Glass Ball Snowflake Ornament

This is the third project we did at my December stamp club. This one is also easier than it looks. I used this tutorial on Splitcoaststampers. Those ladies over there are amazing and I'm so grateful that they share all of these wonderful projects. I changed this slightly so that the snowflake is embossed instead of stamped with Stazon. I wanted to go for the light & airy sparkly look!

To emboss on the acetate circle be sure to use your embossing buddy as the static on the acetate really attracts the embossing powder. You can wipe off any residue after the image is embossed. The acetate heats up much faster than card stock so it only takes a moment for the image to be set--you don't want to over heat the acetate so be sure to pay close attention for this step.

Put a little bit of fake snow in the bottom of your glass ball. You don't want to fill it up too much as it will prevent the snowflake from "floating". If you get too much snow you can shake some out or use a pair of tweezers to pull some out. Ask me how I know! =)

Punch a small hole in the top of your acetate circle and run some silver cord through it. This will give you a handle to hold onto as you insert your snowflake into the ornament. Put a glue dot on the outside neck of the ornament. Gently roll your snowflake into a tube and slide it into the ornament. Make sure you hold onto your cording! If it slips out into the glass ball not to worry! You can use your trusty tweezers to reach down inside and pull the cording back out. (Again ask me how I know!) Affix the cord to the glue dot when you have decided on the right length to let your snowflake dangle.

Put the metal cap back on, trim the silver cord so you can't see it and attach some Whisper White grosgrain ribbon for a hanger!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes

Paper: Acetate sheets

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: clear glass ornament ball, silver embossing powder, embossing buddy, silver cording, handheld circle punch, fake snow, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, glue dots

Tag Punch Star Ornament

Here is the second project we did at my December stamp club. I think when I showed this project to the ladies they all thought it was going to be super complicated and take forever! I hope they were pleasantly surprised by how easy it actually was.

I followed the tutorial on Splitcoaststampers here. This tutorial has great step by step instructions and photos. This star can also be attached to a card front as well.

To attach the 2 star layers together we used the Build-A-Brad kit and some of the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper. This red and white paper is flocked! Punch out a small circle of the specialty paper and adhere it to the brad base. Then take one of the clear bubble tops and put that right on the specialty paper. The bubble has adhesive already on the back so it sticks right to the base. This is the first time I've used the Build-A-Brad and I can see myself using it a lot more to make custom brads to embellish many more projects.

To hang the ornament cut a length of Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon and push the 2 ends over the brad prongs before laying the prongs flat.

Stamps: None

Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, Vellum, Christmas Cocoa Specialty

Ink: None

Accessories: small & large tag punches, 2 way glue pen, Build-A-Brad, taffeta ribbon

3D Ornament Punch Card

I've been slacking lately getting my stamp club projects posted online. I guess I can blame getting ready for Christmas on my lack of time! This is a super fast card to make and I told my stamp club ladies not to be surprised if they see a variation of this card next year for my Christmas card! There are a bunch of examples of this 3D ornament made from the ornament punch up on Splitcoaststampers. I don't know who originally shared this fantastic idea but thank you! This is also a great card because even though it has the 3d element to it, the ornament folds down flat so it will mail.

To make this card first punch out 5 ornament shapes and fold them in half. Designer Series paper works great for this not only because of the great patterns and colors but it is lighter weight than the regular card stock so it will fold easier. For this project we used the Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper that is available in the Holiday Mini (*Note: this paper is only available for a little but longer- after January 4 it's gone). Then adhere the folded ornaments to each other, back to back with a small line of SNAIL adhesive. Leave one side of the first & last ornaments loose, these will be the ends that you attach to the card front.

Stamps: Berry Christmas (sentiment)

Paper: Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Specialty paper

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Ornament Punch, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, organza ribbon

Dazzling Snowflakes

This is the first card we made at my recent Stamp-A-Stack. I saw several similar color combinations on Splitcoast and I thought that it would look nice with Serene Snowflakes and some Dazzling Diamonds.

Parts of the snowflake are highlighted with Dazzling Diamonds. We used the 2 way glue pen and added the Dazzling Diamonds and then shook off the excess. The chocolate chip layer is dressed up along the edge with the scallop border punch. We used the small double rectangle punch just above the scallops and then pulled about 5 inches of organza ribbon through the 2 small holes and pulled the ends back to the front.

A great card for upcoming winter birthdays, Christmas or after Christmas thank yous. The photo doesn't show the sparkle well so you'll just have to trust me!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes

Ink: Brocade Blue

Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Accessories: scallop border punch, double rectangle punch, Dazzling Diamonds, 2 way glue pen, Whisper White organza ribbon

Stamp-A-Stack Patterned Pines

This is the second card we made at my recent Stamp-A-Stack. We used the Patterned Pines hostess level 1 set from the Occasions Mini.

The pines were stamped in Always Artichoke. The sentiment was stamped in Bravo Burgundy. The stars on the top of the tree were done using the Champagne Mist shimmer paint applied directly to the stamp using a sponge dauber and then stamped onto the cardstock.

Now what makes this card really cool and it doesn't show on the photo is that it has a subtle all over sparkle. We used shimmer mist made using shimmer paint. Fill up a small travel sized spray bottle with rubbing alcohol, add 8-10 drops of shimmer paint and shake it up really well. Spritz your card 2-3 times for all over coverage. When the alcohol dries in a few minutes the card stock is sparkly! Make sure you shake up the shimmer mist really well before spraying as the shimmer paint settles pretty quickly.

This would be a super simple Christmas card to make in a large quantity as it gives a big WOW! and you don't need a ton of supplies.

***I apologize for the dim photo---my camera doesn't seem to be working correctly and it was cloudy day!

Stamps: Patterned Pines, Four the Holidays

Ink: Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy

Cardstock: Kraft, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Champagne Shimmer Paint, sponge dauber, Shimmer Mist (see above for directions to make shimmer mist)

Spooky Expressions Decor Elements

A few weeks ago I hosted my Ladies Night Out group at my house. It's great to get together with this group of friends for some food, chitchat, games and sometimes a quick craft activity. As soon as I saw the Spooky Expressions in the Definitely Decorative catalog I knew what little craft I would be doing as I was hosting in October.

This is a super easy project. I bought some 8 inch standard sized clay pots and several sets of Spooky Expressions Decor Elements. You get 3 different faces on a sheet and they can be cut apart and used separately. Each of my friends choose the face they wanted and applied it to their pot. None of these ladies had used the Decor Elements before and after I showed a few of them how to do it they were teaching the others like they had been doing it for years! I had some fall mums for them to finish off their Spooky Expressions flower pots.

The Decor Elements can be used outdoors so there is no worry of any harm coming to these flower pots and they can be used for years to come. I've even heard of people applying the Decor Elements to their cars and they have stood up to harsh winter conditions.

Supplies: 8 inch standard clay pot, Spooky Expressions Decor Elements, applicator tool, fall mum

Jack-o-Lantern Domino Magnets

Do you have a pile of dominoes that have smudged Stazon images? Are they just sitting there mocking you but you can't bear to throw them out? I did....so I turned them into magnets to use as prizes for my sons preschool Halloween Carnival. Parents donate small favors and candy to be used as prizes for the different game booths that are set up. I had a bunch of dominoes that were stamped and they just didn't look good enough to use (not centered, smudged, too scratched) that I wanted to get off my stamping table to make room for all the other projects I have going on!

I cut 1 inch x 2 inch strips of Only Orange cardstock. I heat embossed the Jack-o-Lantern face from the Autumn Harvest set in black. Because my dominoes had a slightly rounded edge I clipped a tiny bit from each corner with my paper snips. I then sponged the edges of the cardstock with Only Orange ink. I adhered the cardstock to the domino using red sticky tape. The edge of the domino is wrapped in black grosgrain ribbon also adhered with red sticky tape. For the little stem I made a knot with some retired Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon and stuck that on the top with a glue dot. I bought a roll of adhesive magnetic tape and just put a small strip on the backside of the domino. DONE! I made 20 of these in no time at all.

So don't throw out those oops dominoes --find another use for them by covering them up with some stamped images on cardstock or a strip of designer paper and making them into magnets for stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, or for the kids to play with on the fridge (an alphabet set would be cool!)

Stamps: Autumn Harvest

Ink: Only Orange, Versamark

Paper: Only Orange

Accessories: domino game pieces, black embossing powder, heat gun, satin ribbon, grosgrain ribbon, sponge red sticky tape, adhesive magnet tape

October Stamp Club Project #1

For this card I was trying to highlight several new items that are in the Holiday Mini catalog. First, the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper which is super cool because it is flocked! My husband even thought it was cool! Now that's saying something isn't it?? The second, the Frost White Shimmer Paint- which someone seems to come up with a new technique for every day. And lastly the Berry Christmas stamp set with the adorable little bird.

This card started with the Gatefold technique and I added the Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper to each front flap.

Now it doesn't show up well in the photo but the bird and the holly branch are shimmery! This was done using the Frost White Shimmer Paint and reinkers. Mix 2 drops of shimmer paint with 2-3 drops of reinker. For this card I used Real Red and Old Olive. Use a sponge dauber to pick up just a little bit of the shimmer paint mixture (a little goes a LONG way--I used the leftovers from making this sample to fill and entire sheet of Whisper White with images and I still had some left!). Now ink up your stamp being careful that you don't put the mixture on too heavy. Stamp the image on your cardstock. Voila!! A shimmery image. Definitely try this technique out, it really adds a lot to a card. For this card I stamped the branch first and then bird.

I added a small piece of white organza ribbon to make a tab and then used the ticket corner punch on the top panel. Adhere the bird panel to only one of the flaps so that it can be opened.

Stamps: Berry Christmas

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive (reinkers)

Paper: Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper, Whisper White, Old Olive

Accessories: paper scorer, ticket corner punch, Frost White shimmer paint, white organza ribbon, reinkers, sponge daubers

October Stamp Club Project #2

After seeing all the great projects using the Sweet Treats cups with the little sliding door to get at the goodies I decided to have my stamp club do this project.

First start with a 6x3 piece of Old Olive folded in half. Then stamp the Halloween stamp from the Sweet Centers set in Versamark on Whisper White. I used my pastels and and sponge daubers to do the poppin' pastels technique. The colors used here were Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Perfect Plum & Pink Passion (to mix together to get a close match for Rich Razzleberry). Using the 13/4" circle punch, punch out the center circle on the Whisper White card stock. Now take the image and line it up on the front of the Old Olive piece. Trace the circle with pencil, now use the 13/4" punch to punch out that circle.

Attach the image to the treat cup by placing a few glue dots on the top of the lip of the treat cup (don't remove the paper backing to the treat cup) and putting the image on top of the cup. Next put a glue dot in the very corners on the back of the image. Line the image with the cup attached up to the hole that is punched in the Old Olive piece.

Now to make the sliding door....take the EEEKKK Spider piece that was punched out earlier and adhere it to a 2" x 21/4" piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock. Punch a small oval in Old Olive and fold in half. Attach it to the edge of the Rich Razzleberry piece. Punch a small hole in the tab and run about 8 inches of Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain ribbon through it and tie in a knot. Slid this whole piece between the treat cup and the Old Olive base. You make have to slide it back and forth a few times but now you have a neat little trap door that you can refill many times and not have to rip apart the project to get to the candy!

Stamps: Sweet Centers, Smarty Pants

Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Versamark, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Sweet Treats cups, 13/4" circle punch, small oval punch, dotted grosgrain ribbon, pastels, sponge daubers

October Stamp Club Project #3

For this card I demonstrated how to mask as well as watercoloring with an aquapainter and ink pads.

First you want to decide which image you want in the forefront of your card and stamp that one first in black Stazon. Then make a mask by stamping your image on a sticky note and then cut it out. I stamped the large pumpkin and then masked it and stamped the small gourd, masked that and then did the smaller pumpkin so it was slightly hidden.

For the watercoloring you can either press the lid of your ink pad into the ink to create a little pool to use or you can use a reinker and drop a small amount (1-2 drops- a little goes a long way) on to the inside of the ink pad lid. Use an aquapainter to pick up the ink and then start at the outside of your image and work your way to the center. This give some depth to the image and keeps it from looking flat. Add more color to the edges as needed. I also highlighted the gourd lines with a little bit of Old Olive. A small amount of Sahara Sand was watercolored around the entire image to give a slight shadow again to keep the image from looking flat.

Stamps: Autumn Harvest, Holiday Best

Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Sahara Sand

Paper: Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry,

Accessories: aquapainter, reinkers, ticket corner punch

Sweet Pea Twins!

One of my stamp club members is expecting twins and is due the beginning of December if she doesn't go early. In lieu of swaps this month my club made a whole bunch of baby thank yous for the mommy to be. She is having a boy and a girl so it was fun to see how everyone made their cards to include both genders.

My card is totally CASED from Andrea Walford's blog. Her sister does a punch art tutorial every week and as soon as I saw this baby card I knew I had to make one like it for someone. It was super easy to add another pea pod to my card and make one a baby girl and the other a baby boy just by adding a little knot of pink and blue ribbon.

Check out the above link for instructions on how to make these adorable sweet peas. The tutorial is great with step by step instructions. Andrea and her sister make AWESOME cards and are total inspirations with so many great ideas.

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Warmest Regards

Ink: Old Olive

Paper: Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom

Accessories: 3/4" circle punch, large oval punch, white gel pen, ticket corner punch, black marker, blender pen & Regal Rose watercolor crayon (for cheeks), grosgrain ribbon, glue dots

Baby Shower Favors

Here is something that I've been making the last few days to have ready for a baby shower I'm hosting this weekend. Do the colors look familiar? Check out my baby shower invitation a few posts back! Yup, I'm using the same colors and stamps to keep with the theme. Our friends who the shower is for are really fun and like doing things outdoors like gardening etc. so my co-host and I decided to do daffodil bulbs as the favors. I made 30 of these pretty quickly.

Each bag has 2 bulbs nested in some crimped and shredded paper(run strips of paper through your crimper and then put them through your paper shredder!). The tags are super simple with the giraffe from Wild About You (retired) punched with the 11/4" circle punch, matted on a 13/8" circle punch and that is layered on a scallop circle. The tags are tied on the favor bags with some non-SU ribbon I had left from another project but if you changed up the color scheme to the In Colors you could use the awesome polka dotted ribbon. On the back of the bag I printed out address labels that say "Please plant these bulbs, and watch them bloom, Just like Baby X, Who will be here soon" and then I added a quick line on planting instructions.

Stamps: Wild About You

Ink: Only Orange

Paper: YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Accessories: favor bags, crimper, paper shredder, grosgrain polka dot ribbon, scallop punch, 13/8" circle punch, 11/4" circle punch, address labels

Happy World Card Making Day!!

Here is a card I made to send out to my customers to let them know about World Card Making Day and to show off something else you can do with this punch. I hope they all get a chance to celebrate by stamping and sending out a few cards. And I hope all of you out there get a chance to celebrate as well. My husband would look at me funny if I told him I had to go celebrate World Card Making Day and lock myself in my stamp room but it sure sounds like a good idea doesn't it? Alas, (don't get to use that word much!) I'll be driving to my 10 year college reunion so there won't be any stamping going on for me tomorrow. But, I celebrated early and made these acorn cards. Maybe next year I can get my act together and plan an event to mark the occasion!

I got my inspiration for this card from several places on Splitcoaststampers. First I'd seen several acorns using the new ornament punch from the Holiday Mini. I thought that was so clever I just had to get in on the action too. Here is the inspiration acorn by VondaThomas. I also saw the technique to make the leaf on this card by dbarry.

To make the acorns I punched out ornaments in Close to Cocoa and sponged the edges with Chocolate Chip ink then trimmed a bit off of each side of the top of the ornament to make the acorn stem. For the acorn cap I used my large oval punch and snipped a small strip off of the bottom. I gave it some texture by stamping the speckles from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Chocolate Chip ink and then sponging all around the edges. Adhere the cap to the acorn base and there you have it. Each acorn is popped up on dimensionals and to give the top one more height I stacked 2 dimensionals together.

For the leaf you just punch a scalloped circle in Old Olive, fold it in half the long way and then run it through your crimper diagonally. Unfold it and there's a nice leaf!

The rest of the card is finished off with a strip of acorns from Autumn Harvest stamped in Close to Cocoa and colored in with Watercolor Wonder crayons and a blender pen. A strip of scallops balances off the acorn panel. "October" from the Full Calendar set punched out with the large oval and layered on a Chocolate Chip scalloped oval.

Happy World Card Making Day!

Stamps: Itty Bitty Backgrounds, Autumn Harvest, Full Calendar

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Ornament punch, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, crimper, blender pens, Watercolor Wonder crayons, scallop edge punch, dimensionals

Stamp-a-Stack Card #1 Autumn Definition

This is the first card we did at my Stamp-a-Stack the other night. I don't think you can ever go wrong with Lovely As A Tree and using Define Your Life gives so many options that you can find a sentiment that will fit all occasions. I cut the top Very Vanilla layer to be big enough to fit the stamp with the row of trees from Lovely As A Tree if my stampers wanted to change the design a bit from my original.

The background is Sanded in Chocolate Chip on Chocolate Chip cardstock. And I broke out the crimper that I hadn't used in a long time for the Really Rust cardstock. The top panel is lightly sponged with Chocolate Chip ink and the leaves are colored with Earth Elements Watercolor Wonder Crayons and blender pens. To finish off the card there is a small bit of Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon pulled through a small hole and tied off with another small bit of linen thread.

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Define Your Life, Sanded

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, More Mustard, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, blender pen, taffeta ribbon, linen thread, crimper, sponges

Stamp-A-Stack Card #2 Retro Christmas

This is the second card that we did at my Stamp-A-Stack earlier this week. I wanted to show off the awesome Delightful Decorations set and coordinating ornament punch. I'm all about the circles lately (see my giraffe card from last week!) and this layout is pretty easy so it's good for a SAS. I got the color combination from the Holiday Lounge Designer Series Paper and just changed the Taken with Teal to Bermuda Bay. The white circles are Shimmery White cardstock but it doesn't show well in my photo. The Ruby Red circles are textured cardstock.

The ornament is popped up on dimensionals as is the little accent circle on the ornament. The ribbon knot is adhered with a mini glue dot and the longer piece of ribbon is just tucked underneath the Sahara Sand cardstock and adhered to the back.

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Four the Holidays

Ink: Ruby Red, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand

Paper: Ruby Red, Bermuda Bay, Sahara Sand, Shimmery White, Whisper White

Accessories: Ornament punch, 11/4", 1" & 3/4" circle punches, grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, mini glue dots

Shimmery Rose

I kept seeing a ton of cards using this new technique with Shimmery White cardstock and reinkers and had to make one for myself. Patty Bennett (an awesome Stampin' Up demonstrator!!) made this fabulous tutorial explaining how to do it so I won't bore you with my step by step details except to say I only used one color reinker just to see what it would look like.

I also want to say that the photo does not do this card justice. It is very vibrant with a sheen of shimmer all over the rose that no matter how many photos I took I could not capture it. It is very easy to do and packs a big WOW. I know a lot of people are hesitant to bust into a package of Shimmery White cardstock because there are only 10 sheets per package but this is the perfect time to tear off that plastic and have some fun!

My color combination was inspired by a shirt that I bought earlier in the summer and is navy and has a few small touches of hot pink. Night of Navy and Melon Mambo were perfect matches. I'm not much into wearing pink but for some reason I like it on this one shirt and felt it would make a good color combination for a card.

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: white craft, Melon Mambo (reinker), Night of Navy

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Melon Mambo, Shimmery White

Accessories: clear embossing powder, aquapainter, small & large oval punches, organza ribbon, dimensionals

Bold Bright Baby Shower Invitation

Here is a project that I've been busy with the last few weeks; designing, re-designing, cutting, assembling and finally mailing. This is a baby shower invitation that I designed for our very good friends who are expecting their first child in November. I wanted to use the colors of the nursery to get me started and the mommy-to-be gave the OK to use the giraffe from Wild About You (it's retired but I still reach for it all the time!). Polka Dots are also part of the nursery decor so of course I had to get those in somewhere!

The only problem I encountered when designing these cards was that all 3 colors are so bright that using too much of one would totally overwhelm the card. I had to play around a bit to make sure there was enough white space to balance out the colors. For the polka dots I used the awesome 12x12 textured cardstock and my trusty circle punches. I liked the look of the textured cardstock as it gave some added interest and depth to contrast with the Whisper White base. I made close to 40 invitations and didn't even use up a whole sheet of 12X12 for each color....that's a lot of circles but the cardstock goes a long way when you're using it for smaller elements. And finally the giraffe panel is popped up on dimensionals.

Stamps: Wild About You, Something to Celebrate (sentiment)

Ink: Only Orange, YoYo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise

Paper: Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Textured cardstock- Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: 3/4", 1" & 11/4" circle punches, dimensionals

Masculine Pine

Here is another card inspired by a challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Lately it seems that I need to have something to start me off for a project. I like checking out the challenges and then mull them over for a day or 2 and try to build a card in my mind so that when I do have time to get in my stamp room I've at least narrowed some of my choices down and I can get started right away instead of making several false starts. So for this card I used Sketch Challenge 245 to begin.

This is a pretty straightforward card even with all the layers. The bottom layer is the retired Manchester DSP (which I will get through someday!). The kraft layer is stamped with the Sanded background in Versamark, edges distressed and copper brads added in the corners. The next little layer is a strip of Mellow Moss, also distressed with a line of paper piercing down the middle. For the tree layer I stamped the pine tree from the SO versatile set Lovely As A Tree with Versamark and then used my pastels and a cotton ball to pounce some Always Artichoke color on the tree (this technique is called Poppin' Pastels). This gives it a very soft look which would look great on a Christmas card as well. I used the ticket corner punch on the corners and popped this layer on dimensionals.

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Sanded

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Manchester DSP, kraft, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla

Accessories: distressing tool, copper brads, paper piercer, ticket corner punch, pastels, dimensionals

Fifth Avenue Floral Watercolor

For this card I was inspired by last week's color challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. It was to use Black, Elegant Eggplant & Old Olive. I also needed a birthday card so I thought I would try to combine the challenge and my specific need for a card.

First I started with some watercolor paper and Stazon black ink (so I could watercolor without my image smearing). I stamped the middle flower first and then covered it with my mask made from a sticky note then I stamped the other 2 flowers. I used my aquapainter and Elegant Eggplant ink pad (Hint: you can squeeze your inkpad to get a bit of ink on the inside of the lid to watercolor with or if you only have a Stampin' Spot in the color you want just stamp the spot directly on the lid of your stamp set case and pick up the ink that way- then just wipe off when you're finished). Some Old Olive ink colored on the flower centers and to jazz it up a little some Dazzling Diamonds on the center flower.

I wanted to keep the sentiment clean so I just did the single word "Celebrate" punched with the oval punch and layered on the scallop oval. Pop that on top of a small strip of leftover Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon (because it's a pretty good match to Old Olive) and it's all finished.

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Black Stazon, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive

Paper: watercolor paper, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Accessories: Aquapainter, Dazzling Diamonds, oval punch, scallop oval punch, satin ribbon

Sweet Centers Customer Thank You

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately but that doesn't mean I haven't been stamping---I just haven't had time to stamp, photograph projects & blog. But I wanted to quickly share a little project I did to thank my customers for their recent orders as well as introduce the Sweet Centers stamp set (available now in the Holiday Mini) to them. I created this project probably a month ago and I've since seen a lot of sunflower projects using this set so we are all thinking along the same lines for this one!! Sweet Centers is a great set if you want to make cards or little treats for various occasions.

I used Crushed Curry for the petals and Old Olive for the leaves. I cut out the petals and leaves (really it didn't take that long. I did it while I was watching TV.) I adhered the petals to the edge of the Sweet Treats cups with SNAIL then attached the leaves so they were peeking out of the side.

For my first trial run of the sunflower I picked out a bunch of brown M&Ms from the giant size bag....really there aren't that many browns in there, I was surprised to discover. And I thought it would take a while to get enough to fill the 10 or so sunflowers I needed to make. Plan B- I got a large tub of chocolate covered raisins and used those to fill the cups instead of M&Ms. Worked out well. I used my good old Coluzzle to cut small circles for the backing, peeled off the paper backing on the treat cups and attached the cardstock backing. I then punched a 13/4" circle in Whisper White and put that on top of the Chocolate Chip backing to write a quick little note thanking my customers.

All in all a pretty cute & quick project.

Stamps: Sweet Centers

Ink: Crushed Curry, Old Olive

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip (backing of the treat cup)

Accessories: paper snips, sweet treats cups, Coluzzle, 13/4" circle punch

Polka Dot Cupcake

I favorited an adorable card over on Splitcoaststampers a while ago and wanted to combine it with a card I had done myself earlier in the year. I love the cupcake from the Party Hearty set and lately I've been all about polka dots (as you'll probably see in a future post!). Here is the polka dot card that I got part of my inspiration from and here is my original cupcake card.

While my inspiration card used designer paper for the polka dots I used the awesome Stampin' Up textured cardstock. I held off for a while on buying these papers but I am glad I finally did. The texture just adds enough POP without overwhelming the other elements of the card. It's perfect for adding on in small amounts to keep your project from looking flat. I used my Close to Cocoa marker and did faux stitching around each textured circle. The little ribbon knots are stuck on with glue dots.

I used the 13/4" circle punch and the scallop circle punch to layer my cupcake on. The cupcake was colored with markers, stamped once, cut out. I then inked up the icing again and cut it out, added some dazzling diamonds and then adhered it to the full cupcake with dimensionals. I colored the candle with markers as well and cut it out and adhered it between the 2 icing layers. And a little strip of scallop edge punch finishes it all off.

Stamps: Party Hearty, It's Your Birthday

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink

Cardstock: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa (regular & textured), Pink Pirouette

Accessories: glue dots, grosgrain ribbon, markers, 3/4" circle punch, scallop edge punch, 13/4" circle punch, scallop circle punch, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals

Berry Christmas Tree!

Here is another card that I made using the Berry Christmas set that is in the Stampin' Up Holiday Mini available tomorrow!

Now there isn't a tree in this set but I made one! I used the holly branch and inked it up with my Close to Cocoa marker leaving out the leaves. Then I used the round wreath stamp inked in Garden Green. The snowflake from this set fits perfectly inside of the wreath. I stamped the snowflake in Garden Green on Garden Green cardstock. I inked it up again and then stamped it on Whisper White and used my 3/4" circle punch to just punch out the center to layer it on top of the larger circle. The smaller circle is also popped up on a dimensional. Add a Real Red grosgrain knot to the tree trunk with a glue dot and ticket corner punch the top layer. All done! A super fast Christmas card or change the colors slightly for an everyday card.

Stamps: Berry Christmas

Ink: Garden Green, Close to Cocoa (marker)

Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White

Accessories: 3/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, dimensional, grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch

August Stamp Club Projects

This is the first of our projects this month. I've been wanting to try the Salted Background technique for a while and I thought that it would make a cool wave/ocean type background for this adorable little whale from the Animal Stories set. You can view the tutorial for the Salted Background technique here on Splitcoaststampers. Salt, reinkers, glossy cardstock and a heat gun---super easy!

In addition to the background technique the little whale is also embossed in black. Finish it off with some black gingham ribbon. I thought this would make a great little boy birthday card.

Stamps: Animal Stories

Ink: Bashful Blue (reinker), Tempting Turquoise (reinker), Bermuda Bay (reinker), versamark

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Black, glossy white

Accessories: heat gun, kosher salt, aquapainter, black embossing power, gingham ribbon

This is the 2nd club project we did this month. It's a super simple card that looks awesome and always gets "ooohhhhs & aaaahhhhs". This is a smaller sized one that fits into an A2 size envelope. There are many great examples of the Popsicle card over on Splitcoaststampers. Thanks to all the ladies over there for their inspiration when I designed this card last summer.

I used the scallop circle punch for the bite mark. It's best if you punch each layer of the card separately as the scallop circle punch does not punch through 2 layers of cardstock--at least mine doesn't! I sponged around the edges of the popsicle to give it a bit more dimension. The small stick was purchased from Michael's and adhered with a bit of sticky strip--regular adhesive just isn't strong enough.

Stamps: Tart & Tangy

Ink: Gable Green

Paper: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Accessories: scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" & 1 1/4" circle punches, corner rounder, sponge, popsicle stick, sticky strip

This is the 3rd project we did at my August Stamp Club meeting. I designed this card back in the spring but had used last year's In Colors. I decided to use the new In Colors and highlight how versatile the Good Friend set it. You don't have to use the bird all the time. Though so you recognize the flower stems in the card?? Yup, the stems are the bird leg stamp flipped upside down! The grass is done with the scallop edge punch and then I used the paper snips to make little blades of grass. The tag was made using the small tag punch with smaller widths of cardstock to be able to thread the cardstock through the back to make a longer tag. The 2 pink flowers are popped on dimensionals.

Stamps: Good Friend

Ink: Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo

Paper: Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo

Accessories: scallop edge punch, small tag punch, paper snips, grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, 3/4" circle punch

Sunflowers Using a New Christmas Set!

I always love to be able to use my Christmas sets year round. The New Berry Christmas set which will be available on September 1st in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog fits the bill! At first I thought it was just another cute Christmas set that had a lot of images. Then I got it and started looking at the various stamps and thought, "Hey, some of these can be non-Christmas too!". Here is the first card I did with this set and it is no where near a Christmas card!

I used the stamp that is supposed to be a poinsettia and inked it up with Crushed Curry. Then some Soft Suede little "seeds"(holly berries!) in the centers. I punched out the sunflowers with my 1 3/8" circle punch and then layered them on my Old Olive scallop squares. This card needed a little more detail so I paper pierced above the layers and added the cute little bird in Soft Suede. And there you have it- a card using Christmas stamps that isn't Christmas. For those of you on the fence about this set I hope this gives you some more ideas to think about!

Stamps: Berry Christmas

Ink: Crushed Curry, Soft Suede

Paper: Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Old Olive, Whisper White

Accessories: paper piercer, scallop square punch, 1 3/8" circle punch

Decor Elements Accent

I've had the Decor Elements Damask since I signed up as a demonstrator in February. (It has since retired but there is a stencil available that is very similar if you like the look of the Damask.) I couldn't decide where to put it that it wouldn't look out of place since that was the only one I had. I got this great old leaded glass windows years ago from eBay and it was hung up in what we call our bar room but is really the formal living room. We seldom go in there other than to grab a drink from the bar and leave. It's such a neat window that I thought we should move it into the front hall which I've been trying to make a little more welcoming bit by bit. I've added an old church pew (found on Craigslist) and some baskets (on sale at Target) to store hats, mittens and miscellaneous items that don't fit in the closet. The pillow is also from Target and has some of the same greens as a watercolor painting I have on the opposite wall. So now that I added some interest I had this big blank wall above the pew that was just crying for some attention. Add the leaded glass window and the Decor Elements applied on the wall behind it and VOILA! I really like how the Decor Element is subtle and is a nice little surprise when you look a little closer at the window.

As for the application it was a little more difficult than I thought it would be. This particular DE has many smaller pieces that needed to be transferred to the sticky transfer sheet and they just wouldn't transfer and I ended up having to rub much harder on the backing than I though I would. My husband helped me peel the backing off as that seemed like a 2 man job though I'm sure the smaller DE's would be easier for one person to handle. And I have to take into account that I had left the DE in my stamp room semi-rolled up and it kind of sat in the sun since February so I don't know if that had anything to do with our difficulties.

I am definitely looking forward to ordering more Decor Elements and seeing what I can do with them around the house. To see or order from the Decor Elements catalog click here.

Delighful Decorations Christmas Set

Wow! This new set in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog is super cute and super easy to use to make fantastic projects. I decided to use Delightful Decorations and the coordinating ornament punch to make a Christmas set to sell at a holiday bazaar. The set includes 3 A2 sized cards, 4 3x3 giftcards, and 10 gift tags. I probably made all of these items in about an hour! Sorry the picture is a little funky....I couldn't get the larger cards to stand up without knocking everything else over! The inspiration for these came from several examples over on Splitcoaststampers. The ladies over there are so creative!

I used some dazzling diamonds to highlight various parts of the cards and tied the tops of the ornaments with some retired Stampin' Up silver cord. All of the punched out ornaments are popped up on dimensionals. By staying with just 2 colors and Whisper White it was easy to keep everything coordinated. I plan to use this stamp set to make a lot more sets to sell. Who doesn't need gift tags and cards at Christmas? And any I have left over from the bazaar I can use myself!

I can't wait until the Holiday Mini Catalog is out for everyone to see. There is such a great assortment of products I know everyone will find something they love. If I can ever get some time in my stamp room again (terrible time for my oldest to decide that he no longer needs a nap!!) I'll be playing with some more from the Holiday Mini and hope to be able to share it here.

Stamps: Delightful Decorations

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red

Paper: Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, silver cord, corner rounder, dimensionals, ornament punch

Bermuda Bird Thanks

I just love this little bird from the Good Friend set. I needed to make a thank you card for our neighbors who invited us over for dinner last week. I already had the kraft cardstock cut for the base so I decided to start with that as well as some scraps of the retired Designer Series paper Manchester. My layout was from the Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge 236. I used the In Color Bermuda Bay for my bird and then Close to Cocoa for the beak and legs but I stamped off on scrap paper once since I thought that was a closer match to the kraft color. I used a sticky note to mask the bird body so I could get the beak and legs just where I wanted them. If you use the whole leg stamp it makes for a very tall bird and it wouldn't have fit for this sketch. A jeweled brad in the corner (which is a close enough match in my book) gives some interest to that side of the card and balances the scallop oval sentiment. The background is what I think of as the dandelion stamp and that is in Close to Cocoa and also stamped off once for each flower.

Stamps: Good Friend, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Close to Cocoa

Paper: kraft, Bermuda Bay, Very Vanilla, Manchester DSP (retired)

Accessories: jeweled brad, scallop oval punch, oval punch

Baja Birthday Fish

I've been trying to use up some of the retired In Colors as well as retired Designer Series Paper for some personal cards as well as stocking up for the holiday bazaar that I'm doing in November. This is a cute sketch challenge for the weekly Clean and Simple Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. I used Sahara Sand ink for the fish and then colored in the spots with a Sage Shadow marker. One fish is cut out and popped up and I used some scraps of Manchester DSP and since the card was for a guy I used some brads instead of ribbon- very hard for me to resist putting ribbon on every card!

Stamps: Just Beachy, It's Your Birthday (retired)

Ink: Sahara Sand

Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Whisper White, Manchester Designer Paper (retired)

Accessories: brads, dimensionals, Sage Shadow marker

Personalized Notecards and Matching Giftbox

This is the project that I made with my stamp club last month- 8 personalized notecards and a matching giftbox. Everyone in my group is a fairly accomplished stamper by now so I wanted to show them something extra instead of just making cards. We all need a cute little box to package a set of cards in or to use for a small gift. This is a really easy box to make to fit A2 sized cards. You can find the tutorial here on Splitcoaststampers- it's super easy. It was also a chance to show off the In Color markers that are now available since it's much easier to use a marker to ink the letters in the Defining Alphabet set than an ink pad if you just want one or the other of the letters.

Stamps: Circle Circus, Defining Alphabet

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede

Paper: Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede

Accessories: scallop edge punch, scallop circle punch, 13/8 in. circle punch, scoring blade, markers, taffeta ribbon

Putt Putt Birthday Cars

This is a fun and quick guy card I made for a friend's 30th birthday. I really like this set and wish it wasn't on the dormant list. Even though it is still available for purchase it isn't in the catalog and sadly "out of sight, out of mind" when it comes to people ordering it. If you have this set I challenge you to get it out and add some great cards to the Splitcoaststampers Putt Putt gallery. Let's give those little stamps some love!

I had been kicking around this color combination in my head for a while as I think it might work well for my youngest son's room when he gets too old for the baby yellow that it is now. Now I just have to convince my husband that Tempting Turquoise is not a girl color and that yes, some Pumpkin Pie accents would look very cool.... Anyway, back to stamping... I also used last week's Limited Supplies Challenge on Splitcoaststampers for a starting place. The challenge was to use something with an engine on your card and limit your layers and embellishments.

I stamped the cars using black stazon and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up. I watercolored them using my aquapainter and picking up ink from the inside of my inkpads. The sentiment is from Party Hearty and I used my small and large tag punches and a scrap of ribbon to finish it off.

Stamps: Putt Putt, Party Hearty

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, black stazon

Paper: white, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: small and large tag punches, aquapainter, grosgrain ribbon

In Color Owl

I know, I know....enough with this owl right? I promise this is my last card with this little guy for a while! I made this one last week and just haven't had a chance to post it until today. I was inspired by this card on Splitcoaststampers. I like the simple layout of it.

I stamped the owl in Crushed Curry and then using my stamp-a-ma-jig I stamped on top of it with Versamark and then embossed with clear embossing powder. I then cut it out and popped it up on the Rich Razzleberry scallop square. The owl has a nice bit of shine and dimension that doesn't really come through on the photo.

I used the mat pack paper piercing guide to get my jeweled brads all lined up evenly. The background is a large circle from Circle Circus and the greeting is from an old Sale-A-Bration set called Birthday Whimsy

Stamps: Animal Stories, Circle Circus, Birthday Whimsy

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, versamark

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, white

Accessories: clear embossing powder, stamp-a-ma-jig, scallop square punch, dimensionals, jeweled brads

Simple Summer Thank You

I am always inspired by the Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoaststampers. Here is yesterday's challenge which was to use orange, yellow & turquoise in your card. I don't think you can go wrong with these colors for a nice summery card. I used my markers to color each flower from the Eastern Blooms set, huffed on them to remoisten and then stamped. I used snail adhesive to adhere the pumpkin pie rickrack and then a quick punch with my large oval and scalloped oval punches and a few So Saffron brads to finish it up.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, white

Accessories: Pigtails rickrack, brads, large oval punch, scalloped oval punch, markers

Owl Line Up

So continues my love affair with the cute little owl from Animal Stories! I wanted to send a thank you card to the woman at my church who coordinates many of the programs, most recently vacation bible school. My 3 year old attended for the first time 2 weeks ago and he had a blast and I wanted her to know. He listens to the CD of the music at least twice a day and says all kinds of cute things that he learned there. The theme for the program was "Discovery Canyon" and each day there was a new animal who helped convey the days message. One of the animals just happened to have been an owl. Perfect! I didn't have any other canton themed stamps so the owl it was!

For the colors I was inspired by a photo in a kids clothing catalog I received the other day. There was a raincoat that had all of these colors. The layout was today's Sketch Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. The owls are stamped and cut out and popped on dimensionals and the bit was twine was some scrap that I had saved. The background is one of the cool circles from the new Circle Circus set.

Stamps: Animal Stories, Circle Circus

Ink: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay

Paper: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Regal Rose, white

Accessories: scallop square punch, dimensionals, twine

Spotted Owls First Birthday

Our nephew is turning one this week and this is the card I came up with. I totally took the layout & colors from the birthday party invitation! I thought the design was so cute and a perfect opportunity to try out the tone on tone look of textured cardstock circles that is everywhere. And I can't resist that owl from Animal Stories either (as you'll see in my next few posts!). The branch is from the retired set Just Vine- I didn't have anything else current that would work for a little perch my my guys and my drawing is atrocious hence my love of stamping! Both owls are stamped on the base and then stamped again and cut out and popped on dimensionals.

Stamps: Animal Stories, Just Vine, non-SU number stamp

Ink: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue

Paper: Old Olive textured cardstock, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, white

Accessories: 1 3/8", 1 1/4" & 3/4" circle punches, dimensionals

Non-Traditional Baby Card

It felt great to get in my stamp room this weekend and get a few cards made for some upcoming occasions as well as get caught up on some cards that I should have had made before we went on vacation and just didn't get to. All of the boys birthday thank yous went out in todays mail so I am free from that now and ready to play! The more I play with the new In Colors the more I like them. I also keep seeing them in all the stores too (I couldn't resist the Rich Razzleberry tanktop!).

I needed a baby card to go with a little gift for friends who just had their second child...a little girl. I also wanted to get some more ink on the new set Animal Stories. I know this isn't a traditional looking baby card but I love how rich these colors look together. Nothing really crazy on this card but I like how the large swirl from Baroque Motifs looks just on the corner of the card and it anchors the smaller sentiment from Fundamental Phrases. I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to get my elephants all in a row. And a quick strip of scallops "girls" it up just a bit more as I don't have the new In Color ribbons (yet!).

Stamps: Animal Stories, Baroque Motifs, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo

Paper: white, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo

Accessories: scallop edge punch, stamp-a-ma-jig

Choo Choo 1st Birthday Thank You

Our week of birthdays has passed (my boys were both born in July, one on the 11th and one on the 15th) and now it is time to tackle the "Great Thank You Project". I got ahead of the game this year and designed and made the thank you cards well before the birthdays. I wanted to coordinate with the 1st birthday invitation for my youngest (see my previous post) and still be able to use them for my oldest as well.

I love the Choo Choo set and how easy it is to make an eye catching design. I stuck with the same colors for the thank you but used my circle & square punches to highlight each train car. I was able to stamp and punch out all the elements before we left on vacation at the start of July and was able to do all the assembly while we were on vacation. I just alternated the colors of the background squares with the colors of the train cars. I used my mat pack to evenly space the holes for the brads on the large oval. I also used the matching train track wheel across the inside of the card so it wouldn't look so bare and white.

Stamps: Choo Choo, In the Spotlight (thank you sentiment)

Paper: Whispher White, Brilliant Blue, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Green Galore

Ink: Brilliant Blue, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Green Galore

Accessories: circle punch, square punch, oval punch, mat pack, brads

First Birthday Train Invitation

On Saturday my little baby (OK not so little if you saw him!) will be turning one. I can't believe how fast the last year has gone! I was determined to use the Choo Choo set that was in the Occasions mini and thankfully made it into the new Idea Book & Catalog. Being that the invitation was for a little boy I wanted some fun bright colors. I even got to use up some of the retired Tangerine Tango paper that was in my stash but any of the Stampin' Up oranges would work.

I used the Right on Track wheel for the tracks at the bottom. The smoke(cloud) stamp was inked once and stamped 3 times for the faded effect. I then punched them out with the small circle punch and popped them up with dimensionals that were cut into 4ths to fit. I did use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get my train lined up. I printed the details of the party on the inside with my printed matching the Brilliant Blue ink. This was a pretty simple card and I was able to make about 16 in not much time at all.

Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track wheel, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Green Galore, Brilliant Blue

Paper: white, Brilliant Blue, Tangerine Tango, Green Galore

Accessories: dimensionals, brads, oval punches, stamp-a-ma-jig, small circle punch

Together Wedding

I've been away since the 30th visiting family in Illinois. My cousin got married out there so my husband and I schlepped the boys 14 hours in the car to be at the wedding. Surprisingly, everyone returned home in one piece and relatively happy. The boys were way better than we thought they would be on such a long car trip. Thank heavens for the built in DVD player and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dvds though!

Here is the card that I made for my cousin and his new wife. Their theme was kind of nature-y and relaxed. They were married outdoors at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Their invitations were printed on paper that had wildflower seeds embedded in it so that you could plant it and have a little wildflower garden after- such a neat idea....now I just need to find a good spot in the yard and get planting! The paper was kind of similar to the Stampin' Up Naturals Ivory so that's what I went with for my base. The closest color I had to their accent color was Ballet Blue.

The flowers on the long strip were stamped using Sahara Sand ink and the centers were slightly colored in using a blender pen and Ballet Blue watercolor crayon. The 2 Ballet Blue flowers were cut out and popped on dimensionals and their centers were highlighted with Dazzling Diamonds. The blue organdy ribbon was a scrap that I had saved. My trusty oval punches were the perfect sizes to highlight the "Mr. & Mrs." from Fundamental Phrases.

It doesn't show up well in the photo but I inked up the "Tt" stamp from Defining Alphabet in Sahara Sand, stamped off once then onto the cardstock and then the "Together" stamp from Define Your Life over the top of it in Ballet Blue. Add a few brads and some distressing and I think I came pretty close to their look.

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Define Your Life, Defining Alphabet, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Sahara Sand, Ballet Blue

Paper: Naturals Ivory, Ballet Blue

Accessories: organdy ribbon, brads, distressing tool, oval punches, linen thread, dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds, blender pen, watercolor crayons