The Theme is Summer Picnic...

Hey, friends! I am playing with a new swap group on Yahoo called JustCards. I love it! The theme for one of the swaps last month was Summer Picnic. I do not know why, but this theme freaked me out. I stressed  about it for days. I don't have many summery sets, and certainly nothing that screams 'picnic'. After wrestling with the idea of weaving red and white ribbon to create a blanket and punching out a sun and ants...Ding...lightbulb! I remembered this old SU set called Ladybug Picnic. I hadn't used it in years, it is a set my kids use in their crafts. Well, I pulled it right out and this card was made in minutes! It's clean and simple, but it works. The grass is Old Olive DSP cut along the top and roughed up a bit. The sky is done on a small layer instead of the background and I love the simpicity that lends to this design. I went down the side with a few matching buttons. The ants are stamped in Jet Black Staz-On and colored with SU Markers. It was fun...I don't know why I was so stressed! Hope ya'll like it!

Sorry about the low quality pic...it was shot at midnight as soon as the glue dried:)

All supplies are SU!

Zig Zag Birthday!

Dear Friends,
Please forgive me for my tardiness in posting! My blog has been so neglected! I hope you're still visiting! Things have been a little hectic lately, I just noticed I didn't even take the time to watermark this picture. I will work at returning to my regularly blogging self ASAP!

Here's a super simple card I made for my hubby for his birthday last month. The blues aren't quite right in the pic since I am taking this inside at night, but you get the point, it makes IRL! If you look closely at the background paper, you will see it doesn't perfectly line up. I cut it into tiny strips and layered it on Whisper White cardstock, slightly overlapping each piece. I love how it slightly breaks up the design and adds tons of dimension to the card! It reminds me a little of siding on a house, but more busy...LOL! The # and 1 were created in MDS and printed, cut out, and popped up on dimensionals. The only other embellishment are the 3 black brads up the left side, which were placed using the Mat Pack. Easy Peasy!

NO STAMPS or INK (aside from printer ink from my Epson 1400 Stylus)
Greenhouse Gala DSP
Real Red and Whisper White CS
My Digital Studio
Stampin' Dimensionals
SU Black Brads

A quick and simple Christmas gift...

 My hostess club met today and this is the project I designed for them this month. We made three cards, all the same, we just varied the colors within the Regal Collection. I LOVE that the SU collections work so well together, you don't have to stress about color combos! Here we used Elegant Eggplant, Cherry Cobbler, and Night of Navy. The base of the cards and the stamped block in the center is Sahara Sand, my new favorite neutral (well tied with Crumb Cake;). It's light and lends itself well to the Regal Collections deep, earthy, rich tones.

 And here is a close up of just the red card. For SU enthusiast (the best kind to be;), we used clear block 'D' inked with Sahara Sand to form the box in the center of the card. This technique adds great depth and interest, and is SO easy to do. Gone are the days of masking off these areas! Clear blocks are so versatile, I definitely use them for more than just clear stamps. We kept these cards very clean and open. I really like the feeling of simplicity and they match more personalities when giving as a gift.

And here is how we packaged them up. This is the Large Cello bag (SU, naturally) filled with 3 cards, and 3 envelopes, then excess folded back and ribbon and tag finish it off. I definitely think a set like this is going to be my teacher gifts this Christmas. Hope you all like it! We had fun making them, and I definitely think it's a nice gift for a party hostess, or someone that you like to give a gift to without really spending much! Supplies below. Thanks so much for stopping by! Remember to take a break this busy time of year, ink a stamp, and enjoy it all!

Happy Stampin',
Naomi

Sets: Welcome Christmas (on the tag...the family), Teeny Tiny Wishes, Holiday Wishes (retired), and Just Believe (flower)

Inks/Paper: Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Elegant Eggplant, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy

Accessories/Tools: Decorative Label Punch, Modern Label and Word Window punches, Sleigh Bells ribbon (retired), sponges, Dimensionals.

A quick and easy one here...

I made this card for a fellow SU Demo here in NC that I am swapping with all Fall. We send each other one card per week, well, she does;) I stay a week behind and end up sending her two at a time. I am trying to do better! She didn't like this embossing folder, Elegant Lines, and I found that so surprising since it is one of my favorites. So, I have been bombarding her with samples and pictures using this folder. She likes it now...Mission Accomplished...LOL! She and I have never met, but have so much in common! I hope she likes this card. It's simple and clean, but I think it kind of pops regardless! It's super easy to duplicate, so if you like it, feel free to CASE!

Supplies:
Stamps: Whimsical Words (SAB 2009 - retired)
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry CS
Ink: Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin' Pad
Tools: Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Big Shot for SU!, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals, SU Anywhere Glue Stick (I had run out of SNAIL...that will never happen again, though our Glue Sticks are phenomenal!)

Christmas Doors...

These were so much fun to make, and super easy to do more than one at a time! I sponged around the edge of the card to give the door some depth, and the edges of the door sections are heavily sponged on the edges to they look like they are actually raised. The doorknob is a Silver Brad, but it looked way to plain on the card by itself. So, I punched a Modern Label piece, and stuck it back in the punch to make it tiny. I think it's a great shape for this, and I have never seen it done, so it's a truly original idea, which are hard to come by these days! Doesn't mean noone else has ever thought of it, just that I have never seen it, so it's original to me. If you have this punch, give it a try!!! The wreaths are made from circle punches (1 inch circle, overpunched with 1 3/8 circle to make a ring), then the tiny scallop from Itty Bitty Punch Pack was punched a lot and layered on the ring with Tombow Multi. The bow is a SU Sizzlit, it's the Beary Girl Accessories from the Build A Bear line! Both of these had to be sent out for swaps, but I will be making MANY more of these. I think a saying for the inside would be 'From Our Front Door To Yours, We Wish You A Merry Christmas', or something along those lines! Hope you like it, and as always, on to the supply list!
*
Sahara Sand Ink/CS, Real Red & Garden Green CS
PUNCHES...Modern Label, 1" & 1 3/8" Circle, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Curly Label
Beary Girl Accessories Sizzlet
Dimensionals, Tombow Multi, SNAIL
SUO!

Beautiful Wings...

This was a really quick card, it took 5 minutes or less to throw together! I simply folded some Kraft cardstock, and glued a black layer in the center. Then I ran some of the In Colors through my Big Shot with the NEW Beautiful Wings Embosslit and stick those on some Whisper White cardstock. I added a loop of matching In Color, Polka Dot ribbon behind the coordinating butterfly and stuck that layer over the black with Dimensionals. Stamped (friend to friend) in Basic Black and pierced the corners using the Mat Pack and a Paper Piercer.

CS -- Kraft, Whisper White, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay.
Ink -- Basic Black
Stamps -- Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories -- Big Shot, Embosslit, Ribbon, Mat Pack/Piercer

This card (like most) are SUO. Sorry about the dark pic, I tend to remember to take pics at night, when lighting is horrible. As part of my New Years Resolution, I will work on that!

See you all soon! Happy Stampin'!