A Man's Bathing Suit???

Here are the next two sneak peeks at the June Stamp Camp focusing on patterned paper. I CASE'd the original (the one of the left) from a card I found on SCS. It features the Spring Break patterned paper collection. The original used the double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, but my stash is pretty low so I substituted the 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain instead. Once I finished placing the patterned paper squares on the Kraft card front, I took a step back and realized that it reminded me of a man's bathing suit. Maybe I still have beach on the brain, but there's just something about this patterned paper that SCREAMS boardshorts to me!

Anyway, when it came time to select a sentiment, I pulled out one of my Spanish sets. I have a friend that comes to my stamp camps that happens to be bilingual and much of her family speaks Spanish. So I ordered this Spanish set so she can use it instead of my English greetings if she wanted. Even though I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, I am far from bilingual. I can't say anything other than "Donde esta el bano por favor" (I think that translates to "Where is the bathroom, please") But some of the Spanish phrases in this stamp set are cute and fun...and for some reason, Ay Caramba just fit this card. No worries though, I'll have English greetings on hand if my gals want to substitute for something else!

The alternate version of this card features the Cutie Pie patterned paper collection. This is a great color combo and the designs that come in this pack are very versatile and not gender-specific. For this card, I mounted the patterned paper squares on to the Rose Red card front, tied a piece of 5/8" grosgrain around the front, and added a greeting stamped with my Whisper White Craft Pad.

This card is really quick and easy - especially if you use one of the square punches to punch out the patterned paper squares!

Patterned Paper Stamp Camp

OK - In addition to being a ribbon junkie, I'm also totally hooked on Stampin' Up!'s patterned paper! I just can't get enough of it! What better than to incorporate my addiction into the June Stamp Camp?!?

For this stamp camp we will be working with 3 basic layouts and doing 2 versions of each one. One version will feature one collection of patterned paper and the other version will feature a different collection of patterned paper. I think sometimes we (me included) see a card that we like and get locked in on the specifics of that card. By using the same layout and stamp sets, you get to see just how a simple switch of the patterned paper can change the look of a card.

Here's a first look at one of the pairs of projects we'll be doing. The original (the one on the right) was CASE'd from a card that Jackie Wright posted on SCS. It uses a color combination inspired by the Ginger Blossom collection of patterned paper - Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, and Ruby Red. The alternate version - the one of the right - uses the Fall Flowers collection of patterned paper and the coordinating color combination of Old Olive, Sahara Sand, and Soft Sky.

You can't really tell in the pic, but each card base was stamped with the Canvas background stamp and embossed with clear embossing powder. It really gives it a glossy look in real life. Hopefully my gals will enjoy this stamp camp and the variety of projects we'll be making with patterned paper!

My Baby Brother

With the little one on the way, I'm really trying to get better about scrapbooking. Normally, my biggest obstacle is actually taking the pictures (and getting them printed). So now I carry my camera with me everywhere I go. I've also picked up a few scrapbooking magazines and layout books for some extra inspiration. I came across this layout in one of the magazines and I just had to try it out! My baby brother (I only have one brother and he is 27 - not quite a baby, huh?) is getting married and my mom had pulled out some of the family pics for a little slideshow at the Rehearsal Dinner. I got my hands on a couple of the pictures and had copies made so I could practice some of these super-cute layouts!

The base of this double layout is 8 1/2" x 11" Soft Sky cardstock. My "masculine" patterned paper is somewhat limited, so I pulled out my scraps from the retired Wintergreen collection from the Fall-Winter catalog. A couple of the patterns are real Christmas-y, but the others are pretty versatile. Since I used a variety of different pictures with different color schemes, I used the patterned paper for my color combo inspiration - Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, and Certainly Celery. I still struggle with journaling on my pages and I didn't want to mess up this page by flubbing up my words, so I stuck another picture in the area which was originally reserved for journaling.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out! Here is a close up pic of each of the pages in this double page layout:

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day filled with friends, family and good food. But more importantly, I hope you all took time to think about the reason for this holiday and remembered all of those brave men and women that have given the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.

I was able to spend a good part of the day in my craft room catching up on a number of projects. This is one that I am working on for my Summer stamp camps. I'm going to have to take some time off this Summer to get ready for the baby, so instead of meeting with my normal monthly stamp camp groups, I will be offering a "Stamps in the Mail" option. The kit will include the stamp set, ink pads, markers, cardstock, embellishments, and envelopes required to complete all of the projects. I'll also include full-color instructions on how to stamp and assemble each project. Its a great way to stamp 8 cards while stocking up on your stamping supplies.

The first kit will be fun, Summer themed cards using the Tart & Tangy stamp set and Summer Picnic patterned paper. I'll post pics of the complete kit once its complete!

Beach Babe

Clear, blue skies...waves gently crashing in the background...toes playing in the nice warm, white sand...thats how I spent the last week! (Which explains the blog-silence) Hubby and I went to the beach for a little R&R before the baby gets here and let me just tell you - it was FABULOUS! We spent time on the beach, spent some time shopping, and ate some fantastic food. Needless to say, I didn't get any crafting done. But I did catch up on my scrapbooking and paper crafts magazines, so I came home with some great ideas. I have big plans on spending the Memorial Day weekend in my craft room, so hopefully there will be a lot to show you over the next couple of days!!!

You know what else I was thinking??? Wouldn't it be fun to take a stampin'/scrappin' trip to the beach? Spend the day on the beach or in the pool and then spend the evenings working on paper crafts projects? Hmmm...this has some potential!

More Velvety Stickers!

When I find a layout that I like, I normally go ahead and use it to make a couple differnt cards. This is the same layout as the graduation card from yesterday - I also needed a birthday card, so I made one to keep on hand and one to send to a co-worker!

For this version of the layout, I used the Jersey Shore patterned paper. Instead of each piece being the same pattern like yesterday, I used a single piece of striped patterned paper to coordinate with the other polka dot pieces. Since the card base is Wild Wasabi and the patterned paper is pretty bold, I chose to mount the velvety greetings directly on to the card front. These are two of my favorites from the birthday assortment - "eat cake" and "how old??". To lighten things up a bit, I tied a piece of 5/8" Whisper White grosgrain around the bottom of each of the cards.

I'm completely in LOVE with these little stickers...I think I might make another trip to the clearance rack at Hobby Lobby!

Cheers!

The other day I had some extra time to kill on my lunch hour and a Hobby Lobby coupon burning a hole in my pocket...so I stopped in to see if there was anything that tickled my fancy. I came across these velvety sticker phrases on the clearance rack. There were three different assortments and they were just over $2 a piece. OK...the baby ones were the first to catch my eye, but I quickly fell in love with the other two assortments as well!!

With a birthday and a graduation coming up this week, I thought this would be a great time to try out my new velvety-smooth embellishments! This is the graduation card I created (you'll see the birthday card tomorrow). I totally CASE'd the patterned paper layout from a card that I saw on Kristina Werner's blog. The card base is Bashful Blue and the patterned paper is from the Jersey Shore collection.

I didn't want the "cheers" sentiment to get lost on the patterned paper, so I trimmed down a piece of Wild Wasabi and rounded two of the four corners to mimic the patterned paper. The velvet stickers are kind of hard to get lined up, but the adhesive is pretty forgiving. So if you do mess up (which I did about 4 times!), all you have to do is carefully peel it up and try again! Once you are satisfied with the placement, be sure to press down hard so the edges won't curl up.

To complete the project, I added 3 Bashful Blue brads in the upper left corner of the card front. Let me just tell you - it was SUPER hard not to put single stitch of ribbon on the card! But I'm glad I didn't because I'm LOVIN' the way this one turned out and hopefully Ashley will too!! Congrats Ash! (She graduates from Pharmacy school on Friday!)

Saffron Giraffes

For the past couple of posts I have spared you all from looking at every single baby card I've made. While babies are definitely on my brain, some of you may want to see other stuff. This time there was no getting around it - I had a couple of very sweet people to thank and not much time to create. Without extra time to do non-baby stuff, you'll have to grin and bear it through my Saffron Giraffe Thank Yous!

I love this little giraffe from the Bundle of Joy stamp set and I really wanted to do something OTHER than a pink card. So I pulled out my So Saffron and my Close to Cocoa and went to stampin'!

The giraffe was first stamped with Timber Brown StazOn and then colored with a Blender Pen and my So Saffron and Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pads. I matted each image on to Close to Cocoa cardstock. Each card features a different pattern of the So Saffron Designer Series Patterned Paper layered on to the main Close to Cocoa card base. I wanted each card to be unique, so I embellished them differently. No surprise though - each one has ribbons and brads!!

Tomorrow, I promise, no baby stuff!!!

Another Mother's Day Project

For the moms in my life (my mom and my mother-in-law), this was their first Mother's Day as grandmothers-to-be. So as a little present, I started a scrapbook for each of them. This page is the title page of the book - when they are tired of carrying their copies of the ultrasound pics around, they can mount them on this page. Then once Aubrey is born, I'll do a double page layout each month showing how she grows and changes over the first year of her life. Not everyone will always be present for every milestone, but they will have a little keepsake from all of those special moments.

I wanted to keep the layout of this title page kind of simple. The base of this scrapbook page is Whisper White. I used two pieces of patterned paper, one from Berry Bliss and one from Certainly Celery Designer Series Paper to create borders down the left side of the page. Of course I had to add a scalloped edge!

I stamped the title and her name in Pretty In Pink. The photo mats - cut down to fit the ultrasound pics - are Certainly Celery cardstock. Of course, nothing is complete without ribbon, so I mounted a piece of Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain along the bottom of the page. I have a TON of the large flowers from the Pretties Kit left over from my Stampers 6 workshop, so I added one in the bottom left corner.

The grandmothers-to-be loved the albums! I can't wait to fill them up with all sorts of memories throughout her first year!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Let me start off my saying Happy Mother's Day to all of the mommies out there!! I hope you all had a very special day with your families.

Today was a special day for us for many reasons. First, it was my first official Mother's Day as a mommy (to be). I had been hinting to my hubby that I wanted to clean up our outdoor rocking chairs so we can sit on our screened-in patio in the mornings (we have a GREAT view). Well, for Mother's Day, he cleaned the rocking chairs and bought us new cushions. He had everything set up when we woke up and then we had breakfast out there! Isn't he the BEST???

Then we spent the afternoon celebrating the dedication of a friend's baby. How precious is that - to have your child dedicated to the Lord on Mother's Day! After the dedication service, we all went over to the grandma's house for a little cookout. My whole family was there so it was really special to share that time with friends too!

I altered this picture frame as a little gift to the parents. The frame is from Target. I covered the plain white mat with Jersey Shore designer paper and Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I used a "w" from the Sticky Cuts letters and the light green Cosmo glitter to dress it up a bit. I printed out one of my favorite bible verses ("For this child, I have prayed" 1Samuel 1:27) on to Whisper White cardstock, matted it, and mounted it in the opposite corner. Not only does this picture frame match baby Wyatt's room, it also matched is outfit from today!

It was a great day for me and my family - I hope it was special for you all too!

Basic Pomegranate Sky

I finally got a few spare minutes to stamp and decided to do last week's Color Combination Challenge from SplitCoast. (If you haven't checked it out yet, do! Its a great source for color combos when you are stuck in a rut!) This combo is a fun one: Basic Black, Soft Sky, and Purely Pomegranate.

First I stamped the Tres Chic background in Soft Sky on to the Soft Sky card base. Then I sponged the Soft Sky ink around the edges of the cardstock for a bit of a distressed look. I stamped the Sanded background on to the strip of Purely Pomegranate cardstock with Purely Pomegranate ink. I stamped the rose image from Embrace Life with Black StazOn and then colored the image with a Blender Pen and Classic Stampin' Pads.

The Whisper White and Basic Black pieces of cardstock were distressed with my Cutter Kit. The card looked a bit plain, so I added Basic Black brads in the corners of the matted Whisper White cardstock as well as some black sheer organdy ribbon.

By the way - I'm sorry for the crooked picture!! It looked fine on my camera display but when I transferred it to my computer, I realized it was all caddywhompus! Oh well!!

Still nothing to look at...

We worked on the nursery last night...so no stamping for me! I'll post pics soon - I promise!!! That sweet little pink room was just calling my name though!

Sorry for the Silence...

Just a quick post to apologize for the blog silence! I had one of my monthly Stamp Camps on Thursday, Stampers 6 on Saturday, family in town for the weekend, and a Bridal Tea to attend on Sunday!! After all that, I just wanted to crash on the couch - so I did! I'll get back to stampin' today or tomorrow though, so there will be more goodies to look at then!