Bubble Background Birthday

This month my techniques group is learning how to do the Bubble Background technique.  I showcased it a while back as one of the challenges over at The Technique Twist, but never got to show it to my monthly group.  I decided it was time!  Here is the card we'll be making at tonight's class:

Birthday card featuring the Bubble Background technique with the Petal Parade and Sassy Salutations stamp sets.

Can you tell I'm ready for spring??  Two days ago it was a beautifully mild, sunny day...warm enough for shirt sleeves.  Yesterday we received 20 cm of snow and today it's a high of -10 C!!  I am SO sick of winter, so I decided to make this card as spring-like as possible. 

My colour scheme is Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight and Crumb Cake.  I went a little hog-wild with the embellishments on this one, but I love the texture the layers of ribbon add and the sparkle from the little rhinestones.  Check out my how-to HERE for creating the bubble backgound.  It's a fun technique that can be a wee bit addictive!! 

Inside view with sentiment from Bring on the Cake and images from Petal Parade and Banner Blast Sale-a-bration stamp sets.

 I hope my class participants like this one...I know I would love to receive a card like this in the mail on this cold and snowy day!!  I sure hope the weather is nicer wherever you are today!

Man Birthday

This is one for the boys.  Yep, they deserve handmade cards too!  I've got another sample to share with you that I designed for my Birthday Card Buffet next week.

Masculine birthday card featuring the You're Amazing and Clockworks stamp sets.

One of the things I love about making masculine cards is that it gives me an excuse to get grungy.  I love sponging and spritzing and distressing...lots of fun!

Here is a quick how-to for this one:

• I used Naturals Ivory card stock for the base and stamped the balloon image from the You're Amazing set repeatedly using Sahara Sand ink.  I stamped one of the flourishes from the Clockworks set around the edges using Crumb Cake ink.
• I spritzed the card base using my Colour Spritzer tool and my Basic Black marker.
• I cut the red pennant from Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations card stock and embossed it with the Argyle TIEF and then lightly sanded it to bring out the lighter coloured core.
• I cut a pennant from the Modern Medley DSP and stamped the balloon image in Cherry Cobbler and the flourish from Clockworks in Sahara Sand.
• I layered the two paper pennants with a piece of burlap ribbon cut into a pennant....tip: use Sticky Strip to adhere the burlap!
• I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black ink on some scrap Crumb Cake card stock and then die the label using the Apothecary Accents framelits.  I stamped the flourish from Clockworks again using Crumb Cake ink.
•  I layered it on Basic Black using the technique shown on the Tutorials tab above.  I adhered the whole thing to the card using dimensionals.
• I stamped two little tickets on Sahara Sand card stock using Basic Black ink and punched them with the Ticket Duo punch.  I clipped them in place using a mini library clip I had in my stash.

Inside view with sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

On the inside I just did a little stamping, tying in the images and colours from the front of the card.  I also added the sentiment image from Bring on the Cake, which I stamped in Basic Black.

I hope you enjoyed this little project...maybe the man in your life will too!

Yippee Skippee...

...it's Friday!!  Why is it the first week back after a vacation seems sooooo long??  With the crazy weather we've had here it seems like last weekend was a month ago!  I am SO happy to see the end of this week.
Today's project perfectly reflects my mood today.  It is another birthday card I designed for my All About Birthdays Buffet coming up in a couple of weeks.  Check it out...

Birthday card for a child featuring the Storybook Friends, Yippee Skippee and Just Saying stamp sets.

I love this image of a little dog running with his ears flapping in the wind!  So cute!  Paired with the Yippee-Skippee and Woo-hoo sentiments he is even more adorable.  The dog is from the Storybook Friends stamp set.  I stamped him using black Staz On and then coloured his spots with a Crumb Cake marker.  The word bubble woo-hoo is from the new Just Saying stamp set from the Occasions catalogue and was die cut using the coordinating Word Bubbles framelits.  The DSP I used is from the Fresh Prints DSP stack, which is also in the new Occasions catalogue.  I added a bit of white Baker's Twine and some sparkle with an arrow cut from Silver Glimmer paper using the small arrow from the Label Card Thinlits die set.

Inside view with sentiment from the Bring on the Cake stamp set.

For this inside of the card, I punched several little banners using the new Banner punch from the Sale-a-bration brochure and glued them across the top.  The sentiment is from the Bring on the Cake set and is stamped in Real Red.  This card could easily be changed to a congratulations card by simply switching out the birthday sentiment inside.  Gotta love versatile!

If you are interested in attending my All About Birthdays Card Buffet but haven't registered yet I have good news and bad news for you.  The bad news is that the Friday evening session is now full.  The good news is that I have added a second session on Saturday morning, January 25th from 9:30-12:30.  The same projects will be available at both sessions, so hopefully everyone who wants to attend will be able.  I'd hate to have to turn anyone away from a stamping event!  Be sure to register soon so you aren't disappointed!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Birthday Buffet Sneak Peek

Later this month I am hosting an All About Birthdays Card Buffet and today I have one of the projects that will be available to make at that event.  It was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest by Cindy Brumbaugh and uses a stamp set I have had for quite some time, but only now inked up!  Check it out:

Birthday card featuring the Regaring Dahlias stamp set with sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

The DSP I used in this project determined my colour scheme.  It is from the fabulous new Sweet Sorbet DSP which is part of the offerings for this year's edition of Sale-a-bration.  It will be available starting January 28th!

The dahlia image is heat embossed in Pool Party embossing powder on Basic Black card stock, which is then layered on Pool Party and Whisper White.  The background piece of Basic Black card stock is embossed using the Pretty Print TIEF from the Holiday Catalogue.  Today is the last day you can get it, so hurry if you don't already own it!

Inside sentiment is from the Bring on the Cake set.

There are just three seats remaining for my All About Birthdays Card Buffet.  Click HERE for details and RSVP to register soon so that you aren't disappointed!

Now I have a bit of business to take care of.  I need to give away some free stuff!  Here is the bundle of goodies:

And the winner is...

Brenda in IN

Brenda is a faithful reader of my blog and always leaves such encouraging comments.  I so appreciate her kind words.  She was the only one who came close to guessing which elements from my card design were from the Christmas Simply Created Kit, so I am very happy to send this little bundle of goodies her way.  Thanks to all who participated!  Stay tuned for more give-aways soon...I have a BIG box of goodies to send to new homes!

First Day

Well, in just a few short days, my baby will be starting Kindergarten.  I can't believe this day has come...I have thought about it many times since he was born and now, here he is, heading off into the big bad world.  To say this coming Tuesday will  be difficult for me is an understatement.  As  a teacher I know all too well the kinds of things he is going to be exposed to at school and it scares the bejesus out of me!  I am just hoping I can keep it together long enough to drop him off at school and then come home and have a  good cry!  I created this card to tuck in his back pack on the first day.  I was inspired by two challenges:  the sketch at Nacho Average Challenges and the Back-to-school theme at Stampin' Royalty.  Firstly, here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

First Day of School card for NAC9 and SR139 featuring the Greeting Card Kids stamp set and sentiment from First Day (retired)

Inside view with sentiments from Bring on the Cake and Perfect Words (retired)

This card is a real blend of old and new.  I love the images in the Greeting Card Kids set and this particular one really speaks to me as the little boy looks just like my little guy (spiky blond hair and all!).  I chose to use the Storytime DSP for this card, but opted out of the school-theme patterns so that the focal image would really stand out.  I coloured the image using a blender pen and watercolor crayons...if you haven't tried these yet you absolutely don't know what you're missing!  The sentiment on the front of the card is from a long-retired set called First Day.  It is one of the few retired sets I just couldn't part with and I have to say I use it an awful lot.  On the inside of the card I used two different sentiment sets.  The Wishing you a wonderful day comes from the Bring on the Cake set and the Big Hug is from the Perfect Words hostess set from last year's catalogue.  The little apple is from the brand new Perfectly Preserved set and I die cut it out with my Cannery Framelits set.
I know my boy will appreciate this card.   He so loves any card I make.  He is my best marketer...any time I make a card for one of his friends or teachers he is right there saying "My Mommy made this card.  She's really good at making cards.  She can teach you to make cards too"!!  Gotta love free advertising!

A Fitting Birthday

This past weekend I had some quality play time with my new stamps.  I was also working on designing some samples for upcoming classes and workshops and, since birthday cards are always in demand, I put together this fun little card...

Birthday card featuring A Fitting Occasion and Itty Bitty Bits stamp sets with sentiment from Lovely Little Labels.

Inside view with sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

I did another project using this colour scheme a while back and just loved how vibrant and fresh Melon Mambo and Gumball Green are when paired with Whisper White.  For the front of the card I used the A Fitting Occasion set and added the little cupcake from Itty Bitty Bits.  Now, there are a couple of sneak peeks here from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue as well!  The DSP peeking out from behind the punched circles in the windows is from a wonderful new pack of holiday paper called Snow Festival...lots of fun prints that are not only for the Holidays!  Speaking of the little windows...those were made with a new 1-1/4" scalloped circle punch!  So happy to have another size to play with!
The inside of the card was stamped again using the tiny cupcake from Itty Bitty Bits and the sentiment is from the Bring on the Cake set.  Gotta love when stamp sets combine so easily!

In other news, I have the latest project for you from Craft Project Central.  Today's adorable design is by Kim Score.  Kim does some gorgeous work and this is no exception.  Check it out:

Storybook Friends cards and Candy Box by Kim Score

 Isn't that just darling??  I so love that DSP and coordinating stamp set!  To access the tutorial for this and 9 other projects simply head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to July.  Then stop by Kim's blog and tell her how much you love her project!

Bright Birthday

Happy Saturday everyone!  I hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start!  I am up bright and early to register my son for swimming lessons this morning.  Online registration starts in a few minutes so this post will be a quickie! 
Today I have a fast and easy birthday card for you.  Have a look:

Simple Birthday card featuring the Bright Blossoms stamp set with sentiment from the Bring on the Cake set.

 Isn't that a bright a cheerful card?  Who wouldn't love to receive this one on their big day?  I chose my colour palette based on the Summer Smooches DSP:  Lucky Limeade, Tangerine Tango, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise and Real Red.  I embossed the card base using my Perfect Polka dots Textured Impressions folder.  I added a little row of piercing to balance the sentiment.  I hope this happy card brightens your day!  Have a great weekend!!

Stippled Blossom Birthday

This week my first order from the new catalogue arrived.  I've been so busy I haven't  had much time to play with all my new stuff, but I did manage to break in a few items.  Check out the project I made...

Beautiful birthday card featuring the new Stippled Blossoms stamp set as well as a sentiment from the Bring on the Cake set.

I used quite a few new products on this card...here is the rundown:

Stippled Blossoms stamp set

Fancy Fan embossing folder

Finishing Touches edgelits

Faceted Vintage buttons

Not a bad way to break in a bunch of new stuff, eh?  Of these new items I think the faceted buttons will become a fav...they work with anything!  I also really like the new edgelits...they add such a nice touch and will make me miss my eyelet border punch a little less!
Today I am off to a demo-only event being held by my upline.  I am demonstrating all those Faux Patina projects I showed you this week, so wish me luck!  I'm really looking forward to spending the day with members of my team as we learn from and inspire each other.  Hope your Saturday is a great one too!

Another one for the boys

Today's card is another one I did with my team at our monthly meeting.  I designed it to be quick and easy and doable at a workshop.  Since Father's Day is coming up I am on a roll with designing masculine cards.  Have a look...

Masculine Birthday card featuring the new Papaya Collage stamp set with sentiment from Perfectly Penned

Inside view with sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

Fun, eh?  I love the new Papaya Collage set.  It is so eclectic with diverse images that don't, at first glance, appear to belong together.  Perhaps that is why I'm drawn to it!  The bird and party hat are both from that set...see what I mean about diverse images?  The cool thing is, with so many different images, there are almost unlimited possibilities for it which makes it a great investment!  The label on the front is cut with the new Apothecary Accents framelits, as is the vanilla label on the inside.  Oh how I love those framelits!!  The DSP on the front of the card is from the new Comfort Cafe pack.  So many wonderful patterns, many of which are suitable for masculine designs. 
If you would like a free copy of the brand new Annual Catalogue, come on out to my New Catalogue launch on June 2nd.  If you are not in the Cambridge area and are unable to join us, drop me a line and  I will mail you one absolutely free of charge. 
Now, we here in Canada are celebrating the unofficial start of summer with our first long weekend, so I am headed out to the deck with my new catty and a tall, cold beverage.  Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mixed Bunch Birthday

Even though this winter hasn't really been typical for this part of Southern Ontario (little snow and more  above zero days than below) I am done with it.  I am ready for spring; for green grass and new leaves and soft spring flowers.  Today's card is one that embraces everything I love about my favourite season...bright, cheerful colours and, of course, blossoms!

Cheerful birthday card featuring the Mixed Bunch stamp set and coordinating blossom punch.

Inside view

I have to say that one of my favourite new products from the current Occasions Mini is the Mixed punch stamp set and coordinating blossom punch.  I love the shape of the blossom and the way it layers so beautifully.  For this card I pulled DSP from two different packs:  Flirtatious and Twitterpated.  I wanted two different patterns featuring daffodil delight...after all, what says spring like daffodils?!?  I cut the DSP into narrow strips and layered them on a mat of pool party cardstock.  I then cut a strip of whisper white cardstock on both long sides with my new Edgelit die.  I then ran each side through the Big Shot with the scalloped Adorning Accents embossing folder, being sure to offset the scallops.  I stamped the sentiment (from the Bring on the Cake set) using island indigo ink and then layered the whole thing on top of the DSP panel.  To stamp the flower, I first inked my stamp using daffodil delight ink and then rolled the edges in pool party (Rock and Roll technique).  I stamped the image on whisper white and then punched it out using my blossom punch.  I punched two more blossom shapes from daffodil delight and pool party cardstock and layered them behind the stamped flower.  To get the petals to curl I simply used the end of my bone folder to curl them up.  The button in the middle is threaded with a bit of pool party baker's twine.  It is one of the big designer buttons that retired last year.  I bought a bunch when they were on the Clearance Rack a while back because I love them!!  Just one adds such a statement to any project. 
For the inside of the card I stamped the flower image again and added the label (from the P.S. I Love You set) and sentiment from Bring on the Cake. 
Such a bright and cheerful card...can't wait to see my garden filled with the same bright cheerfulness!

Procrastination...a good thing sometimes...

ok, so maybe not.  I'm sitting at my computer with a PILE of work to do to get ready for the start of the school year next week and instead of getting started, I'm typing a blog post instead!  Can you tell I'm really not ready to let go of summer yet?  The good news for you is that I have another birthday card to show you.  Since I've covered the kids pretty well this week, I figure its time for a grown-up card.  This is another one I designed for my workshop tonight.  The hostess requested a masculine birthday card, so, given the season we are about to begin, I designed this with fall in mind...

Masculine birthday card using French Foliage set with sentiment from Bring on the Cake.

Inside of card

Can you tell I am in love with the French Foliage set?  I was SOOOOO thrilled when it came back in the main catty this year!  It is my go-to fall set...love the realistic looking leaves!  Here is how I put this together:
Starting with a 3 1/2" square of very vanilla cardstock, I randomly stamped the leaves in cajun craze, more mustard and early espresso, stamping off at times to give depth.  I then spritzed the whole thing using my spritzer tool and early espresso marker.  I layered the stamped piece on a 3 5/8" square of always artichoke and then adhered it to an early espresso card base.  Setting that aside, I took a 2 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of more mustard cardstock and ran it through my Big Shot using the houndstooth embossing  folder.  I then tore off about 1/4" of an inch along one of the long sides and added some early espresso distressing with the mahogany ink and solid stamp from the distressing kit.  I wrapped and tied a piece of early espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon around the left side and tied a knot.  This was then glued on to the bottom of the cardfront.  The sentiment is heat embossed using pewter embossing powder, punched out with the decorative label and then layered on a second decorative label in always artichoke.  I adhered it using dimensionals.
The inside of the card is simply more randomly stamped leaves and the sentiment stamped in early espresso. 
Easy peasy and effective.  Hope my hostess and her guests like it!  Now I guess I'd better get going on my school work!!

Brithday card for a Four Year Old

My nephew Michael is turning four tomorrow and, of course, my son is invited to the big party at Chuck E Cheese, no less!  He is quite excited as Chuck E's is one of his FAVOURITE places EVER!  This afternoon I sat down to make a birthday card with my son right by my side to make sure I "did it right".  Here is what we came up with:

Michael's birthday card using licensed Disney stamps and Big Top Birthday DSP

Inside of card with sentiments from the Bring on The Cake set

As much as I adore Stampin' Up and all their wonderful stamps, there are times that just call for something that SU doesn't offer.  Today was one of those times.  My son, Maxwell, was determined that his cousin's birthday card have Lightening McQueen on it.  Since SU doesn't do licensed stamps, I pulled out some of Max's stamps and went to town.  It was actually kind of fun colouring in McQueen...except that Max was there watching my every move and telling me when I wasn't using the right colour!  He is a tough critic!!  Anyhow, in order to really make this card pop I pulled out some of the Big Top Birthday DSP.  I just got this pack through the Buy-3-get-1-free promo and am I ever glad I did!  I LOVE the bright colours and bold patterns!  I can't wait to play with it some more!  Now, I know this card looks a wee bit Red-White-and-Blue, given that I'm in the Great White North, but let's face it, McQueen is the all-American racing champ.   I thought it only fitting to bring in a little nod to his roots.  Plus, I think the stars are perfect for a little boy's birthday.  It got the stamp of approval from Maxwell...now here's hoping Michael likes it too!

My Soccer Star and aTimeless Birthday card for Monkey 68

Well, soccer is done for another year.  My son had great fun this year and today he got his prized "gold" medal!  Check this out!

He couldn't be prouder of that medal!

Now we have our Saturday mornings back for a few weeks until skating starts in September!  We're gonna make the most of these next few weeks, for sure!
Now on to some stamping.  I haven't played along over at A La Card Monkey for a while and I figured it was high time I paid them a visit.  This week's sketch is anything goes, so I did a birthday card using the Timeless Portrait DSP.  I really love the bold images and colours in that paper!  I am definitely going to stock up during the Buy-three-get-one-free promo this month! Here is the sketch:

...and here is my card:

Card for Monkey68 using Timeless Portrait DSP and a sentiment from the retired Watercolor Trio set.

Close up of focal image and sentiment.

Inside sentiment from Bring on the Cake set.

I'm not sure what it is that appeals to me more about this DSP:  the bold patterns or rich colours!  I just knew the moment I saw it in the new catty that I just HAD to own everything in the suite!  You likely can't tell, but I embossed the black background layer using the new strips embossing folder...another new fav...as are the designer frames folders.  I especially love how the large oval punch fits inside the oval frame perfectly!  This card really was very easy to put together thanks to my Big Shot and punches...the only stamping is on the sentiments!  I may just have to use it in an upcoming class or workshop!

Three Days and counting...

...can you tell I'm pumped about this new catalogue???  I'm not sure which I am more excited about:  the new catalogue going live or the start of my summer holidays.  Lucky for me they happen on the same day!!  Today's post is another sneak peek at one of the Make-n-Takes for my open house this Thursday and Friday.  I used the new pennant punch and the Just Add Cake DSP.  See what you think...

Open House Make-n-take #2 using Pennant Parade set.

Inside of card with sentiment from Bring on the Cake set.

Since yesterday's card was pretty and feminine I wanted to do something contrasting and figured bright, cheerful and fun was a good way to go.  I chose my colour palette from the DSP, using daffodil delight, wild wasabi, peach parfait and poppy parade.  It makes for a fun birthday card suitable for just about anyone!  I can't wait for my open house when I get to share this fabulous new catalogue with all of my customers.  It promises to be a terrific event!

SAS Preview #5...a little birthday bling!

TGIF!!!  What a crazy week it has been...it is report card time at school and suddenly all of my students have this urgency to complete all the work they have let slide all term long!  I've spent the week marking assignments that were due a month ago and listening to performances from the middle of February...all on my lunch hour!  This weekend it is all about the report card preparation...so not sure if I'll get much time to stamp.  Today, though, is the final installment of my Stamp-A-Stack previews...see what you think...

SAS Design #5:  Sweet Blingy Birthday!  Sentiment is from the Bring On the Cake set.

Not sure if you can see it or not, but the cupcake is covered in Iridescent Ice embossing powder for lots of sparkle.

Inside of card with sentiment from the Build-A-Cupcake set

What girl of any age wouldn't love to recieve this cute card?!?  Wondering how I got the embossed cupcakes on the front of the card?  Come to my Stamp-A-Stack and I'll show you!
If you're wondering about the details for this event, click the "Upcoming Classes and Events" tab at the top of the page and you'll find everything you need to know. 

Now I have to run...I have a class to teach in half an hour and I'm not quite ready yet!  Have a great weekend!!

Birthdays on the brain!

I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts that my son is turning 4 in a few weeks.  He is SO excited about it!  It is lots of fun listening to him plan his big day...its been a long time since I was this excited about getting a year older!  Today I booked the indoor playground where we will hold his party.  It is a great spot and perfect for parties where there will be a range of ages of children.  Anyhow...all this birthday talk has me thinking about making birthday cards, so, here is one I did that really took very little time at all, thanks to my Big Shot!

Simple birthday card using the Bring on the Cake set from the Occasions Mini

Close up of paper-pieced sentiment

Inside of card

Once again, I started out trying to create a simple card that I could use at workshops.  I thought this one fit the bill because it features the use of several sizes of circle punches as well as the Big Shot; however then I had the bright idea to paper-piece the sentiment from various patterns of the same DSP I used for the circles.  This was a great idea in theory, but certainly not something I could do at a workshop...we would be there for hours!  Regardless, I like the look of it and could always try this card with a different technique for the sentiment.  In any case, here is what I did to create this cute card...
Starting with a pacific point card base, I punched and then adhered several different sizes of circles from the Celebrations DSP.  I love this paper because it is suitable for just about anybody, which makes it very versatile.  After adhering my circles, I ran the whole card through my Big Shot using my square lattice embossing folder.  This makes the circles look like they are actually part of the blue paper.  Cool, eh?  I then stamped the sentiment from the Bring on the Cake set on whisper white cardstock and on several different patterns of the DSP.  I then cut out some of the letters from the DSP and adhered them to the sentiment on the white cardstock.  For other letters I just coloured them using my old olive, real red and pacific point markers.  I cut the sentiment in a banner shape, added a little bow in real red 1/8" taffeta ribbon with an old olive glimmer brad for some sparkle, and adhered it to the card using dimensionals. 
The inside sentiment was again stamped on whisper white cardstock using Staz On ink and then coloured using my markers.  I punched it out with my wide oval punch, layered it on a decorative label in the red polka dot patterned DSP added a real red glimmer brad and adhered it inside the card with dimensionals.

A quick and easy card for just about anybody's big day.  Now to design a Lightening McQueen card for my soon-to-be-four-year-old!

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!!

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!!