Thanksgiving Decor and Tulle Rosette Tutorial

If you're in Canada, the upcoming week-end marks our Thanksgiving holiday. Since we moved into our new home a few weeks ago, I'm going to be hosting Thanksgiving this year (usually this is my Mother-in-Law's job ;) ). Being a crafter, I wanted to make some of my own decor for the occasion. We'll be having about 14 people and these will be the table centerpieces:

I had a few sources of inspiration... This week, the Friday Mashup Challenge asked us to make a 'fall leaves' project and/or use twine on our project. This was perfect, because this week the leaves in the Ottawa area are a gorgeous red/burnt orange and they have been inspiring me too. The candle on the left is made with the Gently Falling stamp set. The candle on the right is made with real leaves from our backyard :) Curious on how I made them? Stay tuned for a tutorial.

In addition, I wanted to make my own placeholders. They were pretty time consuming, but 100% worth it!

For both my candle and placeholder bases, I used the Comfort Cafe DSP and the Bigz XL Rosette Die. When I saw the Silver Setting stamp in the new catalogue, I just knew I had to use it for placeholders. Embossed in gold. What's holding the name cards? An old-school wooden clothes pin!

Love the Tulle Rosettes? They are soooo easy to make. This idea was original presented by Shelli Gardner herself at the Hamilton Regional in August this year. I wasn't able to attend (I was moving that day!) but I was fortunate that a fellow demonstrator shared the rosette with us.

You'll need a big sewing needle (check out your local dollar store if you don't have one ;) ), Linen Thread or Baker's Twine (about 8"), and about 30" of the Scalloped Tulle in the Holiday Mini (available in Early Espresso - seen here, Cherry Cobbler or Crumb Cake). Simply run the needle and twine through the centre of the tulle. Let it bunch up because that's the end effect anyhow. It doesn't have to be threaded evenly, just through the centre at 1/2" to 1" intervals:

Once you've run the Linen Thread through the entire length of tulle, scrunch it up with even lengths of twine on each side and tie the twine in a knot. The tulle will fan out into a rosette as shown below.

You can use a button to finish it off since you already have two lengths of twine. I really hope that my guests like the decor. I wanted to do more, but the placeholders and candles took WAY more time than I expected ;) Don't these things always! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity! And to my Canadian followers, have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Project Recipe:
Stamps: Gently Falling, Silver Setting
Paper: Comfort Cafe, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe, DSP
Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede, VersaMark
Accessories: Linen Thread, Early Espresso Scalloped Tulle, Cajun Craze Stampin' Write Marker, Big Shot, Bigz XL Rosette Die, Neutral Designer Buttons, Heat Tool, Electric Glue Gun (not SU!)

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!

Fun with a Thaumatrope

I first saw a thaumatrope on my friend and downline Tara's blog. I have been wanting to make one ever since, but never got around to it. I have a FREE 'Try Out a Stamping Technique Club' class on Sunday and this is one of the cards and techniques that we'll be doing. I still have room if you'd like to come :) I think the thaumatrope is such a fun element and I love the way it 'floats' in the card :)

The butterfly in the center of the Floral Framelits is a removable thaumatrope. I'd give you a tutorial, but the link I've given you is much better than any tutorial I could give you. That said, here are some pictures of what my thaumatrope looks like.

I tied Early Espresso Baker's Twine on both ends of the scallop circle. I pierced holes through the base of the card and ran the twine through the two holes. If I can give any advice (and Tara gave me this advice too) cut the Baker's Twine longer rather than shorter. You'll need it!

Here's what my thaumatrope looks like when untied. When you spin it around the two colors and butterfly styles blend together. Stunning really.

Tips & Tricks:

*I used the sketch at the Friday Mashup Challenge for this card. I really love the simplicity of it and how versatile it is.
*I used the new Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder for the background on my card. I absolutely LOVE this folder. It will be available in the Holiday Mini on August 1st.
*When using two different-sized framelits to make a frame (like the Cajun Craze Flower) cut your large die-cut shape first. Then put your smaller framelit over the larger die-cut and cut out the smaller image to make your frame. To ensure your framelit doesn't move, put a Post-It note over the framelit/card stock to hold it in place.
*I am absolutely loving the Comfort Cafe DSP. Some patterns are fresh and modern, others are more vintage. I can't believe I wasn't sure about this paper when I first saw it ;)

I'm excited to show this card off to the ladies at my class on Sunday. I still have a few spots available and I'd love for you to join us.

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

A Bit of Papillon Potpourri

I have to admit, when I first saw the new Elegant Butterfly Punch and coordinating Papillon Potpourri stamp set I was underwhelmed. I liked the old one better. But once I used it, saw some samples with it, played with it a bit more, it slowly grew on me. And now there's no going back! I got both items in my huge order last week and was itching to play with them. My Mother-in-Law's birthday is today and I made her a sweet card with the stamp set as well as the Twitterpated DSP.

My inspiration for this card came from this week's Friday Mashup Challenge. Our challenge was to make a card using a banner or flag, make a project with matching envelope, or mash it up and do both. Without realizing it, I did both! I meant to make just the matching envie, but I ended up using the Bitty Banners Framelits and coordinating stamp set.

Tips & Tricks:

*Do you like the embossing? It's a sneak peek from the Holiday Mini - Holiday Frame Embossing Folder. But I think it works just fine for a birthday ;) Stay tuned for cards using this embossing folder and the coordinating stamp set, Joyous Celebrations.
*I still love the Itty Bitty Banners. I use them in coordination with the Framelits or on their own. Either way, I use them a lot!
*With Papillon Potpourri, creating a coordinating envelope was easy! I did some 2-Step Stampin' with a smaller butterfly and then put a few butterflies on the back flap. This adds so much to the card you're giving!
*To give my butterfly a little bit of extra dimension, I punched out two pieces of Twitterpated DSP. I love how it makes my butterfly look like it is 'taking flight'.
*I loved this card so much I wanted to include it in my Fast & Fabulous Monthly Card Class. I simplified it a bit and I hope the class goers will love it!

My Mother-in-Law loved her card (how could she not?!?!?) and I'm so glad! I love the colors and my new house and studio must have been on my mind because those are the colors we painted the kids' rooms, lol! I tend to incorporate SU! into everything I do ;)

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

Dino Punch Art

I did have another blog post planned for today. But then I worked on this week's Friday Mashup Challenge. We were challenged to
1. Make a project with Punch Art;
2. Make a project featuring your Favorite Animal; or
3. Mash it Up and create a project with an animal using punches.

I have a lot of favorite animals... monkeys, pigs, dolphins, fish. But I do love dinos, too. I came across this cute punch art dino surfing the web. It's CASEd but I don't have any info about the original.

Here's a quick breakdown of how I made the stegosaurus and the palm trees:
Body: I used the 2-1/2" Circle Punch. I punched out the circle, then put it back in and trimmed off part of it. You'll have pointy sides so I rounded them out with my Paper Snips. You can use the Wide Oval Punch as well. The color is Always Artichoke.

Tail: I used the 2-1/2 Circle Punch again. I punched out part of the circle, discarded it and punched over top of the area where I punched the first circle to make a crescent.
Armour: This was super easy - Boho Blossoms Punch. The color is River Rock.
Head: The Large Oval Punch was perfect for 'Steg's' head.
Legs: I used the Large Oval Punch again and cut the punch-outs in half and voila - 4 legs :)
Tree Trunks: The Modern Label Punch makes a great tree trunk. The color is Soft Suede.
Palm Tree Leaves: I once again used the Large Oval Punch. Then, I used my Paper Snips to cut out the 'leaves' in the ovals. The color is Old Olive.

The grass was easy. I cut a 1" strip of Old Olive card stock and snipped the blades with my Paper Snips. I embossed the dino parts with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I sponged the dinosaur, its armor, the grass and the palm leaves with Always Artichoke. The tree trunks were sponged with Soft Suede.

I can't wait to give this card to a lucky little birthday boy or girl :) Hope you've enjoyed this card, 'til next time keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

A Fun Party Card

I had lots of fun making today's card! I used two card challenges to inspire me for today's cards. I decided not to 'mash it up' at the Friday Mashup Challenge and simply made a 'party time' card. You'd think this would be easy, but it was actually a bit harder than I anticipated... I ended up using the pinwheels from the Sweets for the Sweet stamp set which I found out worked really well with the Patio Party DSP. It has pinwheels in it too :) And do cupcakes say 'party' or what?

I used the sketch from Clean and Simple Stamping this week. I changed it up a smidge (surprise, surprise) but I really love the way the squares are lined up just a bit differently on each side. I did try putting the dahlia in the place indicated on the sketch, but it just didn't look right - it looked *much* better on the ribbon.

Tips & Tricks:

*Do you like the little flower on the Midnight Muse Stitched Satin Ribbon? It's the new In Color Dahlias. I LOVE them! And they are so easy to attach with Glue Dots.
*Since every party needs some bling, I put a few rhinestones on my pinwheels.
*So many people are too scared of cutting out their stamped shapes. But I say you should just try it! These pinwheels are very easy to cut out and I love the two-tone look it gives them!
*What do you think of the background? It's the new Argyle Embossing Folder! One of my favorite accessories from the new cattie :)

I hope this card has put you in a party kind of mood :) I really love this sketch and definitely will use it again!

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

A Little Father's Day Oops ;)

Well ladies, sometimes I need to take a moment and actually *read*. Because sometimes I read too fast and that's where mistakes happen... My friend and downline, Tara Murphy, is hosting the Friday Mashup Challenge as the Designer today. So I went into my email, uploaded her post and saw that today's challenge was to do 'paper piercing' and/or use the color combination of Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry and Pool Party.

I wanted to make a Father's Day card. So I knew the color combination was out and got busy paper piercing.  I haven't gotten the new SU! Essential Paper Piercing Pack so I used my retired Mat Pack as a piercing guide. (But watch out, next week I get the new Piercing Pack and I'll be piercing away cool patterns ;) ). I pierced all around the Whisper White square as well as in the Island Indigo scallop.

Looks great, right? But here's where the oops comes in... The challenge wasn't paper piercing, it was paper piecing. I'm so glad Tara told me that while I was making the card. I consulted the tutorial she did for Friday Mashup. Then I rejigged the design a bit. I already had the 24-7 heart stamp on my card. I then stamped it on Pool Party DSP and cut out the heart. And voila - a paper pieced card. Minimally pieced, but pieced nonetheless :)

Tips & Tricks:

*The Square Lattice Embossing Folder is fantastic for men's cards. I do find that I can use Tab 2 on my Multipurpose Platform (for the Big Shot) because it embosses so strongly. I just don't need as thick a sandwich.
*I love combining Island Indigo and Pool Party together. Especially with the In Color Ruffled Ribbon. Just awesome!
*I really like stamping on DSP. The pattern on the paper adds that 'je ne sais quoi' to your project.
*The piercing turned out really well. I love how the piercing guides help achieve even spaces between my holes.
*Making men's cards can be really challenging. A lot of stamp sets are geared towards women. But since the kids will be giving this card to their daddy, I thought the 24/7 heart image was more than appropriate ;)

I wish all daddies a very Happy Father's Day - I'm sure a lot of the crafty moms have been busy making gifts and cards for the daddies with the kids :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Gone to the Birds...

A couple of weeks I *finally* acquired the gorgeous stamp set Nature's Pace. I am not sure why it took me so long to buy it. It's been around for over a year! So from now on, when I like a stamp set, I will just buy it. Not sure my business account will agree, but atleast I can write it off on my taxes, right?

For this week's Friday Mashup Challenge, we had the option of
1) making a project using the sketch to the left;
2) making a project featuring birds; or
3) or Mash It Up and create a project using the sketch featuring birds.

So I turned to the bird from Nature's Pace as well as the Certainly Celery prints from the Twitterpated DSP. I also pulled out my Aquapainters and colored the bird in a soft So Saffron. I should really remember to watercolor more often.

Tips & Tricks:

*To follow the stripes theme of the sketch, I embossed my Pink Pirouette card stock with the Stripes Embossing Folder. Coordination made easy.
*To get the various shades of Saffron in my bird, I watercolored him one, let him dry and then watercolored him in spots to darken the color. Love how he turned out!
*I love second generation stamping for a softer look. To make the 'no. 147' a bit softer than the bird, I stamped off on my grid paper and then stamped on my card stock. It's a bit paler so it doesn't take over the image.
*I'm still loving how the Stitched 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon effortlessly adds that little something extra to my cards!
*To adhere buttons onto my cards, I always use Glue Dots. They may be small, but they're incredibly tacky. Even for a bigger button, I only needed one!
*If you know my style, you know that these are not my typical color choices. I got the my inspiration from the Twitterpated DSP. I love how it helps me come up with new color combos!
*There's no fancy cutting on my card. No fancy techniques except the watercoloring. But I think this goes to show, sometimes simple is just right :)

My friend just moved out to a country house and loves all the different birds that visit her birdfeeders. I think she'll enjoy this card for her birthday :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Last Post as Guest Designer...

... for the Friday Mashup. It's been a fun RIDE! (Pun totally intended ;) ) This month I was fortunate enough to get one of the Guest Designer spots at one of my fave challenge sites. I can't believe the month is almost over and this means this is my last post in that capacity. I've enjoyed having a 'head's up' on the challenges and having a few days to come up with the perfect design to show off :)

Typically, I'd have this post published on Friday morning. But seeing that my daughter and I are just barely returning to the land of the living from this horrendous flu, we'll have to settle for mid-day Friday. After I'm done posting, it will be naptime... my daughter is already there.

This week's challenge at the Friday Mashup was the 'Boys Will be Boys' challenge:
1. Make a project for that 'Special Man in Your Life'; or
2. Make a project with the 'sketch'; or
3. Mash it up and create a 'Masculine card using the sketch'.

I decided to 'mash it up' (since I love sketches so much' and choose option 3 :) I also did something I very rarely do: I used a retired stamp! Yes, retired! I really try to use current product but sometimes I can only find what I really want in my retired stash. I loved the Motorcycle stamp two years ago when I first lay eyes on it, and I still do. It's especially perfect for my BIL's birthday card.

Sometimes I find blog photography so frustrating... it's not obvious in the above pic, but I embossed the motorcycle and greeting in Pewter Embossing Powder.

Tips & Tricks:

*Who says you have to stick to one type of DSP? I mashed it up some more here by combining a pattern from the Summer Smooches DSP with a pattern from the Floral District DSP. Doesn't sound too 'manly' but I think it works well.
*Sometimes the best card base for a vibrant card it Whisper White Card Stock. I wanted to make sure my DSP and motorcycles really 'popped'!
*I love the thicker look that the Pewter Embossing Powder gives my images. It's great for a strong image such as the motorcycle.

I hope my BIL loves his bday card. He lives in Australia so it's going to be late, but that shouldn't surprise him coming from me ;) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

My little teacups are back!

It's Thursday Night and I'm writing the post for the Friday Mashup Challenge. Gotta say, I love being a Guest Designer for May. There's just something really cool about doing a challenge ahead of time. I hope I've inspired atleast one person, too!

The new SU! Catalogue is definitely exciting, but I was equally excited to see that my favorite stamp set from the 2012 Occasions Mini, Tea Shoppe, is being carried over to the cattie! Which means that I can continue to use it as much as I please! This also means that my blog readers and class-goers like it too ;)

This week's Friday Mashup Challenge was perfect for the Tea Shoppe set.  We were asked to:
1) Make a project with a Decorative Edge; or
2) Make a project with a ribbon or a bow; or
3) Mash it up and create a project with a decorative edge and a ribbon.

The patterns on the tea cups, the greetings in the Tea Shoppe set are just so perfect for decorative edges and ribbon, aren't they?  And who's kidding who, everyone knows I love ribbon and don't need much convincing to add it to my projects ;)

Tips & Tricks:

*Although my card base is Pink Pirouette, I did use Pretty in Pink ink for my teacups. I wanted to make sure they stood out.
*Did you notice the little strip of Twitterpated DSP at the bottom of my card? I cut my card base to the standard 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" size. I folded it in half and the I cut a 1/4" off one side to make it shorter. The DSP is *just* covered up by the decorative edge and adds a lovely special touch to my card.
*I love how the Scallop Trim Border Punch edge matches so perfectly the little scallops in the DSP. It almost seems meant to be!
*Sometimes I stress about the little things. Other times I know not to stress. My scallop edge is intentionally misaligned on the Pink and Espresso card stocks. Lining it up would've driven me nuts ;)

I made this card for a specific stamping friend of mine. She's also my tea friend. She deals loose-leaf tea (which I LOVE) and I am the stamp dealer ;) Hope she loves it! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Definitely a Color... Challenge

As guest designer for the Friday Mashup this month (yay for me!) I'm privy to the challenges a bit early so that I can get my card ready for the challenge. In celebration of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday in the US, this week, the Friday Mashup Challenge #58 was to:

1) Make a project that's "patriotic or for remembrance"; or
2) Make a project with the colours "Whisper White, Night of Navy, Poppy Parade, and Daffodil Delight"; or
3) Mash it up and create a project that is "patriotic or for remembrance using the above colors";
4) Donate your card to a wounded soldier or that special service member in your life.

I don't really have any patriotic sets, and in Canada we have our Remembrance Day in November. So I opted to just do the color challenge. And boy, that was a challenge for me. It's not big secret that I've never really liked Poppy Parade (I am pretty sure this is one of the first times I've used the ink in two years...) and adding Daffodil Delight to the mix is just not me... But I'm pretty pleased with what I ended up doing:

I love how it turned out and especially love that Daffodil Delight Seam Binding Ribbon (available in the 2012-2013 catalogue!).

Tips & Tricks:

*The Itty Bitty Bits stamp set coordinates perfectly with the Bitty Punch Pack. Makes accessorizing and coordinating a snap!
*Do you love the Daffodil and Poppy 'thread' I tied in the buttons? It's very thin strips of card stock! Love this technique. I haven't done it in a while and I thought it was fun to alternate the Poppy Parade with Daffodil Delight.
*Don't know how to adhere your buttons? Use Glue Dots! Love those little sticky dots :)

Even though I had a bit of a hard time coming up with this card, I think it turned out beautifully. There is a fellow demonstrator in town who's son is in Afghanistan and I give her a lot of my cards to hand out to the men and women serving there. I will do the same with this card. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Flowers and Birds for Mother's Day

This month, I have the privilege of being a Guest Designer for the Friday Mashup Challenge. I was super excited AND nervous to present my first project to these wonderful ladies - and to all of you! The Friday Mashup is also teaming up with the Paper Lovin' Gals. So our challenge was a bit bigger this week:

1. Make a project for "Mom, Grandmother, Aunt, etc..."
2. Or make a project with a "Pop-Up Element"
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Pop-Up Project for Mom"
4. Or join in Both Challenges and create a "Pop-Up Project for Mom using the inspiration photo." 

I did make a card for my mom and MIL, as well as a pop-up project. I also wanted to use the Everything Eleanor stamp set which will be in the upcoming 2012-2013 Idea Book & Catalogue. This stamp set looks so pretty with Wisteria Wonder. So I didn't use the inspiration photo - I only mashed it up two ways ;)

Here's what I came up with:

I know, I know. The outside looks a bit plain. But look what happens when you OPEN the card:

The spiral pops out! I hope the moms are going to love it. I'm also featuring this card at my stamper's group this week-end so I hope they love it too.

Tips & Tricks:

*On this card, I used the 2-1/2" Circle Punch to for the circle that I free-handed into a spiral. I have done this technique with a 1-3/4" circle and I think it works a bit better - the spiral is a bit more solid and you can see the images better.
*Yup, the flower and bird images are free-handed. But my Paper Snips made the task a snap!
*Use Sticky Strip to secure the two ends of the spiral to the card, as well as the stamped elements on the spiral.
*The 'Mom' sentiment on the front of my card is from the Family Reunion stamp set! Love its versatility.

I will be back with a tutorial on the spiral - give me a few days. There's a few visual tricks that would make it easier ;) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!