Happy Father's Day!

The Challenge
I saw a fun and timely challenge on Imaginisce's blog and decided to participate. I was going to make a framed picture for my Dad for Father's Day anyway, so I decided used their challenge for the inspiration. The challenge rules are as follows:

Challenge Rules:

1.  Use the sketch as inspiration for your project (i.e. card, layout, mini book cover, etc)

2.  THEME: Father

3.  Use the color BROWN

4.  Use some kind of recycled product on your project.

Here is my take:

The Rules
1. Sketch - I used Imaginisce's sketch for my layout design. The center of my frame was only around 5 x 5." As there wasn't a lot of room to play around with, I basically stuck to the sketch. I did eliminate the circular journaling block to save some space, and replaced one smaller photo with a title block.

2. Theme - Last December, I went to a Colonial themed  Christmas celebration at Riley's Farm and I just love this photo of my Dad taken by lantern light. I imagine him to be reporting, "The British are coming!" I chose photos from this night for my Father's Day frame. 

3. Color - I used a former fall collection, "Happy Harvest" since the colors matched so well with my antiqued photos. It also contains a lot of brown which is rule #3. 

4. Recycle - I purchased a stack of clear, plastic plates on clearance at Target. I thought they would make a nice base for the photos and the frame looks like it is made out of glass. 

I didn't know if that would count as a recycled object as it wasn't a used plate so I added some hearts I punched from cork from a disposable coffee cup holder. 

It was relatively quick to make and is a nice alternative to the traditionally framed photo. I sent this off to my Dad in Taiwan so I hope it arrives unscathed. I wish you all a happy Father's Day.

I'm also entering this in:
Simon Says Stamp! - Masculine/Father challenge
Belli Blog - #171 Father's Day
Stamp 'n' Doodle - Father's Day/Male
Stampin' Royalty - #179 Man up

Thanks so much for stoppin' by,

Fresh Squeezed Stamps: A Moose for all Seasons

The Stamps

For my final December guest designer project with Fresh Squeezed Stamps, I'm working once again with the woodsy themed stamp set entitled, "Winter Wonderland." I thought the moose stamp was super cute so I wanted to feature him on a card or two or four. 

The Reveal

I ended up designing a series called, "A Moose for all Seasons". I drew out a simple sketch for the card layout and kept the placement of the embellishments, sentiment and background in basically the same place, but just changed up the themes with a few modifications. You can easily use the moose and create a card for any other occasion that you'd need. 

The Details

I started by creating the woodsy background on all my cards. I used the reverse side of the tree stamp. The front side of the stamp will give you a tree outline, but if you use the reverse side that normally clings to the block, then you can get a filled stamp. Here is the same tree stamped using the reverse, front and combined sides of the same stamp. 

Next I colored in all the moose using Copics in the same color scheme and added some black enamel on the eyes and nose. Now come the variations on a theme. 

For my Father's Day card, I hand drew a tie and mustache on the moose. I wrote in the sentiment because I didn't have a stamp for that holiday. I wanted more of a summertime look since Father's Day is in June so I dabbed on some blue ink in the sky and yellow on the ground. I wanted more of a masculine feel so I added some black and white buttons and natural jute for the final touches. 

For my Valentine's Day card, I drew a dotted bow tie and added some Stickles heart garlands on the trees. I wanted a more feminine look so I added a ruffled border strip, rounded tab, twine bow and rounded one corner to soften the look.

For my birthday card, I wanted a more playful tone. I drew a little party hat and hung it on one antler since the moose couldn't get it onto his head. I used some Sassafras felt stickers I had for the embellishments. 

For this winter card, I added some liquid appliqué for snow on the trees and a red Stickles nose reminiscent of Rudolph on the moose. This Christmas card is actually the genesis for the entire series. I was imagining a string of Christmas lights intertwined among the moose's antlers. Then I started imagining what else he could hang, like shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, and that's how I ended up with "A Moose for all Seasons". 

If you could only have one stamp set, Winter Wonderland would be a great one since it is so versatile and you can adapt it for any holiday.

The Fun and Games

Fresh Squeezed Stamps is hosting fun games and contests with free stamps as prizes all month long. This week's game called "Christmas Bingo" is to pick 12 words from a list of 30 words. This game ends at midnight tonight and is the last one for the month. But don't worry if you can't participate in this one, there is still Squeeze-A-Palooza to look forward to on Sunday. If you want to keep up with the latest news, check out their Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Thanks so much for droppin' by,

Pages from the Heart: Trio of Cards

The Reveal
The April assignment for the design team at Pages from the Heart is to make three cards with the themes of birthday, masculine and free choice. I decided to make one type of card in three different ways, to show variations on a theme, and to channel my creative energies into the design rather than the construction.

Trio of Square Cards

The Cards

I chose a square card since I find the look to be very elegant. I used one 12 x 12" cardstock as the base. I cut out 3 x 3" squares from each of the four corners and rounded the vertices that were left. 

Inside view of card

The four flaps can interlock to seal the card so it doesn't need an envelope. 

Back view of card

The basic construction is quite fast and easy, then you can just decorate the square into any design or object  of your choice. 

Supplies:

Featured Collection: Canvas Corp’s 

Green & White Collection

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned Papers: Canvas Corp

Stickers: S.R.M. Press

Twine: The Twinery

Ribbon: May Arts

Punches: EK Success

Other: buttons

Card 1: Shirt
Starting with the same base, I decided to transform each square into a different object. With Father's Day coming up, I thought a shirt design might be fun to give dear ol' dad. The pocket can hold a tag with a secret message, and the bow tie is 3-D. I was thinking a child could make this too for their dad. 

Card 2: Present
For my second card, I turned the square into a present with a giant 3-D bow. This would be good for any type of invitation or to go along with a birthday or wedding gift. You can modify it to any occasion that has a present involved. The bow is on a wrapper that slides off. 

Card 3: Mortar Board
For my third card, I changed the square into a mortar board as graduation season is almost upon us. I made a tassel from twine, plus a diploma from a scrap piece of paper. I also made an envelope from a piece of 12 x 12" cardstock to match the card in case you want it to look more formal when presenting it to the graduate. 

I made one in black to make it more realistic and presented it to my friend for her daughter's graduation, and both really liked it. The metal Congrats was a keychain I wrapped around the button. The tassel was made from fringe trim from the fabric section. 

The cards turned out very differently even though the started out with the same square base. Just have fun and experiment with your own creations. 

Thanks for stoppin' by,