Stamping With Sharon

Stamp Club project #1

2012-02-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cards we made at stamp club in January. I really love the new Paper Doily Sizzlet for the Big Shot. Yes, getting all the little pieces out is a pain, but it's worth it. I love my stamp club ladies, so I didn't make them punch out all the pieces though :-)

We colored directly on the Fresh Vintage stamp using the Stampin' Write Markers. It's an easy way to get multiple colors on a single image. The other goodies that are on this card are Everyday Enchantment designer series paper and Ribbon & Brad Pack (both were FREE), Beautiful Wings Butterfly embosslit and Very Vanilla cardstock.

Fresh Vintage -- Get it FREE

2012-01-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

This card was made using Fresh Vintage, which is one of the free sets you can get during Sale-a-Bration.

The designer paper is another item you can get free during SAB. Colors on this are: Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade.

Color Challenge snow flakes

2011-11-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to post this. It was for a color challenge last week. The colors were Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist with bonus points for making it a Christmas/winter card. This makes yellow snow look mild.

I used the inlaid embossing technique where you glue your punched/die cut images to the larger piece and then run them all through the Big Shot with an embossing folder.

Sponged Glimmer Paper

2011-11-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

I loved the look of the faux mother-of-pearl card that I did, but wanted to make a simpler card with similar bling. So, the layout is the same, but the process is way easier.

I punched an ornament out of the silver glimmer paper and then sponged it with Not Quite Navy. It worked great and wasn't too messy. The only tip I have is to not keep dipping your sponge in your ink pad or the pad will get glitter bits in it. Instead of a die cut piece for the sentiment, I used the Decorative Label punch and sponged around the edges. The two lines across the bottom were made with my Simply Scored.

Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza

2011-11-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

Wow! Super savings just in time for the holidays. Click here to see a list of everything that's on sale. PLUS, today only, there are select items on sale for 20% off.

Call or email me with your order today. Or, shop online and identify me as your demonstrator. If you go to the online store, you'll notice that the sale prices don't show up until you put the item into your cart.

Mica Flakes Faux Mother of Pearl

2011-11-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

The mica flakes in the Holiday Mini catalog are so much fun. I saw Sharon Field's great idea for using them to create a faux mother of pearl look and had to try it.

Sharon has directions on her blog, so I won't repeat them here. The one thing I changed was to sponge my ornament with Not Quite Navy ink instead of Soft Suede.

I have to admit that this technique makes a mess. I had escaped mica flakes everywhere, including in the cat's fur. Since Stampin' Up! doesn't sell the silver cord any more and I didn't have any other ribbon that would work, I cut a sliver of Silver shimmer paper and made my own ornament hanger. It worked great.

I really like the clean look of this card. The layers of different textured Whisper White cardstock adds to the elegance of it.

Doily snowflake

2011-11-18T13:32:00.000-08:00

The white "snowflake" on this card was made using a cut out from a doily sheet in the Flirtatious specialty designer series paper. On one side the doilies are either Melon Mambo or Peach Parfait, but on the back they're white. So fun!

The red rosette was made by scoring a strip of designer paper on my Simply Scored. The silver layer was punched out. You can see a close-up in the next photo.


My son thought this needed even more bling and suggested a red rhinestone in the center of the silver. SU doesn't sell red rhinestones, but they're easy to make with a clear rhinestone and a red permanent marker.

This card was fun to make, but would probably get crushed in the mail. Definitely a hand-deliver kind of card.

Spice Cake ribbon

2011-11-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

I made this with a few odds and ends that were cluttering up my craft table. The card base was torn on the edge to remove the part that got dunked in an ink pad, the strip of dsp on the inside was left over from a previous stamp club project, and the Spice Cake fabric "ribbon" was from another failed experiment. I like the way the layered tag turned out. I forget that layers don't always have to be the same shape.

Sorry the photo quality isn't the greatest. My son is using the camera for a school project so this was taken with my phone.

Kraft Gift Box

2011-10-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

These little boxes from Stampin' Up!'s Holiday Mini catalog are so stinkin' cute and fun to decorate.

I used Holly Berry designer series paper to decorate the top and sides. Love the Real Red satin ribbon which adds a classy touch.


The wreath topper is an adaptation of my previous posts that were flowers. The sparkly snow flake is from the silver glimmer paper which I die cut with the Big Shot. These little boxes are 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 2 1/2" and are perfect for little gifts. They're even food safe! You get 4 boxes for $2.95. If I knew how to make fancy cupcakes, I'd punch a circle opening in the top and cover it with a window sheet so you could see my cupcake creation. Unfortunately, I'm frosting impaired.

Cuddles Saves the Day!

2011-10-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

Last week there was a loud crash as my cat, Cuddles, knocked a box off the guest room bed. I found Elements of Style and a couple other stamp sets mixed in with discontinued items. Seems like I must have gotten my piles of current and retired stamps confused. Yikes! So, Cuddles, this makes up for all the times you stole my stamping sponges, knocked projects into the recyling box, and walked across the drying Crystal Effects. It does not make up for the time you used a box of new items for your litter box, however.

So, on to the card. This was for SCS's color challenge of Rich Razzleberry, Island Indigo and Baja Breeze. I added Lucky Limeade for the leaves, 'cuz I felt lucky that I still have this stamp set.

Spice Cake Challenge Cards

2011-10-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

These are for a couple of challenges on SCS. Both cards use the beautiful Spice Cake designer series paper.

This card was for today's Clean and Simple sketch challenge. Instead of having my paper strips straight across, I varied their height. There's no way I could get them all straight across! The focal point is left over from stamp club projects last week. The Island Indigo layer was made with the Big Shot and Pennant die; the Suede layer is the Lace Ribbon Border punch that I crimped and then shaped into a circle.

This card is for last week's Free For All Friday challenge. The fold is called a Triangle Flap Fold and it's much easier than it looks. I finally used the fabric that coordinates with Spice Cake paper. I actually cut it on my table top paper trimmer, which worked perfectly.

This is how the card looks open.

Stocking Gift Card Holder

2011-10-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

This festive gift card holder was made using the Holiday Stocking Bigz die for the Big Shot.


The stocking is a double layer which was glued together around the sides and bottom, leaving the top Cherry Cobbler section unglued. The top designer series paper layer opens up to reveal the gift card. Who wouldn't love to receive a card like this, especially with a gift card in it.

Funky Fold Christmas Card

2011-10-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

I made this fun card for a swap and fortunately took a picture before I mailed it, since I haven't made another one yet. Unfortunately, I let my son take the pictures, and there a bit blurry. Anyway, I adapted this fold from Lynn Pratt. Instead of having the swing out part standing completely vertical, mine is at an angle as you can see from the picture below.

You can also see how the Christmas tree sticks out too. I used the Pennant Punch and Pennant Parade stamp set to make the tree. The "ornaments" are punched from red and silver glimmer paper.

Gently Falling do over

2011-10-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

I used some of the leftover precut cardstock from stamp club to make this card. Stamping the leaf veins on colored cardstock and then adding some sponging makes beautiful leaves. It's easy too!

Half Sheet Wonder meets Gently Falling

2011-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard of one-sheet wonders where you stamp an entire sheet and slice and dice to make a set of cards. This is a mini version using a half sheet of whisper white cardstock and Gently Falling. I was able to make four cards, but if I'd felt like thinking harder, I could have made more. Colors are Chocolate chip, Poppy Parade, More Mustard and Lucky Limeade. All of the sentiments were supposed to be from Sincere Salutations. I forgot my self-imposed rule and used Curly Cute on one of them.

This is a close up of the showing another way to use the new Simply Scored tool. It's great for adding details like this border and the one below. Cool, huh!?

Origami Cupcake Card

2011-09-27T07:26:00.000-07:00

I saw this great fold on Wendy's website and just had to try it. It's a very fun fold and not nearly as complicated as it looks. The new Simply Scored was the perfect tool for this job.

The only change that I made was to use a 12x12 piece of designer series paper instead of 11x11. I tweaked the measurements a bit to go along with my changes. The designer paper is from the Brights pack and the stamp set is Create a Cupcake. Doesn't the silver glimmer paper work perfectly as a cupcake paper?

Cello treats

2011-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Love these long skinny cello treat bags in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini catalog. I made these for my stamp club members. Did you know that there are way more orange candies in a bag of Reese's Pieces?

Stamp Club projects

2011-09-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

These are the projects we made at this month's stamp clubs.

One of my goals is to have a masculine card to make each month. This fit the bill perfectly. The bonus is that it doesn't require extra postage. Stamp set is Gently Falling for the leaf and the awesome hostess set, Happiest Birthday Wishes, for the text.

This is the first easel card that I've made. Yes, I'm a little behind the curve! Stamp set is Delicate Doilies and the colors are Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder and Lucky Limeade. Lots of bling on this baby!

When I saw the flower stamp in the catalog, I couldn't figure out why they'd call it "Triple Threat." As it turns out, it's really "Triple Treat," without the extra "h" that I saw. It's called Triple Treat because it matches up with three of our punches so you can easily punch out and layer it. Much fun. The light blue on this is Pool Party and the darker is Island Indigo. Designer Series Paper is from the Spice Cake pack in the holiday mini.

Perfectly Penned

2011-09-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of the new sentiment stamp sets that I had to have. It's versatile and a very different font than my other sets.

The words are highlighted inside a beautiful frame from the Textured Impressions embossing folder for the Big Shot. The designer paper is from the Mocha Morning pack. Many of the sheets, including this one, have a gold shimmer to them.

Easy Events Cupcake

2011-09-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

This is another card using Easy Events. The doily looking piece under the focal point is from one of the new Big Shot dies called Perfect Pennants. The new polka dot scalloped ribbon is really fun and it comes in all kinds of colors. Colors are Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Black and Confetti white and the designer paper is from the Eat Cake pack.

Easy Events

2011-08-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

The new set Easy Events covers all your basic card making situations. It's cute and allows you to color in images if you want.

At this point in my life, I rarely need baby cards, but this image would work for boy, girl, or TBD. The background paper on both of these cards is from the Eat Cake designer series package.

The new Lace Ribbon Border Punch (p. 211), adds an elegant touch to any creation, without adding weight. One of my challenges is to figure out how to make interesting cards without needing extra postage.

That's it for today. Now I'm back to making pickles. I'm using a natural fermentation type, so I don't have to boil water -- yay! If you care, I'm working from these two recipes with a little more seasoning thrown in

http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=pickles

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/dill-pickles-recipe/index.html

Cheers,

Sharon

My Pennants for Not Posting

2011-08-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the horrible pun after my long absence. It's been a BUSY BUSY summer with multiple swim and water polo teams. We traveled to California for water polo and Mexico for a swim meet. But, this weekend, I finally got a chance to play with my new stamps, so you'll see some posts for the next few days at least.

The stamp set for this card is Pennant Parade, which is a new one in the brand new Idea Book & Catalog. The pennants were punched out with a pennant punch. I love it when they make matching punches and stamp sets. The designer paper is Eat Cake.

Enjoy!

Fabulous Florets

2011-06-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

This was one of the cards that we made in stamp club last month. It uses one of my favorite mini sets, Fabulous Florets.

The flower is embossed with the new Tangerine Tango and Wild Wasabi embossing powders.

My cat would like to encourage all of you cat owners to buy a roll of Mini Glue dots, take it out of the box and leave on your stamping table. It seems that they're very fun to bat around and unroll all the way.

Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch

2011-06-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, when I said I wasn't going to post again, I was joking. However, life has gotten seriously busy so I'm finally posting projects that I made many weeks ago.

This card features the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch from the Summer Mini catalog. It's so much fun! When I come up for air and actually get to stamp again, I'll show you some other ways to use this versatile punch.

Scoring and Cutting diagram

2011-05-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, the response to yesterday's card was overwhelming! Maybe I should stop posting so I can end on a high note.

Here is a diagram of how I cut and folded the card. If it doesn't make sense, let me know.

If you know the name of this fold, please let me know. Thanks again for all your comments!

Science meets stamping

2011-05-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

This is another card using the watercoloring with re-inkers technique that I showed in the previous post. The cool thing is that this time the colors in the re-inker separated.

I used Daffodil Delight for the center of the flowers and Concord Crush for the rest of the petals. I love how the Concord separated into blue, pink and purple. For anyone who cares, that's called chromatography.

I found that Tangerine Tango separates a little bit too, but so far none of the others have. This summer, you and your kids can do experiments with the various re-inkers and see which ones separate. That way you get to stamp and your kids get to learn something. Win-win!

The flowers are done on Shimmery White cardstock. If you look at the close-up, you can kind of see the sparkle.

I'd been wanting to make this style of card for a while. Every one that I'd seen used a 12x4 piece, so I adapted it to fit on an 11 x 4.25" piece. The stamp set is Fabulous Florets again, with the sentiment from Curly Cute. The dsp is from the hostess pack.

EDIT:
I don't have a tutorial on this technique but the amazing Gretchen Barron does. Check out her blog at http://gretchenbarron.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/05/more-fabulous-flowers-with-fabulous-florets.html

I'll make a sketch of the cutting and folding for the card base and post that later today or tomorrow.

Cheers,
Sharon

Fabulous Florets

2011-05-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

LOVE this new stamp set from the Summer Mini catalog. Fabulous Florets lives up to its name.

For this card I used the new Melon Mambo embossing powder to stamp the outline image on Shimmery White cardstock and then watercolored it with Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight ink. The leaves are Wild Wasabi. The dry embossed flowers on the white are from the new Flower Garden embossing folder.

Cheers,
Sharon

THE OPEN SEA

2011-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Another new set from the Summer Mini catalog is called Open Sea. It's a wonderful masculine set and there's coordinating designer series paper to go along with it.

One of the other new products in the mini catalog is Baker's Twine, which is super soft and easy to work with. It's a steal at $2.95 for 25 yards, and comes in white, early espresso/white (shown here), and cherry cobbler/white.

SUNNY FUN

2011-05-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I posted. Chalk it up to Spring Break, camera issues and all around busy-ness. I've barely stamped in the last few weeks either, and I feel weak and shaky from ink-withdrawal.

The Occasions Mini is over, but we have a fabulous new Summer Mini catalog full of new stamps, punches and other goodies. This is one of the first (and only) cards I made with my new toys.


This fun new stamp set is called Sunny Fun. It has these frozen treats, flip-flops, cute kids playing in the water, and a couple fun sentiments. It's super cute.

Check back tomorrow for another card from the Summer Mini.

Three Amigas Challenge

2011-04-01T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Three Amigas are at it again.

Joanne's challenge was to make an Easter treat holder and tag. I actually made two, but didn't do the tag. The bunnies are made with various Stampin' Up! punches. The square holder is from the square scallop die and the "carrot" holder is the biggest scallop circle die. I didn't put treats in them because it's too close to bathing suit season and I have no will power.

My challenge was to make a quilt card. They're lots of fun and a great way to use scraps of designer paper. I discovered that my paper quilting is as lame as my fabric quilting. My fabric corners never meet, nor do my paper ones. Oh well. It was fun anyway, and I'll be doing more of these. I debated whether to add embellishments and/or a sentiment, but decided to let the quilt stand on its own.

Julie's challenge was: something old (a product that's been around for a while but that we haven't used recently), something new (something that we have but haven't used yet), with bonus points for something borrowed (an idea, sketch, etc) and something blue. I've had the Lovely Letters alphabet set for a couple years and my intent was to make monogram cards. My something new was the Vintage Flower Adornment. You can figure out the blue.

If you haven't visited the other Amiga's blogs, go do it right now. You won't be disappointed!

Cheers,
Sharon

Musical Flowers

2011-03-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

This elegant card was actually pretty quick to make.

The flower is from the Fun Flowers die in the Occasions Mini catalog. I sponged the edges of the petals with So Saffron and the centers with Pretty in Pink. An Antique Brad is the center of the flower. The music is from the Newsprint Designer Series Paper collection. The stamp is from Tiny Tags.

Clean and Simple Button Flowers

2011-03-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

These adorable flower shaped buttons are free during Sale-a-Bration with a $50 purchase. I saw a card where someone made them into flowers and had to copy the idea.

The card base is 4x4, so a little smaller than traditional cards. It's made with textured white cardstock, which is wonderful for clean and simple cards. The sentiment is from Trendy Trees. The stems are from Baby Blossoms. The "thread" on the buttons is actually super skinny strips of cardstock.

Botanical Gazette Ensemble

2011-03-17T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here's another set of cards made with the Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper. Since I don't have the coordinating stamp set, I had to stretch myself. This set of cards is made with two 6x6 pieces of the dsp, along with cardstock and embellishments.

This is the whole set, or should I say "flock" of cards.

In addition to the dsp, I punched a bird out of chocolate chip and ran his wing through the big shot using the Elegant Lines embossing folder. I sponged a little Very Vanilla ink on the wing and belly for some added dimension. The dsp and Crumb Cake layer were also embossed with that folder. No actual birds or their wings were punched in the making of this card :-)

I have to admit that I cheated on this one. The bird is cut out from the same designer series paper, so I guess I did use more than two 6x6 pieces.

The flower is from the Fun Flowers die in the Occasions Mini catalog. I sponged the centers of the flowers with Marina Mist and the edges with Crumb Cake.

Same bird punch as before. The sentiment is from Bring on the Cake. Crumb Cake seam binding that I ruffled by pulling on some of the center threads.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Stamp club Projects

2011-03-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

These were two of the cards we made at stamp club this month. As always, we had a blast, although the bug discussion was a little creepy.


This card was a quick and easy one using Baby Blossoms from the Occasions Mini and Curly Cute from the big catalog. I copied the idea from Julie. Colors are Rose Red, Baja Breeze and Artichoke.

This card uses the Sale-A-Bration set Sweet Summer. We stamped the image on Confetti white using Black StazOn and then colored with watercolor crayons. The card base is River Rock which we ran through the Big Shot using the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder.

There was one more project, but I have to wait and show that to you after it arrives in someone's mailbox.

Dollar Spot find

2011-03-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Target has these cute take-out boxes in the dollar spot section. I jumped all over this butterfly one, knowing it would be perfect for altering. It's so fun to find things that coordinate with Stampin' Up! images.


This is the box "before." That was the cleanest spot on my stamp table. Yikes!


This is the box "after." I added butterflies using the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot in Melon Mambo, Pacific Pointe, Daffodil Delight and Rich Razzleberry. The buttons are from the button and ribbon pack that you can get free during Sale-A-Bration, through the end of March. Notice the difference in the handle? I put in some Melon Mambo Pom Pom trim.

Newsprint Present

2011-03-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Yahoo, I have another masculine card. This was inspired by one of Julie's cards.

The "newspaper" wrapping on the present reminds me of all the times I've wrapped gifts in comic paper, minus the newsprint all over my hands. The stamp set is Bring on the Cake from the Occasions mini. Card base is Not Quite Navy. And, hey, I have ribbon on a masculine card. Ha!

Manly yes

2011-03-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

...but I like it too. Raise your hand if you remember that commercial. This is the last card I made with the 6x6 striped chocolate chip dsp piece. I kind of like it, if I do say so myself.

I punched a bunch of circles in chocolate chip, early espresso and crumb cake and stuck them on the striped piece. Originally I'd planned on running it though the dotted texture folder, but was afraid it would be too much. The greeting is from the Sale-a-Bration set So Happy for You.

Like I said yesterday, I can definitely see using this same concept with prettier colors.

Masculine Cards

2011-03-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

On of my biggest stamping challenges is making masculine cards. My preference is for flowers and pretty colors. I bought the Neutrals Stack of designer series paper with the intention of making masculine cards. This is what I did with a 3" x 6" piece of the striped Chocolate Chip paper.

This card uses the Engraved Greetings stamp set that you can get FREE during Sale-A-Bration. The stamp has some curly cue components to it, so I just colored the letters with my Chocolate Chip marker. The cardstock is Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake. The dsp started as a 3x3 piece that I cut an inch off of. I then cut the smaller piece in half and put it across the center of the card. If you were to lift up the center rectangle, you'd see that the striped strip doesn't go all the way across. How's that for being frugal with paper!

I'd had my eye on the So Many Thanks stamp for a while, so was excited when I could get it free during SAB. In spite of the row of hearts, it's masculine enough. This piece of dsp is 3x3.

It's so hard not to put on a little glitter, ribbon or bling. As far as I can figure out, hemp and brads are about the only embellishments that are manly enough. I didn't use either of those on these cards, but HAD to add texture with my Big Shot embossing folder and texture plates.

My plan was to do a week of masculine cards. This may stretch me to my creative limits!

I like these layouts so maybe I'll use them again and pretty them up. Stay tuned.

Fun Flowers -- Mojo Monday 179

2011-02-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is for the Mojo Monday card sketch. Yes, I know it's Friday, but that's the way my week has been.

A lot of the supplies on this card were FREE Sale-a-Bration items: The ribbon, buttons, designer paper, stamp and scallop sticker were all free...yahoo! The flower is from the Fun Flowers die in the current mini.

Watercolored Botanical Gazette

2011-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

I got the Botanical Gazette designer series paper and haven't really known what to do with it since I don't have the Nature Walk stamp set that coordinates with it. A girl's gotta have some limits, right? I was stumped. Fortunately, last week I got my New Color watercolor wonder crayons and had them on my desk and had the butterfly paper nearby and had an aha moment. I colored those boring brown butterflies with my crayons and this is what I came up with.

The designer series paper works really well with the crayons and blender pens. The color spreads beautifully. Now if I can just figure out what to do with the creepy bee paper from that pack.

Springtime Vintage Ensemble

2011-02-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

The Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper lives up to its name. It's got a lovely vintage feel and it's floral. What more can you ask for? For this set of cards, I used a 6" x 6" piece of dsp. Some of my customers did a product share where they each got a 6x6 piece of every dsp in the mini catalog and I wanted to put together a sample of what could be done with it. I made these a few weeks ago, so hopefully I remember all the details.


For this card, I cut the dsp into a 4" x 4" piece, which left me with a 4x2 piece and a 2 x 6 piece that I used later. The stamp set is Punch Bunch, a set you can get free. I used my markers directly on the stamp to get multiple colors on the same stamp.


I used the 4 x 2 piece of dsp on this card. The border on the right from the In Stitches wheel which I took off the wheel and cut apart each image. The sentiment is from So Happy For You, another SAB set.


The final card uses the 6x2 strip. I cut 1/2" off of the end and used it as an accent piece. The sentiment is from Bring on the Cake. Colors used on all cards are: Baja Breeze, Pear Pizazz, Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla.

You could use these layouts with any designer series paper and stamp sets. It's pretty quick and easy, once you figure out your basic approach. As I've been writing this, I'm inspired to make another set of cards with different layouts from a 6x6 piece. Cross your fingers that I have time to get that done.

Card Makeovers

2011-02-16T06:59:00.000-08:00

I made these two cards using leftovers from the projects I showed you yesterday. The cupcake card uses many of the supplies from the purse card. I just changed the card base and made cupcakes instead of purses. The shimmery cherries on the cupcakes are fun.

This masculine birthday card uses the Plane and Simple set from the mini catalog. The silver embossed piece is a piece of foil that I glued onto some cardstock and then ran through the Big Shot with Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I thought it added some interest to the card without the usual embellishments.

Cheers,
Sharon

February Stamp Club projects

2011-02-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

These are two of the projects we did at stamp club this month.
This first one uses the cupcake punch as the base of the purses. The flap is half of a 3/4" circle and the handle is a 3/4" circle with a smaller circle punched out of the center. This card was the inspiration for my card. I don't know if you can tell, but the red scallop layer is the splediferous red glimmer paper. This card cries out for lots of bling!

The second card is a fun little "present" card. I actually changed the card base from the Pretty in Pink that you see here, to Peach Parfait. I've had enough pink lately! There were a couple of other changes after this prototype because I didn't want my ladies to hate me. There were enough little pieces with the purses so I eliminated a couple of bits :-) You can see the card open and closed.

The final card was this one that I showed you last week. Check back with me tomorrow and you can see what I did with the left over pieces of cut cardstock.

Baby Blossoms

2011-02-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

I tried to resist purchasing the Baby Blossom's set from SU's Occasions Mini catalog, but I'm a sucker for anything floral and resistance was futile. This card was my first attempt at using it. In all honesty, it's going to take a little practice to line up the layers on the flowers since it's a 2-step stamping set, but since there are so many amazing samples on SCS and people's blogs, I can probably get it figured out.

Enjoy!

Future's So Bright...

2011-02-10T09:04:00.000-08:00

...I gotta wear shades. Remember that song? Okay, I don't know whether the future is bright or not, but this card certainly is. It started out to be for yesterday's SCS sketch challenge. Well, it looked awful and no matter how I arranged things, they got worse. So, I tossed the various pieces aside and came back later and this is what evolved. It's definitely not worth all the time I spent agonizing over it, but I don't hate it anymore.

The base and flower are Melon Mambo, lighter is Regal Rose. The adorable designer paper is from the Sweet Stitches pack in the mini. The flower is from the Fun Flowers die and the center of the flower is covered in Baja Breeze glass glitter, also from the mini. I found a great way of getting the glitter to stick. After punching out your shape, use the Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets on p. 39 of the mini and then dunk it in the glitter container. The stamp set is So Happy For You which is one of the sale-a-bration sets you can get free with a $50 purchase.

Three Amigas Virtual Playdate

2011-02-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Once again we had a Three Amigas virtual playdate. We each gave the others a challenge. This is what I came up with between driving my kids to and from various places (sometimes more than once since one of them left his swim bag at the pool), cooking and a little cleaning.

Joanne's challenge was to make a Valentine treat holder. I used the scallop envelope die for the Big Shot to make this holder. Love the glittery red heart made from the red glitter paper in the mini. It contains a cookie which our family refers to as The World's Best Cookies. The oatmeal texture of the cookies mirrors the bumpy texture of my thighs due to eating too many. You can thank me for not showing you a picture of my cellulite.

Julie's challenge was to make a Valentine card without using pink or red. My wonderful husband makes me a latte every morning, so this seemed very appropriate. The main image and sentiment is from Pun Fun and the colors are Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Crumb Cake.

My challenge was to make a card using only the neutrals color palette. I played with my new Bring on the Cake stamp set for this one. Adhering the little bitty candles was a bit of a challenge.anyone have any tips? When I asked my husband if this card was masculine enough, he said that cards are never masculine because guys don't give other guys cards. I really do love him a latte in spite of his attitude toward cards.

Click on my amigas' links and check out their creations.

Sweet Summer

2011-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

I WISH it was summer, but that's a long way off. This is the Sweet Summer stamp set that you can get FREE with a $50 purchase. It's a fun little outline set that can be colored in or left empty. This time I chose to color it. I started with just the oval with no mat underneath it, but it needed something more. So, after the whole thing was glued together, I punched 3 scallop ovals which I'd punched the center out of and finagled them around and underneath the white oval. Let me tell you, stamping friends, that's not for the faint of heart!

It all turned out in the end, but I really need to learn the lesson of laying the whole thing out before gluing anything down.

Using the Color Coach

2011-02-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

I finally broke down and bought Stampin' Up!'s new color coach. Why oh why did I wait so long? It has combinations that I would never have thought of and info about the dynamic duos (combinations that create monochromatic looks) that surprised me.

This combination is Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy and Sahara Sand. I think it works pretty well.

The main flower is from Build A Blossom and the "thanks" is the Sale-A-Bration set So Happy For You (free with $50 purchase). Check out the stamp on the right side. It's one of the rows of stitching from In Stitches stampin' around wheel. I unmounted the rubber and cut apart the rows of stitching. I put a thin row of Tombow Multi Adhesive on the back of the rubber and let it dry. Did you know that if you let it dry without sticking it onto anything, it becomes a temporary adhesive? Anyway, with the new clear blocks, it worked like a champ. For $8.95, it was a worthwhile experiment. The only problem is that the rubber is about 7" long and that didn't work with my blocks. So, I cut it down to 5.5" which is the length of most of my cards.

Cheers,
Sharon

Fun with Flowers

2011-02-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful block of time to play this afternoon while the guys were doing "guy stuff." This one uses all kinds of new toys from the Occasions Mini Catalog including the Fun Flowers die for the Big Shot, First Edition designer series paper, and Rose Red seam binding.

The old toys that I used were the self-adhesive pearls (love 'em!), Boho Blossom punch, and the Elegant Lines embossing folder. Colors are Rose Red, Basic Gray and Very Vanilla. I'd been wanting to try the ruffled ribbon technique that's super popular now. It was much easier than I anticipated. Use a strip of stick strip and then just keep folding your ribbon on it your ribbon on it. Some people use a needle and thread and gather the ribbon, so it's really a matter of personal preference.

Visit again soon. I have lots of projects to share.

Cheers,
Sharon

Stamp Club Projects and Makeovers

2011-01-31T15:28:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time at stamp club last week. Who needs therapy when you have stamping? I had a couple extra sets of supplies, so I tried to mix and match the cardstock to make different projects.

The first one is the one we made using the inlaid embossing technique. We fancied up the ribbon with the Valentine rub-ons in the mini catalog.

The makeover card uses the same card base and rub-ons, but the pink layer is from the Eat Chocolate card which I showed you a couple weeks ago. There's no stamping on this card. I like the clean and simple look of it.

This card uses the Build a Blossom stamp set and coordinating punch. The flower is in Razzleberry and edged in Marina Mist. Notice the colored rhinestone brad? Yep, I pulled out the Sharpie again.

The makeover card uses the same crumb cake layer, the whisper white and marina mist scallop oval. The stamp set is Hello Again, which you can get FREE as a Sale-a-Bration item. It's a cute set and is very easy to use. I stamped the middle flower again on scratch paper and cut it out and popped it up on a dimensional, but I'm not sure you can tell. I also cut out the butterfly and mounted it on the focal point. The espresso card base is also from the Eat Chocolate card. I like the big white brad, although I would have preferred that it was Marina Mist. Maybe I should have checked my Sharpie container. I'm pretty happy with this card, EXCEPT that I mounted it backward so it opens on the left. DOH!

Cheers,
Sharon

Three Amigas Virtual Playdate

2011-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

Two of my demonstrator friends and I are having trouble scheduling an in-person stamping playdate, so we're doing a virtual one instead. Each of us came up with a challenge and we have 24 hours to complete all three challenges. It's been a blast and really helped spark some creativity.

My first card is based on Joanne's challenge to make something sweet -- chocolate, cupcakes, birthday cake, etc. This is what I did.

The cone is made from the Scallop circle die and textured with Perfect Details texture plate. Ice cream is from the larger scallop circle punch. The cherry is the 1/2" circle punch and the stem is hand cut. Of course I used Cherry Cobbler for the cherry. This card is 3x6 and will easily fit in a #10 envelope.

The second card is for Julie's challenge to use Baja, Eggplant, Pear Pizazz, and Peach Parfait. I'd been wanting to use the paper piecing technique with Kimono Kids for a while and this was the perfect opportunity. This card is dedicated to the other two Amigas: Julie and Joanne.

I LOVE the sentiment. It totally cracks me up because I think everyone has at least one of those relatives that is a little "out there". For some reason, scenes from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation are going through my head. This card took a long time because of all the cutting and coloring but seriously, how many people are you going to send it to?

My challenge was to use a "found object" to stamp with or use on the project.

I actually used two found objects. The vase is punched from a gum wrapper from "5" gum. The background is sponged through a net bag that last night's potatoes came in.

I glued the gum wrapper to Whisper White before punching it out with my Ornament Punch.
I've been hooked on these little roses lately. Aren't they fun? You just need a scallop circle punch, a regular circle punch and a bamboo skewer. There are lots of tutorials on the web for them. Please note, that isn't me on the video, just a helpful tutorial.

In case you're wondering, I made Pioneer Woman's Crash Potatoes last night. They were fabulous.

Eat More Chocolate

2011-01-19T11:14:00.000-08:00

My son saw this To Do list and said, "Mom, you did all of these," and got a pen and almost checked them all of for me. He's a true guy, thinking he's being helpful when he's really not. Oops, did I really type that? Anyway, here's the card without extra check marks.

Eat Chocolate

2011-01-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

I'm loving this new Occasions Mini set called Eat Chocolate.

Colors are Early Espresso and Pretty in Pink. And, yes, I did color the rhinestones again. I'm addicted, I tell ya! The embossed border is from the uber cool Framed Tulips Embossing folder.

Color Challenge card

2011-01-11T13:21:00.000-08:00

This is for SCS's color challenge 305 hosted by Joanne Travis. The colors to use were Melon Mambo, Cherry Cobbler and Pretty in Pink with bonus points for using buttons or pearls. Here's my card.

You'd think I can't make a card without one of the embossing folders anymore. The crimped flower is made using this technique. Thanks to Dawn O for that awesome tutorial. The button is one of the clear Bitty Buttons that I colored with a Sharpie. No, I'm not becoming a Sharpie demonstrator :-)

Occasions Mini and Filled with Love special

2011-01-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yay, the Occasions Mini Catalog is now live. There are lots and lots and lots of great things in it. Check it out.

There's also a special that I haven't told you about. It's called the Filled With Love special. Check it out by clicking on the picture below.

I'll show you some cool things to do with the Bitty Buttons in the next couple of days.

Should Have Had Iced Coffee

2010-12-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Ummm, what else can I say?

Colored Rhinestones and Pearls

2010-12-08T06:36:00.000-08:00

Some genius figured out that Stampin' Up!'s pearls and rhinestones could be colored with permanent markers. So, thanks to you, whoever you are. As a swim mom, I have a ton of Sharpies.

Check these out. The rhinestones are colored with a sharpie that looks a lot like More Mustard. The pearls are red.

Stamps: Bells & Boughs (of course...what else have I used lately?)
Designer Paper: Deck the Halls

Bells & Boughs

2010-12-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd posted this a while ago, but apparently not. I made this card using some bits and pieces I had left over.

The stamp set is Bells & Boughs. The designer paper is Deck the Halls.
Cheers,
Sharon

Gift Card Holders day 3

2010-11-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

This is the third and final type of gift card holder that we made at November stamp clubs. The design is an adaptation of one made by Glenda Travelstead demonstrated at Regionals.

Stamp set is Tags Till Christmas, colors are Pacific Pointe, Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White. The two important things to remember if you make this card are: 2. Only put your adhesive on the red layer around the bottom and side edges if you want to slide a gift card in, and 2) Put the glitter on AFTER you stick the red on the blue.

Cheers,
Sharon

Color Challenge

2010-11-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's SCS color challenge was to use Perfect Plum, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizazz. The color combination was pretty close to one of the cards I posted yesterday and I had some leftover pieces from my stamp club last week, so voila. Artistic Etchings and the Vintage wallpaper embossing folder are perfect together.

The ribbon is actually Old Olive, rather than Pear Pizazz. I really wanted to use a Vintage Brad instead of the filigree one, but I can't find them. As much as I'd like to blame the mess in my craft room on the fact that there's extra stuff here due to painting other areas of the house, the reality is that my craft room is usually messy.

Gift Card Holders day 2

2010-11-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here's another type of gift card holder that's easy to make.

The cardstock is 8" x 3.5" and scored at 3.5" and 7". The finished size is 3.5" x 3.5". You simply punch a half circle out of the longer section and put adhesive up the sides. Decorate however you want to. Super duper easy, and you can get three out of a single piece of cardstock. If you're mass producing, do your scoring before you cut for increased efficiency. The gold and silver waffle paper makes a nice bow or knot, and makes it quite festive.

Same design with different stamps and the awesome Northern Flurry embossing folder instead of designer paper.

Cheers,
Sharon

Gift Card Holders day 1

2010-11-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

Over the next few days I'll post some ideas for gift card holders.

This first one is super easy. You can easily convert any card into a gift card holder by using the Small Open Ended envelopes (#107286, p. 171, $7.50 for 20) and cut them in half. I punched a half circle from the open end and then glued it to the inside of the card.

This next one uses the same idea. The stamp set is Welcome Christmas and the colors are Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso. That food combination sounds as good as the color combination looks. Do you think that was the intent when they chose the new color names? Notice the shadowed square behind the main image? It's not a traditional shadow stamp. I inked up a clear block and stamped that directly on the paper. That's right, just the block with no actual rubber on it. Too cool!

Here's the same layout with Ornate Blossom instead of Welcome Christmas. The first one uses Cajun Craze and More Mustard.

The final card is the same as the one above, but with Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum and Crumb Cake as the shadow.

Can you guess how I got the shape on the sides of the sentiment? Post your answer in the comments and I'll post the answer in a couple of days.
Cheers,
Sharon

2010-10-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

These are two of the swaps I received at Portland Regionals. Unfortunately, there was no name on the back of either, so I can't give credit. If it's yours, let me know!

You can kind of tell that the bird card is on shimmery white. The glitter on the snowflakes and the branches really makes this card sparkle.

I love the pearl accents on this card. The whole creation is so soft and feminine.

My Fabulous Inky Weekend

2010-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Guess where I went last weekend?

Nah...just kidding.. I was really here

I went to SU's Regional training in Portland, OR this weekend. One of the other groups at the Convention Center was the tattoo convention. It was an inky weekend in Portland no matter which group you were with.
Over the next few posts, I'll share some of the swaps I received, samples I made and techniques I learned. Imagine being with 400+ crazy stampers. It was a blast!

This is my final swap that I made.

The words are from Word Play, the designer paper is from the super fabulous Greenhouse Gala paper pack. The colors are chocolate chip, baja breeze, pumpkin pie and pear pizzazz.

Another Stamp Club project

2010-10-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

This was the third project we did at stamp club this month. Lots of punching with very little stamping. As in a previous project, the pumpkin was made with oval punches. Don't you love the cute bat punch?

Stamp Club Projects

2010-10-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

These are two of the projects we did at stamp club this month. The focus was on watercoloring, so we used markers on watercolor paper on the coffee card and re-inkers on confetti white paper on the leaf one. Both methods work pretty well, but watercolor paper is definitely the best for blending colors.

For both cards, we used black StazOn, which doesn't run (or wash out of anything!). The stamp set on the coffee card is Morning Cup, and in the second one is Curly Cute and Autumn Harvest.

Bells & Boughs

2010-10-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

One of the best sets in the Holiday Mini is Bells & Boughs. It's easy to watercolor and looks like you slaved over it. I made this card for a Wow swap with a few of my side-lines. I'm not sure it it qualifies as Wow, but it's the best I could do under the circumstances. Hope they like it.

Oh, and the combination of the Bells & Boughs stamp set and Deck the Halls designer paper is 20% off through the middle of December. Awesome!

Why I've Been MIA

2010-10-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted lately, but I have a really good reason. After many years in the public school system, we decided to pull our kids out and home school them. Actually, it's an online program (k12.com) so I don't have to come up with the curriculum and it's technically not "home schooling," but it still takes a lot of my time. I'm super excited and the kids are enjoying less stress and more free time. While we're trying to figure out our schedule and develop some routines, my stamping is taking a bit of a back seat. Stay tuned for more projects soon. If anyone reading this is balancing an SU business and home schooling, advice is greatly appreciated.

CLEARANCE RACK DEALS

2010-10-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, if you haven't visited Stampin' Up's Clearance Rack, you're missing out. There are some screamin' deals on discontinued items. Enter my name as your demonstrator to get preferred pricing.

Click here to shop now

2010-10-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

I made a set of these thank you notes for my guests who attended my recent Pampered Chef party. Thanks to all who came; it was fun!


Stamps: Day of Gratitude; Colors: Cherry Cobbler and White

Pumpkin Punch Art

2010-10-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins are super easy to make with oval or circle punches. I sponged around the edges of each component for some dimension. The stems are hand cut.

The leaf border is made from Autumn Days and the sentiment is from Grateful Greetings.

To order any of these items, email, call or click on the Shop Now button.

Owl Birthday card

2010-09-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

This card is for SCS's Clean and Simple challenge this week. This owl punch is really growing on me. Be forewarned, however, there may be some demented cards involving him.

For this card I used the hat and sentiment from Sock Monkey. Colors are Bashful Blue, Pacific Pointe, Pear Pizazz, Real Red and Basic Black.

Dancing Monkey and Birthday card

2010-09-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Some days are made for dancing From Millan.Net
This isn't necessarily one of them, but he's awfully cute. OK, so here's what I really meant to post until I got sidetracked with the dancing monkey. I guess he kind of goes with the sentiment on the card.

The fun thing about this card is the embossing folder that I sponged over with various colors: Marina Mist, Pretty in Pink and Artichoke. It was an SCS color challenge a few weeks ago. The idea for sponging came from my friend Debbie who did it with a different folder.

Enjoy the rest of your day and dance a little

Snow Flurries

2010-09-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

Sure, I know it's only the third day of Fall, but it's never to early to plan ahead. Check out these two Christmas cards I made with the Northern Flurries embossing folder.

Both have some great bling with the self-adhesive rhinestones. LOVE those things.

Possible Swap Cards

2010-09-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Stampin' Up! Regionals in Portland in a few weeks and these are a couple of my potential swap cards. Let me know which one you like best, or if neither one is swap worthy. In case you don't know what a swap is, it's when you make a bunch of the same card and then swap with others who have mass produced a card too. It's a great way to expand your samples. I often get inspired by the wonderful swaps I get from other demonstrators.

Both of these are made with Day of Gratitude.

Thanks for looking and commenting.

Mojo Monday Sketch 157

2010-09-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

I made this card for the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. I deviated from the sketch a little bit, but I don't think they'll shoot me for it.

I used Day of Gratitude from the Holiday Mini catalog. Colors are More Mustard, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze and Old Olive. I actually pulled out my color spritzer to add a bit of Olive to the sentiment circle. Gotta do that more often. It's fun!

The designer paper is Autumn Spice, also from the Holiday Mini.

I'm testing out including images from the SU website on my blog. What do you think? Does it help? Does it make you want to buy stuff from me? LOL

You can check out others' interpretations of the sketch here.

TTFN.

JUST BELIEVE -- EMBOSS RESIST

2010-09-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

How long has it been since you've embossed? It's been a while for me. The technique on this card is emboss resist. I sponged over the white embossed with Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Pretty in Pink. Card base is Regal Rose.

I also used the Elegant Lines embossing folder, Tiny Tags, a flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (say that 3 times fast!) and a butterfly I found on my floor. Time to vacuum?

STAMP CLUB PROJECTS

2010-09-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

These are two of the projects we made at stamp club last night.
This first one is a variation of the one I made using Cheers to You. This one uses Friends Never Fade. You can see it both closed and pulled out. I'm not sure if the recipient would know to pull on the flower, so it might be wise to write a note inside the card telling them to pick the flower. What do you think?

This card uses Day of Gratitude from the Mini catalog. I wanted to make something using non-Fall colors. These are Concord, Pacific Pointe and Pumpkin Pie. I dabbed the ink on the stamp with the sponge daubers.

Have a great day!

GETTIN' PUNCHY

2010-09-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA. School started last week and other stuff's been keeping me from my favorite hobby. Here are a couple of projects I've made recently.

This first one uses the adorable owl punch in the catalog. I didn't think I needed it until people started using it to make all kinds of stuff like tulips, cows, penguins, and a bunch of other things. I'll make some samples and show you. In the mean time, enjoy this little guy.

This card uses the ornament punch, the leaves from the bird punch and the Boho Blossoms punch. I totally stole this idea from Jackie Topa.

Enjoy!

CHEERS TO YOU

2010-08-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is a fun way to make a gift card holder or just add a little surprise element to a card.

The drinks stamp set is Cheers to You. The designer paper is Island Oasis from the summer mini. Get it now, because it's going away after August 31st.

Inspiration Challenge

2010-08-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Today's Inspiration Challenge on SCS caught my eye and I came up with the following cards.

The first card uses the medallion from Artistic Etchings. For the black and white base is I ran black cardstock though the Big Shot with Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then rubbed my white ink pad on the raised image. I'm still perfecting my technique for placing the self-adhesive pearls so my spacing is a bit off.

For the second card, I used Awash With Flowers. The colors are Riding Hood Red and Bashful Blue. You can't see very well from the picture, but I used the new Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink in Gold Lame (that's la-may, not lame!).

I've got time to myself for a while, so I'm going back to my stamping table.
Cheers,
Sharon

Elegant Lines Embossing Folder

2010-08-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

If you want something that'll help you make beautiful cards in a snap, you have to get the Elegant Lines embossing folder for the Big Shot. This is a b-day card I made for a friend. I hope she liked it.

The card base is Poppy Parade, the yellow is Daffodil Delight, the sentiment is from Word Play, and the bling is from the self-adhesive rhinestones.

Yes, Virginia, You Do Need Cherry Cobbler

2010-08-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

My phenomenally talented friend Joanne was asking whether or not she needed to order the new Cherry Cobbler color. My answer was a resounding, "Yes!" It's a beautiful, rich red. Here are a couple of cards I made with it.

The above card uses the Ornate Blossom stamp as the large focal point. The smaller one of the same shape is from Friends Never Fade. The sentiment is from Thank You Kindly. The other colors are River Rock and Basic Black. I love the self-adhesive pearl accents.

The card below uses Friends Never Fade again. The card base's beautiful texture is from the new Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. The ribbon is Vintage crochet trim.

As a side note, it's important to photograph on your deck railing only when the dog isn't in the back yard. A slight gust of wind can blow the card off the railing and the labrador retriever will succumb to its instinct and retrieve the card. Sigh....toothmarks = extra texture?

The Other Half

2010-08-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is the other half of the circle from yesterday's card.

Stamp set is Friends Never Fade. The card base is Chocolate Chip. Other colors are Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze and Pumpkin Pie. Don't you love the gorgeous new Antique brad at the top? They're beautiful. The designer paper is from the Greenhouse Gala pack.

More Morning Cup

2010-08-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

This card uses the Morning Cup stamp set. The Designer paper at the bottom is from the Greenhouse Gala pack. Colors are Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight. In addition to the little pearls on the red strip, there's one on the tea kettle lid. The layout is from Papercraft's Go To Sketches special publication.

Uncharted Territory

2010-08-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is a great masculine stamp set that's just made for watercoloring. The colors in the first one are Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red and Bashful Blue. The birthday greeting is from On Your Birthday.

The second one also uses Inspired by Nature for the grass. The blue layer was crumpled up and then flattened out. Then I used the mahogany ink from the Distressing Essentials kit to highlight the wrinkles (kind of opposite what I do for my face!).

Happy sailing,
Sharon

Just Believe

2010-07-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

More playing with my new stamps and ink colors. This is the same as Monday's color combination: Poppy and Daffodil.

The stamp set is Just Believe, and believe me, you'll see a lot more samples with this one. It's a beautiful and easy to use set. I colored directly on the stamp with my markers. The die cut butterflies add a bit of fun to the card.

Cheers,
Sharon

The Best Part of Waking Up...

2010-07-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

If you're old enough to remember the Folger's commercials, you know what they say is the best part of waking up. I live in Seattle, so of course, it's not Folgers in my cup 'cuz we're coffee snobs.

The Morning Cup stamp set was my first "must have" from the new catalog. I confess, I'm a coffee addict. My husband frequently reminds me that I emailed him asking if it was ok to spend an outrageous amount of money on a new espresso machine and then proceeded to order it before he responded. In my defense, I gave him several hours to respond. It wasn't my fault he was in China and it was the middle of the night there.

But, I digress. This colors on the card are Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake (I like the sound of those desserts together), and Baja Breeze. The little cup on the bottom right is there to cover up my wayward paper piercing. Maybe I shouldn't have had that extra cup of coffee after all.

Awash With Flowers color challenge

2010-07-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

This card is for SCS's color challenge to use Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz. I substituted Certainly Celery for Pear because they're really similar and nothing has convinced me that I have to buy Pear.

The stamp set is Awash With Flowers. It was fun watercoloring on Confetti White cardstock with my Aqua Painter. You can't tell from the scan, but the 3 circular thingies are self-adhesive rhinestones.
Cheers,
Sharon

FRIENDS NEVER FADE -- NEW COLORS

2010-07-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is one of the first cards I've made with my new goodies. The floral stamp set is Friends Never Fade and the words are from Word Play.

The yellow color is Daffodil Delight, a new standard color, and the red is Poppy Parade, a new In Color. Oh, and the green is Wild Wasabi, which is a former In Color and now a standard color. My friend, Lynne, loves to say "Wasabi!" so she was especially happy that this color reappeared.

Have a great day!

SWIM SEASON IS ALMOST OVER

2010-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy around here for the last couple months with the kids on 2 swim teams and other assorted summer activities. Last night was the first night in 2 months where there wasn't practice or a meet. Not complaining, just explaining why I haven't been posting. This phase of our lives will be over before we know it and it really is a lot of fun. Anyway, all my new stamps are waiting patiently to get inked up for the first time.

Since I haven't shared my own work, I'll share some SU creations.

I'll be back soon, I promise.

THE NEW CATALOG IS HERE

2010-07-01T11:06:00.000-07:00

YAY! It's finally here! You can start ordering from this fantabulous new catalog on July 5th. There are so many wonderful new stamp sets and papers. Get ready to drool!

2010-2011 Catalog:

Click the catalog to download in .pdf format!

Click here to download the 2010-2011 Catalog Supplies

Farewell True Friend

2010-06-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite sets that's retiring on June 30th is True Friend. I like that it can be feminine or masculine. See what I mean?

The bottom card also uses the Woodgrain background stamp. Fortunately that one isn't retiring because I've barely touched mine. I also used the smooch spray in Log Cabin on it.

If you like this set, order it soon. Call or email me and I can place your order, or go online and order it. Designate me as your demonstrator to get the "preferred pricing,"

Tootles,
Sharon

Tropical Moonrise

2010-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this is a sunset or moonrise, but either way, I'd rather be there than sitting here in the cold and rain -- gotta love June in Seattle.

This card was inspired by Regina's card. As she pointed out, one of the bonuses of the clear mounted stamps is that you can bend them a little bit. Notice how the palm tree is bent to the left? I'm so pumped about that idea and will play with my other stamps and see what I can do. This card uses Tropical Party from the summer mini catalog. Colors are Basic Gray, Razzleberry, Crumb Cake (currently known as kraft, but getting a new identity in July -- something about a witness protection program, I think), Bashful Blue, Pacific Pointe, and Not Quite Navy.

Cheers,
Sharon

Retiring Stamp sets and Accesories

2010-06-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Gang,
Stampin' Up! has announced which stamp sets and accessories will be discontinued at the end of this catalog year. So, click on the images below, and order what you NEED. The accessories are only available while supplies last.

Mostly Vintage Stencil

2010-05-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

OK, don't fall out of your chair in surprise that I'm posting again. I'm procrastinating on some chores (shhh, don't tell my kids that or they'll know I'm the biggest hypocrite in the world). One chore I've been putting off is cleaning my stamp room, thus, the same colors on this project that I used yesterday and a few days ago. I only had one clean sponge and still had the Sahara Sand one that I'd used yesterday.

This card features the Mostly Vintage stencils in the summer mini. I thought they were supposed to layer over each other, but now I think they just intended them to be a positive and negative image. It would have been cool if they layered better though. Hey, SU, are you listening?

Colors are Sahara Sand and Soft Suede, which I keep calling Sable and you've all been kind enough to let me get away with it. Thanks! The "thank you" is the Elegant Thank You stamp.

That's it for now. Have a fabulous day.

Sketch Challenge

2010-05-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, two posts in one day. Don't expect that too often! Anyway, this card is for today's sketch challenge on Splitcoast Stampers.

I used the Elements of Style stamp set. Colors are Suede, Razzleberry and Sahara Sand. I colored the flowers with a fancy-shmancy tool called a q-tip :-) I wanted the color to be subtle, so I rubbed the q-tip on the lid of the ink pads to pick up the color. Worked like a charm.

Wish I Was There

2010-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Can you guess where I'd rather be? The new Tropical Party set in the summer mini is perfect for summer scrapbook pages, party invitations, or assorted cards.

For both of these cards I used shimmery white paper and the watercolor wash technique. For the left card, I rubbed a damp sponge in the lid of my inkpad and then rubbed the ink on the cardstock. For the right one, I used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and scribbled on an old plastic lid and then picked up the color with damp sponges.

Well, if I can't be on a tropical beach somewhere, I can at least imagine that I am.

Aloha!

Summer Mini Catalog Rocks!

2010-05-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

I love this stamp set. Don't you think that if women were in charge, the world would be much better off? There wouldn't be any wars, just talking about each other behind their backs :-) All international negotiations would involve chocolate and shopping.

But, I digress. Can you digress before you even begin? I don't know. Anyhoo....I made this card for a swap I'm in. It uses the Favorite Thoughts stamp set from the Summer Mini catalog for the sentiment. The flower is from the Island Floral die in the mini, and the vertical flower border is Posy Party, a cool new wheel in the mini.

You can kind of see that the white layer is textured using the Square Lattice embossing folder from, you guessed it, the Summer Mini :-)

To see more fantabulous Summer Mini products and projects, check out the Stampin' Up! video on You Tube.

Elements of Style

2010-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

This card uses the new Elements of Style stamp set in Stampin' Up!'s Summer Mini catalog.

Colors are Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive and Certainly Celery. I used my markers directly on the large stamp so I could get multiple colors on the same stamp.