Tangerine Tango & Secret Garden

The last few days I have been making cards with paper scraps from the retiring DSP stacks.  Today's card is one of the prettier ones I made using scraps.  After adhering DSP squares and rectangles to the white cardstock, I had no idea what I was going to do with it--lol!  After a couple creative attempts and the card not looking good, I left the scrap room for a while.  While eating lunch, I had the idea to emboss on DSP, so when I went back down to my scrap room later in the day, the card came together one, two, three.    The flowers from the Secret Garden set  were stamped with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.  The flowers and leaves were then cut using the matching framelits.  The Petite Curly Label punch is the perfect size for the DSP square.  I have not used this particular punch very often as it always seems to get lost on a card, but not on this card.  Time for me to finish getting things together for the Open House tomorrow.  Hope to see you tomorrow.  If not, have a wonderful weekend!

Cardstock Flowers

When our Cricut group met a couple of weeks ago, Dawn spent the afternoon making flowers for her daughter's wedding.  She is making  6 or 7 bouquets, boutonnieres, etc. and is certainly putting a lot of labor (love), time and expense into this.  The coral and white flowers are very pretty and only one type of flower that the bouquets will include.  The flowers are so pretty now, I can only imagine the bouquets will be beautiful when put together.  Hopefully I will be posting photos of the completed bouquets later this summer. The flowers in the vase are flowers I made with  Stampin' Up's Bloomin' Bouquet Project Kit.  The kit comes with the materials needed to make 13 paper flowers, with the exception of adhesive.  You will need a glue gun. The cost for the kit is $12.95 plus tax and shipping and is available while supplies last.  And you don't need a Cricut or punches for these flowers! These were fun to make and look cute on the table downstairs.   Have a great day!

Wildflower Meadows

We will be making today's card at the New Catalog Open House on Saturday.  The color is Coastal Cabana, one of the new In colors.  The white layer was stamped with the Wildflower Meadows background stamp, a stamp available in the new catalog.  What makes this stamp even more special is the fact that it has a matching embossing folder which I used after stamping the image.  I corner rounded punch on two of the corners and the final touch was sponging the edges.  Well, I thought that was the final touch. As I looked at the card it was a little to plain.  So I stamped a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched it with an oval punch and layered that on a scalloped oval.  And as I am looking at it right now, I should have probably sponged the edges of the white oval, too.  Oh well, next time! Have a great day!

A Kitchen Change

We had a nice weekend and hope everyone else did, too.  I worked on getting ready for the catalog open house scheduled for Saturday, June 1st and I also got my kitchen back in order.  A couple of months ago, my husband and I (mostly my husband) removed the bronze back splash in our kitchen.  We also talked about refinishing the cabinets.  At the same time, my friend Kathy mentioned she had a cabinet finished to match the rest of her kitchen and was very pleased with the great job that was done on that cabinet.  That was all I needed to hear.  We called J C Wood Finishing in Addison, Illinois and  the project began.  The process is "shading" not "refinishing".  The doors and drawer fronts were taken to their shop to be shaded.  Two weeks later (last week), Alex and his crew came and lightly sanded the frames, trim, side panels--anything that was being shaded--and then shaded it all to match the sample we agreed on.. Let me tell you, Alex and his guys covered every inch of floor, wall, tile, granite prior to working on the cabinets and I was impressed with the care they took.  The doors were then hung and new brushed nickel hardware was installed.   They were very professional and I would highly recommend J C Wood. While looking at the photos here, you will notice the new tile back splash--installed by my husband prior to the cabinet shading.  I also got a new kitchen faucet which John installed and it looks and works much nicer than the faucet we replaced.  The kitchen really is beautiful--if I say so myself.  What a difference color can make!

Memorial Day 2013

To honor the veterans of our country, Fairview Elementary School in Schaumburg, Il collected donations of loose change during the week of May 13-17th.  The collected change was used to purchase supplies for the Hines VA Hospital Recreation Services Department such as board games, puzzles, word search books, paints, model car and plane kits, etc.  When speaking to their contact at Hines, she said that the patients always enjoy homemade "Cheer" projects from kids.  So, instead of making hats and decorations for this year's annual Fairview Patriotic Assembly, it was decided that the children would make "cheer" projects for the veterans at the hospital.   The projects did not have to be patriotic themed but had to be happy and upbeat.  The coin collection was very successful and on Thursday, $699 worth of gifts will be delivered to Hines Veterans Administration Hospital. Many wonderful "Cheer" items created by the children will also be delivered.  The "Cheer" item posted here describes each and every Veteran of the United States who has served and/or is presently serving our great country.  And as Margaret wrote in her "Cheer" project, Thank You! 

Pretty Dyed Ribbon

I mentioned in a previous post that I would show the Pistachio Pudding ribbon I made by dyeing SU's white organza ribbon with reinker and rubbing alcohol.  Well, I cannot get a good photo of the card, but the ribbon shows up nicely against the white on the "Thanks So Much" card.  A simple card to create, the sentiment is from Simply Sketched and the flower is from the Best of Flowers stamp set.  This ribbon and the Crisp Cantaloupe ribbon is so pretty that I decided to see what Strawberry Slush reinker and water would do to the ribbon.  And look how pretty that ribbon turned out!  The sentiment on the Strawberry Slush card is from the Sweet Essentials set and the candle is from Create-A-Cupcake.  If you have not ordered the organza ribbon, it is reasonably priced at $5.95 for a 15 yard spool and you can embellish quite a few cards with matching ribbon.  Since today marks the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend, safe travels and a great weekend to all.  And find a little time to remember those that served and are serving our Country and their families.

Simply Sketched Watercolor

Once again I am posting a card stamped with the Simply Sketched hostess set. (You can say that this stamp set is a favorite of mine!) The image was stamped on watercolor paper using Black Stazon ink and colored in with  combination of Eggplant, Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi markers and an aqua painter.  The sentiment was stamped using Elegant Eggplant.  I was debating about whether to add texture to the Eggplant cardstock or not and texture won. I embossed the cardstock using the Fancy Fan embossing folder and the simply Scored tool.  I think this card is simply beautiful. Have a wonderful day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Making Envelopes

I am looking at the amount of Designer Series Paper I have that is soon-to-be-retired and decided that I could use much of it to make my own envelopes.  (Of course, I will also be selling some retired DSP, too.)  So I put the diagonal plate on top of my Simply Scored tool and started scoring.  Today's 5" x 3-1/2" card was made using the new Wildflower Meadow background stamp (stamped image was cropped using an SU oval framelit) and Soft Sky cardstock and ink.  The coordinating envelope was made using Pool Party DSP.  Don't the two colors work nicely together?  When making envelopes using DSP paper, watch the cutting pattern.  The first envelope I made using striped DSP looked just awful when the flaps met together on the backside.  That envelope was filed in the recycle bin--lol.   Have a wonderful day!

Help Oklahoma!

When I woke up this morning, the sun is shining and the birds are singing.  I sat down to read the paper and the sad news from Oklahoma was front page.  My first thought was, "the poor people down there" and my second thought was "I am so blessed to be starting my morning with the sunshine and birds, knowing my family and friends are safe."  Yesterday, while I was working on things down in my scrap room, FOX news showed the tornado heading towards Moore, Oklahoma.  And before I knew it, the photos and film of the devastation from that tornado hit the news.  Such a sad situation for all of those involved. I cannot imagine losing everything in a matter of minutes.  Not everyone is in a position to help financially or physically, but I have heard a number of reports mentioning that "prayers for the people" are much appreciated, too.  Please keep all who are suffering from loss and heartache in your thoughts and prayers. 

Friends

My dear friend, Lenora, celebrated her 70th birthday this weekend.   We gave her a gift card from our favorite Florida store, Beall's.  But I wanted to give her something special and as I was standing in my scraproom wondering what I could make, I saw the FAMILY frame I have hanging and I had a great idea:  change it to FRIENDS!  Since Lenora also likes the pretty tropical colors, I started going through my scrapbook papers and found some Close to My Heart paper that had the perfect colors--aqua and green, the colors of her kitchen and living room.  The paper matched Stampin' Up's Certainly Celery and Marina Mist  and with the help of my Cricut, I was able to create  this pretty wall hanging for my special "old friend".   I am so bless as not only am I blessed with a loving and caring family, I have also been blessed with loving and caring friends.   I hope all of my friends and family have a great day!   

Night of Navy Birthday

I am sorting through the retired designer series paper I have and using it up little by little.  When I came across the Night of Navy paper, I thought I would make a red, white and blue for the up-coming Memorial Day weekend.  As you can see from the photo, the card I made has nothing to do with a patriotic red, white and blue card! But, I do like the card I did create.  The image is from the Simply Sketched stamp set, a new hostess set.  The banner greeting is from another hostess set, Banner Greetings.  I inked the bird image using my markers and layered it on ovals cut using the oval framelits.  I can see myself recreating this card in various colors and differing the sentiment banners as a gift for someone.  Now I need to go back down to my scrap room and work on that Memorial Day card.  Have a great day and a wonderful weekend.

Beach Fun (Especially for Regina)

My friend, Regina, is going down to Sanibel Island for a couple of days, a very needed break from her everyday routine of  beating cancer.  So I made this card just for her. Baked Brown Sugar and Soft Sky equal a good beach color combination.  The shells are from the By the Seashore stamp set.  I stamped them in Chocolate Chip (the sand dollar in Basic Gray) and then cut them out.  After sponging a little color on each one, I ran the Chocolate Chip marker around the edges to fill in any little white spaces left from not cutting perfectly.  "Beach fun" was stamped in Baked Brown Sugar ink using a retired Stampin' Up  alphabet set.  Before adhering the Soft sky card stock to the card base, I wrapped some of linen thread around the card.   Regina, have a great time and breath in some of the salty Gulf air for me. And watch for the dolphins--they aren't that far out from the shore.  Hope everyone has a great day!

Let The Cute Begin

I always thought the stamp on today's card was cute, but I never owned the stamp.  When I saw that the stamp was included in May's Best of Brides & Babies, I decided to purchase the set. In addition to this particular stamp, there are a couple others that I will put to good use. I still do not have any ribbon or embellishments in the colors of Pistachio Pudding or Crisp Cantaloupe, so I cut a piece of organza ribbon and sprayed it with a mixture of Cantaloupe reinker and water.  Once the ribbon dried, I tied it on the card and look how nicely it matches.  I also tested a mixture of Pistachio Pudding reinker and rubbing alcohol on both the organza and white taffeta ribbons and those turned out very pretty, too.  You will be seeing those ribbons on future cards.  For a little added extra on today's card, I kneaded the clay I mentioned in yesterday's post with Cantaloupe reinker and made this little button.  I used a blender pen and ink to fill in the letters, but I really need the In color markers.  They will be on my first order come June 1st, along with more white organza and white taffeta ribbon! Have a great day!

Pretty Little 3x3's

Have I mentioned that I like Pistachio Pudding card stock and ink?  I am sure I did and here are two little cards I made using Pistachio Pudding~~one with Strawberry Slush and the other with Soft Sky.  The image on the Soft Sky gift card is from a new set, Label Love, and coordinates with a new punch, the Artisan Label punch.  The Strawberry Slush card is much prettier in person as the color is not this orange.  The sentiment is from the Petite Pairs stamp set which carried over to the new catalog (yeah).  I do not have any Pistachio ribbon, so I dyed white baker's twine using a drop of the Pistachio reinker and water.  But the highlight of this card is the little flower embellishment.  The flower was created using a new white clay product that I also dyed with Pistachio reinker.  Once the color was kneaded evenly in the clay, I put the clay into a clay mold.  After the flower dried, I popped it out of the mold and adhered it to the tag using a mini glue dot.   I learned that you can also mold the flowers white and then paint them using reinker.  Well, we are supposed to have a beautiful 80 plus degree day here, so I am off to enjoy it.  Have a wonderful day, too!

Indigo Blue Bunting

I had a wonderful Mother's Day with our children, granddaughter and son-in-law's parents.  Jen and Mark had us to their house, all of us bringing something for the dinner.  It was a little chilly outside, but we spent the afternoon sitting in their sun room.  Jenny has a few bird feeders and a birdbath in the backyard and it is normally filled with gold finches, sparrows and cardinals.  Sunday, a beautiful Indigo Blue Bunting decided to hang around.  I have only seen Buntings in photos, so I was delighted.  I didn't bring my good camera with me, so these are iPhone photos.  The bird was beautiful and these photos don't do it justice, but I wanted to share anyway.  On the way home, I was looking up information about this bird and read that an Indigo Blue Bunting is really black, but their feathers diffract light, causing the feathers to appear blue.  And of course, the brilliant blue Bunting is a male!  Have a great day!

Happy Mother's Day!

The best thing I ever did was be a Mom!  I have two beautiful, caring children, the most beautiful, loving and kind granddaughter a grandma could be blessed with and a few cute grandpuppies, too.  Thanks, Mom, for being such a good role-model.  Happy Mother's Day to all as you celebrate being a mom, sister, aunt, grandma~~a loving, caring person to the special people in your lives.  Have a wonderful day!

Pleasant Poppies In Calypso Coral

Yesterday my husband and I were at Menard's (saving big money--hahaha) walking through the garden section when orange poppies caught my eye.  They looked so pretty that I made a mental note to use the Pleasant Poppies stamp on my next card.  Since this stamp is a large background stamp and I only wanted to use a few of the poppies, I inked a section of the stamp using Tangerine Tango and Lucky Limeade markers.  I then colored them in using Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz markers. The Oval framelits came in handy as did the Simply Scored board for embossing the design on the Tangerine Tango cardstock.  The sentiment is from the Sweet Essential stamp set.  After putting the card together and as I set it aside, I had Espresso ink on my hand which smudged the cardstock!  As you can see, the little Daffodil Delight butterflies are doing a good job hiding those smudges.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Indigo Just for You

How many new products were used on this card? 

1. New stamp set, Label Love.
2. Coordinating Artisan Label punch.
3. Gingham Garden Washi tape.
4. Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper.

The little flowers stamped in the upper corners is an image from the Create A Cupcake set and the flowers fit right in with the little flowers on the Washi tape.  As I look at this card, I get the feeling that I should bake something to go with it--lol!  The card kind of has that homemade/country feel to it.  Or, had I used the baby stamp from the Label Love set, how cute would this be for a little baby girl card?  As you can tell from my recent posts, I am enjoying my new SU toys.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Little Dress Favors

There are a variety of little dress favors floating around the internet, all good examples of these favors.  Today's photo is of the two dress favors I made using the Dress Up framelits.  While both have the same size box to which the dress shapes are adhered, the dresses are embellished differently.  The black dress is smooth cardstock for the bodice of the dress with the skirt embossed and has an extra little ruffle along the bottom which added a little height.  The Bermuda Bay dress was embossed and a wide ribbon wrapped around the waist.  I could not find my tiny pearls, so I embellished each with rhinestones.  (I do think the black would look pretty with pearls.) So as to give you an idea of size, the black favor has two Hershey kisses in it; the Bermuda Bay has two miniature Hershey bars which I wrapped in coordinating paper.  Such cute favors for a bridal shower or a girls' day out or just about any women's gathering.  Have a great day!

Dress Up Framelits

Ever since the arrival of the Dress Up framelits in the Spring Mini, I thought about buying them, but then wondered how often I would use them.  I see many cute cards made using the framelits but I still couldn't convince myself to purchase them.  Well that changed when Sydney was looking through the new catalog and said, "Gay, did you see the cute dress shapes you can make?  I might like those on my Wish List."  Well, if you have  a granddaughter as cute, smart and loving as mine (and she truly is), you understand why I now own the Dress Up framelits.~~lol!  Today I am posting the first two cards I made once the Stampin' Up order arrived.  The Dress Up framelits include three shapes~~two dresses and a dress stand.  The black and white polka dot dress with the ribbon around the waist is one shape which was adhered to the dress stand framelit.  The flower print dress, the other dress shape, was cut using a piece of the Tea For Two DSP with a little strip of Primrose card stock at the waist.  The Lucky Limeade jacket is the same dress framelit which is cut to be jacket length and ssnipped up the center.  After adhering the jacket to the dress, the pearls were added as little buttons.  The Rose Red ribbon is just a little added something to take up some of the "white" space on the Very Vanilla oval.  I am thinking that the Flower Trim in the mini would be a pretty little accent on the oval, too.  I wonder if I am going to "need" the coordinating stamp set?  I have until May 31st to think about that purchase.   Tomorrow I will be posting the little favors I made using the framelits.  And in the future, I will post creations made by my sweet granddaughter.  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Jenny

Today is a special day in our family.  Our daughter, Jennifer, celebrates her birthday.  She was a beautiful little baby who grew into a beautiful woman.  On Saturday we all went to Navy Pier and lunched at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Restaurant.  We then walked along the Pier enjoying a sunny afternoon.  Recently, Jenny had a peacock feather tattooed on her leg~~thus the peacock feather card.  Not a Stampin' Up image, I inked up the peacock feather using Gumball Green, Taken With Teal and Not Quite Navy markers.  After numerous attempts at stamping the feather, I finally was pleased with the one you see here.  I then sponged a little Taken With Teal ink on the Whisper White background. The sentiment stamps used on this card are from retired sets.  Hope you all have a great day and Jenny~~Happy Birthday!!  We love you much.

Watercolor Thanks

Another Simply Sketched card, this card was water colored using new In Color inks  and an aqua painter.  Last weekend while I was playing with my new toys, I had stamped images from the Simply Sketched stamp set, using various techniques and tools.  One of the images was inked using black Stazon on watercolor paper and painted.  Not sure how I was going to use that image, I set it aside.  While viewing projects created by other demonstrators on our SU website, a project posted by Jackie using the same image caught my eye.  She had softly shaded around her flower and it looked so nice that I had to try it.  So, I grabbed my previously inked watercolor image and started painting around the flower.  Now this is where I admit that it took a few tries before the shaded Pool Party outline of the flower was just right.  Needless to say, the original water colored image was "filed" away--lol. The trick is to brush off some of the paint on a scrap piece of paper before painting directly around the flower while feathering out from the image.  Before layering the water colored image on Crisp Cantaloupe cardstock, I splattered the image using Pistachio Pudding ink and a paint brush.  Again, thanks to Jackie's project, it was a fun way to finish off the image. If you are reading this Jackie, thanks for the inspiration!  Now I need to get inspired to clean up my scrap room.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

A Turkey Vulture?

You know that I enjoy sharing pictures of the pretty birds that I see while on vacation or those splashing in the bird bath in the yard. As a matter of fact, I just yesterday I posted a picture of a robin.  Well, as I was sitting in my office after entering yesterday's post, I saw this huge bird flying outside and I thought to myself that it was a pretty big hawk.  Lucky for me I had my camera on my desk and snapped a picture so that I would be able to identify it.  Not a hawk~~a turkey vulture!  I do not consider a turkey vulture as pretty, but I have never before seen a turkey vulture (that I know of).  So, in case maybe you have never seen a turkey vulture, I am sharing the one photo I took. And now I am on the lookout for more turkey vultures or even the same one--just so I can get a few more photos~~nice, clear photos. And if I do, I will be sure to share!  Have a great day!

Happy May Day!

It is a gorgeous May morning here with the sun shining and birds singing.  The month of May is one of my favorite times of the year. We have some pretty flowers in the yard and yesterday I saw  a robin's nest in a tree in front of our house.  The Mommy bird was laying in her nest and just looking at me as I was looking at her.  Earlier I had watched the robin pictured here playing  in the bird bath.  The crocus this year appear to be even more vibrantly colored than last~~so pretty!   And to start the month of May,  Stampin' Up released the new Best of May... Brides & Babies.  This set has pretty wedding and very cute baby images so if you have weddings and/or new babies to celebrate, this set might be a good addition to your stamp library.  Once again, something you can order directly from my website: www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net or you can contact me via phone or email.  Have a wonderful day and enjoy the outdoors!