Triple-Decker Fifth Avenue

From Heidi...
Just in case you haven't had enough of the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set yet, here's one more for you. I didn't come up with the paper-pieced and dimensionaled floral idea, I cased the idea form another card I saw on SCS, I love how this effect gives depth and dimension to this floral design. Adriel placed this card in our Etsy shop and gave it the triple-decker name...kind of a fun description of it. Thanks for taking time to look!

Wedding Guest Album

From Adriel:

I know last month I mentioned a custom wedding guest list album I was working on. I never posted any pictures of it, so I wanted to share them with you!

This wedding guest book doubles as a memory album of sorts, as there are pocket pages inside for keeping the invitation and cards received, as well as some completed pages for putting photos on. The album stands on its own and makes a wonderful way to remember that special day! This was our first real custom order with a deadline and being such an important item, I felt the pressure while making it! I kept hoping the bride would like it! =)

Anyway, I wanted to share it with you! The couple was married on March 14th, so at this point, the lists are all filled up with the names of their guests along with all the wishes. Anyway, it was a challenge, but enjoyable! =)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day! =)

Our First Blog Award!

We have been awarded a blog award by Kim! Thank you so much, Kim!

In return, we are passing the award onto five other bloggers who have supported us in our blogging efforts with their kind comments of encouragement and in following us! So, this award goes to...

Karen Oliver

Anthonette

Heather

Audrey

Sally

Thank you, ladies! And thank you to all our followers! =)

March Stamp-A-Stack Cards

From Heidi...

As you can tell by this month's cards, Adriel and I really love the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. We're looking forward to using it in this month's SAS cards along with sponging. Sponging can be used to make paper edges look distressed, or can be used to create a soft look on a floral design, or you can create a desired shape by masking off an area and sponging. We'll be using sponging to create all three of these effects in our cards this month on Tuesday, March 24, 7-8:30 PM. If you'd like to join us, we have 3-4 spots still open. Email us or give us a call to reserve your spot. 5 cards/$10 class fee.

Stitching and Bleaching

From Heidi...

I started this card several weeks ago, but got interrupted with life and other projects, so I thought that today I'd better finish the card before I lost the pieces to it. I used the bleaching technique with the new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. I used tearing, sponging and stitching to get a vintage effect.

I agree with Adriel, I love this set. I made another cool card with it using paper piecing, so I'll have to share that one with you on another day. Thanks for looking!

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! =)

Stuck on this Set

From Adriel:

I showed you all an Easter card made with one of flowers from the Fifth Avenue Floral set... I made a few different cards last week with this set, so I'm showing you another card with this set! I love the lined images and how sleek they are. They are great for using as the focal point of a card, or as a background, as shown on this card.

This set makes it easy to make your own beautiful decorative paper! I used a combination of four different punches to make the tag: Designer Label punch for the top, 1-3/8" circle punch for the middle, Round Tab punch for the bottom and Boho Blossoms for the little embellishment. It was super easy to make and it looks great!

I finished the inside with white cardstock, because this chocolate chip card stock is way too dark to write on.

I worked today on pictures of new projects (my mom made a couple of cards that I can't wait to share with you!), finishing up a couple of projects and working on cards for a class we have coming up next Tuesday at Tumbleweed Rec. for kids! My own kids, Kayla and Jacob, helped me out with putting together the samples for the class, so I think we are good to go. =) My kids want me to put the cards that they make up for sale in our Etsy shop! LOL! They're so cute! =)

Have a wonderful day!

Stamp Club Cards

From Heidi...I hope you're all having a great start to the new week! My Monday is actually going better than I thought it would. I was scheduled for jury duty today, but when I called in this morning to get instructions, I found out that my group had been dismissed. So, my hectic week has turned into a much calmer one...Yay!

I'm sharing the cards we'll be making at this month's Stamp Club, Thursday, March 19. We're making 5 birthday cards to go with the birthday calendar we made last month. If you're not a club member, you're still welcome to drop in and make these cards with us for $10, or spend $25 in merchandise and make and take the cards for FREE, or join our monthly club and qualify for hostess benefits. If you're interested in joining the club but you're not sure, we'd love for you to come and try out the club free your first time. Either way, we hope you can come and join us.

Thursday, March 19

Session 1 - 12:30-2:00 p.m.

Session 2 - 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Little Easter Cards

From Heidi...
Here's some little 3x3 Easter notecards I made last week. I used the "Live Like You Mean It" and "All Holidays" stamp sets; CS - Kiwi Kiss, Perfect Plum, Barely Banana; Ink - Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, and Perfect Plum; Punches - Scallop Edge, Boho Blossom, 1-3/8" square punch; Ribbon, brad and paper piercing. Enjoy!

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

A Feature and a Giveaway Today!!

We have exciting news! We are being featured on another blog and also giving away one of our file folder organizers!

We are being featured at krazycouponlady and that is also the blog to enter in our giveaway. There is no cost to enter the giveaway, simply follow this LINK and follow the directions! Here's what we're giving away!

Please remember, you have to go to krazycouponlady and enter there to be entered into the giveaway! I hope some of you hop on over there, because this is a great giveaway! These file folder organizers are awesome and look great! =)

Spring Flowers

From Heidi...

Since I told you in our newsletter about my bulbs and Spring flowers blooming, I thought I'd share a few pictures of them. If you're in the Midwest or East Coast, these pictures will be a reminder that your Spring is right around the corner. Enjoy!

Spring Tea Bag Book

From Adriel:

My mom made this cute tea bag book the other day! I love the designing she did with it and the special touches that make it "her". Since I took the pictures of it, I'm posting it! =)

This is such a cute way to let a friend know that you're thinking about them! It's great for Easter or just a spring-time "hello".

My mom used a couple of our FREE sale-a-bration rewards that we recently received for this project. The floral stamped image is from the Botanical Blooms set and the patterned paper is the Delicate Dots DSP! Isn't it great?!

I think this kind of project would be great to do for our Stamp Club sometime! =)

BTW, Sale-a-Bration is continuing through the end of March, so there's still time to get these fun products for free! You can find out more about that HERE.

Simple Thank You

From Heidi...

I wanted to share this simple card layout with you. This layout was great for the "thank you" card I needed for a music teacher, who I knew would probably not take much notice of a card - and since it was being given by my 16 yo son, who doesn't like the ribbons or anything too decorative on something that he will be signing his name to - this basic card was the answer.You can take this simple layout and with a little ribbon, brads, or extra embellishments, it can easily go from basic to special. One of the things I love about SU products is that I can count on everything coordinating together - ink, paper, stamp sets, etc., and because of that this card went together quickly.

I took my color scheme from decorative paper I'd gotten at Michael's: Kraft, Always Artichoke, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Stamp sets: Frames with a Flourish; Sincere Salutations

Ink: Always Artichoke; Basic Black

Accessories: Stampamajig; Snail; Dimensionals

Thanks for looking!

March Newsletter Posted

From Heidi...

Just letting you know that we've uploaded our March newsletter. You can go to the right of our blog and click on Newsletter to view it. Hope you're all having a great day!

File Organizer & Coupon Organizer

From Adriel:

Awhile back, we started making these great file folder organizers. They are perfect for all kinds of documents! My mom designed some cute mini organizers that are great for coupons, business cards and receipts. Here is a matching set that is so adorable together!


The mini organizer is no longer available (it sold today on Etsy), but the large one is still available. We do sell them separately, even though they match. Someone might not want both!

Here's another matching set that you can see more of in our Etsy shop! I love the paper on this set! It's so delicate and feminine! These are great options to stay stylishly organized!

We've got more to add and more we're planning on working on! Be on the lookout! =)

Also, if you're near the Chandler, AZ area and would like to learn how to make one of these yourself, let us know! We are always up for putting together classes to teach others how to create wonderful projects! We'd love to show you how! You can contact us by clicking HERE. We like to do classes with at least 3 people in them, so get your friends together and have fun creating as a group!

Thanks for stopping by our blog! Have a wonderful day!

**UPDATE** - The polka dot organizers are both sold out at the moment! Please check out our Etsy shop for more styles! =)

Birthday Calendar

From Adriel:

We made birthday calendars at the last stamp club meeting. Here is the one that I made that I just listed in our Etsy shop!

These are made from a file folder and patterned paper, along with lots of sponging! It's a great way to keep all those birthday dates in one place! =)

Thanks for stopping by our blog! Enjoy your day!

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! =)

Personal Post

From Heidi...
This is a personal post about a Bible study I've been doing thorugh Kay Arthur's Precept study on the book of Romans. For those not interested, feel free to skip this blog, but I've just got to share a few of the gems I've been gleaning! It's too good to keep to myself.

I've been a born-again Christian for over 30 years, but somehow I've missed important parts of the gospel. The section in Romans I'm studying right now is about justification. It's a big word, but in a nutshell it's about judicial judgment...which means to announce, to declare a favorable verdict. In the case of those who are born-again, it is God, the Judge, declaring us to be righteous. He causes us to be righteous, He is the means of that declaration when He declares us to be righteous. What we weren't (righteous), He says we are, because He is the means of what we aren't.

How can man, a guilty sinner, become just with God and have Him declare man righteous? (...and I know I'm guilty, because no matter how hard I try I am always breaking God's law at one point or another, in spite of all my good intentions). How could God be a good judge by simply allowing the guilty to go free? I certainly would think an earthly judge to be unjust, if he allowed the guilty like murderers, rapists and theives to go free, simply because they promised to not break the law again. There must be justice.

Here's my answer:
Romans 5:19 - "For as through the one man's disobedience (Adam) the many were made to be sinners, even so through the obedience of the One (Jesus Christ) the many will be made righteous." Christ's one act of obedience, His one act of righteousness, constituted many righteous and because of that one act, the many have been given the free gift of righteousness. It is by Christ's one action - His death and resurrection, the Perfect One's act of obedience to BE sin on behalf of the many, to be their Redeemer, to pay their ransom, their fine - that the sentence of condemnation, which I'm under as a sinner, is changed to justification. To those who believe this good news, to those who freely receive the abundance of God's grace and His free gift of righteousness, God's righteousness is credited to them, it is put into their life account, it is reckoned to them as righteousness - God's righteousness.

This crediting of righteousness to us isn't based on anything we've done or will do. This crediting of God's righteousness placed in our life account is based solely on the obedience of Christ, He did the work.

As a born-again Christian, what I've appreciated is that my sins have been forgiven through Christ. I'm seeing that the forgiveness of sins is a subtraction from my life, my sins are removed but there's an addition to my life, as well, and that is the righteousness of God which He puts into my life. They're both received simply by faith inthe only One who IS righteous. My righteousness resides in nothing else but the accomplished work of Christ, and its source in the free grace of God.

Christ's righteousness alone meets the desperateness of my sinful situation and measures up to all the demans of God's holiness. This is certainly not the message of "cheap grace" that I was given 30 years ago.. I appreciate the fact that even after 30 years, the manifold wisdom of God is still unfolding in my life. His great love and mercy for me makes me so appreciative for what He's done in claiming me as His own. All He asks of me is that I believe and trust in His one act of obedience, and live daily trusting Him.

Fun Tangerine Note Cards

From Adriel:


Winter is almost over and here in Arizona it's not really hard to imagine spring... it already feels like spring. Besides, winter this year was only like a week long (at least it felt that way)! So, as we are nearing the end of February, these cards seemed happy and "spring-y".


Again, I used some white textured CS, which I'm really liking! It's adds some, ahem!, texture to a project! I just stuck with simple for these cards and I liked how they turned out. They are 3x3 cards (I really like that size!) and I actually didn't use any dimensionals on this card! GASP!! I can't remember the last time that happened! But it just goes to show that you don't always need dimension, but some interest definitely. I chose to cut up the sentiment into strips to add more interest. I also added a couple of small rhinestones and a bit of stitching. The Tangerine Tango CS is a bit on the dark side, so I added Whisper White CS inside for writing on.

Recipe:

Friendship Blooms (Retired Sale-a-Bration set from last year)

Tangerine Tango CS

White Textured CS

Bashful Blue CS

Whisper White CS

Tangerine Tango ink

Night of Navy ink

Tombow Glue (for the rhinestones and sentiment strips)

Sewing machine

Stamp Club Today!

Today marks the day of our first Stamp Club meeting! This month's Stamp Club project is this cute and very practical Birthday Calendar. It's great for keeping track of all those birthdays in one place and also gift ideas, PLUS it looks so great!

If you're unfamiliar with how a Stamp Club works, here's a brief explanation:

For 10 months, you agree to spend $25 (each month) in Stampin' Up! merchandise from Heidi (she's the demo). In doing this, you join what we call a "Stamp Club". Following is a list of benefits given to Stamp Club members:

- Stamp Club members receive a FREE copy of the current Idea Book & Catalog, along with other miscellaneous promotional catalogs throughout their 10-month membership!

- Stamp Club members get to come to our club meetings where we make great projects and learn new techniques. There is no extra cost for this! This is an added bonus for joining the Stamp Club. For instance, at this month's club meeting, we will be making birthday calendars. Club members don't have to pay for supplies or anything! They just get to come and have fun and make and create!

- Stamp Club members receive hostess benefits one of the months they are a club member. This doesn't mean you have to "host" anything, rather you simply receive the benefits a hostess would receive from a workshop. You receive the basic hostess benefits, which is a free level 1 hostess reward and $15 in free Stampin' Up! merchandise. You don't have to invite anyone to a workshop or anything! This is just an added bonus you receive for becoming a Stamp Club member. We do offer the option to club members that if they would like to increase their hostess benefits during their month as "hostess", they can "host" their own workshop with friends and collect outside orders, but this is not a requirement.

So, in a nutshell, for $25 a month (for 10 months) Stamp Club members get $25 in Stampin' Up! product a month, along with a FREE monthly project class, FREE catalogs, & FREE Stampin' Up! product (on their month as hostess)!

If you're in or around the area of Chandler, AZ and would like to join us, send us an email to get all the details! We'd love to have you.