Colorful Autumn Thanks

It won't be long before the leaves here are as colorful as the ones on this card. This is one of the creations we stamped yesterday at my Best of Autumn card class.

The background panel was sponged using Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry & Always Artichoke. Then the leaves were stamped using Early Espresso. Finally, the Timber Wheel inked with Crumb Cake was rolled over the top. This coordinated nicely with the Woodgrain embossed background. The sentiment is from the Hostess Set Simply Sketched. I added detail to the strip of Always Artichoke Cardstock by cutting the end with the Mosaic Punch.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Simply Sketched Color-blocked Thanks

Here's a quick card I made recently using my clear blocks inked with color to create the background. The little bird from the hostess set, Simply Sketched, was then stamped and water colored.

Stamps: Simply Sketched
Ink: Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar & various other Classic Inks to water color

Card stock: Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar & Very Vanilla

Accessories: Subtles Candy Dots, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Beautifully Baroque EF, Apothecary Accents Framelits & 1/2" Circle Punch 

Thanks for visiting...have a GREAT weekend!

Flower Shop Thank You & Tip

I just love stamp sets that have coordinating punches! Top on my list of favorites are the Flower Shop stamp set and matching Pansy Punch and the Papillion Potpourri set with its 2 coordinating punches. Today I have a card using both of these sets along with a helpful tip using the Flower Shop set to share with you. First the card...

I stamped the main panel using Calypso Coral, Bermuda Bay & Pear Pizzazz, then cut it into strips. I then ran the strips through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. (I cut and then embossed because it's easier for me to cut straight before the texture is added.)

Now onto todays tip:

I remember reading a very helpful tip online somewhere (but now I cannot find it?) when I first got this set. It makes punching out the stamped flowers so much easier! Thanks to whoever it was that first shared this tip!

At first glance, you may think all the petals on the flowers are the same...so just stamp & punch, right? Well, actually the petals are all slightly different, so if you just slap the image on the block & stamp, you then have to fiddle with the image until you get it lined up inside the punch. So to avoid all that, take a black Sharpie marker and make a mark on each stamp as shown below.

Now, just select your stamp and place it with the marked petal at the bottom of your block, as shown below. (If you are using wood mount...same thing...just make sure to mount the correct petal pointing down)

Stamp your image with that marked petal towards the bottom edge of your card stock and it will line up easily with the bottom petal inside the punch. I also made a small block dot using my Sharpie inside my punch. Hope this tip helps you as much as it has me!

If you don't have it already....just a reminder that Papillon Potpourri and the coordinating Bitty Butterfly Punch is on SALE this month! Find out all the details here.

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.