An Eclectic Mix of Cards

I've been really busy this week preparing for teaching Sunday School, facilitating Bible Study, preparing for Card Ministry, and keeping up two blogs. I really like staying busy! I had the BEST time with friends yesterday during and after Bible Study. We went out to lunch and talked about cooking and plans for a Women's retreat and well just girl talk:)
Here is a masculine get well card using a retired stamp set called Countryside. I love this set and will never part with it!

I got the idea for this card from Kath Ricks at http://kath-allthatscrap.blogspot.com. I love the layers of framelits and how the last layer pops up. That dimension is such a great touch.

Project Details
Stamps	Courntryside (retired) Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card Stock & Papers	Basic Black, Pistachio Pudding, Very Vanilla, Typeset Designer Series Paper
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Alcohol ink markers, chalk, Gears from my stash of stuff
Tools	Small Oval punch, Word Window Punch

 

This design came from Karen Clary. I like looking at how others use the same stamp sets that I have. Being able to see different perspectives makes stamps more versatile. If I had to rely on only my own designs, I would not get as much use out of my stamps.

Project Details
Stamps	Indescribable Gift
Card Stock & Papers	Soft Suede
Ink	Soft Suede
Accessories	Alcohol ink markers, Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools	Labels Framelits

inside of card

Project Details
Stamps	Indescribable Gift
Card Stock & Papers	Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Vellum
Ink	Versamark, Wild Wasabi
Accessories	White embossing powder
Tools	heat tool

underneath door

inside of card

Project Details
Stamps	Petite Petals, Hardwood, Flowering FlourishesBig Day, Wordplay (retired)
Card Stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Ink	Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Mossy Meadow
Accessories	Pearl Basic Jewels
Tools	Petite Petals Punch, Labels Framelits

 

Butterfly Basics Card Set

Have I mentioned how much I have used this set and how very much I love it? lol I made a set of cards and an envelope box to put them in. I made the box with the envelope punch board.

1. 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 piece of cardstock
2. Envelope punch board: line up at 3 1/2 inches, punch and score, then at 5 inches, punch and score again
3. Rotate cardstock 180 degrees, line up at  3 1/2 inches, punch and score, then at 5 inches, punch and score again
4. On the two sides that you haven't punched/scored, line up at the two score lines you see, and punch & score
5. Crease all score lines

Envelope and back of card

Inside- this card was supposed to be a thank you,  but I stamped Happy bday on the front. So I stamped the greeting, punched it out and glued over the thank you. <Roll eyes at self>

New Products Added to SALE-A-BRATION

 I have several fun new items from SALE-A-BRATION and now there is more to choose from! For every $50.00 you spend, you can choose from the items in the SALE-A-BRATION brochure AND during the month of March,  you can also choose from these 4 additional items! I really NEED that In Color Accessory Pack!  
 Click here for a PDF flyer.

Background Stamps

I really like to use background stamps and today I'm highlighting two of them, "Hardwood" and "Dictionary."
I simply ADORE  "Hardwood." The minute I saw it in the catalog, I knew it would find its way to the stamp set shelf in my craft room. I have used it a lot. Like most Denonstrators, I often sell stamps when they retire, preferring to keep and use current stock that is available for customers to purchase. Once a while a stamp comes along that I can not part with because it is so darn versatile and I LOVE it! These two stamps are perfect examples. I will NOT PART with them.  A while ago, an Australian Demo shared Hardwood done in various ink colors on different cardstock colors. I thought this was genius, as the looks can vary so much and give you a totally different feeling - with flowers, horses, butterflies etc. I made up a chart to show you. You can download it here in PDF format. The only problem with this nifty little chart is that my Basic Gray ink pad needs to be reinked. Yes, I did order a refill for it last week... at least I thought I did. I inadvertently typed in the number for Pear Pizzazz instead of Basic Gray. Geesh! I already have a Pear refill and I didn't realize it until AFTER I peeled off all the packaging. (slaps self upside the head) The OCD part of me will do those two samples again when the Basic Gray ink refill arrives. Anyone need a Pear Pizzazz? lol

Project Details
Stamps	Dictionary, Blended Bloom, Peaceful Petals, Butterfly Basics
Card Stock & Papers	Basic Gray, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink	Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories	Alcolhol ink markers
Tools	ticket punch

Monthly Class

Stamp Your Art Out! met today and we had a blast! The first card was done with the floating reinker technique. We really liked the look when we gently blotted the wet paper rather than allowing it to drip and dry. When you blot it a bit, you get a kind of ethereal watercolor look. I have done this with watercolor paper, but for class we used Shimmery White, which has subtle sparkles in it that show through the ink! Tres Chic!

1. Rub cardstock with Embossing Buddy
2. Stamp image with Versamark pad
3. Apply White embossing powder
4. Melt with heat tool
5. Place embossed image inside a  plastic kitchen container, spritz well with water 
6. Dip Aqua Painter into reinker and just touch to wet paper allow to spread on water, then wipe off brush and use next color of ink

Project Details Floating Reinker Technique
Stamps	Blended Bloom, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Bloom With Hope
Card Stock & Papers	Tangerine Tango: card base 5 ½ x 8½ score at 4 ¼ Melon Mambo: 4 x 5 ¼ layer Shimmery White: 3 ½ x 3 ½ stamp & ink Whisper White: 3 ¾ x 4 ¾ inside card Old Olive: 4 ¼ x 3 die cut leaves
Ink	Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, VersaMark (reinkers: Crushed Curry, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo)
Accessories	White embossing powder
Tools	Autumn Bigz die, Stampin’ Spritzer, Heat Tool, Aqua Painter, plastic dish and lid

Project Details
Stamps
Card Stock & Papers	Elegant Eggplant : card base 5 ½ x 8½ score at 4 ¼                                      4 ½ x 5 butterfly die cut Whisper White: 4 x 5 ¼ stamped layer                                 2 ¼ x 2 ½  stamped butterfly                                 3 ¾ x 4 ¾ inside card
Ink	Elegant Eggplant, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
Accessories	Pearl Basic Jewels
Tools	Butterflies Thinlits, Sticky Tape or glue

Project Details
Stamps	Petite Petals, Bloom With Hope
Card Stock & Papers	Whisper White: card base 5 ½ x 8½ score at 4 ¼                                4 x 4 embossed layer                                3 ½ x 2 ¼ stamp 5 flowers  Pear Pizzazz: 2 ½ x 3 ½   Sizzlit leaves (2)
Ink	Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories	Stampin’ Dimensionals
Tools	Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder, Bird Builder Punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit

Blooms and Butterflies

Spring is my favorite time of the year, especially in the deep south. Although I generally like summer and the beach, I can't really say I'm a fan of July and August in Carolina, as it can get right HOT.

Project Details
Stamps	Butterfly Basics
Card Stock & Papers	Rich Razzleberry, Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla
Ink	Rich Razzleberry, Baked Brown Sugar, Mossy Meadow, Garden Green, Basic Black
Accessories	Alcohol Ink Markers
Tools

Project Details
Stamps	Bloom With Hope, Butterfly Basics, Papilion Potpourri
Card Stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon, Marina Mist
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Alcohol ink markers, Stampin' Dimensionals
Tools

 

Project Details
Stamps	Butterfly Basics
Card Stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar, Crisp Cantaloupe< Vellum
Ink	Baked Brown Sugar, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral, Basic Black
Accessories	Linen Thread
Tools	Butterflies Thinlits

 

Project Details
Stamps	Bloom With Hope
Card Stock & Papers	Wisteria Wonder, Very Vanilla, Real Red
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Wisteria Wonder, Real Red
Accessories	Alcohol ink markers
Tools

Project Details
Stamps
Card Stock & Papers	Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink	Memento Tuxedo Black, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories	Alcohol ink markers, Cherry Cobbler Bakers' Twine
Tools

Ethereal Flutterby

I started out making one thing with totally different colors and ended up with this one. The card I intended to make using Window Sheets just didn't float my boat. Navy and Crisp Cantaloupe do go together so well usually, but with this card eh, not so much. Then there was the glue and Window Sheet. I'm out of 2-Way Glue Pen and I didn't like the glue residue that was apparent no matter how little I used and how careful I was.

I switched colors to two pastels instead of such a stark contrast, and tried vellum instead of Window Plastic. Then I decided it needed something printed behind it, but there was no paper in those colors in my stash.

AHA the Irresistibly Yours Designer Paper worked great! Since it has an embossed finish on it, I randomly sponged Coastal Cabana and Pistachio over the piece and adhered it behind the vellum. There result is lovely as you see a subtle dreamy pattern behind the flutterby:)

Project Details
Stamps	Happy Watercolor
Card Stock & Papers	Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Whisper White, Vellum, Irresistibly Yours Designer Series Paper
Ink	Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding,Black
Accessories	Coastal Cabana & Pistachio Pudding Ruffled Ribbon
Tools	Sticky Tape, Sponge Daubers