Elizabeth Cooper
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Elizabeth Cooper
I've seen some beautifully done examples of black and white cards, but executing them has always been a huge struggle for me. I've never been one to back away from a challenge, so I decided to pick out some pretty pattern paper and try again this afternoon.

This was the result:


I like the variety of pattern papers I picked out. The old-fashioned ads are maybe a touch unconventional for an otherwise elegant card, but I like the quirkiness of the overall effect.

I'm playing along with the Catered Crop challenge this week. The theme is "ribbon" -- one of my favorites!


Supplies
Pattern Paper: Echo Park "Happy Days" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Borders Love Each Day"
Ink: Stampin' Up! "Basic Black" Pigment Ink
Embellishments: Stickles "Silver", Bo Bunny "Enchanted Brads", Bo Bunny "Enchanted Trinkets", Bazzill Basics Paper "Paper Flowers: Daisy White",  black gel pen, ribbon from my stash.
Elizabeth Cooper
It's snowing here today. After a mild winter, we've been getting buried under a mountain of snow for the past week, and I'm tired of it. It's March - shouldn't spring be here by now?

I wanted a bright card to cheer me up. I pulled out the "Springtime" 6x6 paper pad from Echo Park, and set to work. This was the end result:


Unfortunately, the photo doesn't show the silver accents as well as I'd like. They're bright and glittery, and very pretty in real life.


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Vanilla"
Pattern Paper: Echo Park "Springtime" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Fiskars "Grateful" stamp set
Ink: Versafine "Imperial Purple" ink
Embellishments: Stickles "Silver", Prima Flowers "Sugar Blooms Celebrate", Jillibean Soup "Apple Cheddar Soup" labels, ribbon from my stash.
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Elizabeth Cooper
Alright, enough with the pink for a while. (I can hear you -- yeah, you over there -- breathing a sigh of relief.)

Simon Says Stamp also has an "Anything Goes" theme this week for their challenge, and I couldn't resist playing along. This is what I came up with:


I like the end result so much, I'm going to save it and give it to my parents for their wedding anniversary. It's not until June, but they don't read the blog, so I'm safe revealing this so far in advance. :-)


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Vanilla"
Pattern Paper: Fancy Pants Designs "Beach Bum" 6x6 pad
Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Borders Love Each Day"
Ink: Dew Drop Brilliance "Cosmic Copper", Inkadinkado "Terra Cotta", Memento "Rich Cocoa"
Embellishments: Stickles "Platinum", Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Prima Flowers, ribbon and buttons from my stash.
Elizabeth Cooper
As you already know, I've been on a pink kick... and it continues today, with this very bright, cheery card:


I wanted to create something for the Ribbon Carousel Challenge, which this week features the ever-popular "Anything Goes" theme. The only requirement was to use ribbon, bakers twine, jute twine, lace or thread somewhere in the project. I used the cute pink organza ribbon at the top of my card. I pulled it out of my scraps pile, so unfortunately I'm not sure where the original came from. I hope that doesn't disqualify me from participating in the challenge. :-)


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Pastel"
Pattern Paper: s.e.i Bright Blossoms 12x12 pad
Stamps: Hero Arts "Spring Borders" stamp set
Ink: VersaMark, VersaFine: Crimson Red
Embossing Powder: Recollections Opaque White Embossing Powder
Punches: Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Large Double Punch, Stampin' Up! Butterfly Punch
Embellishments: Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Martha Stewart Butterfly Stickers, ribbon from my stash.
Elizabeth Cooper
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been enamored with the color pink of late. I can't get enough of it! So I figured I'd give in to the urge to make another pink paper craft, and came up with this adorable card.


All right, so it's not entirely all pink. There are some blues in there, some greens, and even a few yellow hues.

As I was making it I thought it would work well as a baby card, but since I don't have any need for a baby card right now, I used a more versatile sentiment.


Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections "Pastel"
Pattern Paper: K & Company "Sweet Nectar" Designer Mat Pad
Stamps: Hampton Art "Carpe Diem"
Ink: "Festive Berries" Distress Ink, Memento "Bamboo Leaves"
Die Cuts: Sizzix Tags, Scallop Combo #2
Embellishments: Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls, Forever in Time Floral Embellishments, Recollections Butterfly Brads, ribbon from my stash.
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Elizabeth Cooper
I've been drawn to the color pink lately. I know Valentine's Day is over, but I'm not done with frothy, girly color hues. Despite that, this card ended up quite a bit more Christmas-y than I was expecting. I think that's due to the green hue and the way the stripes are placed in the pattern paper.

I really like the twine made to look like it's just floating out there on the card. I assure you, it's quite securely laid in place with some Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

I'm also crazy about the scalloped blue ribbon, and the way the sentiment fits just perfectly on top of the green ribbon.

Supplies
Cardstock: Recollections Signature Shimmer
Pattern Paper: K & Company "Sweet Nectar" Designer Mat Pad
Ink: Evergreen Bough Distress Ink
Die Cuts: Sizzix Tags, Scallop Combo #2
Embellishments: K & Company "Sweet Talk Love Birds & Butterfly" Grand Adhesions, Bo Bunny "Sweet Tooth" Brads, ribbon from my stash.
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Elizabeth Cooper
I'm a big fan of Tim Holtz' artistic stamps, and fell in love with the image of the man holding an umbrella as soon as I saw it. Because it's such a striking image, I thought it needed to be placed on a card that would allow it to shine.

Here's what I came up with:


I started by masking the edges of my card. Using a stamp from the Heidi Grace Large Patterns 2 stamp set, I stamped the circles in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Then I stamped the sentiment in the corner (which comes from the Tim Holtz Purely Random stamp set) using Memento Rich Cocoa ink.



I followed that up by stamping the man from the same stamp set, also using Memento Rich Cocoa ink, on a separate piece of cardstock. I fussy-cut him out and adhered him to the front of the card using foam adhesive.

Finally, it was time for some bling. I used the rhinestones from an old pack I had in my stash in the lower left corner. On the man's hat, I used Platinum Stickles, and on the umbrella I used Antique Linen Stickles. Then I went over the entire man with Glossy Accents for some added dimension.



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Elizabeth Cooper
I've mentioned my newfound love of all things from the Unity Stamp Company, right? Their stamps are absolutely fabulous!

A couple of days ago, I pulled out their January 2012 Kit of the Month, and picked a few of the stamps that called to me. This was the result:


I started with a piece of pattern paper from the Alla-Prima 6x6 pad. I love the wonderful colors and designs in that pad, and I never know which one to choose! I settled on this one, because the pattern would work with the stamp I'd selected.

From there, I stamped the flower and the sentiment in Memento Rich Cocoa ink, and then masked both in order to add the flower stem without going over the top of either element. I trimmed the cardstock down to the size I wanted, then went around the edges of the panel and paper-pierced them.

I colored the flower using Copic markers and Glitter Markers from Martha Stewart in Basic Spectrum Colors.


I colored the sentiment with Copic markers as well, and then adhered the panel to the front of the card. Finally, I wrapped some twine from my stash around the bottom of the card, and added a cute button from Jillibean Soup's Christmas collection in a matching color.







Elizabeth Cooper
Today's card was inspired by the gorgeous pattern paper I used. The moment I saw the beautiful blues and golds, and that stunning palace, I knew I had to do something with it. And this is what I came up with:


The pattern paper is from a 4x6 paper pad called "Saveurs d'Orient." It's created by Toga, which I believe is a Canadian company. I picked up the paper pad at an art supply store here in town.

I cut the paper down to size, and adhered it onto the card front. Then I stamped the sentiment (which is from the Stamps of Life Umbrella4You stamp set) in the upper right corner using Dew Drop Brilliance: Galaxy Gold ink. I absolutely love the way it turned out! The shimmery gold is so lovely against the blue backdrop.


I knew I wanted to add some kind of border to the left side. I picked out some Film Strip Ribbon from Tim Holtz, and adhered it to the card using two Bo Bunny Et Cetera brads. Finally, I placed a couple of postcard embellishments from my stash (the packaging's long gone, so I have no idea who makes these), in the upper left portion of the card to tie everything together.




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Elizabeth Cooper
It's my mother's birthday this month, and I wanted to create something sweet and just a touch whimsical. This is what I came up with:


I started with a piece of vanilla cardstock, which I cut and folded into the card base. Then I added a piece of pattern paper from the Recollections: Charming 12x12 paper pad. I really like this paper. It's fun without being overwhelming. I distressed the edges and inked them using Inkadinkado Coffee Bean ink.

I moved on to the sentiment next. I stamped the image (which comes from the Fiskars Birthday Party stamp set) using Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto a piece of vanilla cardstock, and mounted it onto some brown cardstock to give it a pretty border. I then colored the image with Copic markers and adhered the panel onto the card using foam adhesive.

I wanted a few extra touches, so I wound a piece of ribbon around the cake panel to give it a gift feel, and used some Stickles in Golden Rod to create the sparkly flames.

I added a cute butterfly from Martha Stewart's Butterfly Stickers pack to one side of the card. I really liked that the glitter on the butterfly matched the Stickles I used on the flames of the cake.



And because my mother's birthday is in February 19, I used a fine-tipped glue pen to go over the "2" and the "19" in the background paper, and then added some Martha Stewart glitter to those numbers to make them stand out.



Finally, I stamped the sentiment, also from the Fiskars Birthday Party stamp set, on the inside.



Elizabeth Cooper
I've got a super simple, but very cute card to show off today. I was inspired by this week's "Less is More" challenge, which had us using this sketch:

Cute, huh?

Here's what I came up with:


I started with a piece of pattern paper from Me & My Big Ideas: Specialty Cardstock 12x12 pad. I really liked this particular pattern because it had a vertical strip built in on the left with that bright green design. Then I added a piece of brown silk ribbon from my stash, and adhered it to the left side of the card to create the other vertical strip in the sketch.

For my sentiment, I used one of my favorite embellishments ever, a beautiful charm from The Girls' Paperie: Glitter Charm Quotes pack. I adhered it to the card using glue dots, and then I wrapped another piece of that same ribbon around the top and tied it into a knot.


And just that easy, the card was done!


Elizabeth Cooper
Valentine's Day... It's almost that time of the year again! Hubby and I always go out for a nice dinner, but we don't exchange gifts. I do, however, always give him a card.

And this year, this is the card he's getting.



I admit, it's a little girly with all that pink, but hey, it is a celebration of love and romance, right?! I think this is the one time of the year I'm allowed to give him a pink, glitter-covered card. :-)

I'm also entering this card into this week's Color Throwdown challenge. Their color palette was the inspiration for the card.

I started with a piece of pattern paper from the Echo Park: Yours Truly 6x6 paper pad. How cute are those hearts?! I distressed the edges and then inked them in Memento Ink: Rose Bud, before adhering the paper straight down to the cardstock. I chose a piece of lace ribbon from my stash and wrapped it around the bottom of the card.

Then I took another pattern paper from that same pad, and die cut two pieces using the Spellbinders Nestabilities: Small Labels die. I used both sides of the paper, inked the edges with more Memento Ink, then glued the pink side directly down to the card front, and adhered the black-and-white side down using foam adhesive.

The hearts came next. They're from the Scenic Route: Chipboard Hearts set. I adhered them using glue dots. I created the flower using some Prima flowers and a brad from the Bo Bunny: Sweet Tooth Brads package, and adhered it with a glue dot as well. Then I chose a sentiment from the Scenic Route: Loveland Valentine's Chipboard pack and placed it at the top of the card.

Finally, I filled in the hearts using Stickles in Glam Pink, and ran more Stickles along the edges of the pattern paper die cuts.


I just love those hearts... and not only because they make me think of frosted cookies. :-)

Elizabeth Cooper
I recently purchased my first stamp kit from Unity Stamp Co., and I have to admit, I'm hooked! The stamps are beautiful, and of very good quality. So of course, I had to join in on their monthly challenge for another excuse to use those lovely stamps.

This month's Unity Stamp Challenge is for us to create a card using stamps from Unity Stamp Co. on the theme of "new beginnings". I love challenges that are open to interpretation, so armed with that theme, I set to work. And this is what I came up with:


For me, the saying "Follow Your Heart" has always meant, "Take a risk. Do something that scares you. Try something new." So I couldn't think of a better sentiment to use for this theme.

I started with some vanilla cardstock, which I used for the card base. Then I layered some pattern paper from the Alla-Prima 6x6 paper pad onto some green and kraft cardstock pieces to give the paper a pretty matted-border. I then adhered the new panel to the card, and ran the whole thing through my Big Kick machine using the Cuttlebug Musical Flourish folder to give it that textured look.

For the sentiment, I die cut a piece of kraft cardstock using the Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Frame 1 dies. Then I stamped the beautiful stamp, which is part of the Unity Stamp Co. "Follow Your Heart" set, using Versamark ink. I embossed it in white embossing powder and attached it to the card using foam adhesive.

I used some thick twine from my stash to create the "lines" at the top and bottom of the sentiment. Then I layered some Prima flowers and used brads from a Reflections set to create the look I wanted. I adhered them using Glue dots to the twine.



Finally, I used Stickles in X-Mas Red to create the heart outline, and filled it in using more Stickles - in Crystal this time.



Elizabeth Cooper
Well, it's been a great week for challenges! I wanted to enter this week's Stampin' For The Weekend challenge, simply because I couldn't resist the theme. It's super simple -- "Out with the Old". Basically, we were encouraged to use our stash from last year. I've got a ton of supplies I bought in 2011 that I never got around to using, so I pulled some of them out and went to work.

And here's what I came up with:


So, so cute! I'm in love with this card. I already know who I'm going to send it to. :-)

I started with a piece of textured black cardstock, which I cut into a standard-size card. Then I cut a piece of pink cardstock and another piece from that same black cardstock and layered them together. This created a very sturdy front panel that I really like.

I cut out the main shape using a die from the Spellbinders Nestabilities: Small Labels set, and then went around the edges with a black gel pen to create the dotted frame.

The adorable stamp is from the Hero Arts: Life of the Party stamp set. I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored it using Copic Markers.


I used the same ink and stamp set on the sentiment, which I stamped on white cardstock. Then I grabbed some textured ribbon from my stash and tucked it under the sentiment.


The pretty flower added the finishing touch to the card.


Elizabeth Cooper
I'm on a challenge roll this week! I wanted to create something to enter into this week's Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which is to use this lovely sketch:

And this is what I came up with:


It's going to a male friend who's got a birthday coming up within the next couple of weeks, so I'm very fond of the color scheme here. I took a couple of liberties with the design, but nothing too drastic. I think the flowers on the pattern paper work well to replace the flower embellishments on the left side.

I started with some brown textured cardstock, which I used to form the card base. Then I cut out a piece of pattern paper (I just love that design!) from the Recollections "Charming" 12x12 pad, and adhered that to the front of the card. For the yellow panel, I used paper from the same collection, and die cut it using the Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles die and my Big Kick machine. I did the same to the top panel, which I die cut out of the same brown cardstock as the card itself.

I stamped the balloon in VersaMark Ink, and embossed it using Detail White embossing powder from Stampendous. The stamp is from the Autumn Leaves - "Birthdays" by Tia Bennett set.

For the sentiment, I used brown cardstock again, and the same stamping technique as for the balloon. This time, I used a sentiment from the Fiskars "It's Your Day" stamp set.



I adhered the sentiment and the balloon panel using foam adhesive. And for a little more bling, I used three pearls from Prima's "Say It In Pearls"package. Finally, I tied a piece of brown silk ribbon into a knot.
Elizabeth Cooper
I wanted to enter this week Tuesday Trigger challenge and panicked because I thought I'd missed the deadline. But lucky for me, the deadline was extended due to CHA, so I had time to join in.

This week's inspiration comes from this gorgeous photograph:


See? How could I resist? I absolutely love the color palette, so soft and pretty, so I drew inspiration from the colors for my card.

And this is what I came up with:


Admittedly, my colors are a touch darker (especially the pink), but I still think it works for the challenge.

I started out with a piece of pink cardstock, which I cut and folded into a standard size card. Then I ran a white piece of cardstock through my Big Kick machine, and embossed it using Tim Holtz' Sizzix Woodgrain embossing folder. I adhered the panel to the front of the card using foam adhesive. And I know you can't see it well in the picture, but I sprayed the entire thing with Tattered Angels Glimmer mist. It has a really pretty shine in real life.

Then I cut a piece of pattern paper from the Honey Cake 6x6 pad from My Mind's eye. I stamped a sentiment from Hero Arts' "Friends" stamp set, and embossed it using Stampendous Detail White embossing powder. I wasn't all that happy with the brightness of the sentiment, even after embossing it, so I used Tim Holtz' Distress Ink in Festive Berries to darken the pattern paper.

I added a piece of thick pink twine from my stash, which I tied into a knot, and then adhered the entire sentiment strip to the card using foam adhesive.



Finally, I punched some hearts, using a small Stampin' Up! heart punch, out of that same pattern paper (see how much lighter it is without the Distress Ink?) and lined them up at the top of the sentiment strip. I also added a few yellow rhinestones from a Recollections pack for a spot of bling.




Elizabeth Cooper
I recently returned from my annual anniversary trip - this time in beautiful Jamaica - and I couldn't wait to get reacquainted with my crafting supplies. :-)

This card started out as my contribution to this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge (the theme is a black-and-white card), but... well... it didn't exactly turned out like I originally planned. By the time I finished, the card wasn't all that clean or simple, but it's still pretty cute!


I started by stamping the Eiffel Tower from Tim Holtz's Visual Artistry stamp set onto white cardstock using Stampin' Up! Basic Black Ink. Then I ran the cardstock through my Big Shot machine using a die from the Life Style Crafts: Nesting Frame 1 set. I used a second (slightly larger) die to cut out a similar shape out of black cardstock, and matted the image onto it, then attached the whole thing onto the front of the card.

The ribbon is a leftover piece from my stash, which I tied into a simple knot. The sentiment comes from the Stampology: Autumn Leaves set. I stamped it in the same Stampin' Up! ink on more white cardstock, and cut ribbon ends out of the strip before adhering it down using foam adhesive.



I then threaded some white thread through a cute button and attached it to the card with a mini glue dot. And finally, just because I wanted a little more bling, I ran some Stickles in Star Dust around the edge of the image.

Elizabeth Cooper
Sometimes, sitting down to make art for art's sake produces the loveliest cards. This particular one was a happy accident all around, but I'm delighted with the end result.


I started with a piece of kraft cardstock, which I folded into a standard-size card. Then I stamped the background using a border stamp from Fiskars Doodle Border stamp set in Versafine Imperial Purple Ink.

For the main sentiment, I used a piece of pattern paper from the Die Cuts With a View: The Four Seasons stack, which I punched using an EK Success border punch. I stamped the sentiment using a stamp from the Fiskars Latte Love stamp set, also in Versafine Imperial Purple Ink. Finally, I wrapped a piece of pretty ribbon around the bottom and tied it in a knot.


I wanted to add a couple of cute embellishments to the card, so I chose a purple butterfly from the K& Company Inspirational Sentiments pack. I also had some cute flowers lying around (I'd rescued them from a package I ordered from Etsy), so I added those as well.




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