I'm turning into my mother?

This stamp makes me laugh! I don't know that I am turning into my mother yet....not that it would be a bad thing because she is a great lady. And I think when I send this to her, so is going to LAUGH! She has been going through a rough time lately, and this might be just the thing to perk her up. I mean, really, who doesn't glitter perk up?? :)

(This is a stamp set offered in the Occasions mini, and is part of the sneak peak!)

I used a sketch for this one - SC116. Always a great way to get an idea for a layout!

I really like the way this turned out, and just love these colors together. I used my Color Coach to get the color combination - that thing never does me wrong! A great tool to have if you are having trouble coming up with a color scheme!!

Can you see on the Pixie Pink there are some versa-marked flowers from Botanical Blooms? Hope you are enjoying the sneak peak for the Occasions mini....more to come!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Eight Great Greetings (Occasions Mini), Botanical Blooms (SAB)
Ink: Basic Black, Versamark
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Accessories: Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB), Certainly Celery Ribbon (SAB), Brads, Pink Fine Cosmo Glitter, Dimensionals

Easter Card #1

Stampin' Up! has given us a sneak peak for their Occasions Mini Catalog. And boy is it awesome! There are some FABULOUS stamp sets in there that I just couldn't wait to get my hands on. You can find the sneak peak items here. The items they are 'sneak-peaking' are to help you get ready for Easter. The entire catalog will be available April 1st. If you need a copy of it, please let me know!

So I thought I would sit down and creat the Easter card we send out to our family. I made 3 different versions. This is the 1st (I decided to send out #3), and #2 will be made in April club. All are using the same color scheme, just mixed up!

The bunny is from Eight Great Greetings, which is in the Occasions Mini. Pretty straight forward - LOVE the colors! :)


Just love the little bunny holding all the eggs! Reminds me of the time my sis and I colored hard-boiled eggs and she told me the pink dye was juice.....it did NOT taste good.

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Eight Great Greetings (Occasions Mini)
Ink: Basic Black, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Bashful Blue, Confetti White, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB), Dimensionals, So Saffron Ribbon (SAB), Scallop Edge Punch, Crop-a-dile, Corner Rounder Punch

Stationary Box

Who doesn't love a great gift idea to a friend? This will be a gift for a good friend (it is a VERY late gift....her birthday was in January). The box contains 8 cards, and I used 2 different color cominbations for the cards.

I am attempting to use up some of my designer paper so that I don't feel guilty about opening a new package. I just love the Candy Lane Designer Paper, although most of it looks very "Valentine-y". Some of the prints are mono-chromatic and make for a very elegant card. I also used 3 of the different Sale-A-Bration stamps. I skipped the sentiment so she can use them for whatever occasion she needs them for!




This is the stationary box that I made them to go inside of. To make the box: You will need 2 pieces of cardstock that measure 11x7.5. Score them at 2.5" on each side, and cut the 2.5" score line to form the bottom of the box. Make sure you use Sticky Strip to put the box together so it stays!!


Here is a side view of the box. You can see that I used the Jumbo Eyelets to make the handle with the Pink Pirouette ribbon, knotted on the inside of the box.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Polka Dot Punches, Time Well Spent (retired)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouettte, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Felt Alpine Ribbon (retired), Candy Lane Designer Paper, Metallic Eyelet, Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, 5 Flower Punch, Silver Brad, Flower Fusion, Jumbo Pewter Eyelet, Pink Pirouette Ribbon
Technique: Sponging

Hope you enjoyed my little stationary box! It was so fun and easy to make, and I think she will just love her gift!

Hostess Gift Candy Box

Stamp club was last night, and this was the hostess gift for Bridgett. I love decorating up some candy, and this little box is perfect to do that with some chocolates! And I didn't even eat any of them while making the treat! That is will power!!

These containers I purchased online, and figured it was about time to fix it up! The Good Morning Sunshine Designer Paper is just the funnest! And I love using the Crimper to dress up a package! The candies are the Hershey's Nuggets wrapped in the designer paper (measures 1"x3").

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Yummy (SAB)
Cardstock: Summer Sun, Pacific Point
Ink: Pacific Point
Accessories: Crimper, Good Morning Sunshine Designer paper, Small Tag Punch, Large Tag Punch, Metallic Eyelets, Linen Thread
Technique: Sponging, Crimping

March Stamp Club

It is stamp club time again! We are making some wonderful things - 3 full size cards this month! Contact me if you want to join - you could make all these great things for free!!


The first card is for St. Patrick's Day. I don't really do green beer, I'm not Irish, and don't have a St. Patrick's day stamp set. So - I improvised - and you can do with some strategically placed hearts! I am also using the bleaching technique, which turned out different than I thought - but interesting! They are they punched out with the Large Heart Punch. The lucky sentiment is from Define Your Life.

Recipe:

Stamp Set: Define Your Life

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Glorious Green, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Large Heart Punch, Natural Hemp Twine, Black Embossing Powder, Certainly Celery Ribbon (SAB), Dimensionals, Clips Assortment

Technique: Embossing, Bleaching

The next card uses the Gatefold, you have seen a different version of this card at this post. I actually created this club card first. I love these colors - the Sahara Sand with the Real Red is very striking. To create the Gatefold, cut your cardstock in half lengthwise, and then score at 2 3/4" from each side and fold in!

Recipe
Stamp Set: Congrats (SAB)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Real Red

Accessories: Dimensionals, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Boho Punch, Brad, Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB)

Technique: Gatefold, Sponging

The last card is my favorite, by far. It uses one of my favorite techniques (sewing) and is a great way to use up all those scraps of designer paper that you just can't bear to throw out! Each of the square are 1"x1". I'm thinking that the 1 1/4" square punch would be an easier way to go about it, cuz it seems to be quite difficult to cut such a small piece with the paper trimmer. I sewed around the edge and then created the 'quilt' on the inside. The Hodgepodge Hardware in the designer label shape is awesome!

Recipe:

Stamp Set: Congrats (SAB)

Ink: Sahara Sand

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand

Accessories: Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware Designer Label, Designer Label Punch, So Saffron Ribbon (SAB), Naturals Hemp Twine, Dimensionals

So - that's it. See ya tonight!

With Sympathy

No one likes to give out sympathy cards, but I hope it is nice to receive one when you are grieving. Duane's granite business partner lost his father after a long illness, and we really wanted them to know that we were thinking of them and that they are on our mind.

Now, I don't have a "sympathy" set per se, but flowers are always appropriate for a sympathy card and I have many of those! This is a Sale-A-Bration set, Botanical Bloom that I used with the sentiment from Trendy Trees. It is also a sketch challenge SC218 from Splitcoast.

The sentiment was a little long to use with the Designer Punch, so I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to align the sentiment in 2 lines. I also used it to line up the flowers with the outlines.

I hope the Kale family is able to find some comfort in this very difficult time.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Botanical Blooms, Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Gray
Ink: Basic Black, Going Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Fifth Avenue Floral Designer Paper, Brads, Designer Label Punch, Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by! Whatcha think of the card?

Because nice matters

To start with a funny story....Duane asked if he could keep this card by the bed for the nights that I wake up and tell him to stop eating candy in bed - hahaha! Funny how loud a candy wrapper is when you are sleeping...

It is also a sketch challenge on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/, although I went with circles instead of squares...

Anyway...I just LOVE this color combination, and was something that I never would have picked on my own. Even though this designer paper is in a package with a bunch of pastels, you can totally pair it with a bold bright!! The flower is cut out (yes, not my favorite thing to do) and from Simply Said and the sentiment is a Hostess Level One Sweet Little Sentiments.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Sweet Little Sentiments, Simply Said
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Delicate Dots Designer Paper, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals, Silver Brads, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Happy Birthday Val and Sue!

Oh boy! Can you believe there is another birthday at the firm? Geesh - it seems like there is one about every other week. I suppose with 20 employees, the math kinda works out that way....

Both cards are twice the size of normal cards (a whole sheet of cardstock folded in half to make the card) since so many of us have to sign them.

The first card is a style I have used before, only this time I did it mono-chromatic, which I think is a very elegant look. Sue just loves purple, so I pulled out all the purple ink I have to bring this card together. I did find out that I don't have any Stampin' Up! ribbon....and that the only purple ribbon they sell is Elegant Eggplant? Guess I better be getting some of that....

Here is a shot with the vellum turned up at the corner. The vellum does a good job of muting the bold colors from underneath! I just love how the Simply Said stamp set looks underneath the vellum!!


Recipe:
Stamp Set: Simply Said, Party Hearty
Ink: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Black Stayzon
Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Vellum, Whisper White
Accessories: Brads, Purple Ribbon (non-SU!)

The second card is for Val (or Shaniqua, depending on who you are). She is bold, loud and I thought the designer paper from the Good Morning Sunshine fit perfectly! I used the Gatefold card, which is really easy to do, and looks super cool!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Congrats (SAB)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Summer Sun
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Brad, Boho Punch, Dimensionals, Good Morning Sunshine Designer Paper
Technique: Sponging

Hope you like the birthday cards!

Pun Fun Birthdays

So my bestest gal pal asked if I would make some kid type birthday cards for her 'stash' and how could I resist. Lyns is a stay at home mom, and doesn't have the time to make her own cards, so I supply them for her as a renewing birthday present - great deal, right?

When she asked for kid birthday cards, I just knew I would use the Pun Fun set. They are so super duper cute, and have such fun sayings that I think kids would get a kick out of!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Ink: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Kraft, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB), So Saffron Ribbon (SAB), Dimensionals

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Ink: Basic Black, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Accessories: Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Dimensionals, Ticket Corner Punch, Sweet Always Designer Paper

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Ink: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Summer Sun
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Dimensionals, Pacific Point Ribbon, Good Morning Sunshine Designer Paper

Hope you like my Pun Fun birthday cards. I can't decide if I like the hippo or the bird better...whatcha think?

Peek-a-boo Thank you!

So I had seen a peek-a-boo card, and just knew that I had to make one! They are so cute, and so easy, and you could use any sentiment really! On this one I used the Sale-a-bration Delicate Dots paper and Sale-a-bration Ribbon (sale goes through March if you are eye-balling something you want!).

Quick lesson: Adhere your designer paper to your cardstock, and then punch through both layers with your larger circle punch (here I used 1 3/8" circle). On a contrasting piece of cardstock, punch your larger circle, and then position your scallop circle around the outside to get the 'frame' to go on the outside of your card. Then make your peek-a-boo part, and be VERY careful adhering it to the inside! Cuz once it's stuck.....it doesn't usually come off again!


Here is the peek inside!



Hope you like the peek-a-boo card, I know that I am going to make many more!!

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Family Phrases
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron
Accessories: So Saffron Ribbon (SAB), Delicate Dots Designer Paper (SAB), Paper Piercer, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch