Sketch Challenge-Flight of the Butterfly

Played along with the SUDSOL Chat & Challenge tonight for inspiration. This layout is very similar to the sketch we were given, and a Spring theme was suggested. With all the snow around here, I'm all over Spring!!

The card base is Chocolate Chip and opens from the bottom, not side. I like to do those on occasion to be different! The next layer is Pretty in Pink. I used the Eyelet Border punch across the bottom, and stamped the small butterfly along the edges in Pretty in Pink. A 1" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon is around the Pretty in Pink layer near just above center. The main image is 2-step stamped on Very Vanilla. The solid is Pretty in Pink. The flowers were added using the Stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect placement in Chocolate Chip. I also used the stamp-a-ma-jig for the words to get them where I wanted. The edge of the Very Vanilla layer is sponged with Pretty in Pink. Lastly I added a new embellishment from the Occasions Mini Catalog. Felt accessories called Sweet Pea. It has a couple flower pieces, centers & leaves. Very cool!! and of course coordinates great with the other new items in the mini!

Happy New Year all!

Another Party Hearty Birthday

Here is the second card using Party Hearty. It has just a little more detail than the previous one. I love how the colors worked together. This started with my looking through a box of some new goodies. The sale we had awhile back resulted in my acquiring some ribbon and buttons that I hadn't used previously.

Card base on this one is Basic Gray, with a So Saffron layer under the Whisper White layer. For the background on the Whisper White I used my Basic Gray & So Saffron markers to color the hats. I did not alter their placement on this one, I just repeated the pattern up the card. The corners are punched with the Ticket Corner punch on both the Whisper White & So Saffron layers. The edges of the White are sponged with So Saffron. The main image on this one was also colored using the marker in both Basic Gray & So Saffron, edges again sponged with So Saffron. On this one, I added a Basic Gray corduroy button in the center and layered over So Saffron Striped grosgrain ribbon.

Happy New Year all!!

Party Hearty Birthday

Hello all, hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas!!! A little different here, we had another blizzard for Christmas. We started with ice last Wednesday, and then the snow started Christmas Eve accompanied by some SERIOUS winds. Our road is drifted as never before! We spent lots of time in the house, and did Christmas with just us. It was OK though, we got a 2nd Christmas today with family!

OK, on to stamping! I've made a resolution with myself to do more birthday cards this year! We'll see how long I hold up!! Got two made tonight and ready to mail tomorrow.

Here is the first, made with the Party Hearty set. I kept it simple and used just Bermuda Bay & Whisper White.

I stamped the hats image across the background, alternating the placement of the hats. The edge of the Whisper White layer is sponged with Bermuda Bay. A Bermuda Bay ribbon was tied around the center of the layer and the saying "Celebrate You" layered over with dimensionals. The image is designed to coordinate with the Scallop Circle punch so I used that, sponged the edges and added a Rhinestone brad to the center. Quick and easy!!

Back soon with a similar card, but a "stepped up version".

With All My Heart!

NEW TOYS!!! Stampin' Up! has done it again and brought out some WONDERFUL things in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog. Redesigned punches, Epoxy Brads, Shimmery DSP and Clear-Mount Stamps. Yep, you read that right. Clear mount stamps. Now, the stamps are rubber just like they've always been, but they are unmounted to use with clear blocks. And the block set we have is fantabulous!!!! And SU! designed labels for the back of the stamp so you can see the image while stamping, just like with the wood block label. TOO COOL!! watch your mail for your copy of the mini-arriving soon!!!

More details on all the above items after January 4. Here though, is the card I created for my monthly swap using the new set, With All My Heart. Oh, one more note: SU! is not forcing you to go unmounted, we still have wood. You have your choice on all the new mini sets of Clear Mount or Wood mount. And wait til you see the cool storage cases for the clear-mount sets!!

OK, the card!

Two versions, the only difference being the brad. Each set of Epoxy Brads has two designs. The Real Red set measure 1/2" and has the two shown here, one heart, one polka dot. There are two other sets: Pretty In Pink (1/2"), and Chocolate Chip (1/4").

Card base is Real Red, background layer is Very Vanilla. I used a DSP piece for the bottom half, layered over the Very Vanilla. Notice the bottom edge of the red print-New Pinking Hearts Border punch. The DSP pack is called Sending Love Specialty and every page has something sparkly on it! The top of the Vanilla was stamped with Real Red using two of the flowery images. Edges are sponged with Real Red and I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the center of each using my 2-way glue pen. The friend image near the bottom was stamped on Very Vanilla, punched with the Large Oval, sponged and attached to a Real Red Scallop punch. The oval is layered on with Dimensionals. Very Vanilla wide grosgrain around the center before attaching the background layer, and the new Sending Love Epoxy Brad in Real Red.

Off to do some Holiday baking. The Boss called and told me to stay home today due to weather so I'm going to cook and clean. Merry Christmas!!

Last Club Card-Lattice Graffiti

Wow, another week GONE! Most of mine was spent getting my Christmas cards done. The last of them went in the mail Monday morning. YEAH!! Shopping is done, baking in progress. Now, if only Mother Nature would cooperate! We do NOT need an ice/snow storm right now!!

OK, back to your reason for being here! The last card from club last weekend. Wanted to try another Big Shot die that I hadn't yet: the Lattice die. Of course I threw in a few other fun things too!

Card base is Basic Gray. The Elegant Eggplant background layer is stamped in Elegant Eggplant classic ink with the Gratuitous Graffiti background stamp. The lattice die cut in Eggplant is layered over that. The large flower from the Pretties Kit is also stamped with the Graffiti background stamp in Eggplant. In the center is a Basic Gray Corduroy button with a Rhinestone brad in the center. Note: the brad does NOT go through the button, the prongs are too wide. So, we snipped them off with my Craft & Rubber scissors. Some of the girls chose to use a half pearl too and it also looked good. Attach with glue dots. The Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon is tied around the Eggplant background layer, under the flower.

Merry Christmas all! I hope to be back the next few days to share a recent swap I did using products from the upcoming Occasion Mini Catalog, and my Christmas card. But, the weather is not looking good so who knows. May not have power. Hope we have some fire wood...

Next Club Card

This is the second card from Sunday. I hadn't used this die before for the Big Shot yet, the Scallop Square. I had a similar swap card and liked how the Pumpkin Patch set was used for the ornaments. The scallop square is cut from Night of Navy. Attached to the back is a folded piece of Confetti Cream for the card part that opens. The square measures about 4-1/4", so I cut the back part 4x8 so it folds to 4x4. The layers on the square are Old Olive & Real Red. Top layer is again Confetti Cream. Merry Christmas from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set is stamped in Night of Navy near the bottom. The ornaments (pumpkins) are stamped over that, the circle in Real Red, ovals in Old Olive. The tops are in More Mustard with a fine line string drawn in by hand with the Night of Navy marker. The ribbon is from the Holiday Mini called Sleigh Bells. Get it NOW before it's gone!

Simple, quick card! Enjoy!!

Misted Serene Snowflakes

Here is the first card from club on Sunday. It's a wow card, but not overly complex to do!

The card base is Brilliant Blue and was made using the Movers & Shapers Die for the Big Shot with the Scallop Oval from the Punch Windows movers set. The basic die cuts the card stock to basic card size (11 x 4-1/4 folds to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4) AND scores the card for the fold!! Too cool. And, you can move the shape anywhere on the card front you would like it to be! The Movers & Shapers die comes with a Curly Label mover, but we have two other sets available right now. In the IB&C is the Punch Windows set. Those 4 shapes are size just larger than 4 of our punches. Note on the card above. The scallop oval punched in the cardstock is just larger than the white layer inside the card that was punched with the Scallop Oval punch. The 2nd set of movers is in the Holiday Mini, Holiday Windows. Those are just available for a few more weeks, so get them ordered NOW!!!

OK, the rest of the card! First, we stamped a background with the smaller two snowflakes. Well, one is the trio of flakes. All over in Brilliant Blue on the Brilliant Blue base. Next we took the next to largest, flower like snowflake and stamped it all over using the Frost White Shimmer Paint as our "ink". Very pretty!! & another item in the Holiday Mini that you NEED to order NOW!!! Lastly, we sprayed the card with a shimmer spray made from mixing 91% rubbing alcohol with the Frost White Shimmer paint. Too cool! Please do this in a well ventilated area! and with scratch paper under your card. The alcohol dries very quickly and you have a very shimmery cardstock. Works with any color cardstock, and there are three colors of Shimmer Paint available!

White Satin ribbon is knotted around the card. The Thanks was stamped in Brilliant Blue on Brilliant Blue first. Then we used (well, most of us!!) the Stamp-a-Ma-jig to offset a second Thanks using the Frost White paint. That is punched with the Large Oval punch and layered on a Shimmery White Scallop Oval. Those are attached inside the card to show through the oval cut through the front.

Enjoy! Hope all your Holiday preparations are going well. Not so well here, the snow last week set me way back and I'm always running behind anyway! Hoping for warmer weather in the next few days!!!

Still here!

Wow, where does time go?? Sorry for the absence! It's been a busy couple weeks, made even more complicated by rough weather! Here is one pic of what it looks like outside at my house:

This was taken last Wednesday am before any attempts at digging out. We have made it out and about, but there was at least a foot of snow, maybe more, and the wind blew so we have some mighty big drifts! And, today we have a coating of ice on top of it all with a little more snow! And high temps below 10 degrees. Fun!!

A few notes about things going on at SU!

First, there is a current sale going on: 12 Days of Holiday Sales featuring items for the Big Shot. Click HERE to go to my website, then click the Shop Now button top right. From there, click the top item in the listing on the left side and you'll see the items on sale. You can order through the site, or email me your list of needs!

While you're browsing around the store, note the Clearance Rack items as well. A number of items from past catalogs at reduced prices. Those items HAVE to be ordered by you through my website, I can't add them to a customer or workshop order. Check it out though, some great deals!!

Next, the Dormant List of stamps will be retiring on January 4th. Click the list and pull out your old catalog to see if there are any you need to add to your collection before they go away! I believe you can view them also in the online store by entering the item number in the search box.

Lastly, remember that the Holiday Mini catalog sales period ends January 4. We have no guarantee of anything continuing into the next catalog except for the Build a Bear items. Anything else, get it NOW!!

I will be back later today with a project from club this weekend! Have a few items to check off the to do list for the day first.

Great Friend Tri-Shutter

Here is my 2nd attempt at the Tri-Shutter card. I needed to send a friend a card, and thought one of these would be good! Here is the front view. It didn't want to lay completely flat so this is as good as I could get.

I used the Great Friend set, Cottage Wall DSP and coordinating colors. Card base is Old Olive. Remember that you have to start with 12 x 12. If I keep making these, I'm going to have to order more! I've never kept much of that size paper on hand.

I did the Top Note again on the front in Whisper White CS, and stamped it first with the Butterfly several times in Rich Razzleberry. I came back in with the leaf in Old Olive, masking the butterflies and stamping it in varying strengths of ink (some full ink, some after stamping once or twice). Edges are sponged in Rich Razzleberry. For You and Friend (from Fundamental Phrases) at the top right in Old Olive. Rich Razzleberry ribbon is attached just above the side notch on the Top Note, and a Flower brad is through the ribbon.

Here is the somewhat open view so you can see the different panels. I tried more layers on this one. It looks OK, but I could have tweaked them a little more so more of each layer showed. Next time, it was very late when finishing this one up!! I layered Rich Razzleberry on each of the inside panels, under either DSP or Whisper White CS.

This one was my "test run" to make sure it came OK before I did the one for my friend. On this one, I did "Wishing You Happiness Today and Always" (from Heard from the Heart) in the center of the center panel, with butterflies and leaves spaced around as best as I could. Note in the final version below that I changed that panel up a bit, and put the words on the bottom. The small white center panel just has the butterfly with some leaves and "Forever Friend" (both from Fundamental Phrases).

Here is the final version that was mailed to my friend.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! We had a nice, quiet one. Off to a slow start around here today, but hoping to get some basic cleaning done, then dig into the Christmas decorations! I think I'm ready, even though it's supposed to be in the sixties here today!

Coaster Calendars

Tonight, a simpler post! If any of you try the tri-shutter from yesterday and it doesn't seem right, PLEASE let me know! I did one (well two, one to keep, one to mail) and think I caught the errors. But, I've done them before!

Following are the five versions of coaster calendars that I made for my gift exchange at a recent stamp group Christmas party. They weren't so fun in the middle of the night, but overall I like how they came out! They have magnet strips attached to the back so they can be placed on a file cabinet or refrigerator.

The background papers used are all from the Sweet Slumber Specialty DSP from the last catalog. Now retired, sorry! But most of my point in doing these was to use up some of my stash.

My first step in making these, after obtaining the coasters and calendars, is to cut the DSP to 4 x 4 squares. You should be able to get 9 out of 1 sheet of DSP.

Next step on these was to emboss the "My dear kind & wonderful friend" using Black Craft ink and clear embossing powder. Next I ran some Sticky Pages (p. 180, bottom right side) cut down into strips through the Big Shot and cut a circle with the Holiday Windows circle. I tried punches but they won't punch all the way through. The Sticky Pages are like Sticky Strip, just in a 12 x 12 sheet. Great for glitter! I sparked for days!! I used several glitters: some are Chunky Sprinkles (Crystal Iris & Light Blue), some are Fine Galaxy (Red & Champagne).

Next step was to attach the DSP to the coasters. I used the SU! glue sticks. Put some on the DSP, and some on the coaster, making sure to get close to the edge. I pressed it together all round, set it under something heavy, repressed until I knew it was caught. Then I clipped of the square corners of the DSP and sanded all the edges. That just kind of "blends" the paper into the chipboard and smooths the edges.

Finally, I dug through my room for accessories and found some Prima flowers that coordinated perfectly. Most are attached with Rhinestone brads in various colors. When I ran out of Primas, I used some punched flowers in coordinating prints.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Last Club Card-Tri-Shutter

Here is the last card we did for club last week, again at the request of someone because of a swap card I had! I guess I know now why I stress myself every month to get that swap done!!

Here is the front, closed version of the card. But that's just the beginning!!! Open it and you have this:

From the top it looks like this:


And all the way open it looks like this:

There is a tutorial for this on Splitcoaststampers HERE. It has both a written tutorial with pictures, and a video tutorial. I will talk you through cuts and sizes for what I did. The stamp set used here is Snow Swirled and includes all the stamps used: the Tree on the front, the different snowflakes inside, and both sayings. Colors are Real Red, Whisper White & Soft Suede.

The card base is a 12 x 5-1/2" piece of Real Red cardstock. The DSP used was from the Christmas Cocoa Speciality set from the Mini Catalog. Step 1 is to score and cut the card base. You need a paper cutter that you can lift up the guide and blade, or a ruler and craft knife. Along the 12" edge, you want to score at 2", 4", 8" and 10". Then on your paper cutter, turn your cardstock and at 1-1/2" cut between the 2" and 10" score lines.. Start your blade at 2" and cut to 10". Repeat with the other side of the cardstock (turn it one half turn) again cutting at 1-1/2". This give you the center pieces that fold the different directions. Fold on all your score lines. The center section folds the opposite way of the top and bottom, use the top view above for guidance.

Now you're ready to embellish! I used a Top Note on the front, and DSP and cardstock on each section inside. Each one could have more layers, I was rushed for time (go figure!!) and went simple.

Here are the sizes of DSP/Cardstock that I cut:
(2) 1-3/4 x 5-1/4 Holly DSP, front and back tabs
(2) 3-3/4 x 1-1/4 Snowflake DSP, top and bottom center sections
(4) 1-3/4 x 1-1/4 Red print DSP, small rectangles each end of top and bottom sections
(1) 3-3/4 x 2-1/4 White CS, center section (stamped with words and snowflakes)
(1) 1-3/4 x 2-1/4 White CS, center back section (stamped with large snowflake)

One more view of the front and a note for adhesive on the Top Note. The left half of the Top Note is totally over the front tab (with the Holly DSP), but the right half is only over the center section, the top and bottom pieces fold away. Test it before applying the adhesive and make sure you know where it can and can't go!!

Let me know if you have questions! Sit down and try one and I think it will make sense! I'm hoping to go try another one here in a minute. I have a quiet house and figure I've got to do some stamping for fun! My boys went different directions after school & hubby has a meeting. Got a little time before its time to run after boys.

8:16 pm 11/23 ETA: I just corrected one of the numbers for the cardstock measurements. If you looked before now, it wasn't right! Sorry for the oversight. It always takes quite a bit to get the format right, I completely missed the wrong number. And that was before I got hit by a deer tonight!

9:28 pm 11/23. ETA: another correction made in the cutting/scoring section. Obviously I shouldn't have tackled this today! Glad I decided to go make another one. I may be calling it a day soon though if things don't start going better.

Holiday Extravaganza!!

WOW!!! is what comes to mind! TONS of things on sale today through the end of November.

edited to add: the original link I posted wasn't taking you to my site for shopping. The prices aren't right if you aren't on my specific site so it has been updated. Sorry for the confusion!!

Click HERE to go to my Stampin' Up! site, then click the SHOP NOW button on the upper right.

Once in, either click the big red box that comes up in the middle and says HUGE SALE, or on the left side top item is Online Extravaganza. They have given 30, 40 & 50 percent off items, bundled items and discounted them. WOW!!! Get in there and check it out! You do NOT have to order online, but you can. If you haven't done that before, register by clicking the Customer Login in button just above the big red box in the center. You should see my name at the top right side, and in the bar in the center.

One other note, click each item that is for sale to see specific product detail, and it will tell you there what the regular catalog price is.

LMK if you have questions, or want to place the order through me!

Scallop Turkeys

These were fun, but a little challenging for my brain (and others!) last weekend. I had received one in a swap and it was requested by my club hostess. Of course, I waited until Sunday morning to try and figure it out! You'd think I would learn!! Anyway, it came out OK and I think they all liked it.

Here is the one I received in a swap, I think it looks a little better than mine.

To make these, you need the Scallop Circle die (113468, p. 199) and the Big Shot. The base is a card which you get by placing a folded piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock with the fold just below the top of the die so that you aren't cutting the top. You then cut 3 other Scallop circles. This sample uses Real Red, Really Rust & More Mustard. Once you have those circle, cut them in half. I did this with my Fiskars paper cutter by placing the indent between scallops on the cutting line. If you don't have a cutter that will work, a ruler with a craft knife (on a mat!) will also work. Next you need to make additional cuts on your colored scallops to form the tail feathers. The back row of feathers has 4 scallops each, the inside row 3. What worked for me to get even pieces was to measure & mark the middle of each scallop on the straight side. Then, count your scallops and use the mark and the indent to line up on the cutting line. Hopefully that's a little clearer than mud! Once you have the pieces, sponge the outer edges with either Chocolate Chip or Close to Cocoa ink, line the back row up with the card scallops and attach. Spaced the inner row as desired and attach.

Here is the one I did. My feather colors are Ruby Red, More Mustard and Really Rust. The body of the Turkey is made with punches. The head is the 1-1/4" circle in Close to Cocoa, the body the 1-3/4" circle in Close to Cocoa. The feet are a Scallop Circle punch in Pumpkin Pie, cut the same way as the larger circles. You should have 1 extra scallop from your half circle after two feet. Cut that down for the beak. The waddle is the long, narrow heart from the Heart to Heart punch in Ruby Red. The eyes are a 1/4" circle punch with googlie eyes on top. Sponge all the parts you want sponged and layer together. The head/body are attached with dimensionals.

Enjoy and let me know if you have questions!!

Club Cards-More Bride Paper

Sorry it's taken me a week to get back! Didn't plan on that, but had a busier than usual week. I played with the Bride paper for these samples before club. My girls did the lower one with the stripe paper, but I did both up so they could see the other print. Quite a difference from the last post isn't it?? Love this though, and the color possibilities are endless!!

Its a fairly simple cards, except for cutting layers. Card base is Rich Razzleberry. A small Basic Black layer behind the Bride player. The Bride paper was colored with a brayer and the Rich Razzleberry classic ink. Wide Black grosgrain around the Bride paper layer. The flower from Together Forever was stamped on Whisper White in Basic Black and colored with the blender pen & Rich Razzleberry classic ink. It's layered on Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black, attached to the background with dimensionals over the ribbon. The saying, Together Forever, also from the Together Forever set was stamped on Whisper White and punched with the large oval punch. That is layered on a Scallop oval punch of Rich Razzleberry. That is layered on a Basic Black slightly larger scallop oval cut with the Punch Window die set for the Big Shot. The scallops are also attached with dimensionals.

This card is almost the same. Obviously the background as I said is the stripe print from the Bride paper, and I colored the flowers a little different. I decided after doing the first one they needed a little white left showing.

I will be back soon! I have several things to share. This week is looking a little slower, especially with the Holiday. All I have to do for Thanksgiving is make pumpkin pie. Maybe some shopping or decorating for Christmas on Friday.

Black & White!

The theme for the monthly swap this time was Black & White. Not sure I've ever done one before, and it wasn't easy-I kept wanting to add color! But it came out OK!

I used the new specialty paper, Bride (page 158). You need to see this paper up close and in person if you haven't! It's gorgeous!! Heavier than the usual DSP and it has a shiny finish to the pattern. It has two prints, this one and a stripe. It also comes in Groom (black) and Bridesmaid (Vanilla). I NEED them all!! and you will too once you see them!!

OK, back to the card! Card base is Basic Black with the Bride paper on the background. I rounded the corners and added a wide black grosgrain ribbon around the center. The flower from Embrace Life was embossed with Black Craft Ink & Clear EP on the Shimmery White CS. Corners were again rounded and it was layered on Basic Black. The Best Wishes from Oval All was also embossed on Shimmery White, punched with the large oval punch and layered on a Basic Black Scallop oval. This was attached with dimensionals. Lastly I added a half-pearl from the Pretties Kit in the center of the flower!

Back to the stamp room! Somehow I've got to get 40 "gifts" done by Friday night, and I haven't really started! Better go give it some quality time!!! Have a good week all, I'm guessing I won't be back til the weekend!

Marble Leaf

Another rolling marble card today, but with a slightly different look. I did the background on this one with the marbles & ink same as the others, but then cut it with the Top Note die in the Big Shot. Colors used were Elegant Eggplant, Really Rust & Summer Sun on Very Vanilla CS.

The card base is Really Rust and I stamped the smaller leaf from Autumn Splendor in Rust around the edge. On the Top Note I added a Vintage brad just inside each point. For the leaf, I stamped it on Very Vanilla with Elegant Eggplant ink. I then grabbed a blender pen and blended some of the ink around. I picked up so me extra to do the veins, and then added a little Summer Sun & Really Rust in some spots as well. I attached the leaf with dimensionals over a piece of Elegant Eggplant, then layered onto the Top Note & card base. Great fall card!!

More Marble cards

A couple more rolling marble background cards today! What a nice, sunny day it is here in Nebraska-hope the combines are rolling!!!

First up is a monochromatic one, using all shades of purple. Background used Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum & Pale Plum on Whisper White. Card base is Perfect Plum. I used the corner rounder on both the background and main image. The long stem flower from Bloomin' Beautiful was stamped in Elegant Eggplant and a blender pen was used to blend the ink some and add some Perfect Plum. I layered that on Elegant Eggplant and tied a White Satin ribbon around.
This one has a very similar look, but I changed up the colors a bit. Background was done with Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum & Always Artichoke on Whisper White again. I used the Tag corner punch on the background this time. The main image is from True Friend and I colored it using Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum & Always Artichoke markers. I added a small purple Rhinestone brad from the Ice Circles set. This was layered on Always Artichoke with an Elegant Eggplant ribbon tied at the bottom.

Hope you're able to give this fun technique a try!

Rolling Marbles!!

Finally I made it back with this technique and a few samples!! More samples to follow over the next couple of days.

For this technique you need the following:

Marbles (10-12 for EACH color)
Reinkers, 3 coordinating colors

Stamp boxes, 3 (the clear boxes you get your Stampin' Up! stamps in) You want one large enough to hold a background size piece of cardstock.

**Note: You want a SEPARATE box for each color of ink

Whisper White or Very Vanilla background size cardstock (generally I use 4 x 5-1/4)

Dotto temporary adhesive

Steps:
In an empty, clean stamp box put 10-12 marbles.
Add 3-4 drops of one color reinker
Close box and roll marbles back and forth through ink.

Place a little temporary adhesive one side of a piece of cardstock and attach it to the inside top of the stamp box.

Close box, turn upside down and roll/shake the marbles across the cardstock until desired amount of color is on the cardstock. Remember you are adding two more colors.

Repeat with next two colors

Let me know if you have any questions on the technique! Following are two samples and hopefully if you click the image it will enlarge and you can see the detail of the marble backgrounds.

I generally start by making backgrounds with colors that I know I've liked together before and build the card from there. This first one uses Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal & Certainly Celery on Whisper White. I took the marbled background, rounded the corners, tied a Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon around and attached it to the Regal Rose card base. The flower stems from Simply Said were stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White and the coordinating colors were added with markers. Corners were rounded, edge sponged with Regal Rose and attached to an Apricot Appeal layer. The verse was stamped in black, sponged with Regal Rose, punched with the Large Oval and layered on a Scallop Oval of Apricot Appeal.

This one has Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery & Elegant Eggplant. See what a difference changing one color can make?!? This one is also on Very Vanilla instead of Whisper White. I took the background here and just tied a narrow Apricot Appeal ribbon around and layered it onto the Apricot Appeal card base. The image from Bloomin' Beautiful was stamped with Jet Black Stazon and colored with Blender pens picking up ink from the lid of classic pads. Layered onto Elegant Eggplant and over the ribbon onto the background. Bloom was stamped in Elegant Eggplant, punched with large oval and layered onto a Certainly Celery Scalloped Oval. The scallop was attached with dimensionals.

LMK if you have any questions. Hopefully this post looks somewhat presentable, Blogger is being VERY difficult! Happy Halloween all, and have a great weekend!!! I need to get some chores started but hope to find some stamping time too!!

Last two Spot Backgrounds

Flores Suaves is back for these last two Spot Background samples. I did very similar ones to show the different a slight change up in the color combination can make!

First up was this one, using tones of yellow: Summer Sun, Yoyo Yellow & So Saffron. This one has a textured cardstock base of Summer Sun. Note though how the yellow tones all end up blended together in a very muted effect.

Now, take Yoyo Yellow, Orchid Opulence & Tempting Turquoise and look at the difference! This one is on a Yoyo Yellow regular cardstock base but has a completely different feel than the first one.

That concludes our Spot Background series. Next up: Rolling Marbles!!!

Edited to add: The ink used with this technique is Dye ink, on Glossy cardstock. Because of the glossy finish, the ink stays wet long enough to blend it around. Sorry to whoever emailed me that question a while back. I read the email on my phone, but it got deleted in my Spam folder before I could reply on the computer!

Friends 24-7 Spot

Another spot background card, this one using the Friends 24-7 set.

Card base is Chocolate Chip. Background layer is Creamy Caramel wheeled with the Friendly Words jumbo wheel in Chocolate Chip. 1" Chocolate Chip grosgrain around the center. The spot background was done, again using Glossy Cardstock, with Ballet Blue, Chocolate Chip & Creamy Caramel spots. Bird stamped with Black Stazon and layered onto Ballet Blue.

Spot Background Cardinal

Next up for techniques in my presentation was Spot Background. You saw this recently on here with this card from my last open house.

Technique refresher: Take a piece of glossy cardstock sized just larger than the image you wish to stamp. Find 3-4 colors that you think will work when blended together. Take the first spot inkpad and dab it directly on the glossy cardstock. Immediately grab a tissue and smudge the color all around the cardstock. Repeat with the other colors. Stamp your main image with Stazon over the color background.

Stamp set used is A Cardinal Christmas. The card base is Old Olive, stamped with the branch image in Old Olive on all four corners. Old Olive striped grosgrain was tied around the card front. The background was done with Creamy caramel, Real Red & Old Olive. The cardinal images corners were punched with the Tag Corner Punch then layered on Real Red. Attached to the front of the card with dimensionals to layer over the ribbon. The Merry Christmas was stamped on the lower corner.

Pretty quick and easy!

Deal of the Week #4

This is the LAST Deal of the Week! This week you will find a special price on our two Party Kits, page 174 & 175 in the catalog. Click the item number below to view online. This DEAL ends with October: 10/31 at 11:50 pm.

116214 Princess Party Kit, regular price 15.95. DEAL price $9.99

116213 Pirate Party Kit, regular price 15.95, DEAL price $9.99

If you have a youngster with a birthday coming up-check these out!!

Polished Stone with Metallic

This summer I visited the Polished Stone technique with this post and samples done with my club. For my presentation, I did the Eggplant card again, but added the silver Encore (metallic) reinker.

Please remeber: adding the metallic ink requires that you set the ink with an Acrylic spray, unless you prefer rubbing silver off on everything!! LMK if you have any questions, I'm taking the short & simple way out tonight. Tired even though I didn't do much today but run around in the rain.

Last Two Crayon Resist

It's very nice having a stack of samples here to choose from to create a post! Maybe I should stamp all day every Thursday!!

First up tonight is this one using the Fifth Avenue Floral set with the Tres Chic background. On the glossy cardstock the with flower stamped in Black Staz On, I added accent lines to the petals with the crayon and sponged over. Pink is Pink Passion. Pretty simple!!

Last Crayon Resist sample for now is this one using Lovely as a Tree. I stamped the tree with Black Stazon on the glossy cardstock and added crayon to look like snow. Just on the tips of the branches & ground under the tree. Sponged Always Artichoke ink over. Card base is Always Artichoke with the Texture Jumbo wheel in Craft White going both directions. The first direction didn't come out very nice looking, so I went the other way! Now it looks like a snow storm! Cool!!

Let me know if you have any questions on this technqiue. What's up next?? Hmmmm, we'll see tomorrow! Have a good Thursday!!

Pirate Fun!

Every year at NEMC there is some sort of game show. This year was no exception and the title was Lucky 7. We had a general Pirate Theme for the whole event and we started off trying to earn a final spot in the show by collecting 7 tokens. We got 1 for checking in, 1 if we presented, etc. Saturday morning we had a SU! trivia competition to see who the final 14 would be. I collected 7, thanks to a giving friend! The finals found us all being given pirate attire in the form of a bandanna, gold earring, necklace & eye patch. I cropped out my fellow pirates, but there were 14 of us who looked like this, so it wasn't too embarrassing!

We were also given a "treasure" sign to wear around our neck. We were all lined up and given a random small treasure chest. We were divided into two groups by what was in our chest, either a Lemon Head (candy) or a pirate head (skull).

Here is the Pirate Head group awaiting our next instruction. A simple elimination round eliminated the other group, and we were the finalists! Each of us was given a key. One key unlocked the grand prize treasure chest.

While I wasn't the winner, and didn't even get to try my key (I was last in line), the lucky winner won a Big Shot. She didn't already have one so it worked out well! All of my team got a very nice gift (all different) of current items from the SU!catalog.

Finally, a shot of myself and customers JoAnn & Sharon who accompanied me for the weekend. A GREAT time was had by all!

More Crayon Resist Flores Suaves

Here are a couple more Crayon Resist technique cards that I made for the weekend. I was trying to show variety with the crayon and what different look changing color makes!

On both the samples below, the butterflies were stamped on Glossy cardstock with Black Stazon. When dry, the butterfly was masked and stamped over with the words image. Then the crayon was applied before sponging any ink over.

This first one uses So Saffron & Rich Razzleberry. The background is Whisper White stamped with random butterflies in both So Saffron & Rich Razzleberry. Scripted word block in Basic Black. Edges sponged with Rich Razzleberry. On this one, I traced the lines of the butterfly with the crayon. So Saffron ink was sponged around the edge & Rich Razzleberry over the butterfly. Razzleberry Ribbon behind the butterfly layer.

This one uses the Melon Mambo in another monochromatic look. Background was done with random butterflies, some full strength Melon Mambo, some stamped off once. Word block again in Basic Black. Edges were sponged. This butterfly has a different look than either of the others because of the crayon application! As I said yesterday, every one's will look different, for a variety of reasons! Everyone has a different touch with the ink, sponge & crayon!

Stay tuned-I'm looking at pictures from the weekend and hope to post a couple soon!

Crayon Resist Flores Suaves

I have lots of samples I created for my presentation this last weekend at the Nebraska Mini Convention. I had lots of fun and learned several new things!!! I even had to become a pirate for a short while and MAYBE I'll share a picture of that later in the week!

To start sharing, I've decided my make-n-take would be first. I touched on several techniques, but this one used Crayon Resist.

All the attendees had to do was the focal image on here. Actually, they just had to use the crayon for resist, then sponge color over. This stamp set is Flores Suaves from the Spanish Idea Book & Catalog. It is available to anyone!

For the background, I stamped the scripted words on the left side, and the butterflies at varying angles on the right side in Crushed Curry on Barely Banana. For the butterfly, I took glossy cardstock and stamped the butterfly with Jet Black Stazon first. When dry, I masked it and stamped the words over it. To do the technique you need a white or clear crayon ( or any light color). Use the crayon to color on the butterfly wherever you don't want color to be. We sponged Barely Banana around the edge of the words, and Crushed Curry over the center of the butterfly. When done sponging, use a tissue to rub off the crayon and the extra ink from the glossy cardstock. Each one will look different, depending on the amount of crayon, pattern of crayon, and amount of ink applied.

Stay tuned for many more samples!! I have several more featuring Crayon resist, some with Spot Background, and some with Rolling Marble.

Deal of the Week III

Some FUN accessories on sale this week! Get them while is price is GREAT!

114348 Basic Jumbo Grommets. Regularly $6.95, this week $4.49

109857 Mini Library Clips. Regular price $12.95, this week $8.99

112571 Circle Designer Brads. Regular Price $5.95, this week $3.99

112581 1/2" Library Clips. Regular Price $6.95, this week $3.99

Contact me TODAY to place your order. OR, click HERE to shop my online store.

WCMD IV-In Color Branch Out

I think this is my favorite of the 4 from the weekend! I love this tree and the possibilities it has and really love the tire swing!! The In-Colors also go together GREAT for this fall look!

Card base is Rich Razzleberry with the Woodgrain background stamped on it and the edges sponged. Brown layer is Soft Suede, as is the tree. The leaves were stamped with the "dot" image by inking first with Crushed Curry and stamping 3 times around the tree. Clean the stamp and reink with Dusty Durango and rotate the stamp (so your dots are not in the same place) and stamp 3 times around. Repeat with Rich Razzleberry. Very pretty tree! Oh, and while you have each color, put a few leaves on the ground. Add the bird house in Rich Razzleberry, the boots in Crushed Curry and the tire swing in black. Use the crop-a-dile to punch and set a jumbo eyelet over the tire. Add a saying on the small oval attached with dimensionals, and a Crushed Curry ribbon, either dots up or down-your choice! The ribbon was just a bit wider than the Soft Suede, knotted in the middle and attached to the back of the Suede. The saying is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and there are several in that set that work will with this size Oval punch.

Whew! It's been a very nonproductive night for me and I have a big presentation looming this weekend. So, I may not be back til after the weekend. We shall see!! Wish me luck. The good news is that I will have LOTS of samples to share next week!!! And I get to spend the weekend stamping with stamping friends!!!

WMCD III-Autumn Splendor Spot

Here is the 3rd card from the weekend festivities!

Card base is Really Rust. We tore the bottom edge off the front with the tearing edge and added a piece of More Mustard in it's place. To line that up, we set the Mustard inside the card, applied Snail adhesive to the top of the strip, and folded the Rust down onto it. The verse is from Heard from the Heart and is stamped in Not Quite Navy. The background on the Rust is made using the Texture Jumbo wheel and a leaf from the Autumn Splendor set, both in Rust. The main image background is done using our Spot Ink pads. We started with a More Mustard and dabbed the pad directly down on Glossy Cardstock. We immediately smudged the color around with a tissue. Next we repeated with the Really Rust Spot, followed by smudging. Repeat again with Not Quite Navy and more smudging. Add additional of any colors as desired. Once the look you desire is achieved, stamp the large leaf image in Basic Black (or Stazon Black). The image is layered onto a Not Quite Navy that also has a torn bottom edge. Final accent is a Mini Clip with a small know of Linen Thread.

Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by, and see you back here tomorrow for the final card from the weekend.

Deal of the Week II

This week's deals are "to die for"!  Ha ha!!

3 lower prices on items for the Big Shot:

115961 Perfect Setting Bigz XL Die $42.95 $25.99

114515 Flower Burst Embosslits Die $11.95 $5.99

116760 Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL Die $39.95 $25.49

I still have open orders from the weekend, let me know if you "NEED" any of these! 

WCMD II-Stacked Pumpkins

Here is the second card from the Open Houses this weekend-aren't these pumpkins cute??

This is the Pumpkin Patch set from the Holiday Mini. Card base is Pumpkin Pie, background is Chocolate Chip that was textured with the Perfect Details Texturz Plate for the Big Shot. The Top Note was cut from Confetti Cream CS. You will want to start this stack with the Old Olive grass at the bottom, right at the dotted line on the Top Note. Then add your pumpkins with Pumpkin Pie ink, just off center of the Top Note. Next add the faces and stems with Chocolate Chip, and the squiggle with Old Olive. Gold brads were added at the sides of the Top Note, and Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain was layered in between the Confetti Cream and Chocolate Chip. They saying is one of the two in the set (either would work) and is stamped on a strip of Confetti Cream and punched with the large oval, layered on Scalloped Oval of Pumpkin Pie. The ovals are attached with a dimensional, cut in half with half on each end.

Stay tuned for the other two cards in the next few days! I should have the new deal of the week details shortly too, so check back!! Hope your Monday is going well. All I can say is at least it's NOT snowing!!