Patterned Paper Birthday Card

I set out to make a nice, simple birthday card - and what you see pictured here in no way resembles what I had envisioned. Nothing worked quite right: I cut the paper crooked, the ribbon was the wrong shade, tried a border punch (ewww!!), paint was too dark... Anyway, when all was said and done I do like the results. The paper is from Making Memories Boho Chic - Olivia, and uses scraps from another card that I made (gotta wait to share that one, though). The bottom piece was brushed with Lavender Twinkling H2Os just to soften the colors and add some shimmer, and then there's a bit more bling in the center of the little Prima flower. A rather simple card - if I ever decide to make another, it will definitely take a lot less time!

(sentiment from Penny Black)

Coneflower Be Still

A quick card I made for a friend - I got an email from her this afternoon, and immediately this verse came to mind. The card itself is quite simple - I started with a Fabriano notecard (and yes, they are every bit as fabulous as everyone says), and then stamped the image and verse with Burnt Umber palette ink, then added some hints of color with my aquapainter and markers.

I love being able to package up encouragement in an envelope!

(flower by Penny Black, verse by Biblical Impressions)

Candy Wrapper Card

OK, I actually was able to finish up that card that I hinted at yesterday. This month, I was responsible for the challenge at Eureka, and I thought it would be fun to see what we could make using candy wrappers, packaging, etc. Here's my spin on it, using the silver foil from a king size Hershey bar (the standard ones don't have the foil anymore, so the kids and I suffered through the extra chocolate). First, I smoothed the foil out and then glued it down to some plain, lightweight copy paper using Tombow's Mono Multi glue (my adhesive of choice for nearly everything). I then trimmed it down and ran it through my Big Shot with the Cuttlebug embossing folder. Next, I went over it with white acrylic paint, but then buffed most of it off before it actually dried. I really like the effect, sort of like an old fashioned tin tile. I needed to make a baby card for a friend, so I finished it off with some rick rack and a vellum tag (stamped with SU Big Pieces, and then the words are spelled out with an alphabet from Technique Tuesday - I was really ticked that I managed to smear the words just a bit with the side of my hand, but unfortunately I don't have any more of these large tags, so although imperfect, it stays). I may just have to watch for a good sale on candy bars so I can play around with this some more!

I played around with my scraps and a few Stazon pads - I think I like the debossed version with the Timber Brown pad the best, but unfortunately that's my smallest piece!

Oh, the things we can emboss...

Here's a peek at what I did today - hopefully I'll post the finished product tomorrow. Hint: it has something to do with the February Challenge on the Eureka Stamps board.

Chipboard Coaster Frames

For any of you who have been checking me out on my previous blog, you've already seen these projects... but they're so much fun that I just had to share again! I got in on a big order of these chipboard coasters on Splitcoaststampers, and have had a ball creating with them. This yellow and blue frame features my adorable little boy, and the stamp set Polka Dots & Paisley, which will be available to purchase starting March 1. It really is a fun set to play with.

We also made these frames as a project at our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group, so I made a few samples using a variety of stamps (including some foam mounted), stickers, rub-ons, etc. The basic approach is the same, though: cover the coaster base with ink (just swipe it with a dye based pad), then stamp away and adhere additional elements. If I made these again, I wouldn't use rub-ons. Soft chipboard + furious rubbing to get the entire word transferred = major groovage on the frame. I've used hinges from Making Memories on most of these and stuck them down with red liner tape. Great stuff!! I also used my crop-a-dile for the hinges with the snaps, and then just punched holes and threaded ribbon through on the green and blue one.

These coasters are pretty popular right now, and I know there are a lot of stores on eBay selling them in smaller lots (like 10 instead of the 100 I had to buy!) You could also just ask the waitress for a few extra next time you go out to dinner, and cover the entire thing with patterned paper. Either way, it's a pretty simple but super cute project.

Very Punny Cow

It doesn't get much simpler than this! I have a cheesy sense of humor, so the "Very Punny" stamp set was a must-have for me. This card is super simple and I was able to use up some of my scraps of both paper and ribbon. I love the little details, but that it's still all about the cow. This will be going out to my mom, who has been collecting cows since I was in grade school. Hope she likes it!

Teal Sweet Shapes Thank You

I was playing around with the Sweet Shapes set, and came up with this simple card. The colors are inspired by southwestern jewelry; all I'm missing is the silver! I stamped out the flowers, and then colored them in with the metallic pencils. Those pencils are not among my heavily used tools, but every now and then I love to pull them out. They add just a bit of shine without being overly "blingy." One note - if you do use metallic pencils, you'll probably want to buff out the images afterward. I personally just rub them with a plain old tissue, and then follow up with an artist's grade eraser to clean up any stray marks. I finished it out with a bit of hemp - ribbon just didn't fit the design, but it really needed a bit of dimension.

Heartfelt Thanks - Anniversary Card

Heartfelt Thanks is one of my favorite sets - those watercolor type flowers are just gorgeous, aren't they? I needed to make an anniversary card, so this is what I came up with. Very simple color scheme - white, saffron, and gold. Love the elegance it conveys! I stamped the flowers onto a piece of white scrap, then added some narrow white organdy and gold cord. I layered that onto saffron, which I also edged with a gold paint pen. I then attached the flower panel to the card base, which I stamped with Paisley. For the final touch, I stamped this verse from Elegant Inspirations and embossed it with gold detail EP. I must admit, I'm quite happy with the results!

Getting started

Well, I've been blogging on Yahoo 360 but want to relocate, so we'll give this a whirl. This is where I'll share my rubber stamped creations and paper crafts, those bits of creativity that serve as a sanity saver in my world as a stay-at-home-mom. I have been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for nearly six years now, but it appears that will soon be ending. I love images from a huge variety of companies (as evidenced by my over-run crafting space!). Hopefully I can share some ideas and inspire you along the way!