Happy Birthday!

Happy Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Have you been able to be creative yet? :D

This is a birthday card I made for a dear friend who was celebrating on a night we couldn't be with them. It didn't totally knock me out, but several people who've seen it have told me how stunning it is. To each his own, I guess! :D

Although you can't see it, the base of this card is a scalloped circle card in Elegant Eggplant. I cut it with the largest in the Ovals Framelits; the inside and the front are Very Vanilla ovals. I stamped the ferris wheel from the Sale-a-Bration ONLY stamp set, FEELING SENTIMENTAL, in Elegant Eggplant ink. I put Sticky Strip on the back of the oval, then used the gorgeous Basic Gray/Basic Black Two-Tone Ribbon from the Spring Mini to frame the outside of the oval. On the inside front, I used dimensionals to anchor the Flower Trim; then the Elegant Eggplant Stampin' Write Marker helped me color the edges of the flowers. Then I took my fun Gold Glow Smooch Spritz and sprayed the whole front of the card.

Seriously, people. This mini is INCREDIBLE; so much fun stuff in it! Thankfully, it's all available through the end of May. Be sure and take a look! And don't forget: for every $50 in merchandise you order, you get a free Sale-a-Bration item - and if you host a party (that's only $150 in sales!), you qualify for even MORE freebies!

OK, I'm outta here. :) Have a WONDERFUL day - and be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMETHING!!!

MDS Monday - Memories of My Birthday 2012

Happy Monday! :D Did you have a great weekend?!? I sure hope so! Can you believe this week will bring MARCH in??? EEK! I have so much to do before I leave! :D

So, it's MDS Monday again. And here's another of those geometric challenge pages. :) My Digital Studio has a hexagon punch; again, it allowed me to get TWELVE pictures onto this one-page layout! I LOVE that. The colors are Daffodil Delight - again, I subdued the color on the whole page and used a stamp at full intensity to give texture to the page - and Basic Black. It just FELT like a bumblebee page, so I used the bee from Summer Home brush stamp set to make those strips. It's just CUTE. :D

I highly recommend, if you're doing something like this, that you make a notation of the pictures. You'll note that I haven't done journalling on this page or last Monday's; they're just not that type of pages. But I don't want to come back to this page in 20 years and wonder what the heck that picture is of, or "What was her name again??" :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day - and be sure to make the time to CREATE something!

New Filter Paper!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Have you had a good week? Ready for the weekend? I'm looking forward to tomorrow; I'm going to be spending the day with dear friends, and celebrating a baby on the way. :)

For some reason, I was on a vintage kick a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted to teach this flower at the Valentine's class - but this is on a different project, so I'll tell you about it - because I want you to try the product!! It's cool!!!

Card stock - Whisper White, Basic Black, Brushed Gold

Everything else! :D Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, 1-3/4" scallop circle punch, 1-1/4" scallop circle punch, creped filter paper, paper piercing tool, piercing mat, gold glitter brad, dimensionals, paper snips, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz

I really like this classy color combination!!

OK, I'm outta here. :D Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Be sure and make the time to stamp SOMEthing! :D

MDS Monday - A Glimpse of Oregon

ROFLMBO!!!! This one and the one that posted Monday got switched! So be glad today's not Monday, but pretend it is for just a few minutes, OK? :D
 
Good Monday Morning! Did you have a good weekend?

I think, until I get settled in Oregon, that Mondays are going to be My Digital Studio shares. It's such an incredible program - I really wish y'all would get as excited about it as I am. :D Plus, I have it on my laptop - and I can design digitally to post while using my pre-created other projects for you, too! :D

SO. This was a challenge page for the group called SUDSOL; the challenge was to use geometric shapes or DSP. You'll see a couple of other pages from this challenge over the next couple of weeks; I really liked it, because it gave me an option to get LOTS of photos on one page. :D

Don't forget that you can click on the photo to see the original size I uploaded it as!

I also love that MDS has one of my favorite all-time colors, Bordering Blue, still in my color palette. I took the opacity of the color down to 60%, so the background wouldn't be too dark, and used the same color for the sailboat in The Open Sea digital brush set as background paper. The mats around the photos - which are a square punch rotated 45 degrees - are Night of Navy, as is the color of the title. These are some of my favorite non-Kenn photos from our trip last year. :)

Do you have any questions about MDS? If you click on the link above, you can learn lots about it - and even try it, fully functioning, for thirty days! (I have my certification the company offered in it, too, so I can help!) Try it. And Stampin' Up! lowered the printing costs of EVERYTHING from where it started - some things even went down as far as 50% - and it's STAYING there. You really don't have anything to lose!

Already have a digital scrapbooking program you love working with? Add on anything. Seriously. Check out the link above!

OK, I'm outta here! :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be sure and make the time to CREATE something. :D

I can't believe my Pastels are RETIRED!!

Welcome to Wednesday! ROFL! Sorry. I've been preposting all the MDS Monday posts for while I'm gone, and I think I'm a little punchy. :D

ANYWAY. I so cannot BELIEVE they've discontinued the Stampin' Pastels. It makes me so sad; they were one of the best ways of coloring projects that we had. But, what's gone is gone, and I gotta move on - after one more post. :D

By the way, if you decide to go purchase anything from last week, I think I wasn't in my shopping bag when I linked everything. PLEASE go to my business site and click on SHOP NOW, so we both get the credit we deserve! Thank you! ;)

I made this card to show off the Simply Scored borders plate; I made the waves with it! I just went over them with my finger dipped in Whisper White ink to highlight them. :)

I embossed the saying from TRUST GOD in Whisper White and embossing powder. Then, I dipped a sponge in Whisper White ink and made the sun and the clouds, and used the Pastels to color them appropriately. Simple, easy card. To say farewell to the pastels. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Be forewarned: I'm going to be trying to get ALL the posts from now until the beginning of April ready to go. I want you to have something new to look at each M, W, and F, as usual - but being on the road means I might not be able to get the time or the connection to do so! If there are specials, etc., that pop up, I'll try to get those in between. but rest assured, I'm going to have stuff for you! :D

Have a wonderful day! Be sure and MAKE the time to stamp SOMEthing!

Valentine's Classes I didn't get to teach!

Happy Friday! :D How's your week been? Do you have big plans for the weekend? I do! It's gonna be BUSY! And I could really use some time to clean my studio.... :D

These two classes, the Simple Sophistication and Kids' Valentines, didn't get even one nibble. So I won't be sharing how to do them, or the supplies. I may keep them for another class, or they may be gone forever. I'm kinda sad, because the Simple Sophistication projects are really cool. But oh, well! I won't be offering any more classes before I leave Tennessee. I'm really hoping to offer a class or two wherever we settle in Oregon, perhaps at the library. :)

Anyway! I hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend! Take some time to stamp something - I bet you've forgotten how FUN it can be! :D

Commissioned Valentine's Card!

Hi, everyone! Happy February 13! :) I know Valentine's Day isn't everyone's favorite day; it's not mine. But I have some fun little things to give Kenn this year, so I can't wait for him to see them. :D

ANYWAY. A college student asked me to make a card for his girlfriend using their school colors. And he must have told me three times that "she really likes cheer bows" - she's an all-state TX cheerleader. GREAT.

I was stymied. I appealed to my group of SU! demos, and got one reply that gave me an idea of where to start. So, I went and found their college's colors, and got to work.

The colors are Whisper White, Midnight Muse, and Daffodil Delight. I used the retired heart border punch; the embossing folder I used was Petals-a-Plenty. The hearts are all cut with the Heart Framelits. I watched a couple of videos about making cheer bows, and then I used the Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon to make one. The front greeting is from TEENY TINY WISHES, and punched from the modern label punch. The inside heart is cut out of the Whisper White card stock, then I used the "V is for Valentine" from the OCCASIONS ALPHABET set and embossed it with white embossing powder.

It's not frilly, which I think HE liked. :) But it had everything he asked for!

OK, I'm outta here. Be sure and check out my review blog, Life's Little Pleasures, for a fun treat you could easily make to put into a candy box! Have a WONDERFUL day, and make the time to STAMP something - then give it to someone. You'll both enjoy it! :D

Another sweet CASE!

Happy Monday!

What a BUSY weekend! And with trying to start packing, stamping is starting to have to be fit into little holes in the day. :D What better way than to do another SUDSOL challenge with a 2.5"-square card???

Since I've got my Simply Scored, I know I can make envelopes whenever I need to. So making odd-sized cards doesn't intimidate me!

Although the original card with this was made with the new pinwheel die, I don't have it. I decided to do it the old-fashioned way - and I think it turned out OK. :D The DSP is SUMMER SMOOCHES; the "hello" stamp is from PRETTY PETITES, and is free and available only through SALE-A-BRATION!!! Super simple, and super cute, IMHO! :D

I also want to urge you to take a look at PAPER PUMPKIN. If you don't have the time or the space to stamp, this is the monthly kit you want! Don't forget to choose me as your demonstrator! :) You can try it out, you can decide you don't want it for a certain month - check out the link, and if you have questions, please let me know! :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a wonderful day - and be SURE to MAKE the time to stamp something!!!!

Ha! Another CASE of a CASE!! :D

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week, and are contemplating a great weekend! Ours is gonna be really busy. :) If you're in the middle TN area, come to Lamplighter Theater Company to see LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC! (And I can still use help working on ushering and ticket-taking!)

Today's is, as my post title says, a CASE of a CASE I found on Pinterest. :) Mine is very simple; I let the DSP take care of most of the color. That's Summer Smooches, by the way.  The stamp, from WORD PLAY, is colored with Tangerine Tango and Midnight Muse Stampin' Write markers. Colors of card stock are Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, and Midnight Muse. I cut the heart with the Hearts Collection Framelits, the middle sized. I put my strips of DSP straight up and down, whereas the one I copied put them on a diagonal. Whatever floats your boat! :)

I really like the simplicity of this card, and the fact that there ARE bright colors, but they're contained in one space. :D

OK, I'm outta here! BUSY weekend! You have a wonderful weekend, but be sure to make some time to STAMP something! :)

Thank You Notes

Happy Wednesday! Are you having a good week? Have you enjoyed the weather? It was SIXTY DEGREES here in middle TN yesterday, just gorgeous. And I had to spend over THREE HOURS of it in the doctor's office.

Oh, well. :D

Last week, I got to have lunch with a dear friend I hadn't seen in six months. I made her a set of six of these cards; I knew she'd like the color combination. And can't we all use thank-you cards?

I used Pumpkin Pie card stock for the card base; that's Early Espresso and Whisper White  paired with it. I used the "thank you" from TEENY TINY WISHES and stamped it in Pumpkin Pie; I used this scallop circle punch and matted it on this scallop circle punch, then put it in the center of a strip that I'd stamped - using Versamark and white embossing powder, the heat tool and embossing buddy - with the stamp from the Madison Avenue Stamp Set that you can ONLY get for FREE with any $50 purchase right now during Sale-a-Bration! (Ask me about it!!)

I scored all four sides of the inside with the Simply Scored board, and stamped it with the "U is for utterly" stamp from the Occasions Alphabet stamp set. It's stamped in Pumpkin Pie, too. :)

So! :) I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and the rest of your week. :) Be SURE and make the time to stamp something, my friend!

Hello, Baby!

Good Monday Morning!

Some weeks, blogging comes naturally. Others - well, this is an "other" week. :) So bear with me - I'm not feeling too motivated, even though I've got some fun things to share.

So, this is a card I did just because I wanted to. :D I wanted to try that textured background technique; it's a double-embossed-highlighting technique.

So, to do it, first I embossed with Petals-a-Plenty onto Pink Pirouette card stock; I highlighted that by sponging a little Pretty in Pink ink on top. Then, I embossed with the Stripes embossing folder, and highlighted that with Rose Red ink (which I brayered on).

I matted that onto a piece of Rose Red card stock, and then put that onto a Whisper White card base.

Then I stamped the image from EASY EVENTS with Jet Black Stazon and punched it out with the 2-1/2" circle punch. I colored that in with Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, and Bashful Blue Stampin' Write Markers, then put the image onto a Pink Pirouette scallop circle punch. I finished it off by stamping the greeting - from TEENY TINY WISHES - in the bottom right corner.

Isn't it cute?!?! There are SO MANY things to do, so MANY different techniques, that by the time I play with a few, I forget about some of my favorites. SOOOOOO many! :D

OK, I'm outta here. My studio is a freakin' MESS, and I still need to blog on my food blog. So much to do.... :D

Have a wonderful day! Be SURE to make the time to stamp SOMETHING!! :)

Sketches are great!

Happy FEBRUARY!!! Can you believe it?!? Wow, time is flying SO quickly! AND it's Friday. Hooray! :D

Today's card share is a sketch challenge from the SUDSOL group. And it's one that I've used for a LONG time - it's great for quick, easy cards - just change the colors, or the paper, or the stamp, or... :D You can step it up, too, by adding embellishments....

 

See? Super cute, super easy!

Whisper White card stock for the card body, one of the mats, and the central image piece. That's Summer Smooches DSP for the strip; there's also Real Red and Wild Wasabi card stock for mats. the stamp is from EASY EVENTS - such a cute, versatile stamp set! I embossed the tree and grass with black embossing powder (and using Versamark, the Heat Tool and Embossing Buddy!); I colored the heart and the words with my Real Red Stampin' Write marker. The tree and grass I did with my Aqua Painter and Wild Wasabi ink pad; I wanted the uneven coloring in the tree, so it would look like more leaves were in one place than another. :D To finish the card, I mounted the image "medallion" with Dimensionals, and used Dazzling Details on the heart, just to give it a little more punch.

I think it's a cute card! :D

OK, I'm outta here! We're shooting a wedding tomorrow, so I'm not planning on doing much today. :D Except visiting with a friend....

Enjoy your weekend! And be sure to make the time to STAMP something!!