Black and White with a splash of Red!

Good Morning Crafty Friends!  Recently I went to a friend's SU card class, and she had a card layout design similar to this (I think she saw the idea on Pinterest, so I have no idea who to give credit to for the original layout design), and I immediately knew I wanted to try the same idea in black and white with a splash of red using my new Flower Shop set.  I also have been anxious to try using my new Expressions thinlits dies.  They might seem intimidating to use at first, but there are several tricks I've tried that make them pop out easily.  First, put wax paper between your die and the paper you're trying to cut, secondly, use a little card stock shim on top of your top cutting pad to make the sandwich a little tighter.  Thirdly, after you've cranked it through, roll it backwards back through the machine a second (or even third) time to make sure it has cut through well.  When you pull it out, you should see a little corner or two popping out -- get a grip on it and gently pull it out of the die -- or use a paper piercing tool to poke gently through the little holes on the back of the die to help your expression to pop out.  You can also put the multipurpous adhesive sheets on the back of your paper before cutting your work, so you can easily "peel and stick" your word.  A xyron sticker maker also works great.  Anyways, I can see myself using these a lot.  AND I love that the "love" word can be used for other stuff than just Valentines or anniversary -- would make a great title "love you" for a scrap book layout -- and the "thankful" word will be a great title "thankful for you" for a fall themed layout as well as thanksgiving cards or whatever.  Ok, on with the card...

I also broke out my finishing touches edgelits to edge the red cardstock.  I LOVE how easy these are to use now with the magnetic platform!  I'll admit, the edgelits used to make me so frustrated that they mostly just stayed on my shelf.  Now, I just pull out my magnetic platform and my paper doesn't slide anywhere when I go to cut.  SO AWESOME!!!!

Other products used on this card, are the Flower Shop stamp set and matching pansy punch, labels framelits, fancy fan embossing folder, basic pearls, Itty Bitty shapes punch pack, Polka Dots DSP pack, Real Red, Basic Black, and Whisper White card stock.

Happy Sunday to each of you!

Fabulous... is what you are!

In September, I am hosting my first ever "scrap-a-stack".  At this event, the guests will each make (5) 2-page, 12x12 layouts for the $25 class fee.  Whoo Hooo!  Come to this event and get some serious scrappin' done -- and if you're a "superstar die hard", you can make the bonus layout for $3 more -- and go home with 12 pages complete.

Part of my goal for this event, is to use up a bunch of retired DSP I have accumulated over the years, so most of the papers I will be incorporating will be retired, but lovely none-the-less. 

Here is the first one -- using retired "Everyday Enchantment" DSP and Bashful Blue/Poppy Parade accents.  This layout is a complete Case of one I saw on Pinterest -- courtesy of Kay Kalthoff.  Isn't it just lovely?!  I always loved this paper anyways, so that is a great start.  I will have some less "flowery/girly" kits for this one if it's too feminine for your tastes. :)  The title here, "Fabulous is what you are" is part of a stamp set called "A Million and One thanks".  This wouldn't suit every photo set, but it sure is perfect for my little Sabina who loves to look "fabulous". :)

If you haven't seen it, there is a great special from now through the end of September -- 15% off the butterfly punch and the matching stamp set -- Papillon Potpourri.  Click on my website below to learn more.
Happy Saturday to each of you!

World Map's first inking!

I recently purchased the new World Map background stamp, and finally had a few minutes to play.  I want to showcase this stamp as a great stamp for using on masculine cards.  So, here is my creation -- another card we are making at my next stampers club.

I simply stamped the stamp in black Stayzon ink on my Whisper White panel, colored in the edges of the water with Marina Mist ink using my ink pad and blender pen, and then Pear Pizzaz ink for the edges of the continents.  After assembling my card, I used Crystal Effects to outline all of the water, making a raised, textured "watery looking" border for all the water.  Quite a simple card, but I like it.  For the accent on the lower right, I used my Word Window punch to punch out a couple strips and folded them over the edge of the front panel, and added some of the new Neutrals candy dots to the tips.  Like? :)

Ok!  that's it for today.  Off to roast at the Fair in just a bit, once the little muffin wakes up from her nap. :)  I hope each of you are enjoying your Saturdays too!

Brayered Sky meets Serene Silhouettes

So, I've been wanting to try my hand at the "brayered sky" technique as I want to teach at my next class.  There is an absolute genius "brayerer" by the name of Michelle Zindorff who makes THE most amazing projects layering color with a brayer, so I checked out several projects on her blog and tried my hand at it.  I would recommend you visit her blog to "see how it's done" as she is indeed the master of this technique. My first couple of attempts weren't great -- definitely a technique that takes practice and patience, but keep at it, because the end result once you "get it" is amazing.  Don't you think?

I started with a Whisper White strip of cardstock -- 2 1/4 x 4 1/4" -- and brayered Crushed Curry ink onto the bottom half of the strip.  Next, I punched out a 1"circle from a sticky note and positioned that over my inked area where I wanted the setting sun to be.  Next I brayered Pumpkin Pie ink onto the top half of the strip until I was happy with the intensity of it.  Some tips and tricks -- work from the outer ends of the strip in toward the center, or you will have sharp contrast lines.  I then used my tag framelit from the Chalk Talk framelits and cut the strip to the dimensions I wanted -- making it longer than the actual framelit allows by placing my top cutting plate at different positions to "extend" my tag length.  After cutting it, I stamped the tree from Serene Silhouettes stamp set in Black Stayzon ink.  Finally, I sponged Old Olive ink on the bottom edge and Cajun Craze ink around the top edges.  I have to say, I love how it turned out.  I'm doing masculine cards for my next Stampers Club theme, and they are always a challenge to me.  The flowery, feminine cards are much more in my element.  Leave me a comment telling me what you think!

Happy Saturday to you and yours!

Sand, Sun, and Water

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!  I don't have to work today after all.  So,.... Whooo Hoooo!  I'll post to my neglected blog instead! :)

I recently got the new Eastern Elegance Designer Paper.  As is often the case, it is much prettier and more vibrant in real life than it looks in the catalog.  I LOVE this paper, I've decided, and it works perfectly for my scrappers' club this month, as the theme is beach days.  PERFECT paper for this theme!  Let's see if you agree. :)

I used the SU shaker frames to make this adorable little sand and sea shells shaker frame.  First, I punched a 1 3/8" circle out of Whisper White card stock -- then stamped the coral (from a new-to-me stamp set -- By the Tide) in Crisp Cantelope ink on it.  Next, I gently removed the adhesive liner of second largest sized shaker frame only.  Then put my stamped circle face down onto the exposed adhesive ring, stuck it on there good, then gently removed the shaker frame from it's closely packed comrades.  I now had the frame into which I put a tiny bit of sand a tiny shells, being careful not to get sand on the exposed sticky part of the frame.  I then cut a circle out of window sheets, using my Circles #2 die -- the second largest circle.  I created the top by using my 1 3/8", 1 3/4" circle punches and my 2 3/8" scallop circle punch -- adhering those together, and then sticking the window sheet circle to the back.  I then put the complete top onto my sticky frame -- completing the sand/shells shaker frame.  So fun, and once you get the hang of how to make them successful, really quite easy with our shaker frames. 

For the "sand" word, I die cut the letters out of sand paper to add even more texture.  I popped them up on dimensionals to help them stand out even more.

For the "ocean strip" right above the sand frame, I started with a 2 x 3 1/2" strip of scrap card stock.  I next tore 1/2" strips of Soft sky, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, and Baked Brown Sugar card stock -- and layered those torn pieces on top of each other to create "ocean waves on a beach" type of look.  So easy, but a dramatic result.

The inspiration for this layout, came from a layout I saw on Pinterest. I changed it a bit, but the idea came from there. 

Hope all of you have a fantastic day!  The new SU holiday catalog is here.  Yeah! Yeah!  I've been enjoying the new Festive Flurry framelits and matching stamp set as well as too many (gasp!) other treasures from it, too.  If you haven't gotten a copy of it, be sure to contact me and I'll get one to you ASAP.

Happy scrapping and stamping!

Pennant Parade Christmas!

Happy Saturday morning to you!  Before I head off to the market to see what's new, I'll share another little Christmas card from my "Christmas in July" stampers club.  For this card, I was showing them how to make a 3-D little Christmas tree, that folds flat to mail.

The colors used here are Midnight Muse, Soft Sky -- a returning color from the past, Gumball Green and Whisper White.  For the little trees, I simply stamped the banner images and punched them out with the Pennant builder punch, and for the 3-D tree, I stamped three trees in Gumball Green ink on the same cardstock, and punched them out, folded them in half, and glued the halves together -- putting the "seam" towards the back when I adhered it to the card.  So simple, but looks so super cute!  For the snowflakes on the Midnight Muse, I used the Illuminate ink pad -- it is like a shimmery Versamark.  Love how it looks glimmery in real life.  These snow flake images are from the Snowflake Soiree stamp set from last year's Holiday mini.  Even though this set is not featured in the catalog, it is still available to order.  I was so happy as I LOVE this snowflake set.  One of the prettiest ones we've ever had.

For the "snow", I took a strip of Whisper White card stock -- 2 1/4" by 5 1/4"-- and tore it in half lengthwise in a bumpy pattern, adhered my strips to the base, and then added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the torn edges with my two way glue pen.  Gives such a lovely look of snow, with so little effort!

Ok!  I'm off to the market now, with my kiddos in tow, as Jon is working today.  Should be fun. :)  Kettle corn here we come!

If you haven't seen it yet, the special this month is free DSP -- Buy three packs of DSP and get the fourth FREE!  Whoo Hoo!!!

Mad for Mosaics

The new Mosaic Madness stamp set and matching punch and embossing folder, is designed for a bit of a modern look, I think, but I've been enjoying some non-traditional uses for it, too.  I've been envisioning a poinsettia with this punch and stamp set, and finally had some time to play with it earlier this week.  The hostess for one of my club classes this month, wanted to do a "Christmas in July" theme for the projects, so I had a good excuse to try the poinsettia hanging out in my mind's eye!:)

The colors I chose, are Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, and Sahara Sand.  Also used some of the Champagne shimmer paper for the center of the flower and the border along the bottom -- just punches with the mosaic punch lined up under the designer paper strip.

Here's another flower card using a new In Color that I LOVE -- Coastal Cabana -- and I paired it with Island Indigo and accents of Pumpkin Pie DSP from the Quatrefancy DSP pack.  Check out that cute little candy dot used to accent the flower.  They are a new product that comes in all of our core colors -- here I used a Tempting Turquoise one which matched my color scheme quite well.

And NOW for a more traditional use of this stamp set and punch -- we made this card at my recent New Catalog Open House.  It uses the exact same colors and products as the above card, but what a different look!

Ok!  that's it for today!  Must get something done around here besides being on my computer. My kids are both sleeping in, as we stayed out till almost 1 last night watching fire works and such.  We had a grand time, but little Bina was pooped.  She kept asking if she could "take a nap" at around 10 pm.  What a little pumpkin!  Love her to pieces, I do!  And my little/big 8 year old was having the time of his life playing with sparklers and overseeing his Daddy's fireworks display plans!  Love my kiddos.  They're great -- most of the time! :)

If you haven't heard, there is a July special:  buy three packs of DSP and get the fourth FREE!  Gotta love free!