Pink Bundle of Joy

I made this card for a stampin' friend who recently had an adorable baby girl. I just love the Bundle of Joy set so it was fun to get that out to play. With two sons and a whole lot of nephews, I never get much of a chance to make totally girly things. So of course I had to go with all pink for this one.

The Houndstooth background inked in pink on the white card stock reminds me of a soft baby blanket, so I used that for my background along with the polka dot print from the Hostess Prints Pack.


To go along with the card I made some Scrap Candy using the Baby's First set. I figured these super cute images would be perfect to embellish a few pages in her baby's scrapbook.

Thanks for stopping by today...have a GREAT weekend!

Always With a Faux Metal Embellishment

I was inspired to try this fun technique called faux metal after seeing Becky's "Faux Something" card on the Stamp Something Challenge Blog. This is the first time I have tried this...it is so fun and easy to create a unique embellishment for your card or scrapbook page!

All you do is build up several layers of embossing powder on your cardstock by first covering it with VersaMark, then sprinkle on your metallic EP, heat until EP is melted, then repeat this step 3 more times. Make sure you have your bold image stamp ready because right after the last layer is melted you must quickly press the stamp into the melted embossing powder to create a good image. If you don't act quickly enough the image won't show up too good. If this happens just add more EP, melt and try again. Edited to add: Erin from Scrap, Stamp & be Merry also had a super cute card with some great (and funny!) instructions about this technique.

If you cut your image out like I did here, make sure to do it carefully because the EP can chip off fairly easy if you bend it too much. After I cut out my faux metal piece I added a Build a Brad to the center and adhered it to my card with a few glue dots.

My color combo used here was inspired by the pretty papers from the Porcelain Prints collection. I stamped the top half of Celery card stock with one of the small circle stamps from the Always set and then stamped the Sanded background inked in White Craft over the top to create my own background paper. To better blend the top and bottom pieces of patterned paper together, I sponged the edges with some Blue Bayou ink.

I just love the bird image in this set! He is inked in Celery and then the edges are inked in Blue Bayou using the Rock 'n Roll technique. He is cut out and popped up on dimensionals.

Hope you like the card! Now I need to head outside and uncover all of my annuals I thought I was safe to plant. It was over 80 degrees here on Memorial Day...then cold all day yesterday with frost during the night. That's Michigan for ya! Hopefully it will warm up nicely today...at least it is sunny! Tonight is game 3 in the Stanley Cup playoffs...GO RED WINGS!!!

Faux Sketch Challenge

I've been wanting to participate in some of the challenges I've been seeing on a couple different blogs for some time now, but I always seem to forget or put it off until the last minute, and then figure it's too late. Well, I'm still a bit late with this but still wanted to play anyways. I think this one card qualifies for two challenges. The first one was Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #49. Here is the sketch:

Her blog, Fresh & Fun is always so inspiring! I'm glad I was finally able to do one of her sketch challenges. I used one of my favorite sets, Spring Song, along with papers from the Hostess Prints Pack and Afternoon Tea.

The faux stitching I added around the circle and on the guava strip qualifies for a second challenge from Stamp Something whose challenge was to Faux Something!

I spent my morning playing with my stamps, but now I need to get outside and do some planting...quick...in case the weatherman was right in his prediction of rain. Have a wonderful day!

I've got a brand new bag!

A couple days before I left on our Florida vacation I was browsing the forums on my favorite stamping website when I came across a post offering SU! Demos the opportunity to try a bag from a new company for FREE. Well, of course all the warnings my mama has always given me popped into my head (in her voice of course! hehehe)..."it sounds too good to be true" "nothing is ever free", etc...

I was a bit leary, so I checked out their website. They had several different styles of totes, handbags, planners, etc...all with a clear window to insert a photo, scrapbook page, stamped art, etc...all I had to do was choose one and pay for the shipping and it was mine to try! After hearing that a few other demos had tried it and did receive a bag (which they were raving about) I decided to go for it.

When I got back from vacation my brand new bag was waiting for me! I've been super busy getting other things done around the house, but in the back of my mind I've been thinking about how I was going to decorate my first panel for my new bag. Yesterday I finally had some spare time and this is what I came up with.

Isn't it cute?! The quality of the bag is really nice! It is lined with a bright green fabric and has pockets on each side with magnetic snaps. There's a few pockets on the inside too...one perfect for a cell phone, a zippered pocket that I can slip my mini catalogs in, and another that I'll probably use for my keys and misc small items. Please visit the Daily Window Bags website to see all their great products. The style I chose is called Eight Days a Week .

For my insert all I did was cut a piece of watercolor paper to fit inside the window. Then I stamped the 3 images I wanted to watercolor with Black Stazon ink. The large flower is the Level 1 Hostess set From the Garden, the butterfly is from Touch of Nature and the dragonfly is from the retired set Measure of a Life. I water colored them with Classic inks pooled in my ink pad lids and my aqua painter. For the background I wet my paper with plain water using a larger water color brush, right to the edges of the images I had just colored. Then I dipped the corner of my brush into a bit of Soft Sky re-inker and washed it across the edges of my paper letting it bleed into the center of my background area. I did this until I got the desired effect, also adding a bit of Lovely Lilac ink here and there. Here's a close up view:

When my paper was thoroughly dry I went back and stamped the swirls from the Baroque Motifs set and the word collage from the retired Natural Beauty set. This was a fun project! I look forward to making more panels that I can swap out for the season or just to match an outfit.

Have a fun Memorial Day weekend!

Live Your Dreams in Plum

I hate making sympathy cards. Not only because I feel sad as I am creating them, but because I always worry whether it's suitable or not. After I photographed this card and uploaded it here, I decided that the black ribbon with it's polka dots was too whimsical of a touch for such a solemn occasion. I removed the ribbon, but I still felt it "needed" something. That's when I decided to add the butterfly image instead. What do you think...is this a better option?
Even though I'm still not entirely sure about this card, I decided to share it here because I wanted to show you that I could stamp with the Live Your Dream set and not use Guava, Wasabi or Soft Sky! It dawned on me as I was working on this card that everything I've done with this set up until this point has been done in those colors, because I've been using it along with the matching Afternoon Tea papers.

For this card I stamped the image in White Craft ink on Basic Black card stock and used my pastels to add color.

Stamps: Live Your Dreams, Sanded background & Brighter Tomorrow (retired)
Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Sage Shadow, Basic Gray & Basic Black
Ink: Perfect plum, White Craft & Basic Black
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Stampin' Pastels, ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Seed Pocket and Cutie Pie Pinwheel

Friday night was my Hostess Stamp Club night...and as always we had a fun evening of visiting and stamping. I can't believe we only have one more meeting left!

Everyone made this pocket card that holds a pack of Morning Glory seeds. They are attached to a piece of card stock with a single brad for easy removal. The card is stamped with the sentiment under the seed packet.

This pocket card was made using the Wild Wasabi textured card stock from last months promo. I just cut it down to 4-1/4 x 11. It is scored at 5- 1/2 and again at 1- 1/2" for the folded down flap. I used the closest SU! colors to match the seed packet - Brocade Blue, Barely Banana & Almost Amethyst Prints. The flower was water colored, but I used my pastels to create the soft blended background.

Here's what the card looks like when the seed card is inserted inside the pocket:

The other card we did was a spinner card done at our May Hostess, Miriam's request. She just loved a sample I had done last spring using Polka Dots & Paisley with the matching Petals & Paisleys paper. Spinner cards are fun to make...and even more fun to play with! The cute little pinwheel is a great way to showcase both sides of the designer papers too.

The image on the card spins after attaching it to two pennies with pop dots sandwiched between them. These are then put inside a track created by the window word punch. For a great tutorial showing exactly how to create a spinner card click here. Keep in mind this tutorial was created before the Window Word punch...so now it's even easier to make one of these cute cards!

To create the pinwheel I started with a 2" square of Cutie Pie designer paper. I cut it at a diagonal on each corner stopping before I hit the center mark. Then fold every other corner into the center holding it in place with a bit of mono multi adhesive. A punched flower and a brad finish it off and also helps to hold it altogether securely.

Stamps: Boho Backgrounds & Big Bold Birthday

Card stock: Bashful blue, So Saffron & Cutie Pie DP

Ink: So Saffron & Purely Pomegranate

Accessories: Rich Regal brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Spring Flower Punch (retired) & window Word Punch, pop dots.

Thanks for stopping by....have a wonderful day!

I thought & I thought....

...and then I forgot! Doesn't it look like this poor little puppy could be thinking this? I needed a belated birthday card for one of my nephews and I thought this adorable image would be perfect. Plus...I just LOVE this little puppy so I'll find any excuse to use him.

I really like this color combo for a masculine card...Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke & Creamy Caramel. The green in the ribbon is a bit off but the other two stripes are dead on color matches. Not sure where I got the ribbon, but everything else is SU!.

My nephew probably won't pay much attention to the card, but I'm sure he'll like what's in it. ;-)

Looks like I gloomy day here today...rain will soon be on it's way. Maybe it will pass through quickly and clear up later so I can get outside and do a little planting. If not...guess I'll have to stay inside and do some stamping...er, I mean cleaning! Have a good one!

Live Your Dream Card for Mom

I just can't say enough about how gorgeous the Afternoon Tea papers are! I just love them...along with the matching stamp set...Live Your Dream. Combining the two makes it's so easy to create a lovely but quick card, like the one shown here.

Nothing really to explain as far as how to recreate this card...just cut your papers, stamp your design and assemble. I do however have a tip that some of you may not have tried.

As you can see here I used this years In Colors to stamp this card. However, with a bold stamp like this flower image where you want the leaves and stem to be Wasabi and the flower to be Soft Sky, it is harder to do when there are no markers available in those colors. This is how I easily solved this problem:

I laid my stamp rubber side up on the table, then inked the flower with my Soft Sky ink pad. If I get some unwanted ink on the stem or leaves I wiped it off and proceeded to ink the stem & leaves with my Wasabi ink pad. There will be a gap on the stem and leaves that is hard to get without getting Wasabi on the flower, so I dipped my blender pen in a bit of Wasabi re-inker and used that to fill in any uninked areas...just like you would with a marker.

Many people dedicate a set of reinkers as In Color markers by simply filling them with re-inker. I suppose if I wanted to use a certain color quite often as a marker than I would probably do that, but for just for a quick touch of color here and there, this option works great for me. This way I can still use my blender pen for other colors if I choose.

With this catalog year soon coming to an end, that means we will have to say goodbye to these beautiful colors we've grown to love so much. Make sure to purchase a re-inker for each In Color ink pad you own and that way you can continue to use them for years to come.

Have a beautiful day!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

First I want to wish all the Mom's out there a very happy Mother's Day! I'm excited to see my Mom today so I can finally give her this adorable purse album I made for her using Jan Tink's awesome design and instructions. When I first saw this on Jan's blog I knew I had to make one for my Mom as she an avid sewer & quilter who loves to make purses and tote bags...so I know she will love this. Besides, she has always loved anything I've made for her...she still has many of the cards and drawings I created way back in elementary school.

The purse is constructed from the new Carousel Notes featured on page 8 in the Occasions Mini Collection along with the Afternoon Tea designer papers and the matching stamp set - Live Your Dream. Since I loved Jan's purse so much I didn't stray too far from her original design. I did have to make a few changes because I didn't have some of the stamps used or the Pick A Petal brass template used for dry embossing and piercing. I dry embossed a circle on each scallop of the Carousel Notes, but I had to use my Seeing Spots brass template and keep moving it as I went. It sure would have been easier to have that Pick a Petal template, but I couldn't bring myself to purchase it for just this project not being sure I would get much use out of it later. Here's What the purse looks like opened:

The notes fit into a pocket on each side created from the envelopes. I used photos from our recent trip to Disney along with some of my Mom & I taken at Christmas.

I hope you all enjoy your day today! Thanks for stopping by!

Fun at Disney's Animal Kingdom

I think the Animal Kingdom is my favorite of the four Disney theme parks. I guess because I love to take pictures and there are just so many photo opportunities there. Also, all the lush, jungle foliage through out the park is just breath taking.

I just love the Kilimanjaro Safari ride through the jungle...each ride is different because you don't know what animals you will see. Even during a walk down the paths you must keep your eyes open for unusual sightings. Luckily I was doing just that as we made our way to Africa to get on our safari ride. On the side of the path hidden amongst the foliage I spotted DeVine. Isn't she beautiful? She moves silently on stilts totally covered in vines.

Since our last visit to the Animal Kingdom they added a new roller coaster - Expedition Everest. It is very cool! As you travel inside the mountain you meet up with a HUGE Yeti who roars and grabs at your car. I guess it's the biggest animatronic in any of the parks and looks so realistic.

Here's a closer view of the coaster coming out of the side of the mountain.

From almost every spot in the park the Tree of Life is visible. This is a magnificently, detailed work of art. The trunk is intricately carved with all sorts of animals, birds and insects. From every angle you can see different animals intertwined to make up the enormous tree. One of my favorite 3-D shows, It's Tough to Be a Bug, is located inside the tree. This is a picture of my hubby and I in front of the Tree of Life.

Here's a fun fact about the Tree of Life: Ten artists and three Imagineers worked full-time for 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on The Tree of Life. Sculptors had between six and 10 hours to create the finished image before the plaster hardened.

Hope you enjoyed these photos. Hopefully I'll get some stamping time in later and have something stamp related to share tomorrow. Someone asked in my last post what kind of camera I used to take the beach photos. I have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I just LOVE it so far and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to buy a new camera.

Here Comes the Sun

We're back from our Florida vacation. As always...vacation goes by way too fast! We had such a good time I didn't want it to end! Since I haven't done any stamping while I was gone or since I've been back, I thought I'd share a few photos I took on our trip.

We stayed most of the week in Orlando, but the morning we got off the plane we jumped in our rental car and headed for Cocoa Beach. The night we spent there was at a hotel right on the ocean, so that was really nice. We woke up early the next morning in time for a long walk on the beach to watch the sunrise. As you can see from these photos I took, it was just spectacular! I especially love this first photo taken just before the sun came up. There are so many colors reflected onto the sand and the waves washing up on the beach. After such a long, cold & snowy winter walking barefoot in the sand sure was a welcome treat!

This last photo was taken from the balcony in our room just as three pelicans flew over the pier.
We enjoyed our day and a half at the ocean, but our condo in Orlando was waiting along with a busy week ahead hitting Disney's four parks plus Universal. So there wasn't a whole lot more relaxation in store for us, but we sure enjoyed every minute! I took a LOT of photos, so I'll need to get busy and do some scrappin'. I'll be sharing more photos here this week.

Happy Cinco de Mayo...Enjoy your day!