Big Thanks

Happy Tuesday!  I hope your week is going well so far.  Mine got off to an amazing start at the U2 concert last night!  My wonderful hubby gave me tickets for my birthday and it was an incredible show!!  It was a rather late night, which is why I'm late posting today...hope you'll forgive me :)

Today I have an over-sized card I made a few weeks ago for a departing staff member from my school.  I don't often using text images as the basis of my design, so this one is a little out-of-the-box for me!

Over-sized Thank You card featuring the Another Thank You and One Big Meaning stamp sets

Now, when I sat down to create this card I was rather pressed for time, so I decided to keep it simple.  The card had to be big (it measures 5-1/2" x 8") so I needed to fill all that space.  I used a piece of Timeless Elegance DSP for the background and then stamped various thank you sentiments from the Another Thank You and One Big Meaning stamp sets in Versamark ink and then heat embossed using Melon Mambo (retired) embossing powder. 

Talk about a quick and easy way to fill up lots of space!  I matted the stamped DSP on some Melon Mambo card stock and then mounted it on a Basic Black card base.  I added a little bit of (reitred) Black Satin Ribbon and a silver glimmer brad (also retired) and then blinged it up with some randomly scattered rhinestones.

Inside view with sentiments from Million and One (retired) and Wild About Flowers.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from the Million and One (retired) set in Melon Mambo ink.  I added the additional sentiment from the Wild About Flowers set, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, punched with the 1-3/8" circle, and matted with a 1-1/2" circle punched from Melon Mambo card stock.

The next time you need a card in a hurry, remember this quickie and pull out your sentiment stamps!

Now for this week's Bonus Weekly Deals.  Remember, these prices are on limited quantities of stock, once that runs out the price returns to the regular retail price.  Last week there were several items that sold out at the sale price, so be sure to order the items you want sooner than later so that you don't miss out on the great deals!

Confetti Hearts Border Punch Price: $27.00   Sale: $18.90	Crumb Cake 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon Price: $11.25   Sale: $8.44	Floral Frames Collection Framelits Dies Price: $33.00   Sale: $24.75
Hamburger Box Bigz Xl Die Price: $53.00  Sale: $37.10	Kraft Tag A Bag Gift Bags Price: $4.50  Sale: $3.38	Merry Moments 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack Price: $8.75  Sale: $6.56
Mossy Meadow 5/8" Striped Cotton Ribbon Price: $8.75   Sale: $6.56	Night Of Navy 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon Price: $8.75   Sale: $6.56	Ornate Tag Topper Punch Price: $28.00   Sale: $19.60
Timeless Elegance 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock Assortment Pack Price: $8.75  Sale:  $6.56	Whisper White 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon Price: $11.25   Sale: $8.44

Colouring 101 - Wonderful Watercolour

Since the release of Stampin' Up's Blendabilities alcohol-based markers I have gotten away from using some of my other favourite colouring media.  It occured to me that perhaps some of you might be in the same situation, so I decided to do a series of posts highlighting different colouring media offered by Stampin' Up. 
Today I'm all about watercolour.  I have to admit this is still one of my favourite ways to colour stamped images.  It is quick and easy to blend colour and creates a soft look that is very appealing to me.  Here is a project I created using an Aquapainter and my classic ink pads for my upcoming Colouring 101 class:

Any-occasion card featuring the Bloom with Hope Hostess stamp set and sentiment from the Million and One set.

I love the sketched look of the images in the Bloom with Hope hostess set...they are perfect for watercolouring!  The key to successfully watercoloured images is to use Watercolour Paper.  Using regular card stock just leads to warped paper, poorly blended colour and generally unsatisfactory results.  On this card I stamped the flower and leaf images in black Staz-On ink.  I coloured the flowers using ink from the Rich Razzleberry ink pad and an Aqua painter.  (One may also use a small paintbrush and water for this look, but I have found it difficult to control the amount of water I am using with that method.  I much prefer the Aqua painter for watercolouring.) I added a little bit of Blackberry Bliss ink to add darker highlights on the flowers, blending it with the lighter shade as I went.  The centre of the flowers is coloured using Crushed Curry ink.  For the leaves I used Old Olive ink.

Once the images had completely dried I stamped the spatters using the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and gold metallic ink.  The sentiment, from the Million and One stamp set, is heat embossed in gold.  The coloured panel is mounted on a Blackberry Bliss card base.

Here is another card I did using watercolour that features the Blended Bloom stamp...

On this one I used Calypso Coral ink for the petals and Daffodil Delight for the centre of the flower.

Stay tuned tomorrow...I'll have some projects coloured using a Blender pen to show you...it gives a completely different look!

Fabulous Kindness

Today I have one more over-sized card for you.  This is the last of the ones I made for departing staff members at school this year.  As it happens, this one also qualifies for this week's challenge over at The Friday Mashup, which is to use sequins on a project...

Thank you card featuring the Kinda Eclectic, Flower Shop, Petite Petals and Million and One stamp sets

For this one I pulled out my new favourite go-to set Kinda Eclectic to add pattern and texture to the large background space.  I stamped the starburst in Crumb Cake and the dots in Mossy Meadow and Metallic Gold.  I also used the leaf image from that set on the label, stamping both full strength and stamped off in Mossy Meadow ink.  The sentiment is heat embossed in gold.

The flowers are from the Flower Shop and Petite Petals stamp sets.  I stamped them using Memento black ink and then coloured them using the Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight Blendabilities.

I added some 7/8" cotton ribbon, on which I stamped the dots from the Kinda Eclectic set using Mossy Meadow ink, and adhered using sticky strip to allow me to pleat it as I laid it down.  I also added a bit of that gorgeous stitched satin ribbon in Blackberry Bliss.

The final touch was a few gold sequins which are just the right bit of shine...and who doesn't like a little bling? ;)

Fabulous Blooms

Happy Monday...and happy summer!!  I am officially on summer holidays from school...WOOHOO!!  It usually takes me a couple of weeks to truly unwind and stop thinking about my classess and curriculum, but is it ever nice to be able to turn it off for a while.
Today I have another over-sized card I made for one of our departing staff members.  I used the brand-new Flower Patch photopholymer stamp set and coordinating Flower Fair Framelits (try saying that one 5 times fast!).

Thank you card featuring the Flower Patch stamp set with sentiment from Million and One.

I just love this stamp set!  There are so many possible combinations to create beautiful flower images and the fact that the stamps are clear makes layering images a breeze.  In case you want to try layering yourself, here are the colour combinations I used:  Daffodil Delight with Crushed Curry, Coastal Cabana with Bermuda Bay, and Strawberry Slush with Rose Red.

I used the starburst image from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set, stamped in Crushed Curry ink, as a background for the sentiment, which is heat embossed in black.  I used the Labels Collection framelits to die cut the label and the black mat behind it.  The flowers were die cut using the Flower Fair Framelits.  The card front is matted on Bermuda Bay and then layered on a Basic Black card base.

I spent tons of time working on my new craft room this weekend!  It is looking fabulous!  I am so excited to finally have my own "sanctuary", as my husband calls it, where everything has a place and I can spread out and create till my heart's content.  I can't wait to share it with you all...it won't be long now ;)