Capricious Creations

A Little Note

2011-03-10T20:16:00.001-06:00

My nephew's wife called the other day with a request for a letter. My sister was going on a weekend retreat and part of the weekend involved receiving letters from family and friends. My sister lives in Ohio, so I had to make a quick card in order to get it out there in time. Even though this was quick, I'm happy with it. I really like the look of the vanilla ink on the purple. And since one of my favorite color combos is green and purple, the olive twill was a perfect choice. Thanks for visiting! I hope you are enjoying the anticipation of Spring as much as I am.

Blackbird Birthday

2011-02-22T20:05:00.002-06:00

I used an embossing folder on this card and then sponged ink on the raised areas to color them. I'm not really sure if I like it or not. I embossed the bird portion again using black and cut it out. I popped the bird up with dimensional tape. Maybe the bird needed a bit of red on it's wing. I don't know. I ran out of time as the recipient's birthday was looming and I needed to get the card in the mail. Sometimes I feel bad about sending a card that am not completely pleased with. Do you ever feel that way? I try to remind myself that the thought is what counts and any card is better than no card at all. The photo was taken in the waning light of day. It's hard to get home from work early enough to take a decent photo. But the days are getting longer, little by little! Thanks for visiting!

A 90th Birthday Celebration

2011-02-05T16:03:00.004-06:00

This is a card for a very special birthday. Sue is surprising her husband for his 90th birthday and people from all over are sending cards to help him celebrate. I met Sue and John a few years ago at a Splitcoast dinner in Milwaukee. If you'd like to make him a card, see this post for details.

Valentine Treats

2009-02-15T20:31:00.005-06:00

I like to send my boys who are away, and their girlfriends, a little something for Valentine's Day. This year, I didn't have as much time to devote to this since I'm working full time now. But I tried to plan ahead, and I worked on them a little bit each night. It's not my best work, but the kids enjoyed getting a little something in the mail, and they know that I am thinking of them, and that's all that really matters.

The plastic test tubes came in very handy, since they were really fast and only required ribbon. The Hershey kiss bag uses the SU Top Note as a topper. The image is SU and is colored with Prismacolor pencils. The candy bar is wrapped in Bella Rose DSP and tied with Pomegranate ribbon.
The white chocolate covered cookie is wrapped in a glassine bag from PTI. I decorated the edge of the bag using a scallop punch, and the tag was created with the SU round tab punch.
The best part is that I did get these out in time and everyone got them before Saturday. I hope you all got to show the people that you love how much you appreciate them this Valentine's Day. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Happy Heart Day, Have A Heat, Party Punch
Ink: Rose Red, Pixie Pink
Paper: Bella Rose DSP, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red
Extras: 5/8" Regal Rose grosgrain, Pure Pomegranate Double Stitched ribbon, Round tab punch, Martha Stewart Lace Edge punch, Scallop punch, glassine bag, plastic test ubes, Big Shot, Top Notedie, large oval punch

A Little Something

2009-02-12T21:52:00.003-06:00

I am leaving one of these on each of my coworkers' desks tomorrow. There are 7 of us that work together, so I made six of them. They are very simple, since I was busy making a few things to send to my boys and their girlfriends for Valentine's Day. I'll post them some time this weekend.

These are recycled Starbucks Frapucinno bottles. I used PaperTrey Sweet Love for the cap and SU Bali Breeze DSP for the band around the jar. The ribbon is PaperTrey Sweet Blush swiss dot.

I am hoping my coworkers enjoy these.
Sorry for the quick post, but being full time doesn't leave much time for blogging. But I am so loving my new job! Thanks for visiting! Happy Valentine's Day!

A Papertey Challenge

2009-02-07T23:05:00.002-06:00

I've been checking Nichole Heady's blog this past week, but today is the first chance I've had to play in the challenges. Today's challenge was a sketch, and the prize is a complete collection of all the Papertrey ribbon. A beautiful prize!

I chose PTI Aqua Mist and SU Mellow Moss for my cardstock. I stamped an image from PTI Guide Lines in PTI Fresh Snow on the Aqua Mist. For the sentiment panel, I stamped the smallest polks dots from PTI Polka Dot Basics in Plum Pudding, stamping off first. The sentiment is stamped in Plum Pudding. This is the first time I used the Guide Lines set. You can make some very pretty patterns.

I have to get this posted, since the contest ends tonight. If you get a chance, check out Nichole's blog and join in some of the 2nd anniversary celebrations! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: PTI Birthday Basics, Polka Dot Basics, Guide Lines
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow, Plum Pudding
Paper: PTI Aqua Mist, SU! Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Extras: PTI ribbon, SU! rhinestone brads, corner rounder

Birthday Books

2009-01-25T21:20:00.002-06:00

I made myself a birthday calendar book a few weeks ago using the instructions on Nichole Heady's blog here. I liked mine so much I decided to make one for my sister too. Now that she is retired, she wants to start sending birthday cards to everyone in our rather large family. I think there are about 45 of us now and trying to keep up with everyone's birthdays can be challenging.
The actual calendar pages I downloaded from Nichole's blog. Inside the envelopes you can store stamps, and labels for the month. I like to hand address all of my birthday cards, but I am going to store the addresses in the pockets so that they are handy.

This was the first project that I used my Rubicoil for. I've had it for along time, but I never even took it out of the box. It was incredibly easy to use. Simply punch the holes and twist on a coil. Easy peasy!

I recently started a full time job (which I am liking very much so far), so I have less time for stamping and blogging. But I am hoping to still post. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Thanks for visiting!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-25T10:55:00.005-06:00

I have so many things for which to be thankful. My wonderful family, being able to provide for them, and my good health, are just a few of my blessings. I am especially grateful that our son Scott will be coming from Pittsburgh. All of my boys will be home.

I will be working on Thanksgiving, so my sister will be hosting this year. I am making cranberry-applesauce, sweet potato rolls, and four pumpkin pies. These are all things that are easily made ahead and will be brought by my family. I will meet them there after work.

I decided to make these cute little favors for my sister's table. They are super easy and quick to make. You could easily make these, or have your children make these if they need a little project tomorrow. ;)

I used tea lights by Mainstays from Walmart. They come 30 to a box and are available in many different colors and scents. Mine are Mulled Cider. I cut Haiku DSP from SU! into 1/2 " by 5" strips, and adhered these around tea lights. Then I took a cordinating card stock color and punched a scallop to form the base. Very simple, and I think they will look nice at each place setting. Then the guests can take them home as a little reminder of our meal and good times shared together.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may we all be truly grateful for our many blessings!

Stamps: None
Ink: None
Paper: Haiku DSP, Old Olive, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, all by SU!

A Frosty Snowman

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last week I traveled out to DeKalb to my friend Patti's house for a Close To My Heart gathering. I met Patti and another stamping friend, Priscilla, and we went out to dinner. Then it was back to Patti's house for a fun evening of stamping. Our friend Amy is a CTMH consultant and she did a great job.

This is one of the cards we got to make and it uses the Stamp of the Month. I got him for free with my qualifying purchase. They have some very cute stamps, especially if you are a scrapbooker, which I hope to be. I have very few pages made, but I have 27+ years of photos to scrapbook! Yikes! Of course, I will not scrap them all, but I would like to get several albums done. When they are just in boxes or plain photo albums with no journaling, much is lost. The last time my oldest was home, we were going through an album and I was surprised at all of the things I thought he knew, but didn't. If I could scrap and journal, the information would be there. I have many, many photos from my folks, and Wayne's folks, that we just don't know anything about, and there is no one to ask. So sad.

Well, enough of my espousing the virtues of scrapbooking! I can't tell you too much about the card, other than it uses CTMH papers. They have a white core, so we created the striped look by scoring the paper and then sanding to expose the white. I like the look. I added some glitter gel pen to the hat and scarf when I got home. This guy makes me happy! I'm glad he'll becoming to my house!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: CTMH, November Stamp of the Month Decked Out and CTMH alphabet (sorry, I don't know the name)
Ink: CTMH black
Paper: CTMH
Extras: Narrow white grosgrain ribbon, Sakura glitter pen

Happy Birthday to Mark

2008-11-18T14:07:00.002-06:00

Mark turned 18 last month and this is the card I made for him. I used a retired SU set called Country Pleasures.It's a fun one to watercolor. After I colored the image, I sponged a little Antique Linen Distress ink to age it a bit.

I used an old SU DSP too, called Four Seasons. The backgrounds were made using Print Pattern and Cheesecloth, both by SU.

I hope you enjoy my fall creation. It's a beautiful, sunny,crisp autumn day here in Northern Illinois. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Country Pleasures, Print Pattern, Cheesecloth, On Your Birthday, all by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black, Versamark, Antique Linen
Paper: Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke, Confetti Cream, Four Seasons DSP by SU!
Extras: brads

Oldie but Goodie

2008-11-04T18:56:00.002-06:00

I made this card several years ago for my display board when I first started as a demonstrator. It is a CASE straight from the catalog. I found it recently while organizing my craft room, and I think it is a lovely design. It features a favorite of mine; a retired set called Fantastic Foliage.

I gold embossed the leaves, watercolored them, and cut them out. They are popped up on dimensional tape. The gold cord is a product called Kreinik Blending Filament. It is very fine and adds a lovely, delicate feel. It can be purchased at a needlework store.

I hope you enjoy this blast from the past. ;)
Have a lovely evening, and thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Fantastic Foliage and Elegant Greetings, both SU retired.
Ink: Old Olive, Encore Gold, Versamark
Paper: Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Old Olive
Extras: Gold EP, Gold Kreinik Blending Filament, Dimensionals

Fisherman Birthday

2008-11-01T13:02:00.005-05:00

Our neighbors, George and Karen, have become good friends over the years we have lived here. George is the neighbor who took my boys fishing at a lodge in Canada last year. He celebrated a birthday last month. He loves to fish and he collects antique fishing lures, so I thought he would enjoy this card.

I stamped the background stamp in Black Stazon and watercolored it using an aqua pen and markers. I like to use this method because it is very portable. In fact, I colored this in the car on a trip to see my son at school. Don't worry, I wasn't driving. ;) I take my markers, my aqua pen and a small plastic pallete, such as a margarine tub lid. Then I scribble on the pallet with my markers and pick up the color with the aqua pen. The pallet can be saved, and even if the colors dry on the pallet, you are still ready to go. One year I watercolored about 80 Christmas cards while waiting in the car to pick up my kids. I just left the project in my car and every time I found myself waiting, I worked on them.

This card is pretty simple. I did sponge over the whole thing with distress ink to tone down the bright colors of the lures.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We are having quite mild temperatures here today, in the 60's. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Sincere Salutations,SU and Judi-Kins (lure backgound)
Ink: Various SU markers, Tim Holtz Distress ink in Antique Linen, Stazon Black
Paper: Confetti Cream, Old Olive, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy
Extras: Nestabilitiy Oval dies, brads

Baby Booties

2008-10-31T11:29:00.004-05:00

My sister and I made these favors for a baby shower that my niece is giving on Sunday. We used the pillow box die from SU. The shoes are from an old SU set, Buggies and Booties.

My niece also waned to give thank you cards to the mom-to-be, so we made up the cards with the same design.

We used Baja Breeze and Celery. I like this combo paired with the chocolate ribbon.

Stamps: Booties and Buggies SU, Sentiment from Amuse
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Confetti, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery
Extras: Cuttlebug embossing folder, SU scallop punch, Chocolate wide grosgrain ribbon, Pillow box die, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches

Happy Hallowen!

2008-10-30T20:20:00.007-05:00

I saw this darling Halloween ice cream kit on Nichole Heady’s blog. It was created by Tracy Cuccia. You can see hers on her blog here. I decided to make a few to send to my sons and their girlfriends. I also included a gift card to Walgreen’s so they can pick up some ice cream. My tubes just fit in the box, but I did use the little clear stickers that PTI sends with the boxes to keep them shut.

Stamps: Spooky Treats II from PTI

Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss from SU, Plum Pudding from PTI Paper: Confetti Cream, Only Orange, Kiwi Kiss by SU, Plum Pudding by PTI

Extras: 3/4"circle punch, narrow grosgrain ribbon by SU, tubes from SKS Bottle and Packaging, card box by PTI, Magic Shell

I made a little tutorial on how I made these. It’s my first one, so go easy on me. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get all of the pictures lined up.

So here goes....

A note about the supplies: I got the card boxes from Papertrey, and the tubes from SKS Bottle and Packaging.

Supplies needed:

3 six inch plastic tubes with caps

1 acetate cardbox from Papertrey

3/4" circle punch

7 1/2" x 4 1/4" cardstock

paper trimmer with scorer

adhesive

Step 1

Cut a 3 inch piece from the end of your cardstock and set aside. Your cardstock now measures 4 1/2" by 4 1/4".

Step 2

Leaving your CS in the same position, score the remaining piece at 1", 3", and 4".

Step 3

In one of the 1" scored sections, punch a hole in the center. Then punch a hole on either side of the center hole, for a total of three. Turn your CS around and repeat in the other 1" scored section. You will want to line up the holes, so your tubes will stand straight.

Your CS should look like this.

Step 4

Place adhesive along the 1/2" strip.

Step 5

Adhere the 3" piece you set aside in step1 to the adhesive strip.

This is what your CS should look like now.

Step 6

Fold along the score lines to form the holder. You will not need to adhere anything, as the tubes will keep everything in place.

Step 7

Carefully insert your tubes into the holes as shown. The tubes are 3/4" and will be a snug fit. I turned mine as I pushed them in and got them in with no problems.

Step 8

Insert the unit into the box.

Decorate as desired.

Masculine Birthday Greetings

2008-10-02T20:01:00.004-05:00

I have such a time with making masculine cards! I know I'm not alone on this, but sometimes it's a true struggle. I turned once again to my trusty Lovely As A Tree set from SU!. This card came out OK. In looking at it now, I wish I had sponged some Creamy Caramel or More Mustard on the Confetti panel. It's looking too stark for me now.

But this card is long gone to it's recipient, my niece's husband. He is married to the niece who received the cupcake card from the last post. Their birthdays are only a week or so apart.

I watercolored this in the car on the way to take Daniel back to school a few weeks ago. I used the aquapainter and a plastic pallet with my markers. A very handy way to watercolor while traveling.

The mustard panel is stamped with the Flannel Plaid background and the greeting is from On Your Birthday.
I used the new large oval punch from SU! for the sentiment.

The kick-off for the hospital massage program was Tuesday and it went well. We had over 45 people and did about 38 short seated massages. There was a PT Assistant who is also a massage therapist who came to help out for a while. Tomorrow is my first day with clients (employees) scheduled. It is also our wedding anniversary tomorrow. Twenty seven years. We will be going out to dinner to celebrate.

Thanks for dropping by. As I am typing this post the Chicago Cubs are beginning their second playoff game. I don't know if I can take much more of this. That game last night was so disappointing. It's easier when they are not in the playoffs. Then there are no expectations; just the usual "There's always next year." Oh my Cubbies...don't let me down!

Stamps: all by SU! Lovely As A Tree, Flannel Plaid, On Your Birthday. Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: Stazon Black, More Mustard
Paper: Confetti White, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Always Artichoke
Extras: Chocalate Grosgrain, brads, SU large oval, and horizontal slot punches, distressing tool, aqua painter.

2008-09-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

This card I made for my niece, Danette, who turned 34 earlier this month.

I used an old SU DSP that I forgot the name of. I think it's Sarah or something like that. The stamp set is Crazy for Cupcakes by SU. I watercolored the image and used Stickles on the frosting.

I think it came out cute. I stamped some cupcakes on the envelope and used Stickles on there too, but I didn't get a photo of that. I love putting glitter on my envelopes, mostly because I would love getting an envelope with glitter myself! :) The cupcake ovals were cut with my Nestabilities. The oval for the sentiment was cut using the SU large oval punch.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Stazon Black
Paper: Watercolor, Whisper White, retired SU DSP, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip
Extras: Lt Pink Grosgrain, Stickles, SU large oval, and slot punch, Nestabilities

Caregiver Thank You

2008-09-26T19:51:00.004-05:00

Here is my card for Cammie's Alzheimer's Caregiver's Thank you. You can read about it here .

OK, so I'm reading my email, and I come across a post by my friend Juli, about a blog candy that Cammie is having. She deisigned a stamp set for Gina K, and is donating all of the profits to the Alzheimer's Association. She decided to have a blog candy giveaway and asked everyone to make a card to thank a caregiver. So I decided I had to make a card.

My Mom had Alzheimer's for years and my loving Dad took care of her until she died. Everyday he would bath her, change her, feed her. It was a beautiful expression of his deep love for her. She was both bowel and bladder incontinent, so this was no easy task for an 81 year old man. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June of 1991. My Mom died in August of that same year. My Dad followed her the following May. They obviously did not want to spend any of their anniversaries apart from one another. It has been many years, but I do still miss them both. I was in my early thirties when my Dad died and I was pregnant with my youngest son. I wish my children and I had been able to have more time with them.

So Cammie asked us to send a card to a caregiver we know. I would send mine to my Dad if I could. But since I can't, I will send mine to the home where Cammie's grandmother was living.

On to the details. There aren't many, as I made this card very quickly to get it in by the deadline. But I like how it turned out. The scalloped square is the new one by SU! The scallop lace is from Miss Elizabeth that I picked up at Dollar Tree the other day. It's a sticker type product that comes in a roll and there are 4 designs. Very fast and easy to use. The stamp set is SU's Ronald McDonald set where a portion of every sale goes to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Have a great weekend!

Stamps:Say It with Scallops and Floral, both by SU
Ink: River Rock, Chocolate Chip
Paper: River Rock, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip
Extras: Scallop Square punch-SU, Soft Sky double stitched ribbon, Miss Elizabeth adhesive lace scallop trim.

Daniel's gift

2008-09-25T18:00:00.001-05:00

Daniel wanted a photo printer for his birthday. His hobby is photography, and he takes most of his photos to get printed, but he wants to be able to print odd sized prints when he is working on a project. I was not about to buy him one, as I had no clue as to what he wanted. I made him this little gift card with a picture of a photo printer on the inside so that I had something to wrap.

This is simple, but I like how it turned out. I cut a top note from Always Artichoke, and a partial one from Perfect Plum. I lined them up and cut the plum one into a one inch strip and layered it on top of the artichoke.

A little Hodgepodge Hardware and ribbon, and she's done! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Weathered, On Your Birthday, both by SU!
Ink: Always Artichoke
Paper: Always Artichoke, Perfect Plum
Extras: Big Shot Top Note die, Hodgepodge Hardware, More Mustard Grosgrain ribbon

Daniel's 21st!

2008-09-12T21:58:00.008-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! My second son turned 21 on the 8th. It's hard to believe I have two adult children now.

I used the Big Shot and SU's Top Note and Naturally Serif dies and the Wanted stamp set for his card. I first cut the letters from stamped card stock, but I thought they were too flat. I wanted more dimension, so I cut anIother set from chip board. I ran the card stock letters through my Xyron sticker maker and attached them to the chip board. Then I ran those through the Xyron again. The scallop is edged in Chocolate Chip. It didn't stand out enough with out it. I cut a second top note, then trimmed it at the perforations and used it to mask my first one. Then I sponged on Not Quite Navy to make a border.

I have a few other things to post, but I started my new job at the hospital as a massge therapist. I still have my old job as a medical technoligist in micro too. I am also working on finishing my massage room at Curves, so I've been pretty busy. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more posts up soon.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU Wanted
Ink: Chocolate Chip. Not Quite Navy, Close to Cocoa
Paper: Kraft, Confetti Cream, Not Quite Navy
Extras: Taupe and Chocolate Chip Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note and Naturaaly Serif dies, Hodgepodge Hardware, chip board, sponge

Birthday Wishes for Melissa

2008-09-04T21:20:00.004-05:00

My stamping/workout buddy Melissa celebrated a birthday last Saturday. This is the card I sent her.

I used some retired, but lovely SU sets. The main image is from Easy Elegance, with a background stamped with French Script. I stamped it on Confetti White and matted it with black and Lovely Lilac. I used my Spica clear glitter pen on the flower.

A spiral clip from Target, a rhinestone for the center of the flower, a thin strip of black card stock, and a bit of organdy ribbon finish the card.
Happy Birthday Melissa!

Stamps: Easy Elegance, Amazing to Zany, French Script, Rough Around the Edges Wheel.
Ink: Always Artichoke, Lovely Lilac, Mellow Moss, Basic Black
Paper: Confetti White, Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Mellow Moss
Extras: Spiral clip from Target, White Organdy Ribbon, Spica Clear Glitter Pen, clear rhinestone

Big Shot Fun

2008-09-03T20:34:00.006-05:00

What fun the Big Shot is! I made these cute little thank you cards and envelopes using the Big Shot. The Scallop Envelope Bigz Die and the Birds and Blooms Sizzlits Die are exclusive to Stampin'Up.

I made these very quickly last night to add to a few orders. I die cut the envelope from Riding Hood Red, and the scallop flower from Pink Pirouette. After folding and adhering the envelope, I stamped the heart from Bitty Basics, which is a cute hostess set from the new Fall Winter Idea Book. Along with the heart, it comes with a leaf, flower, butterfly, star, coffee mug, cupcake and 3 sentiments: thanks, smile, and hello. I stamped the thanks onto a 2 x 3 inch card and tucked it in. A little strip of chocolate Bella Rose DSP finishes off the design. So simple, but I think they are cute. I left them blank so my customers can use them.

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. We've been busy. We visited our oldest son Scott in Pittsburgh in order to attend his lab's family day. We all went and it was fun seeing what he does. (Well, sort of,since most of his work is classified.) I will post a pic soon.

Thanks for visiting!

All supplies by Stampin'Up!
Stamps: Bitty Basics (hostess)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose DSP
Extras: Scallop Envelope and Birds and Blooms dies, Big Shot

Simple Wishes

2008-08-12T22:15:00.004-05:00

I made this simple card for my sister-in-law for her birthday on Monday. Sometimes a simple design is just what I'm looking for.

The size of this card is 6 1/2" by 3 1/4". I stamped the image on vellum and colored it with markers on the backside. I layered it over a smaller white square and attached that with dimensionals.

The sentiment is accented by a drop of Crystal Effects that I covered with Dazzling Diamonds. You could also use a drop of Stickles.

The envelope is from SU. I really like this size card, and the fact that the envelope opens at the end. So cute!

Have a happy Wednesday! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Doodle That, Small Script, both by SU.
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Vellum, Whisper White, Pixie Pink
Extras: Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Yoyo Yellow markers, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

2008-08-10T21:13:00.002-05:00

This is a card I made last fall for SCS Color Challenge 135. The required colors are River Rock, Basic Gray, and Basic Black. I really love River Rock, and will miss it. I bought several packages before it retired.

I used an old retired SU set, Art of Life. I love this set. The trim behind the main image is SU's Trimtastic stamped in black of Basic Gray. It almost looks like a fabric trim.

The River Rock background uses a TP technique I learned from Leslie Miller. I like using this to add a little texture to a solid color card stock.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had a beautiful day here in northern Illinois. We did a lot of yardwork after church, and then in the late afternoon we took our 3 sons, Suzy (Daniel's girlfriend), and my sister and brother-in-law out to dinner at Maggiano's. We were celebrating a special occasion. We paid our final mortgage payment in June. Certainly something to celebrate!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Art of Life, Trimtastic

Paper: River Rock, Basic Gray, Basic Black

Ink: River Rock, Basic Gray

Accessories: Almost Amethyst Marker, Brads, Sponge

Ordination Favors

2008-08-08T21:36:00.007-05:00

My sister's parish had a deacon who was serving there in his last year before his ordination into the priesthood this past June. He was from Poland and had no family here. Her parish was hosting a reception for his ordination and my sister thought she and I could make some favors. His family only speaks Polish and came from Poland to witness his ordination, so they weren't able to do much for him here. So I designed this little chocolate holder that I saw on SCS. I didn't use this video by Angie Kennedy Juda, but it is a great one for making this holder. I originally made a cute little box, but it was too labor intensive to make 50 of them.

I used one of the crosses from PaperTrey's Everyday Blessings set and embossed it in silver. I matted that with SU brushed silver.

On the inside, I used Encore silver to stamp the blessing and the little curly in the corner.

A little bit of retired SU silver ribbon finished it off and kept it closed. I didn't have enough ribbon, but we found a similar ribbon at Walmart. The chocolate inside is a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Mint Bliss 60% cocoa square. I only mention this because there are other Ghirardelli squares that are much thicker. They don't fit in the folder well. They are the ones my sister bought and had to take back because they were too thick! You get about 13 or so to a package. I paid $3.99 at Walgreens, so they are about 25 cents each.

I think Fr. Greg and his family appreciated the fact that my sister made them, and many of the guests commented to my sister how nice they were. I was glad we were able to make his special day a bit nicer. Now I am going to eat the chocolate since the photo shoot is over. ;)

Have a great weekend! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Everyday Blessings - PTI
Ink: Encore Silver
Paper: Basic Black, Brushed Silver
Extras: Silver EP, Silver ribbon from SU or Walmart, Ghirardelli Intense Dark Mint Bliss 60% Cocao Squares

Second Convention Swap

2008-08-07T19:03:00.003-05:00

Hello ladies! I've made it back from convention and thought I would show you my second swap I made. (My simpler one!) This one uses Happiness Always, a hostess set from the new Fall Winter Idea Book and Catalog. It features the new In Color, Pink Pirouette. It's such a soft, pretty pink.

I stamped the open butterfly with Heat and Stick powder, heated it, then covered it with Dazzling Diamonds. I embossed the sentiment with silver EP. I really love pink and black together, even though the pink and brown combo is really more "in" now.

I will try to get some of my best swaps from convention posted. They aren't even out of my suitcase yet! Thanks for visiting!

All supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Happiness Always (hostess)
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette
Extras: Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Silver EP, silver brads, black gingham ribbon, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon

Convention Swap

2008-07-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

I am at the Stampin' Up! annual convention in Salt Lake City. Actually I am in my living room getting ready to leave for convention tomorrow. I am going to set this to auto post on July 31st. Hopefully it will work!

This is one of my swaps for convention. Way too involved! But I like the way it turned out. I realized when I was printing out the recipe that I used a bit of ribbon from the last mini. Hopefully it will be in the new catty. I will tell everyone before I swap, so they know it has something expired, if it's not in the new catty. I hope it is, because I like that polytwill ribbon.

I used the new scallop edge punch and a new set we were able to preorder, Dreams du Jour. Ii watercolored the image with reinkers, then embossed it twice with Iridescent Ice EP. I didn't like it just embossed once, so I tried it again and liked the effect.

The DP is the new Bella Rose. New In Colors are Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, and Pink Pirouette. I don't know if you can tell, but I used Versamark and the butterfly in the set on the Baja Breeze background.

I made the pink flower by repeatedly curling a piece of pink cardstock over the edge of a ruler until I had broken the fibers and I could separate the layers of paper. Then I used the Boho Blossom punch to make my own paper flowers.

Hope you enjoy the weekend! See you when I get back! Thanks for visiting.

Edited on 8-7-08 to add the full photo. I didn't even realize it wasn't there! Sorry!

Stamps: Dreams du Jour
Ink: Black Stazon; Versamark; Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, and Baja Breeze reinkers.
Paper: Bella Rose DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Confetti White
Extras: Iridescent Ice EP, Scallop Edge, Boho Blossoms, and large oval punches, Old Olive Polytwill ribbon, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, Pretties Kit.

A Brady Boy Wedding

2008-07-10T21:15:00.006-05:00

We went to a lovely wedding on Monday night. It was a wedding uniting two families with 3 boys each. There ages are 18, 17, 15, 13,13, and 11. It was a beautiful ceremony; each boy lit a candle in a seven candle array and the parents then lit the final one together. Very touching.

We decided to give them a gift card, so I made a holder with a very cool inside. I found it on SCS, and I tried to find the blog that I used for the tutorial, but I apparently lost the link. I will try to update with the dimensions.

I used Blush Blossom card stock to make the holder, and River Rock for the ink and mat. I used a clear Spica glitter pen to trace over all of the swirls. You can see that in the second photo.

There is really very little stamping here. I did use the retired Damask background from SU for the inside, since it seemed rather plain when I went to sign it. You can see that in the last picture.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Illuminations, Damask both by SU!
Ink: River Rock, Blush Blossom
Paper: Blush Blossom, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Extras: Pink rhinestones, Spica clear glitter pen, Word Window and 3/4" punches, pink satin ribbon

Cakeabella for Tori

2008-07-05T20:39:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned about a day of stamping with friends. Patti had some Bella stamps. This one is Cakeabella, and I watercolored her with Twinkling H2Os. I used a little Prismacolor pencil in a brown shade to add a little color to her hair. She was a little too blond for my liking. I blended it with a colorless blender pencil.

The ribbon, flower, and most of the bling were all part of a blog candy I won from Patti a few months ago. The bling on the cake was from a clearance scrapbooking find at Target.

Tomorrow is my oldest great niece's birthday. She will be 17. I hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend.

Happy Birthday Tori!

Stamps: Cakeabella, SU Small Script
Ink: Stazon Black
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Cool Caribbean, watercolor, Retired SU DP
Extras: wide grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Twinkling H2Os, rhinestone stickers, fabric flower, Spica glitter pens, scallop edge scissors.

A Star Spangled Birthday

2008-07-04T12:59:00.002-05:00

Happy 232nd birthday to our nation, and happy 23rd birthday to my son, Scott!

I made this birthday card for my son, but I didn't put any sentiment on it. I thought the flag said it all. He is on vacation this week in our nation's capitol, so he will see some spectacular fireworks tonight. As a kid he always thought they were just part of his birthday celebration!

The stamp I used is an old Peddler's Pack stamp. I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color the image. The fireworks were colored in with Spica glitter markers.

Happy Birthday Scott! Happy Birthday America!

Stamps: Peddler's Pack
Ink: Stazon Black
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Night of Navy, all SU, PTI Stamper's Select
Extras: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Spica Glitter Pens

Greetings from Louisville

2008-06-26T20:21:00.003-05:00

Today I am in Louisville with my husband who has a conference here. I spent the day walking around downtown Louisville and stamping! Most of my suitcase was filled with stamps and supplies!

I needed to make a card for my great nephew, Andrew. He turns 4 tomorrow. I brought along the paper that I received from Kisa, Daisy D's Sidewalk Chalk Mini's. (Thanks, Kisa!) The second card below was my first attempt. I had everything cut and ready to assemble when I realized I didn't bring any adhesive! Oops! Off to find some.

When I returned, I decided the card was too girly. So I swapped out the Mellow Moss cardstock for Certainly Celery, and the Orchid Opulence cardstock for Brilliant Blue. It's still not too masculine, but he's only 4, so I don't think he'll mind.

I took the first photo during the day, but didn't photograph the second one until evening, so
unfortunately the image isn't as nice.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Unfrogettable SU!

Ink: Stazon Black pad, Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss, Garden Green, Orchid Opulence, and Bordering Blue Markers for watercoloring

Paper: Certainly Celery, Mellow Moss, Brilliant Blue, Orchid Opulence, watercolor, Stamper's Select White by PTI, Daisy D's Sidewalk Chalk Swatches Paper Minis.

Extras: Black Brads, Martha Stewart punch, Black gingham ribbon, dimensionals, google eyes.

Copic Weekend Thank You

2008-06-22T17:10:00.003-05:00

This was my weekend to work, and since we work with less staff on the weekends, they are usually quite draining. So I many times don't have the energy to stamp after dinner. But I managed to get a card stamped over a few days.

This is a card for our neighbors, who recently returned from an Alaskan cruise, and brought us back all sorts of fun stuff. Smoked salmon, which on l plan on using in a smoked salmon pasta salad I like to make, Alaskan chocolates, a HUGE Washington state apple that 4 of us shared for dessert, and my favorite, a bag of huckleberry pancake mix that smells heavenly. I'm planning on making them next Sunday after church.

The pancake mix is packaged in a fabric bag that gave me the inspiration for these colors. I used my Copics to color in the image. I am slowly increasing he image size! lol I wasn't too happy with the way the word melon smeared a bit when I used my blender over it. But not unhappy enough to redo the whole thing over. ;)

The background is Weathered, by SU!. I used my clear Spica glitter pen to color over the melons, and some Black Diamond Stickles on the dots next to the word melon.

A little bit of ribbon, and some brads in the corners finish off this card. Hope you had a great weekend, and you managed to get some stamping done. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Farm Fresh, Weathered, both by SU!

Ink: Versamark, Adirondack Pitch Black

Paper: PTI Stamper's Select, SU! Lovely Lilac, Basic Black, Only Orange

Extras: Mustard grosgrain, and Black gingham ribbon, Black Diamond Stickles, Copic Markers, Spica clearglitterpen, ticket corner punch, dimensionals

Bit of a Repeat

2008-06-19T13:14:00.003-05:00

This is sort of a duplicate post. This is the original card I made for our stamping day last Thursday. It is the same as the Birthday card in my post from Tuesday, the 17th, except for the sentiment. I wanted to tell you about this particular card and about TAC stamps.

I made this card especially for Suzy, my son Daniel's girlfriend. She is certainly one of my nicest thoughts. She is a great girl and we love her very much. She is away at school this summer and I know she is a bit lonely. So I'm hoping this card will brighten her spirits a bit.

This sentiment is a TAC stamp. I had never used a TAC stamp before, but I received this one from a blog candy that I won from Kisa. She has a great blog, Kisa's Paper Cuts, and she gave away a fabulous package. I got loads of TAC stamps, designer paper, and two darling rub ons that come in an applicator. I will be sure to post once I use the things she gave me.
The TAC stamps come as blue rubber and need to be trimmed. They come with cling vinyl foam that I stamped the image onto before I trimmed it. So you stick the rubber onto the sticky side of the foam, trim it out, pop it on an acrylic block, and you are good to go. Thanks again Kisa! You can find her blog on my blog roll to the right.

The details on this card are in my previous post here. The only difference is the sentiment from TAC.

Have a lovely day, and I hope you get to stamp! Thanks for visiting!

A Turtle Birthday

2008-06-18T16:54:00.003-05:00

This card is for my nephew, Matthew who turned 18 the other day. It is a pretty simple card: no ribbon and few layers. My masculine cards tend to run that way.

I used the turtle from the retired set Nature Prints. I like this set and all of the images are appropriate for cards for guys. I watercolored him with my SU! Watercolor Wonder Crayons.

I distressed all of the panel edges and rounded the corners of both the panels and the card. The turtle panel is wrapped in gold DMC metallic thread. It a good fiber to use on a masculine card since it has a metal element, and it's rather subtle. I had forgotten that I had it, until I saw a piece trying to escape from my drawer, and I decided it would be a good addition to my card.

Today was a picture perfect day here in northern Illinois. I met a friend for lunch at the Morton Arboretum. Everyone else seemed to think this was the perfect day for lunch at the Arboretum too, as it was one of their busiest days. I enjoyed the view, the company, and the lunch! Hope your day was picture perfect too. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Nature Prints, Birthday Whimsy, and Flannel Plaid, all by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black, Versamark
Paper: Taken with Teal, Old Olive, Basic Black, watercolor
Extras: Watercolor Wonder Crayons by SU!, Black brads, Corner rounder, DMC Metallic thread Lt. Gold

Birthday Wishes

2008-06-17T21:02:00.002-05:00

I made this card for my sister's 65th birthday. She lives in Ohio, so we don't get to see each other too often, but I lived with her for several summers as a young teen. She was a teacher, and would take classes over the summer, and I would live with them for the summer and watch her kids.

This was my card for a shoebox swap that I was at last week. I got together with my old stamping friends Patti and Juli, and met a new friend, Theresa. We spent the morning making our shoe box swaps, had a lovely lunch provided by Patti, and then spent the afternoon playing, mostly with Patti's goodies!

My card uses my Nestabilities, and that cute Martha Stewart Lace Doily punch.
The stamps are from SU!. The watercolored heart is from the Occasion's Mini set Just Celebrate, and the sentiment is a hostess set in the Spring Summer Collection.

I used my Spica At You glitter pens on both the heart and the candle. You can just about make out the clear on the heart in the close-up.

I hope you had chance to stamp today. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Just Celebrate, For A Friend,Hot to Dot wheel, all by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black, Soft Sky Classic pad, Soft Sky, Lavender Lace, and River Rock reinkers
Paper: watercolor, Soft Sky, River Rock, Lavender Lace, Very Vanilla
Extras: Nestabilities, Spica glitter pens, River Rock double stitched ribbon, SU! rhinestone brads, Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T18:51:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's!

I remember my Dad with much fondness today. He was a wonderful Dad and loved all five of us kids very much. He was a good provider working full time into his seventies until I was finished with college. One of the best memories I have of my dad is the last time I danced with him. We were at my niece's wedding and I was dancing with him to "Unforgettable." I always loved to dance with my dad. He was an excellent dancer. I remember telling myself to enjoy this dance, because I couldn't be sure I'd get another opportunity to dance with him. He was 81 at the time. That was in February and he died that same May, just nine months after my mom. That was 16 years ago, and when I hear "Unforgettable", it still brings tears to my eyes. I love you, Daddy.

So anyway, I made this card for my husband, who is a dedicated dad to our 4 boys. Our boys are turning into honest, caring, and loving young men, just like their dad. Well, maybe not the young part!

I watercolored the focal image from SU!'s Thinking of Father. The embellishments on the corners are Dew Drops, and I applied Ranger's Sepia Accents over the main image to give it an aged look. You might be able to see that if you enlarge the image. I used Flannel plaid on the left and Cheesecloth on the right, both by SU!. I thought the right side still needed something, so I used toilet paper wadded up and dabbed on some Antique Linen Distress ink.

I like how it turned out, and more importantly, so did my husband. Although he's so nice, I'm not sure he'd ever say he didn't like a card I made, unless I didn't like it, and then he might agree with me.

I hope you enjoyed Father's Day, either with your own dad, or thinking of him, or with the father of your children. May God bless Father's everywhere today, and everyday.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Thinking of Father, Cheesecloth, Flannel Plaid, all by SU!
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark, Stazon Black, Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink
Paper: Watercolor, More Mustard, Really Rust, Basic Black
Extras: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, Dew Drops, Sepia Accents by Ranger, SU! ticket corner punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons by SU!

A Pair of Graduates

2008-06-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

These are a pair of graduation cards I made up for some graduation parties we had a few Saturdays back.

I used Debbie Olsen's design here. She used the small letters and medium numbers to put the school and the year on them. When I ordered my Just Right Stamper, my medium numbers and small letter set was missing, and I didn't get the replacement shipment in time. So I used the graduation sentiment from Papertrey's Mixed Messages.

Our first recipient graduated from Buffalo Grove High School, so I went on the internet and looked up the school's colors to use in my card. I used Brilliant Blue and Pumpkin Pie from SU!. I was working, so I didn't go to the party, but I'm hoping he appreciated my using his school colors.

Our second graduate just finished 8th grade, so I didn't use any particular colors. I chose Pixie Pink and Certainly Celery for her.

The card is a tri-fold, with the inside flap going half way up the card to make a pocket, where I placed a check for the gift. A gift card would also fit nicely.

I apologize for not posting in such a long time. Things are more back to normal around here, so I am hoping to be blogging on a more regular basis now. We had a beautiful day here today in northern Illinois. I hope you did too. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: PTI Mixed Messages, Just Right Monogram stamper
Ink:Pixie Pink, Brilliant Blue
Paper PTI Stamper's Select, Pixie Pink, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue
Extras: Martha Stewart Zig Zag punch, Making Memories Photo Anchors, Nestabilities

My First Try with Copics and other new stuff

2008-05-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

I used my Copic markers to color this image for a card for my niece's birthday. She is 40 today. Happy birthday Joelle!

I have had some Copics for a while, but I haven't really sat down to play with them. So I tried them on this image. I want to try them on something larger next time.

I also used my new Doily Lace edge punch from Martha Stewart. I think it's lovely. I used it on the front egde of the card, so the pink from the back side shows through.

Another new for me product that I used on this card is Glimmer Midt. I used Pearl on all of the white cardstock. I'm not sure you can see it, even in a close up, but it is very pretty. It gives the paper a beautiful shimmer.

I had fun playing with my new toys! In my next post, I will tell you about the fun day I had stamp shopping with a friend. Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend!

Stamps: SU! Oh so Lovely, PTI Mixed Messages
Ink: Stazon Black, PTI Berry Sorbet
Paper: SU! Regal Rose, Rose Red
Extras: Cuttlebug die tag, Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch, Copic markers, SU! Spring Moss grosgrain ribbon, silver cord, Pearl Glimmer Mist, Spica At You clear glitter pen, dimensionals

Belated Graduation Gift

2008-05-29T19:00:00.005-05:00

This is one of a set of note cards that I made for my son's girl friend. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh last month, but I got a little behind with my knee problem. She has sent me several notes, so I thought she would appreciate a set of note cards.

I got the idea from Emily here.

I used Baroque Motifs for the background, and my Just Right Monogram Stamper. I used my circle Nestabilities and Cuttlebug to cut the circles and the Nestability scallop to cut the mats from Purely Pomegranate. A little bit of pink ribbon completes the design.

I hope she likes them. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU! Baroque Motifs, Just Right Monogram Stamper
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Paper: SU! notecards, Purely Pomegranate
Extras: Scallop and circle Nestabilities, SU! lt. pink grosgrain ribbon

I'm Back!

2008-05-16T19:51:00.009-05:00

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long. I was in the hospital last weekend with a cellulitis/bursitis in my knee and leg. I needed IV antibiotics, and ended up going home with a central line so that I can infuse IV antibiotics at home. So things have been pretty crazy around here!

This card is for my niece's daughter, Ava, who was 5 on Wednesday. She's getting this a little late since I was out of commission for a bit. This card is also a submission for the Ways To Use It 166 challenge on SCS. This challenge is to use Inchies in a card. Inchies are little mini canvases to work on. One inch by one inch. You can use a little stamp, or a portion of a bigger stamp.

I used the little cupcake from SU's Short and Sweet. I used masking so it looked like a group of them. The other images are from SU's Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories. I used a square Nestability to make the scalloped mats for the images.

If you click on the image to enlarge it, you might be able to see the Amuse twinkle rhinestone stickers I used for the cherries on the cupcakes and for the dot on the "i" in big. There is also some of my favorite Spica clear glitter pen on the images too.

I hope you enjoy this little inchie birthday wish. Have a great weekend, and hopefully you will have nice weather and maybe get a bit of stamping in too! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Short and Sweet, Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, all by SU!
Ink: Black Stazon
Paper: Cool Caribbean, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, WW
Extras: Amuse Rhinestone Twinkle stickers, Spica clear glitter pen, Lt pink grosgrain ribbon, SU key tag and horizontal slot punches, Nestability square scallop.

Happy Birthday to Karen

2008-05-04T22:10:00.006-05:00

A quick post to show you a birthday card for my neighbor Karen. Today was her birthday, and she is a special lady. She and her husband have sort of adopted our boys. They have watched them grow up since they were born. They have no children, so they enjoy ours. Last summer her husband George took my 4 boys to a fly-in fishing lodge in Canada for a week. They all had a great time. It is a great blessing to have such wonderful neighbors!

This card uses a chip board flower as the focal point and I used Beate's weekend sketch 46 for my layout. I will edit later with a link and more description.

I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder on the blue Creating Keepsakes paper. This paper is white on the back, so I used a sanding block on the dots which whitens them. I like that look. It will also work with white core paper. It will not work with SU paper because SU paper is solid color throughout the paper. But you could achieve the same look with a white ink pad softly brushed over the dots.

I covered a chipboard flower with the same paper as I used for the embossed background paper. I stamped it with SU's Fresh Fillers in Soft Sky. It has a Target $ Spot rhinestone and some of my favorite flavor of Stickles, Star Dust.

Hope you had a great weekend! It was a perfect spring day here today!
Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU For a Friend and Fresh Fillers
Ink:Soft Sky, Stazon Black
Paper: Making Memories DP, Certainly Celery, WW
Extras:SU chip board floer, lt.pink grosgrain ribbon, SU flower slide, Target $ spot rhinestone, scallop edge scissors, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, sanding block, Star Dust Stickles by Ranger, SU horizontal slot punch, Lemon Spica glitter pen, dimensionals.

Edited on 5/6/08 to add more information and link.

Get Well Melissa

2008-05-02T22:42:00.004-05:00

This is a quick little card I made for my Curves buddy, Melissa, who hasn't been able to work out for a while due to a back injury. So I've been missing her and I thought I'd let her know by sending her some flowers. haha

I watercolored the pick up with my markers. I partially colored the truck with markers and then I used my aquapainter to blend the ink. I used a gel pen on the chrome parts of the truck. You can see that better in the close up.

I used decorative edged scallop scissors to make the scallop edge and then punched with my 1/16" hole punch. The little paper flowers are my faux primas. Here's how you can make some. Take a small piece of card stock and run it over the edge of the table a bunch of times until it gets soft. The edges will begin to separate. You should be able to pull the pieces apart fairly easily. If they aren't separating easily, keep working your card stock to break the fibers a bit more. Once you separate it, you can take any flower punch you have and make your own Prima-type flowers!

A few rhinestones, a little Stickles, and an SU flower ribbon slide teamed up with some pink grosgrain finished up the card. Hope you have a great weekend and you find some time to stamp! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Loads of Love and Loads of Love Accessories both by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black
Paper: Watercolor, Lavender Lace, Whisper White, Retired SU! DP
Extras: Three for You Punch, Sakura gel pen, Spica glitter pen sin lemon and melo, SU flower ribbon slide, pink grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge scissors, 1/16" punch, Target $ spot rhinestone tattoos, Star Dust Stickles

Prayers for Rose

2008-04-30T09:29:00.009-05:00

One of the women who owns my local Curves where I workout is in the hospital. So I made this card to bring in for members to sign. I made it a bit bigger than a standard card, about 5x7, so we would have more room to sign.

I used watercolor paper to stamp the flowers from SU Bud Basics. I then used my markers to place some color directly on the paper. I put the turquoise and green on at the same time and then used my aqua painter to blend the ink directly on the paper. After drying, I cut them out and curved the petals over a pen. Watercolor paper is much easier to cut and shape, I'm thinking because it's a bit thicker than regular cardstock.

I ran a piece of Green Galore through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder. The tag is a Cuttlebug slider, stamped with SU So Many Sayings.

To add some bling, I used SU rhinestone brads and some Star Dust Stickles. You can see the bling a bit better in the close up.

Inside the card I stamped a sentiment from SU God's Blessings:

A friend is someone who
strengthens you
with prayers,
blesses you with love,
and encourages you
with hope.
Then I signed it , From all your friends at Curves.
I thought that was a perfect sentiment on a card that a lot of people were going to sign.

Today is a beautifully sunny day in Northern Illinois, and I hope this card will bring some sunshine to Rose. Enjoy your day and thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Bud Basics, God's Blessings, So Many Sayings all by SU!
Ink: Black Stazon, Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore markers for watercoloring
Paper: watercolor, Papertrey white, SU! Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore
Extras: SU! Fire Rhinestone Brads, black gingham and grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and Slider die, Aquapainter, Star Dust Stickles by Ranger.

Beate's Sketch Challenge-Welcome Colin

2008-04-27T22:07:00.009-05:00

Here is my entry for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge 45. You can find it here. My nephew and his wife had a baby boy last month and named him Colin Edward. I made this card for him.

My post needs to be short since it's Sunday night and I need to be at work tomorrow morning at 6.

I stamped the boat several times and watercolored all of the images. I cut out the different parts of the boat and layered them on top of each other.

I used my Cuttlebug for the blue layer, and the tag. I used my Spica glitter pens and Stickles to bling up images.
You can see the glitter a bit better in the close up shot. I will edit tomorrow evening to add all the particulars. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU! Toy Box, Papertrey Mixed Messages
Ink: Stazon Black
Paper: Watercolor, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst
Extras: Cuttlebug Swirls Embossing Folder and tag, SU! Taffeta ribbon, Star Dust Stickles, Spica Lemon glitter pen, Amuse Twinkle dot rhinestone sticker, dimensionals

Papertrey Blog Hop

2008-04-24T21:15:00.010-05:00

Papertrey is holding a Blog Hop on Friday, April 25, and I decided to participate. Our challenge was to use their Father Knows Best DP. I didn't own any, but Nichole, one of the owners, let us download a sample sheet. We could use it in any way we wanted, but we had to use squares no larger than about 1 1/2" square. So I decided to punch those cute little Three For You flowers.

This is a simple card, but I like it how it turned out. I used Papertrey Aqua Mist and Spring Moss. I had trouble with the green coming out too dark. It's actually much lighter and prettier. The aqua is more pale too in real life. You can see the colors more accurately here. The flowers are a yellow color which you might be able to see if you click on the photo to enlarge it. I retook the photo this afternoon outside, but it's gloomy here with a storm approaching.

The medallion is a Cuttlebug die. The ribbon is a lovely soft and flexible twill from Papertrey.

This card is for my son's girlfriend, who is graduating on Saturday from The University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Bioengineering. I hope she doesn't read my blog, because I haven't sent it yet! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Mixed Messages (Papertrey)
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Papertrey Aqua Mist, Spring Moss, Father Knows Best DP
Extras:Three For You punch, Cuttlebug die and Swiss Dot embossing folder, silver brads, Aqua Mist twill, Amuse Creative Candy micro dots.

Alina's Birthday

2008-04-22T15:34:00.009-05:00

This card is made from one of my submissions for an ATC swap on SCS. An ATC, or artist trading card, is a small card the size of a baseball card. You can read more about them here. The swap I participated in was a "bling" swap. I like to use ATCs to make full cards, as I did here.

I'm not sure if you can see it, but there is Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the cupcake frosting, and on the dots running across the ATC, behind the scallop and the flowers. I used an Essential Glue Pad to stamp the dots and then sprinkled on the glitter.

I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder from Cuttlebug to emboss the pink panel and decorative scissors to make the scalloped border. I finished it off with a piece of Soft Sky ribbon tied to a flower ribbon slide from SU!

This card is for my great niece's 3rd birthday. She is the sister of Benjamin, the recipient of the keepsake from my last post. I'm sure she will enjoy her birthday after all of the festivities for her brother! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU Short and Sweet
Ink: Stazon Black Pad, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, and Real Red markers for watercoloring
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Soft Sky DSP
Extras: Essential Glue Pad, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 2 way glue, Three for You and scallop punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, scallop decorative edge scissors, Soft Sky double stitch ribbon, SU! flower slide ribbon, flat back pearls, rhinestone

Vintage Christening

2008-04-20T19:02:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the baptism of my niece's son, Benjamin. The babies in our family use a gown that my paternal grandmother made in 1902 for my uncle's birth. My father, my brother and sisters, most of my nieces, nephews, their children, my children, and I were baptized in it. So this image from Buggies and Booties from SU! is perfect.

Several years ago at convention, SU! demonstrated making a baptism record using this set. This is my version of it. I made a pink version for my niece when her daughter was born 3 years ago, so I made her one for Benjamin too.

This is actually quite easy. The gowns are stamped in Stazon on watercolor paper and watercolored with markers. I used Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, and Apricot Appeal. I distressed the edges, mounted them on torn Barely Banana panels and tied off-white narrow organdy ribbon around the bottom of each panel.

I die cut 3 tags from watercolor paper and stamped them with date, time and place on each tag, using markers to color in the words I wanted. Then I wrote in the date, time, and church with a grey marker, and tied them onto the ribbons with a length of crochet cotton.

I really wanted to be able to have an embossed background because I wanted the vintage look that embossing would lend. The Cuttlebug folders are only about 4" by 5 1/2", and the Cuttlebug is only about 6" wide, so I wasn't able to emboss the entire sheet. I thought about cutting and piecing the background, but I really didn't want any seams. So, I got out my rolling pin and placed my folder on my large sheet and rolled away. It was pretty hard work, and I had to do it 6 times, moving the folder to a new section each time. The embossing didn't come out nearly as crisp as when it's done in the Cuttlebug, but I was pleased with how it turned out; sort of a "distressed" embossing.

The frame is from Walmart, $9.99. In the corner, I used a Hodgepodge Hardware frame to enclose the baby's name. I attached the frame with some dimensionals and attached some pale blue grosgrain around the corner.

I wanted to create a space, like a shadow box, between the framing glass and the art work, so I attached the glass to the inside front of the frame with my ATC gun adhesive. I tossed all of those filler pieces that come with the frame to help keep your picture against the glass. Mounting the artwork onto the back panel of the frame left a nice space so that the 3 dimensional parts of the project stay that way.

Of course, the baby needed a Christening card, so I used the same gown image for the card. I die cut a tag and stamped the word Blessings from the SU set God's Blessings. The rest of the details for the card are the same as for the baptismal record.

I hope you enjoyed the weekend. We had a picture perfect spring day here in northern Illinois. Spring is finally here! Woohoo! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: SU Buggies and Booties, God's Blessings
Ink: Stazon Black, Going Grey, SU Markers for watercoloring
Paper:Watercolor, Bashful Blue, Barely Banana
Extras: Hodgepogde Hardware, Ivory narrow organdy ribbon, Oval punch, Cuttlebug tag die cut and embossing folder, pale blue narrow grosgrain ribbon

Textured Elegance

2008-04-11T18:42:00.004-05:00

This card was my entry for a VSN challenge on SCS last weekend. The challenge was called Wedding Elegance, and the challenge was to capture the elegance of a wedding. The card did not have to be a wedding card, just be elegant.

I chose to make a card for my husband. He is a wonderful husband, a great dad, and a good provider. Besides, I love him too! ;) I wanted to let him know that.

Using white cardstock, I embossed each end only part way with my Stylized Flowers Cuttlebug folder. In the center, I stamped the sentiment in black.

I tied a length of SU's white taffeta ribbon around the panel and mounted it on black cardstock. I used white cardstock for the base, and completed the card with a Swarovski crystal at the end of the sentiment.

This card was very quick and quite easy to make, but I think it makes a big impact.

I hope you get some stamping in this weekend. I am working, and most of my boys are camping this weekend, including my husband, so maybe I will have some time to stamp. Enjoy your weekend! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Wonderful Words by SU
Ink: Basic Black
Paper:Papertrey Staper's Select white, SU Basic Black
Extras: Cuttlebug Stylized Flowers folder, SU taffeta ribbon, Swarovski crystal

Hoping For Spring

2008-04-08T16:32:00.007-05:00

This is another card I made for the Virtual Stamp Night on SCS. For this challenge we had to use a "sketch" type stamp. So I chose this cute little spring tree from SU's A Tree for all Seasons.

I used markers straight and I also watercolored parts of the image. You can't really see it in the photo, but I used a Spica clear glitter marker on the blossoms. The celery panel is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder, and the tiny tag is a Cuttlebug die. The sentiment is from Papertrey's Mixed Messages.

The last touches were some ribbon and little pink crystals that I got on clearance at Target.

I like how this turned out and I am sending it to a friend who had surgery recently, but I neglected to send her a get well card. Well, it's a little late now; she's feeling much better. So I began the inside of the card with "Just because I'm a dope, and I never sent you a get well card." ;)

We've had a few spring like days since I made this card. The birds sure know it's spring with all the glorious singing they've been doing in the morning. I hope there are some signs of spring where you are today! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: A Tree for All Seasons, Mixed Messages (PaperTrey)

Paper: Confetti White, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou, Porcelain Prints DSP

Ink: Stazon Black, Blue Bayou

Accessories: Markers, Grosgrain ribbon, Cuttlebug tag and embossing folder, Spica glitter pen, Stick-on rhinestones on clearance at Target( I think they were by Marcella), SU Scallop and 1 3/8" punch.

Tickled Pink!

2008-04-06T21:42:00.009-05:00

We are tickled pink! Our son Daniel has been dating his girlfriend for about 4 years now. Suzy has become a part of our family and we think the world of her. She is a sophomore at ISU and has been waiting to hear about her acceptance into the school of nursing. She was recently accepted and we are so happy for her. I made her this card to let her know. She will make a wonderful nurse!

This card was made for another VSN challenge. See my last post if you aren't sure what this means. This challenge, following the fashion theme, was a limited supply challenge. We were supposed to remember our school uniforms and think no bling, 2 stamp limit, only 2 colors of paper, only 2 tools from a limited list, and only 2 accessories from a short list. The challenge is explained here if you'd like to try.

I chose pink and black as my colors, 2 sizes of circle punches for my tools, and brads as my embellishments. These choices ensured a much better look than my Catholic school uniform garb of gray and drab blue scratchy wool plaid! ;)

This first card was blinged up a bit after I posted it on SCS, because it's really hard for me to send out a cute card without ribbon, glitter, and bling! ;) The second photo below is how I submitted it for the challenge. I added the bow, 2 little pink crystals on the ends of the antennae and traced over the sentiment with a clear Spica glitter pen. I'm not that happy with the bow. I would have preferred to have it tied behind that main image panel, but it was stuck on too well.

Hope you have something today that you are tickled pink about. Happy Monday! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Very Punny by SU
Ink: Stazon Black pad, Pixie Pink and Bordering Blue Markers
Paper: Basic Black, Pixie Pink, and Confetti White
Extras: 1/2" and 5/8" circle punches, brads, pink crystals (Target clearance), pink grosgrain ribbon, clear Spica glitter pen
Technique: watercoloring

Fashionable Fish

2008-04-05T12:55:00.009-05:00

You might be wondering why this fish is fashionable.
I've been participating in a challenge stamping weekend over at SCS. It's called Virtual Stamp Night, or VSN. You can read about it here. A challenge is put out every hour that somehow relates to the theme. The theme this weekend is Fashion. You have 45 minutes to make the card.

The challenge for this card was to use thread in your design. I started thinking about this as I was going to bed last night. I wanted to use my sewing machine, so I started thinking about fabric. The SU background stamp, Flannel Plaid popped into my head and I remembered that my niece's husband's birthday is coming up. He is an avid outdoorsman and fisherman. So I thought I would go masculine for this card.

I watercolored the fish with one of my favorite methods; markers scribbled on a plastic pallet and picked up with a wet brush. It's quicker than opening up a bunch of stamp pads, and more transparent than watercolor crayons. I sponged on Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye on both the fish image and the sentiment.

I stamped the teal layer with the Flannel stamp in Garden Green to help tone down the brightness of the teal. I stamped the Canvas background on the small green panel and then I stitched it onto the flannel panel. I heavily distressed the edges of my layers with the distressing tool from SU! to invoke the feeling of flannel.

I had to use my Spica glitter pens on the fish. I used turquoise, olive, lemon, and clear. I LOVE these glitter pens. They have such a fine sparkle. I know that most "men" type cards don't usually have glitter on them, but I couldn't help myself. Anyway, nature has lots of sparkle, and I had to make my fish fashionable, right? teehee.

So, if you have a bit of time this weekend, join in some VSN fun. Anyone can play and the only requirement is to do the card in 45 minutes. That is a challenge, but I find that I can make a nice card in that time. I'm thinking I should limit my time for all of my cards to an hour. I spend way too much time agonizing over every little detail. With just 45 minutes, you can't ditz around with decision making. Decide and do it! That's my new motto.

I hope you are enjoying some lovely spring weather. We are having our first beautiful spring day today here in Northern Illinois. How nice for us that it's on a weekend! Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Nature Prints, It's Your Birthday, Canvas, Flannel Plaid, all by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black and Tim Holtz Tea Dye Distress ink pads, SU! markers in Garden Green, Taken with Teal, Close to Cocoa, and More Mustard.
Paper: Garden Green, Taken with Teal, Basic Black, Confetti White,and watercolor
Extras: Spica glitter pens in turquoise, olive, lemon and clear; SU! cutter kit, circle paper clip, sewing machine, and black thread.

Happy Birthday to my ol' Bro

2008-04-01T17:44:00.016-05:00

I made this card for my brother's birthday. He will be 66 tomorrow.
It's a little hard to believe, but it's OK to say that because I know that he doesn't read my blog!

I was experimenting with the faux shaving cream technique. I first learned this technique at an SU! convention a few years ago.
Take a solid image stamp, (I used a solid rectangle here) and ink it up. Then ink up a wheel in a complimentary color and twist and swipe it onto the solid stamp. Huff on your stamp and stamp it onto your cardstock. I used More Mustard for the solid stamp and Chocolate Chip for the wheel. This is a great Faux Shaving Cream tutorial.
The giraffe and sentiment are stamped in black. The image on the right is a retired SU! wheel that I stamped in Versamark and embossed in gold. A bit of gold cord, a torn edge, and a little distressing on the edge of the giraffe panel add some texture to the card without adding much thickness. Thickness can be an issue when mailing a card.The PO is becoming
more strict at times about the 1/4" rule. Anything over 1/4" thick requires an additional 17 cents to mail. I had been mailing mine with a 41 cent stamp and they haven't been returned. My children have not said anything about postage due either. But I do know of some people who have had trouble.

Stamps: In the Wild, DoubleLine Stitched Plaid Wheel, Batik Wheel, all by SU! and all retired
Ink: Basic Black, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Paper: Basic Black, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Extras: Gold EP, Gold cord

This second photo is of some of the eggs we dyed for Easter. My son Daniel wanted a paint brush for the egg he was dying, so I brought up several watercolor brushes. I wanted to see how an egg would look if I painted it. I chose complimentary colors and just swirled the dye on them. I like how they turned out and they were very easy.

If you haven't noticed, I finally figured out how to post my labels on the side for reference, and I also have a list of blogs I like to visit. Check some of them out. There are some very talented ladies (and gentlemen) out there. Thanks for visiting!

Happy Spring!

2008-03-20T10:52:00.013-05:00

Yesterday I asked my husband if he had seen any robins yet. I hadn't seen any yet, and he told me, rather gloomily, that he hadn't either. This morning, which is a gorgeously sunny but crisp day here, as I was taking the dog for a walk, I saw not one, but about a dozen robins in the field near our house! I guess their flight got in last night. I was so delighted, I told the dog about them. I don't think she cared. ;)

I made up a bunch of these little treat holders for our family who is coming to dinner on Easter Sunday. I thought they came out very cute. I didn't get overly creative on these; I just followed the tutorial by Beate on SCS. You can find it here. They are easy to make, and not too time consuming. I used one of my only Easter sets, a retired set from SU!, Funny Bunny, and a retired SU! wheel, Blossoms and Bugs. I used a bit of Cotton Candy Stickles on the dots and a pink Spica glitter on the nose. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you can see the glitter better. I love those Spica glitter markers! The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Mixed Messages. I had to get that set because Debbie Olsen kept using it on many of her fabulous cards. I love little tags, and this set is perfect for little tags. Debbie is a very talented artist. If you haven't seen her work, check out her blog for some wonderful inspiration.

I have to go enjoy the first day of spring, because we have a winter storm warning posted for tonight and tomorrow here in northern Illinois. They are predicting between 6 and 10 inches of snow. Yikes! Hope those robins brought their overcoats! If I don't post again before Sunday, I wish everyone a very blessed Easter. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Funny Bunny and Bugs and Blossoms wheel by SU!, Mixed Messages by Papertrey Ink.
Ink: Stazon Black, Certainly Celery and Chocolate Chip ink pads, and Pretty in Pink reinker
Paper: Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Confetti White
Extras: SU! scallop punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Lt. Pink narrow grosgrain ribbon, Ranger Cotton Candy Stickles, Pink Spica glitter marker, decorative edge scissors.

Fast Thank You

2008-03-18T20:04:00.010-05:00

This cute little note was a snap to make. It came in a sampler card kit sent to me by Creating Keepsakes. Everything you need to make 5 cards is in the kit. I needed a thank you note for my sister and brother-in-law. This is the sister with whom I did the enrichment club. She said I did all the work, and she was my Vanna, so they took us out to dinner at Roberto's, a nice little Italian place. It was very nice of them to treat us.

None of the cards in the kit require any stamping. This card included an acetate sheet that had the "f" and the sentiment already printed on it. The holes were pre-punched in the acetate and the paper. It even came with a little instruction booklet. The kit came in a solicitation offer: "The card kit is your to keep, just for previewing... blah, blah, blah.

I like the idea of the acetate. I may try some of the new SU! rub ons on some acetate and layer it on a card.

My posts have decreased a bit due to lack of computer time. We only have one computer online right now, and my boys have had a lot of assignments lately for which the internet is required. In fact, I have to finish up this post quickly because Adam will be returning home from Scouts soon, and will need to finish his Biology homework. Can't stand in the way of progress! Thanks for visiting!

Details:
Sampler Card Kit by Lisa Bearnson from Creating Keepsakes

A Special Get Well

2008-03-12T22:13:00.005-05:00

I made this card for my brother-in-law's 86 year old mother, who had hernia surgery last Friday. She is doing extremely well. I worked last weekend, so I popped up to see her on my break on Saturday. She was sitting up in her chair doing a crossword puzzle! I thought maybe they had postponed her surgery, but no, she had it on Friday. She said she didn't like laying around in the bed. So I brought her some flowers on Sunday, and made this card for her on Sunday night. When I went to bring her the card on Monday, she was already moved to the rehab unit. By Tuesday she was walking down the hall. I'm so glad that she is doing so well.

I used SU!'s Fabulous Flowers set on this card, embossing the large flower with Judikins Black Diamond embossing powder. You can see the embossing better in the close up.
The only layer on this card is a piece of BasicGrey from the Stella Ruby collection. I used SU Blue Bayou, Cool Caribbean, and River Rock to coordinate with the colors in the patterned paper.

I cut out the flower and popped it up with dimensionals. A few triangle eyelets to pick up the petal design in the flower and a bit of River Rock ribbon completes this card.
Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a great weekend!

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers and Sincere Salutations, both by SU
Ink: Basic Black and Versamark
Paper: River Rock, Blue Bayou, and Cool Caribbean CS, Stella Ruby DP by BasicGrey
Extras: Triangle Eyelets, River Rock double stitched ribbon, SU keytag punch, Judikins Black Diamond embossing powder

Authentic Birthday

2008-03-07T10:33:00.006-06:00

Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with masculine cards. Since I have four boys and a husband, that could be a problem.

I used SU!'s Stamp of Authenticity set for this card. I created a tag to stamp the order image on. Daniel is our 2nd son, and after I filled in the info on the tag, I thought it would have been cute to put "BOY" under style, instead of his name. I also used Flannel Plaid by SU! on the top part of the card. The bottom background is done with a TP background technique that I found here on Leslie Miller's blog. I like to use it for a quick background, to add some interest, but not any particular design to a piece of card stock. To get the edge on the violet piece, I removed the corner guard from my square steps pocket punch and used it along the edge of the card stock.

I'm sorry that my posts have slowed a bit, but I've had funerals, concerts,hospital visits, and extra time at work this week, so my stamping time has been limited. I am working this weekend, so I may not have time to post. Have a great weekend and don't forget to change your clocks!

Stamps: Stamp of Authenticity, Flannel Plaid, Short Order Numbers, all by SU!
Ink: Basic Grey, Old Olive, Buckaroo Blue
Paper: Marigold Morning,Buckaroo Blue, Vintage Violet, Old Olive, Confetti White
Extras: Eyelets,1/2 inch, Tag Corner and Square Steps Pocket Punch

Greetings from Pittsburgh

2008-02-29T13:37:00.013-06:00

Greetings from Pittsburgh! We arrived safely at about 1:45 AM Pittsburgh time. Coming into the city was beautiful at night. Scott lives just south of the Monongahela River, on a narrow street. His apartment is in an area that was residential many years ago, but his building was converted into a storage building. Last year it was renovated into an apartment, so everything is new. The ceiling is the old, original, dark exposed wooden beams. There is a large window/door across the north side of the apartment that leads to a big rooftop deck. When I took this picture, I was in the kitchen area of the room. The stairs on the left lead to the deck. His apartment is open and bright. I'm so glad we got to visit.

I decided to post a card that I sent to my sister for her birthday. This card uses the retired SU! set, Toucan of My Love. I love this litlle fishy. I also like the color combo of Green Galore and Taken with Teal. I think it makes a card bright and cheery. The silver bookplate frame is attached with a twisted length of DMC variegated pearl cotton.

I thought this card would be a nice bright addition to a snowy, cold day. It snowed all day here in Pittsburgh; a beautiful, fat-flaked snow. Hope you stay dry and warm. Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Toucan of My Love, Dotted, It's Your Birthday
Ink: Green Galore, Basic Black
Paper: Green Galore, Taken with Teal, WW
Extras: Prismacolor pencils, Winsor and Newton Sansodor Solvent, Square bookplate from Remember when, variegated pearl cotton floss from DMC

Friends

2008-02-28T09:48:00.008-06:00

This will have to be a fast post. I am meeting two friends for brunch soon. In fact, they are the recipients of this card. (I did make two; they don't have to share!) I missed our last lunch because I forgot. I'd make a bad socialite! I wanted to let them know how much I value their friendship. I will edit this post with all of the details later. I love Groovy Guava with More Mustard. It's hard to see, but I have some Swarovski crystals on the main image and on the little flowers. I love this card size: 6 5/8" by 3 1/4".

We are off to Pittsburgh today to see our oldest son who is working and living out there, so I won't be posting for a few days. Have a good weekend!

Stamps: Time Well Spent
Ink:Stazon Black Pad, Groovy Guava, River Rock, More Mustard, and Blue Bayou Reinkers
Paper: Groovy Guava, More Mustard, River Rock, Watercolor
Extras: River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon, Spica Yellow Glitter pen, Swarovski Crystals

Kyra's Birthday

2008-02-24T16:21:00.004-06:00

I am very pleased with this card. I tried a new technique for watercoloring with markers. Normally I scribble with my marker onto a plastic pallet and pick up the color with a wet brush or aqua painter. I like this method, but I recently saw a video about a way to use the markers on the paper first and then move them around with your wet brush. So I tried it on this card. I stamped the image 6 times in black Stazon. I kept trying until I was satisfied with my fifth and sixth images. I still have a lot to learn, but I was happy with how this turned out. There is also a good tutorial here on this same method.

On to the rest of the card. After I colored the image, I used some Crystal Stickles on the icing, and some Spica yellow glitter pen on the flames of the candles. I think if you click on the photo to get a larger image you can see the Stickles.

Once the Stickles was dry, I punched the cake out with a Giga oval scallop punch. I don't have a larger oval, so I was unable to mat it with another oval. So I was left with using a rectangle. I decided to round the corners to make them softer; more in keeping with the oval shape. I also scalloped the bottom of the blue panel with my corner rounder. When I finished the panel and flipped it over, I noticed these little indentations created by the punch. I decided to use them in the design. I've seen people use a white gel pen to make mini eyelets, so I thought since I already had the centers, I'd make eyelets.

The little tag was free form cut from a larger tag. A little patterned paper, a pink eyelet, and some lovely wide grosgrain ribbon finished off the card.

Kyra will be 9 and I think she will love this card. I hope so, anyway. I hope you've had a great weekend, and have gotten some stamping time in. I may not post for a few days; I am working Monday and Tuesday, and on Tuesday after work I am driving out to DeKalb to volunteer as a massage therapist. The AMTA is organizing volunteers to offer chair massages to the crisis workers that will be on hand for the students returning to NIU. I am glad to be able to help in this small way and am looking forward to the experience. I will let you know how it goes.

Stamps: Just Celebrate and Amazing to Zany, both by SU!
Ink: Stazon Black, Regal Rose , Certainly Celery, and Bashful Blue, markers
Paper: Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Bashful Blue SU! CS, Patterned paper form Creating Keepsakes All in One Scrapbooking Kit(Target), watercolor paper.
Extras: Giga scallop punch, Pink eyelet, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, silver cord, SU! confetti white tag, dimensionals, Crystal Stickles, white gel pen

Spooky Birthday

2008-02-23T23:01:00.007-06:00

This is a little out of season, but I wanted to show you this card that I made for my youngest son's birthday last fall. I really like this technique, and this card was inspired by a lovely card by Zindorf.

I knew I had a hit with this card when my son opened it and said, "Oh, cool!"

Let me tell you how I made it. First, I stamped the trees and bat in Versamark on Apricot Appeal and embossed them in black. Then I stamped the moon in versamark and embossed in clear. The next step is the cool part. I brayered over the entire panel using a Late November Spectrum Pad, wiping the excess ink off of the moon when I was finished. I sponged in Old Olive for the ground.

This technique is called emboss resist, and it can produce some very dramatic results. I hope you don't mind this rather abrupt change of seasons. but I really like this card, and since I wasn't blogging when I made it, I thought it would make a good post for today. I worked today, then went to my niece's house to get my haircut. Then my hubby and I went out to dinner with my sister and her husband. So that didn't leave much time for stamping. I hope you get some stamping in this weekend. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Sincere Salutations, Canvas, Going Batty Wheel, Simple Shapes

Paper: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black

Ink: Versamark, Late November Spectrum, Old Olive

Accessories: Clear and Black EP, Black Brads

Blooming Gum Covers

2008-02-21T17:04:00.007-06:00

Here is our last project for Enrichment Club. Today was our final class. The girls all thanked me and said that they had a good time. I did too.

Today we made these gum covers. These were sized for Dentyne Ice, or any blister pack gum made by Cadbury. If you have a different brand of gum you may have to adjust the measurements. The Groovy Guava is cut to 5-3/4" by 4". Score along the 4 inch edge at 1-3/4", 2", 4-1/2", and 4-3/4". Fold along those score lines well, and then put just a quarter inch of adhesive along the 4 inch edge and adhere the cover together. The seam is on the back, not at the side like the covers that come with the gum. Use a 3/4" circle punch to clip a little thumb notch.

To color in our blossoms and pot, we used reinkers and a blender pen. We used an orange Spica glitter pen on the centers of the flowers. I tried to catch the glitter in the close up, but it's pretty hard to capture in a photo. You'll just have to take my word; it's purty!

I will miss coming to Enrichment club; the girls are so eager to try new things and they get so excited over all
of the projects. It's so much fun to teach such enthusiastic students!

Stamps: Fun Filled by SU
Ink: Basic Black pad, Groovy Guava and River Rock reinkers
Paper: Groovy Guava, River Rock, Whisper White
Extras: SU River Rock double stitched ribbon, 3/4" circle punch, blender pen, Orange Spica glitter pen..

Color Challenge

2008-02-20T16:35:00.004-06:00

I was working on a design for the girls in Enrichment club tomorrow, and I was trying to think of a color combo I could use. Although I know that Junior High girls love pink and purple, we've been doing so much for Valentine's Day, that I didn't want to repeat those same color combos. I was planning on making these cute Post It Note holders that I found on Emily's blog. I was on SCS and saw that the color challenge for this week is Orchid Opulence, Pumpkin Pie and Certainly Celery. So I used it for our Post It Note holders. I think it came out very cute! I don't think I ever would have put these colors together, or even thought that they would look good together, but they do. Nothing like an SCS challenge to stretch your creativity.
The scallop flower is from the SaleABration set, So Many Scallops. The center of the flower says "your so sweet", but it is really very versatile, because you can always cover the wording and use another image to suit your needs, as I did here.
The pumpkin CS is cut to 7 1/2" by 3 1/2" and scored at 3 1/2" and 4". If you would like to see a tutorial on how to make these, you can see the one on Emily's blog here.
Thanks for coming to visit!

Stamps: So Many Scallops, Define Your Life, Bold Alphabet, Fresh Fillers, all by SU!
Ink: Orchid Opulence, Basic Black, Versamark
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Extras: Scallop, 1", and 3/4" punches, Lt. Orchid grosgrain, dimensionals, The Paper Studio gemstones, Post It Notes.

Trio of Thanks

2008-02-19T10:53:00.005-06:00

When I need a quick little gift, I like to pull out my Fabriano Mediovalis note cards. They are made of a wonderful paper that is ideal to use for water color and are the perfect size for a thank you or quick note. I stamp 3 notes and envelopes and tie them together in a little bundle with a coordinating ribbon, and voila! I have a nice little gift for someone. These three notes I have made over and over again because I love them so much. And they are very easy. The flower is from Petal Prints and the sentiment is from Everyday Flexible phrases, both by SU.
I water colored the flowers in Pixie Pink, Opulent Orchid and Bashful Blue. I added a little bit of Crystal Stickles to the flower centers. The little dot to the left of the sentiment is a Swarovski crystal. It adds a classy bit of bling! I used the same colors on the envelopes, and also added the Stickles. The envelopes are made from the same lovely paper and take the water colors beautifully. I think these notes are a great example of how something very simple can be very effective. Sometimes we get so caught up in layers, ribbon, metal,etc.(all of which I love) that we forget that simple can work too.
Hope you have a nice warm day. It's very cold here today; 4 degrees this morning, but it is beautifully sunny! Thanks for visiting.
Stamps: Everyday Flexible Phrases, Petal Prints
Ink: Pixie Pink, Opulent Orchid, Bashful Blue, Stazon Black
Paper: Fabriano Mediovalis Notecards
Extras: Crystal Stickles, Swarovski crystals by Darice

Another Enrichment Club Project

2008-02-16T22:30:00.002-06:00

I hurried home from work to catch the last of the daylight to photograph our other project that the girls made on Thursday. I had them all bring a picture of themselves. I used a picture of my son Mark from a few years ago on my sample. Well, more than a few, considering he is 17 now. ;)

We used the SU hostess set, Time Well Spent. The page measures 6" by 6".The flowers were colored with Prisma pencils and the large one was cut out. The smaller one was punched out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted with a Rose Red circle punched with the 1 3/8" punch.

We made the holders from jumbo 2" binder clips. I got mine at Staples. We covered these with card stock cut to 3 1/4" by 2". I scored these at 1 1/8" and 2 3/8". If you use designer paper to cover the clip, you probably won't need to score, but the card stock is rather thick and it looks better if you score it. I used Not quite Navy to cover the clip, and as the larger background on the page. I stamped it in black with two of the stamps from Time Well Spent.

Be sure to use a bit of ribbon if you make one of these clips. Tie the ribbon up high, tightly, and double knot it. Then push it down towards the clip. This helps keep the clip prongs tight enough to hold the scrap page.
I hope you like this project. I think the girls' projects turned out well and I am sure that their parents will enjoy displaying them on their desks at work. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Time Well Spent, Wonderful Words II
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Rose Red, More Mustard, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Extras: 1 1/4", 1 3/8", and scallop punches, mustard grosgrain ribbon, Prisma colored pencils, dimensionals.

A Quick Post

2008-02-15T22:15:00.004-06:00

My brother-in-law' birthday is
on Sunday, so I have already missed the window of opportunity to mail this in order for him to get it on time. With the postal holiday on Monday, he wouldn't get it until Tuesday, so I guess I'll deliver it in person on Sunday.
I'm working tomorrow, so I'm going to make this quick so I can get to bed. :)

I pulled out an old stamp set for this card called Close to Nature. I stamped the images in Close to Cocoa on Sahara Sand and punched them with a 1 3/8 " square punch and matted them with True Thyme. The blue panel is Night of Navy, although it looks a bit brighter in the photo. The eyelet is a silver one that I colored brown with a Copic marker. I like this color combo. I rarely have used Sahara, but I really like this combination of colors, especially for a masculine card. A busy weekend ahead; working, visiting Daniel at NU, furniture shopping. Hope you all have a good weekend and get to do some stamping. Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Close to Nature, It's Your Birthday
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Paper: Sahara Sand, True Thyme, Night of Navy
Extras: Silver eyelet colored with Copic Marker E27
Dimensions: 6 5/8"by 3 1/4"

We Can All Use A Little Love

2008-02-14T19:24:00.011-06:00

Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt sympathy to the victims and families of the tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University. NIU is my and my husband's alma mater. None of my children go to school there, but they know many who do. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the NIU community this evening.

On to a lighter note. We had our 5th enrichment club this afternoon. This little guy was our final Valentine's Day project. Didn't he turn out cute? Sorry for the glare on the photo. I was running out of daylight and shot him quickly. He is from SU's Toucan of My Love set. We watercolored him with Orange Peel Twinkling H20s, and filled in the little hearts with Pink Passion marker. We used googly eyes and a clear Spica pen on the hearts. You might be able to see that in the close up photo. I just love those Spica glitter pens. The clear is fantastic. I got mine from Ellen's store, but it doesn't look like clear is available right now. Here is another place I have found litter Pens, and they are on sale too. I wish SU would carry them. The candy is a Nestle Crunch heart which matches SU's PinkPassion perfectly!

Tomorrow I will try to post the other project we did today. I need to get a photo in good light.
Happy Valentine's Day. Go give all of your loved ones a big hug and a kiss. Thanks for stopping by.
Stamps: Toucan of My Love
Ink: Stazon Black
Paper: Confetti White, Pink Passion
Extras: Twinkling H2O's (Orange Peel), Pink Passion Marker, SU small cello bag, googly eyes from Hobby Lobby.

Valentine Care Packages

2008-02-12T21:01:00.007-06:00

I try to send little packages to my kids who are away from home. For Valentine's Day I made up packages of all of the projects we have been making in enrichment club. They don't know I didn't make them especially for them! ;) These area few of the tins we made at our first class. They are straight from Nichole's blog. The only thing I changed was the sentiments. You can't see very well, but the peanut butter cups say HUGS and KISSES. Nichole sells these cute tins, or you can get them at SpecialtyBottle.com. The stamp set is from Papertrey and is called Sweet Love. It has nugget labels, ovals that fit in the SU punches, and lots of little words to customize your look. I used Crystal Stickles, but it picked up the Pomegranate ink and turned red. Sort of a custom Stickles color!
I sent these tins, a sour cream container, a covered Hershey bar, a little Nugget Tag Tent, and a Tic Tac holder. I thought they made a cute box full of treats. Tomorrow I will be busy making sour cream containers for the secretaries' desks at my hubby's work. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: PaperTrey Sweet Love
Ink:Purely Pomegranate
Paper:Very Vanilla, Purely Pomegranate
Extras: Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, circle and oval SU punches, scallop scissors, Crystal Stickles

A Little Kindness

2008-02-12T11:13:00.001-06:00

My hubby came home from work yesterday and asked me if I could make "a little something" for someone at his work. He and his staff are having a day to show each other a little kindness. Kind of like a RAK day I guess. Many people are doing candy, and he thought maybe I could do a candy sleeve, but the woman he is giving to is very allergic to many things, so he decided to stay away from food. So I thought of a beaded pen. He liked that idea, and then I thought of a little gift set ala Emily. She is a great stamper and has a wonderful blog with lots of ideas. She combines a beaded pen and a post it note holder to make a small gift set. I cut my card stock to 7 1/2" by 3 1/2" and scored it at 3 1/2" and 4". I used SU's Love It set for the Tempting Turquoise flower and embossed it with the matching template. I attached the flower with a dimensional so that it would hold it's shape. I used a 1 1/4" circle punch to cut it out and matted it with a 1 3/8" Yo Yo Yellow circle. Then I framed that with a Green Galore scallop. I wasn't sure what sentiment I was going to put on the holder and then I remembered my Define Your Life set that I haven't even cut out yet, and I figured the kindness definition would be perfect. For the beaded pen, I used Little Pieces in turquoise, green galore, and yo yo. I used the SCS tutorial on beaded pens. I got my mini micro beads and O So Sticky tape from PennyWiseArts.com. For a great tutorial on the post it notes, go to Emily's blog here. Thank you Emily, for all of your great ideas! If you go to her blog, be sure to look around at all of her great work. I hope the recipient of the gift will like it. Perhaps it will bring a little bit of the hope of spring on a snowy, cold day. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Love It, Little Pieces, Define Your Life
Ink: YoYo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Green Galore
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, YoYo Yellow, Green Galore, WW
Extra: Love It Classy Brass Template, Empressor, O So Sticky Tape, Penny Wise Arts Mini micro beads, SU 1 1/4, 13/8, and scallop punches, black gingham and green apple grosgrain ribbon.

Sympathy

2008-02-11T22:03:00.002-06:00

My hubby and I each needed some sympathy cards, and they were for both men and women, so I came up with this design. I think that it is suitable for either a man or a woman, although the ribbon does make it a bit feminine.

I stamped the sentiment on a Very Vanilla panel and adhered that to a panel of Bordering Blue. The large Mellow Moss panel is stamped with SU's Floral background stamp and then I ran it through my Cuttlebug. After setting the Mellow Moss eyelets, I wrapped some Ivory narrow organdy ribbon to finish the card. I was happy with how they turned out, but sad that we needed to send them. I like my sympathy cards to be rather simple. Somehow they seem more comforting that way. Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Brighter Tomorrow, Floral background
Ink: Mellow Moss, Basic Black
Paper: Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue, Very Vanilla
Extras: Cuttlebug, Eyelets, Organdy ribbon

Hearts, Hubs, and More Hearts

2008-02-09T20:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was the Heart Hop dance at school and my freshman went with two girls. Well, one was his date and the other girl wanted to come too. I'm glad they feel they can go as a group. They had a great time. Adam managed to rip his tie while dancing. Not exactly sure how that happened. The girl that would have asked Mark first was out of town this weekend and Mark decided he didn't want to hurt any other girls' feelings by saying yes to one and no to the others, so he decided not to go with anyone.

My poor hubby spent all of Saturday and a good portion of Sunday after church laying on the cold garage floor changing the brakes on the Astro. Normally this is a 2 hour job, but he was unable to get the hub off one of the rear drums. He was hammering, drilling, blow torching, banging, pounding, using penetrating oil. Everything he could think of. He finally got it off early this afternoon. He was frozen since the high was about 5 degrees today. I felt so bad for him.

And finally some more hearts. Here are the projects we made on Thursday at Enrichment Club.

The first project we made was the candy bar sleeve. I cut card stock to 5 1/2" x 6 1/4". With the 6 1/4" edge on the vertical, I scored it at 1" and 3 5/8". This allows for the seam to be off center and will make punching the notch much easier. Before assembling it, we wheeled it with the jumbo Adoring Hearts wheel in Pink Passion. The Pixie Pink tag is stamped with Be Mine from Have a Heart. We punched the tag and threaded both ends of the ribbon from behind and tied it in front. Before we put in the Hershey bar, we punched a notch with the 1 1/4" circle punch.

Our second project was a match book M&M holder. This used the frog image from the same Have a Heart set. We colored them with Prisma colored pencils and matted with Green Galore. The Pink Passion card stock was cut to 8 1/2" x 3 1/4". It is scored at 3/4", 4 5/8", and 4 7/8", and stamped with the little heart from Toucan of My Love. This holder uses the Fun size M&M packets. This gets stapled under the short fold and the other end gets tucked under the short fold like a matchbook.

The third project is a sour cream container. To begin we took a quarter sheet of card stock and stamped it in Pixie Pink with the Herringbone background stamp. Then we rolled it into a tube with the 4 1/4" edges overlapping. We pinched one edge and glued it shut. We added Hershey kisses and pinched and glued the other end closed, with this edge being perpendicular to the bottom edge. Then we punched a hole in the top edge. We stamped a tag with the tag from Happy Heart Day, threaded it onto a heart shaped paper clip that I found at Target a few years ago, and tied it onto the top edge with black gingham ribbon.

Swap from Sherry

2008-02-08T22:58:00.002-06:00

This beautiful card is a swap from Sherry. Don't you love the colors?
Sherry used the Sale A Bration set Merci. It's a perfect set for watercoloring, as Sherry did here. I love the wide grosgrain ribbon she used. I never ordered any because I thought I wouldn't like it that wide. But this card has changed my mind! I just put some on my latest order. ;)
I didn't get a chance to photograph the latest projects from my after school club. I prefer to take photos during the day because of the better light, and I ran out of day light after work today. I'm hoping to get them photographed tomorrow.
Hope you all have a nice weekend and are able to get some stamping in. Tomorrow will be a great day for stamping here northern Illinois; I think the high is supposed to be 7. Brrr! Thanks for stopping by.

Swap from Jen

2008-02-07T18:51:00.002-06:00

This is one of the swaps I received from my Sale A Bration swap. It was made by Jen, and you can visit her website here. She made this cute Hershey bar candy slider. It's made the same way that the Kit Kat slider I showed last week is made. Here is a tutorial for making one. I love the pink and brown that she used. They go so well with Valentine's and chocolate!
I had my after school club again today. The girls get so excited about making things. It's fun to watch them. We made some cute projects that I will try to post tomorrow after work. Hope you get some stamping in tonight.

Sale A Bration Swap

2008-02-06T20:12:00.001-06:00

We have had a snowy, blustery day here today. The bulk of the snow came after the kids left for school, so they were disappointed that they did not get a snow day today.

Here is a card I made for a Sale A Bration swap I participated in. I used So Many Scallops and Lots of Thoughts. So Many Scallops has 4 different stamps that can all be punched with the scallop punch. I used SU Bali Breeze Designer Paper, and Groovy Guava, Bashful Blue, and River Rock card stock. The center of the scallop has a Three for You punched flower and is finished with a half back pearl. I used SU's taffeta ribbon for the first time on this card. It's a lovely ribbon; very elegant.
The second photo shows the layout of the card better; the front of the card doesn't go all the way to the right, and the DP is on the inside of the card.

If you haven't seen the Sale A Bration sets you can earn for free, go to the Stampin'Up! website to check them out.

Hope you enjoy this little breath of Spring on this chilly wintry day! Once I get the permission from the other swappers in my group, I hope to post the other wonderful creations I received. Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Lots of Thoughts, So Many Scallops, Little Pieces
Ink: Groovy Guava, Basic Gray, Versamark
Paper: Bali Breeze DP, Groovy Guava, River Rock, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Extras: Key Tag, 1/8", Scallop, and Three for You Punches, Pretties Kit, Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit

Quick Thank Yous

2008-02-03T18:39:00.001-06:00

My son Mark, who is a junior in high school, was involved in a Valentines for Veterans card making event last week. He helped organize and run it as a part of student council. One of the administrators asked if he could write thank you notes to the parent volunteers. So he asked me to make some for him. I wanted something simple, but classy looking. I choose the cherry blossom from SU's Artfully Asian. I watercolored the image with Twinkling H2Os using Playful Peony for the blossoms and Moss Green for the leaves. I like using the Twinkling H2O's because you get a little bit of bling without any additional steps. I tried to get a close up of the blossoms so you could see the "twinkle", but my camera was not cooperating. I used Fabriano Mediovalis Notes and matching envelopes, which I also stamped and watercolored. I like to watercolor and find it relaxing, and these were especially easy; I did all 20 of them while watching a movie last night with my DH and one of my sons.
Well, I'm off to bed early again tonight as I have to be at work at 6:00 and we have another snow advisory overnight with 3-5 inches predicted. So I'm preparing to get up extra early to allow for a longer commute. Hoping you are staying warm and dry!

More Enrichment Club

2008-01-29T18:57:00.000-06:00

Here is another day's worth of project from my after school club. We made a Tic Tac holder, a Kit Kat Slider and a Hershey Nugget Tag Tent. This day's stamping went much quicker than the last group of projects. The girls really love the to use the punches.

The following picture shows the projects open. We used Hit Mints instead of Tic Tacs. They are available at Walgreens and they come in a package of 4 for a dollar. Can't go wrong on the price! They are perfect for a make and take or a club. I got the idea from Angie Kennedy Juda who has a tutorial on her blog. The slider directions can be found here.
I used those basic directions, but we did not close the bottom of our sliders. I got the idea for the one piece tag tents here. The measurements I used were 4.5 x 1.5 inches, scoring at 1.75 and 2.75. Then I used the tag corner punch on all 4 corners.
I had fun making these and so did the girls. I hope you enjoy them too.

Tic Tac Holder:
Stamps: Much Love Ink: Pixie Pink
Paper: Black, Pixie Pink, and WW
Ink: Pixie Pink
Extras: Scallop punch, Black gingham ribbon.

Kit Kat Slider:
Stamps: Teeny Tinies, Mistletoe Wheel
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Rose Red, Real Red, WW
Extras: 1/4" punch, Red Grosgrain ribbon.

Nugget Tent:
Stamps: Terrific Tags
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Real Red and WW.
Extras: White grosgrain ribbon, Large Tag and 1/8" punches.

Enrichment Club Projects

2008-01-25T21:26:00.000-06:00

These are two of the projects we made at the after school enrichment club I teach at my sister's school. There are only 8 girls this year, so that makes it easy. It runs for 6 weeks. We do 3 projects each week. We made these last week.

For the little mint patty basket on the left, I used Cambria's directions here.
These baskets are so cute. I will probably make some for my DH to take to the secretaries at his work. I'll also send some to in a care package to my kids whose are away. I have one son, Scott, our oldest, who lives and works in Pittsburgh. Our second son, Daniel is away at school at Northwestern. Daniel has a long tine girlfriend, Suzy, who is away at Illinois State. She is like a member of our family, so I always send her a care package too.

Stamps: Petite Patterns, Party Punch, Riveting Ink: Rose Red Paper: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White Accessories: SU scallop, 1 1/4' and 1 3/8" circle, and SU Tab punches, scallop edge scissors, pale pink grosgrain ribbon and Pearson Chocolate Covered Mint Patties,

The Bag A Lope is filled with starlight mints. I used a standard business size envelope. I really like using the word window punch to make a hanger for the tag. The girls enjoyed making these, and especially using the punches.

Stamps: Love Ya Ink: Pixie Pink, Real Red Paper: SU WW, Real Red, Pretty in Pink Accessories: Tag, Small Tag, Word Window, and Double Slot Punches, Scallop scissors, gold cord, and red grosgrain ribbon

A Beginning

2008-01-24T20:41:00.001-06:00

I made this card for a coworker whose birthday is on Saturday. I followed Beate's Weekend Sketch Cahallenge 31 http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/01/18/weekend-sketch-challenge-31/
Sorry, I haven't figured out how to post a link with just a neat little word yet!

It is my first time participating in her sketch challenge. I had to make a larger card to allow for more room for good wishes, since several people will be signing it. The card is 5"x 7". I used the large flower from SU's Embrace Life for my focal point and the sentiment is from Sincere Salutations. I stamped the flower in Stazon black and water colored it with my WWC. I sponged around the flower with More Mustard ink, but I thought it was a tad too dark. So I took a wet paper towel and removed some of the ink to lighten it a bit. I doubled matted it with Rose Red and Regal Rose. The final touch is a pink rhinestone from K and Co. in the center. The River Rock flowers are punched with the Three for You punch and are embellished with Orchid Dew Drops. They are attached to a Regal Rose panel that I embossed with my Cuttlebug. The patterned paper is from an Old World Mat Stack by DCWV. The paper was only 6" wide and my card is 7", so I cut it and separated it underneath the Rose panel. The sentiment was punched with the SU Key Tag punch and matted with Rose Red. I used the horizontal slot punch on the sides of the tag to make a slider for the ribbon. I was pleased with how this came out. I don't have much experience with using DP.
I hope Bharti enjoys her card, and I hope you do too. Thanks for looking! I am working tomorrow, and the weekend too, but I am hoping to post some projects we did in my after school class that I am teaching at my sister's school. Happy Birthday Bharti!