Upcoming Flower Embellishment Class

Here's a peek at the cards we will be making at the upcoming card classes this month. Our theme this month is flower embellishments and we wanted to give you ideas on making your own flower embellishments to adorn your projects.

Class Schedule:

1/18 & 1/25

(if you're in the Chandler, AZ area, email us for more info about our local stamping classes)

It's going to be fun! See you there!

January Sneak Peek!

Did you miss us having classes during December? Even if you did, I doubt many of you probably had the time to come even if we had planned classes, right?! Even without the classes this month, December flew by like that! We've been working, though, on new ideas and projects and we're looking forward to a new year of creating with you!

One of the things we are planning on working on this coming year is getting our own website up and running! We want to be able to offer card kits online for our readers who want to make the cards we teach but don't live near by. We are also entertaining the idea of doing some videos. All of this will take time and is probably months (maybe even a year) down the road, but we thought we'd share what we're throwing around as possibilities this next coming year.

I promised you a sneak peek and I'm going to deliver! One of our January classes will feature handmade flower embellishments. We will be teaching you how to make 3 different kinds of flower embellishments. You can view our newsletter for dates and times for this class, which is called Creative Cardmaking: Flower Embellishments. It should be a lot of fun! Here's one of the cards we will be making.

Don't you love it? Those flowers are so dainty and lovely. =)

That's the sneak peek for today! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We're looking forward to the New Year!

Little Leaves Sponged Card

From Adriel:

I had some flowers leftover from the watercolor spread technique I talked about in this post. I couldn't let them go to waste! =)

I used the reverse masking technique from the Little Leaves sizzlet die and sponging to create the background for my card. I love how the sponged leaves create such a lovely background on this simple card. Sometimes less is more.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Butterfly Birthday Card for THS Color Challenge #5

From Adriel:

I thought before the month of June was over, I should share the card I made for our color challenge. Easier said than done! I'm typing with one hand while I nurse little Allison, typing much slower and backspacing more than normal. I'm sure with more practice, I'll get more proficient at one-handed typing.

So, I'm going to keep this post short and sweet. I simply don't have the patience right now to type a lengthy post one-handed. =D

Two Happy Stampers Color Challenge #5 for June

Butterfly Birthday Card

No supply list... sorry!

There's still a few days left in June if you'd like to join us for this month's color challenge. Click HERE for the details.

BTW, I've been enjoying looking through the new Stampin' Up! catalog! I'm really looking forward to playing around with the new colors! How about you? :)

Wowzer! Wednesday: Embossing Folder Strips

I was "wowed" when I saw this tutorial on Dena Rekow's blog. She took embossing folders, cut them up and made strips out of them that you can send through with cardstock through your Big Shot. The result is that only part of your card has the pattern on it... it's awesome! Here's a couple cards she made so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about:

You can view her Wowzer! tutorial by clicking HERE and let her know how awesome it is! =)

This & That Thursday

From Adriel:

Okay, I'm not proud of what I have to show you today. I spent the entire afternoon yesterday working on this and it turned out terrible in my opinion. But it's something to share with you and it fits into a couple of challenges. Perhaps you can give me some suggestions on what I could have done different! Anyway, onto yesterday's disaster project!

This project is for the Our Creative Corner: Break Out the Buttons challenge, the Pals Paper Arts Flower-theme challenge, and our very own Two Happy Stampers Color Challenge #3.

I made a tote for 3-1/4" x 4-7/8" note cards (basically fits into a 3-1/2" x 5" envelope). I used the directions for the tote from Procrastistamper... I just changed the measurements a bit to fit a smaller card. Sorry, don't have the measurements in front of me at the moment, but I may share them at a later time. The tote itself is very cute and I like the design a lot, so the afternoon wasn't completely wasted.

I did a bunch of stuff to the front of the tote that I'm not proud of. I like my shabby flower, but it just doesn't seem to go. The ribbon was fun to do! =)

I also made 5 notecards to go in the tote that I'm not proud of. HAHA! Well, it's good to be humbled. =)

I hope you enjoyed my attempt at being creative! Hopefully my creative juices will get going a little better soon. =) Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day! =)

BTW, our color challenge is looking a bit lonely at the moment... we'd love to have you play along with us! Our challenge is open for the entire month of April, so you still have plenty of time! Check out the details HERE!

Friday's Fresh Finds

It's Friday already! Wow, this week flew by and here it is already Friday! In addition, here we are in new month: April. Our weather here has been beautiful lately, but I know that the summer heat will be upon us before we know it. I've been encouraging the kids to spend time outside and take advantage of the weather, because pretty soon they'll be cooped up in the house with it being too hot to play outside.

With all that being said, our Fresh Finds theme this week is spring and garden-related items. Here are just a few of some wonderful items that caught my eye on Etsy recently! Enjoy! =)

Cherry Blossom Bangles from sophiapip - Someone on facebook shared a link to these and the photo caught my attention. Such a lovely piece! There's so many more lovely things in her shop, too! Lovely work. =)

Garden Tray from LynnWoodPorcelain - This piece is so happy and cute! Perfect for the new season! =)

Blooming Pillows from TwoYellowShoes - Okay, I am in love with these! Aren't they fun?! =)

Hair Garden Bobbies from TopStory - These are just beautiful! I love things like this, but then I can't figure out how to do my hair with them. I have jeweled hair things and bobbies that never look right when I put them in my hair. Call me accessory-challenged... I still love looking and dreaming, though. These make me want to try again... =)

Chalkboard Flower Pots from MaysHomemade - I thought these pots were such a cute idea, especially for herbs or something of that sort. Simply write with chalk on the pot what you've planted. Charming idea! =)

Crochet Flower Brooch from bysweetmom - I saw this on facebook also. It just caught my eye! Such a beautiful way to dress up a T-shirt or simple blouse. Lovely accessory! =)

I hope you're enjoying the spring season and all the loveliness that it brings. Have a wonderful Friday! Thanks for stopping by! =)

Easter is Around the Corner

From Adriel:

When I was a girl, my grandma would have us over for a jelly bean hunt. She would hide jelly beans all over her house and in her yard and my sister and I (and later my brother, too), would have little baskets and hunt for jelly beans. We always looked forward to it!

Here's an Easter card I made last week. I intended to use a different floral stamp set, but it was packed up for a class and I decided to use something that was easily accessible. I used a retired set called "Doodle This", which is so whimsical... very pretty.

I used a simple color scheme of Pale Plum, Whisper White and Basic Black. I think the results are so elegant and sophisticated! =) I mixed up my own shimmer mist using a small travel size hairspray bottle (contents discarded, bottle washed and dried), alcohol and shimmer paint! I misted my flower with this and added a rhinestone brad to the center. The flower is beautiful with that shimmer! =)

Just something to share with you today. Hope you're having a good Monday! =)

Flower Embellishments

From Adriel:

Stop paying crazy money for flower embellishments at the craft store! Using a punch or two, scissors, cardstock, patterned paper, adhesive and a couple other supplies, you can make your own "WOW" flower embellishments!
Here's some fun flower embellishments I made using a combination of the techniques found in the following tutorials.

The bottom flower uses the flower-making technique that Dawn McVey uses in her video HERE. Lots of fun!



The middle of the flower embellishment uses the flower-making technique by Lolly Chops found HERE, but think much smaller... although a huge one of these would look awesome on practically ANYTHING! =)

Flower Tutorial from Lolly Chops on Vimeo.

I don't remember exactly how I attached the middle part to the bottom flower layer, but I would imagine a decent amount of glue or a good sized glue dot would do the trick. I'm going to do something soon (I don't even know what!) with this flower and I'll show you what I end up creating with it! =) For now, have some fun making your own and creating with them!

Be sure to check back here tomorrow to find out what the THS Color Challenge #2 for March will be! =)

Using the new "Mom" set...

From Adriel:

We ordered the new "Messages for Mom" set from Stampin' Up! recently and a couple of days ago my mom and I both played with it and had some fun and laughs. I like creating with my mom. =)

This set has a ton of text in it, which I like for the reason that a lot of the sentiments can be used for other occasions and other people besides just "Mom", but they also fit well with the fancy "MOM" image that comes with the set. It doesn't come with very much else... one flourish image. This can be difficult if you're trying to use the set all by itself, but I used it along with the new "Vintage Vogue" stamp set and loved how the two sets went so well together! =)

For my card:

- I used a Kraft CS base and the size is just slightly under 3-1/2" x 5"... I think it's like 3-3/8" x 4-7/8"... I did that because it fits in the note card envelope better.

- I stamped an image from "Vintage Vogue" in Taken w/ Teal ink along the top and bottom of the card base.

- I stamped the "Mom" and the sentiment in black craft ink (on a strip of Kraft CS layered with Taken w/ Teal CS) and embossed w/ clear embossing powder. I didn't use a Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp these... I'm just that good... no, not really! LOL! We bought the set as clear-mounted, so it was very easy to see right where I was stamping and that is my secret! =)

- My black gingham ribbon ruffle was done by applying a strip of Sticky Strip on the back of the bottom of the sentiment panel. I just pressed and gathered the ribbon as I went.

- My flowers are embossed, even though I didn't have craft ink in Taken w/ Teal! Here's how: I inked up the floral image first with versamark. I then inked up the image again with Taken w/ Teal classic ink, directly after the versamark. Then I stamped this on my cardstock, which I then sprinkled with a mixture of clear embossing powder and dazzling diamonds glitter and set with the heat tool. So cool... you can pretty much emboss with any color that way, without needing to have craft ink pads! =) The flowers were then cut out carefully, punched with the 1/16" hand punch and attached to the Kraft CS strip w/ clear rhinestone brads.

It was fun to make... I'm going to make more (if I have time). ;-)

Don't forget about the color challenge that we're hosting! You can get all the details about it HERE!

Have a wonderful, creative day! =)

Supplies for Mom card (all SU unless noted): Vintage Vogue stamp set, Messages for Mom stamp set, Kraft CS, Taken w/ Teal CS, Whisper White CS, Black craft ink, Taken w/ Teal classic ink, Versamark ink, clear embossing powder, dazzling diamonds glitter, heat tool, Sticky Strip, Clear rhinestone brads, Black gingham ribbon (not SU), stampin' dimensionals, adhesive.

Another Beautiful Card

From Adriel:

I'm writing the post for this entry, but I can't take credit for this beautiful card... my mom made it. She did such a beautiful job on it and I love her color combo... gorgeous!

Here is yet another card sample for the nature cards we (mainly she) was/were working on a couple of weeks ago. Mom made lovely lollipop flowers and they "pop" out at you, don't they? Really pretty... did I mention I really like this card? ;-)

Beautiful job, Mom! =)

Shabby Valentine Flowers

From Adriel:

We've been having fun making some Valentine items for our shop and classes. The new Valentine paper in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Mini catalog (can't remember the name of the paper) is so much fun, with one side of the paper having glitter on it! So much fun! =)

I made these shabby flowers and thought they would be great on some Valentine gift tags. I made a tutorial for these shabby flowers awhile ago and you can find it HERE if you want to make some yourself! Have fun! =)

Natural Beauty

We recently went on a camping trip with our families. We slept outdoors (in tents, of course!), ate outdoors, visited outdoors, amused ourselves outdoors... did I forget anything? =)

Thought I would share a couple of photos of the outdoors that we enjoyed!

BEAUTIFUL!!!

It doesn't matter how lovely man can create something... nothing compares with the beauty that God creates. =)

If you're looking for something to do...

... head over to Costance Collins' blog Constantly Stamping! She has a great tutorial on making a water lily with the Sizzix Daisy die. Did I mention it a video tutorial?!

You can check it out HERE!

Here's a picture of what she made... BEAUTIFUL! =D

Special Delivery for Us!

From Adriel:

While I was on vacation, my mom put in an order through Flowery Bliss. You may remember my post about this cute Etsy shop awhile back... Well, our order got delivered a couple of days ago and just look at how cute these flower embellishments are!!

Can't wait to create something special to adorn with these cuties! =D The earthier tones will be pretty for some fall and autumn cards. =)

Anyway, just had to share!! =D

New Coupon Organizers

From Adriel:

We have been busy making some new coupon organizers for our shop. We made 4 new organizers and just finished up the last 2 yesterday. They are hot out of the studio and I'm loving these new organizers! We used the now-expired "Urban Oasis" from Stampin' Up! on these 2 organizers. So sad to see that paper go... it's so trendy!

I just love the look of these new organizers! So trendy and stylish! Aren't they awesome?! Every time we make a new one of these, I like them a lot! =)

The top organizer is currently available in our Etsy shop... You can find it HERE. The other organizers will be available shortly... we will be adding them over the next few days. =)

I'll be posting the other 2 coupon organizers another time. =)

Thanks so much for stopping by our blog today! =D

Another Set of Gift Tags

From Adriel:



I'm showing off these gift tags today. Cute, huh? =D

A couple of weeks ago, I found a YouTube video for making the shabby flowers with the scallop circle punch. I showed you that one already... if you missed the post, click HERE for my tutorial and a link to the video. Anyway, I found another video the same day (or the day after) on making handmade lollipop flowers. I'd love to share the video, but YouTube wasn't working when I wrote this post... I will have to add the link later. =)

UPDATE: YouTube started working but the video I watched is now private! WHAAAT? Anyway, found this video that is not nearly as good, but it will give you an idea of what to do along with my tips at the bottom! =) View video HERE.

Here's what I ended up doing to make my lollipop flowers: Instead of cutting circles out by hand, I just used 3 different sizes of circle punches. I did distress the edges of each circle with scissors... I don't have a distressing tool at the moment. I crumpled up each circle so it looks really distressed! Then, I applied ink to the edges of each circle. I used Chocolate Chip ink to distress the edges instead of the circles instead of white paint. I used Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive to attach the layers together. All I had available was a spray bottle with water, so I spritzed each flower lightly (very lightly) and then "molded" each layer how I wanted it. Once it dries, it's very stiff so the flower keeps its shape very well. I added half-pearls to the center of each flower and attached my flowers with pop-up glue dots to my gift tags. =)


Thanks for stopping by!

Shabby Flower Tutorial

From Adriel:

This tutorial is featured in our newsletter this month. I wanted to share it on our blog as well! I saw the original idea for this on a YouTube video that you can view HERE if you like. But if you'd like step-by-step written directions, here you go!

Supplies:
1 - 3”x3” piece of card stock
2 - 3”x3” pieces of designer series paper
Scallop Circle punch
Rhinestone brad
Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive
Small silk flower (or paper flower)
Scissors
Paper piercer (not shown in supply photo)

Step 1: Punch out a scallop circle out of each piece of DS paper and card stock.


Step 2: On the two DS paper scallop circles cut a slit at each scallop.


Step 3: Crumple the DS paper scallop circles in hand until desired look is achieved. Scallop circles should be nice and crumpled. The more crumpled, the more “shabby” the flower will look.

Step 4: Use adhesive to attached scallop circles one on top of the other, starting with the card stock on the bottom.

Step 5: Pierce the center of the flower with a paper piercer or a needle.

Step 6: Put the silk flower in middle of flower and attach the rhinestone brad through the middle, through all the layers of the flower. Flower is now completed and ready to use on a project.

Here's some gift tags that I showed you guys last week that I made using the shabby flowers... TONS of fun, right?!?! I sold these tags this weekend at a vendor fair we did over the weekend. I ended up stringing thin black ribbon with white polka dots through them. Didn't get a picture of them with the ribbon before they sold, but they were even more fun with the ribbon added! I ended up using smaller paper flowers instead of the silk flower and used a button in the middle instead of a rhinestone brad.

Hope you enjoyed looking! Try the tutorial out and see if it's easy to follow or not. Let me know! =D