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!

Hello Kitty Punch Art

...and some changes. I'll share the Hello Kitty card first, which I made for my youngest granddaughter's birthday, who is a spunky little thing. I used punches and lots of black Sharpie marker to create this card. (I have to say that the fumes from the Sharpie got a little strong at times!!!)

This card took a little while to make, but I enjoyed the challenge of figuring out how to get an evenly black outline around all the punched pieces and then how to create all the parts for the Hello Kitty. The eyes and nose took some trial and error. I finally ended up using a few ovals from a rocket in the Sizzix Sizzlit Boy Set, because there was no way I could have drawn in the two oval eyes to look  the same. The paws, ears, and bow were all made from the Small Heart punch, with the tips of the hearts cut off to create the paws and the arches of the hearts cut off to create the ears. I've included the supply list at the end of this post.

So now onto some changes...Most of my Stampin' Up! customers know that I am terminating my Stampin' Up! demonstratorship. I have thoroughly enjoyed my season as a demonstrator over the last 8 years, but with my family obligations requiring more of my time, I am unable to keep my business running and to care for my family as well I would like to. 

With my termination came an unexpected surprise. One of my Stamp Club members, Amy Hooks, has decided to become a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator. (Yay, Amy!!) She will continue to serve our Stamp Club and anyone else who would like to place an order. If you live locally and are interested in information about her club or placing orders, you can visit her Stampin' Up! website here.

Since Amy has taken over the SU part of my business, I've been thinking that it might be feasible for me to offer a class or two later in the year, which is the part of my business I miss the most and really enjoyed. We’ll see! I'll keep you all posted. Until then I'll just keep sharing my cards here with you on my blog and hope that you'll keep visiting.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supply List

CS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Fresh Print DSP

INK: Basic Black

PUNCHES: Extra large oval (head), Small Heart (ears, bow, paws), 1-1/4" Scallop Circle, Itty Bitty shapes (circle for bow center)

Big Shot: Sizzix Sizzlit die Boy Set (eyes, nose), Word Bubble framelits, Strips EB folder

SS: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Accessories: Jewels-rhinestones, black Sharpie marker

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

Baby Elephants

The inspiration for this cute baby boy card came from a sweet card Kim S. made using elephants. I used her three elephant idea which I created using My Digital Studio's Nursery Necessities stamp set, and stamped the "Hello Baby" sentiment from the Sweet Essentials stamp set.

 I love hybrid cards because the printer produces rich evenly stamped images, as seen
 in the elephants above.

The color combination in the Sweet Sorbet DSP has a nursery look and works well for a baby boy or girl card. I pulled out SU's retired star punches to make an embellishment for the upper section of the card.

So glad that you stopped by!

Supplies:

INK: Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Summer Starfruit, Basic Black

PAPER: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Pool Party, Black, Sweet Sorbet DSP

SS: Sweet Essentials

MDS: Nursery Necessities stamp set

Vellum Thank You

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired from a couple of different people. The Frosted Embossing technique I used on the vellum came from one of Amanda Burditt's cards. She has a video showing you the technique on her blog, if you'd like to try it out for yourself. The floral design was inspired by I'm in Haven's cute card.

I used a thick vellum and found that I got a better frosted look by rubbing in a circular motion. I used my Simply Scored scoring tool to make the lined border.

I pulled out a couple of retired items, the stamp set "One of a Kind" for the flowers to use with my Boho Blossom punch and the retired Elegant Bouquet EB folder. A couple of Little Leaves sizzlits cut apart make up the green garland frame. I love trying new techniques, and this one was fun and simple. Ink used is Daffodil Delight, Calypso Coral and black Stazon for sentiment.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day :-)

So Very Grateful Baby Card

Today I'm sharing a baby card which was inspired by Lin Brandyberry's card. This is my first time using the So Very Grateful stamp set, which I thought was so cute when I first saw it.

The colors in the Sweet Sorbet DSP were perfect for this little girl baby card. I fussy cut the floral images and then cut apart one of the floral images so that I had the floral thing going along the topside of the white scalloped border. 

This is a fun stamp set to watercolor.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look!

Supplies:
Paper: Sweet Sorbet DSP, Whisper White, Crisp Cantaloupe
Ink: Black Stazon, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pool Party, Pistachio Pudding, Summer Starfruit
SS: So Very Grateful, Sweet Essentials
BS: Large Scallop Edgelit, Delicate Designs EB folder
Punches: Itty Bitty Shapes (scallop)
Accessories: Blender pen, Jewels-rhinestones

Hearts A Flutter Valentine

CLICK ON LINKS BELOW TO VIEW:

- 2014 Valentine Trio Tutorial-$3.95

- STAMPIN' UP'S PROMOTIONS

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This is my husband's favorite Valentine this year. He likes cards with green leaves in them...remember my Mosaic Christmas Ornament card from last year and his suggestion to add the green leaves? This time I thought I'd beat him to the punch and added green leaves to the hearts, which he really liked :-)

I used the rectangular Designer Frames embossing folder to frame the stamped heart from the Hearts A Flutter stamp set. This is another "my style" more traditional Valentine card.

See you next time!

Supplies:

CS: Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black, Real Red, Fresh Prints DSP (132996)

INK: Real Red, Basic Black

SS: Sweet Essentials (126457), Hearts A Flutter (129252)

Adorning Accent Valentine

CLICK ON LINKS BELOW TO VIEW:

- 2014 Valentine Trio Tutorial-$3.95

- STAMPIN' UP'S PROMOTIONS

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Today's Valentine is more along the traditional lines...which is more my personal taste for Valentine's. I have been trying to stretch myself to include styles and trends that aren't necessarily my favorite, but are fun nonetheless, which is how I came up with my last post's You & Me Valentine.

I love the soft lines of the Adorning Accent framelit and Adorning Accent edgelit together. I added the negative punched heart to allow the pretty Fresh Prints DSP to stand out against the white cardstock.

Hope that you're having a wonderful day!

Supplies:

CS: Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black,Fresh Prints paper Stack DSP (132996)

INK: Basic Black

SS: Sweet Essentials (126457) or use your favorite sentiment stamp set