Let's party all week!

A good friend of mine firmly believes in celebrating her birthday all week, which, quite frankly, I can't argue with!  So let's keep the Blog-aversary party going!  Be sure to visit and comment on Monday's post to be entered in my draw for awesome loot.  Now for another birthday card...

Cheeky birthday card featuring the Age Awareness stamp set.

I have to admit that this was the first stamp set on my wish list when I first saw the new Annual Catalogue.  It just makes me chuckle and at my age, I need a chuckle or two on my birthday!  The best part of this one is the inside...

Haha!  I can think of so many people this card would be perfect for...myself included!  It was super-easy to put this together thanks to some marvelous Wahsi tape.  I used patterns from several different packs.  The Bermuda Bay is from the Everyday Adventure Project Life Accessory kit.  The Tangerine Tango is from the Retro Fresh pack and the Crushed Curry is from the Beach House pack.  I love how quick and easy it was to lay down the strips of tape to create a fun, colourful patterned background for my sentiment.  The background Bermuda Bay card stock is embossed with the ZigZag TIEF and is adhered to a Basic Black card base.  I added button and some Baker's twine as well as a little glimmer arrow for fun.

If you love Washi tape as much as I do you're going to love the Holiday Catalogue.  There are several new packs available...one with FIVE rolls in it.  LOVE it!  My pre-order box arrived last evening and I can't wait to dig in and play!  Now if I could just find someone to entertain my 7-year-old for a few hours....

Now today is Tuesday which means its time for a new round of Weekly Deals...

Big Shot Die Bigz L Petite Purse Price: $40.95   Sale: $30.71	Envelope Liners Framelits Die Price: $32.95  Sale: $24.71	Fancy Fan Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $9.95  Sale: $7.46	Label Petite Curly Punch Price: $15.95  Sale: $11.96
Natural 7/8" Cotton Ribbon Price: $9.95   Sale: $7.46	Rosette Designer Bigz Xl Die Price: $52.95   Sale: $39.71	Tea Time Ii Digital Kit - Digital Download Price: $8.95  Sale:  $5.37	Wildflower Meadow Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $9.95  Sale:  $7.46

 Remember, sale prices are good till next Monday at midnight :)

It's My Blog-aversary!

Today my little blog turns FOUR!  I had no idea when I started writing about my love of papercrafting back in 2010 that I would still be going strong four years later!  As you can see, to celebrate the occasion, I gave my blog a makeover over the weekend, designing a new header using My Digital Studio and changing up the font and colour scheme.  I am thrilled with the result...new and fresh and ready for another 4 years!  I also have a bit of blog candy to give away...after all, what would a birthday party be without a loot bag?!?  More on that below...but first I have, appropriately, a birthday card to show you.  This is one of the projects that is included with the first month's kit for my Blendabilities Club members.  Check it out:

Birthday card featuring the Blended Bloom stamp with sentiment from Sassy Salutations.

I LOVE my Calypso Coral Blenabilities!  The shades blend so perfectly it makes colouring so easy.  It is the perfect set with which to start my club off.

Because my club members will start with just the one colour set I kept my flower monochromatic, but was able to get lots of shading with the three markers and the Colour Lifter (also included in the first month's kit).  So?  Have you joined the club yet?  What are you waiting for?  Click HERE for all the details.

Now for some birthday loot!

I'm giving away the items pictured above:  Artisan Embellishments Kit, Print Poetry DSP stack and Vintage Verses WM stamp set.  So, how do you win this little bundle of goodies?  Simple!  Leave a comment on today's post with your thoughts on my blog makeover and/or what you think of the new Blendabilities alcohol markers.  I will randomly select one lucky winner from all who leave a comment.  You have until Friday, August 15th to leave your comment.  I will announce the winner on Saturday, August 16th.  Good luck!

BeYoutiful Flower Patch

Are you sick of the Flower Patch stamp set yet?  If so, stop reading now!  Today I have the final sample from my Fabulous Flower Patch class coming up at the end of the month.  I turned to the new In-Colours for the colour scheme for this one...

Any-occasion card featuring the Flower Patch stamp set.

This is a super-simple, quick and easy card.  I started by stamping the various flowers using the following colour cobminations:  Perfect Plum and Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo, Mossy Meadow and Sahara Sand.  Then I ran the stamped piece through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF and mounted it on a Lost Lagoon mat before adhering it to a Sahara Sand card base.  The sentiment is inked with Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss markers and die cut using the Project Life Cards and Labels framelits.  I adhered it to a strip of Lost Lagoon card stock that I embellished with some Blackberry Bliss stitched satin ribbon, and then adhered it to the card with dimensionals.

On the inside of the card I stamped more flowers.  Quick and easy and under 10 minutes from start to finish...gotta love it!

Monochromatic Flower Patch

Yesterday I showed you a card I made using the Emerging Colours technique with the Flower Patch stamp set.  Today I have another version, but this time it is a monochromatic colour scheme...

Thinking of You card featuring the Flower Patch and A Dozen Thoughts stamp sets and using the Emerging Colours technique

Totally different look, no?  On this one I used the following colours:  Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Lost Lagoon, Island Indigo and Night of Navy.  The flower is stamped in Lost Lagoon and Island Indigo and die cut with the Flower Fair Framelits.  I added a little bling in the centre of the flower with some rhinestones and made ribbon leaves from Lost Lagoon stitched satin ribbon.

The sentiment is from the A Dozen Thoughts set, is stamped in Night of Navy and die cut using the Project Life Cards and Labels framelits. 

On the inside I stamped more flowers and omitted a sentiment to all space to write an encouraging message.
I have just the person in mind to send this one to.  Hope it brightens her day!

Emerging Flower Patch

Well?  How was your long weekend?  Mine was good, but yesterday I discovered a leak under our kitchen sink which led to replacing the entire sink.  The new sink was larger than the original one, which led to cutting a larger hole in the counter top which led to a big mess...oh and did I mention that all of this started at 3:00 pm yesterday?  I was vaccuuming sawdust and wiping down kitchen cabinets at 11:00 last night!  Ah well, the new sink looks great and I'm glad there is no more leak.
Today I have one of the projects I designed for my upcoming Fabulous Flower Patch class. 

Birthday card featuring the Flower Patch and not-yet-released Good Greetings Hostess set and using the Emerging Colours technique.

Kinda funkadelic retro, no?  I have to say the photo doesn't really do it justice...the colours really pop!  So how'd I do it?  I started by sponging Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo ink in random splotches all over a piece of Whisper White card stock.  The cool part it that where those two colours overlap I got a shade remarkably close to Pumpkin Pie!  Once the ink had dried (important to allow time for this!)  I rubbed my embossing buddy all over the inked surface (this is also a VERY important step).  Then I stamped various images from the Flower Patch stamp set using Versamark ink all over the sponged card stock.  I sprinkled on clear embossing powder and the heat embossed it.  Then the magic happened,  I sponged Blackberry Bliss ink over the entire surface.  The ink adheres to the card stock, but not to the embossed images, making those colourful flowers just pop.

The rest of the card was pretty simple.  To do the background stripes I cut 3/4" wide strips of Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Crushed Curry card stock and adhered them to a 2-1/4" wide strip of Whisper White card stock.  Then I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot with the Arrows TIEF.  I glued the strip to a Black Berry Bliss card base at a 45 degree angle and trimmed off the excess.  The sentiment is from a new set called Good Greetings that will be part of a Host promotion for the upcoming Holiday Catalogue.  I punched it out with the Curly Label punch and adhered it to the stamped piece, adding a wee Vintage Faceted button and some Crushed Curry baker's twine.

Inside view with sentiment from Endless Birthday Wishes.

On the inside I stamped several of the same flower images in Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie ink and then added a sentiment from the Endless Birthday Wishes set.  I love how this one turned out!

Now since its Tuesdaym here are this week's deals:

Alphabet Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $9.95  Sale: $7.46	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad Price: $7.25   Sale: $5.44	Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Price: $10.95   Sale: $8.21	Hearts A Flutter Framelits Die Price: $30.95   Sale: $23.21
Oh Baby Photobook Template - Digital Download Price: $19.95   Sale: $11.97 Wisteria Wonder 3/4" Chevron Ribbon Price: $12.50  Sale: $9.38	Pear Pizzaz Classic Stampin' Pad Price: $7.25  Sale: $5.44	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad Price: $7.25   Sale: $5.44	Travel Log Kit - Digital Download Price: $10.95  Sale:  $6.57

On the Fringe with the Twist

It's the first Saturday of a brand-new month which means it's time for a new challenge at The Technique Twist.  This time we're all on the fringe...scissors, that is!  I've had my pair of fringees for a while and have used them a fair bit, but not nearly as much as on this card...check it out!

Birthday card featuring the Happy Hour stamp set and my trusty fringe scissors!

This was such fun to make!  I had seen awning cards before but had never made one, so I played around for a bit until I got my measurements right and then started fringing!  To get the wavy edges I free-hand trimmed the fringes with my paper snips.

I know someone out there is going to ask me for measurements, but I really don't know.  I just kept scoring and folding and trimming till I got something that worked.  I do know that each of the little fringe strips is 3/4" wide, but as for the larger parts of the card I have no clue!  This was truly a process of trial and error.  I did sponge each little strip with Baked Brown Sugar ink (I used Baked Brown Sugar card stock) to give them some texture and dimension.

Along the top of my little tiki hut I added some wee flowers punched with the Itty Bitty punch pack (retired) and added a leaf from the Bird Builder punch to each one, as well as some bitty pearls that I coloured with my Blendabilities.  Colours I used were Coast Cabana, Calypso Coral, Strawberry Slush, So Saffron and Garden Green for the leaves.  The drinks are stamped in Pool Party and then paperpieced using So Saffron (margarita), Crisp Cantaloupe (peach daiquiri) and Strawberry Slush (strawberry daiquiri)...can you tell I like my frosty beverages?  ;)

The sentiment is stamped in Coastal Cabana and die cut using the Project Life Cards & Labels framelits.  I added a few more flowers to add island flair.

The inside is sort of anti-climatic...sorry!  I simply stamped a sentiment from the Happy Hour set, along with a little paper umbrella.  After all that effort on the front I had nothing left for the inside..haha!

I hope you'll give this challenge a try.  Even if you don't have fringe scissors you can fake it (psst...I know at least two members of the Twisted Design Team who don't own fringees!).  It adds such fun texture and dimension to projects...you should give it a go and then post it over at The Twist so we can all admire your fringy goodness!

A New Month and A New Promotion!

If you asked my what my single most valuable tool is, aside from stamps and ink, my resounding response would be my Big Shot.  It is the one tool that I use on almost everything I design.  In fact, I have challenged myself in the past to design without using the Big Shot and found it extremely difficult.  That's why I am SO excited about this month's promotion!

Click the image to view all of the fabulous exclusive bundles available.

If you've been waiting for the right time to purchase a Big Shot, that time is during the month of August and starts TODAY!  Now through August 31, you'll receive your choice of one of five FREE exclusive Stampin' Up! stamp set and framelits bundles when you purchase a Big Shot Die Cutting Machine. That's up to a $65 value absolutely free! 

BIG SHOT FREE bundle choices are below. 

Bundle Name	Item #	Stamp Name	Framelit	15% OFF PRICE
Sumthin' with Bubbly Words Clear-Mount Bundle	138920	Sumthin' Sumthin'	Word Bubbles	$ 38.95
Sumthin' with Bubbly Words Wood-Mount Bundle	138923	Sumthin' Sumthin'	Word Bubbles	$41.50
Decorative Goodies Clear-Mount Bundle	138921	Oh My Goodies	Deco Labels Collection	$44.75
Decorative Goodies Wood-Mount Bundle	138924	Oh My Goodies	Deco Labels Collection	$52.50
Celebrating Chalk Talk Clear-Mount Bundle	138922	Day of Celebration	Chalk Talk	$45.75
Celebrating Chalk Talk Wood-Mount Bundle	138925	Day of Celebration	Chalk Talk	$53.25
Flowery Daydream Clear-Mount Bundle	138910	Daydream Medallions	Floral Collection	$55.95
Flowery Daydream Wood-Mount Bundle	138911	Daydream Medallions	Floral Collection	$65.95
Bright & Beautiful Stars Clear-Mount Bundle	138200	Bright & Beautiful*	Star	$54.25
Bright & Beautiful Stars Wood-Mount Bundle	138644	Bright & Beautiful*	Star	$62.75

* Stamp set in the upcoming 2014-15 Holiday Catalogue

Do you already own a Big Shot?  You can get a 15% discount on the bundles above.  Please be sure to use the product numbers listed to ensure you get your discount!

Now for a project!  Today is the day that we demonstrators get to start pre-ordering products from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue.  I have my order in and can not wait until it arrives...so many awesome new goodies for the fall and Holiday season!  Today I want to feature a pair of cards I did using the Beauty of the Season stamp set, which is available right now(!) and is a sneak peek of the Holiday catty.  Check them out...

This one is done using an aquapainter and ink pads for a watercolour look...

Holiday card featuring the Beauty of the Season stamp set and watercoloured using an aquapainter.

...and this one is coloured using Blendabilities:

Holiday card featuring the Beauty of the Season stamp set with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and coloured using Blendabilities.

As you can see you get two very different looks with the two different colouring media.  I can't say I prefer the look of one over the other...they are just very different.  So you have a preference?  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!