Mr. & Mrs!

On Saturday I mentioned that I needed to get some stamping time in to make a wedding card for a wedding we were going to on Sunday.  Well I found a few minutes to get a card together and was able to take a subpar photo before we had to shove it in the envelope and get to the wedding!  

 Before I sat down to make this card I had a different one in my mind that just wasn't going to work out due to the size of the die cut letters.  I regrouped and made this one instead.  It's a bit larger than I normally make.  It is 5 x 7 and seemed huge while I was working on it.

  I used the Just Add Ink challenge which is to use Bermuda Bay, Black and Silver on your project.  I thought these colors worked wonderfully for a wedding card.  I especially like the layer of Silver Glimmer paper and the shadow layer of glimmer paper on the ampersand.  

  I did goof a bit in lining up my characters and found after everything was glued down that the ampersand was over too far to the right.  I tried to correct that by adding some rhinestones to balance out my oops.  Hope the bride and groom can't tell!

  I did stamp some embellishment and the sentiment on the inside of the card if you're wondering!

  Hopefully all of you had a wonderful weekend and are refreshed and ready to tackle another week!  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: none 

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Silver Glimmer paper, Whisper White

Accessories: Typeset Alphabet die, candy dots, rhinestones

Thank You Rhino

Does everyone have some stamping time planned for today?  I hope to get a wedding card made….I need it for tomorrow so the clock is ticking!  But for now I'm sharing a quick thank you card that I made.  I needed a few thank yous to send out to customers so this is what I came up with.  How cute is this rhino?  The Zoo Babies set is so cute and I don't think you have to use it just for kid/baby cards!

 I used the ever fabulous color challenge ColourQ for this set of colors.  I think I sold my Regal Rose paper and ink pad, that or it's packed deep in a box for my next retired item sale!  So instead of trying to find it I substituted Blushing Bride.  I used just a tiny little candy dot for that color so it's OK right?  Love those Chalk Talk framelits for some fun new shapes to play with.

  Nothing crazy going on for this card so see below for all the supplies used.  If you still have questions about something just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zoo Babies, Lots of Thanks

Ink: Basic Gray, Island Indigo

Paper:  Whisper White, Island Indigo, Basic Gray, Orchard Harvest DSP (retired- but the 2012-2014 In Color Paper stack or the Birthday Basics DSP would work too!)

Accessories: Chalk Talk framelits, Island Indigo satin ribbon (SAB- retired), Needlepoint Border e.f., Blushing Bride candy dot, dimensionals

Fall Sweater - Fab Friday 26

Happy Friday stampers!  We have another great challenge for you over at Fab Friday!  This time around it's a color challenge!

  This one really stretched me...They are wonderful colors and appear in the new Sweater Weather DSP but I just couldn't get a card that I'm completely happy with; something with the Crushed Curry and Tangerine Tango being color bullies with the other colors.  Everyone wasn't playing well together!  I know you all won't have that problem and will get these colors to behave!  I think my mojo is still in hiding after not stamping much this summer!

 

I used the current challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches for my layout.  A few of my demo buddies are on the design team so it's always fun to see what they are making.

Just a few details on my card to take note of; the Soft Sky strip was embossed with the Woodgrain embossing folder for some fun texture.  My big oak leaf was inked up in Sahara Sand and then sponged a bit with Crushed Curry along the edges before stamping and cutting out with the Oval Framelits.  The large Chocolate Chip oval is also paper pierced along the edge.

I sponged the bit of Whisper White ribbon with Chocolate Chip ink to keep it from being too bright. The acorn was inked with marker and then I layered a bit of frayed linen thread behind it and then topped with a faceted button and pearl.  I also balance the heavy top left with a sprinkling of a few more pearls down on the bottom right.

 Head on over to see the awesome creations my fellow designers came up with for Fab Friday 26.  Don't forget to play along; you have almost 2 weeks!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Wonderfall

Ink: Sahara Sand, Crushed Curry, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Sweater Weather DSP, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Soft Sky

Accessories: Oval Framelits, paper piercer and template, Autumn Accents die, faceted button, pearls, linen thread, dimensionals

Happy Back to School!

After a whirlwind of a summer the boys started back to school yesterday.  I am the proud mother of a kindergartener and second grader!  They were super cute and seemed to have a good day at school except for being super tired and one misplaced lunchbox!

  Love those reflective strips on the back packs don't you?

  I always try to make a quick little gift for the boys teachers for the first day of school to wish them luck (I think maybe I should have made 2 for Alex's teacher!!).  This year I made some covered mini legal pads with a matching pen.  Easy peasy!  I had a stack of these mini notepads leftover from this project and and this class.

 

 
 I used up some old textured Chocolate Chip 12x12 cardstock that I had been hoarding  saving for the perfect project.  The new color collection packs of Core'dinations cardstock is a great substitute if you need cardstock with a subtle texture.  I also used up some of the retired metallic brads that seem to breed in my accessories drawer!

  The old supplies were paired up with some new.  I love the new Sweater Weather DSP (in the Holiday Catalog).  There are great patterns in this pack and I think many of them are perfect for guy cards as well as autumn.  Nice rich, fall colors that will translate to many different projects.

I was thankful that the Wonderfall stamp set and coordinating Autumn Accents Bigz die carried over to the new catalog.  I didn't play with them nearly enough last fall so I'm glad I get a second chance with them.

Here are the cutting and scoring instructions to cover a mini notepad that measures 5 x 7.  I got mine at Office Max but I'm sure you can find something similar at other office supply stores.  Just measure the notepad before cutting your cardstock!  Here's what I did for mine:

  -Cut cardstock 5" x 8"
  -Score cardstock at 3/4" and 1" across the short side.  This makes a little flap to wrap over the binding and adhere to the back of the notepad.  I used some sticky strip and it holds great!

  Told you it was easy!  Now decorate the front any way you'd like.  For reference my strip of Sweater Weather DSP on the cover is 2 1/4" wide and 5" across.  And the DSP strip on the inside to cover up the "Office Max" on the binding of the notepad is about 1 1/4" x 5".

  I made matching RSVP pens by slipping a small tube of matching DSP into the barrel and then wrapping a length of hemp twine around the cap (to coordinate with the hemp twine in the buttons).

  Now that we are back to a routine I hope to blog much more regularly!  I have some summer class projects to share and of course we're coming up on the next Fab Friday challenge.  I've missed sharing with you all this summer!  Thanks for sticking around and checking out what I have shared even though it's been few and far between!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Wonderfall, So Happy For You (retired Sale-a-Bration)

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand

Paper: Textured Chocolate Chip (retired), Very Vanilla, Sweater Weather DSP

Accessories: metallic brads, buttons, hemp twine, Autumn Accents die, mini notepads (non-SU), Pentel RSVP pens (non-SU)

Christmas in Bermuda

  Happy Fab Friday everyone!  Just a quick post today to show my project!  We've got a fun and versatile sketch for this challenge!  Check it out!  What can you come up with?

 I decide to go the CAS route and maybe come up with a design for some Christmas cards….I know, I know, it's still August but I make a lot of Christmas cards and need a head start!  =)

  Look at this cutie from the holiday set Color Me Christmas in the Holiday catalog (check it out over on my sidebar to see more goodness!).  Isn't that deer adorable?  He's stamped with Stazon on watercolor paper and then colored in with an Aquapainter and markers.

  I stamped the snowflakes with the Illuminate ink, added a glimmer paper snowflake with candy dot center and a tiny little tab that says "merry" over on the side.  Of course it's all popped on dimensionals.

Head over to Fab Friday to check out my fellow designers Fab projects and then play along with us!  Remember you've got almost 2 weeks for each of our challenges so that's plenty of time to mull it over and get some ink to the cardstock!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Color Me Christmas, Snowflake Soiree, Petite Pairs (merry)

Ink: Stazon, Illuminate, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede

Paper: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, watercolor paper, silver Glimmer paper

Accessories: aquapainter, Snow Flurry die (retired), candy dot, petite curly label punch

Elephant Smiles

 Today's card is another one that my ladies made at the July club meeting.  I had inspiration from around the stamping world when I was designing this one.  I had seen several "polaroid" type cards and knew this was the perfect way to introduce the new square framelits.  I had also been resisting the new Zoo babies stamp set as I don't need many baby cards these days but several very talented stampers talked me into it with their amazing cards using this set.  So yes, I totally caved and bought it.

  I was specifically inspired by this card by Rita Wright.  I love her color combo and how she made the ear 3D.  Here is the card we made at my class….the same but different!

   Sweet right?  After making the frame we backed it with a piece of the cheerful Daffodil Delight pattern from the Quatrefancy Specialty DSP.

  Next the elephant was stamped in Smoky Slate and then fussy cut (I'm sure some of my stamping ladies were cursing me under their breath when they got to this step!).  The ear was stamped again and also cut out to make it 3D.

  The final details were added: the little flower was punched out and adhered to the elephant (notice how the flower is the same shape as the pattern in the DSP and the pattern on the ear!!), a Smoky Slate candy dot was added to the center of the flower.

  The sentiment from Petite Pairs was stamped in Smoky Slate and punched out and layered with a Basic Gray punched circle.  A bit of Daffodil Delight stitched ribbon was added behind the circles.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Zoo Babies, Petite Pairs

Ink: Smoky Slate

Paper: Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Quatrefancy DSP, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: square framelits, circle punches, Itty Bitty punch pack, candy dots, stitched ribbon

Hexagon Thank You

I finally got around to taking pictures of the projects from my last stamp club and getting them edited so I could post them.

I always feel that you need a few sets in your stamp collection that work with any sentiment or kind of card.  Since Circle Circus retired I think the new Six Sided Sampler fits that bill!  Another one that works also with a bit more of a feminine flair is Mosaic Madness.  A few basic shapes, a punch and coordinating embossing folder and the sky's the limit to how many different cards you can make just by changing the sentiment!

When I was designing this project I was in a time crunch to get it done before I headed out of town on vacation.  I used this cool sketch challenge from Hand Stamped Sentiments from a few weeks back to help me along in my creative process.

 The base is Crumb Cake and then a layer of Gumball Green Core'dinations that was embossed with the Honeycomb folder and then sanded a bit.  Next I stamped a few Pool Party striped hexagons and punched them out of Core'dinations cardstock as well.  I used the punch again on some Epic Day DSP (love these designs!).  I positioned the punched hexagons to match the sketch.

  For the tag I used the new Lots of Thanks set for the sentiment.  And here's something really cool!!!  You can use the hexagon punch to flag the ends of a banner!  So cool!  A length of Crumb Cake seam binding and a knot finish this card.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Six Sided Sampler, Lots of Thanks

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party

Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party & Gumball Green Core'dinations, Whisper White, Epic Day DSP

Accessories: Hexagon punch, sanding block, Honeycomb e.f., seam binding ribbon, dimensionals

Cantaloupe Field Flowers

 Happy Friday!  I know I said last time that I would be back to posting more often….well, best laid plans and all right?  I've had company this week and we've been so busy doing fun stuff that I haven't had a chance to post.  I did have a chance to make sure I had a new Fab Friday project all ready to go though!

  It's a good challenge!  Lighter pastel colors are not really my strong suit especially in the middle of summer when I tend to reach for more bold colors.  But I had Field Flowers still out from my stamp club last week and I thought those flowers would work for this challenge!

 Mindy never disappoints does she!?  Here is my design for Challenge 24:

Can you tell I had some fun with the pearls?  I used last weeks sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers for my layout inspiration.

  Don't forget to check out my fellow design team creations over at Fab Friday and we hope you play along!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Field Flowers

Ink: Crumb Cake (sponging), Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron

Paper: So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White

Accessories: Modern Mosaic e.f., In Color ruffle ribbon, vintage brad, butterfly punch, pearls, natural trim, scallop edge punch, dimensionals