Moved Nicole

For my Dad's birthday, I decided to do a card that was unique.  Guess what came to mind?  SUNBURST SAYINGS .  This bundle is just too much fun and there are many, many ways to use it.  I showed you a masculine card with the SUNBURST THINLIT on Sunday where I cut the rays into a circle.  This time I'm cutting it down in a different way. Isn't this a fun card!  I love the sentiments in this set, they are great for many occasions. There's lots of shine going on for sure!  I heat embossed gold splotches on the white cardstock using GORGEOUS GRUNGE and the spots from SUNBURST SAYINGS.   I love the speckled look behind the gold glimmer sunburst...it really takes it to the next level! I toned down the bling a little by using Basic Black as my accent color.  The black keeps the gold from being overwhelming...I think I reached a good balance!  I did have to add in some sequins (couldn't help it!) and embossed the envelope as well.  It all coordinates beautifully!  I wish I...

Welcome to the Creation Station Blog Hop for May!  This month we are featuring MASCULINE cards and projects, so be sure to hop all the way around to see all the fabulous ideas! I created a birthday card for you that combines several items from the Occasions catalog....the SUNBURST THINLIT, NUMBER OF YEARS and PARTY WITH CAKE . The inspiration for this idea came directly from my husband.  It's a running joke that he is 29 and holding.....and he's said that the entire 17 years I've known him!  I can tell you he's definitely not 29, but what's the harm in letting him think he is?? I started out with Basic Gray as my card base and added lots of splotches with GORGEOUS GRUNGE .  I just love how a little grunge can give a more masculine look and feel to a card when using the right colors.  Then I layered on a couple of sunbursts that had been cut down with circle framelits.  I added a little grunge stamping to both then offset them slightly. The die cut numbers from NU...

Welcome to another Create with Connie and Mary Saturday Blog Hop!  This week our theme is MAN UP so we are featuring MASCULINE cards! Masculine cards are usually harder than flowery, girly cards.  So, I did spend a little extra time pondering today's card.  I had zero, yes I said ZERO ideas.  It happens to all of us at some point.  What do you do when you need a little spark of creativity??  I usually look to the catalog to re-visit the stamps and ideas that made me love them to begin with.  For today's card, the spark I needed came from looking through the main catalog and seeing the sentiments in PERFECT PENNANTS. "Sending Good Thoughts Your Way" made me think of the car in Beautiful Ride.  What a perfect sentiment to put with a car!  Then, I decided to change it up a little and cut out the middle and replaced it with "love". An unusual aspect to this card is the designer paper.  This striped pattern, from the Have a Cuppa DSP Stack, was the source of my ...

Do you over think things??  And stress yourself out??  Sometimes I am guilty of that very thing when it comes to making cards.  That's one of the reasons I am so in love with the whole CLEAN AND SIMPLE card design.  Simple can be beautiful! The first time I sat down with the BOTANICAL BLOOMS stamp set and coordinating BOTANICAL BUILDER FRAMELITS , my mind was BLANK with a capital B.  I had seen so many great ideas already that I didn't know where to go with it!  THEN I took a breath and said "keep it simple!" Today I have a great example of simple cards made with this gorgeous bundle.  I hope it inspires you! Just because it's a floral set doesn't mean it is completely a "girly" stamp set.  The leaves are so beautiful and can easily take center stage! All the cards are monochromatic with Mossy Meadow ink for the sentiment and the background.  The gorgeous giant leaf on this card both makes a statement and blends in. Once you have a design you like, ...

Let's take a break from Birthday Blooms today and look at a masculine version of BOTANICAL BLOOMS that I made. Using just the leaves from the set gives a distinct masculine feel when combined with the right paper and sentiment. I went with a sentiment from PERFECT PAIRINGS in the Sale-a-bration Catalog in Early Espresso. I paired it with neutral colors and paper from the GOING PLACES designer paper stack.  I also added in a little paper piercing since that was part of the challenge for this card for the March CREATIVE CREW on Splitcoaststampers. For the March Mini Session from Create with Connie and Mary I also gave an idea for making a masculine card.  I made a card set with BOTANICAL BLOOMS that I think you'll really enjoy!  To find out more about subscribing to the MARCH MINI SESSION, just visit Create with Connie and Mary ! CLICK HERE to SHOP anytime and earn FREE STAMPS SHOP the CLEARANCE RACK and WEEKLY DEALS CLICK HERE to shop TUTORIALS FOR SALE Subscribe to My P...

I sat down and played a little with two techniques from last week, COLOR SMASH and COLOR RESIST .  I went with a masculine look and a simple design. I must confess, the card I originally envisioned turned out terrible!  It happens all the time, a vision doesn't quite work in reality.  Well, that happened with this card!  I had planned on adding a butterfly over this background, but it was too busy and didn't look quite right.  So, I improvised and added a simple sentiment turning this into a fantastic masculine card! The background has leaves embossed from Butterfly Basics then color added with the COLOR SMASH technique.  I only used two colors for the color smash, Mint Macaron and Wild Wasabi.  I added in a bolder sentiment in Mossy Meadow so it would stand out from the background. Of course I had to add a leaf to the envelope, I love to coordinate!  I also added a nice sentiment inside with the hostess set Happy Birthday Everyone but forgot to take a pic...oops!  Anyway, I ...