Stamps, Paper, and Ink

Circles::The Alter-Ego

It's Thursday, and Emily is here!

...with another circles card! I'm telling you, circles are so fun and (for lack of a better word) addicting. I can't get enough of them!

I love that, with this card, the circles took on a different personality. Instead of bright and playful, they are dark and sophisticated. And yet there is still a little funky side to them!

So, if you're stuck in the box today, try taking a set and using it in the exact opposite way than you normally do. Sometimes it works wonders!

Card Recipe: (all supplies are by Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: circle circus, teeny tiny wishes
Paper: soft suede, basic black, sahara sand
Ink: creamy caramel, soft suede, dusty durango
Other: large corner rounder punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, vintage brads, orchard ribbon originals, and stampin' dimensionals

In the Round

It's Thursday, and Emily is here with a card!

Hi ya'll. Circle Circus is one of my most favorite sets from the new Stampin' Up! catalog - it's so easy to make a great card with these stamps! My go-to way for using circles is to put them in a row or a grid, like on this card. Mixing up the colors is fun. :)

Try it!

Card Recipe: (all supplies are from Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay, Versamark, and Basic Gray
Other: black embossing powder, black grosgrain ribbon, and stampin' dimensionals

HB2U

It's Thursday. Here's Emily!

I find it interesting to see how the cards I make match my present mood. If I'm feeling quiet and settled, I make a clean and simple card. If I'm feeling excited and expressive, I make a more frilly card. And if I'm feeling funky, like I was on the day I made this birthday note, I make a preppy card.

The main features of this card are the super-fine glitter and the eyelet border punch. I used a tutorial put out by Stampin' Up! to make the border punch turn perfectly around the corners of a Certainly Celery rectangle, and this was the jumping off point of my card. I love how most of the sentiment is just raw chipboard, but the orange glitter on the "u" sets it apart as most important. Yay for glitter and punches!

Card Recipe (all supplies are Stampin' Up!)
Stamps: none!
Paper: kraft, certainly celery, chocolate chip, and tangerine tango
Ink: none!
Other: fine super nova glitter, tangerine tango striped ribbon, eyelet border punch, photo corner punch, lots of letters chipboard, stamping dimensional's

Thinking of You

It's Thursday - Emily's day! Here she is...

With the unpredictability of when I actually post on Mom's blog, I'm thinking my little intro line should be changed to something like, "It's Thursday - sometimes Emily's day..." :) But this card is proof: even though I might not be here to share every Thursday, I'm still thinking of you!

I love Stampin' Up!'s new In Colors for '09/'10. I used and Soft Suede on this card and I love the sharp, sophisticated look they give. What makes this card for me, though, is that kraft corduroy button. Of all the new products SU! has put out recently, these are my all time favorites. Anytime I make a card and it needs that special finishing touch, I reach for a corduroy button.

What is your go-to product these days?

::About the card::
Stamps: Trendy Trees
Paper: Bermuda Bay (textured), Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Suede
Other: Soft Suede marker (used to draw the dashed trunk for the tree), black gingham ribbon, Kraft corduroy button, word window punch, stampin' dimensionals

Faux Cloisonne

If you've never tried the Faux Cloisonne technique you should give it a try! You basically choose a colorful swatch from a glossy magazine or catalog and emboss your image on top of it. Cut it out and add it to the same image embossed on card stock.

As you can see on this card by Emily, it's an elegant effect! Her card is especially elegant and beautiful as always - didn't she do a fabulous sample for me?  :D  The flowers and large leaf are filled in with the glossy cloisonne. The feathery trailing leaves are from the Little Leaves Sizzlet die, cut out with the Big Shot.Of course, the pearls are from my never-ending Pretties Kit. :D

Some of you have asked where to find this ribbon. It is Stampin' Up!'s Whisper White Organza Ribbon shown HERE. The beautiful stripe shows up much better on a real project and the price includes 15 yds. of ribbon! You may order from me anytime with an e-mail telling me what you'd like.

I'm off to work on some projects of my own. I'll be back tomorrow!

A Question from Emily...

It's Thursday, Emily's day! Here she is...

This thank-you card is for all of you readers, for the great help you're giving me! (You are going to help me, right? ;D)

I have a statistics project that I am collecting data for, and I have a question for you! The more of you that answer, the better - and if there are more people in you household that want to participate, by all means include their answer as well! I just need a first name to go with each of your entries.

Alright, here's the question: how many hours of sleep do you get on an average night?

Have at it...and again - THANK YOU!!

Stamps: soft summer
Paper: real red, sahara sand, whisper white, pink flamingo dsp
Ink: tempting turquoise, chocolate chip
Other: sticky sheets, big shot (top note die - used to create bracket), fine cosmo glitter, chocolate chip narrow grosgrain ribbon, crafter's tool kit.

Trendy Thanks

It's Thursday, Emily's day! Here she is...

Hello, all!

Would you believe it? Almost halfway through the new Stampin' Up! catalog and I am just now finally using my new set Trendy Trees for the first time. Of course now I'm wishing I'd broken it out much sooner!

This set is so crisp and clean, I enjoyed working with it immensely.

Stamps: Trendy Trees
Paper: kraft, whisper white, good morning sunshine designer series
Ink: kiwi kiss, sahara sand, chocolate chip
Other: styled silver hardware, button latte, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, crafter's tool kit

Simplicity

It's Thursday, Emily's day! Here she is...

My favorite part of this simple card is the third flower: it's red bloom and green stem give off such a vibrancy next to the sand flowers. The corduroy buttons come in at a close second!

Stamps: botanical blooms
Paper: kraft, riding hood red, whisper white, flock together dsp
Ink: riding hood red, sahara sand, always artichoke marker
Other: kraft corduroy buttons, linen thread

Happy

It's Thursday, Emily's day! Here she is...

I thought I'd share some of my favorite new things with ya'll - I hope you enjoy using these products, too! I love:

• The corduroy buttons. (All the colors.) These are so vibrant and I have loved adding them as the perfect touch to finish off a card. The "shank" buttons (the ones that don't have holes, like the one above) have a brad prong attached to the back so it's quite simple to add them to a card.
• So many new patterns of designer series paper. The one I used in this card is on the bright side (a little out of my comfort zone!), but I'm looking forward to using some of the other styles, too.
• And, of course, the big shot and all that it can do. I used the scribbles and swirls die on this card to make the white scroll. The die cutting machine makes it so easy to add a detailed paper cut out to any card!

That's what I'm enjoying, what are some of ya'll's favorite new card making supplies?

Stamps: friends 24-7

Paper: summer sun, basic gray, whisper white, pink flamingo ds

Ink: basic gray

Other: scribbles and swirls sizzlets die, summer sun corduroy buttons, basic gray taffeta ribbon

In the Rough

It's Thursday, Emily's Day! Here she is...

January is the month of the men's birthdays in our house - that calls for masculine cards! To me that means pretty simple, clean cut, no frills. Like these deer.

I'm excited about all the neat new things in Stampin' Up!'s newly unveiled catalog, I can't wait until you all get a chance to see it and be excited, too!

Stamps: Noble Deer, Sanded, All Holidays
Paper: sage shadow, always artichoke, sahara sand, pacific point, whisper white
Ink: close to cocoa, chocolate chip, sage shadow
Other: pastels, vintage brads