Quasi-Telescoping Card

One of my good friends is having a baby very shortly. This week-end, another friend and I are hosting a baby shower for her so I needed to make a shower card for her. I combined two challenges for this card, the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge as well as the Friday Mashup Challenge. The Mojo Monday Challenge was 'Round or Square' and the Friday Mashup Challenge asked us to make a project using the kissing technique and/or a round project. I didn't do the kissing technique on my card but I did make a quasi-telescoping round card. Why do I say it's quasi-telescoping? Well, one element of the card flips out from the bottom and one element flips out from the top.

I'll write a little something on the top scallop circle. I love the Baby Bundle stamp set for anything baby. It has greetings, onesies, teddies, booties, and more.

Tips & Tricks:

*Think that the Twitterpated DSP is for feminine cards only? Think again! I used it on this card and I think the Basic Grey pattern works very well!
*I love the clear Itty Bitty Buttons. I love threading them with super skinny strips of coordinating card stock even more. Instant color coordination!
*Can't figure out how to color in teeny details like the stroller polka dots? Stampin' Up!'s Stampin' Write Markers have two tips, a fine tip and a thicker brush-style tip.
*Don't forget to attach the circles that will be flipping out upside down. Because when they flip up, they will be right side up :)

I hope you've enjoyed this card and I hope my friend enjoys this card even more! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Christmas in February?

I recently had a hostess who wanted to do a private scrapbooking class with her scrappin' friends. Not only a scrapbooking class, but a Christmas scrapbooking class. In February :) How fun! I have tonnes of Christmas photos so a few extra pages to scrap them could come in handy!

I had never met this lovely lady and her friends so I inquired a bit about their style. She told me that they were quite varied in style, and easy to please, but she wanted to WOW them! Well now ~ how do I wow them? And what materials should I use? I wanted to use a DSP that wasn't strictly Christmas but that still looked festive. I've seen the Mocha Morning DSP used with Cherry Cobbler and with the metallic colors in the DSP, I thought it was perfect for Christmas. Turns out I was right :)

I love the Soft Suede with Cherry Cobbler as well. I sponged the wreath from Welcome Christmas with Soft Suede as well as the 'Memories' flag. I free-handed the DSP flags behind the photos with my Paper Snips although you can use any square punch as well. Since these ladies weren't familiar with SU! and our fantastic products, I wanted them to see how we have coordinating stamp sets and punches. No stamp set and punch show this off better than Delightful Decorations and the Ornament Punch

Tips & Tricks:

*Love the way I weaved the DSP? It's very easy ~ just follow the tutorial at this link.
*As much as I like doing bows, especially cheater bows, sometimes a simple knot ~ such as the one I made on the first page ~ is enough and doesn't take away from the rest of the lovely page elements.
*On the second page, the photo mat is 6-1/2" x 9". This way I can either fit a larger photo (such as a 5x7) or I can split the mat in two and put in two 4x6 photos. 
*I know my Scalloped Square mats don't seem to be very practical ~ photos are usually 4x6. But I always have so many photos that have 'dead space' that can easily be cropped off. I love using this Big Shot die to make mats for photos that can be cropped to 4x4 or 3-3/4" x 3-3/4".

If you're loving these pages, come make them! I'm doing my Fast & Fabulous Class as a scrapbooking class this month on Wednesday February 29th @ 7:30! Hope to see you there... 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Masculine, Elegant Birthday Card

Masculine cards are hard to come by. So every so often I like to challenge myself and go in the masculine direction with my cards. Who's kidding who, many stamp sets are flowery or just very feminine. So when I can come up with a nice masculine card, I'm a happy girl :) I absolutely love the Everyday Enchantment Sale-a-Bration DSP. It's got some awesome feminine patterns, but it's also got some really awesome masculine patterns.

I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for inspiration. Such a simple but lovely sketch. I loved the idea of the little pennant and crowns to make the card even more regal. And because of the color palette (Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede and Pool Party), it works for both men and women. I'm excited to be doing this card at my March Private Classes and at my Fast & Fabulous Class on February 29th. Interested in either of these classes? Drop me a line ~ I'd love to stamp with you!

Tips & Tricks:

*I love how SU! coordinates their stamp sets with their punches. The inside of the elegant frame matches perfectly with the Curly Label Punch.
*Although the Pennant Parade stamp set coordinates with the Petite Pennants punch, I like using the punch to punch out DSP shapes. I love making festive little pennants on my cards.
*As much as I love ribbon, sometimes the Baker's Twine adds that perfect extra touch. Especially on a masculine card.

I also used the sketch to make two cards for my All Occasions Card Class, coming up on March 9th. I love the Create & Keep Simply Sent Card Kit. Makes making cards so easy!

Hope you've enjoyed these cards and my take on this week's sketch. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Spring Fever Mojo

When I saw this week's Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge, the sketch screamed "scrapbook page!!!!!!!!!!" to me. I've been on a bit of a scrapbooking kick, since I realized I had way too many photos of the kids printed out and ready to be scrapped. I also have a couple of scrapbooking classes to get ready for, so it was win-win.

My next scrap class is my Spring Fever Scrapbooking Class, so I pulled out the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit and started scrappin' away. My first take on the page was too 'busy'. I used all the DSPs in the kit and while very pretty, it was all definitely much too busy. So I sat down today and came up with this:

I didn't have any spring photos of my daughter, so fall photos they are :) But the Pear Pizzazz, Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo seem to work well with these fall photos. I also think I did pretty good with the sketch, making it into a scrap page - what do you think?

Tips & Tricks:

*I absolutely LOVE the Simply Scrappin' Kits. They make scrapbooking so easy, especially if you're a beginner. The Spring Fever kit is full of gorgeous, bright card stock, DSP, and adhesive elements/borders. Perfect for spring and Easter photos.
*Although I love the Lace Ribbon Border Punch on cards, I love it even more on scrap pages. It makes such a lovely page border or photo mat border. You can thread ribbon through it or tuck it underneath your photo mat - the possibilities are endless!
*I love doing stripes on my cards and pages, but lining them up can be tricky. The SU! Grid Paper has measurements on it and makes lining card and scrap page elements easy!

I can't wait for this Spring Fever Scrap class, the ladies will be leaving with 6 absolutely stunning pages! Hope you've enjoyed this page, 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Perfectly Penned Thank You

I love the stamp set Rue de Fleurs which is found in the Occasions Mini. I really hope that it carries over to the 2012-2013 Catalogue. I love the variety of images as well as the script used for the greetings. So beautiful and elegant. I've made some modern-looking cards with this stamp set but it lends itself perfectly to vintage-inspired cards as well.

I needed to make a thank you card for my last hostess and I wanted to take part in the Friday Mashup Challenge. This week's challenge asked us to
1) make a card using the sketch provided;
2) make a shabby chic/vintage project; or
3) mash it up and do both!
So I chose to use the pen image from Rue de Fleurs, mashed up the challenges and came up with this card:

I flipped the sketch around. I really liked the idea of the butterflies in the original sketch so I pulled out my Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit and ran with it. The butterflies looked a bit bare though so I added on a Large Pearl from the Occasions Mini as well as a regular adhesive pearl. And don't you love the Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine in the corners?

Tips & Tricks:

*Soft Suede is a great vintage-y color! Sponge you Very Vanilla card stock with some Soft Suede and you've got instantly aged card stock.
*Stampin' Up! card stock is dyed all the way through so when you distress your card stock or curl the edges and tear them apart, there's no white core. Just beautiful SU! color.
*To add a bit of texture to my First Edition DSP I embossed it with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. I also sponged the edges of DSP with Soft Suede - I love how it brings out some of the detail of the embossing.
*Are you loving the products I've shown you from the Occasions Mini? Check them out in my Online Store :) You can shop with me 24/7!

I hope you've enjoyed this card and I hope it brings a smile to my hostesses face! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity :)

Dare to Dream

One of my very bestest friends just moved into a new house. They have been wanting to move for a few years now and they finally found the perfect house, in the perfect neighbourhood on the perfect lot. We are going to see their new place this week-end and of course I needed a card to go with their house-warming gift. I don't have any 'new house' stamps, but for my friend and her husband, this house represents their dreams come true and dreams to come ~ they're expecting a little baby boy at the end of March :)

My card today is based on this week's Pals Paper Arts Challenge. If you have seen some of my previous creations, you know that I have a bit of a hard time actually sticking to the sketches. So today, I challenged myself to stick to the lovely Pals Paper Arts sketch. Yes ~ you read that right. And I think I did pretty well! Okay - so I added the Adhesive Rhinestones but other than that I stuck to the sketch.

Tips & Tricks:

*The 'Dream' greetings in rainbow colors were inspired by a SU! sample that I saw at Leadership. To line up the greetings, I used the scallops on the square as a template.
*Wondering how I 'embossed' the edges of my card? I used my Simply Scored to make two score lines at 1/4" intervals at on each side of the card.
*I free-handed the 'Dare to Dream' sentiment label with my Paper Snips. I then curled the edges with my Bone Folder. I wanted to give the sentiment a dreamy, airy feel.
*I adhered my Tangerine Tango and Daffodil Delight and then ran it through my Lattice Embossing Folder. This gives the two card stocks a seamless look.

If you like my cards and techniques, and you're looking to learn some advanced stampin' techniques, come check out my Technique Class on Sunday! It's a great way to get out and stamp as well as learn new techniques :)

I hope my friend loves her card, now to shop for a house-warming gift. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Packed for...

... Mom & Dad. Or Packed for Masculine & Feminine cards. Have you seen the four Packed for... stamp sets in the Occasions Mini? They're full of images perfect for men, women, baby and birthdays. I was prepping for my All Occasions Card Class on March 9th. I'm using the Create & Keep Simply Sent Kit for this class and I LOVE it! It has a card box, envelopes, card dividers and everything you need to make the cards! Of course, you can add a little extra ;)

Using this week's Freshly Made Sketch, I came up with my first two cards for my class. I love this week's sketch, it so simple, but makes it so easy to add a few special touches to a card. I used the Packed for Mom and Packed for Dad stamps.

In the center of the two cards is the card box which I embellished a bit (and you can embellish even more!). The kit comes with 10 designer cards, 2 each of 5 designs. I used the Early Espresso cards for my creations today.

Tips & Tricks:

*Love this Simply Sent kit but not sure what colors to use? SU! makes that easy - they tell you that the color palette is Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz.

*When I first saw the Packed for stamp sets I wasn't sure how to use so much line art. But the possibilities are endless! Spot color with our Stampin' Write markers (like I did), punch out the elements you like best or color the elements you like best. I'm sure you can think of many other things to do with these great stamps!
*Do you have a tough time making masculine cards? The Packed for Dad stamp offers many possibilities!
*The greetings and scalloped edge on the feminine card are both from the Simply Sent kit. I love all the options this kit offers.
*I love the ease of the adhesive die-cuts in our card and scrappin' kits. But sometimes I want to put them on Stampin' Dimensionals and the tackiness of our die-cuts actually gets in the way. To reduce tackiness, stick the die-cuts to your clothes a few times and then put them on Dimensionals.

Hope you've loved these class previews and you'll join me at my All Occasions Card Class. Not in Ottawa? Get the class to go! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Manly, Romantic Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Although I realize that this may be hitting your inbox on February 15th, bear with me because I really love this card I made for my husband ;) My inspiration was this week's Mojo Monday sketch. I added a few details but it was my starting point.

I also knew that I wanted to use my Attic Boutique DSP. I hadn't used it yet and had to break open the package to use it today. It is gorgeous - LOVE IT! My colour scheme is based on the DSP.

I told my husband that I wanted my card to be manly but romantic. He said it was an oxymoron but he thinks I accomplished my mission. Some of the Attic Boutique DSP is very girly, some is more masculine or gender neutral. I purposely chose a pinkish red pattern for the top of my rosette.

Tips & Tricks:

*I love how the Adorning Accents Edgelits and Embosslits coordinate! Makes adding that little extra special touch easy.
*Can't get your Edgelit to stay in place? Use my Post-It trick!
*Not sure what colors to use on your card? Let the Designer Series Paper figure it out for you - SU! tells you what colors coordinate with all the DSPs.
*LOVE the rosette? It's so easy to make! Punch out six 1-3/4" Scallop Circles, sponge with a coordinating in (I used Soft Suede) and crumple the flowers (yes, you're going to have to crumple up the DSP ;) ). Adhere the six circles together with a small amount of adhesive between each circle and then put a brad through all of them. Pull the individual circles up from top circle to bottom - to give dimension - and arrange as desired.

I hope you've enjoyed this card as much as my hubby did. Do you think it was masculine enough? I know it's got a flower on it, but who says you can't give a man flowers ;)

'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Watercoloring and Spotlighting

One of the big perks of attending a Stampin' Up! event such as Leadership is getting NEW, sneak peek stamp sets that no one has seen before. I have been waiting for the right moment to break this one out and it seems like I've been swamped with Valentine's Day and birthday cards. So finally, I get to use and show off the Everything Eleanor stamp set which will be featured in the 2012-2013 Catalogue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, especially swirly brocade. The flowers are gorgeous and there's few other super beautiful stamps I haven't used on this card.

My inspiration for this card was the Friday Mashup Challenge. We were challenged to use penguins on our card, use the spotlighting technique, or mash it up and do both. Well, I don't have any penguins and I really wanted to use my new stamp set so I did the spotlighting technique. I did cheat a bit and included the sweet little bird stamped in pool party. I guess he's 'spotlighted', too ;)

From the Mini stamp set Loving Thoughts, I thought the 'dream' sentiment fit this card perfectly.

Tips & Tricks:

*For added dimension, I used Crystal Effects to give my flowers a dewy look, and also to make my sweet little bird (can you tell I love that little guy?)

*I've had a few people tell me that this stamp set looks 'old'. Well, it's only as old as you want it to be. Add some modern, fresh colors and I think this set is as young as you want it to be.
*I water colored the flowers with classic ink and my Aquapainters. I started with some Wisteria Wonder throughout the flower, concentrating it in the center. I added some Perfect Plum, mainly in the center and the inner petals. I then added some Elegant Eggpalnt mainly to the center a few of the outer petals to give the illusion of shadows and natural shading.
*When watercoloring, make sure to stamp your image in Staz On. It's alcohol based and won't run when you are watercoloring.

Did you love this card? Come and make it and THIS waterfall card at a Stamping Technique Class this Sunday February 19th. It's going to be tonnes of fun and I hope you can join me!

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks in the coming weeks - so so fun :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Moveable Digger

My original plan for this card was to use the Dinoroar stamp set. I need birthday cards for two soon-to-be 3-year-old boys. But then, as I was looking through my stamps, I remembered a card that one of my downline, Tara, made. She cut apart the arm of the big digger in I Dig You and made it moveable with small Mini Silver Brads. So I took her idea (thanks Tara!) and used it on my own card.

For the sketch, I used this week's Freshly Made Sketch. I flipped the sketch to suit the digger image and turned the two strips in the sketch into grass/field.

 

I will warn you, this card is very labour intensive. But I think it's still 'clean-looking' and fits the bill for a 'fresh' card. The digger needs to be stamped three times - you need to first cut out the digger base and the shovel (from the first stamped image), and the two parts of the arms (second and third stamped images). But it's so fun when it's done! What little (or big!) boy wouldn't love this?

Tips & Tricks:
*I love making my own grass out of card stock because it's so simple! Just take a strip of card and snip away at irregular but small intervals with your Paper Snips. Just be careful to not snip right through the the card stock ;)

*I made the dried (yellow) grass out of So Saffron card stock and sponged it with Daffodil Delight to give it some dimensions. I sponged the Lucky Limeade grass with Lucky Limeade ink.
*I love using markers on my stamps to get two colors. But sometimes, it can look streaky. For my digger, I stamped the whole image in a Daffodil Delight ink pad and then I used Basic Black marker on the shovel and the digger's track. Voila! No streaks!
*I love how the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine adds just a little touch of color!
*I free-handed the rock with my Paper Snips and then sponged the Basic Grey card stock with the same color ink. I was pretty pleased with the result!

Wow - that's a lot of tips & tricks! I hope the birthday boys love this card. And I hope you love it too. Don't be scared away by all the cutting, the result is most definitely worth it. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Creepy Crawly Thank You

When you see the card I made for this week's Mojo Monday Challenge, you may be thinking "Oh no! She's finally lost it!". But don't worry my stampin' friends, I know it's not Hallowe'en... even though this week's card uses the Hallowe'en Scaredy Cat stamp set as well as the Frightful Sight DSP.

Why the spidery card? I needed a 'thank you' for the kids who came to my daughter's 6th birthday party last week (where did the time go?!?!). I wanted an insect-y card because for the party because Little Ray's Reptiles came and showed us some really great insects, reptiles and amphibians. It was awesome! If you're in the Ottawa area, I highly suggest you have them do a birthday party for your child. It was worth every single penny. Isn't she cute all wrapped up in a python?

I did change up the Mojo Monday Sketch a little bit to include pennants from the Petite Pennants punch.I thought the spiders worked really nicely with the pennants. To make the card less 'Hallowe-eny' (because it is NOT a Hallowe'en card ;) ) I used the Calypso Coral Organdy Ribbon which you can earn FREE during Sale-a-Bration when you place an order of $60 or more. Still gorgeous, can't get enough of it!

Tips & Tricks:

*Because the Organdy Ribbon is translucent and 1/8" inch wide, it's great for wrapping around a card multiple times. Adds a unique look without being too 'heavy' looking.

*Not sure how to layer your Modern Label Punch? Try layering it on top of the Scalloped Oval Punch - fits perfectly in the center and just peeks over the sides. Super cute!
*SU!'s Basic Black Ink is waterproof and some people don't like using it because it stains their stamps. Here's a little tip... ink your stamp in a dark ink such as Chocolate Chip or Early Espresso and then ink it in black. Makes it much easier to clean off with the Stampin' Scrub.
*Love the Baker's Twine and love how it's now available in the 2011-2013 In Colors. Isn't it lovely how it coordinates with the Calypso Coral card stock and ribbon?

Hope the kids love their cards and hope you like it too! I think I made pretty good use of my Hallowe'en stamps in February, too! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Valentine's is in the Air

There's something in the air! It involves lots of reds and lots of hearts! And two of my favorite challenges asked us to use these elements this week. At the Friday Mashup, they asked us to:
1) Use the inspiration photo to the left; or
2) Use the color combination of Regal Rose, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White; or
3) Mash them up and do both!

Then at Pals Paper Arts, we were asked to make a card and add any red. So I combined both challenges and came up with the card below. Since we're talking love, romance, Valentine's day, I thought it would be fun to use the P.S. I Love You stamp set and Textured Impressions Adorning Accents Embossing Folders. I love these folders, especially the hearts for romantic cards. And I love how the other two folders coordinate with the Adorning Accents Edgelits. The design and layout of this card was inspired by a card I saw at Leadership.

Tips & Tricks:

*Did you notice that my supposed-Valentine's Day card has a 'Happy Birthday' greeting?  Well you see right! I did this card for a Valentine's Day class but I wanted to make it versatile for the class-goers. Doesn't it make a lovely birthday card? We also use the 'Love' greeting from Outlined Occasions, and various V-day greetings at the class.

*Are you LOVING the Twitterpated fabric? It coordinates with the Twitterpated suite of products and I love using it as a ribbon.
*I removed a few threads from each side of the fabric strip to give it that shredded look.
*A lot of my class-goers were worried about having the white and red scallops aligned perfectly. You'll notice mine aren't... I think that is part of the card's charm!
*If you follow my blog you know I love my Stampin' Dimensionals. This card is no exception. I popped up that yummy-looking strawberry on a few :)
*Still loving all of the coordination with punches. The circled hearts fit perfectly into the 1-3/8" Circle Punch and the strawberry fits perfectly into the 1-inch Circle Punch.

How's that for a lot of info for you today! Hope you've loved this card as much as my class-goers. I just love love love the fabric :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!