Super Star

I was in the mood to do something a bit starry today, so here it is. It's quite a basic layout, but it all started with those scissors. I wrongfully called them Imperial, they are actually Arabian. They are by Fiskars, and I've had them since the beginning of mainstream scrapbooking. You know when it was totally cool to crop your photos into stars and hearts, or cut them out with these type of scissors and all you decorated with was stickers!


Supplies: Stamps: Star Prints, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: Orangerie, Summer Sun
Paper: White, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun
Accessories, etc.: Arabian scissors, pop dots

August Blog Hop

This month's theme is using Autumn as your inspiration. With the textures, colours, and patterns of autumn being so beautiful, it's hard not to be inspired!

I decided to try something slightly different. I wanted to make a leafy background using the leaves from In Bloom, however, I really didn't feel like colouring each and every one. So, I decided to get a bit messy. I stamped the leaves onto vanilla cardstock, spritzed the paper with water several times, then went in with an aquapainter and various reinkers. I dabbed the inks wherever and let it spread around. Once I was happy with how it turned out, I heated it to speed up drying, then I stamped one of the scripted word backgrounds from Text Style over the paper. The finished result reminds me of a colourful forest floor full of fallen leaves!

For textures, I used some textured cardstock as my base and I couldn't resist trying the ruffled ribbon technique a la Lisa Johnson. What a fun way to add a little something to the card! I finally found my imperial edged scissors, so I decided to add a fancy border to the bottom of the homemade patterned paper.

To finish it all off, I cut out and watercoloured the 3-leaf sprig and added the perfect autumn sentiment- happy harvest.

Thanks for coming by, I can't wait to see everyone else's projects!

Supplies:

Stamps: In Bloom, Vintage Picnic, Text Style Background Basics

Ink: Rich Cocoa, Tangerine Tango, Ridinghood Red, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Vanilla, Textured Brown, Pumpkin Pie, Scarlet Jewel
Accessories, etc.: Water Spritzer, ribbon, reinkers, Imperial edged scissors, pop dots

Birthday Basket and more

First of all... I drew the winner's name... Heather J. you are the winner of Into the Forest. Leave a comment or email me at natashatrupp(a)gmail.com to claim the prize.

Next up is my mom's birthday card which won one of the PTI's guest star stamper categories. I was quite excited when I started receiving comments and emails about it. Thank you all for your kinds words!

Supplies:

Stamps: Text Style Background, Guidelines, Vintage Picnic

Ink: Rich Cocoa, Paris Lights, Fresh Snow, Berry Sorbet

Paper: Lemon Tart, Berry Sorbet, White, Spring Moss

Accessories, etc.: pop dots, Copics (see photo below for colours, the Ciao is Y11), buttons, thread, spring moss twill

Birthday Balloons

I have to say I'm quite surprised, I have a GIVEAWAY happening on this blog right now and only 4 comments... I thought people liked free stuff :D

Up for grabs is the totally adorable "Into the Forest" by i {heart} papers. Leave a comment on this post or on this one to enter the chance to win the stamp set. Contest closes at 8:00 PM CST Wednesday.

And here's a card today as well. I quite like Lemon Tart, Dark Chocolate, and a touch of white. It's just so cheerful! I didn't have any 3/8'' yellow ribbon, so I grabbed the Buttercup coloured Copic and coloured some white grosgrain.

Supplies: Stamps: Everyday Button Bits, Vintage Picnic, Polka Dot Basics II Paper: White, Lemon Tart, Dark Chocolate Ink: Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow Accessories, etc.: Lemon Tart buttons, white grosgrain, scallop punch, pop dots, Copic

Friendly Bear, with Candy

Today I have a card featuring one of my favorite images from the newly released Into the Forest, the bear. I stamped the bear and cut it out, then coloured it with Copics. To get a fun pattern on the bandanna, I coloured it, let it dry, then drew a lined pattern with a white gel pen. I popped it up with pop dots, then added a cut label punch phrase tab. I wanted a smaller scalloped border, so instead of using a punch, I used the long scalloped rectangle nestabilities. I finished it off with a few of these adorable corduroy brads and some dotted embossed paper. Now for the fun part, today I have one Into the Forest stamp set to give away. Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win the set below. Leave a comment by Wednesday Aug 19 by 8:00PM CST!

IHP release day!

Yay, the day is finally here. The i {heart} papers stamps are available now. The stamps are high quality photopolymer and retail for $10 a set! Here's a quick and cute sample featuring Into the Forest and some delightful Basic Grey Lime Rickey Paper.

Hugs from a Bug is available here!

Into the Forest is available here!

Anniversary Grapes

Again, I felt like playing around with some of the images in Fruitful. I started by doing some two-toned inking of the grapes. I stamped those all over, then added in vines. Next I inked up the edges with some tea ink. The last step was inking up the text stamp with the tea ink. It gave a nice subtle effect.
Supplies:
Stamps: Fruitful, Damask Designs, Text Style
Ink: Ripe Avocado, Plum Pudding, Violete
Paper: Vintage Cream, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado
Accessories, etc.: Tea Ink, Corner Rounder

Apple-y Goodness!

I've got two cards for you today, both featuring apples. My first card features Vintage Picnic. One evening we were watching a movie, and I get easily distracted with movies, so I stamped a variety of baskets and coloured while watching. I was really happy with how the basket of apples turned out. Later that week, the rest of the card came together. I've had this big red button on my desk for ages, it matches Pure Poppy quite nicely so I added that to some stitched chocolate ribbon. I am loving the Text Style Background set so much. It's awesome being able to customize text-y paper! I thought that piecing everything together on a kraft card base seemed like the perfect finishing touch.

My next card features an apple from Fruitful. I was playing around, stamping various fruits, not really planning anything out. I cut out the apple, and just went from there. The layout is loosely based off of one from my little notebook. I think I turned it into a "fall to layout" over at the clean and simple blog and that it was originally inspired by a card from a Stampin' Up catalog. I did something I rarely do on this, stitching. It just felt right. I made it a Just Because card, mainly because I was stumped, it just didn't have that birthday vibe feel.

Supplies: Stamps: Vintage Picnic, Text Style Background, Everyday Button Basics, Polka Dot Basics I, Fruitful, Floral Frenzy Ink: Rich Cocoa, Fresh Snow, Pure Poppy, Scarlet Jewel Paper: Kraft, White, New Leaf, Pure Poppy, Dark Chocolate Accessories, etc.: button, ribbon, pop dots, Copics, thread

Sneak Peek- Into The Forest

Time for another sneak peek from one of I {heart} paper's new stamp sets. This set is called Into the Forest. It includes quite a few cute critters and sentiments!
I decided to make a small scene with the squirrel and tree. The clouds are from the Hugs from a Bug set. First I stamped the tree and squirrel, cut them out and coloured them in with Copics. Next, I went about creating the backdrop. I freehand cut the ground, making it nice and wavy looking. Then I added the clouds. Finally I placed the tree and squirrel with pop dots and added the sentiment. The background paper comes from Basic Grey's Lime Rickey collection.

Supplies:
Stamps: Into the Forest, Hugs from a Bug
Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Charcoal
Paper: White, Brown, Lime Rickey 6x6 pad
Accessories, etc.: Copic markers, pop dots.

Sneak Peek- Hugs from a Bug

I've got a sneak peek from one of the new I {heart} papers stamp sets. This one is called Hugs from a Bug and it's adorable! I went with clean and simple, letting the cute bumblebee stand for itself. I stamped the bee twice, once on the base white layer and again on scrap cardstock. I coloured it in with Copic markers and added a bit of sparkle to the wings with the clear spica glitter pen. The pattern paper is by Penny Lane.



Supplies:
Stamps: Hugs from a Bug
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: Soft Sky, Penny Lane Passion Robin's Egg, White, Black
Accessories, etc.: Copic markers, pop dots, black grosgrain, Clear Spica glitter pen

News

I am thrilled to be joining a design team for a brand new line of stamps! I {heart} papers is introducing their very own stamp line!

Gretchen and Megan are joining the core IHP DT. They are both amazing stampers!
Shelly and myself are joining the new IHP DT for our first exclusive stamp release from Jannie Ho of Chickengirl Design.

So you want to know what’s going at I {heart} papers? Well…A LOT! We’ll be releasing two of Jannie’s sets this month and we’ve got some other illustrators working on different sets (each illustrator has a completely different style so you’re sure to find something you love!). There are even sets in production right now! It’s been tough keeping such big secrets from you, my friends!
These sets are the highest quality photopolymer sets, made in the USA by the top manufacturer in the industry (they make a lot of your other favorite stamps – I assure you!).
With this news also comes a bit of a restructuring of the current DT. Merry and Lori will be transitioning to this new stamp team. Releases will not be every month so on off months all of these folks will be doing business as usual here at IHP.
And, to help us with this release we’ve got some very special Chickengirl Design guest stampers so please be sure to visit them so you don’t miss anything!
Judy
Shannon
Tammy
Kendra
Loretta
The other bit of big news is the launch of IHP's new newsletter to make sure you’re up to date on what’s going on here with releases, new products, SALES, COUPONS, and other good stuff. Carolyn will be taking on the role of Editor for this. She’ll still be stamping of course but her primary focus will be on the newsletter. If you’ve ordered in the past you will automatically get the first issue. If you don’t want it, you can easily unsubscribe. If you’ve never ordered but would like to subscribe, head over to the website and sign up!
We’ll be doing some sneak peeks starting tomorrow and on the 9th will be the full reveal. Be sure to check in every day so you don’t miss a single thing!

Bloomin' Birthday Wishes

I just received these flowers (In Bloom stamp set-PTI) and wanted to bring them to life with a bit of colour. First I cut them out, then I chose an assortment of Copic markers and got to work. Although the design itself is quite simple, the card was not the quickest. Colouring, blending, then adding shadow details and colouring some more isn't the fastest process. But I think it's well worth the effort!

I had to laugh, my sister pointed out that they kind of look like cabbages. I could kind of see that, especially with the central flower. But hey, just one more way to use the image, right?

Supplies:
Stamps: In Bloom, Everyday Button Bits
Ink: Rich Cocoa
Paper: Rustic Cream, Pumpkin Pie, Ripe Avocado
Accessories, etc.: pop dots, copics

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake

Last week I was doodling out ideas for cards. I was thinking how cute it would be to pair the smaller fruit images from Fruitful with a cupcake from Cupcake Collection. I stamped the cupcake top in Dark Chocolate and did the holder and raspberry with Scarlet Jewel, the leafy part was done with Ripe Avocado. Then I used those 3 colours throughout the rest of the card. In order to make the scallops all the way around my card I cut out two sets of the scalloped rectangles, then overlapped them. It's pretty cool how easily that works out.

Supplies: Stamps: Cupcake Collection, Fruitful, Polka Dot Basics II
Ink: Scarlet Jewel, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, Fresh Snow
Paper: Scarlet Jewel, Dark Chocolate, Ripe Avocado, White
Accessories, etc.: corner rounder, scalloped nestabilities (oval and long rectangle), ribbon

Basket of Birthday Daisies

I love stamp sets that inspire me to colour. Vintage Picnic is definitely one of those sets. It's so much fun to mix and match the baskets and fillers and then choose a medium to colour them with! For this card, I went with Copics as my colouring medium of choice. The layout is ultra simple. I jazzed it up a bit by adding a fancy satin bow and a dotty background.

Supplies:

Stamps: Vintage Picnic and Sentiments, Polka Dot Basics II

Ink: Rich Cocoa, Summer Sunrise

Paper: White, Chocolate Chip, New Leaf, Summer Sun

Accessories, etc.: Nestabilities, satin ribbon, Copic markers, pop dots

Special Birthday Delivery!

Here's a birthday card I made for someone who loves robots. I thought it'd be cute to pair Blip and Bloop together with a cupcake and a truck. I thought it'd be funny to have the frowning robot on the back of the truck. He's sad because he wanted to drive.

If you're a DoodleFactory fan you should check out the latest releases. They are awesome! I cannot wait to get my hands on them. There's even a cool combo pack deal . Plus if you use the code savetenNT you'll get 10% off!

Supplies: Stamps: DoodleFactory Country and Urban, PTI Mixed Messages Ink: Tuxedo Black Paper: Real Red, True Black, White Accessories, etc.: Copic, stickles, pop dots, dot texture plate

Blog Hop- a day late

I totally forgot about this month's blog hop. I meant to participate, but was away on holidays. I happened to have a project mostly made before I left, so I finished it off tonight. It uses 2 of the backgrounds from Background Basics: Text Style. I also just picked up the wooden buttons and vintage tea inks, so I was itching to try some distressing techniques.

Supplies:
Stamps: Men of Life, Vintage Picnic, BB: Text Style
Ink: Vintage Touch tea inks, vintage cream, dark chocolate, scarlet jewel, enchanted evening
Paper: Scarlet Jewel, Rustic Cream, Enchanted Evening
Accessories, etc.: pop dots, sponge, wooden button, twine, twill

In the Wild!

Here's one more sample for the DTGD challenges at SCS. Amy is hosting this one, the theme is all things wild (i.e. animal related). I decided to use Gordie the Giraffe and some fun DCWV Safari Kids paper. I drew my colours for the giraffe from the paper. I wanted a somewhat realistically coloured giraffe, so I stuck with the brown tones. I stamped the greeting several times on the oval to make a fun background, then coloured and cut out the giraffe and placed it over that. I added a bit of ribbon and a flag sentiment and that was that!

Supplies: Stamps: Gordie the Giraffe, Birthday Basics
Paper: Night of Navy, White, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss, DCWV Safari Kids DP
Ink: Spring Moss, Prussian Blue, Rich Cocoa
Accessories, etc.: Copics, nestabilities, pop dots

DTGD 2009!

It's time for another "Dare to Get Dirty" over at SCS. I made samples for two of the challenges today.

First up is the Clearly Creative challenge with Krystie as host. I punched out several stars from Scor-Tape sheets and placed them all over my acetate card base. Then I covered them with glitter. Yellow, blue, stars, and glitter made me think "baby card".

Next up is Becca's Die Cut/Punch challenge. I had lots of fun with this card and used both a die cut and punches. I started with the Bigz Top Note die, then stamped several stars, punched them out and placed them all over.

Supplies:

Stamps: Everyday Classics, Birthday Basics

Ink: Summer Sunrise, Orangerie, Paris Lights, Lemon Tart, Prussian Blue

Paper: Bitty Dots (Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain), White, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sunrise, Spring Rain, Lemon Tart

Accessories, etc.: Bigz Top Note die, large and small star punches, pop dots, glitter, Scor-Tape sheets, acetate, satin ribbon

Cheer Up!

This card started out as a challenge of sorts. My sister and I were at the mall one evening and we saw this t-shirt. I was quite amused by it and somehow we got on the topic of me recreating it in card form. So I drew my best rendition of the features on cardstock, cut them out and pieced them together. I thought PTI's fresh alphabet was a nice font substitute.

Paperworks Co. Release!

As you may have seen, PaperWorks Co. has released a second set of adorable animal stamps, this time, it's the Aqua Amigos! Be sure to check out the store site for a few deals (good until July 23rd). First up is Ollie the Octopus! I thought that PTI's colours Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides went nicely with the ocean theme.

Next up is Carlos the crab. I went with bright cheerful colours and a computer generated punny sentiment.Thirdly is Wallie the whale. I went with a classic clean and simple design here. First I printed out the sentiment. I jazzed it up a bit by added scalloped "waves".
The final image is Tommy the turtle. I have a soft spot for turtles and was quite excited when I saw this image! I coloured all the images with Copics, I wanted to add a little something extra to Tommy. It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but I added crystal effects to make the shell really shine.