Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp - #3

This is the third day of our 4-day Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp. So far, I've been having a lot of fun and I hope you have, too.




On Monday, Kelly gave us some creative specifications with her C.A.M.P. Bold Color - No Color theme.

On Tuesday, Darlene had that fabulous tutorial on making our own designer paper. (WOW! Did you see her blog post?) 

Tomorrow Barb will have something awesome for us, too, I am sure - but none of us know yet what it will be.

Today is my turn - I am today's Camp Counselor.

My theme is...

Modified Stencil - Modified Silhouette

Simply put, the idea is to use a die to make a stencil for your card and create your own silhouette image, too. 

Clear as mud, right?

Let me try to clear things up a bit.

To make your card you'll need a die that can be used to create a stencil and a stamp image that you'll color with a black marker to turn it into a silhouette.

I used the Sizzix Globe die and a little space ship stamp from the Cat's Pajamas Space Cadet stamp set.

Step 1 - Cut out the die shape; then use it to sponge/blend/spritz or whatever method you prefer so long as you get ink or some medium onto the card using the die as a stencil.

Step 2 - Color your stamped image with the black marker, turning it into a silhouette. (I really like silhouettes and don't own many so this technique solves that dilemma for me.)

Step 3 - Make your card any way you want with whatever additional supplies you'd like to use.

Sizzix Globe Die

My Favorite Things Stitched Mod Rectangle Die

Cat's Pajamas Space Cadet Stamp Set

Stampin' UP!  Places You'll Go Stamp Set

Ranger Faded Jeans Distress Oxide Ink

Accent Opaque 120# White and SU Misty Moonlight CS

DP Scrap

Eyelet Outlet Glitter Enamel Dots

I also made two other cards just for fun:

The Cowboy was the first card I made. 

Our Daily Bread Quilted Background Die

Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics Die

Sparkle Cowboy Josh Stamp Set

Ranger Fired Brick Distress Oxide Ink
Accent Opaque 120# White, Recollections Black, 
and SU Poppy Parade CS

Silicone Coaster

SU Oval Punches

Jot Puffy Dots

When I made my Cowboy card I was going to include a third aspect to my theme - asking participants to use a found item to add a second element to their background piece. After seeing Darlene's theme to create our own designer paper with items from a scavenger hunt, I decided there was no need to include that with my tutorial so I eliminated it from my final plan.

That's why if you look closely to my Cowboy card, you'll see little black shapes on top of the stencil. Those were created by inking a silicone hot pad and placing it on top of the stenciled piece.

My third and final card was an afterthought. I wondered what it would be like to stamp the image that becomes the silhouette directly on top of the sponged/blended piece... so of course I had to try that.

I quickly discovered that the image I chose was entirely too busy for a silhouette so I left the leaves uncolored. I also added some punched circles to the centers of the flowers to make it more obvious they were flowers. 

Sizzix Mixed Media Die

My Favorite Things Wonky Stitch Rectangle Die

Deep Red Stitched Flowers Stamp Set

Illustrated Faith Pink Ink

Accent Opaque 120# White and Stampin' UP! Pixie Pink CS

Stampin' UP! Circle Punches

Stampin' UP! Ribbon

Okay, that's all I have for you.

We would love for you to join us in the fun of Card Camp - it's free AND bug-free, too.

Here's the schedule of camp counselors so you can check out the right blog early each morning to see what the lesson of the day is just click on the name and it will take you right to her blog...

Kelly - Monday

Darlene - Tuesday

Me - Wednesday

Barb - Thursday

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp - #2

This is the second day of the Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp. Today's camp counselor is Darlene of The World According to Bijou blog. Her lesson (in my paraphrase) was to go on a treasure hunt around our homes and find items we could use with ink to create our own designer paper. Of course we were to then make a card with our custom-made paper. You'll want to check out her blog though because her tutorial is impressive!

If you missed yesterday's introduction to this card camp, check out the details - HERE.

So, for today's session, first I gathered supplies...

For my first step I added Tempting Turquoise ink to a piece of white CS using the shelf liner (I applied the ink with the brayer to get even coverage).

I then used the little plastic cup and the Real Red ink and Tangerine Tango ink (I cleaned the cup when I switched colors) to apply rings to the first step.

I wasn't satisfied - so i gathered another color of ink - Daffodil Delight - and applied in in a striped formation using a makeup wedge, creating a plaid-like effect.

It still looked too bland for my liking (this was definitely a trial and error type of thing) so after die-cutting the piece out, I used a blending brush and added Tangerine Tango Ink around the outer edge.

I was satisfied... so I then went on to make a birthday card.

We would love for you to join us in the fun of Card Camp - it's free AND bug-free, too.

Here's the schedule of camp counselors so you can check out the right blog early each morning to see what the lesson of the day is just click on the name and it will take you right to her blog...

Kelly - Today (Monday) 

Darlene - Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Me - Wednesday

Barb - Thursday

EEK! I'm tomorrow!!!

Check it out at 6:00 AM (CST)

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Stamps: Penny Black Birthday Love and Sweet Wishes

Inks: SU Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, and Tempting Turquoise

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and SU Tempting Turquoise

Dies: MFT Wonky Stitch Rectangle and Spellbinders Arched Swallowtail Pennant

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots and Ribbon from an unknown vendor

Travel the World - Week 25

I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.

This week's country is...

Namibia

Namibia is located in Southern Africa, an 11-hour flight from London/England or a 3-hour flight from Johannesburg/South Africa. The African country shares state borders with South Africa in the South, Zambia and Botswana in the East and Angola to the North.

It was formerly known as South West Africa. The country became Namibia in 1990 when it was granted independence from South Africa, which had taken over the territory during the First World War.

The Namib is littered with impact craters, such as Roter Kamm - shown here - created by a meteorite the size of an SUV that struck between four and five million years ago. They look pretty awesome from space.

The country gets its name from the Namib Desert – one of the world’s oldest deserts.

It’s home to the world’s oldest desert – the Namib Desert, which is 80 million years old.

 Dragon's Breath Cave in Namibia has the largest known underground lake in the world. The lake is 196 feet below ground level and 215,178 square feet in size

Most of the country lies on a high plateau. 

Namibia is almost as big as half of Alaska, pretty huge! And the vast country is almost as sparsely populated as is Alaska and is the second sparsely populated country on the African continent, after Western Sahara.

Namibia's Skeleton Coast was named due to the shipwrecks, whale bones, and human skeletons in the area. The shipwrecks were caused by the dense fog surrounding the coast, but many have disintegrated and washed away.

Namibia takes conservation seriously. In fact, more than 40 percent of the country is under conservation management. It was also the first African country to incorporate environmental protection into its constitution. 

The Petrified Forest in Namibia consists of about 50 fossilized tree trunks. 

There is a wide variety of food available in Namibia with the ocean supplying fish and seafood and the farms in the countryside providing lamb, beef and ostriches.

Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world.

Despite its low population, Namibia is still home to 13 different ethnic groups.

Namibia is home to the world’s largest population of free-roaming cheetahs.

Sossusvlei Sand Dunes are some of the highest in the world. They’re one of Namibia’s most impressive sights.

Namibia’s dramatic landscapes, which range from desolate deserts to shimmering salt pans, have been used as the backdrop for numerous big budget blockbusters including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Flight of the Phoenix (2006).

Once a well-heeled mining town, Kolmanskop was abandoned in the Thirties when the diamond rush took prospectors elsewhere. The Namib Desert slowly started to reclaim the middle-of-nowhere outpost, which is now a popular tourist attraction.

Namibia is home to one of the two populations of desert-adapted elephants in the world. The elephants have larger feet, longer legs, and are capable of going without water for longer than regular elephants.

The wild horses of the Namib Desert are the world's last desert-dwelling horses. The exact origin of the animals is still unknown and a matter of debate, but they are thought to be the descendants of either escaped farm animals, those abandoned by German cavalry, or a 1909 herd at Duwisib Castle. Recent research shows they are most likely a mix of all of these sources, as well as lost South African army horses.

Namibia is home to the world’s largest population of free-roaming black rhinos.

Namibia enjoys 300 days of sunshine every year.

I decided to let this Namibia fact be the inspiration for this week's card... About 90% of South African flamingos spend the winter in Namibia's Walvis Bay Lagoon.

Here's the inside of my card:

At the suggestion of a FB friend, I'm entering this card in the Summertime Challenge at My Time to Craft.


Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: A Muse Sunsational Day and Whipper Snapper Figaro Flamingo stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and SU Daffodil Delight CS and AMuse Studio Polka Dot DP

Dies: MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle and Sizzix Oval

Embellishments: Enamel Dots from an unknown vendor

Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp - #1

Have you heard? There's a new adventure this week - thanks to Kelly (of the Sandcastle Stamper blog). This week should be camping adventures (for her son and other Scouts), VBS, and more. BUT -- we're still in the throngs of staying home as much as possible and so many things have been canceled. 

We need a fun diversion. 

Kelly suggested Stamping Sisters Mini Card Camp to a couple of us and we all jumped in the deep end... Oh, no! That's not right. We all readily agreed. What's that mean?

For today and the next three days, the four of us will be presenting a lesson and the others will make a card according to the lesson that day. There are no grades... and this camp is FREE. So.... why not join the fun and play along with us.

Here's the schedule of camp counselors (giggling) so you can check out the right blog early each morning to see what the lesson of the day is just click on the name and it will take you right to her blog...

Kelly - Today (Monday) 

Darlene - Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Me - Wednesday

Barb - Thursday

So, Kelly's lesson today is... 

C.A.M.P. - Bold Color, No Color

We are to use items beginning with the letters C.A.M.P. on our cards... and the background is to be bold/colorful, while the images are to be uncolored.

Here's my CAMP specifics:

C - Copper (the brads)
A - Apricot Appeal CS
M - Magnolias
P - Paint (the background was made with paint on black CS)

Be sure to check out Kelly's blog, Darlene's blog, and Barb's blog to see their C.A.M.P. - Bold Color, No Color cards, too.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Stamp Set: SU Good Morning Magnolia stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White, Recollections Black, and SU Apricot Appeal CS

Die: MFT Stitched Mod Rectangle

Embellishments: Paper Studio Copper Brads

Hello There

I must admit, I've been somewhat of a hoarder. Yep, it's true. Confession is good for the soul, or so they say, so I just wanted to own my hoarding tendency. BUT - this is the year! I'm going to try to do better.

See, I've been a member of the Technique Tuesday Greenhouse Society for quite a long time. I love flower stamps so it seemed like a perfect fit! Truthfully, I have used some of these stamps, but others I've been guilty of leaving un-inked. for. way. too. long. I've committed to using them this year in my Greenhouse Society series.

Since the sets arrive toward the end of the month, I actually use them the following month, so today's card is made with the May 2020 Greenhouse Society stamp set - Cascading Flowers.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp Set: Technique Tuesday Cascading Flowers stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and SU Orchid Opulence CS

Dies: MFT A2 Rectangle Frames and Single Stitch Line Rectangle Frames and Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics

Embellishments: Gina Marie Designs Clear Enamel Dots 

A Stamp for All Seasons - Summer

I decided to have a seasonal series on my blog this year. I am calling it A Stamp for All Seasons. My plan is/was to make a card using the same stamp for the first day of each season. However, as I announced on my blog yesterday, Summer is happening one day late here on my blog due to another commitment  yesterday, which was the official first day of Summer. Ironically, the same thing happened in the Spring. Oh, and if you'd like to see my Spring card for this series, you can do so by going HERE.

After much pondering, I chose the Stamping Bella Two Gnomes on a Log stamp set. This stamp set is really a Christmas'y one, but I think it has potential for other seasons. For my Spring the two gnomes on their log were actually in a flower garden.

This month, they're on an adventure - riding the log ride at an amusement park.

Doesn't that look like fun?

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: Stamping Bella Two Gnomes on a Log and Sugar Pea Designs Going Places stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and Recollections Black and 110# Blue CS

Dies: Newton's Nook Sea Borders and Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics

Embellishments: Eyelet Outlet Raindop Bling and Ribbon from an unknown vendor

Stay @ Home Update #11

Each Sunday (at 5:00 AM) I'm sharing how the week's 10-minute stay@home organizational challenge went. If you don't have an idea what that means and you're curious, you can learn more in my original Stay @ Home Update blog post - found HERE.

Now here's the disclaimer: Some of these daily stay@home challenges are taking more than 10 minutes, but who's counting, right? 

Here's what I've accomplished this week...

Day 1 - SUN, June 14
My bin of rhinestones was bulging. The truth of the matter is I really very rarely use rhinestones and I never ever use larger ones. Time to do some purging and get this bin more manageable. My goal was to thin it out enough that I could also add my adhesive flat-back pearls to the same bin (they were in an identical bin that also housed my ever-growing assortment of enamel dots). I succeeded. YAY! Now my enamel dots can breathe (though I'll also get that bin purged/organized at some point in the future tomorrow).

Day 2 - MON, June 15
Today I sorted through my bin of enamel dots, getting them better organized.

Day 3 - TUES, June 16
I uploaded the Love-Friends drawer of wood-mounted stamps into my Evernote inventory today. It took quite a while, as this drawer is very full. I have one more drawer to do and then all of my stamps will be in my inventory (and yes, the one drawer that is left is also a very full drawer).

Day 4 - WED, June 17
This small bin of resin embellishments was needing some organization. I decided a month or so ago to sort them and put them in the same type of storage boxes that I have my charms in (inexpensive boxes intended for embroidery floss)... but the Wal-Mart where we've been doing our curbside pickup was out of them so I waited patiently for them to restock. They finally did.

Organized and so much more user friendly. I'm liking it.

Day 5 - THUR, June 18
I have four of these smaller tubs filled with cards that I've made. I'd been looking for a good place to donate some of them and recently read about Cards for Kindness (scrapbook.com) and am going to get a box of my handmade cards with coordinating envelopes ready to ship to them. Today I went through two bins of cards. 

Day 6 - FRI, June 19
I had a bin full of napkins - I've only used the napkin technique on cards and Bible journaling a time or two, but somehow accumulated a lot of napkins in the process. Sheesh! How many napkins does a person need, right? Certainly not a package of identical ones.

I kept a few of each one (and took the rest to the kitchen where they will be used in Brock's lunch box meals - since we always use cloth napkins at our house). I organize the ones I'm keeping flatter containers with tight closing lids so I can store them more efficiently. 

Day 7 - SAT, June 20
I added the last drawer of my wood-mounted stamps to my Evernote inventory today! WOO HOO! It is now finished! All of my stamps are inventoried (I'd long ago added my cling mounted and clear stamps). It is such a good feeling! 

Okay, that's it for this week. Stay tuned to see what I accomplish in the coming week.