Antiqued Eiffel Tower

This was the last card I made in my current stampin' studio. Then I packed up all my stamps and accessories, getting ready for the move on Saturday. Today I packed up the rest of my things and my hubby took down all my wall-mounted cabinets and Bygel rods. It looks so empty now! I was a little sad but I have to keep reminding myself that bigger and better things are coming. TOMORROW! I can't believe we get the keys to the new house tomorrow. Feels like I've been waiting for this day for 9 months. Oh wait, I have ;)

For this card, I used the color challenge provided by The Paper Players Challenge. We were challenged to use Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy and Cherry Cobbler on our card. And I happily obliged because that is just a most fantastic color combination. This color combination screamed vintage to me, so I decided to go in that direction with my card.

Tips & Tricks:

*Scared of vintage? Don't be! I've used the Artistic Etchings stamp set for both modern AND vintage cards. It's all in the accessories and techniques you use. Paper tearing and sponging with Crumb Cake or Soft Suede is a good start.
*I love using the little medallion stamp as a lighter background for the Eiffel Tower. It's as though the sun is setting behind it.
*Even though I used Not Quite Navy on this card, the Island Indigo Baker's Twine coordinates perfectly, too. Sometimes we 'cheat' a bit with the accessories ;)
*As you can imagine, the Antique Brads were the obvious choice for a little something extra on my card ;)
*Although this card would be a perfect masculine card, I think a woman would enjoy it, too :)

I hope you've enjoyed this card! Next time I'll be back with a little project I made using the NEW version of My Digital Studio ~ MDS2. It's awesome! And then, the project after that will be made in my new studio :)

Wish me luck for the move for Saturday! I think we'll need it. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede (for sponging)
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Antique Brads, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Big Shot, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder

Water Stamping 'En Francais'

This week on Splitcoast Stampers, the featured technique was Water Stamping. What a fantastic technique. So simple and makes a fantastic background. I'll be demonstrating this technique at my next Stamping Technique Night on Friday August 24th at 7:30PM, along with tie-dye heat embossing. Water Stamping is pretty easy, although I made a few modifications to the technique to make it a smidge easier.

Isn't it awesome? And the En Francais background stamp is perfect for the slightly blurred lines this technique produces. The sketch for this card is from this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. Something was missing on my card so I added the three adhesive Pearls.

Tips & Tricks:

*Wondering why the new Heat Tool has a low and high heat setting? The high setting is great for heat embossing. But if you need to dry ink, or dry card stock from a technique like Water Stamping, the low setting is great. It won't burn your card stock.
*My card base is Cajun Craze. I wanted to sponge some of this color onto my background, but when I stamped it with water, a lot of pink in the Cajun Craze came out. So I sponged it in just Soft Suede and Summer Starfruit. Much better.
*I first sponged the Summer Starfruit in a few spots on the card stock. Then I sponged over and around it with Soft Suede. I love how the En Francais script comes out looking antiqued on those two colors.
*The Comfort Cafe DSP is really turning into one of my favorites. I love how running it through the Square Lattice Embossing Folder gives it a quilted look.
*I'm really loving Framelits. Especially these new Apothecary Accents Framelits. They make such a fantastic background for many different images, punches and greetings.
*I was going for vintage and I love how the Victoria Trim Ribbon gives everything such a great vintage look.

Hope you love this technique and you'll come and find out my little tricks to do it just right on August 24th. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: En Francais, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP
Accessories: Summer Starfruit Satin Stitched Ribbon, Victoria Trim Ribbon, Soft Suede 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals, Adhesive Jewels - Pearls, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Apothecary Accents Framelits

Vintage Postage

Before I start on today's card, I just wanted to let all my blog readers know that you may see a few less posts from me in the next two weeks or so. Next Friday, we take possession of our new home. This means a lot of packing, including all my stampin' stuff! EEEK! I'm doing it in phases. I've already packed all the things I know I won't use (retired DSP, extra ribbon, some stamps). But my inks, punches, accessories, card stock... they're all accessible. So I can stamp a bit longer. But I'm slowly running out of time and will have to pack soon. So I ask you to be patient with me, I'll be back to posting regularly soon. From my NEW STAMPIN' STUDIO :)

Now, onwards and upwards to today's card. This week, I was very excited to partake in the Friday Mashup Challenge. Their challenge for us this week was to
1) Make a project with a 'stick pin on it';
2) Make a 'vintage' project; or
3) Mash it up and make a 'vintage project with a stick pin on it'.

Vintage? FUN! I love vintage. With a pin? Even more FUN! Mainly because I've never done that before ;) And I do like to sew, so I have lots of pretty pins, perfect for a card.

My card base in this card is Pink Pirouette. But as usual, the color didn't photograph well. So frustrating, but I hope you get the idea. I've tried playing with all the functions in Photoshop and it clearly didn't work. :p

Tips & Tricks:

*Postage Due is such a fantastic vintage stamp set. I love the stamp images and the main image (even though I didn't use it here) as well. So many options with this set!
*The Fan Fair DSP is also great for any vintage project. Best of all it has some very feminine doily patterns, as well as more masculine patterns.

*Doesn't the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder look lovely with the Scallop Trim Punch and Fan Fair DSP? It's almost like they were made for each other!
*What do you think of my pin? It's not SU! because I pulled it out of my sewing kit ;) I just poked two holes in my card stock and threaded it through. It looked a bit plain though so I put a white Designer Button with Linen Thread on top of it.
*I contemplated tearing my card stock for a vintage feel, but I decided to tear it apart instead. I love how SU! card stock is solid right through and thick enough to do this.
*The Victoria Trim Crochet Ribbon is the perfect addition *any* vintage card :)

Hope you've enjoyed this card. I think I'll have to use the pin again! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Postage Due, Tea Shoppe
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Fan Fair DSP
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Postage Stamp Punch, Scallop Trim Punch, Big Shot, Fancy Fan Embossing Folder, Neutrals Designer Buttons, Victoria Trim Crochet Ribbon, Linen Thread, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots,

A Fun Sketch for Birthday and Christmas

This is going to be a double post. Try Stampin' on a Tuesday had a fantastic sketch for us this week and when I saw it, I saw two types of cards. A birthday card using Papaya Collage and a Christmas card using Christmas Lodge.

I also made sure to use some super fun DSP's: Fan Fair for the birthday card and Candlelight Christmas for the Christmas card. The Fan Fair DSP coordinates well with the Postage Due stamp set, but I love it with Papaya Collage, too. It has a nice, vintage feel to it and I love the colors.

I really love the rose in that stamp set. It's so pretty, classic and vintage-looking. I thought it looked fantastic in the frame and I especially love the layered roses. What do you think of the button? It's one of the new Natural Buttons. I threaded a bit of Hemp Twine through it to complete the look.

I was inspired to do another Christmas card by the Friday Mashup. The challenge this week was to create a Christmas card and/or decorate the inside of the card. I did both. I chose the Candlelight Christmas DSP (a sneak peek from the Holiday Mini) and I love how it has a sparkly feel to it. A shimmer, just like candlelight. I also finally used my favorite Christmas stamp set this year - Christmas Lodge.

I just love how classic this stamp set is. For this card, something was missing on the 'banner' pieces of DSP. So I added a few Adhesive Pearls at the bottom of them. I love how easy they are to use. This DSP works perfectly with the Christmas Lodge set, too. Classic Christmas. I used my Paper Snips to free-hand the notches in my DSP.

I decorated the inside of my card with the same DSP that I used on the inside of my card. Then I used some of the stamps I hadn't used on the front of the card to make sure the person who received the card knew I wanted them to have a Merry Christmas. :)

I hope you like my two-in one card. I think I'll have to use this sketch a few more times. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Sunday Stamps with Postage Due

Another Sunday means another Sunday Stamps Challenge, for which I'm fortunate enough to be a Designer. This week we had a color challenge: So Saffron, Ridinghood Red and Soft Suede. I have to admit, Ridinghood Red is not my favorite red. And since Daffodil Delight came to the Stampin' Up! family, that's really the only yellow I've used. But I absolutely LOVE this color combination and it's so perfect for a vintage-y card.

Even though I still have a few stamp sets I haven't played with, I just *knew* that the Postage Due stamps were perfect for this color combo. It's such a fantastic background stamp and it makes a good focal point, too. I had some 3/8" Ridinghood Red Taffeta Ribbon and it was perfect to add a little something to this card.

Tips & Tricks:

*To age my card a bit, I used my Craft and Rubber Scissors to distress the edges. I also used my Stampin' Sponges and Soft Suede Ink on all of the layers.
*I just love the Eiffel Tower postage stamp image. Even though the postmark on the large background stamp says Manila, I couldn't resist using the Eiffel Tower on my card. It just seems to work so well with the script as well as the bicycle.
 *Tearing the edges of your card stock is another simple way to add a vintage flair to your card. I tear randomly. Most times it works... sometimes I have to re-stamp my image ;)
*Even though this card appears to have a lot of 'elements' to it, because of the large stamp I used and the randomness of the sponging, tearing and distressing, it didn't take too long to put together. It's actually a pretty simple card :)

I hope you'll join us at Sunday Stamps for this wonderful color challenge. I can't wait to see what you come up with! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Postage Due
Paper: Ridinghood Red, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Ink: Ridinghood Red and Soft Suede
Accessories: Stampin' Sponges, Craft & Rubber Scissors, Postage Stamp Punch, Ridinghood Red 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

My Leadership Swaps

Eeeek - my first solo trip since becoming a mother almost 6 years ago! Well, I did go on a crafting week-end getaway last spring, but this is more real. I'm flying to San Antonio, Texas, for Stampin' Up!'s Leadership. I'm excited to learn how to run my business better, meet some absolutely awesome demonstrators and hopefully get a few more ideas for projects ;) I hear that SU! knows how to put on an event and can't wait to experience it!!!

A SU! event also means swaps. What is a swap? I made 50 cards and will swap them with other demonstrators. The idea is that I'll end up with 50 other gorgeous cards that will give me ideas, techniques to show my customers and hopefully samples with stamp sets/techniques I don't have displayed yet :) It is also a great way to break the ice and chat with some wonderful stampin' ladies!

I really wanted to do something special for my swaps and love playing around with vintage techniques. The Rue de Fleurs stamp set in the Occasions Mini is such an AWESOME vintage inspired stamp set. I just love love love the umbrella with watches... I didn't do it for this card, but wouldn't it make for a gorgeous retirement card image? I think that the next retirement card I'll make will use this set. This stamp set is one I really hope makes it into the 2012-2013 IB&C!

I am also loving the upcoming Sale-a-Bration DSP Everyday Enchantment. It is absolutely gorgeous and the catalogue doesn't do it justice. How do you 'buy' it do you ask? Well... you don't! During Sale-a-Bration, you get to choose ONE FREE item from the SAB Brochure for every $60 you order! How awesome is that? It starts on January 24th :)

This card was my original swap idea, but I soon realized that doing three colors on the umbrella, as well as distressing all the edges would take waaaaay too long! So I did the umbrella in Soft Suede only and sponged the edges of the Very Vanilla card stocks. I did tear the top of the DSP and sponged it to antique it and I did curl the edges of the Very Vanilla layer and its Soft Suede mat. So the swaps still took a really long time, but they could have taken longer ;)

Tips & Tricks:

*The umbrella image in this stamp set is so easy to color with markers. Even though it blends together it is well delineated and it's easy to see where to start each color. It does look gorgeous stamped in one solid color too ;)

*I love the play on words in this set. "Thanks" "For Watching Over Me" (see the watches and umbrella?) or "For the Support" (the bust :) ). So witty and fun!
*There is a gorgeous trumpet and pen image in this stamp set - works for women's AND men's cards - now how many stamp sets can do that?
*Like the curled edge on the card stock? So easy to do! Just use your bone folder to 'tease' the card stock. SU! card is nice and thick, so it'll separate into layers. It's also dyed all the way through! No white core... so you can do techniques like this with it.
*Did I mention I hope this set carries over into the next catty??? ;)

I'm off enjoying some more Leadership... 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A 'Tea-rrific' Birthday

Today marks the launch of the Occasions Mini! Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff in there and I have most of it :p One of the best yet, as you've seen from my large multitude of sneak peek samples :) Today's card used the beautiful, simple sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. I have a Birthday Card Class coming up next week (Friday January 13th at 7:30 for those in the Ottawa area) and this sketch is perfect for it. Not only that, but the minute I saw it, the Tea Shoppe stamp set and the 3 cute tea cups stamp immediately popped into my head!

With the stamp set's vintagey but cute feel, I added the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment from Curly Cute. I also couldn't resist using the Beau Chateau DSP to add to the vintage feel. Not sure yet who I'll be giving this card to, but whoever gets it will be very lucky, IMO ;) My class card will be a smidge simpler, to save on time, but gorgeous nonetheless.

Tips & Tricks:

*To add to the vintage feel, I sponged the edges of all the card stock, as well as the surface of the Very Vanilla piece, with Soft Suede ink. It's perfect for adding that vintage feel to any project.

*I embossed the Pink Pirouette card stock with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder because it's matches well with the Beau Chateau DSP.
*Since our Stampin' Write Markers contain the same ink as our ink pads, you can stamp with them. I do find, however, that Pink Pirouette is a bit on the light-colored side when stamping with markers, so I use the Pretty in Pink color in its place.
*I curled the edges of the card stock with a bone folder and separated the layers. I meant to do the same with the Pink Pirouette color but it tore - so I decided to go with it and keep it torn. I actually really like the way it looks!

Hope you've enjoyed this fresh, vintage card. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Sailing into the 40s...

A good friend of ours is turning 39 next week. I loved the sketch challenge at Pals Paper Arts this week and couldn't wait to make our friend's card with it. To symbolize how he's sailing into his 40th year, I used my favorite stamp set from the Summer Mini, The Open Sea. This set is only available until August 31st so be sure to get it before it's gone!

With The Open Sea, I often use the Nautical Expedition DSP (also retiring with the Summer Mini). I wanted to do something a little different and used the new Beau Château DSP. As I've mentioned before, this is a *great* DSP if you're looking for something that can be used on both feminine AND masculine cards. It coordinates with Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede and Pink Pirouette. Since this is a masculine card, I made sure to not use any of the papers with Pink Pirouette ;) As you can see, I also flipped the sketch - it worked better this way with my images.

Tips & Tricks:
*SU! makes coordination EASY! Although I used Chocolate Chip for my card base and mats, the Beau Château DSP has Soft Suede in it. So, I used some Soft Suede 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon to bring that color out.

*Don't you just love how the Postage Stamp Punch adds a bit of interest to the card rather than plain squares?
*Stamping the map of the world on the Very Vanilla card stock in Crumb Cake adds a bit of subtle detail to the card while accentuating the 'sailing into the world of the 40's' aspect of the card.
*I love how the DSP doesn't have Pink Pirouette on all of the pages - how versatile!

I hope our friend loves his card... keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Established Elegance

I got a box of SU! goodies today that had some brand new stamps and accessories! One of my favorite sets out of the new cattie is Established Elegance. I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it and start stamping. So, not surprisingly, I did two cards for this week's Mojo Monday Challenge with this stamp set ;) The stamp set has a vintage feel, so again not surprisingly, both my cards have a vintage feel, too. I showcased my favorite two images from the stamp set, the typewriter and the mannequin.

I also received my In Color Ribbons today - I'm doing a ribbon sampler for my customers which means I got ALL 5 GORGEOUS new In Colors!!!  I must say, the ribbon is pretty in the catalogue but it is much much prettier in real life.  I just love it and had to use it on the card below. I also used the new Houndstooth Embossing Folder.  Such a great pattern for men's cards and the vintage feel. And the key - I'm a sucker for keys, so any stamp sets that have a key are quite exciting to me :)

Little hints: 

*Love the vintage feel? Sponge Soft Suede ink over Crumb Cake or Very Vanilla card stock and instantly age it.
*Use SU!'s Linen Thread for a fine vintage look.
*Tear your card stock randomly for an aged look.
*To give your card some dimension, crumple your DSP. I love the First Edition DSP because it is thinner than most and isn't too thick when crumpled.
*To change the look of a stamp, cut the words of a greeting apart and glue on a separate piece of card stock (like I did with the "Modes aux Elegantes" stamp).
*For even more dimension, I stamped the mannequin in the first card on Textured Very Vanilla card stock.

Don't you just love how even though it's the same layout and same stamp set, both cards are oh so different?  I hope this got your creative juices flowing - keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!