Chirp, chirp, chirp...

Yes, that's the sound of crickets on my blog! Whew, sometimes it takes a bit to get back into the swing of things after vacation. But, I've been working diligently on a few things to share with you over the next few weeks. Today, though, I wanted to catch you up on what's going on and share some cards that I made at my last card class. If you're in the area of A Walk Down Memory Lane come by and check out one of my classes some time and you can make fun cards like these, too. This card uses paper from Like Father Like Son from Fancy Pants, Artisan Tape from Pink Paislee, and stamps from Technique Tuesday. All Technique Tuesday stamps are 25% off at A Walk Down Memory Lane this month.
This card also uses stamps from Technique Tuesday. The "missing you" stamp is from Cornish Heritage Farms. The paper is from Bella Blvd All Inclusive Line.

This last card uses papers from one of my favorite new companies, Echo Park. Their papers are just perfect for summer! The stamp is from Unity Stamp Company, and the border punch is Apron Lace from Fiskars.

Finally, I'd like to remind you to stop by Scraptiv!ty this summer. You can check out the great sales they have going on all summer long here on the blog. Also, check out the forum here, for some great summer contests and project ideas from the design team.

Here's to getting back into the swing of things!

A tale of 2 cards

Well, I know I've said it before, but I do like stepping out of my comfort zone to make cards. It helps me grow as a paper crafter, but it's not always ad successful as I'd like it to be. I have 2 cards today. 1 is 100% in my comfort zone and the other is way outside it. 1st up is the not so comfortable card.

This is for Moxie Fab World's Doilies and Lace challenge. Vintage, shabby chic, or whatever you want to call it isn't really my style, but hey, it was fun to give it a try. Most of what you see up there is from my February Scraptiv!ty kit. I cut some of the lace into strips and twisted it up to make the lace flower. Then I used some brown ink to dirty it up a bit. All of my non-kit items came from A Walk Down Memory Lane (AWDML) and include the journaling tag from My Mind's Eye, the pretty stick pins from Jenni Bowlin, the i love you stamp from Heidi Grace, and the Sunburst border punch from Fiskars.

Now up is a card that's 100% in my comfort zone.
This card uses paper from My Mind's Eye Andrea Victoria Collection. The border punch is one of my favorites, Apron Lace by Fiskars. The Happy Birthday stamp is by Cornish Heritage Farms. The rhinestone brads and ribbon are from Stampin' Up!

Stamping Olympics - Love

THIS CARD IS COMPLETELY STAMPED! The background was created using stamps, inks, and embossing powder. I created a similar card for my local scrap store, A Walk Down Memory Lane, using patterned papers. I was inspired to re-create it using stamps instead. The stamps sets are Cornish Heritage Farm's Collage Elements I and The Greeting Farm's Sweet Deal. I stamped images using SU! Chocolate Chip Craft ink, SU! Certainly Celery Craft Ink, and Versamark ink. I then embossed these images with American Crafts clear embossing powder. Finally, I sponged on ink (Ranger Distress Ink Broken China, SU! Bashful Blue, and SU! Certainly Celery). The ink will not stick to the embossed images leaving home made patterned paper.

Birthday Bird

This card also uses a Silhouette cut bird cage. I then added some hemp twine, a stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms, and my Fiskars Apron Lace punch:

Hidaling...?

This month's kit technique over at Scraptiv!ty is called hidaling. Now, I'm pretty sure they made that word up, but it's a great word for the technique of hiding journaling on a scrapbook page. I thought this was a pretty cool idea, and even though it's my month off from designing with the kit, I still wanted to play along. My twist? I did a card with hidaling. Here it is with my "journaling" hidden:
And here it is with the "journaling" revealed:
What do you think? Did I nail it? I think I'm going to have to send this birthday card to a crafty friend who will know to pull the tag out of the envelope! Besides the hidaling, there are a few other techniques used on this card. The stitching was done by hand. The flowers and butterfly were stamped on patterned paper and then cut out. The butterfly was also covered in versamark ink, then sprinkled with heat and stick powder, heated up and sprinkled with glitter (okay, I know that sounds like a lot of work, but from start to finish all of that only took about 60 seconds). If you try your hand at hidaling I'd love to see it! Feel free to link it up in the comments.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: K & Company Amy Butler Lotus Mat Pad
Envelope and Tag: K & Company Studio K Meadow Pockets & Tags
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Collage Elements I
Fiskars Happy Birthday
Glitter: Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace Punch
Ribbon: Stampin' Up! Old Olive Grosgrain
Rhinestones: Kaisercraft