Stamps, Paper, and Ink

In the Pink

It is so hard getting a good photo of Pretty in Pink and kraft together so I quit trying any longer and here I go to make a quick post.

I'm off for a minor surgery this afternoon - of course, when it's me, I think no surgery is minor! I may be out of commission for a couple of days, for sure I'll be back to the ol' blog by Monday or Tuesday.

Here's the card I sent my wonderful mother, who loves pink!  Who else but me would think of using the Extreme Elements set for a girly card, LOL! I know my Mom will like it and I hope you do too. Wishing a special day to you all and an extra special day to the mothers.

You are wonderful!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
I used the Extreme Elements, Well Scripted, and French Filigree stamp sets and Bella Bleu DSP.

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

Very Vintage

The theme at the SCS Fan Club this month is Very Vintage, and I have had so much fun playing with this style!  If you are a member, go and check out the gorgeous vintage creations done by the Dirty Dozen~I am sure that you will be inspired! Next month I will be able to begin sharing my DD creations with you, I can't wait because I think you'll really like them **wink** and it will make my blogging load a little lighter.

Today's card is vintage all the way using the Very Vintage wheel and the Vintage Vogue stamp set. The colors were inspired by a gorgeous array of fabrics that my daughter was working with.The mix of soft patterns and texture is what I wanted to achieve with this card. It's hard to see (click on the photo for details) the vine that was stamped with versamark on the kraft square.

I also did lots of sponging on all the pieces to bring out the texture, and added felt flowers and pearls from my favorite Pretties Kit. For those of you who have followed my blog for awhile (check the Pretties Kit category on my sidebar) I think it's fair to tell you my Pretties kit supplies lasted a LONG time but I just bought another one!

It really makes my heart happy to make something beautiful and intricate. This card did not make the cut for my artisan award entries, but I'd love to know what you think of it.

Thanks, friends!

PALE PLUM is one of Stampin' Up! core colors that we'll be saying farewell to soon. If you  need to order it before it's gone, HERE   is the link to my online store. Maybe you'd like to include the supplies needed to make today's card.

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Very Vintage wheel, Vintage Vogue
Paper: Very Vanilla, Pale Plum, kraft
and Ink: Close to Cocoa, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Old Olive,versamark

Accessories:Pretties kit, Flower fusion (felt flowers) Pretties Kit, Vanilla satin ribbon, Big Shot, Finial Press Embossing folder

Embracing Orchid Opulence

Orchid Opulence is not one of my favorite colors but there it was in the color challenge: to use Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, and Old Olive. I didn't quite embrace the color but I did use it and the Embrace Life set, LOL!

Here's a tip~when you have a color that for some reason is 'difficult' to use, be sure to add another color that you love and LOTS of your neutral color. My favorite neutral is white, and I love the clean look it brings to this rich color combo. On this card, I really LIKE this color combo!

I used my Aqua Painter and ink pads to color the flowers which were stamped on watercolor paper. A pearl from my Pretties Kit highlights the sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. The layout is from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch.

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Embrace Life, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: watercolor paper, Whisper White, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Cottage Wall DSP
and Ink: Black StazOn, Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence

Accessories: Organza ribbon, Pretties Kit, Aqua painter, word window punch

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

I LOVE flowers!

It's Wednesday already, can you believe it?  Hope your week is going GREAT!

I was busy with a fun field trip to the courthouse yesterday with my son. It was great having an outing and in between that and other stuff, I got some crafting time in too.

Have you ever heard of snowboarder Shaun White  (it's amazing what you can find to read in a Dr's office!)?  Anyway, I read that Shaun likes showing his sense of humor by giving silly answers when interviewed. He was asked how he is preparing for the upcoming Olympics and he answered that he flosses his teeth with butter. That had me hooting out loud right there on the spot, I think it is sooo funny and preposterous!

My friend and I came up with a preposterous challenge for a stamping party this week - cards with NO FLOWERS! Impossible Hard to imagine, but we will work on it. In the meantime, I'll quit chatting and get on with today's card. WITH flowers.

Here it is!

 

I LOVE flowers, and the Color Combinations Challenge at SCS! The Vintage Vogue set is one of my very favorites and is available in the Occasions Mini. Did you know you can order it from me or e-mail me if you'd like a copy of the mini? During Sale-A-Bration with every $50 order, you can earn free sets and accessories!

Hope you like the card, and just to add an extra dab (butter anyone?) I decorated the inside and the envie too.

  

Thanks for visiting, don't forget to leave a comment and let me know you were here! I'd love that.

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Whimsical Words
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
and Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Basic Gray, Crushed Curry

Accessories:Top Note, die, Big Shot, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, Pretties Kit

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

RemARKable LOVE Blog Tour - Post 2

Happy NEW Year 2010! I love pink satin and lace! This is the first project that I made a couple of weeks ago for the blog tour. I just LOVE the satin ribbons available in the Occasions mini (they come in a BUNCH of colors too!) and decided to spruce up a gift set of heart-shaped soap, body cream and a pouch of bath beads using the Vintage Vogue stamp set and my favorite accessories.

  

  I love the vintage colors of pretty in pink stamped on very vanilla card stock, which was textured with the Finial Press Embossing folder.

I added a touch more elegance with white ink, card stock, and pearls from the Pretties Kit. The lace trim around the heart is a strip of card stock punched with the new Scallop Border Trim Punch and gathered around the edges. The border image on the pink strip is embossed in white. I think the possibilities with this set are endless!

I hope you've enjoyed this touch of elegance from the Occasions Mini and have fun on the rest of the tour.

Tomorrow's project pulls out all the stops on new products, so be sure to check back!

 

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Vintage Vogue
Paper: very vanilla, whisper white, pretty in pink
and Ink: craft white, pretty in pink

Accessories: Pretties Kit, Pink Satin Ribbon, Scallop Border Trim Punch, Stampin Up! Lots of Tags DIe and Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, white embossing powder

Very Vintage and Vintage Vogue Sneak Peek

Vintage Vogue is the set I have LONG waited for! It's a delightfully detailed set with a great combination of images and a coordinating wheel called Very Vintage. I just KNEW I'd love exploring the possibilities of this new set from the Occasions mini (available for purchase on January 5) for a long time to come! Of course I want to show you what I made!

Here's my vintage tag to dress up some special gift this Christmas, and later to be used as an ornament for the tree.

I've just got to say - isn't this set GORGEOUS???

• On Very Vanilla card stock, I used the Very Vintage wheel and Soft Suede ink, and cut a 3.5" circle. 
• The flower border is done with black ink. I added a tiny border of Brushed Gold card stock, which I also used for the tag. The Brushed Gold and Brushed Silver card stock from Stampin' Up! has a beautiful metallic sheen that is just perfect for your holiday projects.
• The flower was stamped in Rose Red ink, cut out, popped up and embellished with a pearl from the Pretties Kit. If you wonder why I call the Pretties Kit 'my bottomless pit,' you need to check out this category in my sidebar :D
• The sentiment is from the set Teeny Tiny Wishes, and is embossed with Gold Glory embossing powder. I love this tone on tone effect.

Hope you love today's project! I am grateful that you chose to spend a bit of time with me today, thank you~

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Very Vintage, Very Vogue, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: very vanilla, soft suede, brushed gold
Ink: rose red, soft suede

Accessories: Pretties kit, vanilla taffeta ribbon

Don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and need supplies? Order from me online anytime HERE

Have questions about a crafting need, or considering becoming a demonstrator? E-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

Classic Comfort with Of the Earth Set

Hi friends, Hope you had a blessed time of Thanksgiving! Welcome back to my blog!

Over the weekend, I needed a Sympathy card and I wanted just the right colors: to be soothing and hopeful at the same time. I was inspired by the soft hues in the Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper, especially the So Saffron and the Sahara Sand patterns. I paired them with Brocade Blue, since that's the ribbon that I wanted to use. I just LOVED these colors together and then I realized - these shades of yellow and blue (with red accents) are the main colors of my living room, dining room and kitchen! *happy sigh*

The ribbons are layered with a classic looped bow peeking out from behind the main image panel. I adhered them with sticky strip, so they don't shift around in the mail. You can click on the photo to see the detail.

I used an emboss resist technique on the bird image. I stamped the bird in versamark on the designer paper and embossed with clear powder. Sponging added the blue color to the bird and edges of the square. I punched it out and layered it over a mat of the DP punched with the Scallop Square punch. Rounding the corners and embellishing with two half pearls from the Pretties Kit were the last touches.

Some of you took advantage of the GREAT deals during the Holiday Extravaganza sale. If you are reading this early, there's still time today to order (you'll find that info HERE.) Be watching for more fun opportunities to save from Stampin' Up!

I've had quite a few chances to stamp over the weekend, can't wait to show you over the next few posts!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Of the Earth, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Bella Bleu, whisper white, so saffron, brocade blue
and Ink: versamark, brocade blue

Accessories: Pretties Kit, 1-1/4", corner rounder, scallop edge and scallop square punches; clear embossing powder, 5/8" brocade blue grosgrain ribbon

You Pick

OK, another challenge (SCS sketch challenge), and a new card made just this morning!

Now YOU get to pick - yesterday's card was the whimsical one and today's is classic Christmas. Which do you like better?

HeHe, some of you may be wondering which one I like better! LOL I don't want to tell you which one is my favorite until I hear from you, but you can make a guess about that if you want to!I'll be back tomorrow to tell you,so check back.

Here's what I can tell you about~

• The red panels are textured card stock embossed with the Petals A Plenty folder. I could use this folder on everything, I like it so well!
• The Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper is flocked, so this card is elegantly touchable.
• For the image,I used a window sheet and the Ornament punch to make a stencil, sponging inside with sahara sand ink. Then I stamped over it.
• Notice the wonderful shading effect you can get with the stencil technique.

I guess you can notice that my Pretties Kit is still something I love to use too. (Those of you who have visited me for a long while know how fond I am of the pretties, and look how long they have lasted! ) I like my Pretties Kit so well that it's got it's own category on my sidebar.

Thanks for commenting to tell me what you think - I think you're the best!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Holiday Best, Christmas Cardinal (retired)
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Paper, whisper white, always artichoke, sahara sand, real red textured
and Ink: always artichoke, sahara sand

Accessories: satin ribbon, Pretties Kit, marker, Petals A Plenty embossing folder, slot and ornament punches, window sheet, sponges.

If you'd like more information about how to make this beautiful card, or any other on my blog, feel free to contact me.

Dazzling Christmas

I can't get enough of making cards ahead for Christmas, can you? By the time December comes, I usually have 15 or more cards ready to mail. Every one of them a different design! Then I mass produce the rest. Special people get the one-of-a-kind cards. They are usually the ones who let me know how much they appreciate the beauty of a unique hand-made greeting. Like today's card. It is very  unique, especially in the colors department, and I {{heart}} this combo!

I tried the Black Magic technique for the first time using the Lovely As A Tree set.

• I stamped the tree using white craft ink on the basic black card stock and let it dry. Then I colored the tree using my Metallic Colored pencils (retired) in shades of green, and brown. Regular watercolor pencils work every bit as well.
• Highlights were added with the Uni-ball signo gel pen, accenting the curves of the branches.
• Using the Two-Way glue pen, I drew in faint lines under the pen marks, and sprinkled on Olive Fine Supernova Stampin' Glitter. This almost looks gold IRL, but has a rich sparkle.
• The beauty of this technique is the dimension that it adds to the focal image which is beautifully set off by the black card stock, kinda like jewels shimmering on lush black velvet.

I hope you'll give this technique a try! Need supplies? Contact me and I'd be happy to help you.

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Lovely As A Tree (115026)
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, whisper white, basic black
 and Ink: white craft

Accessories:Pretties Kit, Fine Supernova Stampin' Glitter, Organza Ribbon, Silver Elastic cord, Scallop Edge and corner rounder punches, Metallic Colored pencils, uni-ball Signo Gel pen, Finial Press Embossing Folders, Big Shot

Asian Artistry

I have never bought an Asian inspired set - well, maybe Eastern blooms counts - but I could not resist Stampin' Up's Asian Artistry set. Here's a sneak peek for you! The images include a bird perched on bamboo, delicate rose blossoms, a dragonfly, tall grasses and the sentiment, "wherever you go, go with all your heart."

Of course, I couldn't wait to use this set and the Featured Stamper Challenge gave me the perfect opportunity! This card by Kisa Peters inspired me. I love the clean simplicity of her design and her layout, which I turned for my card.

I used my new In Color markers to color the bird in Melon Mamba.  This color really zings with black, white and Sahara Sand used as the backdrop.  Thinking of the embellishment to use posed a problem because I wanted SHINY black with silver. I stamped the leaves from the flower stamp on black card stock and embossed it in silver. I punched it out and used it to top the shiny black Jumbo Grommet - voila! How do you like it? Here's a closeup for you. 

Supplies~
Stamps: Asian Artistry
Paper: whisper white,melon mamba, sahara sand, basic black
Ink: basic black, versamark
Accessories: silver embossing powder, 3/4" circle punch, filigree brads, rhinestone brads from the Pretties' Kit