Be Back Next Week....

My little brother is getting married this weekend...no free time for me! I'll be back next week when the festivities are over!!

The last of the kit projects...

This past week's posts have been focused on the Tart & Tangy kit projects. So far, you have seen all of the cards that will be offered. Now its time to see the card box that is also included! I found the template for this box on a paper crafting website - its the perfect size for the 10 cards and envelopes that can be stamped and assembled with the Tart & Tangy Stamps in the Mail kit. The template is simple and the directions are pretty easy to follow. Add some patterned paper (the one remaining design from the Summer Picnic collection) and the box coordinates beautifully with the cards. This would make a great gift...or just a really cute way to get organized!!

Real Red Delicious Apples

This is the last of the Tart & Tangy kit cards (there is still one super-cute project that goes along with the kit, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see that one!). This one features the apple stamp. With this stamp and the Summer Picnic designer paper, you could either create Red Delicious apples (by using Real Red) or Granny Smith apples (by using Old Olive). This collection of patterned paper has one design of the Real Red apples (shown here) and another with the Old Olive apples! For some reason, the Real Red apples remind me of teacher thank you cards, so thats what I went with for this final project!

For the background of the card, I matted a piece of the red apple patterned paper on to a piece of Real Red cardstock. Next, I mounted a strip of Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon around the matted patterned paper. Then, I inked the apple stamp with my Real Red and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers and stamped the image three times on to a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I matted the Whisper White with Old Olive to bring out the color of the stem and leaves and then mounted it on to the card front with dimensionals. I chose this greeting (from a current hostess set that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me!!!) because it fit so well in the Key Tag punch. So I stamped it in Old Olive on to a scrap piece of Whisper White and then I punched it out with the Key Tag punch. The final step in creating this card is to mount the greeting on to the card front with adhesive! Ta-Dah!!!

Strawberry Flap Card

Not too long ago, the flap card was featured as a technique or a sketch on Splitcoast. I've wanted to try it out for some time, but I just now got around to it. This is a great layout - I modified it slightly so it was closer to a standard sized card (this card is 4" x 5 1/4" compared to the standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2").

The card base is Old Olive - I started with a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock and scored it at 2 1/4" and 7 1/2". I used the Coluzzle to round off the flap. I mounted the Old Olive striped patterned paper on to the bottom flap of the cardstock. The strawberry stamp was inked with my Real Red and Old Olive Stampin' Write markers and then stamped on to a scrap piece of Whisper White. I used my 1 1/4" circle punch to punch out the strawberry and my 1 3/8" circle punch to punch out the Old Olive mat. I layered the Whisper White on to the Old Olive and then mounted that on to the Real Red scalloped circle with dimensionals. I attached the scalloped circle to the rounded flap with a bit of adhesive. REMEMBER - only apply adhesive to the top portion of the scalloped circle, otherwise you will glue your card shut!

I used Absolutely Fabulous (again!!!) for the greeting. This time, I inked the greeting with Real Red and then stamped it on to a piece of Whisper White cardstock. The "I'm there for you" greeting fits perfectly into the Word Window punch, so I punched it out and mounted it to the card front. For a little bit of embellishment, I added a Real Red brad at the greeting and I added a bit of Real Red gingham ribbon across the rounded flap!

This is a fun little layout to use and once you get the hang of the measurements for cutting/scoring, you can pull it together in a snap!

All Four Fruits

Here is another card from the Tart & Tangy kit - this one features each of the four fruit stamps included in the stamp set. Each fruit was stamped on to a Whisper White square of cardstock. Then 3 of the 4 corners of each square were rounded with the 3/16" corner rounder. The rounded squares were then mounted on to the piece of Bashful Blue cardstock.

For the background, I chose the patterned paper with all of the colors used to stamp the fruits - the dotted design. I layered the polka dotted patterned paper on to the Real Red cardstock. Then I mounted the Bashful Blue cardstock on to the patterned paper with dimensionals. Of course, I had to add some ribbon to the project, so I tied a piece of Real Red grosgrain around the bottom of the patterned paper. The final step in completing the project is to mount the Real Red cardstock on to the Whisper White card base!

This is probably the most complex of the kit cards, but it can still be stamped and assembled in a matter of minutes!!

Yummy Oranges

This Tart & Tangy Kit project pairs the orange stamp with some striped/dotted patterned paper. I layered the striped patterned paper on to the Pumpkin Pie cardstock mat and then layered the dotted patterned paper below it. Since the orange image is somewhat plain, I added some extra visual interest by mounting a strip of scalloped Whisper White cardstock along the seam of the patterned paper.

Since I can't seem to complete a card without ribbon, I added some orange ribbon along the top of the scalloped Whisper White strip of cardstock. I stamped the orange image in Pumpkin Pie 3 times on to a scrap piece of Whisper White cardstock and then punched it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch. I punched mats for each of the stamped oranges out of a scrap piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock with my 1 3/8" circle punch. Each of the oranges was matted and then mounted on to the striped portion of the patterned paper background.

For the greeting, I inked "Happy Hellos" from the SAB Lots of Thoughts stamp set with an Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker and stamped it on to a scrap piece of Whisper White. The greeting was then punched out with the Small Oval punch. It was matted in the bottom right corner and then brads were attached at each end. The final step in completing this project was to mount the Pumpkin Pie cardstock on to the Whisper White card base.

Tart & Tangy Kit

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned my Stamps in the Mail stamp camp that I am going to be offering in July. This weekend I sat down and finalized the projects that will be included in the kit. Now I'm working on a flyer to e-mail out to all of my customers and stamp campers! In the meantime, I'll show pics of all of the projects here on my blog!

The kit will feature the Tart & Tangy stamp set as well as the Summer Picnic patterned paper (both currently available in the Occasions Mini Catalog). This is the first of 5 different card designs that are included in the kit - the kit will include all of the materials necessary to make 2 cards of each of the 5 designs for a total of 10 cards and envelopes!

The main image is the cherry from the Tart & Tangy stamp set inked with Real Red and Old Olive Stampin' Write Markers. Its stamped on to an oval of Whisper White that was cut out with a Coluzzle. The greeting is from the Absolutely Fabulous stamp set - its stamped in Bashful Blue. For the background, I selected the coordinating cherry design. The reverse side of the cherries is the polka dotted pattern. So I layered one side on to the Real Red cardstock mat for the top of the background and then I layered the reverse side below it. The Real Red grosgrain ribbon covers the "seam" of the patterned paper. Next, I mounted the Whisper White oval on to the card front with dimensionals. To really tie in the Bashful Blue greeting and the Bashful Blue from the patterned paper, I added 2 Bashful Blue brads in the bottom right corner of the card front. I finished assembling the card by mounting the Real Red cardstock on to the cardfront!

Stay tuned this week for more pics of the Tart & Tangy Kit!!

More Beach Thank Yous

My beach thank yous are finally done!! Whenever we head down to Orange Beach, there are quite a few people to thank for making our trip possible. I thanked my hubby's aunt and uncle with a previously posted card. I'm sending this design to my parents and my inlaws - without them we couldn't get away as easily!! My inlaws take care of our 2 fur-babies (our dogs, Annie and Gomer) and my parents come by to check the mail and check on the house! Needless to say, BIG thanks are definitely in order!

The base of the gate fold card is Close to Cocoa - its an 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of cardstock scored at 2 1/8" from each end. The Soft Sky panels are 2" x 5 3/8" and stamped with the Sanded background. The main image is the conch shell from the Seaside stamp set. It was stamped on to a piece of Naturals Ivory with my Close to Cocoa Classic Stampin' Pad and then watercolored with my Close to Cocoa and Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pads and an AquaPainter. Since I used a Classic Stampin' Pad instead of a more permanent ink, when I watercolored the image, the lines tended to blur a bit. This gave the image a really soft look.

The main image is matted on to a piece of Soft Sky cardstock. For a little something extra, I set a Jumbo Eyelet in the corner and attached a piece of narrow twill and hemp twine. Originally I wasn't planning double matting the main image, but it needed something to set it apart from the panels, so I added the Close to Cocoa mat. Then I attached the main image on to the card front!

Don't forget - when you're working with a gate fold card, be sure to only apply adhesive to HALF of the main image. Otherwise, you glue your card shut!!

Another Set of Patterned Paper Projects

Here is the third set of patterned paper cards for the June Stamp Camps. The Father's Day card was inspired by a graduation card I saw on SCS that showcased 3 different background stamps. I thought if I switched the backgrounds to different designs of patterned paper, it would fit right in with this month's theme.

For the Father's Day card, I used Blue Bayou as the card base. The three designs of patterned paper are from the Spring Break collection - I love, love LOVE this collection!!! The Happy Father's Day greeting stamp from the All Holidays stamp set was inked with my Blue Bayou Classic Stampin' Pad, and my Old Olive and Sahara Sand Stampin' Write Markers. It was stamped on to a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and matted with a piece of Old Olive cardstock. Since this is more of a masculine card, I attached a piece off frayed twill under the greeting layer. You can't see it in the pic, but I attached two Not Quite Navy brads in the bottom right corner of the card front. (NQN is just a tad darker than the Blue Bayou, but the brads blend perfectly on this project)

The alternate version of this layout features the Le Jardin collection. I have to be honest - I have a tough time using this collection because, while its very pretty, its not exactly my style. But I really wanted something to contract with the other, more masculine, version of this layout...so I thought this would be a great chance to put Le Jardin to good use. I used River Rock cardstock for the card base to corrdinate with the patterned paper. The "my dear, kind, and wonderful friend" greeting is also from the All Holidays stamp set (and it also happens to be one of my faves!!!). I used Bashful Blue and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers to ink this stamp. The greeting was then stamped on to a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and matted with Bashful Blue cardstock. In lieu of the twill, I used Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon underneath the matted greeting. For this version, I chose So Saffron brads to accent the another color in the patterned paper.

I'm really pleased with the way these cards turned out. One card features one of my favorite designs of patterned paper and the other card features designs that have been collecting a bit of dust...but both cards turned out just GREAT!

Caribbean Seaside

Yesterday I posted a pic of the thank you card that I'm sending to my hubby's aunt and uncle. I'm also sending this little pack of notes along with it. The main card base is Whisper White. I stamped the Cool Caribbean layer with the Sanded background stamp and my Cool Caribbean Classic Stampin' Pad. The main image is a conch shell from the Seaside stamp set (I love this set!). Then I added a little "happiness" from Warm Words stamped with my River Rock Classic Stampin' Pad.

For some reason I think distressing the edges makes it look more beachy, so I distressed the Whisper White layer and the River Rock mat. I mounted the main image on to the card front with dimensionals and added a piece of River Rock double stitched grosgrain ribbon. The envies are stamped with seashells to coordinate with the notes.

Beach Thank Yous

I've had a couple of projects that I've been working on (don't worry, you'll see them when I'm finished!) so its taken me a little longer than I'd like to get my beach thank yous finished. I was bound and determined to finish them this weekend, so I sat in my craft room and stamped away!

This is the thank you note that I'll be sending to my hubby's aunt and uncle - the ones that let us stay at their condo. I pulled out this palm tree stamp from the retired stamp set Do the Hula and paired it with two sayings from the Absolutely Fabulous stamp set. I knew I wanted to use patterned paper for the background and while I love the current Spring Break patterned paper collection, I really wanted something bright and fun. After some digging, I found some scraps from a Simply Scrappin' kit that was available ages ago. I can't even remember its name, but I'm pretty sure that it was offered as an option for Hostess Benefits.

Anyway, the card base is a 5"x5" square. I used the patterned paper as my background and tied a piece of Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon to cover the seam. I stamped the palm tree in Black StazOn on to the piece of Whisper White cardstock and colored it in with my Stampin' Write Markers. The greeting, "you're absolutely fabulous" was stamped with my Tempting Turquoise Classic Stampin' Pad. To add a little emphasis to the greeting, I pierced a line of holes beneath the words. To bring in some more Tempting Turquoise, I matted the Whisper White with Tempting Turquoise and then added a couple of TT brads in the upper right corner.

I cased this card from Debbie Olson - if you aren't familiar with her fabulous work, check her out on Splitcoast!