Babies and Babes

Hi there! Listen, I want to let everyone know that if you leave me a comment, I am so very appreciative and read them all, and I had been trying to reply to each one, but it seems that I cannot any more - either Google+ or Blogger is not letting me. Whenever I click on the +1 icon and/or the Reply button, a new window comes up like a pop-up, then it disappears before I see anything in it. And sometimes, I get an error message if I try to change it from Top Comments. I have tried to Google it, but have come up with zip.

Is anyone else having this problem on their Blogger blogs? It could be just some little something I'm not checking in the Settings somewhere, but I haven't turned all snobby. I'm just overwhelmed by it, like I'm at a crossroads with too many directions I could go in. I can read your comments, so please continue to leave them and if you know what I'm doing wrong please tell me! I'll love you forever! ;-)

Art-wise, I have 2 cards to share today. This first one is a baby card for a niece and I kept it clean on purpose, or tried to.

I have very few baby-themed stamps and have used only one of them prior to this, so I chose to use the oldest one --- so old I do not know who made it. All I know is, I unmounted it off of wood several years back, and the rubber is a peachy or coral pink color. I used pigment ink and heat-embossed it, and it did perfectly fine.

One thing I would do differently: I would have used a different ink on the sentiment "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers". I should have either used the same pigment ink or some Brilliance instead of some Versafine. The Clear Dollar stamp is one of those that takes a chalkish or pigment-y ink better than dye or oil-y. And I just about give up using that Versafine Satin Red. It's the weirdest red color I've ever seen, they should call it Anemic Red.  This is why I shy away from one-layer cards. Stuff like this always happens to me.

Behind the matted focal point is a base mat of some glossy photo paper I inked, as I explain in a minute. In between are 2 ribbon strips: a scalloped cotton eyelet and a satin brocade or (jacquard). I wanted the look and feel of the cotton eyelet and the other was chosen because of its color. I had to mail it so I kept it flat. Clean, simple, flat...no?

The light pink scrapbook paper I used in front is part of a collection I had a few sheets of by Crafts, Etc., which means it is HobbyLobby rack paper from the aisle. So I used the It's a Girl coordinating paper on the back, and I used that good old Stampin' Up Modern Label punch for my Designed with Love stamp.

So, the base mat of the above card was one of these, which were made using leftover 4x6 glossy photo paper, sponge finger daubers and ink from my Old Inks to Use Up Boxes:

Yes, I know. I cannot bear to throw them out...without putting them through this last phase - Death Ink Row. lol The encouraging thing is, every time I get these out and use them, I end up throwing out a couple of pads. If they are PITAs, they are past and gone. Discouraging thing is, I seem to always collect one to add to the box as well. SMH I just somehow need this last step, I suppose. lol

Here's the babe - she is a City Girl stamp from Deep Red Stamps colored with Copics, on a birthday card for another of my nieces. And this one got some Pile It On treatment, also some wonk (as opposed to straight linear).

I used this old sketch from FTL Clean and Simple Sketches as a loose starting point.

You may recognize this card stock - the Junkitz stuff again. It's tough using up 3-4 sheets of 12x12 by making cards with it! lol I grabbed some chipboard numbers and a hexagon shape out of my stash drawers, some small red alpha stickers, some red and white crocheted trim and some black diecut border felt, and added it to my aperture of a MFT pinking edge rectangle stax die (I cut 2 of them), which I lined with a red marker. I heat-embossed the Designed with Love stamp in white.

I used a PSE tool to white out personal info on this photo, but this is how I include checks in my cards these days - washi tape! Here you see one of the pinking edge die cuts. The inside paper mats and the outside red cardstock were all cut using a MFT pierced rectangle stax die. (Sentiment is by Verve.)

Well, I'm done for today. Thanks for hanging in, let me know you were here, and have a great Monday! xoxo