Dare to be Fabulous

   I recently sent this card even though I had made it a while ago and had it sitting in my "Cards to be Sent" box. I know the stamp set, Dare to be Fabulous is retired but I wanted to post it for the technique I used.

   Let me give the non-technique details first. It is a square card - 51/4" x 5 1/4". The first layer is 1/2 Perfect Plum cardstock and half Pale Plum cardstock that  were stamped with their corresponding ink and sponged with Perfect Plum ink. I used my coluzzle (now retired) for the circles. The Circle Scissors Plus could be used too. Corners were punched with the Photo Corner punch and pierced, then sponged. The flowers were stamped and cut out, sponged, and rhinestone brads added to the centers.

   Now for the technique. It is called resist. To do this, stamp the image with versamark or craft ink. I stamped on vanilla cardstock believe it or not.  Once the image is stamped, it needs to be heat embossed. In this case I embossed it with white embossing powder. Now comes the fun part. Sponge ink directly over the embossed image and on the cardstock. That is what turned the white cardstock a nice plum color. Finally, use a paper towel and rub over the embossed image removing any excess color and the image will emerge. And that's it!

   I really felt that the flower's center needed something so I added a flower designer brad. I think it balanced the layout of the card.

This is a close up of the flowers and embossing.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Dare to be Fabulous stamp set
• Mellow Moss, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Vanilla cardstock
• Perfect Plum ink and sponge
• Photo corner punch
• Paper piercer
• Ice Round brads
• Flower designer brad
• Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon
• Coluzzle
• White craft pad and White Embossing Powder and heat gun

Thanks for looking. Have a great weekend.

Enjoy!

   This was soooo much fun to make! 

Well here it is - my third and final project that I made for my daughters and their friends. See previous posts for the other 2.

   It is just a white lunch bag cut down from the top so the bag measures 6" high when opened and standing. I put pumpkin pie cardstock on the front and then layered black and white Night and Day designer paper on top of that. The back is pumpkin pie cardstock cut about 1 1/2" longer than the front. I scored at 1" and at 1 1/2". That created the flap on the top and front. I had some leftover black and white designer paper so I just put a strip of that across the front flap. The back was left plain.

   The bag needed a handle so I easily made one with just black cardstock attached with 2 white brads.

   Now the best part - the very best part - is the pumpkin on the front! I don't have any oval Big Shot dies so I used the clear circle die to make the pumpkin. I used the clear circle die and made 4 circles with pumpkin pie cardstock. Two of the circles were sponged and overlapped a bit to make the pumpkin base. The 3rd circle was sponged and placed on top of the base. The final circle was cut in half and then each half had 1/2" cut off the straight edge. These 2 pieces were sponged and adhered to the top of the center circle. That gave me the pumpkin shape!

   I then added the stem which is really an oval punched with the large oval punch. I just cut off the top and sponged the edges to make it look more "authentic". And finally I curled some thin strips of cardstock for the vines.

   But I wasn't done yet! It needed something on the front. No problem. I marked the enjoy stamp from the set Enjoy Every Moment and stamped it on white cardstock. A pumpkin pie corduroy button finished it off. Too cute. I filled it with some treats and sent it on its way along with the treat boxes and buckets.

   I just really enjoy coming up with creative ways to let my daughters know I am thinking of them. And it is even more worthwhile cause they appreciate them so much.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Enjoy Every Moment stamp set
• Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and White cardstock
• Night and Day designer paper (Holiday Mini)
• Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie ink
• Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie markers
• White Brads
• Pumpkin Pie corduroy button
• Large Oval punch
• Sponge
• Big Shot and Clear Circle die

It's Friday! Enjoy the day!

sweet treats

   This is the second item I made to send to my daughters. It is two Big Shot Boxes adhered together, covered with cardstock and designer paper and embellished. This is just another way to use the Box #2 die cut and it is so clever. I did not come up with this idea of putting the 2 boxes together. The rest of the project is my own though!

    All you do is cut 2 boxes from cardstock and cut off the side flaps from each box. Do not cut off the lid. Fold in the sides and bottom but not the lid. The lid is the part that creates the handle. Once the 2 boxes are adhered back to back, an oval is punched into the handle. That's it!

   I stamped the pumpkins from Autumn Harvest stamp set on shimmery white cardstock and watercolored them with an aquapainter and reinkers. These were then cut out and applied to the front of the box. The little sweet treats tag was stamped first with the little flourish stamp from Framed with Love and then "sweet treats" was stamped over that. Guess where the saying "sweet treats" came from??  Yep - Teeny Tiny Wishes - the most versatile stamp set in the catalog. IMHO!

   I used the Big Shot sizzlet called Lots of Tags for the black mat on my sweet treats saying. And then I added a  little flower from Flower Fusions, along with a brad, to the front of the tag.

   I didn't take a picture of this filled with candy but I was surprised at how much it held because there are 2 compartments for the treats.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Autumn Harvest, Framed with Love and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
• Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Shimmery White cardstock
• Pumpkin Pie designer paper
• Black stazon, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive ink and reinkers
• Aquapainter
• Old Olive Twill ribbon (retired)
• Black brad, Flower Fusions 
• Large Oval punch
• Big Shot, Box #2 die, Lots of Tags sizzlet

Come back tomorrow for the last, and the best (at least I think so) project.

Hope your day goes well. Thanks for stopping by,

Trick or Treat

   Let me just say right up front- I am not a big fan of Halloween. Now I know many of you are - and that is ok - I get that. I am just saying I am not a big fan. But that didn't stop me from making some fun stuff for the occasion!

   I made these to send to my daughters (along with other goodies you will see over the next few days). Actually I made 3 for my daughters and 2 extra. One extra bucket went to Linnea's housemate who loves and appreciates all of things I make for Linnea. The other extra bucket went to Alathea and Bethany's housemate. I don't know if she likes handmade stuff but I wanted her to know I was thinking of her.

   I found these cute little buckets at Target. They were only 2/$1.00!! First I covered them with designer paper. Can I just say that I really love the black and white Night and Day designer paper found in the Holiday Mini? I can say that? Ok then. I really love that paper! lol.

   The black bucket has Pumpkin Pie designer paper around it. I don't know why, now looking at the picture above, I didn't make the mat around the stamped image black. I think that would have looked better. Speaking of the mats - they were made with the Big Shot and the Lots Of Tags sizzlet die.

   After I adhered the paper I wrapped ribbon around the middle and added the stamped image. This stamp is from the Hostess set Holiday Best. I used markers to get the 3 different colors. I will show you in another post a really cool trick I learned from Stampin' Up!. Ribbon tied around the handle and the cellophane bag complete the project. Just FYI, I filled the bags with candy corn! Side note: I do not like candy corn - never have - but my kids like it. They take after their dad. lol.

   In addition to these buckets, I gave them each one of these.

   Our family's favorite holiday candy (any holiday) is the Reese's Peanut Butter eggs, pumpkins, hearts, whatever! For this project I just wrapped designer paper around 2 of the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins and added ribbon and a tag. The tag was stamped with the Little Boo stamp found on the last page of the catalog in the individual stamp category. I stamped it with black ink on Pumpkin Pie cardstock and then punched it and the mat with circle punches.

   Tune in tomorrow for another seasonal project!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! except the buckets. Click here to order from ME!

• Stamps: Holiday Best, Little Boo
• Cardstock and Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and White cardstock
• Pumpkin Pie and Night and Day designer paper
• Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black ink
• Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Old Olive markers
• Accessories: 5/8" black grosgrain, 1/4" pumpkin pie and black grosgrain ribbon
• 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punch, wide oval punch
• small cellophane bags
• Big Shot, Lots of Tags sizzlet die

Enjoy your day in spite of the rain. Rain is a good excuse for me to stay inside and.....stamp! But I have to go to work. Oh well.

A Sunset

   When I think of sunsets I think of my youngest daughter Linnea. She loves to photograph sunsets and since she lives in Ohio right now, she gets to see alot of beautiful sunsets. We don't know why but the sunsets out there are gorgeous.
   What does that have to do with this card? Nothing, that's what. Well almost nothing. This card is, after all, a sunset!

   I did not come up with this idea on my own. Variations of this card have been floating around out there on the 'net for a while now - ever since Stampin' Up! came out with the silhouette stamps last year. This card uses the Inspired by Nature stamp set. See - just put the word nature in the title and I will buy it! lol.

   To make this card you must have glossy white cardstock.

• First I dug out my brayer, blew the dust off, inked it up with Summer Sun and rolled it over and over the glossy white cardstock until the cardstock was sufficiently covered with ink. 
• I punched a 1 3/4" circle out of a piece of sticky note and placed it on my cardstock where I wanted the sun to be. This was my mask.
• I sponged Melon Mambo beginning at the top, right over the sticky note mask and gradually sponged less as I moved toward the center of the cardstock. 
• I repeated the aforementioned step only started at the bottom. This is because I wanted it to look like the water was reflecting the sky. 
• I sponged Dusty Durango in the middle beginning where the Melon Mambo began to fade. Again I did this to top and bottom. 
• When it looked enough like a sunset to satisfy me I let it dry (a few minutes) and removed the mask. Voila, a sun.

Now for the stamped image.

• I inked up the stamp with Versamark and stamped the weeds/grasses. Note that I stamped right over the sun. 
• Sprinkled with Black Embossing Powder, poured off excess and heated till done.
• Used the Word Window punch and punched 3 catty-nine-tails out of black cardstock. These I attached to pieces of the embossed weed/grass. Note: I copied that idea from other demonstrators. Very clever idea I might add.

Ribbon

• Adhered some 5/8" Black grosgrain ribbon across the bottom and added a Basic Jumbo black grommet. These, by the way, were this past week's Deal of the Week. For this weeks Deal, wait till 12:00 noon and then click on my Deal of the Week box on the left side of my blog. 

This is a close up.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

• Stamps: Inspired by Nature
• Cardstock and Ink: Summer Sun, Basic Black and Glossy White cardstock
• Melon Mambo, Dusty Durango, Summer Sun and Versamark ink
• Accessories: Black Embossing Powder and Heat Gun
• 5/8" Black Grosgrain Ribbon
• Black Basic Jumbo Grommet

  I know this card sounds complicated, but it really isn't. And people love to receive this kind of card cause they can't figure out how it was done! lol! This particular card went to my mother-in-law.

 Have a great week - hope you make time to stamp! And don't forget to check back for the Deal of the Week.

Lisa

Sympathy card for a friend

   We needed a sympathy card this week for a mom and dad who used to attend our church. I used to see the mom quite a bit because: 1. We had a mutual friend  2. She and my friend led a "girl's group" in our church. Two of my 3 daughters were in this group and LOVED this mom. Linnea, my youngest daughter would take care of the son (then 3-4 years old) while the group met. Anyway their son, now 14, was tragically killed this past week in a car accident. Our entire family was rocked by this.

  I made this simple card for them. I can't even imagine the pain they are feeling so I was really at a loss for what to make. I just went with simple and we wrote a heartfelt message inside since that is what I hope will touch them the most. The card is just a vessel to carry the message.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Stamps: Friends 24/7 and Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Cardstock and Ink: Bordering Blue, and Vanilla cardstock
• Retired designer paper called Bella Birds?
• Bordering Blue ink
• Accessories: Silver Brads, White Satin Ribbon, Word Window punch and Modern Label punch

The card is pretty self explanatory.

On a lighter note - I am so proud of myself cause I figured out how to add a signature to my posts. And notice how it matches my banner/header! All done with My Digital Studio. Now if I can just figure out how to remove the border around it.

Edited to Add: I figured out the border thing. yea!

Springtime in the Fall

This is another card that I have had hanging around. I made it a while ago - um probably around springtime! Lol! When I first saw this stamp set it was all about this little bird. I think he is so adorable and I have a thing for sparrows (not House Sparrows tho). Someday I will share my story about sparrows.

I stamped the little sparrow on white cardstock and watercolored it with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. This was layered on designer paper which was layered on textured Apricot Appeal cardstock. All edges were sponged with Chocolate Chip.

The ribbon is 1/4" Chocolate Chip twill that was sold in one of the Mini catalogs. I added 2 Flowers that are from Flower Fusion set. The white design on them are rub ons and the centers are brads. No dimensionals were harmed used during the making of this card.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Spring Song pg. 102
• Apricot Appeal textured cardstock, white cardstock
• Chocolate Chip and Basic Brown ink
• Watercolor pencils and Blender pen
• designer paper (retired)
• 1/4" chocolate chip twill ribbon (retired)
• Flower Fusion I,  rub ons and Soft Subtle brads

Thanks for stopping by and have a Great Weekend!

Lisa

Real or Fake

  Buttons that is. I saw this really cool technique on Splitcoast Stampers and just had to try it. It was so much fun! First I made this card with my 2 favorite In Colors: Soft Suede and Bermuda Bay.  Now there are a few things happening with this card.

First: this is a smaller than usual card. I wanted to use the Big Shot Top Note die and I wanted it to take up alot of the card front. After I cut the Bermuda Bay card stock I ran it through the Big Shot with the Perfect Details Texture Plate. You can see the raised texture if you look closely. Very cool. I then ran the Top Note die through my Big Shot and cut it in half lengthwise. This was mounted on the card front.

Second: I colored my Thank You stamp with markers to get the 2 tones. I punched it out and mounted it with dimensionals.

Third: I made the buttons. Yes, that's right, I made the buttons! Stampin' Up! doesn't sell Bermuda Bay or Soft Suede buttons so I made some. To do this I used my 1/2" and 3/4" circle punch and punched out 5 circles for each button. I then adhered them together with Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive and let it dry thoroughly. After they dried I coated the tops liberally with Crystal Effects and let that dry thoroughly. Then I poked the button holes through all the layers with my paper piercer, sanded the edges and the top to give it a more authentic look. That's it! This can be done with designer paper or punched in any shape that you have a punch for.

Here is a closer look of the buttons and the texturized cardstock.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Elegant Thank You pg. 144
• Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede and White cardstock
• Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede marker
• Big Shot, Top Note die, Perfect Details Texturz Plate
• 1/2" and 3/4" circle punches
• Paper piercer, Crystal Effects and Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive
• Hemp Twine

This is a fun technique that I hope you will try.

Lisa

Boo

   This was a card I made last year for each of my daughters. I had the picture on my computer but since I sent it last year I am not sure I can remember how I made it but I will try.

   I watercolored the image and it looks like I cut it out and popped it up with dimensionals. The background paper is a retired designer paper. I always loved this paper. I punched the photo corner and added 3 brads for detail. Jumbo brass eyelets and contraband ribbon complete the card. Oh and a little tag stamped "Boo" and tied on with natural hemp was tied to the ribbon.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! except the contraband ribbon. Click here to order from me (except the contraband ribbon - you're on your own for that)

• Autumn Harvest stamp set
• Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip cardstock and ink
• watercolor paper
• retired designer paper
• Photo corner punch
• Brass Jumbo eyelets and crop-a-dile 
• Brads

And there you have it. Enjoy!

Lisa

New Deal of the Week #3

1/2 INCH LIBRARY CLIPS Regular Price: $4.43 Preferred Price: $3.99 CIRCLE DESIGNER BRADS Regular Price: $4.43 Preferred Price: $3.99

BASIC JUMBO GROMMETS Regular Price: $4.99 Preferred Price: $4.49  MINI LIBRARY CLIPS        Regular Price: $9.99        Preferred Price: $8.99

These embellishments are on sale now through Sunday, October 25th. If you haven't tried them now is a great time to do so! I especially love the Circle Designer Brads!

Added: I have  no idea why the pictures in this post are all whacky.

October

   I needed to send a newspaper clipping to my mom and I just can't send something in the mail without a card to send it in! Right? I mean that would just not be right. Lol! I didn't have a plain, non thank you card so I made this one using this sketch from Stampin' Addicts. Side note: Stampin' Addicts is a totally Stampin' Up! website for ALL Stampin' Up! fans, not just demonstrators. Check it out!

   I wanted to make it fit a letter size envelope so  I cut my cardstock to fit that size which is why it looks longer than a regular note card. To make the focal point I stamped the bowl of apples on watercolor paper using Stazon ink. This is an image from the stamp set, Gifts of the Earth, found in the Holiday Mini catalog. I wanted bold colors so I used markers and a blender pen. As I have said before - this technique must be done on smooth watercolor paper to work.

   If you look closely what looks like Really Rust cardstock is really designer paper from the retired Autumn Vine collection. I have so many little scraps that I am trying to use them up. This is a perfect sketch for that!

   Ok it is confession time. I really wanted to stamp the word "October" directly onto the watercolor paper so I did. Yeah but I stamped it crooked. Arrrrg. Not to worry though. I used my new Big Shot die called Leaves #2 and some scraps of Pumpkin Pie designer paper to make the leaf. After I sponged it with Ruby Red I decided I better use my Stamp-a-ma-jig for perfect alignment. Lol. No more crooked Octobers for me! And I like the leaf, I really do. I like it so much I added one to the inside of the card.

   I didn't want to add any embellishments on the outside of the card because I didn't feel like using extra postage to send it. But I did use dimensionals (2 on top of each other for extra height) in each corner of the watercolor paper.

  Remember I mentioned the letter size envelope. They look like this.

   The blue lining definitely had to go so I found a larger scrap of designer paper, traced the envelope flap, cut it out and taped it to the inside. Simple as that - I had a matching envelope. Gotta love designer paper!

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

• Gifts of the Earth and Full Calendar (for the word October)
• Ruby Red and Very Vanilla (for the inside) cardstock
• Autumn Vine and Pumpkin Pie designer paper
• Stampin' Up! watercolor paper
• Real Red, Ruby Red, Really Rust and More Mustard markers
• Black Stazon Ink
• Big Shot and Leaves #2 die
• Sponge and dimensionals

I hope you are having a good week,

Lisa

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New Banner

I am having a blast with "MY Digital Studio", the software program from Stampin' Up! I made my blog's banner/header  with it and it was so easy! I am working on other projects too - just trying to learn my way around all of its options. Too fun!

Just a box

   I saw, somewhere last year over at Splitcoast Stampers, the idea to use the Big Shot Scalloped Envelope Die to make a basket. I decided to try to make a box instead. Now this has probably been done before - but I haven't seen it.

   To make the box I die cut 4 scalloped envelopes using my Big Shot and retired designer paper from the Spring Occasions mini catalog. Instead of making them into envelopes I adhered one side of one envelope to the side of the second envelope and a side of the second envelope to a side of a third envelope etc until it formed a box. The base of it wasn't very sturdy so I cut a 3" square piece of cardstock and adhered that inside. This also kept it square.

 You can see the inside of the box which is gray cause that is the opposite side of the So Saffron designer paper. To get the scalloped edge on the outside I just folded down part of the envelope which made the gray side show. I then cut 4 more pieces of just the scalloped part of the envelope and taped those over the gray with the So Saffron side showing. You can see where I allowed just a little of the gray show along the scalloped edge.

   To make the lid I cut a piece of designer paper 4 1/16" x 4 1/16". I measured in 1/2" on each side and scored. I then cut in 1/2 " so I could fold down the sides and taped them together. By adding that extra 1/16" to the overall dimensions, the box lid was ever so slightly larger and fit perfectly on the box.

                                     

   I made a tag with the little filigree stamp (love that thing) from the stamp set Framed with Love. I used the thank you stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes (seriously I use this set ALOT) right over the filigree image. I punched it out and mounted to a slightly larger punched circle. An eyelet and silver cord completed it. Black grosgrain ribbon (new this year) gives it a contrasting elegant look. All in all a very easy project.

   What will I do with it you ask?? Fill it with candy and give it away most likely. It only measures 3 x 3 so it would make a cute little gift box.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me!

• Teeny Tiny Wishes and Framed with Love stamps
• White and Basic Gray cardstock
• designer paper (retired)
• So Saffron and Basic Gray ink
• Big Shot, Scalloped Envelope die
• 5/8" Black grosgrain ribbon, silver cord
• 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches
• silver eyelet

If you don't have the Big Shot you are missing out on alot of fun. It just adds a whole 'nother dimension to stamping!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,

Lisa

I have a new grand-kitty

   Okay some people get grand children. I get grand kitties! lol! I love animals and as you can tell from previous posts, I am fond of cats. My oldest daughter has a sweet cat that she adopted from a rescue shelter over a year ago. Now my middle daughter has a new cat and here is the card I made for her (my daughter, not the cat). lol.

  But first here is the story of my new grand kitty as I like to refer to him. Skip the next 2 paragraphs if you don't like animals or just want the card details.

  My eldest daughter, Alathea lives in Ohio with her sister Bethany (and a mutual friend Sarah). Alathea rides horses at a stable in the country. Two weeks ago 2 kittens were left, in the rain, in the road, in front of the stable where they were found and brought into the barn by the stable owner. Alathea meets them and proceeds to fall in love with them. But she didn't want/need another cat so she "convinced" her sister Bethany that she should adopt one - specifically the orange and white male. Bethany drove over, met the kitten, loved him and brought him home. Ahhh.

  Well, I was happy for her cause I knew she had been contemplating adopting a cat but all I could think of was the other kitten left behind at the barn - all alone (well not really cause there are other cats at the stable) without her brother, sad and scared. I drove my husband crazy all night with my worrying about this kitten. So the next day when I talked to Bethany about her new kitten she said, " Well mom it isn't kitten. It's kittens!" "What???" I asked, not sure what she meant. And she proceeded to tell me how Sarah, their friend/housemate went with Bethany to get the orange and white male kitten and fell in love with the gray tabby sister kitten so she adopted her! Yeah Sarah! And, I was soooooo relieved! Sorry I just can't help it. Animals and children melt my heart.

  Now for the card. The new kitten is orange and white so I colored the cat stamp from, "C is for Cat", with the Pumpkin Pie marker. I added the collar and tag with the Chocolate Chip marker. The same markers were used on the saying. I then cut out the cat and popped it up with dimensionals. The rest of the card is pretty straightforward.

All supplies are  Stampin' Up! Click here to order from me.

Stamps: C is for Cat, All Year Cheer I (retired)

Cardstock and Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip and White cardstock

                               Autumn Vine designer paper (retired)

                               Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip markers

Accessories: Curly Label punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch

                    1" double stitched Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon

                     Flower designer brads (pumpkin pie)

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

Farewell

  to one of my coworkers.

   One of the women I worked with has moved on to another job at another library. She is really having a hard time with it cause she worked at our library for 12 years and was a patron for 41 years prior to that! Seriously! Needless to say it is a huge adjustment for her. This week was her last so I made this card to encourage her and let her know I care.

   I chose the stamp set "Bloomin' Beautiful" because I liked the symbolism of the word "bloom" and I thought the definition of "blossom" was very appropriate for her situation. If I can, I like to personalize my cards for the person they are going to, and in this case I think it worked out really well. Purple was an obvious choice for my color scheme because my coworkers FAVORITE color is purple.

   And I wanted this card to be unique so I went with this creative way of cutting and scoring. I did not come up with this type of card on my own. I saw it over at Splitcoast Stampers. But the way I stamped and embellished is my own though. When folded up the card measures 5 1/2" x about 4" so it fits in a note card envelope.

   Once I cut and scored my Orchid Opulence cardstock I added Cottage Wall designer paper that was mounted on Rich Razzleberry.  My images were stamped with Black Stazon on Shimmery White cardstock and then watercolored. I felt like it needed some embellishments and since it wasn't going through the mail I could add as much and as many as I wanted. lol! So I punched so flowers with the Boho Blossom Punch and added clear rhinestone brads to their centers. White taffeta ribbon balanced the front.

   The bad part about this type of card is there really is no place to write so I solved that problem by making the a little notecard out of the saying on the right side of the card. It was just enough space to write a personal note and sign my name. I hope my friend/coworker will put this where she can look at it and see it as a reminder to bloom and blossom and think of me.

All supplies are Stampin' UP! Click here to order.

Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful

Cardstock and Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence and Shimmery White cardstock

            Cottage Wall designer paper

            Black Stazon ink

            Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry and Orchid Opulence ink

Accessories: Boho Blossom Punch

                     Clear Rhinestone brads, White Taffeta Ribbon

Have a great weekend and if you get the chance - stamp!

Lisa

A Special Birthday Card

...for a special lady who just turned 90 years old! That's right, you read correctly. 90 years old. And, she is one of my favorite stamping customers - yep she stamps - and she stamps pretty darn good! I love to use her as an example of how stamping is an art that can enrich the lives of all people of all ages. Now granted you would never know she is that old but still!!

   I made this card especially for her. I wanted something, pastel and feminine so I came up with this. Some of you may recognize the hydrangea stamp from many years back. I have always loved it because hydrangeas remind me of Cape Cod (I love Cape Cod) and I know my 90 year old stamping friend enjoys Cape Cod too.

   So.    I stamped my hydrangea on white with white craft ink and embossed it with white embossing powder. Then I "painted" it with ink and water and an aquapainter. Now I knew I would be cutting it out so I just slopped the ink around, not caring if I went out of the embossed lines. Then once it dried I cut it out and added dots of glitter here and there.

   Another cool trick I did was this. I wanted Almost Amethyst satin ribbon but we don't sell that color so I put a small amount of water in a dish, added some Almost Amethyst reinker and mixed it up. Then I added a length of ribbon and dyed it! After it dried I was a little disappointed to see that it looked more like the color of Lavender Lace but it still blended really well with the colors of the hydrangea! Can't wait to try other colors!

   Other details include paper piercing around the sides of the Almost Amethyst cardstock, dimensionals to pop up the cardstock and the flower, and small half pearls from the Pretties set. The saying is also embossed with white. Oh and you can see a lace border peeking out from under the dyed ribbon- this was done with the lace border punch.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: Stipple Hydrangea (retired)
Cardstock and Ink: White, Almost Amethyst cardstock
   Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow ink; White Craft ink
   Specialty designer paper (retired)
Accessories: Paper piercing tool, mat and template
    Lace Border punch, White Organza Satin Ribbon (dyed Amethyst), half pearls, dimensionals, White embossing powder, Aquapainter, Heat gun and glitter

Thanks for stopping by,
Lisa

What I did on Columbus Day

    Actually it all began Sunday after church when my husband and I drove down to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I am absolutely in love with that area. It is not where I grew up and is actually about 3 hours south east of my home area. But I did live, and work there, for the 2 years between college graduation and getting married. I haven't been back in over 7 years so it was alot of fun seeing how things changed - and boy have they!

   So what does this have to do with this picture?

  This is a statue outside the entrance of Sights and Sounds in Strasburg, Pa (in the Lancaster area). Check out their website for more information. But in a nutshell it is a huge theatre where "shows", complete with music, acting and live animals, bring Bible stories to life. If you have the interest and are ever able to go, it is well worth it!! Right now the "Miracle of Christmas" is being performed.
  We saw "In the Beginning" - the story of creation and Adam and Eve. All I can say is WOW.

   Of course while in Lancaster, Pa you will see lots of this.

  Amish buggies are everywhere - one of the reasons I love this area.

    After the show at Sights and Sounds Theatre we had an Amish/Mennonite style dinner and then drove back to Westfield. We didn't get home till midnight and I had to get up early to go to work.

   But... when we got home I had a big Stampin' UP! box in my garage. Woo Hoo! I can't wait to use my new stuff! I will post pictures eventually.

I will have a project to show you tomorrow. Until then...
Lisa

It's Pumpkin season!

   I really like pumpkins - I don't know why - maybe I associate them with childhood and good times. In light of that I decided to make a pumpkin out of paper and cardstock. Now this idea is probably not a new one but it is new to me. I used my Big Shot and the Clear Circle die to make my pumpkin.

•    First I cut 6 circles from Pumpkin Pie designer paper using my Big Shot. I then layered them (without adhesive) evenly so I could cut a small portion of the bottom off. This would give my pumpkin a flat base to stand up on.
  
•   I then sponged all of the edges on each circle with Chocolate Chip ink.
  
•   I folded each circle in half and added adhesive to one half of each circle. Next I adhered the circles together, lining up the edges very carefully.
  
•   Once they were all adhered together I fanned them out in the shape of a pumpkin!
  
•   To make the stem I punched an oval with the Large Oval punch and cut a piece from the top at an angle and tucked this in between the layers.
  
•   Finally I cut 2 thin strips of Close to Cocoa cardstock and wound them tightly around a Bic Pen to make them curl. These were also tucked in between the layers of paper on my pumpkin.
  

Next time I make one, I would attach the stem and tendrils to the paper before I put it all together.

This is such an easy paper craft and it really could be done with any size circle.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: none

Cardstock and Ink: Close to Cocoa cardstock

                               Chocolate Chip Ink

                               Pumpkin Pie designer paper

Accessories: Big Shot, Clear Circle Die, Large Oval punch, Sponge

I hope you have a wonderful Monday. Keep on stamping!

Lisa

Deal

  I was away yesterday - More on that another day - so I didn't get to post anything about the DEAL OF THE WEEK! Just click on the icon in my left hand column here on my blog and then at my website click on the Promotions box at the bottom of the page! What a great deal!

  And don't forget to check out my clearance rack!

Have a great day,
Lisa

Happy Everything

Another workshop card from August. It is such a "refreshing" card I think cause it uses colors that remind me of sherbet. The base is Melon Mambo layered with Crushed Curry and Razzleberry Lemonade paper on top of that.

   I used markers to make the cupcake two-toned as well as the two-tones in the saying. One of the things I  really like about this card is the use of the Top Note die and the layout. It is just one of those layouts that can be used with so many different stamps.

  One little detail I added was Crystal Effects on the cherry. It makes it look more like a real cherry. And the rick rack is Elegant Eggplant from the Ribbon Originals on page 182 of the catalog.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: On a Pedestal pg. 71
Cardstock and Ink: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, White cardstock
                                   Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Real Red and Rich Razzleberry markers
                                  Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper
Accessories: 1 3/8" square punch
                      Big Shot and Top Note die
                      Ribbon Originals - Elegant Eggplant rickrack
                      Crystal Effects

Thanks for looking,
Lisa

Peace on an Adirondack Chair

Yep that is what I see when I look at this stamp image. When I made my initial wishlist from the new catalog this was at the top of the list. Why? Glad you asked. Cause it has a cat in it and because it is a line image stamp! I really enjoy watercoloring so this was the perfect stamp for me.

  I stamped the image with Stazon ink on Watercolor paper. I then used markers and blender pens to color it in. That is what gives it the vibrant color. This really works best on watercolor paper cause it allows the ink to move easily. And I have used a variety of watercolor paper - Stampin' Up!'s is by far superior mainly cause it is a smooth texture. But if you just want to try our the technique you may want to use a cheaper brand.

  After I stamped and layered the image on Soft Suede cardstock, I roughed up the edges with my bone folder. To do this just scrape the bone folder's edge along the edges of the cardstock. For more distressing I literally pulled the cardstock corners apart with  my finger tips.

  The rest of the steps are pretty basic. It came out beautiful to me - it was hard to part with- but I know it went to a good home (smile).

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!


Stamps: Peace Within
Cardstock and Ink: Kraft and Soft Suede cardstock and Watercolor paper
                                  Black Stazon ink
                                  Thoroughly Modern designer paper
                                  Markers - too many to name
Accessories : Bone folder for distressing
                       Blender pens, Kraft taffeta ribbon, Kraft corduroy buttons and Flower Fusions

Enjoy your day and keep on stamping,
Lisa

NOT a simple card!

Yesterday I told you I am not naturally a simple stamper. This card is living proof! Seriously!

  I made, and gave this to my daughter, to give to her roommate/best friend. I don't remember the occasion - my kids are always asking me for a card for this or that. I used retired designer paper for my color choice and the stamp set Simple Friendship for the stamped images. And may I add that the stamp set is the only simple thing about this card. Good grief.

   I layered Taken with Teal cardstock on Rose Red cardstock plus designer paper for the base. I then stamped my butterfly image with Pumpkin Pie ink and cut it out. I stamped the Friend image with Taken With Teal and punched it out using the 1 3/4" circle punch. This circle was layered onto Rose Red which I cut out using the Circle Scissors Plus.

   The entire card is basically layer upon layer and popped up with dimensionals! Adding white taffeta ribbon across the bottom visually attached the circle to the rest of the card. And of course I needed to add brads! You can see them 4 across the top and 1 at the bottom.

   Here is the card from a side view. You can see how I bent the butterfly's wings a little so it wasn't so 1 dimensional. My daughter literally gave this card to her friend so it didn't go through the mail. If it had the butterfly wouldn't be quite so cute if you get what I mean.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: Simple Friendship pg. 105
Cardstock and Ink: White, Rose Red, Taken with Teal cardstock
                                     Pumpkin Pie and Taken with Teal ink
                                     Bali Breeze designer paper (retired)
Accessories: 1 3/4' circle punch
                        Circle Scissors plus
                        white taffeta ribbon
                        Brads - Not Quite Navy and dimensionals - never stamp without them. lol!

So that's it for today. Have wonderful weekend!
Lisa

Out of my comfort zone

  Pretty much everything about the card for today's post is out of my comfort zone. Let me explain.

  I have decided I am not a simple stamper. By that I mean I like to make cards that eventually weigh about 5 pounds and are an inch thick due to layers and embellishments. LOL! Not really of course but you get the picture. I don't usually make simple cards.

  I have been challenging myself though to stamp simple which, by the way, seems to be a trend these days.

  I also gravitate to certain colors - purple and yellow hues not being ones I normally go for. And to put the 2 together?? Never!  I do love black tho! lol. The colors I chose are from a color challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. Another thing you need to  probably should know -  I never rarely get to a challenge on the same day it is posted. Just not going to happen.

  So I accepted the color challenge and my own challenge to stamp simple and this is what I came up with.

    I know I can hear some of you saying, "That's not simple" but for me it is. Notice there are no bows, buttons, brads, bling. No punches involved and minimal layering and no (gasp) designer paper. But yes, okay, I did cut out 3 leaves and adhered them to the front of the card (with Tombow Multi purpose Adhesive) and I did cut out the wheat - but only a little!
   And you know what? I really like this card! And it is not hard to make.

   I stamped the wheat with Crushed Curry ink on white cardstock and then trimmed with my paper cutter, very carefully, up the side almost to the shaft of wheat. The rest I trimmed out and around with my Stampin' Up! paper snips. I stamped 3 leaves on a separate piece of cardstock and cut them out. I wanted images hanging off the edge. The leaf directly below the Thanks is stamped directly to the cardstock. And that is basically it. The ribbon goes all around the card front which I don't like to do cause it uses more ribbon but it needed something! I'm sorry I just couldn't resist ribbon!
  And I did use dimensionals to make the card front pop up.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: Autumn Days-pg. 92
             Thank You Kindly - pg. 145
Cardstock and Ink: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Rich Razzleberry and Basic Black cardstock
                               Crushed Curry and Rich Razzleberry ink
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry ribbon and dimensionals
                    Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive for the adhering the leaves

Do you find yourself in a stamping rut? Why not challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone.

Have a super stamping day,
Lisa

Here for You

   Another card with one of my favorite stamp sets, Friends 24/7. I made this before Baja Breeze retired but I never sent it until yesterday. I needed an "encouragement" card for someone going through a tough time. I needed to let them know I am here for them, praying for them and quite simply, to let them know they are on my mind. So this card was very appropriate.

  I used specialty designer paper called Parisian Breeze. It is retired unfortunately. The specialty part of this paper is the weight of the paper - heavier than usual - and the texture. Well worth the extra $2.00 that it costs. To make the card I stamped the bird with Basic Brown ink. I then used Baja Breeze and watercolored the image.

   Sometimes I get tired of square corners so I bring out my corner rounder and just round off all corners including the base  card itself. Just one little punch can make a card "different". I added 1" Chocolate Chip ribbon and some Chocolate Chip corduroy brads along with a Baja Breeze Flower Fusion II flower (retired) for extra detail. Lesson learned: If you can hand a card to someone vs. send it, especially when it contains embellishments thicker that 1/4", do so. This card cost alot more than 44 cents to send! Yikes!

  All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: Friends 24/7

Cardstock and Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and Shimmery White cardstock

          Parisian Breeze specialty designer paper (retired)

          Basic Brown ink

Accessories: Baja Breeze Flower Fusion II (retired)

           Corner rounder punch, Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons, 1" Chocolate Chip ribbon

From me to you - hope you enjoy it.

Lisa

Happy Birthday to my Kitty

   I have a cat - a cat who just turned 15! Now this may not seem old to some of you but it is to me. She came to us as a kitten when my daughters were 9 1/2, 7, and 5 1/2 years old. They had never experienced a cat before - just a dog and hamsters. So this was a new experience for them. They were used to a very obedient dog who was totally devoted to her family - as a matter of fact we joke she was the perfect dog. But this isn't about our dog. Oh no. This is about our cat.

   You see we love our cat, but obedient? Not really. Devoted to her family? We'd like to think so anyway. Perfect? Hardly! But we love her and she has brought more entertainment than we thought possible! Any cat owner knows how silly a cat can be and ours is no exception. Of course she is not as crazy as a kitten anymore but still, she can't resist boxes, bags, drawers, ribbon and her catnip mice.

   So in honor of our cat I made this.

   I used the stamp set C is for Cat - a new stamp set this year. And because our cat is a gray tabby I chose the base card to be Basic Gray. For the contrasting color I went with Melon Mambo - pink but a "stronger" pink than say Pretty in Pink.
   Detail: I made the stripes by drawing them with the brush tip of my Basic Black marker directly onto the stamp. I then inked the stamp with Basic Gray ink and stamped off onto a scrap paper. Then I stamped directly to my white cardstock and voila - it looks like a gray tabby!

Close up picture of the cat.

   Here is a view from the top to show how I popped up the circle and how I did the banner across the top. Specifically, I punched the saying with the 1" circle punch and then layered it onto a 1 1/4" circle and a 1 3/8" circle. The banner was stamped and then trimmed. I just bent it in 2 places and adhered with Mini Glue dots. The final touch was a 3/4" circle punched out of Melon Mambo and a Gray corduroy brad attached. Notice how I trimmed part of the circle to make it straight on one side.

  I really like how this card came out. Did you also notice that I didn't use designer paper?

  Oh and this card is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" square.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! Click here to order from ME!

Stamps: C is for Cat

Cardstock and Ink: Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, White cardstock

                               Basic Gray ink and Basic Black Marker

Accessories: 3/4" Circle punch, 1" Circle punch, 1 1/4" Circle punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch

                     Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Gray Corduroy brad

Thanks for looking,

Lisa

Whooo loves punches?

I do! Love punches that is!

First - I apologize for another blurry picture.

Now on to the story. I found this idea somewhere on the web last year and made this card. It uses all Stampin' Up! punches including the 5 Petal punch on sale right now.  I thought it would be fun to make and send it to Bethany my middle daughter cause I knew she would like it. When it came time to send it, she was going through some soul searching and was really missing me. So I added (but didn't photograph it cause I forgot) a little white cardstock "balloon" coming out of the owl's mouth and hand wrote on it "whooo loves you?". Then open up the card and on the inside I wrote "I do!". It was just what she needed. I really wish I had a picture but you can probably see it in your mind. Right?

To make the owl

• I punched a Chocolate Chip circle with the 1 3/4" punch. 
• I punched 2 Close to Cocoa scallop circles for the wings. These I trimmed by hand on one side and sponged with Chocolate Chip ink.
  
• I used the Round Tab punch and punched the owl's face from Close to Cocoa cardstock and sponged.
• The eyes are So Saffron punched with the 1" circle punch with White punched with the 3/4" circle punch and 2 black circles using the 1/4" punch.
• Beak is Pumpkin Pie cardstock punched with the 5 PETAL punch and one petal is cut off .
• Feet are Pumpkin Pie cardstock punched with the Boho Blossom punch. They are one of the flowers.

A border is added at the bottom with the Scallop Border punch and Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon. And for an added "punch" - pun intended - I made a flower with our Flower Fusions and a button. There is a Chocolate Chip flower fusion layered in there too and that is from a retired Flower Fusions II.

It was a fun card. I enjoy finding new ways to use our punches and there are some VERY talented punch art stampers out there.

Have a great week.

Lisa