World's Greatest

Happy April!  I know yesterday was the first, but things have been a wee bit hectic the past couple of weeks and I just didn't get a chance to post.  I can't even tell you how happy I am to say good-bye to March and hello to the promise of spring.  What's even better is that Easter is this weekend!  My favourite Holiday AND my sweet boy's 8th birthday all in the same weekend!  Yup...life isn't slowing down anytime soon!

Today I have a Father's Day card for those of you who want to get a head-start on projects for the men in your life.  This one uses the Guy Greetings stamp set...

Father's Day card featuring the Guy Greetings, Dictionary Background and Extreme Elements (retired) stamp sets.

I began by stamping the Dictionary background on a piece of Whisper White card stock using Sahara Sand ink.  Then I stamped several images from the retired Extreme Elements set using Lost Lagoon and Hello Honey ink.  The DSP is from the Moonlight DSP stack.  The focal image, from the Guy Greetings set, is stamped in Smoky Slate ink and then coloured with the Smoky Slate and Skin Tone Blendabilities (still love those markers!).  I die cut the focal image using the Ovals Collection Framelits and then stamped more of the images from Extreme Elements, around the edges.  I also inked the edges in Sahara Sand to add to the grungy look. 

The sentiments, also from the Guy Greetings set, are stamped in Basic Gray and Lost Lagoon inks.  I fussy cut the curvy banner and used the banner punch to trim the ends of the straight one. I added some Burlap Trim and a couple of gold sequins for embellishment.  The entire card is built on a Sahara Sand card base.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from Guy Greetings in Basic Gray and added more images from Extreme Elements in Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon inks.

Have a truly blessed Easter weekend with those you love!

A bunch of BIG cards!

That's what I've been working on all weekend.  I was asked by the social committee at school to make cards for the four members of our staff who are retiring at the end of this school year.  Two are teachers, one is a VP and the fourth is our Office Manager (who totally runs the school!).  All four are wonderful colleagues and will be deeply missed by our staff.  Now the challenge when making cards that more than 60 people have to sign is that they have to be BIG.  Big is hard when most of the products you have to work with are designed for use on a standard 4-1'4" x 5-1/2" card.  I found myself needing to get creative in my designs to that the images weren't lost in the expanse of the large card front.  The first card I did was for a man who is a rocker at heart.  He plays the guitar and is in a band.  So here is the card I designed for him...

Retirement card for a colleague featuring the Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Grunge Rock and Word Play stamp sets.

Inside detail...sentiment is a one I printed in MS Word using RGB codes from MDS so the colours match perfectly!

...not exactly your typical retirement card, eh?  I think it is perfect for the recipient, though!  As I mentioned, this card is big.  It the base is a full sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" card stock folded in half.  I added additional space by making the inner white layers fold out...two 8 1/2" x 11" pieces again.  Hopefully this will be enough space for everyone to sign and wish him well.  I don't think I could have made it any bigger if I'd tried!
Stay tuned for more Plus-sized  cards later this week...

...and finally...one for the boys!

The final card in my buffet line-up is one for the boys.  I always struggle to create simple masculine cards.  I tend to find myself sponging and distressing like crazy in an attempt "man-up" my designs.  For this one I think I finally managed to create something that doesn't take an hour to create!  Have a look...

Boy-card suitable for a masculine birthday or Father's Day.

Inside view.

No sponging in sight!  I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself with this one.  It is, by far, one of the the most CAS guy-cards I've ever done.  I also like how the boat pops out of the wave (yay dimensionals!).
So there you have it...the six design options for my Card Buffet.  If you haven't already done so, be sure to register by next Friday...hope to see you on the 25th!
Now, on an unrelated front, I have had a few people asking where in Austria I'll be travelling with my music kids.  We fly into Vienna, spending 3 days there, and then head to Salzburg for two.  We are performing in a little town just outside of Innsbruck called Zirl.  It is my dad's hometown and I am, quite literally, related to half the town!  We are performing with their community youth band, under the direction of my second cousin.  My kids are really pumped, as am I.  It will be a whirlwind tour, but one I have longed to do since first visiting Austria years ago.  There is so much music history in that country...every musician should visit there at least once!  I can't wait to show my students Beethoven's piano and Mozart's childhood violin, not to mention the homes where those legendary men lived and worked.  The fact that I'll get to see some of my family while we're there is an added bonus.  So, for now, auf wiedersehen...bis spater!

Another Sale-a-bration Make-n-Take

Yesterday I showed the first of the two make-n-takes the guests at my Sale-a-bration Open House made on Saturday.  Today I have the second card for you.  My goal in creating this card was to show that the fabulous Everyday Enchantment DSP is SUPER versatile.  It is obviously perfect for gorgeously feminine and vintage looks; however I wanted to demonstrate that it can also be used for more masculine designs as well.  Have a look and you'll see what I mean:

Card using the Sprinkled Expressions, Extreme Elements and Good Grid stamp sets.

Inside view with sentiment from the Workshop Words stamp set.

Whaddya think?  Not so girlie, huh?  I love the more geometric patterns in this paper as much as the floral prints.  This card is perfect for just about anyone...including the men in your life.  The sentiment on the inside is from a stamp set we received at convention last summer called Workshop Words.  It is a great set for us demonstrators as it has all sorts of sentiments we frequently use like "thanks for your order" and "thanks for being such a great hostess".  This one is to congratulate team members on their achievements...which is how I will be using this card in the future!  As for the colour scheme on this card, I drew it from the paper itself:  pool party, lucky limeade, poppy parade and soft suede.
I hope this example shows all those of you who are "not into the vintage thing" that this year's SAB DSP is super versatile and has something for everyone.

Teenage boy b-day card

I seem to be on a roll with the juvenile birthday cards this week!  I have a workshop tomorrow night and the hostess requested a card appropriate for a teenaged boy.  So I got out my Well Worn DSP and this is what I came up with:

Birthday card for a teenaged boy using Extreme Elements and Grunge Rock stamp sets along with Well Worn DSP.

These sets are sure getting a workout this week!  I do love how versatile they are...and how different they look in various colour palettes.  For this card I stuck to the earthy tones in the paper:  cajun craze, early espresso, river rock and not quite navy.  I added lots of interest and texture by roughing up the edges of both the card base and the DSP and sponged the edges of pretty much every element.  The hemp twine and little aged brass clip (from my stash, bought who-knows-when!) add the perfect finishing touches without being too fussy.  I will replace the clip with one of Stampin' Up's mini library clips when my order arrives...I just used this in the meantime!  I hope my hostess and her guests like it!  Now I've gotta run and prep for my Watercolouring 101 class tonight!

A promise kept...

Last night I was just too tired to stamp anything to post.  Tonight I was too busy!  I just finished my Hostess Appreciation event and it was a blast!  My hostesses from the past year got spoiled silly and we had lots of fun, games and, of course, stamping!  Now don't click away mad...I do have a card for you!  It is the card I designed for my guest design gig over at A La Card Monkey.  The theme and sketch were a little tough, given that I am Canadian.  Have a look and see what I mean:

Interestingly, the challenge at the Pals Paper Arts this week is to use stars as a design element.  So, I don't have much in the way of patriotic American stamps, but I do have lots of red, white, and blue ink and cardstock and I have stars....so here is what I came up with:

"Patriotic" Red, White, and Blue card for Monkey62 and PPA99 using Grunge Rock and Extreme Elements stamp sets

Close up of focal image

Inside of card

I really love working with these two stamp sets.  They are so easy to layer and have fun with and, let's face it, they're cool!  I also got to use my spritzer tool on this card, which ALWAYS makes me happy!  The sentiment is from a retired Level 2 hostess set called Something to Celebrate and was just perfect for this card.  In the end, what started out as a major challenge ended up as something I really like!  Thanks so much to the ladies over at A La Card Monkey for giving me another guest designer experience...always such fun!

Rockin' Birthday card

I was excited when I saw this week's challenge at A La Card Monkey.  I loved the sketch because it is so versatile and easy to use and the theme of a kid card was perfect!  I've been wanting a reason to crack out my Grunge Rock set that I just got on sale for 30% off as part of Stampin' Up's National Scrapbooking Month promotion.  I decided to do a birthday card for a tween boy...but first, here's the sketch:

I wanted something bright and colourful and fun...here is what I came up with:

Card for Monkey Challenge #56 using Extreme Elements, Grunge Rock and Extreme Guitar sets

Close up of focal image...believe it or not, this is the first time I've used my Extreme Elements set!  I loved, bought it and haven't inked it up till now!  I know...shame on me!

Inside of card

Fun, eh?  I had a great time with this card!  You know when something just comes together exactly the way you picture it in your head?  That's what happened with this.  So here is what I did...

I started by cutting a 3" circle in whisper white cardstock  and a 3 1/4" circle in real red using my Circle Scissors Plus (yet another item that  has sat unloved for AGES!).  I then inked the splatter image from the Extreme Elements set in baja breeze and then sponged real red around the outer edges  before stamping it on my white circle.  I then stamped the stars in pumpkin pie, the diamonds in pear pizzazz and the guitar player in chocolate chip.  I distressed the edges and then sponged then with chocolate chip ink.  I layered it over the real red circle, which I had also  distressed using the tool from my cutter kit.  Setting this aside, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of the psychedelic chevron pattern from the Greenhouse Gala DSP pack.  I distressed and sponged the edges again in chocolate chip.  I then took a 2 1/4" piece of baja breeze cardstock, ran it through my Big Shot with the harlequin texture plate and then distress and sponged the edges.  I also lightly sponged the embossing to bring out the pattern.  I adhered the baja breeze piece to the DSP and then adhered the whole thing to a real red mat  4 1/8" x 5 3/8" in size.  Wanting to use the ribbon element in the sketch but not wanting anything froo-froo, I wrapped some baker's twine around the cardfront several times, tying a knot slightly off-centre.  I added the trinket crown, tying it on with the twine. I then adhered the entire caardfront to base in chocolate chip. The final element on the front is the stamped crown image, which I stamped in baja breeze ink on whisper white.  I punched it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch.  I distressed and inked the edges in chocolate chip.  I layered it on a 1 3/8" circle that I had also distressed and inked.  I adhered it to the card using dimensionals.
For the inside, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of whisper white, stamped the diamond image in baja breeze, the stars in pumpkin pie (stamped off once), and the guitar in chocolate chip; all in the lower right corner.  I inked the edges in chocolate chip and adhered it inside the card.  I then cut out a strip of the chevron DSP and adhered it.  I stamped the sentiment, some stars and some diamonds on a scrap of whisper white, notched the ends and distressed and inked the edges.  I rolled the ends slightly around a pencil to make them curl and then adhered the sentiment over the chevron strip.

Now if only I had someone in my life of an age to appreciate this card!  I may have to save it until my son gets a bit older!