Easter swaps highlight of American Ink gathering

 

This month's American Ink swaps were all about Easter. Mine, above, uses the single stamp Easter Blessings (Item 129183 for $8.95 in the Spring Catalog). I started with a Very Vanilla card and layered Wisteria Wonder and a Flower Garden Folder-embossed vanilla on that. I heat embossed the stamp in Whisper White ink and used the Oval Collections Framelits to diecut it. Final touches include the single flower from the flower trim, and ruffled Wisteria Wonder ribbon.

 



Frankie swap

Frankie's pink and brown card uses the Scallop Trim Border punch, Melon Mambo striped ribbon (Spring Catty), and Every Egg wheel.

Mary Ann swap

Mary Ann's Crumb Cake swap uses a pattern from the Print Poetry pad with a sentiment from Perfect Punches, and a flower from Secret Garden.



Ginette's swap

And Ginette's swap uses the Fancy Fan embossing folder, Oval framelits, Elegant Butterfly punch and basic rhinestones, and Spring Catalog items Secret Garden with coordinating framelits by the same name.

I decided to add Mary Ann's make and take too. I stamped the sentiment before adding the oval and realized I'd stamped it too high. Oops! It's really pretty, though. I love that she used Bright Blossoms stamps on this card. I haven't used that set since last summer, I think.

If you still have items on your Wish List, you may want to consider ordering by March 22 because that's when Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration ends! The countdown begins - you have 12 days left to get something FREE from the SAB brochure for every $50 you order. Best of all, you may order 24/7 thru my Online Store at http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net.

Serene Spring bunny hops into action for A La Card Monkey Challenge #53 with its bling on

It's easy to see why I've hung onto this bunny set for several years - it's so freakin' cute! I mean, look at that face.

This card is for the latest A La Card Monkey challenge - #53. You can see the Easter theme/sketch below. The rhinestones on this tag shine so brightly!

I love challenges like this because they stretch your creativity. I can easily say I've never created a card like this. And I like it!

It was fun to lay down the Baja Breeze seam binding on Sticky Strip across the top of the Greenhouse Gala dsp. When I didn't like what I'd done, I pulled it up and re-stuck it.

I hope you and your family enjoy a warm and wonderful Easter. We'll be dying eggs, helping the Easter bunny with an egg hunt, and hosting some grandparents for brunch.

Stamps: Serene Spring (retired hostess set from approx. 2007), All Holidays;

Ink: Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Pink Pirouette, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue;

Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso, Greenhouse Gala dsp;

Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Vintage Trinkets, Basic Rhinestones, white gel pen, sponge, medium oval punch, Baja Breeze seam binding, Sticky Strip, dimensionals, Scallop Trim Border Punch, aqua painter.

Love Letters dsp brag book page...

It's been awhile since we've swapped 6" x 6" brag book pages at our American Ink team meetings, but we're back to it. This was my page. It's textured Riding Hood Red card stock with some Love Letters dsp on it. I used the Pinking Hearts Border Punch on a strip of Early Espresso, then layered some crochet trim under that. I used the Petal Card Punch for the little envelope, which holds a little love note (from Cute by the Inch, a Level 2 hostess set), then added a Full Heart-punched Love Letter heart adhered with dimensionals and sporting a vanilla rosette. I did add a little library clip on the love note for my swaps, though it's not pictured. I'll share the other brag book swaps tomorrow!

Whimsical penguins ready to party; last day for Mashup!

There are so many uses for the 2-step owl punch. Here, I cut the ears off these owls to make them penguins. I freehand cut the beaks and used black jewels for the eyes and rhinestones for the buttons.

I'd love to say this was my idea, but I CASE'd it from Diana Gibbs. The balloon is from Beary Best Friends and the "happy birthday" is from Party This Way, a stamp set I earned for free. The party hat came from the Party Hearty set.

Today is the last day to enter a card for the Friday Mashup! sketch challenge. I hope you'll enter!

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Party This Way, Party Hearty;
Ink: Basic Black pad;
Paper: Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, In Color Paper Pad, Whisper White;
Accessories: Uni-bal white gel pen, Black Flourish Designer Jewels, Basic Rhinestones, Top Note die, 1/2" Poppy Parade ribbon, dimensionals.

Perfect Punches with Finial Press Christmas card...

This Christmas card was one of the five featured at my most recent stamp-a-stack.

It starts with a Very Vanilla card, and we added a layer of Cherry Cobbler that had been run through the Big Shot in the Finial Press embossing folder, then rounded the corners with a punch.

The knot of ribbon is 5/8" Very Vanilla satin, and the sentiment is from Perfect Punches (stamped in Cherry Cobbler and punched out with the Scallop Circle Punch) and adhered over the ribbon with dimensionals.

Fancy Flower punch with Island Oasis dsp...

This was a "warm-up" card for my club members this month.

I wanted to make use of the Island Oasis dsp before it's no longer available (Aug. 31 is the last day to order from the Summer Mini).

The sentiment is from the Level 2 hostess set, Apple Blossoms. We used Tempting Turquoise and Real Red markers to ink up the stamp.

We used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch on the polka-dotted pumpkin pie paper, and the Fancy Flower Extra-Large punch on the turquoise paper. The leaves were die cut with the Stampin' Up! Island Floral die for the Big Shot.

Stamps: Apple Blossoms (Level 2 hostess set, FREE with $300 order);
Ink: Tempting Turquoise marker (100058), Real Red marker (100052);
Paper: Whisper White (100730), Island Oasis dsp (117173);
Accessories: Fancy Flower Extra-Large Punch (118073), Stampin' Up! Island Floral Bigz Die (118871), 5/8" Neutrals Jumbo Brads (112533), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (119275).

Polka-dotted owl punch card with Afterthoughts...

These Whisper White cards use new In Color ribbon (Peach Parfait and Poppy Parade), card stock and patterned paper.


I ran a 3-1/2" x 4-1/4" piece of Whisper White through the Polka Dot embossing folder in the Big Shot, then layered it on strips of In Color card stock that's been punched using the Scallop Border Punch.


The Old Olive branch is from the Two-Step Bird Extra Large Punch, while the owl is from the new Two-Step Owl Extra Large Punch.


The greetings are from the new Level 1 hostess set Afterthoughts. They were stamped, then punched out with the Wide Oval, then pierced for the safety pin (new Trinkets embellishments) and a knot of 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta.

Cheryl's For You Flower with all the trimmings...

Cheryl puts a lot of time and effort into her swaps. There are so many details, they are works of art!

This card uses two new stamps - the single For You Flower, as well as Perfect Punches.

She punched out the stamp with the Fancy Flower Extra Large punch, as well as two additional flowers, with glittered spots.

The card body was run through the Big Shot, as was the Whisper White layer (Polka Dots), which was also punched with the Eyelet Border Punch.

The bottom of the card was run through the paper crimper, along with other card stock pieces that was cut into strips, and the little buttons came from the Buttons #5 Sizzlit.

This card is bright and refreshing!

Perfect Punches birthday bling card...

This Daffodil Delight card was one of five my stampers made at a recent birthday card stamp-a-stack.
The front was embossed with the Finial Press Embossing Folder for the Big Shot, then a strip of Greenhouse Gala dsp was added.
I stamped the birthday greeting from Perfect Punches in Tangerine Tango and punched it with the Wide Oval Punch, adhering it with dimensionals. For a final touch, we added rhinestones over the letter "i" and three more for more bling.

Marina Mist "Thanks"...

This Marina Mist card features Greenhouse Gala designer paper that's been scored and folded back at 1/2" to expose the pattern on the other side.


Then I pierced a strip of Marina Mist and added that for texture.


The greeting is from Perfect Punches. I love any set that fits our punches!

Look Who's Turning ostrich fun...

I've decided Marina Mist is my new favorite color. It's in the Subtles Collection and looks great with so many other colors.


This Whisper White card starts with a layer of Marina Mist, and a strip of Greenhouse Gala designer paper.


This "my friend" greeting is from Perfect Punches and was inked with Early Espresso and Marina Mist markers, then adhered with dimensionals.


The ostrich is from the Look Who's Turning stamp set. It was inked in Marina Mist and layered on Early Espresso card stock. Then I added a large Tangerine Tango oval with an ice rhinestone brad for bling.

Printed Petals meets Pear Pizzazz...

This Very Vanilla card features a whole lot of pizzazz!


Pear Pizzazz is the only ink used for this Printed Petals card. I inked up the largest flower and cut it out, adding a jumbo vanilla brad in the middle before adhering it to the Greenhouse Gala paper with dimensionals.


The designer paper and Pear Pizzazz layers were both punched at the corners with the Ticket Corner Punch, and adhered to the front of the card with more dimensionals.


The front of the card was stamped with a smaller flower from Printed Petals. And the "Congratulations" is from the fun new Perfect Punches stamp set.