Thanks, Coach!

Last weekend my son's baseball season finished up.  He has had a wonderful experience, thanks in large part to his coach.  He was so patient with Max and took the time to teach him the fundamentals of the game and we saw a huge improvment in Max's play over the course of the season.  To express our appreciation I made special card for Max to give along with a Tim Horton's gift card because that's what we Canadians love most! ;)

Coach Thank you card using the Circle Card Thinlits and the Alphabet Rotary Stamp

Of course, I left making this until the morning of his big finals day, so I had to design quickly.  I knew I wanted to use a baseball on it somehow, so I pulled out my Circle Card Thinlits die.  I used Basic Gray card stock with the die to create the card base.  Then I pulled out some Tangelo Twist and Basic Black card stock (Max's team is the Orioles).  I embossed the Tangelo Twist with the Lucky Stars TIEF and the Basic Black with the Stylish Stripes TIEF.

To create the baseball, I simply punched a 2-1/2" circle from Whisper White card stock and then used the negative from the punch to trace my stitching lines on the ball using a Real Red Stampin' Write marker.  I added the little "v" stitches and sponged the edges in Smoky Slate ink...quick and easy baseball. The sentiment is stamped using the Alphabet Rotary stamp (so love that thing for creating personalized greetings!) in Basic Black ink.  Now, everybody likes some sparkle, so I added some silver glimmer stars, punched with the Confetti Stars punch and the Itty Bitty Accents Pack, by way of embellishment.

On the back of the baseball, I added a little banner created using the Banner Banter stamp set and coordinating Banner punch.  The little You're The Best greeting was perfect for this project. I left space on the back of the card for Max to write a message of thanks to his coach.

Have a fantastic weekend!  I am gearing up to spend the day with 24 fellow demonstrators at my Christmas in July event tomorrow.  Lots of stamping and fun will be had!  I'll share photos next week.  Till then, happy stamping!

Glorious and Free

Happy Canada Day!  Today is the day we celebrate the best country in the world.  I am so blessed to call Canada home.  I designed a special card to celebrate...

Canada Day card featuring the Vintage Leaves stamp set with sentiment created using the Rotary Alphabet stamp.

Canada is almost synonymous with the maple leaf, in fact, for decades our national anthem was called The Maple Leaf Forever.  What better way to pay tribute to this great country than with the maple leaf image from the Vintage Leaves stamp set?  Here I stamped it in Memento Black ink and then coloured it using alcohol markers for a vivid red.  I die cut the coloured leaf using the Leaflets Framelits.  I spotlit the die-cut  leaf using gold foil card stock.  I used the Woodgrain TIEF to add texture to the Whisper White background panel before mounting it on a card base of thick Whisper White card stock.

The sentiment, taken from our national anthem, is stamped using the Rotary Alphabet stamp...a must-have for every stamper, as it allows one to create any customized sentiment.  I trimmed each word, adhering them individually and slightly crooked (yep, did it on purpose!).  The only embellishment is three little gold sequins in the lower left corner to add a little sparkle.
I hope that where ever you are celebrating Canada Day this year, whether at home or abroad, you are doing so surrounded by the love of family and friends.  Happy Birthday Canada!!

@Strong&free

Happy day-after-the-4th-of-July/Saturday-after-Canada-Day!  It's time for a new challenge over at The Technique Twist and this time we're all about national pride.  We're using patriotic colours on our projects to show our love for our respective countries.  Since I'm a Canadian my project is all about the red and white and, of course, the maple leaf...

Patriotic card featuring the Magnificent Maple (retired) stamp, Work of Art stamp set and the Alphabet Rotary stamp

Since we don't have a current maple leaf image in the Stampin' Up! catalogue (holding out hope for one in  the Holiday catalogue), I turned to one of my favourite images from last year's Holiday catty...Magnificent Maple.  I heat embossed the leaf image in gold over top of the brush stroke images stamped in Real Red.  To accentuate the gold embossing I matted the front panel on Brushed Gold card stock before mounting it on a Real Red card base.

The sentiment was done using the new Alphabet Rotary stamp...love it...and inked with a Real Red marker.  I added a little gold baker's twine to keep the gold theme going and added a few gold sequins as well.

Inside view with sentiment from the And Many More stamp set

On the inside of the card I stamped another brush stroke image from the Work of Art set, stamping off once to get a lighter shade of red.  I heat embossed in gold the sentiment from the new And Many More set.

I hope you had a chance to celebrate your nation, whether American or Canadian, this week.  We all have so much to be thankful for!

Ninja Turtle Birthday

This past weekend my son was invited to a Ninja Turtle-themed birthday party.  Of course that meant that Mommy had to design an appropriate card for the birthday boy.  Here is what I came up with...

Ninja Turtle birthday card featuring the Alphabet Rotary stamp and the Age Awareness stamp set.

Best thing about this card?  I got to use some of my new toys from my first new catty order!  I used the Alphabet Rotary stamp for "Its Your..." and "Cowabunga" and the Age Awareness set for "Birthday".  I also used the Stars Framelits and the Triangles TIEF to do the inlaid embossing technique on the background.

To create Raphael (I'm told that's the correct name for "The Red Guy" as I typically call him) I used Ovals and Circles Framelits (though I can't tell you which ones because I forgot to write it down and, of course, I no longer have the card to check!) and some leftover Gumball Green Core'dinations card stock.  The tails on the mask are cut using the Bitty Banners Framelits (the curvy one).  The eyes and nostrils are from the Owl Builder punch and the mouth is done with the Large Oval punch.

Inside view with sentiments from the Endless Birthday Wishes and Alphabet rotary stamps.

On the inside I stamped a couple of stars from the recently-retired Simply Stars set (won't be getting rid of that one anytime soon!).  The "hope it's an..." is from the Endless Birthday Wishes set and "Awesome Day" is again stamped using the Alphabet Rotary stamp (such an awesome tool!!).
I guess Mommy done good...the card was a hit and my boy was happy :)  Once in a while, Mommy gets it right!

Monday Man-card

Happy Monday!!  The end is near...just three more weeks till I'm finished at school for another year!  My son is finished this Friday (Mommy's just a weeeee bit jealous!!)...I can't believe he's done grade one!
Today I have a Man-card for you.  Father's Day is coming up next weekend and I've been busy creating cards for the men in my life.  This one will be for my dad, who will be spending the weekend with us!  This will be the first Father's Day in 10 years I've been able to spend with my dad...so special!  Here is the card I made for him:

Masculine card featuring the World Map background stamp, Traveller stamp set and the new Alphabet Rotary stamp

I pulled out my new Alphabet Rotary stamp for the sentiment on this one...I love how easy is it to create any sentiment I want.  I think this may well become one of my favourite new products.
To create the background I stamped the World Map using Staz-On ink and then sponged the land masses with Hello Honey ink and the bodies of water with Lost Lagoon.  Then I sponged the entire thing with Soft Suede....I love the way it antiques those vibrant shades!  The best part is that I didn't have to try to be super-precise with my sponging.  I cut the background panel into four parts and matted them on a piece of Lost Lagoon card stock.

The focal image, from the Traveller stamp set, is stamped in Staz-on and sponged very lightly with the same shades I used on the background to add just a hint of colour.  I used a Basic Black Stampin' Write marker to ink the letters on the Alphabet Rotary stamp and then cut the whole thing out with the Circles Collection Framelits.  The frame is cut from Early Espresso card stock.  I added some Burlap Trim and an Antique Brad by way of embellishment.

Inside view with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes

On the inside I stamped the globe again, this time in Early Espresso ink.  I stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Lost Lagoon ink and trimmed it into a banner, leaving me lots of space to write and tell my dad just how special he is!