Up and Away

Today I have a quick and easy card for you!  Check it out:

Simple Birthday card featuring the Up, Up and Away stamp set with sentiment from Sassy Salutations

This card really came together by accident!  I had strips of Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP sitting on my desk, leftover from another project.  I looked down and thought ""That looks like the sky and grass!"  I stuck them on a piece of Whisper White card stock, added the balloon image from Up, Up and Away and the sentiment from Sassy Salutations.  I added a bit of Calypso Coral Baker's Twine and some mini silver brads and voila...quick and oh, so easy Man Card!  Can't say that I've been able to say that very often!!
Just a reminder to enter my draw for a free month's subscription to Craft Project Central by leaving a comment on any post(s) dated April 1st-15th.  I'll choose one lucky winner who will receive access to the entire month of tutorials (10 in all) for FREE!  Good luck!

Finally!

Yesterday I promised you to show you what I worked on this weekend.  Amid the chaos of preparing for my son's 6th birthday bash, I squeezed out a few minutes to put together my cards from my Paper Pumpkin kit!  I had great fun playing with the supplies and adding a few of my own to create four different designs.  Check them out:

Cards made with the Welcome Kit...the first Paper Pumpkin kit all new subscribers receive!

This is essentially the card that the instructions tell you to make.  Cute, but...

...it's much more fun to get creative!  All of the items used on this card come in the kit with the exception of the Tempting Turquoise ink (the kit comes with Basic Gray) and the Baker's Twine.

This one is perfect for my brother... every phone conversation I've ever had with him starts with "Hey"!  For this one I used a couple of circle punches and a scrap of Tempting Turqoise card stock.

Again, used only what came in the kit with the exception of the blue ink.

Whaddya think?  This kit is a fantastic value at only $24.95 which includes tax and shipping!  It includes the consumable supplies to make the cards (more than enough...I had tons left over!) and reusable materials including ink, stamps and a clear mount block (size D).  If you haven't subscribed to Paper Pumpkin yet, what are you waiting for?  Visit the Paper Pumpkin website and order your subscription today!

No Fooling...something new from Craft Project Central!

Happy April Fool's Day!  I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend with lots of time with family and friends!  Today is the start of a brand new month and I get to show you a new project from the designers over at Craft Project Central!  Check it out:

Scallop Square Spotlight designed by Julie Beltramo

This collection of projects shows four different ways to use the scallop squares die for the Big Shot.  I just love finding new ways to use my dies and Julie has done a wonderful job coming up with creative ways to make treat holders using the scallop square.  To access Julie's tutorial, head over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to April.  For your $10 subscription fee you'll receive 10 full-colour tutorials, including this one!
I also have a free subscription to give away this month!  So, leave me a comment on any (or all) posts dated April 1st through April 15th.  I will select one lucky winner and announce their name on April 16th.  Good luck!
Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a sneak peek at what I've been working on all weekend (and it's not Easter chocolate!!)

Easter Inspiration

Happy Saturday!  I can't believe Easter is already here!  To inspire you and get you in the "hoppin' down the bunny trail" mood, here is a card I designed for my TGIF class this month:

Easter card featuring the Ears to You single stamp and the Birds of a Feather DSP

I just can't get enough of these sweet bunnies!  This single stamp is one that will remain in my stash for a while to come!  For this card I split the bunnies up, punching each out with the 1" square punch and then layering on the scalloped square.  I chose my colour scheme from those in the DSP:  Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit, Primrose Petals and Pool Party...very spring-y, no?

 I also get to show another project from Craft Project Central today!  This one is brought to you by Kim Score:

Candy Box and Card designed by Kim Score

As always, you can access the tutorial for this and 9 other terrific projects by subscribing to March over at Craft Project Central.  Don't forget to stop by Kim's blog to see some of her other amazing work.

I am so looking forward to time this weekend to do some spring cleaning in my stamp corner!  I'll let you know how I make out next week!  Until then, enjoy the weekend!

Make A Wish CASE

Sometimes when I'm in a rush for a design I find myself CASE'ing the work of my fellow demonstrators on our online forum.  Today's card was originally designed by Deena Boos.  You can view her original design here.  This is my take on it:

Birthday card featuring the Summer Silhouettes and Papillon Potpourri stamp sets with sentiment from Sweet Essentials

As you can see, I pretty much CASE'd Deena's design exactly with the exception of the addition of the DSP layer behind the card front and the use of the larger butterfly.  I love the monochromatic look of this design and the vellum butterflies are just so pretty and delicate.  The next time you're stuck for an idea, start by CASE'ing something you like.  You'll be amazed at how it can spark your own creativity!

Lots to show you!

I have lots to show you today!  Firstly, yesterday I promised I would show you the birthday invitations my son and I made for his upcoming 6th birthday party.  He wants a Mario theme!  So, here are the invitations we made, based on a design I found on Pinterest:

Punch Art Mario Birthday Invitation

Fun, huh?  Now before I get a zillion questions about the how-to, here is the list of punches and dies I used to create Mario's face:

Hat brim:  3rd smallest oval in the Ovals Collection Framelits
White Circle on hat:  1-1/4" circle punch (M is from the retired Billboard decorative strip die)
Eyes:  White XL oval punch, blue L oval punch, black small oval punch (retired)
Nose:  XL oval punch
Moustache:  1-3/4" circle cut in half and 1-1/4" circle cut in half - run all through the Big Shot with the Woodgrain TIEF

The key to good looking punch art is sponging!  Sponging all of the pieces gives the design depth.  I also added a wee highlight to Mario's eyes with my white gel pen which really brings him to life.  Max was thrilled with these and, so far his friends are excited to attend his party too!  Now for the hard part...figuring out how to entertain 15 5-year olds for two hours!!

Now, I'm a bit behind posting this week's projects from Craft Project Central, so here are two fantastic designs for you.  The first is by Amanda Corbett:

Patterned Posies Gift Set designed by Amanda Corbett

The second, just in time for Easter, is from Heidi King:

Hoppy Spring Treats and Place Setting Ensemble designed by Heidi King

Both of these fantastic projects are available with a March subscription to Craft Project Central. 

Twirly Whirly Birthday

I most definitely have birthdays on the brain lately, as we are deep into preparations for my son's 6th birthday party.  I will show you the invitations we made tomorrrow, but  for now I want to show you a fun birthday card I designed for last weekend's card buffet. 

Birthday card featuring the Wishes Your Way stamp set and Sycamore Street DSP

I designed this card with kids in mind, but who wouldn't love a birthday card with a cute pinwheel on it?  I started with a Whisper White background embossed with the Cloudy Day TIEF.  The pinwheel was formed from a 2-1/4" square of Sycamore Street DSP and is held together with a glimmer brad.  The scalloped Tangerine Tango strip was done with the Large Scallop Edgelit and is layered behind a strip of Sycamore Street DSP.  I stamped the sentiment from Wishes Your Way and hand-trimmed a pennant.
I can't wait to show you the fun invitations Max and I made for his party tomorrow...be sure to stop by and check them out!