Thanks for the Memories…

by Shannon Jaramillo // April 21, 2016 // 2 Comments

Today was a sad, sad day for me. I was a teenager when Prince was in his hey day and I could not get enough of him or his music. The news today was devestating so I decided to do what I do and make a card. A thank you to Prince for the memories. Memories of mTV, the movie Purple Rain, wearing purple, doing my homework in purple…purple, purple, purple. Some people had Michael Jackson, Elvis or The Beatles, for me it was Prince.

I watched this video by Jennifer McGuire today and was inspired to try the technique. I inked up a brand-new-to-me background stamp from Hero Arts in Soft Lilac ink by Altenew. I only have the teeny square ink cube so thank goodness for the MISTI, as I had to stamp over and over and over, but I LOVE the soft color so it was worth it!

Once I had the background stamped, I ran it through the Big Shot with the Femme Frames die by Mama Elephant. I then used the same die to cut a piece of Winter Wisteria card stock.

I sponged the center with Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink until I had a slightly highlighted area big enough for my sentiment and used my Heat Tool to dry the ink quickly. I then used my Embossing Buddy, Simon Says Black Ink, Versamark Ink, and then Clear Embossing Powder to make my greeting pop off of the card. Recognize the sentiment? It’s a new stamp by a new company called Right at Home Stamps, and it just arrived in my mailbox today!

I wanted to add a bit more so looked through my stash until I came to the Friendship Butterflies Stamp Set by Simon Says Stamp. It had the cute leafy image you see on my card. I again used Soft Lilac ink so again, I had to stamp over and over to get the depth of color you see here. I added itty bitty dots of color with a stamp from the Rustic Wreath stamp set by PTI. Varied sizes of Moonstones by Simon Says Stamp gives the card a nice ‘bling-y’ touch.

Farewell to a legend, RIP.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Products Used:

Cardstock: Stamper’s Select White by Papertrey Ink; Winter Wisteria by Papertrey Ink

Pattern Paper: Gentle Whisper by Penny Black

Ink: Soft Lilac by Altenew; Winter Wisteria by Papertrey Ink; Versamark

Stamps: Script Greetings by Right at Home Stamps; Friendship Butterflies by Simon Says Stamp; Rustic Wreath by Papertrey Ink

Dies: Femme Frames by Mama Elephant and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI; Clear Embossing Powder and Heat Tool by Stampin’ Up!

Embellishments: Moonstones by Simon Says Stamp

Birthday Bits – Sunday Stamps 115

by Shannon Jaramillo // December 6, 2015 // 5 Comments

Happy Sunday to my stamping friends! Today we have another new challenge for you from Sunday Stamps and it’s a color challenge!

Aren’t the colors divine?? I could have gone the direction of snowflakes and snowdrifts, but I needed a birthday card, so I went there instead 🙂

I really love this light blue color, it’s Sea Glass by Simon Says Stamp. What do you think? And the brighter blue is Audrey Blue, also by Simon Says Stamp. These colors bring to mind a Tiffany box, which would be a great birthday present!

I used quite a few of the stamps from Birthday Bits by Simon Says Stamp in a fairly loose design, I just added little bits as I went along. I added Wink of Stella to the hearts and the dots on the balloons. Hard to capture on camera but yummy in person!!

More adorable images from this stamp set…I love the variety and the whimsy of the stamps!

For more inspiration please visit these lovely ladies:

Thank you for visiting today!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Stamper’s Select White by Papertrey Ink; Sea Glass by Simon Says Stamp

Pattern Paper: Date Night by Chicaniddy

Ink: Audrey Blue, Fog, Sea Glass and Smoke by Simon Says Stamp

Stamps: Birthday Bits by Simon Says Stamp

Dies: None

Tools: MISTI

Embellishments: Wink of Stella

Giving Thanks – The Paper Players 257 & SIP #9

by Shannon Jaramillo // August 12, 2015 // 9 Comments

Hello!! I want to share with you that one of my cards was a designer pick over at the Stamp, Ink, and Paper challenge! I’m so appreciative of the honor!!

And now I have a funny story about today’s card…

The card I am sharing today was created last Sunday after seeing the new challenge from The Paper Players. Then Tuesday, I popped over to see the latest Stamp, Ink, Paper challenge and discovered that the sketch is eerily close to the card I had already made for The Paper Players!

Here’s the challenge sketch:

And here’s the card I created before I saw the sketch!

Isn’t that the strangest coincidence??

Moving along, I wanted to share a few things with you I noticed about my card once it was done:

Visual Triangles are Pleasing to the Eye:

If you look at the card above, I have Bermuda Bay in three spots on the card that loosely form a triangle. For Old Olive, I used the envelope liner to complete the triangle. Now look at the Crumb Cake…there’s the tree and the strip of paper…but where is the third element? It’s the linen thread in the button! It’s a subtle but important detail that the eye picks up on.

Balance is harmony

Always try to give equal visual weight to both sides of the card. Here, the three strips of paper on the left side help balance out the large rectangle on the other side. Once I had put the strips of paper onto the card, I felt that they overbalanced it (too heavy on the left side), so I added a button on the right to bring both sides back into balance.

I don’t think about these things as I’m creating and sometimes don’t realize them at all but I did today so I wanted to pass that info along.

My last tip for today?? Don’t forget the inside of the card! I Know, I’m guilty too, but I’m making a conscious effort to change my ways! It’s a small thing, and perhaps you wait until you know who you’re giving the card to, but I find that I need to do it right when the card is created or it will never get done!

Thank you to Claire at The Paper Players for this wonderful color combination!

And thank you as well for visiting with me today!

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Stamper’s Select White by Papertrey Ink; Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Old Olive by Stampin’ Up!

Pattern Paper: Brights Designer Series Paper Pack (retired pattern) by Stampin’ Up!

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Old Olive by Stampin’ Up!; Tuxedo Black by Memento

Stamps: Giving Thanks by Simon Says Stamp; Fancy Florals by Clearly Besotted Stamps; Tucked In: Thank You by Papertrey Ink

Dies: Stitched Mats: Rectangles by Lil ‘Inker; Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: None

Embellishments: Brights Designer Buttons and Linen Thread by Stampin’ Up!

Be Yourself – Sunday Stamps Challenge 98

by Shannon Jaramillo // April 2, 2015 // 10 Comments

Hello there, Friends!! It’s been a week and I FINALLY got a chance to stamp this evening! Getting some crafty time in always lifts my spirits, how about you?

I saw this darling sketch over at Sunday Stamps today and knew at once I wanted to play along:

Isn’t the sketch darling?? I’m not sure if I’m more in love with the layout, or the flower they used for it, lol! Either way, I was inspired to play along!

The fine print says to keep it to a one layer card so that’s what I did. I had to inlay my flower to do it, but I did it!!

I layered my pattern paper over my card base, then die cut the white layer with both the stitched edge die and the daisy die. Once I adhered the white layer to my base, I simply ran a scrap of my pattern paper through the Big Shot with the Daisy die and inset the cut pieces into my white layer! Easy Peasy! I love the little die cut dot in the center…SO cute!!

It’s a lighthearted and fun card, I picture sending it to someone who needs just a bit of encouragement. We all need THAT from time to time!

I don’t recall exactly where I picked up the flower sequins but they sure are cute and a very fitting accent for my card today!

I’m also entering my card in The Challenge: They are having a fun ‘anything goes’ challenge…love those!

I’m also entering it over at CASology whose theme this week is Spring! I LOVE Spring colors!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Stamper’s Select White by Papertrey Ink

Pattern Paper: Summer Bliss by Echo Park

Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento Ink

Stamps: Be by Simon Says Stamp

Dies: Rounded Rectangle Stitched Mats by Lil ‘Inker; Oopsie Daisy by Papertrey Ink and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Embellishments: Flower Sequins (source unknown)

On My Mind – Sweet Sunday Sketch #259

by Shannon Jaramillo // March 10, 2015 // 7 Comments

Oh My Word!! I did not plan on stamping or posting this evening, BUT….my Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit arrived in the mail…FINALLY!! And I was so inspired by the contents that I dropped everything else and stamped. The kit is beautiful!! Beautiful!! I just COULDN’T wait to share!!

I just LOVE the tones in these papers, and they compliment each other SO beautifully!! (oops, there’s that word again!) I love how the black really makes the colors ‘pop’. Tonight when I sat back to look at my finished card I wondered “Where in the WORLD did THIS come from?” I guess the colors and patterns really DID inspire me…to step out of my design box! Don’t you love when that happens? It’s almost as if I was channeling someone else’s creativity! Have you ever felt that way?

Actually, for a “fussy” card, mine is quite simple. Two banners made out of coordinating pattern paper and run through Die-namics Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX dies by My Favorite Things and flipped up at the ends. I matted my journaling card with black cardstock and lightly sponged the edges with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I popped it up on Stampin’ Dimensionals and tucked a bit of a punched piece (also lightly sponged) on the left side and added a bit of ribbon, just peeking out. Another bit of ribbon on the right side, the sentiment stamped directly onto the card and a few black sequins to bling it up a bit!

And that’s truly it!! The contents of the kit do all the hard work for you! Oh! And the layout for my card was inspired by this week’s Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge which was to pick ANY of their previous sketches and create a card!! How fun is THAT?!? I had already chosen sketch #218 last night and had a card laid out and ready to go, but this one took over!! lol

I’ve also linked my card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Special Lady/Girly (I think this qualifies!) as well as their board for the March 2015 Kit.

I finished the inside simply with just a single layer of the “NEW” cream cardstock provided in the kit.

I’m sure I will have more fun cards to share using this kit, it has great floral images still to play with!! If you want to see the kit in detail you can find it here.

I would LOVE to hear what you think of my card, I read and cherish each and every comment 🙂

Wishing you joy and blessings!

Products Used:

Cardstock: Black and “NEW” Cream by Simon Says Stamp

Pattern Paper: Classique Beauty by Authentique and journaling card

Ink: Tuxedo Black by Memento

Stamps: On My Mind by Simon Says Stamp

Dies: Die-namics Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX by My Favorite Things and Envelope Liner Die by Stampin’ Up!

Punches: Decorative Label Punch by Stampin’ Up!

Tools: MISTI by My Sweet Petunia

Embellishments: Misc Sheer Black Ribbon and Black Sequins