Baroque Motifs Congrats card

I made this card for a New Catalog Preview Swap in June. Sorry the photo is a little fuzzy. I'm so excited that Stampin' Up now has several stamp sets with flourishes since I can't seem to get enough! Baroque Motifs is one of my favorite sets. These flourishes are so elegant and I think the embossed medallion-like image in the center of the card complements the flourishes nicely. This would make a great wedding or anniversary card.

Now let's just hope that Stampin' Up will give us some stamp sets with different sizes and styles of arrows in the January catty!














Stamp Sets: baroque motifs, hugs & wishes
Inks: chocolate chip, purely pomegranate, versamark
Cardstock: chocolate chip, purely pomegranate, very vanilla
Embellishments: not quite navy brad
Other: clear embossing powder

August Stamp Club Projects

I've been wanting to post my August stamp club projects (especially since my September projects are already posted) but kept forgetting to get pictures of them. Finally got around to it today. Here they are.....

Three For You card


I used a marker to put a dot at the center of the mustard flowers.





Stamp Sets: just like you (stems), three for you
Inks: old olive, really rust
Markers: old olive
Cardstock: more mustard, old olive, really rust, very vanilla
Punches: three for you, word window
Embellishments: very vanilla grosgrain ribbon

Whimiscal Tip #1: Can't find decorative ribbon to match your project? Use Stampin' Up! markers to stripe your grosgrain ribbon. Use a marker to make a single stripe or multiple stripes down the length of the ribbon. Experiment with several colors.


H is for Happy envelope album























This project was a CASE from my talented upline, Julie Davison. I just changed the colors and inserted colored cardstock inside the envelope sleeves.

The album is made by sealing 2 of our large open-end envelopes and then cutting a small amount off each end (which creates the "sleeves"). Fold the envelopes in half and create the matchbook-style cover around them. Fasten by tying cord or ribbon through 2 punched holes. Decorate as desired.

Stamp Sets: big deal, polka dots & paisley
Inks: bayou blue, pumpkin pie, soft sky, wild wasabi
Cardstock: bayou blue, pumpkin pie, soft sky, whisper white
Tools: slit punch, 1/16" & 1/8" circle punches.
Embellishments: silver brad, silver cord

My Bare Naked Boy 12x12 page











During the hot summer this year at the neighbors' house, Seth took the opportunity during the middle of a diaper change to head for the swingset. He had a ball belly-swinging on the swing. Luckily I had my camera handy to take some shots.

I created this 12x12 page for myself and had my club create a similar page. In order to post this, I have placed large circles of cardstock over strategic spots (though none of the photos show anything other than his bare bottom). I love the way the page turned out.

Stamp Sets: garden whimsy, it's all good, big deal alphabet, jumbo outline alphabet
Inks: basic black, tempting turquoise
Markers: basic black, tempting turquoise
Cardstock: basic black, tempting turquoise, whisper white
Tools: coluzzle, spiral punch

Fright Night Cards

Thanks to my new flex schedule, I had a little time this afternoon to break out my new stamps. The result....2 cute Halloween cards using 2 cool sets! Batty For You caught my eye the first time I opened the new catty and I've been wanting Carved & Candlelit for quite some time (don't ask me why I waited so long to get it).


Batty For You card


For this card, I broke out our retired Halloween Night designer series paper as well as Vintage Violet ink and stitched ribbon (In Colors) from the last catalog. I inked the edges of the designer paper in vintage violet.


Stamp Sets: batty for you, everyday flexible phrases
Inks: pumpkin pie, vintage violet
Cardstock: pumpkin pie, whisper white, Halloween Night designer series paper
Tools: 1-3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch
Embellishments: vintage violet stitched ribbon



SplitCoast Sketch Challenge #142
Here's the sketch for this Wednesday's Sketch Challenge on SplitCoast (splitcoaststampers.com). This is the first time I've done one of the weekly challenges as I'm usually too busy to do them.

Carved & Candlelit card

My version of the sketch. The large pumpkin is stamped directly on the white cardstock. The small pumpkin is popped out with Dimensionals. I cut the white piece of cardstock so that the fattest part of the pumpkins would hang off the cardstock a bit, giving them a bit of a 3-D look. Though it's hard to tell from the photo, I sponged old olive ink on the top portion of the white cardstock. I must say that I love, love, love that new Polka Dot background stamp!

Stamp Sets: background sampler, carved & candlelit, everyday flexible phrases, polka dot

Inks: black StazOn, old olive, pumpkin pie, versamark

Cardstock: basic black, old olive, pumpkin pie, whisper white

Embellishments: black gingham ribbon

September Stamp Club Projects

Here's my latest club projects. Most of my club members were able to stamp all 3 of these cards in 35-45 minutes last night. Though they were easy to put together, they are super cute! The ladybug on the first card is a CASE from SplitCoastStampers (this critter is ultra popular on that site right now) but the card design itself is mine.



Pick a Petal Ladybug Pocket Card













Stamp Sets: hugs & wishes, pick a petal
Inks: basic black, purely pomegranate
Markers: basic black
Cardstock: basic black, purely pomegranate, soft sky, whisper white
Punches: 1/16", 1/8", 3/4", & 1" circle punches, slit punch
Tools: stylus
Embellishments: black brads (lg brads by Making Memories), black gingham ribbon
**Though it's hard to tell, I dry embossed large circles on the front pocket of this card.

Whimsical Tip #1: Create embossing templates using cardstock & punches. Stampin' Up's cardstock is so thick that you can use it as an embossing template. To make it easier, take a scrap piece of cardstock and fold it in half into a "mini card". Use a punch to punch the desired shape through both pieces cardstock on the mini card. Take your good piece of cardstock and sandwich it inside the mini card. Use a stylus to emboss the outer edge of the punched shape. Since you have punched through the upper layer of the mini card, you will be able to easily see where you need to emboss. No light table needed!




Wild About You Rubber Band Brayer Card








Stamp Sets: wild about you
Inks: ballet blue, green galore
Cardstock: ballet blue, green galore, more mustard, whisper white
Embellishments: more mustard brads

Whimsical Tip #2: Wrap rubber bands around your brayer to create a grass background. Make sure there are a few twists in the bands to give it a realistic look.




Priceless 3x6" Paint Chip Card








Stamp Sets: priceless, short & sweet
Inks: black StazOn, pumpkin pie
Cardstock: pumpkin pie, whisper white
Embellishments: black grosgrain ribbon
Punches: designer label, small oval

Whimsical Tip #3: Stamp on left-over paint chips from hardware or paint stores to create a unique look on your stamped projects. Be sure to spray the chip with a neutralizer if you will be using it on a scrapbook page.

July Stamp Club Projects

The hostess for our July Stamp Club meeting opted to do 3 cards. Here are the finished products:

Double Line Doodles Thank You Card









Stamp Sets: double line doodles, much appreciated
Inks: wild wasabi, groovy guava, so saffron, very vanilla
Cardstock: so saffron, very vanilla, wild wasabi
Accessories: natural hemp twine
Tools: blender pens, cutter kit, slit punch, 1/8" circle punch

HOT TIP #1: Use the perforating tool on your cutter kit to make faux stitching. Ink the perforating tool up well by running it back and forth over a craft ink pad, being careful not to press hard enough to cut the pad, and then run the tool over your cardstock.

Big Bold Birthday Scratch-n-Sniff Card









Stamp Sets: big bold birthday, dilly-dally party wheel
Inks: blue bayou, purely pomegranate, versamark
Cardstock: blue bayou, purely pomegranate, wild wasabi, whisper white
Accessories: blue bayou double stitched ribbon
Tools: heat tool, slit punch
Other: clear embossing powder, sugar free kool-aid

HOT TIP #2: Stamp your image with Versamark ink. Sprinkle a mixture of 1 part sugar-free kool-aid or jello powder to 1.5-2 parts clear embossing powder on top of stamped image. Heat the mixture with a heat tool until dissolved and....voila, a scratch-n-sniff card. Kool-aid will result in a grainier look than jello because the texture of the kool-aid powder. Jello powder will result in a glossy look. Try using cinnamon or cocoa powder instead of kool-aid or jello powder for some additional scents.

Baroque Motifs 3x6 Cherish Card










Stamp Sets: baroque motifs
Inks: whisper white, jet black StazOn
Cardstock: basic black, really red, whisper white
Accessories: black brad, basic black grosgrain ribbon
Tools: scallop punch, spring flower bouquet punch

HOT TIP #3: Layer punched cardstock pieces to make some really cool embellishments.

HOT TIP #4: Try making some 3x6" cards. You'll get 4 cards out of 1 piece of 12x12 cardstock! And don't forget - Stampin' Up!' carries Small Open-End Envelopes, which are the perfect size for this unique-shaped card.

Love It Card

I made this adorable card for my neighbor Mary. I used last year's hostess set, Love It, which is now retired. My cousin Taunya won one of these stamp sets at my Open House in July. Hope she "Loves It" as much as I do! This is the first time I've used our new rhinestone brads. It gave the card just the right amount of bling to jazz it up. The stem of the flower was made from grosgrain ribbon. Happy birthday, Bubba!

Stamp Sets: love it (retired), fast & fun notes

Inks: brocade blue, cameo coral, green galore, so saffron

Cardstock: brocade blue, cameo coral, whisper white

Accessories: certainly celery grosgrain ribbon, ice rhinestone brad

Bloom

It's hard to believe how much my daughter Mia has blossomed. I snapped this photo of her before church one day. She looks like she's much older than 6-1/2! I think we could be in some serious trouble in the future as she starts to get noticed by the boys! Brian and I are still amazed that we could produce such a beautiful being! Of course, a photo this adorable just screamed to be scrapbooked.

Inspired by a page I saw on Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator website, I loved the contrast of a white floral design on black cardstock. Though the example page I saw used a brass template as a guide to draw the flowers and stems, nearly all of my floral design was drawn free-hand with my beloved white gel pen. The only things that weren't were the individuals flowers (those not attached to the stem), which were embossed in white using our Just Like You stamp set (this year's Ronald McDonald House Charities set). The leaves and flower centers were punched or hand-cut from our beautiful Prints Designer Series paper. The title was stamped on our Prints designer paper in black using the new Jumbo Outline alphabet stamp set. I then cut around the individual letters leaving a small colored edge.

The text around the photo reads.....

Mia: as you get ready to start 1st grade, I can't help but notice how much you've grown up this past year. I can't help but notice you bloom....

Stamp Set: just like you, jumbo outline alphabet

Inks: versamark

Markers: rose red

Cardstock: basic black, so saffron, prints designer series paper (almost amethyst, certainly celery, rose red, & so saffron)

Accessories: white gel pen

Other: white embossing powder, various circle punches