Clear Mount Whimsical Words

Hey! Happy Wednesday! It's feeling like Chicago here today and it's all due to the WIND. The temperature is in the 32, but with the wind chill it feels like 21. At least it's sunny!

Speaking of sunny, this bright and cheery card will be on its way next week to my father-in-law. I CASE'd this from Jill Hilliard and added my own little touches.

The base is Bermuda Bay. I'm growing more fond of this color by the day. Such a rich, unique shade of blue! The striped strip is actual Bridal Specialty Paper on which I used a brayer inked with Summer Sun to change the color to match the scheme. The stamps used are from Circle Circus, a go-to set for me. The mat for the main image is Crushed Curry, a very close cousin of SS. I kept this very free of embellishments, since this is a card for a man.

I love love love that I can see EXACTLY where I'm going to place my sentiment with the clear mount stamps! It was straight and positioned where I wanted it the first time. Fantastic!

Farewell to Sonja

Today we'll be having our post-holiday party as a team at Starbucks. We're going bowling and eating at the alley. But one of our partners will not be with us, and without her the festivities will be a little less festive. Sonja has moved back to Tennessee, and this is her farewell card.

I liked this design and color scheme that I created for Nina's birthday, so I used it again (the supplies were already on the table!). The quote is from Tim McGraw and says:

"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere."

That sums it up well. Sonja takes a little of us, and we keep a little of her.

MY card for Nina with NEW GOODIES!

Earlier today I posted all about my friend's husband's experience making cards for his wife's birthday. Today I'm sharing the card I made for her!

As I said, Nina has a thing for bees. When I received my latest order this week, in it was the Level 1 Hostess set, Cute as a Bug. As soon as I saw the bee stamp, I knew it would be what I would dictate the rest of the card's design.

Also in my box were 2 new punches, the Scallop Trim corner punch and the Scallop Trim border punch. The first one is on sale in the new Occasions Mini, and the border punch is only available as a FREEBIE you can choose from the Sale-A-Bration brochure with the purchase of $50 of merchandise. I knew I wanted to play with these, so I put them on my craft table too.

ALSO available for experimentation was a set called Well Scripted from the Occasions Mini (click on link of cover to the right to view all the offerings of this amazing publication!). The COOL thing about this set is that it is one of several SU! is offering as a CLEAR MOUNT stamp. See and read all the details HERE...They cling to the clear block without adhesive, are made with the same deep-etched red rubber the wood mount stamps are, and they're SO slim for storage. And placement? RIGHT WHERE YOU WANT IT WITHOUT A Stamp-a-ma-jig! You have to try these.

Here's a closeup. Isn't that beautiful? It's made with a 3.75" square and it's easy peasy lemon squeezy! You punch the corners FIRST, then use the diagram included on the border punch to finish the space between the corners. It's so neat! Get the low-down on the corner punch and the new design of the punch itself HERE...

There are clouds that the bee is buzzing by as she flits through the sky. Those were made using the scallop circle punch, creating a "skyline", and sponging over them with Soft Sky ink.

The grass on the Certainly Celery base was added to further evoke the perception of a nature scene for the little bee, and was done using the Live with Passion stamp.

I'd love to show you how to use these new products FACE TO FACE, so contact me and set up a time for a private class for you and your friends! This is just a mere snippet of what's in the Occasions Mini and the SAB brochure, so go check them out and shop til you drop!

One Husband's Adventure in Card Making

My friend Nina's birthday was yesterday, and her husband Scott wanted to communicate to her how much he loves her and asked for my help. He sent a message to me through my husband a few weeks ago and asked me to design 3 cards for her that he would make and then give to her throughout the day. Isn't that SWEET?!?

Of course I told him I would, but that was one of the most challenging assignments I'd taken on in some time. I didn't know what he was looking for, and I don't have a real good read on her style either, even though she's one of my friends and a fellow crafter.

Scott arranged a ruse, with the help of my husband, so he could come over here last Saturday--men need help from other men with things around the house, like with painting (wink wink). Needless to say, he was amazed at all the different techniques and tools I incorporated into the cards he made! He thought it was unique that he would make his own "Hallmark" on the back and include his signature of his art, but I stressed that these cards would be kept by his wife for a long time, and that she would want to remember the year he did this.

Here are the cards I designed, but that he created. The first one used some rub-ons from It's a Loop Thing, and he said when he saw it that it would be his wife's favorite. I know Nina LOVES bees, so I that's why I'd chosen these images. This is a gate fold card base with More Mustard card stock, stamped with the flower stamp from Loop to Loop set. The rub-ons were mounted on Whisper White and matted on Chocolate Chip. The accents on each side are scraps from a Simply Scrappin' kit.

The second one was made using some special extras I'd hoarded. Cool Caribbean is one of my favorite InColors of the past, and it's the base for this card. I used the Stampin' Around Petals jumbo wheel (retired) inked with Versamark to create the very soft subtle background. The color scheme was determined initially by this strip of flowers in Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, and Cool Caribbean. The sentiment is from God's Blessings, and Scott LOVED it.

The third card took me back to the coordinating DSP that went with the rub-ons and the stamp set from the first card. Who says you can't breathe new life into stashed stuff? The base is Pink Pirouette, and I fashioned the card so that it would look like a wrapped package (I did tie the bow for the man--those are hard for large hands!). The scalloped squares are punched in Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and PP. The sentiment is from Always, stamped in Riding Hood Red.

When I spoke with Nina yesterday, she told me about the cards and how she loves the bee one, and how what he said in the card brought tears to her eyes. I believe Scott hit the bull's eye on this birthday! Feel free to copy this post to your husband, and I'll help him too. It's not too late for Valentine's Day!

Anyone? Anyone?

Are you still out there? Has anyone even missed me? Probably not. Well, here's what's been happening. This week my computer and I have had issues. I couldn't get it to recognize the cable that allows me to download pictures from my camera to it, and it wouldn't tell me why it was having this little fit. Today, I tried again, and it was like nothing had ever been amiss. I don't get it. All's well that ends well, and you get to see cards galore over the next few days. Aren't you excited? Hello? Is anyone still out there?

Okay, here's the first card. My old boss texted and asked for a baby card in the same design as the one I made in honor of his firstborn. It's a tri-fold shutter card (still don't get why they call it that, but they didn't ask me), and this one was for their friends' new daughter. The nursery is done in pinks and neutrals with jungle animals. Okie-dokie.

And the little girl's name is Lyla, but her mother didn't want to correct my friend's wife when she sent an email and spelled her daughter's name incorrectly (what?!? then why spell her name the way you did and doom your daughter to having her name misspelled for the rest of her life? again, I was not consulted), so the card is created with her name spelled as Lila. I guess it could be chalked up to post-partem distraction.

So, I whipped up this card using some light cardboard, since I needed but did not have any 12"x12" card stock in a neutral color like white or kraft, some left over Pink Pirouette DSP from last year's InColor collection, and my retired Wild About You stamp set featuring jungle animals. The animals were stamped in PP and accented with Old Olive. I used Outline Alphabet (again retired) to craft the sweet baby's name (with an "i" not a "y" like her parents intended--argh!). The mom liked the card, I was told, even if her firstborn's name was not spelled as she intended. It's the thought that counts? She's more easy going than I was as a new mom.

More to come...

A Lonely, Lovely Tree

I LOVE TREES! Silhouetted against a predawn or dusky sky, they are just about my favorite part of nature. When I saw this set, Branch Out, which is retired (I'm sorry! You're welcome to borrow it anytime though), I knew I wanted it. Then I purchased it and was distracted by other stamping activities. Until the other day. I saw this card by Silke Ledlow and was inspired!

This look is one that's difficult for me. I'm not sure what it is about white space that intimidates me, but I find it hard to leave well enough alone. (When I was growing up, the household mantra was "if a little's good, a lot is better!") So, I followed Silke's design mostly, but I had to infuse it with a bit more Rich Razzleberry, for some reason.

Okay, here's the skinny on this card. It's a WW base, scored every 1/4" on the right side. There's retired Walk in the Park DSP anchoring the whole design. The tree and the tire swing are stamped in Chocolate Chip, with "leaves" of Pretty in Pink and Rich Razzleberry. The sentiment is from Wow Flowers and the strip is curled slightly to give it some more interest against the White card stock.

This is one of the cards I'm offering at next month's--how can it be that NEXT MONTH is just 2 days away?!--Stamp-A-Stack, being held at my home Friday evening, Feb. 5, from 6:30-9:30p, Sat. morning, Feb. 6, from 10a-1p, and Sun. afternoon, Feb. 7, from 2-5p. I have slots available at all times, so feel free to leave me a comment if you'd like to join me!

Just in Time for Valentine's Day!

I know you're probably thinking, "Don't rush it, girl! I still have 2 weeks until Valentine's Day." Yes, you do, but if you're like me, you tend to wait until the last minute, and you don't communicate everything you want to because you haven't allowed enough time to let your thoughts about your loved one really solidify.

Well, this quick card will get the loving thoughts flowing! Inspired by Andrea Walford, fellow SU! demonstrator, this card is whimsical and perfect for either an adult or child recipient.

It starts with a base of Ruby Red card stock. After all the Real Red I used on the McDonald's Fry Box cards, I was ready for a different shade of the hue! I also chose to use the 3-heart stamp from Love You Much as the background on the Kraft card stock. I stamped it in White Craft Ink and embossed it with White Embossing Powder.

I liked what Andrea had done to make the hugs and kisses scalloped circle the focal point of her design, but I changed it up a bit by the placement of my ribbon. This is still some of my favorite ribbon ever--3/4" wide double-stitched Chocolate Chip--and you can see that it doesn't take much to really make a statement!

The scalloped circle is stamped in Chocolate Chip and colored with a Stampin' Write! RR Marker. I also stamped the center heart a second time and popped it up on dimensionals for some added visual interest. I punched out a 2" (non-SU!) scalloped circle in Chocolate Chip to mat the focal image with for more impact. The accompanying accentuating hearts are punched from Ruby Red with the 3-Heart Punch that coordinates with this set.

This is one of 5 cards being offered at my February Stamp-A-Stack, Feb. 5, 6, and 7. Contact me for details if you'd like to attend!