Cards

Pedal Pusher!

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Pedal Pushers.0316There’s just something about a tandem bike.  It definitely makes cycling look like more fun than exercise.  I don’t think I’ve ever been on a tandem bike but I have a friend from church who rides them all the time.  Her and her husband actually go on trips all over the world with their bike.  It fold up and fits in two suitcases!  They’ve been to France, Vietnam and all over the U.S..  Soon they will be leaving for the Netherlands to see the tulips!  How fun is that?

This card just makes me smile.  A fun tandem bike and a basket full of flowers.  What more do you need to brighten your day?

I was going to color this image with my ink pads and blender pens.  Then I though…why go to all that work when I have a gazillion perfectly good markers.  I usually don’t grab my markers to color just because the area to color is large and the blender pen/ink pad combo covers a little better but the areas to be colored are pretty small so the markers worked perfectly!  I did have my Aqua Painter on hand to add a little dirt under the bike to ground it so my bike wouldn’t be floating in space.  I hate floating images…Ha!

This stamp set is one of the new Sale-a-bration stamp sets that came out in February.  It’s pretty fun.  Don’t forget that Sale-a-bration ends in just a few short weeks!  Don’t miss out on getting your FREE Sale-a-bration item just by placing a $50 order.  Shop now!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Easter Lamb

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Easter Lamb.0316I LOVE this little lamb!  Isn’t he adorable?  When I first saw him in the Occasions Catalog back in November I couldn’t wait until Easter!

With the combination of the Easter Lamb and the Birthday Bouquet Designer Series Paper how can you go wrong?  The paper is absolutely gorgeous!

I made sure to cut a few extras of this card when I was cutting for class.  I made a few Easter cards but then on a few I left off the “Happy Easter” banner so I could use them as baby cards!  Pretty clever of me don’t you think?  🙂

I’ve been trying to stamp up a storm this week.  I want to plan my next few classes well in advance so I don’t get that last minute panic the week before.  I have my next two classes planned so I’m doing pretty good.  Of course I keep changing my mind on what cards to do in which class but it all works out.  🙂

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Playful Pals Bunny Card

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IMG_7606It’s another bunny card! I guess you can never have too many.  Ha!

This little gal is made with the Playful Pals stamp set.  This stamp set has all sorts of pieces and parts that coordinate perfectly with the Pyramid Pals Thinlits to make all types of adorable creatures but wouldn’t have thought to use the stamps and thinlits to make a little critter on a card.  Just goes to show who’s lacking in imagination! 😉

You may have guessed that this stamp set and the framelits weren’t on my top ten list of things to purchase from the Occasions Catalog…I don’t have a lot of little kiddos around at this point in my life.  But then I received the cards from a swap I participated in and the rest is history….someone had made a little bunny face with the stamp set and the framelits and I knew I had to do the same for my Easter class.

TSC!  Too Stinkin’ Cute!  What more its there to say?  I can hardly wait to make some more fun little critters!  I wonder what I should attempt next…..

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Technique Tuesday: Friends & Flowers Bunny

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IMG_7600You can never have enough bunnies….did I really say that?  OK…you can never have enough bunnies on cards, or stuffed bunnies for little kids but the real ones….yes, you can have enough.    In the spring and summer we can have way too many in our yard and they’re not afraid of us.  They just sit there and look at you with those cute little faces eating our grass.  Good thing I don’t have a garden!

I like bunnies on cards.  How about this adorable little fellow peeking out at you?  He’s from the Friends & Flowers stamp set.  I actually cased the tag portion of this card right from the Occasions Catalog.  I love it when someone else does the work for me!  Ha!

If you’re wondering how to stamp the ears behind the head it’s a simple technique called masking.  I first stamped the little bunny face on my card stock.  Then I punched a 1 1/4″ circle from a sticky note and placed it right over the bunny face.  The next step is to stamp your ears.  The bottom portion of the ear stamps on to the sticky note so when you remove the sticky note you only see the top portion of the ears.  Ta da!  It’s magic and one of the easiest techniques you’ll find in stamping.  It works great when you want to stamp leaves peeking out from behind a flower and things like that.  Give it a try!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Circle of Spring

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Circle of Spring.0316I LOVE it when a plan comes together!  This card turned out beautifully!  If you like the picture, it’s even better in person!  🙂

I saw a similar card and just had to try it.  I love the way the center of the wreath is cut out on both the background piece and the wreath itself.  It’s really striking when you pop up the wreath with dimensionals.

Another thing I love….my new favorite punch….the Curvey Corner Trio Punch!  It just adds so much to a card.  It’s the perfect finish to a card.

This Circle of Spring stamp set has 6 different sentiments which makes it perfect for any occasion.  Guess what?  I’m going to use my favorite stamping word….COORDINATION!  Yep…The Circle of Spring stamp set coordinates with the Wonderful Wreath Framelits.  Woo Hoo!  Coordination!

I have a great tip for you when you use the Wonderful Wreath Framelits.  Instead of stamping your image first you want to die cut the middle of the wreath.  There’s a little “arrow” on the framelit.  Note which direction it’s pointing when you die cut the center.  Now you want to line up the stamp with the “arrow” on the stamp pointing in the same direction the framelit “arrow” pointed.  This should make it easy-peasy to line up the stamp around the die cut center!  If you stamp first and then try to line up the center framelit you can’t really see where things go.  The first time I tried this I was amazed at how much easier it went.  Give it a try!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Hippity-Hoppity Easter’s On It’s Way!

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IMG_7602Can you believe that Easter will be here in a little over 3 weeks?  Yikes!  I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth the effort to get my Easter decorations down from the attic and put up.  By the time I get it done Easter will be here and over!  Ha!

I’ve had my snowmen decorations up since I took my Christmas things down.  They’ve sure looked strange lately though since the temperatures in Denver have been in the upper 60’s for the past 3 weeks!  Sheesh!

Easter is on it’s way and it’s time to embrace it.  Time to get those Easter decorations up and make those Easter cards!  We made Easter/Spring cards in classes this week.

This cute little bunny is made with the Balloon Builders stamp set.  Yep.  Another stamp set I didn’t think I needed but ended up getting because I’ve seen so many adorable cards made with it.  You need to check out this stamp set (pg 14 of the Occasions Catalog).  Looking at all the little pieces you’re thinking “and what am I going to do with this stamp set?”.  Then you look at the bottom of page 14 and see all of the cute critters the Stampin’ Up! artists designed.  After that you go on Pinterest and check out even more cute critters.  That’s when you know you have to have the darn stamp set!  🙂

I can’t wait to try out some of the other cute critters I’ve come across.  I’ll be sure to share.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A Nice Cuppa

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A Nice Cuppa.0216I LOVE all the different suites that Stampin’ Up! has in the new Occasions Catalog.  The Have a Cuppa suite is too fun.  Whether you drink coffee or tea this suite is for you.

The stamp set, A Nice Cuppa, has fun images but the coordinating Cups & Kettles Framelits are even better!  With the framelits you have four different cups/mugs, the tea pot, silverware, a tea bag and some designs for cups.  Wow!

I chose the tea pot and the tea bag for my card.  Once again my design worked best on a 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ card.  Sometimes, less is more.  I turned this card into a birthday card and sent it to a friend who’s birthday is today.   Every year her and her mother go to tea for her birthday so I thought this card was perfect for her.

I’m going to confess that Mint Macaron isn’t my favorite color but the fabulous Birthday Bouquet Designer Paper is making me love it!  The designer paper on this card is from that pack.

Hmmm…just looking at this cute little tea pot is making me want to make a cup of tea.  I guess I better go….

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Birthday Blooms

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Birthday Blooms.0216Can you believe it’s March 1st already?  Unbelievable!  I think it only snowed once, maybe twice here in Denver and the temperature has been in the 50’s and 60’s for weeks with no end in sight!  It make’s me a little nervous for April!  Ha!

Stampin’ Up!’s Birthday Bouquet Suite in the Occasions Catalog is beautiful.  There are so many fun products in it.  The Birthday Blooms stamp set is sweet, the accessories are fun and the Birthday Bouquet Designer Paper is absolutely gorgeous.

On this one card you can see 5 of the 7 products shown page 9 of the Occasions Catalog!  Wow!  Which product on the card is your favorite?  I think I like the Pool Party Glitter Ribbon the best.

Don’t you love the Pleated Skirt Fold made with the designer paper?  I CASEd this card from Becky Roberts but of course had to switch things up a little bit.  You can find her Pleated Skirt Fold tutorial here.  It’s pretty simple once you have the measurements and such.  Give it a try!  The gorgeous Birthday Bouquet designer paper works perfectly for this technique.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Hang In There

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HoneycombHappiness.2.0216We all have days, weeks, even months where we could use a card like this.  A little something to let us know that things will eventually get better.

As I mentioned in my last post I was heading to Chicago for my cousin Don’s funeral.  I left on Tuesday and was suppose to return late on Wednesday.  Well….I got home late in the afternoon on Friday.  Yes.  Friday.  There was weather in Chicago on Wednesday and all of the flights on my airline were cancelled that day.  Luckily I had checked very early in the day as I had a suspicion that this could happen or I might still be in Chicago!  Ha!  Anyway, everything worked out for the best.  I didn’t have anything pressing going on back here in Denver.  I was staying with Don’s sister Sally who I am very close with.  She needed me there so that extra time I was able to spend with her was good.

I think I’m going to send her this card this week.  I had seen a very simple card similar to this and knew I wanted to try it.  I wanted to do something a little different than just coloring the balloon in.  I’ve seen balloons stamped on designer paper that turned out real cute and was thinking of doing that when I came across a scrap of a Red Foil Sheet.  The little light bulb went off in my head.  Would it work?  I could only hope.

I used Basic Black Archival Ink but still had to be very careful when stamping so the stamp didn’t slip and smear.  Even though it’s archival ink I still used my heat tool a little to set the ink and help it dry.  Then I cut it out.  I had stamped the whole balloon image on my Whisper White card stock and then adhered the foil balloon right over it.  Perfect!

I may have to make a few more of these cards to have on hand.  Hopefully they’ll put a little smile on someone’s face even if they’re having a rough time.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A Beautiful Ride

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Beautiful Ride.0216Doesn’t this card just make you smile?  Who doesn’t smile when they see a “bug”.  They’re such a fun and cute car.

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to smile about today.  I’m heading to Chicago.  My cousin passed away this weekend so I’m heading to the Windy City to say good bye.  He had cancer so at least he’s pain free now and in a better place.  The only good thing about these next couple days is that I’ll get to see family.  My parents and sisters will be there from Minnesota and then I have a lot of extended family in the Chicago area who I’ll get to see.

A Beautiful Ride.  I hope I can say that I’ve had a beautiful ride when it’s my time to move on.

I CASEd this cute little card right from Stampin’ Up!’s quarterly magazine.  The concept artists at SU are great!  I wish I was that talented!  🙂

This card is actually made with one of the Crumb Cake Notecards and Envelopes that you can purchase in a package of 20 for only $6!  It’s so fun to actually use Washi Tape on a card.  I don’t use it very often.  It’s one of those things I tend to hoard.  I’m not sure I actually hoard it…I just don’t know how to use it well.  I’m getting better….  What product do you tend to purchase and not really use?

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Who Wants Ice Cream?

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Honeycomb Happiness.0216Honeycomb Happiness is such an adorable stamp set!  I’m guessing that it’s one of the more popular Sale-a-bration stamp sets that you can get FREE with a $50 order.  I know most of my customers choose it.

On this card I paired the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set with the Honeycomb Embellishments from the Occasions Catalog.  How cute is this?  In the package you get four each of white, Blushing Bride and Mint Macaron.  Too fun!

If you’re wondering how to mail a card like this you can do a few different things.  The embellishments come folded in half with adhesive on the back of each half.  You could just adhere one half to your card and leave a note to the recipient on how to open the embellishment.  Or, if you’re like Shannon West from the Stampin’ Up! home office, you could put it all together so it’s full and just smoosh it into the envelope!  Ha!  The honeycomb really adds to the card though.  🙂

I just love the Tiny Triangles Embossing Folder on this card.  Doesn’t it look like an ice cream cone?  This card turned out pretty cute and it could be used for a number of occasions.  Thank you, birthday or whatever!  It just makes me smile!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

 

Grateful Bunch

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Grateful Bunch.0216Lent is a time of reflection.  During this time I am reminded of how grateful I am for my friends, my family, my business and my customers.  The Grateful Bunch stamp set has the perfect sentiments for being grateful.

With the sentiment I used here on the front of my card I can tell someone that they’re totally awesome.  The sentiment that goes on the inside says “and I am totally grateful”.  It says it all.

Once again COORDINATION is the key word!  Woo Hoo!  The stamp set has a coordinating punch!  Stamp the three flowers (all on one stamp) and then punch them out with the Blossom Bunch Punch!  Woo Hoo!  Coordination!

IMG_1430I’ve mentioned before that I get a lot of my card ideas from Pinterest.  I’ll see a card and really like it but then I’ll change a few things.  It’s funny how different the cards can look.  On the right is the card that I first saw (thank you Mary Fish!).  I wasn’t sure about the Crumb Cake card itself so I switched it to the Crushed Curry.  Mary stamped her flowers on Whisper White and colored them in before punching them.  I just stamped my flowers on Crushed Curry card stock and punched them out.  The last change is with the rhinestones.  Mary used the rhinestones as is but I colored mine with a Black Sharpie Marker.  Both of these cards are basically the same yet different.  It’s fun to take a perfectly great card and run with it, making it my own.

You don’t have to start from scratch every time you make card.  Either copy someone else’s card completely or use their card simply as a starting point like I did.

Have a great day and be grateful.

Party Pants! A New Sale-a-bration Item!

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IMG_7542 (2)I LOVE new stuff!  Here is one of Stampin’ Up!’s newest offerings.  Party Pants is one of three new Sale-a-bration items that are available starting TODAY!  🙂

Yesterday was the last day for three Sale-a-bration items (Sky’s the Limit, Hello and the Perfectly Artistic Designer Series Paper) so today they brought out three new items.  The Party Pants stamp set, Pedal Pusher stamp set and Metallics Glitter Tape.   Woo Hoo!

I decided to get a head start on playing with these items and chose Party Pants first.  One of the fun stamps says “put our Party Pants on”.  Too fun!  I got carried away with designing this card.  I actually came up with three different renditions (that you will probably see in the next few days!).

This was my first card.  Easy and fun.  I had a ball playing with the Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim.  I don’t know why I haven’t used it much before.  The secret to using it on a card like this is to cut your trim as long as you’d like.  Turn it over to the back and put a little drop of your Fine Tip Glue on the back of the last sequin on each end.  You want to do this so the thread doesn’t fray and your sequins won’t fall off!

I used my trusty little hand held stapler (from Stampin’ Up!) to put the sequin trim on the banner.  The stapler is another one of those things that I don’t use much that I really should.  It’s fun and easy to use!  The stapler uses mini staples that really look cute on a card.  🙂

The reason I like this card so much is that I used a couple of items that I dug out of my stash that were getting a little dusty.  Sequin trim and the stapler.  I may have to use these items a bit more.

Do you have any items sitting in your craft room that don’t get much use?

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Balloon Celebration…How Can You Go Wrong?

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IMG_7510Coordination!  Yep.  That’s what sold me on the Balloon Celebration stamp set.  There’s a punch that fits both sizes of balloons in the stamp set.  How can you go wrong?  🙂

Balloons for birthdays.  Again…..how can you go wrong?

This is definitely a must-have stamp set.  Who doesn’t know someone who is having a birthday?  You can make your card bright and fun for a child or you can use more sophisticated colors (don’t look to me for suggestions….I’m definitely not sophisticated!) for an adult.  I chose to go with some soft pink balloons on my card for a look between fun and sophisticated!  🙂

I got out my paper piercing tools again for this card.  I think it finished off the label on this card perfectly.  I chose to just pierce the top and the bottom.  I left the sides blank.  Perfect!

I’m so glad that the Softly Falling Embossing Folder carried over from the Holiday Catalog.  It’s such a soft, perfect accent to a card.

One thing you can’t see from the picture but is something that really made the balloons pop on the card was covering them using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush.  I love that tool.  It gives just the right amount of glimmer and glitz!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Honeycomb Happiness

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IMG_7513Well, Lent has begun so that means that Easter is on it’s way.  What comes to mind when you think of Easter besides bunnies and Easter eggs?  Easter chicks of course!  Isn’t this the cutest little chick?  This isn’t an Easter card but you could definitely turn it into one.

I tried stepping out of my comfort zone on this card.   Not only did I use a couple of banners and do a little water coloring but I added some scrunched up thread between the banners.  Yes, I know it’s hard to see but honestly….it’s there!  As many of you know, I don’t do random very well so the whole idea of just scrunching up thread and throwing it on the card was pretty out there for me.  I did it though!  It even turned out ok!

I found out a little tip on water coloring before I made this card and it really helped.  The tip was to go over the image lightly with the water from your Aqua Painter.  Then add the ink.  The water helps the ink spread.  It really made a difference.  Give it a try!

What kind of things do you have a hard time with on your cards?  I’d love to know.  Leave me a comment.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog