What's Not to Love?

I think Stampin' Up! hit a home run with this fun stamp set.  It's called Things I Love.  I think the images are as cute as can be.  I really had a good time creating this card. 

I stamped the sentiment on a white piece of cardstock that was layered on top of chocolate chip and regal rose card base.  The shoe, chocolate and shopping bag images were stamped in the 3 different colors of the dsp (Sweet Always--retired).  I cut them out using the 1 1/4 inch circle punch and layered them with the coordinating color of cardstock punched from 1 3/8 inch circle punch.  I added a rhinestone to each image to give it a girly bling.  Some taffeta chocolate chip ribbon finished off the embellishments. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Masculine Birthday

Happy Monday Everyone!  Another weekend flew by.  Don't know how many of you are basketball fans, but the road to the Final Four for college basketball had me glued to the tv.  There were some really exciting games and some real upsets this year. 

Today's card has a masculine feel (I hope it does, because that's what I was going for).  Cards for men are always a challenge for me.  Can you say bling?  Yes, I have that sparkle disease!  I seem to want to add too much to my cards and have to remind myself that men don't really appreciate that sort of thing.  I need to keep it clean looking.  I think I achieved that with this one.  Just a few nailhead brads.  That's not too bad is it? 
I used the Autumn Days stamp set.  The pheasant always cracks me up.  He looks like he's on a mission--Why did the pheasant cross the road?...:-)  The colors I used are Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry dsp and Very Vanilla.
I hope you like today's post and that it inspires you to make one of your own.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet Little Niece

Today's card was a really quick one I put together for my 9 year old nice's birthday.  The cute little caterpillar was made from a sizzix die I've had for quite awhile.  Isn't the tiny nose too cute?  I had to die cut that tiny little nose 3 times because I kept losing it on my table top.  I'm sure that's happened to most of you at one time or another.  But, then again, most of you probably stamp with a clutter-free table.  I tend to have tons of stuff in my area.  I try one thing and if it doesn't look right, i just drop right in front of me.  I can end up having a real mess before it's said and done.  I get "into the zone" and don't want to interrupt it by putting things away.
I added some highlight marks on the bug here and there.  The dsp is from the new Good Neighbors paper pack from the Sale-a-bration mini.  I computer generated the sentiment.  It says, "just inching by..." on the front of the card and on the inside "with a birthday hi".  I punched it out with the large oval punch and backed it with old olive cs cut out with the scalloped oval punch. The polka dot ribbon is Mambo Melon.  I just realized that the ribbon looks like it's riding up on the right side.  It can't be because of the photographer!!!!!!!!!! The hello on the little tag is from the Tiny Tags stamp set.  I cut it out using the tiny tags punch. 
Thanks for stopping by today!

Don't Put That Ornament Punch Away Just Yet!

Don't you just love it when you get a tool and can use it for more than it was intended?  Today, I used the ornament punch, that was in the holiday mini, to create a little pot for this flower to "sit" in.  I punched the ornament out of pretty in pink cs, cut the point off, making a flat bottom, and sponged the edges with regal rose ink.  I scored two lines on the widest part of the pot and added a row of little pearls.  The stamped flowers are from Echoes of Kindness.  I made them sparkle with shimmer paint after coloring them with a pretty in pink marker.  The background is done with the French Flair (retired) large background stamp.  I think it added just the right feel for this card and left me an area in the upper left corner to stamp the sentiment.  The images are stamped on watercolor paper.  It gives a really nice texture without having to emboss.  I have the grain of the paper running horizontally for the background and vertically for the flower image.  I finished this off with a certainly celery organza ribbon and bow with little pearls on the very center of the knot. 
I really had fun making this card and love the way it turned out.  It's simple, yet elegant and feminine. Thanks for stopping by today!. 

What a Day!

Hello everyone,
Sorry I didn't get to post as I wanted to yesterday.  My Monday turned out to be a mess.  I was in a car accident.  I got hit from behind by an under-aged driver using her friend's car.  Can you say insurance mess?  Fortunately, I don't think I'm hurt too badly and the driver wasn't either.  That's what really counts.
This is the card that I wanted to get posted.  It's an anniversary card to my wonderful husband (who left his lunch meeting to be with me after the accident happened!  My rock!).

I began by tracing the heart using one of my heart nestability dies.  The two love birds were punched out using the new Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch from the current Occasions mini catalog.  The papers used for the birds are chocolate chip and Bermuda Bay dsp.  The sentiment is from the Three Little Words stamp set in the current Idea catalog. 

The border along the bottom of the card was done with a Spellbinder's border die.  I sponged on the color for the detail before removing the die.  I used the notched corner punch (retired) for some interest on the corners, a couple of pearls for the bird eyes (can't decide if that's creepy or not) and called this one good.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a great day.

Lightning Fast

Today, I had to get a note in the mail, so I needed to come up with a quick card. I turned to my Movers & Shapers die.  I started with a Bermuda Bay base.  I embossed a piece of white cardstock with the paisley embossing folder.  After taping this layer to the card base, I placed it on the Movers & Shapers die with the scalloped oval toward the right side  and sent it through the Big Shot.  I put my 1/8" circle hand held punch into the scalloped opening and punch a hole on the left hand side of the card front.  I ran ribbon through both the scalloped opening and the hole and tied a bow.  The sentiment is from the Yummy stamp set and punched out with the large oval punch.  That's it!!! Super quick and easy.  I got it out to the mail box with time to spare.  It took me all of 15 minutes.  Most of that time was spent deciding on colors. 
Thanks for stopping by! 

Upsy Birthday

I had just enough time today to get a quick card put together.  I made this for my brother's birthday, so I hope it's not too girly. 

Here's the how:  I cut out a piece of very vanilla cardstock using a nestability die.  I matted that with a circle of not quite navy cardstock.  I stamped the flower image from the Upsy Daisy stamp set (love it!) and splattered more mustard ink onto it using the spritzing tool.  The celery cardstock is embossed with a diamond pattern using my bug.  The card base is stamped tone-on-tone in more mustard using the Pattern Prints background stamp.  A few brads, some celery twill ribbon and this one is done! 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Accidents Happen

I know it' been quite awhile since I posted, but my daughter is getting married in June and my nephew is getting married in July and I've been working on wedding invitations for both of them.  It's keeping me hopping.

Don't you just love it when you have the perfect stamp set for the perfect occasion?  When My Favorite Things released this stamp set, I knew I had to have it.  I've used it so many times.  Even though it's a vinyl stamp set (and I'm not partial to them) I love the images. 

I've got a friend who took a spill on some steps and injured himself.  He ended up needing surgery.  His leg is in a big black immobilizer and needs to keep it elevated.  He's got a long road of recovery and therapy ahead of him, so I thought I would try and cheer him with a get well card. 

The base of the card is Blue Bayou and the chair color is Sky Blue--two retired In-Colors I'd love to see Stampin' Up! bring back.  I inked up the canvas background stamp with Blue Bayou and stamped the chair at a 45 degree angle to the checks.  Doesn't it look like fabric?  I tried not to make the card too fussy, but manly at the same time.  What could be more manly than woodgrain?  I stamped the caramel cardstock with the woodgrain background stamp and sponged the edges to give it a little depth.  Doesn't the fish just crack you up?  I tried making it look like some sort of rainbow trout.  I think I failed misrably, but went with it anyway.  It's supposed to be a cartoon after all. Some stitched ribbon, brads and grommet complete this fun card. 

I hope you enjoyed today's project and thanks for stopping by. 

An Oldie But a Goody

Hello everyone.  I have a wonderful friend that I needed to make a birthday card for, so I pulled out a retired Stampin' Up! set that I haven't used for awhile.  The Terrific Tulips set is such a great two-step stamp set.  I love to use it right around springtime when there's promise of warmer weather.  The snow has really melted in the last few days!  The drift that went over our fence is now at least a foot below the fence line.  Progress!

I started by cutting out a white piece of cardstock, using the top note die.  I then stamped the tulips using pretty in pink, then did the overstamp in regal rose.  The stems and leaves were stammped in old olive and accented with always artichoke.  I was up for a challenge, so I finished the card by doing the brick wall technique found at SCS here.  Anyone who's tried this technique, knows what I mean by a challenge.  There's lots of little pieces to keep track of and put in the correct order.  When I got all the pieces glued down into place, I embossed the entire layer with the dotted swiss folder.  I love all the texture.  A ribbon, bow and a hodge podge hardware piece (I know, I'm dipping into my precious, hoarded hardware again!) completed the look I wanted. Of course, you need a pretty envelope to go along with it too. I always stamp a coordinating envie.  Even though this card was a lot of work, I think it was worth it in the end.  The card is not the typical A2 size, it's actually an A7 size (completed card measures 5 x 7).  Thanks for stopping by today.

Recipe:

Stamps:  Terrific Tulips, Well Scripted

Paper:  Old olive, pretty in pink, white, regal rose designer paper

Ink:  Pretty in pink, old olive, always artichoke, regal rose, rose red

Accessories:  Hoarded hodge podge hardware, old olive ribbon (retired), embossing folder, gems from my stash, top note die

New Friends Arrived

Hello everyone.  What's that saying? --you can never have enough friends.  That's so true.  My husband and I had new neighbors move in up the street from us, and I finally got around to welcoming them into the neighborhood.

What better way to do that than with a handmade card and cookies!  The family includes two adorable little ones.  They were so excited by chocolate chip cookies.  I can't wait for better weather around here, so that I can get to see them outside playing.  It's been such a cold winter here and we're all so tired of it all.  I hope we're finished with the snow for the year.

The card I made uses the new Good Neighbors clear mount stamp set available in the Sale-a-Bration mini catalog.  The designer paper is from the Welcome Neighbor pack also in the Sale-a-Bration mini.  The two coordinate so perfectly and there's several color combinations to choose from.  I liked the cheery look of these colors together. 

To create the neighborhood scene, I stamped the houses in different colors right onto the white cardstock.  I stamped the roofs on a separate piece of white cardstock and cut them out.  I masked the base of the houses, stamped the clouds in the sky and sponged crushed curry ink around the edges of the paper.  I then taped the roofs onto the card, popping the middle one up on a dimensional.  I tied the ribbon using my tip from this post.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Here's the recipe:

Stamps:  Good Neighbors, Right at Home (sentiment), Tiny Tags

Paper:  Crushed curry, old olive, mambo melon, white, Welcome Neighbors dsp

Ink:  Crushed curry, old olive, mambo melon, black

Accessories:  Dotted melon mambo ribbon, dotted swiss embossing folder, tiny tags punch, spellbinders die, gems from my stash, sponge, dimensional

Foiled!

Happy Monday everyone!  Why is it that the weekends are just never long enough?  Monday comes around way too fast sometimes.
Today, I thought I'd share a great tip on adding a foil element to a card.  First, gather your supplies.

You'll need a pair of scissors, kitchen foil, a glue stick or a Xyron adhesive machine, and an embossing folder. 

Begin by cutting cardstock to the size that you need for your project.  Apply glue to the entire back of the cardstock.

Place the foil onto the glued side of the cardstock piece and smooth it out from the center to the edges.  This will work out all the air bubbles. 

On the backside of the cardstock, fold the foil down over the points first (mitering the corners).  This will give you nice sharp points to the corners.  Next, fold in the sides.  

 See how nice this looks.  It's so smooth, you can see my reflection with the camera :-)  Say Cheese!

Finally, insert the foiled piece of cardstock into an embossing folder and run through your die cutting/embossing machine (Big Shot, Cuttlebug, etc.) 

Here is the finished project ready to be used on your card front or in a scrapbook page. This technique also works great for that thin, foil-type wrapping paper or foil-type balloons that have lost their helium, but are just too pretty to throw away.   

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  Be sure to send me a link to your projects if you use this technique.