It's Not Another Holiday Card

Since I have been making nothing but Thanksgiving and Christmas cards at my classes lately, I thought I would take a break today and post a card using the Just Believe stamp set. The cardstock colors are Whisper White, Marina Mist and Night of Navy. I used Stampin' Write markers and colored directly onto the stamp, huffed to reactive the ink and then stamped. The circular stamp was stamped using the rock 'n' roll technique.

I'm happy with today's card not just because it isn't a holiday card, but because I like the end result. Hope you like it too.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday with your families and are looking forward to a yummy meal. My family is going to my nephew's for dinner and the only thing that my nephew requested is my famous pumpkin pie. I baked 8 pies last night and am just about to sit down to watch the Macy parade on television. After the parade I plan to get to work on making a couple of vegetable dishes to go along with the smoked turkey and ham my nephew is making. I can't wait because I'm making myself hungry already.

Thanks for spending a little of your day with me.

Come to Bethlehem

Night of Navy is such a rich color and was the perfect choice for the Come to Bethlehem stamp set. I embossed the wisemen image in gold and kept the card very simple using only Night of Navy and Brushed Gold Cardstock. I added the Night of Navy satin ribbon to soften the card somewhat and am pleased with the results.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Not Quite Sure About This One

This card is giving me absolute fits. I'm not happy with the card and wanted to post it to get some honest feedback. I typed up my post, attempted to post it and then accidentally deleted it. I started the post again and then somehow went ahead and posted it before it was finished. So......I'm going to try this again.

I used the Tags Til Christmas stamp set, Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler cardstock and Deck the Halls Designer Paper. I punched out small circles, adhered them on the triangular line and then covered them in Crystal Effects. I also added Crystal Effects to the pinecone.

I think the thing I don't like about the card is the lack of interest on the Always Artichoke card base. It needs some texture or a little somethin' somethin', but I'm not sure what. Any input would be appreciated because I'm always up for some constructive criticism.

Thanks for stopping by and for any suggestions you might have.

Just Believe in Sunshine

Wow! Can't you just feel the warmth coming from this beautiful sunshine card? I made the sunbeams by sponging in Daffodil Delight ink. The Old Olive greenery and Concord Crush flowers were colored with the Stampin' Write Markers directly to rubber and then stamped after huffing to reactivate the ink. To add a little interest to my background paper I used one of the Texturz Plates, brayered on Old Olive ink and ran it through my Big Shot. This gave me a tone on tone woodlike look.

We made this card at my class last month at Cha Cha's Mexican Restaurant and it was well received by all the attendees. My next class at Cha Cha's will be on Saturday, November 27. Please contact me if you would like to attend. As always, we will be making 3 new card designs. Hope to see you there.

For You From Me

This card is for my husband who is recovering from surgery. I’m sitting in a hotel in Miami just waiting for morning to get here so I can get back to the hospital to see him. It’s so hard being in a strange city, having a loved one in the hospital around the corner and being stuck in a hotel room when all you really want to do is sit beside them. If all goes well, we will be able to head for home sometime on Saturday or Sunday. I can’t wait.

I had this image stamped and brought it with me to complete, so I can’t even tell you what the set name is, but I’m sure most of you Stampin’ Up! fans recognize it.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today. Thanks too to all of you who have said prayers for us.

Perfect Punches for Christmas

I love how this card turned out. I wanted to use the Jolly Holiday Designer Paper and it lent itself so beautifully to this simple design. The cardstock colors are Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. The circular greeting is from Perfect Punches and was stamped twice, once in Old Olive and once in Cherry Cobbler. The Old Olive center portion was punched out and layered on top of the Cherry Cobbler scalloped circle. Old Olive Satin Ribbon completes the look on this simple Christmas card.

French Foliage

French Foliage is such a great set. The leaf images are really pretty and lend themselves beautifully to the rock 'n' roll technique which is what I did on this card. I used Pear Pizazz, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight on my leaves. The only leaf that wasn't rock 'n' rolled is the one under the greeting. The greeting is from the Fabulous Phrases set which has 30 separate words that you can mix and match to create the perfect greeting or sentiment for your project.

Don't miss out on the chance to own French Foliage. It is in the current Holiday Mini Catalog and is only available thru January 3rd.

Day of Gratitude

See, I promised I wouldn't post another Christmas card. It seems that I skipped Thanksgiving so that is what I am sharing today.

The leaf image is from Day of Gratitude and I used the rock 'n' roll technique with Old Olive and Cajun Craze ink.
The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. Cardstock is Old Olive, Cajun Craze and Very Vanilla and the Designer Paper is Autumn Spice. Both the stamp set and the Designer Paper is from the current Holiday Mini Catalog on page 12/13.

If you would like to order any of these items, please click on my name below the post to go directly to my Stampin' Up! store.

Thanks for visiting.

Holly Leaf Lines

Are you sick of the Christmas cards yet? I promise that my next post won't be Christmas if you just bear with me today.

This card uses the holly image from Leaf Lines and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I used Cherry Cobbler (isn't that a surprise!), Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla cardstock and the yummy Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding that can be found on page 21 of the Holiday Mini Catalog. The Deck the Halls Designer Paper can also be found in the Holiday Mini on page 18.

Hope you come back in a couple of days to see my non-Christmas card.

Frosty the Snowman

I know this image is retired, but I couldn't help but use him. Snowmen are my favorite images and this Frosty (in my opinion) is one of the best Stampin' Up! sets and it just wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't make at least one card with him.

I used Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock and the Designer Paper is from the Candy Cane Christmas pack. The Winter Wonderland sentiment is from Bright Christmas that is on page 22 of the current Holiday Mini Catalog.

Oops, I just looked again at the picture and realize that I didn't add my Dazzling Diamonds glitter yet. I need to correct that, but you can all just imagine him sparkling in the snow. I apologize for using a retired image and hope that you don't hold it against me.

See you soon.

Old Time Christmas

Doesn't this sweet little girl from Greeting Card Kids remind you of the old time images that used to be on Christmas cards? I know I'm probably giving away my age by saying that, but it really does make me remember way back when things were so much different. I even remember wearing wool winter leggings as a kid and how much I hated them especially since I always got in trouble for coming home from school with my leggings soaking wet from jumping in snow piles. My mother was never happy about that and wasn't shy about letting me know it.

I again used my new found Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pen to color the image. The background is Deck the Halls Designer Paper and I added the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding. The seam binding has a beautiful sheen to it and I plan to stock up since we don't have any Satin or Taffeta ribbon available in Cherry Cobbler and Cherry Cobbler has turned out to be one of my favorite colors.


Greeting Card Kids is a terrific set if you love to color because it has four images of old time children, or should I say retro kids. In addition to the Christmas girl there are images for Valentine's Day, Halloween and School Kids. If you want this set for yourself just click on my name at the end of this post to enter my Stampin' Up! store.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Summer Goodness

I made this card for one of my senior classes over the summer and just realized that I never posted it. It was a pretty simple card, but they all loved it. We used the Lattice Square Embossing Folder to make the cone and the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch to make the ice cream scoops. The cardstock colors are Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede & Early Espresso. We used matching Blushing Bride ribbon for an accept and topped the whole thing off with a red rhinestone cherry. I didn't take a picture of the inside, but we used "Happy Birthday with a Cherry on Top" from the A Word For You stamp set. I just knew I had to make an ice cream cone as soon as I saw that verse.

Thanks for stopping by.

Good Cheer Victorian Santa

Last month I was involved in a Stampin' Up! event with 7 other demos. Each demo designed a Christmas card and every attendee went from table to table to make their cards. Each demo used a different stamp set and you all know that everyone has their own special style so the attendees really got a variety of Christmas cards to add to their stash. From the favorable responses we got I know we will be doing this again.

Today's share is the card I designed for that event. I used Good Cheer and the sentiment from Bells & Boughs. The cardstock is Real Red, Soft Suede and Whisper White. I also used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Large Oval Punch, Extra-Large Scallop Oval Punch, a Sizzix Texturz Plate and Chunky red glitter.

The only thing I wish I would have done differently is color the image with Watercolor Pencils rather than Watercolor Wonder Crayons. The crayons are still not available and some of the event attendees were unhappy about that because they really enjoyed using them and wanted to buy them. Needless to say, I have a list of those people and plan to contact them as soon as Stampin' Up! lets us know they are available again.

Thanks for coming back to visit.

Bells & Boughs

It's getting to be that time of year again. What time? Glad you asked.

It's time to get a start on your Christmas cards so today I'm sharing one I did last weekend. I used the Bells & Boughs stamp set for the image and Christmas Greetings for the sentiment.

I started out using Versamark and the large swirl from Baroque Motif to stamp my card base but wasn't happy with how it looked so I then stamped again with Blushing Bride ink and was much happier with the results.

The main image was colored with Stampin' Up! Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens. Believe it or not, this was the first time I used the Watercolor Pencils. I've had the the pencils for the longest time but just never got around to playing with them. What a mistake that was. I love them!

If you have the Watercolor Pencils I hope you give them a try. If you don't have them, please click on my name at the bottom of this post and place an order for them. You won't be sorry.

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Apple Blossoms by Stampin' Up!

I'm back and sharing a card I did at my senior classes a few weeks ago. I used the Apple Blossom Hostess Level 2 set and several of the new Stampin' Up! colors: Marina Mist, Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizazz. I was so sorry when some of my favorite colors retired, but am so loving these new ones. I really think the change makes the Stampin' Up! color palette much fresher and up to date and apparently my customers do too.

I'm so glad you all came back to visit and hope you come back again soon.

Friends Never Fade

Todays card share uses one of the flowers from the Friends Never Fade stamp set. The sentiment is from Fresh Cuts.

I finally broke open the In Color Designer Series Paper Stack and absolutely love it. It makes me so happy that I can now have a polka dot paper in every one of the Stampin' Up colors. There are stripes too and many more fabulous tone-on-tone choices. I'm a happy girl and plan on ordering one of these paper stacks in every collection. I'm my own best customer. LOL!

This is another one of the cards we made in my class yesterday at Cha Cha's. The attendees all had a good time making their cards and we had a delicious lunch. I plan on making this a monthly event and hope you can all come and make cards with us too.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you soon.

Vintage Vogue Collage

I wanted to make a collage type card and reached for Vintage Vogue. For the background of my collage I wanted a very light pattern so I used Crumb Cake ink, stamped off once and then stamped onto the Whisper White cardstock. Although the picture is much too light, the actual card background turned out exactly the way I wanted it. I then stamped the flower in Melon Mambo and the leaf in Old Olive. Hovering over the card is the All A Flutter butterfly colored with an Aqua Painter and ink refills. The ribbon is the retired Melon Mambo polka dot grosgrain and I'm really glad I stocked up on this.

Thanks for stopping by.

Class Teaser

Hi Everyone

I wanted to share a sneak peak at one of the cards we will be making during the card class at Cha Cha's this coming Saturday, July 24 at 10 AM.

This card uses the stamp sets Friends Never Fade and one of the sentiments from Tiny Tags. I've used the Greenhouse Gala Designer Paper along with the yummy new cardstock colors Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight and threw in a little Pumpkin Pie too. Instead of a ribbon I used linen thread on this card, which is something I rarely do, and I think I like it. I'll have to try this thread more often.

I hope you enjoy the card and want to make one for yourself. If so, come on out to Cha Cha's Mexican Restaurant in Jacksonville this Saturday. Hope to see you there.

Thanks for stopping back to visit.

Fifth Avenue Floral

A quick and easy card share today. I used the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set, Marina Mist and Melon Mambo cardstock. I honestly can't remember where the sentiment came from. That's what I get for having too many stamp sets and not writing down the details when I am making the cards.

I teach stamping classes on the first and third Thursday of each month at the Beach Senior Center. The ladies there have been trying to talk me into doing an extra class this month since there are five Thursdays in the month of July. Sorry ladies, but there will be no extra class day this month, but if you behave yourselves (yes, I know it is going to be difficult) we will be making this card as a bonus at our class today.

I'll see you at 10:00 AM. Be ready to get inky.

Thanks for visiting.

Elements of Style Toile

This card is a total CASE from Lee Conrey. I saw her card and totally fell in love with it.

I changed the cardstock colors from her black and white to Very Vanilla and Early Espresso and used the new 1/8" Early Espresso ribbon. Other than that the idea is all Lee. Thanks Lee!!!!

Gotta run now.

Thanks for visiting.

Roses For You

This set from the Summer mini catalog called Elements of Style is so pretty. The set also contains a hummingbird, a pretty flourish and two sentiments. If you would like to order this set for yourself, just click on my Stampin' Up website button to the right.

I used Stampin' Write Markers in Melon Mambo and Old Olive to color in my roses. These flowers remind me of the wild roses that bloomed in the backyard of my childhood home. I used the reverse side of the Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon because I didn't think these roses set the right tone for polka dots. That's just my opinion, but I'm stickin' to it. LOL!

Thanks so much for coming back to visit again today.

Fun Folds

This card uses all retired product, but I was so happy with how it turned out that I wanted to share. I used a vanilla cardstock base with Nouveau Chic DP, Apricot Appeal, Sage Shadow (I'm going to really miss this color) and Basic Gray cardstock. The sentiment is from Well Scripted that was available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. The flower and leaves are made with the Little Leaves Sizzlit and the Daisies #2 Sizzix Bigz Die and the center is done with a Build-a-Brad.

If you would like the dimensions on this card, just leave me a comment or drop me an email.

See you again soon.

Beautiful Hydrangea

Wow, I can't believe it has been over a month since I last posted. The month of June was so busy. I spent the better part of the month preparing for a huge Stampin' Up event that I was a part of. We held a benefit for the Pace School for Girls here in Jacksonville. The benefit was held at the Sandollar Restaurant which sits on the St. Johns River near the ferry landing. The event was a huge success with over $650 raised. We are using these funds to purchase Stampin' Up product and create a stamping corner at the school.

Today's card uses the new Hostess Level I set called Because I Care. I just love this image. It brings back memories of the beautiful hydrangeas that bloomed all summer in my grandma's front yard. I used the new Marina Mist cardstock and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. I colored my image using Marina Mist & Old Olive inks and an Aqua Painter.

Thanks for coming back to visit.

Black Magic Revisited

Another attempt at the Black Magic technique using the Watercolor Trio from the Summer Mini Catalog.

I'm going to have to find another way to take my photographs because this card is much more vivid in person. For some reason I can't get my colors to show their true value in photos.

The small dots on the image are tiny rhinestones that are very sparly in person--not so much in the photo. If anyone has some suggestions out there please get in touch and share your experiences.

Thanks so much for visiting again and any advice you can offer.

Wild Thing, You Make My Heart Sing

My sister and I went to a scrapbooking crop a couple of weeks ago sponsored by a local store and they had several make-n-takes that we could do. This card was one of them and I really like it and wanted to share. It uses a Tim Holtz Sizzix die as the focal point. I think it's stinkin' cute!

See you again soon.

Watercolor Trio Again

This is definitely my favorite stamp set from the Summer Mini Catalog. I have made several cards recently using the various stamps in this terrific set so plan on seeing it frequently.

I used Melon Mambo and Soft Suede in both ink and cardstock. The DP is Melon Mambo. I used the Scallop Corner Punch and the Scallop Trim Border Punch, and really love how the double mat for the stamped image turned out. I have to admit that it did take me several tries to get the mats the way I wanted them. Put the paper in crooked--trash that mat. Cut the cardstock the wrong size--trash that one too. Ah, finally, sweet success.

Thanks for taking the time to visit again today.

Flower Fancy Two-Step Stamping

I have had the Flower Fancy set for a while now but just got around to inking it up recently. This stamp set is one of several two-step stamp sets available in the 2009/2010 Idea Book & Catalog, and they are a lot of fun to use. I stamped the outline in black and then used Stampin' Write markers in Old Olive and Rose Red to ink up the fill in stamp. The stamp-a-ma-jig is the perfect tool to use when aligning these two-step stamps, but in this case I eyeballed it as best I could. I added one of the embossed butterflies from the Sizzix Beautiful Wings Embossing Folder to complete my card (mainly because I had a small green smudge that I wanted to cover up). Don't tell any one.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Lovely as a Tree

Let's all say our prays that Lovely as a Tree still remains in the new Stampin' Up catalog. This stamp set contains the most wonderfully beautiful images. Here I have used the single tall tree stamped in Old Olive. Add a little of the retired Sweet Pea DP, some Old Olive and Pretty in Pink cardstock and you have a quick, simple card that can be used for most any occasion.

Gotta run now because my husband just got home from the golf course and we are going out for a quick bite.

See you all soon.

Vintage Vogue & Butterflies

Today's card uses the vine image from Stampin' Up's Vintage Vogue. I used versamark and clear embossing powder on the top half of the card and a piece of polka dotted Designer Paper on the bottom. The butterflies were made with the Beautiful Wings embosslit. Don't you just love this Sizzix embosslit? You can add these cute little butterflies to almost any card you create. They add just the right touch of whimsy.

It's now time for me to fly out of here. Hope to see you again soon.

It's That Old Black Magic

Black Magic Technique that is. I used the Watercolor Trio flower image to do this technique. For those of you that don't know how to do this, it is very simple.

Choose a solid image stamp and then stamp with white ink onto Basic Black cardstock. Make sure your ink is completely dry and then color over the white ink with either colored pencils, watercolor pencils or chalks. I used the Stampin' Up watercolor pencils to color my image. I completed my card with a black and white ribbon from my stash. All in all I'm quite pleased with how this card turned out. I hope you enjoy it and also hope you try this simple technique.

See you soon.

A Happy Hello

I know the Sweet Pea DP is retired but I love it so much that I have to use it. I used the Upsy Daisy stamp set for the flower image and stamped with Pumpkin Pie. I stamped once with a fully loaded stamp and then stamped again without reinking. This simple little technique creates a great look without any effort. Why not try it for yourself!

Thanks so much for coming back to visit again.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day. I wanted to share this sweet little mouse with his sunflower bouquet with all of you. He is colored with Copic markers on Whisper White and I used Certainly Celery and Orchid Opulence to create my card.

I hope you all have a wonderful day with your families.

See you again soon.

Watercolor Trio

I've found another must have set from Stampin' Up. This set is Watercolor Trio from the Summer Mini Catalog and will be available until August 31, 2010. Even the beautiful script sentiment is from the same set. I have made so many cards with this lately that I'm sure you will be sick of seeing them. If you love this set as much as I do, please go to my Stampin' Up website by clicking on the circle to the right to place your order. Enter Watercolor Trio 117050 in classic wood mounting or 120084 in the new Clear Mount option.

I used Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana and Whisper White cardstock. The background image was stamped in Certainly Celery and the flower image was colored with the Stampin' Write Markers in Barely Banana, Orchid Opulence and Certainly Celery.

This card was one we made this past Thursday at the Beaches Senior Center and all the ladies were surprised with how simple it was to make. I will be at the Senior Center again on May 20th at 10:00 AM, and look forward to seeing you there. Why not plan to come and join us as we make two new cards and have a laugh or two with these wonderful ladies.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wings of Friendship

Another avian card today, but this card is using the pretty little bird image from the Stampin' Up Wings of Friendship Hostess Level 2 set. I used Taken With Teal and Pumpkin Pie in both ink and cardstock. The piece of designer paper is from the Sweet Pea paper pack available in the Occasions Mini Catalog. I can't seem to stop using the papers out of this pack. I keep going back to them again and again. Do you think Stampin' Up put something in the adhesive holding this pad together? It's addictive!

I popped up the wing as well as the larger flower on Stampin' Dimensionals. The flower has a clear rhinestone center and the bird has a tiny black rhinestone for his eye. Looks really pretty in person. Wish the picture was better. Oh well, I guess it will have to do.

Thanks for stopping by to visit today.