Priceless Butterflies

I made this card for the featured stamper challenge a few week's ago, but for some reason, I never got it posted. I wasn't totally thrilled with the end result, so maybe that's why! Anyway, I chose to CASE this card by Stephanie Hargis. I loved the layout and playful feel of Stephanie's original card.

I kept the same layout but substituted the butterflies from Priceless for the Verve stamps Stephanie used on the original. I also changed the colors and type of ribbon I used. I kept my sentiment in the circle punches and used one from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Priceless, Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Berry Bliss
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Corner Rounder

Enjoy Your Day

I really liked the sketch challenge from week before last, so I made another card with it. I actually made it earlier last week but since it was for a friend's birthday I wanted to wait a little bit before posting. Hopefully she's received it by now!

I used the Summer Picnic DSP from the Occasions Mini and continued the circle theme with the O in enjoy. The present in the middle is from Riveting and is popped up on a dimensional. The scallop circle was also adhered with dimensionals.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Riveting
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Black Eyelets
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, 1/2, 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches

Holiday Penguins

I've had the Wild About You set on my wish list for the longest time and finally decided to get it recently. I've had a lot of fun playing around with it over the last few days. I've had several Wild About You cards saved in my favorites over at SCS, so I decided to try out one on Saturday. This card is really a CASE of two different cards. You can see them here and here.

My card is a 4 1/4" square of Bashful Blue. The background layer is a piece of vellum that was embossed with the Snowflakes embossing folder and adhered to a square of Basic Black cardstock with black eyelets. I layered Black Gingham ribbon onto Bashful Blue Taffeta and then added the penguin focal image. The "snow" at the bottom of the penguins was created with white foam paint. I haven't had much luck finding puffy paint, so this will do for now. The sentiment is from Fancy Flexible Phrases and was embossed with Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Versamark
Accessories: Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon, Black Gingham Ribbon, Black Eyelets
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder

Wild About Penguins

I had just made a holiday card with the penguin from Wild About You yesterday, so when I saw artystamper's penguin card I knew it was the one I'd case for this week's featured stamper challenge.

I changed several things about her card but kept the same general idea. I used the same layout and went with the same blue and black color combination. On my card, I substituted Bashful Blue for the Bazzill blue that was used on the original. I also kept a penguin in the main image but used the one from Wild About You and stamped him twice. At the bottom of the focal image, I substituted eyelets for her brads and moved my sentiment to a circle punch on the side.

In addition to these changes, I also added the Snowflake embossing folder to the Bashful Blue background and Swiss Dots to the Basic Black strip in the middle. The "snow" underneath the penguins was created with white foam paint, and the ribbon is Black Gingham layered on top of Bashful Blue Taffeta.

I'll share my other penguin card in the next few days. Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You, So Many Scallops
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Bashful Blue Taffeta Ribbon, Black Gingham Ribbon, Black Eyelets, White Foam Paint
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, Snowflakes & Swiss Dots Embossing Folders 3/4", 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches

Sketch Challenge x 2

For this week’s sketch challenge, I did a couple of different cards. The first is for my niece’s birthday next month. The branch and leaves are from Papertrey’s Out On a Limb set. Otherwise, I think the card is pretty straightforward. The scallops were done with my corner rounder, but I’m looking forward to getting my new scallop edge punch soon!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You, It’s Your Birthday, Short Order Numbers, Out On a Limb (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Corner Rounder, Rectangle Punch, 1" & 1 1/4" Circle Punches

The second card is similar to one I did with the Sketch For You to Try from a few weeks ago. I used the True Friend set again with the Rough Texture jumbo wheel. The ribbon is Old Olive twill from the Occasions Mini. I'd love to see more of that ribbon in the new catty. It's so easy to work with! The only non-Stampin' Up! item on this card is the button in the center of the flower. It is another one from Basic Grey's Infuse collection.

Recipe:
Stamps: True Friend, Hugs & Wishes, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Groovy Guava, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon, Basic Grey Button

Another Award!

Thanks to Nancy Morgan from Paper Smiles for giving me an award on her blog! Nancy's blog is amazing! If you haven't had a chance to check it out, go take a look - you won't regret it!

The rules for this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you've nominated.

Here are the ladies I am nominating for the award - all brilliant and wonderful stampers!

Nancy Riley, iSTAMP
Lorri Heiling , Confessions of a Stamping Addict
Laura Fredrickson, Scrapnextras
Silke Ledlow, My Life
Amy Sheffer, Pickled Paper Designs
Christina Fischer, Flowers and Ink
Jennifer Meyer, Jennifer's Sweet Designs

Welcome Little One

DH and I got back from our family reunion last night. We had a great time reconnecting with relatives (and for me, meeting many for the first time) and thoroughly enjoyed the Black Hills. We were there just a few years ago, but I don't think you could ever get enough of that beautiful scenery!

I started on last week's sketch challenge before we left, but I didn't have quite enough time to get everything done. So - I finished it up last night. I just got the Wild About You set, and some friends of ours just had a baby, so that's the direction I went with the card. I wheeled the Ruby Red background piece with the Rough Texture wheel (which I just saw today was retiring - I love to use this wheel to add just a subtle texture to a project). The elephant was stamped in Ruby Red also, and I cut out an additional piece for her ear and adhered it with dimensionals. The diaper pin in the scalloped circle is also adhered on dimensionals.

The ribbon is Whisper White Taffeta that I dyed with Ruby Red ink. I had read about that on Cindy Lawrence's blog, the creative closet, and thought I'd give it a try. I think it turned out fairly well. The only problem I had with it was giving it enough time to dry. I set it aside overnight, but it was still rubbing off some ink when I checked it the next morning. I left it to dry while we were gone, so I'm not sure how long it really took. I'm sure you could heat set it also, but you'd just want to be careful not to scorch the ribbon. Anyway, I like the technique, and I'm sure I'll use it again!

The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory. I made another card with this same sketch today, but it's going in the mail to someone who reads my blog so I'll have to wait a little bit to post it.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You, Riveting, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Groovy Guava
DSP: Ginger Blossom
Ink: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, Pretty in Pink & Old Olive Markers
Accessories: Red Eyelets, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (dyed Ruby Red)
Tools: Ticket Corner Punch, Crop-a-Dile, 1/2", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches, Distressing Tool

Enjoy!

This card doesn't look anything like what I intended when I started. I went through several variations before I finally settled on this one. It's just a simple layout, but I like the addition of the row of buttons.

The stem of the flower is from Big Blooms (a set I just had to have from the 2007 Spring Mini but have hardly ever used). The buttons are from Basic Grey's Infuse collection. I picked them up at Archiver's not long ago, and they work great with several of SU!'s colors. I love the variety of sizes, colors and styles.

DH and I are getting ready to leave for a family reunion in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I'm looking foward to getting away for a little bit and having a few days off work!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegrante, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Felt Fusion Flowers, Basic Grey Buttons, Thread

Delight Yourself in the Lord

I've always liked this verse, so I was excited when Verve Stamps came out with it in their new Plain Jane line, and even more excited when I had the chance to get it with Free Shipping! Can't beat that!

This card has a pretty straightforward layout, but I love the way it turned out with the Basic Grey DP. I stamped the verse with Purely Pomegranate, layered it on a scalloped rectangle, and added a few Primas that I've had in my stash for quite awhile. I am working on a journal with this same layout but don't have it bound yet. My plan is to make a few for Christmas gifts so I thought I'd get a head start while I had everything out for the card.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Psalm 37:4 (Verve Stamps)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Basic Grey Infuse
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Prima Flowers, Brads
Tools: Rectangle and Scalloped Rectangle Nestibilities Dies, Corner Rounder

In Stitches

A friend of mine periodically asks me to make sets of cards for her. There are occasions when she needs a specific type of card, but this time she was looking for a variety of general, all occasion cards. So - here is one that I'll be including in her set.

I love this Stitched background stamp in Whisper White on Basic Black cardstock. In fact, I think that's the only way I've ever used it. I totally overlooked this stamp in the catalog until I saw some of the great samples on SCS. Isn't that the way it seems to go! Anyway, maybe now I just need to break out of my rut and try using it with some different colors!

I really don't think this background needs much added to it to make a great card. So, I used a very simple focal point. I stamped one of the sentiments from Papertrey's Green Thumb set onto a Nestibilities circle, layered on a Rose Red scalloped circle. A few Felt Fusion flowers (fingers crossed that there are more colors in the new catty - love those things and have a hard time not hoarding them), some Rose Red Prints DSP, brads, and that's it!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched, Green Thumb (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Rose Red, Whisper White, Stamper's Select (Papertrey, for the base)
DSP: Rose Red Prints
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: Felt Fusion Flowers, Black Brads
Tools: Circle and Scallop Circle Nestibilities Dies

True Friend

My True Friend set hasn't seen ink in quite awhile, so I decided to use it with Jen del Muro's Sketch For You To Try for this week. I started out with a piece of Groovy Guava DSP from Ginger Blossom as my background, but I decided it was a little busy for what I wanted on the card. Instead, I decided to go with Groovy Guava cardstock wheeled with the Rough Texture wheel and layered on Chocolate Chip. The Very Vanilla squares on the right were stamped with Groovy Guava, River Rock and Chocolate Chip and then wheeled with Rough Texture in River Rock. The focal image and sentiment were also wheeled with River Rock. The rest of the card is pretty straightforward. I distressed and sponged a few of the edges and added some Vintage brads.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe: (All Supplies Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: True Friend, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Very Vanilla
Ink: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava
Accessories: Vintage Brads

Celebrate Today!

I was doing a little blog surfing last night and came across Julee Tilman's sketch challenge for the week (Mojo Monday). I jotted it down and thought I'd try it when I got time. Well, when I went to bed, I kept getting ideas for a card using that sketch. Most of the time when that happens, I know I just need to get up and at least start on it or I'll never get to sleep! So - here is the card I created, almost exactly what I envisioned in my head. Don't you love it when it works out that way!

I embossed a piece of River Rock cardstock with the Textile embossing folder and chose to use the opposite side. I like the subtle texture it gives the card. I used my corner rounder to create the scalloped edge of the Blue Bayou piece. (For those who haven't heard, Stampin' Up! is coming out with a scalloped edge punch in the new catalog! I haven't preordered anything yet, but I'm sure I'll end up with that punch at some point. Anyway, back to the card.) I added a piece of Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon to my scalloped piece, threaded it through the label holder and then added brads to the openings as well. The sentiment and small flower inside the label holder are from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set.

For my focal piece, I stamped the stem and one of the overlays from Out On a Limb. I wanted to use the Cracked Glass technique on it, but I'm almost out of Glassy Glaze and didn't think I could stretch it that far. So, I decided just to cover the entire piece in Versamark and emboss it with clear embossing powder. You can't really see it in the picture, but I really like the look it gives, just a subtle glaze over the entire piece. I then added brads to the bottom of the piece and adhered it to the card with dimensionals.

I love how it turned out! Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Out On a Limb & Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Versamark
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Spare Parts Brads, Label Holder (unknown maker)
Other: Clear Embossing Powder, Textile Embossing Folder

Heartfelt Thanks Sketch Challenge

I finally had a chance to try last week's sketch challenge over the weekend. I wasn't able to do as much stamping as I would have liked, but I was at least able to get in a few cards.

This one uses Ginger Blossom DSP and Ruby Red cardstock that I embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. The focal image was stamped with the flower from Heartfelt Thanks in River Rock and then again in Ruby Red and Old Olive. The sentiment is from Stem Silhouettes and is separated by a thin strip of River Rock cardstock that was distressed slightly.

Thanks for looking! I have another sketch challenge card, based on Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch, that I plan to post tonight. It was too late to take a picture of it last night.

Recipe:
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Stem Silhouettes
Cardstock: River Rock, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP: Ginger Blossom
Ink: River Rock, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Vintage Brads
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Distressing Tool

Stampin' Up! Hodgepodge Hardware Special!

From now through August 10th (or while supplies last!), Stampin' Up! is offering the following Hodgepodge Hardware sets at a 25% discount. These exact sets will not be offered in future catalogs, so this is your last chance to buy them!



Each kit contains 138 pieces of hardware PLUS 100 matching brads. This is a fantastic price on these kits!

Item #	Page #	Item Description	Regular Price	25% off Discount
105532	188	Aged Copper	$27.95	$20.96
105531	188	Antique Brass	$27.95	$20.96
105515	188	Pewter	$27.95	$20.96

There is no minimum purchase requirement to receive the 25% discount.

Contact me to place an order.

Tag, You're It!

I was tagged by Kirsten from Red Velvet Sneakers and Kim from Kim's Stampin Room. Thanks for the tags ladies! I am supposed to list 7 facts about myself and tag 7 other people, so - here we go!

1) I am originally from Missouri, but I now live in Northeast Nebraska - good ol' corn country!

2) My husband and I met online. Yep, we are one of the success stories from eHarmony.com! We've been married for a little over 3 years now, and I couldn't have asked for a better match.

3) I can only stamp standing up. I don't know why I even have a chair in the stamp area, except that my cat uses it occasionally.

4) I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for a little over a year now. I am mostly a hobby demonstrator, but I have one stamp club that I thoroughly enjoy. I'd love to have more!

5) I love to bake. My favorite is peanut butter cookies with mini-Hershey's kisses stirred into the batter like chocolate chips - the best cookies ever IMHO!

6) My favorite food is Mexican.

7) My nephew is currently serving in the Army in Iraq.


And, here are the blogs I'm tagging:
Nancy Morgan - Paper Smiles
Diane Gilbert - My Little Stampin' Spot
Jeni Allen - My Stampin' Spot
Melissa Rawlins - i ink, therefore i am
Sherri Barron - Fun to Stamp

(I know that's not 7, but a few of the others I was going to tag had already been tagged recently. I thought I'd give them a little break!)