Kicked up Inspiration

Last Saturday's Inspiration Challenge on SCS was this sticky note pad. I knew I wanted to use my Pretty Birds stamp set from CHF. I pretty much stayed in the color theme and came up with this card.

Stamps: Pretty Birds, Bloomin' Beautiful

Paper: Prism's Cielo, Gray, Nauticl Blue Light, black

Ink: White pigment, black Stazon

Accessories: Nestabilities, Cuttlebug, primas, Queen & Co. Mini Sprinkles

I liked the general layout of the card but I kept looking at it lying on my table and it didn't seem quite finished so I thought I'd try and finish it or "kick it up" for today's post. I used the sewing machine to stitch the zig zag and my paper piercer to add a little interest to the circle. Just a few changes but I am much happier with the card now.

Kicked up Get Well Card

TGIF!!! I have been looking forward to Friday all week. There is just something about the week after Thanksgiving that is so hard to get through...maybe it was the four days off last week?

Well, since it's Friday, I must be kickin' up another card!

The card I have today was one I received in a swap a few months ago. As you can see it is a nice card to begin with. Nice layout, good color combination, and several layers. It just seemed like a card that could use a little something more.

The first thing I knew I wanted to add was real brads instead of the doodled brads. I also wanted some sort of embellishment and decided to add some primas to play up the flower background. Finally, I slipped an additional layer of paper which I ran through the cuttlebug to add some more texture and interest.

What do you think?

I'll be working on some more cards with Lisa's Strahls new background stamps today. You can check them out during her birthday celebration tomorrow. Stop by anytime between 10 and 10 EST. Hope to see you there!

Lisa's 30th Birthday Celebration

December 1, 2007

From 10 AM EST to 10 PM EST

Kickin' up a LSC

Todays limited supply challenge card:


A) Use 2-3 stamps - one should be a heart image or sentiment.

B) Choose one designer paper pattern OR one embellishment.

C) Choose one specialty tool.

(Optional)D) Limit the layers.

E) Use any coloring tools.



I am pretty happy with this card but I thought it would fun to "kick it up"!


So...I made this one too!

I just added some layers, rounded the corners, and tied the silver heart on. Soo simple!


Stamps:Sweet Thang
Paper: Prism Birchtone Dark, Razzleberry Light, white
Ink: Colorbox Orchid PastelDark Brown, Rosebud
Accessories:Nestabilities, ribbon from Michael's, silver heart by Makin' Memories, corner rounder punch

A sneek peek kicked up!

This card was made with stamps from the new Kim Hughes set, A Welcome Hug. It's being released on November 6th by Cornish Heritage Farms along with some other great new sets. This card was pretty simple to make and doesn't really need to be kicked up but I have those new nestabilities which I just can't get enough of so I just had to see what they could add to this card.

Stamps: A Welcome Hug
Paper: Prism Cardstock-Nautical Blue Medium, white, DCWV DP
Ink: Stazon Black, Colorbox Cerulean
Accessories: MM Rhinestone Brads

Here's the kicked up version of this card:

Are you starting to see a pattern in my kicked up cards? Layers...well that's my thing anyway!

So, basically I added two scallopped layers and popped it all up on pop dots. It's amazing how just a little change can make such a big difference...

I'll have another sneek peek at this adorable set tomorrow. See you then!

Kicked up Wedding Card

Ok, I'm back with the camera.

A few years ago when I first started stamping I made this card. I loved it and made a bunch of them. Looking at it now though, it seems like it's missing something. So, it's time to try and kick it up!

All the stamps are retired from Stampin' Up!

I used everything that you see here on the card but added a few elements to improve it.

I started by taking the card apart. Luckily the adhesive I used to use is easy to take apart when it's been in a box for a couple of years. I used my Marvy square scallop punch to punch the silver cardstock and re-mounted the cake panel to it. I used the ribbon to hide the split where the two pieces come together to make the rectangle. Then I backed it on the pink cardstock again.
I trimmed the grey card down a 1/4 inch and tied the ribbon around it. The silver ribbon was a little thin so I added the thicker pink ribbon to give it a little substance. Lastly, I attached the whole card front to a pink card.

If I were starting from scratch I would color the cake with copics or watercolors so I wouldn't have the marker lines but that's what I used to use to color things. All in all I think it is much improved card. What do you think?

Kickin' Swap

I am posting my Friday "kick up" card a little early because I have got a very full schedule tomorrow and don't know if I'll get a chance to post anything. I received this card in an H20 swap I did with one of my Yahoo groups. It was made by my friend Trish Cathey. I saved it because I loved how this image looked painted with the H20 paints and I liked her layout. I didn't choose to kick it up because it's a bad card. I think it's a really nice card! I just thought it would be fun to try and kick up a card I all ready like a lot.

Trish used Lovely Lilac and Glorious Green for this card. I wanted to try and soften it a little so I added some softer versions of the colors she used (Gable Green and Orchid) and of course I added another layer to the card.

This is the finished card. I moved the sentiment over a little to add some interest and changed the ribbon color. A couple of eyelets an viola! Same basic card a little kicked up! All stamps are Stampin' Up.

I'm gearing up for another busy weekend with the marching band! I hope you all have a great weekend doing whatever makes you happy!

Friday Fix Up

The calendar says it's Friday so it must be time for my "Kick it up" feature! Today I chose a much loved card to kick up. This is a card that I originally CASED from the SU catty or SCS or somewhere...I don't actually remember but I know I didn't come up with the original design. I have used this card at many workshops. I do a lot of workshops for Girl Scout Troops and this card has always been a fun one for the girls! It doesn't show in the picture but the Happy Birthday sentiment is stamped randomly on the orange card. I still like the basic design and layout of this card but it looks a little plain to me so I decided to kick it up to this:

What did I do? Well, the main thing that is different is that I added layers to every element of the card. I changed the purple to pink because I think they look better together and I chose to color the images in marker instead of pencil which makes them pop a little more. I also dry embossed the orange front panel through with the Happy Birthday embossing folder. The embossing folders didn't even exist when I first made this card!

The stamps are a retired SU set. I used White, Summer Sun, Orange, and Pixie Pink card stock. I have fallen in love with this card all over again and need to make some more of these to have on hand!

Have a great weekend!

Sunny Kick Up!

I can't believe it's all ready Friday. Where did the week go? Not sure how much I'll get to post this weekend. Football game tonight at my daughter's high school and they are finally getting this years field show on the field for half time. The our town's "Country Days" parade is tomorrow and the band will march in that plus it's my last day of being in charge of the soccer snack bar. Sunday I am working at the lemonade stand that the band is running at the fall festival at one of the local farms and then some friends are coming to stay Sunday night with us before they spend Monday at Disneyland. So...don't worry if you don't hear from me. I'm just busy!

I did have time to work on kickin' up a card for you last night. This was a card front that I got at as a 2004 convention swap. At the time I liked the look of it and saved it to case. Flash forward three years and it's a little simple for me...though it would still make a great "quick card". I decided to re-work this one and "kick it up".

I took the turquoise/yellow panel and ran it through the cuttlebug. We didn't have that tool 3 years ago. It's hard to see if the picture, but it adds a nice texture to the card. Then as usual, adding a layer or two is a terrific way to kick up a card to the next level. I attached the cuttlebugged panel to a yellow card. I decided to color the lobster with marker instead of watercolor so that it would match the brightness of the cardstock. Then I layered him on three levels of cardstock and attached with brads.

All images are Stampin' Up!

I hope you like today's "kick up" card. Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Love Ya Bunches

Happy Friday! It's cool and overcast in Southern California today...my favorite stamping weather! But unfortunately it's Friday and I have a real job so there will be no stamping till tonight. But Friday also means it's "kick it up" day.

Today's card is one I cased off of SCS a few years ago. I loved it at the time but now it seems a little plain so I decided to "kick it up"...well, really in the end, I think I ended up just re-doing it.

I added a couple of more layers to the main image to help it "pop" a little more. I cut the holey panel off, pierced the top edge, scalloped

the bottom edge and added it to a rose colored card stamped with SU's stampin' around "hot dots". Finally, I punched out the sentiment with a circle punch and backed it with a light blue circle which a embellished with piercing and attached to the card with pop dots.

When you look at these two cards together I think you can really see how just a little more "kick"...an extra layer, a scalloped edge, or some paper piercing can really make the difference.

Stamps: Stampin' Up!

Paper: rose, turquoise, sun, white

Ink: black

Accessories: markers, scallop scissors, circle punches, hole punch, pop dots

Fixin' up old cards

It's Friday!!! I am so excited because we are going camping this weekend. One of my favorite ways to spend time with my family and we just haven't had a free weekend to go in way too long. So, there won't be a Saturday inspiration challenge post but hopefully I'll be able to share some fun things on Sunday! Today I have another instalment of "kick it up Friday". This is an old card I found in one of my shoe boxes of cards. I don't remember if I got it in a swap or made it at a workshop but I kept it for future inspiration. I liked how the square was punched out and the use of the brad for the center of the flower. That was all new stuff for me at the time!

Looking at the card now though, it seems a little plain and the thin sheer ribbon is a little washed out. So I added another layer of Pink Passion between the light pink and light green and removed the ribbon. Then I used a ticket corner punch on the light pink layer and attached the pink panels to the green card with pink brads. I added the scalloped square frame and a couple more brads to the flowers. For the sentiment I stamped just the "thanks" part of the stamp on a light pink oval and backed with the other oval pieces. I decided to leave the ribbon off for the kicked up version. The addition of the bright pink really helps to "kick up" the card. What do you think?

Fix it up Friday!

I usually post my "kick it up" cards on Friday. I think today's post is more "fix it up" cards. These cards got their start during VSN. The challenge was to make a embossing resist card. My friend Rochelle started by stamping with versamark ink and embossing with clear embossing powder on glossy card stock. Then she sponged on pumpkin, cocoa, and summer sun inks. She back the panel, tied on a ribbon and attached it to a brown card. The she exclaimed, "I hate it and don't know what to do with it"! I looked at it, and frankly, I agreed! We were under a tight deadline during VSN so we just let her card sit on the table.



The next morning I got up and saw this pitiful card laying on the table and decided to take on the challenge of fixing it. I cut the panel off the brown card, slid off the ribbon and went on to create this pretty card.



Stamps: True Friend
Paper: Summer sun, white, cocoa
Ink: Versamark, cocoa, pumpkin, sun
Accessories: brads, dimensionals, ribbon, Hodge Podge Hardware, oval punches, sponge



I like this card but I totally destroyed the direction Rochelle had been headed with her card so I decided to make one more with out totally tearing apart her original intent. So I made another card exactly like the one she had tossed aside and then added to it to come up with this one.






Stamps: True Friend
Paper: Summer sun, white, cocoa, pumpkin
Ink: Versamark, cocoa, pumpkin, sun
Accessories: dimensionals, ribbon, sponge

Sometimes in the creative process we all get stuck-frustrated. It's ok to put it aside and try something else. When you go back to the old project with fresh eyes you never know what you might come up with.
HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

Kick Up Those Old Cards

You know you have it...that box full of old cards that you made when you first started stamping. It's hidden away somewhere. You won't send them out to anyone and you can't possibly throw them away. You spent time on those cards. You spent money on the cardstock.

I've got that box too. It's fun to look at those cards and see how my stamping has progressed over the last few years. I am going to share some of those cards with you over the next few weeks. But I have decided that I am going to re-work my old cards to make them "mail worthy". Hopefully, I'll inspire you to challenge yourself to find that old box of cards and "kick them up" so you can send them out as RAK's to your friends and family!

This was a card I did at a workshop when I first became an SU demo. It is still a nice, cute card, but a little simple for my taste. Here is the new "kicked up card".


I trimmed the cuttlebugged the blue strip and green panel to add some interest with texture. Then I punched out the sentiment with my oval punch. I stamped the same sentiment on a white scrap and attached it behind the green panel, showing through the punched oval. Then I trimmed the entire card down and put it on a Brilliant blue card to add another layer. Finally, I added one more layer to the main image, trimmed with scallop scissors, and attached it to the card with pop dots for one more added layer of interest. Still the same card, but better!





Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Paper: Green Galore, Gable Green, white, Brilliant Blue
Ink: Green Galore, Brilliant Blue, summer sun, black
Accessories: oval punch, cuttlebug embossing folders, pop dots, scallop edged scissors

Kicken' Friday

Well, this is my last Friday off. I had some vacaton time to burn so I took 5 friday's off instead of taking a week straight off. It's been really nice having a bunch of three day weekends and I recommend it to everyone.

This is the card we are "kickin' up" today. It's a nice card the way it is. The way I look at "kickin' up" a card is just to take a final look at your finished car and ask yourself, "Can I add one more thing to take it up a level"?

This card uses my new MissyB stamps. I am hoping to play with them a little more this weekend. The BG stamp is from Stampin' Up.

This is my "kicked up" card.

I added three things to this card. Can you find them?

I doodled around the image with a black pen, I faux stitched on the purple panel with a white gel pen, and I added the little star buttons.

stamps: MissyB, Halloween BG

Paper: orange, lilac, green galore, white, black

ink: black

Accessories: watercolor pencils, H2O brush, ribbon, paper piercer, novelty buttons, gel pen

Kick it Up Friday!

It's Friday so I want to share a card that was a nice card to begin with but is even better when I "kicked it up" a little.

I used my SU stampin' around to stamp the dotted BG and then embossed the blue panel with a cuttlebug embossing folder. My friend Julie Campbell stamped these images for me. That's always a fun challenge to come up with a card design from images all ready stamped on paper that is all ready cut. I colored the images with my watercolor crayons and assembled as shown. This is a card that anyone could be proud to mail to a friend.

I didn't do much to "kick it up" but I think it makes a nice addition! I turned the coffee cups a little angled. This makes the card a little more interesting. I also popped all the images up on pop dots. Then I used scallop scissors on the white strip and added brads. Just a few simple additions to take a card to WOW!

Stamps: MFT, SU!

Paper: Brocade Blue, Chocolate, White

Ink: Black

Accessories: water color crayons, brads, scallop scissors, pop dots