Stamps, Paper, and Ink

Cold & Cuddly Buddies

I promised I'd be back to share about these Cold & Cuddly best buds. This card is a Twice is Nice entry   (it's a category in my sidebar) because it uses the same layout as THIS card that so many of you liked! I love showing with this feature how different two cards can look even though they have an element or layout in common.

Here's a bit more to note~

• I cut the circle four times - once with sahara sand card stock and three times with whisper white. I tore the white pieces and layered them to look like snow drifts.
• a mix of chunky and fine glitter makes the snow sparkle!
• brads embellish the lines of the circle, followed by a heart to tie in the sentiment
• The ribbon treatment was done by overlapping the ribbon ends and securing with a glue dot. Then I wrapped it up with cord threaded through the button.

Keeping this short today, so I can be on my way! Hope you have a great weekend!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Cold & Cuddly
Paper: Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper, whisper white, sahara sand, rose red, bermuda bay
and Ink: bermuda bay, soft suede, rose red

Accessories: Stampin' Write markers, Polka Dot ribbon, Rich Regals brads, Dazzling Diamonds and Chunky Essentials glitter, Lots of Tags die, silver cord, Fresh Favorites II buttons

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have! I'd love to help you with your crafting questions.

Birthday Hugs

Hi friends, sorry I took a long weekend break from posting! Didn't mean to, but that's how life goes sometimes, and I am happy to be back here pretty early with you today. Thanks so much for inspiring me with your frequent visits and sweet comments! Keeps me stamping, and I need a little help in that department lately. I sat down at my table to stamp twice this weekend - and well - my mind couldn't come up with a thing. 

Here's a card I made last week for my Twice is Nice feature. The layout is the same as THIS card. CASE'ing yourself might be a good way to get your mojo back, KWIM? That's what I did!

I made a few changes this time:

• I LOVE the look of anything with the Thoroughly Modern DSP - in fact, I have a bunch of desk accessories I'm assembling using this theme.
• Circles Circus is such a VERSATILE stamp set! It easily looks like patterned paper on these small samples, but it makes great backgrounds too
• the tag has a hole punched in it and the cotton thread ties it through the button
• I also punched a hole and tied the dotted ribbon part way across the white panel instead of using a strip of paper as I did in the first sample.

For you - hugs and wishes for a special day! I'd love to hear from you!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Circles Circus, Hugs & Wishes
Paper: whisper white, thoroughly moderns DSP, bermuda bay, rose red
Ink: bermuda bay

Accessories:1" circle punch, scallop square punch,Trio flower punch, Rich Regals button assortment, brads, In Color markers, Stampin' Write markers, polka dot ribbon

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have! Ask me about my online ordering special.

You know, Dasher and Dancer and... (sing along with me !)

You know the song, thanks for singing with me! Did you know that this stamp is the #2 most popular of the new catalog so far?  That's why I had to buy it (heehee).

This card uses the Christmas Cocoa specialty paper which will be available to you September 1 in the Holiday Mini.Talk about elegant - the double-sided pages have a metallic sheen and included are two sheets of beautiful flocked paper.

Please bear with my clean and simple stamping spree. I will make a multi-layered card soon, but for now I am finding out how fun a simple one layer can be. After all, what could be easier than a few punched circles and a rhinestone brad? This image can take standing alone on a card front, KWIM? 

I took a dozen pics trying to get a good glimmer of red light in the rhinestone. Guess you'll have to imagine it there, it adds a WOW IRL. I know that Christmas in August takes a little imagination too, but it is time to begin thinking about your holiday cards.

I've listed this card in the Twice is Nice category, it uses the same layout as THIS card. Happy day to you!

Supplies~
Stamps: Dasher, Short & Sweet
Paper: whisper white, Cocoa Christmas Specialty Paper
Ink: Chocolate chip

Accessories: rhinestone brads, 5/8" satin ribbon, circle punches: 1", 1-3/4", 1-1/4"

For the Newlyweds

A good, good morning to you! Hope you're ready for a great day, thanks for taking time to drop in here.

I love making wedding cards, don't you? I made this card for a dear young couple and echoed the design of their invitation in my card. The invite had their colors, swirls, butterflies, glitter and an airy mood.

 I love butterflies, two cards in a row with them is nice! My Twice is Nice category, if you haven't noticed it before, includes a re-make of a card or idea that I have done or a card that repeats the layout of another card by me. Today's card uses the exact layout of yesterday's card (you can find it HERE ) but they are as different in style as night and day! Instead of a crisp clean look, today I wanted a soft elegance so I used less layers. I love the curved line of the partial top note for one of my layers.

I'm happy to have posted early for you and now I'm off for a relaxing day~at least as far as I can make it that way. :D  Get out your stamps, paper, and ink, and enjoy!
Cindy

Supplies:
Stamps: Priceless, Teeny Tiny wishes
Paper: whisper white, rich razzleberry, designer paper (ret.)
Ink:basic black, certainly celery
Accessories:Butterfly Biz die, Top Note, Organza ribbon, dazzling diamonds glitter

Something fishy?

I am loving the Just Beachy set from the Occasions Mini. The whole reason I bought this set was because I loved the flip-flops image~ you can see the card I posted using them HERE.  Today I challenged myself to use the fish images. I've seen some really really cute cards with them! I had to try this idea that Ruth Ann gave me. Don't they look so adorable batting their eyelashes?gills? at each other?  Something fishy about that!

I used my SU! markers to color in the fish. Using the Reverse masking technique, I sponged turquoise ink for the water.  I don't know if I"ll actually give this to my husband for our anniversary next week, but I have thought about it!  On a personal note - we'll be celebrating {{ 35 }} years. Might need a more dignified theme, do you think?

Hope you like it, I am definitely in a bright mode with colors lately! Summer on the brain. 

All supplies from Stampin' Up! ~
Stamps: Just Beachy, Short & sweet
Paper: whisper white, Pink Flamingo DSP
Ink: tempting turquoise, black staz-on, real red
Accessories: white satin ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, SU! markers, scallop border punch

Stamp with me, Saturday! ...Slumber Party Specialty Papers

Come and stamp with me today! Below are directions for making this card and I'd love for you to stamp with me! I will offer this feature every other Saturday on my blog. For seasoned or beginning stampers alike, here's a quick card for you to try. If you have a gallery, I'd love to have you post a link to the card you make with me in the comments section.

This card features the beautiful Slumber Party specialty papers and I thought they were perfect for a baby boy card. The specialty papers are almost as heavy as card stock, they have a delightful textured, slightly crinkly surface. I've listed this card in the Twice is Nice category because it has the same basic layout as THIS card.  You can make the card either way using your own sets, creativity, and embellishments.  Here are the directions.

1. Cut the card stock to measure 4-1/4" x 11" and score so that the fold will be at the top.

2. If using designer paper, cut it to measure 4 x 5-1/4" and attach to card base.

3. Cut the image panel to measure about 1-1/2" x 4"  Cut out and add your image and sentiments or embellishments. Tip: you need an image with vertical height, it's OK if part of the image is a tiny bit wider and hangs off the edge.

4. Prepare a scalloped strip or cut 1/2" circles to adhere down the long side of the image panel. Apply foam squares and attach to card.

5. Add a 1/4 x 5-1/2" strip of patterned paper on the right side of the card front.

Enjoy and admire your card!

Cameo Bouquet

This is my absolute favorite of the cards I've designed in 2009! I sent it off to SU! but I'm so thankful for photos so that I can share it with you. The scallop is the part of the card that opens, from left to right for the inside greeting. I ran folded cardstock through the Big Shot, leaving a couple scallops just inside the cutting line so that it would not cut through to be a hinge. The designer paper covers those scallops.
The Petal Pzazz stamp set makes a regal bouquet, don't you love it? I just love the way these flowers layer for either a funky look, or an elegant one.

I included this card in the Twice is Nice category - two cards done with the same layout. I didn't plan it this way, but the layout is the same as THIS card, except turned a bit.  Thanks for having a look today!

Here's the rest~
Stamps: Short & Sweet, Petal Pzazz
Paper: whisper white, cameo coral, Raspberry Tart Designer Series
Ink: kiwi kiss, cameo coral, pretty in pink. rose red, chocolate chip

Accessories: pretty in pink taffeta ribbon, Big shot, Scallop Circle Bigz die, Pretties' Kit, Crafetes' Tool kit

Wish Big

Wish big as in big brown bear! I needed a masculine birthday card for my brother-in-law who is an avid outdoors-man. This set was the first on my must-have list when the new catalog came out in July. I love flowers but after all, it is nice to have something else to create with once in awhile!

This card also meets the Twice is Nice criteria for my category where there are two or more takes on the same layout. You'll find the autumn card I designed using the same layout  and DP here. I challenge you to not re-invent the wheel each time you make a card. Having a few layouts you love and use often helps speed the thought process of creating tremendously! If you'd like to host a workshop, I'd be happy to show you a few of my favorites.

I was inspired by this adorable card of Kelly Jean's and I loved her idea of having the bear hold something. My star punches came to the rescue!  Several layers of watercolor wonder crayons blended together to make this guy look especially furry, don't ya think?

And don't forget to make the inside of your card as pretty as the outside. Here's a peek.....

Here's the recipe -

Stamps: Under the Stars, Simple Serif Alphabet and Numbers, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Paper: Autumn Vines, chocolate chip, confetti white, really rust, creamy caramel, so saffron
Ink: Basic Brown, chocolate chip

Accessories: Hodge Podge Hardware Styled Silver, twine, linen thread, large and small star punches, watercolor wonder crayons, marker

A study in BOLD

Black and white bold. Busy bold. Real red bold. Rub-ons everywhere bold. It may be not my usual style, but it was so much fun! My favorite part was making my own patterned paper with the Pretty Petals background stamp. I inked it with versamark and stamped it on white and embossed with black detail powder. Then I did the same thing on black with white detail EP.

The large flower is a white rub-on from the   Eastern Elegance pack on real red textured card stock. The flower center is a black rub-on. So is the pattern on the real red wide grosgrain ribbon, and the sentiment too! The only other stamp used was from the Live Your Dream set - the tiny red butterfly image. Styled silver hardware and Rhinestone brads add a bit of bling.

This card is the same layout as this one for the twice is Nice category of my blog - two or three designs with similar elements.

Wishing you Joy in a big way today!

Heartfelt with a new look.

                                                                                                                

I  made this card for Beate's Sketch Challenge.  I love color blocking and this was such a fun sketch to try! After thinking awhile about the sketch, I decided to use Heartfelt Thanks as my stamp set, because it hasn't been touched in at least a year! My challenge was to try to come up with a new look for it - most of the cards I have made with it are sweet, elegant, or girly.  I think combining it with the Spring Break designer series paper gives it a new attitude!  What do you think?

I loved getting to use my Orange beads duo for the first time.  Well, maybe the second time, now that I think about it. I found the Tombo multi-purpose adhesive to be a huge practical help with this card.  I put a dot on a paper scrap and used the wooden tip of a paintbrush to put a dab right where I wanted each little bead to go. It was also a great way to do the color blocking because if you let it dry a little before placing the paper blocks, you are able to move them around a bit to be sure they are lined up well before adhering permanently. And aren't you proud of me for breaking into the second ribbon of my Jersy originals! No hoarding.. this time!

Here are the stamps, paper and inky details!

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks, Simply Said
Paper: blue bayou, not quite navy, white, Spring Break designer series
Ink: not quite navy, white craft
Other: orange bead duo, Jersey shore ribbon originals