A Hello You Birthday

Today I'm sharing one of the cards from my March Hello You Vellum card class, and hopefully this will be the first of a bunch more posts. I have quite a few cards that I've made, taken pictures of, but haven't had time to share on my blog. I'm looking forward to getting some of them up and posted to share with you.

This card was inspired by several cards that I've seen using the Hello You framelit with the masking and sponging, but I decided to cut the "Happy" framelit out of black CS so that it would stand out. These little word framelits make such cute cards.

So glad that you stopped by!

Supplies:
CS: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Back to Black DSP
INK: Soft Sky, Coastal Cabana, Black Memento
SS: Crazy About You
Big Shot: Hello You framelit, Stars framelit, Large stitched rectangle (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Stacked with Love washi tape, sponge, rhinestone jewels
*All supplies used are Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted

Upcoming Watercolor Card Class

Great news...I've got a new card class scheduled for April 28, 2015 at Snedigar Recreation Center, 10-Noon and 7-9 PM, called Creative Watercolor Cards (pretty original, huh?) I scheduled this class back in the Fall and had to name the class before I'd made the cards, or even imagined the cards. But I did get creative and I have 3 watercolor cards to share with you. We'll be using different techniques to achieve the watercolor look using washi tape, stencils and the ink-swipe technique. I hope that you can join me! Registration information is below. (I may offer the class in May, but not sure yet.) 

WHERE: Snedigar Recreation Center, 4500 S. Basha Rd., Chandler
To register for Creative Watercolor Cards classes, call the Rec Center: (480) 782 2640
FEE: $15
WHEN: Tuesday 4/28/2015 
TIMES: 10– Noon AND 7-9 PM 

Revisiting So Very Grateful

Today I'm sharing a card that I made for a sweet stamping friend. She has been stamping with me since my very early years and has generously shared her supplies with me and has given me so many great tips...Happy Belated Birthday, Diane! (Your card is in the mail!)

I totally CASE'd this card from a beauiful creation by Lydia Evans. I changed out the stamp set using So Very Grateful, stamping in black and watercoloring the flowers and leaves with Pistachio Pudding, Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Hello Honey and Strawberry Slush. The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations.

Thank you for visiting today! 

March Class Dates

Hello All!I hope you've all had a wonderful start to the New Year. We've been busy moving for the last several months, so life has been very full. As a result I haven't had much time to spend on updating my blog. I have been able to squeeze in a little card making when I can, but no time to post them here on my blog. I have plans to share them in the future, so stay tuned :-)

In the meantime, I have been able to offer a few classes this year, which I've enjoyed so much. This month I'm offering ONE class on TWO dates and at TWO locations (class picture above). My friend, Amy, is hosting my evening class at her house on March 11 and I will be holding my day classes at my house on March 24. If you'd like to join in the stamping fun, we'd love to have you join us.

This month's Hello You Vellum class features the new stamp set Crazy About You and the coordinating thinlit dies Hello You...and I threw in some vellum and a cute embossing folder for fun. It should be a fun class!

1st Date and Location 
Where: Amy Hook’s House (Please RSVP to Amy Hooks - hooks_amy@yahoo.com)
Fee: $15  
When: Wednesday, 3/11/2015 
Time: 7—9 pm 

2nd Date and Location
Where: Heidi's (Please RSVP to Heidi - heiditek@cox.net)
Fee: $15
When: Tuesday, 3/24/2015
Time: 10 AM-Noon
             1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

January and February Upcoming Classes

Happy New Year!
Great news...I've got two card classes scheduled for January and February and I would love for you to come and stamp with me.

In January I am offering a Watercolor Card Class where we'll be focusing on various watercolor techniques to use in your cardmaking and you don't have to be an artist! All three techniques are very simple and produce impressive results.

WHERE: Heidi's (Please RSVP - heiditek@cox.net)
FEE: $15
WHEN: Tuesday, 1/20/2015
TIMES: 3 time slots to choose from
              10 AM-Noon
              1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
              7 - 9 PM
** If scheduled classes fill up, I will try and offer a second date.

In February I'm offering a Heart to Heart Card Class. Come and create fun and beautiful handmade Valentine cards for the special people in your life using embossing, framelits, sponging and stamping.

WHERE: Snedigar Recreation Center, 4500 S. Basha Rd., Chandler, Classroom-Kitchen 510
To register for Heart to Heart card classes, call the Rec Center: (480) 782 2640
FEE: $15
WHEN: Tuesday 2/3/2015 
TIMES: 10– Noon AND 7-9 PM 

Card Class Tuesday, October 21

This month I'm offering two card classes at the Snedigar Recreation Center on Tuesday, October 21. The morning class is 10 AM - Noon and the evening class is 7 - 9 PM. I'd love to have you join me. See below for registration information.

Snedigar Recreation Center, 4500 S. Basha Rd, Classroom 516/517, Chandler, AZ 85248.

To register for classes, call Rec Center: (480) 782-2640, Creative Cardmaking. (Class codes below)

Registration Fee: $3    Class Fee: $12

                                               

Tuesday,  10/21/2014

Creative Cardmaking Class       337SN.134           10-Noon

Creative Cardmaking Class       338SN.134           7-9 PM

Sponged Serene Silhouettes

Today I'm sharing a very simple card using masking and sponging. It features the stamp sets Serene Silhouettes and the sentiment is from Sweet Essentials. This was one of the cards we made at our stamp club class in June.  I've posted the free PDF Class Tutorial HERE, if you'd like the supply list and instructions. The tutorial also includes two other cards.

I made several versions of the card using different color combinations. My favorite was the Pistachio Pudding/Marina Mist/Wisteria Wonder combination. The other two color combinations are Pink Pirouette/Strawberry Slush and Hello Honey/Cajun Craze/Baked Brown Sugar. All were stamped in Early Espresso. I also added some scoring above and below the sponged area to add some texture.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Butterfly Flower Fest

Here's a very simple card, but I love the doodle look and the fact that I can watercolor the image. The butterflies are from the Flower Fest stamp set, which I've been using quite a bit lately. I love the doodly openness of the images.

I stamped images with black Stazon and then colored the outer edges of the butterflies with Daffodil Delight. I added a pop of contrast with a couple of Poppy Parade scallop flowers from the Itty Bitty punch pack.

Hope that you're having a great day!

SUPPLIES

INK: Black Stazon, Daffodil Delight

SS: Flower Fest, Happy Watercolor (sentiment)

CS: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade (retired)

PUNCH: Butterfly (retired), Itty Bitty scallop flower, Scallop Edge

Accessories: Jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

So Very Grateful Mother's Day

Here’s another one of my favorite stamp sets, So Very Grateful, which yes, has also been retired. It’s such a cute set, and another great one for watercoloring. I did notice in the hostess section of the new 2014-15 SU catalog that there is a similar set called I Like You.

I had fun creating my own curved digital sentiment using a cute Google font called "Butterfly Kids" that looks like handwriting. I stamped my floral image using Stazon black and watercolored the flowers and leaves onto Whisper White CS and fussy-cut them, so that they could be dimensionalled onto the card front. I used my blender pen and reinkers for coloring, using Crisp Cantaloupe and Pool Party for the flowers, Pistachio Pudding for the leaves and Summer Starfruit for floral centers.

Thank you for taking time to stop by!

SUPPLIES:

PAPER: Whisper White CS, Strawberry Slush CS

INK: Black Stazon, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Summer Starfruit

SS: So Very Grateful, digital sentiment

PUNCHES: Scallop Edge

ACCESSORIES: Blender pen, jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Masculine Ink Swipe

Here are my Father's Day cards from last month...better late than never.

 I used the Ink Swipe Technique for these cards. (Visit my Ink Swipe Medallion post for another example of the technique.) I used a couple of retired stamp sets, the Happy Father's Day sentiment is from the All Holidays stamp set, but I don't know the name of the background stamps...sorry! The only current stuff on these cards are the colors. They are the 2014-15 In-Colors: Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist. I printed the DSP paper from MDS, coloring a grid pattern Tangelo Twist.

These are all about the same with a few minor changes. On the second card above I inked my craft sheet, spritzed the sheet with water and then stamped, whereas with the other cards, I inked my craft sheet, but spritzed the stamp instead of the craft sheet and then stamped into the ink.

 Both are fun, but I preferred the cleaner look. These make great one-layer cards. I love the bold black sentiment against the bright inked colors. It makes a great contrast.

Thanks so much for visiting. I hope that you have a great day!

SUPPLIES:

INK: Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist, Memento Tuxedo Black

PAPER: 100 lb smooth watercolor paper, Whisper White, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist, MDS DSP paper

SS: All Holidays for sentiment (retired), background stamp unknown

BIG SHOT: Stars framelit

ACCESSORIES: Craft sheet, sequins, water spritzer, jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Floral Perfect Pennants

I love this sentiment..."Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful". When the Perfect Pennants stamp set came out I wanted to make myself a card using this sentiment. What a good reminder, right? It's good to be reminded to be thankful for all the wonderful blessings in our lives! I take so much for granted sometimes.
When I designed this card it was for a card class I had planned to teach last February, but life got busier with my family, and I felt the Lord saying it was time to step out of all the "extras" and concentrate on the wonderful family blessings He's given me in this season of my life. No regrets there!

I did get to teach this class at our Stamp Club at Amy's last month, which was a whole lot of fun (the ladies make the fun). I had the tutorial pretty much put together, so the club class was a good reason to finish it up. I've posted the free PDF Class Tutorial HERE, if you'd like the supply list and instructions. The tutorial includes two other cards, which I'll be posting pictures of in the near future.

Have fun!!

Ink Swipe Medallion

I pulled out an old stampset, the Medallion, so that I could play around with another watercolor trend in card making, the Ink-Swipe technique. Today's technique was given to me by my stamping, friend, Nan (Thanks, Nan!) at our last month's Stamp Club class. She shared how to ink up your craft sheet, give it a spritz of water and then use it as a stamp pad to ink up your image. I had better luck laying down my ink on the craft sheet like she suggested, but spritzing my stamp with water instead of the craft sheet, then placing it into the ink and proceeding to stamp on watercolor paper. Just my preference, as both ways turned out great.

One of the fun things about watercolor is you're always surprised. Ink and water never produce the same results twice. I love surprises!

So glad that you stopped by!

SUPPLIES:

INK: Strawberry Slush, Daffodil Delight, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar

PAPER: 100 lb smooth watercolor paper, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar

SS: Medallion (retired, but use any large stamp), Sweet Essentials (use your favorite sentiment)

PUNCHES: Petite Petals, Itty Bitty punch pack-Scallop

ACCESSORIES: Craft sheet, water spritzer, jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Soft Watercolored Wedding

Today I’m sharing a card using a watercolor wash over a section of the card front panel, using Crisp Cantaloupe and Daffodil Delight reinkers. I stamped the “bride” sentiment over the Crisp Cantaloupe and the “groom” over the Daffodil Delight washes.

I lightly sponged the same colors onto three punched Five Petal flowers. To get the little embossed punched floral centers, I embossed a piece of heavy vellum with the Snowburst embossing folder.  I punched the center of the stars with the scallop from the Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, which fit perfectly.

I hope that you're having a wonderful day!

SUPPLIES:

INK: Crisp Cantaloupe, Daffodil Delight, Memento Tuxdeo Black

PAPER: 100 lb smooth watercolor paper, heavy vellum, Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pear Pizzazz

SS: Sweet Essentials

BIG SHOT: Little Leaves Sizzlit, Adorning Accents Edgelit, Snowburst embossing folder

PUNCHES: 5-Petal, Itty Bitty punch pack-Scallop, Scallop Edge

ACCESSORIES: Aquapainter, Paper Piercer, sponge, jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Watercolor Flower Fest Thanks

Flower Fest is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets. I don’t know why Stampin’ Up ever did away with such a cute set. The images look like doodles and they’re great for watercoloring, two card trends that are very popular right now.

My card today was inspired by this card by Stephanie. I used the smooth watercolor paper so that I could use my aquapainter to color the stamped images without the paper pilling up. I used reinkers with the aquapainter using Strawberry Slush for the flowers and Lucky Limeade for the leaves.

Thanks so much for visiting! Have a great day :-)

SUPPLIES:

INK: Black stazon, Reinkers – Strawberry Slush, Lucky Limeade

PAPER: 100 lb. smooth watercolor paper, Whisper White CS, Strawberry Slush CS, Gingham Garden DSP

SS: Flower Fest, Happy Watercolor (sentiment and dots)

ACCESSORIES: Aquapainter, jewels-rhinestone

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Watercolor Flower Fest

I’ve been playing around with watercoloring, a medium I love. My dad painted beautiful watercolors, mainly of seascapes. Twenty years ago (gosh, has it really been that long ago?) he gave me some watercolor lessons, but I was busy raising my family at the time, so it became one of those “I’ll get back to it someday” activities.

One of my mother’s day gifts this year was some “fun” money from my son, so I used it to sign up for an online Watercolor for Cards class. I’ve actually only gotten into the first lesson, but it’s got me pulling out my watercolor brushes, paints, and paper, so that I can play around with it all again. I’ve forgotten so much of what my dad taught me, it’s kind of sad. I hope it all comes back as I go through the rest of the watercolor lessons.

The watercolor image above was created using an acrylic block, markers and a spritz bottle of water. I found that the type of paper you use makes ALL the difference. I tried Whisper White, but didn’t like the splotchy look. Then I tried the rough watercolor paper…it was okay, but I wanted a smooth card finish, so I went with a smooth watercolor paper and I really liked the results it gave me.

Here's a quickie explanation of how I created my watercolor background:

1. Color the whole acrylic block randomly in different colors: Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Rich Razzleberry

2. Lightly spritz the block with water, allowing the colors to run together a little bit (too much running and you’ll get a muddy look)

3. Press inked block onto watercolor paper panel, slightly lifting parts of the block to shift the color around. Hold in place for a minute. Carefully remove block. At this time you can tilt your watercolor paper around if you’d like your colors to move and bleed into each other. Allow to dry or use your heat tool to speed up drying process.

I used black Stazon ink to stamp my floral image over the watercolored background , stamping one floral image onto a piece of Poppy Parade CS. I then stamped my sentiment in the lower right corner of the watercolor card front panel.

Give it a try, it's a simple technique that makes a beautiful background!

SUPPLIES

INK: Black Stazon, Stampin’ Write Markers – Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry, Poppy Parade

SS: Retired Secret Garden (SU’s 2014-15 Forever Florals 133976 would look great); Retired sentiment SS?, use your favorite

CS: Whisper White, Smooth 100lb. watercolor paper, Poppy Parade (retired)

Big Shot: Secret Garden framelit (retired)

Accessories: Acrylic Block “I” (118488), Stampin Spritzer (126185), jewels-rhinestones

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Sailboat Baby Card

Today's card uses a digital stamped sailboat image and digital sentiment, with the rest of the card using traditional card making stuff like the Square Lattice embossed CS panel, sponging, Oval framelits, etc.

I had fun creating this card...well, anytime you get to use digital, sponging, texturing and the Big Shot you've got yourself a recipe for fun.

Hope that you're having a fun day, too!

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

A Happy Birthday CASE

If you were fortunate enough to earn one of this year's SAB Petal Parade stamp sets, then here's a fun and easy card design for you to use. I CASE'd this great card from Ilina Crouse. (Yes, I have been case'ing more than I used to, since I don't have as much time to sit down and design. When you're short on time and you need to make a card, there are some great card designs out there!)

I love celebrating birthdays with fun cards and this one definitely looks happy and festive and doesn't take much time to make.

So glad that you stopped by!!

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Polka Dot Anniversary

I'm on a polka dot roll here...this time using a Pool Party polka dot with Real Red accents. This is a simple Anniversary card with a stamped "Happy Anniversary" in a word bubble. The Word Bubbles are a fun way to create stamped embellishments.

The two little hearts represent the sweet couple celebrating their anniversary :-)

Have a great day!!

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

Polka Dot Bouquet

Today's bright floral bouquet card against a Crumb Cake background was inspired by this lovely card by Barbara. Everything looks great against Crumb Cake...one of my favorite cardmaking colors!

I used the retiring  Secret Garden SS to create the flowers and the coordinating framelits. Crumb Cake polka dot DSP is from the Fresh Prints DSP stack in the 2014 Occasion Mini catalog.

I hope that you're having a wonderful day!

Visit my Stampin' Up! demonstrator, Amy Hooks, to order supplies

So Kind CASE

Today I'm sharing a card I case'd by Connie Collins. She created a bold digital chevron background, which I loved, using MDS and a Silhouette cutter. I don't have a cutter, but I do have MDS so I came up with my own chevron background using the MDS photo corner punch. I didn't quite get my punches aligned perfectly, so the points of the chevrons aren't as clean as I'd like, but since I didn't have time to go back and redo, it's good enough.

The retired Flower Fest stamp set is still one of my favorites, especially if I'm in the mood to watercolor.

Thanks for stopping by!