A New Member to the Family

   My brother and his wife have a new baby girl and our family is so excited! We love babies even when they live 400 miles away in Pennsylvania. 

   I made a card to send them as a Congratulations. I had seen this idea a long time ago over at Splitcoaststampers. You use the Scallop Circle die and the Big Shot to make a bib. Too cute!

   These little elephants are one of the new single stamps that Stampin' UP! carries. I just love it and I was thrilled to find some baby gift wrap that matches - sort of.

 All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Baby Steps stamp and Tiny Tags stamp set
• Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, White cardstock
• Rich Razzleberry ink
• Big Shot, Scallop Circle die, Clear Circle die, Finial Press tief
• Small heart punch
• Signo White gel pen
• White Satin Ribbon

Have a wonderful Saturday! Thanks for stopping by!

Off kilter, but on purpose

   No, not me, although I feel off kilter with David being gone so long. He comes home from Africa tomorrow. Yippee! I am debating on whether I should hitch a ride in the church van, make the 2 hour trip to Boston, and meet him at the airport or just meet him at the church with everyone else. My dilemma is Alathea. She is flying in to Boston and then flying directly from there to Ohio which means she won't be making the road trip home. If I was sure I would get to see her, no problem, I would hitch a ride. But she probably won't come through security and will just go directly to her connecting flight. Sigh. 

   Well anyway here is a card I made. No challenges today! lol! I got the idea to make the Newsprint designer paper "off kilter" when I saw an advertisement somewhere and the notepaper was set at an angle. Just like this!

    I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and to stamp the large frame image from Notably Ornate directly on the cardstock to "frame" the notepaper. I needed it to be placed precisely around the the notepaper. I also use it (the SAMJ) to stamp the word "heartfelt" and "thanks". I find myself using that handy little tool more and more. Anyway I really like this card alot! It is unique.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Notably Ornate and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets
• Not Quite Navy, Basic Black and Vanilla cardstock
• Newsprint designer paper
• Not Quite Navy and Basic Black ink
• Basic Black grosgrain ribbon
• Basic Black brads
• Basic Black library clip
• Wide Oval punch
• Big Shot and Lots of Tags Sizzlits
• dimensionals
• Stamp-a-ma-jig

Happy Friday! Happy stamping!

Priceless

   Hello stampers!

Today's post is a 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" card that I made using yet another sketch challenge. I hope you don't get tired of these challenges cause I sure do love doing them! They really get me to think out of my box and, sometimes, my comfort zone. On a side note I am thrilled today to find out that I am Pals Paper Arts Pick of the Week for this card and I was chosen as a Colour Queen for this card! 

   Now back to today's card!

 This sketch is the Sweet Sunday Sketch found Here.

  I knew I would be sending this card as a thank you note to a wonderful hostess (Hi Carol!). And since I know she likes purple I chose Concord Crush with a little bit of Melon Mambo.

   I have been using nothing but new stamp sets lately I felt it was time I used some old stand bys. So I resurrected an old, but current, stamp set called Priceless. I thought it went well with the new embossing folder called Elegant Lines. See yesterday's post for another sample.

   And again I added a little rhinestone bling to jazz it up - one on the butterfly, one on the saying. So fun! 

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Priceless stamp set
• Concord Crush, Melon Mambo and White cardstock
• Concord Crush ink
• Big Shot and Elegant Lines tief
• Butterfly Punch
• Large Oval Punch
• Scallop Oval Punch
• Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
• Rhinestone Jewels

Take care and happy stamping!

It can only be one layer?

Really? Only 1 layer? Yikes!

  Well I found a new weekly challenge called One Layer Wednesday and it can be found on this blog called Simplicity - the title of the blog says it all! 

   I don't usually, ok rarely, do one layer cards. There are just too many fun colors of cardstock for layering so why limit it to one?! And believe it or not it is hard to create a one layer card - for me anyway! But I love the simplicity of one layer cards. And there are some amazing stampers out there who make one layer cards seem effortless.

So this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge is a Christmas card.

Here's mine.

  I combined the saying from Word Play stamp set with the Style Beautiful stamp set. To connect the two, I added a line drawn with a ruler and a marker. Three of our new rhinestone jewels add just a little bling. I am sooo glad Stampin' Up! is now offering these little rhinestone jewels AND the pearls. They are an inexpensive way to add a little "ta-da" to a project!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Word Play and Style Beautiful stamp sets
• Shimmery White cardstock
• Wild Wasabi, Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler ink
• Rhinestone jewels

So there you have it. Thank you for stopping by!

Goldfinch in the Cattails

   Well hello again! I had a great weekend - stamping, reading and talking to my girls (except for Alathea who is in Africa with David). But that is another story for another time. Suffice it to say I wish I was there too. *sigh*. And other than our hot water heater's pilot blowing out (cold showers are not fun) I am surviving! But let's move on to today's card shall we?

This stamp set was a fateful, yet perfect combination for me! A beautiful, realistic bird just waiting to be watercolored. lol! It is one of Stampin' Up!'s new sets called, Every Moment. 

   The stamp image isn't a goldfinch (at least I don't think it is) but I made it into one because I have so many flying around my yard this time of year I wanted to capture their summery, bright colors. I don't have any cattails in my yard though!

Disclaimer: I stamped on the Satin Ribbon with black stazon ink. That part of the photo is ever so slightly blurry. It isn't the ribbon, just my lack of a light box.

   I used this weeks sketch #52 from Pals Paper Arts.  (ETA: forgot to give you the link.)

 I had a little trouble with layer #3 because everything I was trying just seemed like "too much". I finally settled on the Pear Pizzazz designer paper to blend with the other colors and give it some definition as well.

   After I stamped on watercolor paper with Black Stazon ink, I colored with SU markers. I always use a blender pen to spread out the color around the outside of the image so it doesn't look stiff and floating.

   Notice the white on the wings? I just took my Signo Gel Pen and added a few stripes - another great use for a great little pen! The little specks of color were added with our Color Spritzer Tool and a Chocolate Chip marker.

 And I hope you are able to see the lovely texture on the overall background. To make the background I first layered all of my cardstock and paper. THEN I ran it through the Big Shot with the new and fabulous Elegant Lines textured impressions embossing folder. Love, love, love it!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Every Moment stamp set
• Daffodil Delight, Basic Black and Pear Pizzazz cardstock
• Pear Pizzazz designer paper (hostess pack)
• Watercolor paper
• Black Stazon ink
• Stampin' Up Markers
• Blender pen 
• Color Spritzer Tool
• Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon
• Filigree designer brad with Black brad in the center
• Signo White Gel Pen

  Happy Monday! Thanks for stopping by!

Hello! How About a Cup of Tea?

   Today's featured stamp set is the individual stamp called Tiny Teacup. I love that Stampin' Up! offers these single stamps now! This one caught my eye because even though it is labeled as a teacup it can be a vessel for coffee, hot chocolate, soup, whatever you want it to be. Hmmmm. Chicken soup for a Get Well Card. I feel an idea beginning to form. Lol!

  And... if you notice the "hello" image is far enough away(on the stamp) from the teacup image that it can easily be inked separately. Same goes for the teacup! 

   I combined 2 challenges today. The color challenge can be found here at Colour Q.

   The sketch is another great one from Stampin Addicts!

And here is my card.

  I thought it would be fun to use the Perfect Polka Dot impressions folder seeing as how there are white polka dots on the teacup. And don't you just love the buttons? I know I do! The only thing is they make me hungry cause they look like candy. Good thing I don't have any kiddos in the house!

A handy little tip: I may have shared this before. Instead of thread or embroidery floss, I cut a thin strip of cardstock, in this case Chocolate Chip, and thread that through the button. Faux thread in every color! 

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Tiny Teacup stamp 
• White, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango cardstock 
• Real Red, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango ink
• 1 1/4" Square Punch
• Square Scallop Punch
• Scallop Edge Border Punch
• Perfect Polka Dot tief
• Big Shot
• Buttons

Hope you have a blessed day!

Sing Always!

   This is for my musical daughter who could use a pick me up about now. I sent it as a reminder to do just that -sing - and she will feel better. It always works!

  I love the new Newsprint designer paper especially the fact that the patterns are so unique! Music, maps, gardening - love it all. And the new Aviary stamp set?! It is sooo much fun! 

   For this card I used the sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping.

I'm not sure my card qualifies as clean and simple though. LOL! It has alot going on but really it was simple to make.

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Aviary, Define Your Life and Rough Type Alphabet stamp sets
• Cherry Cobbler, Vanilla cardstock
• Newsprint designer paper
• Black, Marina Mist and Cherry Cobbler ink
• Marina Mist 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon
• Vanilla brad
• Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
• Corner Rounder Punch
• Stamp-a-ma-jig

Happy Stamping and Happy Friday!

2 of My Favorites

   Well I found my favorite stamp set (so far) and my favorite designer series paper! When I went through the catalog for the first time (isn't that the best!?), I was immediately drawn to the stamp set, Growing Green and the coordinating paper, Woodland Walk. But first the card.

   I used this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch only I flipped it.

 At first I wanted to watercolor the flowers and fern the traditional way. But I decided to forgo that method and instead try a different way to color the images, yet still use a watercolor technique. 

 For this card I misted a piece of watercolor paper with water and added some ink with an aquapainter. You never know where the ink is going to end up with this method which is half the fun! After it dried I stamped the images. I did the same thing for the spray of flowers in the corner! Can you see the Antique Brad in the center of the flower? It added just the right touch!

   I don't know what it is about the paper, Woodland Walk but I really like it alot. The colors, the 

patterns, the coordinating stamp set - it is all beautiful and so versatile!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Growing Green and Word Play stamp sets
• Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip cardstock
• Watercolor paper
• Woodland Walk designer series paper
• Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake and Garden Green ink
• Aquapainter
• Antique Brad
• Hemp Twine
• dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by!

A Day Just for Stamping!

  What a great day I had! My company is gone. David was out of the house and I had the day off from work. I have had this box of new stuff just sitting on my craft table. I haven't been able to even get close to it - and it has been killing me! LOL!

   Sooo I was finally able to break out my new stuff and have fun! And boy did I have fun! I have so much that is new, at first I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I didn't know where to begin so I went to Stamping 411 for a sketch. I can always count on this site for a great sketch! 

Here is the sketch.

And my interpretation.

  A new stamp set, paper, ink, colors, embellishments, and punch. Ahhh it was bliss! 

  The scalloped border is partially covered by the ribbon. What a fun punch the new Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch turned out to be - and what a mouthful to say. lol! And I really, really love the new Antique Brads! But the biggest surprise to me was how much I love the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon! I have to be honest I wasn't too excited about the size but now that I have it and have used it - the size is what I love most! I can't wait to get more colors!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Notably Ornate stamp set
• Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, White cardstock
• Blushing Bride designer paper (Hostess pack)
• Early Expresso ink
• Early Expresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon
• Antique Brad
• Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
• Modern Label punch
• sponge and dimensionals

It is good to be back in the groove! Thanks for being patient!

Pocket Silhouette

   I am so excited cause we have an unplanned visit from our eldest daughter! Oh how good it is to have her in the house - the chats, the laughter, the female companionship - well you get the idea! She just warms my heart! All of this really has nothing to do with today's card. LOL!

   Now for the card. When I got our new catalog of course the first thing I did was look at all of the fabulous new stamps and accessories. Then I went through it again and looked at the samples! Wow! I love the card on page 109 using the, soon to be mine, stamp set Just Believe. But since I don't have that stamp set (yet), I used Pocket Silhouettes instead. And I changed up the card to just a bit add my own creativity.

   Notice the scalloped layer behind the main image? I used my Big Shot and the new Clearlits Scalloped Rectangle die. Oh boy I sure do hope Stampin' Up! offers more of these Clearlits in catalogs to come!

Fun tip: I used silver brads as embellishments but I felt they were too bright for the overall tone of the card so I took my Sanding Block and roughed them up a bit - just the look I needed!

   All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Pocket Silhouettes stamp set
• Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft) and Marina Mist cardstock
• Crumb Cake ink
• Big Shot and Clearlits Scallop Rectangle
• Silver Brads and Sanding Block
• Paper Piercer
• Scallop Trim Border Punch
• Color Spritzer Tool and Crumb Cake Marker
• Itty Bitty Shapes Punch
• Dimensionals and sponge

Happy Friday! And thanks for peaking!

Happy 4th of July

   I have had today's card on my work table all week - only it was "assembly required"!  

   It has been such a busy and exhausting week with Summer Reading Club in full swing at the library. I love to see the children in our area reading but boy it makes for crazy days for me at work! So each morning I would leave for work and think "When I come home I will finish my Patriotic Card" and then come home and crash for the night!

   So today I was able to FINALLY put it together! I came up with the idea several months ago to use the stamp set Peaceful Wishes and make it red, white and blue. I was sooo happy it didn't get retired! lol!

   I decided to cut out the basket of flowers and add that separately on the side. That was easier than masking. And I made a last minute decision to use some Vanilla and Silver Smooch Spritz on the Night of Navy background. I liked the splatters so much I left the lower right corner blank (I was going to put ribbon there). This is one of my favorite stamp sets and I love how this card turned out. Of course red is one of my favorite colors and I love cats so how could I go wrong?!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

• Peace Within and Matchbox Messages stamp sets
• Real Red, Night of Navy cardstock
• Watercolor Paper
• Black Stazon Ink
• SU Markers and Blender Pen
• White Gel Pen
• Big Shot and Matchbox die
• Real Red button and hemp
• Dimensionals
• Vanilla and Silver Smooch Spritz

   I am looking forward to relaxing a little this weekend - no big plans.....yet. I hope you have a safe and fun weekend as well!