Friday, April 21, 2017

It's Another Wreath

I saw the idea for this card a while back. The wreath is made from the vine stamp in Foxy Friends set.  The vine is an arc that you can stamp two times to make a wreath.  Cute, right?  I saw this card from Julie T at stampingala.com.  I embossed the flowers that are from the Touches of Texture set and added some leaves using the bird punch.

During one of my classes, one of the ladies used the flower from the Texture set and I love how this changes the look of the card.  The flowers have Wink of Stella on them but it's hard to see in the photo.  There are some mini pearls also on the flowers and in the vine.

Here's another sample made using some yellow and an added bumble bee. What do you think of this?  The sayings are from Dragonfly Dreams.

Which one is one that you like the best?

Spring Wreath

I've had this Circle of Spring wreath stamp set for a couple of years and thought that I'd like to make some "spring-looking" cards this week.  I had a little bit of trouble getting the framelit to line up with the middle of the wreath, so I cut it out with scissors.  I love how this card turned out, especially with the mint lace around the edges of the hardwood banner in the center.  I got the idea while browsing on Painted Orange's blog.

Here is the same card, only with some flowers in the background and a generic "for you" greeting.  My Mom is gone so I won't be sending her a card this year.  Perhaps I can give it to someone else who is a mom. 

Three's a charm - here are all three.  They're pretty much the same card.  I enjoyed making them and just love the colors.  Have you used the spring wreath lately?

I Love the Succulents


I found out this week that these wonderful succulent stamps are retiring and won't be around for another year in the Stampin Up catalog.  How sad!  I think they are so versatile.  I just want to put them everywhere.  :)

I found this card idea on Pinterest (from Painted Orange blog) using the basket framelit from the Basket Builder dies and I just loved it.  Of course, I had to buy the Basket Builder framelits to make this card!  Ha ha. 

Anyway, I just love how it came out.  It looks like the basket of succulents are sitting on a shelf with a lace doily or tablecloth underneath.  So pretty!

The second time that I made the card I used a green designer paper for the background.  It gives more of a monochromatic look, whereas the first card looks a bit more country.

And how about his look?  I used a striped peach and it makes the card look more playful.  I just love them all.  I'd even like to try making this card using some different color schemes.

Here are all three of them side by side.  Which one do you like the best?  The ladies who came to my stamping class this week loved making this card. 

Monday, April 10, 2017

We All Need a Little Salsa in Our Lives!

 It's no wonder that this little guy is the first stamp set in the Stampin Up catalog.  It's because he's so cute!  I have a lot of stamp sets (would you guess that?) and I love to get a something that has a whimsical feel to it.  I finally took out this little llama and I just loved putting these cards together!  Not only do I like the llama, but the cactus is really cute, too. 

 Here is the same card with a very festive background!  At first I thought that it was too busy, but it's growing on me and now I like it.  For the cards, I took out some watercolor paper and colored in a blue sky background.  Then I shaped it like a tag and added some washi tape to the lower edge.  Finally I added a pink strip of paper that was cut with the "grassy" scissors, you know, the one with all of the blades.  :)  The rest of the pieces are just stamped and adhered with glue dots.  Don't you just love the saying?

Here are the two cards side by side.  Which one do you prefer?

I found the idea for this card from Heidi Baks.  I enjoyed using this bright and playful llama.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing more of him in the future.  :)



Dragonfly Love

If you remember in one of my previous posts, I admitted that I wasn't sure if I liked the new dragonfly stamp set and it's framelits.  Well, I finally gave in and bought it and I've been making some fun things with it!  Check out this card- I just love it!

 I cased this right from the Stampin Up Occasions catalog.  I decorated the designer paper in a different style from the original and I'm pleased with the outcome.  To make this card, use the Cupcakes and Carousel papers and stamp on them with the stamps from the dragonfly set.  The card base is Bermuda Bay and the extra cut-out is from some copper paper that I had lying around.

Here is another version of the card, using a different designer paper from the same pack.  I did some sponging on the dragonfly to give it some color.  Now I love this set.  :)

And there's still more...

This next dragonfly card is a bit more elegant looking.  I used the Falling in Love designer paper with a crumb cake card base.  I sponged the doily with some crumb cake so it wouldn't look so white against the vanilla paper.  This card has just one cut-out in the pink.  It needed a little something else in pink, so I added the small flower and adorned it with pearls.  I got the idea from Debbie Mageed.

Here is the same card but with the alternate side of the designer paper.  It gives it an even softer look. 

Dragonfly set, have you tried it you?  You will love the variety of things that you can do with it.  :)


Sunday, April 9, 2017

Are You Beautiful?


For this card, I took out the stamp set, Beautiful You, that features some high-fashioned women images.  When I saw a sample of this card made by waterlilypapercraft, I just had to make it.  The original card used the So Detailed framelits that I didn't have (imagine that?), so I tried using the Detailed Floral thinlets.  I had to run it through the Big Shot twice, lining it up to make a wider image.  Then I trimmed around the flowers.  I painted her dress using a paint brush.  I love how it came out.

I used the Falling in Love designer paper and really love the elegant look of this card.

Here is the same card make using different papers from the same designer series.  I love them all.

Here is another card made using the same image, but with a totally different look.  I embossed and then die cut the scalloped hole in the Rich Razzleberry paper and mounted it using dimensionals.  Then I stamped the lady image inside of the hold.  She is colored in with the squiggle stamp that comes with the set.  Lastly I added metallic ribbon as an embellishment.  I got the original idea from Corina Chin.

Have you tried this stamp set yet? 

Dragonfly Watercolor

When I first saw the dragonflies stamp set and framelits in the Occasions catalog, I didn't think that I needed them (Ha ha).  But after seeing so many pretty cards and projects, I decided to get them.

Last week I took out the framelits and made this interesting card.  I started with watercolor paper and colored streaks with the watercolor pencils.  Then I added some water with a paint brush and made the background look like watercolor.  Then I added the dragonfly cut-out.

I have to say that it's not my normal "style," but I just love how it turned out.  It was sort of like eating Lay's potato chips, I couldn't make just one!  Here are some more color options.  I found this idea from pattystamps.com.

This card isn't your style?  Try taking out the watercolor pencils and giving it a try anyway.  It was a lot of fun to make.  What color scheme can you come up with?  What other framelits or shapes would look good on this kind of background?

Avant Garden

Here is another card that I made using the Avant Garden set.  I don't usually pair Pacific Point color with Perfect Plum, but I like how these two colors go together in this card.  And what really makes the card is the shimmery silver paper that is used for the scalloped oval frame. 

I added some designer paper to coordinate and used the Petal Burst embossing folder for the background. I found this idea from stampnlinger.com. 

Do you like the shimmery paper?

Hey, Chick!

Another fun stamp set is "Hey, Chick" that features some funny looking chickens strutting their stuff!  Here is a card sample that I made using one of the chickens.  I stamped the arm twice, cut it out and then raised it using a couple of glue dot so that the chicken looks like he's holding the sign.

They are both the same card, only using two different sides of the designer paper, giving them each a very different look.

Which one do you like better? 

The Sheltering Tree




I've always liked images with trees or paths in them.  The other day I took a stamp set that I've had for quite a while and have just never used, The Sheltering Tree.  I made this card using mint macaron color for the leaves.  I just love how it came out.  I ended up making several of these cards, but quickly gave them away before taking a photo of them.  You can't see from the photo, but the green leaves have some Wink of Stella on them to give them a glitterly sheen.

I got the idea from the a card that I've seen on Pinterest by Lisa Pretto.  I changed the colors to reflect more of a spring-time look.  It's like a tree that is still bare from winter but hoping for the green leaves of spring to come quickly!

Next I made this thank you card using the same color, mint macaron.  It's definitely one of my favorite colors.  This card has more of an elegant look to it.  I like the stitched shapes framelits used on this card for the square cut-outs.  The edges of the squares look like they have stitching on them.  They don't really, it's just how they come out of the Big Shot.  It reminds me of sewing.  :)

The image is from the Avant Garden set that was featured in the Sale-a-bration catalog.  I also like the cut out leaves as accent pieces.  I found the idea on the Chase and Main page.

Here are the two cards.  Which one do you like best?

How to Make a Vision Board


 This past January I had the idea of making some Vision Boards to help keep me on track of my goals for 2017.  I invited some friends over for a Vision Board night and we had so much fun encouraging each other and working on our boards.

I had so much to "say" in the form of magazine photos and words that I ended up making two Vision Boards to include everything!  One is for mostly for my home and family life and the other reflects my creative and crafty side.  :)

To keep them from getting ruined, I bought some frames at Michaels to hang them on the wall in my craft room and keep me inspired.

To plan my Vision Board Night, I bought a foam poster board for each person and some glue sticks.  Then I cleared off several tables for us to work on.  Everyone brought magazines to share that we used for cutting photos and words from.  I also had some scrapbook papers for the background.

Here we are pouring over magazine photos and ripping out pages.  We shared our goals with each other so we could help one other find the pictures of what we liked.  It was fun because we would find cute ads and then ask each other things like, "Who wants to be thin in 30 days?" 

 Once we gathered enough photos from the magazines, we placed them onto the boards and started gluing them down.

Everyone finished their board in a little over 2 hours.   They were so much fun to work on together and to share our goals with one another.

Some of the girls had more photos and some, like my friend Julie, had more words.  It just depended on what people were looking for.  There aren't really any rules.  And if you don't have any goals, it's still fun to cut out photos of things that you like from the magazine, sort of like an "All About Me" page.





Each person's board was so creative.  And so much like them.  At the end of the night, we were all proud of our work! 

Would you like to make a Vision Board?  They are really very easy.  And you could even invite some friends over to work on it with you.  It doesn't have to be January for you to set goals.  :)



 And guess what, I've found that I have actually been accomplishing some of my goals for this year already!

Let me know if you make one and how it comes out.