Thank You Card

First of all... HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!! I hope this day brings you and your families joy.

Now that I know the Niki won't see this post until after she receives the card, I can safely post it, though I've been wanting to post it since I made it earlier this week.

Niki bought me a stamp set for my birthday, and I LOVE IT!!! And here is the thank you card I made for her with it:

Stamp Sets: Scene in a Garden, Year of Sweet Sentiments

Card Stock: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Basic Black, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Night of Navy, VersaMark

Extras: Silver Brads, Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

Everything for this card was made with Stampin' Up! products except for the sentiment, which is from Taylored Expressions. I know the card doesn't look like much in a picture, but I think it looks great in real life. I hope Niki likes it.

More Thank You Cards

I completely ran out of thank you cards for Jeff's clients today, so I had to buckle down and make some. I made 14 cards tonight; of two different designs.

Stamp Sets: Thank You Kindly, Medallion

Card Stock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie

Stamp Sets: Thank You Kindly, Doodle (roller)

Card Stock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Ink: VersaMark

Extras: Heat Embossing Powder - white, Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch

These were totally easy to make in bulk! I really like the first one, but it would look better if I had the Stamp-a-ma-jig thing to center the stamps, but I don't have one yet. That's for the next order... :) Enjoy!

More (and the last) Christmas Cards of 2009

Hello! I've made my last bunch of Christmas cards - for myself. I have had a few orders from people wanting me to make Christmas cards for them, but I had those done before I had my own done! I just wanted to post the last two cards I've made (I make more than 1 of each kind of card, so I don't have to wrack my brain about what kind of card to make for who):

Stamp Sets: Dasher, Many Merry Messages

Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: VersaMark

Extras: Gold Heat Embossing Powder, 1/4" Real Red ribbon, dimensionals, Petals-a-Plenty die folder

I must tell you now; you may not see the embossed card stock (on the white behind Dasher), and that is due to the fact that I do not have the Big Shot yet. I'm hoping to get it early next year, but until then, I'm using a rolling pin. And for your information, no, it doesn't work very well. :)

Stamp Set: Medallion, Many Merry Messages

Card Stock: Night of Navy

Ink: VersaMark

Extras: Silver Heat Embossing Powder, dimensionals

Stamp Set: Medallion, Many Merry Messages

Card Stock: Riding Hood Red

Ink: VersaMark

Extras: Gold Heat Embossing Powder

Now, before you state the obvious (the last 2 cards are the same design, just different colours), let me tell you that the reason I posted both of them is because I wanted to show both of the colour scheme I chose for these cards. I thought I would like the red and gold better, but upon seeing the finished product, I think I like the blue and silver better. Perhaps it is because I used Riding Hood Red instead of Real Red (Real Red is a truer red, Riding Hood Red has a little more yellow in it), and Real Red would show off the gold better. Unfortunately, I had run out of Real Red by the time I did this last card, so I was stuck with the only other red I had. Now, this is strictly my personal preference.

Tell me, which one do you like best?

Christmas Cards

Niki came over today *YAY* and we made Christmas cards. Here are the ones that I made.

Stamp Set: Many Merry Messages, Medallion

Card Stock: textured cream paper, not Stampin' Up! (although Very Vanilla will work very well)

Ink: Versa Mark

Extras: Gold Heat Embossing powder, Whisper White organza ribbon, dimensionals

Stamp Set: Serene Snowflakes, Christmas Punch (level 2 hostess)

Card Stock: Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Night of Navy, VersaMark

Extras: White Heat Embossing Powder, Whisper White Organza ribbon, Night of Navy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Stamp Sets: Snow Swirled, Many Merry Messages

Card Stock: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Perfect Plum DSP, Washington Apple DSP (retired - could also use Bashful Blue DSP), Whisper White

Inks: Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, VersaMark

Extras: Night of Navy 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

I enjoyed making these cards - almost as much as I enjoyed spending the time with Niki!

Angels

I borrowed the retired stamp set "If the Halo Fits" from Carly - love that set! Here are some cards I made with that set this afternoon.

Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits

Card Stock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Old Olive DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black

Extras: Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, Blender Pen

Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits

Card Stock: Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom

Extras: Silver brads, dimensionals, Blender Pen

The second card is a pain in the butt because of the close cut-out of the angel and flower, but I love this card. I made this card a few months ago - the last time I borrowed this set from Carly - but I'm not sure if I posted it on this blog or not... oh well.

For the dimensionals, I use the extra rubber from the stamp sets. And for these cards in particular, I used just the red - or purple - rubber (I usually use the red or purple rubber with the foam, but I didn't want a huge pop-up for these cards).

I can only hope that you like these cards half as much as I enjoyed making them - that would be enough. :)

Home with a Heart

My mother is heading up a course called Home with a Heart. It is for single moms who want and need to better their situation, despite their circumstances. One of the classes is creativity, and she asked me to come in and make a card with them. This is the card we made:

Stamp Set: Snow Swirled

Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss

Ink: Kiwi Kiss

I wanted to make this card very simple, with no dimensions or anything that makes the card heavy or thick, because if these women wanted to mail the card out, they would have to pay extra for postage. They received envelopes and stamps with it, to make it easier.

Some had already gone to a Stampin' Up! workshop before, so they knew what they were doing. Others had not, and they enjoyed making the card.

Stamp-a-stack

Here are my favourites of the cards I made at the stamp-a-stack at Niki's place last night.

Stamp Sets: Dasher, Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Versa Mark

Extras: Gold Heat Embossing Powder, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

Stamp Sets: Berry Christmas, and other sets?

Card Stock: Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red, Night of Navy

Extras: dimensions

Stamp Sets: Berry Christmas, Holiday Lineup

Card Stock: Real Red, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Real Red

Extras: Big Shot with Top Note die cut, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, blender pen

Mom's Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday; she is 48!!! And she got me the stamp set "Eight Great Greetings" because of the stamp that says "I just realized I'm turning into my mother... lucky me". I am very similar to my mother - we have the same sense of humour, and we look at the world in a very similar way.

Her favourite colour is pale yellow, and So Saffron was the closest I have to pale yellow (Barely Banana is darker; not pale enough), so I used that with Bordering Blue - they look so nice together!


Stamp Set: Eight Great Greetings
Card Stock: Bordering Blue, So Saffron DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Bordering Blue, So Saffron
Extras: White Organza ribbon, Blender Pen, Silver Brads

I hope she likes it! It's a very simple card, but my mother is not a complicated woman - she doesn't like too many frills and furbelows (hehe), so I know that simple is best.

I'm going to go over to my parents' house tonight after supper - they might be out for dinner - but I'm going to go anyways, and if she's not there, I'll just leave the card for her in the family room.

Continuing with Christmas

I'm in the mood for Christmas cards! Here are some that I made last night:


Stamps: Holiday Lineup, (not sure for the sentiment)
Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP (retired)
Ink: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Tangerine Tango
Extras: Blender Pen


Stamps: Holiday Lineup
Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP (retired)
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa
Extras: Blender Pen, 5/8" Riding Hood Red grosgrain ribbon

I hope you enjoy them!

Christmas Cards

I made some cards today! They aren't original by any means, but they are new to me:


Stamp Set: Berry Christmas
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss


Stamp Set: Holiday Lineup, Berry Christmas (for the sentiment)
Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa
Extras: Blender Pen, Silver Brads, Scallop Edge punch

This card was interesting to make, because I stamped the image a second time on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla, and I coloured in all the hats with the Blender Pen, and then I cut out each hat individually, and then glued them on top of the hats on the first image - it gives it just a little dimension. The picture below shows what I mean:


I hope you enjoy these cards, I certainly enjoyed making them!

Card Block

Hello!

I have had absolutely NO creativity when it comes to card making. Lately, I've just been doing my old stuff over and over again for Jeff's clients.

This Saturday, September 19, I am going with Robyn to the MegaMeeting swap, where I have to make 72 swaps! AGHH! and I thought that 35 from the last swap was bad! But I have gotten a head start on my swaps, and I think I will be done them all tomorrow! I know! Nice and early!

And I hope to get inspiration from this MegaMeeting, so I can move ahead with my favourite hobby. We'll see!

Wedding Shower

I went to a wedding shower last night, but had no cards that were suitable for one. So yesterday afternoon, I hunkered down and made this:


Stamp Sets: Eight Great Sayings, Heartfelt Thanks
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Extras: Oval punch, Oval Scallop punch, dryer sheet, white ribbon

When you work with a dryer sheet, you should use one that has already gone through the dryer. They are more pliable, and your hands won't get all smeared with the scent - gets kind of gross. I stamped the small flower from Heartfelt Thanks onto the dryer sheet. I had to use tape to adhere it to the paper because the snail would not. I used white ribbon to tie it together in the middle, and used tape to attach the punched card stock in the middle over the ribbon knot.

That's all there is to it! I hope you like it!

So Long!

It's been so long since I've posted anything! I was gone for a week, and I just have gotten back in the swing of things. So here's a card that I made today for Jeff's clients. Very quick, very simple.


Stamp Set: Inspired by Nature
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: VersaMark
Extras: White Heat Embossing Powder

I hope you like it!

Brayer-licious!

I love my brayer! I love the cards you can make with them! It took me a few tries to make the colours blend well without the hard lines, and I know I have further to go, but I like the cards I've made with it so far:


Stamp Set: Inspired by Nature
Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, So Saffron, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie
Technique: Brayer


Stamp Set: Inspired by Nature
Card Stock: Brocade Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss
Technique: Brayer, masking

New Stamp Sets

Hello! It's been a while since I've been able to take the time to stamp, and I wish that I had made the time earlier. I love the new stuff I got. Here is a card I made with 'Inspired by Nature' and a Scallop Oval punch:


Stamp Sets: Inspired by Nature
Card Stock: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Whisper White
Ink: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss
Accents: Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Whisper White Organza Ribbon

Sketch Saturday sketch

Here is the card I made for Sketch Saturday:


Stamp Set: Holiday Hello
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana
Accents: Dimensionals, White Organza ribbon

I hope you like it!

Card Patterns sketch

Here is my take on the sketch from Card Patterns:


Stamp Set: Holiday Hello, Bold Snowflakes
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, Barely Banana
Accents: Silver Brads, Dimensionals

I really enjoyed this sketch; I had some trouble thinking of something to put on the left side of the card, but I think it turned out well. I hope you like it!

Our Creative Corner sketch

Here is another sketch I did from Our Creative Corner:


Stamp Set: Heartfelt Thanks
Card Stock: So Saffron DSP, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Accents: Silver brads, Dimensionals

I don't have an oval punch or anything, so I had to free-style cut an oval. PAIN IN THE BUTT! But it turned out okay, I guess. I hope you like it!

Mojo Monday Sketch

Here is my take on the sketch from Mojo Monday:


Stamp Sets: A Holiday Hello
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive DSP, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive
Accents: Silver brads, White Organza ribbon, Dimensionals, Blender Pen

I'm not sure why, but I was in the mood to make something Christmas-y. I hope you like it!

"Thank You"s

Hello, fellow bloggers. I have finally had the itch to make some cards, so I sat down tonight and made a few.


Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Thank You Kindly
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP (retired)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Accents: Silver Brads, Riding Hood Red 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Large Oval punch, Scallop Edge punch


Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Thank You Kindly
Card Stock: Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, VersaMark
Accents: White Heat-Embossing Powder, Scallop Edge punch


Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Thank You Kindly
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, VersaMark
Accents: White Heat-Embossing Powder, Scallop Edge punch

As you can see, I was in the mood for monochromatic-type cards. Thanks for stopping by, and I would love to see some comments as to how you think these cards may be changed, or maybe even what you like about them.

Duplicating

I know I haven't posted for a long while. I've been so busy with a clingy 1 year old, and duplicating old cards for Jeff's clients - I'm running out!

Here is the card I've duplicated for Jeff's clients:


Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks, Simply Said
Card Stock: Pink Pirouette
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accents: white ribbon from Walmart

This still has to be one of my favourites from the stack of cards I've made. It's not even following the rule of "show each colour at least twice" - where's the other white? But I still love it. I made 8 more to replenish the ranks.

Big Shot Die Pack Giveaway

Visit stampinaddicts.com - they have heeps and heeps of ideas using all the tools that Stampin' Up! has to offer, like the Stampin' Up! Big Shot.

Right now, they are giving away a Stampin' Up! Big Shot Die Pack as part of the Stampin’ Up! Summer Celebration. Included:

• Stampin’ Up! Thanks (Embosslits)
• Stampin’ Up! Final Press (Embossing Folders)
• Stampin’ Up! Perfect Details (Textured Plates)
• Stampin’ Up! Two Tags (Bigz Dies)
• Stampin’ Up! Fancy Favor (Bigz XL Dies)
  

To enter, follow the instructions on the link.

Good luck to everyone who enters, but I hope I win!

Baby Shower Invitation

One of my friends, Jennifer, is pregnant! She's only 12 weeks or so, but I got all excited when I saw a template for this card! Unfortunately, I couldn't relocate it, so I just winged it:


Stamp Set: Introducing
Card Stock: Pacific Point
Ink: Basic Black
Accents: Silver Brads

I just love the old catalogue's In Colours so much, I'm not quite ready to let go of them yet. We don't know the sex of the baby yet, but I pictured making this card in blue. I can easily do it in pink or yellow or green as well. We'll see. There probably won't be a shower for quite some time. Not yet.

Great Friend

I really like this stamp set, but I find it's pretty difficult (for me) to work with. I could only think of one card to do:


Stamp Set: Great Friend
Card Stock: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Accents: Dimensionals

This card is not one of my favourites, but I thought to add it anyways. I can't remember what set the background stamp is from.

Pretty Amazing

Here are the cards I made with Niki's stamp set called Pretty Amazing:


Stamp Set: Pretty Amazing
Card Stock: Lovely Lilac, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Lovely Lilac, So Saffron

I love using this layout! I think this card is pretty self-explanatory, so I won't bore you with the details - I'm sure you can figure it out.


Stamp Set: Pretty Amazing
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Basic Black
Accents: Dimensionals

Again, this card is fairly easy to duplicate.

Zoofari Stamp

I finally received my order! And I LOVE working with the Zoofari stamp set! It's such a shame that it's retired. Niki came over last night, and we went crazy with cards. I made 9 cards altogether! Here are the cards that I made last night with the Zoofari stamp set:


Stamp Set: Zoofari, Birthday Whimsy
Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue, Only Orange, Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss
Accents: Blender Pen

I love the idea of stacking the animals. Some of them are hanging on by two feet (the tiger), and the monkey is not on at all, but I think the point is made. And when it came to the caption, I knew it needed a birthday. This stamp set screams birthday to me.


Stamp Sets: Zoofari, Baroque Motifs
Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Close to Cocoa, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Close to Cocoa
Accents: Blender Pen, Dimensionals

This card was more time consuming because I stamped the blender -penned all the monkeys and then cut them out. Then I used the dimensionals on their bodies, and I used the snail to glue the tails down, and then I used the blender pen with the Kiwi Kiss to show the vines on their tails. This one is Jeff's favourite.


Stamp Sets: Zoofari, Flight of the Butterfly
Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette
Accents: Blender Pen, Dimensionals

I saw a card similar to this one on Split Coast, but I can't find it again to provide the link. I didn't have a "You're One of a Kind!" stamps, so I had to make do with what I had - this sentiment came the closest.


Stamp Set: Zoofari, Print Pattern (background stamp)
Card Stock: Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange, Brilliant Blue
Ink: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue, Only Orange

This is the first card I made last night using Niki's Bold Brights. I have card stock, but not the ink set (yet). I love the way the snake is allowed to stretch - I'll be doing this card quite often, though now with different colours. I'm not sure if I like the bright colours or not.

Coming Soon!

Hey there! I just wanted to update my blog, so people know that I have not disappeared off the face of the earth. I'm merely waiting my order from Stampin' Up! before I think about any more cards. I've also updated my blog a bit, which shows some really neat blogs that feature weekly challenges:

Inkspiration Challenges
Taylored Expressions
Our Creative Corner
Mojo Monday
I {heart} Sketches

I'm too busy to be able to do them all every week, but I do love to see the creations that people make with them - so many talented people!

Robyn, my demonstrator, told me that my order will be in on July 8 (tomorrow!), so I'll be thinking of ideas until then... Cheerio!

Goodbye "If the Halo Fits"

I don't think I will have this stamp set in my possession for very much longer, as I should return it to it's owner (Carly), so I decided last night to make a few last cards with it:


Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits
Card Stock: Regal Rose, Whisper White, Regal Rose DSP
Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Black
Accents: Dimensionals, Blender Pen, 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain ribbon

Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits
Card Stock: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue
Accents: Dimensionals, Silver Brads, Blender Pens, Crimper

I don't have any circle punches yet, so for this card (and all my cards, to be frank), to make the circles, I used the cap of a Gerber baby bottle. The cap has two different sized circles on it, and that's what I use to make circles. I do plan on purchasing the Circle Scissors Plus, with which I can cut any size circle that would fit a card - excited!

Goodby Heartfelt Thanks

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!! I love the country I live in, and I am SO proud to be a Canadian!

Now that I've said my piece, here are some of the cards I've made the last week or so:

Stamp Set: Heartfelt Thanks
Card Stock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy
Accents: dimensionals, Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 3/16" Corner Rounder punch

Stamp Set: Heartfelt Thanks
Card Stock: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accents: dimensionals, Hemp Twine - natural, eyelet, The Tearing Edge

Stamp Set: Heartfelt Thanks
Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Not Quite Navy, Old Olive
Accents: dimensionals

So those are the cards I made with my favourite retired stamp set. I think they are fairly self-explanatory, which is why I haven't explained step-by-step how to make these cards. If you look, you can kind of figure it out. But if you want to know how I did them, just leave a comment, and I will reply! Thanks for looking!

More "If the Halo Fits" Cards

Since I'm borrowing this stamp set, I have to get as much use out of it as possible, right? So here are three more cards that I made this afternoon. I'm not going to explain these cards because I truly think they are fairly straight-forward:


Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits
Card Stock: Brocade Blue, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Brocade Blue
Accents: dimensionals, Scallop Edge punch, Blender Pens


Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Accents: Silver Brads, Blender Pens, Kiwi Kiss 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals


Stamp Set: If the Halo Fits
Card Stock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, VersaMark
Accents: white walmart ribbon, dimensionals, Black Heat Emboss powder, Heat Tool

For the above card, I stamped the angel in VersaMark and sprinkled the black heat-emboss powder onto the image. Then I used the heat tool (kind of like a hair dryer, but not as much blowing air and more heat) to set the powder.

I may make more cards with this set because it's so easy to work with! I hope you like them! Any comment or suggestion is welcome!