Of the Earth Emboss Resist

It's a hostess set bonanza today! Both of these sets are level one hostess sets & they seem to work so well together. I've been wanting to try emboss resist on designer paper for a while now. I never seem to have the right image/paper combo though. So, I thought I would give this one a try.

The circle of designer paper is from Cottage Wall while the strip actually comes from Merry Moments. It's not just for Christmas any more! Speaking of Christmas...I'm planning for Christmas in June events. Stay tuned for more info on that to come.

Wacky Cheers to You

Well, this card almost didn't happen. I was all excited to try out the Rubber Cement Resist tutorial I found on Splitcoast, but it didn't go quite as planned. I think my trouble was due to using regular Whisper White paper rather than a super glossy type. At any rate, frustration almost won.

I didn't give in though & I am actually pleased with the end result. The snow outside made me want to think tropical thoughts & this card does that. I know that after a decade of life in Colorado I should be used to eighty degrees one day & snow the next, but it still throws me for a loop. At least I'm headed for warmer climes next week. Don't worry, my posts will continue even while I'm away!

PPC #10/Elephants on Parade

Ah, this week's color challenge from PPC did make my brain stretch a bit. I was surprised at how much I like Real Red with Certainly Celery, but fitting in the Crushed Curry was the challenge. Of course, with Bashful Blue as the last color I knew Animal Stories was the set to use, but it still took a bit.
One of my favorite things to do with these little elephants is to make a line up with just a trunk on the far right & just his rear on the left, but I also wanted to fit my sentiment in this time. So, I settled with a regular line up. My Stamp-a-ma-jig came in very handy to keep these pachyderms in line!

Bird with Basket

First of all, I owe a thank you to Sandy for this one. I warned everyone at my Saturday class in Littleton that you would see the bird/basket combo on this blog! Here it is. :)

I've also really been in the mood to play more with my Movers & Shapers Die. It's been hanging out in my cabinet too much lately. Time to dust it off & find more fun things to do with it. The layered effect it creates with punches is excellent & the fact that you can move it anywhere on the card means there is lots of versatility. I've only touched the tip of the iceberg. You'll see it again soon.

Mojo Monday 136/ Daisies Mother's Day

Whew! I struggled with this one. It wasn't because the sketch was hard, but I made things more difficult than they needed to be. It's all because of the watering can. At first, I tried to design the whole card around the color of the watering can and, let me tell you, that didn't work out at all!
Now, if I had time, I would go back & make that silly can a different color. However, I'm already running late thanks to my color redesign. So, it's off to work for me!

PCC #9

I saw this lovely little flower from Wings of Friendship on a sample recently & wondered how I had missed it all this time. Luckily, I had also just ordered the set. Perfect timing! It's one of our great level one hostess sets &, no doubt, you'll be seeing more of it in the future.

This week's color challenge struck a cord with me. I love them together! It's a shame that Brilliant Blue's days are numbered, but I'll make good use of it while it lasts!

Bouquet Bunch Topiary

The back of my mind has been playing around with the images from the Bouquet Bunch stamp set ever since I started making my swap cards for the new Summer Mini-Catalog. The other day, an idea of a topiary came into my head & I haven't been able to shake it. So, today I decided it was high time I figured out what to do with it!

Viola! This is what it became. I may be slightly addicted to the Textured Impression Folders, but who can blame me? They make such a huge difference with so little effort!! Here's hoping that we have all sorts of new ones in the future. I use them all of the time.

Sorry for my absence yesterday, I had a couple of big classes down in Lakewood to get ready for & no time for blogging. But, I met a whole bunch of new stampers & had a great time in my classes. I could have done without the snow this morning, but that's Spring in Colorado. If only I had packed shoes other than my Crocks for today!

Whimsy Butterfly Thank You

There is all sorts of exciting stamping going on for me this week. I have four classes in all which does mean lots of time cutting paper, but it also has me thinking about just how much fun I have as a Stampin' Up demonstrator. How lucky I am to have "work" be something I enjoy so much!

All of this thinking makes me want to extend an invitation to all of you to join in the fun as well. Becoming a SU demonstrator is easy & excellent if for no other reason than the 20% off it extends! I know it may seem overwhelming at first, but you're never alone in this adventure. All of my team will receive detailed instructions to make the cards I'm doing in class each month. That way, you can either come up with your own, or just use one of mine. There is never a need to reinvent the wheel...unless you want to! Contact me today if you're interested in learning more.

Okay, enough waxing on about how cool being a demonstrator can be. Today's project is a simple, but fun one. The Garden Whimsy butterflies are an old favorite & I've been wanting to do something with them for awhile. I've missed them. They are a nice bit of Spring on this overcast day. I hope you enjoy them too!

Textured Folders Thank You

A little simple guy this morning. It's super quick to make, but I like how it turned out. Just running a couple of pieces through my Big Shot with the Textured Impressions Folders makes a very simple card turn a little bit special. I love how having the right toys on hand makes my work so much easier! This project also helps me celebrate another of the colors that will retire at the end of the catalog--- Sage Shadow. I'll miss those that are leaving, but that's overshadowed by how excited I am for the new colors. I have some examples to share at classes, so stop in for a sneak peak!

Circle a la Card/ PPC #8

Well, it has finally happened. I logged on to Mojo Monday this morning & just didn't feel it. For some reason the sketch didn't click with me & I decided not to force it. Instead, I took a sketch from my latest Stampin' Up demonstrator magazine. They call their sketches "a la card" and I haven't really used them before. I also hadn't submitted to the PPC color challenge yet, so I thought I would combine the two.
I think the card still needs some tweaking, but I like the idea. To be honest, I haven't adhered everything yet because I still want to play with it, but I needed to get a post in before I head out on my day. :) Perhaps I'll texturize a few of the circles? Then again maybe not. If I make any huge changes I'll post them later. Happy Monday!

Polished Stone Hearts

Sorry for the absence yesterday, but work does have a talent for getting in the way. Today's project is another "what do I have laying around" creation. While experimenting with the polished stone technique to make the rose card recently, I made a bit of paper with Regal Rose & Rose Red reinkers. Today I decided that it would make fun hearts. Too often hearts are only used for Valentines or wedding cards. I decided they are great for every day cards as well. Otherwise it's like keeping the good dishes only for special occasions. Let's use them all the time!

Bouquet Bunch Swap

It's a pre-veiw for the Summer Mini Catalog! Bouquet Bunch is the set I selected to order early to create swap cards. I'm part of a group of Stampin' Up Demonstrators that help each other out at the start of each catalog. We each select a set & make cards to share. That way we all have great cards to display on our boards without having to buy the whole catalog. Or at least without having to buy it all at once. :) Thanks again to my upline, Cindy, for making the swap happen!

I thought of this card as a sort of sequence of events: first you grow the flowers, then you pick them, & finally who ever receives them puts them in a vase (made out of Tall Tales paper). With all of the sentiments available from Teeny Tiny Wishes, this card could easily be made for almost any occasion.

Now I just need to make thirteen more of them! That will be a whole lot of coloring. It's a good thing that's one of my favorites. I'm also glad I ordered this set in clear mount--that made placement of the flowers ever so much easier.

Blue on Blue

After yesterday's fun with Greenhouse Garden, I just wanted to play with it more. Today I decided to work more on my resolution to make friends with Not Quite Navy as a color. I've become even more determined now that I know NQN will still be around after the Color Renovation. The Hawaiian shirt I wore yesterday was the inspiration since it paired up colors very close to Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, & Bashful Blue to make its waves. I thought, "What works for waves should work for flowers too!". This is the result.

If I would have been more brave, I would have done real stitching along the holes I punch with the paper piercer. Alas, I haven't gotten that brave yet. :)

Mojo Monday 134/Greenhouse Garden Hibiscus Mojo

Mojo Monday gave me a great opportunity to break out my new Greenhouse Garden set. It's one of the Two-Step Stampin' sets that are 20% for the month of April & one of my very favorites. I just couldn't wait for my Flowers theme class for this one. The hibiscus flower is simply lovely. However, I used it enough on the rest of the card, so I needed to change the flower from the sketch into a bow to avoid overkill. We're always allowed a little liberty, right?

Fifth Ave Black & White

This little card has been bouncing around in my head since long before I even owned the set. I'm kind of relieved to get it out. :) At first, it was completely black & white, but then I realized it needed a little something to make it all pop. Yoyo Yellow was the answer. It's another one of the colors I will miss after the Color Renovation, but no worries, Stampin' Up has a new & exciting yellow waiting for us. I promise they will not disappoint.

Remember that this great stamp set (it's the same as the polished stone rose) is on special from Stampin' Up this month at 20% off. Take advantage of this great deal on stamp sets that were way too big to qualify as freebees from Sale-A-Bration.

Polished Stone Rose

New toys! My Stampin' Up wish list just got a little shorter. For the month of April, Fifth Ave Floral, Greenhouse Garden, Flower Fancy, & Trendy Trees are all 20% of. That was a deal I just couldn't pass up, especially since I've had my eye on two of those sets since the catalog came out last summer! Trust me, you'll be seeing more projects with these stamps. It's the reason why my theme class this month is all about flowers.

Today's project features another fun technique using reinkers: polished stone. I used three colors to create my mottled rose-- Regal Rose, Rose Red, & Rich Razzleberry. I combined them all on a cotton ball already prepped with rubbing alcohol & dabbed away at my Whisper White paper. Once it was dry, I stamped & embossed my rose. Viola! Now, I know some folks in class will be disappointed that we have to actually cut out the rose, but, in my opinion, it's worth it!

Go with Your Heart

Today's card features two of the colors that will retire at the end of June & two I will miss for sure: Lovely Lilac & Almost Amethyst. I am excited for the Color Renovation that Stampin' Up has planned, but I still plan to do little "tributes" to the colors that will be no longer available. Make sure you stock up on these gems (re-inkers etc.) before they disappear.

I'm a little ashamed to admit just how long & how many tries it took me to get the right dimensions for the sentiment & its layers. Let's just say that my desk was full of the scraps from my corner rounder!

I see this card as used for graduation, retirement, or even wedding. The sentiment could apply to any of these. What pleases me, is the flower doesn't say "pom pom" to me any more. Ever since I made the cheerleader bear, I've had trouble seeing this flower as anything else. Thanks, Rachael! :)

Bird Day Color Challenge

I decided to not wait until the end of the week for my PPC Color Challenge this time around (#7). The colors for this week are: Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, & Very Vanilla. Thankfully, they will all still be around after the Color Renovation that Stampin' Up announced yesterday. I will be featuring some of the colors that will retire at the end of June in the coming weeks, so you'll have plenty of warning about any old friends that will be no longer available.

I need to send out a thanks to the Mojo Monday ladies for this card too. I knew what I wanted my focal image to be (even the shape), but I was having trouble coming up with a new & fun layout. So, I took a look through their archives & came up with this sketch (give or take). What a wonderful resource!

Embrace Life Bleach Emboss 1

The number 1 in the title of this project tells you that I'm not quite finished with this concept yet. So, be prepared to see another attempt later. :)

I really wanted to use this flower image & bleach out the petals. It did work (kinda hard to tell in the photo), but wasn't the dramatic effect I was going for in my mind. I hadn't tried bleach with such a light color before & ,while I like the effect, I may push it to do more next time.

My To the Nines Specialty Paper does make another appearance. I'm not sure if I will keep this up all week, but I do like how different each card I've made with it so far has turned out. Versatility is one of my favorite traits of Stampin' Up products! I'm off to sub at autistic pre-school...have a great day!

Mojo Monday 133/ To the Nines Birthday

Mojo Monday strikes again! This time I got another great excuse to use my To the Nines Specialty paper. I wanted to use it again on this card without feeling like I was using the same color pallet as yesterday & I think I succeeded. Perhaps that will be my goal for the week? Lots of To the Nines with out things feeling the same. This card uses Sage Shadow along with Bravo Burgundy to form a handsome combo. Things felt a bit too plain so I added in backgrounds on the Bravo Burgundy using my Color Spritzer Tool. Much better...even if it doesn't show in photography as well as I would like.

Wanted Buckle/ PPC-CC #6

Imagine my surprise when I checked on PPC for the colors of the week & found that my card from last challenge was the Grand Creation Winner! I was super excited (and still am). On to this week's challenge...

The colors are Dusty Durango, Mellow Moss, & Always Artichoke. I had to look at those a couple of times. It wasn't instant inspiration this go around. Then I remembered the To the Nines Specialty Designer Paper that I bought to make "manly" cards & the tutorial I saw on Splitcoast to make buckle cards. I decided to combine the two and this is the result. The color challenge was an extra challenge because (small confession of a SU demonstrator) I still haven't bought a Dusty Durango ink pad. That's the wonder of markers though; I just inked up using my marker & went to it. I'm very pleased with the result & see more buckle cards in my future.

Cottage Wall Eggs

Sometimes I really have to remind myself to keep it simple. I've been trying to come up with a dramatic Easter card & thought up some elaborate (and fairly awful) concoctions. Then, an Easter card from my mom reminded me that making eggs is simple & lovely when you use designer paper. After all, an egg is nothing more than a wide oval. So, I took out my trusty Wide Oval Punch & some scraps of my very favorite designer paper (Cottage Wall). Ta da! An easy & elegant answer. Thanks again to mom for being the Eggspert! Of course, it's too late to send this one out, but this is my Easter card to all of you.

Karen's Page

I've been running a science day camp for kidos on Spring Break all week. Whew! I'm totally exhausted. Between that & commitments in the evenings, my blogging has been more like slacking. Sorry! Today's project is near & dear for me. My friend passed away last week & I wanted a way to display her smile in my studio. This little page fits in a lovely frame (that refused to photograph well) so that Karen can always be smiling with me while I work.