A Sweet Birthday

I am ending the week with a cute birthday card created using Lawn Fawn's Baked With Love stamp set and dies.  I never have enough birthday cards and it was fun to make this one.  Again I used my Copic markers and practiced coloring and shading and still have a lot of practicing to do!   I will be watching a video or two online to get some coloring hints.  Aside from being cute, today's card is nice and crisp  due to the white background and bright cupcakes, candles and stars.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!`

A Little FYI

Stampin' Up! announced the addition of four new items to the Sale-a-bration  choices available for free with each $50 purchase beginning on March 1st.  These products will be available for the final month of Sale-a-bration.  The choices include stamp sets, accessory pack and vellum stack.  Here is a link to the flyer: 

 

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Flyer_SAB2_demo_Feb1715_US.pdf

 

Bokeh Technique

I have been noticing cards created using this Bokeh technique and finally decided to try it.  I have heard it pronounced "boka" and "bouquet".  Not sure which is the correct pronunciation, but here is my card using the "watercolor" Bokeh technique.  In photography it is the appearance of being out of focus.  Anyway, after wetting down a piece of watercolor paper, you add color using re-inker and a few drops of water on the end of an aqua painter.  As the color hits the wet paper it spreads.  I used Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo and the background is the result I got.  To make it look out of focus you need white craft ink and a circle stencil.  I now know I need a white craft ink refill!  That being said, you can still kind of see the random white circles over the water colored design.  I also did the same technique using sponge daubers and ink instead of water and it looked really good until I decided to stamp directly on it.  The white craft ink did not take the Staz-on ink well, so that card is at the curb as I type~~~lol!!  I will perfect this technique by the next class!  Have a great day!

Lawn Fawn Cuteness

I wanted to share my SU Mini Treat bag embellished with Lawn Fawn stamps and die cuts together with the SU bow punch and  Beautiful Wings Embosslit.  I became aware of this Eggstra Special Easter stamp set from Lawn Fawn when new CHA products were being introduced last month.  I thought it was adorable then and I still do.  As soon as it was released I purchased it together with the coordinating dies.  So the last couple of days I have been playing with my COPIC markers and this Lawn Fawn set.  When I assembled SU's mini treat bag,  the basket, grass, bunny and eggs looked really cute.  But it needed something else.  What better than my favorite butterflies and a pretty paper bow?   The little individual mini bags of M&Ms fit in this bag as do the mini Hershey bars or even a gift card.  Or how about a sentiment card inside?  Now the "you're earresistible" card makes me laugh!! The partially eaten ear is just too cute!  I have been having a lot of fun coloring these past two days.  I love Stampin' Up and their quality but every once in the while a product comes along that I cannot resist and this Easter set was one of those products.  You will be seeing more creations using this stamp set.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Happy Birthday Butterfly

Today's card is quick and easy and one that can easily be mass produced.  I used an aqua painter and ink pads to create the wash behind the butterfly. Using the  dot image from the Perpetual Birthday stamp set added a little random interest.. I temporarily placed the butterfly while stamping the sentiment (Bloom With Hope) and once the sentiment was stamped permanently attached the butterfly.  I used Night of Navy and Coastal Cabana.   As I look at the card, I see the layer is not even on all four sides~~oops!  I will fix that!  Have a great day.

Friends Are Like Seashells

While we were on vacation last month we spent a couples of days in St. Augustine.  While the most important reason for the stop in St. Augustine was to see my friend, Regina and her family, we also did a little exploring.  In the old downtown area, there is a section of cobblestone streets and little shops.  One of the shops was Whetstone Chocolates. In another section of St, Augustine they have a factory and give tours, but we didn't have enough time to do that~~next time!  Anyway they had the prettiest foiled covered chocolate seashells that I just had to get.  When I got home, I made little favors (pictured) and also created this card using  a Close To My Heart stamp set  that had the perfect saying about friends and seashells.  I pulled out the old retired Close To Cocoa cardstock, stamped seashells on it and then layered that with Pool Party and a piece of watercolored paper.  The little shells I picked up on the beach in Fort Myers; the sentiment stamped in Chocolate Chip.  I think the card is very pretty and not only do the favors look nice, the chocolate is really, really good!!  Have a great day!

A Lighthouse

Today's card was started while I was in Florida playing with colored pencils.  The lighthouse stamp is from Heartfelt Creations, their Sand and Sea set.  Aside from the stamp and pencils, all other supplies are Stampin' Up! I chose the Stylish Stripes embossing folder as it matched the stripes on the lighthouse.  After stamping the little happy birthday, I used the Itty Bitty framelits for a wavy look. Have a great day and weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Strawberry Butterfly Basics

It is very cold here this morning with a temperature of -5 degrees and a wind chill of -22 as I type!  Today's Strawberry Slush card will bring thoughts of Spring to you~~I hope! After diecutting the butterfly I spritzed it with a little Strawberry Slush reinker and alcohol.  I then used a variety of the images from the Butterfly Basics stamp set, stamping off first on all except the sentiment.  The sentiment was stamped full strength.  After centering the stamped white cardstock from which the butterfly was diecut to the card base, the butterfly was adhered just in the center to give the card a little 3D effect.  I imagine this card would be very pretty in just about any color.  (It is much prettier in person than the picture shows!)  Have a great day and keep warm!

Anniversary Cards

Matt, Jen and Sydney celebrated our anniversary with us.  Syd had off from school so it worked out perfect.  I promised my favorite girl that I was going to post her card as it was so pretty.  I just love the way she made the flowers,  the color combination and the fact she made her own background.  And so Jen wouldn't feel left out, I posted her card, too.  Love the layout and the colors. And the sentiment is perfect for an anniversary!  I need to ask her which stamp set has that sentiment.  I sure am blessed to have such a wonderful family!  Have a great day! 

Sheltering Tree

While deciding what to do with this stamp set, I thought a Spring card sure would be nice!  First thing I noticed when I went to use the stamp was that these pieces really stick well to the plastic sheet they are attached to.  I was sure to not rip the larger pieces off too fast.  I did not want to tear the stamps.  Anyway, I would like to say this is my first card, but actually it is about my 4th card front--hahaha!!!  I was getting a couple places where the stamped image did not take.  That problem was taken care of when I stamped using the Stampin' Pierce Mat as a cushion.   I finally figured out that for me it works best to stamp light from dark.  So I first stamped the leaves and then the tree trunk and branches.  Since this stamp set is photopolymer it is so easy to place things, such as the swing.  Yes, my Stamp-a-ma-jig would have done a perfect job, but I did not need it for this one.  I even placed the flowers on the stems without a stamp-a-ma-jig.  I especially like the font of the sentiments included in the set.  The sentiments are pretty, too!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

41 Years!

That is how many years we have been married!  That being said, today's card is the one I made for my husband.  Isn't it pretty?  The background paper is part of the Something Borrowed DSP collection.  The colors in this particular collection are Sahara Sand and Whisper White.  I wanted a little contrast so I used Soft Suede cardstock for the hearts.  The larger heart was embossed with a pretty embossing folder from Close To My Heart; the small one with my  favorite SU! embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots. The hearts were embellished with flowers, leaves punched using the Build A Bird punch and a few pearls.  The Happy
anniversary banner was stamped using the Amuse Studio stamp set, Essential Sentiments Too.  Have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating love~~love of family, friends, etc.  I have posted my Valentines over the past month or so and today I am sharing the Valentine we got from my friend, Kathy Z.  I love it!  She used the A Round Array stamp set, a variety of punches and the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Now the front of the card is really pretty, but open it up and look how she handled the inside!  The Top Note die was stamped and centered as the liner.  I am going to have to remember that idea and start stepping up my card interiors using a variety of dies/framelits.  Thank you, Kathy for the pretty Valentine.  I hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day and a great weekend, too!

Sale-a-bration You Brighten My Day

During the week I was playing with the SAB set You Brighten My Day.  All three cards are rather simple, each being embellished in a different way.  I used DSP, a variety of cardstock, embossing folders, the new tag punch and circle punches and an Itty Bitty Banner framelit to create the cards.  The next time I use the house image in a grouping, I will use dimensionals to let it stand out from the simply stamped houses.   Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Paper From Florida

I mentioned in a post last month that I visited my favorite stamp store in Fort Myers, The Owl and The Pussycat. I purchased a pack of paper that is all about the sea and used it to make today's cards.  The paper itself has a vintage look and feel.  The Sahara Sand card is simply a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of the paper layered on Midnight Muse (retired) cardstock. The sentiment stamp caught my eye at the store and I had to use it!  I purchased a pack of  precut window cards and a sheet of Designer Paper that was just a sheet of stamps pertaining to sea life.  The trimmed stamps fit perfectly under the square windows.  I used a section of one of the papers in the pack to top off the card. Wasn't sure what to do with the rest of the card, so for now I just stamped "enjoy" from the retired Fabulous Phrases stamp set.  If you are ever in Fort Myers, Florida you need to visit The Owl and The Pussycat.  A truly nice stamping store with some extremely beautiful samples.  Have a great day!

Refresh, renew, rejoice

It is time to start thinking about Easter.  So while in my scraproom last night, I sat down to color the image from the Indescribable Gift stamp set using my new Pink Pirouette Blendabilities markers.  I used Old Olive marker for the leaves.  And since I did not have a brown Blendabilities, I used a Copic Marker for the branch.    After creating the background paper using another piece of the  Irresistibly Yours DSP and Soft Sky ink, I decided that I would fussy cut the flower image.  And then I looked across to my Scan & Cut and it was cut out in seconds.  After putting the card together and stamping the sentiments, I wished I would have adhered the flower branch using dimensionals.  So, I made another version.  This time I adhered the flower branch with the dimensionals, used a smaller piece of Whisper White and yet a different print from the Irresistibly Yours DSP collection.  This is the card we will be making at card class in February and you will have the choice of DSP pattern and the flower color.    Have a great day! 

Pop Out Swing Card

Today's card is a Pop Out Swing card and definitely a card we will be making at the February card classes.  The image, Love Is Kindness, was simply stamped in Stazon ink and colored in with my Marvelous Markers.  I know we now have the alcohol markers, but I sure depend on my Marvelous Markers.  This is a fun card to make and I can see myself making a few of them~~or more.  Have a great day!

Pretty Background

I wanted to try out the Irresisitbily Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper, one of the Sale-a-bration choices this year.  I cut down one of the sheets of paper and took out a brayer while deciding what color I wanted to use.  Since my favorite In Colors will be retiring come the new annual catalog, I decided on Pistachio Pudding.  After inking up the brayer I rolled it on the DSP, repeating a few times.  It turned out pretty, don't you think?  I used a leaf stem from the Crazy About You stamp set (Occasions Mini) to create a very subtle background behind the sentiment.  Both the sentiment from the Butterfly Basics stamp set (Mini Occasions) together with a couple little embosslit butterflies in Baked Brown Sugar add contrast to everything Pistachio Pudding.  I look forward to using other patterns, colors and techniques with the Irresistibly Yours DSP.   Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Bow Builder Punch

Last night I had a chance to play with the bow builder punch and today's post includes my first two bows.  Back in the summer I posted a card using a bow die from AMuse Studios.  I really liked having those little dies.  Well, I had to see what I thought of SU!'s bow punch and I like it a little bit more.  Size-wise SU!'s bow is a little bigger than the small one we used and smaller than the AMuse larger bow die.  Secondly, the tails on the punch are separate.  That is a good thing as when you use pattern paper, the tails match the bow.  The cards are cute and I know the bows will flatten when put in an envelope, but the bow shape will always be there.  I think the bow punch is a good investment.  Time will tell just how much I use it.   Have a great day!

Beach Umbrellas

As I watch the snow, I am still in beach mode!  Today's card was created with an umbrella stamp and sentiment stamp, both from Pink Ink Stamp Company.  I stamped the image on watercolor paper and used my Stampin' Up! ink pads and aqua painter to color it.  A fun card and fun colors.  Now I am going to have some fun finishing the vacation laundry, paying bills, etc.  Have a great day!

Home Sweet Home

We got back home safe and sound yesterday afternoon.  This is a far cry from the sunshine, surf and sand we enjoyed for the past more than two weeks, but there is no place like home!!  I was actually too tired to get sucked into my scraproom last night, but I was able to use one of the pencil-colored images I posted while I was gone for today's card.  The polka dot paper I purchased at A C Moore, a craft store very similar to Michael's.   I see this as a cute congratulations card for a graduation or a promotion with the sentiment by Karen Lockhart.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!