Serene Silhouette Circles

Stamped using this years batch of In Colors paired with Whisper White, this card has a pretty, summery feel to it...which I thought was perfect to share here today on one of the last days of Summer.

Notice all the bling on this card? Looks like I used a whole lot of Basic Rhinestone Jewels doesn't it? Actually I just used little dots of Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details. Otherwise, it would have taken at least 40 rhinestones to get this same look. I layered some 1/8" Silver Ribbon over the White Organdy for some more silver shimmer.

Sparkling Festive Flurry Ornaments

I couldn't wait to make some of the beautiful snowflake ornaments/tags like the ones in the Holiday Catalog using the Festive Flurry Bundle! I actually made these right away after receiving my goodies and then made more of them at my Christmas in July Class, but I forgot to share them here...

The largest snowflake is made of 3 layers...I cut a light weight chipboard piece from a cereal box and then sandwiched it in between two Pool Party card stock snowflakes. This makes it a lot sturdier and I figure it will hold up as a pretty tree ornament for many years. I adhered the 3 layers together with Tombo Multipurpose Liquid Glue (my favorite adhesive!) with the Silver 1/8" Ribbon sandwiched in there as well. If you leave a large enough loop at the top it makes a pretty bottle tag for a bottle of wine. Who wouldn't like to receive this as a hostess gift during the holidays?

Each stamped layer is embossed in Silver Embossing Powder. The beautiful Frosted Finishes Embellishments, extra Basic Rhinestone Embellishments along with the layer of Silver Glimmer Paper really makes these snowflakes sparkle & shine. I'm sure I will be making many more of these to adorn my Christmas packages this year.

Stippled Blossom Get Well

I think that perhaps it may be nearly impossible to create something that isn't pretty using the Stippled Blossom set. I just love the beautiful 2-step rose and the coordinating images! I think that it has an old-fashioned quality to it especially when using soft muted colors like I used here.

Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Creative Elements, Papillion Potpourri, En Francias & Thoughts & Prayers (sentiment)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding & Wild Wasabi
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Crisp Cantaloupe & Pool Party
Accessories: Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder, Victoria Crochet Trim, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Apothecary Accents & Window Frames Framelits, Word Window & Bitty Butterfly Punches, Basic Pearls & Stamp-a-ma-jig

The little butterfly stamped from the Papillion Potpourri set and punched out with the Bitty Butterfly Punch makes a cute accent on this card, don't you agree? What, you don't have these items yet? Well, now is the time to get them! During the month of September they are on sale for 15% off! Find out all the details here.

As you can see, I also decorated my envelope. I like to use the frame from Creative Elements as a spot to write my return address. Another way to make your envelopes special is with the new SU! Envelope Punch Board. This tool looks pretty cool...but I don't have it yet. You can make any sized envelope...and the size chart is printed right on it to make it easy.

Envelope Punch Board: Item	133774	Price $19.95

Want to see this in action? Check out this video.

Have a great weekend!

Black Magic Wildflower Meadow

A while back I was playing around with a technique using White Craft Ink and my Aquapainter with Classic Ink to color the Wildflower Meadow image on Crumb Cake card stock. I loved the results, but never did figure out what that technique was called? (Here's the cards I'm referring to) Anyways....

at the time, I  thought that I could try the same thing on Basic Black card stock. That didn't work out so well...the colored ink disappeared after it dried and I just ended up with white ink on black card stock...which is OK, but not the look I was going for. So, I ended up digging out my colored pencils to try the Black Magic Technique.

Now that's more like it! It's easy too! Just stamp your image with White Craft Ink onto Basic Black Card stock (or probably any very dark color) allow to dry, or use your heat tool, and then using your colored pencils, color as desired. I used my retired SU! Watercolor pencils as they were handy. I thought this shade of red was a good match for Strawberry Slush so I used that color to finish off my card.

The DSP is from the Quatrefancy Specialty pack. The label was created by stamping the label image from the Creative Elements set in black and then cutting just the ends with the Apothecary Accents Framelits. I shared this trick here a while back in case you missed it.

I'm glad I finally gave this technique a try...you should give it a try as well!

Embossed Morning Meadow

This is the 3rd card in a set that I created using the same layout & technique. The first two cards I shared used the Serene Silhouettes stamp set, but since this image from Morning Meadow is the same size, I chose this one for the third, and maybe my favorite, of the trio.

Stamps: Morning Meadow, En Francias, Papillon Potpourri & Simply Sketched (sentiment)
Card stock: Blushing Bride & Very Vanilla
Ink: VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede & Blushing Bride
Accessories: Blushing Bride Pleated Ribbon, White EP, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Basic Pearls, Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder, Bitty Butterfly, Large Oval & Scallop Oval Punches

Here is the set of all three cards we made in my last All Occasions Card Class. (the anniversary card shown on the right is a stepped up version I made later) I am offering this class again on September 19th. If you live local and would like to attend please contact me.  

Which one of these three do you like best? 

If you would like more info on this technique and the other two cards, just scroll down to see my last two blog postings. 

Todays creation uses the Butterfly Bundle which is on sale this month for 15% off! Visit my demo website for more info.

Masculine Silhouettes

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my last post...each one put a smile on my face! I guess when I wrote that post I had hit my limit of rude people...both in real life and online, and just couldn't take it anymore...so had to say something. Thanks again for listening and/or taking the time to comment.

Now, on to the real reason you stopped by...another card! This is one we made at my last card class. I always like to include at least one masculine card...and good thing I did because my Step-Father's birthday crept up on me earlier this week and I had this one all ready to give him.

I used the same design and technique as my last card (scroll down to read more about the offset embossing technique) but as you can see, the different colors and texture make it more masculine.

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Apothecary Art & Timber Wheel
Card stock: Always Artichoke & Very Vanilla
Ink: VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Always Artichoke & Marina Mist
Accessories: Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon, White EP, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Woodgrain Embossing Folder

Have a fun & safe Labor Day weekend! I cannot believe summer went by so fast!

Serene Silhouettes Anniversary

Today I am sharing a card that I basically copied off myself. I created the first card using the same technique & colors a few years back. Since this card (shown here ) using the Just Believe stamp set has been consistently a favorite, according to my stats both here and on Pinterest, I thought I would try another version using Serene Silhouettes.

To create the shadow on the image and really make it pop, it was first stamped in Soft Suede and then using my Stamp-a-ma-jig I offset the image and stamped it again in VersaMark. Then it was embossed using Winter White EP. To make the white image stand out even more on the Very Vanilla card stock, I lightly sponged it with Crumb Cake ink using a Sponge Dauber. 

This version of the card looks more distressed and antiqued than my original card by inking up the edges and also inking the Beautifully Baroque embossing folder with Crumb Cake ink before running it through the Big Shot. 

The little butterfly, from Papillon Potpourri and the Basic Pearls used to adorn the ribbon and flowers add just the right finishing details.

Do you use Pinterest? Here is something to consider when pinning:
Like I mentioned earlier in this post, I can tell if a particular blog posting is popular by checking my stats here and also on Pinterest. Before Pinterest, I used to be able to tell if a post was well liked by the comments received on the actual posting. Now it seems most people don't take the time to post comments anymore, but instead, pin something if they like it...and yes, I'm guilty of the same thing! 

I LOVE Pinterest, so I'm certainly not knocking it BUT every now and then I come across a pin where the pinner is criticizing the creation in the pin description. This just happened to me recently where someone pinned one of my cards, and said they liked the layout, but then went on to say what they didn't like. "OK...thanks for the backhanded compliment B*$%!", I thought to myself. Later, I thought more about it...and it kind of made me mad. Us bloggers take a lot of time to share our creations with others. Most, including myself, are certainly not getting compensated for the time we put into it. Should we really have to read negative comments on a very public forum like Pinterest? 

I know what I post is appealing to some and to others...not so much. I'm fine with that...everyone has different tastes. But unless the person posting is asking for opinions why would someone think it's OK to make negative remarks? For those who need to critique and criticize then maybe they should have a secret board dedicated to those pins? 

Just something to consider when you are pinning someones creation...we never know who is reading what we write and how our words can hurt others who were simply sharing something they thought was their best work. One nice comment can make someone's day...but a negative one can ruin the fun of sharing.

Thanks for stopping by and if you read the above...thanks for listening.

Flower Shop Birthday Card

Here is a cheerful birthday card using one of my favorite new sets...Flower Shop.

Stamps: Flower Shop, Mosaic Madness & Petite Pairs
Card stock: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White & Quatrefancy Specialty paper
Ink: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay & Strawberry Slush
Accessories: Pansy Flower Punch, Modern Mosaic EF, Adorning Accents Edgelits, Adorning Accents EF, Bights Candy Dots

Have a great weekend!

Merry Little Christmas Gift

Lets see if the rule "three times the charm" works for this blog posting. On Monday morning I was in the middle of creating this post and the power went out. We were without power for several hours. Yesterday I thought I would try again...but then the cable went out for several hours. What the heck? Monday it was raining and yesterday it was unseasonably cold, but not the type of weather you would expect to lose power?? Oh well, here I am trying a third time...hopefully it works!

I've been trying to share this little set we made at my Christmas in July class...so here goes...

I think the little Tag a Bag Gift Bags are so cute with their printed chevron design. I dressed up this bag with the Season of Style DSP and a tag created using the Merry Little Christmas stamp set. The decorated acrylic frame fits easily in the bag.

One of my favorite new accessories has got to be washi tape...I can't stop using it! Here I used the Season of Style Washi Tape on both the frame and the tag. With that being said, my absolute favorite new accessory has got to be the gorgeous new Frosted Finishes Embellishments...they are absolutely gorgeous! One is used here as the finishing touch in the center of the silver embossed snowflake created using the Snow Flurry Bundle.

Well...here I am on the home stretch of this post. So far so good...still have power and cable service. So it looks as if three times is the charm! Thanks for visiting me today.

Toil & Trouble

Having some fun playing with new stuff from the 2013 Holiday Catalog!

I love the subway style art on this main image from Toil & Trouble and how it works with the Apothecary Accents Framelits. I have several other projects in the works using this. The Witches' Brew Washi Tape makes a fun accent on this card...even tho I may have gotten a little carried away with it.

Today is another cold & rainy day here in Michigan...so it looks like I'll be heading down to my stampin' lair for a day of creativity.

Merry Mosaics

Here is another card we did at my Christmas in July class last week.

Stamps: Mosaic Madness & Merry Little Christmas
Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Whisper White & Season of Style DSP
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive & Crumb Cake
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Silver 1/8" Ribbon, Modern Mosaic EF, Mosaic & 1/2" Circle Punches

Two down...fifty plus more to go! (as in Christmas cards!) I guess I better get busy...

First Festive Flurry

Summer is just flying by! It's hard to believe that it's already August and that we can now order goodies from the the Holiday Catalog! My absolute favorite item from the Holiday catalog is the Festive Flurry Bundle! Here is a card we made at my Christmas in July class a few days ago.

Each snowflake is embossed with Silver EP and then cut with the coordinating Festive Flurry Framelits (say that 3 times fast!) I used a strip of Winter Frost Specialty Paper that is accented with a foil stripe and pretty new metallic 1/8" Silver Ribbon. The sentiment is from a cute little set called Merry Little Christmas.

Here's a closer look at some of these beautiful new products...aren't the papers gorgeous?

Check back in the coming week for more posts featuring projects we created with these new products at my Christmas in July class.

With the strange weather we've been having in Michigan this past week or so it wouldn't surprise me too much to see some real snowflakes! I hope it warms up a bit so we can enjoy some pool time soon. Have a great weekend!