Love and Sympathy

Simple but beautiful! I used very vanilla, pear pizzazz, and regal rose. It works best to stamp the words first (early espresso ink), then the flower. I used markers and colored on the rubber. The background layer is texturized using the lattice embossing folder and my Big Shot. I did use dimensionals to pop up the flower layer. The dimensionals stick to the embossed paper much better than SNAIL.

On the Grow

I am doing the marker technique with Stampin' Up markers again to get shading, shadows, and depth.  I have discovered this process only works with small spaces but look at the results! I promise I know nothing about shading and making shadows. You can't tell me to pretend to shine a light from one direction and color darker in the places the light hits because I have no idea what that means. If I can do it YOU can do it. All you need are markers in the same color family that go from light to dark. The great thing about Stampin' Up markers is that you know they will match each other as well as our cardstock, ribbon, designer series paper, brads, buttons, the list goes on. The white gel pen is a must to add depth. A sahara sand marker gives shadow and even more depth.

Remember to start with you lightest color, add the next color over that, then add a dot of the deepest color. For this card I found it easier to color the leaves first so I knew which ones they were. The ground is a bit of of celery and wasabi markers with sahara around it. For the water I used the white gel pen and scribbled back and forth over bashful blue where the water should be then I colored over the gel pen with bashful blue.

Sets: on the grow, sincere salutations
Cardstock: whisper white, marina mist
Ink: black stazon, marina mist
Accessories: big shot, lattice embossing folder, scallop square duo die, 21/2 circle punch, neutral brads, mat pack and poker, white ribbon, marina mist designer paper (subtles collection), sponge, dimensionals, white gel pen, markers in pink pirouette, pretty in pink, melon mambo, certainly celery, wild wasabi, bashful blue, marina mist, and saharah sand

This card is for SU Only Challenges. Come and play along!

Pennant Parade

I am finally using the new pennant punch. I love how it makes the scallop edges. I wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with a unique way to use it. Who looked at the ornament punch and saw a polar bear head???? Who ever thought of putting reinkers in shaving cream to make a background? People who think out of the box amaze me. This card was pretty straight forward. I punched the red pennants then the stamped red triangles. The triangles are mounted with dimensionals. I love the red striped bakers twine. It just adds more dimension to the card. Happy birthday is embossed with white craft ink and white embossing powder.

Sets: pennant parade, happiest birthday wishes

Cardstock: daffodil delight, real red, tempting turquoise, whisper white

Ink: white craft, real read, tempting turquoise

Accessories: bakers twine (red striped), dimensionals, white embossing powder, 1/4 and 1/2 circle punches, pennant punch, scallop edge punch, big shot, lattice embossing folder, glue dots

Best Dad Ever

I love this set! It is in the summer mini right now. The ties are wonderful. The first time I did it all in black and white for my husband the architect. He loves black and white and grids. My mom told me to change one tie to red so I did the second card for her. Thanks, Mom! All I did was do the whole thing in black then did an extra set of ties in red, then I cut one out and taped it on top of the black. I can use the rest of the red ties on other projects. The other words to choose from in the set are THINKING OF YOU, BEST DAD EVER, AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY. You need this set if you have men in your life!

Sets: Best Dad Ever
Ink: black craft, red craft, black brads
Cardstock: basic black, basic gray, real red, whisper white
Accessories:  Big Shot and the lattice embossing folder and the dotted embossing folder, mat pack/poker, black brads, designer label punch (retiring), 1 inch circle punch, ticket corner punch

Which is your favorite? We will make one of these at the masculine class June 14th. Hmmm...

Cheers To You

If you want to get to order this set you will need to do it before June 31. It is on the retired list. It is a great set, especially if you want a masculine card. The other stamps in the set are two great summer fruity looking drinks, a martini, and two champagne glasses clinking together. You can make this card in about 10 minutes. I really tried to not add anything that would take a long time. Part of me wants to add crystal effects to the mugs and add cut out layers of foam and pop them up with dimensionals.

Sets: Cheers To You
Cardstock: crumb cake, chocolate chip, whisper white

Ink: basic black

Accessories: Big Shot with the lattice embossing folder, hemp twine, daffodil delight marker, scallop square punch



Totally Tools Masculine Card

I am so glad this set is not retiring! It is hard to make a manly card. Believe it or not, the tools were quick to color and cut out. You can color out of the lines because you will be cutting them out. The tool box is pretty simple. It is a normal card size. I measured in 1 inch at the top and 21/2 inches down the side, connected the lines, and cut. I added the pocket with dimensionals after I put on the brads. Then I slipped the tools in just using tape. The set has a lot of different sayings you can add to the pocket.

Stamps: Totally Tools

Ink: black stazon

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Confetti Cream, Whisper White (tools)

Accessories: Big Shot and the lattice embossing folder, gold brads and the mat pack/poker, medium oval punch, dimensionals, markers in sahara sand, basic gray, real read, daffodil delight, chocolate chip, and soft suede

We will be making this card at the Maculine Class June14th at 1:00. Let me know if you can make it so I can have a precut kit ready for you. We will make 6 cards for $15.

Bird House Card

Is this cute or what? I found the pattern at Create With Dee. She has a video and the pattern. I revamped it a bit. I just embossed the cover rather than adding a whole new piece and I made the top a little wider. It really is a normal size card. Come to my stamping class on June 18th and make one yourself!

Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Ink: pacific point, cajun craze, basic black
Cardstock: confetti white, real red, whisper white, soft suede, certainly celery
Accessories: Big Shot with the lattice embossing folder, 13/4 circle punch, small scallop circle punch, triple heart punch, bird punch, black marker, daubers, dimensionals, crimper

The tricky part is to remember not to cut the left fold off. The second picture shows how I left it. The wings are on with dimensionals. If you would to order the supplies to make this card please feel free to order them from my site. If you don't have the bird punch yet you need it now! You can really do a lot with it,  not just birds.

Sail Away

I love the new mini catalog! This is a single stamp so it is on $9.95. What a deal! I paired it with the words from Best Dad Ever, also in the new mini. Both of these sets are masculine themed. I used our black craft pad stamping the words then the boat. Then I embossed them at the same time using our clear embossing power. I took strips of pacific point, cherry cobbler, and whisper white and taped them on a white base. Then I ran that through my Big Shot using the lattice embossing folder. Then I punched the circles out of cherry using  the round Itty Bitty Shapes punch. I ran Baker's Twine through the punches. I love that stuff! I added the embossed base to the pacific point card after I added the twine.  I sponged the water on using pacific point. I added the stripes on the sail using cherry cobbler and the aqua painter. The boat is mounted on pacific point. I added the cherry tab with silver brads to finish pulling the red through the card. I used dimensionals to attach the boat piece to the base. The colors are striking on this card.

Nature Walk

Guess what my new favorite stamp set is? Nature Walk!!! I finally got out my watercolor paper and learned how to color with markers and an aqua painter. Why was afraid of water coloring? All you do is stamp the images in staz-on, draw on a line of color with a marker, then move the color around the image with the aqua painter. This is my very first try at it! Well, I did throw away several butterflies. It was hard to come up with colors that look good on her wings. The other tools I used here were my Big Shot, lattice embossing folder, scallop square punch, 1 1/4 square punch, corner rounder punch, word window punch, modern label punch, boho blossom punch, hemp twine, pearl, glue dots, dimensionals, and subtle brads. The colors are old olive, riding hood red (marker), rose red (cs), tempting turquoise, daffodil delight, chocolate chip, and early espresso. It took me three days to design this one. So worth the time!

Easter Blossoms

This one turned out pretty! The little girl is actually holding a basket of eggs. You can cover up the eggs to use it for more than just Easter by cutting out some colored flowers from the tree and putting them in the basket (put some in her hand, too). I also cut her out and added her on in front of the tree with dimensionals. The tree is stamped on and colored with a regal rose marker. I dotted some flower centers with rose red. I used a sponge and bashful blue for the sky. The grass across the bottom is actually hand added. I took a black marker fat tip and colored in the bottom in a zig zag motion. Then I added grass blades and flowers with the skinny tip. I embossed the background with the lattice folder. Then I add the white ribbon using a pink fire brad to hold the bow closed.

Eat Chocolate

I finally used the striped ribbon and love it! The new set called Eat Chocolate in the spring mini is wonderful, too. I started with a pretty in pink base then added a layer of chocolate chip to it. Then I took a piece of very vanilla and ran it through my Big Shot using the square lattice embossing folder. Do you notice the oval imprint? I laid a wooden oval cut out bought at a local craft store under the folder before I ran it through my Big Shot (use one less plate and tab 1). I have done this before with a cardboard oval cut out I made but it seems that you can only those once or twice before they get too squished. I sponged the edge of the vanilla with pretty and pink and added 4 subtle brads using the mat pack. Then I used chocolate chip craft ink and embossed the stamped image. I embossed an extra piece of chocolate, cut it out, colored in the hearts with a pretty in pink marker, then used a dimensional to attach it over the original candy. I attached this to the chocolate chip layer. Finally, I added a row of red sticky strip and scrunched the ribbon across it. So cute!!

Build A Blossom

I wish all of our stamps had matching punches. For this card I stamped the petals from build a blossom with pretty in pink ink on pink pirouette cardstock. I used the new blossom petal punch to punch all the petals out in seconds. The leaves are stamped with certainly celery ink on celery paper and punched out. The base is pear pizzazz with a layer of pink pirouette that I ran through my Big Shot with the square lattice embossing folder after I used the lace punch across the bottom. I added a 1/4 inch strip of pear pizzazz across the bottom, too. To get the flower to pop up I used my snips and curled the petals like you curl ribbon. The bottom layer of petals are flat. The curled layer is attached in the center with snail. Then I added the smaller layer of petals with more snail. They are not curled. I added an antique brad to hold it all together. I used teeny tiny wishes and the scallop oval punch along with the two smallest oval punches for thinking of you. So pretty, so simple!!

Contempo Christmas

Here is quick card. Isn't that really what must of us are looking for for our hand stamped cards? Sure we would love to spend hours on each card but then reality hits. Run some real red card stock through the Big Shot using the lattice folder. Then tape a piece of red striped ribbon on it and crimp it tight with a circle brad from the fire set. Mount that on vanilla. Mount that on an old olive base. Stamp the tree using an olive and red marker, and the saying (black) from Contempo Christmas on vanilla.  Color the star with a daffodil marker after it is stamped. Attach this to olive then to the rest of the card. You can add a few rhinestones to the tree if you want to.

Punch Art Turkey

I found the directions for this guy on a stamping site called Paper Punch Addiction. The lady does absolutley spectacular punch art work. Many of her directions are free, some you have to buy. I am having a class Saturday, Nov. 6th from 2:00-3:30 where you can make three of these wonderful cards for $10. If you live in the Memphis area please come and join us! Making things using paper punches is really fun. I wish you could see the colors better. His feathers a a dark red called riding hood red. His body is made from soft suede and chocolate chip. Email or call me if you would like to join us so I can have a kit ready for you.