A Dino-mite Birthday Card

I have another Throwback Thursday post for today.  Usually the paper or accessories are the 'old stash', but this time it's my sentiment stamp.  The Happy Birthday stamp is from a company called A Country Welcome (no longer in business). They were one of the first stamp manufacturers that I consistently ordered from.  I loved their homey designs and they always included a little surprise in every order.  I still have this tiny grass stamp that came with my first order and use it for the occasional background and fill in stamp.  

The pattern paper is actually new to my supplies since I needed something fun for a little guy's birthday.  I made extras and they are available for purchase. Just click on the Items Available For Purchase tab if you're interested.

This was another quick and easy card. I stamped the sentiment, colored in the letters with coordinating markers, mounted the layers and TAADAA!

I was hoping to have some Easter cards made to share on my blog, but that didn't happen this week, so instead, I will wish all of you a very happy Easter with some cute lil' dinosaurs instead!  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipe:  Stamp-Happy Birthday (A Country Welcome), Ink-memento tuxedo black, cajun craze, night of navy, pear pizzazz, so saffron, wisteria wonder, Paper-pear pizzazz, whisper white, so saffron, Dinosaurs (Paper Studio)

Hello Hydrangeas! and We have winners!

I have somehow managed to lose a week of my life somewhere...so if you happen to see a last week with my name on it, please let me know! ;)

I am a few days late posting the winners of my Blogiversary give away, and since I had three lovely ladies comment on that post, I am sending out three care packages!  I already have Heather's address, but if Lynn and Margy can email me, I'll get those in the mail this week!  Thanks so much for you wonderful comments too, ladies!

I've been trying to spend some time reacquainting myself with some of my all time favorite stamps and giving them a little inky love once again.  If I had to make a list of my favorites, Because I Care would be in the top 5.  It is such a beautifully detailed stamp and since I love live hydrangea blooms, it only makes sense that this is a well loved stamp.  This was also a great time to pull out some older DSP and a huge bag of whisper white scraps!  I would love to say that my supply of both are much smaller now, but we all know that would be a lie... Scraps tend to multiply like rabbits when I'm not watching!

I inked the stamp with markers to have the two colors in one stamping, matted it a few times, and attached it to a lattice embossed base.  A quick stamping of the sentiment on a strip of whisper white and a simple punch, and my cards were complete.

As much as I hate to part with any of my stamps, I really need to do some purging, and there are quite a few that I haven't used in ages and likely won't miss if they aren't here taking up space.  Of course,  Because I Care is in no danger of being in that category any time soon! Wish me luck in my cleaning/downsizing!  Thanks so much for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Card Recipe: Stamp Sets-Because I Care, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Ink-wild wasabi, marina mist, perfect plum, pretty in pink, Paper-whisper white, pretty in pink, marina mist, perfect plum, Patterns Love DSP, Paisley Petals DSP, Subtles Patterns Stack, Accessories-classic label punch, square lattice folder

Pretty little mermaids

Hello! I woke up early this morning, enjoyed my coffee in the company of Shadow and Nester, and thought I really need to be productive today... We have, once again, started remodeling/renovating projects on our house and while DH is outside busy digging holes for the handrail posts to finish our smaller set of steps, I need to be sorting through boxes in the garage. You see how well I motivated myself to do that job... ha!  Actually, I wanted to quickly post a sweet birthday card I made earlier for one of my great-nieces.  I thought the cute mermaids would make a nice card and added a bit of bling because um... it's a little girl's mermaid birthday card... and shouldn't mermaids want sparkly things too?!

This was a very easy card to put together. The most difficult part was placing the teeny tiny rhinestones on three of the mermaids ponytails.  The banner was already created from an older SU card kit that I vaguely remember buying long ago.

Well, that garage is not going to empty itself. I know, I tried waiting to see if maybe by chance we bought an enchanted house that would self-clean...no such luck...  So I am off to dig through some boxes and totes and see what forgotten treasures I can find.  Wish me luck!

I hope you have a fabulous day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipe: Paper-Mermaids (The Paper Studio), Wisteria Wonder, Stamp Set-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Ink-rich razzleberry, Accessories-banner and rhinestones from old SU kit

Blarney!

Hello and welcome!  I decided to take a break from card making to create something for our fireplace mantle this month.  I have been having so much fun decorating it for the different seasons and holidays.  DH argues that it's the only reason I wanted one.  I'm not saying he's wrong... I did specify that the mantle had to be wide enough to put 'stuff' on it!

I found some cardboard papier-mache shamrocks at JoAnn's about a month ago and since they were 30% off, I bought them. Great reason, right?!  Anyway... A little Kelly Green acrylic paint, some distressing with crumb cake ink, and a couple of green plaid ribbons later, I had some fun St. Patrick's Day decor!  I also bought a banner last year that needs a little something extra before it is added to the decor, but I'll save that project for another day.

I hope you are having a wonderful time creating and don't forget about my blog candy give away.  There's still time to enter and you can share your blog link for some added fun!  Go here to sign up and read the details.  Have a fabulous day!

Happy birthday, Old Soul...

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by!  I have something a bit special to share with you today!  February is one of those months that has a ton of family birthdays in it.  I managed to have most of the cards completed over the holidays, but saved one for later.  I always seem to put off making my kids cards to the very last minute (maybe trying to slow the aging process?), and while this card was finished in time for her big day, it was a bit of a race to get it completed. This may not seem like a 'go to' choice for a college student, but then again DD#1 is no average girl!  I used FOUR stamp sets to create this card! That may be a new record for me!

The truck image is from Country Livin' and I had to add the sweet pup from Beautiful Ride to the back! 

The cat and flower pot are from Sitting Here and the sentiment is from Perfect Pairings.

I probably spent more time on this one card than I did on the other cards combined!  It was so much fun to incorporate everything DD loves on one card.  She is a bit of an old soul, enjoying everything vintage, and LOVES fat fender trucks.  Her love of them is slightly surpassed by her love of animals and gardening, so I think I've managed to get things covered with this one card!

Mushy Mom Moment:  As I was coloring this card, I spent a lot of time thinking about her and how our move had affected her.  She is a country girl to the core, and when our dreams of building in the country were dashed, she took it every bit as hard as her mother.  The move to our new home was exciting in the fact that she would have her own room and I would finally have my craft studio, but we were both sad that we would no longer have 2 acres to call home (even if it meant being crammed in a small mobile home...).  We held onto the fact that we could still spend time in the country and even camp out on the land when we wanted a break.  Unfortunately, the 'powers that be' changed those plans for us and we no longer had the chance to buy the land for ourselves.  We love our new home very much and it has been an adventure to work together to make this place ours, but there is still that yearning for wide open spaces in our hearts.  She recently announced that when she graduates, she is going to save her money and buy a small farm.  She's even invited me to come visit whenever I like to help tend to her chickens and baby goats!  I am so proud of her acceptance of the present and her dreams for the future.  I know that whatever direction she chooses to go, it will be with all of her heart and she will enjoy every moment of the journey.  What more can a parent want for her child...

Thanks so much for visiting and I hope I didn't bore you too much with my ramblings! Have a terrific rest of the week!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, soft suede, kraft, Ink-memento tuxedo black, soft suede, assorted markers and colored pencils, Stamp Sets-Country Livin', Sitting Here, Beautiful Ride, Perfect Pairings, Accessories- Studio Calico wood veneer stars, ovals collection framelits, square lattice embossing folder, linen thread, lace tape (from stash)

Happy 7 year Blogiversary!!

Hello! Today is a very special day here at Black Shadow Creations! It is my 7 year Blogiversary and I can honestly say I am so excited to still be here!  Over the years, there has been an ebb and flow to my posting due to various reasons, but I still enjoy creating and sharing in Blogland.  I have made some wonderful Virtual friends and have gained so much information and knowledge over the years.  I've also noticed that paper craft blogging has lost some of it's popularity...

Why be a follower of a blog when you can simply search Pinterest for an idea? Not to mention there are so many new ways of communicating and sharing now... However, Facebook, Pinterest, and the other forums don't offer a genuine way to tell your story or a way to really get to know about the artist you admire.  My girls argue that no one has time to 'read' that much and this is why they love Snapchat and Instagram.  Personally, it makes me more than a little sad that we have become so busy that we don't 'have time' to actually connect with other people...  This is why I will continue to blog (as my real life schedule allows) and visit other's blogs.  There is something so comforting and human about not only seeing someone's creation, but learning about their inspiration and motivation.  It's like actually talking to your favorite artist.  Imagine how fabulous it would be to see a Monet painting and have his words telling you about the day he painted Water Lilies, or sharing in Van Gogh's sufferings as you looked at Wheat Field with Crows (believed to be his last painting).  It is in the spirit of these thoughts that I am offering some Blog Candy and the opportunity to share YOUR blog with others!

The candy is a surprise (partly because that's just fun, and mostly because I haven't finalized exactly what or how much I'll be giving!) and there will be more than one winner!  I'm not going to require 'following' because I only want you to do that if you really want to, but commenting is a necessity!  Sharing on your blog is perfectly ok, but also not a requirement.  When you leave a comment, please leave a link to your blog (if you have one) and I will be putting together a post with all of the links for others to enjoy.  On March 22 (one month away!), I will 'draw' a name (or more) and announce the winner(s)!  This blog candy is open to anyone since some of my favorite artists/bloggers aren't in the US! *I do have comment monitoring, but as long as you're not spamming or scamming you'll be accepted! Only one entry per person, please! Don't be greedy!!*

I'm going to end this post with a reinvention of my very first blog post creation!  You can see the original gift card holder here! This is an easy to make gift card holder using a paper towel tube, patterned paper, and some pretties!

3D Christmas Greetings!

Hi! I have a super quick post today using a decoupage kit to make Christmas cards.  I am so happy to see that storage box filling up with completed cards and I'm hoping they will be mostly completed by Thanksgiving this year! One can hope!!

I had mentioned a trip to my LSS during their big clearance sale and the goodies I had purchased.  One of those bargains was a Christmas A4 Decoupage Pack from docrafts Papermania.  This kit is called Pocket Full of Posies, and while it wasn't on the clearance tables, it was still a great deal.  I made four cards from the set and still have enough for 4 more!  Here is the complete set...

and closeups of each individual card...

The photo quality isn't the greatest since my camera didn't want to cooperate... but you get the idea!  While I like the 3D idea and the images are very pretty, I'm not completely sold on the whole kit thing.  I love being able to do my own thing and use whatever strikes my eye, but for quick, pretty cards the kits are perfect!

Thanks so much for visiting and have a wonderful week!

Cowabunga!! Having a little birthday fun!

Duuuude! So awesome you are here! TOTALLY!!  Ok, I'm done now...  How else could I introduce today's cards?!  I mean...NINJA TURTLES...Hellooo!!!

A recent check of my card stash let me know I was in desperate need of some cards for kids birthdays.  Now we know I have more than enough stamps, but unfortunately the kiddos in my life range from itty bitty and cute to I'm too cool to get excited over a birthday card (but don't stop making them for me...).  Most of my stamps are perfect for itty bitty, girly, or adult male, but nothing in the range of "I'm too cool".  Fortunately, I don't mind going shopping for some new things, especially if I know I really need them!  I found a super cool and fun 12x12 paper featuring the TMNT and knew it would work for those boys...um guys...  I wasn't sure exactly how these would turn out because there was one larger focal image and the rest was similarly sized background.  I ended up making 5 cards from this one sheet of paper!  I really like how the focal image worked on the first card, but have to admit that the others turned out pretty awesome too!  My biggest challenge was finding words/sentiments to fit.  I have NONE in my stamp collection and had NO luck finding something at my local scrapbooking store... I finally resorted to my cricut and MDS to make the perfect additions.

I cut the word DUDE! on different colors of cardstock, matted them on black and then again on the coordinating color.  I used the cricket cartridge Jubilee and also dusted off my Xyron sticker maker for these. So glad I didn't have to attempt gluing those skinny letters on there!

I created a postcard design in MDS to make the inside sentiment for the cards.  I love MDS for creating multiple or similar projects.  After I made the first design, I simply added more pages, changed the font color on the word Awesome, and printed them out! Piece of cake! Or should that be pizza?

The best thing about these cards is that two of them are going to grown, adult men!  Two of my nephews were a part of the original TMNT crew and still enjoy them.  The oldest was so wrapped up in them when he was younger that he would stop and look in every storm sewer to see if they were there! The other is now sharing all of his memorabilia with his son.  Great memories and I know they'll enjoy this flashback!

I hope your day is Totally Awesome and thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipes: Paper- Sandy Lion TMNT designer paper, Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Only Orange, Basic Black, Whisper White, Accessories-MDS, Cricut cartridge Jubilee

Throwback Thursday-Winter Cleaning

Hello and welcome back for another Throwback Thursday! Today's card is a little bit of 'stash' and an upcycled card front.  I'm not sure how old the card front is since it was in a pile of goodies I unearthed during the move. The 'love' ticket came from a SU kit that I've had for a while.  Even the card base was in my stash.  I think it's SU cardstock, but I'm not positive since the color doesn't match the purples I have in my file.  It's a little frightening how many things I have saved over the years!  Good thing I've started 'winter cleaning' to put these things to good use!

Another quick and easy card to add to my completed stash.  So easy that I really don't have any extra tips to share!  I am slowly making a dent in my pile of things to use, and I'm thinking once that pile is gone, I'll start another! Who knows, this could be the year of using up all of those things that were set back for 'someday'!  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Lots of layers for a Merry Monday

Hello! I'm back with two more Christmas cards and I'm so happy that I've been able to make time to create my Christmas cards early!  Today's cards were completely inspired by a trip to a local paper crafting store!  They were recently having a HUGE clearance sale to make room for all of the goodies they ordered from their trip to CHA and I decided to see what treasures I couldn't live without.  Yes, I know I still have lots of supplies in boxes that haven't been unpacked... Yes, I know I'm on a mission to use up my older stash items so there will be room for the aforementioned boxes... Yes, I know I really didn't NEED anything... Thankfully, I also know that most creative people (including my sister who totally enabled me on this trip) will understand exactly why I needed to go!

I showed a lot of restraint and didn't buy a ton of things, but there were a few bargains that were too good to pass up.  One of these was a decoupage pack kit with two really sweet Christmas images.  I've seen others use these, but hadn't tried them myself.  I really liked the 3D effect of stacking the layers and these will make great cards for family members with younger children.  Because the pieces were so layered and detailed, I kept my base to a bare minimum of embossing with a folder.  Other than the time it took to put the layers together, these came together in literally minutes.

The only thing I wasn't thrilled with was the font for the word 'Joy', but I was quite limited by the size of the tag and only had one alphabet set that would work...  

I bought another Christmas set (not on clearance, but still a great deal) and will be playing with that next week.  This set has quite a few more designs and coordinating papers, so I'm looking forward to seeing where it will take me!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Card Recipe:  Paper-whisper white, card making kit (tossed the paper without thinking to get the name...), Stamp set-Designer Typeset(ret), Ink-memento tuxedo black, Accessories-Snowburst ef, Cuttlebug Star Blanket ef