IHP DT Challenge: Pile it on, use it up!

This month our challenge was pretty much a free-for-all: use as many IHP products as we could pile onto our project without it looking garish. I know that Kate is trying to clear up space for the new stuff she’s ordering from this summer’s CHA releases (I’ll talk more about that further down), so I took that to mean we should try to use up some of our stash. As if I could even begin to…

I started by selecting a sketch that had lots of layers – what better way to pile on the paper! The Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge this week fit the bill perfectly. I decided to turn it on its side, since I wanted to do a horizontal arrangement of the stamps.

My son and his family are moving to Boston this month (yaaaayyy!!!! Closer to grandma!), so I was inspired to use this Paper Smooches set, Vogue Abode, to celebrate the occasion. I used Basic Grey’s PB&J paper pad (5 different patterns from it), since it seemed to go with the retro look of the furniture. I paper-pieced the chairs and used Copic markers to finish them off. You can’t really tell, but the dark color in the papers is navy blue (as is the card base), making for a very cool, retro look. The vase in the center is coated with Crackle Accents (although I think the item was a little too small to really take advantage of the crackling effect).

The flower, which picks up the design in the base print, was made by punching out a 1” circle of Scor-Tape sheet, peeling the backing off one side, and starting at the outer edge, pressing this ruffled lace on, winding around to the middle. I stuck a cool square olive green button onto the middle with a clear pop-dot. Because the flower was built on a double-sided adhesive base, I just had to peel off the other side of the backing to stick it on!

Here’s a list of all the IHP products I used:
Stamps: Vogue Abode (Paper Smooches)
Ink: Memento black, Copic Markers 
Paper: PB&J 6x6 pad (Basic Grey)
Other: Scor-Tape 6x6 tiles, 5/8" Picnic Ruffles Aqua Blue, Crackle Accents

You should really head over to i {heart} papers right now, you know, because Kate is having a super-duper sale to clear out space for the new CHA stuff she’s ordering. Seriously, a really good sale from July 11-21.

• 25% off your order of $50 or more!
• Coupon code: CHA2012DT
• Storewide sale! Paper, Copics & refills, stamps, ribbon, everything!
• And still, as always, free US shipping with your $60 order!

But before you go shopping, check out the rest of the design team’s projects for a little added inspiration (to add to your shopping list?). Check ‘em out:

• Carolyn (you are here)
• Deb
• Gretchen
• Loretta
• Lori
• Tracy
• Kate

Happy hoppin’ and shoppin’!

A couple of cards (and an awesome SALE)

Oh, my poor neglected blog! It’s been so hot here in NYC lately that I haven’t felt much like doing anything besides sitting in front of my fan. I am too cheap to run my A/C except when I have to bake. I do have a couple of cards to show you, though. You’ll notice that they are very minimalist in style, reflecting my desire to do as little as possible due to the weather.

First up is this Hop-py Birthday bunny, inspired by a card by Clare Pretzzia in the recent issue of Stamp It! Cards. I used the Chicken Girl Design set Birthday Wishes (exclusive to i {heart} papers), fussy-cutting the bunny and balloon and popping them up with foam dots. The bunny is colored with Copic markers, and the balloon is paper-pieced with a scrap from the Pixie paper pack by Memory Box. I split the greeting up on either side of the bunny. You can see that I just used some very simple layering for the card design.

Here’s some more simple layering. I truly need to keep better track of my inspirations; I know I got the idea of creating a cake out of words from somewhere, and I can’t remember where. The cake is made with the Birthday stamp (which I could have lined up a little better) from the Technique Tuesday set Swanky Sentiments, and the cake plate and candles are from the Mint Motif sets Cake Shoppe and Cake Shoppe, Too (both exclusive to i {heart} papers as well). Some Copic markers and Stickles finish it off. I scallop-punched the bottom of the main panel to mimic the scallops under the cake.

You’ll notice that all of the supplies I’ve mentioned are available from i {heart} papers. Kate has some of the BESTEST stuff around, and starting today, for a limited time, she’s making it especially rewarding for you to stash some of it away for yourself. She’s having a HUGE Pre-CHA clearance sale from July 11-21.

• 25% off your order of $50 or more!
• Coupon code: CHA2012DT
• Storewide sale! Paper, Copics & refills, stamps, ribbon, everything!
• And still, as always, free US shipping with your $60 order!

OK folks. Go do a little shopping, and keep COOL!