with more colors and techniques.

A New Toy

I bought a new toy yesterday - a Scor-Pal. For those of you who aren't addicted to paper, it's a neat tool to use to score paper...(duh!). This is what it says on their website:
Scor-Pal® creates accurate and precise scores giving you professional looking folds, no more crooked cards. Multiple scores are done in seconds without moving the paper. Perfect for accordion folds, boxes, fancy fold cards and other interesting projects!
I can only hope.
So this is my first project, a double pocket card. And yes, it was easy. I found the project on a tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers. I used Blue Bayou Designer Paper for the pocket card and blue bayou, soft sky and whisper white card stock for the tags. I lightly rolled So Swirly jumbo wheel in soft sky on the white tag. I used the round tab punch to make the polka dot tab and striped grosgrain to make the other. The pewter hodgepodge hardware label holder says congrats.

And I should add that I bought the Scor-Pal at The Scrapbook Addict in Shallotte, NC. It was 41.95...it is 39.95 on the website, but $2 more is much cheaper than having to pay for shipping and handling. So I figured I saved money! I like that logic.