100 & 10,000...time for some Blog Candy!

Yippee!!  I'm celebrating my 100th follower and my 10,000th hit on my little blog!  When I started this blog back in August of last year, my goal was to hit this milestone by my first anniversary...I never imagined I would get there in my first six months!  Thanks so much to all who have stopped by, whether for a minute or an hour.  To celebrate I am giving away some Blog Candy to say thank you!  Check this out...

The lucky winner will receive ALL of the items in pictured:  a 40-sheet pack of Woodhaven by Colorbok 12x12 patterned paper, Stampin' Up!'s retired Boho Backgrounds stamp set, a scalloped circle chipboard mini album and a roll of 3/8" taffeta ribbon in Basic Gray (works with the colours in the patterned paper).

If you'd like to enter the contest for this little bundle of goodies, leave me a comment telling me what your favourite Stampin' Up! colour and stamp set are by Fri. March 4th at 12 noon (ET).  I will use a random number generator to pick the winning comment and post the winner's name on Saturday, March 5th.  Good luck!
Now on to more exciting news...I've been nominated for yet another Stylish Blogger award!!  Can you believe it?!?  Julz over at Ribbons & Julz let me know today that she has also nominated me.  Thank you so much Julz...I am truly humbled and honoured.  Please check out Julz's blog...it is also a "stylish blog" and very worth your while to have a look around!  So, now I have to come up with 8 more things about myself ...that's going to be tough!  I may need time to think on that!  First, let me list some blogs that I think are deserving of the "Stylish Blogger" moniker.  Here are some that I've recently come across and will certainly be visiting again:

Patti at What are You Inking?

Kari at Stampin' Essentials

Sabriena at Little Miss Scrapalicious

Martha at Stampin' Martha

Sandy at Stamping Sanity

Rose at Stamp with Rose

Annie at Love to Make Cards

Jan at Stampin' With Jan

So...now to the hard part...eight things about me...here goes...

1)  I am currently in my 16th year of teaching, which means it's all down hill to retirement (and full-time stamping!)

2) I have a younger brother who owns his own business called Aluminate.  They do exterior home renovations (siding, windows, doors etc.)  If you're in the Cambridge/K/W/Hamilton, Ontario area and need home improvements done, check him out.

3)  We have a wonderful Philippina nanny named Flora Mae who is like a member of our family.  She has been with us since my son was 18 months old and is a such a sweet and caring person.  She keeps my house running when I am off at rehearsals, workshops and classes...I could not do all I do without her!

4) I have an amazing upline named Jamilla Ivits.  She introduced me to stamping at a colleague's workshop two years ago and has taught and encouraged me in my stamping journey.  She also is a huge supporter of my business.  I owe her a BIG thank you!!  Please check out her blog.

5) I have registered to take an additional qualifications course to get training to become a guidance counselor.  I often have students who need an extra ear to listen or some encouragement to hang in there when the going gets tough and want to have some formal training to deal with the really difficult stuff.  It runs online for the months of May and June...so if you don't hear much from me then, you'll know why!

6)  I have a wonderful husband who is the most amazing dad and supports me in all the craziness I get myself into.  He is even taking a day off work this Friday to drive a van full of teenagers to a music festival for me!  He's a prince!!

7)  I am turning 40 in June...UGH!

8)  As my 40th birthday gift my darling husband (see #6 above) is sending me to the Stampin' Up convention in Salt Lake City, Utah!!  I am SOOOOO pumped to go.  Can't wait to turn 40 (well...on second thought...)

Ok...that's the best I can do.  Sorry there isn't anything earth-shattering in that list (well maybe the turning 40 part)!  I have another project to post and will do it tomorrow (as soon as I get the tutorial done!).

DIY Embossing Plates...SO Easy!!

 Last month I attended the U-Treat getaway weekend hosted by my upline, Jamilla Ivits.  One of the classes I took while there was on creating your own embossing plates.  Taught by fellow stamper and talented artist Judith Naylor (check out her blog here), this class showed us just how easy it is to create our own embossing plates using cardboard and our SU punches.  Today's cards use the both the plate I made in Judith's class and one I made on my own.  Check out the Tutorials tab at the top of this page for instructions on how to create your own plates!

Card created using my own embossing plate made with the Two-step bird punch

Love the seam binding ribbon and antique brads!

Here is the card I made using the plate I made in the tutorial found here:

Card made using embossing plate made with the butterfly punch.

Close-up of focal image detail.  Stamp is from the Bliss SAB set

Inside of card.  Sentiment is from the You're A Gem set.

These cards were so easy to do!  Both follow pretty much the same procedure.  Here are the instructions for the butterfly one:
Starting with a piece of very vanilla cardstock, run it through your Big Shot using your DIY plate.

NOTE:  You will have to play around with the various tabs on the multi-purpose platform as well as your cutting plates and Impressions pad until you find the correct "sandwich" to use with your homemade plate.  Once you have one that works, write it on the back of your plate for future reference!  For this plate, I used (from bottom to top):  no tabs, the plate, my cardstock, the silicone pad and then the Impressions pad

Once you've embossed the cardstock, sponge it lightly with both crumb cake and marina mist ink.  To stamp the focal image, punch a repositionable note with the butterfly punch and then layer the negative piece over one of the embossed butterflies to act as a mask.  Stamp the flourish image from the Bliss set in marina mist ink and then remove the mask (but save it for later).  Layer the embossed cardstock on a crumb cake mat.  Tie a piece of marina mist 5/8" satin ribbon around the cardfront and then adhere the whole thing to a marina mist cardbase.  Add some little pearls to the focal butterfly's body.
For the inside, stick your mask in the lower right corner and sponge the butterfly using marina mist ink.  Add pearl details as desired.  Stamp the sentiment from the You're a Gem set using marina mist and crumb cake markers on very vanilla cardstock.  Punch out the sentiment using the small oval punch and then layer it over a curly label in crumb cake.  Add more pearls if desired and adhere inside card using dimensionals.
So easy!!

I should have another card and tutorial for you tomorrow...check back in then!

Busy, busy, busy...

I love weekends.  While they are always filled with long to-do lists, I love the change of pace they offer.  There are some weekend days when I don't even leave the house!!  Those are the ones I treasure, because they don't come around very often.  Earlier in the week this weekend was shaping up to be a nice, quiet one...I should have known better.  My parents are down visiting from Parry Sound which is a good thing...it just means I don't get as much accomplished.  Then there is my son.  He has been sick so often this winter I've lost count.  Last Wednesday he started running a fever but had no other symptoms.  We were puzzled, but thought he'd be better with rest and tylenol.  Well, he got the tylenol, but the rest...not so much.  And when your 3 1/2 year old isn't sleeping, neither are you!  The last three nights have been REALLY rough.  Up and down more times than I can count, lots of tears (on his part and mine!) and very frustrated parents!  Well, today he started with cold symptoms...runny nose sneezing, the usual.  So I guess he has the flu...fun!

In spite of my little sicky, I did manage to get some stamping in.  My dad is celebrating his 66th birthday on Wednesday and we were supposed to be going to my brother's place for a birthday dinner this evening.  My son's fever put the kibosh on that plan, but we did make birthday cards this morning.  I won't post my son's efforts (think three year old, ink and car and truck stamps) but I will show you what I did.  My dad is a big outdoorsman.  He hates being cooped up inside and even ventures out on the coldest of cold days in northern Ontario.  I wanted to make a card that reflected this part of his personality.  Here is what I came up with..

Dad's B-day card using Lovely as a Tree set.

Inside sentiment from Bring  on the Cake set

When ever I'm stumped for ideas for masculine cards, I pull out my Lovely as a Tree set.  This old stand-by is so versatile.  It is the first stamp set I ever bought and, though I don't use it as much as I once did, I still love it.  I wanted to change up the forest image a bit so after stamping it in early espresso on very vanilla cardstock, I cut it into three sections.  I made the cuts  where there was space between the trees, which meant each panel was a different size.  I thought it might be a problem, but actually like the look of the assymetrical panels.  I sponged the edges of each panel in crumb cake ink and then adhered them each to a mat in garden green.  The DSP behind the trees is from the Woodland Walk pack.  I just  ordered this DSP at the start of Sale-A-Bration and really love the fresh, nature-inspired patterns and colours in it.  I layered a 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" piece of the woodgrain patterned paper over a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of garden green cardstock.  I then adhered the two larger image panels flat and the smaller centre image panel using dimensionals.  Using my mat pack and paper piercer I added the pierced detail in opposite corners, inserting brads in the very corners.  I added a piece of hemp twine, threading it under the popped up panel, and tied it, fraying the ends.  I adhered the whole cardfront to a crumb cake card base.  The sentiment is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set and is stamped in early espresso on very vanilla CS and then punched out using my word window punch.  I sponged the edges lightly and then added a brad on either end before adhering it to the card using dimensionals.  The final touch was the little library clip I added to the centre panel. 
For the inside of the card, I stamped a portion of the forest image in the lower right corner using early espresso ink.  Then I stamped the sentiment from the Bring on the Cake set on a piece of very vanilla CS, trimmed and matted it on garden green.  I adhered it to the inside of the card using dimensionals.
Since my son is sick we didn't get to have dinner with my dad.  They are going to stop by on their way back home tomorrow to bring us leftovers and allow us to wish my dad a happy birthday.  Not ideal, but such is life with kids!
If I get time tomorrow, I will have a couple of tutorials for you!  I photographed all the steps today, now I just have to type up the instructions.  Stay tuned!!

Shocked and Amazed!!

This afternoon at work I did a quick check of my emails and to my shock and amazement there was a message from Linda Aarhus informing me she had awarded me the...

I sat and read the email several times before it actually sank in and I am still in disbelief that my little blog would ever be worthy.  Knowing all the hundreds, thousands even, of amazing blogs out there in cyberspace I never imagined I would be considered among them.  So a HUGE thank you to Linda!!  Please check out her blog Polka Dots and  Paper...you'll be glad you did!


Now, as a recipient of this award, I have some business to take care of.  The first is to pass it on to eight other blogs I have recently discovered.  So, here is a list of eight great blogs well worth checking out:

Jen Arkfeld 

Sharon Field

Debbi Rippentrop

Lena Paiva

Jeanne Kupsh

Jackie Barfield

Nancy Riley

Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek

I'm also supposed to list eight tidbits of personal info about  myself...here goes!

1)  I've been stamping for just a little less than 2 years but have LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
2) I just became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator this past July but have also LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!
3) I am a full-time high school music department head which seriously interferes with my stamping time...except during summer break (only 4 more months to go!)
4) I am married to a super guy whom I met online before Internet dating was the "in" thing to do.  Interestingly, my brother also  met his wife online about 4 years later!
5) I am mom to the smartest 3 1/2 year-old-ever (ok, I might be a bit biased!).  He is the  light of  my life and is my best stampin' buddy!
6) Although I am a musician I rarely listen to music myself!  After listening to teenagers wail on band instruments all day long the last thing I want to do is  listen to more music.  In fact, all I want is peace and quiet, which is why I LOVE my stampin' corner...all I hear there is the click-click-click of my SNAIL...music to any stamper's ears!
7)  I am addicted to the Young and the Restless and have been for the last 25 years!  (pathetic, I  know!)  Oddly enough, the storyline hasn't changed!
8) I love to cook and entertain.  I've been told many times I should be running my own restaurant...my answer..."Can't...too busy stamping!"

Now, on to more pressing matters...today's card!!  Actually it is a card and gift bag ensemble I did this week.  I am currently working on designs for my April classes and really like the bright, spring-like colours in this set.  See what you think...

Gift ensemble using Summer Garden DP, So Swirly (retired) wheel and Punch Bunch and Pocket Silhouettes stamp sets.

Just the bag...I made matching tissue with my So Swirly wheel

Cloe-up of focal image on bag.

Cute little gift tag from the Punch Bunch SAB set

Matching card and envelope using So Swirly wheel and Pocket Silhouettes set (on of my fav's)

I carried the butterfly theme from the bag inside the card with the Flight of the Butterfly set.

When I envisioned this set I had thought I would use a brighter ink colour for my wheeled images; however, much to my dismay, the only reinker I had in the colours from the Summer Garden DSP was old olive!  I was a bit worried it would be too dark, but I actually like the darker wheeled image to off-set the brightness of the DSP.  I also love the velllum butterflies...so simple to make with my Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die and my Big Shot!  Add a little colour with some ink and sponges and viola...a pretty accent!  I don't know yet if this set will make my April line-up, but I most certainly will find someone to gift it to!

A Really BIG Thank You!

Mr. UPS came to my door today with a VERY large order for a new customer of mine.  She is a colleague at work who has been attending my monthly card classes that I hold in our staffroom after school.  She  had never stamped prior to coming to these classes, but she has certainly caught the bug!  She has placed two large orders within a couple of weeks of eachother, so to thank her I sat down tonight to make a special card.  Here it is...

Thank you card for a special customer using the Bliss SAB set

Close-up of collage detail

Inside of card

Now, this doesn't  actually say thank you...I'm going to write that myself; but it does express some of the "bliss" we all experience when we get a big new  box of goodies.  I thought the sentiment was absolutely perfect, as was the "Enjoy" inside the card.  This card came together really easily because it is a collage of various shapes, images and embellishments.  I just started with the Lap of Luxury DSP and then chose embellishments I liked that worked with the paper.  Really easy and fun to do....I think I'll try  more of this  style of card!
I hope my customer likes her card  and knows how much I appreciate not only her business, but also the thrill of introducing someone to the world of stamping.  That, for me more than anything, is why I LOVE being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

For a Friend...

Last Friday I got word that a customer of mine had a biopsy to check for breast cancer.  She went in for an ultrasound because she'd been having some pain under her arm for several weeks and ended up staying for the biopsy.  This isn't good news because her mother is a breast cancer survivor and we all know, it often runs in families.  She has to wait until the end of this week to get the results and so I made her a card to let her know I'm thinking of her and praying for the best possible outcome:  a clean bill of health!  Here is the card I made:

For this card I used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder and the Because I Card hostess set.

I added colour to the embossed image by inking it with my Versamarker and then adding chalk from my pastels.  The Versamarker helps the chalk stick to the image and makes the colour more vibrant.

Close up of pierced edges and sentiment from Because I Care set.

Inside of card stamped with floral image from Thought and Prayers set and sentiment from Thanks for Caring set.

To me, this card looks like spring.  I wanted it to be a hopeful card filled with the promise of new life.  I hope my customer feels that when she opens it.  Here is what I did to create it...

I started with a piece of very vanilla cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet EF.  I then took my Versarmarker and inked the raised portions and then dabbed colour from my pastels onto the flowers, vines and leaves.  The colours I used were pink pirouette and rose red for the flowers and certainly celery and garden green for the leaves and vine.  I then adhere the embossed piece to a slightly larger piece of blushing bride cardstock.  I cut a smaller strip of blushing bride, punched the edge with my scalloped edge punch and adhered it along the left side of the embossed piece.  I then pierced a double line along the top and right edges using my mat pack and piercing tool.  Then I adhered a piece of pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon to the left side of the cardfront and layered a piece of chantilly crochet trim over top of the seam binding.  I took separate pieces of seam binding and lace, looped them into a bow and secured it with an antique brad.  I then adhered the bow to the cardfront using tombow.  The entire cardfront was then secured to a pear pizzazz card base.  The sentiment, from the Because I Care level one hostess set, was inked with pear pizzazz and blushing bride markers, stamped on a piece of very vanilla scrap and then punched out with my large oval punch.  I layered the sentiment on a scalloped oval in pear pizzazz and adhered it to the card using dimensionals.  The final touch on the front of the card is the tiny pearls I added to the centres of the flowers.

For the inside of the card, I started with another piece of very vanilla cardstock (the same size as the one on the front) and stamped the floral image from the Thoughts and Prayers set which I inked using my pear pizzazz and blushing bride markers.  I then stamped the sentiment from the Thanks for Caring set (Occasions Mini) in pear pizzazz and layered the vanilla piece on a a slightly larger blushing bride piece of cardstock.  I had some scrap bits of seam binding laying around so I added a wee bit to the lower left corner, securing it with glue dots.  I then adhered the whole thing inside the card using SNAIL.

I really love how soft and spring-y this card is...I hope the recipient does too!

Club Projects

Yesterday I posted a "Wheely" easy card that I did with one of my monthly clubs last week.  Today I'm going to show the other projects we did.  Most of the ladies in this club are brand new stampers, so I try to work in some basic techniques with our projects each month.  Two of the ladies had been asking about our Stampin' Around wheels, so I thought I would create things using those great little tools!  Here is what I came up with...

Gift bag made using the Time to Celebrate wheel and Celebrations DSP.  We also made matching tissue with the same wheel!

Matching birthday card using both the Party Hearty and Bring on the Cake sets.

Close up of focal image from the Party Hearty set.

Close up of sentiment from Bring on the Cake set

Inside of card using images from Bring on the Cake set

This set was so much fun to design and even more fun to teach my club ladies to make!  For the bag, we started with a full-sized 8 1/2 x 11" piece of pacific point cardstock and wheeled the "Time to celebrate" in pacific point along the top and bottom edges.  We then took an 8 1/2" x 8" piece of whisper white cardstock and adhered 8 1/2" x 2" strips of the DSP, covering the entire piece of whisper white.  On a separate scrap of whisper white we wheeled the "Time to Celebrate" again and trimmed it to about 1" x 8 1/2".  We adhered that to the piece with the DSP.  We then punched dotted scallop ribbons in pacific point and real red and adhered them along the seams in the DSP.  We added some retired corduroy buttons to the "o"'s in TO for some fun (and because I wanted to use up those buttons!)  We then adhered the DSP layer to the pacific point base using sticky strip and  then adhered the whole thing to the bag in the  same manner.
We used our wheel again on some plain white tissue paper to create matching filler for the bag and made a cute little tag with the Bring on the Cake  set.  Here's a close up of the tag...

The little library clip is from the Clearance Rack...I used up LOTS of retired product with this project!

For the card, we started by adhering the patterned paper to the pacific point cardstock mat.  We then stamped the "b is for birthday" image from the Party Hearty set, inking the stamp with pacific point and real red markers.  I wanted to show my ladies how versatile markers are...we didn't use a single ink pad the entire evening!  We layered the "b is for birthday" image on a piece of pacific point cardstock and added a  corduroy button threaded with old olive 1/8" taffeta ribbon using glue dots.  We adhered some retired pacific point striped grosgrain ribbon to the cardfront and then adhered the focal image using dimensionals.  For the sentiment, we again inked our stamp with markers, stamped on a scrap of whisper white CS and punched it out using the modern label punch.  We layered that on a wide oval in pacific point, added some non-SU candle brads (no idea where they came from...I've had them forever!) and adhered it to the cardfront using dimensionals.  We then adhered the entire thing to a textured whisper white card base.
On the inside of the card, we stamped the other half of the "so many candles" sentiment with markers and followed the same process as we did for the cardfront.  We also coloured and stamped the birthday cake in the lower right corner.
These projects used lots of current and retired product...my ladies loved it and I got rid of lots of retired product to make room for NEW stuff!  It was a win-win!!

Wheely Easy Card!

Ok...sorry about the bad pun, but this card was easy thanks to my Friendly Words wheel and some embossing powder.  Check it out...

Fast and easy card using Friendly Words wheel.

Close up of embossed wheel image.

Inside of card

Close up of sentiment

I designed this card for one of my monthly clubs.  This month we were doing a birthday ensemble that was fairly involved, so I wanted a quick and easy card to end the evening with.  Since we were using wheels on the gift bag and tissue for the birthday set, I figured we may as well keep things "rolling" along and use another wheel here.  Here are the details...
Starting with a 6 x 2 1/2" piece of rich razzleberry cardstock, rub the entire surface with an emboossing buddy and then wheel the Friendly words wheel across the length of the card using a cartridge inked with Versamark.  Sprinkle silver EP over the entire image and then heat with heat tool.  Tie a piece of 5/8" satin ribbon in basic gray (retired...you could also use basic black) around the top of the embossed piece.  Layer  this piece on a 6" x 2 3/4" piece of brushed silver cardstock, then adhere the whole thing to a 6" x 3" basic black card  base. 
For the inside, adhere a 6"x2 3/4" piece of going gray (retired, you could also use brushed silver) cardstock.  Ink the sentiment from the You're A Gem set using rich razzleberry and basic black markers and stamp on a scrap of whisper white cardstock.  Punch it out using the curly label punch.  Trim the sentiment and adhere to another curly label in rich razzleberry.  Add rhinestone and adhere to card using dimensionals. 
It doesn't get any easier than this!

Fun Folding Card

In last month's issue of Stampin' Success, our monthly demonstrator magazine, there was a feature on an interactive card that just kept folding and folding until it ended up back where it started.  I though it was kinda neat so I knew I had to try one myself.  Here is what I came up with...

Forever Folding card using the Morning Cup stamp set and Play Date DSP.  This is the front of the card (I did it backwards to what the instructions said because I liked that the first fold was a gate fold)

Second fold (the clip at the top is not part of the design...it is holding the card open so I could take a picture!)

Third fold (same goes for the clips in this pic!)

Fourth fold.  After this you end up back at the front again.

I had such fun with this card!  First of all, figuring out how to put it together from the photos in the magazine was impossible!  Thankfully my upline figured it out for us and had us make a sample at our monthly team meeting!  The second challenge in making this card was the design.  One must be very careful when placing embellishments etc. because there really is no "back" of the card.  Every side of the card is visible at some point.  The final challenge was finding a sentiment that would make one want to keep folding the card to get to the punchline.  I think this one is great and so I broke it up into four parts; one for each view.

For those of you fellow demonstrators who want to try one of these cards for yourself, here is a link to a video from the SU demo site that explains how to do so as well as a cutting template that explains how to cut and score your cardstock.  For non-demos, Julie Buhler has done a tutorial on her blog here.

I hope you have as much fun with this as I did!

A long, busy week!

Why, oh why is my life so hectic?  What I would give for a nice quiet couple of weeks where nobody expects anything from me and I could just do what ever I feel like, when ever I feel like it.  Guess I should have thought of that before I got married and had a kid, huh? 
Here, finally is a new post...far later than I had expected.  A while back I mentioned I held a Sale-A-Bration Open House to kick off this great promotion and give my customers a chance to win some goodies and book their Sale-A-Bration workshops.  At that time I promised to post the two make-n-takes we did...well...FINALLY here they are:

Cheery Birthday card made using the Ice Cream Parlor DSP and embellishments and the So Happy For You set...all of which were FREE!!

Vintage-y card using the Bliss set...and two of my fav colours!

Close-up of focal image

I was really happy with both of these cards and so were my customers!  The birthday card is so bright and cheerful...perfect to wish someone a happy day.  It is based on a sketch from last month's issue of Stampin' Success, our demonstrator magazine.  I've done a couple of other cards using this sketch...check them out here.  I really like this layout because it is so versatile and is a great way to use up scraps and odd embellishments.

The Bliss card features my favourite SAB set.  It is the only one I pre-ordered, even though I knew I would earn it once SAB started...I just couldn't wait for it!  This card is very simple, yet elegant and has a touch of vintage flair.  I used two of my favourite colours:  crumb cake and baja breeze.  I also used my new favourite embellishment:  seam binding ribbon, and another fav, antique brads.  I love how the vintage wallpaper embossing folder works so well with the flourish stamp image.  So easy to coordinate...that's one of the many things I love about Stampin' Up!

Loving Love Impressions DSP!

Well, here it is Sunday night already!  Why does the weekend always fly by so quickly?  I didn't get nearly everything done this weekend that I had hoped to.  I see a few late nights in my future this week!  Speaking of this week...tomorrow is Valentine's Day!  My hubby and I are planning to go out for dinner with the money my parents sent us (thanks Mom & Dad!).  To celebrate, here is another cute Valentine's card with NO stamping involved!

CAS Valentine's card featuring Love Impression DSP...no stamping required!

Close up of the cute little epoxy brad from last year's Occasions Mini...I bought mine from the Clearance Rack!

Inside of card...lots of room to write a love note :o)

This card combines the old and the new.  The Love Impressions DSP is in this year's Occasions Mini, while the basic gray satin ribbon and the epoxy brads were in last year's version!  What I love about this card is how quick and easy it was to put together and that I didn't ink up a single stamp!  Now, don't get me wrong...I LOVE stamping...but it's always fun to put together a cute card that doesn't use a bit of ink once in a while!  The sentiment on the front of the card and the little hearts inside are all part of the same piece of heavy-weight DSP from the Love Impressions pack.  Both are embossed in white against the pink pirouette background.  Really pretty, no?  I would love to receive this card...maybe I'll offer to sell it to my hubby!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with those you love.  Not sure I'll get to post tomorrow...depends on how dinner goes ;o)

A simple Valentine's Workshop card

Since the big day is on Monday, I figured I'd post a couple more Valentine's cards this weekend.  Today's card is one I did as the Make-n-Take at a workshop on Thursday night.  It was pretty fast and easy to put together...ideal for a workshop!

Simple Valentine's card CASED from a fellow demo on Stampin' Connection.  (Sorry, I can't remember who!)

To speed up the make-n-take process, I pre-punched all the hearts.  That way everyone just took a handful and went right to work.  Since there were 10 ladies at my workshop, and I only have one of each punch, it was a good decision!  Here is what we did...
Starting with a 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" piece of whisper white cardstock, we randomly glued hearts of various sizes in real red and pretty in pink on the upper 2/3 of the cardstock.  The hearts were punched using both the full heart and heart to heart punches.  Then we ran the cardstock through the Big Shot using the square lattice embossing folder.  This gives the illusion that the hearts are actually part of the white background.  We then adhered the embossed piece to a real red mat that was 5 1/4" x 4".  Using a piece of retired basic gray 3/8" taffeta ribbon, we wrapped it around the cardfront and adhered it to the back side using glue dots.  We then tied a bow using real red 1/8" taffeta ribbon.  The whole thing then was glued to a basic gray card base.  For the sentiment, we stamped "happy Valentine's Day" (from Teeny tiny Wishes set) in real red on whisper white scrap.  We punched it out using the word window punch and then layered it on a modern label punch out in basic gray.  We added two silver brads on either end of the modern label and then layered it on a wide oval punch out in real red using dimensionals.  We then adhered it to the card using SNAIL.  The ladies at the workshop loved this project...especially the Big Shot!  Such a great tool!!

Now I have to run...my husband is working today and I am on my own with my 3 1/2 year old!  Enjoy your Saturday!

A Poppy Parade Sale-A-Bration Sample

Whew...what a busy week!  I am SO glad it is Friday!!  I'm looking forward to some down-time this weekend to just spend with my  family.  Tonight I have another sample using one of the exclusive Sale-A-Bration sets called "Punch Bunch".  All of the images in this versatile set coordinate with one of Stampin' Up's punches.  It is really popular because it makes adding a sentiment to a card fast and easy.  I used my favourite image from that set...see what you think...

CAS card using Punch Bunch SAB set and retired gems from the Holiday Mini

Close up of focal image...I was trying to mimic the look of a poppy with the layers

Inside of card using sentiment from the You're  A Gem set.

Close up of inside sentiment with a couple of black gems added.

Watercolour-look image inside card

I really love the in-colour called poppy parade.  It is so fresh and vibrant and I just knew I had to use it with the poppy image from the Punch Bunch set.  I have always loved poppies..I even have them planted in my garden (though it's hard to believe they'll ever bloom again with  all the cold, snowy weather we've had this month!)  The DSP on this card came from the level one hostess 6 x 6 In-Colour DSP stack...a great choice when you host a minimum $200 workshop!  This card came together quite easily...here's what  did:

Starting with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of basic black cardstock, I adhered two pieces of DSP that measured a combined 5 1/8" x 3 7/8" .  I then adhered the rhinestone flourish that I had left over from the Holiday Mini catalogue.  I added a piece of black satin ribbon to cover the seam in the DSP, adhering it with glue dots on he back of the cardfront.  I then adhered the whole thing to a poppy parade card base.  On a separate scrap of whisper white cardstock,  I stamped the poppy image in basic black ink.  I punched it out using my 1 1/4" circle punch.  When I did this, there were little bits of the scallop border showing, so I just took and coloured the white parts in with my black Stampin' Write marker.  I then punched a 1 3/4" circle in poppy parade, a 2" circle in basic black and a 2 1/2" circle in poppy parade.  I layered them all together, sponging the edge of the largest circle in black ink.  I adhered the whole thing to the card using dimensionals.
For the inside of the card, I stamped the sentiment inking, it with my poppy parade and basic black markers. I punched it out using my 1 1/4" circle punch and then layered it on a 1 3/4" basic black circle.  I adhered it inside the card and added a few extra black gems.  I then inked the poppy image again using  my markers and stamped it in the lower right corner of the card.

Easy and quick,yet eye-catching...gotta love cards like this!  Have a great weekend everyone!

My first Tri-Shutter attempt

Last weekend I was planning the projects and samples for my Fun Folds class on Thursday, Feb. 17th.  One of the projects we will do is a tri-shutter card.  This simple, yet complicated-looking, card is an interesting way to switch up your cardmaking.  Here is the one I created in preparation for the class:

Tri-Shutter card using Springtime Vintage DSP

Tri-shutter card open

Butterflies and flowers...can't get any spring-ier than that!

Close-up of the flower...easy to make!

Close-up of sentiment

I am so loving this DSP from the Occasions Mini!  It is so pretty and girlie!  It certainly made this card easy to put together!  It also has some lovely colours in it...rose red, always artichoke and very vanilla, to name but a few!  Now, I'm not going to post instructions for this card until after my class...I do want people to come!!  I am working on a tutorial for how to make the flower and will post it on the tutorials page (see tab at the top of this page) when I have it finished.  If you'd like to see this card in person, sign up for my class next week and join us for three projects that are a little out-of-the-ordinary!  Now it's time for my son's music class...I must run!!