Cards

Hey, Chick!

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Hey Chick.0117I LOVE this stamp set!  I know…I keep telling you this but it’s true!  TSC!  Too Stinkin’ Cute!  I can’t get enough of these chickens!

Ok…I’m done telling you how much I like this stamp set.  What do you think about the “chicken wire”?  I certainly didn’t come up with the idea to use the Hexagons Dynamic Embossing Folder as chicken wire but it certainly works!  I love finding the clever ways other people have used products.  I don’t manage to come up with any of these clever ideas myself but I’m happy to share other people’s creativity.

To make my chicken wire pop on the card I used a sponge brayer and the Crumb Cake ink on it after I embossed it.  Worked like a charm to highlight the raised portions of embossed card stock.

I used the Real Red and Pumpkin Pie markers to color in a few areas of my chicken and basically left the rest of it plain.  I did add just a bit of Smoky Slate and Crumb Cake ink to the body with an Aqua Painter just to add a bit of dimension.  I also added a little Crumb Cake ink by the chicken’s feet to “ground” it so it wasn’t floating in the air.  🙂

Speaking of GROUND….It’s Groundhog Day!  Unfortunately Punxsutawney Phil predicted 6 more weeks of Winter.  Does that make you happy or sad?  We haven’t had much of a winter here in Denver but the mountains in Colorado have been slammed with snow.  What type of winter have you been having where you live?

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Avant Garden Birthday Wishes

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Avante Garden.0117Happy Birthday!  I know it has to be someone’s birthday today so here’s a shout out to you!  🙂

There are so many great products in this year’s Sale-a-bration Brochure.  I love this flower from the Avant Garden stamp set.  It’s kind of fun and whimsical to me.

Isn’t this a fun color combination?  I was going to use the Peekaboo Peach with Watermelon Wonder but I didn’t have a ribbon in Watermelon Wonder that would work on this card design so I had to switch it up to Calypso Coral.  (I told you I have to design my cards around what ribbons are available! Ha!)

I think that if I remade this card I’d add more flowers….maybe fill up the lower portion of the card.  Overall though, I think it turned out nice and I’d be happy to send it to anyone.

If you love this card and want the stamp set remember that you can choose it for FREE during Sale-a-bration just by spending $50!  I LOVE Sale-a-bration!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make it Mine Monday: Dragonfly Dreams

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Inside the Line.0117It’s another episode of Make it Mine Monday.  This week’s card features the fabulous Dragonfly Dreams Bundle.

Dragonflies might be right up there with flamingoes and whales as some of my favorite creatures.  I’m not sure what it is about them but I like them a lot.  How about you?  Do you like dragonflies?

If you’re new to my blog, Make it Mine Monday is a weekly feature where I show you how I took a card that I really liked and switched it up to make it my own design.  Sometimes there at big changes and sometimes not.

Check out the differences between this week’s cards.  The untitledtop card is mine and the bottom one is the one I CASEd.  (Thank you LeeAnn Greff!)  I kept the base of the card the same using the Sale-a-bration paper Inside the Lines as my background.  On my card I chose to use the intricate die cut for my dragonfly and added a strip of card stock on the front for my sentiment instead of the square.

To color my designer paper I used the new Sponge Brayers.  I rolled them on the ink pad and then lightly rolled them on the paper.  Definitely an easy way to add color to the paper.

To get the lighter colored wings on my dragonfly I die cut a second solid dragonfly and trimmed away the body.  Then I lightly rolled both of the colors on my wings and went over the whole thing before adhering them to the back of the intricate die cut wings.

As you can see, the cards are similar yet quite different.  It’s fun to take someone else’s beautiful card and put your own twist on it.  Have you tried this?  If so, share your “make-it-mine” card with me.  I’d love to see it!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Simple Saturday: So Very Much Thank You

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So Very Much.0117A very simple card for Simple Saturday!  It doesn’t get a whole lost simpler unless I had a single layer card.

Do you remember that gorgeous designer series paper I was talking about yesterday?  Well, I used it again on this card.  This is actually the blue Bokeh pattern I mentioned in yesterday’s post.  The Falling in Love Designer Series Paper is GORGEOUS!

I was playing around yesterday and needed to design a card for the church office.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in charge of a group at church who make cards for the church office staff to send out.  The gals in the office just contact me when they are in need of cards and I either get the group together to make the cards or whip them up myself depending on how many cards they need and what my calendar looks like.   My schedule is pretty filled up this coming week so I’m making them myself this time since there isn’t too many.

One of the cards needed was a thank you card.  I have all of my Occasions Catalog stamp sets and Sale-a-bration stamp sets together on a book shelf so I just too a look to see if there were any new sets that would work.  The So Very Much stamp set was perfect for my needs.  Since I’m making a quantity of cards I like to keep them simple and I definitely did that on this card.  Stamp on the card, layer it and pop it on the card front.  Easy Peasy!

The So Very Much stamp set is a Sale-a-bration item that you can choose for FREE with a $50 order!  Woo Hoo!  FREE stuff!  Check out the Sale-a-bration Brochure to see what other great items you can choose for free.  Just click on the Sale-a-bration Brouchure on the right.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

So in Love

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So in Love.0117Is it a Valentine?  Is it a wedding card?  Is it an anniversary card or maybe just a friendship card?  This card could be used for so many different occasions.

I CASEd this card straight from Stampin’ Up!.  We made one just like this at the On Stage event last November except the designer paper was a different color.

Speaking of the designer paper….don’t you love this Bokeh pattern?  I especially love it because it’s PINK!  The card I CASEd (copy and share everything) used a blue Bokeh pattern.  The paper comes in the Falling in Love Designer Series Paper Package.  All of the patterns in this pack are gorgeous!  I love the soft colors.

The gorgeous belly band for the card is made with the So Detailed Thinlits dies.  There are three beautiful, intricate designs in the package.

So I have to ask….do you notice anything a bit strange on this card?  Well, not the card per se but the photography of the card?  When someone took the picture they didn’t check to see that the front of the embellishment was showing….although the back does coordinate nicely with the card….

142791This photo is what the front of the Falling in Love Embellishments look like.  The front is a tad bit prettier than the back.  Ha!

I can’t wait to play more with this gorgeous suite of products.  Have a fabulous day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Balloon Celebration – It’s Easy!

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Balloon Celebration.1216My friend Donnis is celebrating her birthday today so I thought I would share another birthday card from my last Card Buffet.

Once again you can see how Basic Black coordinates with pretty much any color.  It makes everything pop!  On this card I paired it with the beautiful Bermuda Bay.

I used the Balloon Celebration stamp set on this card.  Don’t you love the balloon string made of words?

Here’s a little tip I found when stamping the balloon with the confetti inside….stamp the confetti first, then stamp the balloon.  It seems backwards but it’s easier because the confetti is stamped full strength while you stamp off the balloon before stamping it so it’s a bit easier to see through the photopolymer stamp.

At first I had the balloon focal point on a plain card front.  Then it came to me to use the Softly Falling Embossing Folder upside down so it mimics the confetti in the balloon!  Clever!  🙂

I’ve already wished Donnis a happy birthday on Facebook.  Now I just need to remember to bring her a card at church choir tonight!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Tasty Trucks and the Watercolor Pencils

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Tasty Trucks.0117Since I was talking about the new Watercolor Pencils yesterday I thought I should share a card featuring them.  This card is one we’ll be making next week during our Sale-a-bration class.

Don’t you just love this little food truck?  It’s so darn CUTE!  🙂

The Tasty Trucks stamp set is a Sale-a-bration item.  That means that it is one of the items you can choose for FREE with a $50 purchase.  How great is that?

I stamped the adorable truck on Shimmery White card stock with Basic Black Archival Ink.  Then I used my Watercolor Pencils to color the image.  When I was done coloring I smoothed out the colors with an Aqua Painter and Blender Pen.  I used the Blender Pen on the smaller areas.  The hardest part about using the new Watercolor Pencils was figuring out which colors to use! Ha!

TSC!  Too Stinkin’ Cute!  Along with the chickens in the Hey, Chick stamp set this little truck is one of my favorite Sale-a-bration items.  What is your favorite?  Leave a comment and let me know!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Stampin’ Up!’s Watercolor Pencils

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141709Have you tried Stampin’ Up!’s Watercolor Pencils?  You should!  They’re fun and easy to work with and THEY’RE ON BACKORDER already!  Oh, no!

Stampin’ Up! isn’t sure when they’ll be back in stock so you will be unable to order this fabulous product after Thursday 1/26.  If you want to make sure that you will get this product when they are back in stock place your order before Thursday.  Once they are back in stock I’m sure they’ll go quickly.

You can order your Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Pencils here!  Order them today!

Now you’re wondering WHY you should order them and HOW to use them.  Back on January 2nd I posted a Stampin’ Up! video on the Watercolor Pencils and how to use them.  Here it is again.  If you think you’d like to give them a try be sure to place your order before Thursday so that you can get them when they are back in stock.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make it Mine Monday: Sealed With Love Notes

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Sealed With Love.1It’s Monday!  Make it Mine Monday!  Woo Hoo!

It’s also time to start thinking about Valentines.  Yep, Valentines.  These cute little 3 x 3 notes are my take on the ones we made at Stampin’ Up!’s November On Stage event.  You can see the ones that Stampin’ Up! designed in the second picture.

The first thing I changed on my little cards Sealed With Love.2was to get rid of the color green.  I’m sorry….Valentines aren’t green.  Save the green for St. Patrick’s Day!  Ha!

Stampin’ Up! used the Sending Love Designer Series Paper for the bases of the cards but I used Thick Whisper White card stock on all of mine.  On the first and third cards I just cut a 3 x 3 piece of designer paper and adhered it to the front of the card.

On the card in the upper right it’s hard to tell from the picture but I colored the wooden Sending Love embellishment red by rubbing the Real Red ink on it with a Sponge Dauber.  Did you know that you could do that?  Yep.  Just make sure to heat set it so the ink dries before you handle it.

Don’t you love the little envelopes in the center cards?  They’re made from the Sending Love Glassine Sheets and the Love Notes Framelits.

Can you see how easy it is to start with something and just change it up a bit to make it your own?  I hope you’re enjoying my Make it Mine Mondays.  Let me know what you think.  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Simple Saturday: Badges & Banners

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Badges & Banners.0816Good morning!  I hope your Saturday is going well for you.  My day is going to entail sitting at my computer entering data that I’ve put off for the past year.  You’d think I would learn to stay on top of things.  I do this every year…..sit down in January and February trying to catch up.  This year…..

I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy my day like the card says but I will enjoy the results when I’m finished.  There is nothing else on my calendar for the day so we’ll see how it goes!

The Badges & Banners stamp set wasn’t one I really needed but once again I saw cute cards made with it and figured I needed to have it.  The stamp set worked out perfectly for my Card Buffet where I want the cards to be fairly easy.  Stamp a few speckles on the card front, stamp the badge, punch it out and layer the card.  That was it!

I used the Moroccan Designer Series Paper on the card.  The great thing about it is that the designs are all similar enough that I could easily change out the paper and the colors for this card and didn’t have to buy too many packages of the designer paper for the class.

I hope you all enjoy your day.  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Love Sparkles

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Love Sparkles.0117When I first saw this stamp set I knew it would be perfect for the Love & Friendship class I held this week….and it was!  🙂

I thought of doing this card in one of my favorite pink colors but remember that when I design a card I have to make sure I have ribbon that coordinates!  I guess I could have done the card in Flirty Flamingo but I wanted to use the Sweet Sugarplum….it’s a nice pinky purple.

I started with the Falling Petals Embossing Folder on the front of the card.  Now…don’t ask me why it’s called falling petals instead of hearts or something.  Personally I think the little designs look like hearts.  What do you think?  To highlight my petals (or hearts) I took a sponge dauber with some Sweet Sugarplum ink on it and LIGHTLY rubbed it over the embossed petals (hearts).  It really made them pop.

To get a little more “sparkle” on my card I used the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper on one layer.  I added a single rhinestone to the heart and then I used my Clear Wink of Stella Pen on all of the little “sparkles” on the word love.  I tried putting a small rhinestone on all of the “sparkles” but it was honestly a bit much.  I hate to admit that….how can you have too much sparkle?  Sheesh!

I hope you all have a sparkly day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A Birthday Adventures Card

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Balloon Adventures.0117You can never have enough birthday cards on hand.  Someone you know just had, is having or will have a birthday soon.  I can’t seem to keep up.  How do you do with sending out your birthday cards?

Today’s card is one we made at my recent Card Buffet.  No punching or die-cutting.  Just a few layers, some designer paper and a quick bow.

It’s easy to come up with a color combination for a card when you start with designer paper.  These two papers are from the Party Animal Designer Series Paper Pack.  This package of designer paper uses fun colors like Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango that you see on this card.  I really like when Stampin’ Up! comes out with new papers because a lot of time they use colors that I don’t often use.   For example on this card….orange isn’t usually my go-to color unless its October and I’m making Halloween cards but it sure makes this card pop!  Pacific Point also isn’t one of my go-to colors.  If I need a blue I usually start with Night of Navy.  I like when I can get out of my box.

Do you have a favorite designer series paper from the new Occasions Catalog?  I haven’t quite decided what mine is yet.  I love the bright colors in the Party Animal package (pg 5) and the Bohek designs in the Falling in Love package (pg. 51)are gorgeous.  The color combinations in the Tasty Treats Specialty package of papers (pg. 33) are yummy and the colors in the Succulent Garden package (pg. 21) are beautiful together.  It’s a really tough choice.  I’ll let you know if I ever make up my mind.  🙂

Have a wonderful, colorful day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Suite Sentiments Friendship Card

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Watermark.1The Suite Sentiments stamp set has some great sentiments in it.  I first shared one of the sentiments here.  The airmail sentiment was perfect for that valentine card I made.

The sentiment I used on this card was another big reason I purchased this stamp set.  I love the font and I love the saying.  Not only can you use it on card just about friendship but you could include it in a birthday card or a thank you card.

If you look closely at the sentiments in this stamp set you’ll notice that many of them coordinate with other stamp sets and suites in the Occasions Catalog.  Check out the full stamp set here and see what I mean.  See if you can link the sentiment with the stamp set or suite that it coordinates with.

It’s hard to tell from the picture but I used one of the swirls from the Swirly Bird stamp set on the Blushing Bride card stock.  I stamped the image with the Blushing Bride ink and it adds a subtle design to the paper which just makes the focal point image pop just a bit more.

I paired this lovely sentiment with the Avant Garden stamp set which is one you can earn for FREE with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-bration.  I stamped the flowers on Shimmery White card stock and colored them in with my Blender Pen and ink pads.  Isn’t it lovely?  As I mentioned the other day, you just can’t go wrong if you pair a color with black.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping.  Have you made out your Sale-a-bration wish list yet?  🙂

Perfect Mix Valentine

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Perfect Mix.0117Valentines Day is less than a month away and it’s time to get busy!  This week I’m holding my Love & Friendship Class.  Here is one of the cards we’ll be making.

I love the Perfect Mix stamp set.  It’s so clever!  This little mixer is one of my favorite images from the stamp set.  What’s your favorite?

This card is pretty simple but SO darn cute!  The designer paper is from the Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack.  The nice thing about this stack of papers is that not all of the images have hearts on them for Valentines Day.  There are a number of non-heart patterns which will make it perfect for the whole year.

I think this week after my classes are over I’m going to sit down and design more cards and projects with all of my Valentines products.  It seems a shame to use them only once.  Even if I won’t be using these projects in a class I can definitely share them with YOU!  🙂

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Make it Mine Monday: Avant Garden

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Avant Garden.0117It’s another fun Make it Mine Monday.  This is a great little challenge for me.  This week I didn’t have any cards on hand that I knew I had CASEd so I went to the internet and started searching for a card to copy.

My favorite place to start looking for ideas is Pinterest.  Sheesh!  You can find almost anything there!  I came upon Mary Brown’s card that you see below and decided to go from there.

I really liked the way she grouped the flowers on her card and how she used only one color ccmc440for the flowers but stamped one off so that is where I began my card.

I could have used Real Red like Mary did on her card but after looking over all of my colors I decided on the seldom-used Rose Red for my card and paired it with the also seldom-used Basic Gray.  I’m really liking that color combination!  What do you think?

I went for the smaller 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ size for my card.  I didn’t want to deal with all of the extra white space on the card.  I’m starting to be ok with extra white space but just wasn’t feeling it for this card.

My images are stamped on Shimmery White card stock for some sparkle and when I didn’t think that was sparkly enough I went over my flowers with my Clear Wink of Stella pen.  You just can’t have enough sparkle, can you?  🙂

I’d like to challenge all of you to give Make it Mine Monday.  Ok…you can do it whenever you’d like but I think you should give it a try.  Find a card you like and switch it up.  I’d love to see what you come up with.  Send me both the card you’re copying and the one you came up with.  It will be fun to see what you all do!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!