I have fallen in love with the phenomenal artwork of the ‘Countryside‘ stamp set (see below).

The vintage effect of this Soft Suede and Black card is simply done by stamping the truck in Soft Suede on ‘Naturals Ivory’ (#108849) cardstock and gently blurring some of the edges with an Aquapainter–that’s it.  The dye ink will run easily with the water, so don’t get carried away!

The edges of each ivory cardstock layer is sponged with the Soft Suede ink  and I sparingly used the ‘speckle’ stamp in to finish the job.

I had originally envisioned an entirely monochromatic card until I added the faux newsprint (Newsprint Designer Series paper #117116).  I loved that, so I needed to work more black into the piece to justify the accent color (thank you Sr. Nishio, 9th grade art class) so I added the black medallion stamp (from the new ‘Artistic Etchings‘ set) and the scrap of torn black cardstock and of course the black speckles.

I found that it takes a surprising amount of time to make a card that looks like it was just thrown together, doesn’t it?

SETS:
Countryside
Artistic Etchings
Itty Bitty Backgrounds

ACCESSORIES:
5 ½ x 8 ½ Naturals Ivory cardstock
2 ½ x 4 inch Naturals Ivory cardstock
2 x 4 Basic Black cardstock
4 x 3 Soft Suede cardstock
2 x 3 Newsprint DSP
Soft Suede ink, Aquapainter, Sponge Dauber™
Black StazOn™, Mini library clips (black), hemp twine
Square Lattice Embossing folder (#119976)
Sizzix Big Shot, Multi-purpose platform and pair of clear cutting pads

This is one of the awesome new Summer Mini Catalog sets called Sentimental Journey and using the Designer Series Paper ‘Travel Journal’ on pages 22-23.

The colors are Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie and Soft Suede on a white card… literally takes minutes to make.

I tied the card up in a knot of natural hemp… kind’ve like tying everything up to leave!

Accessories:

Whisper White cardstock
4 x 3 inch ‘Travel Journal’ Designer Series Paper
1 x 4 inch Night of  Navy cardstock
4 ¼ x 2 ¾ inch Whisper White c/s
(for stamping/cutting)
Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede Inks
Natural hemp, Dimensionals™

Yikes, posting two days in a row!  Can you stand it?

I actually have some truly beautiful fall samples to share and they are easy to boot!

This card is with exactly the same set and designer paper as yesterday’s card but with different designs from it and a vertical layout.

Again, I used the Autumn Splendor stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog, the  Autumn Meadows designer series paper (#116769, $9.95).

The leaves were stamped in Basic Brown and sponged with Really Rust, More Mustard & Not Quite Navy and then cut out and tacked on again.

The greeting was stamped in brown on vanilla, punched out with the oval scallop punch (#114889, $15.95) and layered with chocolate chip cardstock punched from our new Wide Oval punch (#112082, $15.95)… a punch combination I am getting very fond of!  And of course I used the Eyelet Border punch (#113692, $15.95) to create a ‘chair rail’ effect as well.

So, how’d I do?

This card was a lot of fun to make, not to mention easy!

I used the new ‘Nature’s Nest’ stamp set (click on the thumbnail for a larger image) and you can be sure I will be sharing more.

The colors are the new Soft Suede for both the card, a torn layer and the feather stamped image. The cardfront is Mellow Moss and there are torn layers of More Mustard and Chocolate Chip.

I ‘texturized’ the torn layers with the Texture Plates Kit #4 for the Sizzix ‘Big Shot’.  The Texture Plates kit came with three plates, each double sided and one side was a rough bark like texture which was perfect!  The nest was stamped in Black StazOn and colored in with the watercolor crayons and an aquapainter.

CLICK ON THUMBNAILS for larger detail

Isn’t this adorable?

My husband doesn’t really like nature scenes (deer, wolves, etc.) for Father’s Day cards… he refers to them as ‘road-kill’ cards (niiiiiice… he’s so lucky he still gets one with that attitude!).

Since he dresses up for work (well, he doesn’t wear vests, but he does wear a tie), I think that this is more appropriate.

Accessories:

Close to Cocoa cardstock
To the Nines Designer Series Paper
Mini silver brads
Close to Cocoa ink, sponge daubers
Vanilla taffeta ribbon, ¾ inch square punch
1 1/16th inch hole punch, ¾ inch hole punch,
Dimentionals™

In advance to the requests, I have included the PDF template (left).  Have fun with it! I really love the Designer Series Paper ‘To The Nines’ and the ‘Wanted’ set paisley stamp *just* coordinated!

*NEW* I have created a shortcut key in my sidebar to pull up all of the current and past Father’s day ideas that I have done, they only show four per page, so be sure to go back in the history (previous page) to see them all!  CLICK HERE to see current & past Father’s Day Ideas… in the future use the button in my sidebar!

I love this truly quick card.

And in anticipation of 1000 requests… I have included a PDF with the recipe and the dimentions and template.  Just quickly though, I used the Manchester Designer Series paper, Twill Tape ribbon, and you can’t tell by the photo, but the collar is Always Artichoke which is the same as the darkest stripe in the shirt.

This is my gift to my wonderful followers for being patient with me for being an inconsistent blogger lately.

I am very excited to be a presenter at Josee Smuck’s Stamping Girls Convention in Ottowa, Canada starting tomorow.  I’m a bit nervous as well and am hoping to impress!

As you can see by the detail shot (below) the top of the card is cut so that the collar doesn’t go above the standard sized card/envelope.

The knot for the tie is a trick… check out the PDF download for more information!  I have some fabulous Father’s Day & Masculine card ideas coming… when I get home from Canada!

Finding the perfect card & gift for a man is always challenging ….until now.  WOW that special guy–or your husband, LOL– with a fantastic set of four masculine “fun-fold” cards and briefcase-shaped gift box.  Each card is based on an original template and is created out of one sheet of DP making it a unique card & gift-card holder- in-one!

Your $50+ online purchase will earn you this 41 page PDF featuring over 70 photos with step-by-step instructions, materials lists and more (not the finished product).

Click here for more details (and larger photo) and all the information.  But here are the materials list of what you’ll need:

Stamps:  And Many Mower (Occasions Mini Catalog) #113724, $27.95

• Ink: Basic Brown, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke, Blush Blossom (optional), Creamy Caramel (optional)Classic inks, Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write Marker
• Paper:  Manchester DP (#112464), Close to Cocoa 12” x 12” CS, Chocolate Chip 12” x 12” CS, Very Vanilla 12” x 12” CS, Medium Very Vanilla envelopes
• Accessories: 5/8” Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, gold brads, paper snips, My Way punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Horizontal Slot punch, 3/16” Corner Rounder punch, bone folder, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stamping Sponges, Blender pens, Stampin’ Scrub/Mist, Paper trimmer and scoring blade, Crafter’s tool kit (paper piercer and foam mat), pencil and ruler

Sorry this offer is only for Americans (and those that are eligible to place orders online).

Well, I’m aware that this card is suspiciously like my Spring Song card, but I do like the color combination and the look of this type of card.

 The card is River Rock with the Weathered background stamp in Close to Cocoa.

The image from the "For Father" set is a toolkit stamped in Staz-On and colored with Stampin’ Write Markers of the following colors: Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand, Mellow Moss & More Mustard.

The layers behind the focal image are torn pieces of Chocolate Chip cardstock and a torn piece of Creamy Caramel cardstock (crimped).

Sponging helps the ‘rustic’ look.   How’d I do?

This combination of the "Wanted" set and the greeting from "Dad’s Day" makes an excellent Father’s Day card.

Recipie:

Sets: Wanted, Dad’s Day, Canvas Background
Inks: Close to Cocoa, Soft Sky
Paper: Soft Sky, "Afternoon Tea" designer series paper and Whisper White cardstock
Accessories:  Hodgepodge Hardware, Chocolate Chip grosgrain and Choc. Chip wide grosgrain, sponge dauber.