an anniversary card

I had so much fun today!!!! I got to spend the morning with some very fun ladies at my local library, and teach them how to create hand-stamped cards. We got to know each other a little bit, learn a few techniques, and create three cards.
The last card we made featured a background stamp, a technique called "masking," and the finished project gave my Big Shot quite a workout! 

After dry embossing the Raspberry Ripple layer with the new Decorative Dots Embossing Folder (a FREE Sale-a-Bration choice!), I adhered it to the Crumb Cake card base. The Very Vanilla layer is die-cut using the Top Note die. Then I used a large "sticky-note" to cover the bottom portion of this layer, and stamped the En Francais background stamp in Crumb Cake ink onto the top portion. After removing the "sticky-note," I stamped the anniversary sentiment from the Express Yourself (hostess) stamp set. There are so many great sentiments in this stamp set, and during class several other ladies chose a different sentiment to stamp onto the bottom of the die-cut. 

After attaching a strip of Crochet Trim, I attached the Top Note layer and started adding hearts. The DSP heart and the Crumb Cake heart are courtesy of our two heart punches. The stamped heart and the Raspberry Ripple heart were die-cut using the Hearts a Flutter Framelits. And a Basic Pearl adds the perfect "ta-da" to the finished card.  :}

gotta love the Mojo...

...Mojo Monday that is! Every week they put up a great sketch, and this week's sketch really caught my eye. I played around with several cards, and here's the one I liked best: 

The leaves I used for the circular area on the sketch are a little large, so I omitted the sentiment banner to keep it from looking too "busy." 

To create the leaves, I simply die cut Very Vanilla card stock using the Autumn Accents Bigz die through the Big Shot. Then I inked (More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade) three leaves from the Wonderfall stamp set, and did a little maneuver that's like stamping upside down. All you have to do is ink the stamp, and then lay it on it's back/ block with the rubber facing up. Align your die-cut leaf over the inked stamp, and press down. I like to use a spare block to press evenly.
Can you believe that I didn't use any ribbon or even buttons on this card??? Crazy! But I really liked how the leaves looked so crisp and stood out, so the only "embellishment" I added was some paper piercing around the edge of the Lucky Limeade layer.

Well, I'm off to tackle some more stamping projects... I actually had a dream last night that I was making cards! How silly. Let's see how it influences today's creativity! :}

CASEing the cattie for Fall

It's Friday, it's Friday!! I think I'm going to sleep in tomorrow until... like, 6:30 or 7 -- ha!  I'm sure the boys will be up before that. Do your kids always wake up early on weekends, even though it's torture to get them up on school days? Aaagh! Oh well... more time to stamp, right? 
My up- up- upline does a really great job of utilizing the projects in the catalog as inspiration during her stamping time. The card on p178 really grabbed her attention, so she "CASEd" it to make a Fall card. I liked her CASE so much, that I CASEd her card to make my own version for Fall.  :}

stamp sets: Friendship Preserves, Perfectly Preserved 

ink: Island Indigo, Early Espresso 

card stock: Raspberry Ripple, Core'dinations Early Espresso, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla, More Mustard 

DSP: Orchard Harvest 

Embossing Folder: Woodgrain 

Framelits: Window Frames, Apothecary Accents 

punch: Small Oval 

embellishments: 1/8" Mini Brads

** a few TIPS: After embossing the Core'dinations card stock with an Embossing Folder, remove it carefully from the folder so that it doesn't tear. I snipped the end of the strip after embossing it, because the skinny points will be more likely to rip if they are trimmed prior to embossing. Use the Sanding Block very gently to expose the inner core color.

Thank you for dropping by my blog today. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Happy 1st day of Fall!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus 

stamp set: Itty Bitty Banners

ink: Early Espresso, VersaMark

card stock: Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla

DSP: Orchard Harvest

Naturals Designer Button, Linen Thread

Bitty Banners Framelits, Autumn Accents Bigz Die

Stampin' Emboss® Powder: Gold 

Autumn... the year's last, loveliest smile. 
~William Cullen Bryant

beautiful wings

I found another clean and simple card sketch that I just love. 

I seriously love how "clean" and "not fussy" this card looks! And it only took a few minutes to put together  :}

I started with a Crumb Cake card base, and then added a 3-1/2"x4-3/4" layer of Summer Starfruit card stock. My sentiment is from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set. I "inked" the stamp with a Primrose Petals Marker, and using a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I stamped the bottom "happy birthday" onto the Very Vanilla card stock first. Then I repeated the process using a Raspberry Ripple Marker for the top-most "happy birthday." For the middle "happy birthday," I inked the entire stamp using the new firm-foam Summer Starfruit ink pad. Then I die cut the banner using one of the Bitty Banners Framelits.

I die cut my card stock butterflies with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit... sooooo pretty. Can you believe I didn't use any Stampin' Dimensionals on this card???? Crazy!

Before I show you a few more beautiful wings, don't forget that today is the last day to be entered into the BLOG CANDY drawing! Click here for the details.

Since I was enjoying the butterfly theme in my craft room this morning, I thought I would whip up a cute little 3x3 card for a friend. 

I used Calypso Coral card stock, ink, and Baker's Twine for this little cutie. The images are from the My Friend stamp set. I die cut two layers of White Waffle Paper using the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die. I'm sad the Waffle Paper retired... you can make some neat things with it. If you don't have any, you can die cut a few layers of tissue paper for a similar look.

And now, for the last "wings" in this post...   Look what I found this weekend: 

This mama robin sure picked a silly spot for a nest! I hope we don't get a downpour before the babies are grown. When it pours really hard, the rain streams over the edge from the upper level and down into the lower level gutter. Plus, this is right outside my door to the backyard... you know, the door my boys and all of their neighborhood friends use 7 million times a day!!! Keep your fingers crossed that we see some of those scrawny little baby birds soon!

Thanks for dropping by today!! Have a fabulous day  :}

new, new, new!

Well, a super busy weekend has turned into a super busy week... I'm really looking forward to the upcoming 3-day weekend! Hopefully I will have all of the drywall dust mess cleaned up by then. That's right, home repair... yuck! So let's look at some prettier things, shall we?  :} 

For my May team meeting, I prepared a Color Chart "sampler" page, and designed three cute projects using tons of new goodies. It's always fun to try out all the new products from the upcoming catalog!  So... what's new???

Two new stamp sets: Itty Bitty Banners and Papaya Collage. Three new colors: Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, and Midnight Muse. Two new Framelit Collections: Apothecary Accents and Bitty Banners. New DSP and Ribbon, too!  :}

New stamp set: Betsy's Blossoms. New stampin' wheel: Betsy's Blooms. Three new colors: Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, and Primrose Petals. New DSP and button, too!  :}

New stamp set: Betsy's Blossoms. Three new colors: Summer Starfruit, Raspberry Ripple, and Primrose Petals. And new DSP!  :}  *Note: I planned this 8x8 page to go with the new 8x8 Scrapbook Albums in the upcoming catalog!!

I have to say, I prefer the creating of the new projects in my stamp room over creating new sections of drywall in my ceiling and walls, but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do! And by that I mean, calling a handsome fix-it guy to do the repairs!  ;)

You know, you could be stamping with these brand new goodies too! There are all kinds of perks to joining the Stampin' Up! family. I would LOVE to have you as part of my team. Click here to learn more  :}

And last but not least, you can find full views of the front of each project - as well as other projects from my team meetings - on my Facebook Page. Thanks for stopping by today!!  :}

a busy day!

Holy Moly! I can't believe how busy my rummage sale was today... I can't even imagine how busy tomorrow is going to be! I was worried that I wouldn't get time to stamp at all today (again), but there was a little break around lunchtime. Sooooo, I had a few minutes to whip up a cute little card  :}

I am in love with the new "In Color" Raspberry Ripple... and it looks so great paired with Summer Starfruit and Early Espresso. Then I threw in a touch of Primrose Petals, just for fun  :}

The images from the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set are so stinkin' cute! Snipping out the branch image was a little fussy, but totally worth it!

Well, I better whip up some supper and get to bed early... tomorrow is probably going to be crazy!

Betsy's Blossoms sneak peek

Did you ever end up almost late for something because an idea jumped into your creative brain, that you just had to make right then? That's totally what happened to me this morning! While I was eating breakfast, an idea for a card flew into my head using the new Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.

I could picture this pretty little creation and each detail, and I knew it would only take a few minutes...  I stamped a simple background using Raspberry Ripple ink and card stock. Then I tied two pieces of Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon around that layer. For added interest, I adhered the background layer to the Early Espresso card base using Dimensionals.

For my focal point, I stamped the largest flower in the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set in Summer Starfruit ink onto Very Vanilla card stock. I wasn't crazy about how it looked punched out with a circle punch, so I took a few seconds and hand cut this pretty blossom with my Paper Snips. After adhering it to the card with Dimensionals, I added a Large Basic Pearl to the center for that perfect finishing touch.

Luckily I made it to my youngest son's Mother's Day program at school... just in time. The 4K teachers at the school do such a wonderful job! The kids sang songs about Mommies, sat with us for a story time, and served us muffins and juice. We even had a lovely "corsage" waiting for us when we arrived!

Such a clever project! Who knew you could make a styrofoam cup so cute??! Love it  :}

Create

Happy Friday!! I have a quick post for you today... a pretty card that I made just for fun.

Lots of wonderful new goodies on this card! The Layered Labels stamp set and the Apothecary Accents Framelits are going to get lots of use in my stamp room!

For those of you who know me personally, or have been reading for a while, you know how much I LOVE playing with color! So when SU releases new In Colors, I'm like a kid in a candy store! I used Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals, and Raspberry Ripple on this card. I also added Early Espresso and Very Vanilla to help pull it all together.

Speaking of creating... it's always fun to watch the delight and enjoyment children get from paper crafting.

Yesterday afternoon, I had a good time working with my boys and my neighbor's children. They each got to make two cards for Mother's Day. They did a fabulous job of listening and following directions, and the teamwork was wonderful! It's always nice to see kids helping each other, especially when they do it on their own. There will be some happy Moms and Grandmothers on Sunday!!