Baby Bitties

I'm still fighting this sinus infection, but I do want to quickly show you this cute card I designed a while back.

Baby card featuring the Itty Bitties stamp set with sentiment from Sweet Essentials.

I just love the Itty Bitties stamp set!  It has such cute images and is so versatile!  Yes, the images are small, but that just means you can use them with some fun embellishments!  Here I've layered the stamped images on some of the Sycamore Street buttons, available for free during Sale-a-bration, to frame them and give them more presence on the card.  The DSP I've used is from the More Amore pack...not just for Valentine's Day!  The sentiment, from the Sweet Essentials set is perfect on a little banner to welcome a new addition.  With many of my friends expecting little ones in the coming months, I'm sure I'll be able to put this card to good use!

Time for more Sketch Inspiration

I am in misery.  My cold of last week has morphed into what I'm sure is a sinus infection.  Ugh!  Taking today off work isn't an option, so the doctor will have to wait until tomorrow and I'll have to make do with over-the-counter decongestants.  Since I spent most of the weekend feeling crummy I didn't get much stamping done, but I do have a couple of projects to show you this week.  Today I have the last in my series of cards using this month's inspiration sketch.  In case you missed it, here is the sketch:

And here is my last design for this month:

Any-occasion card featuring the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set.

I kept this one CAS, electing to use the fantastic  Sycamore Street Sale-a-bration DSP as my focal point.  I embossed using the new Honeycomb TIEF and then cut little hexagons from the DSP to fit inside.  I also used some coordinating ribbon and a button, also from the Sale-a-bration brochure.
I hope you've enjoyed this month's sketch.  I'll have a new one next weekend as March (and hopefully warmer weather) begins. In the meantime I'm going to do my best to get rid of this nasty infection!

Chalkboard Secret

Happy Friday!!  Gotta love these short weeks!  Today I have a card I designed for my techniques class last night to learn the Chalkboard technique.  Have a look:

Birthday ensemble featuring the From My Heart and Best of Birthdays stamp sets.

Birthday Card

Gift tag

This technique is SO popular right now I just had to teach it to my techies this month.  We made both items so they got lots of practice at it, plus they got to take home a techniques card with quick instructions so that they can recreate the look at home.  Lots of fun! 
Have a great weekend...hope its filled with stamping fun!!

Mojo Monday meets Friday Mash-up!

Today I have a card I designed for two challenges:  Mojo Monday and Friday Mash-Up.  I used one of my favourite new products from the Spring Catalogue to do it:  the Secret Garden bundle.  Here are the challenges:

And here is my card:

Mother's Day card for MO|JO281 and FM97

Close up of flowers

I love this stamp set and coordinating framelits!  It is so easy to stamp and cut flowers...no fussy-cutting required!  To colour the images I used a technique I saw on a card by fellow demonstrator Karen Barber that I'm calling Crafty Watercolouring (don't know what it's actually called, but I kinda like it!).  We are going to be learning it at my techniques class tonight...I think my attendees are going to love it! Here's a quick how-to:  emboss flower images in white on Crumb Cake card stock.  Fill in images using an Aquapainter and Whisper White craft ink.  Once ink has dried, colour over top using markers and blend with an Aquapainter.  So easy and so dramatic!

More Crafty Watercolouring

Today I want to show you the card I designed for my techniques class this week to learn the Crafty Watercolouring technique.  I used this week's Retro Sketches challenge as my starting point.  Here is the sketch:

Check out my version, which also happens to work for this week's marker/texture challenge over at Friday Mash-up

Any-Occasion card for RS51 and FM97

I can't tell you how much I love this technique!  The results are gorgeous and so easy to achieve!  I know my class members are going to love it!  I'm sure you'll see more of this look from me in the future!

Whew!

I am exhausted!  This past weekend I was in mass-production mode, cranking out Tootsie Pop flowers for an event I am involved in.  What event?  I am participataing in the Flamborough Baptist Church Mom-Mom sale on Saturday, March 2nd.  Part of the event is that the first 200 attendees receive a grab bag full of goodies.  Enter my bright idea to give everyone a Tootsie Pop flower with my contact info attached to it!  Have a look:

A whole lotta Tootsie Pop flowers...200 to be exact!

A Tootsie Bouquet!

A solitary bloom

To make these pretty blooms I used the three smallest-sized flowers on my Flower Folds Bigz XL die, embossing the smallest one with my Perfect Polka Dots TIEF.  Then it was literally just a matter of sticking the stick of the Tootsie Pop through the centre of each flower.  That's it!  Not terribly tough, but an awful lot of cranking that Big Shot handle to make 200 of them!!  In addition to the stamped tag, each flower has a sticker on the stem with all of my contact info on it.  I'm hoping these will be a hit and generate some interest in my table.  I'm going to be  selling off a ton of retired product, both new and used, as well as promoting my classes and events.  If you're free and in the area, stop by and say hi!

Celebrate Monthly Sketch Inspiration

Ah....Saturday!  Love this day of the week the most!  Even better because this particular Saturday falls on a long weekend!!  Here's to extra time to get stuff done!
To start your weekend off right, I have another take on this month's sketch.  Wondering what I'm talking about?  Check out the Monthly Sketch Inspiration tab at the upper right of this page and see the sketch and a couple of samples I created with it.  Today I have another take on it...this time I've rotated the sketch to make a horizonatally oriented card.  Have a look:

Birthday card featuring the Pretty Petites, Collage Curios and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets.

One thing to remember when working with a sketch is that it is only a suggested starting point for your creativity...don't be afraid to play with it!  Here I turned the sketch on it's side and came up with a completely different look.  What do you think of that metal medallion encircling the sentiment?  Cool, eh?  It is one of the new Soda Pop Tops that I ran through my Big Shot and squished!  So easy and it doesn't hurt the Big Shot one bit!  Just open your platform up so you're using no tabs.  Put a cutting plate on the platform, lay the pop top on the plate so the open side is down, put the second cutting plate on top and run it through.  You'll feel very little resistance when rolling it through, but the result is a perfectly squished bottle cap that makes a lovely embellishment!  Try it for yourself...and while you're at it, try the sketch too! 
Have a happy Saturday!!

Ears to You!

Happy Friday!!  I hope you've had a good week and are ready for some stamping fun this weekend.  I'm excited about my new monthly TGIF class that begins tonight!  I can't wait to get together with some of my stamping friends and just relax and have fun after a busy week.  First, though, I want to show you the card I made for a team member who recently promoted.  I used the new Ears To You single stamp...have a look:

Congratulations card featuring the new Ears to You single stamp (132659)

I love those little bunnies!!  The fact that they each sport a trendy pattern just makes them that much cuter!  When I first saw this stamp I immediately thought Easter (stay tuned for projects on that theme next week!), but the punny sentiment made it perfect to acknowledge my team member's hard work.  The DSP is from the Print Poetry DSP Stack...love the colour combo!  I embossed the background using the new Cloudy Day TIEF from the Spring Catty...just the right hint of texture.  I finished it off with just a bit of stitched satin ribbon for some shine.  Soooo...have you made your single stamp wish list yet?  Just wait till you see what I've got in-store for you next week!  In the meantime, have a great, crafty weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope today finds you feeling loved.  I am so blessed with wonderful people in my life who make me feel special each and every day.  I want to show you a little treat holder I made for some of them to let them know just how much I appreciate them.  Have a look:

Valentine's treat holder made using the Petite Purse Bigz Die and the Hearts Collection Framelits.

This little treat holder actually holds 10+ Hershey's Kisses!  Not so little, huh?  I wanted to come up with something with a bit more impact than the little mini purses (don't get me wrong, I LOVE the mini purses!), so I stepped it up by adding a pair of hearts to the front and back of the purse.  I embellished it up with the new Designer Builder Brads, 5/8" Flower Trim, Large Rhinestone Jewels and a bit of stitched satin ribbon.  The DSP is from the More Amore pack and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  Quick, easy and impactful...my kinda project!

Sentimental Celebration

Last week I featured a series of cards I did using the Feeling Sentimental Sale-a-bration stamp set.  Well, I'm not done yet!  I just love that set and had to take another crack at it, this time with a different colour scheme.  Check it out:

Any-occasion card featuring the Feeling Sentimental and That's the Ticket stamp sets.

I don't know what it is about these stamp images, but I just can't get enough of them!  I'll be sad when Sale-a-bration ends and I can't play with them as much as I'd like.  That just means I have to get lots of use out of them in the meantime!  For this card I used DSP from two different packs:  Fan Fair and Print Poetry.  I love the way the different patterns work together with the Ferris wheel image.  There are lots of layers on this card...I just kept adding and adding stuff...I know, its a sickness LOL!  I don't think you can tell in the photo but I used my new Occasions paper piercing pack to add interest to the oval frame around the stamped image.  I also pulled out one of my new favourite sets That's the Ticket to add some vintagey embellishments.  I love how versatile that set is!  I finished it off with a bit of seam binding ribbon and a mini library clip (retired) to hold everything together.  Not exactly a simple card, but sometimes its fun to just play!

Oh Baby!

One of my team members is expecting her second child in early March.  Last night at our team meeting we had a little mini-shower for her, as it will be her last meeting for a while.  I made her a fun card using some great new products that I knew she'd love.  Check it out:

Baby Shower card feturing the Oh, Baby! single stamp (132667)

I have to say I really love this card!  I love the DSP from the Print Poetry DSP Stack...this colour combo just pops.  I also love the stamp image...so much fun.  I paper-pieced the "B" to look more like a chic maternity dress...with requisite bling, of course!  I think my favourite thing is the little arrow clip pointing right at the baby bump.  Too cute!!  I am definitely making another copy of this card...it's too much fun not to CASE!

Chalkboard Birthday

When Stampin' Up released the latest round of single stamps I did a little happy dance.  I love every single image in the bunch!  With so many fun and versatile stamps to choose from I had a hard time narrowing down my order!  I began with three...and you'll see each one of them this week, as I had some fun last weekend playing with my new goodies.  Today I want to show you the WooHoo single stamp.  First of all, with a name like that, what's not to love, right??  Check out this card I designed for my team to make at our meeting this week:

Birthday card featuring the Chalkboard technique using the Woo Hoo single stamp (132661).

Fun, huh?  I love the look of the chalkboard technique and thought this stamp was just perfect for that technique.  Besides the new stamp image, I also used the new Honeycomb TIEF and silver buttons from the Spring Catalogue.  The DSP is from the Neutrals stack...perfect for subtle pattern.  I hope my team enjoys making this one...I know I sure did!!

Last one!

Happy Thursday...just one more day till the weekend!!  Today I have one more project in my Feeling Sentimental series to show you..and, to be honest, it's my favourite of the bunch!  Have a look:

Any-occasion card featuring the Feeling Sentimental and That's the Ticket stamp sets.

So this time I switched it up a bit and used an image from the That's the Ticket stamp set, rather than from Vintage Verses.  I just love those cute little tickets and thought it would be the perfect accent for the Ferris wheel image.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo, but I also stamped the ticket image randomly all over the Cherry Cobbler panel behind the focal image to add a bit of texture and interest.  I also put my Distressing Tool to work on the edges of the Cherry Cobbler panel. I again dug into my embellie stash for some Vintage Trinkets and a (retired) mini clip.  It has been so much fun to just play with this set!  In case you missed my earlier posts on the other cards in the collection, here is a shot of the whole set:

Feeling Sentimental Ensemble

I'm really happy with the way these came together, though I don't know whether it is because I like the result or just loved having the time to play!  Either way, I had great fun getting inky!!

Feeling Sentimental...

...take two!  Here is the second in the series of cards I designed using two of my favourite Sale-a-bration stamp sets:  Feeling Sentimental and Vintage Verses.  Have a look...

Thank you card featuring the Feeling Sentimental and Vintage Verses Sale-a-bration stamp sets.

I stuck with the same colour scheme as yesterday's project.   This time I added a little First Edition DSP for texture and contrast, as well as a bit of Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon and a little mini safety pin from the Vintage Trinkets.  I love those little bits and pieces...they're perfect for adding vintage touches to projects without adding a lot of bulk or weight.  Stop by tomorrow to see the final installment of my Sentimental Series!

Have you Liked me yet?

Well, have you?  In case you missed it I am offering a contest.  Just "Like" my Facebook page and you're entered in a draw for some sweet stamping swag.  I'll draw a winner from the first 100 people who Like me.  If I get to 200 I'll draw again...300, 400 and so on.  The thing is, the more Likes I get the more people there will be in the draw, so your odds of winning will be best if you get in the first round of 100.  So go Like me, will ya??
Now for your daily stamping inspiration...
Today I want to show you a project I designed using the fantastic Sale-a-bration stamp set Feeling Sentimental.  I love this set...I especially love it paired with the Vintage Verses set, which is another SAB freebie!  Now, it just so happens that the layout of this card is very similar to this week's sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps.  Check out the sketch:

Have a look at my card:

Any-occasion card for SSC34 featuring the Feeling Sentimental and Vintage Verses SAB stamp sets

I can't tell you how much I love these two stamp sets!  You are going to see more of this combo, not to mention the colour pallette of Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla!  I actually did a set of three cards using each of the images in the Feeling Sentimental set...stay tuned for more on those later in the week.  Have a great day...thanks for stopping by!

Love is in the air...

...or at least that's this week's theme over at Hand Stamped Sentiments!  This weeks challenge is a photo inspiration...check it out:

I decided to design a card for this challenge using my inspiration sketch for this month.  In case you missed it, you'll find it at the top of the page on the "Monthly Sketch Inspiration" tab.  I promised I would show a design each week that uses this sketch, so here we go...

Valentine's card for HSS152 and for February's monthly inspiration sketch featuring the Madison Avenue and That's the Ticket stamp sets.

Kinda pretty, no?  I love the way the medallion image from the Madison Avenue Sale-a-bration set works with the the Lacy Brocade TIEF...it's like they were made for eachother!  Speaking of made for eachother, did you know that the medallion image fits in the smallest of the Floral Frames Framelits perfectly??  I did a little happy dance when I discovered that!!  I used a new addition to my stamp collection for the sentiment feature: the new That's the Ticket stamp set.  I am L-O-V-ing that set!  Finally, reason to use my Ticket Duo punch!  It has sat sadly neglected until now!  No longer, though!  It is going to get a workout with this fab stamp set!  I also went a little crazy with the embellies on this card...I used one of the new Designer Builder Brads and filled the centre with an In-colour Dahlia in Raspberry Ripple...it fits perfectly!  I also blinged up the stamped medallions with some of the Large Rhinestone basic gems...what's not to like about big bling?!?   Thanks for stopping by...have a happy Monday and a great week!

Door Prize Winners and a new Promotion!

Yesterday was great fun!  My Open House was a great time of games, yummy food, stamping and socializing.  I hope all who attended left feeling valued and appreciated and like they'd had an afternoon well-spent!  This morning,  bright and early, my impartial judge (my 5-year-old) was up and eager to choose the winners of my door prizes.  So, without futher ado, here are the winners (insert drumroll here...):

Cathy MacDonald

Christmas Greetings Kit

(includes Everyday Elegance Simply Sent Kit, Christmas Greetings stamp set, Whisper White 1/8" taffeta ribbon and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Marker)

Rachel Beretta

For All You Do Kit

(includes For All You Do stamp set, Whisper White 1" satin ribbon and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Marker)

Elisha Hurl

Sunny Day Kit

(includes Sunny Day Simply Scrappin' Kit, Old Olive 1/2" taffeta ribbon, Spring Time Vintage Big Designer Buttons and Melon Mambo Stampin' Write Marker)

Congratulations to all of the winners!  I will contact each one individually to arrange for delivery.

On another note, Stampin' Up! just announced yet another great new promotion.  As if Sale-a-bration weren't enough, the Sent With Love promotion just flew in!  Check out these great new products:

Sent With Love Stamp set 

$21.95 CM (131847)

Sent With Love Designer Series Paper

$13.50

(132182)

The BEST part about this promotion is that you can bundle them, along with a package of Calypso Coral Baker's Twine, for 20% off!  The Sent With Love Bundle (132851) is only $31.50 for the stamp set, DSP and Baker's Twine. 
To sweeten the deal even more, I'm offering some additional products to bundle with your bundle!  Add the following to your bundle for just $28.50 ( a 10% savings) to bring it to that magical $60.00 level and then choose your FREE Sale-a-bration reward.  To make it even better, receive FREE SHIPPING on your $60 bundle.  Here are the coordinating products you can add:

Postage Stamp Punch 

(122344)

$21.95

In-Colour Designer Printed Brads

(122940)

$9.95

What a deal!  While the Sent With Love promotion is on until April 30th, my bundled bundle offer only lasts till the end of Sale-a-bration (March 22nd).  Hurry and place your order today so you don't miss out!!  I can't wait to get my bundle and start working on my scrapbook layouts for our Disney Trip!  Such fun!!

Today is the Day!

My Customer Appreciation Sale-a-bration Open House Extravaganza is here!  I am so excited to welcome my stamping friends into my home for yummy treats, fun games, prizes and, of course, lots of stamping!  Because this is also my chance to say thank you to them all for their business over the past year, I wanted to give them a little gift of appreciation.  I have had a number of almost-square tins sitting in my stash for years and this was the perfect use for them!  I decorated them using products from both Sale-a-bration and the Spring Catalogue.  Take a look:

Decorated using Sycamore Street DSP and coordinating buttons, flowers made from new Creped Filter Paper (129393) with sentiment from Itty Bitty Banners (also available as a Sale-a-bration freebie!)

Decorated using Sycamore Street DSP and coordinating ribbon as well as the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit (131395)

Decorated using Sycamore Street DSP and the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit (131395)

Fun, huh?  Now I bet your next question will be what's in them, right?  Well that is a surprise!  You'll just have to stop in this afternoon between 2 and 5 to find out!! 
Have a great Saturday everyone!!

New month, new blog feature!

Happy February, everyone!  Can you believe we're already a month into 2013?!?  Today marks the start of a new feature I am adding to my blog.  I announced it in my newletter that went out this morning, so if you haven't read it yet, this will be news, otherwise, you'll already have heard all about it.

One of the most common comments I get from my stamping friends is that they love playing with ink and paper, but find it really difficult coming up with ideas for layouts and designs.  This new feature is meant to help address that problem!  At the beginning of each month I will post a sketch that I've designed.  They will usually be quite simple to allow lots of room for creativity.  I will also post projects that I have done using the sketch throughout the month.  You'll be amazed how much fun it is to design from a sketch...it will really get your creative Mojo working...I promise you!!  Each sketch will be featured in a blog post, as will all of the samples; however they will also reside on my new Monthly Sketch Inspiration page (check out the tab in the upper right of this page!) to make it easy to find them all in one place.  So, without further ado, here is February's sketch:

 

And, here is my first sample to get you inspired and into your stamping supplies

 

Simple Valentine's card featuring More Amore DSP and sentiment from Delightful Dozen.

So, are you ready to get creating?? Give it a shot...you might just surprise yourself!  Go stamp something...and have a great weekend!!