Thank U

I offered a stamp-a-stack class this month featuring all "thank you" cards. I can't remember where I stumbled upon this color combination, but I just love how it turned out! Since most of my cards tend to lean toward the girly end of the spectrum, I wanted to come up with something a little less gender-specific. I think this would be especially useful for teens/pre-teens. What do you think?

Stamps: Taffy Alphabet, Happy Heart Day

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, My Way punch, tool kit, stampin' dimensionals

Quick & Easy

My awesome upline Sherrie has monthly meetings so we can learn new techniques, share business ideas, and of course stamp! So this month's meeting was a shoebox swap. If you're not familiar with this concept, here's the short version. You design a card, pre-cut all the supplies, bring all the tools, inks, etc., and then you stamp everyone's cards! It's a great way to get some new samples - I especially like when I get samples made with stamp sets that I don't own. This month's shoebox swap had a requirement: design a card that's quick and easy (no more than 10 minutes to make). I'm always struggling with masculine cards, so this is what I designed. It's not terribly manly, but I made a point of not using any ribbon or glitter or anything else that would be considered girly.

For some reason, I always have trouble getting a good picture of Soft Sky. Even when I use my OTT lamp, it never has quite the same *punch* as it does IRL. Oh well...

Stamps: One of a Kind
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Accessories: star punch, 3/4" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, Afternoon Tea DSP, silver brad

Faux Silk Club Project

I didn't want to ruin the surprise for either of my stamp clubs, so I'm finally posting the card we made this month. The technique was faux silk and this was the card:

I don't think the picture does the card much justice because the texture is really fabulous IRL. I like doing simple techniques like this every once in a while because it's nice to have an easy technique up your sleeve so you can whip up some quick, but sure to wow, cards. And with faux silk, you don't need any special tools or supplies. Most everyone has at least one glue stick in their house (and if you have kids, you may have 50!) and some tissue paper. Got those two things? Then you're ready to go!

For this card, just stamp the image with Basic Black on tissue paper. If your tissue paper has a slick side and a soft side, I like to use the slick side because sometimes the ink will bleed when stamped on the softer side. Then color in the leaves with a Mellow Moss marker. Take the tissue and crumple it in your hand and then smooth out. Don't smooth it too much though - you want the wrinkles for your texture. Next apply a generous layer with a glue stick on Whisper White cardstock and then press the tissue paper on. Again, don't smooth it too much - I like to gently press it down rather than run my hand over the tissue paper. Then, just trim the tissue and that's it! The rest of the card is pretty straight forward - just some simple layering and you're done. Easy peasy :)

Stamps: Embrace Life, A Little Birdie Told Me

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Mellow Moss

Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, tissue paper

Square card experiment

I wanted to experiment with some alternate size cards since probably 95% of the cards I make are the standard size. This card came out of some experimentation with the largest flower from the fabulous textured Die Cut Blooms in the Occasions mini catalog. I'm not sure why the color is off on this picture - it's actually quite bright and cheery!It measures 5" x 5" and features the So Much stamp set Stampin' Up! gave me for free as part of a demonstrator incentive last fall. It's definitely a set that is outside of my comfort level so it's been a bit of a challenge for me. Using my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig, I created the flower center by stamping once and then rotating the image. The result reminds me of things I used to make as a kid playing with Spirograph. Am I dating myself with that reference? Do they even still *have* those these days?!


Anyway, I hope you enjoy my venture into the alternate size card realm!


Stamps: So Much
Cardstock: Real Red, Apricot Appeal
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Die Cut Blooms, ribbon slide, red gingham ribbon, Fall Flowers DSP, stampin' dimensionals, coluzzle, stamp-a-ma-jig

Challenge to the Rescue!

Everytime I've sat down to work on a stamp project this week, it seems my inspiration just wasn't there. So when that happens, I look for a Splitcoaststampers challenge and that seems to do the trick. This is my take on the SC168 challenge using the adorable Cutie Pie and Designer Prints DSP. And once again, I turned to the Absolutely Fabulous stamp set! The focal image is created using Ginormous Flowers and punched with the 5-petal flower punch. To get the two colors, I inked up the stamp with So Saffron and then rolled the edges in Rose Red - a fun technique called rock & roll. Then I punched out 2 more flowers in coordinating colors and just rotated them to get a fuller flower. Enjoy!

Stamps: Ginormous Flowers, Absolutely Fabulous
Cardstock: So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink: Rose Red, So Saffron
Accessories: white taffeta ribbon, 5-petal flower punch, Ice rhinestone brad, Cutie Pie DSP, Designer Series DSP