An afternoon in Italy

We celebrated at an engagement party this afternoon. My niece is engaged to a nice Italian boy and we had homemade pizzas, delish cannolis and a few shots of Sambuca! Sambuca on a Sunday.....not my usual afternoon but lots of fun!

This is the card I made for the happy couple. A bit of a departure from my normal style but I really wanted to use the new Hearts and Brackets die. The cardstock is Soft Sky, River Rock and Chocolate Chip. The DSP is from the (retired) Rose Cottage SSK. I used my new Eyelet Border punch (can you believe I just got it?).
The Hearts and brackets is a Bigz die so I was able to cut the shapes in chipboard then cardstock (you can't tell from the photo but they are Soft Sky). I adhered the cardstock to the chipboard with Tombow Multi Glue. I used my computer to print "Live, Laugh, Love" on the heart.

I am not sure I love the end result. It appeals to me in some ways, but not others. Whatever, this is the end result and I know my niece appreciates receiving a card made especially for her (and her guy).

Happy stamping!

Gigi

That little monkey

Another Changito card. He makes me happy.

This card uses Kraft and Kiwi Kiss cardstock with some DSP and a piece of sticker edge from the (retired) Best Ever SSK. I once again watercolored the image, cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals.

I added the punched stars and brads to finish it off.

Now that I am paying attention, it is apparent this is another card WITHOUT RIBBON! Seriously I am in a whole new zone.

Happy stamping!

Gigi

Out of my little box

The SoShelli Creative Challenge this month is to create a project using only paper, ink and stamps. This is a serious challenge. Really, have you created much lately without brads, pretties, hodgepodge, punches (maybe those would be okay, but I stuck to the absolute basics) and oh my, this one made me hyperventilate, a card with NO RIBBON! None. Not one little scrap.

The challenge "rules" weren't really detailed but we could use cutting tools so for me this meant I could use my scoring blade in my paper trimmer.

I ended up with a Perfect Plum and Pale Plum monochromatic card. I scored the top layer (are you tired of those yet? I'm not, you'll be seeing more I'm sure!). The flower is from Greenhouse Garden, a new set in this IBC. I used Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Always Artichoke classic ink. The sentiment is from Oval All - I simply masked off the "frame" with masking tape. Super simple way to get only the image you want from a stamp.

Happy Stamping!

Gigi

The last wedding of the season

This weekend we will be attending a wedding reception for my good friend's brother. The actual wedding took place in Italy a few weeks ago.

This card is a 5-1/8 Chocolate Chip square base layered with Very Vanilla and another Chocolate Chip piece with each layer being an 1/8' smaller than the previous layer. I once again scored a quilt pattern with my ScorPal and added tiny vanilla half back pearls at each intersection. I created a Chocolate Chip and Vanilla belly band and added a scallop circle embellishment. The sentiment is from All Holidays (actually the 'Peace, Love, Joy' stamp, I simply inked up the one word).

The inside of the card has a pocket for some cash and the same sentiment I have used on both previous wedding cards.

Congrats Anthony and Peg!

Gigi

Happy Birthday Kirsten

This week is my BFF's birthday. We have been celebrating birthdays together since the 1st grade! I had alot of trouble coming up with a card and I am still not 100% sold on this one, although of all of efforts this was the best.

This is a Very Vanilla base topped with each a Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla layer. The image was inked up with Rose Red Classic Ink. I then removed the Rose Red from stems on rubber with a blender pen. The next step was to add the stems back by using my Chocolate Chip marker directly on the rubber. The sentiment was inked up with my Chocolate Chip marker.

I colored white half back pearls from the Pretties Kit by painting them with a mixture of Chocolate Chip re-inker and Crystal Effects. This technique is so easy, the hardest part if having the patience to let it dry completely before touching them! They add a nice little touch, but in real life they're kind of large for the scale of the card; I probably should have used the smaller ones.

Happy Stamping!

Gigi

August 7th, 7:45 AM Edited

I changed it and I much prefer this version. Those pearls were just too big.

Cheers!