Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Sky is the Limit!

Sale-a-bration is in full swing, and one of my favorite limited time sets, is "The Sky is the Limit" -- it's that cute little set with the plane in it.  (In case you hadn't noticed, the SAB products from pages 16-19 are only available until Feb 15th -- this coming Monday, so if you have to have that little plane set, hop online and grab it before it's gone!)  There are three NEW Sale-a-bration products that will be available from Feb 16th - Mar 31st, so stayed tuned for more on that!

This is a simple card we did for our last club showcasing the World Traveler embossing folder and "The Sky is the Limit" stamp set.  We embossed the Marina Mist panel with the world traveler embossing folder, and then used a brayer to add Marina Mist ink to the panel -- ink only sticking where the embossed map images were -- brayered embossing technique.

I cut the plane propeller from vellum, using a die from the Flower Fair framelit dies.  I added a little silver brad to the center, and used that to attach it to the image.  Simple, really, but adds a lot to the card.  I also made this card into a Valentines Day card by adding the sentiment, "You send me soaring" and tiny little Cherry Cobbler hearts (using the owl punch) floating up into the sky.  Fun and easy!

Ok! That's it for today!  Happy almost Valentines Day!



Gorgeous Botanical Blooms!

I wasn't sure I was feeling the love for the  Botanical Blooms bundle when I first saw it in the Occasions catalog, but once I've started playing with this set, I've totally changed my mind.  First of all, for the price of $51.75, you get a pack of designer series paper, the Botanicals stamp set, and a large set of dies.  I was surprised when I saw this set in person, how many dies are included.  Made the price feel more justified.  Just sayin'!

The dimension of these flowers, is amazing.  The little petals are cut, so that you can curl up part of the petal while the other part is flat.  Unique.  I also love the leaf styles in this set.  The shapes are quite tropical -- and I can see that ferny leaf style working perfectly with a pine cone or Christmas ornament for a Christmas card.  By far, my favorite die in this set, is that little feathery flower stamen die that cuts that beautiful, delicate center for the flowers.  It is so pretty, and just makes me happy every time I look at it!  I also like the vine-like die that creates that cool edge on the right hand side.  Again, it's unique.  like nothing I've had before.  I recently posted a scrap layout here where I used this same die to create a scrap book border.

The sentiment on this card is from the Rose Wonder stamp set.  I like so many of the sentiments in this set, AND the fact that there is a stamp for the outside, as well as inside, of the card, made it a must have for me.

Card stock colors: Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Blackberry Bliss, Blushing Bride, and So Saffron.


 Have a beautiful Saturday, Everyone! and I hope you have a little time to play today!

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Bloomin' Love is so elegant!


Another favorite product from the Occasions catalog, is the Bloomin' Love bundle.  That beautiful intricate heart die cut, is so beautiful in real life!  And there are two little flower dies that coordinate with the stamps in the stamp set, so you can die cut the little flowers to layer onto the heart die cut.  Here is a card we made at my last Stampers club class, as well as a scrap layout for my club this month.  LOVE this die set!  Perfect for wedding, Valentines, or even a family photo layout as I did here!

For this first card, I used a Crumb Cake card base, and embossed it with the Happy Heart embossing folder.  A 1" strip of the Blushing Bride glimmer paper, and a strip of DSP from the Love Blossoms DSP stack, makes a simple, yet striking base for the delicate heart.  I die cut the heart out of Whisper White, and stamped the flowers in Blushing Bride ink and die cut them to layer on top.  I also used my favorite new Clear Wink of Stella brush to add some sparkle to the heart. This stuff brushes on easily, dries quickly, and leaves behind a lovely little sparkly trail! 



 This layout is what we are making at our scrap club class next Friday.  I wanted to show case the Bloomin' Love bundle, since it is a February class, but also show how it can be used in a non-Valentine's way.  I kind of like the way it turned out, other than the fact that I glued the 'u' down backwards.  Oh well!
These were family photos that my friend, Gretchen Knuffke, took of our family last November.  I really loved how they turned out, and wanted to use them for this layout.  The base pages are Cherry Cobbler, with a strip of Basic Black at the bottom.  I used the border die from the new Botanical Blooms bundle to die cut that lovely vine border.  You could use the flower dies in the botanical die set, to do a flower/vine border and create a totally different look.  A little strip of DSP from the Timeless Elegance DSP across the bottom, with some croquet trim adds that little touch of vintage.  The photo mats are Sahara Sand, which for my layout, went nicely with the barn wood in the photos. Simple layout, really.  The hearts are die cut from Very Vanilla card stock, and I used the curvy corner trio punch to punch the corners of the photos.  This punch is a must have in my opinion.  It adds that special little touch to so many projects -- and you get three punching options in one punch!




Ok! that's it for today!  Off to watch my kiddo's basketball game!  If you haven't yet, check out the fun Sale-a-bration freebies, and remember, the ones at the back of the flyer are only available till Feb 16th, so get them while you can!  My personal fave of the ones that will be going away, is "The Sky is the Limit" set on page 16 with that darling plane in it.  This set is great for masculine cards, graduation, birthday, scrap titles, etc.  Super fun, versatile set.  See it on page 16 in the Sale-a-bration flyer

Rose Wonder creations

Happy Saturday morning!  :)  It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

I've been playing a bit with the Rose Wonder bundle from the Occasions catalog.  I was intrigued by the uniqueness of these dies, because they are an outline of the image die, rather than a solid die as we have had before.  Kind of a fun twist!  Here are some creations I've made with this bundle:

This first one, I die cut out of Whisper White card stock, and then used a sponge dauber to add Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, and Mossy Meadow ink to the die cut to create the color variations.  I then glued it down to my Crumb Cake card base.  I was also playing around with the gold Wink of Stella brush and got a wee bit carried away and got gold ink where I didn't mean to, as you can see in the second picture.  This Wink of Stella stuff, comes in clear and gold and is featured in the new Occasions catalog.  Knowing how much I adore all that sparkles, it was on my first order!  You just brush it on where you want some sparkle, it dries quickly, and leaves a lovely little gold or glittery trail behind it.  LOVE!!!  I colored the insides of the little Lost Lagoon flower petals in as well.  Fun stuff!


For this next card, I wanted to try a mosaic type of look -- I die cut it in black, glued that outline down, then die cut the rose part out of the new Blushing Bride Glimmer paper and the leaves out of Mossy Meadow and Pear Pizzaz card stock, and glued all the pieces back into the black die cut.  I found the easiest way to do this, was to put a little bit of Mono Multi glue into each space, then pick up the coordinating rose 'puzzle piece' and set it into it's slot.  I was going to do this card for the last club, but it is a wee bit tedious, so I changed my mind about that idea. :)  I might have had mutiny on my hands.....


For this final card, I used the die cut to create a stencil.  I die cut the rose/leaf image out of heavy weight Whisper White card stock, popped out the pieces, then used scotch tape to tape the die cut back into the piece I cut it from.  I then laid the stencil over the front card stock piece, and used a sponge dauber to add Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow ink over the stencil. 





 I think it's fun how much variety you can create with this bundle!  I hope you'll give these a try yourself. :)