Fresh Vintage Doily

I think I jinxed myself when I stated in my last post that things would slow down. Between work, the flu bug, work, the busy Lenten church season, work, and - oh yeah - stamp workshops, it's pretty obvious that I've been unable to post in the last few weeks. It's already the last week in March and Sale-A-Bration will be ending in a few short days! Yikes!

So here's a card we've been making at my workshops, which incorporates my favorite SAB set, Fresh Vintage, with my favorite Occasions Mini Catalog item, the Paper Doily die.

Recipe

Stamps: Fresh Vintage (SAB), Petite Pairs

Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, and Naturals Ivory card stock

Ink: Crumb Cake pad (card 1); Melon Mambo, Old Olive & Elegant Eggplant markers (card 2)

Accessories: Big Shot & Paper Doily die, Basic Pearls

You will have to experiment when using your Paper Doily die, as it may require the use of extra "shims" or layers when making your Big Shot sandwich. I found that I needed to use an extra piece of colored cardstock as a shim layer or the smaller pieces would not punch out cleanly from the doily. This could vary depending on individual Big Shots, so don't give up if your first Doily does not punch cleanly. Be patient and persevere - it's definitely worth the extra trial and error!

That's all the time I have for now, but I'll try very hard to carve out more time later this week to share some more Sale-A-Bration inspiraton! Sweet dreams!

Watered Melon!

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've been here! The last few weeks have been busy, what with the Independence Day holiday and then my nephew's wedding the following weekend. I was honored to be the pianist at the wedding, so of course that meant a lot of practice time last week. It was a beautiful wedding, and although the temperature was in the 90's and the reception hall wasn't air conditioned, the beverages were cold and the memories priceless!

A lot of experiementation was involved in the making of this card, and it seemed like it took FOREVER to finish. I dyed the Stampin' Up! Organza ribbon by dipping it in a mix of water and Melon Mambo ink refill; that was a lot of trial and error before I was finally satisfied with the result. Then I experimented with using a long length of cardstock punched out with a border punch and clipping it in order to "bend" it around the outer edge of the oval centerpiece. It's not perfect, but I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. I also made myself open up and finally use the Vintage Trinkets that I've been hoarding for a while now!

Recipe

Stamps: Simply Soft (hostess), Petite Pairs

Paper: Basic Gray textured and Whisper White CS, Neutrals Patterns Designer Series paper stack
Ink: VersaMark, Melon Mambo ink refill, Old Olive & Daffodil Delight markers
Accessories: Big Shot, Originals Ovals die, Scallop Trim border punch, 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" circle punches, 1/16" circle handheld punch, Vintage Trinkets, Organza ribbon, Black embossing powder, Neutrals Watercolor Wonder crayons, Aquapainter

I stamped the flower image in VersaMark, sprinkled the embossing powder on and heat set it. I colored the flower petals with the Aquapainter using the dye that I used on the ribbon. I ended up coloring outside the lines, which is why I added the gray "shadows" around the flowers hoping to camoflauge my mistake! (Unfortunately, you can see it if you look close.) The stems and leaves were colored with marker, and there IS Daffodil Delight in the flower stamens (is that what they're called??) Anyway, hope you like my Watered Melon experiment!

Retired x 2

This is one of those projects that didn't turn out at all close to what it started out to be! Does that ever happen to you? My son hadn't gotten a Father's Day card for his dad, so I of course offered to make him one. The trouble is, my husband Butch has gotten so many homemade cards over the years that it's hard to come up with something that will still impress him! I used the Happy Father's Day greeting from the set All Holiday, which is retiring at the end of this month. "Perfect," I thought, "to use a retired stamp set for a card for a retired guy!" 

So I went through my trusty binder of card sketches, and thought that SC332 might work. Then I started going through my patterned papers, hoping that a color scheme might jump out at me. A half-hour later I was still waiting for inspiration to strike, and out of desperation just chose to use Basic Gray as a starting point since my husband has gray hair. Real technical, huh? I didn't like any of the color combos suggested by the Color Coach, so chose to use Night of Navy and Cherry Cobbler because I thought they both looked good with the gray. With the hard part done, I thought the card would come together like a breeze. Wrong! First the size of the stamp didn't work with the sketch, so I scrapped that and ended up with this! Once I got the papers cut and adhered, and the image stamped and layered and popped on, I found I had another problem: how to fill up the rest of the space! I happened to have some silver stars still lying around from my graduation cards, so I cut some more out of the navy and cobbler and scattered them around.

The funny thing is, this card must have been fated to turn out this way! On Sunday when my husband opened his present from Jayson, I had to laugh when I saw that it was a red, white & blue patriotic-themed fleece throw that Jayson had made in school. The card coordinated perfectly with the throw, and Dad loved them both!

Recipe

Stamps: All Holidays (retiring this month!)

Paper: Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White & Brushed Silver cardstock; Night of Navy and Cherry Cobbler patterned paper (Regals Collection)

Ink: Night of Navy & Cherry Cobbler markers

Accessories: Stars #2 Original Die, Big Shot, silver brad, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Isn't the throw just gorgeous? Butch is actually planning to hang it on the wall where he can admire it all the time. Jayson did a fantastic job!

4 You...Purseonally!

Since I haven't had enough free time lately to create new stuff, and I'm waiting on pins and needles for my new catalog preorder to arrive, I thought I'd post some of my "old" favorites. This card is for you, LaRayne! She loves purses, and when she saw this she requested that we make it at Stamp Club. Unfortunately it just never fit into any of my themes, so I'll share it here.

Recipe

Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla cardstock; Sending Love Specialty Designer Series paper (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder; Top Note bigz die; Big Shot; Jewelry Tag, 1-3/4" & 1-3/8" circle, and 1-3/4"x7/8" oval punches; Paper Piercing Tool; Gold brad; Stampin' Dimensionals; white thread

This is SO easy to make! First I ran a couple quarter sheets of Choc. Chip cardstock through the Big Shot in the embossing folder. Then I ran one of the embossed pieces through the Big Shot using the Top Note die, and then cut that in half to create the purse. I used the oval punch for the purse clasp, cutting about 1/4 off, and then punched a hole with the Paper Piercing Tool and inserted the brad to create the clasp closure. The clasp is popped up with Dimensionals. The purse handle was made with the circle punches, first punching the smaller circle out of the embossed cardstock, then centering that in the bigger circle and punching it out, and finally adhering it behind the purse. I then stamped the "4 You" on the vanilla cardstock, punched it out with the Jewelry Tag punch, pierced a hole and tied it to the handle with plain old sewing thread. Easy Peasy Purse!

Hope you enjoy the rest of the week; hopefully I will see you again in a few days! Sweet dreams!

Bright and cheery to chase the dreary!

I just don't know what to think about the weather situation here in central Minnesota. After a cool, rainy and dreary weekend, today we went from the 50's this morning to a high of 88, with VERY high humidity. Now I can't even watch any prime time TV on our local stations as they are all covering the tornado watch currently in effect, which is centered around the Twin Cities metro area. Can't we have just one nice stretch of spring-like weather, with sunshine and comfortable temps in the 70's? It would be nice if that stretch would last longer than one day, too! I imagine I'm not the only one who's getting kind of cranky with this unsettled spring we're having.

So, here's a card that should perk you right up! I finally got to play with some of my new stuff from the Summer Mini Catalog last night, and this is the result of my playtime. I couldn't wait to use my Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, and boy did I have fun! This is an awesome three-in-one punch; you just move the lever to punch out whatever image you want, and then you can layer them in a variety of ways. I knew I wanted to create a card with bright and cheery blossoms, so I pulled out my trusty Color Coach to help me come up with the color scheme. I had an image in my head of what I wanted to do, and it actually turned out the way I imagined it; that doesn't happen every time! Do you feel a little more cheery now? I do!

Recipe

Stamps: none!

Paper: Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Whisper White cardstock

Ink: none!

Accessories: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Scallop Trim border punch, Swirls Scribbles Sizzlit die, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Big Shot, Circle Fire & Circle Ice Rhinstone Brads, Paper Piercing tool, Daffodil Delight 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Where is Spring?

Here in central Minnesota we woke up to snow this morning, and it was still lightly snowing as I drove the 30 miles to work. Thankfully it melted quite quickly, but the temperature remains cool. Usually by this time of year I see colorful tulips blooming in gardens all over, but to date I haven't been able to spot any. What is Easter without tulips? I solved that problem by making my own little Easter basket of blooming tulips! This would make a nice little centerpiece on your table this weekend, and it's so easy to do. I used the Two-Step Owl punch - yes, the owl punch! -  to make these cute tulips. Just punch out two "owl bodies" in whatever color cardstock you like and trim off the "feet." Then cut one piece in half, and trim the two pieces down so each one looks kind of like a big comma. Then sponge around the edges with coordinating ink, and adhere to the front of the other body piece. Instant tulip! I ran a strip of adhesive down the back center of the tulip and then stuck a plastic stir stick to the adhesive to create a stem, and then "planted" my tulips in a basket filled with jelly beans. Even though spring is making a late appearance this year, I now have my own little cardstock tulips to keep me company as I patiently wait for the real ones to appear!

Recipe
Paper: Wild Wasabi textured cardstock; Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red & So Saffron smooth cardstock
Ink: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red & So Saffron
Accessories: Two-Step Owl XL punch, Big Shot, Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL die, Stamping Sponge wedge, Sticky Strip (for basket)

Hope you have a sweetly blessed Easter!

Some Things Have to be Believed

With the delayed spring we've been experiencing here, it's hard to believe that Easter is only two weeks away. With that in mind, I'm sharing a card I created specifically for Easter. The cross is made using the Stampin' Up! Lattice Die on page 206 in the Idea Book & Catalog; I got the idea from SU demonstrator Dawn Olchefske. If you look at the die diagonally, you can see the cross image! I used textured cardstock for the cross, and trimmed away the unwanted areas of the die-cut lattice. I wanted to use a white-on-white color scheme for Easter, but by changing up the colors it would be appropriate for many other occasions, too.

Recipe

Stamps: Just Believe

Paper: Whisper White textured & smooth, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Baja Breeze

Accessories: Lattice die, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, 1-3/8" circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (flower), 1/4" circle punch (retired), Basic Pearls, paper snips, sponge wedges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Valentine Defined Sunset Birds

I just had to post one more card using the Valentine Defined stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog! This one uses both the flamingos and flower images. I stamped both images using Basic Black, and then using the masking technique and sponges, created the "sunset from the edge of the lake" landscape. The unique card design was "borrowed" from a beautiful Christmas card created by fellow SU demonstrator Val Wiig. The base card is cut 6-1/2" x 5-1/2" and folded in half, with the rest of the layers extending over the fold on the top.

Recipe
Stamps: Valentine Defined
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, Melon Mambo and Elegant Eggplant stamp pads
Accessories: Big Shot Die Cut Machine, Top Note die cut, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, stamping sponge wedges