Convention 2011 - Day 3

Another fun-filled day!! Head on over to my Facebook page to see more photos from today :)

Convention 2011 - Day 2

My face hurts from smiling so much! We had a wonderful day full of announcements, surprises, friends, and music. Head on over to my Facebook Page to see more photos!

Convention 2011 - Day 1

WOW!! What a great day!! I am exhausted, but I don't think I will sleep tonight... I'm too excited to see what tomorrow will bring!

I posted a ton of pics on my Facebook page, and I'll be adding more as Convention rolls on :)

'twas the night before Christmas...

Well, it feels like it for me anyway! The new Idea Book and Catalog goes live tomorrow at 1pm Central time. I can't wait!!! I am really excited to have all of my stamping friends over tomorrow evening to celebrate with me at my "Garden Party."

I thought I would throw in a quick post tonight of a project from a recent workshop. This big tag would be great to tie on the handles of a gift bag. Enjoy!

9 year anniversary

Nine years ago today, my husband married his better half ;)
All joking aside, I am so blessed to have such a wonderful partner and best friend. Here's the anniversary card I made for him today...

I used Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, and Rose Red card stock. The two stamp sets used for this card are Grateful Greetings and Punch Potpourri. I spritzed the Night of Navy card stock with my shimmer mixture: just fill a travel sized spray bottle about half-way with rubbing alcohol, add a few drops of Shimmer Paint (I used Champagne Mist on this card), and mix. I like to spritz a light layer, let it dry a second, and add another layer. Sooooo pretty!!

Card Template 1

I am really looking forward to my technique class on Tuesday! I will be sharing 5 card templates, and then everyone gets to make a card for each template. Plus, they get to keep a copy of the card templates for inspiration, so they can create more cards at home. *Smile!

Here's the the first template I created:

And here's the card we will be making:

Supplies: Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, and Whisper White card stock; Sunny Garden DSP; Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon; A Flower for All Seasons and Happy Greetings stamp sets; Blender Pen; Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, and Peach Parfait ink; 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch; 1-3/4" Circle punch; 1/16" Circle handheld punch.

Simple Gift Tag

I love that I can use the goodies in my stamp room to make cards and gifts. Recently I gave some of my hubby's homemade wine (yum!) as a gift. I grabbed my stamps and ribbon and whipped up a cute little tag.

Supplies: Just Believe stamp set, 1-1/4" Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, 2-1/2" Circle punch, circle punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack

Happy Father's Day!!

I got to spend some stamping time with my boys {Ben- 7yrs, Aaron- almost 4} this morning :)
We stamped Father's Day cards for my wonderful husband. He's such a great father! Our boys will have great memories to share with their children one day. I'll let you figure out on your own who made each card ;)

The colors retired long ago. We used two stamp sets to make our cards this morning: Bugs & Kisses (116580) and All Holidays (114916). Both of these stamp sets are on the "Last Chance" List, so they are only available until June 30th. Get them before they're gone!

Happiness Always cards

Every month a pretty magazine arrives in my mailbox from Stampin' Up! This demos-only publication is FULL of great ideas and projects. I fell in love with a card in the May issue, and had to make it right away. It uses some of my favorite products: the Top Note Die, Tangerine Tango and Wild Wasabi embossing powder, and the Aqua Painter®. I LOVE using the Aqua Painter® to watercolor stamped images!! Just be sure you either heat emboss your stamped image, or use a permanent solvent ink such as StazOn® before you start to watercolor.

I have been having so much fun using the Flower Fest stamp set from page 20 of the Summer Mini. For these cards, I stamped the largest flower in VersaMark® ink onto Confetti White card stock, and heat embossed with Tangerine Tango embossing powder (123106).  The leaf image is also stamped in VersaMark® ink onto Confetti White card stock, and then heat embossed using Wild Wasabi embossing powder (123224).  I used my Aqua Painter® with Wild Wasabi ink to lightly brush a little color onto the leaves. For the flower, I used my Aqua Painter® with So Saffron and Tangerine Tango ink to dab color randomly onto the petals. The flower and leaf images are adhered together, and then attached to the card with Dimensionals. A medium Basic Pearl fits perfectly into the flower center.
The card on the right is my version of the sample in the May Stampin' Success magazine. I cut about three-quarters of the Top Note shape from Greenhouse Gala DSP. Then I rolled the straight edge around a skewer, and adhered the roll down with a bit of Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755). White Baker's Twine (124262) is wrapped around the Top Note shape before adhering it to the card front. The sentiment comes from Happy Greetings (Summer Mini p26), which is a great set with six sentiments :)
The card on the left is the Make & Take from a workshop I did on Monday. I really like the simple ribbon treatment; it's super easy for those of you who are still working on getting your ribbon to tie the perfect knot. The Daffodil Delight 5/8" grosgrain ribbon is simply folded around the Top Note die cut and tied at the top with a bit of white Baker's Twine. Easy peasy... no knot to fuss over. All colors of the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon are retiring, so be sure to get yours before they are gone!

**Mom note: My boys have their own set of Aqua Painter® brushes (103954). If your children like to paint with watercolor paints or use "paint-with-water" books, you must get a set for the kiddos. The water stays in the handle, so there's no cup of dirty water to spill. After my youngest tried a sip (yuck!!) of the paint water one day, I thought I would have to ban painting. I'm soooooo happy I decided to get them their own set of Aqua Painter® brushes!!

Summer Scrappin'

I wanted to share this cute scrapbook layout... perfect for summer! This is the project I had ready for my Scrapbook Club members on our crop night. I used the Summer Splash stamp set from page 17 of the Summer Mini Catalog. The colors are Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, and Whisper White.

The surf board image is stamped in VersaMark® ink, and heat embossed with Tangerine Tango embossing powder (123106) - LOVE this stuff!! I inked the bucket-and-pail image with markers.
To create the "sand," I tore an edge along the long side of a strip of Crumb Cake card stock. Then I sponged Crumb Cake ink along the torn edge. Next I spritzed the strips with the Color Spritzer Tool and a Crumb Cake marker. The last step was to add a fine mist of Gold Glow Smooch Spritz® (118770). Be sure to completely cover your work area before spritzing :)
Other supplies: 1-3/4" and 1-3/8" Circle punches; 2-3/8" and 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punches; Simple Letters Alphabet Bigz Dies (115960) and the Big Shot.
If you are looking for a local group to stamp with, I have a new hostess club starting in July. Contact me to learn more :)