Cards by Gina

PPA #31--A Little Birdie Told Me Inspiration Card

Wow! It's Thursday again which means it's time to Play at PPA! Please join us. We love to see what you create. This week we have an Inspiration Photo to inspire us. 

I thought this challenge was going to be difficult for me since I am the author of these words in my children's book, Oh, My! Ginny Fry!: First Grade Trouble (which is semi-autobiographical!)--"I don't like birds. I don't like their beaks. I don't like their beady eyes. I don't like their feathers. And, I don't like the sound their wings make when they fly. Birds scare me--even if Rocky [the class bird] is canary yellow. I do like that color crayon." 

But, it turned out that I really enjoyed this challenge. I think that's what challenges are all about. You really never know what is going to inspire you.

Here's the Inspiration Photo:

Can you guess which quadrant my eyes went to immediately? Yup, the lower right-hand corner. I love the golds and greens in the photo.

Here's what I did:

I chose a base of Summer Sun cardstock and layered it with Old Olive cardstock.

I knew exactly which paper I wanted to use from the "Pink Flamingo" DSP--the Summer Sun and Whisper White Floral Pattern. I used my Corner Rounder Punch on two opposite corners of the Old Olive and the DSP and adhered them to my base.

I chose three flowers from the Petal Pizzazz Stamp Set and stamped them in Old Olive onto Whisper White and heat embossed them with clear powder and my heat tool. I then cut out each flower with my Paper Snips. I adhered them to the corner of my card using Snail Adhesive for the big flower and Stampin' Dimensionals for the two smaller ones.

My bird is from the Of the Earth Stamp Set. I stamped the entire stamp using my Versamark pad onto Old Olive and heat embossed it with clear powder and my heat tool. This made the outline of the bird very easy to see. I cut it out as carefully as I could using my paper snips.

I then ran Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock through my Big Shot Die-Cut Machine using my Lots of Tags Sizzlits Die-Cut. I followed the perforated lines on the Whisper White and punched it out. Then I adhered it onto the Old Olive. I stamped "For You" from the Happy Moments Stamp Set in Old Olive using my Stamp-a-ma-jig. At the last moment, I flashed on the idea of threading Linen Thread through the hole I made in the tiny tags with my 1/16" circle punch and stretching it out to reach my tiny bird as though he was flying through the air carrying this message to a special someone. I glued the Linen Thread under the beak of the bird and adhered him sitting on one of the flowers with a Stampin' Dimensional.

I'm growing fonder of birds every moment! My apologies to Rocky! I think you're growing on me! I truly was inspired by this photo and hope you are too. Please join us at Pals Paper Arts. Each week is a very special challenge and, I assure you, all of them are fun.

And, please remember, I'm always here to answer any questions, take your SU! orders, or read your comments. I love hearing from you!

Thanks for visiting!

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Petal Pizzazz, Of the Earth, Happy Moments

Inks: Old Olive, Versamark

Cardstock: Summer Sun, Old olive

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Embellishments: Linen Thread

Tools: Corner Rounder Punch; Big Shot Die-Cut Machine; Lots of Tags Sizzlits 4-pack Dies; Stamp-a-ma-jig; SNAIL Adhesive; Stampin' Dimensionals; Versamark; Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool; Paper Snips; 1/16" Circle Punch

PPA #30--Brilliant Blue for You

It's a KISS Challenge at PPA this week! What does that mean? Keep It Simple, Sweetie! Your card should have plenty of white space and not too many layers or embellishments. And, it shouldn't take too much time to create. Please join us at PPA and show us how you KISS! Just follow the directions at the site to add your card to Mr. Linky. It's as easy as 1-2-3! We'd love to see what you create.  
 

Here's what I did. I'm a tremendous fan of cobalt blue. My kitchen and living room have lots of touches of this color. So, today I chose Brilliant Blue cardstock to start with. I realize more and more that one of my favorite pallettes from Stampin' Up! is the Bold Brights colors. I love to be surrounded by vibrant colors!

I created a 5-1/4" by 3-3/4" base of Brilliant Blue cardstock. I layered it with a 5" x 3-1/2" layer of Whisper White cardstock.

I chose the "Corner Floral Stamp" from the Patterned Pines Stamp Set and stamped it in Brilliant Blue onto Whisper White using my Stamp-a-ma-jig in the four corners.Gina's Tip: I know you may not think that using a Stamp-a-ma-jig is easy, but once you get the knack of it, it definitely falls into the KISS category. And, as I've mentioned many times before, I can't live without this tool!

I love my new Vintage Labels Stamp Set so much! So, I chose the "Circle Stamp" and stamped it in Brilliant Blue onto Whisper White. The stamp set comes with the following greetings--For You, Happy Birthday, and Best Wishes. Since I wasn't sure who I was making this card for, I decided to use the "For You" stamp. This way, I have a card on hand that can be used for any occasion. I stamped the "For You" in Taken With Teal using my fill in the blank. (I should hear a loud, uproarious "Stamp-a-ma-jig!" here!) I love the way the Brilliant Blue looks with Taken With Teal. This is one of my favorite color combinations!

I punched out my sentiment and label using my 1-3/4" circle punch and adhered it to my card with a Pop-up Glue Dot. Easy, easy, easy!

I hope you like my card. I had so much fun creating it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write to me right here! I love hearing from you. And, please join us at PPA, won't you?

   

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Patterned Pines, Vintage Labels

Inks: Brilliant Blue, Taken With Teal

Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Whisper White

Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Pop-up Glue Dots

PPA #29--Oh, Sweet Pea! New Baby Card

  
 

Come play at PPA! How can you resist this wonderful sketch by Pal Margaret Moody? I had a great time playing with it. Won’t you join me and my Pals at PPA? We’d love to see you there.

Here's the sketch:

 

 

Here’s what I did:

●I created a So Saffron base of 5” x 7”. Following the sketch, I added the “Animals” paper from the Tall Tales Designer Series Paper at the top and bottom.

●For the middle section, I chose the “So Saffron and Whisper White Striped” paper from the Tall Tales DSP.

●I stamped “Sweet Pea” from the Little Angel Stamp Set in Chocolate Chip onto Whisper White using my new clear block stamps. Gina’s Tip: I thought I would never give up my wooden stamps, but I have definitely fallen in love with the clear block stamps. They are so easy to use and create such a crisp and clear image when you stamp with them.

●I backed the Whisper White with another piece of So Saffron and punched out a Brilliant Blue border using my Scallop Edge Punch.

●My finishing touch was to cut out the giraffe in the hot air balloon from the Tall Tales DSP using my Paper Snips and prop it up on the side of the sentiment using Pop-Up Glue Dots. Gina’s Tip: The great thing about following a sketch is that you can make it your own and not follow it exactly. I placed the scallop above my sentiment and used the balloon on the side.

Please feel free to leave me a comment or a question. I love hearing from you…always!

Recipe:

Stamp Set: Little Angel

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Designer Series Paper: Tall Tales

Cardstock: So Saffron, Whisper White, Brilliant Blue

Tools: Paper Snips, SNAIL Adhesive, Pop-up Glue Dots, Scallop Edge Punch

 
Tall Tales DSP 

Little Angel Stamp Set 

Pals February Hop--It's Sale-a-bration Time!

Welcome to the Pals February Hop! I’m so glad you stopped by. If you came from my Pal Kim Lampone's Stamp, scrap, get kreative blog, I’m sure you loved what you saw there. This month, the Pals are showcasing the Sale-a-bration catalog … and oh what goodies there are in it.

I love the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, so I chose to use two floral papers from it. My Sale-a-bration items are the Vintage Labels Stamp Set and the Happy Moments Stamp Set. I also couldn’t resist using the Scallop Trim Border Punch.

I love the way the Vintage Label Top Note stamp echoes the Stampin’ Up! Top Note Bigz Die on the outside of the card.

For the interior, I used the Top Note Bigz Die to create my writing space.  And, if you know me, you know that I can’t resist using glitter on my cards so I heat embossed the birthday cake using Craft Whisper White and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds.

I don’t want to keep you too long since there are 19 Pals this month on the Hop and I’d like you to see all of them. Your next stop is my Pal Regina Mangum at The Stampin' Bean. I know you will love what she has prepared for you.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please feel free to leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.

And in case you need to re-visit any of the Pals’ blogs, here’s the list of Pals' Hoppers! Have fun!

1.   Kalshelia Lloyd -- www.stampinfabulousity.com Stampin' Fabulousity
2.   Ann Schach -- www.stampinchic.com The Stampin' Schach
3.   Margaret Moody -- www.margaretmoody.typepad.com Margaret Moody
4.   Debbie Pierce -- www.stampinsunshine.com Stampin' Sunshine
5.   Carla Bazhenow -- www.carlas-scraps.com Carla's Scraps
6.   Mary Fish -- www.stampinpretty.com Stampin' Pretty
7.   Kim Lampone -- www.kjskorner.blogspot.com Stamp, scrap, get kreative
8.   Gina Shaw -- www.cardsbyginashaw.com Cards by Gina
9.   Regina Mangum -- www.thestampinbean.blogspot.com The Stampin' Bean
10. Lourdes Torres -- www.cozycraftycorner.blogspot.com Cozy Crafty Corner
11. Kris Kilcoyne -- www.kweenbee.typepad.com Kween Bee Kreations
12. Liz Hughes -- www.diypapercreations.com DIY Paper Creations
13. Melanie Collins -- www.oopsadaisy.typepad.com Oops a Daisy
14. Mike Funke -- www.stampin-style.com Stampin-Style
15. Anne Beale Yancey -- www.mukibug.com Mukibug
16. Martha Stewart -- www.SeasonsOfStamping.com    Seasons of Stamping
17. Jason Casper -- www.stampindad.blogspot.com Jason's Stampin' Pad
18. Barbara Furlong -- www.theloveofstamping.com The Love of Stamping
19. Tricia Gillam -- www.soulstamper.com Soul Stamper

PPA #28--Pretty in Pink and Black Birthday Card

  
 

Wow! I don’t know where the time goes, but the weeks just fly by. It’s time for another Pals Paper Arts Challenge and this week, we challenge you to use these colors. Won’t you join us at PPA? We’d love to see your creations!

 

I love these colors—chosen by our color and sketch maven Pal Margaret Moody—and I had such a good time creating my card with them. I adore the Of the Earth Level 1 Hostess Set and found myself reaching for it once again. As soon as I looked at the label on the stamp, my idea struck me like a lightning bolt. I love the way the black image looks on top of the wooden stamp block. So that’s what I ran with.

●My Basic Black base is 5-1/2” x 4-1/4” folded at the top.

●The next layer, Pretty in Pink, measures 5-1/4” x 4”.

●I stamped my “Butterfly and Flower” image from Of the Earth in Basic Black onto two panels of Melon Mambo. Then I sprinkled Heat and Stick Powder and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter on top of the images and embossed them with my Heat Tool. I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to give me the alignment I wanted on both panels.

●Since I needed a birthday card, I went to my go-to stamp set, Four Square, and stamped “Happy Birthday” in Basic Black onto Melon Mambo. I sprinkled Clear Emboss Powder and again used my Heat Tool to heat emboss the image.

●I punched out the sentiment with my Scallop Square Punch and adhered it to a larger Basic Black square. I propped this up using a Pop-up Glue Dot.

●I wanted something special going down the center of the card, so I reached for my Melon Mambo In-Color Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon and folded it, as you see pictured, on the plain side. Gina’s Tip: The beauty of this ribbon is that you can use it on either side. I used Mini-Glue Dots to fold the ribbon and hold it in place.

●My finishing touch was adding the photo corners which I created with my Photo Corners Punch using the small corners and adhering them to my card with Snail Adhesive.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I so appreciate having you here. Please feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you.

And please play along with us at PPA! We do have fun.

 
   

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Of the Earth Hostess Level 1 Set, Four Square

Ink: Basic Black

Cardstock: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo

Tools: Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter, Heat Tool, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Clear Emboss Powder, Scallop Square Punch, Pop-up Glue Dot, Mini Glue Dots, Snail Adhesive, Photo Corners Punch

Embellishments: Melon Mambo In-Color Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon