Any Occasion Placecard

From Adriel:

Wow, another post from me! Hard to believe, huh? =)

Just wanted to share a couple more placecards with you that could be holiday-ish, but would also be great for a variety of occasions.

I used the fun image from Wow Flowers on this... I really like that set and don't use it nearly as much as I should! Taken w/ Teal and Ruby Red are the colors for this placecard.


Used the fun whimsy circle from the Priceless set on this and stamped it in VersaMark and then added silver embossing powder. Love the finish on the black! =)

Had one more, but the picture didn't come out that great. Oh well... =/

Have a great weekend!

Cottage Wall 3x3 Cards

From Adriel:

I was inspired by the cute little 3x3 card in the new Stampin' Up! catalog on page 18 (sorry, don't have a link to the picture). We recently ordered and received the Cottage Wall DS paper from Stampin' Up! and it worked beautifully on this card design. I love this assortment of DS paper... it's very pretty and sweet. =)

I did two designs, both nearly identical to one another. I used the largest image from the Fifth Avenue Floral set in VersaMark in the lower corner of the DS paper and embossed the image with white embossing powder. I used the lovely "for you" stamp from the Fresh Cuts set in VersaMark, followed by white embossing powder and punched out with the large oval punch. I then layered this on top of coordinating cardstock punched with the scallop oval and the wide oval punches.

Simple Recipe:

Whisper White CS

Certainly Celery CS

Old Olive CS

Pale Plum CS

Rich Razzleberry CS

Cottage Wall DS Paper (love it!)

Fresh Cuts stamp set

Fifth Avenue stamp set

VersaMark ink pad

White embossing powder

Little pearl stickers from Michaels... brand unknown

Boho Blossoms punch

Cottage Wall DS Paper from Stampin' Up! #115671

You can order supplies from Stampin' Up! by clicking HERE! =)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

June SAS: Technique Focus on Heat Embossing

Here are the beautiful cards we plan on making at this month's Technique Focus Stamp-a-Stack. Our technique focus will be on heat embossing and we will also be doing a color focus of black, white and gray. As you can see, these cards are classy!

Technique Focus Stamp-a-Stack

Tuesday, June 16th

At Heidi's house in Chandler

(directions given after registering)

3 cards for $10

Two times to choose from:

1pm - 3pm

7pm - 9pm

The evening class is almost full, so if you're interested in joining us in the evening, sign up soon! You can email us at twohappystampers@gmail.com to let us know you are interested in coming or if you have any questions about our classes. Hope to see you there!

Boxed Cards

From Adriel:

I saw this idea awhile ago on someone's blog (sorry, don't remember who you were!), and was able to find the template on SplitCoast. I love that the box is made out of one sheet of 8.5" x 11" card stock and requires minimal cutting by hand. I just added some beautiful patterned paper to the front of the box for a little more interest, a scalloped edge and a ribbon that keeps the whole box closed. This box holds 6 cards and 6 envelopes (A2 size)! Check out the template HERE and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! There aren't very detailed directions, you just kind of put it together. ;-)

The cards are made with coordinating CS (Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery bases), along with more patterned paper. They are very simple, yet elegant cards. I used a combination of 3 different stamp sets for these cards. The leaf image is from the current hostess set "God's Beauty". This is a beautiful set and worth hostessing a workshop for! The other sets are "Oval All" (in the current occasions mini) and "Fresh Cuts" (in the current spring/summer 2009 catalog). They all pulled together for a beautiful presentation! =)




I first stamped the leaf image in Kiwi Kiss ink (on the green) and in Baja Breeze (on the blue). I then stamped the leaf image in white kraft ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I really like the effect of the more subtle leaf image and the white image as the focus.

The new scallop circle punch made dressing up my sentiments a breeze! I just recently got on the oval bandwagon and love that shape! =)

So, something fresh to show you today... even though I made it a week or two ago. I made another one in a different color scheme that I will show you another time. Bye for now! =)

Sympathy Card

From Heidi...

This is a special card that I made for a friend whose husband recently passed away. I found this paper that we'd had for awhile which fit perfectly, as it had words written on it about memories, good times, and remembering...very fitting. It's been a sobering reminder that our lives are but a vapor and eternity is only a breath away.

Summer Bloom

From Adriel:

I made this card awhile back and submitted it to a card magazine. I think I've given them enough time to get back to me about it... so now I'm going to share it with you! =)


I don't know how I came up with this color combo, but I love it! SU! colors: Taken with Teal, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Whisper White. The theme I was submitting for was summer flowers, so hence, the bloom. I used my scallop circle punch in a couple of different ways and layering to create the bloom. I broke into our new textured cardstock for this card!! I love the little bit of "extra" that textured paper adds. =)


Anyway, I had fun and enjoyed myself while making this card and wanted to share. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by! We enjoy all your comments and the time you take to leave them. =)

Card #2 for KWerner's Color Inspiration Challenge #45

From Adriel:

Okay, here's the other card for this challenge!

I used the same supplies as the last card... same stamp sets (with the addition of Fresh Cuts), same ink (except for the curly sentiment where I used plain black ink), same card stock. I made this card based on the layout and design of THIS CARD I shared awhile ago. I love it in black and white, too! =)

Thanks for looking and let me know which of the cards is your favorite! =)

Card #1 for Kwerner's Color Insipiration Challenge #45

From Adriel:

I did something yesterday that I haven't done in awhile. I made a couple of cards for a color challenge on a blog that I frequent. Krisitina Werner has weekly videos on her blog and I just enjoy watching her create and seeing what's up with her. Anyway, she has a weekly color challenge and I've done a couple, but I haven't participated in a really LONG time! Yesterday I spent an hour or so of my afternoon making a couple of cards inspired by the color inspiration #45. I enjoyed myself so much and wanted to share them with you. I will post the other card separately, so I can enter both into the challenge! =)

I used LOTS of embossing powder on this card... I didn't use any plain ink. I don't use embossing powder all that much, so it was fun to do.

Recipe:

Basic Black CS

Whisper White CS

Basic Gray CS

Textured White CS from Bazzill

White Craft ink

Black Craft ink

White embossing powder

Clear embossing powder

Curly Label punch bundle

Delight in Life set

Whisper White tafetta ribbon

Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out my other card for this challenge! =)

Easter Card

From Adriel:

Before I share the Easter card, I just want to remind our readers that we have a giveaway going on right now through March 6th HERE. Simply follow the link and leave a comment and you're entered in the giveaway! I just want to make sure you all get a chance to enter, because it is a great giveaway!! =)

Okay, now on to the Easter card! I really wanted to use a new set we recently received called "Fifth Avenue Floral". I wanted to also use a new technique with embossing powder that I noticed on the front of the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book/Catalog, so that's how this card got started. In addition, I had to use the new eyelet border punch and I fell in love with it! It's so delicate and makes a lovely addition to the card! So here's my card:

Okay, so what was the new embossing technique I wanted to try? Well, on the front cover of the new catalog, they took white CS and embossed it with white embossing powder and then added color to fill in the flowers. I just loved the effect! So I wanted to do that as well, but I was using Vanilla CS and I didn't have Vanilla embossing powder. No problem! I had Versamark and clear embossing powder. It worked beautifully! So then I wasn't sure what kind of color they applied. So on one flower, I tried water coloring with the blender pens and ink... that worked okay. On the other flower, I used a sponge and added color that way, very carefully. I love how that one turned out!

The flowers, of course, are the focal point of the card, but I still needed to add some more to it before it was officially "done". I used very soft earthy colors and distressed the edges with a sponge and some Sahara Sand ink. If you're looking for a good color to distress with, I would highly recommend Sahara Sand. It's great! =) As I mentioned before, I had to try out our new eyelet border punch and I'm glad I used it on this card. It added the right amount of delicateness to it. I had some Kraft tafetta ribbon on hand and used that, which added a touch of elegance. I also had some adhesive half-pearls that worked beautifully in the corners! And BTW, did you know you can make those cute little bracket thingys with your curly label punch? Yes! It's true! Maybe we will do a little tutorial on that sometime! =D

All in all, it took me a good part of my afternoon, but it was worth it! =D

Jacob's Card

From Adriel:

My son made a card awhile ago, and he wanted his card put on the blog just like Kayla's was awhile back. Jacob really likes embossing. When he saw me do it for the first time, he wanted to emboss, too! He asks almost every time he makes a card if he can do embossing! =) On this card, he decided to use silver embossing powder. Enjoy! =)

Cards with Textured Card Stock

From Adriel:

I put this set of cards in our Etsy shop a few days ago and thought I'd share them with you. We got some white textured card stock last week and I made a set of cards with it. Textured card stock is a lot of fun and adds a little bit "more" to your card! =)

I used accents of Kiwi Kiss and Not Quite Navy to set off the white. I used a couple of retired sets from Stampin' Up! I used the Doodle This set for the flowers. I wanted to do something different than what I've been doing lately, so I used the wonderful scripture verses in the Elegant Inspirations set for the focal points on each of the cards. I embossed these verses with white embossing powder, so they really stand out! I also added white stitching and some paper piercing and embellishments. We had just been to Michael's and my mom had gotten some cute ribbon. It matched perfectly with the cards I made! I also finished the insides with colored cardstock and white card stock again and stamped images. I used the blurred vision technique on the inside images.

They look refreshing and I hope they refresh the spirit of whoever may receive them. Maybe you need some refreshing. Here's one of the verses printed out for you. May it refresh you! =)

"By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me." Psalms 42:8

Just a Pretty Card

From Adriel:

Another card to share with you! I used the same color scheme as the wedding card I showed you guys a few days ago, although I didn't use any gray, except for the ink.

I used the Fresh Cuts set for the bottom and, I believe, the Delight in Life set for the large flowers. Aren't those flowers so pretty? The leaves are made by folding the cardstock in half and sending it through the crimper at an angle, then cutting out a half-a-leaf shape, then unfolding. There's a tutorial out there somewhere for that, but I'm too lazy right now to look for it! =)

The embossed images on the bottom of the card are from the Fresh Cuts set. I also finished the inside with the same image using classic ink in Pale Plum & Kiwi Kiss. Sentiment is from the One of a Kind set.

BTW, Kiwi Kiss is definitely growing on me! I wasn't very fond of it when it was introduced, but I'm finding it adds a nice POP to color combinations!

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day! =)

Heart Gift Tags

From Adriel:

I hope all your weekends were nice and relaxing. We took the kids on a picnic and enjoyed being outside (I should mention here in AZ, the weather is so nice at this time of year). Sunday (very early, like 4:30 AM early), our store got broken into. We were rudely awakened by a call from alarm company and my husband looked at the cameras (that he can view from our computer at home), but didn't see anyone inside the store, so he thought it was a false alarm. Well, after we went back to sleep for a few more hours and woke up (again), he checked the recording from the cameras and sure enough, there WAS someone in our store (at 4:30AM). I guess I should mention that we own a Tropical Smoothie Cafe here in AZ. Anyway, my husband went tothe store and had the police meet him there. The door was kinda messed up, but NOTHING was stolen!! Really, that is a blessing from God, and I truly mean that. The guy had plenty of time to take stuff (since we passed it off as a false alarm initially and no police were sent at the time), but he left pretty quickly and didn't take anything! This is the second time our store has been burglarized, and the second time God has protected it! I just want to take the time to tell you what God did for us. Our Lord Jesus deserves all the praise and glory and I just want to give Him that, even on this blog! =D

I know we've been showing a lot of Valentine stuff, but that's what we've been making!! I don't think I showed these cute heart gift tags yet. They don't necessarily have to be used for Valentines Day. They could be used anytime!!

These were fairly easy to make and look really nice! I used the curly label bundle which came with the punch and a set of coordinating stamps. I stamped Kiwi Kiss ink and Pale Plum ink on white CS. I punched those out with the curly label punch. Then I stamped Versamark on Kiwi Kiss CS and Pale Plum CS and embossed with white embossing powder and punched those out. I then used the 3-heart stamp from the Love You Much set along with the Heart to Heart punch and used dimensionals to pop those up on the tags. I added silver eyelets for stringing hemp twine through and that's it! Lots of fun and a sweet way to dress up a gift for anytime, especially Valentines Day.

BTW, that curly label set is great! I love the shape of the punch and the stamps coordinate so well with it! I'm ready to make some more... =D

Thanks so much for reading and looking! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Two Hearts

From Heidi ...

Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend. We celebrated our granddaughter's birthday this weekend. She invited us to go to lunch with her at McD's and then to the water/ice store for some ice-cream. Fries and ice-cream for lunch are a very heavy mix!

Onto more Valentine goodies... here's a card that was inspired by Barbara Joyce. Hope you enjoy it!

Confetti and a Special Heart

From Adriel:

I didn't actually make these two items. My mom did, but I have these pictures all done and thought I'd share them with you on her behalf. These are just two other ideas for you using the Love You Much bundle that is on sale right now (in case you missed the post about this, click HERE)!

Okay, first we have the cute confetti my mom made using stamped CS and also colored CS and the Heart to Heart punch! So easy and simple with a ton of cuteness!

Next is this beautiful heart decoration my mom made with the largest heart stamp in the Love You Much set. She used some sparkly red embossing powder and then threaded ribbon through holes she punched in the heart. Awesome! She plans on using this beautiful heart on a card in the near future, but I thought it was stunning all by itself! Wow! I think it would make a really cute door hanger. Hmmm... Those are the featured projects today using the Love You Much bundle! We have lots more for you, so stay tuned!

Thanks for visiting our blog and for your comments! Have a wonderful day!

My First Swap Card

From Adriel:

Hey there! Last month I joined my first swap! For those of you who are wondering what a swap is, it is exactly that! A swap! As far as details go, it is basically you making a certain number of the same thing and then swapping with that same number of people to get that same number of different things back. The swap I joined on SCS was an all occassion SU! card swap, 5+1. This means I made a total of 6 of the same card. The +1 is for the person who hosted this swap. I send her all the cards I made, she disperses all the other swaps she receives to those who participated and keeps one for herself from each participant. So after I send my cards to her and she receives them, she will send me back 5 different cards. I won't receive one of mine back. Pretty fun! I hope I explained that so that it was understandable. Anyway, this "swap" idea is good for anything. People on SCS swap all kinds of things. Card fronts, card candy, ribbon, paper, embellishments, boxes, scrapbook pages, etc. All kinds of things! So, I had never done a swap before and thought, "Why not?!" So I joined and below is my card, which I made 6 of. The due date for these is not until the end of October, but I really should send these soon. I just haven't made it to the post office. Too many other things to do (like making more cards and creative projects)! Without further ado, here is the card I made...

The colors I used for this card were: Sahara Sand CS, Pink Piroutte, So Saffron, Bravo Burgundy, & Very Vanilla. I got this color combination idea from the Stampin' Up! catalog from the DS paper, Parisian Summer. I don't have the paper, but LOVE the colors.

I used the Sprinkles set with versamark and clear embossing powder for the background on the Pink Piroutte. Used the new scallop edge punch A LOT on this card, as you can see. The sentiment is from the All Holidays set and stamped in Bravo Burgundy ink. Attached the a Very Vanilla square and attached to card with dimensionals. I used the Boho Blossoms punch for the flowers and added pearl stickers (purchased at Michael's) to the middle of each of the flowers. That just added such a touch of elegance! Love those pearls! Finally, the satin cream ribbon is also from Michael's (a spool of it was $1!), and I made a bow with it. The only thing I don't like about that ribbon is it frays so easily, as you can see in the pic. I'll trim that before I send these off. If you have a tip to keep the satin ribbon from fraying, please share!

Anyway, that's the card! Let me know what you think! Being my first swap, I'm hoping it is up to par with what others do for this swap. Thanks for looking!

Handbag Challenge #4

From Adriel:

Well, it's that time of the week again! Time to show you my creation for the handbag challenge on Theresa's blog. First, let me show you the inspiration. It might help you understand what I made better. If you see what I made without seeing the inspirational piece, you may wonder what's wrong with me! Here is the handbag:

Okay, so when I saw this I was like, "Right!" These colors are just not "me" naturally speaking. I have never done anything with yellow and black! I thought about it yesterday a few times. I didn't spend much time thinking, because I didn't come up with anything when I did! LOL! Anyway, last night while surfing the creative corners of the WWW, I came across a video tutorial on an adorable purse made with punches! Once I saw that, an idea began to form in my mind for what I was going to do and this is what I came up with. How about we call it the bumblebee card? That's what I think of when I see it!

Hmmmm, I'm not crazy about what I ended up with, but it's fine. Honestly, it looks much better IRL, but all I've got are the pics that didn't come out all that great! It'll have to do...

The purse is made from a 1-1/2" square of black CS and a 1-1/2" circle of black CS. I coated both of these with black craft ink then covered with clear embossing powder and heat embossed. I cut small strips of the light yellow CS and coated those with versamark and clear embossing powder and heat embossed those. I then assembled the purse according to the directions in the tutorial (previously mentioned). I wanted to capture the glossy look of the purse in the inspirational piece. I also used a square silver brad for the "clasp" and the handle is some ribbon that's been lying around. The rest of the card is pretty basic: 3x3 light yellow (I have no idea where I got the yellow, but I was so thankful for it because none of SU!'s yellows were the right hue), black square with corners notched with a hole punch, white square with corners notched, black sheer ribbon, dimensionals. It was challenging, but I enjoyed myself and got to try that fun purse tutorial! Hopefully, if anything, you'll check out the purse tutorial and get some inspiration from that! Thanks for looking!

Christmas in August

From Adriel:

I made some Christmas cards the other day. I know, I know. August! Christmas! I did this partly to get a couple done to sell on ebay. I thought there may be some early birds on there looking for Christmas cards. My reasoning probably seems silly... I'm a silly gal!

Anyway, onto the cards! My colors: whisper white, basic gray, old olive, ruby red, and bravo burgundy. I used whisper white CS for the base of the card, my next layer is basic gray, and then after that is the layer of either old olive or ruby red (depending on the card). This layer is stamped with the thingy from the Wow Flowers set... it kinda looked like a snowflake to me! Again, I'm a silly gal! I stamped the "snowflake" with versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. It made a really nice background, snowflake or not! Moving on, my bravo burgundy strip is scallop punched on the bottom edge (yes, using the NEW scallop edge punch!), and attached to the various layers. A beautiful basic gray taffeta ribbon is tied around the burgundy strip before all these layers are attached to the white card base. The sentiment/stamped image which is really a snowflake FOR REAL, was stamped with whisper white craft ink and then embossed with this "Winter Wonderland" embossing powder I had on hand (no, not SU). Punched out with the scallop circle punch, with another scallop circle punch in gray behind. Attached with dimensionals and that's it!

So, perhaps today you will be going about your day and you will find yourself humming your favorite Christmas tune or maybe you'll be thinking about all those Christmas cards you need to send out... and you will wonder, "Why am I thinking about Christmas in August?!?!?!" Well, you can thank little old me! Bye for now!

Little Things Make Life Big

From Adriel:

This is a card I made a couple of days ago. It is a monochromatic card and has LOTS of layers! The colors I used for this card were whisper white CS, not quite navy CS, and the new in-color, baja breeze CS. I started with a whisper white base for the card. I used baja breeze CS on top of the card base. I added silver brads to the corners of the baja breeze CS. I didn't have the ticket corner punch, so I just used my 1/2" circle punch to punch the corners out of the whisper white CS and not quite navy CS panels. I attached these to the baja breeze with SNAIL. I tied some 1/4" white grosgrain ribbon around this finished panel, then I used dimensionals to attach the baja breeze panel to the whisper white card base.

I used a set I haven't used in awhile: Happy Harmony. I REALLY like this set! I wish it was a permanent set, because it is really lovely! Anyway, stamped the "flower" (I think it's a dandelion) on baja breeze in whisper white craft ink. I used some "winter wonderland" embossing powder (not SU) that we've had hanging around. It added a nice shiny sparkle to the image! As you can see, I put a white layer under this stamped image. I used dimensionals to attach to card. My sentiment is stamped on whisper white CS in not quite navy classic ink. I attached this to an ever-so-slightly larger piece of not quite navy CS, then a piece baja breeze CS, and finally to a larger piece of whisper white CS that I scallop punched only two edges of. I dimensioned this even more than my image.

Anyway, wanted to share that with you! Have a wonderful day! And remember...it's the little things that make life BIG!