An Improvement on a Good Idea

Sometimes you get a second chance. Today's cards are an example of card grace. I made this first card for my mom, whose birthday was yesterday. I wanted to use the ornament punch to create "pots" for flowers. I used the Garden Silhouettes set. The flowers were colored direct to rubber with Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, and Garden Green Stampin' Write markers. Dusty Durango was used to create the terracotta "pots".

Part of the trouble with this first card was that I didn't have the right base color for it (ended up using Soft Suede), and I wasn't entirely pleased with the scalloped edged strips. But time was of the essence, so in the mail it went.

Here's where the second chance comes in. That card was an original, and I wanted to use the layout and premise of a punch being repurposed for my upcoming Stamp-A-Stack featuring paper punches. So, I had to return to the drawing board and remake the card so my students would have a sample to refer to. Turns out, I like the second chance card better than the original.

Here's a closeup so you can get a better look. I cut the tip off the ornament punch so that the "pot" would have a sturdy base. I used a large tag punch and rounded the edges to make the tall vase. I stamped the flowers, starting with the middle bouquet, and then added the "pots". This focal image is smaller than the other as well, and no greeting is incorporated into it.

I also procured some Cameo Coral to use for my base and folded it as a gate fold for added interest. I placed a mat of Garden Green behind the focal image and still wanted a little more eye candy. I had popped up the middle "pot" on dimensionals, so I threaded some non-SU! ribbon underneath and tied a square knot. Proportionately correct--love it!

For the interior, I stamped the flower image with Versamark on the center panel and mounted some Very Vanilla for the greeting. Since I haven't decided if this is going to be a Mother's Day card or a birthday card, it's blank. My students will have their choice of sentiments. (Double click on the photo to more clearly see the details.)

You haven't heard from me much lately because I've had my nose to the grindstone working on a HUGE project that's due next Friday. I'm making invitations for a fundraising dinner, and one element of the design necessitated adhering 5 layers together 600 times. Yes, I know that I created this situation by designing the invite this way, but I guess I'm a glutton for punishment! I'll post more about these next week. Have a great weekend!

Spring Look for Winter CASE

Amy of Gone INKognito posted this card on her site awhile ago. I LOVED it, and filed it away for inspiration. When I was getting ready for this month's Stamp-A-Stack, I thought, "What would that card look like in spring colors?"

Since there are many colors in the Bold Brights family that are being retired at the end of June, I thought I'd start there to give this card a makeover. There is card stock to be used up before the deadline, and I want to make the most of what I have.

I started with a Gable Green base and cut 1.75" squares of YoYo Yellow and Only Orange and Whisper White. I used White Craft Ink on two images from Pocket Silhouettes and embossed them with White Embossing Powder.

I don't have the curvy label punch that Amy used for her central image, so I pulled out my "kisses" diecuts from the recent Occasions Mini Catalog and cut a portion of the diecut away to make it less dominant and more interesting visually. Then I pulled out a strip of Green Galore, also from Bold Brights and also retiring, and used my new Scallop Border punch, which will be carrying over from the Occasions Mini into the upcoming 2010-2011 catalog that releases July 1, to create an interesting border. Sort of makes you think of an ornamental border you place in a garden to keep the grass out, doesn't it? If it doesn't, humor me!

I like this fresher redux, and I hope the stampers at this month's Stamp-A-Stack do also! This month's event is scheduled for Friday evening, April 23, and Sat. morning, April 24. If you're GA local and want to attend, just leave a comment and I'll get you details!

Now, for a bit more information about the colors affected by SU!'s Color Renovation. There are a total of 40 colors that SU! has deemed are no longer current, so we'll be saying farewell to them at the end of this big idea book & catalog season. If you see any here that you want for your stash, be sure to order online through my online store as soon as possible. They're available while supplies last, as they say.

Happy Bee

When I saw this bee on Diana Gibbs' blog, I flipped! She called it "stinkin' cute" and I agree completely! How can you not love this guy? This afternoon I made him using Diana's great tutorial, but I changed up the color scheme slightly to coordinate with some great honeycomb-looking DSP.

The punches used include:

1 3/8" circle punch
heart to heart punch
1/2" circle punch
1/4" circle punch (non-SU!)

The only deviation I took from Diana's bee creation was to make the wings using the narrow heart in the heart to heart punch, since I don't own the small oval punch. The only other essential supplies you need are So Saffron (for the card base and the bee's body), some scraps of Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, and Ruby Red card stock, a little bit of vellum, and glue dots.

The DSP is part of a retired package called Urban Garden, and it was the perfect complement to this little buzzer. I created some hexagons using 1 1/4" squares to replicate the pattern in the paper. To do this, I marked the middle of the square on two opposite sides, and 1/4" in from each side on the other two sides. Then I cut the triangles off using a scissors. If that doesn't make sense, just let me know in the comments and I'll photograph what I mean and edit the post to include a visual.

I had to get really creative when coming up with a sentiment for this card, as I don't have any sayings that fit the bee theme. I pulled out my outline alphabet and the "happy" stamp from the long-retired Polka Dots & Paisley.

This card is one of 5 featuring paper punches that I'm offering at my April Stamp-A-Stack. RSVP deadline is April 18 to attend.

SU! Starts a REvoLuTioN with Color Renovation!

This was just announced on the demonstrator website today: Stampin' Up! is reorganizing its color families and bringing an entirely new, fresh approach to its palette of offerings! This means that some of the InColor collection favorites will be returning, and other core colors will be retiring.

Click HERE to see the new chart! This is FANTASTIC! More to come, for sure!

Happy Birthday, Dad

This card was inspired by one made by Lynn Pratt using Baroque Motifs. Unlike Lynn, I didn't create gridlines. I stamped the image on my grid paper and then lined my card up underneath and lined up the stamp accordingly. Worked like a charm!

I like this color scheme of Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, and Very Vanilla. It's one I haven't used in awhile. I used some hardware store twine to create the grid, and the sentiment from It's Your Birthday for the tag. It's masculine, isn't it?

My dad is a Butler alum, so we were cheering hard for the Bulldogs last night. Well, I was with them in spirit because I was sleeping while they played, but you know what I mean. I'm glad the game was close. Duke is like a Goliath in the NCAA, and Butler isn't even a Division I school. Hoosier perfected basketball, and the 'dogs made us proud last night.

A Niggle Usually Means Something

Yesterday I got a niggle to make a card. Not just any card, but a pink card. If you're new to this blog, I'll let you in on a secret: I don't EVER choose pink. I'm just not that kind of girl. But, for some reason, I felt the urge to create a card, inspired by Carol's Ink Spot, using pink. The set that came to mind when I saw this card a few weeks ago was Friendly Flowers, a retired set that I've not used much. I set it beside the bubble gum Pink Passion card stock and ink (again, the niggle), and white craft ink, and set to work.

Carol used vellum as her stamping surface, mounted on top of colored card stock, so I pulled out a 4" x 5.25" piece and began stamping. It take a LONG time for ink to dry on vellum, so I sped the process along by using my heat tool. You have to be careful not to warp this thin paper when heating it, and fate smiled on me and I was successful.

Once I was done stamping, I mounted the vellum on the card using regular adhesive. I didn't want it to show, so i placed it strategically underneath the strip of card stock that would go over it that has the "they say it's your birthday!" Not a unique idea, but one that lets the images be the attention, not the adhesive.

I liked the button that Carol used, but I didn't have any pink buttons (see above for reasons why). I did have some small clear buttons and some thin light pink ribbon that had been gifted to me. That would work, right? I tied that into the button and mounted it on the card, but something was still missing. When I went hunting in my drawers again, I stumbled across a baggie of flat small rhinestones. Again, in the spirit of full disclosure, you must know that I am also SO NOT a rhinestone girl. Not a flashy bone in my body, friends. But I felt like they belonged on this card (nigggle niggle). Who am I to argue with the creative muse? So I went with it. They're a pain in the you-know-what to mount because I didn't have the right size glue dots, but I used some glue and persevered until I'd used the entire package.

I stamped the coordinating message and decorated the inside of the card--this is all the rage right now--and went looking for my digital camera. While searching for it, I got sidetracked by my laptop and spent a little time on Facebook. While cruising through my notifications, I saw a little message in the right column: Mikayla's birthday is Wednesday. NO--really? I didn't believe FB and went to her page to confirm it.

THAT'S WHY I'D HAD THE URGE TO USE PINK! THAT'S WHY I'D HAD THE NIGGLE! Mikayla is my niece, and tomorrow she'll be 10. Double digits. That's a special birthday that needs to be celebrated, even if your auntie, uncle, cousin, and doggie relatives live 800 miles away. So the card will be a bit late, but that doesn't mean we won't be thinking of her.

Lesson learned? PAY ATTENTION TO THE NIGGLES.

Recycled Flowers for a Friend

When recycling came to our town in IL, I embraced it wholeheartedly. I loved the fact that we set out more blue containers than garbage cans weekly, and that so much of what we didn't need anymore, i.e. glass, plastic, cans, paper, and cardboard, could be repurposed.

Moving to GA brought a bit of recycling disappointment into my life. GA residents cannot recycle EVERY number of plastic, only 1s and 2s. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THINGS ARE 5s?!? We can recycle glass, but not curbside. I have to save it up and take it to an area recycling center, but there's no fee to participate.

Well, as much as I've accepted recycling as part of my life, I'd never thought of repurposing items for CRAFTING before I read these posts by my cool Texan friend, Lydia. She thinks WAY outside the box creatively, and inspires me to do the same. How does this play out? I think of her every time I open a business sized envelope that has junk mail or a bill inside it!

Lydia LOVES blue. All things would be blue if she could find a way to make it so. So, when I saw the guts of these unassuming envelopes on a fine spring day, I knew what I wanted to do with them.

I pulled out my 1.75" and 2" scallop circle punches and made flowers! I cut down the scallops so that they'd fringe a bit, thus becoming more three dimensional, plopped a 3/4" circle of Yo Yo Yellow in the middle and topped it with a little button.

Then I needed a "landscape" for these flowers. I chose the swirly doodle from retired set Doodle This and stamped it in Garden Green to simulate funky foliage. Okay, this is coming together, but what about saying something? This card needed a sentiment, and I was a bit stumped as to how to incorporate it into the design. So I left the elements on my desk for a few days and came back to it yesterday. I decided I wanted a pennant, so I went to my stashes of SU! blues and chose Ballet Blue because it's the closest to the flowers. The sentiment is from Season of Friendship and it's stamped on Whisper White with BB ink.

I hope this makes you proud, girlfriend! I'll never be as cool as you, but I can try!