Celebrating Mom

Happy last day of April!!  With Mother's Day just around the corner I've found myself creating lots of projects to celebrate the Moms in my life.  I used this week's sketch from The Paper Players for this one...

Here's the sketch:

...and here is my version:

Mother's Day card for PP193 featuring the soon-to-be-retired Secret Garden stamp set with Gingham Garden DSP.  Sentiment is from Remembering Your Birthday.

I have to say I am going to seriously miss the Secret Garden stamp set and coordinating Framelits!  I love how quickly and easy it is to add flowers to a project WITHOUT fussy cutting!  These are two retiring products that will not be leaving my stash any time soon. 

I made a vow to stop buying every single pack of DSP from every catalogue this year, as I always end up with TONS of it left over...not because I don't use it, but because I just buy SO much!  Unfortunately I haven't kept my promise!  I have lots of DSP left to use up before the end of the catalogue year, so I pulled out the Gingham Garden pack for this project and even made a matching envelope liner ;)
Other retiring products on this project include the stitched grosgrain ribbon in Daffodil Delight and the Large Rhinestone jewels.  Both are items I use a lot and will miss but I just know there is going to be so much in the new catalogue to love I will soon forget all about these beloved favourites!

Inside view with sentiments from Perfect Words (retired) and Something to Celebrate (retired)

 On the inside I pulled out a couple of long-retired hostess sets.  Both had exactly the sentiments I was looking for.  See?  Sometimes it pays to be a hoarder!
Now to decide which of the special Moms in my life to send this one to...

Another One for Mom

Free Shipping all this week on everything!  Click the image above to place your online order and it will ship directly to you for free!

Looking for the Retirement Lists?  
Click HERE to view the list of retiring stamp sets
Click HERE to view the list of retiring accessories

Today I have another project I designed for this week's challenge over at The Technique Twist.  We're all about the Modern Whimsy style this time and there is still plenty of time for you to join us!  Check out this Mother's Day card I put together:

Mother's Day card in the Modern Whimsy style featuring the Secret Garden, Petite Petals and Hello Lovely stamp sets.

You know how sometimes when you're in the crafting zone projects just seem to design themselves?  Well this is NOT one of those projects!  I spent hours figuring this one out!  And, to be honest, it's not anything special, in my opinion!  Now, don't get me wrong, I like it well enough, but it certainly doesn't look like the type of thing one would spend hours putting together.  So, to save you the hassle of trying to recreate it, here are some tips...hope they help!

• The colour scheme is Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake and Pool Party.
• The DSP is from the Fresh Prints stack.
• The Coral flowers are from the Secret Garden stamp set (which is on the retirement list...get it NOW!) and were die cut using the coordinating Framelits.
• The Pool Party flowers are from the Petite Petals stamp set and were punched using the coordinating punch.
• I used my Squares Collection Framelits to create the polaroid frame.
• The background is embossed using the Scallops TIEF.
• The largest heart was die cut using the Hearts Collection framelits.  The medium one was punched with the Small Heart punch (also on the Retirement List!) and the smallest heart was punched with the Owl Builder punch.
• The letters on the banner were stamped with the Simply Serif Mini Alphabet on DSP and then punched with the Banner punch.

I hope I haven't scared you off from trying this style.  It really is (usually) easy breezy.  Give it a go and then enter our challenge over at The Technique Twist...I'd love to see what you come up with!

Now today is Tuesday, which means a new batch of Weekly Deals.  This round features several items from the Retiring Accessories List at 25% off.  The best part?  You can order online right now and they'll ship directly to you for FREE!!

2013-2015 In Color Core'dinations Reg Price: $14.95 Sale Price: $11.21	5/8 Inch Crochet Trim Victoria Reg.Price: $9.50   Sale Price: $7.13	Afternoon Daydream Kit - Digital Download Reg. Price: $10.95   Sale Price: $6.57	Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper Reg. Price: $13.50 Sale Price: $10.13
Large Pearl Basic Jewels Reg. Price: $6.50   Sale Price: $4.88	Naturals Designer Buttons Reg.Price: $6.95   Sale Price: $5.21	Pacific Point 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Reg.Price: $6.75 Sale Price: $5.06	Rich Razzleberry 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon Reg. Price: $6.75 Sale Price: $5.06

It's about time...for a Card-in-a-box

Well, I figure it's about time I jumped on the bandwagon.  These cards-in-a-box are everywhere these days, so I decided it was about time I gave one a go.  I'm reasonably happy with my first attempt...see what you think:

Birthday Card-in-a-box featuring the Secret Garden, Petite Petals, Label Love and Flower Shop stamp sets.

I decided to try one that is sized to fit in a standard Whisper White envelope.  It made for a slightly smaller canvas to work with, given this was my first try.  I made the box from Sahara Sand card stock and covered the panels using Sweet Sorbet DSP.  The flowers came from a variety of sets, all with coordinating punches or Framelits to eliminate the need to fussy cut.  I wanted to go for quick and easy, since I will likely do this one in a class at some point. 

The Summer Starfruit and large Pool Party flowers came from the Secret Garden set and were die cut using the matching Framelits.  The Crisp Cantaloupe flowers came from the Flower Shop set and were punched with the Pansy punch.  The small Pool Party flowers came from the new Petite Petals set and were punched with the matching punch.  I die cut the leaves from Pistachio Pudding card stock using the Secret Garden Framelits and then ran them through the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF to add a bit of texture.

I used strips of window sheets to attach the flowers to the box and then adhered other flowers with glue dots or dimensionals to complete my bouquet.  It really was like arranging real flowers putting this together!  Lots of fun!  The sentiment is from the Label Love stamp set and is punched using the Artisan Label punch.

I left room on the back of the box to write a personal greeting to the recipient, decorating it with a few stamped flowers.
Ok, so now I see why this syle of card is so popular!  They offer a real WOW and are such fun to create!  I plan to try a few more in different sizes...stay tuned!

Faux Frame Challenge

Happy Saturday and happy March!  I hope you have some stamping planned this weekend!  We have a fun new challenge over at The Technique Twist for you to play along with.  We're all about the Faux Frames this week!  Now, do a quick online search and you'll find TONS of variations on this technique.  That is our challenge...find a new way to create a faux frame.  Here is my take on it:

Birthday card featuring the Faux Frame technique with the Summer Silhouettes, Secret Garden, Papillon Potpourri and Sweet Essentials stamp sets.

For my faux frame I used Simply Pressed Clay in my Woodgrain TIEF!  I went for a faded driftwood kinda look.  I love the effect and am so going to try it with other patterns.  Here is how I created my frame:

• Press Simply Pressed Clay onto the open Woodgrain TIEF, making sure it is fairly thick...too thin and it will tear when you run it through the Big Shot.
• Close the folder and run it through the Big Shot with no tabs on the multipurpose platform.
• Set the folder, with clay inside, aside to dry for at least 24 hours.
• Carefully remove the dried clay from the folder, taking care not to tear the clay.  (Don't worry if it does tear...mine did (several times) and I just put it back together when I glued the frame to my project.
• Using the Squares Collection Framelits, die cut a square frame from the embossed clay.  You can play with the width of the frame by trying different sizes of framelits until you're happy with the look of it.
• Sponge the entire frame with Smokey Slate ink, following the grain of the "wood".  Be sure to get into the grooves to eliminate any white clay showing through.  Be sure to also sponge the inside and outside edges so they are no longer white.
• Sponge the entire frame again with Basic Gray ink, but this time go against the grain to highlight the texture.
• Sponge lightly one more time, against the grain, with Basic Black ink to add more depth and texture.

Once I had my frame made the rest of the card was a piece of cake.  I stamped the floral images from the Summer Silhouettes set on a 3-1/4" square piece of card stock using Basic Gray, Island Indigo and Pool Party inks.  To glue the frame to the card stock I used Sticky Strip.  Tombow will also work with Simply Pressed Clay but I didn't want to wait for the liquid glue to dry ;)
The leaves on the frame are from the Secret Garden stamp set, are heat embossed in silver and are die cut with the coordinaring Framelits.  I glued them to the frame using Tombow.  The little butterfly is stamped in Basic Gray ink on vellum and punched with the Bitty Butterfly punch.  It is also adhered with Tombow.
The background is a piece of Pool Party card stock that I embossed using the Pretty Print TIEF...sure hope that one comes back in the new Annual Catty!  I left a smooth strip at the bottom so that I could stamp the sentiment from Sweet Essentials in Basic Gray.

Inside view with sentiment from Simply Sketched.

On the inside I stamped the same floral images I used on the front and added the sentiment from the Simply Sketched hostess set.

I hope you'll make time this weekend to try creating a faux frame.  There are SO many possibilities!  Check out the projects by my fellow design team members over at The Technique Twist and then give it a go.  We'd love to see what you create!

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!

A Team Challenge

Happy Friday!  TGIF!!  This has been the longest week ever!!  Every now and again, my upline posts a challenge for our team.  This time it was a sketch designed for Sunday Stamps by one of my downline, Steph VanDorp.  Steph designs for Sunday Stamps and is super talented and oh, so creative.  Check out her blog and you'll see what I mean.  Here is Steph's Sketch:

And here is my take on it:

Birthday card featuring the Secret Garden stamp set with sentiment from Apothecary Art.

Inside view with sentiment from You Are Loved.

If you're having a little deja vu, it's likely because working on this card was the inspiration for the birthday card I made for my mom.  You can see it HERE.  I have to admit that this design came to mind almost immediately when I saw Steph's sketch.  It was the first time I inked up my new Secret Garden stamp set and used the coordinating Framelits.  Talk about a quick and easy way to make lovely flowers...no fussy cutting required!!  I also used some of the new Delicate Detail lace tape...ooh, so in love with that stuff!!  Quick and easy and oh, so pretty!  The sentiment I used (yes there is one there, though it's hard to see!) is from the Apothecary Art set and I heat embossed it in pewter.   It really does show up quite nicely against the Rich Razzleberry base, despite the crummy photo!  On the inside of the card I used a sentiment from the You Are Loved set, a recent addtion to my stamp collection ;)
If you get a chance this weekend, try playing along wth Sunday Stamps or one of the other challenges listed in my sidebar.  You'll be amazed at the way they inspire your creativity!  Have a stamp-eriffic weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's 70th birthday!  I can't believe she's that old...'cuz if she's 70 I must be....well, never mind!  Back to mom...she is as active and vibrant as she ever was and still does all of the things she loves.  Her greatest passion is gardening, and to honour that I decided to give her a flower garden on her birthday card.  Check this out:

Birthday card for my Mom featuring the Memorable Moments and Secret Garden stamp sets.

Flower detail

Inside view with sentiment from You Are Loved.

This card certainly was a labour of love!  It took my upwards of two hours to make, but I am thrilled with the result and I think my mom will be too.  I started by stamping the leaves and various floral images on Whisper White card stock and then coloured them using my aquapainter.  I then die cut the inmages using my new Secret Garden Framelits...so much quicker than fussy cutting them all!!  I did do a bit of fussy cutting so that I could layer some of the flowers to give them dimension.  In case you are wondering, here are the colours I used:  Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Garden Green, Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz (retired).  The sentiment panel on the front uses the Memorable Moments set and is heat embossed in silver and stamped in Rich Razzleberry.  The DSP is from the Twitterpated pack.  The card base uses my very last piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock...sure hope that colour comes back some day!  I hope my mom likes this card...I sure do!