Something For One of the Guys

Hi Everyone!

I've been wanting to make a square card for a while, just hadn't found a layout I could work with until this one. Very simple, I know, but I like the clean and simple look - especially for a guys card. The base on this one is 51/4" square and made from So Saffron card stock. My next layer is 5" of Chocolate Chip, and then 43/4" Baja Breeze. To add a little bit of interest to the blue layer I decided to try the new builder wheels (that I've had for a while) the Birthday wheel and the Candle Crazy wheel. I love these little builder wheels! It's so much fun to mix and match to create your own unique backgrounds or designer papers! For the greeting on the card I chose square birthday one from the Take A Spin stamp set in the new Occasions Mini Catalogue. I inked it with Baja Breeze classic ink and then stamped it on a piece of Whisper White card stock that I cut to be 1" larger than the stamped image. I then mounted this on another piece of Chocolate Chip card stock that was 1/2" larger again. Using a piercing tool, I put a small hole in the center of the greeting and added one of the new game spinner pieces. To put these on properly so they will spin, the washer is on the bottom, the arrow piece on top of the washer and then the brad goes on top of that with the little prongs going through the stacked bits and the card stock. I then mounted the whole greeting piece to the card front with Stampin' Dimensionals.

So there is another quick and easy card for you this week! Hope you enjoy it and as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Until then...

Happy Stampin!

Awash with Flowers Birthday

Hi Everyone!

Today's card is my take on the Saturday Sketch Challenge over at Stamping 411. It's also my first sample using the Sneak Peek set - Awash with Flowers. This set is available for the month of April only and then not again until the new catalogue is released this summer! I love getting things early, don't you?! So don't wait, get your set today! All details are on my Stampin' Up website HERE.

Now, about the card. I started with Whisper White card stock for the base and sponged around the edges with So Saffron classic ink. The designer series paper for the first layer is from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack. This is a great assortment of patterned 12x12 papers, perfect for your scrapbooks or for on your cards. It's only available until the end of April so order one soon so you don't miss out. My focal point is stamped on Whisper White and off set mounted on a piece of Cameo Coral card stock. I sponged around the edges of both with the Cameo Coral Ink. I also used the paper piercing tool with the mat pack to add some interest to the corners of the main image. The greeting is from the Well Scripted stamp set, inked in Tempting Turquoise, stamped on Whisper White card stock and then punched out using the Scallop Oval punch. I mounted the greeting on a piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock that I punched out using the Wide Oval punch and then adhered it to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. The ribbon is 1/4" grosgrain in Turquoise and attached to the card using our Sticky Strip. The final element on my card is the perfectly matching button. I made this button! It's really very easy and a great way to have that extra little something for your project. To make the button, use the 1" circle punch and punch out 5 circles in the color card stock of your choice. Next, glue all the circles, one on top of each other, using our 2-way glue pen. Once the button has dried, punch 2 holes in the middle using the smallest punch on the Crop-a-dile. Thread a piece of Hemp Twine through the holes and knot. See! Easy as pie! Now you will always have buttons to match any project you're working on.

So that's my card for today. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'

My Saturday Sketch Challenge Entry

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was great. Hosted a surprise Birthday party for my hubby and we had a really good time. It was 4 couples and 7 kids and you'd think the party was for the kids the way they were having fun! So I figured after that, I should probably relax and get some cards made. One of my favorite places to go for sketch challenges is over to Stamping 411. The operators over there always have a great sketch to give you a starting point for a card. So this is my submission for the SSC#137. The color inspiration for this card came from the new designer series paper Shades of Spring. I had originally intended to use a piece of the designer series paper on the card, but then got caught up in my butterflies instead. These colors are definitely out of my comfort zone, but I do like how cheery they are. This would also make a nice combination for an Easter card.

This card really took very little time to come together. Instead of the designer series paper, I used the butterfly from the Great Friend stamp set inked in Orchid Opulence and stamped it randomly on a piece of Whisper White card stock. The next butterfly is the small one from the Flight of the Butterfly set, inked with So Saffron and stamped randomly. To finish it off I used the leaf image from Great Friend in Certainly Celery and the small flower from Flight of the Butterfly in Pretty in Pink. This is a quick and easy way to make your own designer paper, and because it's an accent piece, it doesn't need to be perfect. The greeting on the front is from the Occasions Mini, Messages for Mom stamp set. This is a very versatile set to cover any reason for sending your Mom a card, even just because! To carry over the butterfly theme, I ran a piece of Pretty in Pink card stock through the Big Shot using the new Beautiful Wings embosslit die and adhered them to the card with mini glue-dots. I finished off the front with a strip of Certainly Celery 1/4" grosgrain ribbon.

The inside of the card showcases one of new style punches, the Pinking Hearts Corner punch. It takes a plain piece of card stock and gives it that extra something with 4 quick punches! I simply cut the Whisper White card stock to 51/4x4" and then punched each corner out. Voila! I added the sentiment from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set and the 2-step butterfly as well.

And there you have it. That's my card for today. I hope you enjoy it, and as always, feel free to leave me a comment!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'

Another Challenge Card

OK, So I'm a week behind, but at least I'm posting! LOL! I have decided that for my Stampers Club I will feature a festive card (i.e the previous Valentine's card), a 3D item and a birthday card so we can have enough on hand when needed. For this card I chose to use last weeks Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge and made this masculine themed birthday card. I suppose you could send it to a female, but I figure with the trees and the blues and greens it could pass more for one of the guys. I liked this sketch as it gave me a chance to use some of the designer paper from the new Sweet Pea Designer Series paper stack. This is an awesome new product available in the current Occasions Mini catalogue! It has 48 sheets of 12x12" designer series papers that are perfect for your scrapbooks or as accents on your cards. I choose a piece that had the Trendy Trees on it and used it with the Trendy Trees stamp set. I copied the coloring of the trees from the paper onto the main image of the card for continuity. I liked how it turned out, and I must confess this is the first time I've used my Trendy Trees set, and I have had it for a while. I'll definitely be using it again, I like it's simplicity.
So just a quick post for tonight, have an early shift tomorrow morning. I'd love to hear your comments on this card, so feel free to leave a comment.

Until then...

Happy Stampin'




Products used for this card

Stamps: Trendy Trees #113258, Well Scripted #118601 (clear mounted) also available on wood mount #117072

Paper: So Saffron card stock 81/2x11" #105118,Not Quite Navy card stock 81/2x11" #101722,Chocolate Chip card stock 81/2x11" #102128, Very Vanilla card stock 81/2x11" #101650, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack #117161

Ink: Chocolate Chip classic #100908, Not Quite Navy classic #103008, So Saffron classic #105213, Old Olive classic #102277

Accessories: 3/16" Corner Rounder punch #109047, Earth Elements brads #106955, 1/4" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon #111367, SNAIL adhesive #104332, Stamping Sponges #101610, Stamp-a-ma-jig #101049, Stampin' Write markers in Old Olive #100079 and Pumpkin Pie #105115

Butterfly Birthday

Hi Everyone,

I am such a horrible procrastinator! One of my best friends' Birthday is today, so I made her card...today! It's not that I didn't know it was coming, I just wanted it to be the perfect card for her and I didn't get the vibe for it until tonight. Mel loves butterflies! So what better excuse to pull out the Big Shot and the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die and see what I could come up with!

This card is a 51/4" square, Whisper White card stock for the base. The main layer is Rich Razzleberry cut to 51/8" square. I used my paper piercing tool and the guide from the mat pack to pierce a border around the edge of the Rich Razzleberry. The grey accent is a piece of 17/8 x 43/8" designer series paper Walk in the Park (retired) layered on a 2 x 41/4" Basic Black card stock. For the sentiment I cut out the oval frame from the Lots of Tags sizzlits pack, once in Whisper White and once in Basic Black. I inked up the Birthday Wishes from the Sincere Salutations stamp set in Rich Razzleberry and stamped onto the Whisper White oval using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to center it perfectly. I really like this little tag frame because it perforates the inside edge of the oval so I was able to punch it out and layer it onto the same frame I had cut out in Basic Black. Now for the main element, the butterfly! I took a piece of Crushed Curry card stock and ran it through the Big Shot using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. Next, I took the embossed card stock and ran it through the Big Shot again, but used the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die to cut out my butterfly. To enhance the texture on the butterfly, I used a Stampin' Sponge and inked the edges and a bit of the wings with the Crushed Curry ink. The body of the butterfly uses the hat pin and 3 of the "crystal" beads from the Pretties Kit. To attach the butterfly to the card, first I folded the butterfly down the middle to give me a "guide" for the body. Next I took 2 mini glue-dots and rolled them between my fingers to form a small tube and then placed them under the "body" of the butterfly and adhered it to the card. I did the same with 3 more glue-dots on top of the "body" to hold the beads in place, and one more under the end of the hat pin so it wouldn't slide up and down. For the inside of the card I used the flourish from Baroque Motifs in Rich Razzleberry, the butterfly from Great Friend in Crushed Curry, and the sentiment from On Your Birthday in Basic Black.

And that's my card for tonight! I have to say I am happy with how quick it came together. I just hope the Birthday girl likes it. And I hope you do as well! I appreciate any comments / suggestions that you may have, so feel free to leave one!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'

Getting My Mojo On!

Hi Everyone!

I never used to be a big fan of Mondays - that is until I started playing along with the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge ! Now I really look forward to Mondays to see what the new sketch is and how I can interpret it.
So here is my submission for this week. I needed another Birthday card as my Aunt's is on Thursday. The color inspiration actually came from my Aunt's home. She lives in a beautiful one bedroom bungalow with lots of windows so it's sunny and bright just about all the time and her color scheme is brilliant blue and sunny yellow. I opted to use the new Crushed Curry card stock for this card because I LOVE this color and I like it very much with our Brilliant Blue card stock and the new Soft Suede card stock. My Aunt also has a beautiful blue and yellow floral print on one wall, so I knew I wanted to have floral elements on her card. So here is how I made this card...

• Cut a piece of Whisper White card stock at 51/2" x 81/2" ; score at 41/4" for you card base


• Cut a piece of Brilliant Blue card stock to 51/4 x 4" and 13/4 x 37/8"; set these aside


• Cut a piece of Soft Suede card stock to 11/4 x 37/8", 11/8 x 21/4", 23/8 x 33/8" and 21/4 x 23/4" ; set these aside


• Cut a piece of Crushed Curry card stock to 51/8 x 37/8". I inked up my French Script background stamp (retired) in Crushed Curry and stamped the card stock *HINT* When using the large background stamps I ink them and lay them on the table rubber side up and place the card stock on the rubber and use my brayer to press the paper onto the image for a nice even transfer.
  
• I chose the large flower image from the level 3 hostess set Kind & Caring Thoughts, and I colored onto the image using the new In Color markers in Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry and Soft Suede; I misted the image lightly with some water, stamped it onto Whisper White card stock (21/4 x 31/4"), inked the edges slightly with Soft Suede and layered it onto a piece of Soft Suede card stock


• Next, take the 21/4 x 2 3/4" piece of Soft Suede and run it through the Big Shot with the embossing folder of your choice ( I used Swiss Dots)


• To make the band on the front, take the 11/4 x 37/8" piece of Soft Suede card stock and punch the edge with the Eyelet Border punch and the adhere it to the bottom of the Brilliant Blue card stock ( 13/4 x 37/8") using the Snail adhesive


• Take a piece of Soft Suede Polka-Dot ribon (~51/2") and make a simple knot about 1 1/2" from one end; adhere the ribbon across the front of the band but not all the way around ; set aside
  
• I wanted to continue with the floral motif so I inked up the small flower in Crushed Curry and stamped it randomly on a piece of Whisper White card stock (1 x 21/8"), then I stamped the greeting with Brilliant Blue ink *HINT* To make sure your greeting is perfectly placed every time, I use my Stamp-a-ma-jig


• Layer the greeting onto the final pieces of Soft Suede and then Brilliant Blue card stock


• The layering of the elements is what makes this sketch a bit tricky - start by placing the embossed piece of Soft Suede on the Crushed Curry front, next layer the large flower image


• The Brilliant Blue band is next, once this is adhered across the front, you can the bring the ends of the ribbon around the Crushed Curry card stock and adhere it to the back of that


• Add the greeting panel to the front using Stampin' Dimensionals for effect


• Once this is done, layer it all onto the Brilliant Blue and then onto the Whisper White card base - decorate the inside as you like and enjoy!
  

I hope you get a chance to try out this card. I'd love to see any of your interpretations, and as always feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'

A Very Special Birthday Card

Hi Everyone!

I have to say this work thing is totally interfering with my stampin' and blogging! LOL! I really enjoyed being home with my kids last week and having the time to blog and stamp almost daily was a dream! But like with all dreams, I had to wake up at some point...
I did make it into my stampin' space for a bit so that I could try out this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. I really liked the sketch and was anxious to try it out with some more of my new stamps and papers from the new Stampin' Up Catalogue. I also was in need of a birthday card for a very special lady. One of my friends' Mom is turning 94 on Thursday! Can you imagine being 94 and witnessing first hand all the changes that have gone on in the world? Sometimes when I think back about just some of the changes I have seen in my life time it's amazing, but a lot has happened in the past 94 years! I have had the pleasure of spending time with Bertha, and she is a lovely person. She loves crafty things and especially hand stamped cards so there was no way I wasn't going to make her one.
I jumped into the new In Colors again for this card, and tried out my new Circle Circus (#115778) stamp set. The base of the card is Whisper White cardstock. I cut a piece of Bermuda Bay (#115317) cardstock to 4 1/8 x 5 3/8" and the using the large flower circle stamp, I inked it with VersaMark (#102283) and stamped the images randomly on the cardstock to create a background. I wanted to keep the circle theme going, so I created my own designer paper using Whisper White cardstock as the base and 3 different circle images from the set. I inked up the first stamp in Crushed Curry (#115659) and stamped a few random images. I then took my second circle and inked it in the Melon Mambo (#115656) and stamped a few images, and the did the same with the last image in the Rich Razzleberry (#115658) ink. Once this was finished I layered it onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock. I chose a piece of Soft Suede (#115318) cardstock and a piece of 1/4" Basic Black grosgrain ribbon for the accents on the card. The greeting is from the Full of Life (#111500) stamp set, inked in Rich Razzleberry, stamped on Whisper White and then layered onto Rich Razzleberry (#115316) cardstock. For the final circle element on the card, I again chose 2 more of the images from the Circle Circus stamp set, inked them both with the Melon Mambo ink, stamped them onto the Melon Mambo (#115320) cardstock, punched it out using the 1 1/4" circle punch (#104403) and layered it onto a piece of Basic Black cardstock that had been punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch (#104401). The fun thing with the Circle Circus stamp set it that it coordinates with all of our circle punches! So you can stamp any of the images from this set and punch them out perfectly to add as an extra element on any of your cards and other projects.
So that is my interpretation for this weeks Mojo94, and I hope Bertha will like it for her Birthday card. I hope you enjoy it too, and as always, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'

P.S I'm getting better at stamping inside my cards now too! :)

Happy Saturday!

Hi Everyone!

Well school is done for another year! The kids are truly enjoying their first day of summer vacation. It's a lovely 25 Celsius with sun and a light breeze and they've been in the little pool already. I'm just happy to have the break from packing lunches and hurrying them to get dressed and out the door to the bus on time! *sigh* It's too bad summer break is so short...
OK, enough of that! What a great mail day I've had the past 2 days! On Thursday I got my box of NEW Stampin' Up catalogues! And then on Friday I got my box of sneak peak goodies with all the new In Color inks and papers and ribbons, and the Lots of Bots (#115293) stamp set! WooHoo! So you know I HAD to play with them! LOL! It's too bad that the box didn't arrive so that I could have made the Teacher's cards with the new colors. Oh well, there's always next year.
Perfectly timed, my son's friend's Birthday is today so I made his card using the Lots of Bots set. I went with this weeks Stamping 411 sketch #105. I used the new In Color Bermuda Bay for the base and ran it through the Big Shot with a Happy Birthday embossing folder. For the band across the front I used a strip of Whisper White and stamped it with the nuts-n-bolts image from the Lots of Bots set using the Crushed Curry ink and sponged around the edges with it as well, and layered it on a piece of Crushed Curry that was sponged on the edges as well. For the greeting I used the Birthday Bot from the set. I just love the "Happy Birthday Human", it's too cute! I stamped the Bot with the Basic Black ink and layered him on the Bermuda Bay cardstock and adhered him to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. For a bit of color I used my blender pen in the Crushed Curry ink and colored in the balloon, his eyes and the heart on the treat bag. There! My first card with all new products! Quick and easy and passed inspection by one of my toughest critics - my 7yr old son, who said, "Ah cool Robots Mom! Nice!". Whew! Guess I can safely use this set for his other friends Birthday cards now! LOL!
Well I'm going to head back to my stampin' room to see what else I can come up with. Enjoy your Saturday, and as always, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Until then...

Happy Stampin'!