Golfabella

If you visit SCS regularly, then chances are you've seen a bella or two. If not, then you need to check them out - they are adorable! (http://www.stampingbella.com/) There are dozens and dozens of bellas for all occasions and occupations. There are even a few fellas, too!

This is Golfabella - doesn't she look so cute in her argyle socks and golf visor?? I made this card for one of the gals in my office. She's an avid golfer and a bit of a girly-girl, so I thought this would be perfect!

I used a tried and true layout to show off some patterned paper. The happy birthday was stamped on to a piece of scrap Whisper White and then punched out with the Dog Tag punch. I trimmed one of the ends so that it would line up with the edge of the patterned paper.

I don't have any of the oval stamps for shadows and I didn't want it to look like my bella was just floating out there in space. So to mimic a shadow, I traced the inside opening of a small piece of HodgePodge Hardware and then I filled in with a Sahara Sand marker. Not to shabby, huh?

Jumbo Hello

OMG - I am so in love with this alphabet set!! The Jumbo Outline Alphabet is fabulous, absolutely FABULOUS! I've been playing around with different words and titles...thanks, hello, happy, merry, baby, love, wish. There are so many possibilities!

For this card, I broke into my stash of Brocade double-sided designer papers. I had planned on using the reverse side, but when I went to apply adhesive to the back, I realized that this particular pattern was a better "fit" for the overall look of the card. I love the look of the River Rock flourishes over the Chocolate and Olive brocade pattern in the background.

The letters were stamped on to watercolor paper using the Timber Brown StazOn pad. Then I used an AquaPainter and my Old Olive Classic Reinker to watercolor each of the letters.

You will definitely be seeing more examples with this alphabet set - I just love it!

September's Peaceful Wishes

Its never to early to start your Christmas cards and for this reason, each month I will offer atleast one Christmas card at my next 4 stamp camps! This one is a project from my upcoming September Stamp Camps. (The $10 pre-paid fee includes an order for a White Gel Pen to be used on each of the projects.)

I CASE'd this card from one that I found on SCS. The original design featured the 2006 In Color, True Thyme. To update the project and make it a little more "Christmas-y" I switched up the colors and used Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.

The main holly branch image was stamped in Always Artichoke Classic Ink on to the piece of Sahara Sand cardstock. I sponged White Craft Ink around the edges and then highlighted the berries with the White Gel Pen.

This card is super-easy and would really lend itself to mass production. And for an extra touch, stamp the holly image on to the front of the envelope to tie it all together!

Happy and Delightful

I got some new goodies! Part of the order was for my September Stamp Camps (Using the White Gel Pen) but the rest of the order was for me! At first I couldn't decide which Level 1 Hostess Benefits set I wanted...until I saw these papers. I love, love, LOVE these colors together!The papers are a part of the Creative License Simply Scrappin' Kit. The kit also includes textured cardstock (yummy) and stickers perfect for cards and scrapbook pages. Too bad you can't purchase this kit directly - I would definitely stock up!

I cut down a piece of the 12x12 Blue Bayou textured cardstock to a standard sized card. I used Wild Wasabi cardstock to mat the two pieces of patterned paper and then used a piece of Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon to over the seam. The "delightful" stamp is from Its All Good and the "delight" definition is from the Define Your Life stamp set.

I made another very similar card using "happy" circle stamp as well as the "happy" definition. I'm sending these two cards out to my grandparents along with a picture of me and my hubby from our beach vacation this year. Its just a small way of letting them know that I love them!

Love of a Lifetime

One of my best friends from high school got married this weekend and I need to thank my husband for being a real trooper. Over the past few months, we had event-after-event-after-event to attend. Then Friday was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Saturday was the wedding and the reception. He was there by my side thoughout the whole thing. Don't get me wrong, there was a bit of complaining along the way, but he didn't let me down!!

Its been a while since I've made a card for my dear sweet hubby, so I figured this was a perfect opportunity! So Many Sayings has a number of different greetings that are laid out to be mounted on three separate blocks. I like this one block with all of the greetings used together - its like different ways of saying I Love You to that special someone.

I stamped the block of greetings with a Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad and then mounted the Whisper White cardstock on to a piece of Real Red cardstock. I cut out a couple of stamped Priceless hearts and mounted them to the right of the greetings. The card seemed a little incomplete without ribbon, so I added some stitched red grosgrain across the bottom. Hope he likes it!

My birthday month is just around the corner...

That's right...I said birthday MONTH! I'm a big proponent of celebrating throughout the entire month of my birthday (September). Now, I don't expect cake and ice cream every day of the month, but I do like to do some special things here and there over the 30 days. I'm not stingy with birthday months either - I think its a pretty good policy all around. (My hubby still hasn't totally bought into it yet - oh, well!)

Anyway, my first of many 29th birthdays is on September 7th. So I'm trying to get into the birthday mood, so I created a birthday themed scrapbook page. I used some scrap patterned paper that I had lying around for the border of the page. I used the Spiral Punch for the edge of the photo mat. I punched a tab with the Rounded Tab Punch and then stamped "happy birthday" with the Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp set. (I'm waiting to select a picture for the page before I glue down the top portion of the tab.)

I love the date stamp from Office Accoutrements so I stamped, matted, and mounted it to the bottom of the page. Add a little white grosgrain ribbon and the page is complete!

Another Chipboard Birth-day

Remember my friend that was on bed rest??? Well, I mailed out her card on Monday. Later that afternoon, I got an e-mail that said she went to the hospital the night before and she was in labor! No wonder she was on my mind Sunday! Baby Max made his big debut later that evening. Welcome to the world Baby Max! Everyone is healthy, happy, and now resting at home.

Here is a card that I will be sending out today. The small greeting says "Twinkle, twinkle little star - darling baby, here you are!" I bought this set from this past Winter Mini for this one greeting stamp - I think its absolutely adorable! Especially when you pair it with a chipboard star.

The polka dotted patterned paper is from the Designer Series Double-Sided Patterned Paper in Certainly Celery. The striped paper was a scrap left over from last summer. (The Fall-Winter Collection offers a similar assortment featuring fall colors.) Max's name is stamped at the bottom of the card with the Bashful Blue Craft Pad. Then I embossed the letters with Clear Embossing Powder to make them stand out a little more.

I love to stamp the envelopes so they coordinate with the enclosed card. So, I stamped the front of the envelope with Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery stars. As Shelli (the High Priestess of the Kingdom of Crafts) would say, "No Naked Envelopes!"

Just a note, tomorrow I am in a wedding so I doubt that I will have a chance to get to my craft room. I should have something new for you on Sunday!

Altered Chipboard Birthdays

This month I had two very special birthdays to celebrate - the first birthday for one friend's son and the third birthday for another friend's daughter! As I said earlier this week, I was on a bit of a patterned paper kick and I wanted to use some chipboard...so this is what I came up with:

For both of the cards I used the On Board Simon Lower chipboard numbers and the Eat Cake stamp set. The 3 card features the Petals & Paisleys patterned paper and the combination of Regal Rose, Tempting Tuquoise, Old Olive, and So Saffron Stampin' Write Markers. I used my Regal Rose Craft Pad to ink up the chipboard number. Once it dried, I attached it to the front of the card with MonoMulti liquid glue. The cake tag was punched with the Tag Corner Punch and some Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon was attached to the back of the tag.

For the 1 card, I used up some retired products. The patterned paper is Treehouse (I think) from last years catalog. These are the colors of his nursery, so I had to use it! Anyway, the card base is Buckaroo Blue and the patterned paper is matted on True Thyme. I used the Ticket Corner punch for the matted birthday cake and then attached Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, and French Blue ribbons to the back of the cardstock. I attached the polka dotted patterned paper to the piece of chipboard with the 2-way glue pen. Once the glue was dry, I sanded the edges with a sanding block. The card needed something a little extra, so I added some HodgePodge Hardware and "eat cake" in the bottom right corner.

I doubt the little ones will appreciate the time and effort that went into each of these cards, but their mommas certainly will!

What a cutie!

Just to give you a heads up - I was on a patterned paper kick this weekend. I think each of the cards that I'll post this week all have new designer patterned paper incorporated into the layout! I went a little patterned paper crazy on my first catalog order, so now I have to put it all to good use!

I love the new Cutie Pie designer papers - the colors are great (Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, and So Saffron) and I think the different designs make the paper very versatile. There are flowers (which coordinate with at least two different stamp sets), polka dots, and stripes!

You can never have too many birthday cards on hand and I've kind of neglected this set, so I pulled out Eat Cake for this project. I colored the cake and candles with Rose Red, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, and So Saffron Stampin' Write Markers. The sentiment was stamped on to a piece of scrap Whisper White cardstock and then punched out with the Key Tag Punch (or as I like to call it, the Dog Tag Punch). Then I cut off one end of the punched cardstock so I could line it up with the edge of the patterned paper.

I'm not sure that this card will actually fit in an envelope - I used a ton of dimensionals! There are dimensionals between the matted cake and the Certainly Celery layer, between the Certainly Celery layer and the patterned paper, and between the matted patterned paper and the Bashful Blue! How's that for some dimension?

Defining Silhouettes

When I started this card, I had something totally different in mind...I was set on using the Linen Prints Double Sided Designer Paper. Initially, I had planned on using the the reverse side. But when I flipped it over to smear some adhesive on the back, I really liked the linen-like brocade pattern. So I scrapped my original idea and went with this! I'm so glad that I did, because I LOVE the way it turned out!

Eventhough I didn't use the more colorful pattern on the reverse side, I did use the same color combination - Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, and Apricot Appeal. The flower image is from the Garden Silhouettes hostess stamp set. I inked the flower with Stampin' Write Markers and then stamped it on to a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I used the Cutter Kit to distress the edges of the cardstock and then mounted it on to a slightly larger piece of Close to Cocoa.

I splurged a bit last month and ordered the Define Your Life stamp set, so I just had to incorporate it into this card. I thought that the word journey really fit with the asian-like feel of this card. I distressed the edges of the small piece of Whisper White cardstock to mimic that of the flower image. Pop both up with dimensionals, add some Taupe/Close to Cocoa grosgrain ribbon, and set 3 Old Olive eyelets and its done! Its just fabulous!!! (If I do say so myself!)

Its the little things...

A very dear friend of mine is due to have her first baby the beginning of September. She is an insulin-dependent diabetic and was diagnosed with high blood pressure back in June, so she has been "sentenced" to bed rest for the past 5 or 6 weeks. Needless to say, she gets a little stir crazy sometimes! Here is a card that I'm sending her to let her know that I'm thinking about her.

This card is a modified version of one that I have done before (check out my post of Cuttlebugged cards). I swapped out the flowers for a hand print and I switched up the colors a bit...

I used my Cuttlebug to emboss a piece of Basic Gray cardstock and then layered that on to a piece of Bordering Blue. I inked the handprint from the I'm Here stamp set with the Bordering Blue Classic Stampin' Pad, stamped off once and then stamped onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I stamped the greeting from the retired Sell-A-Bration set, Happy Harmony, with the Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad. I used the oval Coluzzle template to cut out the handprint. Add some sheer white organdy ribbon and Basic Gray taffeta ribbon and the project is complete!

OK - if we pan out a bit, you can see what a weekend of stamping and creating does to my craft room...


Its a WRECK! There are stamps, ink pads, and wheels everywhere! Its a good thing that I got some blog pics done, because this mess is a total creative block.


It took me a couple of days to make this mess and it will take me at least a couple of hours to recover from it!

Whew!

100 baby shower invitations, 75 baby shower thank yous, 16 bridal party thank yous, 1 wedding scrapbook and a handful of birthday and thinking of yous complete and I'm exhausted! Needless to say, the last two weeks have been busy. So, please excuse the minimal postings. BUT...the good news is I'm finished! Now I can stamp you some new goodies!!

Basic Gray

Mr. Brown delivered more goodies last week...and after a couple of hours spent cutting out stamp sets, I have some new rubbah to play with! In addition to a couple of stamp sets, I also ordered cardstock and an ink pad in the newest neutral color - Basic Gray.


Basic Gray is a darker, richer gray. There is a definate and obvious difference between Basic Gray and Going Gray. I also ordered the Basic Gray taffeta ribbon - so pretty. The "inside" part of the ribbon is a really pretty, silvery type of color and the "outside" bands are an exact match to the Basic Gray.


This was a quick card I whipped up this weekend. The card base is Basic Gray stamped with the White Craft Pad. The larger of the two swirls in the Priceless stamp set was stamped on to Whisper White cardstock with the Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad. Then the heart image was stamped onto a scrap with the Pixie Pink Classic Stampin' Pad. Cut it out and pop it up with a dimensional...tie a bit of taffeta ribbon and the project is complete!

Refuge and Strength

I love this new set - Refuge & Strength. There is a cross image, the little leaf branch image, and then a handful of inspirational verses and greetings. I think this would be perfect for sympathy and thinking of you card - heartfelt, but not too emotional (know what I mean?).


Cameo Coral isn't a color that I gravitate to on my own...nothing against it, its just not something that I use all that often. It just so happens, I had some 12x12 Cameo Coral cardstock left over from an assortment pack and I thought that I could use it up on some cards to fit the short open-end envelopes! Throw in some Chocolate Chip and this is what I ended up with.


This card was one available at my Open House - I had enough leftover materials to make a little gift set of notes! Now...who to give them to??????

Am I crazy???

I could have sworn that I've posted this one before...but I just looked and I couldn't find it. So, if you have seen my little elephant before, please excuse my temporary moment of insanity!

Wild About You is another great kid set. There's a giraffe, elephant, alligator, penguin, and lion...and they are all precious! The Paisley background is stamped in Ballet Blue on to Ballet Blue cardstock. The elephant is also stamped with Ballet Blue and the flower is Wild Wasabi and Real Red. You can't really see it in the picture, but "wild about you" is stamped on to the strip of Real Red cardstock. (Looking back, I probably should have stamped it in White Craft ink)

Since the addition of Wild Wasabi, I find myself pulling out more of the primary colors which would normally be out of my comfort zone...but I really like this combination!

Playin' with scraps

Just playing with some chipboard and patterned paper that I had lying around. Don't throw away your scraps - you never know what you might incorporate into a project! I loved this paper and was so sad to see it retire - it was designer paper from last year's catalog (Sarah, I believe). Anyway, SU! replaced it with a bunch of fun new double-sided patterned papers...so I guess I can let go of this one!

A Cute Baby Shower Card

I think there is something in the water around here because I have a ton of baby showers to attend this summer! I wanted a cute baby card that I could produce en masse. After flipping though my Stampin' Success magazines, I found a similar card. I don't think that one was baby-themed...may have been a graduation card.

Anyway, this is now my go-to baby card of the summer. Its also one of the projects for the Button-It-Up stamp camp this month (just attach a clear button with a ribbon in the middle of the "O" - perfect!) Preggy friends with boy babies will get Bashful Blue, those with girl babies will get Pretty in Pink, and those that aren't finding out are getting Certainly Celery.

August Stamp Camp - Clear Buttons

Here is one of the projects for the August Stamp Camp. The pre-paid fee includes an order of Clear Buttons. The guests use the buttons to complete the projects and then they get to take home whatever is left over!


This project features 3 of the 1" square buttons. I used a glue dot to adhere the patterned paper to the back of the buttons and then I mounted them to the bottom of the card front. (In person, the glue dots are nearly invisible...for some reason, they show up in the picture)


In addition to this card, we'll also be doing 2 other cards plus a 12x12 scrapbook page!