Wine and Dine in Fall Style!

These little tags are so easy to make, yet make an incredible statement!  To create the base for the tag, cut a strip of card stock -- 3 1/2 x 8 1//2" (Cajun Craze used here).  Score at one end at 2 1/4".  I put the bottom end in an embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot to create a bit of fun texture. I used the Houndstooth embossing folder on the first one, and a brand new folder -- Snow Burst -- from the new Holiday Mini catalog that goes live TODAY!  It is another gorgeous folder that is great for wintery stuff as well as anything else!  On the first tag, I inked the Sunflower background with Early Esspresso, More Mustard, and Cajun Craze markers, and then punched out a couple of leaves with my Blossom Petals punch.  The second tag also uses the Blossom Petals punch to create the big flower.  Finally, the French Foliage stamp set for the third tag -- with one leaf high lighted in dazzling Diamonds glitter -- applied using the 2-way glue pen.
To create the hole to go over the bottle top, center the 1 1/4" round punch in the center of the top flap of your tag and punch.  Now, punch another 1 1/4" hole in a scrap of chocolate chip or More Mustard.  Next, center your 1 3/4" round scallop punch OVER the hole punched in the scrap, and punch -- you should now have a scalloped circle with a hole in the middle.  Adhere this over the hole in the top of your tag.
Finish with coordinating ribbon -- here I used the retired 5/8" Old Olive grossgrain ribbon, and 5/8" Early Espresso Satin ribbon. 
To add pizzazz to the sentiments, use colored Sharpies to color the Basic pearls and Basic Rhinestones to match the project.
These are all tags we will make at my next class -- Stamping on Marble Tiles.  See my Events calendar for all the details and to RSVP.
Happy Fall!

Pink Dogwoods Build a Blossom

A few weeks ago, I posted some photos of dogwood blossoms I made with the new Blossom Petals punch.  I planned to try it making pink dogwood flowers, but just now finally got around to it.  We will be doing a version of this card at my April stamping class -- for a Mother's Day card.  For this card, I first stamped a 1 1/4" strip of Regal Rose card stock, with the Flourish stamp ( a FREE stamp you can get during Sale-a-bration!) with Regal Rose ink.  I then fed that strip into my petals punch and punched out the short/fat petal.  I then stacked two petals together, snipped the "tails" off (only about 1/8"), turned the stack around and took a "bite" out of the tips with the small round punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack.  After making the petal tips brown with my Early Espresso marker, and curling each petal with my bone folder, I spritzed all the petals with Champagne shimmer mist (add Champagne shimmer paint to rubbing alcohol, shake well, and spritz liberally for lots of sparkle!)  Here is a link to the previous post with more details. http://stampedwithflair.blogspot.com/2011/01/design-contest-dogwood-build-blossom.html

The colors used in this card are: Early Espresso, Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz, and Whisper White.

Happy stamping!

Design Contest -- Dogwood Build-a-blossom

Okay, folks!  Here is a card I am really proud of.  Generally speaking, I'm not very talented at "thinking out of the box" when it comes to card making -- i.e. I am no Jackie Topa! (You REALLY ought to visit her blog if you haven't already, as she is simply amazing!).  Anyways, I came up with this idea for dogwood flowers using the Blossom Petals Punch from the new Occasions mini.  My mom's favorite flower is the dogwood, so I was thinking of a Mother's Day card when I created this card.

First, I punched some of the short/fat petals out of shimmery white card stock.  Then I stacked the petals on top of each other and used the small round punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack to punch a bite out of the top of each petal.  I then used the Early Espresso marker to add brown to the tips of each petal.  I stamped the little flower center from Build a Blossom in Old Olive ink, and punched it out with another punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes punches.  The rest is fairly self explanatory.  I plan to enter this card in a SU contest -- please wish me luck!  I've never won before....

Without further ado!  Here is my creation!

 Here is a close up of the blossoms:

Supplies used:  Early Espresso, Pear Pizzaz, Whisper White, Shimmery White Card stock
Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive
Punches:  Scallop trim border and corner punches, two step bird, scallop oval, large oval, Blossoms Petals punch
Big Shot and square Lattice emb folder
Stamps: Build a Blossom, Baroque Motifs, Oval All

Brighten up the Month!

When I went to my stamp room to "play" today, I was longing for color and brightness and sparkle! -- and this is what I came up with!  This card features the Build a Blossom stamp set and matching punch as well as the Tulip Frame embossing folder and the new fabric brads from the new Occasions Mini.  I love all of these products.  The flower set and punch can create a lot of different looks.  After building the flower, I spritzed it liberally with shimmer mist (made from rubbing alcohol and champagne shimmer paint), so in real life, it is SOOO sparkly!

I curled the second layer of petals using my bone folder -- and stuck them all on with a square of sticky pages.

Here are a couple of other cards using this same stamp set and punch.

 Supplies: Build a Blossom stamp set and punch, tulip embossing folder, Baroque Motifs stamp set, Elements of Style stamp set.  Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz card stock.  Baja Breeze, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, and White Craft inks.
Basic Pearls
Fabric brads -- from new Occasions Mini
Shimmer spray

Amaryllis Christmas

Hello, hello!  I hope your Christmas was wonderful -- wherever you are!

This was my Christmas card this year.  This flower reminded me so much of an Amaryllis -- yes, I do know that an Amaryllis has six petals, but I just had to somehow make the process of punching enough petals for 40 cards a little less tedious, so I created my own 5-petal version!

This flower is made using the new "Build A Blossom" stamp set and matching punch from the upcoming Occasions mini catalogue.  As soon as I saw this set and punch, I knew I HAD to get it!  It is so elegant and reasonably easy to use.

A few tips for making this card -- first, make a strip of cherry Cobbler card stock about 2 1/4" wide -- stamp your petals, then punch your petals -- holding the punch upside down and feeding your strip in from the left hand side into the punch.  Next, use a bone folder to "curl" the petals.  Lay your petals out on some scratch paper, and spray them liberally with shimmer mist to give them a gorgeous sparkle.  To make the shimmer mist, put some rubbing alcohol into a little misting bottle -- using a dropper, add a couple dropper fulls of champagne shimmer paint -- shake well to distribute, then mist onto project.  Be sure to wash your dropper quickly in water so that the paint won't be stuck inside of it.

Supplies list:
Card stock:
Cherry Cobbler (8 1/2 x 5 1/2") + scraps for punching #119685
Very Vanilla (3 3/8 x 4 5/8") and (4 x 5 1/4" for inside panel) #101650
Old Olive (3 1/2 x 4 3/4") + scraps for punching leaves #100702

Ink:
Cherry Cobbler #119669
Old Olive #102277

Stamps:
Build a blossom #121923
Baroque Motifs #113490

Accessories:
Blossom petals extra large punch #121808
Big Shot plus petals-a-plenty (#116824) and square lattice (#119976) embossing folders
Old Olive Satin ribbon #117292
Basic pearls #119247
shimmer spray -- made with rubbing alcohol and champagne mist shimmer paint #116806

I hope this inspires you to make something beautiful with this stamp set and punch!