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!

Lots of Cute Springtime Cards!

Yesterday I told you about the Spring card swap I was doing with my stampin' group and I shared the card I designed for the swap. As promised, today I am sharing all the cheery Spring cards I received in return. What a nice variety! We each used totally different sets - from new Spring mini sets to classic favorites.

The card at the top left uses Bold Bright colors and the cute new Easter set called Bunny Hugs. The next card uses soft muted colors and one of my favorite sets - Natural Beauty. The middle left card has notches cut out of the top to create a picket fence background for the Spring Garden set - what a cool idea! Faux buttons are the focal point of the next card using the Polka Dot & Petals set from the Spring mini. She was inspired by this card found on one of my favorite blogs. The last card uses the Big Deal Alphabet to spell out the theme of our swap: Happy Spring! I like the popped up flower as the dot on the "i" and the glitter, which doesn't show up in the scan.

Nice bunch of cards, don't you think?

Spring Card Swap

I spent most of my weekend painting, but I did manage to squeeze in a little stamping time. Tonight I am going to my group meeting and we are doing a card swap with a Spring theme - Easter, Mother's Day, etc...I thought I would share the card I made.

The hardest part was choosing a stamp set! It's been a while since I used one of my favorite sets - Roses In Winter, but I also was thinking of using Petal Prints. Hmmm...decisions, decisions...so I decided to just use them both!

I used the rock 'n roll technique to create the rose. For this technique you need to ink with your lightest color first, I chose So Saffron. Next, ink the edges of the stamp by gently rocking the stamp and rolling just the edges in a darker complementary color. The darker color I chose was Regal Rose. Since Roses In Winter is a 2 step stamp set, you use 3 different stamps to create the rose. This gives it a lot of depth and shading. After I was done stamping my floral design I used the Linen background, inked in Saffron, right over the top of my design. This gives it an almost fabric-like appearance.

I planned on using my new Bluebird grosgrain ribbon with this card, but by the time I matted it and went to assemble the card, there was barely enough room for it. That is when the light bulb went off in my head! I remember seeing somewhere in my stamping travels online, where some brilliant person solved this very dilemma by using the slot punch and feeding the ribbon though the card front. I tried that and love the results!

Stamps: Floral & Linen backgrounds, Roses In Winter, Petal Prints and Fancy Flexible Phrases.

Inks: Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Regal Rose & So Saffron.

Card Stock: So Saffron, Bashful Blue & Very Vanilla

Accessories: Bluebird grosgrain, Ticket Corner, Horizontal Slot & Oval punches.

It will be fun to see what the rest of the group comes up with for our swap. I'll share those cards tomorrow.

Sorry I've been MIA

I haven't posted anything since Monday because I've been so busy with my latest project. It is not related to stamping however, so I don't have any new samples to post...sorry! We are finally re-decorating one of our bathrooms. This is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. I'm so happy we finally get to say goodbye to the ugly blue toilet & sink and the hideous flooring in the bath and in our laundry/mudroom! I'm so excited! I finally decided on which flooring and paint colors to choose - that was a huge decision!

The past few days I prepped the walls and today I am ready to prime. I will be a little bit sad to cover up the big sun I painted on the wall, but it has been almost 6 years since I did that, so it's time to say goodbye. It's hard to believe it was that long ago! The wallpaper border had curled up around the edges from all the steam from the shower, so I was glad to finally rip that down. I thought it was going to be easy since it was already coming away from the wall...WRONG! At one point I had attempted to fix the edges where it curled, so the glue I used was really hard to remove from the wall...lots of scrapping & sanding! Remind me to never put up any more wallpaper in a bathroom in the future...what a pain! And why did I have to put it at both the ceiling and the chair rail? Sounded good at the time!

This photo does show some stamping. See all the stars? Those were stamped all over the top half of the wall with gold metallic paint. The background behind the stars is a subtle taupe glaze that was sponged on. The sun was painted in metallic paints so it is really shimmery when the light hits it. The bottom half of the wall was sponged with several shades of blue to tie in the blue from sink & toilet and also the dark navy of the wallpaper. It's hard to see in the photos but there is also some metallic gold sponged in there as well.

Can you guess what colors we chose for the bathroom re-do? The walls will be similar to Mellow Moss with a touch more taupiness (is that a word?) to it. I will probably end up doing a rag rolling treatment on the walls with a tone on tone look. For accents I am using Perfect Plum and sort of an Always Artichoke. The hardware such as towel bars, light fixture, etc...will be polished chrome. The new marble sink came in yesterday and it is just gorgeous! I can't wait for Mike to install it! I guess that means I better get busy and paint! Have a GREAT weekend!

Jessie's Boy

Yesterday I attended a baby shower for my cousin Jessica. The best part was that she had her baby a little earlier than first anticipated...actually the day before her shower! I guess the little guy wanted to make sure he was there to see all his gifts first hand. Jessie, the trooper that she is, came to the shower right after being released from the hospital with Devin Jared. We all got to ooh & aah over him...and rightly so, as he is just adorable!!!

Of course I made her a card to go with the gift we got. I used the Little Pieces and Seeing Spots sets for the background and Baby's Firsts for the rest. I just love those cute little baby images...especially the one in the bath tub! You cannot tell from the scan, but I accented the bubbles in the tub with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds.

Waterfall cards like this one are a little more time consuming to create than a regular card, but it is worth the effort when finished. It's fun to pull on the ribbon and watch the images flip. Jessie thought it was pretty cool.

Luck of the Irish

This is a quick and easy card that can be made even if you are like me and do not have any St. Patrick's Day stamps.

I used the heart stamp from All Through the Year to form this lucky four leaf clover. Any heart stamp can be used to do this, and I'm willing to bet most everyone has a heart stamp in their collection...if not give me a call! For the stem, I used the the flower stamp from Polka Dots and Paisley, but if you have the coordinating marker to the ink used, it would be just as easy to draw a stem. The polka dot background was also from that set.

To finish off the card I added some faux stitching and a golden brad which I dug outta me pot 'o gold...sorry I HAD to put a least one bad Irish impression in my description! The Good Luck sentiment, which comes from Sincere Salutations, is perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any time you would like to give a card wishing good luck. Colors used: Gable Green & Green Galore.

Have a great day...but don't drink too much green beer!

What happened to Spring?

The past couple days were an amazing little tease of what is yet to come. This morning we woke to find snow on the ground! It isn't much, so I'm sure it will be gone by the end of the day...but still! Oh well, at least I have flowers and butterflies in my stamp room, right? So I made another card with the You Make Me Happy set. This set is so happy and Springy looking and with such great texture...this set is for sure going to become one of my favorites!

I stamped the 3 flowers in Lavender Lace & Pretty in Pink, masked them and then used the background stamp from this set inked in Tempting Turquoise and then stamped off on scrap so it looks more like Cool Caribbean. I drew in the flower stems with my Celery marker and then added the leaves. Next, I lightly sponged the edges with some Turquoise ink. The ticket corner punch (I just love that thing!) added some detail to the my plate with the sentiment and to the edges of the main image. I love the way this punch works with brads and eyelets. To finish the card I added some Orchid grosgrain ribbon. Now, it looks like Spring again...as long as I don't look outside. Enjoy your day!

New Stamps Make Me Happy!

I love the texture of the stamps in this new set from the Spring Mini. It's called You Make Me Happy. I can already tell that this is going to be a fun one to play with! I think I got a little carried away on this card trying to include all my new goodies...sometimes less is more. I'll post it anyways... because I still think it's cute...even though my critics here (my three guys) didn't much care for it.

I choose my color scheme from the colors of the Petals & Paisley paper, and the only stamp I used outside of the You Make Me Happy set was the Happy Birthday stamp from Everyday Flexible Phrases. Even the burlap looking background stamp I used behind the flower image comes with this set!

I really like the option of using the sentiment stamp, which reads: "you make the world special just by being in it", as the stem. I think this set will be great for scrapbooking too... I already have a few pages in mind!

A Happy Hello

In my last order from Stampin' Up! I got some fun new toys! I've been having so much fun with punches lately I was excited to add some new ones to my collection. Can you tell which ones I got by looking at today's card? I also got the fun, springy paper that coordinates with the Polka Dots & Paisley set. I love the colors...they just scream Spring! They are double sided too...so they are fun for creating a multitude of projects.

I'm sure that you figured out that I got the new Round Tab Punch offered in the Spring mini, but maybe you haven't guessed what the other punch I used on this card is? See the scalloped border at the bottom? That was created using the Slit Punch. Then, I just punched a hole on each scallop for extra detail. Pretty cool use for this punch, isn't it?

For this card I used the Polka Dot & Paisley set and the Petals & Paisley papers. Both of these items are featured in the Spring Fever Promotion offered this month by Stampin' Up! I chose my colors from the paper: Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink & Old Olive. Have a great day!

Oh Hoppy Day!

I've been seeing the cutest creations using different Stampin' Up! punches in the SCS Gallery lately. One idea that really stood out to me was the cute little frogs some made using the oval and circle punches. I have a friend who is crazy about frogs, so when it came time to make her birthday card, I knew I had to try one!

I used Celery card stock for most of the frog, Banana for the circle on his belly, and Olive & White for his eyes. After I punched out the Celery shapes, I sponged the edges with Olive and stamped the spots using the polka dot stamp from Polka Dots & Paisley. I used my Olive marker to draw his little smile and a bit of rose pastel to create his rosy cheeks. Can you tell which punch I used to make his little feet? It is one the flowers punched from the Spring Bouquet Flower punch and I just cut it to make toes. I think he looks awful cute sitting there on the lily pad background, don't you think?

To make the background, first I had to borrow the lily pad wheel! (Thanks Bea!) I wheeled across the bottom of the Caribbean card stock using VersaMark ink and then used the poppin' pastels technique to add color. I added some highlights to the flowers and pads with my white gel pen. Then I sponged some clouds using white craft ink.

I had a gift for my friend and now I had a card, but I forgot to get a gift bag while I was out. No problem! I just created one using a white catalog envelope and the lily pad wheel. To attach the handles I punched slots using the Horizontal Slot punch, and used a bit of hot glue to hold them in place. I like to use wired ribbon for the handles because it holds shape better than grosgrain does. The color was a bit off, but I still think it turned out cute. A gift bag just wouldn't be complete without a gift tag and matching tissue, would it? So I pulled out a couple more of my punches (I just LOVE my punches!) to create the tag and then rolled the tissue with the lily pad wheel and celery ink.

I can't wait to hear the little spring peepers peeping away in the pond by our house, but until then I guess I'll just have to be happy seeing a punched froggie. By my last few posts I think you can tell that I have Spring fever! I think I officially caught it when my Spring Mini order arrived last week...the stamp sets, paper (the backdrop in my photo is the new Petals & Paisly paper) and other goodies I got are so much fun! I'll have more to share soon. I hope you have a "hoppy" day! ;-)

Wishing I was there...

Where? At the beach...with the warmth of the sun beating down on me. My toes in the sand and the sound of the waves washing up on the shore. I'm sick of cold Michigan temperatures, slushy snow and muddy roads! I want to go to the beach! OK...enough whining! Here's a card I made while wishing I was at the beach.

Of course I used the Beautiful Beach set...that was a no-brainer! I stamped the shell images in VersaMark and used my pastels to do the poppin' pastels technique. You can't tell in the scan but I stamped the images on Shimmery White card stock so they really have a nice look to them.

For the background I used the Cheesecloth background stamp inked in white craft ink on both the Sage and Kraft card stock. Then I went lightly over the Kraft background with my Speckled jumbo wheel to make it look more like sand. I sponged the edges of the sage card stock with Basic Brown. I love the shell border stamp and the sentiment stamps with this set. I think they made nice final touches to this card.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Polka Dots But No Paisley

The last several days that I've stamped, I have been working on scrapbooking pages. I don't have any of those scanned yet, so instead I thought I would share a quick card I made with the Polka Dots and Paisley set.

I used the cute little polka dot stamp that came with this set inked in white craft to create my background. I inked the flower using my Regal Rose & Turquoise markers eliminating the stem, and stamped those upside down for the blossoms. Then I took my Celery marker and drew in the stems.

To finish it off I did a little faux stitching on the celery piece and punched out a plate using the oval punches. Threaded a little turquoise grosgrain ribbon though the wholes I punched on the plate and tied a knot and it was done.

Fishy Friends Shaker Card

Earlier this week, my Aunt Roberta came over and we spent the afternoon stamping. We had a great time! She brought her Fishy Friends set because I had an idea I thought we could try.

First we stamped the fish images in black Stazon ink on Whisper White card stock, then colored them using water color pencils and our aqua painters. After we got our fish colored the way we wanted, we covered them with Crystal Effects so that they looked wet and shiny.

The coluzzle template was used to cut the circle from the teal mat, which was the final layer of our shaker card. We used foam mounting tape to create the space and adhere our window sheet and mat, but before we attached these we put some clear beads and glitter inside. This card looks so much cuter in real life because you can see how shiny the fish are and also just how sparkly the inside is from the glitter!

This is a fun card, but it would also make a really cool element on a scrapbook page too, wouldn't it? I love using the Spot On wheel inked in white to create bubbles, and I think it makes the perfect background for this card. Have a great weekend!

Lots of Polka Dots and Paisleys

This past Monday I had my monthly demo meeting and we did a shoebox swap using our new Polka Dot and Paisley stamp sets. It was fun to see the designs that everyone came up with! Even though we each designed our card using the same stamp set, every one of the cards were different. I thought you would like to see the variety.

Notice the long, So Saffron card in the middle? This card was done using the new long notes with matching envelopes available in the Spring Mini catalog. It also uses the Petals & Paisleys double-sided designer paper and one of the cool new punches - the spiral punch . Thanks goes to Kelly for designing a card that showcases so many items from the new catalog and sharing her long notes with us all!

The small turquoise matchbook style card on the bottom is also a gum holder...what a cute idea shared with us by Bea. I know I'll be making some of those at future workshops for sure! It is always fun getting together with others to stamp! Wait until tomorrow...I will show you a really cute card I made with one of my favorite stamping buddies - my Aunt Roberta.