Stampin' Rx

Vintage Vogue

2011-08-14T15:57:00.000-04:00

I see I'm slacking again, it's been more than a week since I posted anything, tch tch tch Tammy, LOL. This card is a pretty basic one, but fun to make. I love the Vintage Vogue stamp set, the flowers are just so much fun.

Stamping Supplies
Card Stock: Poppy Parade, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla
Classic Ink: Poppy Parade, Pretty in Pink, Always Artichoke
Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Punches: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch
Accessories: SNAIL, Paper Snips, Basic Pearls, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads, Basic Rhinestones, Glue Dots

Tips

Honestly I don't have any tips for this one, except maybe I used a glue dot on the flowers with the Rhinestone Brads, SNAIL will never hold that in place.

Bye for now, and stay dry!

Aviary

2011-08-05T06:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning all, and it is a good morning because it is Friday and that means the weekend is here! Today's card is CASE'd from one of my most favourite Stampin' Up! demonstrators...not that I know her personally, but I know her work well. It is Kimberly Van Diepen and her blog is Stampin' By The Sea!

I've made a few changes, actually they aren't really changes, just "omissions" but essentially it is an out right copy of Kimberly's work!

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Aviary, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Black Staz On, Real Red Classic Ink
Card Stock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Love Notes (retired)
Punches: Modern Label Punch
Accessories: SNAIL, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, 5/8" Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Sticky Strip, Paper Snips, Stamping Sponges

Tips

The Modern Label punch comes in 1 size, so to layer it I cut the black outer layer in half and then just layer the ends.
Sponging the edge of the Very Vanilla cardstock gives some depth to the images.
I used the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to place the bird and the stand images perfectly.
I used the sticky strip for the ribbon, which is just glued to the DSP and not wrapped all the way around.

Thanks for your visit today and if you get a chance check out Kimberly's blog, she has some great projects.

2011-08-02T06:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning everyone. I have had some requests recently for wedding cards, and since I have absolutely no mojo these days I scoped Stampin' Connection (a website for Stampin' Up! demonstrators) for a card to CASE, and found a gorgeous one that is made with my favourite stamp set, Heartfelt Thanks. The woman I CASE'd it from is named Tracy, and besides being from Windsor, Ontario, that is all I know about her...thank you Tracy for the inspiration.

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks (retired), Occasional Quotes
Card Stock: Basic Black, Brushed Silver, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Silver Embossing Powder, 5/8" Basic Grey Satin Ribbon, SNAIL Heat Tool

Tips

Your embossing buddy is really important when embossing with any kind of colored embossing powder.
I tied a knot in the center of the ribbon and then taped it to the back of the card stock. It helps save on ribbon.

That's all for now. My posts have been pretty short lately, but at least I'm getting something posted!

Masculine Cards

2011-07-31T20:21:00.000-04:00

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you are enjoying your day. Today's card is a masculine one, I have such a hard time with these so when I saw this one in the catalog I couldn't resist. I've already made about 8 of these LOL.

The greeting I used on mine is Happy Birthday, but it is such a versatile card you could use any greeting you wanted.

Supplies

Stamp Sets: Lovely as a Tree, Something to Celebrate
Card Stock: Soft Suede, River Rock, Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Textured Early Espresso
Classic Ink: Early Espresso
Craft Ink: Early Espresso
Stampin' Write Markers: Early Espresso
Accessories: Gold Brads, Regal Brads, Neutral Brads, Subtles Brads, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Spritzer, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, SNAIL, Glue Dots, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals

Tips

This isn't really a tip, just a thought; don't you love how Stampin' Up! has so many different supplies to meet your needs. I used a Stmapin' Write Marker, Craft Ink, Classic Ink and Textured Paper all in the same color; what more could you want out of a company!
I embossed the tree with Clear Embossing Powder. Craft Ink is an awesome way to be able to emboss in every one of SU!'s colors (except the in-colors ;-{). All you need is Craft Ink in any color and Clear Embossing Powder and voila!
When emobssing you always want to use your Embossing Buddy so that the embossing powder only sticks on the ink, and not the paper.
Once I stamped and embossed the tree I tore the paper around it free hand.

Well, that's all for today. Bye for now.

Love and Care

2011-07-30T07:11:00.000-04:00

I can't tell you how much I absolutely love the hostess stamp set Love and Care in the summer mini...it's right up there with Watercolor Trio. There is so much you can do with this set, and believe me I've done a lot already!

See what I mean, isn't this gorgeous!

Supplies
Stamp Set: Love and Care
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Newsprint (Retired), Love Letter (Retired)
Classic Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Stampin' Write Markers: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive
Accessories: SNAIL, Stamping Sponges, 5/8" Black Satin Ribbon

Tips

When I put the layers of this type of card together I use my grid paper to line it up, measure out the right size and attach the pieces before gluing it to the card base.
I cut all of my Stamping Sponges into 4 pieces each and have a sponge for every color...yeah I know (LOL)!
When sponging the edges of my card stock I rub the sponge on the ink pad and then rub off on a scrap piece of paper before applying it to the card stock, this way it is more subtle.

I CASE'd this card from one I found on Stampin' Connection and I apologize I don't know who made the original. If you know who did please let me know and I will give them credit.
Thanks for stopping by.

Fabulous Florets

2011-07-26T06:00:00.003-04:00

Sometimes the best things come in simple packages, and this card is a perfect example of that. I CASE'd this card from what is obviously a talented demonstrator, but unfortunately I don't know who that is...if you do please let me know so that I can give them credit.

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Fabulous Florets, Petite Pairs

Card Stock: Confetti Cream, Early Expresso

Craft Ink: Cherry Cobbler Craft Ink (great for heat embossing)

Punches: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Powder Pals, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz, Color Catcher, Dimensionals

Tips

Whenever you are heat embossing the Embossing Buddy is a must, it helps keep your embossing powder stick only where it is supposed to.
When heat embossing you can used Versamark or Craft Ink, I used the Craft Ink. Both of these inks take a little bit to dry so the embossing powder sticks to it. Classic ink dries to quickly and the embossing powder won't stick.
The Heat Tool gets very very very hot, so be careful!
When using the Smooch Spritz you need to do it in an encolsed space so you won't get the Spritz all over every thing; I used the Color Catcher.
The closer the spritz bottle is to the card the more concentrated the Spritz will be, the farther away the more spread out.
When using the Smooch Spritz you may need to clean the nozzle before spraying because it can get clogged up, and be sure to shake the bottle well.

That's all for today, and please STAY COOL today.

Triple Treat

2011-07-24T16:58:00.000-04:00

The first stamp in the new catalog that I knew I just HAD TO HAVE is called Triple Treat Flower. It is just an a la carte stamp, not a set just a single lone stamp. This is what it looks like

So whats the big deal right? Well it's one small single stamp that you can use 3 punches on and all of a sudden this stamp has so many possibilities. I made 2 different yet similar cards to show you what I mean.

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Triple Treat Flower, Petite Pairs
Card Stock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder
Classic Ink: Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder and Pretty in Pink
Punches: Large Oval, Scallop Oval, Flower Fancy, 5-Petal Flower and 1/2" Circle
Accessories: 3/8" Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon (I LOVE this ribbon), Basic Pearls, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips:

I used Pool Party Classic Ink to stamp the images on the Pool Party Card Stock making my own DSP
To make the flower first I stamped it in Wisteria Wonder and punched it out with the Flower Fancy Punch, then I stamped it again in Pool Party and punched that out with the 5-Petal Flower Punch, and finally I stamped the flower one last time and punched the center out with the 1/2" circle punch.
Once I was done with all of the stamping and punching I layered it using SNAIL and then placed it on the Pool Party Card Stock using Dimensionals and then I placed a Basic Pearl in the center of flower.

So now lets check out the second card I made.

Supplies

Stamp Sets: Triple Treat Flower, Thanks for Caring

Card Stock: Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Flirtatious Speciality

Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pretty in P

Punches: Moder Label, 1/2" Circle, Flower Fancy, 5-Petal Flower, Scallop Trim Border

Accessories: 3/8" Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon (did I mention I LOVE this ribbon), Dimensionals, SNAIL, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls

Tips

I stamped the Triple Treat Flower in Pool Party first, then Wisteria Wonder and Pretty in Pink.
This card is essentially the same layout as the first one, I just switched the colors around a little and voila!

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed my cards today.

Strength and Hope

2011-07-08T20:24:00.001-04:00

This is a cad I made a long time ago, and it is a CASE, I'm just not sue who I cased it from. I made this cad using the Strength and Hope stamp set, which is part of Stampin' Up's! Making a Difference Campaign; for every one of these stamp sets sold during the summer mini period (until August 31st, 2011) Stampin' Up! will donate $2.00 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. It's a great set, I especially love the butterfly in it.

Supplies
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum
Stamp Sets: Strength and Hope, En Francais
Classic Ink: Perfect Plum, Soft Suede
Accessories: Cutter Kit, Stampin' Sponges, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1/2" Chantilly Crochet Trim, SNAIL, Paper Snips

Tips

This is the vintage look, so there is lots of tearing, and sponging going on.
The butterflies are cut out using my Paper Snips.
Don't you just love the purple gems on the butterfly, that was done with my I-Rock, a Christmas gift from my oh so sweet nephes.

I hope you enjoy today's post, and be sure to check back soon because I have a very large order of all brand new product that will be delivered today and will be digging in and start creating as soon as the UPS man drops it off.

Bye for now.

Another Catalog Case

2011-06-09T18:44:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy at work lately that I just have no mojo for designing cards...none! I'm still loving spending time in my craft room, but in order to get anything accomplished in there is have to rely on CASEing, thank god there is tons of ideas and projects out there for me to use. Today's card is another CASE from our new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog (only 21 days!). I didn't have the stamp sets used in this card so I improvised some.

Supplies

Cardstock: Textured Rose Red, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Classic Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Stamp Sets: So Happy For You (Sale-a-Bration 2011), A Slice of Life

Punches: 1/2" Small Circle

Accessories: 5/8" Rich Razzleberry Satin Ribbon, SNAIL, Dimensionals

Hints and Tips

I used a ruler to help line up the heart stamp and the butterfly stamp.
I stamped the flower and clover images and punched them out with the 1/2" circle punch.
Dimensionals were used to raise flower and clover images.
The Old Olive and Rich Razzlebery

Bye for today!

Funky Four

2011-06-07T07:00:00.004-04:00

Today's post is a short one, but the card is a cute one.

Supplies
Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Classic Ink: Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, Pretty in Pink
Stamp Set: Funky Four
Accessories: Pretty in Pink 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Regals Designer Buttons, Hemp Twine, SNAIL

The bling is non-SU, but deserves to be mentioned here because it was a Christmas gift from my nephew DJ.

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge

2011-06-05T18:53:00.005-04:00

It's been a long time since I participated in a challenge of any sort...so today I decided it was long overdue. My card today is for the Saturday Sketch Challenge for Stamping 411. Here's the sketch...

This is a great sketch, and I love that the Operators of Stamping 411 include the measurements with their sketch, it's so much easier then me trying to figure it out through trial and error.

Supplies
Card Stock: Wisteria Wonder, Pretty in Pink
Designer Series Paper: Flirtatious
Classic Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pretty in Pink, Cherry Cobbler
Stamp Sets: Delicate Doiles, Something to Celebrate
Punches: 1 1/4" Square Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, SNAIL, Brights Designer Buttons, Whisper White Bakers Twine, Glue Dots

Tips

I used the 1 1/4" punch to cut the angles on both ends of the greeting.
On each end of the greeting I use a glue dot so that I could make the center of the greeting stand up.

This is definitely my last post for today, but I'll see you later this week.

I'm Back with More New Products

2011-06-05T10:05:00.001-04:00

I'm loving my new Stampin' Up! supplies, it's so much fun to play and create with new stuff! Today's card is a sort of CASE from the new catalog (just 25 days to go!) and it's using some new products and old ones too.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip and So Saffron
Classic Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango
Stampin' Write Markers: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango
Stamps: Simply Soft, Watercolor Trio
Punches: Scallop Trim Border, Scallop Oval, Large Oval
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon (wait til you see all the colors this comes in!), SNAIL, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Color Spritzer Tool, Stampin' Dimensionals

Tips and Tricks

The closer you have the Color Spritzer Tool to the paper the more concentrated the color spray will be on the paper.
The So Saffron cardstock is 2" wide, the Chocolate Chip layer with the Scalloped Trim Border is ~ 2 5/8".

I hope you enjoy this card!
Bye for now,

My Favourite Time of the Year

2011-06-04T11:51:00.007-04:00

It's not Christmas.
It's not my birthday (I've had enough of those, I don't need anymore).
I'm not retiring (guess I do need a few more birthdays if I'm ever going to reach that point).
I'm not going on vacation.
So what the heck is it you ask.

It's new catalog time, yep SU!'s 2011-2012 catalog comes out on July 1st. That means new stamps, new toys, and 5 new in-colors. Since I'm a demonstrator I got to order some sneak peak products and with that order came the new catalog...and I gotta say I'm liking it, ALOT!

With the new catalog comes the last chance list; SU! needs to make room for the new products so unfortunately every year some stamps and products are retired. I will be posting that list on the sidebar so be sure to check it out and if you see something you want you should order it quickly before it's sold out.

I can't show you the new products I ordered or the new catalog until July 1st, but I can show you some projects I made with the new products.

So here's a card I made this morning with some of my new products.

Supplies
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder (my new favourite), Pool Party, Whisper White
Stamps: Delicate Doilies
Designer Series Paper: Flirtatious
Classic Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party, Pretty in Pink
Punches: Designer Label Punch, Modern Label Punch
Accessories: SNAIL, Basic Pearls, 5/8" Satin Pretty in Pink Ribbon

Tips

It's a pretty straight forward card, so just have fun with it!

I hope you like this card and I hope you are as excited about the new products as I am. Be sure to come back soon to see what else I've made with my new products.

Cricut Expression 2

2011-04-23T10:49:00.001-04:00

Check it out everyone My Pink Stamper is giving away the brand new (hasn't even been released yet!) Cricut Expression 2.
If I won this I would donate my my Expression to my unit for patients and staff...the possibilities are endless!!!

cQc#79

2011-04-10T12:28:00.002-04:00

I have followed the colorQ blog for a long time, but I think this is the first time I've done a card for their challenges, no reason really. But, but when I seen the inspiration for this challenge I knew it was time for me to play along with them and I knew immediately what I was going to do for it. Here is the inspiration for colorQ challenge #79

Doesn't that look like a fun challenge to play? Can you guess what technique I used for this challenge? I did the Baby Wipe technique from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/; you can follow the link to the tutorial for this.

Supplies
Card Stock: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Marina Mist (I don't have any Bermuda Bay)
Stamp Sets: En Francais, Day of Gratitude, Something to Celebrate
Reinkers: Melon Mambo, Marina Mist, Old Olive
Ink: Basic Black
Punches: Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" Satin Ribbon, SNAIL, baby wipes

Tips

It is very messy, so I would put paper towels under your baby wipe before you put your reinkers on it.

Enjoy

A La Card Monkey

2011-04-07T21:30:00.001-04:00

Isn't this is an awesome bag of goodies...this is the prize that A La Card Monkey is giving away for their theme challenge this week. Check out this list of things that are included in this prize...
Garden Whimsy 8pc stamp set

Goody-Goody Gumdrops 19pc set
Picnic Parade 15 pc set
Stampin Fun for Everyone 7pc set
Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon 5/8"
Fresh Favorites 1 Buttons
Baja Breeze Corduroy button brads
Chocolate Chip Library Clips 1/2"
Sweet Pea stitched felt flowers
Welcome Neighbor DSP pad
Baja Breeze 81/2 X 11 Card Stock
On board Blossoms chipboard

But, this is not all of the prizes for this week, check out their blog for what else is being offered at A La Card Monkey And while you are there you can check out all of the cards entered in this weeks challenge...and maybe even enter one of your own.

A La Card Monkey Nature Challenge

2011-04-02T17:14:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I've done any challenges, and I think it's time for me to start getting those creative juices flowing again. As a SU! demonstrator there is a website called Stampin' Connection that we can access. While looking through that website last night I found a discussion about a new challenge blog, so I needed to check it out. It's called A La Card Monkey, and they will be doing weekly challenges. The theme for this week's challenge is nature:

It's just a simple card, but who says there is anything wrong with simple? I don't have many nature sets...hmmm, maybe I better do some shopping.

Supplies

Card Stock: Not Quite Navy, Watercolor, Soft Suede

Designer Series Paper: Paisly Petals

Stamp Sets: Spring Song (retired)

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Basic Black Craft Ink

Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 2-1/2" Circle, Decorative Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch

Accessories: Basic Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Basic Pearls, Paper Snips, SNAIL, Dimensionals, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Color Catcher, Aqua Painter

Tips

You can't see the effect of the Smooch Spritz in the picture, but it really adds some shimmer to the card.
The color catcher is a great tool to have when using the Smooch Spritz.
Never try to do watercoloring without paper towel close by. I always seem to get too much water on the picture, and dabbing the area with paper towel always does the trick.
I used watercolor paper so I could do watercoloring on the bird, so I also used watercolor paper for the greeting; just so it would have the same look as the bird.

Products

I just learned (I know, the whole world has known how to do this forever...) how to do screen shots, so now I can show you some of the SU! products I used.

The Pearlized Smooch Spritz is a spray that adds some shimmer to your cards.

And the Color Catcher is just a box that you can leave set up to catch the spray so you don't get anything on the furniture.

These things are all in the 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog, but the Designer Series Paper isn't. SU! has given us a little sneak peek of the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog.

Doesn't that look fun!!

Anyway, on my last post I told you I would show you how to layer the Decorative Label Punch. This is not something I came up with, I seen it done on a video on The North Shore Stamper.

To start you want to punch out 2 of the Decorative Label shapes in whatever color you are going to use for the layering.

With your Paper Snips cut each one of the shapes in half, one lengthwise and the other shortwise (is that a word?).

Then you want to cut the corner tips of each one. The cuts don't need to be straight because you won't see it, you just don't want those points showing in the layers.

With the tips cut off use SNAIL to put the first layer on, it doesn't matter which one you do first, just be sure to either do the top and bottom, or 2 sides; not a top and a side.

Honestly you could stop here if you wanted, just the top and bottom layer looks good.

After the top and bottom, use your SNAIL to add the 2 sides, so the back looks like this.

And the final product looks like this.

As always, let me know if you have any questions, and I hope you enjoyed my post today.

Faux Mother of Pearl

2011-03-29T06:00:00.006-04:00

In our April issue of Stampin' Success they outlined a technique called Faux Mother of Pearl. The cards that were made using this technique turned out gorgeous, so you know I just had to try it. There was just one problem, the technique required Frsot White Shimmer Paint, and all I had was Platinum Shimmer Paint. Oh well, Platinum Shimmer Paint it is. The card turned out pretty good with the Platinum, but you can bet the Frost White Shimmer Paint is on my next order.

I'm sure there is a tutorial out there on how to do this, but I'll just share the steps I took with you.

To start you need a paper plate or some type of washable hard surface and paper towels; I used a Stampin' Up! Clear Mount Block. Shake your bottle of Shimmer Paint (whatever color you use) and pour a small amount on whatever surface you are using. The bunch up some Saran Wrap, dip it into the Shimmer paint and then dab the excess onto a paper towel.

Using this Saran Wrap dab it on your Glossy Card Stock lightly, being sure to leave white areas of the cardstock exposed, and let it dry.

This is what it will look like.

Once the Shimmer Paint dries then you can use either a Stamping Sponge or Brayer to add your ink.

I did this with 3 different colors, and then used the Blossom Petals punch to punch out the shapes to make a flower and leaves for my card. Which turned out like this...

In this picture you can get an idea of the pearlized look on the flower.

And this is the card without the glare. As an after thought I should have punched out the shape for the Happy Easter using the finished Mother of Pearl card stock and then stamp my frame and greeting on that. Oh well, next time.

Supplies

Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Glossy White

Stamp Sets: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Four Frames

Ink: Platinum Shimmer Paint, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Wild Wasabi

Punches: Blossom Petals Punch, Decorative Label Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Basic Pearls, Old Olive 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Glue Dots, SNAIL, Dimensionals

Tips

My "happy easter" is crooked, but using a Stamp-a-Ma-Jig would have prevented that.
Check back soon for a tutorial on how to frame the Decorative Label Punch.

I hope you enjoyed my post today.

The Versality of Paint Chips

2011-03-26T16:28:00.003-04:00

I am so excited about today's post; everyone of these cards make me smile! I went to a Stampin' Up! Regional event in Hamilton last fall and this was a technique that was demonstrated in one of the WOW presentations. That day I stopped at Home Depot on my way home and picked up some paint chips to play with.

And true to form, they sat in a drawer for the last 6 months until I finally pulled them out today and decided to start playing with them. I made 4 different cards to show all of the options you have when using these to make cards with.

The first one is stamped with Whisper White Craft Ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder. I stamped with the Whisper White Craft Ink because I was going to use White Stampin' Emboss Powder, but then changed my mind and did the embossing with Iridescent Ice. Unfortunately, you can't see the sparkle of the "easter eggs" in the picture.

Supplies

Card Stock: River Rock, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms

Ink: Whisper White Craft Ink, Rich Razzleberry Craft Ink, Versamark

Punches: 2" x 1-3/8" Oval

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Subtles Brads (Pretty in Pink), Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, 5/8" Rich Razzleberry Satin Ribbon, Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. Big Shot, Dimesionals, SNAIL

For the second card I used Melon Mambo Craft Ink and Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Supplies

Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo
Stamp Set: Elements of Style
Ink: Craft Melon Mambo, Classic Basic Black
Punches: 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval, Scallop Oval
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, Big Shot, Pretty in Pink 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, SNAIL

Tips

I used the scraps from the paint chips to stamp the "Life is a Matter of Moments."

For my third card I used Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, and I gotta tell you I'm loving how this one turned out!!

Supplies

Card Stock: Naturals White, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise

Stamp Sets: Bliss, Occasional Quotes

Ink: Versamark

Punches: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Ticket Corner Punch

Accessories: Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Stampin' Up! Brights Brads (Tempting Turquoise), Black Stampin; Emboss Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Basic Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, SNAIL, Paper Snips

Tips

I used the Paper Piercer and Mat Pack to make holes exactly where I want the Brads to sit.
When putting Brads in the corner I often get a part of the back of the brad that sticks out past the edge of the paper. When that happens I use my Paper Snips to cut off the excess.

My last card is my favourite, I love the look of the white embossing with the blue.

Supplies

Card Stock: Night of Navy, Whisper White

Stamps: Charming, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Craft Whisper White

Punches: Pinking Hearts Border Punch

Accessories: Baja Breeze 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Sticky Strip, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat tool

Tips

To get this look with the ribbon, I pulled a couple threads length wise from the middle of the ribbon, and as I pulled that thread the ribbon bunched up. I then placed a piece of sticky strip across the Night of Navy Card Stock and then layed the ribbon on that Sticky Strip to hold it in place.

Well, that's all for today, I hope you enjoy my post as much as I enjoyed making these cards.

Springtime Smiles

2011-03-24T20:06:00.001-04:00

Today's post is in honor of the snow we just got...ugh!!! I'm not complaining because it could be worse, but I'm just in desperate need for some sunshine, it's been a long winter.
The stamp I used for this card is a silhouette, and to be sure I got a good solid image from the stamp I did heat embossing with black Stampin' Up! Embossing Powder

Supplies

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White

Designer Series Paper: Love Letter

Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms

Classic Ink: Basic Black

Ink: Versamark

Punches: Scallop Oval, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval

Accessories: Chantilly 1/2 Crochet Trim, Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Framed Tulips Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Embossing Buddy, SNAIL

Enjoy

Another Shaving Cream Card

2011-03-22T06:10:00.006-04:00

This is another card I made using the shaving cream technique from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/, using a different "batch" of shaving cream.

Supplies
Card Stock: Basic Black, Naturals White
Stamp Sets: Lovely As A Tree, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Classic Basic Black, Versamark
Reinkers: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Black Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, Basic Black Brads, Embossing Body, SNAIL, Shaving Cream

Tips

When I made this card I used more drops of reinker and left the shaving cream on the card a little longer than the first one, that's why this one has a lot mor color.
The embossing buddy is a must when heat embossing, it helps keep the embossing powder off the cardstock.
Have LOTS of paper towels close by when doing the shaving cream technique.

I hope you enjoyed my post today.

It's A Messy Job!

2011-03-19T22:55:00.003-04:00

Today's post is a tutorial that I found on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/. It's a tutorial on how you go from this

to this...

To start, fill your tray (I used the small Stampin' Up! Powder Pals tray) with shaving cream and add a few drops of Stampin' Up! reinkers.

And with a wooden stick swirl the reinker around in the shaving cream.

Take your cardstock and lay it into the tray of shaving cream, making sure you have the front of the cardstock completely covered with the shaving cream.

Now here comes the messy part.

Using paper towels wipe the shaving cream off the cardstock in a swirly motion.

When you take the cardstock out of the shaving cream, you can also place a second piece of cardstock over the first piece and 'smush' it into the shaving cream.

So when you pull them apart both pieces of cardstock will be covered with shaving cream.

Wipe the shaving cream off these in a swirl motion as well. The longer the shaving cream is on the cardstock the darker the color will be

After you let the cardstock dry you can use it in a lot of different ways. This is the first card I made.

Supplies

Cardstock: Confetti White, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue

Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Classic Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink

Reinkers: Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery

Accessories: Certainly Celery 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, SNAIL

Tips

Use a neutral cardstock for the shaving cream, I used Confetti White.
I haven't tried it, but I don't know if using Whisper White cardstock would be good, it isn't very heavy.

This is the second card I made with the same 'batch' of shaving cream.

Supplies
Cardstock: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Confetti
Stamp Sets: Artistic Etchings and Tiny Tags
Classic Ink: Basic Black
Punches: Jewelry Tag, 1/16" Handheld Circle Punch, Top Note Die
Accessories: Basic Black 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Stamping Sponge, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

I hope you try out this technique, and if you post it to your blog let me know so I can check it out.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-03-13T11:17:00.000-04:00

Hi All ~
How exciting is this, I received a Stylish Blogger Award from Nicki Shoppis; this is my first blogger award. I love it, thank you Nicki!!! Be sure to check out her blog, she has some great posts http://www.inkpaperstamp.com/.
When you recieve a blogger award there are 4 things that you are supposed to do...

Thank the person that gave you the award and link it back to their blog.

Nicki Shoppis SU! demonstrator sent me the award, her blog is http://www.inkpaperstamp.com/

Share 8 things about yourself

I am a Registered Nurse and have worked in oncology nursing for 18 years.
I live in Rochester, NY but I'm Canadian.
I have 2 cats; Marvin and Muzby.
I don't have any children, but I do have an 18 year old nephew, DJ, who I adore.
My favouite hobbies are paper crafting, reading, cross stitching and watching Stewie on Family Guy.
I love being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'm only a hobbyist, but I've met a lot of great people and made some wonderful friends since becoming a demonstrator.
I currently am working as the Interim Nurse Manager on my unit (Blood and Marrow Transplant) and even though it is a challenge and makes me step out of my comfort zone everyday, I am really enjoying it.
My favourite SU! colors are Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso.

Pass this award onto 8 other bloggers

Sherri Clarke http://sherrisspace.blogspot.com/
Lori Burkitt http://www.stampingwithlulu.blogspot.com/
Holly Krautkremer http://rubberredneck.typepad.com/
Kendra Richardson http://kendrascorner.blogspot.com/
Anne Marie Hile http://stampinanne.blogspot.com/
Nataliya http://lovecraftsforever.blogspot.com/
Lori Ingebritson http://mycheerystampinspace.blogspot.com/

Leave a comment so they can pass along the recognition.

Thanks again Nicki!

Lap of Luxury

2011-02-27T11:49:00.004-05:00

Good morning, wow, this is out of control, this is going to make a total of 3 posts in 1 week, there's no way Sherri (my SIL) is going to stay safe on the couch when she sees this one - apply your seatbelt Sherri, this is a double post.

My favourite color is purple (no, I'm not a Donny Osmond fan!), and one of the In Colors this year is Concord Crush, and to make that color even better there is Designer Series Paper (DSP) called Lap of Luxury that coordinates with the Concord Crush ~ yum!!!!

The base of this card is Concord Crush, and then I ran Very Vanilla through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, and then use a Sponge Dauber and the Concord Crush Ink Pad to add some color to the Very Vanilla Cardstock.
I did the quilt style for today's card, cutting strips of the Lap of Luxury DSP in different widths and gluing them to a piece of cardstock 4" x 5" with my Anywhere Glue Stick. I then rank it through my Big Shot with the Top Note Die, and then ran it through my Big Shot again with the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. Then I applied a piece of Sticky Strip across the center of the Top Note Die Cut and placed the Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon in a "jagged" type maner.

This is the final product...

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Occasional Quotes (level 3 hostess set)
Card Stock: Concord Crush, Very Vanilla
Designer Series Paper: Lap of Luxury
Ink: Concord Crush
Punches: Decorative Label Punch, 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Punch
Accessories: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dot Textured Embossing Folder, Sponge Daubers, Sticky Strip, SNAIL, Dimensionals, Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Anywhere Glue Stick

Tips

Make sure you have your card stock placed properly over the Top Note Die before you run it through the Big Shot.
I applied the Anywhere Glue Stick all over the 4" x 5" card stock before I applied the strips of DSP, this makes it easier because you can "slide" the DSP into place before it dries.

When I make cards sometimes I make duplicates, and that was my intention this morning, but when I ran my card stock through the Big Shot with the Top Note Die, I didn't have the card stock placed properly over the Top Note Die (I was still working on my 1st cup of coffee I think) and so 1 side of the Top Note was cut off. I didn't want to waste what I had left, so I improvised, and came up with this.

I don't really like this one as much as the first one, but overall it's not bad.

Supplies

Stamp Sets: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card Stock: Concord Crush, Blushing Bride
Designer Series Paper: Lap of Luxury
Classic Ink: Concord Crush
Punches: Modern Label Punch, Work Window Punch
Accessories: Big Shot Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Perfect Polka Dot Textured Embossing Folder, Sticky Strip, SNAIL, Dimensionals, Concord Crush 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Anywhere Glue Stick

Tips

Make sure you have your card stock placed properly over the Top Note Die before you run it through the Big Shot ~ but you know what they say "there are not mistakes in stampin', only opportunities"

I hope you enjoyed my post today.

Notably Ornate

2011-02-23T19:36:00.002-05:00

Hi again, 2 posts in 1 week, WOW! My sister-in-law left me a comment today saying she almost fell off the couch when she seen that I post. Well, I wonder what 2 posts in 1 week will do to her? LOL.

Today's card is made with the stamp set Nortably Ornate, I LOVE this set. Why, you ask? Well I really don't know why, but there is something about it that draws me to it.

Check out the card, maybe you'll see what I mean.

Isn't it fun!

Supplies
Stamp Sets: Notably Ornate
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red
Designer Series Paper: Love Letter
Punches: Modern Label Punch
Accessories: 1 1/4" Basic Black Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Snips, SNAIL

Tips

When cutting the ribbon, you only need to cut enough to fold over the edges ~ this way you just tape or SNAIL the ribbon to the back of the DSP. It helps your ribbon go a little bit farther.
The main image of the card was stamped on Very Vanilla card stock with Basic Black ink and then I cut it out with my Paper Snips. I really hate cuting things, it is a pain; but I've learned that if you move the card stock as you're cutting, and not the Paper Snips it makes cutting a little easier.
The "just because" was also stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and then punched out using the Modern Label Punch. To do the layering with the Riding Hood Red card stock I punched out a piece using the Modern Label Punch and then cut it in half so that it layers the "just because" on both ends.

Well, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed my card. And, Sherri I hope you didn't hurt yourself when you fell off the couch.

Long Time No Post

2011-02-21T20:51:00.002-05:00

It feels good to be back, I'm sorry I haven't posted in such a long time. I started a new job in December, I'm the interim nurse manager on the unit that I've worked on for 12 years now. I'm really enjoying it, honestly more than I thought I would, but it takes a lot of my time. I've been making cards over the last several months, I just haven't taken time to post.

Anyways, it feels good to be posting again, and I promise I'll work on some time management skills, and try not to go such a long time without posting again.

Todays card is a CASE (I'm sorry, I don't remember where I seen this card, if you do let me know, I'd love to give credit where credit is due!!

Supplies

Cardstock: Concord Crush, Whisper White

Ink: Concord Crush, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz

Stamp Sets: Aviary, Thank You Kindly

Accessories: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Framed Tulips, Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Paper Snips, SNAIL, Concord Crush 1/2-inch Stitched-Poly Ribbon Big Shot and Basic Pearls

Tips

You definitely need the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to make this card...the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig is a beautiful thing.

Well, that's it for today, I hope you enjoy the card, and I'll see you soon.

Pins and Magnets

2010-11-06T10:50:00.002-04:00

Hi Again;

Splitcoast Stampers has so many great tutorials on it, and for today's post I used Altered Game Pieces to make magnets and pins.

I started out with some Dominoes, which I bought at Target, at a very reasonable price.

Then I bought some magnets and jewellry pins at Michaels (SU doesn't sell these items) and blew the dust off my glue gun. and started stamping.

I used my Sanding Blocks to sand the smooth side of the Domino. I stamped the image with StazOn, colored with sharpies, and then sprayed with Acrylic Sealant.

After I stamped this one I covered it with VersaMark and embossed it with Iridescent Ice. It looks great, but I found the embossed Iridescent Ice chipped off.

Supplies

Ink: StazOn, Sharpies

Stamp Set: Wishing You Cheer (retired)

Accessories: Acrylic Sealant, Magnets, Pins

Tips

Patience, Patience, Patience. You need to be sure things are dry between steps and before spraying with the sealant; I used my heat tool.
When spraying with the acrylic be sure you have your spray can several inches away from your domino, or the ink might run.

I hope you enjoy my post today.

It's Magic!

2010-11-01T20:08:00.002-04:00

I'd just like to start this post telling you that in no way is this my idea (I wish I could come up with something so cool!). I CASEd this off Tinkerin In Ink with Tanya, she gives a great tutorial.

Did you know that you can take this...

Turn it into this...

Package it all up into this...

Like this...

And your final package looks like this!

But, wait there's more. You can safely burn these (I tried myself).

This is the tealight burning.

This is after burning for about an hour. I didn't expect the stamped image to still be intact, but as you can see it was.

And this is the tealight burned all the way to the end, and still the image is intact.

Here's another sample of tealights done with snowmen.

Supplies for Fall Tealights

Cardstock: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Confetti White

Ink: More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Garden Green, Cajun Craze

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Punches: 1 3/8" circle punch, 1/16" hole punch

Accessories: Heat Tool, SNAIL, Sticky Tape, Paper Snips

For the Snowmen Tealights I used A Cute Christmas stamp set.

Tips

The instructions on Tanya's blog are really easy to follow.
The only tip I have is to cut a sliver off the 4 smallest flaps (the only piece that's left after you cut all of the shaded area in each of the corners) like the picture below. It just helps them fit under the larger flaps when you fold them over.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Chapstick Holder Cards

2010-10-30T15:03:00.006-04:00

Hi Everybody.

Today I have a little tutorial to share with you. I in no way designed this tutorial, but I did revise one I found a little to get the size I was looking for. The original tutorials are from Sarah's Ink Spot Blog and Yvette's Paper Garden, be sure to check out their blogs.

This is the final product, and I think it makes a great gift or stocking stuffer.

Step 1

Cut 2 different colors of cardstock 5 3/4" x 2 3/4" ( I used Garden Green and Bravo Burgungdy) and score them both at 2 1/2" x 3 1/4". I then ran the Bravo Burgundy through the Big Shot with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder.

Step 2

Fold your Garden Green Cardstock on the second score line from the left. Put a pencil mark along that score line at 1 1/8" and 1 5/8" from the top.

Step 3

Using your Snips start at the 1 1/8" pencil mark & cut from the second score line to the first one (keep cardstock folded on the second line while cutting) and then repeat starting at the 1 5/8" pencil mark.

Once you make the cuts this is what your card should look like from the outside.

And inside.

And that center piece is where you would place your chapstick (Burt's Bees is my favourite chap stick).

Step 4

Put your adhesive on the outside of your Garden Green CS, be sure not to put any on the center part that folds in and holds your chapstick.

Step 5

When you attach the Garden Green to the Bravo Burgundy I found it was easiest if I started with the center panel first.

Step 6

Because the Bravo Burgundy was embossed it is going to be slightly smaller then your Garden Green, I just cut that excess off.

When you're all done just punch your hole with a 1/8" hole punch and use ribbon to tie the card shut.

Here are 2 more Chapstick Card Holders.

Supplies

Cardstock: Bravo Burgundy, Garden Green, Real Red, Old Olive, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Very Vanilla

Ink: Marina Mist, Read Red

Stampin' Write Markers: Garden Green, Early Espresso, Real Red

Stamp Sets: Tags til Christmal

Punches: Decorative Label, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/8" Hole Punch

Accessories: Big Shot, Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls, SNAIL, Paper Snips, 1/8" Whisper WhiteTaffeta Ribbon, 1/8" Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

Tips

I hope the directions are clear, but if you have any questions please feel free to email me at gypsytc@yahoo.com.

I love to see what you come up with.

Friday Mashup! Challenge

2010-10-23T18:27:00.003-04:00

I haven't done any challenges lately, and since I love playing with bleach so much I figured why not apply this technique to a challenge. The challenge for today is a color challenge and it's from a new challenge blog I recently found called Friday Mashup! Here are the colors for the Mashup! Challenge #15.

I used the same layout as the card I posted earlier today, with just a few changes and an added layer for the card for this challenge.

Supplies

Card Stock: Old Olive, More Mustard and Cajun Craze

Ink: Versamark, Cajun Craze

Stamp: Day of Gratitude

Punches: Decorative Label Punch

Accessories: 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, SNAIL, Stamping Sponges, Paper Snips, Powder Pals, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy

Tips

The process is exactly the same as in the previous post, here. I stamped the image with versamark, then with Cajun Craze Classic Ink and then used Clear Embossing Powder to heat emboss it.
I did the same thing with the leaves on the first layer of the card to create my own designer series paper.
I sponged around the edge of all the different layers of the More Mustard card stock with Cajun Craze Ink.
I colored the medallion from Day of Gratitude with bleach and used the Heat Tool to speed up the drying process.

I hope you enjoy, and be sure to check out Friday Mashup! and all the other entries for their color challenge this week.

Playing in Bleach Again

2010-10-23T18:14:00.002-04:00

I'm really enjoying the look you get from using bleach in stamping, I've made a couple different cards today using the bleached out technique. This is first card I did today, it's with the Day of Gratitude stamp set.

Supplies

Card Stock: Not Quite Navy, Cajun Craze, More Mustard

Ink: Cajun Craze, Versamark

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Punches: Decorative Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch

Accessories: SNAIL, Heat Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Stamping Sponges, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Basic Pearls, Aqua Painter, Bleach

Tips

I've heard several times that you can heat emboss with the Stampin' Up! Classic Ink Pads, and today I decided to try it and see.
The secret to embossing with the Classic Ink pads is to stamp your image with Versamark and then stamp onto your Classic Ink Pad with any color.
Well, as you can see, it works. So, it's official you don't need to buy the SU! Craft Ink Pads to heat emboss, all you need is your Versamark. I'm glad I finally tried this.
Once I stamped and heat embossed my image then I colored it with my Aqua Painter and bleach. You need to be careful not to get too much bleach on your stamped image because the first time I did it some of the stamped image lost its color.
You can use your Heat Tool to try the bleach quickly, but don't get it too close to your paper.

So, what do you think?

Faux Silk

2010-10-20T06:35:00.004-04:00

Two posts in the same week, somebody stop me I'm out of control. I am on technique overload this week. Today I tried the faux silk look; I'll be honest I was very doubtful about this whole process, but I gotta say I like it, a lot. So, here is my card, what do you think? Follow this link to the tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers and try it outself for yourself.

I made the picture extra large hoping you can see the effect the tissue paper makes on the card.

Supplies
Card Stock: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White
Stamps: A Day of Gratitude (in the Holiday Mini)
Ink: Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie
Punches: Curly Label Punch
Accessories: Sponge Daubers, Anywhere Glue Stick, SNAIL

Tips

I have to be honest, I don't have any tips...it's that easy.

If you try this technque I'd love to hear about, and post a link so I can check it out. Bye for now.

Iris Fold

2010-10-19T21:35:00.003-04:00

I'm really excited to share this card with you today, I've been thinking about trying the Iris Fold Technique and I just bought the perfect stamp set to do it with. I got the technique from Splitcoast Stampers, and you can find it here. Splitcoast calls it the Iris Twist, but its all the same thing no matter what you call it. Anyway, here's the story of how I ended up with the finished product. The first time I did it I used the Ornament Punch and some Designer Series Paper (DSP). Since I didn't know how this was going to turn out I didn't want to use my Christmas DSP, so I used the In Color Designer Series Pack with Concor Crush cardstock, and this was how that turned out.

And this is how the back of the card stock looked.

I think it turned out pretty good and I could easily layer that on a card base and it wouldn't be too heavy. So now I move on to the stamp set I want to do this technique with, Christmas Collage. I stamped the image, used the Extra Large Scallop punch to punch out the "25" because that is where I want to do the iris fold. I'm still not ready to use my Christmas DSP yet, so no problem I'll try it with Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke. The tutorial tells you to cut a 1 inch strip of DSP and then fold it in half, and I think that fold definitely adds something to the overall look of the Iris Fold. So, I stamp my image in Cherry Cobbler, and start layering my cardstock, (insert doh! and slap on the forehead here - don't try this at home). I got about halfway through and realized this isn't going to work out so great, but what the heck I was half way there so why stop now. This is how it looked.

Now either you knew right away why this wasn't going to work, or your looking at the picture thinking that's not so bad, I don't see anything wrong with it. So I will show you a little close up.

And in case that isn't working for you let me just show you the back.

And there it is, if I tried to layer that on a card base there would be a 1/4 of an inch space between the base and the layer, and I'm sure some extra postage with it. So now I'm bummed because I really want to use these colors and I'm still not willing to use my DSP. And as I watch my cat Muzby try to get at my ribbon it hits me, I have some beautiful 1/2" Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke Seam Binding. Yep, I'm excited again! And so I saved the best picture for last.

Don't you just love it? I think it turned out awesome and it layers on the card base without a problem. Now I know, the card can use some more work and I want to play around with the area that is punched out. I just couldn't wait to share the card especially since I haven't seen anyone else do this technique with this card yet.

Anyway, I hope you're as excited about this card as I am, I'd love to know what you all think.

I'm Back and With a New Technique

2010-10-17T10:21:00.003-04:00

I'm finally back, and with a card of my own...not just a swap to post (I just looked back and I haven't had an original post since September 12th!). I've been surfing through Splitcoast Stampers quite a bit lately and decided to try some of the techniques they have on their website, not just read them. I love trying new techniques, it always amazes me just all we can do with a little ink and some paper. Anyway, here is my card for today.

This card was done using bleach, and the tutorial for it is called Bleached Out Images. No sense in me recreating the wheel, so just follow the link if you want the tutorial.

Supplies
Card Stock: Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry
Stamps: Fast and Fabulous
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: 5/8" Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, SU Black Embossing Powder, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Aqua Painter, Chlorox Bleach, SNAIL

Tips

Remove all pets from the area! I don't know about you, but I can't do anything without my cat Muzby with her nose in it!
Make sure you have something under your card stock when "coloring" with the bleach, depending on how much you use it could seep through.
The more bleach you apply the lighter the paper will become.
You can use your heat tool to speed up the drying process.

I hope you enjoy, and always feel free to email me with questions.

More Hamilton Regionals Swaps

2010-10-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

Chrystal Decoste
Such beauty in simplicity...definitely going to use this one as a Christmas card this year.

Debby Tiede
On the back of the card where Debby listed the products she used it doesn't say anyting about Smooch Spritz or Shimmer Paint, but it definitely looks like she used something like that on the Garden Green Top Note Die cut out. It's very shiny and has a great look.

Diane Arazy
My friend Diane made this swap. I love this stamp set, she did a great job with the card.

Kathy Lowndes
I need to use my crimper more.

Jennifer Werenich
I never had any desire to buy the Star Punch, but guess what's on my wish list now.

Katherine Heist
I don't usually make Halloween cards, but if I did, I would definitely case this one. The Spider Web Embossing Folder was used on Vellum Cardstock and the spider was made with a Glitter Brad. Very sharp looking.

Lois Leitch

Lori Ribotti
I'm not sure if you can tell, but the Ornament Punch in the center is 3D.

April Waite
Not your typical Christmas colors, but I like it.

Karen Capern

Hamilton Regionals

2010-10-03T09:47:00.002-04:00

On September 25th Stampin" Up! had a Regionals in Hamilton, Ontario and so I got to go. I went with my upline Mary Rodgers and a 'sister' stamper and friend Diane Arazy. It was my first Stampin' Up! event and so needless to say I was very excited. I got to meet Shelli Gardner (SU! CEO and co-founder) and Heather Summers (check out her blog http://www.stampwithheather.typepad.com/), who is just one of my favourite stampers, I visit her blog often for inspiration and smiles.

Anyway, the regionals were a lot of fun, there was lots of energy, excitement, and a ton of inspiration. I only had time to make 50 swaps for the event, but I got a lot of great cards to show you and some great ideas to CASE. I also learned several new techniques that I can't wait to try out and show you.

So, lets get on with it ~ here are some of my favourite swaps. If the stampers included their name and/or website then I will list it below the card. Unfortunately there are several people that didn't include their name. If you see a card with no name and you know who made it, please let me know so that I can give them credit.

Caroline LeBel http://www.craftincaro.ca/
This is one of my favourite swaps, and I'm thinking about using it as one of my Christmas cards this year. This was made

Dina Anker
The blue with the 'just for you' stamped at the top comes out, and can be used as a book mark.

Joan Leblanc
I love the Baja Breeze and Night of Navy together. The silver embossing on the Baja Breeze is not something I would have thought to do, but I love it.

Kim Assaly http://www.riverfrontstampin.com/
The Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake together is a great combination. I wasn't sure I liked the Crochet Trim Chantilly Ribbon, but the more I see it the more I like it.

Kristal Mantle
Don't you just love how Kristal a stamp from the Awash with Flowers set to make the skirt on the girl. Ingenious if you ask me. Shelli Gardner obviously thought so too becasue this was one of the two cards that she picked as her favourites of the swaps.

Laura Robinson http://www.hyperstamper.com/

No name was included.
I learned something new with this swap. The line of glitter across the card was done with placing a strip of Sticky Strip across the card and adding Glitter to it.

Patricia Blagdon-Williams
This was made using the Snowflakes #2 Original Die and the Big Shot to cut the snowflake out of a soda can.

Sheila Edwards

Stephanie David

Wendy Tompkins
This is another I think I may CASE for my Christmas cards this year.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to come back tomorrow for more swaps.

It's Been Too Long Since My Last Post ~ Sorry

2010-10-02T21:41:00.003-04:00

Wow, I just realized I haven't posted anything in over 2 weeks, I'm really sorry about that. I have no excuses, I"m just adjusting to being back to work, and working 5 days a week (as a nurse I've never done that before). Anyway, even thought my birthday was long ago over, I still have some birthday cards to I wanted to share with you; so here they are...

JoAnn Colin

Judy Goodyear (I can't wait til you get back Judy!!!)

Leigh Amburgey

Linda Bauwin

Mary Rodgers

Michelle Vecchione

Paula Conner

Rosa Youschak

Vicki Hannah

Chris Feichter

Cheryl Dodich

Darla DiDonato

Carol Spafford

Well, that's all. Thank you ladies for all of the wonderful cards.

Now, be sure to check back tomorrow, I have some great things to share from the Stampin' Up! Regional event I just attended in Hamilton, Ontario.

More Birthday Cards

2010-09-14T08:55:00.008-04:00

Here's a couple more cards...

This is from Diane Desmarais. I love how she colored the Hydrangea. it looks like she used the Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen, which really gives the image some dimension.

This one is from Kerri Sholette. It is so pretty, yet such a simple layout. Just goes to show you that the cards don't have to be over the top fancy for people to enjoy. I sometimes forget that when I'm creating cards, but am reminded that simple is good when I see them.

This last one for today is from Mary Jo Schulz. It looks like Mary Jo used the new background stamp Pretty Pattern. I wasn't sure if that stamp was one that I would want to purchase, but now that I'm looking at it I'm thinking maybe. I also love the Poppy Parade Ribbon, it is such a pretty color.

Thank you for the cards ladies, I love them...and you've given some great ideas.

Birthday Cards

2010-09-13T08:00:00.004-04:00

It's is my birthday on Sunday, and I've gotten several cards in the mail from some fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators. I've gotten some really great cards and I wanted to share them with everyone, so over the next week I'll post a couple every day.

This is from Brenda Tryon. Isn't it gorgeous, I love the colors and butterflies have always been a favourite of mine.

This is from Cindy Hughes, isn't it fun. I'm definitely going to have to CASE this one, it is some awesome punch art. The greeting inside the card made some crazy reference to my age....not funny considering I'm only turning 22, LOL. (22 x 2 that is).

This is from Pat Neieisel. I love this idea, so simple, yet so creative! I never would have thought of it, but looking at it, it just seems so logical. LOL

This last one isn't a birthday card, but I just received it in the mail and I love it, so I wanted to share. Fall is my favourite time of year, and this is definitely all about the fall.

Well, that's it for today, I'll see you tomorrow.

Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo Part B

2010-09-12T14:23:00.004-04:00

Here's the second card for the Picture Perfect Creations Color Challenge, and it's my favourite, it kind of pops and just makes me smile.

Supplies

Card Stock: Peach Parfait, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Textured Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Peach Parfait, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight
Stamp Sets: Itty Bitty Bits, With All My Heart
Punches: Decorative Label, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, 1/2" Circle
Accessories: Bitty Buttons, Crystal Effects, Dimensionals, SNAIL, 2-Way Glue Pen

Tips

I will post a tutorial this week on how to layer the Decorative Label Punch.
To attach the punched image to the Bitty Buttons I used Crystal Effects, it dries clear and so won't show through the buttons.
I stamped my card base with the large image from With All My Heart with Peach Parfait Ink to create my own patterned paper.
I used my 2-Way Glue Pen to attach the small punched image from Itty Bitty Bits to the 1/2" circle. Those images are way to small to mess with SNAIL. The 2-way Glue Pen is great because the glue comes out blue, and if you attach the image when the glue is wet then it will be permanent adhesive, but if you wait until the glue dries, then it is removeable adhesive.

I hope you enjoy my cards today, and as always please feel free to email me if you have questions.

Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo Part A

2010-09-12T14:00:00.005-04:00

Good (Dark, Dreary) Afternoon Everyone...

I hope you all are doing something fun this weekend, and are someplace dry because it really looks like it is going to rain today.

For today's post I have 2 cards that I made for a color challenge at Picture Perfect Creations. This color combo is almost spring like, and hopeful will put a smile on your face today.

I just got a new order in on Friday, so the cards I made have some fun new paper and embellishments on them.

The first card is using Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper. I love our DSP but I never use it enough, so hopefully you will be seeing more of it on my blog.

Supplies
Card Stock: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait
Paper: Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper
Ink: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait
Stamps: Cottage Garden
Punches: Decorative Label Punch (in the new Holiday Mini pg. 25), Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
Accessories: Paper Snips, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Dimensionals, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder

Tips

Check back this week, I'll show you how I did the layering for the Decorative Label Punch.
I used the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to line up the flowers in the Cottage Garden Stamp Set, and then cut them with my Paper Snips.

CASEing the Idea Book and Catalog

2010-09-08T00:59:00.026-04:00

I have to be honest, I never use the SU! IB&C for ideas...no reason, I just don't. I was looking through the catalog today and decided I need to really look at the projects in there, and WOW there are some really beautiful cards and other things. So, I decided to CASE one, and I chose a simple card because I'm not so good at doing simple cards. Like everything else in my life I have to make it complicated, but often that is so unnecessary.

Anyway, here is the card I CASE'd, it is from page 109 in the IB&C. I change the colors a little, and instead of using bleach I embossed the image (I don't have bleach), but otherwise it is the same card.

I'm not really sure why, but the textured cardstock doesn't photograph very well (I know the problem can't be the photographer, LOL)

Supplies

Card Stock: Elegant Eggplant Textured Cardstock, Confetti White

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, VersaMark

Stamps: Just Believe

Accessories: Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Color Spritzer Tool, White Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Heat Tool, SNAIL

Tips

When using the VersaMark be careful about leaving fingerprints on the card stock. I don't know if you can see it, but in the upper left corner of the card is one of my big ole fingerprints.
The Confetti White was torn by hand, and the edge was distressed a little more by hand.
I used Elegant Eggplant Stampin' Write marker with the Color Spritzer Tool and spritzed over the Elegant Eggplant cardstock and the Confetti Cream.

I would love to know what you think. Thanks for looking today, and I hope you have a great day.

Curtain Call Act 46

2010-09-06T17:50:00.002-04:00

I'm back for a second post today...why not spend Labor Day laboring away in one's stamp room? This card is for a color challenge at Stacey's Stamping Stage, Curtain Call Act 46.

These are Icelandic Poppies, so it only seemed right I used some flowers in this card.

Supplies
Card Stock: Wild Wasabi, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Blushing Bride
Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Occasional Quotes
Ink: Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi
Stampin' Write Marker: Wild Wasabi
Punches: Modern Label Punch, 5-Petal Flower Punch, 3/16" Corner Punch
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Subtles Brads, Sponge Daubers, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, SNAIL, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Stamp-a-ma-Jig

Tips

I sponged the edges of the 5-Petal Flowers to give some dimension.
I used the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to line up the flowers, lines within the flowers and the stems, works every time!

Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo #28

2010-09-06T01:58:00.002-04:00

Last week I was the Grand Creation Winner at Picture Perfect Creations for this card, (thanx Megan) and this I just had to play again because the color combo is just gorgeous!

This color combo just screamed Elements of Style, and here is how I put it all together.

What do you think, isn't it pretty!

Supplies
Card Stock: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Stamps: Elements of Style
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze
Stampin' Write Markers: Pink Pirouette, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: SNAIL, Sponge Daubers

Tips

I just tore the paper with my hands, no tools for this one.
I stamped the image in Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink, and then colored the flowers with a Pink Pirouette Stampin' Write Marker and the leaves with a Wild Wasabi Marker
I sponged the torn edges of the Whisper White with Baja Breeze Classic Ink.
I didn't put a greeting on the card because no matter where I tried to place one, it always seemed to take away from the card.

I would love to know what you think!

Happy Birthday

2010-09-05T14:39:00.003-04:00

Today's card is for a color challenge at Scrapmaster's Paradise. Be sure to check out her blog, it has some great ideas on it. Here are the colors for the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo #63.

Aren't they great colors, the Pacific Point and Rich Razzleberry are so rich. The card I came up with is pretty simple.

I used the VersaMarker to add some Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder to the stamped gift image. Here's an upclose look.

Kind of share looking.

Supplies
Card Stock: Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Paper: In Color Patterns Designer Seriew Pper Stack
Stampin' Write Markers: Pear Pizzazz, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Black StazOn, Basic Black Classic Ink
Stamp Sets: Happy Moments, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 1-3/4" Circle, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
Accessories: VersaMarker, Brights Brads, SNAIL, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Embossing Buddy, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Powder Pals

Tips

I stamped the image before punching it out...too much work to try to stamp on an already punched out circle.
VersaMark comes in a marker as well as a pad. To get the Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder on the gift I colored the parts I wanted to emboss with the VersaMarker (after using the Embossing Buddy) then applied the Embossing Powder, and it only stuck to the areas where the VersaMarker was already applied.

It's A Color Throwdown

2010-09-01T06:50:00.003-04:00

Today's card is for a color challenge from The Color Throwdown. I love the colors for this challenge, they are nice and cheery.

This color challenge called for some stamp sets that required me to blow the dust off them, I can't remember the last time I used either of them.

Supplies
Card Stock: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink (textured), Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey, Rose Red
Stampin' Write Markers: Pear Pizzazz, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Stamp Sets: Simply Said, Flight of the Butterfly
Punches: Butterfly Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, SNAIL, Dimensionals

Tips

The Basic Pearls have an adhesive on them, so all you have to do is peel them off the paper they come on, just be careful to not touch the back of the pearl.
I stamped the solid butterfly, punched it out, and adhered it to the base layer of the card, then I stamped the butterfly again with the design, punched it out and adhered it to the solid stamped butterly with the dimensional. Although you really can't tell in the picture, it gives a little bit of a dimensional look to the card.
I used the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to stamp the greeting so that I could get it placed just the way I wanted it to.

Thanks for checking out my blog today, I would love to know what you think of my cards.

I Am "Disable" No More

2010-08-29T17:52:00.003-04:00

Well, I had my surgery on my knee on June 4th, and I'm officially able to return to work. As much as it's nice to not have to get up early in the morning, and to have no work related stress and responsibility, it's nice to get back into some sort of routine again.
Anyway, today's card is for 2 challenges. The first challenge is for Pals Paper Arts. They've made some changes to their blog recently so be sure to check them out. Besides that, they have a very talented design team who make such beautiful creations.

The second challenge is for Stacey's Stamping Stage, who also has some beautiful creations.

This color challenge was just that, a challenge for me, I wasn't sure how to work the Crumb Cake into it. But, I figured it out and this is what I came up with.

I used a technique on this card that I recently learned, see below for details.

Supplies
Card Stock: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Paper: In Color Designer Series Paper Pack
Stamps: Fast and Fabulous, Elements of Style
Ink: Basic Gray, Concord Crush, Crumb Cake
Punches: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, 1" Circle, 3/16" Corner
Accessories: Brayer, Color Spritzer Tool, Sponge Daubers, SNAIL, Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Cutter Kit

Tips

To get the background look I embossed a piece of Pear Pizzazz Card Stock with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, and then using a Brayer and Concord Crush Classic Ink I lightly rolled the ink over the debossed side of the card stock. It's really important that you Brayer lightly because you don't want to get ink into the debossed part of the pattern.
I used the Corner Punch on the 2 right sided corners, and then used the Cutter Kit to distress the edges.
I used the Color Spritzer with Concord Crush and Crumb Cake ink on the stamped image.
The pattern on the DSP is the same as the pattern from the Embossing Folder.

Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo

2010-08-24T14:41:00.003-04:00

Hi All;

Today's card is for Picture Perfect Creations Color Combo #27. One of these colors is a favourite, Concord Grape. I think it's because it makes me think of, yea you guessed it, concord grapes and my absolutely most favourite Yankee Candle Scent which called Vineyard. Anyway, here's the colors for the challenge.

Since the combo has a purple and a green in it I figured the best stamp to use was the lavender stamp from Herb Expressions.

Supplies
Card Stock: Blushing Bride, Concord Crush, Wild Wasabi, Watercolor, Whisper White
Ink: Blushing Bride, Black StazOn, Concord Crush
Stampin' Write Markers: Wild Wasabi, Concord Crush
Stamps: Herb Expressions, Bella Toile
Punches: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch
Accessories: Blender Pen, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, 5/8" Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Brads, SNAIL, Paper Snips

Tips

When I place the ribbon I don't wrap it all around the card stock. I just wrap it across the front and cut off enough to fold it over the side and tape it to the back of the card stock. Over time this saves a lot of ribbon.
I use my Paper Piercer and Mat Pack to place the brads, this helps to line things up.
The image is stamper on Watercolor Paper with Black StazOn Ink, and then colored the image with my Blender Pen and Stampin' Write Markers. Remember to always use Watercolor Paper and StazOn Ink if you are going to watercolor; if not the paper will most likely tear and the ink will smear.

I hope you enjoy my post today, I would love to know what you think.

A New Technique

2010-08-22T22:33:00.006-04:00

I haven't tried any new techniques lately, so I figured that would be a good project for the day. The technique I tried today is the Brick Wall Technique from Splitcoast Stampers, and I combined it with a color challenge #31 from Just Add Ink.

So here's the final product.

With an up close view of the 'brick wall.'

Supplies

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Real Red

Ink: Basic Black, Versamark, Chocolate Chip

Stamps: Just Believe, Sanded

Punches: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

Accessories: Neutrals Brads, Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Powder Pals, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips

The tutorial on the Splitcoast Stampers website (see above link) is pretty easy to follow.
When cutting the pieces make sure you lay them out in the proper order as you cut them, and when gluing them on the card stock layer, watch you don't mess them up. It is REALLY difficult to figure out how they are supposed to lay if you mess them up.

I hope you enjoy my post today.

Pals Paper Art 55 Artist Pick

2010-08-20T15:42:00.000-04:00

My butterfly card from last week was picked to be a Pals Paper Arts Pick of the Week, how exciting is that! If you haven't lately then you need to be sure to check out their blog, the ladies at Pals Paper Arts have redesigned their blog, and recruited some new members for their design team.

A Different Kind of Post

2010-08-16T11:29:00.001-04:00

Today I thought I would share something with you that took me 6 years to complete...yeah you read that right, 6 years. On August 20, 2004 a very good friend of mine, Lynne, got married and I decided I wanted to make her wedding gift. I love to cross stitch, so figured a cross stitched picture with the date of their wedding on it would be a great gift. I went shopping and found a picture that I loved, so I bought it; only to find out it was hardanger and not cross stitch. They are very similar, with some distinct differences - no big deal I'll just take a couple classes to learn the techniques I would need to do to complete this project. Well, I took the classes, graduated with my master's degree, Lynne moved to New Hampshire, Lynne had a beautiful baby girl, I had surgery, and finally on August 15, 2010 I finished the project.

The white part in the center is the hardanger, everything else around it is cross stitching.

See the pearls, they are such a nice touch.

Again, the white is the hardanger. See those 'holes' well that comes from cutting the thread - one of the reasons it took me so long to complete this. Everytime I had to do some cutting, I would get nervous and stop working on it. Thank god for my friend Ellen, she really helped me with those parts.

Done just in time to celebrate their 6th annivarsary.

This picture does not do the finished project justice, I wish I could capture a true image of the final product.

So now all I have to do is frame it, hopefully that will only take a year or two, LOL.

P.S. I did get them a real wedding gift at the time of their wedding...I know myself well and knew there was no way I'd get this done in time for their wedding.

PPA 55

2010-08-15T00:12:00.003-04:00

Gosh, it's been a long time since I posted, I'm sorry about that...no excuses, I've just had a few things on my mind lately and I haven't had the urge to stamp. But, today that urge struck me so I went straight to the Pals Paper Arts website to see what their newest challenge is, and I found a very bright fun color challenge to work on.

I new immediately I wanted to use the All a Flutter stamp set from the summer mini (which is coming to an end real soon...August 31st is the last day to buy from this catalog), and so this card came together real quick, what do you think?

Supplies

Cardstock: Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black Textured, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Stamps: All A Flutter, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo

Stampin' Write Markers: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight

Punches: Scallop Oval, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Large Oval, Curly Label, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border

Embellishments: Basic Pearls

Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Stamping Sponges, Dimensionals, SNAIL, Paper Snips

Tips

I LOVE the new dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, it's the next best thing to having ribbon in every color.
I embossed the butterflies and then colored them using Stampin' Write markers, then cut them out with Paper Snips.
I used Pear Pizzazz as the base color for my card because I wanted to use black as my base so the challenge colors would really pop, but I just didn't like the look of Whisper White or Very Vanilla as the base.

I hope you enjoy my post today, I would love to know what you think.

In Colors

2010-08-03T23:30:00.002-04:00

Since I had the In Colors and Just Believe stamp set out to make my card for the Pals Paper Arts I decided to make a second card with these supplies. I absolutely LOVE the Concord Crush so I'll use any reason I can to make a card with that color. Oh, and I did this card all by myself, no sketch, no color challenge, no nothing, just me...if you can believe it! LOL

Supplies
Stamps: Just Believe
Paper: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Cutter Kit, Sponge Daubers, SNAIL

Tips
When I stamped the flowers in the Concord Crush and Peach Parfait I stamped once with the stamp all inked up and then without re-inking the stamp I stamped again, this gives the stamp a light look. You can also do this by inking your stamp, stamping on a scrap piece of paper (called 'stamping off') and then stamping your image on your cardstock.

Have a great day!!

Stamping on Tiles

2010-07-30T22:38:00.002-04:00

Here's a great idea for a gift...Christmas is only 5 months away you know (ugh!). I've tried to stamp on tiles many many times and have not had any success, but this time I finally got it!

Supplies
Tiles: Ivory Travertine 4" x 4" bought at Lowes
Stamps: Elements of Style
Ink: Black StazOn
Stampin' Pastels: Rose Red, Garden Green
Accessories: Blender Pens, Folk Art Clearcote Acrylic Sealler, Cork Sheet, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Tips
Stamp the tile with StazOn Ink and then with your Blender Pen and Stampin' Pastels color your stamped image.
You cannot use classic ink on these tiles, but you can use Craft Ink...I have not tried either so I only know what I read, I'm not speaking from experience.
Because the image is colored with Stampin' Pastels you have to use a sealer on the tiles or the Stampin' Pastels will rub off.
Be sure to use cork or some kind of felt or rubber pads on your base.
The problem I've always had in the past is the StazOn ink would bleed when I sprayed the sealer. This time I let the tile sit for 24 hours before sealing it, and I kept my can several inches away from the tile and sprayed only a light coat. I don't know if that's what did it or not, but this time it didn't bleed.

Enjoy!

Who Doesn't Love a Garage Sale?

2010-07-28T18:38:00.000-04:00

Do you love a bargain?

Do you love Stampin' Up! products?

Well, here's your chance to get both at the

same time.

When: Saturday Aug. 7th 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where: Gates Wesleyan Church

2060 Long Pond Road

Rochester, NY 14606

What: Gently used retired Stampin' Up! products

For more information contact

Tammy Clarke

585-621-0727

So, grab your friends, your wish lists and your

money and come and check out the bargains.

Hostess Promotion

2010-07-27T09:48:00.001-04:00

Have you been thinking about having a Stampin' Up! workshop at your house, but are still undecided? Well, now is the perfect time to take the plunge; SU! is having a special promotion starting today and goes until August 31st.

If you host a workshop with total sales (before taxes and shipping and handling) of $350 or more you get an extra $25.00 in free product...on top of the standard hostess gifts. What does that mean? Instead of $40.00 in free product you would get $65.00 in free product.

So, don't put it off any longer, contact me via phone or email to schedule your workshop before this offer ends on August 31st.

Just Believe

2010-07-26T12:00:00.002-04:00

Good Evening Everyone, today's card is for a sketch challenge on Create with Connie and Mary.

Designing this card for this challenge I realized that I definitely need to include more ribbon in my next order. I love putting ribbon in my cards, but it's not as much fun when you're limited in your choices. Anyway, this is what I came up with for the sketch. I hope you like it.

Supplies
Stamps: Just Believe
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy
Punches: 1-3/8' Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch
Accessories: Top Note Big Shot Die, Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Cutter Tool, Stamping Sponges, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, SNAIL

Tips
I used the Paper Piercer in the 3 corners and along all of the edges of the Pumpkin Pie Cardstock.
I decided to distress the Pumpkin Pie Cardstock after I had the ribbon and the Top Note all SNAILed together...it would have been easier if I distressed it first. Oh well, what are you gonna do, it still turned out okay in the end.

That's all for tonight, have a great evening and I'll see you tomorrow.

A Tutorial for a Challenge

2010-07-25T14:14:00.003-04:00

Hi Again, for the second time today. Today's card is for a challenge on Scrapmaster's Paradise, it is color challenge #57.

Don't you just love this color combo? I especially love Marina Mist, it is another one of my new favourites that SU! came out with this year.

To do this card I did a technique that I learned at an all day stamping event host by my 3rd upline, Linda Bauwin. This technique in particular was taught by Sherm Langan, an SU! Demonstrator.

Supplies
Stamps: For All You Do, Occassional Quotes
Paper: Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Confetti White, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Blushing Bride
Stampin' Write Markers: Marina Mist and Blushing Bride
Punches: Modern Label Punch
Accessories: Bashful Blue 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Brights and Subtles Brads, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Sponge Daubers, Crimper, Color Spritzer Tool, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Color Catcher, Paper Snips, Grid Paper, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips
For this tutorial I did all of my folding, crimping etc. on a piece of Confetti White Cardstock that was not stamped on so you could have a clear picture, but you definitely want to be sure to stamp, color, spritz, etc. your image before doing any of the following.
I started with a pice of Confetti White Cardstock 5" x 3-3/4" and using my Grid Paper I marked the 5" sides with a pencil at 2-1/2" and on the 3-3/4" sides I marked at 1-7/8", and then lightly with a pencil I drew lines connecting those marks.

I then used my bone folder and scored along those pencil marks. You really don't need to mark the lines with a pencil, you could just jump to making score lines with your Bone Folder if you wanted. Once you have your lines scored, fold them along the score lines.

If you marked your paper with a pencil, it doesn't matter which way you fold your corners, you just want to make sure the pencil marks are on the side you apply your SNAIL to when mounting this to your card. With your paper folded along the score lines run it through the crimper.

And this is what it will look like when finished running it through the crimper.

I hope this is clear, and you have fun trying this technique. I love it and use it often in my cards.

Pals Paper Art Sketch Challenge #52

2010-07-25T00:05:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone! Today's card is a relatively simple one that I made for the Pals Paper Arts Sketch Challenge #52. Check out their blog, they have a very talented design team and create wonderful cards for their challenges. Here is the sketch for this weeks challenge.

I used the new In Colors and some new products for this card.

Supplies
Stamps: Just Believe
Paper: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait (kind of sounds like a fruit salad LOL), In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White
Ink: Concord Crush, Peach Parfait
Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Square
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips
The circle stamp in the Just Believe coordinates perfectly with the 1-3/8" Circle Punch.
SU! has several stamps that coordinate with their punches, and they identify which stamps coordinate with which punches all throughout the Idea Book and Catalog.
There are now 2 different Scallop Circle Punches available which is great for layering.
I used the 1-1/4" Square Punch to make the cut on the edge of the Peach Parfait cardstock

Thanks for checking out my blog today. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch #25

2010-07-24T22:12:00.002-04:00

Hi All...Today's post is a card I made for Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch Challenge #25

This sketch comes from the monthly magazine all Stampin' Up! demonstrators get called Stampin' Success. Anyway, here is my card.

Supplies
Stamp: Tiny Tags, Bella Toile
Paper: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Confetti White
Ink: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry
Punches: Jewelry Tag
Accessories: Scallop Rectangle Clearlit, Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz, Color Catcher, Brights Brads, Cutter Kit, Matt Pack, Paper Piercing Tool, Sponge Daubers, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL

Tips
I used the cutting tool to distress the edges of the paper, and then the sponge daubers to add color to those edges.
When I applied the Gold Glow Smooch Spritz to the Daffodil Delight cardstock I used the Color Catcher to keep from getting the Smooch Spritz all over everything.
When using the Smooch Spritz be sure to shake up the bottle well, and spray your object at least 12 inches away; if you spray too close you will have gobs of color on your project. If the sprayer gets clogged you can unscrew the top and put it in some warm water to unclog it.

Enjoy!

I Won Another Challenge

2010-07-20T09:34:00.002-04:00

Scrapmaster's Paradise has weekly color challenges and on July 12th I was a Top 5 Pick for Color Challenge #55. .

Check out Samantha's blog and weekly color challenges, she uses some awesome color schemes for her challenges.

Have a great day!

When You're On, You're On!

2010-07-17T14:17:00.008-04:00

So first I couldn't get into a creative groove, now I can't stop, LOL. This card is for 2 challenges, the first challenge is from Just Add Ink and it is a "Just Add...EMBOSSING! challenge. The second challenges is for Pals Paper Arts and it's a Wedding Theme Challenge.
Since Just Add Ink is an embossing challenge I decided that it was finally time for me to do the Split Negative Technique which you can find the tutorial for it on the Splitcoast Stampers website, or by clicking here.
When you do the split negative you get 2 separate images to work with, so you know I had to make 2 different cards.

For the first card I didn't do any layers, I just attached the split negative directly to the card. For the greeting I also did a split negative, but just with stamping, I didn't emboss. The more I look at this card I think I want to add some white brads to it, hmmmm.

I've seen some cards where they've done a couple layers and it really had a nice look to it. I was going to that with this card, but the problem is that the Medallion is so large and in order to do more layers you have to cut more of the Medallion off, and I didn't want to do that. So, for the second card I did only 1 layer, using Whisper White as my base. I tried it with using Basic Black as my base but for some reason the image didn't seem to pop as much when layered on the white.

Supplies

Stamps: Medallion
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black, Whisper White Craft Ink
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Punches: Word Window Punch
Accessories: Black Emobssing Powder, White Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, Paper Snips, Neutral Brads, Mat Pack, Paper PiercerSNAIL

Tips
After I embossed the image is attached it to a piece of plain printer paper. This enabled me to play around with the image before adhering it to anything, and the plain printer paper is very think so you can't even tell its there when you look at the finished product.
Don't have your fan blowing in you're direction when you are using embossing powder, it makes a little mess.

Have a great day.

Getting Back Into the Groove

2010-07-17T10:27:00.009-04:00

Hi all...I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, I guess you could say I've been experiencing a creativity block. I've been in my craft room playing but nothing I try to do pans out...I could show you pictures of my attempts at being creative, but that would just be depressing. Anyway, I've finally found my mojo again, thanks to Mojo Monday and Create with Connie and Mary.

Using Mojo Monday's Sketch #147

and Create with Connie and Mary Color Challenge #107

I was able to come up with a beautiful card.

Supplies
Stamps: For All You Do
Paper: Real Red, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink (I don't have Pink Pirouette ink...Yet), So Saffron
Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms, Modern Label, 3/16" Small Corner, 1/16" Circle Punch
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Brights (Old Olive) and Subtles (Pretty in Pink) Brads, Basic Pearls, Mini Glue Dots, Paper Snips, SNAIL

Tips
I use the Mini Glue Dots to adhere Brads to card stock.
The smallest half scallop on the bottom right of the card is from the smallest flower on the Boho Blossoms punch.
The butterfly was done using the Kissing Technique. I stamped the butterfly with Pretty in Pink and the dots in Real Red and then stamped onto the butterfly with the dots. The Pearls are one of Stampin' Up's! newest product, and they already have adhesive on them, so when you take the Pearl off the backing it comes on be careful not to touch the back of the Pearl. I used tweezers to help with the placement.

Enjoy and have a great day.

Can you Tell I Enjoy Challenges

2010-07-11T00:08:00.008-04:00

Normally I'm a person that browses blogs looking for cards to CASE, but since I've started my own blog and have a place to showcase my cards I've really enjoyed all of the challenges out there. Don't get me wrong, I still scour the internet for cards to CASE, and with all of the talented SU! demonstrators out there I never have a hard time finding one I like.

The card for today's post is combing 2 challenges. The first is a color challenge, Color Combo #55 at Scrapmaster's Paradise.

.

And the second is Sketch Challenge#106 at Create with Connie and Mary

This is the first time I've participated in these 2 challenges. So, without further delay here is my card.

Supplies
Stamps: Fast and Fabulous, Elements of Style
Paper; Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Ink: Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight
Punches: 1 3/4" Scallop Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 1/4" Circle, 1" Circle
Accessories: Old Olive Brads, Paper Piercer, Matt Pack, Stamping Sponges, SNAIL, Dimensionals

Tips
I made my own background paper using the Daffodil Delight cardstock and randomly stamping on it with Daffodil Delight and Cajun Craze ink with the Fast and Fabulous stamp set.
I sponged the edges of the Daffodil Delight and Whisper White with Cajun Craze Classic Ink, and the Old Olive Cardstock with Old Olive Classic Ink.
Around the right edge of the Old Olive layer I used my Paper Piercer and Matt Pack to create a little design.
I know I said I would post the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and Spritzer tutorials today, but honestly I forgot all about it. I will post them later today.
For now, I hope you enjoy the card and have a great day.

Hand Stamped Sentiments Splash Challenge

2010-07-10T08:46:00.003-04:00

Today's card is for a color challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.
This challenge is called a Splash Challenge and included 5 colors,

I don't know why but that seemed like a lot of colors and it took me awhile to put it together, but I'm pleased with the final product.

Supplies
Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink: rose Red, Basic Black, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window
Accessories: 5/8" Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Color Spritzer Tool, Cutter Kit, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Sponge Daubers, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Old Olive Brads, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Tips
The edges of the Crumb Cake and Whisper White were distressed with the Cutter Kit and then sponged with Classic Ink.
The "spray" of color on the Whisper White was done using the Olive Stampin' Write Marker and the Color Spritzer Tool.
Greenhouse Garden is a 2-step stamp set, which means the flower image was stamped first with the Rose Red Ink, and the the back lines were stamped over the Rose Red. To do this the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig is an absolute necessity, it helps with the placement of the stamps so things line up.

I will post a tutorial on using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and the Color Spritzer Tool later on today.

PPA-50

2010-07-09T20:00:00.006-04:00

The challenge this week at Pals Paper Arts is a color challenge.

It's definitely a different kind of color combo, but it was fun coming up with a card for it. If you check out their blog you'll see a lot of great cards using that color combo.

The card I made used a technique that I learned from my 3rd upline, Linda Bauwin, at an all day stamping event in Ohio that she organized and had 4 members of her team (including my upline Mary) design cards for.
Anyway, I'm not even sure what this is called, but it involves chalk and embossing. I really fell in love with this technique and the outcome of the cards made using it. The picture I'm going to post doesn't give it justice, but hopefully you will get the idea.

Supplies
Stamps: Because I Care
Paper: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Basic Gray
Ink: VersaMark, Chocolate Chip
Stampin' Pastels: So Saffron
Punches: Oval Scallop, Large Oval
Accessories: Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips
Using a sponge dauber I colored over an entire piece of Going Grey cardstock with So Saffron Stampin' Pastels.
Then using VersaMark I stamped the flower image and design onto the chalked Going Gray cardstock.
I then embossed the flower image and design with the Irridescent Ice Stampin' Powder.
And that's it, the flower really glitters and stands out on the chalked cardstock.
If you have any questions please feel free to email, or post the question on my blog and I will respond ASAP.
Enjoy, and have a great day.

Really?

2010-07-09T19:14:00.008-04:00

I thought I'd share a couple non-stamping pictures with you today. I say non-stamping because everytime I go into my stamp room my cat Muzby (as in I Must Be crazy for bringing you home) does everything she can to prevent me from stamping. No joke, I sometimes feel like I need to get a sitter to occupy Muzby so I can do my thing. Anyway, here she is doing her best to interfere with things.

This one was actually taken a few weeks ago, do you notice the innocent "what are you going to do about it look" she has on her face?

This one is the, "I hope you don't mind if I just stretch out and relax while you do a little stamping" pose.

This last picture is Muzby's "did you ever think I might like to do a little stamping with you, of course not because you only think of yourself" pose.
You are probably wondering if Muzby is on the desk right now, and the answer would be no because I haven't gotten any of my stamping materials out yet. Have no fear though, within 10 minutes of me grabbing some paper and stamps she'll stroll in, climb up on my desk, and make herself comfortable.

Mojo Monday...Again

2010-07-08T20:59:00.007-04:00

I've made a second card to enter into the Mojo Sketch 146 contest at Mojo Monday - The Blog. This is the sketch for this week's contest.

The card I made for this one uses similar colors as the one posted yesterday, but has a totally different look to it.

Supplies
Stamps: Watercolor Trio
Ink: Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Markers
Paper: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Newsprint DSP
Punches: Large Oval, Scallop Oval
Accessories: Basic Black 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, SNAIL, Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Glue Dots

Tips
The butterfly was cut out with my Paper Snips and a Dimensional was used to give it a little dimension.

I hope you enjoy this card, thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day.

Mojo Monday Sketch 146

2010-07-07T10:53:00.009-04:00

Today's post is for Mojo Monday.sketch challenge #146

I used the new Newsprint DSP for this card, I love this paper and was glad to finally find a way to use it.

Supplies
Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Watercolor Trio
Paper: Newsprint DSP, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist
Punches: Modern Label, Scallop Oval, Large Oval
Accessories: Basic Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads, Paper Snips, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips
I don't have the Oval Original Die yet, so I used my Cricut to cut the ovals.
The Vintage Vogue also has a leaf stamp, so you could add to the flowers if you wanted. I decided not to do that, for no reason really.
The Baja Breeze oval is stamped randomly with the flouish stamp from Vintage Vogue.
I don't have my Baja Breeze ink pad yet, so I stamped the small flower with Marina Mist. You can barely tell the difference, but if you can I would stick with the Baja Breeze ink. I didn't think of it at the time, but you could color the small flower with the Baja Breeze marker and do the huff and stamp technique.
The flowers were stamped on Whisper White and then cut with the Paper Snips

I hope you enjoy this card, I would love to know what you think

Canada Day and a Tutorial

2010-07-06T12:42:00.012-04:00

As promised in the previous post, this post will have a tutorial for Joseph's Coat technique. This past weekend was all about celebrating and fireworks, so I thought that was the perfect occasion to show case this tutorial. Fireworks come in all kinds of color and the definitely have a POP to them (yeah I know, that's a little lame, oh well LOL).

To start you need some bright colored Classic Ink Pads, Glossy White Card Stock and some Sponge Daubers or Stamping Sponges. Using your Daubers or Sponges you want to color your entire piece of Glossy White card stock (mine is 4 3/4" x 3m1/2") in your different colors of Classic Ink. It doesn't matter how you arrange your colors, and your finished product should look something like this.

Once you have completed this step rub your Embossing Buddy over the entire piece of card stock to minimize static cling and prevent your embossing powder from sticking where you don't want it to.
Using the fireworks stamps from the Canada Day set and your Versamark Ink randomly stamp all over your now colored card stock, and then using your Clear Embossing Powder and Powder Pals cover your card stock with the embossing powder and then gently tap the back of the card stock to remove any excess powder. With your Heat Tool you can then melt the embossing powder, but be careful not to burn yourself or your embossing powder.

Now with your Brayer and Classic Black Ink Pad

cover the entire embossed cardstock with the ink; this will take several layers. Once that step is complete then take a tissue to your card stock and wipe the images that you have emkbossed. The embossed images will 'resist' the ink and once you rub off the black ink they will 'pop' off the page.

Now that this step is complete you can add your layers and complete your card. This is my final product, what do you think?

Supplies
Stamps: Canada Day
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Basic Black, VersaMark
Punches: 1 1/4" Square Punch
Accessories: Brayer, Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals, 3/4" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Dimensionals and SNAIL

Tips
Stick with bright inks, the Rich Razzleberry and Elegant Eggplant ink I used doesn't have the same impact as the others.
Glossy White card stock works best, but you can use Whisper White.
When you wipe off the Basic Black Ink use dry tissue, not baby whites - you'll rub ink of the images and the card stock.

I hope this tutorial is helpful, I would love to see the cards you make using this technique, the possibilities are endless.

Celebrating Canada Day and the Fourth of July

2010-07-06T12:13:00.008-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days, a week actually. but I have a least 2 cards to show today so hopefully that will make up for it. Both cards are in celebration of Canada Day, but the first has a little twist to it. As you see in my profile I live in Rochester, NY, so I thought it was appropriate to celebrate Canada Day and the Fourth of July together in 1 card. So to do that I made a Canada Day card, and added a little blue for the so there would be some Red, White & Blue on the card.

Supplies
Stamps: Canada Day
Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Versamark
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Night of Navy and Glossy White Card Stock
Accessories: Embossing Buddy, Clear Embossing Powder , Heat Tool, Powder Pals, Dimensionals, SNAIL

Tips
I used a technique called Joseph's Coat to make the background with the fireworks. This technique makes the fireworks sort of 'pop' off the page, but you really don't get the full effect in this picutre. In my next post I will be giving step by step instructions on how to do this and hopefully the 'pop' effect will show better in the pictures.

Enjoy, and a belated Happy Canada Day and Fourth of July to all.

Hand Stamped Sentiments Artist Pick of the Week

2010-07-05T17:16:00.008-04:00

My waterfall card won Artist Pick of the Week at Hand Stamped Sentiments. Ok, so there were only 3 entries, but hey, they didn't have to pick 3 winners, they could have only picked 2. ; o )

Can You Say Waterfall?

2010-06-29T14:04:00.011-04:00

I've been wanting to make a waterfall card for a while now, but just never seemed to get around to doing it. Well, a challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments was the motivation I needed. Their challenge this week is to create a card using a fancy fold technique.

Splitcoast Stampers has the perfect tutorial for making this card.

Supplies
Stamps: A Flower for all Seasons and Elements of Style
Paper: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight and Whisper White
Stampin' Write Markers: Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, Peach Parfait, Cajun Craze, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Green Garden Certainly Celery and Basic Grey
Embellishments: Eyelets, Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Accessories: SNAIL, Blender Pen, Stampin' Up! Crop-a-Dile, Clear Mount Block B, Piercing Tool and Mat Pack

Tips
I won't go through step-by-step on how to make the card since the tutorial is available on the Splitcoast Stampers website (follow link above). So, I really only have 1 tip to give. Some of the colors I used will not have the ink pads available until July 1st (Canada Day, eh!) so I had to use my Stampin' Write markers to color the images. There are many ways to do this with a Blender Pen; one way is to hold the tip of the Blender Pen to the tip of the Stampin' Write Marker so the Blender Pen can soak up some of the ink. Or, you can do what I did, and that was to use a couple different colors on the Clear Mount Block B (you can use any size obviously) with the Stampin' Write Marker and then dip your Blender Pen into whatever color you want to use. You still need to clean your Blender Pen on a piece of scrap paper in between colors, but it still makes changing colors a little easier.

Here's a couple more pictures of the waterfall card from different angles.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Pals Paper Art 48

2010-06-27T19:45:00.007-04:00

This week at Pals Paper Art they are having a sketch challenge.

This looked like a good sketch to do a monochromatic card, and I did it all in different shades of pinks.

Supplies
Stamps: Fast and Fabulous (a level I hostess gift in the new 2010-2011 catalog)
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink
Embellishments: Rhinestone Brads
Accessories: Lattice Square Embossing Folder, Glue Dots, SNAIL and Stamping Sponges

Tips
The card base is Rose Red and then I cut the Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose cardstock and layered them on the Rose Red.
I then embossed the front half of the card.
The edges of the Whisper White are sponged with Rose Red ink.
The Rhinestone brad was an afterthought, so rather than take the Whisper White off, I cut the prongs off of the Rhinestone Brad and used a glue dot to place it on the Whisper White.
I hope you enjoy the card today, and maybe even find a little inspiration in it.

Combining a Sketch Challenge with a Color Challenge

2010-06-26T19:24:00.009-04:00

This card is for 2 challenges. The colors are for the Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge #182

and the sketch is from the Clean and Simple Stamping FTL96 challenge.

When I seen this sketch my first thought was to use the Tart and Tangy stamp set, but then the card posted for the sketch used that stamp set, so I didn't want to duplicate it. So then I started to think about using different flower stamps, but that thought didn't get the creative juices flowing. Buttons?, nope not doing it for me. Mixing brads? Nope, still nothing. So, I figured I would clear off my desk a little while I think about what I wanted to do, and as I started putting my punches away it hit me, PUNCHES, I have lots of punches. So, here it is.

Supplies
Stamps: Occasional Quotes
Cardstock: Basic Black, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Summer Sun
Ink: Versamark
Punches: 1 3/4" Scallop Circle, Boho Blossoms, Modern Label, Word Window
Embellishments: Rich Regal Brads, Bold Brights Brads
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Paper Snips, Paper Piercing Too and Mat Pack, Embossing Budy, Heat Tool, Glue Dots and SNAIL

Tips
I cut all of the punches on the scallop towards the middle to give a little lift to all of the flowers. I hope you like it. Thanks for checking out my post today, and for leaving your comments.

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge # 144

2010-06-26T18:37:00.012-04:00

Hi All. Today's post is for a sketch challenge from Mojo Monday - The Blog.

I played around with this sketch and the colors for this card and came up with 2 different but very similar cards. For the first card I used Crumb Cake as the base, and I really like how it looks with the Regal Rose. It's funny, I never really Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft) before, but now that it is one of the core SU! colors in the Neutrals Collection I'm using it a lot more, and I really like it.

Supplies
Stamps: With All My Heart and Vintage Labels
Paper: Crumb Cake, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Bride Speciality Paper, Sending Love Specialty Paper (from the Occasions Mini Catalog)
Ink: Regal Rose, Bashful Blue Early Espresso and Crumb Cake
Punches: Extra Large Fancy Flower and Curly Label
Embellishments: Basic Jumbo Grommets, Soft Subtle Brads, Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack, Stamping Sponges, Dimensionals and SNAIL

Techniques
I made my own designer series paper by stamping on the Crumb Cake base with Crumb Cake Ink. The Bride Specialty Paper is white, so I sponged over it using a Stamping Sponge and Regal Rose Ink, then wiped off the excess ink so that there is still some shine in the design on the paper I give the look of depth I sponged the edges all of the card stock and DSP.

The second card is very similar, I basically used different colors, and a few different embellishments.

Supplies
Stamps: With all My Heart, Vintage Labels
Paper: Marina Mist, Bride Specialty Paper, Regal Rose, Sending Love Specialty Paper, Very Vanilla
Ink: Marina Mist, Regal Rose
Punches: Extra Large Fancy Flower, Curly Label, Boho Blossoms and 1/2" Circle
Embellishments: Rich Regal Brads, 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/16" Jumbo Brads
Accessories: Stampin Sponges, Dimensionals, SNAIL, Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack

I'm not sure if you can enter more than one card to the Mojo Monday challenge, so I have to decide which one of the two I like best. I would love from eveyone on their thoughts which card I should enter.

Create, Ink...Color Lab

2010-06-24T21:22:00.007-04:00

Down the right side of my blog you'll see a Create, Ink..Color Lab Button. When you have a chance check it out, it is a SU! color generator. This was developed by an Independent SU Demonstrator, and is a lot of fun to play with.

Monday's Shoebox Swap

2010-06-24T19:08:00.026-04:00

Monday we had our downline meeting at my upline's (Mary) home. We meet every month, and rotate between business meeting and shoebox swap, where everyone designs a card and brings enough supplies for everyone at the meeting to make that card; this past Monday was the shoebox swap. We always have a lot of fun at these meetings and the cards are always so nice, so I figured I would share those cards with everyone. The first card was designed by my upline, Mary. I love the card Mary made, but this one does not do it any justice, I'm not happy with how mine turned out. I think the problem is the way I placed the petals of the flower. Anyway, I'm sure in the near future I will be redoing and posting this card. With the exception of the greeting that was stamped with Teeny Tiny Wishes, this card is made entirely from punches.

For this card you punch a 3/4" Circle at least 1/2" from the edge of a piece of cardstock.

And then with the Large Oval Punch you punch over that circle, with the circle being close to the end of the punch.

And your end product is the petal of the flower and it looks like this.

Cut 6 of these and then arrange them like a flower with the circle towards the middle. Use the largest flower in Boho Blossom Punch and a Designer Button for the center of the flower. To cut the stem make a punch with the Extra Large Oval Punch.

Using the Extra Large Oval Punch again punch around the edge of the oval.

So that your finished product with look like this.

I hope these instructions are clear, and if not feel free to email me with questions. The next card is Diane's, and was done with the Level I hostess stamp set Because I Care that will be available in the 2010-2011 catalog next week. As you'll see shortly great minds think alike.

You can't really see it in the picture, but there are some added flowers that were punched with a punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and then with Dimensionals they were placed on the hydrangea. This gives a little bit of a 3-Dimensional look to the flower. The third card that we completed on Monday was designed by Kim. This is done with one of my most favourite stamp sets, Vintage Vogue. This card also uses some Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper. This paper will no longer be available in these colors after June 30th. The same paper in different colors (as noticed by the very keen eye of my upline Mary) will be replacing it, and will be available July 1st. I love this card and the look that using the 2 different patterns of mathching DSP makes. Note to self, use more DSP in cards.

The next card was designed by Sue, and uses the Razzle Dazzle stamp set. This card is a very simple card, but very pretty. I love the look of the So Saffron and the Taken with Teal. Taken with Teal will no longer be available after next week, but the So Saffron is such a versatile color that the Taken with Teal could easily be replaced with several other colors, Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant, and so many others.

The last card that we made is my card, but before I show you it I must give credit where credit is due. I CASE'd this card (100%, not one part of it is mine) from Ann at The Stampin' Schach. The only difference between Ann's card and mine is that I didn't add the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, because I didn't order any of that during the pre-order. Anyway, here is my card.

And now you can see why I say great minds think alike, both Diane and I used the Because I Care stamp set. Well, thats all for now. I know it's a long post, but I hope you enjoy the cards I've shared.

Yeah For Me!

2010-06-22T12:21:00.007-04:00

It's the little things in life that always make us smile, and today I'm smiling.
I am the Diva Coffee Break Designs Featured Artist for their Color Challenge #180. Check out their blog and all of the other great cards that were submitted. Thank you to the Diva Coffee Break Design team for making my day.

Pals Paper Art 47

2010-06-20T16:57:00.011-04:00

Pals Paper Art is having a Summer Theme Challenge this week.
I wasn't really sure how I was going to go about this one because when I think of summer I think of having cocktails by the pool, the ocean, dolphins, but I don't have any stamps to reflect this. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, I have a Life is a Beach cartridge for my cricut, and what better to use to make a summer theme card. Since today is the perfect day for sitting by the pool with cocktails this is what I decided to make. This card has the best of both worlds, Stampin' Up! and Cricut. With the exception of the cartridge used to cut the card and words all products are Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Vintage Vogue
Ink: Soft Suede, Only Orange, Stampin' Write Soft Suede Marker
Paper: Only Orange, Brilliant Blue, Pixie Pink, Green Calore, Whisper White
Accessories: SNAIL, Paper Snips, 2-Way Glue Pen, and Sponge Daubers
To give some depth I used my Sponge Dauber and inked the edges of the umberlla, letters and pineapple, and did the same with Only Orange around the edge of the card. I hope you enjoy my card today.

Diva Coffee Break Designs #181

2010-06-18T18:15:00.017-04:00

Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge #181 is a sketch this week

And this is what I came up with for this sketch.

I had fun with this one.
Paper: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Confetti Cream and Presto Patterns Speciality Paper
Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive
Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Vintage Vogue and Sale-A-Bration Vintage Labels
Punches: 5-Petal flower, Curly Label
Accessories: Rich Regal Brad, Post-It Note, Dimensionals, Stamping Sponges, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz, Color Catcher, Paper Snips, SNAIL , Dotto

I tried a new technique with this one, it's called Masking and you can follow the link to the site, or check out Stampin' Up's website for this and other techniques.

Other Helpful Points

I cut a scrap piece of paper 5" x 3 3/4" and used my Cricut Expression (otherwise known as contraband - but I do a lot of scrapbooking and I couldn't live without this) to cut an oval on 1 end of the cardstock.
I then applied this piece of cardstock with Dotto (repositionalble adhesive) to a pice of Presto Patterns paper. I left the oval in place, but removed the 'shell." Using my stamping sponge I colored all around the oval with Melon Mambo Ink and then spritzed it with my Gold Glow Smooch Spritz.
I then replaced the shell and removed the oval and using the masking technique and the Greenhouse Garden stamp set I stamped in the oval area where there was no Melon Mambo ink.

The picture never does the card justice, but if you look close you'll see the glow from the Smooch Spritz and under the flowers you can faintly see the embossed writing that is on the Presto Patterns paper.

You don't need a Cricut Expression to cut the oval in the scrap piece of paper. Stampin' Up! carries the Big Shot and all of the necessary accessories you'll need to do this type of die cutting and dry embossing. It's a great tool to have, and definitely one you can't live without.
I hope you enjoy my creation today.
Feel free to email me with questions.

A Slight Change

2010-06-18T17:54:00.009-04:00

2 days ago I posted a card for the Curtain Call Color Challenge and the Inkspiration Sketch Challenge. I've gotten several comments on that card over the last 2 days, thank you everyone for your checking out my blog and for your wonderful comments. I was looking at the card this morning and decided I'm going to make a change. All I did was change the card base from Basic Grey to Dusty Durango, but I think it makes a big difference. I'm liking the Dusty Durango card base better, what do you think? The Inkspiration challenge is closed, but I still have until tomorrow night to change my card in the Curtain Call Color Challenge, so I would love to know your thoughts.

The 1st version of this card is the entry before this one, or you can click here.

Where the Color Meets the Sketch

2010-06-16T16:16:00.008-04:00

Hi All: I've combined 2 challenges today; Curtain Call Color Challenge {Act 34};
which can be found on Stacey's Stamping Stage and Inkspirations Sketch Challenge; # 27 which can be found on Inkspirations by Makeesha Byl. I had a lot of fun with this one, I don't know if you could call it a masculine card, but it definitely has a masculine look to it. There's lots of layers and embossing with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing foler. Here's a bit of a close up look Stamps: All a Flutter and Occasional Quotes
Paper: Basic Grey, Rich Razzleberry, Dusty Durango and Sahara Sand
Ink: Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Pad, Dusty Durango, Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry Stampin' Write Markers and Versamark
Accessories: Petals a Plenty Embossing Folder, Flower Brads, Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Black Embossing Powder
Punches: Wide Oval, Scalloped Oval and Large Oval
The butterflies were stamped with Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder, colored with Stampin' Write Markers and then cut out. A little tedious, but I think it was worth it. The rest is pretty straightforward, but feel free to email me with questions.
I would love to know what you all think.
Thanks