Easter Wheeling

Tonight I sat down to design some Easter cards for my parents to send off to their families. I had just gotten the Egg Hunt wheel and Jumbo Grommets from the new Occasions Mini catalog and knew I had to use them for their cards. I think they turned out quite well. I whipped up a total of 16 of them The card base is made of So Saffron card stock. The eggs are wheeled with Certainly Celery ink on Whisper White cardstock. The Certainly Celery ribbon and Designer Series Paper (mounted on the inside of the card) are from Sale-A-Bration. The Jumbo Grommet is Winter White. Finally, the bottom edge is punched with the border punch. To get everythinging cut, stamped and assembled only took a total of about 2.5 hours from start to finish. To be honest, the grommets were the most time consuming piece to this project since I chose to push the backs through not only the two layers of cardstock but also the ribbon. I think the beautiful result certainly made up for the little extra work.

Fun Vellum Background

This is a card that I made for my demonstrator swap with Linda's Inkettes. The theme for the swap was "collage" which, I have to admit, was a whole lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I don't think my mind focuses very well with things all squished together :) I bought the Workshop WOW DVD from SU and I have to say, that is really where I got the inspiration for this project. They had a segment on this vellum technique which I was trying out before the segment was even over! The background is made from vellum that has been heavily smeared with Old Olive then Garden Green. I stamped over that heavy ink with the leaves from God's Beauty and put it aside to dry. Once dried, the background still has the subtle image of the leaves but the ink kind of ran together. Very cool. I came back with some Garden Green and the leaf stamp with the flower in More Mustard. The butterfly was samped with black Stazon and colored with a combination of Summer Sun, More Mustard, and Pumpkin Pie. The vellum was mounted on a piece of Winter White so you can see the images then on More Mustard. Added Old Olive ribbon and brads and it's done.

Same idea, different result

During my open house, we created the card on the left. A simple "stamp stamp stamp, paste paste paste" kind of card...according to my girlfriend Christine. It's a quick, easy card that makes me feel generally happy! The card on the right is the same design but makes a great representation of what you can do with a couple of embellishments. The difference in the cards...a quick swipe of the roller and we have a neatly patterned bacground upon which we can mount our "3D flower" . A little cutting, or punching, and we have a mountable flower. Instead of using the stamped stem and leaf, I used a piece of ribbon. Add a half back pearl and you have the same card with a bit more jazz. I think both methods have a special place in my quick design heart and a wonderful way to show the beginning stamper how just a couple of embellishments can go a long way!

Creative block is over!

It's been about a week since I've been able to post anything here. I've been in a bit of a creative rut. You should see the, um, creations I've been working on lately. I'm sure I can use them as coasters or something! Tonight, however, the juices started flowing! I finally played with my Build-A-Brad set...LOVE IT!! I also whipped out my first "set" using the Tea Party Designer Series Paper and Petal Pizazz, the matching stamp set. I think this will be a class offering sometime soon, or some sort of close variation. I just love the colors in Tea Party. Being as big a fan as I am of Versamark, these colors definitely lend themselves well to creating subtle backgrounds with the Petal Pizazz stamps. The little desk holder, to me, is a super nice touch that would make this set a lovely gift. I've got plenty of ideas running through my head. Oh if I didn't have to function tomorrow, I'd stamp all night!

Beginning Card Basics - A Basic Success!

Well, last night was my very first "official" class. We had a great time creating and learning together all night. My "students" worked very hard on their creations and were quite proud of what they made. Actually, so was I! A good time was had by all.

There are more classes coming in April! Beginning Scrapbooking, Paper Piecing, and Little Packages are some I'm definitely looking forward to. Be on the look out for more information on my Stampin' Up! Events page!!

Snuffies bring a little inspiration

As I sit here with a tissue in my nose, I've at least had some time to think about some card and scrapbook layouts. I'm too achey to want to go sit in my stamp room but this is at least making me feel a little productive. This is a card layout I've whipped up. I can't wait to actually be able to play a little bit. Maybe tonight but definitely tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my Open House. I've got lots of samples to show and things to play with. I am planning to have myself ridiculously medicated so I can function like a real person. I have my make and takes ready to go. I still need to print my raffle entries, frequent buyer cards, class info, and club sign ups. I can just hope we get more than 2 people here! It's just the beginning of many good things to come. This is only the first event and certainly won't be the last!

A-choo!!

Beginning Card Basics

New to card making? Want to learn the basics of card design? Just starting your paper crafting collection and want to work with just paper and ink? This beginner level class is for you! We will create two each of three designs (six cards total) with a focus on basic stamping, layering, coloring with pastels, and using patterned paper as a quick and simple embellishment.

Fee for this class is $7 club members, $10 advanced reservation, $13 at the door. The next session of this class will be held on Monday, March 16 at 6:30pm and will be held in my stampin' space. Contact me to register today!!

Stampin' and Stampin'

Wow. I don't think I remember a time when I've spent so much time stampin' and playing in my crazy mess of a craft room. I'm doing my darnedest to stick with using only Stampin' Up! products and man, is that hard! I just got my demo starter kit about 2 weeks ago and while it has lots of great stuff inside, there are SO many things I NEED! My first "open house" is on Saturday and I'll be placing my first order. I need ribbons and buttons and bobbles and punches and papers and ink and markers and stamps and stamps and stamps and stamps and stamps..... I think I may also need a bigger stampin' room!


I'm working on designing some classes and fun new projects to share with anyone who is interested. I've had a crazy cough lately which seems to be stifling some of my creative juices. I have plenty of time, tho. Afterall, I haven't even been at it for a month yet!




So, here's one of my late night creations. This is a simple two page layout that I whipped up as part of my beginner scrapbook class that's coming up in April. This is from the Petal Party Simply Scrapin' kit. This layout holdes 4-3.5x3.5, 1-2x2, and 1-4x6 photo with a journaling square. Super simple. Super quick. Super easy. Enjoy!

Piece of Latte

The chef in Voila is one of my favorites in the whole Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer catalong. I just love his tray and all the great things you can put on top. I'm actually working on a class using my new little friend. Be sure to keep an eye out!
For this particular project, I used a paper piecing technique. The patterned paper is from the Taylor Made Simply Scrappin' kit. The image was simply stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White cardstock and on the striped patterned paper. I cut out the elements I wanted to use for his accessories and adhered them to the white card stock. I added the cup of latte from the accessory set, trimmed the whole thing, matted and voila!! Enjoy!

Stampin for Liberty

The Free and The Brave is the very first stamp set I bought from Stampin' Up! and that was just a year ago. To look at the "space" now, you'd think I was some sort of addict! Well, I guess that's because I am!!

I made this card set recently while feeling a bit patriotic. I was able to use my favorite color family, Earth Elements, to whip out these cards. Primary colors are Not Quite Navy and Rose Red with a variety of the greens and browns to make the camo. The card background was sponged with Whisper White Craft ink with the saying stamped in the same. Not sure if you can see it but the background with the soldier is also sponged with Sahara Sand. It adds a nice final touch.

It's super simple but I think that's why I like this lay out so much.