Simply Stunning Friends Never Fade

Some things are so good, they don't need to be improved. Such is the case with this card from SCS. Isn't it elegant?

The Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Folder really shines here, and I love that I now know you can dry emboss only a portion of a card front using it in the Big Shot. The image is from Friends Never Fade, and was colored direct to rubber using the Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers.

For the sentiment, I inked the image that goes with the set that includes the wording using PP ink. I just cut out what I wanted and left the rest behind! I highlighted the word "never" with my DD marker. The piece is popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

The ribbon is DD 1/4" grosgrain. I wrapped it around the card and tied the bow separately. There's a 1/8" ribbon in this color, and I think I'm going to have to include it in my next order. Still, I don't think the 1/4" is too substantial for the card.

I'm off to the Farmers' Market this morning--I have a whole Saturday to do whatever I want! I'm hoping for sweet corn for dinner this evening.

Woven Paper Hydrangea + FREE Money!

Earlier this month, I saw a card by Dawn Olfchefske with a woven pattern on it, and I thought it added so much visual interest to the entire layout that I made a mental note to try it the next time some creative time presented itself. As you can tell from the date of my previous post, this was a busy week. I decided this afternoon that I had enough energy to try this, and here's the result!

I chose white on white because I'm a coward and didn't want to limit myself to a color scheme until I knew what I was going to do! The strips are 3/8" wide and 4.25" in length. There are 14 of them.

The most challenging part of the entire process was keeping the strips square. The folding over of the excess at the top was the culprit, so I was very careful as I went along, checking against my SU! grid paper to make sure it didn't end up cattywampus. Yes, that is a word.

When I was finished, I thought it would be best to capture the country basket effect it evoked in me by pairing it with Crumb Cake for the card base and the stamp set Because I Care (Level 1 Hostess). To me, hydrangeas are old-fashioned flowers, so I inked up my clear mount stamp with Regal Rose and Old Olive and held my breath and stamped it on the woven pattern. Love it! I kept the rest really simple. I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying using the new 1/8" ribbon!

In case you didn't know, there is an archive on the side column of this blog where you can look at all the cards made with a certain set, like Because I Care. Just click on the set name and you'll get to see how this set has inspired me.

I'm featuring this set today because SU! is extending a great offer to hostesses who partner with me between now and Aug. 31.

If you host an event that has orders that total $350 in merchandise, you'll be eligible for this set (or any other from Level 1 Hostess Set offerings), a set from the Level 2 Hostess Set offerings, AND $65 in Hostess Dollars to spend however you want! That's $25 more than usual, and that total in orders is so achievable! Let's work together, shall we, so that you can have more play money for stamp supplies. Contact me about partnering together to have a great private class. We can even weave some paper, if you're so inclined!

Need Coffee?

Since I started working at Starbucks, I've developed a taste for coffee. Naturally, when I saw the new set called Morning Cup I ordered it immediately.

For once, I had no preconceived notion of how I wanted the card to look. I just started experimenting with the different elements. I stamped the percolator and stack of cups and saucers using one acrylic block onto Watercolor Paper. Using my Aqua Painter with the fine tip, I colored the images. It was a bit tricky, since the ink I'd used to stamp the images, Soft Suede, is not waterproof, and SU! no longer carries Brown Staz-On. I used Basic Grey and Garden Green, the closest green in any of the color collections to Starbucks green. I grounded the images using Crumb Cake.

Then it began to get interesting. I wanted a coffee ring as part of the design so that the sentiment didn't look lost above the images. I experimented with an actual cup, but wasn't pleased with the result. So I pulled out a small metal lid from a tin of espresso cookies--how appropriate--and inked it using Early Espresso, which is a shade or two darker than Soft Suede. Once I'd stamped it, I applied water with my Aqua Painter and achieved the look I desired. I even created some drops off to the side!

I inked the sentiment using my EE and GG Markers and stamped it in between the visuals. Isn't it hilarious? Since I drink coffee solely for the taste--caffeine does not effect my alertness at all--I can't relate, but I know many who do.

Then I got the idea to play off the sentiment by anchoring the whole card with some z's. I ran some tiny scraps of EE through my Big Shot multiple times and punched out some 1/8" circles. It helped to use tweezers to apply glue to each letter and position it.

This set also comes with a single cup and saucer and a mug, as well as a tea kettle and a tea bag, so you can make cards for both kinds of caffeine addicts in your life. If you'd like to order it, click here!

Ribbon Button Sunflower

I was so pleased with the outcome of my experiment with the button daisies (see yesterday's post), that I wanted to play some more with this technique. I pulled out a random button from my stash, along with the Daffodil Delight ink pad and began again.

I took the same 1/8" Whisper White ribbon and pulled it across the surface of the pad, using a scrap of sponge to hold it down and keep my fingers from turning yellow. Then I dried the ribbon with my heat tool. Then I started making loops.

Instead of using one long strand of ribbon, this time I made a petal, attached it to the button, then cut off the rest of the ribbon length before making another loop. I used glue dots again as my medium of choice. I was still challenged by the amount of ribbon on the back of the button when I was done, and some were already trying to come undone. So I used some Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive, a strong, sticky glue, and held everything in place until it set. Then I put a scrap of card stock on the back and held it tightly for another length of time until I was sure it was going to stay together. Then I put Stampin' Dimensionals on the back and plopped it down quickly on the card.

The stem is from Apple Blossoms, and the sentiment is from Absolutely Fabulous (retired). Again I used the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder for the Big Shot to up the visual interest. The base is Soft Suede, 3" x 11" scored at 5.5".

Pretty Ribbon Daisies

My very creative crafty friend Lydia posted this card with fabby flowers awhile back, and ever since I have been thinking about them and scheming how I would make them.

Today, I was in the mood to create (translation: not do laundry or housework) after work, and again these flowers came to mind. I pulled out my little container of Brights buttons and my glue dots and the same silver cord she used, when I was practically mugged by my mojo. SU! is offering 1/8" ribbon in 13 colors (!), and I purchased Whisper White.

So I pulled it out and began looping and sticking and petals emerged from my buttons to form daisies! It takes quite a few glue dots, and the ribbon builds up on the back, so I may go back and re-engineer this, but I like how the first attempt turned out!

Then I had to figure out how to create a scene adorable enough to stand up to these cuties. I punched out 3 scalloped edge circles, cut them in half, and created my own clouds. I started AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CARD and sponged around them using Tempting Turquoise. Then I moved up a little bit, staggered my template, and repeated the sponging. Such a pretty sky! I was so NOT a Brights gal before the Color Renovation, but now I find myself going to this collection all the time.

I stamped the stem from Apple Blossoms, one of the new Hostess sets, in Old Olive. I had some left over Designer Series Paper in OO that was solid on one side, so I made my own little grassy patch for the bottom of my scene.

I adhered the daisies using Stampin' Dimensionals and matted the entire scene on Daffodil Delight. The base of the card is Tempting Turquoise.

There's a great saying in Apple Blossoms that I wanted to incorporate into the design. I didn't have enough guts to stamp it in the clouds for fear I'd boff it somehow and render my card unusable, so I stamped it on a .5" strip of Whisper White in Pumpkin Pie, unstacking the sentiment and making it into a single sentence.

Now if I could only figure out a way to make them smell like real flowers...

Just One More...

I know this is the third origami shadow box card I've shown you in a week, so I promise I'll stop now. I did use some new items from the catalog for this baby girl card for one of my customers...does that help?

See the sweet little half pearls around the shadow box? They are the second smallest size of three sizes in the package of 150 for $5! I used the Victoria Crocheted Trim again too, and I must say it's just one of the best ribbons SU! has ever offered.

I chose the "small wonder" sentiment from Whimsical Words because little Jordan entered the world weighing 4 lbs. 13 oz., three weeks premature. I'd say the phrase fits, wouldn't you?

The base is Very Vanilla, impressed with the Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder, and the Designer Series Paper is retired Candy Lane. I used my Big Shot and the Billboard Sizzlits Decorative Strip alphabet to customize the card with the baby's name.

More new stuff to come!

Just a Note from the Aviary

Aviary is my favorite new set from the 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog, and Friday afternoon I had a chance to ink it up. My inspiration was this card by Twila Mooneyham, but once I started more ideas came to me!

There are four birds and four cages (aviaries) in the set, as well as a stand stamp to make some of them taller. It's just so whimsical and FUN that I can't stop using exclamation points at the end of my sentences when I describe it! Okay, I'll try to refrain going forward.

I inked up the cages in Staz-On black and followed Twila's suggestion of using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to place them, even though I purchased the acrylic clear mount option. When I was done putting the birdies in their places, I had one cage left uninked. Well, that wouldn't do!

So I created a z-fold, scoring a 5.5"x11" piece of Whisper White at 4" and 6.75", which resulted in a 5.5" square card with a nice sized interior for writing a short letter.

I also spied the rhinestones (Basic Rhinestone Jewel Accents, if you want to be technical) I'd purchased and thought they'd add some nice bling to this card. These babies come in three sizes and there are 150 for $5.

Now to figure out who I want to jot a note to. Oh, that reminds me! The only thing this set is missing is a sentiment. I have a non-SU! stamp that has some musical notes on it, and I inked that up and added it to the card, and used the "just a little note" (get it?) from the Level 2 Apple Blossoms Hostess Set. YAY!

One last non-bird-related thing: does this happen to you when you're using your laptop? My poochers are jealous and not subtle about telling me they'd like me to be doing something else, like playing fetch!

Hope you're liking all these cards using the new products. I'd love to help you get your hands inky and let you try the Big Shot! Let me know if you'd like to partner together to have a fantastic get-together before summer's over and we're back in the routine of school. I'm still looking for hostesses who want to have a great time with their friends and get FREE stamps...could that be you? Contact me!