Nothing is Safe from my Big Shot

I can't even remember where I saw or heard that you can texturize felt in an embossing folder if you just spray it with starch first. Perhaps at convention? Where ever I heard about it, that was the inspiration for my Holiday Mini swap card. There are sixteen of us participating this swap so I'll get lots of practice at making this little gem. I started off using my typical fall pallet: More Mustard, Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze and the like. That just felt too dark for this one though. So I lighted things up by using Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait, & So Saffron instead. The leaves from Gently Falling are great 2 Step stamps and even include the little maple tree helicopters! That's my favorite bit about the set, so I had to include one on the card. I was even dedicated enough to cut it out. :) There is gold Smooch on there too, but hard to see in the photo. I think it will be more clear on some of my others for swap. A couple of times I got a little carried away. :) Now, I just have to finish the rest!

Button Snail Birthday

At long last, here's the final card for today's Birthday Card Theme Class. Goodness knows I need plenty of belated birthday cards. You would think with as many cards as I make that I could get them out to people on time! It often doesn't happen though. For some reason the post office just seems so far away. :) Now I'll have this little number on hand...just in case. The Button Buddies set makes it so fun to put together a quick and easy little card like this one. It's instantly made that little bit extra cute with the addition of a button. Perhaps quick & easy is even more important when you need to send off a belated card. Remember: Better late than never!

Nuggets Cake

This one is a CASE from Convention. Of course, I changed things up a bit. In fact, looking back at photos from Salt Lake, I'm pretty sure I even changed the candy I used. Mine are Hershey's Nuggets just wrapped with a little DSP. One inch strips work great! The cake stand was super simple to make thanks to the Lace Ribbon Border Punch & the Large Oval Punch. You cut both in half so it's fast and easy to make two of this card at one time.

This isn't a card to put through the mail, but would be great to give in person or put inside a gift bag. I attached the little chocolates using removable glue dots, so they can just pop off and make an extra birthday treat. I loved how the tag punch from Happiest Birthday Wishes went with my little cake, but didn't really want a tag on this card. So, I just colored it in with markers & left off the tag frame. One more project ready for the Birthday Theme Class on Sunday. That leaves just one more to go...

Not So Seriously Birthday

When I got my first look at the 2011-2012 SU catalog, one set really caught my eye. It's called Not So Seriously and it just cracked me up. Truly a stand out among all the offerings, it has a great sense of humor. I've been itching to use it and thought my Birthday Theme Class would be incomplete without it.

The fold on this card is a little fancy so that you can see most of the "inside" while you look at the card front. Then, if you open the card, you can see that the fabulous gift is masking a bit of a sassy sentiment inside. Fun, huh? I think we'll have a hoot with this one at class.

Paisley Petals Mojo/ Mojo Monday #204

Talk about being a bit behind schedule! I usually like to create a Mojo Monday card first thing Monday morning to get my week started. Not this time around. Here it is, Saturday mid-morning and I finally have one to share.

The layout for this week's sketch seemed a great opportunity to use some of the Paisley Petals designer paper that I absolutely love. I'm also still coming up with designs for my birthday theme class at the end of the month. So I decided that my circle image had to be this elegant one from Happiest Birthday Wishes. My very favorite hostess set & favorite DSP all lined up in this card! I stamped the image in three colors and then punched each one out to create the layers you see here.

I gave the Bravo Burgundy background just a bit of texture with the Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate and used the leaves from the XL Bird Punch to create my corner accent. No longer having the Photo Corners Punch really made me think outside the box to fit the sketch. As a finishing touch, I added little accents with my Dazzling Details glitter glue. It's such a great addition to the catalog! I think you'll be seeing lots more of it used here. :)

Birthday Present Window/ Color Throwdown #155

This was just way too much fun to make! I'm getting ready for my birthday card theme class at the end of the month. My plan is to feature at least one stamp from the Happiest Birthday Wishes hostess set in each card. There are so many to choose from that it shouldn't be hard. For this card I took a look over at the Color Throwdown for this week: Early Espresso, Rose Red, Barely Banana, & Kiwi Kiss. Since the last two colors are retired, I substituted So Saffron & Lucky Limeade. I've been playing with all the seam binding I bought for the ribbon share & having a blast. Isn't this bow with the crinkled ends super fun? I'll show you how to make it in class--- it's fast & easy! My favorite part of the card is it's little sneak peak. I used the Peekaboo Frames die from the Holiday mini to make my little door/window. Now the card is like two in one! You can open up the Rose Red flap to reveal a little sentiment & tiny present inside & then there is a larger sentiment & stamped gifts inside the card. The three worked so well together that I just couldn't resist!

Punch Art Fairy

Yesterday I was stuck. It was my niece's fourth birthday and I had no idea what to do for her card. She's having a fairy princess themed party today, but I don't own a single fairy or princess stamp. What's a girl to do except consult the punch art goddesses out there? So, I did what any resourceful stamper would do and did a google search. She's a case of double CASE (Copy and Share Everything). I found her on Amanda Mertz's blog and it looks like Amanda found the idea from Ellen Kemper. Thanks for the inspiration, ladies! In the true spirit of CASE-ing, I modified my little fairy to fit my style. I also gave her a bit of bling thanks to a couple of sneak peak products from the Holiday Mini Catalog. Her wings are outlined with Dazzling Details glitter glue & her shoes and wand center are made out of silver Glimmer Paper. Fun! The Dazzling Details is like no glitter glue I've ever used. It is so easy to put on a precise location because of the skinny tip & after about a month of no use (I was lucky enough to get some at Convention), it wasn't clogged at all. I just opened it up and started to use it. Here's a breakdown of the punches/embosslits I used in case you are also in need of a quick and fun fairy: Face- Ornament Punch, Ears- XL Bird Punch, Hair- Large Ovals, Wings- Blossom Petals Builder, Arms/Legs/Neck/Shoes- Word Window Punch, Dress- Scallop Oval Punch & Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Wand- Lace Ribbon Boarder Punch & 1/4" Circle Punch with Cupcake Punch for the handle.

Birthday Roses/ Color Throwdown #154

I don't think we'll be making this guy at classes any time soon, but I may show you how to make these super fun tiny roses. Each one is made from the outline that you create with the Blossom Triple Layer Punch. Just snip it in one place & then wrap it around something round and skinny. I used my Paper Piercer for most of them, but then had the great idea to use the end of my tweezers. That worked even better! It's a hand delivered type of card for sure. I don't think the little 3D roses would like the journey via USPS.

Sorry that my photo quality isn't quite up to snuff. I tried to use a different camera tonight & I don't think I have all the settings worked out quite yet. Perhaps a little more experimentation is in order. :)

Thanks to the folks over a the Color Throwdown for this color combo: Basic Gray, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, & Old Olive. Don't they work well together?

Button Buddies Flower Tent

Last one! This is the fifth project for the Buttons, Ribbon, & Paper Oh My classes. Simple and cute. It shows off two of the new In Colors: Pool Party & Island Indigo as well as the new Ruffled Ribbon that I fell in love with at Convention. Never fear, I have a ribbon share available for this one too. :) The little flower button is part of the Brights button assortment. The fun part for class will be that all the colors of the flower will work great on this card. That way there are plenty of buttons to go around. Since the card is so nice and cheery, it could work well as a "get well" or just a friendly little "hello". We haven't made a tent card in class since the Build a Roo Valentine and I thought it was time to switch things up a bit. An easel & tent card all in the same class, do you think we can handle it? It just struck me that this is the THIRD card for this class that uses Bakers Twine. I guess that's another thing I discovered at Convention, huh? It's just so versatile for adding a little accent! I can't wait for classes. :) The first one is in Longmont tomorrow--- such fun we will have!

Black & White and Red All Over

What's black & white and red all over? A zebra with a sunburn. Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm very excited to share this card with you today. It's one of my very favorites from the "Buttons, Ribbon, Paper Oh My" classes that start this week. It looks even more striking in person, but my photography skills (and my camera's low battery) weren't totally up to the challenge this morning. It's super simple but still has lots of panache! The card is a compilation of left over Make & Take bits from one of my convention projects. I decided to decorate my Card Keeper using Spice Cake rather than the Timeless Portrait provided at convention. That left me with some bits to tinker with & you know I can't have anything go to waste! I'll have to admit, I wasn't drawn to the Timeless Portrait paper at first, but I just didn't look at it right. All I saw at first were silhouettes & clocks and I missed the bold red, black, and blue patterns. Silly me! Making the flower for this one was my favorite part. I took six of the largest petals from the Blossom Petals punch & one Fancy Flower punch and spritzed them with water. Once they were wet, I crunched them up into little balls, uncrunched them, and let them dry. I adhered the individual petals to a small circle to keep them together & added the flower on top. Doesn't it create a great effect? Of course, the flower still needed a center. Hmmmm... time for one more trick learned at convention. Out came my Lace Ribbon Boarder Punch and my 1" Circle punch. When used together, you get this great little detailed circle. Add a pearl, some satin ribbon, and a hounds tooth background to complete the card. Love it. Playing with scraps can be such fun!

Flirtatious Doily/ Mojo Monday 203

I set myself a bunch of challenges this morning. I wanted to do Mojo Monday since I haven't in a very long time. Also wanted to make sure I included one of the laser cut doilies from the Flirtatious Specialty Paper AND and wanted to use some scallop polka dot ribbon. That was a bunch to squeeze into one card, but I gave it a try!

I had to modify the sketch a bit to make things work,but Mojo Monday provided the inspiration. As for colors, I wanted to be careful that what ever combination I picked could work with either the Melon Mambo doilies or the Pumpkin Pie doilies equally well. That way, if I run out of Melon Mambo pieces for class, the Pumpkin Pie bits work just as well. So Saffron with Marina Mist should work great for either. At least that's the hope!

Color Throwdown #153

Aren't these colors fun together? The ladies over at The Color Throwdown put together yet another great pallet this week: Whisper White, Old Olive, Pool Party, & Crumb Cake. I've been wanting to make a "custom ink pad" card to demonstrate at an upcoming workshop & thought this would be a great chance. All you need are re-inkers & a baby wipe. It's so simple! Just dot your "ink pad" with the different colors and you can create your very own designer paper. You get a unique result each time. (Hint: I find that you need to clean the stamp between each inking otherwise all the colors start to blend.) I think this one will be a crowd pleaser for even experienced stampers.

I was busy yesterday designing cards for my "Buttons, Paper, Ribbon Oh My!" classes and I can't wait to share them all with you. It's great fun to have time to spend crafting again!

Project Sneak Peak

I'm not in the habit of making projects, but I hope to do many more of them. In fact, I think it would be great fun to have project classes in addition to my card classes. This will be my first attempt! It's a bit of a pre-view because it uses all sorts of goodies from the Holiday Mini Catalog. The base for this project is the new Stampin' Card Keeper. It's a box perfectly sized for storing your handmade cards & even comes with six dividers to keep you organized. Also, it includes patterns for covering the whole box (or bits like I did) using designer paper or designer fabric. The fun little hardware on the box front is also included. My plan is to fill these little boxes with cards & give them as Christmas gifts!

I had such fun decorating my box with The Spice Cake designer fabric & designer paper. How did I make those excellent little flowers? Great question--- by using my brand new Simply Scored! This toy is Stampin' Up's answer to all our scoring needs. I can't wait to share how easy it is to use with all of you. Never fear, you'll see it at class soon & you can order your very own starting September 1st. Look for my example box at classes this month & let me know if you would like to sign up for or host a Card Keeper Class.

Time to get a bit fancy

I've been a little heavy on the cute & a bit light on the pretty lately, so I decided to make a little bit of a switch for today's card. It's another for my "Buttons, Paper, & Ribbon Oh My" classes and it features both Baja Breeze Seam Binding as well as Paisley Petals designer series paper. Thinking about DSP in August is super important because SU is offering a buy 3 get one FREE sale this month. Make sure to include Paisley Petals on your DSP wish list. It's simply lovely.

This card also let me play with a few new toys. The elegant background is thanks to one of my new Texturz Plates & a little Pear Pizzazz ink. My other new toy let's this card become super versatile: the Occasions Alphabet. With sentiments ranging from "I is for ick, sorry your sick" to "N is for newlywed enjoy the having & the holding" you can find something to fit every occasion just as the name implies.

One thing that doesn't show as well as I would like is the Shimmer Mist I used on the velum layer of the little butterfly. You'll have to check it out in person to get the full effect!

Mini Clothespins!!

I'm afraid that sometimes my mind is just a little too literal. The tiny little clothespins from the new catalog will look great on all sorts of projects. However, as soon as I saw them, I just had to make a clothesline. What better to put on a clothesline than a little onesie? My classes this month follow the theme of Buttons, Paper, Ribbon: Oh My! So, I want to feature lots of the new accessories. Now I've got two of them covered, the Flirtatious Specialty Paper & the Mini Clothespins. I also got to use my Bakers Twine to create the little clothesline. Such fun! At first I attached the twine using the little pins, but that didn't show them off quite as well. Attaching them via glue dots works better to show off their full shape. I think they're perfect for an easel card that's intended for display, don't you? There's still plenty of room to write on the part that gets hidden by the "stand", no worries! Hope to see you at classes this month so you too can play with our little clothespins. :)

Hip, Hip, & Hurray

I just couldn't help myself. Once I made one card with my little frog friend, I just needed to make one more. :) My plan was to create a few cards using the same bits of paper, so folks can have their pick of which cards to make at my Ronald McDonald House events without me having to cut a ton of random pieces.

If I had to do it all over again, I think that the little brad in the party hat is just a bit too big & I would leave it off. Other than that, they're just too stinking cute! I was able to pop little party hats on their heads with no problems thanks to the wonders of clear stamps. Cute, fun, & easy. You just can't go wrong with that combination!