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!!

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!

Fall Demonstrator Event and fall card for the Monkey

If you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, have I got a deal for you!  Because there is no SU Regional in Southern Ontario this year, my upline, Jamilla Ivits, has decided to hold her own "mini regional"!  "Stampin' Sparks" promises to be a fabulous day of speakers, demos, make-n-takes, swapping and prizes and it is all right here in our own backyard!  The event will be held at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotel, here in Cambridge on Saturday, September 24th, 2011 from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm.  The cost for the day, including lunch is just $55!!!  What a deal!  For more information or to register contact Jamilla at 519-622-9394 or email gerjam@golden.net.

Now on to today's card!  This week's challenge over at A La Card Monkey is an autumn sketch challenge.  Here is the sketch:

...and here is my interpretation:

Autumn card for Monkey71 using French Foliage, Studio Sketches and Fabulous Phrases sets.

Inside of card with sentiment from Pursuit of Happiness set.

This card was FUN to make!  I pulled out all the distressing stops for the background:  sponging, spritizing, crumpling...you name it!  After doing so many simple cards over the past few weeks in preparation for various classes and workshops, it was fun to really go to town and get my fingers inky for a change.  The sad thing is that this is the very first time my Studio Sketches set has seen ink...and I've had it for almost a year!!!  GASP!!  I know...bad, bad demonstrator (insert wrist-slap here).  I really love that set and there is absolutely NO excuse for the neglect it has received.  I promise to give it more attention this fall!
No time to give you the details on how I created this one...gotta go get Max ready for the birthday party this afternoon!  If you have questions drop me a line and I'll do my best to answer.

What a party...and still more to come!

Well, my nephew celebrated his birthday in fine style last night with a big (17 kids!) bash at Chuck E Cheese.  Max had a great time because his aunt and uncle kept handing him game tokens...he never ran out!  He'd still be there if we hadn't dragged him out!  Now we're gearing up for yet another birthday party tomorrow!  This is for my friend's daughter who is turning 7;  Max sure does get around!  Tomorrow's event is supposed to be a pool party, though the weather may be a wee bit cool for swimming.  I know Max's mommy isn't going anywhere near the water, which likely means Max won't be either!  In any case, I sat down this evening to make a card for Katelyn.  Since I don't have any little girls in my life, I'm not really up on what a 7 year old might like so this was a challenge!  Last year she was VERY into Hannah Montana so I kept with a "pop star" theme and came up with something I hope she'll like.  Since it is so sparkly it also works for this week's challenge over at Stampin' Royalty.  I was actually inspired by one of the guest designer's cards.  Anyhow, here is my card for a 7-year old:

Blingy Birthday card for a 7-year old girl using the Best Friends Forever and Grunge Rock sets.

Inside of card using sentiment from Delightful Dozen set.

So, whaddya think?  Do you think she'll like it?  Do me a favour...if you have a 7'ish-year-old girl around can you get her opinion for me? 

This card was a wee bit of work.  The glitter stripes were fairly easy as I used sticky strip, peeling the backing off one at a time to apply the various colours of glitter.  Kind of a cool look, but mighty messy to create...my house will be glittery for weeks...and so will I!!  My Circle Scissors Plus got a workout cutting all those circles...how I love that little contraption!  Makes layering circles SO easy!!  No need for a ton of different sizes dies!  The guitar is embossed using the new tempting turquoise embossing powder. I think my favourite thing about this card is the colour combo:  melon mambo, tempting turquoise, lucky limeade and basic black.  So bright and fun...and not entirely girlie.  Here's hoping this is a hit with the recipient...and that the party is a huge success!

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!

Stormy Weather!

WOW!  Did we ever have a storm last night!  The lightening was incredible...it looked like a strobe light, there was so much of it.  On the news this morning they said there were 1000 lightening strikes every 2 minutes in southern Ontario during the height of the storm!  That's a lot of electricity flying around and, since our hydro kept flashing of and on, I didn't want to take the chance of turning on my computer to do a blog post.  Sorry if you missed me!  Today I have another Christmas card for you.  This is one that I did while I was away up north last week.  If you recall, I was really struggling to come up with something I loved...this card is just ok, in my books, but you might love it...so here you go!

Holiday card using Scenic Season set with sentiment from Contempo Christmas

One thing I DO like about this card is the colour scheme:  soft suede and cherry cobbler are just yummy together!  I also like the Mocha Morning DSP for holiday cards...you'll see more of that in the coming months.  What I did discover is that when using the new Dazzling Details product (in the new Holiday Mini), it is necessary to let the ink dry throughly before applying the Dazzling Details.  Otherwise the ink runs and you end up with what I did:  sparkly brown snow!  I was a wee bit disappointed with that...I was hoping for a nice glittery effect to balance that sparkly glimmer paper accent.  Ah well, live and learn, no?  This way I can warn all of you and save you from the same frustration!!
On another note, tonight is the first meeting of my Christmas Club.  I am so excited to show everyone some of the new products from the Holiday Mini...I know they're going to love them!  We are going to be busy making 12 cards, so it will be a stampingly crazy night!  Can't wait!!  If you'd like to get in on the action, you can join for the last three installments in September through November.  Check out my Events tab at the top of this page for additional information.

A Happy Accident...

Do you ever set out to create a card with a certain idea in mind only to end up going in an entirely different direction?  Today's card is an example of me starting out with a CAS design in mind and ending up with a completely different look.  First I'll show you the card I ended up with and then I'll explain how I got there!

Vintage holiday card using Bells & Boughs and Merry & Type stamp sets.

Definitely NOT CAS, hunh?  So here's what happened...
I started out needing a scrap of always artichoke cardstock to emboss and then cut out the oval designer frame from.  I grabbed a piece from my stash, ran it through the embossing folder and then flipped it over to check the quality of the impression.  Lo and behold, there were holly images I had stamped in bleach (months ago when trying to come up with designs for convention swaps) in two corners.  Liking the look, I decided to go with it and use it to frame the focal point for a card.  I then found some torn scraps of Deck the Halls fabric in amongst my ribbon scraps...I added that as a ruffle along the right edge using sticky strip to adhere it.  From there I just kept layering and adding, finishing it off with the perfect sentiment from the Merry & Type set!  Don't you love it when things just sort of fall into place?  I think that's one of the things I love most about Vintage cards...they're meant to look like they're made up of spare bits and treasures, so it is easy to use up all the little bits and bobs you were too cheap to throw out!