Sparkly Anniversary and an adventure with the Gemini Jr.

Aloha!!!

You know how you really want something to work?

Recently, I gave in and bought the Gemini Jr. My wrists are pretty bad. The first machine tore up the die and plates when I tried to use it. The instructions are very simple but yikes. Exchanged it. The second one cut really well so I kept the pieces and made an anniversary card (below). But when I tried to emboss, the machine sucked in the sandwich, the lights flickered on and off, there was a loud clunk and it turned off. I couldn't get it turned back on for a while. When it did come on, it shot the whole sandwich out through the other end like a shotgun. Good thing no one was standing over there. I held my breath to try it again but while it seemed a very tight squeeze, it wasn't terrifying like the previous attempt.  👀

Trying to problem-solve the super tight squeeze of this machine, I saw a YouTube video using a glass mat someone cut into 6"X9" pieces to substitute for using the plates. Bruce cut the mat up and I will try that next time. Maybe the sandwich won't be so tight when cutting and embossing. I've been holding my hands over both openings when sending a sandwich through because I am fearful this machine is going to hurt something.

Here is the card I made from the trial pieces of the second machine. The sentiment is black on the bottom, then three layers of white on top of that. I love using a white gel pen to write on black cardstock.

No Stamp Set :D   I can seldom say that!
Couture Creations "Opulent Swirls" Dies
Hammerhill White, SMS Black
Tonic Dies "Happy Anniversary"
SU gems
Connect Glue

“The love we give away is the only love we keep.”
 Elbert Hubbard

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Up in the Sky, Butterfly!

Aloha!

How are you? It's been a very rough week here, but hey, still kicking!

I joined the current Online Card Class with Jennifer and Kristina & lots of fun others and it's called "Wild Card!!!" I love the way Laura Bassen sings it like Spongebob in her tutorials lol! She always cracks me up!

Come join in the fun if you can! There are five days of lots and lots of cool how-to tutorials for wild cards! We have til October 13 to create and upload. Today is Day 5 - as you can see, I am starting on the last day of the class (sigh, hard week).  Anyway, click HERE!!! to see the intro video. Likely you already have all the supplies on-hand so no worries about needing to buy anything new.

Day 1 -- Shapes, Openings and 3D Cards

I went with Shapes. My brain is mush so this seemed like the easiest way to begin creating. Technique: Partial Die Cutting. I traced the butterfly shape with a pencil, then fussy cut out one folded shape using GKD 120# white as the basic shape and inside of the card. I used Neenah Solar White 80# for the outer butterfly that die cut and colored with distress inks. After inking the outer butterfly, I glued it to the stronger white inner shape and added a few gems.


Die: Anna Griffin Butterfly
Cardstock: GKD 120# white and Neenah Solar White 80#
Distress Inks: Squeezed Lemonade, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberries
Adhesive: Art Institute Dries Clear
Gems: Want2Scrap mini Clear rhinestones, Teardrop Rhinestones; Clear Red dots by Cloud 9

Thank you for coming by to peek

and to leave some love!!!

Aloha dear ones!

Night Ocean with Blue Flowers

Aloha,

Do you ever feel like breaking out of the box? Me, too. It just felt good to get a fussy card out of my system. I just cut a strange size card, with a different twist to the gatefold closure. This is made for Cat's It Takes Two, Only Two Colors STV Challenge this week, STV14MON42. 

Size of base cardstock: Folded closed it is 8-1/2 inches tall by 4-1/4 inches wide; opened up it measures 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches. Yes, I used an entire sheet of 120# GKD white cardstock ☺

Recipe follows photos.  (This card looks so much better in real life. I just could not get the pictures to really focus well or get the lighting right, heavy sighs).

Front with right side "gate" flap opened---

This is the center, inside panel, the scene of the night sky over the ocean --

Next is the inside, left panel. I want to apologize for the blurriness! So when you open the card, this is the left part of the "gate" fold--  (I think it's enough room for a personal message, or perhaps to insert a photo of a trip to Hawai'i or a photo of a couple in love, kids, so on...)

Finally, this the front right side of the card, the right portion of the "gate" fold. 

For those of you who are curious how parts of this card is made, I offer the products and techniques below, separated by the card parts.

Front left, main panel:

Anna Griffin embossing folder "Eleanor Lace" used twice to emboss entire panel

Die Cuts - Flowers stamped and die cut using Heartfelt Creations Fleur de Lis sets

Die Cuts - Memory Box "Elegant Scrollwork" and Impression Obsession Leafy Branch #055-N

Die Cut Sentiment - Spellbinders 5 x 7 Detailed Scallops, second die from center

3/8 inch royal blue grossgrain ribbon

Gina K. Designs Prisma Glitter (LOVE it!)

Martha Stewart and Want2Scrap Pearls

Memento Inks Summer Sky and Night Sky

Sentiment - Gina K. Designs Elegant Florals

Inside left panel:

Blue card layer by Bazzill

White die cut panel - Spellbinders Respendent Rectangles, fifth from center

Flowers stamped and die cut - Heartfelt Creations Fleur de Lis sets

Memento Inks Summer Sky and Night Sky

Pearls

Gina K. Designs Prisma Glitter

Inside center panel:

Stamp Sets Gina K. Designs: Elegant Florals, Spring Florals (all the leaves)

Liquid Pearls Baby Blue (sets of 3 berries here and there on the stems)

Gina K. Designs Prisma Glitter

Wink of Stella in Clear

White Gel Pen Signo

Memento Marker, Paris Dusk

Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint, white - splattered with toothbrush across the sky for Milky Way stars

Marvy 1 inch circle punch as mask for the full moon

Corner Rounder punch 2 corners

Inside right panel:

Bazzill blue card, hand sketched shape and fussy cut

Flowers and pearls as listed above.

Outside/front right side of "gate" flap:

Curve cut with Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One, #3 die from the right

Want2Scrap blue rhinestones

Bazzill blue cardstock 

Anna Griffin "Brocade" embossing folder on the blue panel

Sponged edges with Memento Summer Sky

Piercing tool to enhance die cut holes

Sand paper to sand down the embossed panel. Creates two colors and depth to the embossing.

All flowers and branches, scroll work die cuts adhered with Ailene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue, as well as for adding all the glitter, and for adhering all the pearls and rhinestones.

Panels adhered with Scor Tape 1/4 inch

If you actually read the recipe, you deserve HUGE APPLAUSE!

Thank you so much for stopping by ♥

(now to make the box!!!)

Center Step Card

Apples & a Squirrel -- Thank You card   (Thank You StampTV for choosing this as a winner)

This stamp set is by Carolyn King, available at Gina K. Designs - Whimsical Autumn, and it's fun using it to make whimsical designs!

The technique for making a center step card is a bit tricky. But watching YouTube videos on it certainly helps.

Entered into Lee's Apple of my Eye Challenge at StampTV.

Thank you for looking!

Card Toppers

This is a card to thank a dear friend for going 'above and beyond' to help out! I'm sorry I've been so sick that I can barely think to type what I've used on this card.

TECHNIQUE

Used lots of layers, pop dots behind cut out flower & sentiment, sponged around the edges of all the layers for depth, a bit of clear sparkle stones to center of flower, and Spica clear glitter pen to gently outline the sentiment and circle die.

PRODUCTS USED

Spellbinders Round, Scallop, and Fleur de Lis, and ribbon tag trio dies
Bazzill cardstocks
Memento Inks to sponge around the layers
Adhesive pop dots for 3D behind flower and sentiment
Organdy ribbon, clear crystals
Stamp set Gina K. Designs (Theresa Momber) "Dogwood & Butterfly"
Colored with Copic & Memento markers, and colorless blender

Entered into Challenges:

• Play Date Cafe, PPCC #158 "Rose, Eucalyptus, Slate"
• Mark's Finest Papers SF&F #134 "Pop Dots" for dimension
• Through the Craft Room Door #45 with Suzanne Dean
• The Outlawz Color Challenge CPC111612 Alcohol Markers "Thank You"

A longer card

Aloha,
Recently I've been wanting to stretch out the usual A2 size card, so using a longer, narrow stamp, this is what I came up with. Used light water colors and a bit of glitter pen to highlight the waves as well as the lighthouse, then added a strip of Washi tape and some aqua baker's twine with 2 crystals to finish.

Challenges:

• There She Goes Again Stamps #180
• Through the Craft Room Door #43

(Sent to Volunteer Fire Dept, Breezyside New York)

 

Thank you for looking!

*Click on photo for larger view*

 

Best Wishes

We have such great neighbors - all sides of us. One of them just put up a for sale sign. We are sad to see them go, but wish them the very best <3 p="p">
I can't remember who makes this stamp, but it's like a reverse image of the Hero Arts dandelion stamp and has four seeds flying away instead of three. Sentiment by Stampin' Up.

Embossed with gold fine detail ep PSX (yep, I still have products from PSX :)
Sponged around the flower with Brilliance Platinum for shadow and sheen
Spellbinders Rectangle die for the aperture
Cardstock Gina K. Designs
Ink Memento Tuxedo Black
Cuttlebug embossing folder Swiss Dots
Pearl and ribbon from stash

Entered into Challenge:

Outlawz CAS CAS0110412 Nov 4, 2012

 

Thank you for looking

Watering Can Card

I sure hope I get this in under the wire. I've been so ill lately, and this card took all week. Sinus infection, then head cold on top from visiting a doctor's office, on top of chronic illness and my body is just a limp noodle with fog brain.

Used a template for the watering can, fussy cut everything (nope, don't have a cutting machine), paper pieced it, stamped/colored/cut out the flowers and pop dotted them, Diamond Stickles to flowers, tied flower charm to button with Stickles on that, too, and simple embossed sentiment "Hello."

For the Friends of Speedy TV challenge - choose 3 in a row from a bingo card. I chose: Not a card + buttons + flowers

Thanks so much for looking!

*Click on photo for better view*

The Cat Angels

Gatefold Card ~

When our dear friend in the stamping world passed away last month, her cat went through some traumatic times. It seems she may have a good home, we are hoping. Two elderly sisters have taken her in, and I made a thank you gatefold card for them. If anyone feels inclined to help us fund the care of Lynn's cat, please PM me and I will forward the mailing address to you. One of the sisters has suffered a stroke - they are doing the best they can. Their address is also at StampTV, Lynn's online stamping family. Thank you so much for looking, and for caring!

(Click on photos for larger and better viewing)

Diagonal Triple Pocket Happy Card

This really did start out as a double pocket card, but ended up as a triple pocket on the diagonal card. So please ignore the third 'card' - I truly did not want to waste a whole pocket. They are multi-folded on the diagonal folds.

I used a circus theme (balloons, clown, 'teddy' bears) and the multi color polka dot cs and ribbon. Should bring a smile to someone's heart !!

Thank you for looking!!! with aloha hugs, Rosy

Japanese Easel Card

This has a special place to put your message for the recipient. The image and sentiment are pop dotted out to give a more 3D effect. The koi on the bottom have Prismaglitter on them which make them very elegantly, quietly sparkling beneath 'water.' The lady has subtle adhesive backed tiny pearls in her hair pin. Finally there are clear beads and a silver charm that says "Believe" hanging from the yellow bow. I hope it brings a smile to you.

I gave this to one of my doctors who treats me so kindly.

It's kind of hard to picture this, but the card folds flat. The fan folds down, and then the card closes. There is a gold cord wrapped around the bottom of the fan. I stamped plain yellow card stock with gold images to give the fan some textures when it was folded up.

For my mom - I miss her. Both the stamp and my mom's name is Ayako. She's been gone now since 1984 :(  Aloha, Mommy! I will always miss you!