Masculine Cards with Dad's Tools

I'm up today on the Kat Scrappiness blog to bring you some Father's Day/Masculine card inspiration.  If you're anything like me, masculine cards can be difficult.  I know for me, most of my projects involve the color pink and lots of sparkle and shine.  Up until now masculine cards have been a chore because I'm not inspired by the color schemes or the focal points.  This month there is a new stamp set in the Kat Scrappiness store that has breathed new life into the masculine card world.  Step aside feminine layering stamps because Dad's Tools are making their debut!  

The new Dad's Tools stamp set at KS gives a fresh new look to dad's old toolbox.  There are 4 different elements in the stamp set to layer and decorate with.  There is a hammer, a screwdriver, a nail and a screw and so many fun sentiments to play with.  

I found it helpful to swatch some gray and brown colors before I started my card to see what combinations would look best when I started stamping the layers of my tools.  I used the heart stamp from the Swatches  stamp set to make this visual tool and it was quite helpful.  With layering stamps you want to start out with your lightest color ink and add progressively darker layers as you go.

For my first card today I decided to recreate a fun toolbox and fill it up with some of Dad's Tools.  

I cut down a standard A2 card base into the shape of a toolbox and gave it a front panel which doubled as a pocket so I could fit the hammer, screwdriver and some nails and screws into it. The white embossed sentiment "Happy Birthday" fit perfectly onto one of the Stitched Fishtail Banner Dies which is also one of the new releases this month in the Kat Scrappiness store. 

I layered the sentiment onto a second darker fishtail banner and added the 

"Mr. Fix It" sentiment under the banners.  

For my second card today I went with a more traditional card and I used only the hammer and screwdriver from Dad's Tools for the focal point under the sentiment.

I used patterned paper for my first layer and a faux pegboard piece of paper for my second layer.  I cut both of those layers out with two different size dies from the Wonky Wavy Stitched Rectangles dies to give some added interest to the borders.  For the focal point of the card I used another one of the new releases this month called Stitched Flags.  

The shape of these new dies is so unique and can be used alone or with a sentiment for a fun element on your cards.  I stamped the sentiment "Happy Father's Day" from Dad's Tools in Versamark ink and white heat embossed it onto one of the Stitched Flags.  I mounted the Flag onto some foam tape for some extra added dimension.

Make sure to check out what the other girls on the design team have done this month with the Stitched Flag dies!  There is so much talent and creativity, you will definitely want to add these dies to your collection!

Also today is National Scrapbooking Day!  We are having some fun giveaways at Kat Scrappiness and from May 4th - 6th there will be 20% off sitewide if you use coupon code NSD2018.

Thank you so much for joining me today here on the blog!  Don't forget to use code Lisa10 when checking out for 10% off your order!

Have a wonderful day, I already am!

🔨Lisa 🔨

CAS(E) this sketch #269

Back again for another CAS(E) this sketch.  Loving the new release at Kat Scrappiness.  The new Stitched Flag Dies are so versatile with such a unique shape.  They look great with a pretty Fab Flower from Lawn Fawn.  I embossed the pink panel with a heart embossing folder and then die cut the panel with a Wonky Wavy Stitched rectangle die from Kat Scrappiness as well.  For a bold focal point I die cut the letters M-O-M from the Condensed Lowercase Alpha dies and then I dotted them with pink and gray ink using the bottom tip of a small paintbrush.  It looks like confetti falling on the letters.  Lots of foam tape to pop up the flags and the letters.  Love the added dimension!  Some cards take so long to make but when I have a sketch to work with it goes so much faster.  I probably put this card together in 15 minutes.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Have fun crafting, I definitely am!

🌸Lisa 🌸

Crafty Friends are the Best Friends!

Hello Crafty Friends!
I'm up on the Kat Scrappiness blog today and it's time to get CRAFTY!🎨🖌

Chances are if you're reading this post you are a crafty person and chances are you have one or more crafty friends!  Today I have 2 cards to share with you that are perfect to send to the crafty friends in your life!  Both cards use the new Kat Scrappiness word die "Hello My Crafty Friend".  This is such a fun die because it can be used as a large focal point on it's own or you can use any of the 4 words in the set on their own like I did on the second card.  

For my first card I used a technique that I love called inlaid die cutting.  I took some smooth white card stock and I blended 6 different Distress inks in a rainbow of color large enough to die cut the Crafty Friends die out of.  The Distress inks I used were a combination of the original colors and the newer Distress oxide pads.  In rainbow order the were:

Picked Raspberry

Carved Pumpkin

Squeezed Lemonade

Cracked Pistachio

Salty Ocean

Wilted Violet

After I got the colors just the way I wanted I splattered the paper with water to give it a distressed look and then I die cut the entire saying out of the rainbow background and then again out of a black panel measuring 5 1/4" x 4".  I then took a standard white A2 card base and put adhesive all over the front before laying down the black panel.  Next I laid the rainbow colored sentiment back into the open spots on the black panel and fit them in like a jigsaw puzzle.  They fit perfectly in the openings and it didn't add any bulk to the card.  I saved the little black bits to place back in the openings in the letters with holes in them.  Putting the black bits back in gives it a very uniform look.

To finish the card off I added some paintbrushes that I also cut out of the rainbow background that I made and I added some glittery hearts to the bottom.  I splattered the whole front with some white paint to give it an artsy fun appearance.  The Crystal Katana tool was very helpful in helping me replace the words in their holes and also to place the tiny hearts down at the bottom.

For my second card I used the word "Hello" from the Hello My Crafty Friend Die and cut it out 5 different times in a rainbow of glittered paper.  I layered a white banner on to a kraft card base to really make the repeated "Hellos" stand out.  To finish the card I stamped a sentiment from the Everyday Brush Strokes stamp set onto some kraft card stock and heat embossed it with white powder.  I popped the sentiment up with foam tape and the card was done.  This was a super quick card to put together but I think it looks fabulous because of all the glittery goodness in a rainbow of colors.  This is just one example of how you can use any of the words on their own from the Hello My Crafty Friend Die

Thanks for joining me today, I hope you'll share some creativity with one of your crafty friends!  This versatile die makes it super easy to do!
Don't forget to play along each month with the Kat Scrappiness challenge for your chance to win a $25 gift card to the KS online store.  This month's challenge is Envelope Art!  The Giraffe Envelope Art stamp set and The Owl Envelope Art stamp make dressing up your envelopes so much fun!

If you enter code Lisa10 at checkout you can receive 10% off of your order!

Have a great day everyone!

I already am!
🎨Lisa 🎨

MFT Sketch and SSS Wednesday Challenges

I haven't stayed up late crafting in such a long time but tonight I decided I just didn't want to go to sleep so I stumbled upon the MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge #382 and I decided to play along.  It just so happens that this week is an Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday's challenge and they are using MFT products.  It was a perfect match up and I got to use an older stamp set from MFT called Polynesian Paradise which I love.  The stamp set lends itself to bright tropical colors and beautiful flowers.  I started out by stamping and coloring that cute pineapple with some Zig markers and I thought it would look cute coming out of one of the cups from the Hot Cocoa Cups die set.  The mug was so plain so I dressed it up with the flower cluster from the stamp set.  I used the Stitched Mini Scallop Square for the polka dot background behind the cup to match the sketch.  Finally I cut a tag from the Tag Builder Blueprints 4 and trimmed the 

circular opening off of it and stamped the sentiment on it.  

The patterned paper is from the MFT Dots and Stripes Sorbet paper pack.

Ok it's 3:30 am so it's probably time for bed now.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great morning, I already am!

🌺🌼🌸

Lisa

Papertrey Ink MIM and SSS Wednesday Challenge

One fun card, two fun challenges.  I made this card for this weeks Make it Monday challenge over at Papertrey Ink and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge is Anything Goes so I'm entering it into both.  Betsy Veldman made a card for MIM with spot color word die cuts.  I used the Wonderful Words Baby die cut over the Doodlie Do stamp set.  This was a fun technique but I feel like it's hard to make out the word baby.  I stamped a sentiment from the Baby Button Bits stamp set on a stitched fishtail banner from Kat Scrappiness that I cut from some Bitty Big aqua mist paper.  

Here is a close up of the die cut "baby" word that I copic colored in pink and aqua. 

That's all for today!  Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you get some crafty time in today!

Enjoy your day, I already am!

👶🏼Lisa 👶🏼

CAS(E) This Sketch #268

Quick post today to share my card for the CAS(E) this sketch challenge #268.  I love following these sketches because it speeds the creativity process along.  Simple card using basic crayola watercolors, a Kat Scrappiness wonky rectangle die and a beautiful Papertrey Ink sentiment, finished off with some Pretty Pink Posh clear sequins.

Have a great day everyone!

I already am!

🌈Lisa 🌈

Simon Says: Sparkle And Shine

I'm not sure if my craft table will ever recover from all this glitter......but I'm ok with it!  Love love love sparkle and shine!  SSS knows this about us paper crafters so this week's challenge was a TON of FUN!!  I finally got my SSS stitched butterflies in the mail so I promptly glittered them up to pop on my card.  The inspiration for this card actually came from a pretty notepad I bought at TJ Maxx recently.  I fell in love with the colors and the shine.  I was going to copy the pretty glittered heart on it but I opted for the beautiful butterflies instead.  Here is the notepad followed by my card.

I made the heart panel by stamping some hearts from the Essentials by Ellen stamp set Fancy Thanks in versamark ink.  I heat embossed them and inked the entire panel with Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade distress inks.  

I matted the heart panel on some glitter paper and heat embossed the butterflies with glittered embossing powder after inking them with Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade distress inks as well to match the panel.  The gorgeous doily is from the Greeting Farm which I die cut from glitter paper like the background.  I needed a happy birthday card so this sentiment from SSS Furry Cat and Box was the perfect size for the circle.  So much sparkly goodness on this card I can hardly stand it!

Here is a close up of those sparkly butterflies.

Of course pictures never do justice to sparkle and shine.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Friday!

I already am!

💖Lisa 💖

Papertrey MIM #319: GRAFFITI WORD ART

Lexi Daly has created some fun graffiti art on a card this week for Papertrey Ink's MIM and has challenged us to do the same.  I love thinking outside the box with my stamps and dies.  It took me 2 days to think about this challenge and I decided to make it a little more realistic by putting it on a brick wall background.  I also added a drop shadow appearance that you see in a lot of graffiti to give it dimension.  I really love the look of that shadow with word art!  I used the Block Alphabet from Papertrey Ink for my letters and the sentiment is from a stamp set by Lil' Inker called Rainbows and Clouds sentiments. The stars in the letters are from a new Pinkfresh Studio stamp set called Magical Unicorn.  I really like how this card turned out and it was so much fun to try something new.

Thanks for stopping by today and enjoy the rest of your week!

I'm already enjoying mine!

🎨Lisa 🎨

CAS(E) this Sketch #267

Fun card to share today for CTS 267.  I've been playing with my PTI roses a lot lately and they were the perfect focal point for this sketch.

Thanks for dropping by!

Enjoy your day, I already am!

🌹Lisa 🌹

Simon Says : Add Some Texture (Take 2)

I am loving this week's Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp to add texture so much that I made a second card.  Instagram is filled with all things Springy and Butterfly related now and I just had to jump on the bandwagon.  Since I am waiting on my butterfly dies from the SSS Fluttering By collection I thought I would take out 2 of my older butterfly dies from 

SSS called Devonshire and Paulina. The 2 smaller butterflies are SU punches.

So much inspiration on this card but mostly from Melissa Phillips at Lilybean Paperie.  She has a way of making every card look magical!  On a recent card for the SSS blog hop she sponged her butterflies with distress ink, sprayed with water and splattered white paint on top.  

LOVE THOSE RESULTS!

I didn't glue the wings down so they could fly off the page.  

I layered those beautiful butterflies on top of the Papertrey Ink Shapeshifters Oval 1 die and I used the Aqua Mist Bitty Big paper as a background.  Since I know my mom will love this card I finished it off with a Happy Mother's Day sentiment from PTI's Butterfly Blooms stamp set.  I heat embossed it with white powder onto a strip of Aqua Mist Bitty Big paper and popped it up on foam tape.  All that was left was to add some sparkly clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and my card was done.

Thanks so much for stopping by today to take a look!  

I hope you all are enjoying your Saturday, I know I am!

🦋Lisa 🦋

Simon Says: Add Some Texture

SSS Wednesday Challenge Add Some Texture

I love this week's challenge to add some texture to your project.  I knew I wanted to use a woodgrain embossing folder on the main card but the treasure map on the front wound up having it's own texture.  I didn't realize how much until I showed my son this card and he actually wanted to feel the map, he said it looked like leather.  That's when I knew it was the perfect project for this week's challenge.  I just love the little DeNami chickie stamps and their Pirate Chickie was just meant for this treasure map!  I used the Distressed Edges Rectangle dies from Kat Scrappiness for the map and I inked the edges with Tim Holtz Ground Espresso Distress Ink after I sprayed it with water and crumpled it up a few times.  

I used the SSS "Circle Friends" stamp set for the fun stitching lines and the Stitched Alpha Dies from Craftin Desert Divas for my "X" marks the spot embellishments.  The sentiment "Ahoy Matey" came from the Papertrey Ink stamp set "Out to Sea" and the banner and circle seal dies are from the 

Spellbinders "Hipster 1" dies.  

I actually made a list of how many companies products I used on this card just for fun and it came to 11.  I really enjoyed making this card and it turned out just like I wanted which is rare.  Sometimes the card ideas in my head don't actually make it to the card itself.  See you next week for another 

SSS Wednesday challenge!

Thanks for stopping by today.  

Have a great day, I already am!

☠️Lisa ☠️

PAPERTREY INK MIM #318: SIMPLE STITCHED STEMS

PTI MIM #318 Simple Stitched Stems

Another Monday, another PTI Make it Monday and this week I have to say that Michelle definitely had me step outside of my comfort zone.  The challenge was to stitch stems on a card and I've never tried it before.  After ripping the cardstock on my first attempt I tried again with a smaller needle and had success.  Maybe if I practiced more I could get less space between the stitches.  I do like how it turned out in the end and it was fun to try a new technique.  I was inspired by Laurie Schmidlin and the pocket card she made recently.  I used one of the lacy Edgers dies on the front of the pocket.  I fell in love with the style and I couldn't wait to try it.  

I used the Farmers Market florals for the flowers on the stems and The Sweet Life stamps for the large rose on the front pocket.  I watched Lizzie Jones Make it Monday challenge recently and it reminded me how much I LOVE the Sweet Life stamp set.  So much inspiration from PTI and their design team! 

I finished it off with a sentiment from the Butterfly Blooms stamp set and matted it on some Aqua Mist card stock.  Thanks for stopping by today!  Can't wait for next week's MIM, I'm enjoying this weekly inspiration!

Have a great day, I already am!

🌹Lisa 🌹

Lots of Envelopes

💌HAPPY MAIL💌

I don't know about you but that sentence brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it, not to mention when I see it in my mailbox and at my front door!

Today I'm over on the Kat Scrappiness blog with some fun envelopes to give your snail mail an upgrade!

The April Card Challenge over at Kat Scrappiness is Envelope Art and there are 2 new stamp sets that make it easy to add some PIZZAZZ to your envelopes!  Giraffe Envelope Art and Owl Envelope Art. Here are 2 examples of how you can use the Giraffe stamp set to take your
envelopes from drab to fab!

On the first envelope I stamped the Giraffe with some Memento Tuxedo Black ink so I could color him with copic markers and then cut him out so he could sit at the bottom corner and then I added some fun leaves around him. The stamp set also comes with 2 cute stamps that say "to" and "from" in a fun font.  I thought it would be fun to stamp them and highlight them with Lawn Fawn Cilantro ink using the rectangle shape from the Swatches stamp set.  To finish the envelope off I stamped the cheeky sentiment "It has been so long" diagonally near the giraffe's head.  For the second envelope I stamped the entire Giraffe with his sign and colored him in and then added some fun leaves around the border of the envelope.  The sign is the perfect space to add your recipients name and address. The "to" and "from" stamps look cute in their respective places on the envelope as well.  HAPPY MAIL for KAT!!

The next envelope I have to show you is a mini envelope that is meant for hand delivery as opposed to sending in the mail.  It has a super fun shaker element on the front and uses the star stamp from the Swatches stamp set again and some dreamy Sent from Heaven sequin mix.  I stamped the star with some Golden Glitz Pigment ink by Delicata for a sparkly look.  This envelope will be a keepsake that your lucky recipient won't stop shaking!

The last 3 envelopes I decorated using the Swatches stamp set one more time.  This stamp set is so versatile with its basic shapes and the sky is the limit with what you can create after you've swatched your inks and markers with it.  For the top envelope I stamped only half of the circle stamp in a rainbow of Lawn Fawn inks to give the look of a fun scalloped border along the bottom edge.  I highlighted the "to" and "from" stamps with that same circle in red and blue ink.  The "happy mail" sentiment from the Giraffe Envelope Art set was the perfect addition to repeat 

along the scalloped border.

For the bottom two envelopes in the picture I combined the Swatches stamp set with the Everyday Brush Strokes set for fun side border stamped in Distress Oxide inks.
I love the chalky appearance the Oxide Inks give and I love the look on kraft paper!

I hope that I have inspired you to have some fun with your envelopes today and dress them up with your stamp sets!  It is our responsibility to add some fun to the mailbox for our hard working post men and women!  Not to mention distracting your recipient from those nasty bills and junk mail!

Thanks for joining me today!  All supplies will be linked down below and don't forget to use code: Lisa10 to receive 10% off your purchase at checkout in the Kat Scrappiness shop! 

Have a great day everyone!  I already am!

💌Lisa💌

Kat Scrappiness Supplies Used:

• Giraffe Mail Art Stamp Set
• Swatches Stamp Set
• Everyday Brush Strokes Stamp Set
• Sent From Heaven Sequin Mix
• Distress Oxide Inks
• Lawn Fawn Inks
• Golden Glitz Delicata Ink
• Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

CAS(E) this Sketch #266

It's not very often I get almost an entire day to stamp and play but today was one of those days!  I've had the Tiny Dancers stamp set from Sunny Studios for quite some time now and haven't been able to get it inky.  I'm happy to say that today was THAT day!  Those ballerinas are so STINKIN' cute!!! When I saw the sketch this week at CAS(E) this sketch I knew that the tiny dancers would be perfect!

Here is the sketch and the card:

Oh I am in love with those cute little ballerinas!  I probably love them so much because I wasn't allowed to be one growing up.  Yup, I was the only little ballerina who was thrown out of ballet class.  We can't all be graceful 😬.... oh well.  I'll settle for coloring them now and putting them on cute cards!  I love how the little pink tutus look against the black and white polka dot paper and I love this week's sketch!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Enjoy your day, I already am!

💃Lisa 💃

Happy 9th Birthday Simon Says Stamp

🎁 Happy 9th Birthday Simon Says Stamp!🎂

The Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is a Happy Birthday theme for their 9th birthday!  

In celebration I took out my SSS birthday stamps and my Gina K Wreath Builder

 stencil again and got to work!  

Thank you Gina K!  I have had so much fun with my Wreath Builder stencils and I have been looking at my stamp sets in a new way.  I love flower wreaths but I have been enjoying finding other stamps that would look good in a wreath pattern.  Today I took out my SSS set called Birthday Balloons and those cute little balloons were just the perfect size for the wreath stencil!  I also had fun looking through my ink pads for the perfect rainbow colors!  I backed the balloon panel on black cardstock because I always love the look of rainbow colors against a black background.  The sentiment is from an older SSS stamp set called Square Sayings.  I just love how this card came out!  

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

I hope you get some crafty time in today and have a great day!

I already am!

🎈Lisa 🎈