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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Takin' a Break

Dear Friends,

This is just a note to let you know that I'm taking a break from blogging for a little while. I'm going to be leaving my job at the end of October and before that I'm going to be out of town for a few days. I find that I just don't have the time to sit and be inspired to create. Things are going to be a bit hectic until the middle of November or so (our church has their holiday bazaar on the 9th and I need to get stuff going to sell there) plus I'm going be helping a friend of mine at a card stamping extravaganza around the same time and I have a Red Hat event on the 15th of Nov.

So, check back around that time if you're still interested, to see what's new. This has been great fun but I've run out of archived ideas for the time being.

Enjoy fall!
Kathy

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I'm Back

I realize that it's been a while since I last posted but that's because I was out of town last weekend and am still recovering. We did a lot of driving in the 4 days we were gone and I'm tired and sore now.

I haven't had the energy to sit down and be creative lately. So sorry to those of you who have been following my blog. I don't know how people do it when they create a new card and post it every day.

Stay tuned.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Christmas Scallop Tins

I’ve seen these all over the place. I made some of these up for family around Easter and figured that they would be a hit at my church’s holiday bazaar and bake sale in November. Just the right size for stocking stuffers or table favors.
I filled them up with Christmas M&M's.

On the blue one I used white embossing powder for the scallop.

Stamp Set: So Many Scallops
Paper: Night of Navy, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Four Seasons designer paper (blue), Dashing designer paper (green/red)
Ink: Night of Navy, Purely Pomegranate, Versamark (for navy one)
Accessories: Candy tins from Michael’s craft store (in the bridal section), Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, white embossing powder (for navy one), gold brad, glue dots

Friday, October 3, 2008

HOLY CATS!!

I just checked and my last post was on September 25th!! Over a week ago!!!! SO SORRY everyone, but days have gotten away from me. I was reading another blog tonight and that woman said she'd had her car in the shop for some repair which turned out to be major. The same thing happened to me, although my repairs were a bit more expensive than her $400 repair, by about 1200 dollars! The list was long but now the car runs well and looks almost like new which is remarkable since it's a 10 year old car. A good detailing job can subtract YEARS from the look of your car. It was a hundred dollars well spent. Since we don't have a garage, a triple coat of hand applied wax will help protect it this winter.

I got my new stamps from the 15% off promotion, last weekend. They'd come in while I was on vacation and then I just couldn't seem to connect up with my demo. to get them. I still haven't used any of them although they're all mounted. Die cuts make that SO easy, I almost felt guilty getting them put together so soon. Maybe I'll have a chance to put rubber to paper this weekend. It was funny, when the new catalog came out I came up with a list of 6 immediate "must haves" and three of the sets were on the 15% off sale list. Hoopla!!

One of the other items that I got was the Simply Sent card making kit called Flower Power. That's the one that comes with the paper and embellishments, but you have to buy the stamp set separately if you want some stamped images too and use your own ink and dimensionals. (Now where did I put my craft knife?) I also got the Wow Flowers stamp set that coordinates with the kit. The colors were bold and bright, not my usual color combinations but I like how they turned out. Just like the picture which is not always the case with me. It was a quick and easy way to get 9 cards. I did 6 up as birthday cards and left the other three blank so that I can use an appropriate saying later. I had them all done in an afternoon and another part of an evening. Again, not usual for me since it sometimes takes me all evening to come up with ONE card!

Anyway, that's my excuse this week for not posting anything new. I'm going to have to really get on the stick and make something. I don't know how some folks find the time to create a new card and post it every night. I know they're out there because I read their blogs almost daily and there's always something new there! Guess I have to be more diligent about putting aside time to stamp.

See ya!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Pomegranate Solitude

I got this card from one of the blogs that I visit regularly but I didn't write down the name of the poster. If someone recognizes this card from another blog (especially if YOU are the one who made it!), please let me know and I'll edit this to give proper credit.

This card used the Spring Solitude set which was a level 2 hostess in the Spring/Summer SU! catalog. I masked off the center with paper and wheeled the flower design on diagonally using my Stampin’ Around Wheel Guide. Even wheeling diagonally, I never would have been able to get the lines straight without that guide! I then used the multi flower stamp to stamp the outline in the open area, stamped the solid flower in Pomegranate ink on Whisper White, cut it out and attached with a dimensional. A strip of satin Pomegranate ribbon was wrapped around opposite corners and embellished with a large rhinestone. A bit of Stickles crystal glitter in the center of the flowers and the card is done!


Recipe:
Stamp Set: Spring Solitude
Paper: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Solitude wheel, Stampin’ Around Wheel Guide, clear rhinestones, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

I'm Back But..........

We're back from our WONDERFUL vacation but I hit the ground running on Monday and it hasn't let up yet. Getting caught up on household shopping, getting the monthly condo newsletter out (I'm editor) plus getting back to work, has left no time for stamping. This warm fall weather is wrecking havoc with my allergies and sinuses too, so please hang in there for a little while longer. Once I'm feeling a bit better, I'll get inspired and have something new to post. As I'm sure all of you know, when you're not feeling well, the creative juices just simply dry up! Stay tuned.........

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Gone For A While

Friends, just wanted to let all of you faithful readers know that I'm going to be out of town for the upcoming week and won't be able to post any cards. I'm going to be staying at a resort were there is no Internet access. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe that places exist that don't have email, but this is a resort on a lake in Northern Wisconsin where peace and quiet reign supreme. I am SO looking forward to some fresh air and hopefully a lot of nice weather! We're supposed to be getting remnants of Hurricane Ike sometime Sunday into Monday so we'll see. My parents live 9 miles from the resort so we'll be able to spend some quality time with them.

Have a great week and I'll see you when I get back!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Blue Garden Thank You

I had previously posted a pic with this design for a card that I had made for a neighbor to use as a "Thank You" card. She’s undergoing cancer treatment and wanted something nice to send those folks who have been helping her out with meals and such. She asked for more and said that she’d like something in blue. This was somewhat of a challenge for me because I don’t have that much in the way of designer paper with any kind of blue in it. I’m pleased with how this card turned out however. I hope she likes it.

I stamped the flower and sentiment with Blue Bayou. Put a strip of Spring Silhouettes on the bottom with the raw edge covered with the ribbon. I glued the micro beads on the center of the flower with the Diamond Glaze. I thought that added just the right amount of bling.

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: From the Garden, Warm Words
Paper: Soft Sky, Spring Silhouettes designer paper
Ink: Blue Bayou
Accessories: Soft Sky double stitched ribbon, Diamond Glaze, clear micro beads

Monday, September 8, 2008

Christmas Jars

I’m getting a head start on our church Holiday Bazaar and made up a bunch of these little candy jars. I’ve seen this on Splitcoast and I think several people have posted these online. I made them with flowers and spring colors for a luncheon that a church group had back in June. At that time I said that I’d be making ones similar for the church holiday sale. I got inspired over the weekend and did up 15, 5 in each color. I’m going to fill them with M&M’s or some other small holiday candy.

First I stamped the whole scalloped design on whisper white with the various ink colors. Then I used my 1 1/4" circle punch to punch out the background circle. I then used Versamark ink and my white embossing powder to emboss the snowflake on the individual colors of card stock and punched out with my 3/4" circle punch. The gold brad was put throught the center of the snowflake which was then attached to the background circle with a small dimensional cut in half. The whole thing was attached to the cap with a glue dot. The trim was attached to the edge of the cap with the tacky strip.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: So Many Scallops
Paper: Real Red, Glorious Green, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy, Glorious Green, Versamark
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Scalloped Circle Punch, 3/4" circle punch, gold brad, dimensional, Terrifically Tacky Tape, glue dots, trim from Michael’s

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Out of Touch

Dear Friends,

Sorry for being out of touch for so long. Was out of town for the Labor Day weekend holiday, then we're having residing work done on our condo. They started putting the new stuff up on Tuesday and it sounded like they were coming right through the wall! Made it hard to do any kind of concentrating anywhere in the house. Today we had the remnants of Hurricane Gustav come though and it rained all day. We sure needed it. Saturday we're participating in a neighborhood rummage sale so I have to get that stuff going tomorrow. Please bear with me, I'll try to post something new soon.

Thanks for checking in!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Garden Thank You

I found out just recently that one of my neighbors is battling breast cancer. She’d mentioned something about wanting to make some thank you cards to send to those folks who have been helping her out with meals and other things. Since I’m not a "meal person," I just don’t feel right making someone else food when I don’t know what they like, I offered to make the cards for her. She told me to start with 6 so I wanted them to be nice but not be too much work or use a lot of embellishments because I may be making more and I didn’t want to run out of supplies. I took this idea from the Spring/Summer Idea Book from Stampin’ Up! The flower stamp was actually a background stamp that was a Level 1 hostess set. I think they turned out pretty good.

I started out by stamping the flower in Ruby Red ink on Whisper White. I took a strip of the Ginger Blossom designer paper and adhered it to the bottom of the card and covered the edge with the Groovy Guava ribbon. I was going to leave it at that, but the empty space in the upper left corner looked too, well, EMPTY. So, I got the bright idea that since this was supposed to be a Thank You card, that the word "Grateful" from the Small Script set was perfect. I had debated about adding some clear microbeads to the center of the flower and I’m still debating. Or, I’ll leave it like it is here, pure and simple.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: From The Garden, Small Script
Paper: Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper, Whisper White
Ink: Ruby Red
Accessories: Groovy Guava Double Stitched Ribbon

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Dream In Red

While laying in bed last Saturday morning, I came up with the idea of this card. It too is similar to a card that I posted earlier, and I had a idea for using some single color double sided designer paper. I just didn’t know if I had any in red. I remembered that I’d gotten the Prints Pack Designer Series Paper as a hostess "set" and when I check it out I found that I did inDEED have red paper. This is the result of my early morning brainstorm. This layout and stamp set would work with just about ANY color designer paper and could be used for any occasion.

The flower was stamped with the Real Red and Green Galore markers on Whisper White cardstock. It was then matted on to Real Red and then Basic Black for a bit of contrast. Two glitter brads were added as the flower centers. My brads came already glittered but I’ve heard that you can make your own using regular brads, Diamond Glaze dimensional adhesive and glitter.

Two sides of the designer paper were used and a satin ribbon attached over the seam. It’s a bit hard to see in this picture but the bottom is the light background with the medium sized dark polka dot and the top paper is the reverse. There’s another design that’s a dark background with small white polka dot but the reverse design was, I thought, too busy. Another narrower length of ribbon was tied around the main element which was then attached with dimensionals.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Live Your Dream
Paper: Real Red designer series paper (hostess set from the Spring/Summer catalog), Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black
Ink: Real Red, Green Galore markers
Accessories: Red Satin Ribbon (two widths), glitter brads, dimensionals

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Fresh Cuts in Red and Black

My boss had asked me to make her a wedding card for a friend whose wedding is in October. Never one to sit around and wait if an idea is there in my head, I got to work. This card is the same as one I posted earlier, only with different colors.

I stamped the background image over the die cut flower on the Fresh Cuts notes. Using the 5 petal flower punch, I punched out a flower in black card stock and adhered it to the back of the flower cutout. I then punched a small flower out of red cardstock using the Spring Flower Bouquet punch and adhered that to the front of the flower cutout center. A half back pearl was added to the center, the panel was matted on to red cardstock and set aside.

Cherish was stamped onto Whisper White cardstock and punched out with the small oval punch. It was matted to red cardstock punched with the large oval punch and attached to the bottom of the card. You can’t see it on this picture, but to the right of the oval element, I stamped the sprig with Versamark and then embossed with clear EP. It adds just the right about of interest to balance out the three brads that I added to the top. The main element was then added to the card with dimensionals and the card was finished.

This wasn’t exactly the card I’d had in mind for the personality of the person receiving it and I struggled with the idea of not having the right color/pattern of designer paper. At the time, I didn’t feel that I had anything else to work with. But the next morning, I checked a forgotten "stash" of paper and found exactly what I was looking for! Personally, I like this card better, but the other one that I wound up making reflects the young lady’s personality much better I think. I’ll post that one next.

Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts, Warm Words
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Fresh Cuts notes
Ink: Basic Black, Versamark
Accessories: 5 Petal Flower Punch, Large and Small Oval Punch, Spring Flower Bouquet Punch, Half Back Pearl, Red Metallic Brads, clear embossing powder, dimensionals

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Live Your Dream Wedding

I found this card on Splitcoast but for the life of me I can’t find it again to get the name of the poster. It was fairly early in the Sale-a-bration promotion so it’s not readily accessible. If someone finds it, let me know where it is so that I can give proper credit. This is a beautiful card but was a lot of work. I’m pleased with how it turned out but am not sure if I’ll do another one.

The Live Your Dream set didn’t make it in to the new SU! Fall/Winter catalog, but I have hopes that it will come back in the Spring/Summer ‘09 one along with the Afternoon Tea designer paper. Since I’m not an SU! demonstrator, I can use this set even if it’s not a current one. YAY!!

I punched out circles using the ½" circle punch and the Chocolate Chip paper. I then glued those under the edge of the top designed paper and painted the "holes" with my white gel pen. For the Note of Love tag, I stamped just the top part and then using my Stampamajig, used marker on the bottom line of the stamp and stamped the bottom of the tag.

Stamp Set: Live Your Dream, Lots of Thoughts
Paper: Afternoon Tea Designer Paper, Whisper White, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Key Tag Punch, 1/2" circle punch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip poly twill ribbon, white gel pen, rhinestones, brown eyelet for tag

Sunday, August 10, 2008

The New Catalog Is Almost Live!

I read the term "live" on another blog and thought, yup, that's what it is.....a live catalog! It's alive with so many new stamps and accessories!! I think SU! outdid themselves this time, such an awesome catalog!! I just got mine last night after a visit with my SU! demonstrator friend. I can't wait to order stuff out of it. What to get........the In Color supplies (but of COURSE!).......the designer papers (yes, but WHICH ONES, I WANT THEM ALL!!)......which stamps, there are SO MANY neat new ones!! It will take me a few days to look through the book many times, mark my pages and work up my first order. It's always so hard to pace myself but I can't spend all my money at once (why NOT?). I'm going to set up another card sample to post soon, so stay tuned.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

One Last Ginger Blossom Bloom

I just couldn't get enough of this layout, but this will have to do for now.

The color combinations of paper and ink are endless, the previous cards are just an example. I need to check out my other designer papers to see what else I can put together with this layout. SUPER EASY!!

The flourish is stamped on to Whisper White in River Rock. The sentiment is stamped with Cameo Coral. The design and the Ginger Blossom DP is matted to Cameo Coral. The sentiment is attached to the card with dimensionals. The little flower centers on the flourish are gold glitter glue.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms
Paper: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DP
Ink: River Rock, Cameo Coral, Cameo Coral Stampin’ Write marker
Accessories: Gold glitter Glue, dimensionals






Ginger Blossom Blooms

This is another card with the same layout as the previous one. If you've been trying to figure out how to use your different designer papers, I think this is a pretty good layout for that. It's a nice design and you don't use a ton of paper for each one. It's also good if you need to make a lot of them, I think this would be a great swap card.

The flourish is stamped on to Whisper White in River Rock. The sentiment is stamped with Cameo Coral. The design and the Ginger Blossom DP are matted to Cameo Coral. The top element is attached to a River Rock card base with dimensionals. The flower centers are done in gold glitter glue.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms
Paper: River Rock, Cameo Coral, Ginger Blossom DP, Whisper White
Ink: River Rock, Cameo Coral, Cameo Coral Stampin’ Write marker
Accessories: Gold Glitter Glue, dimensionals

Happy Friendship

This card was very simple to make which is good because I’m planning to make several using different colors and patterns. I ‘m going to use it as a birthday card design for a very special group of people over the next year.

I stamped the flourish in Old Olive on a piece of Whisper White card stock. I then stamped the sentiment in Rose Red. Using my Rose Red marker, I colored in the little flower on the flourish and matted the image on Tempting Turquoise. A piece of Petals and Paisleys paper was matted on to Turquoise paper and attached to the So Saffron card. The sentiment was attached over the top using dimensionals. The final step was using Yellow Stickles glitter glue on the flower centers.

Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms
Paper: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Petals and Paisleys DS Paper
Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red, Rose Red Stampin’ Write Marker
Accessories: Yellow Stickles glitter glue, dimensionals

Rose Wasabi Friendship Card

I got the stamp set Friendship Blooms as one of the Sale-a-bration sets last winter, and hadn’t used it yet. Gasp! I just couldn’t seem to visualize ways to use these stamps and although I’d seen different cards made with this set, nothing seemed to inspire me until now.

This card was done as a thank you card for my boss. I stamped the flourish and leaves on Whisper White with Wild Wasabi and cut into a square. The outline flower was stamped on Whisper White with Rose Red and cut out. I usually like to have more color in my images, it seems to take me too long to do water coloring with the line art, but I like how there was just enough color in the center and the lines, to make the flower pop on the white background. The flourish and leaf image was matted on to Wild Wasabi and the flower was attached through both layers with a glitter brad. I had read somewhere that you could make any brad a glitter brad by using Diamond Glaze and glitter, but this brad came already glittered. The bottom of the base card of Pretty in Pink was covered with Rose Red DS paper leaving a narrow border of Pretty in Pink showing. The top edge of print was covered with a length of double stitched ribbon which I got at Michael’s and the flower panel was attached with dimensionals. The sentiment was stamped on Pretty in Pink paper with Rose Red ink and punched out with Key Tag punch.

A very simple card!

Stamp Set: Friendship Blooms
Paper: Rose Red DS Paper, Pretty in Pink, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink: Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Glitter Brad, pink double stitched ribbon from Michael’s, Key Tag Punch

Ooops! SORRY! SORRY!

Friends, I realized today that I didn't get the post up that I'd talked about in the last post! Time got away from me this week with extra work and just plain not feeling well. I'll get to that soon, I promise! It's going to be a beautiful weekend and I'm going to spend part of the afternoon and all evening with my friend Kate helping her with her convention swaps. Can't wait to see what design she's come up with! When I help, I usually get one too. Always love new cards for my files! Have a great Saturday!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Eager Anticipation

I've been reading the blogs that I have bookmarked, and looking at all the neat cards that demonstrators are making with the new stamp sets, papers and In Colors from the new fall/winter catalog. I SO want the new catalog, but since I'm but a lowly client (my friend Kate who's my demonstrator does all right by me so I'll be seeing some of HER stuff next weekend), I'll have to wait till the catalog actually comes OUT. I am SO getting inspired to create with the new stuff but that will have to wait. I have a couple of cards that I've made using the Sale-a-bration and Occasions mini sets that I got last winter/spring that I'll post later today (have to write up the deets first), and that will have to do for now.

Hope the rest of you are getting inspired too! Maybe I'll find your creations out there on Splitcoaststampers.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Happy Birthday Ruby Guava

I made this birthday card to go along with the previous one that I made for my husband’s boss. The boss’s wife is also having a birthday and they’re having a combined birthday party so thought she’d enjoy a flower card. I REALLY like how this one turned out!

I colored with markers (chocolate chip, ruby red, and yo-yo yellow) and then stamped the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from "So Many Scallops" (which was a Sale-a-bration set from this past winter) on Very Vanilla card stock. I punched it out then matted that on to Ruby Red and then a scalloped circle in Groovy Guava. I used yellow Stickles glitter glue to enhance the candle flames.

The patterned paper is the "Ginger Blossom" designer paper which I matted on to Groovy Guava and then Ruby Red which I’d punched with my Fiskars scalloped border punch. The card was finished off with the Groovy Guava Double Stitched ribbon. The medallion was attached with a large dimensional.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: So Many Scallops
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, YoYo Yellow markers
Paper: Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper
Accessories: 1 1/4", 1 3/8", scalloped circle and Fiskars scalloped border punches, Groovy Guava double stitched ribbon, yellow Stickles glitter glue, dimensionals

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Manly Happy Birthday Soup

My husband's boss is celebrating his 60th birthday this weekend and I thought I'd give him this card. He'll be turning 60 and the theme is a 60's theme. You know, bell bottoms, tie dye, beads, etc. Since I don't have ANYTHING that fits THAT theme, I thought I'd go more with an "over the hill" card saying that "hey, you're turning 60, how are your eyes working?" I had a HECK of a time trying to get the paper colors to come together but I'm rather pleased with how this turned out.

I matted the image on to Chocolate Chip and then Pumpkin Pie. The striped paper was matted on Night of Navy and then the thread was wrapped around before it was attached to the main card. The photo corners are in Chocolate Chip.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Alphabet Soup
Paper: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Bitty Scrap Pad "The Den" by Provo Craft
Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, Linen Thread

Thanks for looking!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Fresh Apricot anad Chocolate

I wanted to try a a little something different with the new Fresh Cuts stamps. I had already done two with the die cut flower note cards and wanted to use the main image alone on a card. But what color combination to use? I had seen another card similar to this which had used black and yellow but didn’t want something with that much contrast. So instead, I settled on Chocolate Chip and Apricot Appeal.

I stamped the main image on Natural White card stock with Chocolate Chip ink and used makers to color in some of the flowers and leaves and used crystal glitter glue to add highlights. The image was then matted to Chocolate Chip. I ran the Apricot Appeal through my cuttlebug machine and then I used a Fiskars border punch to do the scallops AND the holes all in one step! Woohoo! The main element was attached to the Apricot which was then matted to Chocolate Chip and the ribbon was wrapped around and tied before the whole thing was added to a Naturals White card.

This card went to my store manager who’s been dealing with a lot in her life right now and she knows that I make cards. In fact, I’ve sold a few to her and I thought she deserved one of her own. She rewarded me with a hug today.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Chocolate Chip, Naturals White
Ink: Chocolate Chip ink pad, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Old Olive Stampin’ Write markers
Accessories: Fiskars scalloped border punch, crystal glitter glue, orange organdy ribbon, Cuttlebug embossing folder "Birds and Swirls"

Monday, July 7, 2008

B G and Pomegranate

Here's a card which uses another one of my favorite color combinations - Basic Gray and Purely Pomegranate. I wouldn't have thought to put these two colors together but found my inspiration in another card that I found on Laura's blog. You can check her out here. She has such GREAT inspiration!

This card used the Fresh Cuts stamp set and note cards. I stamped the main image on the front part of the note card, and then removed the die cut petal portions, as well as the back part of the card. Those pieces will be used on a future card (or two). Since I don’t have the 5 petal flower punch yet (that’s going on my next order!), I made a template out of heavy card stock using my SU! demo's punch, traced and cut out the vellum flower (which might be a little bit hard to see) which I then put behind the cutout. (sorry if it looks a bit uneven). I used my Boho Blossoms punch to do the small flower in Pomegranate and then used a pink rhinestone brad to attach it in the center. This image was adhered to a mat of Pomegranate and then attached to a top folded Basic Gray card with dimensionals. A piece of Pomegranate satin ribbon and the gray twill bow finish off the card.

Recipe:
Stamp set: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate, Fresh Cuts note cards, pale pink vellum
Ink: Basic Gray
Accessories: Handmade template for 5 petal flower (until I get the punch), Boho Blossoms punch, 5/8" Pomegranate Satin Ribbon, 3/8" gray twill ribbon, pink rhinestone brad

My sister will most likely get this card. Either her, or my mom.

Fresh Cuts - Bayou and Guava

This is my first card made with the new Fresh Cuts stamp set and Fresh Cuts note cards. This was being sold during the month of June as a preview to the new Fall/Winter Stampin' Up! catalog, and my best friend who is also my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, gave them to me! This is going to be the thank you card that I send to her because she's so busy I'm not sure when she'll get to using her OWN stamps and note cards.

This has got to be one of my favorite color combinations! It's part of the In Color series that will retire when the new catalog comes out. I'll be sorry to see these colors go, but I'm told the new colors coming out in the new catalog are all must haves too.

This card is pretty self explanatory. I don't have the 5 petal flower punch (yet, that will on my next order!), so made a template using my demo's punch, and traced the Groovy Guava flower that goes behind the punched out portion of the note card. The small flower is stamped with Groovy Guava, cut out and attached to the front with a blue brad. The punched out flower piece is backed with a square of Blue Bayou to add some color and then the whole thing is matted on to Groovy Guava. That piece is then attached to a side folded Blue Bayou card. Three brads on the top and the sentiment made using the two oval punches, with a sprig stamped in Blue Bayou ink, and the card is done! Pretty easy.

I only used the front of the note card for this particular version. The other part will be used on some other card when a piece of white is called for.

Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

God Bless America

Just in time for the 4th of July!

This is another easy patriotic card which uses only one stamp. It was a special edition stamp that came out in 2001. I know a lot of people bought it because I’ve found several cards online using this stamp. It’s too bad that it was a one time deal.

This card was very easy to make. I made up several of them to send to soldiers deployed overseas. I colored the flag with Night of Navy and Real Red markers and stamped it on to Whisper White card stock. The bottom was torn and it was layered on to a Brilliant Blue piece of card stock and that bottom was also torn. The card base is Brilliant Blue onto which was layered Whisper White and then Real Red. Before the red was applied, two rectangle holes are punched to accommodate the red, white and blue grosgrain ribbon.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: God Bless America
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Whisper White and Real Red card stock.
Ink: Real Red and Night of Navy markers.
Accessories: Two hole Rectangle Punch, striped grosgrain ribbon from Jo-Ann Fabrics

Sunday, June 29, 2008

HOLY COW!!

Friends, I'm so sorry for not posting anything in over a week! Things have been CRAZY around here. We've been dealing with car AND truck problems and have spent a LOT of money getting everything fixed. Our car had been in the shop for three days and when we went to pick it up, our truck developed problems. So, we picked up the car and left the truck. UGH. I hope this is IT for a while.

I'll go find a card and be back later to post. I'm running out of cards but it's so nice outside for once, that it's hard to find the time to sit and concentrate on being creative. Thanks for being patient.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Embrace Life - Sympathy

THIS beautiful card came straight from Laura here. It was so beautiful that I copied it almost exactly as she stamped it. I had the card dimensions a bit off so I couldn't use all the elements that she did, but I was SO pleased with the result!

It’s made with the Embrace Life set which has SO many different uses and that I had used for other things but not for something somber like this. I had to wait on an order of the Basic Grey satin ribbon before I could do this card. There were a lot of elements to this card which were a bit hard to keep track of but I was pleased with how this turned out. As Laura did in her post, I used Crystal Effects to make the flowers stand out a bit. Thanks for the inspiration, Laura!

Recipe:
Embrace Life, Warmest Regards (ret.)
Paper: Whisper White, YoYo Yellow, Basic Grey, Going Grey
Accessories: Basic Grey taffeta ribbon, Crystal Effects, yellow non-SU! ribbon, paper piercing template and piercer

Friday, June 20, 2008

We're Back

Dear Friends,

I'm back from vacation but haven't had a chance to post anything new yet. We had car trouble on the way home and are now lighter in the wallet, but we're home safe and sound. Thank goodness for AAA! Anyway, I'll try to get something posted in the next day or so. Coming home from an 8 day vacation and then my husband getting sick, makes for little time to stamp. He should be feeling better by tomorrow, I hope. Not sure what hit him, but he's been an unhappy camper. Usually I'm the one needing the extra help, not him. Poor guy......

Saturday, June 7, 2008

DANG!!

Hello All, sorry it's been a few days since I've posted something but it's been busy here plus it's been so HOT. My stamping room and computer room are one and the same and we've had warm weather the past couple days and it's been uncomfortable being upstairs for any length of time. When I get hot my creativity goes right out the window and I sort of forget that I have this blog going that people actually do check out once in a while.

I'll try to get something posted in the next day or so. Today we were dealing with terrific thunderstorms that rolled through here and dropped about 3" of water in about 3 hours. My husband and I were at Walmart and we were in the back of the store when a big clap of thunder sounded like it was right on top of us, the lights sizzled and then went out for a couple of seconds. We should have taken that as our cue to go HOME but noooooooo, we had to hit the grocery store first and got stuck there when more lightening hit close enough to set off someone's car alarm. And I WAS THE ONE DRIVING!! We drove home in the rain and sat out in our parking lot waiting for it to let up enough so we could get in without getting soaked. It was so warm today that it actually felt good however, to be somewhat wet. We've got flood warnings out and water everywhere. Manhole covers were popping out of the streets there was so much water pressure! Since our storm sewers and sewer sewers are one in the same, I'm sure there was some dumping into Lake Michigan today. Yuck. The weather maps have been brightly colored all afternoon and evening. It's raining again as I'm writing this.

Anyway, after going to church tomorrow morning we're staying HOME the rest of the day (the storms are to continue into MONDAY) so hopefully I'll be able to post something then. Hope all is well wherever you are. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Birthday Whimsy in Pink

Sorry that I've been out of touch recently. I was out of town over this past weekend visiting my family. All of us were together for the first time in over 10 years and a great time was had by all.

Anyway, I found this card on Diane’s website but it was designed by Glenda Travelstead. Check Diane’s card out "here" I thought this was a GREAT card, looked good enough to eat with the chocolate "frosting" and "sprinkles." The manager at my new job ordered one of these for her grandmother’s 80th birthday. I just redid the "happy birthday" on the tag to put it closer to the outside edge and inserted by hand the number 80. Put some Crystal Effects on the frosting and sprinkled on some beads and YUM! I'm told that the grandmother really liked the card and my manager has bragging rights for the rest of the year.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Birthday Whimsy
Paper: Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Key Tag Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Crystal Effects, Beadifuls "Sonic Blooms" beads by Queen&Co., yellow Stickles glitter glue, 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Liberty For All

Happy Memorial Day! In honor of this holiday and in honor and memory of those Veterans who have served, I’m posting a patriotic card. This one was made using the "Liberty For All" stamp set from Stampin’ Up! It’s been discontinued but I know there’s one similar in the current catalog.

The eagle stamp was colored with Real Red and Night of Navy Stampin' Spots and stamped on Whisper White card stock. It was then layered first on Night of Navy and then Real Red card stock. The base card is Whisper White and the star stripe is stamped first with Versamark and then heat embossed with silver EP. I like the simplicity of this card and yet the eagle looks SO majestic!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Liberty For All
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Night of Navy card stock
Ink: Real Red and Night of Navy Stampin' Spots, Versamark
Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder, heat tool

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Elegant Whimsy

I have to keep reminding myself that I have this blog and that people are actually checking it out. I have a tendancy to get behind with my posting. Today was supposed to be my day off from work but I got called in to help with a major copy project. (I retired two years ago but am back to work very part time at a local copy store.) Then I had to run off our condo newsletter which I will hand deliver tomorrow before going in to work in the afternoon for my regularly scheduled hours. After I post this, I'm going to bed. I'm beat.

I got the idea for this card from Splitcoast. It's using one of the free stamp sets that was available during the last Sale-a-bration promotion by Stampin' Up!. I copied it shamelessly because I thought it was just that elegant. Check out the card Here

I thought this could even be used as a masculine card because with the "bow tie" and the dark colors, it looks sort of like a tuxedo.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Birthday Whimsy, Canvas Background
Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: 3/8" wide ivory satin ribbon, Crystal Effects, yellow Stickles glitter glue, ticket corner punch

I stamped the cake in black, and then stamped the frosting part in Purely Pomegranate and cut just that part out. I attached to cake and then put Crystal Effects on to add a glazed "frosting" look.. Add some yellow Stickles for flames and a bow tie and it’s done!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Saving The Best For Last

This one is my favorite. It's probably because I love red even though I can't wear much of it. I'm going to send it to my mother for her birthday which is in just a few days. I sold the rest of them to my store manager. Gee, I sort of wish I hadn’t done that! Now I have to make more!

Recipe:
Stamp: Dress Stamp from Inkadinkado, Warm Words
Paper: Designer Mat Pad by Brenda Walton, shimmer papers
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Clear acetate sheet, Glitter adhesive, fine glitter in red, large and small oval punch, ribbon from Michael’s, dimensionals

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Acetate Card #3

Here's another color version of the last two dresses. The directions for making it are the same as the first dress card post but here they are again so that you don't have to go back and find them.

Recipe:
Stamps: Dress Stamp from Inkadinkado, Warm Words
Paper: Once Upon A Time Mat Stack by DCWV, shimmer papers
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Clear acetate sheet, Glitter adhesive, fine glitter in pink, large and small oval punch, ribbon from Michael’s, dimensionals

The image is stamped on to an acetate sheet with black StazOn and glitter adhesive is applied to the BACK of the acetate and the glitter sprinkled on and the excess tapped off. The glue is allowed to dry completely and then the dress is cut out. The glitter shines through from the back and doesn’t rub off. The sentiment is stamped on either the same paper as the card or a coordinating paper and matted on shimmer paper matching the dress.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Acetate Dress #2

SO SORRY to have gone so long without posting! I hadn't realized that it had been a WEEK! We were out of town for a long weekend visiting my parents for Mother's Day and it was a great time. Sort of hard to get back into the swing of things here.

It’s a little bit easier to see in this picture, how much this dress sparkles. I really didn’t want to take anything away from the dress itself which is why I didn’t use any additional embellishments elsewhere on the card. I let the paper do all the work.

Here's the recipe for this card. Most of the materials are the same as the previous blue one. Again, the hardest part of making this card was figuring out what paper worked the best for the background!

Stamp: Dress Stamp from Inkadinkado, Warm Words
Paper: Once Upon A Time Mat Stack by DCWV, shimmer papers
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Clear acetate sheet, Glitter adhesive, fine glitter in green, large and small oval punch, ribbon from Michael’s, dimensionals

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Taking A Short Break From Dresses...

...to bring you a graduation card. I completely forgot that for some folks (mainly college graduates), that this weekend is graduation weekend. I'm going to post a card here that is appropriate for graduation and would certainly work for a high school graduation too which, in most cases, is later in the month.

I really like this card because it doesn’t use much in the way of stamps, it’s the paper that sets if off. Again, I found this on Splitcoast and can’t find it again to give proper credit so if anyone knows, please post a message back here and I'll change this post to give proper credit. It uses the Brocade Background Designer paper from SU! that is retired, but any vintage type paper would work equally well if you don't have the Brocade Background. The only thing stamped is the sentiment and the two little butterflies.
Recipe:
Stamp Set: Essence of Love
Paper: Brocade Background Designer Paper (ret.), Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, double rectangle punch
The main card is AA cardstock with the Brocade paper applied. The striped panel is matted onto VV cardstock and before it's attached to the main card, rectangle holes are punched in it for the ribbon. See picture for placement. The sentiment is stamped on VV with CC ink. It is then matted on AA cardstock and again on VV. The little butterflies are stamped in CC and AA ink, cut out and attached with a half of a dimensional.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Acetate Dress #1

I came across the idea for this dress in one of my rubber stamping magazines and went a bit crazy with it this year. I had at first intended that it be a card for Mother's Day but then realized that it would be appropriate for ANY mother ANY time, so made up several. They're really very easy to do, the hardest part was finding background paper that matched or at least coordinated with the color of the dress.

It’s hard to see in the picture but this card is stunning in real life. The paper has glitter or shine on it somewhere and the glitter on the dress really sparkles!

Stamp: Dress Stamp from Inkadinkado, Warm Words
Paper: Once Upon A Time Mat Stack by DCWV, shimmer papers
Ink: StazOn Black
Accessories: Clear acetate sheet, Glitter adhesive, blue fine glitter, large and small oval punch, ribbon from Michael’s, dimensionals

The image is stamped on to an acetate sheet with black StazOn and glitter adhesive is applied to the BACK of the acetate and the glitter sprinkled on and the excess tapped off. The glue is allowed to dry completely and then the dress is cut out. The glitter shines through from the back and doesn’t rub off. The sentiment is stamped on the same paper as the card and matted on shimmer paper matching the dress.

I can’t tell you how brilliant this looks in person, guess you’ll have to try this and find out for yourself!

National Scrapbooking Day

I didn't realize that today was National Scrapbooking Day until I checked out a couple of the blogs that I have favorited and it was posted there. Hope you all have a chance to do something fun with your stamps today. I'm not a scrapbooker, but my friend Kate and I are getting together for a Red Hat event, and afterwards we'll come back to my house and spend the evening crafting. We're going to be making some table favors for my senior group at church, using stamps of course! So, we'll be celebrating anyway! Hope you all have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Last Flower Dress

This is the same design as the first card but I used a rectangle image instead of a circle. I’d stamped and colored the image too close to the edge of the paper so my scalloped punch didn’t work. Rather than throw out the design, I just adapted it to the size that was usable. I like it!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Blooming with Happiness
Paper: Shimmer White, Pixie Pink, Lavender Lace
Ink: Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac markers
Accessories: Paper flowers from Hero Arts, yellow brad, lilac SU! organdy ribbon (ret.), Cuttlebug folder "Stylized Flowers" dimensionals

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Different but the Same

This is the same design as the previous card, but uses slightly brighter, darker paper. If you look closely at the dress design, it looks like I used different color markers, but in reality, the markers are the same ones that I used for the previous card, I just used whisper white cardstock for the scalloped circle instead of the shimmer white.

Stamp Set: Blooming With Happiness
Paper: Pink Passion, Whisper White, Perfect Plum
Ink: Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac markers
Accessories: Mega circle and scalloped punch, paper flowers from Hero Arts, Flower Fusion felt flowers from SU!, yellow brad, lilac SU! organdy ribbon (ret.), Cuttlebug folder "Stylized Flowers" dimensionals

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Mother's Day Dress

This is a beautiful card that I found on Splitcoast and CASE’d. You can find the card here. I had intended that it be used as a Mother’s Day card but then realized that it could be used for a birthday or any day card also. It certainly is getting me in the mood for Spring!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Blooming with Happiness
Paper: Shimmer White, Pixie Pink, Lavender Lace
Ink: Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink, Lovely Lilac markers, black StazOn.
Accessories: Mega circle and scalloped punch, paper flowers from Hero Arts, yellow brad, lilac SU! organdy ribbon (ret.), Cuttlebug folder "Stylized Flowers" dimensionals.

I stamped the dress using the StazOn ink and then colored in with markers. I then punched out the dress using the mega scalloped punch and then the mega circle in lilac as a background. I ran the front of the card through my Cuttlebug machine using the Stylized Flowers folder. The lilac band was made by cutting a strip of card stock just slightly larger than the width of the organdy ribbon. This was a pretty simple card to make, the part that took the longest was coloring in the skirt of the dress!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Mother's Day Flowers

Seems hard to believe that Mother's Day is coming up in just a few weeks. The year is going by fast, isn't it? I got this card idea from Splitcoaststampers and for the life of me, I don't remember who originally did it. I went back and tried to find this card again so that I could give proper credit, and couldn't find it! So sorry. If someone can tell me who did this, I'll edit this post to give that person credit.

I just LOVE this set! The Ginger Blossom Designer Series paper is awesome too! I did this card up for Mother's Day obviously, but it could be used for any occasion just by using a different sentiment.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Embrace Life, More Say It With Stamps set by All Night Media.
Paper: River Rock, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom Designer Paper
Ink: Basic Black and River Rock ink pad, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, and Ruby Red markers
Accessories: Gold Cord, Marvy mega circle punch, Marvy giga scalloped circle punch, 1/16th" hand held punch, gold brads, dimensionals, Fiskars Shape Cutter Circle template.
The River Rock card base is stamped with River Rock ink and the leaves stamp, and then the Ginger Blossom half circle is attached to the left side. I could have probably made the half circle using a coffee saucer but I was too lazy to go downstairs and get it. The Ginger Blossom stem was stamped with black ink and colored in with markers, punched out, matted to the scalloped circle and attached to a piece of Ginger Blossom paper matted to Ruby Red. Two gold brads at the top and a bit of gold thread finishes it off. The panel was attached with dimensionals.
Very easy card! The hardest part was getting the cord bow to stay put!
Thanks for looking!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Thinking Of You Orange

It feels like forever since I last posted something but I think it's only been a couple of days. Had a shoulder muscle problem that had me out of commission for a day (seemed like a week). When it hurts to even move your head or even hold it upright, it's hard to concentrate on anything fun, especially cards, but I'm on the mend now.

This is the last of my set of cards using the "Tart and Tangy" set. It's another neat one using the orange slice.

Recipe:
Stamp sets: Tart and Tangy, Friendly Messages by Stampendous
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" round circle punch, scalloped circle punch, Crystal Effects, dimensionals.

I used the Crystal Effects to paint in the juicy segments of the orange slice.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Thank You Strawberry

This card is fourth in a set of five. I really had fun using Jill's ideas for making these cards. I posted a link to her blog in the first post I did using this set, Tart and Tangy.

I used the slit punch to make the scalloped edge on a strip of red cardstock. Just start punching at one end, and move the punch so that the slit you just made lines up with the area in the punch that will make the next cut. Do this until you get to the other end of the strip, the cut piece falls away and there you have it. It’s hard to see in this picture but I made dry embossed dots in the scallops with the Crop-A-Dile. The instructions are to set the top to A, the bottom to 2. Just make sure you don’t press so hard that you actually cut out a hole. You want the embossed look. You could also use Chocolate Chip marker on the bottom of the strawberry and a bit of Crystal Effects to give the impression of a chocolate dipped strawberry. YUM!!!!!!! However, that didn’t seem to fit in this card so I left it plain. This card is similar to one I posted after a Stampin’ Up! card making event that I went to earlier this year.

Recipe: Tart and Tangy, Friendly Messages by Stampendous
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punch, scalloped circle punch, slit punch, Crop-A-Dile, dimensionals

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Great Day Orange

Hello everyone! It's raining and cold (37*) here today, AGAIN. ICK! ICK! ICK! I'm getting so tired of this. I was out early this morning and drove home in the SLEET! It's supposed to be SPRING for crying out loud! I guess that's why I love these cards so much, they remind me of warm summer days.

When I first saw the set "Tart and Tangy" I wasn't quite sure what sort of "exciting" things I could do with the orange slice. Strawberries were logical, as was the apple, but an orange? Well, I liked the bright but simplistic style of this card from Jill's blog (see first post on this set) so I went with it.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Friendly Messages by Stampendous
Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punch, scalloped circle punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals

I stamped the orange slice in Pumpkin Pie and then used Crystal Effects to juice up the orange segment. Looks good enough to eat, doesn’t it?! Simple but oh so good for you!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Thinking Of You Cherries

OK, I should be posting Mother's Day cards instead of fruit cards, but this group of cards that I'm featuring reminds me so much of Spring, and I'm SO ready for it! It's a cool, cloudy 41* today and I'm in the mood for warmer weather and shorts! So, since that's obviously not a possibility today, I'll post another card from the Tart and Tangy set. The inside sentiment is a "thinking of you" one.

Recipe:
Stamp set: Tart and Tangy, Versatile Verses
Paper: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Real Red, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: 1 3/8" circle punch, scalloped circle punch, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals, Crystal Effects
The cherry paper is matted first to Old Olive, then Bashful Blue cardstock. This is attached to Real Red which is then attached to the Whisper White card base. I put a bit of Crystal Effects on the cherries to give them some shine and also stamped the cherries on the front of the envelope.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Get Well Apples

I fell in love with the whole Tart and Tangy stamp set when I saw several cards on Splitcoaststampers. I hadn’t purchased the set then, but I knew I had to have it. I came across Jill’s post of all the cards on Splitcoast and just had to try them out. Find her post on her blog here. I used different sentiments, but I thought she was great inspiration. Thanks Jill! The manager at the new job that I have, ordered the one with the three apples as a birthday card for her mother because her mother LOVES apples. The sentiment that I used on her card was "Too Cute For Words" from the SU! retired set "Quick Thinking." She said that she has bragging rights now for the rest of the year because of my card. Woohoo!

I did this one up as a Get Well card.

Recipe:
Stamp set: Tart and Tangy, Quick Thinking (retired)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Picnic Designer Paper
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Basic Black
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8 circle punch, 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Sunday, April 6, 2008

I'm Back! - Sort Of..........

I've found the original posters for most of the cards that I made to sell so I'll be posting some new pics here soon and giving credit where credit is due. I have to write up the recipe for each of them first, and I can't remember what I used! That's what I get for not writing things DOWN when I'm pulling them out of the folders and drawers!

Anyway, check back again in the next couple of days because I'll be posting a lot.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Temporarily Out Of Cards

I've been frantically working on cards to sell on consignment at the new place where I'm working. That would normally mean that I'd have a TON of things to share since I've made a lot of different designs. Problem is, I was shamelessly copying other people's ideas and didn't copy down any of the information to link back to their card. I feel really bad about that too, because I certainly want to give people credit for all of their work and inspiration. If I can find the cards that I CASE'd, I'll post my card here. Otherwise, I'll have to make some new ones to post here. Guess I should get started looking. Some of these ideas that I copied are too nice not to share!

The Actual Card

Here is the card that I actually used for the shoe box swap.
I didn’t put a sentiment on the card because I wanted to leave it open in case I needed something specific. The card that I had as my sample at the swap had used the "Friend" stamp from this set.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendly Flowers, Clear Stamp Flourish
Paper: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie, Naturals Ivory card stock
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories/tools: Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Gold Brad, Dimensionals, 1/16" hole punch, Rectangle Punch (or double rectangle), ½", 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punch, Scalloped Punch

A couple of tips to pass along:
* Layer card stock strips together and punch rectangle holes through all layers for ribbon before attaching to card base. (Use lots of force with punch, it works but it’s hard.) Or, if you prefer, go through Pumpkin Pie and Mellow Moss cardstock and attach ribbon before layering on to Not Quite Navy strip.
* Stamp main image a second time in Pumpkin Pie ink and punch out center with 1/2" circle punch. Layer all (scalloped, mellow moss, not quite navy and pumpkin pie), punch hole with 1/16" hole punch, and attach together with brad. Then attach to card with dimensionals.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

I participated in a shoe box swap at the end of January (Yeah, I know, I'm REALLY late posting this but for some reason there seemed to be other cards that were more important to post) and my design was based on a gift bag featured in the Spring/Summer Stampin’ Up! catalog on page 149. I wanted to test out my design idea without actually having the stamp set yet. I was getting a pre order from the Occasions Mini but hadn’t received the set at the time I was preparing for the swap. I used the Baroque Motifs set instead to duplicate what I would eventually use. The colors aren’t exactly what I would normally use (this would have been a good color combination for a Splitcoaststamper color challenge) but I wanted to go outside of my comfort zone a little bit and I think it turned out pretty good. Got out of using a lot of the ribbon by "faking it" with a strip of card stock and then using the ribbon just for the bow. The next post will be the card that I actually had the girls make at the swap.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations, clear stamp flourish
Paper: Kraft, Pumpkin Pie, Mellow Moss, Not Quite Navy card stock
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Scalloped circle punch, ½" circle punch, rectangle hand held punch, 1/16th"hole punch, gold brad

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Variation on the "Mailman" Card

I liked how the "mailman card" turned out so much, that I decided to make a feminine version of the same design. I was even MORE pleased with how THIS one turned out! Again, very simple. I posted this card on the Splitcoaststampers website. It doesn't show up very well in this picture (I have to get better with the lighting!) but I used clear glitter glue on some parts of the main element to add a touch of bling.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendly Flowers from the Occasions mini
Paper: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi card stock, Afternoon Tea DP from the Occasions mini
Accessories: Metal pinwheel and flower, metallic brad, Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon, dimensionals, paper piercing tool, template and mat.

Monday, March 24, 2008

We're Back!

Hello all,

We're back from our Easter weekend away. While we were gone to Northern Wisconsin where you'd think all the snow would be, they had 14" of snow here in Milwaukee! I guess I picked the right weekend to be gone, huh? Happy Spring! RIGHT.

Anyway, I don't have time to post anything tonight but will try to do it tomorrow. I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with the manager of the place where I've gotten a new part time job. Very part time. Technically I'm "retired" but I'm not old enough to get the "perks" of retirement, you know, Social Security, Medicare........although some days I feel MORE than old enough for that, but I felt the need to get out in the public again and so I'll be working about 10-15 hours a week. Just enough to keep me out of trouble.

I'm still planning to do stamping, in fact, I think I'm going to be able to sell some of my cards at this new place which is a copy and shipping store. Hey, how often have you been at the PO to mail a package and then remembered that you should have put a card in the box? At this place, you can buy a card when you bring your item in to be boxed up for shipment. Perfect setup I think.

Anyway, I've been working on some cards for that too, so plan to have some things to post soon. Stay tuned.

Kathy

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Easter Chicks

I CASE’d this card from one I found on the Splitcoaststamper’s website. I’m afraid that I didn’t copy down the name of the poster but I thought the card was SO cute! I love the set "Best of Cluck" and never would have thought of using the little chicks for Easter eggs!!

Recipe:
Stamp set: Best of Cluck
Paper: Soft Sky, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Polka Dots and Petals DP.
Ink: Black StazOn
Accessories: Glitter Adhesive from the ART Institute, Sprinklers Glitter in clear, Pink Organdy ribbon from JoAnn Fabrics, Slit Punch for making scallops

Have a Happy Easter everyone! I'll be leaving town tomorrow for the weekend, spending it with my parents in Northern Wisconsin where they just got another 4" of snow Monday night. We're scheduled for more here in Milwaukee tomorrow. UGH. I'm ready for SPRING.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Friendly Flowers a la Guava

My mailman is a very special guy. Through rain or snow or sleet or dark of night he delivers the mail. I don’t know how he does it. I thought it might be inspiring to him to actually get a THANK YOU from me since I’m sure they always feel underappreciated. I saw this design on Splitcoaststampers by AprilDawn and decided to try to duplicate it. I got the paper piercing a bit off on the bottom, but I don’t think he’ll care.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Friendly Flowers from the Occasions Mini
Paper: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip card stock, Afternoon Tea DP from the Occasions Mini
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Metal pinwheel, brad, choc. chip grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, paper piercing tool, template, and piercing mat

This card was very easy to make. The hardest thing was tying the ribbon!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Petal Birthday

TGIF! It's FRIDAY! I'll be getting together with my best friend to check out a new scrapbooking store in a neighboring town. Actually it isn't that new, SHE has been there before, but *I* haven't been there yet so it's NEW for ME.

I guess since I posted three pictures last time I figured I could go a few days without posting another one. Just as well, because I've been busy with church stuff, condo association stuff, working up some Easter goodies for friends and family using stamps of course (if I can get some decent pics of the goodies, I'll post those too).

Anyway, here's a birthday card that I made a while back for a friend from church. I have the Spiral Punch which I had never used. This card was part of a One Sheet Wonder grouping that I found online somewhere and I did it the way I suppose you should by making my own hand printed paper. It’s easier to use the Designer Series Paper if you’re doing a whole set of cards but because I was only making a couple, I decided to try my hand at stamping. It’s not as easy at it looks. When you’re done, you need to have enough color in the pieces that you’re using to make it the focal point of the card. I’m glad I had extra squares! I REALLY like the effect that the Spiral Punch gives the card. I’m going to have to work that into more of my designs.

Recipe:
Stamp sets: Polka Dots and Petals, Sincere Salutations
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White cardstock Ink: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pixie Pink, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Spiral and Tab punch, Gold brad, Polka Dots and Petals jumbo wheel

Monday, March 10, 2008

Whoo Hoo! Let's Celebrate!

I made this card at a shoebox swap a couple of weeks ago. I just LOVE this little owl! My friend Kate designed this card. She’s a Stampin’ UP! demonstrator and my inspiration. On her sample she’d used the Word Window punch to punch out the space in the lower right card front and then put the word underneath it. Silly me didn’t notice that neat little detail and just put my word on top of the card. I really liked her way better!

Recipe:
Stamps Set: Just Celebrate
Paper: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Really Rust, Very Vanilla Card Stock
Ink: Chocolate Chip and Versamark ink pads, Really Rust, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip markers
Accessories: Double Rectangle Punch, Word Window Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/4" Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon

Blue and Pink Wedding

I made this BEAUTIFUL card at a shoebox swap a couple of weeks ago. Now I just have to find someone who I know who’s getting married although I’m not sure that I want to give this card away. I LOVE it!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: She’s all That
Paper: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Three For You Flower Punch, half back pearls from the SU! Pretties kit, Slot Punch, Organdy Ribbon, Photo Corner Punch

Strawberry Thanks

This was a card that I made at a shoebox swap a couple of weeks ago. I've ordered the set for myself but this gave me a good idea of how neat the set really is! There’s a lot of detail here but it wasn’t hard to make and it looks really cute I think. The Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery scalloped circles were adhered to each other "off center" so that the Always Artichoke looks like a larger sized circle. The Slit Punch was used to make the scalloped edge on the Real Red cardstock. The Crop-A-Dile was used to make the raised detail on the scalloped red piece. Beate had a tutorial on her website some time back on how to do this without punching a hole through the paper. You can find the directions at http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2007/08/31/crop-a-dile-easy-as-1-2-3/

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Tart and Tangy, Full of Life
Paper: Summer Picnic DP, Real Red, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Whisper White , Bashful Blue
Ink: Black, Real Red and Certainly Celery Markers
Accessories: Red Gingham Check Ribbon, Crop-A-Dile, Scalloped Punch, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Slit Punch

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Happy As A Clam

My sister and her husband were supposed to be in Honduras right now on a vacation, but had to cancel because of bad weather and losing their connecting flight out of Atlanta. I guess there's only one flight that goes out on Saturday to their final destination so if they couldn't get to Atlanta on Saturday, they'd have to wait another week. Since that wasn't going to work, they're stuck at home in upstate New York. I'm posting this card before I send it to her as a "thinking of you" offering. I know they were disappointed but because of back surgery she wasn't going to be able to get into the water anyway, so this is probably for the best.

This card was really cute! First, the clams were stamped on Glossy cardstock, colored in with markers and then punched out and matted on black cardstock. The Sandy Shells wheel was used to make the background design. 2-way glue was used on some of the sand areas along with Dazzling Diamonds glitter, for that "fun in the sun" look.

Recipe:
Stamp sets: Crab & Co., Sandy Shells Wheel, Many Happy Returns
Card stock: Glossy White, Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Markers: Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Word Window and 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, 2-way glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Friday, March 7, 2008

A Beautiful Thing

TGIF!! It's FRIDAY! Why am I so excited that it's Friday since I'm retired and don't have to work? I guess because I'm happy for everyone ELSE because it's Friday and the weekend is coming up and THEY won't have to work.

Here is another card from the stamping event that I participated in the end of January. I know, I know, I'm way behind with this set, but there were some other cards that came along and made their way onto this blog first.

The flowers were stamped first with Apricot Appeal, then with Pumpkin Pie. The square punch was flipped over and the design centered, then punched. Matted on Pumpkin Pie card stock. The card base was folded in half with the fold at the top, and then 1" was cut off the bottom. A strip of Tempting Turquoise Designer Paper was attached to the exposed bottom.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: A Beautiful Thing, God’s Blessings (inside sentiment)
Card stock: Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White; Tempting Turquoise Designer Paper
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches, Double Rectangle punch, 1/4" Tempting Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Always On My Mind

The two tone technique for the bird on this card was one I hadn’t done before. First the stamp was inked with the Sage Shadow ink pad and then the Handsome Hunter was applied with a marker and then softened using a stipple brush, then stamped on to the white card stock. This was matted to a Hunter Green torn panel. The stipple brush was also used to apply ink to the berry image on the left side of the card to add texture.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Always
Cardstock: Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter
Ink: Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter
Marker: Handsome Hunter
Accessories: rectangle hand held punch, Sage Shadow Grosgrain Ribbon from "District" Collection, stipple brush

Lovely As A Tree

This post also uses the new Brusho Crystal Color Powder.  I wanted to try making a landscape, but knew, because of how Brusho works (you can...