Birthday Wishes for Luke and Jake

These two cards are for a pair of brothers whose birthdays are just a few days apart.  I had fun making the backgrounds using the coffee filter prints tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.  I colored the images using Prismacolor pencils and used a solvent to blend.  I hope these bright cards will make the recipients happy!

Stamps: SU Toucan of My Love, Balloon Celebrations, Hooray It's Your Day

Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black, Distress Ink Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean  PTI Orange Zest

Paper: Photo Paper, SU Summer Sun, Gorgeous Grape, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Brushos, Coffee filters, Winsor and Newton Sansodor Low Odor Solvent, SU File Tab Edgelit die, SU Balloon punch

Watercolor Celebration

Good morning!

Yesterday I created this panel for Splitcoaststamper's Watercolor Wednesday challenge number 2. You can find the challenge here.  I joined late so I'm playing catch up.

The challenge was to watercolor using dye inks.  I started out with Marigold Morning, Purely Pomegranate and Melon Mambo inks.  I didn't realize how similar Melon Mambo and Purely Pomegranate are, especially once the inks are diluted a bit with water.  They were too close in color for me so I added Eggplant Envy (remember that color?) over the pomegranate flower.

My panel was 5.5" wide, but only 4" high, so I needed to decide if I should cut it smaller or add to it.  I decided to rotate my image to make a vertical card and add a black strip to the left.  I was planning on using a pink card stock as the base, but I didn't really like it.  I tried Marigold Morning and thought that was perfect.  The sentiment from SU Honey Bee was perfect for this CAS card.

This card will be going to my sister in Ohio.

Stamps: SU Flower Fest, Honey Bee

Ink: SU Purely pomegranate, Melon Mambo, Marigold Morning, Tangelo Twist, VersaFine Onyx Black

Paper: Watercolor paper, SU Basic Black, Marigold Morning

Thanks for visiting! I hope you are able to create today.

Paula 

In My Heart

I was playing around a few weeks ago with Distress Ink and a small Cuttlebug embossing folder which resulted in the panel that is on this card. I used Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade, and tossed the panel in my pile. This morning I had out my Finetec gold watercolor paint and wanting to use up the rest on my brush, I picked this panel and added some spatters and a little outline by dragging my brush along the outside edges.  I really like how the gold brought the panel to another level.  It made me want to use it, so I decided to make a card for my sister Andrea.  She's had a tough year, breaking her hips three times.  She is finally home now, but she lives several states away so I don't get to see her as often as I'd like.  I try to send her a card every few days to let her know she is always in my heart.

I mounted the panel on black card stock and chose Orange Zest CS from PTI for the card base.  I found a scrap cut from a previous watercolor background and added it lengthwise across the card.  It still needed something so I found a sliver of white CS and embossed it several times with one of my oldest and favorite embossing powders, Judikins Egyptian Gold.  I wanted a sentiment that would follow the line, and this one from Summer Hills stamp set by PTI worked perfectly.

Have a creative day!

Paula

Water Color Wednesday Challenge

Hello!

It's been a long time!  I'm now retired and have recently dusted off my stamps.  I'm in the process of organizing and unmounted my older stamps.  While doing so, I visited one of my favorite stamping sites, Splitcoaststampers.  They have started a new weekly challenge - Water Color Wednesday.  The first challenge was June 3, so I'm a little behind. Here is the link for the challenge.

Here is my entry for WCW001

The technique was for an acetate smoosh, but instead of putting your paper on the acetate, you use a second piece of card stock to transfer it to the watercolor paper. This gives you a lot more control.  There is a very well done video in the challenge thread with directions for this technique. It's difficult to see in the photo, but I also flicked on a bit of gold watercolor after my panel was dry.

My original plan was to mount this on a light aqua paper, but it looked too washed out.  I loved the look on the Old Olive and I think it makes a nice masculine card with the deeper color.

Stamps: SU Summer Silhouettes, PTI Birthday Classics October, PTI Tags Its #10

Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Handsome Hunter, Old Olive, Fine Tec Watercolor Luna Gold, VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black

Paper: Canson 90lb cold press watercolor paper, SU Basic Black, Old Olive

Accessories: SU Black Detail Embossing Powder, Crystal Stickers Mosaic 5mm Black

Well I enjoyed playing with my stamps again, and I certainly hope it won't be 9 years before I post again!

Have fun creating!

Paula

A Little Note

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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