SMART stampin'

New Cards - FINALLY!!!

2010-08-25T15:07:00.002-04:00

I've been SO busy with moving and settling into our new house, I have not had time to make any cards. But I rectified that oversight, and I made a few new cards this afternoon:

Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Flight of the Butterfly

Card Stock: Whisper White

Ink: Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red

Stamp Sets: Flight of the Butterfly, Vintage Vogue

Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum DSP

Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Pocket Silhouettes (for sentiment)

Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss

Tools: Scallop Trim Border punch

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Pocket Silhouettes, Vintage Labels

Card Stock: Kraft (now Crumb Cake), Whisper White

Ink: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa

Extras: Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Large Oval punch, Scallop Trim Border punch

I really enjoyed being able to sit down and make cards again, I hope you like them!

More Cards

2010-04-28T15:36:00.002-04:00

Here are some more cards I made this afternoon:

Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

Card Stock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Extras: 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Swiss Dots embossing folder

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Pocket Silhouettes

Card Stock: Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum

Ink: Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Whisper White, Regal Rose

Ink: Old Olive, Regal Rose

Extras: Top Note die

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Vintage Labels

Card Stock: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Sahara Sand

Ink: Not Quite Navy

Extras: Top Note die, Wide Oval punch

I hope you enjoy them!

Ruby Silhouettes

2010-04-17T11:44:00.003-04:00

Here is another card that I made last night with Niki; I just couldn't post more than five pictures per post.

Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

Card Stock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Accents: half-pearls from Dollarama

This one is so easy to mass-produce; I think I'll get more of those half-pearls from Dollarama and make a ton more!

Craft Night

2010-04-17T11:34:00.004-04:00

Last night, my good friend, Niki, and I made cards. Here are the ones that I made:

Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

Card Stock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze

Accents: Half-Pearls from Dollarama

Tools: Large Oval punch

Stamp Set: Upsy Daisy

Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Accents: Blooms Die Cuts

Tools: Scallop Trim Corner punch, Scallop Trim punch

Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Botanical Blooms (for the sentiment)

Card Stock: Kraft, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Close to Cocoa, VersaMark

Accents: White Heat Embossing powder, white ribbon from Dollarama

Tools: Heat Embosser

Stamp Sets: Print Pattern, Francais, Vintage Vogue, Flight of the Butterfly

Card Stock: Regal Rose, Very Vanilla

Ink: Regal Rose

Accents: half-pearls from Dollarama (on the butterfly)

Tools: Scallop Trim punch

I thoroughly enjoyed making these cards, I hope you like them!

Not Quite Thanks

2010-04-10T10:58:00.004-04:00

Here is another thank you card I made for Jeff's clients:

Stamp Set: Thank You Kindly, Vintage Vogue

Card Stock: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy

This card was so easy to think of and put together! The only thing that takes a long time is the flowers, which I cut out by hand. Maybe SU should get a few punches for this set...

Stampin' Saturday at 365 Cards

2010-03-06T06:24:00.006-05:00

Hello! My tradeshow is today! YAY! But before I do that, I'm going to submit this card for the 365 Cards Saturday Challenge -

"Today's challenge is to create a stamped image using more than one color of ink. This means that the ink must be applied to the stamp before pressing it on the paper - as opposed to coloring in an image with markers. You use any method you wish to apply the ink to the stamp - special markers, multicolored stamp pad, brayer, etc."

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, A Year of Sweet Sentiments (from Taylored Expressions)

Card Stock: Garden Green, Whisper White

Ink: Garden Green, Summer Sun, Riding Hood Red

Extras: Red Half-Pearls

Now, I know that this card was on the last post, but it fits perfectly for this challenge! To create this effect, I stamped the flowers with Summer Sun and then stamped the image onto the paper. Next, I inked only the edges of the stamp with Riding Hood Red, lined up the stamp with the previously stamped image, then STAMP: a beautiful effect on flowers!

Enjoy! (and wish me luck!)

More Tradeshow Cards

2010-03-04T16:42:00.002-05:00

Here are a few more cards I made for the tradeshow:

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, A Year of Sweet Sentiments

Card Stock: Garden Green, Whisper White

Ink: Garden Green, Summer Sun, Riding Hood Red

Extras: Red Half-Pearls

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, A Year of Sweet Sentiments

Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Extras: Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

For the two cards above:

Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Well Scripted

Card Stock: Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Perfect Plum

Extras: Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcome!

Vintage Vogue

2010-03-02T16:17:00.002-05:00

Here are two new cards I made this afternoon. I am hoping to use these cards for the tradeshow, but I want to pass it by Niki first, get her approval.

Stamp Set: Vintage Vogue

Card Stock: Kraft

Ink: Summer Sun, Perfect Plum, Old Olive

Stamp Set: Vintage Vogue

Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum

Extras: Whisper White Organza ribbon

I really like this stamp set! I'm only getting started! There are a TON of colour combinations I am aching to try!

Thanks for looking!

Swing-Along Cassidy

2010-03-02T14:32:00.003-05:00

You all saw the baby carriage card I made in one of my earlier posts, and for the tradeshow, I decided to make more in more colours:

I used Old Olive, Regal Rose, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie for the colours. I didn't have any blue DSP, so I couldn't do any blue, but I think these colours are a good spectrum, don't you?

Thanks for looking!

Medallion Vellum

2010-03-02T14:26:00.002-05:00

Here is another card I mass-produced for the tradeshow. This one is my favourite.

They are both the same design, just a different colour for the medallion (just in case you didn't notice!); one is Pumpkin Pie, the other is Old Olive.

The medallion is stamped on the card stock, and the vellum is cut to fit the entire front of the card with a little extra to fold over at the crease to snail it together. So the vellum is cut at 5 1/2" x 4 3/4" and the extra 1/4" is folded over so you don't see any glue marks! The sentiment (Thank You Kindly) is stamped on the Vellum in Basic Black.

Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly Kisses

2010-03-02T14:20:00.003-05:00

Here is another card I designed for the tradeshow, and Niki has put her stamp of approval on it:

Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Whisper White, Baja Breeze

Ink: Baja Breeze

Extras: White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Edge punch, Butterfly, Blue half-pearls

I don't know how well the picture shows it, but the Whisper White background has been... man, I can't think of the word to save my life. I ran my boner down the cs to give it some texture. I just can't think of the term... Niki, do you know what that's called? If I remember, I'll add it in.

It's called scoring! YAY! I remembered!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tri-Fold Shutter Cards

2010-03-02T14:08:00.003-05:00

My dear friend, Niki, and I are selling the handmade cards that we make at a tradeshow in Dundas this coming Friday. We are both SO excited! It's to help raise funds for a mission trip to Africa for some people from the Dundas Calvin Christian Reformed Church.

While Niki and I have made over 265 cards to-date, more are being made daily.

Below are pictures of some of the tri-fold shutter cards I designed:

Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations, Vintage Vogue

Card Stock: Whisper White, Perfect Plum DSP

Ink: Perfect Plum

Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP (retired)

Ink: Pumpkin Pie

Accents: Flower Fusion, Silver brad

Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations, Botanical Blooms

Card Stock: Whisper White, Old Olive DSP

Ink: Old Olive

Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP (retired)

Ink: Bordering Blue

Accents: Flower Fusion, Silver brad

Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP (retired)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette

I hope you like them!

Baby Carriage

2010-02-03T21:12:00.006-05:00

Our friends, Paul and Jen, had a baby girl today! YAY!! Her name is Naomi Faith, she weighed in at 6 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. After an incorrect epidural and 16 hours of labour, mother and baby are doing well - they are both very tired, though!

Jeff and I went to see them today, and this is the card I made:

Card Stock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Sweet Pretty DSP (retired now)
Tools: Scallop Edge punch
Accents: Silver Brads, White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

For this card, I cut out a regular card-sized piece of card stock and folded it with the boner, and since I don't have a circle cutter or BigShot (yet), I used one of our huge tea mugs and traced over it, making sure there was still enough room on the left to fold the card. Then I cut out the wedges.

I traced that shape onto a piece of the DSP and cut that out too, needing to trim it to be a closer fit once it was glued on.

I used the scallop edge punch to punch out the trim, and after it was punched, I trimmed the pieces to be 1/2" thick.

I used bottle lids for the wheels for the carriage, and stuck brads in the center. But this time, I ran out of snail *gasp* and so I had to use tape to adhere the wheels :( But that turned out okay.

I used this sticky strip that my mom got me from the dollar store to stick the ribbon on. You peel back the cover, and stick whatever it is that you're sticking onto the sticky sheet, and then the sticky-ness is stuck to your item, and it sticks really well to your cardstock! It's called Microdots.

Enjoy!

Manly Cards

2010-02-01T14:23:00.002-05:00

Here are some of the masculine cards that I made for Dave - an extended order for encouragement cards:

Stamp Sets: Thank You Kindly, Seeing Spots

Card Stock: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Pacific Point

Stamp Set: A Year of Sweet Sentiments (Taylored Expressions)

Card Stock: Not Quite Navy (with Whisper White on the inside) and Really Rust (with Very Vanilla on the inside)

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Really Rust

Tools: Large Oval punch, White Gel Pen

Stamp Sets: Inspired by Nature, So Many Sayings

Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Old Olive

Tool: Brayer

I know you have seen the last card before, but the grass was black, and I think it looks better with the grass in Old Olive, makes it look more like grass. But Whisper White is harder to brayer on than the walmart white, which is what I had used before. The Whisper White cardstock has a bit of a sheen to it, and the walmart white is a bit more "porous", if you know what I mean. But the card does look acceptable.

I hope you like them!

Encouragement Cards

2010-01-09T10:20:00.005-05:00

One of my friends from church wants me to make some encouragement cards for him. So this week, I've been compiling a few cards that he can choose from. There are some cards that I made last year, but these are the cards I made last night:

Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs, Full of Life

Card Stock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Close to Cocoa

Extras: Silver Brads, Flower Fusion

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Rose Red, Whisper White

Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive

Extras: Flower Fusion, Silver Brads

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Flight of the Butterfly (for the sentiment)

Card Stock: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red

Extras: Dimensionals

Stamp Sets: Full of Life, Botanical Blooms (from the Sale-a-bration sale 2009)

Card Stock: Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Old Olive

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

I hope Dave enjoys these cards, and I hope you enjoy them too!

New Cards

2010-01-06T15:12:00.002-05:00

I made some new cards! Here they are:

Stamps: Sincere Salutations

Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Ink: Baja Breeze

Extras: Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Edge punch, flowers and pearls from Dollarama

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Card Stock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Always DSP

Ink: Real Rose, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Extras: Blender Pen, Large Oval punch, Oval Scallop punch

I hope you like them! I really enjoy the sentiments from Upsy Daisy, I don't know why I don't use them more often!

Thank You Card

2009-12-25T09:57:00.004-05:00

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

2009-12-23T21:57:00.003-05:00

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

2009-12-11T23:06:00.005-05:00

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

2009-11-23T17:03:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-16T22:23:00.002-05:00

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

2009-11-11T10:48:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-11T10:34:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-15T13:23:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-09T11:25:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-06T16:44:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-14T18:01:00.002-04:00

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

2009-08-25T11:08:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-08-21T19:41:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-08-03T23:39:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-03T23:35:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-26T13:10:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-26T13:06:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-26T09:50:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-26T09:44:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-22T21:18:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-18T11:41:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-10T11:50:00.005-04:00

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

2009-07-10T10:38:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-10T10:33:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-10T10:28:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-10T10:01:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-07-07T07:58:00.002-04:00

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"

2009-07-02T08:52:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-01T22:52:00.005-04:00

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

2009-06-24T14:42:00.003-04:00

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!

Extra Long Swing Card

2009-06-24T12:07:00.002-04:00

I received the template for the extra-long swing card from one of my demonstrators, Mary-Jo. And I've made an anniversary card for one of our friends with it:

Stamp Sets: Sincere Salutations, If the Halo Fits
Card Stock, Perfect Plum DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum
Accents: dimensionals

The size of the card stock that you start out with is 12" x 5 1/2". Score along the length of the card stock at 2", 4", 8", and 10". Measure along the width of the card stock (5 1/2" side) and at 1 1/2" from both edges, use your paper cutter to cut from the 2" score to the 10" score. Fold the card stock as you see in the picture, and use whichever DSP you wish to decorate.

If the Halo Fits

2009-06-24T11:58:00.003-04:00

I'm borrowing the "If the Halo Fits" stamp set from my friend Carly. It is one of the "Last Chance" stamp sets, and I've always wanted to make a few cards with it. To thank Carly for her generosity, I have made her this card:

Stamp Sets: If the Halo Fits, Lace Pattern (background)
Card Stock: Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Ink: Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa
Accents: silver brads, dimensionals, blender pen

I don't usually explain how I made a certain card because I see a card and I can figure out how it was done 9 times out of 10. But I see a lot of people are explaining how they made their cards, so I'll try it:

I stamped the angel and the flower in close to cocoa and cut them out seperately. I suppose I could have stamped the flower onto the angel's hands, but I didn't think about that until afterwards. I used a blender pen with Blush Blossom to fill in the flower and the design on the angel's dress. Then I used dimensionals to make the angel pop out a bit more.

For the background, I used the Lace Pattern background (it's expired now) with Blush Blossom. My table sinks down in the center, so I find that when I try to use the background stamps, the middle doesn't show up as well. so I ink the pad and place the card stock on the pad, instead of the stamp on the card stock, to ensure that I have a full image. Perhaps with this stamp I didn't need to do that, since the middle of the card stock was going to be covered up anyway, but I've gotten into the habit of it.

Perhaps that was more helpful?

Father's Day Card

2009-06-17T20:36:00.002-04:00

This Father's Day Card my sister Anne and I made this afternoon. Anne has to make 2 Father's Day cards, so we made 2 of this:

Stamp Set: Eight Great Greetings
Card Stock: Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP, So Saffron DSP
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accents: Riding Hood Red 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon, silver brad

I was going to make this card for my father too, but I decided to let Anne use this one, since I have until Sunday to think of one, she had just until the end of the afternoon. It sucks, though, because I really like this card.

Birthday # 3

2009-06-15T16:16:00.003-04:00

This card is for our friend, Dan:

Stamp Sets: Verve Verses, Fun Filled
Card Stock: Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, So Saffron DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Night of Navy, So Saffron
Accents: Silver Brads

As you can see, the sentiment is free to slide to show one word at a time. I hope you like it!

Birthday Card # 2

2009-06-15T16:02:00.004-04:00

This card is intended for my sister, Laura:

Stamp Sets: Birthday Wish, Seeing Dots
Card Stock: Washington Apple DSP
Ink: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron
Accents: Silver Brads, white ribbon from Walmart

Here is the template for this shadow box card: http://thestampingstudioblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/shadow-box-card-tutorial.html

Birthday Card # 1

2009-06-15T15:45:00.005-04:00

Summer is the busiest time for me when it comes to birthdays. This first card is for my brother-in-law, Ken:

Stamp Sets: Happy Everything, Seasonal Whimsy, Garden Whimsy, Eight Great Sayings, Birthday Wishes, Watercolour Vine (jumbo wheel)
Card Stock: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, VersaMark

This is called a "Magic Card", since you can fold it in 2 different ways to see 2 separate interiors of the card. I haven't been able to find a template for it yet.

MegaMeeting Make & Takes

2009-06-15T12:55:00.006-04:00

Hello everyone! I have finally gotten around to posting the make & takes I made at the megameeting this past Friday. I received a whole bunch of really good cards during the swap, and I've gotten a lot of really good ideas out of it. Since I didn't make them, however, I won't post them now. Once I've made my own representation, I will post them. Here are the cards I made:

Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Silver Brad, Bone Folder
Dies: Stampin' Up! Top Note

Stamp Set: a stamp set in the new catalogue, I don't know what it's called
Card Stock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Certainly Celery ribbon

Stamp Sets: Always, and another stamp set; don't know the name
Card Stock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Cameo Coral, Old Olive DSP
Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Cameo Coral
Accessories: Bashful Blue 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes, not sure about the fish
Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Old Olive, Bashful Blue DSP
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: Bashful Blue 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Happy Everything
Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Vellum card stock
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot - Stampin Up! Backgrounds #1, Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 1" circle punch, Designer Label punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder punch

I hope you like the cards I made at the MegaMeet. I certainly enjoyed my time there! There is another one in September, and I think I'm going to try to make that one too.

And Again...

2009-06-06T22:14:00.003-04:00

Jeff is away again tonight, this time at Paul's place for a guy's night. What they will be doing is playing World of Warcraft, Jeff's favourite thing to do in his spare time. And since I'm home alone again, I thought, what to do... I guess I'll make more cards. I do feel the need to get more stamp sets, I'm running out of ideas with the ones that I have. Maybe I just feel like I'm constantly repeating myself since I'm using the same stamp sets over and over again. Well, here's what I made tonight:

Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks, Sincere Salutations
Card Stock: So Saffron, So Saffron DSP, Whisper White
Ink: So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Accessories: Silver Brads, white ribbon from Dollarama

Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Sincere Salutations
Card Stock: Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Brocade Blue DSP
Ink: Brocade Blue
Accessories: Silver Brads

I hope you like the cards I've made, and I hope you get some sort of inspiration from them.

Whimsy-ness

2009-06-05T21:16:00.005-04:00

Jeff is at IGNITE (youth group) tonight, so I thought it was an opportune time to create more cards! So here are more Garden Whimsy cards:

Stamps: Garden Whimsy
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, white ribbon from Michaels

Stamp Sets: Garden Whimsy, Thank You Kindly
Card Stock: So Saffron, Rose Red, Night of Navy
Ink: So Saffron, Rose Red, Night of Navy
Accessories: Silver Brads

Stamp Set: Garden Whimsy
Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Silver Brads, white organza ribbon from Michaels

I do think I will be able to create more cards when I have more ink sets, but I know how to be patient. I think.

Another Whimsy

2009-06-04T23:31:00.006-04:00

I really do love this stamp set! It really does suit my style. I originally wanted to use Designer Series Paper for the background, but I didn't have any in the colours I was using. I also think I need to get the scallop circle; I have so many ideas that need the scallop circle, but I really wanted to do this card tonight, so I decided to make a scallop square. The circle would have looked nicer, but... meh. It looks good enough. For the words, I used the blender pen to ink up just the words I wanted. I hope you like it:

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Whimsy (jumbo roller)
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Blender Pen, Scallop Edge

Card Swap

2009-06-02T14:23:00.008-04:00

Today is Alexander (my son)'s first birthday! We celebrated with family and friends on Sunday. I can't believe how quickly time passes! Jeff doesn't have to work this evening, so perhaps we'll go out for dinner instead of having my planned sloppy joes and corn on the cob... who knows?

Anyway, back to cards. I finished the cards that I'm bringing to the demonstrator card swap on June 13. Here is the completed version. I call it "Simply Heartfelt".

Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks, Simply Said
Card Stock: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Basic Black
Accessories: Silver Brads, Kiwi Kiss 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (pronounced grow-grain, apparently)

I'm still kind of worried about going to a demonstrator's swap and not being a demonstrator, thinking they may not want to have my cards because I'm not "seasoned" or something. And despite the reassurances from Mary-Jo (my demonstrator) saying that it will be fine does not quite allay my fears. So I guess I'll have to just suck it up!

Another Father's Day Card - Mojo Monday 89

2009-06-01T14:44:00.005-04:00

I had made a Father's Day card a little while ago, and I don't really like how it turned out; it looked much better in my head. So I am attempting to create a new and better one.

I also created this card using the Mojo Monday's sketch:

I know it's a little "heart"-y, and I probably should have used brads, but I haven't ordered them quite yet, and the space looked too empty without at least something there.

Stamp Set: Eight Great Greetings
Card Stock: Washington Apple DSP, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Heart punch, Riding Hood Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

*all these are from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for looking!

Last Chance Stamp Sets

2009-06-01T11:36:00.007-04:00

It's June! which apparently means that some of the stamp sets from the current catalogue are going to be retired (can't order them ever again), and I've looked at my wish list, and there are 27 stamp sets that are "Last Chance" sets. After much sweat and tears, I have cut down my list to an amount that perhaps I can get Jeff to live with: 4 sets . *whimper*

Here are the sets I am going to buy (with Jeff's blessing, of course):

Classic Stripes - $20.95

Hugs & Wishes - $22.95
Seaside - $30.95
Zoofari - $26.95

So, wish me luck in convincing Jeff to let me buy these sets! He seems to be under the impression that I have enough "stuff", and shouldn't need to buy any more for a long time (a.k.a. a year or so), and all of you know that it's just not possible to go that long without ordering more! So I am off to attempt the near-impossible...

Stamp-A-Stack

2009-06-01T11:26:00.007-04:00

This past weekend I went to a Stamp-A-Stack at Mary-Jo's place. Here are my favourites:

All the details of making these are on my SplitCoastStampers gallery. The link is on the top right of my blog. Thanks for looking!

New Stamp Sets

2009-06-01T11:20:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday! I've finally received my new stamp sets! Here are a few of the cards I've made with them so far:

This is with the "Garden Whimsy" set, my new favourite set. I think I like the whimsy sets the best; I have "Garden Whimsy", "Birthday Whimsy", "Seasonal Whimsy", and the "Whimsy" jumbo roller. They just suit me and my style, I guess. The sentiments are from "Thank You Kindly". Again, I make a lot of thank you cards because I send them to my husband's clients. I've also received the Rich Regals ink set, so now I have to order only 3 more! I've been working with the "In Colours" from the Spring-Summer 2009 catalogue since I started with Stampin' Up.

Birthday Whimsy

2009-05-27T20:38:00.005-04:00

I have quite a few birthdays coming up in the next few months, so I wanted to get ahead and make some birthday cards. I really like the 'Birthday Whimsy' stamp set. I think it's retired, but I bought it off eBay, and I love it! Here's what I've done so far:

The above card I did for the Mojo Monday sketch (which gives you a proposed layout, and you make the card approximately the way it's sketched). I didn't enter it in the contest or anything, I just liked the layout.

Father's Day Frenzy

2009-05-26T21:30:00.003-04:00

Father's Day is coming up, and it is my husband's second year as a father. Last year, Alexander was only 2 weeks old, so I wasn't able to do something for Jeff on Father's Day. So I was resolved to do something special for Jeff this year.

To start off, I have made Jeff a Father's Day card:

The shirt is origami from this website. It shows you the directions for the shirt, and it also offers a free, printable shirt with the folding lines (which is what I used): www.tammyyee.com/origamishirt.html

And Jeff's birthday is going to be later that week (June 18), so I'd better get going with his birthday card!

Music Medley

2009-05-21T15:27:00.002-04:00

I decided, since I successfully completed a ladybug card for my friend, I decided I could make more personalized cards for other people based on their interests. My older sister, Anne, is a pianist. She graduated from McMaster University for Performing Arts - Piano. She is brilliant. So I decided to make her a piano birthday card for her birthday in August:

Card Stock - Basic Black, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette

The Pink Pirouette is the inside of the card.

The card stock is 5 1/2" x 12", folded halfway. The space for the keys is 1". I drew lines for the keys at 1 cm each, and the black keys are just eyeballed; they might be 3/4" long and 1/4" wide - I'm not sure of the exact measurement. For the ribbon, I cut a slit at the crease of the card so the ribbon could go through. The inside of the card is empty so I can write what I want in it.

Ladybugs Galore

2009-05-21T13:51:00.004-04:00

One of my closest friends, Heather, loves ladybugs. Her daughter Emma is dressed in ladybugs quite often, her coasters are ladybugs, her fridge magnets are ladybugs, her tattoo is a ladybug... you catch my drift. So for her birthday (which isn't until September), I decided to make her a ladybug card.

Now I don't have a template for this card, since I don't have a circle scissor or anything like that. So I simply used round objects that looked about the proper size. Here it is:

The wings are not attached initially, I used brads to attach them to the body so the wings would 'open and close'. I used Black Embossing powder for the caption. I'm thinking about adding some eyes, but I haven't given too much thought to that. I hope I can wait until September before showing her!

Correction of Commencement

2009-05-21T12:18:00.004-04:00

Well, I was misinformed about the swap. I have to make only 35-40 card fronts (which is a relief), and the swap is held on Saturday, June 13, not June 6. So it also gives me some breathing room, because I am still waiting for an order for the paper and the 'Tearing Edge' (a ruler that creates a perfect tear). I have already stamped the flower and the caption on the Whisper White card stock (I have actually done 100 of them - yeesh), so I get to make 100 of those cards anyway!

I have also recently purchased expired stamp sets off eBay, and I got three Canada Post notifications today, so I will be picking them up later this afternoon. (excited!) I have ordered 2 background stamps (diamond and lace patterns), and 'Vogue Verses', 'Holiday Hello', and 'Fun Filled'. I can't wait to get them... lots of new ideas! Now I just have to get the Stampin' Up! family colour stamp sets, so I can coordinate my colours!

Last night I worked on a gift card holder. Robyn (my demonstrator) showed us the template this past Tuesday, so I got busy and made a few. I had some left over paper from Michaels, and I had been wondering what to do with it, so I made the gift card holders with that paper. Here is a picture of what we made on Tuesday:

The inside. I used a business card, but they're about the same size.

Here is my attempt at the directions for it:

4 1/4" x 11" size card stock (in the picture we used DSP).
Score the paper (you can use a bone folder and a ruler) at 3", 5 1/2", and 8".
Fold the paper so that it looks like a "w" or "m".
Using double sided tape, tape the edges of the card stock so that the middle is glued together (looks like "T").
Cut a slit down the edge, so the gift card will fit. We also used a tag punch to make an indent to get the gift card out easier.
You can decorate the front of it whichever way you like. We used birthday wishes because birthdays are a good excuse to buy someone a gift card!

I hope the directions make sense.

Beginning of a Blog

2009-05-21T01:00:00.004-04:00

I will begin my blog with exciting news! My Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Robyn Stahls, is taking me to the next demonstrator card swap on Saturday, June 6! I hope I can get someone to babysit Alexander, since Jeff is working; I don't know how long the swaps go for. But I digress...

For the swap, I am required to make 100 cards!!!!! I am going to make just the front of the card, as to save card stock. Here is the card front I will be making for my swap:

Stamp Sets - Heartfelt Thanks, Simply Said
Card Stock - Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink - Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss

I'm not so thrilled about having to make 100 of this card, but I'm so excited about getting 100 cards back - 100 new possible ideas! Wish me luck!