A Two-fer

 If you've read my blog for any length of time you know how much I love to play along with online challenges.  I haven't had much time of late to participate, but found myself with time to play last weekend and decided to jump right back in!  Today's project was inspired by a couple of online challenges.  This week Hand Stamped Sentiments is running a colour challenge that uses a fab combo:

Over at Retro Sketches there is terrific sketch:

So I decided to combine the two and came up with this card:

CAS Love Note for HSS150 and RS45 featuring the Hearts A-Flutter stamp set and More Amore DSP with sentiment from P.S. I Love You (retired)

Inside view with another sentiment from P.S. I Love You

I decided to make the label shape in the background of the sketch a window and added my other elements so that they layered across the opening.  The DSP label on the inside peeks through the window at the front of the card.  I kept the design very CAS...nary an embellishment in sight (unless you count the strip of Pool Party seam binding ribbon I used as one of the banners), so I added a little texture with the Adorning Accents TIEF and a couple of lines done with my Simply Scored.  I played down the Basic Black element of the colour challenge, using it only for the stamped sentiments because I wanted the card to have a light and airy quality.
I have to apologize for the poor colour quality in these photos...I had hoped Santa would bring me a new camera and photo booth, but alas, I mustn't have been a very good girl this year...he didn't come through!!  Guess I'll have to clean up my act...or go shopping ;)

So Long Snowburst

This card is one that I did with my Big Shot club last week.  We were all about embossing...in all it's forms this month, so I wanted to show my club members how to use their embossing folders and plates in new and different ways.  This card is one that uses a technique called "Selective Embossing".  Have a look...

Anniversary card for my Hubby featuring the Selective Embossing technique with sentiment from the P.S. I Love You set

Fun, eh?  Here's how to get that embossed heart in the middle of your card stock:  Start by die cutting a heart out of chipboard.  Then place the Snowburst embossing folder with the card stock in it on the multi-purpose platform on tab 2 (whether you use Tab 1 or 2 will depend on how thick the chipboard is).  Place the chipboard heart on top of the closed embossing folder, centering it over the card stock, and then place a cutting plate on top of that.  Run it through the Big Shot and viola...an embossed heart in the middle of your cardstock.  SO easy and really cool.  My class attendees loved it!  You can do this with any shape, just be sure to use a "busier" folder.  The Snowburst (which is from the Holiday Mini but is available until May 31st) or the Square Lattice work best, in my experience.
Now for a couple of reminders...
Firstly, the retiring stamps and accessories lists are posted.  Keep in mind that retiring stamp sets will be available until May 31st, while retiring accessories (of which the Snowburst textured impression folder is one!) will only be available while supplies last.  If there are items you just must have, be sure to order them ASAP to avoid disappointment.
Secondly, a reminder to enter my Blog Candy draw for a free month's subscription to Craft Project Central by leaving comments on any (or all) post(s) between May 1st and May 8th.  The lucky winner will be announced on May 9th and will have the rest of the month to access the great projects and tutorials available at CPC.

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!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are feeling loved today.  We are keeping it pretty low-key around here.  Max had his pre-school Valentine's party and had a blast!  He came home with lots of loot, so he was happy.  My darling hubby surprised me with beautiful roses when I got home from work this afternoon.  I know there are many out there that think Valentine's Day is over-rated and all about the commercial hype, but I have to say it is the ONLY day of the year I get flowers, so I'm loving it!  So, to wish you all a happy heart day, here is my LAST Valentine's project of the year...

Valentine's card featuring the Take it to Heart and Outlined Occasions stamp sets.

Inside view with sentiment from the P.S. I Love You set

This card is loosely based on a Mojo Monday sketch from a week or two ago.  It was inspired by a card I saw on our demonstrator forum.  It really was simple to put together, despite all the layers.  I enjoyed playing with different patterns and textures to create interest...and I FINALLY got to use my new Hearts Framelits!  Too bad my need for die-cut hearts will be considerably less now that Valentine's day is behind us!  Ah well, there's always next year!
I hope you've had a great day...I can't wait to show you some of the other projects I've been working on!  See you tomorrow!

Super Simple Valentine's Card

Well, it's two days till V-day...are you prepared?  My son is SO excited about his Valentine's party at pre-school...he's been counting down for two weeks already!  We've got his Valentines all made for his classmates and he's decided which red shirt he is going to wear.  Honestly, he's more excited about this than he was for Christmas!  Ah to be four-and-a-half again!
Today's card is a quick and easy one I created quite a while back.  The best part is that I stamped it all in two easy steps, thanks to the ability to mount multiple clear-mount stamps on the same block.  Have a look...

Simple Valentine featuring the P.S. I Love You Stamp Set

Told you it was simple!  I stamped all of the basic gray images at once by mounting them all on a single block and then stamped the two different red images individually.  Talk about quick and easy!  All that stamping took less than two minutes!  I then added a few little accents with the red glimmer paper and some little silver mini brads.  The whole thing is mounted with dimensionals on a cardbase that I ran through my perfect polka dots embossing folder.  So quick and easy, but still effective.
Hope your weekend is going well...and that you find some time to stamp!

Fur-ever Love

TGIF!!  What a week this has been!  The first week of a  new semester at school is  always hectic and this one has  been no different.  I'm left with almost no voice and am completely exhausted.  My bathtub is calling my name, but first I wanted to show you this cute card I designed for my techniques class last night. 

Cute Valentine's Card featuring the Friends Furever and P.S. I Love You Stamp sets.

  This card may look simple, but it sure took us a while to make last night!  Starting with the background, we sponged layers of ink from the  lightest to darkest shade on whisper white cardstock.  The colours we used were pretty in pink, real red and cherry cobbler.  Then we "inked" our circle stamp with bleach and stamped randomly all over.  The ink instantly disappeared revealing the white cardstock underneath.  Then we stamped with real red ink using the line-art heart image.  The result was the sort of whimsical DSP-looking background.  We then set to watercolouring the focal image using watercolour crayons and blender pens.  I really love using the crayons to colour and need to do more of it!  For the sentiment, we used a portion of one of the sentiments from P.S. I Love You for the "Love You" and part of one of the sentiments from Furever Friends for the "fur-ever" part.  The result was a cute sentiment, perfectly suited to this card. 
This is going to be my son's Valentine for my parents...they'll love it!
Now I'm off to that bath I mentioned...have a great weekend everyone!

X-O-Lent Treats

Today's post is a Valentine's treat holder I designed for my monthly techniques group that meets tomorrow night.  It uses the bleaching technique...have a look:

Valentine's treat holder featuring the P.S. I Love You stamp set

Top view

Now that I've told you this uses the bleaching technique, I realize that you can't see much of the bleaching in this photo!  You can make out parts of a two bleached hearts along the left side of the label.  To create this project I stamped two different heart images using bleach instead of ink on real red cardstock and then heat set it with my heat tool.  I then stamped the circle of hearts and another line-art heart using real red and cherry cobbler ink respectively.  The result is  a collage effect that gives interest to the plain cardstock.  To add further interest, I ran the whole die cut through my crimper after I stamped it but before I folded the score lines.  I then assembled the box and added the die cut labels and little red bow.  I filled a small cello bag (item 103104) with red and white jelly beans, tied off the top with some baker's twine and added a little tag.  This little bundle of treats will find its way to someone special next Tuesday.  As my son says...only 6 more sleeps till Valentine's Day!

Elegant Valentine

Happy Groundhog Day!  There was no sun in Cambridge today, so here's to an early spring!  Mind you, we haven't really had winter yet, so I'm not complaining, but an early spring sure would be nice!  I miss my flowers!
Speaking of flowers, today's post is one I designed for my Big Shot club meeting last week.  As I mentioned yesterday, we were focusing on the new Framelits and Edgelits from the Occasions Mini.  It turns out that this card also works for this week's challenge at Pals Paper Arts which is to use any shade of red in your design.  Well, this card certainly fits the bill!  Have a look...

Elegant Valentine for PPA128 using the Fresh Vintage SAB stamp set and sentiment from P.S I Love You

Inside view with sentiment from Word Play

I have to say I really like this card!  The best part of it is that it could easily be changed for just about any occasion (including Christmas!) by simply changing up the sentiment.  Since we are in the season of love I decided to make it a Valentine's card.  Now this one used my Big Shot to the max...I embossed the card base with the Elegant Bouquet folder. I cut AND embossed the label with my Framelits dies (more on that later) and I used my Edgelits and Adorning Accents folder to add the decorative white detail on the front and the inside of the card.  Talk about getting the most from my favourite tool!
Now, I'm sure you're all wondering how the heck I embossed the frame around the label.  SO easy, I tell you!  Here's the sandwich (from bottom up):  multi-purpose platform on tab 1, cutting plate, framelit die with knife side DOWN (against the cutting plate), cardstock, Texturz Silicone rubber, Texturz Impressions pad.  After you run this sandwich through your Big Shot, use the next size larger Framelit to cut out the embossed frame as usual.  Now, if you want to frame a stamped image as I did, you'll need to stamp first and then emboss the frame.  It is a bit tricky getting your stamped image centred when you have to put the cardstock on top of the die...just hold it up to the light and you'll see the stamped image through the cardstock.  Then just be very careful laying it down on the cutting plate.  My club members really liked this slick little trick!  I so love finding new uses for things! 
I don't know if I'll have time to post tomorrow...I have to get ready for my Sale-a-bration Open House on Saturday!  I SO love this time of year!

MIA

I honestly don't know how time gets away from me  I can't believe its  been nearly a week since I last posted!  I've certainly been busy in the interim and have lots of great projects to show  you.  Today I'll start with a card I designed for one of my monthly groups who met last week.  It is a card that could be a Valentine or easily be altered for  a birthday or even Mother's Day (which is what one of my club ladies did!) just by switching out the sentiment.  See what you think:

Valentine for a friend using the P.S I Love You and Take it to Heart stamp sets from the Occasions Mini as well as a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes

Inside view

Now I have to say that this is another CASE of a card I saw on our demonstrator forum.  The original designer (whose name escapes me) used the I [Heart] Hearts stamp set, which I don't own, so I had to get creative  in switching up the design to work with what I had on-hand.  The original card also used the new Hearts Framelits which are on their way, but haven't arrived in my stamp corner yet.  So, instead, I used a heart from the Take it to Heart set (which I received for free during an SU incentive campaign last fall) and punched it out with my full heart punch.  It doesn't quite fit the punch...it left a border around the image, but I rather like it!  I then die-cut the little hearts using my Fashionable Hearts embosslit die.  The background of the focal image is a stamp from the P.S I Love You set...have to say I'm using that set a lot this Valentine's day!  I always enjoy the challenge of redesigning a card to work with product I have on-hand...try it the next time you see something you love but think you can't make because you are missing some of the elements in your stash.  Just find ways to make it work with what you have.  As for the rest of the card, the colour scheme is pulled from the Everyday Enchantment DSP:  calypso coral, lucky limeade, pool party, poppy parade and soft suede.  Both the DSP and the little flower brad are available for free during Sale-a-bration...so get shopping and choose which freebies you'd like!

An In-Colour Valentine

Whew...what a busy 24 hours!  My workshop last night was terrific with my host earning a ton of free product and some super Sale-a-bration extras including a great reusable tote bag and a bundle of three SAB-exclusive products:  Fresh Vintage stamp set, Everyday Elegance DSP and the ribbon and brad pack.  Then it was home to unpack and repack for my monthly group at school.  After teaching all day today and then teaching my stamping class I rushed home to dinner and then out again to my son's first class of the new semester of Kindermusik!  Now I'm ready to drop...bath and bed are in my immediate future...but first I wanted to post a fun Valentine's card that I designed for my monthly group that met today.  It uses three of my favourite in-colours: lucky limeade, island indigo and pool party...not exactly traditional Valentine colours...check it out:

CAS Valentine (based on a layout by a fellow demonstrator on our online forum) using the Sweet Cake stamp set.

Inside view with sentiment from the P.S. I Love You stamp set.

One of the things I like most about this card is the colour scheme.  The island indigo, pool party and lucky limeade are all made using cardstock I received for FREE from the Sale-a-bration catalogue!  Nothing better than free stuff!  I used river rock for the card base, which is a colour I rarely use, but it works really well with the blues and green...so well that I fully intend to use this colour scheme again!  This card came together really quickly at my class today...and my ladies loved it!  It is the perfect Valentine to give to the man in your life. 
Now I am off to have a nice hot bath and get into my jammies...have a great evening and happy stamping!

The January Blahs

I definitely have a case of the mid-winter blues.  I just feel lousy and haven't had much interest or motivation to do much of anything...including stamp!  I have to say that has never happened to me before...stamping is usually the way I snap out of the blues.  In any case, I had to start planning for some upcoming classes and workshops, so I got onto our demonstrator forum in search of inspiration.  Boy, did I sure find it!  There are so many talented stampers out there!!  Today's card is one I CASE'd from a card by a fellow demonstrator; unfortunately I didn't save the post and can't give credit where it is due.  Just know that this layout is not my original idea.  Have a look...

Valentine's card using the P.S. I Love You stamp set from the Occasions Mini

Inside view with image and sentiment from the Sprinkled Expressions stamp set from the SAB Catalogue.

This card is so simple, yet effective.  I used the Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslit to cut the grey hearts and then punched several different papers and stamped images using my full heart punch.  The punched shape fits perfectly inside the scalloped heart die cut.  For a little texture I added an embossed border using one of the folders in the Adorning Accents set.  The image and sentiment on the inside are both from one of the stamp sets that is available for FREE with a $60 order during Sale-a-bration.  Only 6 more days till the start of Stampin' Up's biggest (and BEST) promotion of the year...are you ready?  If not, start making your wishlist and choosing which items from the SAB catalogue you want for free!  Then book your workshop and get even MORE free stuff as a hostess!  Hurry...Sale-a-bration only runs till the end of March...after that those amazing, SAB-exclusive products will be gone for good!