Imagine the world

Happy Victoria Day!  Today is a holiday for us here in Canada and I couldn't be happier to have a day at home with my family.  We're planning to spend time outdoors and just enjoy the warmer weather - finally!!
Today I'm taking a break from flowers...don't worry there'll be more tomorrow...to bring you a masculine card I made.  Check it out:

Masculine card featuring the World Map background stamp, the Open Sea stamp set and sentiment from Loving Thoughts.

 First let me say this was NOT a quick and easy one!  It has been a very long time since I  had time to just create without a specific purpose in mind.  When I do, I tend to make projects that are very involved...this is one of those times.  Can you believe that background panel started out as a plain piece of Whisper White card stock??  I started by stamping the World Map background stamp using the Memento Black ink pad (available June 2nd).  Then I pulled out my Blendabilities and started colouring.  I used the Old Olive set for the land and the Coastal Cabana set for the water.  It took a while to colour that whole map, let me tell you!  Then I sponged the entire thing in Soft Suede ink to antique it.  The colours started out quite vibrant but the layering of the Soft Suede gives the whole thing an aged, faded look.  Then, and it was hard to do this after I'd spent an hour colouring, I crumpled the whole thing up!  I also tore the edges and sponged them with Early Espresso ink.

The focal image also started out as a Whisper White die cut on which I stamped the ship from the Open Sea set using Early Espresso ink.  I sponged the entire thing with Crumb Cake ink and then sponged the edges with Early Espresso.  I created the seal using the faux wax seal technique with gold embossing powder.

Inside view featuring the Traveler stamp set with sentiment from Something To Say (both available June 2nd)

 On the inside I stamped both the globe and the sentiment in Early Espresso ink on Naturals Ivory card stock.  Both of these images are from new sets which will be available on June 2nd when the new Annual Catalogue goes live...I can't wait!!
Stay tuned for more fun with Blendabilities tomorrow ;)

XL Poppies

One of my favourite new stamps from the new Annual Catalogue is the Pleasant Poppies background stamp.  The image is beautiful and so versatile and so...BIG!  When I had to design more over-sized cards for staff farewells I turned to that gorgeous image...and here's the result:

Over-sized Farewell card featuring the Pleasant Poppies background stamp and sentiment from Loving Thoughts

Same card, different colours

I have to say that once I came up with this design it was quick and easy to put together the four cards I needed.  Though the image on each card is heat embossed in black,  I did each one in a different colour scheme so no one would feel like they were getting the exact same as someone else.  I don't really  know any of the four ladies these cards are for, so it was difficult to come up with a unique design for each one.   On a staff of over 60 it is hard to get to know everyone, especially since most of them have only been at our school for less than a year.  I happily delivered the finished cards last Monday, thrilled to be finished with over-sized cards for a while!

Pretty Poppies for the Monkey

I am a guest designer for this week's sketch challenge over at A La Card Monkey, and today I get to share my take on the sketch with you.  The sketch is really simple so I kept my card likewise, though I had to add a few little embellies ;).  First of all, here is the sketch:

 Now, I have no real need for a graduation card just now, so the ladies over at the Monkey gave us the option of doing another themed card.  So...here it is:

Simple card for Monkey111 featuring Floral District DSP with sentiment from Loving Thoughts

Now, I haven't managed to get my hands on the fabulous new poppy background stamp from the new catty yet.  Sadly we can't overnight our orders here in Canada (good thing 'cuz I'd spend WAY too much on shipping!).  The focal image on this card is actually from the Floral District DSP.  I just cut my paper to highlight some of those beautiful poppies, matted it on a layer of card stock and voila...ink-free focal image!  The only stamping on this card is the sentiment, which is from the Loving Thoughts stamp set (a carry-over from the most recent mini). 
If you've got a spare hour this afternoon, drop on by for my New Catty Open House and Out-With-The-Old Yard Sale.  It's going to be lots of fun and you are guaranteed to find some great deals.  I just finished laying out all of my sale items and (yikes!) there is a lot of stuff!!  My 5-year-old son said "Wow Mommy...why are you covering all of our tables with your stamps?" Out of the mouths of babes...
Stop by between 1:00 and 4:00 and check it out (and help me unload some retired product...I don't want to have to haul it all back down to my stampin' corner...where would I put it?!?)  Hope to see you soon...have a happy Saturday!

Happy New Catty!!!

Today is the day we've all been anticipating for months.  The new Annual Catalogue goes live TODAY!  We can begin placing orders today at Noon MT...let me tell you, I've got a whopper to go in as soon as I get home from work!
Speaking of work, I have the last of the cards I made for my retiring colleagues.  This one is for our Office Manager, who is one of the nicest, most helpful, kindest ladies you will ever meet.  She is also the one who runs our entire school.  Some schools are run by the principal...ours is run by this lady.  She is the BEST and we will sorely miss her when she is gone.  She is a former student of our school, so retiring is a HUGE deal for her...she has been at our school, literally, her whole life!  Here is the very special card I made for her...

Pretty card for a special lady, featuring the Bordering on Romance stamp set with sentiment from Loving Thoughts.

As you can imagine, creating a card big enough for more than 60 people to sign is a challenge.  In order to create a focal image large enough for such a big card, I stamped the floral image several times and then coloured it using markers and a blender pen.  Believe it or not, the blossoms only use the Ridinghood Red marker...it really blends and shades beautifully.  Some of the flowers are fussy-cut and popped up to give dimension.  I've decided I really love the combination of Ridinghood Red and Baja Breeze.  I need to use it again on a more typically-sized project!

Now I'm off to finish the final preparations for my big Open House tomorrow.  If you haven't already RSVP'd, no worries.  Just stop by any time between 1 and 4...see you soon!

Monochromatic Man Card

I have to get my brain around designing Man-Cards again.  With Father's Day coming up soon I need to start planning my projects for next month's classes.  That means designing cards for the men in my life, which is always a challenge.  For this card I grabbed a piece of watercolour paper I had run through my Big Shot using the Fancy Fan letterpress plate, which is retiring at the end of May.  It has been laying on my desk for a while, so I figured it was about time I put it to use!  With that as my background I created this monochromatic card, which I hope, would be perfect for some man...somewhere...and also works for this weeks Stampin' Royalty challenge

Monochromatic Man-Card for SR121 featuring the Artistic Etchings set with sentiment from Loving Thoughts

Inside detail

This card was really quick and easy to pull together, thanks to the wonderful stamp set I used.  Artistic Etchings has been one of my favourite sets since it first appeared in the catalogue two years ago. Thankfully it was spared the retirement axe this time around, or there would have been some serious wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part!  The button, in case you're wondering, is one of the retired Big Designer Buttons that I fell in love with last year.  I picked up a bunch last Christmas when they were on the Clearance Rack...sorry if you missed out on that deal...chances are I bought them all!  In any case, I have a ton of those buttons and am hoarding them like a crazy woman.  They only get pulled out when needed as the perfect touch to finish a card...I think this particular card was worthy of a button, no?

Europe, here we come!

Today's post will be a quick one.  In just two short days I'll be heading off to Europe with 19 teenagers in tow!  I am taking several of my music students from school for a 10-day performing tour in Austria and Germany.  To say I have one or two things to get done before we leave is an understatement!  So, here is today's card...number four in my Card Buffet line-up.

Card Buffet option #4 suitable for a wedding, annversary or even birthday

I am going to do my best to pre-post a few samples for you while I am away as well as post once or twice about our adventures.  If I don't have time, have a great March Break, everyone!