Easter Fun!!

     When you are a card maker/crafter the holidays seem to run together.  For several weeks my craft room has looked like Easter.  If you know me, you know I LOVE making these Exploding Box cards. Several of my friends have told me I should re-name them "Sherry Bombs" I make so many.  This little Easter basket was quite fun.  The bunny is a floral pick from Michael's - the little basket he sits in was made by me (using my Silhouette Cameo).  After cutting the basket out I took a small chalk ink pad and rubbed the edges to give the sides some depth when they were glued together.  After adding some green cellophane grass and little eggs he is ready to go in the mail for Easter.

     Since this little basket was such fun to make that I decided to cut several - the one below has two adorable little furry bunnies peeking out.....they are just too cute!!! 

   

     The one below is still my favorite - it captures the essence of Easter celebrating the resurrected Christ - the Easter lilies are a Flourishes stamp that I stamped several times, colored with copic markers and cut out. Then I layered them over a chipboard cross and created a background with vellum and silver mirror paper - all of this was mounted on some moss with small flowers punched from a Martha Stewart punch.  I love the layers and 3-D look that was created doing this. 

     Thanks for visiting and have a great day.

Coloring and cutting......

     Yep, there is a little coloring and cutting going on in the stamp room today.  I'm in need of some more Easter cards.  My go to stamp is from Flourishes, who sadly is no longer in business.  This cross with Easter Lily's was designed by Marcella Hawley - You may not be aware of this but she has opened  her own on line stamp shop this week called  Power Poppy (please check it out she has put together an outstanding design team)  If her new designs are anything like this one I am gonna be one thrilled stamper.
     Two of these beauties above will be going into my Easter Exploding Boxes that I sell and make for friends.....and some will be going in a pop up style card I have designed.  I usually cut out the center flower from a second stamping and after a little bending and folding layer it over the one on the cross for some dimension.  I will also be digging out a rock stamp I have to layer in the pop up card as well.
     I would have taken a picture showing more but then you would know what a mess I create when I am coloring and cutting.

Materials:  Silhouette Cameo, Flourishes stamp, Copic Markers, Card Stock

Country Cowboy Christmas

     If you know me at all you will find it no surprise to see this stamp inked up and colored.  Why it took me so long to get it is beyond me.....guess that thing called life got in my way for a few weeks.  However, from the moment I first saw it on on the blog of some of the Flourishes Design Team members I knew it would find a home with me.
    YES, I love it because it has a cowboy on it, but I also love it because it evokes a warm fuzzy feeling when you view it, whether it is colored or kept color free.  Can't you just imagine the anticipation of this country family waiting for the 'perfect newly cut tree' to be pulled to the front door.  The ornaments are out, popcorn has been strung......little hands are ready to decorate the tree.  I bet there is a warm fire glowing in the hearth as well. A warm homey Christmas scene.
     I want to just take a moment to thank the illustrator Lauren Pope for creating this lovely design and Flourishes for making it into a stamp.
     After stamping this lovely image I used my Prisma color pencils - I heard that gasp just now, shock over my not using my oh so favorite Copic markers.  I just felt the pencils would work better....I want to ink this up again and use my water colors.  Using my Silhouette Cameo I cut an oval the size I needed in some designer paper and placed it over my image.  To give it a little more pop I cut another oval out of some green card stock that I stamped over with a wood grain stamp - hard to see in this photo but it helped keep the green card stock from having that plain jane look, wood also seemed the right effect.

      The inside was kept fairly simple with one of the many sentiments included in the set.  Yes, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.........Thanks for stopping by.

Materials:  Flourishes Country Time Christmas, Silhouette Cameo, Card stock, Versafine Ink, Prisma color pecils

Challenges:  

By His Wounds

     During Lent a group of musicians and worship leaders from all across the South have posted a daily devotional on You-Tube - I have been following along daily.  They have actually been using material and readings from the Book of Common Prayer - which has been interesting as some have never used this book before and their insights into the scripture has been a breath of fresh air.  Just a click of my mouse and I can have as much time to mediate and pray during the devo as I need.  How exciting this week is as we travel through Holy Week into Easter......As I have said before, this season begins much earlier for me, at Christmastime.....you can't have the cross without the creche.  I am humbled by the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf. It is with joy that I look forward to celebrating His resurrection this Sunday.

     I have had a great time making some explosion boxes for Easter and today I worked on a 'pop-up' card. Once again I went to my 'go to' stamp from Flourishes....this is the perfect size cross, and the Easter Lilies that adorn it are just beautiful.  I stamped, colored and then cut the cross out....I also stamped a second cross that I then cut the center Lily from and colored.  Using some scrapbook adhesives I popped this up on the cross.

     Using my circle dies (offset) I cut a piece of silver to place behind my image.  With my Cheery Lynn dies I cut some greenery to place around my cross.  An Easter sentiment was placed inside of my Elegant Oval Frames from Our Daily Bread Designs and cut with their matching Spellbinders die.  A little bling, because this is a festive and awesome day I am celebrating, and the inside of the card is complete.
     For the outside I used a larger Elegant Oval Frame from Our Daily Bread Designs with a sentiment from their 'He Will Rise' set.  I cut out and colored a lily for the corner of the die.  Keeping the cross in mind I ran the  front panel of my card through my Grand Calibur with their M-Bossabilities wood die.
     Time to be getting some of these in the mail - Easter will be here before I know it.

Supplies:  Flourishes Stamp, Our Daily Bread Design Stamps and Die, Cheery Lynn Die, Bling, M-Bossabilities, Copics. 

Challenges:  ODBDSCS148 He is Risen, Cheery Lynn 73 Celebrate, Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes

The Bunny Shake

     Yep, I have seen tooo many You Tube videos of the 'Harlem Shake' lately and just couldn't resist making a shaker card.  While shopping recently I purchased a package of Impression Obsession shaker inserts and just wanted to play - I usually don't use a bunny for an Easter card, but this little fella was just too cute to resist.  The ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon (part of a package I won during the Hope for the Cure Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers last fall) - love this ribbon, and winning it has inspired me to keep it within sight so I can use it on more cards.  The colors went perfectly with my paper, I even used a piece of plain cardstock that I punched the edge of to layer the two ribbons over.
     My bunny looked a little plain all by himself in 'shaker land' so I stamped a row of Easter eggs, which I colored with my Copics, then stamped a second row of Easter eggs that I fussy cut out as a  mask over the first row - then I stamped the bunny and removed the mask so he looks like he is sitting in the field with them.

Supplies:  Copics, Impression Obsesion Inserts, Spellbinders Dies, Hampton Art Stamps, Flourishes Stamps, Really Reasonable Ribbon, Martha Stewart Punch, Corner rounder

Challenges:  Cute Card Thursday Spring, RRR Challenge 67 Show me the Green and Ribbon

Easter Explosion

     Where do I start.  Ever since I saw the "Explosion Box" made by Kittie C on Splitcoast Stampers I have been itching to make one.  I finally cleaned up my stamp area and sat down to play the other day.  THIS is not the first box I created.....that will be posted a little later so not to ruin a surprise for a friend.  After making the first box there were a gazillion ideas going through my mind.......something special for Easter just kept tugging at my heart....a box that holds a special gift reminds me of the great gift of Christ's birth at Christmas that culminates in the greatest gift of all when He dies on the cross so that I might live.
      While I wanted to use the acetate and have it look like there were things in the air as the box was opened, I just couldn't seem to grasp an idea for it - instead this is what I created!!  I used three different stamp sets.  The cross with a flower cut out and popped up on it is from Flourishes. From the get go I wanted a cross in the center and this one is the perfect size and can be cut out easily.  The 'Alleluia' sentiment is Stampendous, and the perfect scripture quotes, as well as the frame and matching dies used around the sentiments are from Our Daily Bread Designs.
     I started by taking a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock and scoring it at 4 inches on each side, then I cut out the corner pieces for a + shape.  I got a little carried away on the inside layers, running one through my Grand Calibur with the Spellbinders M-Bossabilities to create a wood look, and backing it with a darker purple cardstock.

     For the outside I created my own patterned paper using the flower stamp from Flourishes.  I topped the box with a small bow made with my NEW Becca's Bow Maker I recently purchased from Our Daily Bread Designs (I think I am going to enjoy using this on many future projects).

     The focal point in the center was the most fun.  I colored my cross and flowers in with my Copics and then cut it out.  I took some mirrored silver cardstock and took two of my circle dies, placing them so they cut slightly larger to the top and ran them through my GC. I cut two of these so I could sandwich a piece of vellum between them and form a frame - the cross was too messy looking from the back and needed to be hidden.  Then I put some pop ups on the back of my cross and placed it on the vellum.  For the base I took a small styrofoam ball and cut it in half....I used a knife to make an indentation across the top to place my frame and cross in.  Some leaves cut from my Cheery Lynn die and a few flowers from my Martha Stewart punch were added to the top of some moss I glued over the styrofoam....I also added a few dollops of glue and put a little touch of Flower Soft on my moss.
     This project was just toooo much fun - I am hooked just wait until you see the other box and the one I am planning next....lets just say 'Yee Haw' for that one.  !

Supplies:  Our Daily Bread Design (Stamps, Dies, Flower Soft, Becca Bow Maker), Flourishes Stamps, Stampendous Stamps.  Martha Stewart punch, Spellbinders Dies and M-Bossabilities Folder, Copics, Cheery Lynn Leaves, Pop Ups.  Cardstock, Ribbon

Challenges:  Our Daily Bread Design ODBDSLC143, Paper Playtime CH #4 Use a Sentiment, Really Reasonable Ribbon, Spring Colors and Ribbon,  Hiding in My Craftroom #85 Embossing, Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes

CAS'd Cowgirl Style

   Recently Stacey (Twinshappy) posted a card for the Dirty Dozen Christmas Challenge - MIM - More is Less, at SCS.   It caught my fancy, and when I commented on her blog I said I was going to case it 'cowgirl' style.  This was the immediate image that came to my mind when I saw hers.  I changed her candy canes to my Horseshoe from Flourishes, kept the layout she used, while using a different edge (Romantic Rectanges, of course),  and I have to say I love it.

    For her challenge they were doing two of the same card - one simple, and one glammed up.  I only made one since I'm not joining the challenge, but it is a great idea, and a fun way to get more cards done.

Supplies:  Spellbinders Romantic Rectangle, Flourishes stamp, pearls, cardstock. 

Rejoice

     The last few trips to the craft stores have found me looking through non stamp aisles with ideas flowing through my mind.   When I saw this inexpensive metal cross at Michael's I bought a few to play with and decorate.  This is my favorite, using stamps from Flourishes He is Risen set.  I used a Krylon Pen to edge the cross and the Spellbinders die that has the sentiment on it.  I have found that a quick spray with some clear Krylon helps set the gold leaf keeping it from rubbing of.  The flowers were colored with my Copics and then cut out by hand, some are mounted with foam, while others aren't.  I played with some leaf ideas but really felt like it was getting too busy.  I'm thinking of sending this in place of a card to someone - overall it is 8 inches by 6 inches and would ship pretty easily.
     I have also been working on a small oval box with my favorite Mustang stamp and some awesome leather ribbon around the outside.....hopefully that will be done soon.   Purchased some nifty wood frames that I have covered in paper, hoping to stamps some images and sentiments and mount them inside with some embellishments.  All this playing means I need to catch up with cards that need to get sent but it has been fun.

Thanks for stopping by,

Supplies:  Metal cross from Michael's, Spellbinders Die, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Flourishes Stamps, Krylon Gold Leaf Pen, Copic Markers

Easter Flowers

     While running around last week I managed to sneak into my new favorite stamp shop nearby.  They had the new Flourishes set He Is Risen.  Easter will be here before I know it so I grabbed the set and found some time this weekend to work in my stamp room (LOL, like I need an excuse).  It was my hope to CASE Christine Okken at ChristineCreations....but the more I worked at trying the more obvious it became that this card had a mind of its own.  Instead of the lovely card she made with a cut out frame, I ended up with a round scalloped card and no frame......best of intentions don't always work out the way you think they will.  Nonetheless, I am very pleased with how this turned out and look forward to sending it out for Easter.
     I colored the flowers with my blue, green, and yellow Copics - then cut them out.  None of the blue paper I had really rocked my boat so I found this lovely soft green patterned CS that appealed to me more.  I'm pretty sure I will never grow tired of my Cheery Lynn Border Flourish die that I used, it is a favorite of mine.

Thanks for visiting, have an awesome day,

Materials:  Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities, Copics, Flourishes Stamps, CS, Krylon Gold Leafing Pen, Cheery Lynn Die

Challenges:  Stampin Sisters In Christ Challenge 127