Trying Something New...

I've been wanting to try a new technique called "Black Magic".  These two cards are my first attempts at this awesome technique!  I stamped the solid image from the Level 2 hostess set Wings of Friendship using Whisper White craft ink on Basic Black cardstock.  Once the ink had dried I got out my Stampin' Up Watercolor Pencils and colored in all of the white areas I had stamped.  The result is a vibrant, eye-popping image on a black canvas.  As you can see I couldn't decide which background color I liked best:  Green Galore or Apricot Appeal.  Which one do you like the best?

Supplies

Stamps:  Wings of Friendship

Cardstock:  Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Green Galore

Ink:  Whisper White Craft

Accessories:  Watercolor Pencils, Big Shot, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Supplies

Stamps:  Wings of Friendship

Cardstock:  Basic Black, Lovely Lilac, Apricot Appeal

Ink:  Whisper White Craft

Accessories:  Watercolor Pencils, Big Shot, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

 

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Happy Anniversary to my Mom & Dad!  They will be celebrating 51 years of wedded bliss on Sunday!  How awesome is that!?!  I wanted to make a "fun" card for them and thought, why not use my "Build-a-Bear" set?  I did some watercoloring using the Aqua Painter and my stamp pads.  Then I used the "Grid Technique" on the background of the card using the scoring blade on my paper trimmer.  I tore the edges of the Close to Cocoa layer to frame the bears.  I think it turned out cute and will give them a chuckle!

Supplies

Stamps:  Beary Best Friends, Beary Best Times

Cardstock:  Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa

Ink:  Basic Brown, Brocade Blue, Regal Rose, Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Basic Gray

Accessories:  Scoring Blade and Paper Trimmer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua Painter

Remember that Close to Cocoa and Brocade Blue will be retiring the end of June!  Let me know if you'd like to order any of the retiring colors before they're gone forever!!!  (Unfortunately Sage Shadow is no longer available.)

Out of the Box Part 2

As I'm sure you'll notice, this card is the same layout as yesterday's card... I just reversed it and used the flower image instead of the heart.  This will be a great "Thinking of You" card for a friend!

Supplies

Stamps:  Out of the Box

Cardstock:  Melon Mambo, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay

Accessories:  Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

 

Out of the Box Part 1

Here is a quick and easy card I made using the Level 1 Hostess Set Out of the Box.  This little stamp set is so cute!  Today I used the heart image as I made this card for my cousin who is fighting cancer and wanted to convey the feelings of love that I'm sending her along with prayers and well wishes!

Supplies

Stamps:  Out of the Box

Cardstock:  Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay

Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Basic Gray

Accessories:  Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Check back tomorrow for another card featuring this same stamp set and layout!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

This is how I'll feel as soon as school is out... ready to relax!  Ahhhhhhhhhh!  I am enjoying playing with the new stamp set Tropical Party from the Summer Mini Catalog and it really lends itself to the "In" colors!

Supplies

Stamps:  Tropical Party, Rough Type

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Summer Sun, Melon Mambo

Ink:  Melom Mambo, Old Olive, Soft Suede Classic Ink; Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Ears Wishing You...

This little bunny from the Animal Crackers set is sure to bring a smile to the face of it's recipient, don't you think?  I used the "In" Colors Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo to frame the little fellow.  I used the Pinking Hearts Border Punch on each side and let the Bermuda Bay layer show through and hang out the sides of the card front.  

Supplies

Stamps:  Animal Crackers

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Bermuda Bay

Ink:  Close to Cocoa Classic Ink; Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write Marker

Accessories:  Extra Large Fancy Flower Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Aqua Painter

Sweet Baby Girl

As promised, here is the baby girl card I made for a co-worker.  This is a pocket card, similar in design to one of my Easter cards.  Since the baby is going to be a little girl I had to use Pretty in Pink!  I also decided to dig into my stash of buttons, using a courdoroy button as the "tab" to pull the card out of the pocket and one of the new tiny clear buttons (from the Summer Mini Catalog) as decoration on the bottom corner of the pocket.  I used my Big Shot to add texture using the Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder to the pocket.

Supplies

Stamps:  Tiny Tags, Little Angel, Welcome Baby, Puns From the Past

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Pretty in Pink

Ink:  Pretty in Pink

Accessories:  Big Shot, Polka Dot Textured Impressions Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Bitty Buttons, Pretty in Pink 5/8" Satin Ribbon, White Embroidery Floss

And here is the inside card pulled out of the pocket:

Happy Journey

The janitor at my school will be retiring in two weeks so I wanted to make a special card for him.  He was awesome and took such good care of us.  I'm going to miss him!  The card features another new stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog, Pedaling Past.  I like how it turned out and think it definitely fits the bill for a masculine retirement card!

Supplies

Stamps:  Pedaling Past

Cardstock:  Basic Gray, Taken With Teal, Confetti White

Ink:  Basic Gray Classic Ink; Taken With Teal Stampin' Write Marker

Accessories:  Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch

A Bouncing Baby Boy is Coming...

Here is a card I made for a baby shower.  Obviously the mama knows that her little one is going to be a little boy.  I pulled out my Choo Choo stamp set and the coordinating Right on Track wheel. 

Supplies

Stamps:  Choo Choo, Right on Track Wheel, Little Angel

Cardstock:  Ballet Blue, Bashful Blue, Naturals White

Ink:  Basic Black, Basic Gray

Accessories:  Stampin' Around Handle, Basic Black Brads, Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Now I just have to make a baby girl card for another co-worker who is expecting this summer.  Stay tuned...

Happy Retirement for a Friend

A colleague of mine will be retiring this month and I wanted to make a special card for her.  She has worked hard for many years and deserves only the best as she starts this next chapter in her life.  I tried to make this card representative of a place I would like to go to relax and retire myself.  I used the Tropical Party stamp set from the Summer Mini catalog.  For the varigated background, I sponged layers of color across Whisper White cardstock.  I framed it with the negative image left over when using the Top Note die in my Big Shot.  The palms on the trees are popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals and the flower was made with 3 punches from the Boho Blossoms flower punch. 

Here is a close-up of the card:

Supplies

Stamps:  Tropical Party, Rough Type

Cardstock:  Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Summer Sun

Ink:  Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink; Old Olive, Soft Suede Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Linen Thread, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Boho Blossom Punch, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Stampin' Sponges

And here is the inside featuring a sentiment stamp that is now retired (how ironic is that!?):

Thank You!

Here is a "Thank You" card I made for the P.T.O. at school.  This is the first time to use the new Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and I love how it turned out!  It is a very cool texture!  This is one of the new products featured in the Summer Mini Catalog.  Click on the link to the right to see what other awesome new products Stampin' Up is featuring!

Supplies

Stamps:  First Day, Very Thankful

Cardstock:  Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Basic Gray

Ink:  Basic Black, Real Red Classic Ink; Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Blush Blossom Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

 

Sunshine Award!

Guess what!?!?!  I received an award!  My friend Betty sent me a Sunshine Award.  You can see Betty's blog here.   She is a very talented lady who also features tutorials on using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio on her blog.  Thanks Betty!!!

Part of the award is to then pass it along to other bloggers that you enjoy visiting.  Here are some more friends I've met through UStamp who have blogs for you to check out: 

Pauline who just happens to live "in the land down under",

Angie who has some beautiful creations on her blog, and

Bella who has to be the hardest working assistant at UStamp!

Be sure and check out my friends and see what creative adventures they've been up to!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, especially my mom!   Here is a layout I created using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio:

 

1 Stamp, 3 Cards

With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I needed to make cards for my two aunts.  All of these cards feature the same image from the Level 1 Hostess Stamp Set Country Morning.  I stamped the image using Basic Brown and used my Summer Sun and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers for the daisies.  I used my Stampin' Pastels to color in the rest of the flowers.  The pastels really lend themselves to easy color blending.

Supplies

Stamps:  Country Morning, Tiny Tags

Cardstock:  Summer Sun, Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue

Ink:  Basic Brown Classic Ink; Summer Sun, Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Stampin' Pastels, Big Shot, Stampin' Up Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

For this next card, I decided to use my Big Shot to cut out the card using the Stampin' Up Top Note Die.

Supplies

Stamps:  Counry Morning, Tiny Tags

Cardstock:  Orchid Oppulence, Old Olive, Vey Vanilla

Ink:  Orchid Opulence, Basic Brown Classic Ink; Summer Sun, Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Big Shot, Top Note Die, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Stampin Dimensionals, Linen Thread

Supplies

Stamps:  Country Morning, Tiny Tags

Cardstock:  Summer Sun, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Orchid Opulence

Ink:  Basic Brown, Summer Sun and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:  Big Shot, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Linen Thread, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Which version is your favorite???

A Cute Roo or Two

Isn't this one of the cutest stamp sets you've ever seen!?  The Build-a-Roo set is very versatile as it contains interchangable images for the kangaroo's pouch so you can make a "Thinking of You" card like this one or a "Welcome Baby" card like the blue one I've featured further down in this post.  I decided to stamp the kangaroo on Soft Suede and cut it out rather than watercolor the image.  I made both cards a type of tri-fold card and the tied ribbon holds each card closed.

Supplies

Stamps:  Build-a-Roo

Cardstock:  Kraft, Melon Mambo, Naturals Ivory, Old Olive, Soft Suede

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Basic Brown

Accessories:  Melon Mambo 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Supplies

Stamps:  Build-a-Roo

Cardstock:  Kraft, Naturals Ivory, Bashful Blue, Soft Suede

Ink:  Basic Brown, Bashful Blue

Accessories:  3/16" Blue Gingham Ribbon (retired), Ticket Corner Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals