Flowers For You...

Here's a card I designed and my club made this past weekend. It's a fun card to make! AND, it only takes ONE stamp, which is FREE when you earn it through SAB! I usually stay away from such bright layers, but hey, it's warming up a little and I am willing Spring to move in! In the end, I loved the simple, bright color combo. I paired Pumpkin Pie with Daffodil Delight, and Whisper White. The white layer is run through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. The large yellow scallop is cut with Scallop Circles #2. I cut this big, beautiful flower out of the Greenhouse Gala DSP, and loved the effect! The scallop in the top corner is one stamp, stamped once in Pumpkin Pie, and punched with the Scallop Circle. Then, I inked the same stamp in Daffodil Delight, used a Blender Pen to remove the ink from the flower center and stem, and used markers to add color to those areas. I then punched the center portion out with the 1 3/8" circle Punch, and popped it up over the scallop with a Dimensional. It's finished off by setting three Pumpkin Pie brads in the bottom corner using the Mat Pack. I hope you all like it! I LOVE when DSP has more uses, big bold designs (like this flower) are amazing cut out and used as focal points! NEVER be afraid to hack your paper up...great things sometimes happen;)

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Pads, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers, White Signo Gel Pen
Stamps: Punch Bunch (SAB)
Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle
Big Shot - Square Lattice Folder, Scallop Circles #2
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie Brads (Brights Collection), Mat Pack, Dimensionals, Blender Pen

***Note::: The FOR YOU on the small scallop was done on my next card and club cards in Pumpkin Pie. We removed the Daffodil Delight ink with a blender pen and colored the words with a Pumpkin Pie marker. It made it stand out SO much more, and made the card look amazing. I didn't have one of those on hand to use in the picture.

Make Your Own DSP with Collage Stamping! (Tutorial)

This little beauty is another card I designed for my Hostess Club for our July meeting. It's another one of the 4x8 cards I just recently starting making with a 2" pocket inside. Aside from the ribbon, all product is current SU, the ribbon retired:( My other card using this fold was posted on 7/3, check it out if you didn't see it! What I love about this one, is I decided to make my own DSP! (SU's term...Designer Series Paper). I have stamped my own patterned paper before, but not as quickly or as easily as this. Keep reading!

Here's the inside of the card showing the pocket with the insert pulled out. I left my flowers colorless on the inside, but had some club members color theirs! It was pretty both ways. I love the way this DSP uses the colors I wanted, I didn't have to work around a pre-printed paper! Now, don't get me wrong, I love DSP as much as the next stamper, but sometimes I want it in exact colors, that's where this comes in!

This set is new to the 2010-2011 IBC, it's called Awash With Flowers, and I purchased it Clear Mount. The Block in the picture is 'E'. This set comes in two DVD boxes, one for the outlines, one for the solid images. I took the flowers from the outline case and arranged them on the clear block. I am showing the example on a 2.5x8" strip. This is quicker to do on a full sheet, then cut it down, I am thinking OSW!!! (One Sheet Wonder) Once you have the stamps arranged to your liking, ink them up all at once, here using Basic Gray), and stamp away! So quick! It's easy to continually stamp an exact pattern! No randomness unless you want it!

Once the paper is stamped, I then took each individual solid and inked the colors! I will definitely be making more of my own paper with this set! It would be wonderful to sit down and do a few sheets of Whisper White CS with the outlines and fill in with color when you were ready for it! Talk about a great use of the Clear Blocks and the stamp sets!

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I hope you'll all try out this method of Collage Stamping!!! It's fun, easy, and what better way to get the most bang for your buck!

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This card uses:

CS---Whisper White, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight

Ink --- Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi and Marina Mist

Stamps---Awash With Flowers, clear block 'E', and A-D

Scallop Trim Border Punch, Melon Mambo Dotted Ribbon

SUO!

Close To Bermuda Birthday

Here's a quick card I threw together last night for my club hostess meeting today. I am not a Close To Cocoa fan at all, but am trying to use up some of the colors that are leaving. And, I did like how it turned out with Bermuda Bay! I found a very similar card on a Demo site, and loved the layout. She had ribbon under the circle pieces and a bow tied on the side. Lo and behold, I don't have enough Bermuda Bay ribbon left to do this for as many cards as I needed to prep. So, I dug around and found my Bermuda Bay DSP, and cut strips of the Polka Dot design page. Not the same as ribbon, no, but in a pinch, it will do. I made the bow tie style ribbon piece by folding a 4" piece in to the center on both ends, adhering with a small dot of Tombow, then wrapping a 1 3/8" piece around the center, adhering in the back with another drop of Tombow. All in all, I like this card, and was happy I found a quick substitute for the ribbon! I hope my club enjoys making it later today.

Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper/Ink: Bermuda Bay DSP and CS, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Signo Gel Pen
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8" Circles, Scallop Edge

Have a great weekend everyone! I am anxious for my stamping buddies to get here, I have had a rough week, and there company always lifts my spirits!

One more Paper Bow!

I cannot remember the name of this retired paper, but it's beautiful. It made a great bow! I will try to get back to cards, and off these bows ASAP ☺

Happy Stampin'

Washer Pendant Necklaces...

These AMAZING necklaces were a Technique featured on Splitcoaststampers. These are made with Steel washers from the hardware store. I have made several different sizes and find that larger ones are more eye catching and elegant, whereas the smaller sizes are great for casual. This one is made with a 2" washer, it is just under 2" in diameter. I LOVE making these. This one was made for my SIL for Christmas, I loved it so much, I made 4 just like it for other gifts, and of course, one for me! The B/W paper is from my stash, no idea the origin or brand. Sorry! The red gemstones are from Hero Arts. I started by tracing the washer shape and center hole onto the backside of the paper, then cut it with paper snips. I used Aleens tacky glue to adhere the paper to the washer. That set almost instantly. Then I set the gemstones, and sanded all of the edges for a finished look. The entire front of the washer is covered in a very thick coat of Crystal Effects, which I had to force myself to patiently wait almost a day for it to dry well. I created the necklace with black leather cording and a jewelry clasp. This is definitely my favorite!

As much as I love the first one, I love this one, too! This one is much smaller, it's about 1 3/8" in diameter. I didn't have to cut this one at all! The outside circle is the 1 3/8" circle punch, and the inside is 1/2" punch! Needless to say, this size is much easier and quicker to make. I searched through my DSP stash and found this pattern in the Fall Flowers pack a couple catalogs back. I prefer sweat suits and jeans/long t's in the winter, so I wanted a casual necklace for my favorite grey sweats! My green leather cording matches the paper perfectly! This one you could wear all the time, I really like it! This one is MINE!

Unfortunately, most of my other pendants got boxed and wrapped before I took pictures. I made over 10 for Christmas, but no worries, more will be made soon, and I promise to take pictures! I plan to make keychains, and ceiling fan pulls for the girls rooms as well!

Torn Paper Frame and a Gift Box...

Every year I throw a Christmas Party for my Hostess Club. We do a drawing in Oct to get our Secret Sister, and we have to make them a homemade gift AND buy them a certain amount of SU items from their wish list and package them with SU products. This is by far my favorite event of the year! This year, I made a frame for my Secret Sister, Amy. I took a plain, unfinished wood $1 frame from a craft store, painted it front and back with white acrylic paint. I then tore several different patterns from the Ski Slope DSP pack. I used Mod Podge to adhere those all over the frame. I then applied another layer of Mod Podge over the top to seal it. I used Baja Breeze textured CS for the insert. I ran Old Olive and Real Red CS through my Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty folder, then punched them with the Ornament punch, as well as a Chocolate Chip piece with a Merry & Bright rub-on. Red and green are stuck on with Glue Dots, Chocolate is popped up on dimensionals. Silver cording finishes these off. I cannot stand empty frames and always fill them before giving. This can be a decoration, or you can put a holiday photo in it.

Amy had 3 ink pads on her Wish List, and those were within our 'budget', so I created a box for them. I started by stacking the 3 ink pads on top of each other, then measuring height, width and length. I added 1/4" all the way around for a nice lip on the box, then scored along the box measurements to make the bottom. I then used the same dimensions for the lid, altering slightly for the edges. I punched the top with the Scallop Edge border punch all the way around and stamped it with the Medallion background stamp before folding. CS is Kiwi Kiss and RidingHood Red (trying to use up retired colors!). I tied some RHR Tafetta Ribbon around the box, then punched the flower with the 5Petal Flower after running it through the Bis Shot with a CB folder. Brad is Making Memories, all other supplies are SU. I tied on a Scallop Oval with Red Twine to put her name on it, so she can easily remove it and reuse the box.

She seemed very happy with her gifts, and I really enjoyed making them!

Medallion Christmas...

I have said it before (many times ☺) and I will say it again, the Medallion background is my most favorite stamp set of all time! I sat down with my printed sketches from Mojo Monday (link in the sidebar) and really liked the sketch from Feb 23 of 09. I knew I wanted to make a card with many layers, and continue to try to use up the many unopened packs of Ski Slope DSP I bought last year before it retired. I am very happy with this one, it's my favorite card this year (at least mass produced cards, immediate family gets one of a kind).

Here is a pic of several of them all together. I love using just a portion of the Medallion image. I find it much easier to use when I am not using the entire image.

Supplies:

Kraft, and Whisper White Cardstock

Old Olive and Real Red ink

Ski Slope DSP

Sleigh Bells Ribbon

Ornament Punch

Sentiment is from All Holidays

Silver Cording

This card is SUO.

Give Thanks Nugget Box...

These are the Nugget Boxes I planned for my hostess club for Oct's meeting. Everyone loved making them, they are lots of fun. I prescored everything for them, which was a lot of work, but saved a LOT of time at the meeting. Below is the pic of the box open and you can see the Nuggets. Of course, being me, the candies had to match, so the Nuggets are the Almond Nuggets in the gold wrappers, silver would have been tacky here...LOL! We sponged and stamped on Avery address labels and wrapped the candies in those. I also like using DSP, but in my hostess club, I love to show how you can create things with what you already have around you.

We used the Autumn Harvest set for the Nugget wrappers, and sponged them with Crushed Curry and Dusty Durango. The DSP is Razzleberry Lemonade, the CS is Crushed Curry, ribbon is Dusty Durango. We used the Give Thanks acorn stamp from The More The Merrier Level 3 Hostess Set. These are SO easy, and they make wonderful Thank You gifts, hostess gifts, etc.

***Please forgive the blurry pics. I am having camera trouble, have no idea what's wrong with it, it's just not focusing, I may have to go back to my plain old digital until I figure it out. Thanks for bearing with me!

Mojo Monday 101 Sketch Challenge...

Look Ma, no stamps!!!!! This card is for the Mojo Monday Sketch, week 101. Check out THIS site to see all the Mojo Monday challenges. I really love this card, probably because I am addicted to green olives out of the jar! I am trying to use up some old DSP, and both of these papers are from Bella Rose, I used Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red Textured Cardstock for the base, olive, and red strip. I can't cut straight to save my life, so I used the edge of the Photo Corner punch to 'V' the end, worked perfectly! I ran the white rectangle through the Big Shot with a Cuttelbug folder, besides that folder this card is SUO. I used the Word Window punch to punch out my 'Olive You' sentiment that is handwritten with a Chocolate Chip marker. Three Square Fire Rhinestone brads in the top right corner finished this card off!

Hope you all like it, and I hope some of you will jump into the Mojo Monday challenges! I just recently discovered them, and love it!

Life has been really busy here lately! I have my library committee things to do, getting my oldest daughter ready for preschool in two weeks, my husband has been on call for 3 straight weeks, and it has been a test of my patience to say the least. I am eager for Fall!!! Summer is a busy time of year for all of us, and with NC heat and almost constant humidity, I am DONE with Summer!!!

Every Good and Perfect Gift...

A girl I have known since childhood is pregnant with her first child. She just had her shower, which unfortunately I could not attend. This is her card. She did not wish to find out the gender of this child, so I was torn!!! I have never made a card for a woman who was pregnant without knowing whether the child was a boy or girl. It was quite the challenge for me!!! I saw this amazing quilt technique over at SCS, and wanted to give it a try, so I figured a baby card would be the perfect opportunity! The DSP is from a retired hostess Prints Pack, and is Bashful Blue and Pretty In Pink. I also used Bashful Blue cardstock, along with Whisper White. The sentiment is from a long ago SU set called God Bless. I framed (cut and embossed) it with a Nestie called Labels One. The pink edges are the Photo Corner Punch. I dressed this card up with some paper piercing (I thought it went well with the quilting), Whisper White Organza from SU, and Pearls by Mark Richards. The quilting took a little while, but the outcome is beautiful! I hope she likes it, and will forgive my being late, as usual!

Decor Elements Catalog Inspiration...

I recently challenged my customers to create a card using the Decor Elements catalog (on the left) as their inspiration. Inspiration comes differently to every person, so I really look forward to seeing what they all come up with! This catalog cover is so beautiful, there is tons of inspiration to reach out and grab you! The main inspiration points to me are pretty obvious, the framed butterflies on the wall and the pillow with the pretty button on the bed.

Colors are Bermuda Bay, Green Galore, and Yoyo Yellow. Bermuda Bay ribbon and DSP. Many punches here. The small butterflies are the smallest flower from the Boho Blossoms punch, with two petals cut off in a 'v', and the big butterfly is the 5 Petal Flower punch, with one petal cut off in a 'v'. So many new punches ideas are coming to me right now! Several other punches, all SU, were used. I will be happy to answer any questions about what I used, but due to the late hour, won't list it all out like I normally do. Which do you like best? The first card or the second?

Bella Rose Tri-Fold Shutter...

Well, I gave this Tri-Fold Shutter card another try. This one still took a while, but not as long as my Christmas one I posted earlier. I like this one a lot! This card is so thick that I cannot get a picture of it closed without me holding it together, so please pardon my hand in the pic below.

My Big Shot really got a workout on this card! I used several dies on here, SU Little Leaves, SU Birds & Blooms, SU Top Note Die, Architectural Elements. The only stamp set used is Friends 24-7 and the word WISH from Small Script. DSP is Bella Rose, Cardstock is Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette (textured), Kiwi Kiss (textured), a touch of Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. All buttons are SU from Button Bouquet (retired), flowers are Kaiser and unknown. Pearl is Mark Richards, and red crystal is from Hero Arts.

I need to buy a Scor-Pal, then this fold would be easier. Hope you like this one!

I stepped out of my comfort zone...

This card is nothing of my normal style, but I love how it turned out. I decided when I sat down last night that I wanted to try something I have never done before. This is the busiest card I have ever made, with a lot of patterns and colors. I made this for a little girl who turns 4 this weekend, and I hope she likes it!!! All of the bling on this card is from a package my friend, Siobhan sent to me. I have no idea of the brand, as the entire packages are in Japanese, but I like using them!

Cardstock: SU Orchid Opulence, Gable Green, Whisper White

Pattern Paper: K&Company Specialty

Punches: SU 1/2, 3/4" circles, Photo Corners, Scallop Edge

Creative Memories Cutting System, Big Shot with Wingo Zingo Alphabet

Ink: SU Basic Gray, various SU Markers

Stamps: SU All Scallops, and cupcakes are from Studio G

I think that's about it, I am trying to use up hoarded embellishments, and paper!!!

My FIRST Christmas card this year!

It doesn't look like much from this pic, I know. But, if you have never seen a Tri-Fold Shutter card, keep going with this post and see it open! I am NOT one of those stampers who gets her Christmas cards done throughout the year. I wait until Thanksgiving, then spit out Christmas cards in a stress-induced maniacal frenzy. But, hey that works for me. It's just something about stamping in the cold weather, with the fire going, and bundled up that gets me in the mood to make my holiday cards. But this year, I am trying to start now. Here is the pic of my card open all the way.

You can click on the pics to see them full-screen, and for this pic, that is not a bad idea. There is added texture and tons of detail all over this cute Christmas card. It took me two nights of stamping to complete, mostly because there is half a bottle of Stickles on this bad boy and it had to dry before I could do the other panels. I may never do one of these again, but I love how this one turned out. I don't think all of my paper piercing shows up, but it's there, there are Rhinestone brads, Red Crystals, and so much more on this card. I didn't skimp on the blingy's which I normally do! All of the felt snowflakes and mittens were sent to me from the one and only, amazingly talented, Siobhan in Japan!!! Thanks, girl, I love them! Let me know what you all think of this one. I am happy with it! Now, if I can get 2 or 3 Christmas cards done a week I will be close to ready in time for Christmas. I have to save some for stamping while the fire burns!

I can't name all I used here, I just can't remember. But the card itself is Baja Breeze Textured CS, the DSP is Ski Slope, the main stamp sets are The More The Merrier (current Level 3 Hostess), and Perfect Presentation (retired).

Fabulous Friend Flower Pot

So, I sat down last night determined to get some much needed stamp time in. I began by making my coffee, and straightening my craft area just enough to have room to work. Then my craft light fell off of it's stand, crashed into my coffee cup, which poured everywhere! It soaked through 2 brand new packs of cardstock that I just got in, and was getting ready to file, ruining almost every piece! I was livid, yelling at the coffee cup, trying to kill the lamp, and screaming for Jim to bring me some paper towels. You would have thought it was a 'real' emergency with how angry I was! So, that's how my night of stamping began. However, it ended on a much better note. I finally made the Flower Pot card, which is currently a featured tutorial on SCS. I may never make another one, but I love this one! It took me well over an hour, and after all my ruined paper, I was just not feeling it anymore. Maybe if I tried again, I could pull one together much quicker. Below is a shot of the insert pulled out.

Paper: Melon Mambo CS, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, and Rich Razzleberry CS

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Oval All, and The More the Merrier (new Level 3 Hostess)

Punches: 5-Petal Flower, Scalloped Oval, 1" Circle, Boho Blossom, Eyelet Border, Large Oval

Die Cuts: Big Shot by Sizzix for SU, Little Leaves SU die, Birds&Blooms SU die

Accessories: Sq Fire Rhinestone Brad, Melon Mambo Ribbon, Frosted Lace Stickles, Sponges

50 Sucks

This is the little gag gift I made for my Mom who turned 50 this week. She absolutely loved it, and laughed like crazy as soon as she 'got it'! This is a small paint can, covered with Bella Rose DSP, I used a few of the patterns. Chocolate Chip CS around the band was punched with the Scalloped Edge and the scallop in the center is from the Scallop Circle 2 Big Shot die. I stuffed the can with grocery bags, and arranged 50 Dum Dum suckers in an flower arrangement. I stuck silk leaves all around to make it pretty. The sign is a Top Note die for the Big Shot (SU exclusive), and is attached to popsicle sticks with glue dots. I wish I had some floral foam, but this was SO last minute, and there wasn't even time to go buy any, so the suckers would fall out easily if it was moved around a lot. Definitely go with foam if you do one! However, it turned out great, and she LOVED it!

Razzleberry Cupcakes

This is the card I came up with last night when I had some stamp time! I love the New In Colors, and that is all I used on this card! The base is Rich Razzleberry cardstock (115316), the Scallop Edge Punch (112091) was used on Melon Mambo cardstock (115320). I love this new Designer Series Paper, called Razzleberry Lemonade (115675). This adorable cupcake stamp is from a NEW Level 3 Hostess Set available July 1st, it's called The More The Merrier! The sentiment is from the same set. The cupcakes are stamped with Basic Black ink (101179) on Watercolor Paper (105019), and colored with the NEW In Color Markers (116329) with a Blender Pen (102845). I added Frosted Lace Stickles to the cupcakes, and on the scalloped edges. I tied some Rich Razzleberry 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115613) around the middle of the card. Sentiment is stamped with Rich Razzleberry ink on a scrap of DSP, and framed with a piece of Styled Silver HodgePodge Hardware (111325), and layered on top of a Modern Label Punch (116630) in Crushed Curry cardstock (115319). That's about it for this card...here are a couple of close up shots...don't scrutinize my cupcakes, it's hard to color them perfectly when the parts are so small!

These are the close ups of detail!

Thanks for visiting! Leave a comment, I love to hear from you!

Happy Stampin'!!!

A gift for Haley...

My beautiful niece, Haley is having a birthday this weekend! This is what I made her for her room. Hopefully, it will hang over her bed. I love how it turned out. The group picture is bad, so I am including individual pictures of each letter beneath.

The letters themselves are 9 in wood letters already finished in white, by Provo Craft. The paper I chose was based on the colors in her room already. I decided on this beautiful paper by K&Company, called Sparkly Sweet. I think this is the first project I have ever made with no Stampin' Up products! The ribbons are various and were all picked to match this paper. The butterfly dimensional stickers are by SandyLion.









I hope to make a matching frame in time, and if that gets accomplished, I will post pictures ASAP! I must learn to take decent pics, I can get amazing shots of the kids, but if my target is sitting still, forget about it! These are so much prettier IRL.

PS---Blogging buddies....if any of you know how to line pictures of horiztontally, I would love to know! I wanted to individual letters all in a line, or two lines, but not have to scroll down that far to see them all. I couldn't do it. Let me know what I am doing wrong if you know!

I made 20 Mother's Day cards this year...

And here are a few of my favorites. This year I decided to make a point to send Mother's Day cards to the important moms in my life. I really wanted them to all know how special I think they are! I am happy with how they turned out. Only the card on the top left was made more than one of, all the other 20 cards were original, with no two alike. I did these in 2 nights!!!

After deciding that I must get some DSP out of my stash, I realized I had barely touched the SAB paper from this year. So, it's not pink and girly, but I LOVE the combos on these cards. I allowed myself ONLY this DSP, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, and Kraft cardstock. The only stamp set I allowed myself to use is the SAB set, Polka Dot punches. I used the ribbon bundle from SAB (opened it when making these, it hadn't even been touched, I am a hoarder), and only allowed myself Whisper White grosgrain besides the bundle. Styled Silver HPH is the only embellishment I used, besides epoxy bubble stickers that I uncovered that must be 2 years old and never opened! Here are some close-ups of my faves....

Don't know why I love this one (above), it's simple. I scalloped down the open edge, lined the inside with a strip of DSP, and stapled the ribbon on. The circles are on Dimensionals atop Kraft circles. Small epoxy stickers are in the center to spotlight the center of the flowers.

And this one is for my sister (above), there is one other like it, just a different brad, I forgot about that earlier. This is a quilted Top Note with the Big Shot. Horizontal Slot Punch used for my ribbon holes. 5-Petal Flower punch made the flower in the bottom corner.

And this one for some reason is my absolute favorite!!! It's a simple concept, one I have never done. I lined the bottom of my card with the blue pattern in the DSP. Used the stripes with the Scallop Edge punch and adhered just above. Took my So Saffron Grosgrain (this is the most yummy ribbon EVER!), and pleated and sewed as I went down the card. I punched various size circles from scrap DSP and decorated the top portion. A couple are on Dimensionals to stand up a little, and the middle yellow piece is covered with a clear epoxy bubble sticker to shine and look nice. A very special friend is getting this one, and it was made with her in mind. I hope she loves it!

So, this year, more than ever, I hope the women in my life who are mother's know how much I love and appreciate them. We often don't hear how great of a job we are doing, and that's a shame! Motherhood is the best thing to ever happen to me, but it's also the hardest job I have ever had. I know other's feel the same way! So, to my 'invisible' friends who I couldn't add to my list or I would have been stamping forever, I want to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day, too!!!

Celebrate SaleABration

This is the simple SAB card I came up with for my club to make. It uses the SAB paper, Delicate Dots, and coordinating SAB set, Polka Dot Punches. I didn't have the Ribbon Bundle in time, so I just used Whisper White. Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and So Saffron flowers are stamped and punched with the 5 Petal Flower punch, stamped again on Whisper White, center punched with 1/4" punch, attached with glue dots, and those are Stickled with Frosted Lace Stickles. Easy Peasy, but I like it!