Exciting NEW Stampin' Up! products!

In just a few days the retiring list will come out from Stampin' Up telling us which beloved stamp sets they will be letting go to make room for lots of new exciting sets. I'm always sad to see some of my favorites go, but always very excited to see what they have in store for us!

I think this year will prove to be even more exciting. As many of you already know, SU! is moving away from one large Idea Book & Catalog per year and will be introducing two new catalogs per year! In July, when the present catalog ends, a new Fall/Winter 2007 Collection will be unveiled. This catalog will run though December 2007. In January they will then introduce the Spring/Summer 2008 Collection.

At this time of year I'm always excited...wondering what will be available in the upcoming catalog. While browsing the net I came across another blog belonging to a woman who just came back from the Stampin' Up! cruise to the Bahamas. While on the cruise they got a sneak peak at some of the new products! She took photos to share on her blog. This years '07 In Color line will be going bye-bye, but they will be bringing out 6 more fun In Colors, plus a new addition to the Neutrals line. Check these out:

Wild Wasabi & Purely Pomegranate

Groovy Guava & Soft Sky

Blue Bayou, River Rock & Basic Gray

I was really excited to see some fun, new bling...rhinestone brads!!! How cool is that? They will come in two different color collections called Fire & Ice in both circle shapes and square shapes. These will be fun to add to cards and scrapbook pages! There will also be a new Punch Box Kit. This is really cute, don't you think?

Towards the end of May, be on the lookout for a preview brochure that will be mailed to everybody that provided me with their address to be on my mailing list. I'm interested to see what will be in there...but until then, thanks so much to Caroline from Caro's Adventures in StampingLand for sharing all the great photos and info from the Stampin' Up! Bahama Cruise!

This afternoon we are off to Detroit to see a Red Wings game! I've never been to a game during the playoffs so it should be extra exciting!!!

GO WINGS!!!

It's all about the accessories

This week I made a few cards, all for men. My inspiration was a really nice color block design that I remembered seeing in a gallery on SCS. Since two of the cards were sympathy cards, I wanted a more toned down color scheme, but I basically used that design, with a few changes. I made the two sympathy cards first, and when I got to assembling the birthday cards, I decided to try using a couple different accessories. I thought I'd show you all three variations.For the sympathy cards I wanted a simple, clean layout so I didn't add any embellishments at all.
The first birthday card was for my brother, so I used some twill tape stamped with the word brother. A simple touch that adds a little extra to the card.



The final card uses a line of three copper brads along the side. I think I like the look of this one the best because it looks so nice with the brushed copper card stock used for matting the tree image. However, I was happy with the way all three cards turned out and it was fun making each one just a bit different.
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Weathered background, Warmest Regards (Level 1 hostess set) and Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: True Thyme, Chocolate Chip & various for water coloring
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Brushed Copper & Watercolor paper
Have a nice weekend!

Spring All Occasion Card Class

Here is half of the assorted cards plus the matching tote we made at my Spring-themed All Occasion Card Class on Friday. For those who missed out - I am offering this class once again on May 11th! This set makes a nice gift! Mother's day is on the 13th, and since you can choose which sentiments you want for each card - you can make your Mother's Day cards at this class if you choose.

These classes are always a lot of fun! You will get to try a variety of different techniques, stamp sets and accessories, and the best part is everything is pre-cut and ready to go! So you get to skip the prep work and get right to the fun part...stamping! Contact me today if you are interested. Hurry...sign up deadline is May 3rd and there is a limited space.

Happy Card

I got my bedroom all done! Well...almost. I still need to hang the window treatment (Mike doesn't know this but he's going to help me with that at some point today. ;-) and I have to paint the door. I love the way it turned out! I'll share a few photos here soon. Along with my painting projects, I've been busy getting things ready for a spring card class I had here last night, so I've been bad about posting for the past few days.

On Wednesday it was my friend Rachel's birthday and this is the card I made for her. I used all of my favorite items that I got from the Spring Mini plus some of my favorite colors. The result is a fun, happy card. I hope she liked it, and had a great birthday!

I used the rock 'n roll technique to create the shaded flower - first I inked the stamp with Saffron and then rolled it in the Rose. We did this card last night at my class and I think it was one of their favorites.

Stamps: You Make Me Happy, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: So Saffron, Regal Rose & Old Olive
Card stock: Regal Rose, So Saffron, Whisper White & Petals & Paisley Double-sided Designer paper
Accessories: Soft Subtle button, Turquoise grosgrain & Rounded Tab Punch

Tomorrow I hope to post a photo of what we made at my card class last night. The girls loved their projects and were excited with each card they made, so that made it even more fun for me. Seeing such enthusiasm and excitement is the best part of teaching the art of stamping.

Have a beautiful day! It's supposed to be in the 70's here today! Yippee!!!

Quick & Easy Pocket Card

I'm still busy finishing up painting my bedroom. So far I painted the walls, stenciled at ceiling around the entire room and then added a faux treatment - lighter glaze which I rag rolled onto the walls. Today it's time to paint the trim. It will be nice to get everything moved back in there later.

Yesterday was my oldest son's birthday. He turned 19! I can hardly believe it! (I was only 10 when he was born! hehe) Where does the time go? Since I have been so busy painting, I needed to make him a quick and easy card. Teens...I think they really only care what's inside the card anyways! So I made him a pocket card to hold the cash we gave him as a gift.

All I did was score and fold my card stock at 2" and again at 6". I folded up the bottom 2" and secured the sides with sticky strip and this became my pocket. Super easy and I think it turned out cute. He liked it! (well, what was in it anyways!)

Stamps: A Greeting For All Reasons, Canvas background, Everyday Flexible Phrases - on sale this month
Card stock: Yo Yo Yellow, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black & whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, Summer Sun

Accessories: Watercolor pencils, Aqua painter

I also managed to get a cute card stamped for a friend who also has a birthday coming up. I'll wait to share that one in case she looks here. Have a great day!

I finally saw one!

This morning I got up and opened my blinds to greet the sunny day outside and guess what flew by the window and landed in a nearby tree? A robin! The first one I've seen this spring. I normally see them in March, and when I mentioned not seeing one, everyone said they've seen their first one. I was beginning to wonder if they were boycotting our property this year.

I've been busy painting my bedroom the last couple days, so no new stamping projects for me. I had a wall paper border at the ceiling all around the room and that was a pain to remove. I got the walls all painted a really rich plum color and today I plan to stencil. I picked up the stencil a while ago because the scroll design goes with part of the design in our bedding. It will be a simple stenciling project because it just has one overlay and I'll only be using two colors. If all goes well, I should have that part done today. Then on to the faux finish and then painting the trim. (painting trim is right up there with painting ceilings...I hate doing both! At least the ceiling didn't need painting.)

Since I don't have any new stamping projects, I thought I'd post this bird card I made a while ago in honor of seeing my first robin of the Spring season. Some of you may have already seen this one. Touch of Nature is one of my favorite sets. It is versatile in that you can make beautiful cards appreciated by both sexes. This particular card was made for a man.

Stamps: Touch of Nature, Linen and Weathered backgrounds, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: Mellow Moss, Cranberry Crisp, Always Artichoke, Black Stazon & various to water color
Card Stock: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Cranberry Crisp & Very Vanilla
Accessories: Vintage Brads & Aqua painter

Enjoy your weekend!

Anyone want a blue toilet?!

Our bathroom/laundry room project is done...no more blue toilet or sink! WOO HOO! See the before photo here. I still need to add some accessories like a window treatment and hang some pictures, but everything else is done. We did all the work ourselves except for the flooring. For the most part it was a fun project, but it's good to have it finished! Although, now I have no excuse for not getting the laundry done! Unfortunately, these photos do not capture the true color or show the faux treatment I used on the walls. It is kind of a Mellow Moss color with a lighter hue rag-rolled over the top.

In the laundry room, we ended up putting in a new laundry tub & light fixtures. I had previously done some rag-rolling in there along with a pretty floral swag design stenciled on the soffet and over window and doorways. I didn't want to cover up the stenciling quite yet, but after painting the ceiling and adding the new flooring it didn't look as good as I thought it could. So, I decided to mix up a golden yellow glaze and give the walls a nice color wash. It gave the stenciling kind of an antiqued look, yet allowed the design to show through. The change is subtle, but it really freshened up the room and blended with the new flooring much better.

Here's a close-up look of some of the stenciling done above one door. Now that this project is done I plan on doing some more painting...this time in my bedroom. I've only had the paint for a year and a half...so I guess it's about time, huh?!

Oh, in case you thought I was serious...my hubby already took a sledge hammer to the "beautiful" old blue toilet before I could offer it here as blog candy! So hopefully you didn't have your heart set on snatching that beauty up! hehehe

Actually, I really wanted to play a joke on a friend of mine who has a gorgeous home on the lake. I wanted to take it over when she was out of town and place it nicely in with her landscaping complete with gaudy plastic flowers in the bowl, and see how long it took her to notice it. Too bad Mike didn't want to go along with my evil plan...I don't think I could have gotten it in and out of the truck on my own...oh well! Enjoy your day!

Easter Ramblings

I hope you had a nice Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful day! We had some of our family join us for what was originally going to be brunch until Mike had to work later than planned. So it turned into a late lunch/early dinner...or Linner as we called it. We had so much food that I felt like I do after Thanksgiving dinner...totally stuffed! I tried a new dish called Spring Brunch Frittata. It was sort of like a quiche, but not as heavy in consistency and without the crust. It has spinach, sauteed mushrooms and Parmesan cheese in it. We also had ham, cheesy potatoes and my Aunt's homemade Hot Cross Buns. YUM! I made up little goodie buckets for our guests, and they loved them.

The containers were fun to make! I was happy to find these little buckets that matched SU! colors, so I grabbed a bunch of them when I was at Target one day, not really sure what I would use them for. All I did was make a "label" for the front using Regal Rose & Whisper White card stock and the You Make Me Happy stamp set. I used the Ticket Corner punch to give the rectangle shape a little more interest and the Horizontal Slot punch to run the grosgrain ribbon through. Then I held it in place with lots of stick strip - that stuff holds anything, I swear! I also added a couple cute brads that are shaped like buttons to keep the ribbon in place. The front of the bucket had some satin ribbon running thru two holes and then tied into a big bow, but I removed that and added my own ribbon that I had in my stash. Since these were for Easter, I had to add the cute little Easter bunny tag from Tags So Much! I figured this can be easily removed and they can use the container for pencils or something after the candy is gone. I have several of these in my craft room to help me keep organized and they look really cute I think.

Another fun thing about yesterday was that our family got to see our newly remodeled bathroom and laundry room. I love the way it turned out! They all thought it looked great too. Maybe tomorrow I'll show you what we did in those rooms. Until then, I'll be sitting in front of the window (too cold to hang outside!) hoping to see my first robin of the year! I'm on a mission now since I have gotten several comments from people who read my entry here a few days ago about not seeing a robin yet. It seems everyone has seen one, but me! What's up with that?! I'm keeping my eyes peeled and hopefully I'll see one soon. Have a great day!

Happy Easter!

I got this retired set at a garage sale last summer because I fell in love with this bunny image and thought it would make a cute Easter card. (Plus it was only five bucks, and who could pass that up?!) The name of the set is Tender Toile and I think that maybe it was a hostess set at one time because the rubber is purple. Anyways, I'm glad I finally got a chance to play with it.

I wanted a soft, vintage look for this card, so I stamped each layer with the Linen background inked in brown. For the banana layer, I used the floral image from this set stamped all over randomly in basic brown and then sponged the edges. Originally I planned to stop there...but it seems I can never just stop! I wondered if it would look nicer if the floral design had some color added to it. I tried it first on scrap and liked the look so I quickly added a bit of color using reinkers and my aqua painter.

Stamps: Tender Toile, Linen background & Fancy Flexible Phrases

Card Stock: Mellow Moss, Barely Banana, & Water color paper

Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Brown and various to water color

Accessories: Ticket Corner punch, Rich Regal Brads, Ivory & Moss grosgrain ribbon & Pop Dots

Have a nice Easter!

It's Spring...and I still have not seen a Robin!

Each year when I have my first Robin sighting, I know that it means that Spring is finally on it's way. Here it is April, and I still have not seen one! I guess they knew not to come back to Michigan yet because we were going to get more of that four lettered word that starts with an "s"!

Since our state bird has been so elusive, I decided to water color one of the Song Bird images that I stamped when my friend Rachel came over last Friday to look like a Robin. It only took me a week to get to it, but I finally came up with a finished card...thanks for letting me play with your set Rach!

For this, I wanted to use bright, spring-like colors, but I also wanted to use something different than I would normally use. It took me a while to come up with this color scheme because I had already picked out the blue for the base of my card and then the violet and knew I wanted to use those colors, but it also needed additional color to make it pop. I decided on banana but it still needed something. So, I added rose and that was just what it needed. Kind of an odd color combo, but I like it.

Stamps: Song Birds, Paisley & Linen backgrounds, Happy Harmony

Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Vintage Violet, Barely Banana & Watercolor paper

Ink: Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Black Stazon and various to watercolor

Accessories: Rich Regal Brads, Blue Gingham ribbon, pop dots & aquapainter

I hope wherever you are this Easter weekend, it is warm and springy with lots of song birds! For us folks here in Michigan, I guess we still have a little bit more cold to endure, but I'm sure it won't be long before we see many Robins bouncing across our green lawns.

A Happy Hello

I've been so busy this past week with my bathroom remodel that I haven't got much stamping done. This past Friday night one of my stamping friends came over and we did a little stamping, but I think I did more talking than stamping as I did not actually finish anything! She brought her Songbirds set, so hopefully I will have something finished with that to show you later this week.

I'm really happy with the way our bathroom has turned out so far. Like I told you in a previous post, I painted the walls kind of a Mellow Moss color and I did end up going over the top with a rag rolled glaze in a lighter color. I really like the way it turned out. I'm excited to get it all done! But...you know how one thing leads to another? Now it seems I've decided to update the finish on my laundry room walls also. I stenciled a pretty floral design in there a few years ago and I still love that, so it will be a color wash over the walls to freshen them up but still allow the stenciling to show through. I'll share some photos of the completed rooms hopefully by the end of the week. I want it to be done before Easter when we are having family over for brunch! So forgive me for not posting very much lately.

Today's card is one that I made a couple weeks ago. It turned out pretty cute so I thought I'd share it today. I used Crystal Effects on the fishbowl and splashes of water after I got done water coloring it, so in real life it looks shiny like glass or water would. I had just gotten my new round tab punch, so of course I had to use that! For the background I used my Speckled jumbo roller inked from my pad and rolled it from several different directions until it needed to be re-inked and then I did it again & again until I was happy with the effect. That is how I achieved the lighter and darker shades of ink as opposed to using an ink cartridge inside the handle which would produce a more uniform look.

Stamps: The Cat's Meow, Trimtastic, All Year Cheer I & Speckled Jumbo Wheel

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, White Craft & Tempting Turquoise

Card stock: Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise, Cool Caribbean & Whisper White

Accessories: Watercolor pencils, aqua painter, sponge, Crystal Effects & Round Tab punch

Dazzling Dragonfly

Today is my Aunt's birthday, so I thought I would share the birthday card I made for her. She works at a Hallmark Store so I tried to create something extra special and perhaps a little different than the cards she sees every day. I think what makes this card different is that it was lovingly handcrafted instead of mass produced, right? I chose colors I know she likes and paired that with an image she will like, so I'm sure she will love it.

For this card I finally got a chance to try the Stampin' Up! watercolor paper I ordered recently. Wow! I cannot believe I haven't tried this stuff sooner! I love to watercolor and this paper is so nice and heavy - it is much easier to work with. I used my watercolor pencils and they blended so easily and the colors remained much more vibrant. There is a bit of texture to this paper so the finished product looks very rich. In addition to the watercolor pencils, which I used on the dragonfly, I also used ink refill to color the background. I just wet the background area with a large brush and came in with a little ink on my aqua painter near the dragonfly and let the color bleed and fade into the background. I did the same thing for the sentiment below the image.

After that dried, it was time for some bling! I brushed some Crystal Effects over the dragonfly wings and sprinkled on some Dazzling Diamonds. I let it set for a bit and then brushed on another coat of Crystal Effects, this time also on the body of the dragonfly. I like to add a top coat like this because it keeps the glitter from falling off and it adds extra shine.

For the background I grabbed French Script, which I think is a natural for this image because of the script written around the edge of the design. I thought the white organdy ribbon worked well because it complimented the shimmer of the wings, but I felt it still needed something. The Turquoise grosgrain that I had was a little too strong of a color than I wanted to use, yet it did match. That is when I thought I would try a new ribbon technique I learned from my upline at my group meeting on Monday. (Thanks Karman!) For the frayed ribbon technique I was able to use the turquoise grosgrain without it appearing so dark because once the fibers were separated it looks softer. More on the frayed ribbon technique. I used the grosgrain fibers to tie on a piece of pewter Hodge Podge Hardware and I was done. Wish I would have had time to make two of these...I almost hated to send this one off!

Stamps: Measure of a Life (Level 2 Hostess set) French Script background & Beautiful Beach (sentiment)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron & Black Stazon
Card stock: Cool Caribbean, Barely Banana & SU! Watercolor paper

Have a beautiful day!