So Long World of Dreams

Over the next couple of weeks I will be highlighting some of my favorite products that will soon be retiring. (I actually thought this card posted the other day...guess I forgot to hit "publish"? DOH!) Anyways...this springlike card features the beautiful set World of Dreams. I remember getting this set on my first new catalog order when it was first available. I fell in love with the images...especially this bird nest one. It's a great set for techniques.

I used the leafy image stamped randomly all over the Mint Macaron background then I stamped the Hardwood background stamp (I'm glad that one is sticking around!) inked in White Craft ink over the top of it. Wink of Stella Glitter Pen added some sparkle to the bird nest image and the die cut flower. Here's a closer look...

Don't you LOVE the gorgeous papers in the Birthday Bouquet pack of DSP? I used one of my favorite prints here for a slightly different version. I used the Bird Builder Punch to create the leaves...that's one of the many punches that is retiring.

What are you sad to see on the retiring list?

Going, Going, Gone...

Have you checked out the retired list yet? Lots of great products are retiring...some are discounted up to 50%!

A few of my favorite items leaving are the stamp sets Serene Silhouettes, World of Dreams, Swallowtail and Everything Eleanor. Favorite accessory is the Seam Binding Ribbon...I LOVE that stuff! Too many awesome punches and dies to name...

better check out the list to make sure you do not miss out on your favorites!

Last Week of Deals

WOW! The Weekly Deals are going out with a bang! Lots of great items offered at a discount for the last week of Weekly Deals.

Shop my store for these deals.

Have a wonderful day!

Picture Perfect Botanical Canvas

On Friday I posted a little peek at an upcoming project I was working on that uses many of the same products used to create the Picture Perfect Card Set. Instead of a card this is a home decor item perfect for Spring & Summer decorating. I just love the way it turned out! You can mount the finished piece to a canvas as shown here or frame it using a shadowbox frame.

For everyone who has already purchased the Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial, check your inbox because I'm sending you the Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorial for FREE! You can easily create the above project to coordinate with your decor by following the steps outlined in my 7 page tutorial which includes lots of clear photos.

Note: the opportunity to receive this latest tutorial for FREE ended last night at midnight. I am however offering the PDF available for purchase in two ways...

The Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorial 7 Page PDF can be purchased on it's own for only $3.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

Purchase both tutorials together and receive a discount :
The Picture Perfect Card Set & Picture Perfect Botanical Tutorials can be purchased together for only $8.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

The original 20 page PDF tutorial includes detailed step by step instructions along with more than 40 clear photos, lots of tips and color charts to take the guess work out of which colors to use with this multi layered two-step stamp set. All the details can be found in this post.

The Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial can be purchased on it's own for only $6.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

If you have any questions regarding supplies needed to complete these projects please contact me. Thanks again for the great response! I hope you enjoy this companion project.

Picture Perfect Textured Botanicals

Response to my Picture Perfect Card Set has been fantastic! I'm so glad to hear that you are really enjoying my tutorial. As a thank you to those who have already purchased my newest tutorial, and to all those who purchase it over the weekend, I'm offering a FREE Bonus Project!

What do you get when you combine a soft water-colored background stamped with elements from the Timeless Textures stamp set and layer it with the beautiful hummingbird from the Picture Perfect stamp set and gorgeous die-cut flowers and foliage using the Botanical Builder Framelits? Toss in a little shimmer & shine and it looks something like this...

I don't want to give away the entire finished project just yet, but I'm sure you will love it! The finished piece can be mounted on a canvas or put into a shadowbox frame. I used my favorite shades of purple for my flowers to work best with my decor, but you could easily substitute your favorite colors for a totally different look.

So, if you have already purchased my Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial  be on the lookout for this FREE PDF tutorial delivered to your inbox on Monday. To all those who purchase it through this weekend, by midnight on Sunday, April 10th...you will receive it as well!

The Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial can be purchased for only $6.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below. Details for this tutorial can be found in my original post.

After receiving payment, I will send the Picture Perfect Card Set PDF file to the email provided with your PayPal payment. I usually check my email a few times daily, but please allow up to 24 hours for delivery to your inbox. On Monday I will send the Bonus PDF file as my extra thank you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial

Two of my very favorite stamp sets from the Occasions Catalog are Picture Perfect and Timeless Textures. I've been having so much fun stamping the realistic looking hummingbirds and roses! If you love these sets as well, then you are going to love my newest tutorial which combines these two great stamp sets to create a beautiful set of eleven cards!

In the beginning, the thought of layering four separate stamped images to create the hummingbird felt a little intimidating. What colors would I use? Would I be able to line up up each image nicely to create a great looking final image? Since the set is photopolymer, with a little practice, lining up each layer is actually easier than you would think. I admit to being a perfectionist, and I didn't even need my stamp-a-ma-jig! With the aid of my color charts and tips that are included in this tutorial, I will help to take the guess work out of it for you.

These cards are designed using the same measurements and similar layouts for ease of completing the set. Yet you will see how by simply changing the colors and the embellishments, each card looks quite different. A few of the cards are really stepped up to make the finished card even more special. The final card is a fancy fold card that I am calling the Double Gate Flip Up Card...it is a real WOW card.

My 20 page PDF tutorial includes detailed step by step instructions along with more than 40 clear photos, lots of tips and color charts to take the guess work out of which colors to use with this multi layered two-step stamp set.

The Picture Perfect Card Set Tutorial can be purchased for only $6.99 by simply clicking on the Paypal button below.

After receiving payment, I will send the PDF file to the email provided with your PayPal payment. I usually check my email a few times daily, but please allow up to 24 hours for delivery to your inbox.

Work of Art Butterfly

Today I have a quick & easy card that was part of my All Occasions Card Class this past week. It uses just two stamp sets...Work of Art & Perfect Pairings along with two colors of ink...Bermuda Bay & Pear Pizzazz.

I used the swoosh image from Work of Art stamped three times onto Whisper White cardstock. First, in Bermuda Bay, then quickly stamp again without re-inking for a lighter shade of Bermuda Bay, finally inked in Pear Pizzazz. For my sentiment I used the Sale-A-Brations stamp set Perfect Pairings, which is available for FREE for just a short time longer.

Next, diecut using the Butterflies Thinlits. Apply a strip of Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim to the body of the butterfly. Leave the top threads loose for the antennae, tuck the bottom threads under and hold with a glue dot. After adhering the stamped layer to the card base...in this case I used Watermelon Wonder, attach only the center,  body portion of the butterfly to the base so that the wings are free for some dimension.

Thanks to Mary for the inspiration for this card! I saw her card on pinterest and knew I wanted to try it myself...I just changed up the colors.

Sale-A-Bration is winding down...the last day to select FREE items with your order is Thursday, March 31st. Don't delay...shop today!

Honeycomb Happiness Easter Chick

I've been super busy the past couple weeks with home improvement projects...mainly painting the baseboard trim & door frames throughout our house. Wish I could say I was finished...sadly maybe about 2/3 of the way done. I did finish painting all the window trim though! It does look really good, but it is a killer on the knees & back! In the evening, by the time I finished cleaning up after dinner, I've been too tired to get busy in my studio...so that's why I haven't posted in a while.

However...I did take most of this week off of painting. Woo Hoo!  I had a class here on Wednesday, and some spare time yesterday, so I have some new creations to share with you! Today, I have a card using the adorable little chick from the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set.

I just love this little guy...or gal? When first seeing him, I envisioned him popping out of an egg for a cute Easter card. I figured I would use one of my oval framelits to die cut an egg shape. Then, I would have to freehand draw a jagged edge and cut off the top. Then I spotted this super cute card on Pinterest using the chevron border from the Work of Art stamp set, and it made my plan so much easier! Thanks for the inspiration Lisa!

I stamped the chevron 3 times...in Mint Macaron, Watermelon Wonder and Bermuda Bay onto scrap of Whisper White. Then I diecut using an oval framelit, and easily cut off top followed the line created by the cheveron edge. To complete the egg I used a black Project Life Journaling Pen to outline along the outer edge, so that it better matched the line art of the chick.

He was stamped in Black Stazon and watercolored using an Aquapainter. The little flower is from the Bloomin' Love stamp set. You cannot tell from the photo, but I used the Clear Wink of Stella Brush over the flower for a littler glimmer. The Basic Pearls are on sale this week as part of the weekly deals...for only $3.75.

If you don't already have the Honeycomb Happiness stamp set...time is running out! Less than one week left to pick out a FREE Sale-A-Bration item with every $50 ordered! Visit my online store to order yours today! Sale-A-Bration ends on March 31st.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Watercolor Wings Collage Sympathy

I used several stamp sets to create this collage style background for the pretty, die-cut butterfly from Watercolor Wings.

First, before I did any stamping, I created the soft, blended color background using this Watercolor Background Technique. Once my cardstock was thoroughly dry, I used Awesomely Artist, Everything Eleanor & Gorgeous Grunge to create the collage background. The sympathy sentiment is embossed in silver on vellum.

Here's a closer look at the butterfly & background....

I like the way these colors blended together to create a soft background perfect for spring. The colors used are Perfect Plum, Bermuda Bay & So Saffron. Blackberry Bliss was used for the stamping.

I hope wherever you live you are having a beautiful day like we are having here in Michigan...it's almost 70 degrees...which is a record for this time of year. I officially have Spring Fever now!

Wild About Flowers Trio

Last week I shared a couple cards using the Wild About Flowers stamp set. Today I have a third card I made to create this trio of cards.

All three cards use the same stamp sets...in addition to Wild About Flowers, Papillion Potpourri and Hardwood background are also used. The background panel for each uses Sahara Sand cardstock, but a different embossing folder for each card. As you can see, different colors of ink and framelits were used to create the main stamped piece, yet I matted them all in the same color...Soft Sky.

Using the same colors and the same stamps sets help to make this a coordinated set, yet using different embellishments, colors and shapes makes this set more interesting and versatile.

For more info on the first card see this post and for more info on the second card see this post.

Thanks for visiting today!

Flashback Friday - Roses in Winter

It's Friday...and time for a blast from the past! Today I have a card to share using the gorgeous stamp set Roses In Winter. It is one of the sets I have available for sale on my Retired Stamps Page.

It is a 2 Step Definitely Decorative stamp set...meaning it uses more than one stamp, which are layered to create the finished image. The Definitely Decorative line of stamps are great to use on different surfaces such as painted furniture, walls, fabric...and of course paper.

Colors used are Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, & Bermuda Bay and also the still current Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. The background was embossed using the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder, which is available right now on the Clearance Rack.

Roses in Winter was one of the first sets I purchase as a demo. It retired back in 2007, the same year I started my blog, so even though it was one of my most loved & used sets, most of  of my creations using it were not shared here. However, I did find this card here.

The sentiment on this card uses Sincere Salutations,which is an awesome set as well. I have both of these sets available for sale on my Retired Stamps page. If you would like to purchase the Roses In Winter set, as a bonus I am including the card and matching envelope I shared here today along with three other cards for inspiration...all for $20. Please contact me if you are interested in this or any other sets I have for sale.

For more info regarding these sets and to view all my retired stamps for sale, visit my Retired Stamps page.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blackberry Wild About Flowers Congrats

Today I have another card to share using the Wild About Flowers and Papillon Potpourri stamp sets.

I used the same basic supplies as the card I shared in my last post, but made a few changes...the color of ink for the flowers, the embossing folder and ribbon.

In this case, the colors I used for the flowers are Wisteria Wonder along with Blackberry Bliss. I inked the whole stamp with the lighter color, and then used a Sponge Dauber to add the darker color. I used the same method to ink the leaves. The colors I used are Wild Wasabi and Mossy Meadow. While I had everything out, I also added a stamped flower on the inside of my card and onto the envelope as well.

The small butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and each of the flowers were colored using the Clear Wink of Stella Brush. I tried to capture this in my photo without much luck...but trust me, in real life its nice and sparkly!

Thank you for visiting today!