Colorful Classic Stripes

Here is my second Kristina Werner Color Inspiration Challenge card - I stayed with the juvenile theme and used the Wild About You stamp set. For the background I really wanted to ink up my new Classic Stripes background stamp.

I thought inking the stripes with my Stampin' Write Markers would create a really sharp background...I really like the way it turned out, but next time I need to color faster. By the time I got to the last stripe, the first one was almost too dry to "huff"! I was really tempted to add some ribbon to this card, but I had to restrain myself! I added the brads instead.

This card is going in to my "Just In Case" card stash. When a birthday sneaks up on me or when I need a thank you card and I don't have time to sit down and stamp one, I pull out my "Just In Case" stash!

Bugs & Kisses - Kristina Werner Style

Here is the card I worked on yesterday for Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge. This week's color combination was Ballet Blue, Ruby Red, So Saffron, and Certainly Celery. When I saw these colors together, I knew I wanted to make a juvenile card. Not only because this combo really lend itself to kid-friendly themes, but I also had to make a birthday card for the son of a good friend!

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use this week's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge for the layout. Participating in all of these challenges really makes it easy to create a card. All I had to do was decide which stamp sets to use! (FYI - I used Bugs & Kisses and Polka Dot).

Upsy Daisy

When my September Stampin' Success magazine came in the mail last month, there was a great card on the cover that I knew I wanted to CASE. The original card was a tad bit smaller (4 1/2" x 4 1/2" I think) but I have this thing about cards filling up their envelopes. If I'm sending a card in a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" envelope, I like for the card to be 5 1/4" x 5 1/4". Its a little weird, I know, but it bugs me to have a smaller card floating around in a big envelope. I wanted to keep the proportions of the original card, so instead of just making the Kiwi Kiss card base bigger, I mounted the main layer on to a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" Whisper White card base.

The main flower image is from the Upsy Daisy stamp set. Since a number of my greetings/sentiments stamp sets were retired this Summer and I am slowly replacing them, I had to pull out an oldie-but-goodie for this card. Its from the Much Appreciated stamp set. This is my all time favorite thank you sentiment - I love the font! You can't really tell it from this picture, but instead of grosgrain ribbon I used Chocolate Chip poly-twill from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I was really disappointed that poly-twill didn't make it in to the big catalog. My fingers are crossed for the Spring-Summer edition!

This is probaby one of my favorite color combinations using the 2008-2009 In Colors. Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, and Chocolate Chip are FABULOUS together! I especially love this combo for Christmas cards. (NOTE: there are a couple of collections of Designer Series Paper that use this exact combo!) I think I'm completely addicted to Kiwi Kiss. You know, I thought it couldn't get any better than Certainly Celery. Then came Wild Wasabi and I fell in LOVE. I was heartbroken when it came time to say good-bye. Now there is Kiwi Kiss and I can't seem to put it down!!! I'm normally more drawn to blues, but now I'm goin' GREEN!

Rock Star Card Elements Kit

One of the products new to the Fall-Winter Idea Book and Catalog is the Card Elements Kit. Each kit features coordinating cardstock, patterned paper, die cut images, embellishments and instructions for two or three different cards. I love the idea of the kits so I added a two of them to my first catalog order.

For this card, I chose to break out the Rock Star kit. I have to admit, this kit uses a color combo that is definitely out of my comfort zone. I love Bashful Blue and Old Olive, but I rarely pull out the Brilliant Blue and More Mustard. But, since the patterned paper and the die cut images are already coordinated, it was a little easier to branch out!

I found this layout in a recent Stampin' Success magazine. It was actually used on a Christmas card, but I thought that it would work well with the Rock Star kit as well! For the circles I used my circle punches as well as my Coluzzle.

The "random" placement of the circles on the card front is actually anything BUT random. I guess its my mild case of OCD that kicked in, but it took me nearly 10 minutes to figure out how to place each circle!

In celebration of National Cardmaking Day (which was Oct 4), Stampin' Up! is running a special on all Card Elements and Simply Sent kits. Contact me if you're interested in trying out one of these kits!

Aloha Stampers!

No, I haven't made any recent trips to Hawaii. Actually, I haven't made ANY trips to Hawaii - recent or not! But my friend Leslie has! She just got back from a family vacation to Hawaii and after looking at the pictures, I'm completely jealous! Since I'm such a great friend (wink, wink) I thought I'd make her a little something to show off all of those great vacation pics! (This project took me a couple of naptime stamping sessions to complete - that's why you haven't seen me since last week!)

This is a little tin that I found on clearance at the local craft store. There was a piece of scalloped cardstock glued to the front of the tin, but it didn't match my color scheme. I pulled it off and replaced it with a piece of patterned paper from the retired Jersey Shore collection. The letters are chipboard - the "m" is covered with a piece of patterned paper and backed with a piece of cardstock so it really stands out against the background. The "a" and the "x" were inked with my Whisper White craft pad.

Inside there is a little circular accordion book that folds up to fit perfectly in the tin. I decorated both sides of each circle with various designs of patterned paper and each circle has either a place to mount a photo, a place to journal, an envie for little keepsakes, or some sort of Hawaii-themed image. Here are some pics of the inside:

Organic Outline Card and Envie

Here is another project that I was able to squeeze in during naptime. When I first saw the Organic Outlines stamp set, I was really drawn to it because of the funky design but I wasn't sure how I would be able to use it. I went ahead and ordered it anyway. When I had my opportunity to stamp, I pulled out the stamp set, some new patterned paper, and a couple of the new In Colors and got started!

This layout is CASEd from a card I saw on Splitcoast. For this version I switched up the colors, the papers, and the greeting. The card base is Kiwi Kiss (LOVE it!) and the image is stamped in Baja Breeze and then matted in Basic Grey. The patterned paper is Urban Garden - not only is the color combo super-chic, this patterned paper coordinates with a number of new stamp sets like Upsy Daisy and Kindred Spirits. I used this retired birthday sentiment for the greeting because I thought it really fit the look of the card. I used some Basic Grey taffeta ribbon as well as one of my mini library clips for some extra umph!

One thing I really love to do is stamp the envelope to coordinate with the enclosed card. This stamp set is PERFECT for that - the outline looks fabulous when its stamped on the envelope.

Squash Book

In addition to the thank you notes, I've also been working on the Stampers 6 projects for this weekend. The theme for this month is "Fancy Folds" - we'll be doing a series of projects that each feature some sort of fancy or unique fold. This project is called a Squash Book. Its a type of brag book made from 2 square chipboard coasters and a three pieces of cardstock that are scored and folded in a way that squashes down to a 4"x4" book.

The patterned paper is from the Jersey Shore collection. The main pieces of scored/folded cardstock are Wild Wasabi with Bashful Blue used as photo mats and Pumpkin Pie used as mats for the patterned paper. There isn't any stamping on this example, but you could stamp the reverse side of the Wild Wasabi for some added WOW when the book is opened! Another option is to substitute pieces of Whisper White cardstock in lieu of some of the patterned paper triangles - this would give you room to journal about each of the 4 pictures.

Once all of the pieces and parts are cut out and scored, it doesn't take very long to assemble the Squash Book. This book would be a perfect way to share memories from your family vacation this summer!!!

By the way...as I was typing this I realized that my big ole' preggy belly made its way into the picture of the unfolded Squash Book. Oops! :)

Thank You Notes

Now that I'm officially unemployed (yay!!), I actually have time to create my own thank you notes for showers and such. Here are two different designs that I'm working on. The Certainly Celery thank you note is a little twist on one that I've done for a previous stamp camp. First, I wheeled the Nursery Letters Jumbo Wheel along the bottom of the card front. Then I layered a strip of Pretty In Pink scalloped cardstock in the middle of the card front, followed by the polka dotted patterned from the Spring Flowers collection along the top of the card front. The scalloped square was punched out with my Marvvy punch and then the punched star from Nursery Necessities was layered over it with dimensionals. Of course, I had to add some ribbon to make the thank you note complete!

The teddy bear thank you note was created by cutting a 12"x12" sheet of Pretty In Pink cardstock down to 3"x12" and scoring it at 6". The background was wheeled in Pretty In Pink with the Sweet Stars Jumbo Wheel. The teddy bear image from Bundle of Joy was stamped with my Basic Brown Classic Stampin' Pad and then watercolored with Close to Cocoa and an AquaPainter. I used a 1/8" hole punch to punch 2 holes under the chin of the teddy bear and tied a piece of Pretty In Pink grosgrain ribbon for a little pop of color. For the greeting on the front, I alternated between "adorable" and "giggle" from Warm Words.

I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to make my own thank you notes - I'm still tossing around the idea of making my own birth announcements. We'll have to wait and see how things go once our little bundle of joy gets here!!!

Update...

OK, first off let me fill you in on my Summer. My little brother got married June 21st. The ceremony was perfect - so sweet. The reception was an absolute blast - even for someone with a big ole' preggy belly! Then, once the wedding was behind us, it was time to really focus on little Aubrey Claire. We had THREE showers back-to-back. The first two were actually surprise showers - I know, how sweet right?!?

First, my Bunco group threw me a surprise shower after our June Bunco get together. Then, one of my monthly Stamp Camp groups threw me a surprise shower! I swear, I have the best stamp campers in the world - imagine my surprise when I come wheeling in with all of projects and stamping supplies only to find the room decorated in pink with presents everywhere. The third shower was thrown by my co-workers. My downline created these AWESOME onesies with the sticky cuts letters and cosmo glitter and decorated the room with them! She also stamped the guest and gift sheets. They really went out of their way to make me feel special!

I do have one confession to make though...with all of my wonderful friends spoiling me rotten, I wasn't able to keep up with creating my own thank you notes. So, I had to order printed ones! I know...GASP!!! I can honestly say I felt super-guilty about it. I wondered if I had hurt anyones feelings by sending them a printed thank you as opposed to one that I had hand-crafted!

As of Monday, my extended maternity leave has started (I know - YAY, right?). Now I'll actually have a chance to create some thank you notes, get the nursery ready, and relax!! Today is the first time I have stamped anything in at least a month, so I just had to upload it and show you all!!


This is a card that I created for my fabulous downline, Trish. (I hope I can deliver it with her present before she actually reads this post!) The card base is Chocolate Chip with a strip of patterend paper mounted on to textured Soft Sky cardstock.

I really wanted to cut out pieces of a flower bloom and mount them with dimensionals for a 3D look. So I chose this image from the Embrace Life stamp set. I stamped it with my Timber Brown StazOn pad - once on the main piece of Whisper White cardstock and a second time on a scrap piece. I used my Blender Pen to color in the blooms on both the main image and the image to be cut out. Once the ink was dry, I cut out a couple of the blooms and mounted them directly on top of their coordinate blooms on the main image.

I used a hat pin from the Pretties Kit as well as some Chocolate Chip satin ribbon to embellish the card front. The front of the card reads "Someone like you" and the inside of the card reads "should be celebrated everyday. Happy Birthday". I really like the way this card turned out - not too shabby for not stamping in a month!

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!

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!