Stamp Like Crazy

Celebrate One Cupcake at a Time!

2009-08-31T19:00:00.003-05:00

I got this cupcake paper at Archiver's a few months ago and love it paired with the cupcake from the Darling Dots hostess set from the last SU! catalog. I used the same layout I used on this Thoughts and Prayers card, so the birthday card came together really quickly. In fact, I ended up making a few of them to have on hand.

The cupcake paper is layered on Creamy Caramel and then on Whisper White. The cupcakes were colored with Creamy Caramel (cupcake base), Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron (cupcake tops), and Regal Rose (cherry). The inside sentiment says "celebrate one cupcake at a time" and is from Sweet Little Sentiments, another hostess set from the last SU! catalog.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Darling Dots, Sweet Little Sentiments, It's Your Birthday
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Creamy Caramel
DSP: Doodlebug
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Markers: Creamy Caramel, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Regal Rose
Tools: 1 3/8, 1 1/2 and Scallop Circle Punches

Baby Congratulations

2009-08-26T22:02:00.006-05:00

I recently found out that a friend of mine was expecting, so I made this card to send her my congratulations. I've had this pregnant lady stamp from Michael's forever, but this is the first time it's ever seen ink!

I had a lot of fun with this card. I love the new Melon Mambo in-color! It's the only one I've ordered, but I got the cardstock, ink, DSP and matching ribbon so I'm set with it.

I'm running short on time right now, so I won't go into detail on the card. It should be pretty self-explanatory though. I have a few others I've stamped recently that I'll try to share soon as well.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Hugs & Wishes, Michael's $1 stamp
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White
DSP: Melon Mambo
Ink: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Melon Mambo Polka-Dot Grosgrain (I used the back side), Black Gingham, Black Eyelets
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Crop-a-dile, Scallop Edge Punch
Techniques: Paper Piecing

Father's Day Mini-Scrapbook

2009-06-22T15:20:00.001-05:00

This mini-scrapbook was a gift for my DH’s first Father’s Day. I used 4x4 chipboard coasters as the backing for the pages and adhered my cardstock to the front and back of each one. I decided to use Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Basic Grey as my main colors so it wouldn’t be too overly girly, and then I was also able to incorporate some elements from the 2 Sweet Simply Scrappin’ kit.

The stamps are from various Verve Visual sets. I got Verve’s original Father Figure set several weeks ago to make the book, but then I had to have the others when I saw the new ones they recently released. Of course I really liked some of the stamps from each set, so I ended up with them all! And I know I’ll use them over and over for her other scrapbooks as well.

Since I was working with such a small space, I used limited embellishments on each page. I think they are all pretty self-explanatory so I won’t go into a lot of detail. The pictures are from her arrival in the hospital, some time at home with dad, and DH's recent master's graduation.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them. I don't know if you can see it well in the picture or not, but she is holding his finger. I think she was just a little over a week or so old. The quote says "To her the name of father is another name for love." When I saw that quote, I knew I had to have that set!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Father Figure, Dad’s Day, World’s Best, Protector (all Verve Visual), So Many Sayings (SU!)
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Basic Grey, Whisper White
DSP: 2 Sweet Simply Scrappin’ Kit
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Basic Grey
Accessories: Jumbo Eyelets
Tools: Crop-a-dile, Large Star Punch, Star Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” & 1 ½” Circle Punches, Nestabilities, Chipboard

I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating Father's Day yesterday. We had a Father's Day "fiesta" at our house with DH's side of the family. We are taking our first road trip with our little one this week to see my parents and grandparents and will celebrate with them later in the week. My parents have been up to visit our little one twice, but it will be her first time meeting her great grandparents.

In case you're wondering about the scribbles on the last page - that's our little one's "signature".

Thanks for looking!

4th Anniversary

2009-06-11T22:53:00.007-05:00

Just a quick post with the anniversary card I made for DH. Today was our 4th anniversary. I didn’t have much time during one of my little one’s naps, so I’m glad my idea for the card came together as quickly as it did. I’ve had to buy some cards recently (I know – the horror of actually stopping in the card aisle at the store instead of just passing through), and I was glad to finally be able to make one.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual), Define Your Life, Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, River Rock
Ink: Riding Hood Red, River Rock
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta, Linen Thread, Basic Grey Button

Our little one turned two months old today, so I’ve included a picture of her from today also. I can't believe it's been 2 months already! She is growing so fast!

It's a girl!

2009-05-15T21:55:00.004-05:00

Our little girl was born on April 11th (a few days earlier than we expected). She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She arrived via c-section after several hours of labor, but we are both doing great. It's hard to believe she is almost 5 weeks old already. The time is going by so fast! I will not be returning to work and am so thankful that I will be able to stay home with her and watch her grow. And she is definitely growing - she now weighs 9 lbs 6 oz and is 21 1/2 inches.

Sorry for the late update, but thanks for stopping by. I am working on her birth announcements with the limited spare time I have now, so I'm not sure when I'll have something new to post. Hopefully it won't be too long!

Baby Boy Brag Book

2009-04-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

Only 2 weeks left until my due date! Of course, I wouldn't mind if the little one decided to make an appearance a little early - I'm ready any day! Well, I'm not sure if you're ever really "ready", but you know what I mean.

Anyway, when the baby is born, my mom is coming to stay with us for about a week or so to help out. This won't be the first grandchild for my parents, but it's been quite awhile since the last one was born. Needless to say, they are very excited too. I know my mom will take lots of pictures while she's here, so I thought I'd make a little brag book for her to put a few in. I didn't think I'd be up to it that first week while she's here, so I figured I'd just make a boy one and a girl one, give her the appropriate one, and keep the other for a gift.

I started with the boy book first because I have just loved working with the Delicate Dots DSP that was available through SAB this year. I sometimes have trouble putting various DSP patterns together, but these just seem to go together so easily. If I do have a boy, I'm sure I'll wish I would have gotten more than one package! Anyway, I used the sketch that I used for these cards (here and here) and my beloved Nursery Necessities set.

If you haven't made one before, they are very easy. SCS has a good tutorial to follow. I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for the girl version!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White
DSP: Delicate Dots
Ink: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Jumbo Eyelets, Buttons (Wal-Mart)
Tools: Star Punch, 1" Circle Punch (waves under boat), Crop-a-dile

Thoughts & Prayers Birthday Card

2009-04-02T07:30:00.002-05:00

This card uses the same sketch as my previous post (sketch challenge 206 on SCS). For this one, I used the Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP and Thoughts and Prayers again.

I stamped the flower image on a piece of Whisper White and then punched three 1 1/4" circles from the image. I didn't necessarily punch them out right next to each other, but I like how it looks like somewhat of a continuous flow after they were adhered to the card. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta
Tools: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches

Jersey Shore Birthday

2009-03-30T07:30:00.001-05:00

Even though I used it quite a bit when I first got it, I still have some Jersey Shore DSP left. So - I decided to pull it out for this birthday card. I haven't made anything this bright for awhile, but I like the way it turned out. The cupcakes in the Darling Dots hostess set were perfect for this sketch (Sketch Challenge 206 on SCS).

All 3 of the patterned papers are from Jersey Shore. The polka dot and Brilliant Blue dot patterns are both matted on Brilliant Blue cardstock, and the Pumpkin Pie pattern is matted on Pumpkin Pie cardstock. The cupcakes were punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted on 1 3/8" circles of Old Olive. Both the Pumpkin Pie layer and cupcake circles are adhered with dimensionals.

The small sentiment tags on the left are from the retired So Many Sayings hostess set. They are tied to the Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon with Linen Thread.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Darling Dots, So Many Sayings
Cardstock: Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Linen Thread
Tools: 1 1/4 & 1 3/8" Circle Punches

Thinking of You

2009-03-22T09:00:00.001-05:00

This is the last of the Thoughts & Prayers cards (for now anyway). This one is pretty straightforward. The tree image is matted on 3 strips of Parisian Breeze specialty DSP and then matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The tree was stamped with Baja Breeze ink, and then I went over the trunk and limbs with a Chocolate Chip marker. It would have been easier to do it all with markers, but since we don't have in-color markers, this was my back up plan. Once that was done, I "thumped" my Chocolate Chip marker onto the leaves to give it some additional variation.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta

Wild About Baby Cards

2009-03-20T07:30:00.002-05:00

I needed a thank you card, so I decided to use the Sketch for You to Try that I used on this card. I really liked the sketch, and it came together really easily.

The So Saffron background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing folder, and the striped DSP is from the Delicate Dots DSP package available through Sale-A-Bration. The small buttons are from a variety package I picked up in the sewing section of Wal-Mart.

While I had all of my supplies out, I decided to make a couple of baby cards with the same design. I know a few ladies that are still expecting also, so it will be nice to have them on hand.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Wild About You, Nursery Necessities, Much Appreciated
Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue
DSP: Delicate Dots, Berry Bliss
Ink: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Buttons (Wal-Mart)
Tools: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Praying for You

2009-03-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

For this card, I cut a 1 1/8 x 3 3/8 strip of Whisper White and stamped my image before cutting it into 1 1/8" squares. The squares were then matted on 1 1/4" squares of Chocolate Chip.

The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip and then punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I wanted to make this a SU! only card, so I resisted the temptation to add a 1 1/2" layer of Baja Breeze before adhering to my scallop circle. (Just as a side note, I think it's interesting that SU! came out with a 1 3/4" circle punch before a 1 1/2". I have a 1 1/2" circle punch from my pre-SU! days and find that I use it quite a bit for layering when sentiments or images don't quite fit on the 1 1/4" and really need the 1 3/8". Anyway, just my thought for the day.)

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Marker
Tools: 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches

Thoughts & Prayers

2009-03-16T07:30:00.000-05:00

The next few cards I have to share also use the Thoughts and Prayers set. This one uses Jen del Muro's Sketch for you to Try from last week. I took some inspiration from a couple of different cards that also used her sketch - this one and this one.

This card also uses the Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze. I love that color combo!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Marker
Accessories: Vintage Brads

Bleached Thoughts & Prayers

2009-03-14T09:00:00.002-05:00

This is the second card we were supposed to do at my workshop this past week (it ended up being canceled). I have to say that I really love the new Thoughts & Prayers set. I took it on and off my order a few times because I didn't think I really "needed" it, but I'm so glad I went ahead and got it. Great images and sentiments for those difficult cards!

For this card, I used the bleaching technique to stamp the tree on Baja Breeze cardstock. (Just pour a little bleach onto a paper towel in a small container and use that as your stamp pad.) The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip, and the rest is just layers - Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, and Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP. A few scallops with the scallop edge punch, some Chocolate Chip Taffeta, and the card is complete!

If you haven't had a chance to see or feel the new specialty DSP SU! is offering in this catalog, be sure to check it out! It is a cardstock weight paper with just a little bit of texture. I love it!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Kraft
DSP: Parisian Breeze Specialty
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, Household Bleach
Techniques: Bleaching

Update & "A Good Egg"

2009-03-12T16:00:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe it's been almost 2 months since I've posted anything (seems to be a recurring theme for me), but time sure has flown by. I am just a little over 34 weeks along now and have spent the majority of my spare time the last few months doing things to prepare for our little one's arrival. We have the nursery pretty well done - thanks to DH's great painting skills, have purchased and/or received the necessities (car seat, etc.) and have been attending birthing classes for the last few weeks. I've spent a lot of my time reading and researching - breastfeeding, cloth diapers, natural childbirth, what kind of car seat to get, strollers, etc., etc. I've been amazed at all the options available! (I've gotten some strange looks when I start mentioning cloth diapers, but we decided to go with them for health, environmental and financial reasons, and it's incredible what is available now - let me tell you, these aren't your grandma's diapers and plastic pants! Here's a link to one of the kinds we're planning to use if you're interested in checking them out.) It's been a fun journey so far, and we are getting very excited to meet our little one and finally find out if it's a boy or girl (I have to admit, the suspense is getting to me a little bit!).

Anyway, sorry to ramble about baby things. I do have a card to share. This is a quick card I am doing for a workshop tonight. It uses the "A Good Egg" set and the Delicate Dots DSP from the Sale-A-Bration promotion. I used paper piecing for the chick and egg, but otherwise it's a pretty straightforward card. I have some other cards to share over the next few days as well. It was fun to finally get a little stamping in again!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: A Good Egg
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Whisper White
DSP: Delicate Dots
Ink: Basic Grey, Pumpkin Pie Marker
Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain, Linen Thread
Tools: Word Window Punch
Techniques: Paper Piecing

Welcome Little One

2009-01-20T15:00:00.001-06:00

I know, another Nursery Necessities card. I can't help but have babies on my mind lately, and I think I mentioned that I knew of 4 other ladies who were also expecting. Well - it was actually 5, and 2 of them have had their babies within the last week or so. They were both girls, so I needed another girl card.

This one is pretty straightforward. It's a 5x5" square card, and I think this is probably my favorite layout for square cards. It seems like the one I always go back to anyway. The Pretty in Pink squares were embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder, and the Whisper White squares were wheeled with the Nursery Letters jumbo wheel. The squares were then layered on Rose Red and Basic Black.

I wasn't sure if you could see the sparkle in the first picture or not, so here is a close up of the focal image. After I stamped the boat, I embossed the whole circle with Irridescent Ice embossing powder. I like how that gives the card a different look than just embossing the stamped image.

Finally, the "Welcome Little One" tag is popped up on dimensionals and has a mini library clip at the end.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Nursery Letters
CS: Whisper White, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red
Accessories: Mini Library Clip
Other: Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Circle & Scallop Circle Nestibilities

Baby Announcement

2009-01-11T18:00:00.003-06:00

I know I still have a few months to go, but I've been playing around with baby announcements, and I really like this one so far.

It is a tri-fold card with an opening for the baby's picture. My sample was done with So Saffron and Certainly Celery; however, the Celery will be changed to either Pretty in Pink or Bashful Blue after the baby is born. My card base is 5 1/2 by 12, scored at 3 7/8 and 7 3/4. I used one of my rectangle nestibilities to cut out the opening for the picture.

The moon and small star were cut out. The moon was outlined with Dazzling Diamonds, and the small star was embossed with Irridescent Ice EP. The larger star was also embossed with II EP and punched out with the large star punch.

The first opening of the card will show the details for the baby - name, weight, length, etc. I plan to do that on the computer and then adhere it to the right side (currently blank). This side also has a slit punched in the upper right to hold the card closed.

The left side was covered with So Saffron DSP to hide the back of the slit punches (seen in the final picture below). It also has another large star and Welcome Little One punched out with the Word Window punch and adhered with dimensionals.

The final opening of the card will reveal the full baby picture (far left). The photo will be held in place with a slit punch at the top and bottom so it can be removed.

Once I decide if this is "the one", my plan is to get the card bases and moons ready before the baby is born (one of the reasons I chose So Saffron for them). Then I'll just need to fill in the rest with either pink or blue.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Nursery Letters Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: So Saffron, Whisper White
DSP: So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain, White Brad
Other: Irridescent Ice EP, Dazzling Diamonds
Tools: Large Star Punch, Word Window Punch, Slit Punch, Crop-a-Dile, Rectangle Nestibilities

Baby Thank You Cards #2

2009-01-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Here's the second installment of my baby thank you cards. I hope you're not getting tired of Nursery Necessities yet. It's the only thing I've had out on my stamping table lately! Both cards are pretty self-explanatory so I won't go into a lot of detail on either.

This first card uses the Cuttlebug Thank You embossing folder. It's hard to tell in the photo, but I sponged the raised portions of the embossed image with Whisper White craft ink. The white squares down the left side of the card were punched out with the 1 3/8" square punch and matted with 1 1/2" So Saffron squares. The star and bottom of the sailboat are raised up on dimensionals.

For the second card, I ran the square embossing folder through my Big Shot 3 times and then stamped the chick inside each square. I started with the middle square and then just eyeballed the placement of the other 2. The thank you stamp is from the Enjoy Every Moment set.

Supplies:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Basic Black
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta
Tools: Large Star Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Cuttlebug Thank You & Playful Squares Embossing Folders

Baby Thank You Cards #1

2009-01-06T08:00:00.002-06:00

We've received a few baby gifts already, so I thought I should probably start making a stash of thank you cards. Here are a couple, and as the title of the post suggests, there will be another installment.

This first one is my favorite. It is cased from this card by Sharon Johnson which I've had in my favorites at SCS for a long time. I kept all of the same elements and just changed the colors for my card. Since we don't know what we've having (and don't plan to find out until the birth day), I decided to go with the standard gender-neutral color combo of green (Certainly Celery) and yellow (So Saffron). I used markers to ink the sailboat and stamped it directly onto the Whisper White CS. The moon was stamped, cut out, and then outlined with Dazzling Diamonds. The small star was embossed with Irridescent Ice EP and then cut out.

For the second card, I stamped the sailboat multiple times across the strip of Whisper White and then just stamped the small sail onto the focal piece. The larger sail and boat bottom were stamped onto Patterns DSP with Versamark, embossed with Clear EP, cut out, and popped up on dimensionals.

Supplies (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Nursery Letters, Much Appreciated
CS: Certainly Celery, Whisper White
DSP: So Saffron & Certainly Celery Patterns DSP
Ink: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Basic Black, Versamark
Accessories: Certainly Celery Grosgrain, Rhinestone Brads
Other: Dazzling Diamonds, Clear & Irridescent Ice EP
Tools: Large Star Punch

Nursery Necessities Baby Cards

2009-01-04T18:00:00.000-06:00

I just got the Nursery Necessities set, and I've had a lot of fun playing with it so far - such a cute set and really easy to work with! I have a few friends who are also expecting, so I made a couple of cards to have ready. I don't know what any of them are having yet, so hopefully there will be at least one boy and one girl out of the 4!

I made the boy card first and then just changed the colors for the girl card. For each, I inked the smaller sail of the boat with a marker and stamped it directly onto the Whisper White CS and then stamped the boat again in Versamark on the colored CS. The colored CS was embossed with clear EP, cut out, and popped up on dimensionals. The moon and small star were embossed with Irridescent Ice EP and then cut out as well (I had the small star punch on my last order and took it off at the last minute - silly me!). Other than that, I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

I also have a potential baby announcement and a few thank you cards with this set that I'll post over the next few days.

Thanks for looking! I hope you're enjoying a Happy New Year so far!

Supplies (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Nursery Letters Jumbo Wheel
CS: Whisper White & Kraft (both), Bashful Blue & Night of Navy (boy), Pretty in Pink & Rose Red (girl)
Ink: Whisper White & Versamark (both), Bashful Blue & Night of Navy (boy), Pretty in Pink & Rose Red (girl)
Accessories: Bashful Blue Taffeta (boy), Whisper White Taffeta (girl), Linen Thread
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, Small Oval Punch
Other: Clear, Irridescent Ice & White EP

Merry & Bright

2008-12-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

I was a little sad to see Merry & Bright on Stampin' Up!'s retiring list. It's such a cute stamp set, and I have to say, I didn't use it nearly enough. Anyway, here is a quick card using the snowman and the snowflake from Season of Friendship. We've had a lot of snow here in Nebraska lately, so this card is definitely appropriate right now!

The card is a CASE of this card by Kharmagirl. I kept mine a little simpler. I stamped the snowflake in Versamark and then in Whisper White on each panel. I think the rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory, so I won't go into a lot of other detail.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Merry & Bright, Season of Friendship
CS: Kraft, Whisper White, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue
Ink: Versamark, Whisper White, Night of Navy; also Night of Navy & Bashful Blue Markers
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta
Tools: 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches

Bind-It-All Journals

2008-12-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

I think this is my last post of Christmas projects. These are journals that I made for the ladies in the church small group DH and I attend. (I shared a few of them earlier in the year, but here is the grouping of all of them.) I used one of the Plain Jane stamps from Verve Visual (Psalm 37:4), covered them with various CS, DSP and embellishments, and added 50 sheets of plain paper for the inside. The journals were put together with my Bind-it-All.

Thanks for looking!

Monogram Gift Sets

2008-12-26T08:00:00.001-06:00

For extended family this year, I decided to make gift sets of monogram cards. I shared just a few of these sets earlier in the year (see this post), but here is a grouping of the majority of the sets (I gave a few away at Thanksgiving before I had a chance to take a picture).

Each set is different, contains 4 cards and envelopes, and is contained in a clear acrylic box from clearbags.com. I used the 4 1/2 x 1/2 x 5 7/8" size for these sets and also ordered some 1" for larger sets in the future.

Once I decided on a design, the cards came together pretty quickly. I used a couple of different fonts from JustRite to create the monograms. Some are just initials and some use the small letters around the outside cirlce to personalize it even more.

I had a lot of fun making these and hope the recipients will put them to good use. Thanks for looking!

(I'm not listing a specific supply list for these since I used so many different products. If you'd like details on one of them just let me know and I'll try to get them for you.)

"Gingerbread" Treats

2008-12-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

These little gift sets were Christmas treats for a few co-workers this year. I got the idea from Lorri Heiling, Confessions of a Stamping Addict, (scroll down in her post to see her box and chocolate-filled gingerbread man cookie cutter).

I found some gingerbread man cookie cutters at Wal-Mart and filled them with melted chocolate. Once the chocolate was set, I put them in a little cellophane bag tied with twill that was stamped with Sweet from Fancy Flexible Phrases. I also found some gingerbread scented candles and added those to the gift as well. A coordinating 3x3 gift card completed the set.

For the box, I estimated how big it needed to be and then decided my measurements from there. I started with a 12x9 piece of chocolate chip CS and scored at 2 and 7 along the 9 inch side and 4.25 and 7.75 along the 12 inch side. I didn't want the sides of the box to come up all the way, so I scored again at 1.5 and 10.5 along the 12 inch side (just to the inside score lines) so I could cut off the outside squares that it created and have an opening at the top of the box. Hopefully that all makes sense! (See the top picture for a side view of the box.) If you're still with me after all of those measurements, the finished box ended up 5" wide, 4.25" high, and 3.5" across the bottom.

I kept the embellishments fairly simple in case the recipients wanted to use the box again. I rounded the corners and added some Riding Hood Red Patterns DSP. The "handles" of the box were made with the small oval punch, and I added a tag with the gingerbread man from Deer Friends and From Me to You punched out with the Word Window punch.

I had a lot of fun putting these together and was really happy with the way they turned out. Thanks for looking! Merry Christmas!

Supplies (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Deer Friends, Fancy Flexible Phrases, So Many Sayings, Holidays & Wishes
CS: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
DSP: Riding Hood Red Patterns
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Twill, Linen Thread
Tools: 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches, Small Oval Punch, Word Window Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

Ski Slope Squash Book

2008-12-21T20:15:00.003-06:00

Wow - I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I apologize for that - I'm not sure where the time went! I have done a little stamping lately, mostly getting things ready for Christmas. I finally got my cards out last week, so that was a big relief.

This squash book was the final project for my stamp club this year. If you've never made one, SCS has a great tutorial. Once I figured out how to fold it, the rest came pretty easily. I used the Season of Friendship set and Ski Slope DSP, both from the Holiday mini, for the majority of the project. I also used Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, and Old Olive CS and some Real Red Patterns DSP from the Hostess Level 1 Patterns Pack.

I let each stamp club member decide how she wanted to embellish the inside. I used Short Order Numbers to create the 2008, added Merry Christmas from Holidays and Wishes, and added a couple of images from Deer Friends to the journaling spaces. I debated about whether to give this as a gift or keep it for myself, but I decided to keep it and add some pictures of DH and I after Christmas. I've been doing more non-traditional scrapbooking lately (sizes other than 12x12), so I thought this would make a fun addition to the collection.

I have some other Christmas projects to post as well so I promise it won't be another 2 months before my next post! Thanks for looking!

Supplies (All Stampin' Up! except coasters):
Stamps: Season of Friendship, To You & Yours, Short Order Numbers, Holidays and Wishes, Deer Friends
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
DSP: Ski Slope, Real Red Patterns
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Felt Ribbon, Vintage Brads, Old Olive Buttons
Tools: Ticket Corner Punch, Small Oval Punch
Other: Square Coasters

Halloween Treat Bags

2008-10-22T12:30:00.002-05:00

Since I'm sure most of you have seen one version or another of these bags, I won't go into a lot of detail on how I made them. If you haven't seen these yet or tried one yourself, I used Dianna Gibbs' tutorial. They are really easy to make.

For mine, the height of the bag is 4 1/2" and the bottom is 2 3/4" square. The bags are made from the Ghostly Greetings DSP, and I used Halloween Frights and Fancy Flexible Phrases to create the tags.

These are going to some friends and co-workers filled with some Halloween candy and a few small SU! embellishments for the stampers of the group.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Halloween Frights, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
DSP: Ghostly Greetings
Ink: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Basic Grey Taffeta, Whisper White Taffeta, Whisper White Grosgrain, Old Olive Twill & Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets, Silver Elastic Cord
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches

Halloween Frights

2008-10-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick and easy card with the Halloween Frights set from the Holiday mini. This card was CASED from one on SCS that used the Season of Friendship set.

The card base is Kiwi Kiss, and the DSP is from Ghostly Greetings. All of the images were punched with a 1" circle punch. Otherwise, it's a pretty straight-forward card - very easy!

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Halloween Frights
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
DSP: Ghostly Greetings
Ink: Basic Black, Basic Grey, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: 1" Circle Punch

Spider Suspension Card

2008-10-16T07:30:00.001-05:00

This was my first time trying a suspension card. If you haven't tried one, check out the tutorial on SCS - they are very easy!

The only thing not SU! on this card is the spider and the small web in the corner of the sentiment. They are both from a $1 stamp I got from Michael's last year. I don't have a SU! spider stamp, but I thought he was appropriate to hang in the web of the Ghostly Greetings DSP. The hardware is from the Stylized Silver Hodgepodge collection, and the Happy Halloween sentiment is from the retired Fancy Flexible Phrases. I don't think you can tell from the picture, but the Pumpkin Pie cardstock in the middle of the card is wheeled with the Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel (also retired) and sponged on the edges.

Here is a close-up view of the spider.

Thanks for looking!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Fancy Flexible Phrases, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel, Spider & Web (Michael's $1 bin)
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie
DSP: Ghostly Greetings
Accessories: Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4" & 1" Circle Punches
Other: Dental Floss

Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack

2008-10-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

The following cards are being offered as classes at the Norfolk, Nebraska Relay for Life Crop Day Saturday, November 1st. If you live in or around the area, join us for cropping from 8-8 at the Norfolk Middle School.

This first card is being offered at 11 am. Class participants will have the opportunity to make 10 cards of this design. It uses the Merry & Bright stamp set and Holidays & Wishes for the sentiment. The card base is Ruby Red, with a Basic Black mat, Whisper White and Always Artichoke designer series paper. The patterns for the cards will vary.

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Merry & Bright, Holidays & Wishes
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Always Artichoke
Designer Series Paper: Always Artichoke
Ink: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Various Markers
Accessories: Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches

The second card uses the new Season of Friendship stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday mini catalog and the sentiment from To You & Yours from the Fall/Winter Stampin' Up! catalog. This card is being offered at 2 pm, and participants will also have the opportunity to make 10 of these cards to have ready for the holidays.

I have really enjoyed playing with this new set so far. In addition to the snowflakes, it also comes with a flower and leaves to allow you to create cards or scrapbook pages for all seasons.

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Season of Friendship, To You & Yours
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Designer Series Paper: Real Red
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Scallop Edge Punch

Thanks for looking!

Blog Update

2008-10-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

Since my posts have been pretty sporadic the last month or so, I just wanted to give you a quick update. I haven't stopped stamping all together and am not giving up on my blog. My reason for being MIA for awhile is actually a good one, no, I take that back, a great one. My husband and I are expecting our first! I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are!

So, for the last several weeks, I have been dealing with fatigue and nausea at various times of the day and night. Unfortunately, I haven't had the energy or motivation to do much stamping during that time. I'm a little behind now on Christmas cards and other holiday projects, but I'll sure I'll get caught up at some point!

I do have a few projects to share this week, so check back in the next day or so!

To You & Yours

2008-09-26T07:30:00.001-05:00

In addition to Thanksgiving cards, I've been trying to decide on a design (or two) for our Christmas cards. I needed a fairly simple design this year, so I decided to go with the To You & Yours set from the Fall/Winter catalog. I thought the images could stand alone without a lot of additional detail added to them.

For both cards, I stamped the house image in Chocolate Chip and used my rectangle nestibilities to cut it out along with the scalloped mat. On the first card, I embossed pieces of both Riding Hood Red and Chocolate Chip with the Textile Embossing Folder and added a scalloped piece of Kraft layered with the new Alpine striped ribbon (from the Holiday mini) in the middle.

The tag is stamped with one of the sentiments from the set, "From Our House To Yours", and is attached with a piece of Linen Thread.

The second card uses most of the same elements, just a different layout and different ribbon. For this card, I used the Chocolate Chip felt ribbon that is also part of the Alpine Ribbon Originals in the Holiday mini. I love the texture of the ribbon, but I think it's probably a little too bulky to mail. If I end up using it on any of our cards, it will probably only be ones that can be hand-delivered. Otherwise, I could always use the taffeta ribbon with this layout.

I'm pretty sure I'll use the first one as one of our designs, but I'm not sure about the others yet. If you happen to have any suggestions for this set and these colors, I'd love to hear them!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: To You & Yours
Cardstock: Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Alpine Ribbon Originals, Linen Thread, Vintage Brads
Tools: Textile Embossing Folder, Rectangle and Scallop Rectange Nestibilities, Scallop Edge Punch

Season of Friendship

2008-09-24T07:30:00.002-05:00

This card uses another set from the upcoming Holiday Mini - Season of Friendship. The set contains the tree image, leaves, snowflake, flower, bird, and sentiment that says "The season of friendship lasts forever." It also uses the Autumn Vine DSP available in the mini. The DSP has several patterns that incorporate More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, and Sage Shadow.

The card itself is pretty simple, finished size is 5" square. The tree is stamped in Chocolate Chip, and the leaves are stamped in 1st and 2nd generation More Mustard and Really Rust. The edges of the Chocolate Chip and Really Rust mat layers were distressed before adhering. The sentiment is from Stem Silhouettes. (I used it because I am working on some possibilities for my Thanksgiving cards.) It is stamped in Really Rust, and the edges were also sponged in Really Rust. The buttons are from the Earth Elements collection and have linen thread tied through the holes.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe: (All supplies SU!)
Stamps: Season of Friendship, Stem Silhouettes
Cardstock: More Mustard, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DSP: Autumn Vine
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Really Rust
Accessories: Earth Elements Buttons, Linen Thread

Halloween Frights

2008-09-21T18:00:00.011-05:00

Once again I have to apologize for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. Besides stamp club 2 weeks ago, I hadn't done any stamping until this weekend. I got my preorder from the Holiday Mini and some new things from the catalog and couldn't let them sit long before trying them out. Anyway, I have a few things to share this week.

The first is a layout I've had in my head since I saw the Halloween Frights set in the mini. Sorry for the less than perfect picture. I haven't quite figured out how to take a decent picture of a 12x12 layout yet. Anyway, the base of the layout is Basic Grey with a 10 1/2 x 8 1/2" square of Basic Black layered on top for the frame of the pictures. The white rectangles are just placeholders for now for 2 4x6 pictures. The other 2 are 4x4 squares.

To make the halloween scenes, I started with glossy paper and cut out a mask from a post-it note of the moon image (for the bottom one). I brayered both with Pumpkin Pie ink and then removed my mask before stamping the remainder of the images with Basic Black. I finished the squares with a few accents from the white gel pen.

The tree image in the top square is from Seasons of Friendship, and the wheel in the bottom square is called Frightful Fence. Otherwise, all of the other images are from Halloween Frights. All of these are available in the Holiday Mini starting on October 1st.

The tag in the upper right was stamped with October from the Full Calendar set in Pumpkin Pie and 31st from Short Order Numbers in Basic Grey. It is attached with a piece of silver elastic cord (also available in the mini). I bought mine for a project last year and didn't end up using it, so I was glad to see it back this year! The cord is held in place by a mini library clip clipped to the side of the Basic Black piece.

Finally, the bottom was created with strips from Ghostly Greetings DSP as well as strips of Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie stamped with the 2 sentiments from Halloween Frights.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe: (All Supplies SU!)
Stamps: Halloween Frights, Frightful Fence Jumbo Wheel, Season of Friendship, Full Calendar, Short Order Numbers
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Glossy White, Pumpkin Pie
DSP: Ghostly Greetings
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Silver Elastic Cord, Mini Library Clip
Tools: Brayer

Celebrate

2008-09-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't had anything to share lately. I just haven't felt very creative, so I decided to let myself take a little break. I needed a birthday card, so I did manage to at least finish this card. I debated about sharing it though because I don't think I like it very well. It looked so much better in my head than it does IRL. Oh well - I guess that happens sometimes!

I used the same layout as my Wild About You baby card. I also used lots of Crystal Effects on this card. All of the flowers, the butterfly, and the inside of the silver label holder are covered with Crystal Effects. I love that stuff, but I think I got a little carried away with it here!

Anyway, thanks for looking! Have a great weekend!

Recipe:
Stamps: Green Thumb & Little Lady (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron
Ink: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardward
Tools: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Scallop Edge Punch
Other: Crystal Effects

I was also given an award that I haven't shared yet. Regina, from Stamping Heaven gave me the "I love your blog" award. Thanks Regina! Be sure to check out her blog too when you get a chance. She has some great projects!

Look Who's Turning 6!

2008-08-24T17:00:00.001-05:00

This card is for my niece’s upcoming 6th birthday. I fell in love with this owl when I first saw it but waited awhile to get it. Even though I try not to buy too many non-SU! sets, I just couldn’t resist this one!

The layout for the card was inspired by this one on SCS. I stamped the owl, branch and party hat separately and cut them out before adhering them to the card. The eyes were stamped separately as well, cut out, and covered with Crystal Effects.

The rest of the card is fairly straightforward – the Pink Pirouette cardstock was embossed with the Cuttlebug Happy Birthday embossing folder, and the Riding Hood Red strip was wheeled in Versamark with the Take A Number wheel. The chipboard 6 was painted and then covered with Crystal Effects as well.

I love the way it turned out! Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: u r a hoot (Cornish Heritage Farms), Take A Number Wheel
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, Brown (Archiver’s)
DP: Basic Grey Blush
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark, Basic Black Marker
Other: Chipboard Number 6 (unknown maker)
Tools: Cuttlebug Happy Birthday Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Punch, Crystal Effects

This second card was for my MIL whose birthday was Friday. In addition to the owl set, I also used the Lined Paper background from Cornish Heritage Farms. This card was a 5" square. The owl's eyes, circles and top of the party hat, and chipboard ? are all covered in Crystal Effects.

Recipe:
Stamps: u r a hoot & Lined Paper Background (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Cardstock: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel, Brown (Archiver's)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie & Basic Black Markers
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Felt Fusion Flower, Brown Brad (Spare Parts)
Other: Chipboard ? (unknown maker)
Tools: Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder, Spiral Punch, Crystal Effects

Happy Anniversary CASE

2008-08-19T15:30:00.001-05:00

This week's featured stamper on Splitcoast was Jessica Rone, aka knightrone. If you haven't seen her gallery, be sure to take a look when you get a chance, or check out her blog, Can You Say Addicted to Stamps?.

I chose to CASE this card of Jessica's. I changed the colors slightly, her black to Chocolate Chip, and Certainly Celery to Old Olive, and added a little bit of Pink Pirouette. I also changed the stamp set, sentiment and ribbon. I left off the paper piercing, mainly because I forgot until after I put everything together!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Hugs & Wishes, Out on a Limb (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon
Tools: Textile Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Punch

Purse Gift Card Holder

2008-08-18T15:30:00.000-05:00

This was a second CASE I did for last week's featured stamper but hadn't had a chance to post yet. My parents came to visit this past weekend, so I didn't have any time to stamp during the week last week or over the weekend. Anyway, I thought this little "purse" card was a cute way to present a gift card, so I tried my hand at one.

I don't have specific measurements, but I started with a 5" square piece of scrap paper as my template (so the end result would fit in a square envelope if desired), folded it in half, and then just eyeballed the angle for the sides. The Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze cardstock are both stamped with Stitched in Whisper White. I then added some Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon as well as paper piercing and faux stitching along the sides.

The inside piece is Chocolate Chip cardstock also stamped with Stitched. I added a little pocket for the gift card and a word window punch stamped with "a little something" from So Many Sayings. The insert is attached to another strip of cardstock that is folded over and serves as the "clasp" of the purse. It is adhered to the pocket with a velcro dot.

Finally, I punched both sides of the pocket with the slit punch and threaded Chocolate Chip taffeta through to form the handles of the purse.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched, So Many Sayings
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Ink: Whisper White
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Grey Button, Velcro Dot
Tools: 1" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Slit Punch, Signo White Gel Pen

Wild About You Baby Card

2008-08-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

Several of our friends have had babies recently (all girls for some reason!), so this card is for one of the couples. The basic idea of the card was CASED from this one on SCS, and then I made just a few minor changes.

I stamped each of the animals and then punched out at least part of them with the 1 3/8" square punch. The lion was stamped first with Apricot Appeal and then stamped a second time with Pumpkin Pie and a third time with Apricot Appeal. His mane and face were then cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The elephant was also stamped a second time, and his ear was cut out and adhered with a dimensional. The three squares were also adhered to the vertical strip with dimensionals.

The rest of the card is pretty straightforward, so I'll just leave you with the supplies I used. Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You, Riveting, Green Thumb (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Rose Red & Old Olive Markers, Basic Black Marker
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 1 3/8" Square Punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Edge Punch

Monogram Gift Sets

2008-08-12T07:30:00.002-05:00

I'm working on some monogram sets for Christmas gifts, so I thought I'd share a few with you. I think I have 5 of 12 sets done so far. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are a just a couple. I'm trying to make them all different, but that may get challenging as I get more done. I'm also trying to keep them fairly flat, i.e. no brads, bows, dimensionals, etc. (another challenge for me), but I don't want the recipient to have to worry about extra postage. Each set will have 4 matching cards and will be enclosed in a clear box.

Both of the cards use the Stitched background. On the first, I stamped it with Chocolate Chip on Baja Breeze. The monogram was done with the JustRite wooden stamp kit.

The second card uses my favorite combo for the Stitched background, Whisper White on Basic Black. The monogram was also done with the JustRite stamp, and then I added one of the circles from Papertrey's Monogram set around it before punching it out. The green accent is Stampin' Up!'s new Kiwi Kiss. I really like how it looks with the black and white.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stitched, JustRite Monogram Set, Papertrey Monogram Set
Cardstock: (1) Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze; (2) Whisper White, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: (1) Chocolate Chip; (2) Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: (1) Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: (1) 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches, Corner Rounder; (2) 1 3/8", 1 1/2" & Scallop Circle Punches, Scallop Edge Punch

Featured Stamper Silhouettes

2008-08-10T13:35:00.000-05:00

I had some free time this afternoon, so I decided to take a look at this week's featured stamper challenge. Kim has a great gallery, and I decided to CASE this card. My Stem Silhouettes set doesn't see near enough ink, so I thought Kim's card would be a perfect opportunity to break it out.

I kept the same basic colors as Kim, but I changed my background cardstock to Very Vanilla, my layer to Chocolate Chip, and my card base to Old Olive. I liked the paper piercing on Kim's card, but I decided to change the placement a little bit and added it around my square instead. I just left off the piercing where my stem extended past the square. I also changed the sentiment and ribbon and added some brads and distressing.

I think this is a great fall card, and I may just end up using this design for my Thanksgiving cards this year.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Stem Silhouettes
Cardstock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Brown Gingham Ribbon, Brown Brads
Techniques: Paper Piercing, Distressing, Sponging

Enjoy Every Moment Mini-Scrapbook

2008-08-07T19:30:00.002-05:00

I’ve wanted to make one of these mini-scrapbooks/brag books for quite awhile and finally got around to it! If you aren’t familiar with these, you can find step-by-step instructions on SCS. This will be one of my upcoming stamp club projects.

For mine, I used the new Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red cardstock. I'm really loving these 2 colors together. For stamp club though, I am planning to let each girl choose her own color combo from the 6 new SU! in colors. I’ll have all of the other pieces ready to go and just cut those as we’re getting started. I am also planning to let everyone choose to a certain extent how to design the front of her book, i.e. wheel just the same piece that I did or wheel the entire front background, select different stamps/embellishments for the “O” in enjoy, etc.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Daisy Dash Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Whisper White Craft
Accessories: Fire Rhinestone, Black Gingham, Pewter Jumbo Eyelets
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" & Scallop Circle Punches, Scallop Edge Punch

Bind-It-All Journals

2008-08-03T15:15:00.001-05:00

I’ve had fun playing with my bind-it-all and some of Stampin’ Up!’s new in-colors this past week. I wanted to make some journals to have ready as gifts, so these are the ones I’ve done so far. I used the 5 x 7 ½” bind-it-all covers and ½” silver coils, as well as Verve’s Psalm 37:4 stamp for each.

I learned a few things about the bind-it-all during this project, so I thought I'd share. First, I put one cover together completely and then wasn't able to get it into the opening of the machine to punch it because it was too thick. It seems that the chipboard cover and one layer of cardstock or DSP on each side is really the most it can handle. I did manage to fit an additional layer of cardstock on one of them, but it wasn't the best fit. Secondly, one of the sites I visited for information on the bind-it-all recommended inside pages 3/16" less in width than the cover. I found that 1/4" worked best for me. Anyway, on to the projects!

I like all of the journals, but I think this first one is my favorite. It uses 2 of SU!'s new in-colors, Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red. I love those colors together! Since I don't have DSP or accessories yet that match the new in-colors, I used Basic Grey DP and buttons. They match the SU! colors nicely, but I can't wait to see what SU! has in store for us in the new catty.

Recipe:
Stamps: Psalm 37:4 (Verve)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
DP: Basic Grey Blush
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Basic Grey Infuse Buttons
Tools: Nestibilities Circle and Scallop Circle Dies

The second one uses 2 other new in-colors, Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango. It also uses some Basic Grey DP. For this one, I embossed the cardstock for the front cover with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. Since the cardstock was larger than the folder, I embossed the top half first and then lined up the last row of dots back in the folder and embossed the bottom half. Hopefully that makes sense. I did have one row of dots that was slightly squished, but my middle strip covered that up (and I think you could gently push them out from the back if they did show).

Recipe:
Stamps: Psalm 37:4
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
DP: Basic Grey Mellow
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Orange Rhinestone Brads,
Tools: Nestibilities Circle and Scallop Circle Dies

The next two are similar but use different DP and layouts. I used this week’s sketch challenge for the first one. The second is the same as this card I made a few week’s ago.

Recipe: (for both)
Stamps: Psalm 37:4
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
DP: Basic Grey Infuse & Mellow
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Primas, Vintage Brads
Tools: Nestibilities Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle Dies, Corner Rounder

Thanks for looking!

Priceless Butterflies

2008-07-31T18:30:00.001-05:00

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

2008-07-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-28T18:00:00.002-05:00

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

2008-07-27T17:50:00.007-05:00

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

2008-07-24T20:30:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-07-22T15:30:00.001-05:00

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

2008-07-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2008-07-16T07:30:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-14T07:30:00.001-05:00

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

2008-07-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

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

2008-07-10T07:30:00.001-05:00

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!

2008-07-08T17:45:00.002-05:00

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

2008-07-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-07-07T08:00:00.006-05:00

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!

2008-07-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

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!)

Cupcake Kit

2008-06-29T20:30:00.001-05:00

This "Cupcake Kit" is a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. I got the idea when I was blog surfing one day, but unfortunately, I didn't write down the name of the person or blog where I saw it. If it was your idea, let me know so I can give proper credit! Anyway, the kit contains various items to make and decorate cupcakes. My SIL likes to bake, and her kids love to help, so I thought this would be something fun they could use together. I included some fun cupcake liners, various sprinkles, a spatula, a couple of decorating tips and pastry bags, and a cupcake recipe book (my favorite part!). Everything is contained in an old Stampin' Up! punch box that I altered just a bit.

The original idea I saw included a purchased cookbook. I thought about buying one also but then decided it would be fun to make one with my Bind-It-All. It was quite a bit of work getting all of the recipes together, formatting them, etc., but I love how it turned out! And now that I have it all together, I can use them again (I'm planning to make myself one too).

The book is 6x6 and uses BIA chipboard covers that I altered with cardstock, American Crafts DP, my beloved Big Bold Birthday set, and Jumbo Outline Alpha. The alpha was stamped in Certainly Celery and then colored in with a Versamarker. With the overlapped letters, I like how you can still see the outline of slightly darker color versus the Versamark inside.

The book has 3 recipe sections - cupcakes, icings, and fillings - so each section has a divider. For each one, I used the cupcake from Big Bold Birthday, coordinating American Crafts DP, various colors of cardstock, and the Round Tab Punch. The back of each divider was folded into a pocket to keep any other cupcake-related recipes that might come along.

The recipes themselves came from various sites - Wilton (the majority - they have a great cupcake section), All Recipes, and Very Best Baking. I also included my favorite cake recipe, White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake (if made strictly for cupcakes, makes about 5 dozen). The recipes were printed on glossy paper so the pages would hold up a little better than regular printer paper.

The card was based on this week's sketch challenge on SCS. I used 9 squares of striped American Crafts DP and alternated the direction of the stripes. The cupcake layer was adhered to a 3" square of Blue Bayou that has the small happy birthday stamp stamped as a border along each edge. It was adhered to the card with dimensionals. I think everything else on the card is pretty self-explanatory.

This was a really fun gift to put together. I hope she likes it as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, Jumbo Outline Alpha, So Very, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Certainly Celery, Real Red, So Saffron, Bashful Blue
DP: American Crafts
Ink: Versamark, Versamarker, Certainly Celery, Real Red, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Red & White Gingham, Red Ric-Rac, Stylized Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, White & Red Eyelets, Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and Scallop Circle Punches, Nestibilities Dies, Corner Rounder, Ticket Corner Punch, Round Tab Punch

First Bind-it-All Scrapbook!

2008-06-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

My grandparents recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. We just had a small family gathering to celebrate, so I wanted to capture a few of the pictures in a small scrapbook for them.

This was my first project with my Bind-it-All. I wanted to use some of the acrylic covers for the book since I wouldn't have page protecters for the inside pages, so I went with the 5 x 7 1/2" size. With such a small size, it was challenging at first to come up with layouts for the pages.

I knew I'd keep them fairly simple, but I didn't want them to be all the same either. Anyway, once I got started, I really enjoyed working with the smaller size. I started out scrapbooking several years ago, but I've gotten away from it recently. After this project was done, I decided I like working with scrapbooks for individual events like this and will probably start doing more of them as opposed to all 12x12.

I think the book ended up being about 12 pages. I've included just a few examples. The cover is a replica of the anniversary card I gave them. I then kept the rest of the base pages black and white and added a Rose Red accent of some type to each page (some Felt Fusion flowers, cardstock, prints DSP, etc.). I'm really happy with how it turned out and hope they like it too!

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Make It Count, Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Rose Red
DSP: Rose Red Prints
Accessories: Basic Black Grosgrain, Chipboard, Brads, Grommets
Tools: Corner Rounder, Nestibilities, Bind-It-All

BBQ Apron Invitations

2008-06-26T08:00:00.009-05:00

My DH and I started a tradition the first year we were married of having a big 4th of July BBQ. I am originally from the Kansas City, Missouri area, so I got him hooked on the great KC BBQ when we were dating. (As a side note, if you're ever visiting KC, our favorite is Jack Stack in the Freighthouse district behind Union Station. Get the Crown Prime Ribs and split them between 2 people - you won't regret it!) Anyway, the first year we just had a grill, so we had your traditional hamburgers and hot dogs along with a Beer Can Chicken. Well - by the next year we had purchased a smoker, so we had ribs, smoked chicken, baked beans, and I don't remember what else, along with the standard burgers and dogs (mainly for the kids at this point). That trend continued, and now he is in the process of building his own smoker. We had hoped it would be done and tested at least once before the 4th, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. We've had a few delays, but he is making great progress on it though!

Anyway, back to stamping! I always like to send out invitations for the big party (who can pass up an excuse to play with paper and stamps!), so when I saw this adorable BBQ apron on Susan Lile's blog, I knew I had to recreate it. So, here is my version.

I actually didn't do any stamping on it though. I created a pattern with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" piece of scrap paper and just eyeballed the curve of the arm opening. I then folded the scrap in half to make both sides even. I looked all over for some fun designer paper that would fit with our BBQ theme, but I couldn't find any I liked so I just used a variety of DSP that I already had. The spatula was created with the tag punch and word window punch. I scored along the top of the tag punch and adhered them together with a silver brad. The neck of the apron is a piece of twill, also adhered with brads. My aprons aren't as detailed as Susan's, but I wanted to keep them fairly simple to recreate. And - I think they turned out really cute!

Thanks for looking!

Award & Take A Number Birthday Card

2008-06-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Nancy Riley for nominating me for the Kreativ Blogger award! If you've never had an opportunity to check out her blog, go take a look. I promise you won't be disappointed!

There are so many great blogs out there which make it hard to choose who to pass on the award to. Here are just a couple that I like to visit.

Jill, Jill's Card Creations
Jenn, Stamp Your Heart Out

I also have a card to share today. We celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday on Monday, and this was the card I made for her. I used the Take A Number wheel again and spotlighted the number 3 in a 1 1/2 in" metal edge circle tag. The bottoms of the cupcakes were embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, Take A Number Wheel
Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Versamark, Pumpkin Pie, Versamarker
Accessories: 1 1/2 in" Metal Edge Circle Tag, Brilliant Blue Brads, Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Stampin' Up! Retirement List

2008-06-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

The retirement list for the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer Collection is available. You can view the list either alphabetically or numerically.

These items will only be available until August 10th, so don't wait if any of them are on your wish list!

I made Stamper's Showcase!

2008-06-16T08:15:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Nancy Riley for letting me know that my "Window's of Cherries" card was displayed on Stamper's Showcase yesterday! (For those of you who might not know, Stamper's Showcase is a gallery on the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Website that displays projects made by Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.)

You can see all of the details for the card here. What a fun way to start the week!

Simple Joys

2008-06-13T07:30:00.001-05:00

Just a quick card using the flowers from Papertrey's Green Thumb set. I love to look at everyone else's flowers this time of year, but I have to say I prefer this type of flower garden for myself - no weeding required!

Recipe:
Stamps: Papertrey Green Thumb
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon, Basic Grey Buttons
Tools: Nestabilities Rectangle and Scalloped Rectangle Dies

My 3rd Anniversary!

2008-06-11T07:40:00.000-05:00

My hubby and I are celebrating our 3rd anniversary today, so this is just a fun card I made for him. I stamped the "i heart" stamp from Sweet on You (2006-2007 Winter Mini) and punched it out with the 1 3/8" square punch. The squares were matted on Basic Black and then on River Rock. The sayings on 3 of the squares were hand-written with a Real Red marker (They say your smile, your sense of humor, and your kind heart. I'm not a huge fan of my handwriting, but I think it works for this card.) The u was cut out with my Big Shot and a Sizzlets die. The Always for the tag on the side is from Fancy Flexible Phrases (also 2006-2007 Winter Mini).

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Sweet on You, Fancy Flexible Phrases, Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, River Rock, Real Red
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Real Red Marker
Accessories: Black Gingham Ribbon, Black Brads
Tools: 1 3/8" Square Punch, Big Shot & Sizzlets Die

Anniversary Birds

2008-06-09T08:00:00.002-05:00

Here is the other wedding/anniversary card design that I've made quite a few of lately. I cased this card from Laura at scrapnextras and just changed a few things.

The original card used a rub-on for the swirl in the left-hand corner, but I used the swirl from Baroque Motifs. I also changed the shape of the focal point, ribbon placement and sentiment.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Black and White Reversible Ribbon
Tools: Corner Rounder, Hand Held Punch, Slot Punch

Always Anniversary

2008-06-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

June is definitely the month for weddings! I’ve needed several anniversary cards lately and a stack of wedding cards for a customer, so it seems like that’s all I’ve been making the past few days. For some reason, I wasn’t able to get away from a black and white theme for all of them.

For this card, I embossed the heart from Always, once in white on Basic Black cardstock and once in black on Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment is from Verve Visual’s Anniversary Birds set, and the ribbon is some black and white reversible that I got from Michael’s. (Sad to say that, after so many cards, I am out though. We don’t live very close to a Michael’s, but hopefully we can make it to one soon. I really love that ribbon!)

I’ll share one of the other designs in the next few days. Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend!

Recipe:
Stamps: Always, Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White, Versamark
Accessories: Black and White Reversible Ribbon (Michael’s)
Other: White Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder

Big Bold Sketch Challenge

2008-06-04T14:00:00.002-05:00

Wow – two posts in one day! Hopefully that makes up for not posting for over a week! Anyway – I was off work today, so I thought I would try the sketch challenge over at SCS. I haven’t done one for quite awhile, so it was fun to do one again.

This card uses some of my favorites – Jersey Shore DSP, Big Bold Birthday, Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, and the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I was just thinking this morning that I need to add some cards to my stash so I’m not always making them at the last minute. Now I at least have a start on that!

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Black Brads, Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder
Tools: Nestabilities Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Little Lady Baby Card

2008-06-04T10:20:00.002-05:00

It’s so hard to believe it’s June already! Where does the time go? I hope you are enjoying the summer so far. It’s been rainy and cool here in Nebraska, but it’s finally starting to warm up a little bit. We have some kittens at our house, so I’ve been enjoying being outside and playing with them.

Anyway – on to the card. I made this card for a couple at our church. It is a 5 ¼” square card. The black bottom layer is 5”, and each of the squares are 2 3/8”. The pink squares were embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder, and the white ones were stamped with one of the small flowers from Papertrey’s Green Thumb set. The focal circle and scallop were made with Nestabilities dies, and the ladybug was covered with Crystal Effects.

I really like this layout for square cards. I made a birthday card with it also that I'll share with you later this week.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Little Lady, Green Thumb, Mixed Messages (all Papertrey)
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black
Accessories: Black Brads, Basic Grey Button, Black Thread
Tools: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Nestabilities Circle and Scallop Circle Dies, Word Window Punch

Jersey Shore Birthday Layout

2008-05-27T07:45:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We had a very busy weekend, but it was good! I haven't done very much scrapbooking lately, so I made it my goal to do at least one page amidst all of the other activities of the weekend. So - here it is!

The layout is of my DH's grandma's 90th birthday celebration. The title was created with the Headline Alphabet stamped in Bashful Blue and Happy Birthday from the It's Your Birthday set stamped over it in Brilliant Blue. I used six 2 1/2" squares of CS - Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, and Wild Wasabi (all colors from the Jersey Shore DSP) - to make up the left side of the layout. On the squares I layered 2" pictures or squares of Whisper White CS. I used various stamps from It's Your Birthday, Big Bold Birthday, and Short Order Numbers on the Whisper White squares. The right side of the layout is a 5 x 7 1/2" piece of Brilliant Blue cardstock with a 4 1/2 x 7" picture layered on top.

The Pumpkin Pie strip at the bottom was created with the Take A Number wheel, wheeled in Versamark. (I use an uninked cartridge filled with the Versamark reinker to wheel longer areas. It has worked fairly well for me. I read somewhere that you need to keep it in a Ziploc bag to keep from drying out, so that is what I do.) After wheeling it on the Pumpkin Pie, I wheeled a portion onto Brilliant Blue as well and punched out the 9 and 0 with a circle punch. The numbers were then colored in with my Versamarker, adhered to a 2" circle metal edge tag, and adhered to the strip with dimensionals. I've done this with a single number on a birthday card also. You can see it here. The DSP strip underneath the numbers is from Jersey Shore.

To add a little sparkle, I embossed the top of the cupcake with Irridescent Ice embossing powder. On a couple of the squares, I also used the slit punch and inserted the white CS behind the slit with a Brilliant Blue brad in the middle. This idea came from the layout on the cover of the most recent Stampin' Success.

Recipe:
Stamps: Headline Alphabet, It's Your Birthday, Short Order Numbers, Big Bold Birthday, Take A Number Wheel
Cardstock: Whisper White, Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Versamark, Versamarker
Accessories: Brilliant Blue Brads, 2" Metal Edge Tag, Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder
Tools: Slit Punch, Circle Punch
Technique: Spotlighting

Grid Technique

2008-05-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I used the recent Grid Technique tutorial on Splitcoast to create this card for my husband’s aunt who is retiring after many years of teaching. I’ve had a Scor-pal for awhile now, but this is the first time I’ve used it to create the background for a card. This card of Beate's also served as my inspiration.

My card base is a standard size piece of Chocolate Chip with a layer of Basic Black and Whisper White adhered on top. To create the focal background, I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs in River Rock and the small flower in Ruby Red and then sponged all over the cardstock in River Rock as well. I then scored the cardstock with my Scor-pal, every ½” on the diagonal (in both directions).

The small rectangle and scalloped rectangle were cut out with Nestibilities dies and stamped with Happy Retirement from Papertrey’s Mixed Messages set. The card was finished with some Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: River Rock, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Vintage Brads
Tools: Nestibilities Dies, Scor-pal

Big Bold Genie Bag

2008-05-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

My original thought for this project was to use it as a small door prize I needed for my stamp club last night. However, as I was in the middle of finishing it, I decided I might use it instead for one of our next projects. Combined with any of these birthday cards, (1, 2, 3, or 4), I think it would make a fun set for the group to make.

I used the Genie Bag instructions from Splitcoast to create the bag. My bag is a normal size white lunch sack (for some reason we have 3 almost completely full bags of lunch sacks at my house – who knows why!). The dimensions are a little larger than the ones in the tutorial, so the finished size of my cardstock front and back is 5½ x 5½.

The cardstock base is Brilliant Blue with layers of Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White adhered on top. I added a strip of Jersey Shore DSP and Bashful Blue (scallops created with the corner rounder) and then some Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon. My focal image was created with the cupcake from Big Bold Birthday and some Brilliant Blue brads and is adhered with dimensionals. I then stamped the sentiment from It's Your Birthday in Pumpkin Pie. The Pumpkin Pie ribbon was added for the bag handles before I added the finished cardstock to the bag. To adhere the ribbon, I used the slot punch, threaded the ribbon through and then used double-sided tape so the ribbon would stick to itself. (The slots could also be done after the cardstock is added to the bag, but I didn't want the holes to show this time.)

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, It's Your Birthday
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Brilliant Blue Brads, White Lunch Sack
Tools: Corner Rounder, Slot Punch

Congrats to the Grad!

2008-05-16T07:30:00.001-05:00

Since my husband is a teacher, we get at least a few graduation announcements every year. This year was a little slower than others - only one, so this is a card for his former student.

I had almost forgotten about this graduation cap in the Event Full hostess set, but I thought it would work perfectly for yesterday's Ways to Use It challenge to use "inchies". I was also inspired by this card by Silke Ledlow.

The card is pretty straightforward, so I would go into a lot of details. It is a 4x4" gift card holder. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Mixed Messages, and the 2008 at the bottom is from a small "dial" date stamp I have (with the month and day masked off).

For the inside, I just adhered a piece of black and white patterned paper on the fold of the pocket. Nothing fancy, since the important part will be what's in the pocket!

Recipe:
Stamps: Event Full, Mixed Messages, date stamp (maker unknown)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White
DSP: maker unknown
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Black & White ribbon (maker unknown), Silver Brads

So Sweet!

2008-05-14T07:40:00.000-05:00

This is a thank you card for a sweet friend who sent me an unexpected card and package. The main panel is matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock and raised up on dimensionals. The eyelets are Sahara Sand, but I figured they were close enough to the River Rock cardstock that they'd work. I don't have a curved stem stamp in my Stampin' Up! sets, so I used Papertrey's Green Thumb set for the stem and leaves.

Overall it's a fairly simple card, but I like the way it turned out. Now I just need to write my note and get it in the mail! My DH and I were discussing the other day how lax people have become in sending thank you cards, so I want to make sure to get this in the mail quickly to let her know how much I appreciated her gesture.

Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: So Many Scallops, Enjoy Every Moment, Green Thumb (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, River Rock
Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Sahara Sand Eyelets
Tools: Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Crop-a-dile

Happy (Belated) Mother's Day!

2008-05-12T16:35:00.001-05:00

I had these cards ready to post over the weekend, but we were without Internet access for a couple of days. Oh well – better late than never.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day and was able to spend the day with the special women in your life. These cards were for my mom and mother-in-law. I won’t go into a lot of detail since they didn’t use any special techniques. I was excited to finally use the bird from the Always set though.

Recipe:
Stamps: Always, Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, River Rock
DSP: Basic Grey Infuse
Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Jumbo Eyelets
Tools: Rectangle Nestibilities

No Stamping Required!

2008-05-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's extremely rare that I do a scrapbook page, let alone a card, with no stamping at all, but here is one. A friend asked me to make some graduation cards for her and requested the Mahatma Ghandi quote "...be the change you want to see in the world." Since I didn't have a stamp with the quote, I generated it on my computer, and then used the Textile Cuttlebug embossing folder as my background. I used the "negative effect" for the embossed layer - inking up the negative side of the embossing folder before inserting the cardstock and running it through the machine. This technique was featured in TLC160 in mid-March.

Recipe:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Basic Grey
Ink: Basic Grey
Accessories: Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon, Silver Brads
Other: Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder

Sweet Pea Gift Card Holder

2008-04-29T12:00:00.002-05:00

One of the girls in my stamp club had a baby girl last week, so this card is for her. I used the gift card instructions from Patty Bennett's blog, Patty's Stamping Spot. After I scored the cardstock, I embossed just the front with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. I then added another strip of Pretty in Pink cardstock that was faux stitched and matted on Whisper White to the middle. The focal piece is from the Event Full hostess set from the Fall/Winter catalog. (I had a terrible time getting a decent picture of the card - the Pretty in Pink ink didn't want to show up very well!) The rectangles were cut out with my Nestabilities dies.

For the inside, I added a simple mat of Whisper White cardstock stamped with the congratulations from Hugs & Wishes and a piece of Berry Bliss DSP on the fold of the pocket.

This card is really pretty simple, but I like the results.

Recipe:
Stamps: Event Full, Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
DSP: Berry Bliss
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Other: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Signo White Gel Pen

Sorry I've been a bad blogger lately. I thought after tax season was over, things would settle down, but where work has left off other things have picked up. Anyway, I was given a few "blog awards", so I need to get caught up with those and will hopefully have more things to post!

Gel Pocket Card

2008-04-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Maybe I’m behind the times, but I had never tried this gel technique before this past weekend. I was looking at some of Nichole Heady’s sneak peeks for the April Papertrey release and saw her adorable fish pocket card using the technique.

She has a template for her card on her blog, but I just used my own measurements to make the pocket. I started with a 4 ¾ x 11” piece of Bashful Blue cardstock, scored at ¼” and 4 ½” on the short side and 2 ¾” and 5 ½” on the other. The finished card size is 4 ¼ x 5 ½” with a 2 ¾” pocket. After scoring, I cut off the top and bottom sections of the ¼” scored sections, leaving only the middle the full size (I hope that makes sense!). I followed the remainder of Nichole’s directions with the exception of the middle tabs. Since I used smaller tabs than Nichole did, I tucked them inside my pocket instead of wrapping them around the back.

The bottom portion of my pocket is wheeled with the Rough Texture wheel in Bashful Blue. The tag insert is stamped at the bottom with some old fish stamps I have from CTMH in Pumpkin Pie and third generation Old Olive (not sure the name of the set). The sentiment from It’s Your Birthday was stamped in Brilliant Blue.

To finish the card, I added a Round Tab Punch from Jersey Shore at the top of the tag, adhered with white eyelets, and the Happy Birthday sentiment from Papertrey’s Borders & Corners Monogram Edition.

Recipe:
Stamps: It’s Your Birthday, Borders & Corners Monogram Edition (Papertrey), Fish stamps (CTMH)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: White Eyelets, Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, Hair Gel, Small Ziploc Bag (from the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby)
Tools: Round Tab Punch, 1 ½” Circle Punch, Crop-a-dile

Life is Good (with Chocolate)!

2008-04-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

Life is always good with a little bit of chocolate don’t you think?

I created this pull treat for one of the door prizes for my Stamp Club challenge. Check out all of the details for that here. I used the tutorial on SCS to create it, and it couldn’t have been easier.

I used 3 of the small stamps from Enjoy Every Moment to create the background on the Very Vanilla Cardstock, stamped in Ruby Red, Groovy Guava and River Rock. I then added the belly band in Ruby Red. The edges were scalloped with the corner rounder and sponged in Ruby Red ink. In the middle of the band, I added a strip of River Rock that was stamped with the Life stamp from Make It Count, sponged with River Rock along the edges and paper pierced. The Groovy Guava flower is from Enjoy Every Moment and was stamped on a Very Vanilla scrap before being cut out and adhered. And finally, I added the “is good” stamp from Make it Count in the flower center.

Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Make It Count
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Ruby Red, River Rock
Ink: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava, River Rock
Accessories: River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon
Tools: Corner Rounder, 1/2" Circle Punch, Slot Punch

Life is also good because there is only one more day of tax season! I work for an investment firm, but we are also connected to an accounting firm, so it's been a little hectic lately. I'm definitely looking forward to a little more stamping time and having my Saturdays back!

Thanks for looking!

Polka Dots and Papertrey

2008-04-13T16:49:00.005-05:00

Today’s featured stamper on SCS was Kharmagirl, and I chose this card to CASE.

I kept the same layout and stamp set, but I changed the color combo and ribbon. I used 2 different ribbons and layered them on top of each other, so this card also qualifies for this past Monday’s Try A New Technique Challenge, Stacked Ribbon. I got this striped ribbon from Michael’s dollar bin ages ago and have never used it. I'm not sure the picture really shows the true color of the stripes, but the lighter blue stripe matches the Bashful Blue fairly well IRL.

I kept the polka dots on the main layer, but instead of using DSP as Kharmagirl did, I used my new Cuttlebug polka dot embossing folder. I’ve been waiting to get this one, but I finally found it at Hobby Lobby recently and couldn’t pass it up. Also, since I embossed the layers, I stamped my sentiment on a small piece of Whisper White instead of stamping directly on the paper.

This was a fun card to make. Thanks for looking!

Recipe:
Stamps: Papertrey Green Thumb
Cardstock: Papertrey Stamper’s Select White, Whisper White, Old Olive Bashful Blue
Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive
Accessories: White Eyelets, Old Olive Felt Fusion Flower, Green Ribbon (unknown maker), Striped Ribbon (unknown maker)
Tools: Cuttlebug Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Corner Rounder, Crop-a-dile

Enjoy the Little Things - Stamp Club Challenge

2008-04-08T17:20:00.003-05:00

One of my stamp club members mentioned that she thought it would be fun to issue a challenge to the group. I thought about it for awhile and came up with this idea. I created a Peek-A-Boo treat box for each member and filled it with some small Stampin' Up! supplies. (I got the idea to add stamp supplies instead of chocolate from Bethany Paull's blog, It's Not All Black and White.) My goal was to get them creating in between our stamp club meetings, use some of the items they were purchasing each time, and introduce them to some of the embellishments, etc. ("little things") Stampin' Up! offers that we may not always get to use in the club. I mailed them out along with a note challenging them to "enjoy the little things" and use the supplies to create something - a card, scrapbook page, or other project, of their choice.

I didn't really have any hard and fast rules, but here were the guidelines that I gave in my note.

Everyone's box of goodies contains 10 different items, but they are all different things.
The ultimate goal is to use as many of the items as you can. There will be three doorprizes. (In the event of a tie in any of the categories, I will draw for a winner.)
1) The first will be for whoever uses the most items from their box (they can be used on multiple projects if desired).
2) The second will be for whoever uses the most other Stampin' Up! items on their project(s) (SU! items purchased throughout the stamp club so far).
3) And the third will be for the most creative project (this will be voted on by all members present).
Your creation is not limited to the items in your box. Try to use some of your stamp club purchases in your creation(s). (The key to winning category #2!)
Your project(s) (and preferably you too!) must be present to win.

As mentioned above, each of the boxes contained similiar items, but they were all different. In each box, I included a selection of 10 items from the following: brads, Rhinestone brads, eyelets, ribbon, chipboard, Felt Fusion Flowers, die-cut blooms, punched shapes, buttons, pieces of Hodgepodge Hardware and small pieces of DSP. The items were contained in a small bag and adhered inside the Peek-A-Boo box - visible through the scallop circle window. I also included a "Packing List" in each of the boxes so they would know what each item was in case they were interested in getting more!

The boxes were made using the tutorial from SCS, but I changed the dimensions slightly. My finished boxes measured 4 x 3 3/4". I started with a piece of Old Olive cardstock that was 4" wide x 11 3/4" long and scored at 3 3/4", 4", 7 3/4", and 8". The inspiration for the front came from this card on SCS. For the front, I started with a piece of Basic Black cardstock that had been stamped with the Stitched background stamp in Whisper White and matted on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I also added a strip of Whisper White cardstock along the middle that was stamped with "enjoy" from Enjoy Every Moment in Basic Black. Each one was matted on a different color and "the little things" stamp was stamped in the same color. I also added the "Make it Count" stamp from the Make It Count Level 1 hostess set to the middle of the "O" in enjoy. It was punched with the 1/2" circle punch. I added velcro dots to hold the front of the box and the inside flap closed.

The scallop circle window was also stamped with the Stitched background before being punched. Have I mentioned that I love that background!

The door prizes will be little projects that I create. I only have one done so far - a double pocket bag, but I also plan to add a treat slider, and maybe a small box to hold chocolates or something.

I had a lot of fun coming up with the challenge and creating the boxes. It did take some time to come up with all of the different packets for the insides - if I have the chance to do this again, I'll probably go with all of the same. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone creates! (Hopefully I'll be able to post some of the projects after our next meeting.)

Treat Box Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Make It Count
Cardstock: Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White (for all), Rose Red, Real Red, Purely Pomegranate, Bashful Blue, Blue Bayou, Pumpkin Pie, Groovy Guava, Pretty in Pink (one each)
Ink: Whisper White, Basic Black (for all), others listed above
Accessories: Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon
Tools: Corner Rounder, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Rectangle Punch

Birthday Hugs & Wishes

2008-04-07T07:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I've been working on a challenge for my stamp club, so that has taken up most of my stamping time lately. I'm sending them out today, so I should be able to post about it by tomorrow or Wednesday.

I did take some time to do a card with Verve Visual’s guest designer sketch though. I thought it was an interesting sketch, so I wanted to give it a try.

I used a 9x8” piece of Basic Black cardstock, scored at 4”, for my base. The middle section includes 2 ¾ x 2 ¼” pieces of Basic Black, Old Olive and Rose Red stamped with the Stitched background in Whisper White. These were then matted on a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I really love that Stitched background. It's probably my favorite background stamp so far. I think it looks great stamped in white!

For the focal image, I stamped one of the birds from Verve’s Anniversary Birds set in Rose Red on Whisper White cardstock. I stamped it again on a scrap and cut out his wing for a little dimension. The branch from the set was stamped in Old Olive, and I added 3 Felt Fusion flowers. The ground beneath the bird's feet was sponged with Old Olive. The image was then matted on Basic Black cardstock. The Rose Red mat was adhered to the card first so the middle strip could be adhered between it and the focal image. The focal image was then adhered to the card with dimensionals.

The tag is a 2 ¼ x 2” piece of Whisper White. I stamped the Birthday Hugs & Wishes in Basic Black, added 3 black eyelets, some Old Olive Poly-Twill ribbon and an additional felt flower.

Recipe:
Stamps: Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual), Hugs & Wishes, Stitched
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Old Olive, Rose Red
Ink: Whisper White, Rose Red, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: Felt Fusion Flowers, Black Brads, Black Eyelets, Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon

FS60 - Featured Stamper ScrapNExtras

2008-04-01T07:45:00.003-05:00

Laura, aka ScrapNExtras on SCS, was the featured stamper this week, so I chose this card to CASE. She has a great gallery and blog - check them out sometime if you have a chance.

My card is a 4 1/4" square. The card base is Pumpkin Pie textured cardstock from the Creative License Level 1 hostess kit from the Fall/Winter catalog. The patterned paper is from that kit as well. The other cardstock is Blue Bayou. From Laura's original card, I changed the stamp sets and added Blue Bayou double-stitched ribbon.

Recipe:
Stamps: So Many Scallops, It's Your Birthday
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie (textured), Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
DSP: Creative License Level 1 Hostess Kit
Ink: Blue Bayou
Accessories: Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and Scallop Circle Punches

Tart & Tangy Gift Card Holder

2008-03-31T07:45:00.001-05:00

I've tried a couple of different versions of gift card holders, and I think this is one of my favorites. The finished card size is 5 x 4" and is a tri-fold. On the open view, you can see the slits punched for the gift card on the bottom and an area to write your message in the middle. The holder could also be done as a regular bi-fold card, but I like the variety of the tri-fold for this one.

The card base is a 5 x 12" piece of bashful blue scored at 4" and 8". For the front, I added a couple of different pieces of Summer Picnic DSP - the cherry print and the Old Olive stripe. I used the corner rounder to create the scallops on the striped paper. I then added a piece of Real Red cardstock on the lower portion, added faux stitching with the Signo white gel pen, and stamped For You in Whisper White in the lower right-hand corner. The red gingham wraps around the entire card to hold it closed.

The cherry was inked with Real Red and Old Olive markers and punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch. It is matted on an Old Olive 1 3/8" circle and then on a Real Red scallop. Finally, I added Crystal Effects to the cherries and adhered it on top of the gingham.

For the gift card section, I pushed the slit punch all the way in on both sides. I wanted it to be a fairly good fit so the card wouldn't slide out on it's own. The middle section is a piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamped with the cherry and sponged in Real Red on the edges.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Happy Everything
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Whisper White
Markers: Real Red, Old Olive, Signo White Gel Pen
Accessories: Red Gingham
Tools: 1 1/4, 1 3/8 and Scallop Circle Punches, Slit Punch, Corner Rounder

Ways to Use It Challenge

2008-03-28T12:45:00.001-05:00

This card was created for this week's Ways to Use It challenge, Just Spray It - using Glimmer Mist, water misting, color spritzer, airbrush, hairspray...or whatever else you can think of on your card. I used the misting with markers technique recently highlighted on SCS.

I colored the flower from Heartfelt Thanks with Ruby Red and Old Olive, misted the stamp with water, and then stamped it on a piece of Very Vanilla. I did this a few times and used some of the stamps multiple times for a 2nd and 3rd generation look. I also stamped the Linen background on the Vanilla cardstock in second generation River Rock. I'm not sure I totally achieved the watercolored look I was aiming for, so I'll have to experiment again. I really like how the focal piece turned out though.

The finished card is a 4 1/4" square with a layout I've used before (but have never posted). The layout came from a card I saw on Papertrey's site, and I really love it for the square cards.

The congratulations from Hugs & Wishes was added to a 3/4" strip with the corners rounded on one end. This card is going to my husband's aunt who recently won a teaching award, so we wanted to send her a quick note with our congratulations.

Recipe:
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: River Rock, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
DSP: Ginger Blossom
Ink: Ruby Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Vintage Brads, River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon
Tools: Corner Rounder, Rectangle Punch
Technique: Misting with Markers

Double Pocket Bag

2008-03-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

I'm working on a challenge of sorts for my stamp club and wanted to have a few door prizes for the winners. This is the first - a double pocket bag. It's empty right now, but I'm sure I'll find something to put in it as well.

This is the first time I had tried one. I followed the tutorial from SCS, and it came together really quickly. I made just a few minor changes to mine though. After scoring the first side at 1" and 11", I folded the DSP so I would have an inch border at the top with the other side of the paper instead of folding it inside. I figured since we have double-sided paper, I might as well use it to the fullest extent! I also punched the holes for my ribbon before adhering the two sides of the bag to each other. I thought it would be easier to punch that way.

I chose to just add a chipboard tag to mine instead of adding other stamped images to the front. Since I don't know the recipient yet, I thought this would allow them to use it for a variety of occasions. The chipboard was a plain rectangle from the On Board Accents set. I covered it with Whisper White ink and then added a small strip of Bashful Blue cardstock and a piece of the Pumpkin Pie polka-dot pattern from Summer Picnic. The u, from Jumbo Outline Alpha, was stamped in Pumpkin Pie, and then the 4, from Short Order Numbers, was added in Bashful Blue. I punched a hole at the top with my Crop-a-dile and added a white eyelet. I threaded the ribbon through the eyelet before attaching it to the bag (the ribbon is threaded through each hole and then adhered to itself with sticky strip).

I really love how this turned out, and I'm sure I'll be making more (if you've visited my blog much, you know how much I like making bags and boxes of all kinds!). This would make such a cute presentation of a gift card - put a card in one pocket and a gift card or some other small treat in the other. I also think I'll have to order more of the Summer Picnic DSP before the end of May - I love that stuff!

Recipe:
Stamps: Jumbo Outline Alpha, Short Order Numbers
Cardtock: Bashful Blue
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue
Accessories: On Board Accents Chipboard, White Eyelet, Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon
Tools: Crop-a-dile, Slot Punch

So Sweet of You

2008-03-26T20:00:00.005-05:00

I've always liked this Zoofari card by Nancy Riley, and I thought the layout would be a fun one to use with Tart & Tangy.

The base is a 8 x 9" piece of Old Olive cardstock, with a finished card size of 4 x 9". The stamped fruit were punched with a 1 1/4" circle punch and layered on 2" squares of Summer Picnic, which was then matted on Chocolate Chip cardstock. The green stripe going down the right side is also from Summer Picnic and matted on Chocolate Chip. I added 2 Vintage brads at the top and my very last piece of Chocolate Chip Taffeta towards the bottom (good thing I have more on it's way!).

The stamped sentiment at the bottom reads, "so sweet of you", and is a combination of stamps from So Many Scallops and So Very (one of last year's Sell-A-Bration sets). I thought the "so sweet of you" saying on the So Many Scallops stamp was too small by itself, so I used my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp "so" by itself, the "sweet" stamp from the So Very set, and then "of you" (again from So Many Scallops). It was a little more work than if I would have had one of the coordinating Perfect Day Rub-Ons, but I like the end result.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, So Many Scallops, So Very
Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Markers: Old Olive, Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Chocolate Chip Taffeta
Tools: 1 1/4" Circle Punch

Felt Flowers

2008-03-25T05:58:00.000-05:00

I've had the Felt Fusion flowers on my wish list since the new Stampin' Up! catalog came out, and I'm so glad I put them on my last order. They are so fun to play with! Hopefully there will be even more colors in the next catalog.

I played around with the layout of this card for quite awhile before I finally settled on this one. It was one of those cards I had to just step away from for awhile. Not that it was a really complicated card, but my original idea just wasn't coming together the way I wanted it to. I'm happy with the end result though.

The card is a standard 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" with a base of Basic Black. The focal piece is a 2 3/4 x 3 1/8" piece of Whisper White layered on Basic Black and then on Old Olive. I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs in Old Olive and then added the Pumpkin Pie Die Cut Bloom and Rose Red and Old Olive Felt Flowers. The flowers are adhered with Black Vintage Brads. The bottom edge of each of the pieces was torn before they were adhered together, and I added the "just because" sentiment from the Love & Happiness rub-ons and some additional black brads.

The middle piece is a 4 1/4 x 2" strip of Summer Picnic DSP. I love that Old Olive striped pattern! A piece of Basic Black grosgrain was adhered in the middle of the DSP.

Overall, it's a fairly simple card, but I really love the bright colors of the flowers with the Basic Black.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Basic Black, Old Olive, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Die Cut Bloom, Rose Red and Old Olive Felt Fusion Flowers, Black Vintage Brads, Basic Black Grosgrain, Love & Happiness Rub-Ons

Reversible Baby Card

2008-03-23T20:55:00.002-05:00

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve participated in the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS, so I thought I’d play along today. I had recently visited Amy’s blog, Pickled Paper Designs, so I had an idea of the card I wanted to CASE. I needed a baby card for my husband’s cousin, and I thought this layout would work well with the baby stamp from So Many Scallops. However, I was having trouble figuring out how to incorporate the fact that she had twins – a boy and a girl. So – I couldn’t just go with the traditional pink or blue and didn’t really want to do a neutral color.

And, that is how the reversible card came about. My husband actually suggested the idea. He thought it would be fun to have two fronts to the card. One side has pink for the girl and the other, blue for the boy. The opposite side was adhered upside down from the front that is facing you at the time, so when you turn it over, it looks like a normal card front. The inside is done the same way.

I used Pretty in Pink for the girl and Bashful Blue for the boy. Otherwise, the card fronts are the same. They each have a 4 x 5 ¼” mat adhered to the card base. The congratulations stamp from Hugs & Wishes was stamped at the bottom of that piece. To that, I layered a 3 ¼ x 4 ½” piece of colored cardstock matted on a 3 3/8 x 4 5/8” piece of Whisper White. That layer is stamped with Print Pattern and dots were added at the points of the diamonds with the white gel pen.

A 4 x 1” piece of colored cardstock was matted on a 4 x 1 1/8” piece of Whisper White and adhered to the middle of the card. On each end, I added a 1 3/8” circle that was folded in half. On one half, I added a white eyelet and threaded Whisper White Taffeta through. The baby scallop stamp was then added on top of the ribbon.

This picture isn't the greatest, but hopefully you can see both card fronts and how, when it is open this way, one is just upside down of the other.

This was a fun card to make! Hopefully, the new parents will enjoy it also.

Recipe:
Stamps: Print Pattern, So Many Scallops, Hugs & Wishes
Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: White Eyelets, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Other: Signo White Gel Pen, 1 3/8” Circle Punch

Cause for Celebration!

2008-03-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share some good news. I was notified last night that a card I submitted to a magazine was picked up for publication! How exciting is that - my first time being published! My card is scheduled to appear in the August 2008 issue of the Cards Idea Book Series.

The card is one that I originally posted on my blog and on SCS, so I have temporarily removed the image. I'll be able to share it again at the beginning of September.

Thanks for letting me share my excitement!

Clearly in Bloom

2008-03-18T21:21:00.006-05:00

Here’s another first for me this week – a clear card. I’ve wanted to try one for awhile but just hadn’t fit it in yet. This card by Laura at scrapnextras served as my starting inspiration point. It was almost impossible to get a good picture of the card, so I hope you can see how it all goes together.

The finished card size is 4 ¼” square, so I started with a 8 ½” x 4 ¼” piece of acetate for the base. For the inside, I adhered a 3” square piece of Summer Picnic DSP (the Pumpkin Pie Polka-Dot) to a 3 ¼” x 6 ½” piece of Whisper White. The Whisper White is folded in half (at the top) so it opens to give you a place to write your message. I added a 3 ½” square piece of Real Red to the back of the card to cover the adhesive from the inside pieces. The final touch on the inside was the for you rub-on from the Love & Happiness Sale-A-Bration set.

On the front, I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs in White Stazon and added a strip of the green stripe from Summer Picnic. My green strip is 8 ½” long so it wraps around the front inside to cover the brad on the flower and any adhesive from the front– a little tip I learned from Nichole Heady’s blog, Capture the Moment. My flower is a combination of a Real Red Die Cut Bloom and Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie felt flowers. They are adhered to the DSP with a Real Red brad.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: White Stazon
Accessories: Die Cut Bloom, Felt Fusion Flowers, Real Red Brad, Love & Happiness Rub-Ons
Other: Acetate

Chalkboard Apples

2008-03-16T20:15:00.002-05:00

I've wanted to try the chalkboard technique for awhile now, and I thought the apples from Tart & Tangy would be a fun stamp to use. I guess I fell into that old tradition of associating apples with school! Anyway, I liked the combination of black with the Real Red and Old Olive from the Summer Picnic DSP, so I thought it all worked well together.

This technique is different from anything I've tried before. I haven't really used my Pastels since I got them in my demo starter kit. I wasn't sure how I felt about not having totally smooth and even coverage on my stamped images, but I do like the way the card turned out. With the addition of the thank you stamp, I think it might be a fun one to give a teacher at the end of the year.

ETA: The card is a 4 1/4" square. The Basic Black and Summer Picnic DSP are 4" wide and about 2" tall (the middle green strip is 3/4"), and everything is matted on a 4 1/8" square of Whisper White.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Stem Silhouettes (thank you)
CS: Basic Black, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Whisper White, Real Red
Accessories: Black Gingham, Old Olive Poly-Twill, Basic Black Grosgrain
Other: Pastels

Windows of Cherries

2008-03-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile, so I had to try it out as soon I got my Tart & Tangy set and the new Summer Picnic DSP. I don’t normally frequent the card section in stores, but I happened to be in Target one day and saw a card that inspired this one. The Target card had cherries all over the front, and the cherries were cut-out circles. It was monochromatic with a lighter color in the background for the cherry.

For my card, I cut 3 1 ¾” squares from Whisper White cardstock and stamped the cherry in Old Olive (I just stamped the whole thing in Olive since I wouldn’t be using the cherry part of the stamp). I then punched the cherries out with a ½” circle punch. The punch is slightly larger than the cherry, but the handheld punch is too small and the ½” circle accomplished my goal. Finally, the squares were adhered to a piece of Real Red cardstock with dimensionals to make the “window”.

To finish the card, I added a couple of different patterns from the Summer Picnic DSP and stamped Warm Wishes in Old Olive. The Old Olive poly-twill ribbon was tied through one of the punched out cherries.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Hugs & Wishes
CS: Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White
DSP: Summer Picnic
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Old Olive Poly-Twill Ribbon
Tools: ½: Circle Punch, Signo White Gel Pen

Love Birds

2008-03-11T21:21:00.003-05:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, let alone done a color challenge. So – tonight I decided to do both. My favorite In-Color this year is Purely Pomegranate, so I was excited to see it as one of the colors for this week’s challenge – Purely Pomegranate, Basic Black and Basic Grey.

I just got the new Anniversary Birds set from Verve Visual, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my card. I don’t normally make impulse buys when it comes to stamp sets – I like to weigh my options and make sure I’ll really use the set before I get it. But, I have to say that I ordered this set the first day I saw it. I love these little birds!

I used Basic Grey as my card base and layered a panel of Purely Pomegranate on the left hand side. I stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs on the Pomegranate and one of the sentiments from the new set on Basic Grey. Both were stamped in Versamark and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The birds were stamped in Pomegranate on Whisper White, and everything was matted on a layer of Basic Black.

The only other detail I added was a line of paper piercing along the top edge of the sentiment. I considered adding some Basic Grey Taffeta, but I just couldn’t make it work. I’m happy with the end result though and plan to send this to my niece and her husband who will celebrate their first anniversary in May.

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Anniversary Birds (Verve Visual)
CS: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Versamark
Other: Clear Embossing Powder

Every Day is a Gift

2008-02-28T07:30:00.000-06:00

This card is a CASE of one I saw on Laurie Schmidlin's blog, Just Give Me Stamps. I loved the layout and layering Laurie used, so I recreated it with Papertrey's, Out on a Limb set. I also tried the Faux Linen Technique she used on her main image, but I'm not sure mine came out as well as hers. It is very subtle in real life, but I'm not sure you can see it on the card.

I just finished preparing for Stamp Club on Monday, so I will share that project with you early next week.

Recipe:
Stamps: Out on a Limb (Papertrey), Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
CS: Ruby Red, River Rock, Glossy White
DSP: Ginger Blossoms
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon, Gold Brads
Technique: Faux Linen

Window Birthday Card

2008-02-25T07:30:00.002-06:00

I saw a cute window card on Kristina Werner's blog and thought I'd try my own version.

Most of the time I would just eyeball where I wanted to punch my circles, but Kristina had a video on her blog of how she gets hers evenly spaced. I followed her directions and punched a 1 1/2" circle 3 times from scrap paper and placed the circles (with just a small piece of mono adhesive on the back) on my strip of Brilliant Blue cardstock. When I was happy with the placement, I punched them out again from the cardstock. I then drew a light pencil line around the circles onto my Whisper White cardstock so I'd know where to stamp.

After stamping the present from Big Bold Birthday, I erased my pencil marks and added dimensionals to the back of the Brilliant Blue cardstock to adhere it. I added a few strips of Jersey Shore DSP and stamped Happy Birthday at the top. I decided to change my ribbon placement from Kristina's and threaded it through the left circle window.

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon
Tools: 1 1/2" Circle Punch

Curious Cat

2008-02-23T12:35:00.001-06:00

I thought I'd share this picture with you today just for fun. My cat, Casey, like most I'm sure, loves to be right in the middle of whatever you're doing, and my craft area is no different. Most of the time she gets up on the craft table to either look out the window or more likely, play with whatever I happen to have out at the time - rubbing her cheek along the sides of the ink pads, batting around any stamps, markers, brads, etc. that may be loose on the table or chewing on sponges. On this day, I guess she was scolded enough to get off the table that she relegated herself to the top of the paper shelves.

As a side note, my hubby built these paper shelves for me last summer. I currently have all of my Stampin' Up! paper on one side, grouped by color, and everything else on the other side. Maybe I can convince him to build me another set this summer! He built me a ribbon holder a few months ago, so whenever my craft area is clean enough to get a picture of it, I'll share it with you too.

Thanks for bearing with me on the sidetrack today. I'll have more cards to share in the next few days. Have a great weekend!

Coordinating 3-D Items

2008-02-21T13:30:00.003-06:00

I think I've mentioned before how much I love to make boxes and bags of all sorts. Anytime I see a new way to make one, I like to give it a try. I saw this box on a couple of different blogs, Cambria Turnbow's, Stamp A Little Love Baby and Danielle Lounds', Fat Cat Stamper.

For the bottom of my box, I used an 8 1/4" square piece of Brilliant Blue cardstock, scored at 2 3/4" on each side. In each corner, I also made a diagonal score to the inside line to be able to fold each corner into a point (to see a picture, check out either of the blogs I mentioned). I then folded the 2 corners together on each end and adhered them with a white eyelet where they overlapped. These are very simple boxes to make - and, no glueing required!

For the lid, I used a 4 7/8" square piece of textured Wild Wasabi cardstock, scored at 1" on each side (the opening of my box was 2 3/4", so I added an 1/8" for the top to slip over and an 1" for each side to come up with my 4 7/8" measurement). I added a slightly smaller piece of Jersey Shore DSP on top of the Wild Wasabi before folding. The top is adhered with eyelets also; however, for the top, I tucked my corner triangles inside and added white eyelets to the corners of 2 of the sides to hold everything together.

After putting the box together, I added some Pumpkin Pie ribbon and a tag made from my Nestabilities dies and the Big Bold Birthday and Happy Everything sets. Such a fun box to coordinate with all of those Jersey Shore and Big Bold Birthday cards I've been making recently!

I had a lot of fun with the tin also. I picked it up during my recent trip to Archiver's (I believe it's made by EK Success.) I think it's similar to the round tins sold by Papertrey, but I like the fact that this one is white instead of silver. I added a couple of different patterns of Jersey Shore DSP around the side of the tin (adhered with sticky strip) and then added the Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon around it. The scallop circle is punched out of Jersey Shore also. On it, I layered a 1 1/4" circle stamped with the Enjoy Your Day stamp from Riveting, and a 1/2" circle of just the gift in Pumpkin Pie. The tin is filled with M&M's (only orange, blue and green ones though to match the DSP :) ). I think these would make really cute birthday or wedding favors!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, Happy Everything, Riveting (retired)
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Striped Ribbon, White Eyelets (unknown maker)
Tools: Crop-A-Dile, Nestabilities Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle Dies, Horizontal Slot Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch

Celebrate Today!

2008-02-19T07:41:00.000-06:00

I saw a card similar to this on SCS, but I don't remember now who to give credit to. The layout is a pretty standard one, and one I like to come back to quite often. The flower and pot are from Papertrey's Green Thumb set, and the sentiment is from Mixed Messages. There are so many great sayings in that set! The background of the card is stamped with Linen.

Recipe:
Stamps: Green Thumb and Mixed Messages (Papertrey), Linen
CS: Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Wild Asparagus (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Bashful Blue Taffeta, Bold Brights Brads

First Ever Criss-Cross Card!

2008-02-18T12:35:00.001-06:00

I have loved all the criss-cross cards I’ve seen posted on SCS and everyone’s blogs, but for some reason, I have never made one myself – until last weekend anyway. The double-sided DSP made it so easy.

I used the new Ginger Blossom DSP and the coordinating Ruby Red and River Rock cardstock. The sentiment and small stamped flowers are from Papertrey’s Green Thumb set.

Recipe:
Stamps: Papertrey Green Thumb
CS: Ruby Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
DSP: Ginger Blossom
Ink: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava
Accessories: River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon, Bold Brights Brads
Tools: Round Tab Punch, Ticket Corner Punch

New Toys!

2008-02-15T07:45:00.002-06:00

I had a chance to go to an Archiver's the other day so I picked up a couple of fun new things. One of the items was a package of American Crafts Thickers - foam letter stickers. I intend to use them in my scrapbooks, but I got the idea for this card so I wanted to try them. I love the way it turned out!

The card itself is pretty straightforward. It's 9"x4", and the Wild Wasabi base is a piece of textured cardstock from the Creative License Level 1 hostess scrapbooking kit from the Fall/Winter catalog. Of course I used Jersey Shore DSP again. I really like the way the 2 patterns look layered together.

Hope you like it! Have a great weekend!

Recipe:
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
CS: Wild Wasabi (textured), Whisper White, Brilliant Blue
DSP: Jersey Shore
Ink: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: American Crafts Thickers, White Brads (unknown maker), Iridescent Ice embossing powder