Today I thought I would share the card I made for my Dad's birthday. I used the cute little bird image from my new Spring Song set. He's stamped on water color paper and then water colored using my SU! classic inks.
For the background, I had to resist the urge to grab my Weathered stamp, since the last couple cards I sent my Dad used that stamp I figured I better use something different. I hadn't used my Paisley background in a while so I grabbed that along with the Flannel Plaid to create this "manly" background. Both the Blue Bayou and Kraft layers are stamped with Blue Bayou ink. I separated the two with a strip of twill tape and some black vintage brads.
The sentiment from It's Your birthday was embossed with Black Detail EP. When I showed this card to my hubby he asked what the HB was for? When I replied Happy Birthday he said, "oh, I thought it stood for Hey Bob." (my dad's name) *rolls eyes* Hopefully my dad will figure it out!
Have a good one!
For example, my mouse image along with the Bashful Blue mat was adhered to the front (outside) of the card. I then opened the card, directly behind my blue mat I applied my double stick tape to the acetate, then I centered my Rose Red mat behind that, and proceeded to work my way back until each layer was properly centered and adhered to the acetate. I just love the look of these acetate cards ~ I'm glad I finally found the time to make one!I always give the hostess of the month a hand stamped gift. For this round of stamp club I decided to try something a bit different. I ordered the 12x12 craft keepers and everyone got to personalize one using white stazon & ribbon. 
To finish off this project, a fun embellishment was added to the flap of the craft keeper. The large flower from Time Well Spent was water colored on whisper white card stock and then embossed with several coats of Glassy Glaze enamel. This created a hard acrylic coating over the flower image. Then using a Build a Brad for the center it was attached to the flap. Here's a close up look:
When completed, this project is not only cute it is also useful! 
I just loved how bright and cheery the first two cards I made with this set turned out so I decided to make a few more using the same color scheme. I also added a punched design from the new So Many Scallops set. I know I'll be using that set a lot! I cut out each balloon, but before I adhered them into place I lightly penciled in the curved lines of the string. Then I paper pierced along the lines, erased my pencil lines and connected the dots with my white gel pen. This mimicked the swirled motif of the stamp and turned out pretty darn cute...if I do say so myself! 
These are the first two cards I made with this set. I wanted to keep them simple and show the same design in two different color schemes...one for girls and one for guys. I couldn't help but sneak in a bit of ribbon on the 
It seems like I always pull out my Weathered background when I go to make a masculine card. I think it works really well with the beautifully detailed images in the Dream Catcher set. The beads I used on this were taken from some old necklaces in my stash, probably picked up at a garage sale. The silver beads are almost the same finish as the brads I used from the pewter Hodge Podge kit. I just tied a piece of linen thread around the brad and strung the beads on, then poked a feather through the hole in the beads.
Look!...I can actually sit and work at my desk now! My desk is not that attractive...mostly because the previous owner decided to do a faux wood grain technique over most of the nice oak finish. Some day I plan to strip it back to it's original glory. It might not be attractive, but it certainly serves it purpose...it's heavy-duty oak with lots of storage and slide outs. To the right of where I sit there is a nice slide out surface perfect for my stampin' scrub. I removed the black hanging pocket bag that was under my pegboard, which had accumulated mostly odds and ends I didn't know what to do with. Anything I wanted to save from there either went onto the pegboard or into the metal buckets which I hung from hooks along the bottom.
Sitting directly behind my desk is a solid oak filing cabinet which I found at a yard sale for only $5! I keep mostly my faux finishing and other painting supplies stored in there. On top of this cabinet I have two smaller cabinets with drawers. The old oak one on the left used to belong to my Grandfather. He also worked as a painter and guess what he did in his spare time as a hobby and to make a little extra cash? He made rubber stamps! The ones he made were all business oriented stamps- return address and things like that. He would have been amazed to see how rubber stamps have evolved! When my Grandma gave me the tool box she said that he used it in his painting, but being that the drawers are all so shallow, I suspect he used it to store his dies for his rubber stamps. Anyways...I use it to store my colored pencils, markers, etc...from my pre- SU! days. The close up photo here shows how I store most of my embellishments. This little storage unit started it's life as a jewelry box...which I picked up at a garage sale for a buck! 
This is my messy desk piled in packs of paper and all kinds of scraps. Below is one of my paper storage areas, along with my drafting table piled with more stuff.
This is my class room area with two 8 foot tables covered with things that need to be put away.
Trust me...there is way more! For now, these are my target areas. I'm going downstairs now, and I'll update later with after photos to show the progress I make. If I do good...I might even have a little time (and space!) to do some stampin'!
I was hoping to spot a cardinal in one of the trees, but didn't see any. However, these berries add a nice splash of color to this photo.
I love how each branch on these apple trees are covered with glistening snow...they look so pretty and lacey.
Hope you enjoyed the "walk" through my back yard. 
