OH! how i love steampunk!! (2S4Y style)

hey everyone! happy thursday :D (note: i seem to be a little 'talky' today, so if you want to skip that, go to the end.)

i had the pleasure of using Kazan's sketch #56 for this card, and oh boy! was it ever PERFECT for EVERYTHING... the details just shine through with this awesome layout :D

and believe it or not, although i've been behind on the challenge side of things... haven't been creating much for sketches/ color combos/ etc, i actually made this card for the 365 Cards Day #129 - Aged Look. it's simply a match made in heaven :D

on to my card. i actually made this to giveaway in a contest... i was given some idea about what the contest was, but i was given artistic freedom in the execution. i think i've mentioned before that i LOVE it when that happens... i love that freedom to create what i think will fit :D

so, the contest is called SteamBoyz, and it's hosted by Velvet over at vvb32 reads--she's got a great book blog going on over there, and i know she's fabulous herself! now, you may be wondering how i got connected with a book blogger to create a card for a contest. the answer is simple. i'm a nerd. YES. a NERD.

you see, i have a sister, Cecelia, who is awesome, funny, but equally (if not more! [agreed Cece?]) nerdy as me. she loves to read. which isn't to say i DON'T, because i'm actually an English teacher, but she LOVES to read. like--she went to the American Library Association Conference a few weeks ago, even though she's not a librarian. well, you say, that's not all bad... and NO! it's not. but that's how nerdy WE are. :D

so--last year she began a blog shortly after i did, and started featuring recipes, anecdotes from her life, and of course, she shared her love of books, or shall i say OBSESSION with them? she introduced me to some books, and i read them, and they were awesome! really, they were, and i can recommend some to you based on your movie preferences... really. it's what i do for my students at school. anyway, she fell pretty hard into the book blogger stratosphere, and i have to say, if i'm being honest, that i'm a little jealous at her instant popularity. i mean, there has to be a little rivalry for us to be normal siblings, eh?

at any rate, she's wildly famous and funny, while i just make cards and occasionally tag along to book events like author signings. the one author signing i went to was for a book called Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. and it was a steampunk book. and i got to see what all the fuss was about.

i had a TON of fun. AND, i got a signed copy of the book to go in the bookshelves at school too! win WIN!

and after reading some books from the steampunk genre (Soulless by Gail Carriger as well, and probably more), i knew what my sister kept raving about. yes, she may have looked foolish to her roommates or our mother, but i at least, finally, understood.

and here i am, to present you with a card made specifically with steampunk in mind, and my sister, and Velvet, who asked me to do it :D thanks a ton girlies!

i used a lot of vintage stuff... tried to make it fit with the genre. so, there's some Graphic 45 papers on there (from the Le'romantique line) and a page torn out of an old book covering a chipboard piece. i then stamped the chipboard with a wrought iron fence stamp that i bought at a stamp convention who knows where :D and let's not forget how i shabbied everything up with either distressing with scissors, inking with Tim Holtz antique linen pad, or even using some black ink from a SU! cube. and can you see those Kaiser black pearls in the top left corner? so many details.

i also grabbed a bookplate and some brads from my stash and roughed them up with my file, and then inked them with some black Staz-on ink to give it a more 'aged' look. the crown brad comes from Queen & Co, and the buttons are vintage from my stash as well. i even layered a Hambly frame transparency to the hat/ cane panel to give some more depth.

i've seen some crafters use the 'pull back' approach with double sided paper, but i've never really given it much thought until this creation... i think it's a fabulous way to showcase both sides of the paper, and to show a little of the fanciness underneath, don't you?

now, check out the inside. because i used a clear card stock to create the card base, you can add some awesome details all over and have them show through to the front or back. in my case, i covered the OTHER side of the chipboard piece with a steampunk clock image that i got HERE before i adhered it to the front of the card. that way, when you open it up, you get more for your money :D

also, you can see from above and below, that i used some October Afternoon papers from the Thrift Store line... i know just about everyone and their mother is in love with this stuff, and i'm no exception. i mean, seriously--with so much in the steampunk genre originating from London, what other choice could i have than to use it on the inside of my card? it's PERFECT!

and also, after you're done checking out my card... if you've missed the tons of tags i've been creating, then you'd better take a look HERE, and HERE, and at yesterday's HERE. plus, i finished the rest of the tags and have a few pictures to show you...

these yellow ones were INTENSE. PTI's polka dot basics II again, some October Afternoon stamping, a flourish is there as well, along with Sassafras papers, Recollections rosebuds on top of Prima flowers inked to the perfect color. there's some 'orange peel' stickles there, a vintage orange button on all of them, and some citrine glitter from DeNami Designs. oh, and green ribbon from M's.

now these red-orange tags feature some Cosmo Cricket Early Bird papers, more Recollections rosebuds, clothespins, random buttons from my stash, 'so happy!' ribbon from SEI, and then some chipboard from DCWV that i glittered and shabbied up. oh, and some MM blooms as well.

now, for the ULTRA FUNKY orange tags. these are crazy. but, they're good crazy! more Sassy goodies, stickles, buttons, KI memories ribbon, and even those green foil stars you usually put on chore charts... hehe!

and here's one from each of the colors all grouped together. i realized that i used my Cricut to cut out 11 different colors, and they're all completely different. i LOVE that. what do you think? don't they look awesome together? :D

so all in all, i've been quite busy this week, and plan to be even more so next week. i'll be the storyteller for my church's VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure... just like VBS), and i'm head of the skit crew (and in it as well). so mornings/ afternoons will switch schedules for me a bit.

thanks so much for visiting... i'd LOVE to hear what you like most in today's post > the card? the tags? the sister envy? ha!

have a great day, and stop by later to see what i've been doing on the scrapbooking end of things! :D XOXO

be merry {365 cards--day 246}

see, told you i'd get another post up soon... :D

this is based on the sketch over at 365 cards by Pam.
i don't think i would have ever thought of these angles for a card, but it was stretching to think of a way that it could work for the idea i had in mind...

i used a combination of MM paper and some DCWV Holiday die cuts too. i like the Costco ribbon on this card, but i might save it for Christmas present wrapping :D there are a couple of DeNami buttons here, one of which is topped with a glittery snowball...


so this is a quick and simple post, i think i'm off to writing some more for NaNoWriMo. if you're wondering what the heck of a kind of language i'm talking about, then check out my previous post from yesterday HERE.

thanks for looking, and have a great day!

365 Cards day 219

here i've made a very "Paulina" card... pink, sweet, and pearly. i did distress some edges, but it makes it look softer :D

it's for the weaving challenge over at 365 cards day 219. i had some fun with SEI "lovebird" paper, as well as my Cricut, MM stickers, and some paper piercing and pearls. all come together to make this super sweet rendition of the challenge. i realized i hadn't done any weaving since about 1st grade... imagine that?!

i added that bird cage for a sweet touch... don't you think it looks like a pair of lovebirds? :D hope you enjoy. don't forget to enter my BLOG CANDY for an easy chance at some goodies (even SEI paper like the stuff i used here!)

thanks for looking!

365 Cards day 218

here i am posting day 218 Super Sketchy Sunday for 365 cards... i pulled out some new papers from My Minds Eye for this, as well as some lovely vintage white and red buttons.

i'm super busy today, working with cards, getting ready for another week at school, and trying to clean some too. not feeling that great, though, so i may just end up sitting around my craft desk instead of being super productive. oh well. some days just are like that.

thanks for looking, and check back for more challenge cards. also, if you haven't entered my BLOG CANDY, you should do that now--it ends next Saturday. spread the word :D

fall pumpkins

fall is definitely coming quickly... i know this because school will finally be starting on Tuesday. agh, TUESDAY! nooooooooooo! that means i'm back to teaching, no more vacation (not like i really had a "vacation," but still...) but also, i've been seeing hints of halloween and fall decorations, so i thought a fall card was in order.

i used the Indian Summer pack from DCWV, and isn't that purple patterned paper just gorgeous? i love the metallic MM alpha letters too... a bronzy feel, plus some gold DeNami Glitter for an extra little flourish. guess where i got that pumpkin? a felt board... you know those boards you used in elementary school--you stuck people, or letters, numbers, etc on them to learn how to count, or read... remember? well, i used one of those and just trimmed the sides(it's a tad bright for the rest of the card, but oh well, i like bright, and the orange grosgrain ribbon from M's balances it a bit) ...so here i am using felt for the "touchy-feely friday" 365 cards challenge, and i never thought i'd do something like this! hope you enjoy, thanks for looking, and have a great start to your fall!

blooms and birthdays

whew, it's been an interesting week here in Washington. we've had really great weather all summer, but today we got a little taste of fall--RAIN. which is good. i like rain. without rain, we wouldn't be the "Evergreen State." i like it like that. it also keeps our plants pretty... and speaking of, here are some pictures of flowers. i took these in Ecuador (i went about 2 weeks ago for a missions trip), so don't worry if you don't recognize them. truthfully, i don't know their names, and i wasn't able to ask what they are called. but they sure are gorgeous!

i really like this purple one... so striking.

both of my middle brothers have birthdays in August, so it's always a fun month to make guy cards... sometimes i can get away with some frillier, "girl" things, but i have to make sure i stick to the right colors: blue and green. my brother Lincoln got his card via mail, because he's been gone all summer. i thought he'd like a reminder of all the ice cream we chowed down on as kids... we went through gallons of ice cream like there was no tomorrow! (oh wait, it's still kind of like that when the whole family get's together... hehe, oh well :D)

i embossed this "elegant" sentiment in light blue and definitely stuck to the whole blue theme... (pom poms, polka dots, ice cream shakes-in blue, ha!) all the stamps aside from the sentiment come from DeNami Design. love their stuff!

i almost forgot to take a picture of this card before it got mailed off, that's why it's in a cellophane wrapper... but i think he'll really like it. oh, almost forgot, this card also qualifies for day 185 at 365 cards for the "feeling blue" day :D

hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking!

Day 183 - Super Sketchy Sunday

i got to make a card based on Pam's sketch over at 365 Cards. what a fun sketch!

i love these circle stickers with berries! the green was fun to play with (DCWV, Bazzill, and BoBunny) especially with the purple :D

(this is the back... there's room for my "designed by" stamp & signature)

(here's the inside corner--i used DeNami Design stamps)

i hope to play along with the upcoming challenges this week--school starts next week and i won't have the same kind of spare time.

thanks for looking :D

365 Cards days 182 - 180

here's another load of cards that i made for the challenges over at 365 cards :D

Day 182 - Sporty Saturday

i found some sweet sporty paper from a DCWV stack (Grade School pack), and added a fun puffy sticker from SEI along with some orangeness (ribbon, button, twine). the challenge was to use something with a ball on it. see that football and baseball? :D

Day 181 - White Space

(my sister took this picture, and i think she did a great job with the composition... probably gonna try this spot again :D thanks Cece!)

i couldn't just submit one card for this day's challenge. i'm not quite sure i met the criteria, either--these cards don't have any "white space" but they do meet the principle, just with a different background color.

i pulled the same riboon trim for both cards as well as the chipboard accents (from Colorbok, i think) and flower border (from K & CO).

Day 180 - Going Vintage

i had a lot of fun with this card. i used October Afternoon (the red and white pattern), and then tore out a page from a book i use for cards. i cut out that sweet little vintage bird cage from a Hambly transparency--i think i'm going to savor that "paper" for as long as possible.

oooh, and don't forget--to add to the vintage "touch" i put some velvet ribbon and houndstooth paper on there. and i free-hand stamped the sentiment "fly free..." overall, this is a sweet card, don't you think?

a little bit of Ecuador and a lot of cards...

oh my goodness. i had a wonderful time in Ecuador! i spent 2 weeks working with my church group doing some short term missions, and i got to spend the majority of my time working with 8-10 year old Ecuadorian kids. my group was the best, and i got really attached to a few of the cuties... here are just a FEW of the pictures i took (and i literally mean, a few. i had a total of 650 + all the videos i took.)

this is me with Joselin at our first VBS (we went to 2 locations a day for a week. that meant i told stories for 2 very different groups of kids [in numbers and dispositions] and did skits twice a day as well. fun stuff!)

here i am with Daniel... who could resist that little face? he was something of a trouble maker, but i really loved being around him and his smiles. he loved giving me hugs and showing me his coloring. too adorable. wish i could give him a hug right now just thinking about it.

anyway, i made a WHOLE bunch of cards today after i went to see the movie Julie & Julia with my friend Paulina (totally recommend it for EVERY blogger out there... so hilarious and TRUE!) we were cracking up the whole entire time, and totally felt a connection with the Julie and her blogging obsession :D we also had some lovely lunch (with my sister, Cecelia, as well) at The Cheesecake Factory. can you tell i was spoiled today? i was going to come home and nap because i'm still getting over a sickness from Ecuador, but was coughing too much and just decided to make some cards for 365 cards. i'll be posting more later, but here's what i have:

Day 177 - Monogram Monday

i stamped the background on the white CS, and actually embossed a bit too. the rest is Basic Grey and some rub-ons :D

Day 178 - Back to School

oooh, October Afternoon papers are lovely, eh? i used a DCWV panel for the "A+" part. plus, the pom poms make the grade, eh? :D

Day 179 - Checkerboard Background

here i used some more DCWV Indian Summer paper. i paired it up with my Martha Stewart punch, AC ribbon, random button, and some Bazzill CS. i distressed the edges of the purple panel to add some interest.

thanks for looking :D

movies, masking, and more!

yay, i got to participate in the 365 cards challenge blog again! it's been forever since i submitted a card! day 163's challenge was to try a technique; masking!

i've masked before, and i loved the results. this time i cut out two different trees from my Cricut Wild Card cartridge and stamped all over the negative space on the solid green area on my card. i used different ink colors, and placed them at different heights.

here's the cute little sentiment i made up using my mini alpha set and a "Birthday" part from another stamp. i added MM brads and some twine to the edge.

here you can see the trees layered, masked, and stamped, as well as the cute little owl. (i know Amy loves owls... hope she likes this one :D)

oooh, and tonight i'll be seeing this movie, G.I. Joe, for the second time tonight, with my good friend, Paulina. i've seen it, loved it, and know she will too! (it has Channing Tatum in it ;) hehe) despite many poor reviews i read before watching it on Saturday, i still liked the movie--it was action and adventure, and a lot of fun.

anyway, i really am going to pack now, so i've gotta go!

day 128 - card recipe!

here's the recipe that we needed to follow over at 365 cards... not easy, i'll tell you!

1 5x5 Card - white base w/ rounded corners

1 Rub-on image - "make a wish" worked for this... i don't have "images" to rub on, mostly just sentiments.

2 Buttons - yellow! (yellow hemp added)

1 Piece of patterned paper - pretty loud stuff, eh? it's We R Memory Keepers - Rainbow pack

1 Piece of ribbon - NO BOW - yay for gathered/ stapled ribbon

1 Sentiment inside the card - mine said "Happy Birthday" on the inside

well, what do you think? it's simple, but cute, right? :D i think so... anyway, i'll try to come back with some more creations later--thanks for stopping by!