More Stem Silhouettes

I’m sending mail support to a soldier deployed to Iraq. I wanted to make up a "Thinking of You" card that would be masculine, but would still incorporate nature since he does like grass and trees (the sort of thing that they don’t have "over there"). So, I came up with this simple idea using "Stem Silhouettes" by Stampin’ Up! This was also a good use of a couple of the new In Color papers from Stampin’ Up!.

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Stem Silhouettes, Friendly Messages by Stampendous
Paper: River Rock, Buckaroo Blue, Chocolate Chip card stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Embellishments: Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch, paper piercing template, paper piercer

You can't see it in this picture, but I did a paper pierced triangle shaped design in the upper left hand corner of the blue part of the card. Sort of balances the "thinking of you" sentiment in the lower right side.

Special Christmas Card

I needed a Christmas card for my best friend and Stampin’ Up! demo and wanted it to be something that she hadn’t seen before. Since she and I usually do the same card making events and she’s a demonstrator, she’d seen everything that I’d made. So, I came up with this card. This set was a Sellabration set in 2006 but I hadn’t used it much. The glitter affect actually shows up pretty well in this picture!

The recipe:
Set: Gently Falling (2006 Sellabration)
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Buckaroo Blue, blue suede paper
Ink: Buckaroo Blue, Versamark
Accessories: Kaleidoscope Glitter Embossing Powder by Stampendous, French Blue ribbon, paper piercer, paper piercing template, antique brass square brads, heat gun

To make the design I first stamped the image with buckaroo blue ink. I then cleaned the stamp and reinked with Versamark and stamped over the image, then covered in glitter EP and heated. Be careful not to put the heat gun too close to the powder or it will lose it’s shine. I had a couple of false starts with that element until I figured it out. The sample picture that I was working from showed a dry embossed background using a snowflake embossing folder. Since I didn’t have a way of duplicating that effect, I decided to do something completely different and used my suede paper which I’d purchased some time back and had used seldom. I think the suede gives the card a richer look.

Stem Silhouettes

I needed a thank you card for my SU! demo friend that I wanted to put a bit of extra effort in to. Since I’d never tried the emboss resist technique for making a background, I thought I’d try it out. Here’s the result.

The recipe:
Set: Stem Silhouettes
Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, Brushed Gold
Ink: Garden Green, Green Galore, Marigold Morning, Versamark
Accessories: Gold EP, Clear EP, Gold Organdy Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals, heat gun

To make the background, I first inked one of the stamps with Versamark and stamped the image several times, reinking after each stamp. I then applied the clear EP and heated to melt. I then sponged the different colors of ink randomly on the card, covering all areas. I used a paper towel to rub off any excess from the embossed areas.

I then stamped one image on the white with Garden Green ink, and heat set it. (I was too impatient with my first try and did the second image right away with the gold EP and it stuck to the green too! Not the effect I was looking for, believe me!). I then stamped the other image with Versamark and then sprinkled with gold EP and heated to melt. Attached it to the background with dimensionals after tying on the ribbon. It’s hard to see in this picture, but I stamped "Thank You" from the set in Versamark underneath the stems and heat embossed with gold EP.

Word came back that she really liked it!

Christmas Card for a Friend

I made this Christmas card using the "Solemn Stillness" set from Stampin’ Up! It doesn’t show up very good in this picture, but I made the background behind the tree using a Stampin’ Up! wheel, Versamark and gold Embossing Powder.

The recipe:
Set: Solemn Stillness
Paper: Handsome Hunter, Whisper White, Creamy Caramel
Ink: Craft White, Versamark
Accessories: Stampin’ Up! wheel "Star Studded", Gold EP, Heat Gun, Dimensionals

This was a pretty simple card to make, the hardest part was getting the zigzagged design centered properly on top of the tree!

A Child Is Born

This is the Christmas card that I made for my brother and his family. When I made my other cards using my SU! demo’s stamp set, I made several but forgot to keep one out for my brother before I mailed the rest out! So, I had to get creative. I don’t have too many Christmas sets because I’m always waiting to see what’s coming out in the new catalog and then usually decide to use what I already have anyway. I haven’t used this set much, but I really like how this particular card turned out.

Here’s the recipe:
Set: A Child Is Born
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Baroque Burgundy (this is a retired paper color but I used it before realizing that it wasn’t the new Bravo Burgundy.)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, White Craft
Accessories: Ivory Organdy ribbon, dimensionals

Thanks for looking!

I thought I'd post a picture of the Christmas card that I made for my friends and family this year. This was the set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Collection 2007 called Star -Studded Season.

Here's the recipe:

Papers: Night of Navy, Whisper White and Brushed Silver.

Inks: Night of Navy and White Craft.

Embellishments: silver cord, stampin' dimensionals.

Hint: I stamped the star on the silver paper with navy ink so it was easier to cut out. I thought this was a very simple card and could be mass produced easily.

Welcome to my Blog

This is my first time doing a blog, so you all will have to have patience with me. I'm going to be uploading some pictures of recent cards that I've made, and will try to post something at least once a week. I'm not enough up to speed with this whole thing yet, to know how it all works. So, hope you eventually find something here that is of interest for you.

All stamps used will be from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.