Chocolate & Playtime

I was finally able to do some stamping tonight! Hurray! I worked on a swap card that probably should've been sent already, but Lucy's escapades in my stamproom had sent my creativity into hiding (and my embossing powder into the carpet!). I had to rethink what I knew I wanted to do with this set, but I'm pretty happy with the result:

I used just Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip for the colors (no matter what the picture may depict). I used the Bella Rose paper for the polka dotted piece & sponged like a madwoman with my Chocolate Chip. I love all the ideas I see layering punches, so I layered the large oval punch over the 1 3/8" circle and the scallop circle punch. I just love the Bella Blossoms set!

Now for the playtime part of the post. We spent a little over three hours today at a park in Benicia because I needed to break up our time together a bit after battling a stubborn three-year old all day yesterday. The kids played and played and played! They had so much fun & were busy for the whole time...Lucy, of course, "wasn't sleepy" for her nap after all that playing. Yeah, right!

Here she is, passed out on the couch while studying the back of the new movie that her daddy had brought home for her tonight. She slept like this for nearly an hour! Hilarious!



She is so cute when she's asleep, huh? Ha! She's cute all of the time...she just argues less in her sleep! :O)

Some new stamping from this week

I have to admit that I love this new set! I love the Upsy Daisy set & I am extra excited because I got it *on sale*! Isn't that a woman's favorite thing to do? So here's something I did with it: I used Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, and Tempting Turquoise for my colors throughout. The woohoo colors on the daisy image was accomplished using my very refined finger eraser method. ;-P I inked the whole stamp with Kiwi Kiss & then used my finger to rub off the ink from the flowers.I used a sponge dauber to color the flowers with Tempting Turquoise & then went along the edges of them with Pacific Point. I did the same with the greeting. I used my cuttlebug Stylized Flowers background for embossing. A little glitter finished things off!
The one above was a birthday card for my future brother-in-law. I used all retired stamps on it using only black ink for the images. I brayered with my retired November spectrum pad onto the kraft cardstock. For extra oomph, I punched & threaded some natural hemp through.
Yeah, another Upsy Daisy card. Using Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, and Chocolate Chip. Simple & yet so cute!! Love this set!


...and another...This one I kept extra simple since it was a bit more of a serious occasion, but cute nonetheless, huh?
I *really* can't get enough, can I? Here's how to get this cute card:

You can see it took me some practice to get it just the way I liked it :O) I ended up going with the bottom left one after all my hair-brained ideas fizzled.
Here's how I masked each frame so that I could use the big daisy image without getting interference from the other daisies. My mask was cut from cardstock vellum & I actually cut inside the frame's line so that when I stamped, it wouldn't go over the line of the frame & left it looking neater. See?
...here's what you do with ribbon scraps when you're stamping & bothered by mundane details like hair!
I cut around the frame with my scissors & then stuck it onto some Basic Gray cardstock before using the Curly Label punch to punch the whole thing out. I then punched it again in the front of the card & actually mounted the punched image *through* the window so that it lines up when the card is closed and is inside for the recipient to have happy little something when they open the card.

Scallops and more!

Today it's all about scallops! I have had a chance to goof around a bit with the new scallop edge punch in the catalog & I LOVE IT!

Of course, you can make scalloped edges, but you can also make rick rack, too! Just you wait...it's pretty cool! Here's a sample of both:

I used the new Bella Rose paper, Pink Pirouette textured cardstock, Kiwi Kiss cardstock, scallop circle punch, Heard from the Heart (on sale!) & Chocolate Chip ink. Of course, I added some dazzling diamonds to the cut out rose (from the paper) to spruce it up a bit! Now for the punching stuff... It's easy to see how you can easily make a scalloped edge:

This punch is so cool! You don't even have to use it upside down to line up the scallops to make the rick rack! Check it out! I just lined up the "peaks" with the "valleys" of the original scallop using the printed scallops on the punch.
You can see the start of some rick rack:
Here's a done strip, pictured next to regular scalloped edged cardstock so that you can see better how they compare.

Here are all the new In Colors in rick rack glory! These really are lovely new colors! I've loved the In Colors each year, but this year's *whole* set of colors grabbed me right away...Baja Breeze is growing on me. In year's past some of the colors took awhile before they were *really* exciting to me - shockingly Groovy Guava, one of my favorites, was the last one that I really started to like & use (isn't that funny?).
Here's another card using the Bella Rose paper, Pink Pirouette textured cardstock, Chocolate Chip cardstock, Robin Hood Red trim & Heard from the Heart in Chocolate Chip.
In non-scallop news...I actually did something else in my stamp room. :O) I have been trying to clear out some of my old stamp sets & just couldn't part with my OLD Bees & Blossoms set, so I decided I *had* to use it or I'd have to lose it in the sale since I just shouldn't have stuff I don't use, right? (I guess that's why I've got sets hidden away so that I'm not reminded of that so frequently!)

Anyway, this is a perfect example of why I love my stamp-a-ma-jig! I don't know how people stamped that honeycomb in 1997 (when the set first came out) before the SAMJ came to be! Those old positioners were a pain to use, so I was glad to whip out my friendly little SAMJ. I needed something extra to finish the honeycomb, so I inked up the bee from the greeting & stamped him all over in Night of Navy & then just made little dotted "trails" with the marker when they were all stamped so that the honeycomb didn't look so plain. Then I popped the card into a book for my friend & mailed it off today...gotta love 3X3 cards, huh?
...here's a total cheater card! I didn't even stamp on it. *blush* I cut & punched to make the onesie layout & then just used a leftover self-adhesive die cut from last year's Simply Scrappin' kit for the front. I think it was cute even if my stamps did feel a bit left out! I used Baja Breeze for the onesie & Not Quite Navy for the cardstock trims around the neck & legs.

Quick Card Layouts Class

On June 28th, I'll be offering a class in which we'll be making FOURTEEN *easy* cards using some interesting but quick layouts! Each participant will receive a full package of 20 notecards with envelopes along with an assortment of ribbons, fibers, and assorted embellishments to finish their cards with flair. Additionally, you will have a handout with the layouts on a sheet you can file away once you get home & even better yet, I will make a key ring-sized sampler of all 14 card layouts for you to use as reference once you get home & would like to copy the ideas even more quickly!

This class is also available via mail as a class to-go. I added $5 to cover the costs of mailing via priority mail. I will be placing an order for all supplies so that they'll arrive & be ready on June 28. I will mail out packages after class.

Please reserve your place on or before June 20th for either the class at my house or the class to-go kit. If you plan to pick up your packet instead of staying for class, please let me know that so that I can plan according for class attendance.

$30Class Kits to be made and/or picked up at my house

$35 Class kits to be mailed to you

Tart & Tangy Class

Make 10 outstanding cards along with a notecard holder to give them in, or keep them for yourself in it!

This class includes the stamp set Tart & Tangy from the current mini catalog, all the pieces of cardstock you'll need (precut & scored!) with envelopes, three markers, ribbon cut-to-size, dimensionals for adhering layers & prepunched circles/scallop circles (if you don't have your own punches). The top right item is a card box that will accomodate all 10 notecards and envelopes easily. Order your class to-go by June 20th so you won't miss out on the fabulous papers and stamps from the mini catalog!

I will place an order on June 20th for supplies for this class. I will cut & ship them the following week & all should be in the mail on or before the 27th.

The first link is for the Tart & Tangy class if you'd like to come to my house to pick up your kit.




The next link is if you'd like me to mail your kit via flat rate priority mail.

This is the first time I've added this option, so be patient if formatting isn't perfect!

Fresh Cuts!!

I am so excited about the current Stampin' Up sneak peek product from the upcoming catalog that starts in August! This month everyone can purchase a stamp set called Fresh Cuts along with the Fresh Cut notecards (with envelopes, of course!). I wanted to show the many options as well as the ease of using these cards with the stamp set.

The first photo is just the notecard after I punched out the precut flower (they're laser cut, so it's quick to pop out the petals).
Next, I layered a piece of Soft Sky cardstock inside to make the flower have a little color.
Then I punched out a Pixie Pink 5-petaled flower with our coordinating punch...have one, yet? You'll want one with these cards...it makes such a FAST & cute card whip together!
Every flower needs a center, right? So here's a flat-back pearl from the Pretties Kit.
...and a quick Pixie Pink greeting from the Fresh Cuts stamp set...
...and a *beeeeee-autiful* collage background stamp from the Fresh Cuts set inked in Soft Sky...
A few vine-y stamps in Pretty in Pink from the Fresh Cuts sets along with a Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, and my card's done!
Here's one that I whipped up very similarly but with a flower from the Pretties Kit & a rhinestone brad center in place of the pearl.
What to do with those scraps of flower petals? Don't throw them away! Make more flowers! I stuck mine onto Only Orange cardstock & punched them out with my small oval punch to make these flower petals.
I will have more ideas to share in the coming days! Keep checking back...I'm determined to get back on the blog-train again & post more frequently!