More New Products--Friends Never Fade

One of the items available for pre-order from the new catalog was Friends Never Fade and the coordinating Designer Series Paper, Greenhouse Gala. I didn't jump on the bandwagon. I wanted to see what else was in the catalog before I decided. Well, I decided, and here's the first card with the set and the DSP. I have to thank Marie for inspiring this look.

I used Cajun Craze, a new core color in the Regals Collection, as my base, and I paired it with now-retired Dusty Durango (gotta use it up!). I used my Big Shot to create a stunning embossed background using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder. I'm tellin' ya, those TI folders are really great!

I added a 2.5" strip of the GG DSP, matted it on more CC, and then turned my attention to the main image. The colors featured in this piece of GG DSP are Pear Pizazz, Daffodil Delight, and Pumpkin Pie. (Click here to see the rest of the patterns in this package.) I don't have the Pear Pizazz ink pad yet, so I pulled out Certainly Celery and discovered it was its Dynamic Duo. I stamped it on Whisper White and then stamped it again on a scrap so that I could color the flower with my markers. I adhered it with some Stampin' Dimensionals after I cut it out. I tied some WW taffeta ribbon around the whole panel just to give it a little somethin' extra.

I'm tellin' ya, this is THE BEST Big Idea Book & Catalog I've seen since I became a customer over 10 years ago. If you don't have a copy of your own already, you can shop online by clicking here. I'd also love to partner with you to provide a hands-on experience using these fantastic new items. Interested? Contact me and let's get a date on the calendar. There's so much I can't profile here on the blog, and you need to see it ALL for yourself.

Revvin' up a Customized Bike Card

When I was stamping with Nina Wednesday evening, we decided to make a separate card inspired by the interior of the motorcycle card I profiled a few days ago. It was really fun to create because we made it using the colors of her husband's motorcycle. Brilliant Blue is now retired, but she was tickled that I had some scraps available so that we could customize the card to match her man's wheels.

The technique used to create the main image may have some name, but I don't know what it's called. It's supposed to create the look of motion, and I think it's effective. To achieve this, simply ink your stamp well, start at the right of your card stock and stamp once. WITHOUT reinking, inch the image backward and stamp again. Repeat this until you can't get an image to print on the paper. That's matted on Basic Grey card stock that has had its edges roughed with a pair of scissors.

Nina took home a stamped image that she's going to color using her BB marker (I sold her husband my entire Bold Brights family of markers and inks for Nina's Mother's Day present!), cut out, and mount on top of the first image. (If you follow the link above, you'll see what I mean.) I think Scott's gonna love it!

The Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder was used to create the BB large mat as well as the faux chrome strip--it's heavy duty aluminum foil! We decided to give it some grit by stamping the Wonderfully Worn background stamp on it with Basic Grey. Then it was cut in half and one edge torn and inked with BG. So grungy! Everything's mounted on a Whisper White base, which may be hard to see in the photo.

Motorcycle is an a la carte stamp; one of very few that SU! offers. What I think would be fantastic--are you listening, SU!?--is to carry it over to the next catalog (it's in the Summer Mini until Aug. 31) and create a set with some good sentiments. Here's a few I'd suggest: "You get my motor runnin'..."; "All revved up over you."; and "Born to be WILD".

What saying would you want for this image?

Amped Up Origami Shadow Box

I liked this look so much that I decided to play around with it again for a private class I hosted Wednesday night. I wanted to see if I could make the card more masculine, and when I presented it for the class, it didn't have the new Victorian Crocheted Trim. But then I added it today before I took the picture, so I guess it's not masculine anymore, is it!

I cannot believe how much the look of the card changed when I dry embossed the Very Vanilla card front with the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder for the Big Shot. Oh my--it just has so much more depth and visual interest. I think this would be an adorable baby card for a boy (with a different sentiment, of course).

Now for a closeup of that new crocheted trim! It lays beautifully and is delicate without being fragile. It has just the right body. You can also see the detail the Square Lattice added. Great combo!

I'm really feeling like I'm on a tear with my creativity, so I'm off to make another card. If you love what you see here, remember that you can click the 24/7 Shop Online button in the upper right corner and have anything you want delivered right to your door! Happy Friday!

Origami Shadow Box Card

Nancy Riley is one of my favoritest stampers, and a few days ago she posted a card featuring a technique for an origami shadow box that she saw on LeAnn Greff's blog. I loved the look, so I decided to continue toying with the things I already had on the table from yesterday's card to see what I could come up with.

This is SO easy and looks so cool! The interior will hold a 1 3/8" square, so that sort of limits what you can do. I am one who is not easily thwarted, however, so I stamped the "Thinking of You" stamp from Kind and Caring Thoughts in three steps using Tangerine Tango ink so that it would fit on my small square! The little leaf is from Great Friend, stamped with So Saffron.

The ribbon was a bit tricky, but I like the placement at the top. It sort of makes the square look like a picture being hung by the ribbon knot, don't you think?

I'm not sure who will receive this card, but it's a good one to have in the stash. It's always good to try out a new technique. Give this a try and let me know what you think! Thanks, Nancy!

The Card I Always HATE to Make

A new friend of mine experienced the sudden loss of her dad last Friday, so I had the unenviable task of creating a sympathy card. I think these are very important to send, but I do not relish making them. The process turned out to be more cathartic than I thought it would; it gave me a way to reach out to her and feel less helpless.

Part of the reason I don't like making sympathy cards is that I don't have a "go-to" set. I've not liked anything I've seen by any stamp manufacturer, so I start from ground zero every time. Well, not every time. This time I used a stand alone stamp I've had for a long time that has one of my favorite Bible verses on it. I knew it would resonate with the recipient, so I started there.

I know she likes bold color--she has a room painted red--so I was drawn to some retired Haiku DSP I have and that determined the color palette of Tangerine Tango and So Saffron and Whisper White.

I created a funky fold using a 2"x5" rectangle. I folded it in half both ways and then scored the angle from the middle to the outside corner of the upper left and lower right portions of the rectangle. I folded those and then folded the tips back. I mounted the verse on it with Stampin' Dimensionals and mounted the whole thing to another coordinating piece of DSP from the same package.

I found some old SS DSP scraps in with my SS card stock, so I used some to further carry forward the color scheme. I mounted all of that on a large piece of TT that I scored at the top and the bottom, .25" in from the edge. The whole thing is mounted on a WW base, which is hard to see in the picture.

I do not know how long it will take this card to reach Iowa from here. I do not know when the funeral is, but I know she's not going to be able to attend, due to severe health issues. My heart is so sad for her, so I'm doing the only things I know to do: praying and stamping. Hopefully some good will come from both.

Vroom, Vroom!

I have raised (well, almost) a boy, and that noise was one I heard a lot when he was little (he's not so little anymore). I really never thought I'd be using the sound to describe one of my newest stamps!

Motorcyle is one of the a la carte stamps that SU! is offering this summer in the Summer Occasions Mini for only $7.95! At first I thought I could do without it, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this stamp would work well for manly cards for boys of all ages.

I've been waiting for my first order from the new 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog to arrive before I inked this stamp, and I'm THRILLED with this first attempt with it! Perhaps that has to do with some of the other stamps and accessories I coordinated with it to make it really pop. I showcased the new Wonderfully Worn background stamp and the Square Lattice Textured Impressions folder for my new Big Shot die cutting machine for this card.

What really makes this card cool is the textured treatment I gave heavy duty aluminum foil. This really helps convey the feel of chrome. I also ran Bermuda Bay through the Big Shot using this same folder. I stamped the cycle in Basic Grey and used my .75" square punch to cut the image apart after I colored the fenders and gas tank with BB Stampin' Write Marker. I mounted each little square with a very tight mat of Basic Black to help it stand on its own against the foil. I also popped it up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

The sentiment is an old standby from It's Your Birthday...sure wish SU! would come out with another set that has a variety of birthday sentiments. Not wild about anything in the catalog.

While I was playing around with this stamp, I wondered if I could simulate movement by stamping the image from right to left (backwards) without reinking. I think it worked! But, since I tend not to leave well enough alone, I added another image that I'd cut out on top of the main cycle, again popped up. This motorcycle's all but doin' a wheely on the inside of the card!

This will be one of the cards I feature at my Stamp-A-Stack later this month. I have SO much new stuff, it's going to take awhile to highlight it all for you! Stay tuned! I'm just gettin' my crafting engine revved up!

Celebrating a CANCER-FREE Life!

My friend Holly was diagnosed with breast cancer almost a year ago. I serve with her husband at church and really did not know her all that well when Brad shared this life-altering news with us, but over the past year we have forged a friendship. Saturday night she and her husband invited everyone who had helped them in the past year to celebrate the END of her cancer treatments (she had both chemo and radiation, even though surgery "got it all") with a Texas-style BBQ.

I wanted to make something that would commemorate this occasion, and so I went WAY BACK to perhaps the oldest set I own, All Year Cheer II, to grab the "Celebrate!" stamp. For some reason, I'm leaning toward the Brights Collection right now, so I emptied my rack of all the ink pads in that group and created a simple background pattern using the stamp. Holly's not really a PINK gal, or I would've gone that route! I sprayed the whole piece with Vanilla Smooch Shimmer Mist to give it some bling.

Once I was done with that, I pulled out Live Like You Mean It, which has the perfect sentiment for this project. I stamped it in Basic Black so that it would contrast boldly from the background. Then I got a wild hare.

Have you ever seen a framed picture of a newlywed couple that's surrounded by signatures of those who were guests at their ceremony? I think it's a much more practical and lovely way of remembering who shared in that special day with the couple than a traditional guest book.

I thought it would be very appropriate to create a unique "guest book" for last night's party that she could frame to remember this special day. So instead of making a card, I placed the front in the middle of an 8"x10" sheet of Whisper White card stock. I took it to the party mounted on a clipboard and everyone who was there signed it.

I'm grateful for the opportunity life presented me to get to know Holly. She is a lovely person and a gifted writer. You can meet her here on her blog. Congrats, girlfriend! Spread your wings and FLY!