Man Card Part 3

The group that I am with-Love at First Stamp- are meeting tonight to organize our next stamp-a-stack. We have already discussed what type of cards we are going to make. One is with the new stamp set "Oval All" and the new Scallop Oval Punch which you can find in the new Occasion's Mini. You can start ordering from the Occasions mini tomorrow. Great set and you will see more of that set in the future. The second set we are going to use is "Fifth Avenue Floral" which is a new set from the Spring/Summer Catalog. And the third card is a "Manly" card perhaps using the "And Many Mower" set from the new Occasions Mini. We all come with a bunch of samples that we have designed for the event. Then we choose three from the samples that have been presented. Here is one of my contributions that I will be sharing tonight. Do you see my continuing theme? Once again I have used the masculine looking designer paper "To the Nines" This time I also used the image from "And Many Mower" set. Not bad at all and if you didn't like the image... you could use the man pushing the lawn mower or you could stamp a masculine greeting instead. Versatility is the key here. The supplies that I used for this project are:

STAMP SETS: And Many Mower

CARDSTOCK: Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, To the Nines Specialty Designer Paper

INK: Black Stazon

ACCESSORIES: Wonder Crayons, Blender Pens

For the masculine cards, I have tried to keep them very plain with not a lot of ribbon, or glitter, or fancy edges. I hope that they like them for tonight and I hope that you have enjoyed viewing them. Go out and enjoy this beautiful, sunny day!

Man Card part 2

A few days ago, I was rambling on about trying to come up with "Manly Cards" for a stamp- a -stack for my customers. I also said that one of the biggest problems was that not everyone liked the same stamp set since all men are not into golf, or hunting, or camping, ect. My theory was that if you choose strong colors, a bold stamp set and a masculine designer paper, you could come up with a lot of "Manly " cards. So far, my customers and upline seem to be agreeing with me. Here is another card, very plain but I think it does the trick. The Shara Sand background paper was run through the Big Shot using the harlequin design Texturz plate. It adds to the plainness of the background with a subtle masculine texture.The other colors that I used was Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip. To the Nines Designer Paper was used also. I really like that paper. It really gives you a nice variety of papers in more masculine patterns such as stripes, bold paisley sand dots. It is also a textured designer paper which also adds a nice touch to the cards. I seem to go back to the "Upsy Daisy" stamp set for the sentiments. They are bold with a simple saying. I have been playing around with these very simple supplies and come up with a variety of "Man Cards" that any guy would like. You can also add those stamp sets with golfers, animals, camping, ect. to the basic colors and design of the card and it still looks great. I will show you that card soon. The supplies that I used for this card are:

STAMP SETS: Upsy Daisy

CARDSTOCK: Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke, To the Nines Specialty Designer Paper, Whisper White

INK: Chocolate Chip

ACCESSORIES: Chocolate Chip Ribbon, 1/2" Circle Punch

I never really enjoyed trying to make a card for a guy, but I think that I have stumbled on a recipe for success. So far my customers are pleased with the results and so am I. Ejoy the day!

Buzzin' Ribbon Pull Card

When I first saw this stamp set, "Just Buzzin' By", I said that would make a great card that moves. I thought the little bees were adorable and should move in some way. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to make them move. Then I received a card from Pennie, who is three uplines above me. The card that she sent me was a ribbon pull card and was made with the stamp set "Owl Together Now". That cute little owl flew up and down on the ribbon and I thought that would be a perfect way to make my cute little bees buzz around. When you pull on the ribbon, it makes the bee move up and down on the card. I used Baja Breeze for the actual card and glued everything else on top of that. The bees were stamped with Stazon Black and then I used Wonder Crayons and a bender pens to color in the flowers and bees. The beehive was stamped onto More Mustard and Close To Cocoa cardstock using Chocolate Chip classic ink pad. I then cut the beehive and stand out and adhered it to the card. I also added Dazzling Diamonds to the wings to add a little pizazz. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Just Buzzin' By

CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, More Mustard, Close To Cocoa

INK: Chocolate Chip, Black Stazon

ACCESSORIES: Wonder Crayons, Blender Pen, 5/8" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Dazzling Diamond, 2 Way Glue, 1- 1/4" Circle Punch. 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Hobby Knife(to cut the slits)

This is a cute card for any occasion...birthday, thank you, thinking of you, get well... This was also a card that we made in my "CARDS THAT MOVE" Technique Class. Every seemed to like it. It took a little more time but it was well worth it. I hope you enjoyed it and remember to enjoy the day!

Sunday Workshop with Friends

This Sunday I am having a workshop at my best friend's house. She is the person that kind of talked me into doing this after I retired. We are really best friends. We started teaching at the same time in the same school. (that is how we met each other) Our oldest daughters are the same age and growing up we did a lot together with them. So we have been friends for years and years. So I guess that it is appropriate that I use the stamp set "Friends 24-7" for this workshop. I really did not plan it that way, it just happened! Jodie wanted me to come up with an idea for a Mother's Day card. I (of course) started to think of pinks, yellows, and light greens. Then I received a thank you note from one of my side-line sisters and on her card she used Not quite Navy, Baja Breeze and the beautiful Parisian Breeze Designer paper. I really liked the color combination, so I took those papers and played around with different ideas and layouts until Jodie chose this one. I liked the eyelet border. It makes it look more motherly, I think. I took the Baja Breeze cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot to give it a little more interest with the texture. I also felt adding the White Organdy ribbon added a little more femininity to it along with the border. The supplies that I used for this card are:

STAMP SETS: Friends 24-7

CARDSTOCK: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Parisian Breeze Designer Paper

INK: Not Quite Navy, Stazon Black, Old Olive, Baja Breeze

ACCESSORIES: Blender Pens, White Organdy Ribbon, Eyelet Border Punch, Texturz Plate, Big Shot

I hope my friends like this card for Mother's Day. I know I was pleased with how it turned out. Well the sun is finally out and it is a beautiful day. So go and enjoy the day! I know I will.

Pop Up Birthday

I promised you a brighter color card today and I hope that you enjoy this one. This card was made at my February Technique Class. The theme for the class was "CARDS THAT MOVE". This pop up card was one of the three cards that we made that day. I really made sure that the colors I used for this card were bright and cheery. I wanted to use something more festive so I chose Yoyo Yellow, Real Red and Tempting Turquoise. Those colors are bound to get you in the festive mood. On the card front I used the chef stamp from the set "Voila". I thought that using the covered tray would give an element of surprise when you opened the card . When the card is opened, you are (hopefully) surprised by the cupcake that pops out at you. The set that I used for the inside of the card was "Crazy for Cupcakes". Not really two sets that you would think would go together but they look great together for this card.

The top picture shows the card front, the second picture is the inside of the card and the third picture is a close up of the inside. The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Voila, Crazy forCupcakes

CARDSTOCK: Yoyo Yellow, Whisper White, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise

INK: Stazon Black, Tempting Turquoise

ACCESSORIES: Real Red Marker, Yoyo Yellow Marker, Tempting Turquoise Marker, 2Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds, Sticky Tape

This was a fun card to do and everyone loved it. After my Saturday class that month, I went over to my up-line Kim's home and demonstrated it to my side-line sisters. We all made the card and then celebrated my up-line's real birthday! What a great time we all had together that day! If you try to make this card, I am sure who ever gets it will love it too.

This was a challenge for me to use brighter colors but sometimes you just have to take the chance. And sometimes taking a chance makes all the difference in the world. So take a chance today and try something new. Enjoy the day!

This is the third time today that I have tried to post on this blog! My dog Lucy has been acting up and I keep losing what I am trying to post. She is a mini Schnauzer, 5 years old and is acting like a spoiled kid this morning. Every time I sit down and start to type, she grabs something that she knows she is not to have and runs past me with it. Like she is saying, "I have something I am not supposed to have so come and get me". So she is now in her crate and I am going to try again! Because she caused so much havoc today, I thought I would let you see what she looks like.

The card I am showing today is another one using Friends 24-7 stamp set. I LOVE that stamp set! But today when I posted my card, I realized that I have only been stamping this card using Soft Subtles. There is nothing bold that stands out on this card. I used Mellow Moss for the background of the card. I covered the background using Mellow Moss ink with the Friendly Words wheel . Very subtle, using a tone on tone. The Pink Pirouette ribbon sets it off but is still a very subdued accessory. The choices give this card a very calm and soothing feeling. For this card I used the following supplies:

STAMP SET: Friends 24-7, All Holidays

CARDSTOCK: Basic Gray, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette

INK: Basic Gray, Mellow Moss, Pink Pirouette

ACCESSORIES: 5/8: Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Friendly Words Wheel, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Pink Brads from the Soft Subtle Brads

There is nothing wrong with the colors that I used for this card but it appears that I ahve gotten into a rut. So I will go back to the drawing board and come up with more designs using different color combinations. Tomorrow, I promise that I will show you a much bolder color choice on my card. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Happy Father's Day?

When you look at this card, you probably think that I had better look at a calendar. Although it might seem a little (a lot) early to make a Father's Day card, it is never the wrong time to play around with your supplies to come up designs for those special occasion cards. It always seems that I wait until a few days before and then the creative juices don't want to flow. So what if you try a lot of different ideas when you have the time. Really, that is the time to do it. Try different colors, different layouts, different sentiments, different embellishments! Play around when you find the time, try different things and you will find that you will stumble across a card that you will fall in love with. This card did not photograph well and is hard to see. The colors are very dark. The cardstock behind the sentiment and designer paper is really Always Artichoke and was run through the Big Shot using the diamond Texturz Plate. That added dimension to the card. The supplies that I used for this card are:

STAMP SET: All Holidays
CARDSTOCK: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Whisper White
INK: Chocolate Chip, To the Nines Specialty Designer Paper
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Texturz Plate, Silver Brads

I am not done experimenting with this card yet. There are more color combinations, layouts,
and embellishments to try yet. But I will know when I am finished that I will love the card. And my friends and family know that I put a lot thought and effort into each card I design and make for them. So take a day to play with your stamping supplies(toys). You'll be glad you did.

Manhatten Flower

I had my last March Technique Class last night. Most of the people who attended were from the school where I had worked, so it was nice getting together with them again. We had a nice time making our containers and everyone liked what we made! And hopefully they will like what we make at my good friend Jodie's workshop at the end of this month. Last night they got a sneak peek of one of the projects we will be working on. Jodie will be inviting all of our friends from work. This group of people have been stamping for over 8 years! So when we get together I always try to have something very new and more difficult for them to do. This project is not very difficult but it does use a lot of Stampin'Up products from the NEW Spring/Summer Catalog. At Leadership, I saw a demonstration of this card and absolutely fell in love with it. I don't rememeber if the card actually looked like this but I do remember the flower and the chocolate glitter! This is a very simple card to make but it does make a large impact when you see it. I know that my photo does not show the glitter that well, trust me- it is a stunning card! Hopefully you can see it better on the close up. I used the NEW Textured Impressions-Manhatten Flower which is used with the Big Shot to create the raised flower design. I used the Bronze Paper from the NEW Taste of Textiles cardstock package and ran the Manhatten Flower texture plate through the Big Shot to create the raised design. After running it through the Big Shot, I adhered Chocolate Glitter onto the raised lines. The Baja Breeze ribbon from the NEW Ribbon Originals-(Valet) was added to give the card a little POP!!! Jodie loved it and hopefully the rest will too when we get together this month. The supplies that were used to create this card were:

STAMP SETS: All Holidays

CARDSTOCK: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Bronze Metallic from Taste of Textiles package

INK: Chocolate Chip

ACCESSORIES: Textured Impressions-Manhatten Flower, Big Shot, Silver Brads, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Baja Breeze Ribbon from Ribbon Originals

The other cards that I promised we would make are cards for Easter and Mother's Day. This afternoon I will get back to work and come up with some great designs for my friends. This is the group that gets together once a week in the summer to eat lunch, stamp cards and most of all- share our friendship. Have a good day and ENJOY!

A Manly Card

So many times I am asked to do a manly card at my technique classes. It seems that everyone I talk to thinks it is hard to come up with a card that is very manly. Masculine stamp sets are difficult to choose. Most people want to buy a manly stamp set that they can use a number of times but not all men like the outdoors, golfing, or cars. So what do can you do for all those men in your life that like different things? Maybe it is just as simple as...a nice "manly" paper, simple design, strong colors, and a bold message. I tried that approach here. Stampin' Up has a great new paper -To The Nines Specialty. It is a textured cardstock with more masculine colors and patterns. I just received it yesterday and plan to play around with it a lot more. I used the bold greeting from the stamp set- Upsy Daisy and used the new Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons(another masculine touch). It is a simple design but I think it might work. In the next weeks ahead, I hope to show you more masculine cards using this paper. Supplies that I used for this card are:

STAMP SETS: Upsy Daisy

CARDSTOCK: Chocolate Chip Cardstock, To the Nines Speciality Designer Paper

INK: Chocolate Chip Craft

ACCESSORIES: Clear Embossing Powder, Heating Tool, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons

Hopefully this will might give you a simple solution to those hard to create masculine cards. I wish I could play with the paper more today but I have to get my supplies ready for my technique class tonight.

Scallop Envelope Basket

What a beautiful sunny morning! This project is perfect for a a day like today. It is very Spring-like. This is the last project that is included in my March Technique Class of Boxes, Bags, and Baskets. This is a small basket that I saw on Flowerbugs Inkspot (I love that blog). I changed a few things but the basic idea is the same. To create this small basket, you need to have two scallop envelopes that were made with your Big Shot. Trim the bottom edge to 1" on both envelopes and adhere with sticky tape. Add 1"by 2" cardstock rectangles to the side flaps in order to create a box. I used the crop-o-dile to attach Jumbo Eyelets to the sides where I pulled ribbon thought o create a handle. Very cute, yet very easy. Again I used Tea Party Designer Paper. I just can't get enough of that paper! Just perfect for Easter projects. You can also use four Scallop Envelopes and adhere them together to make a square box. A few of the people at Saturday's Class did that and then added a ribbon handle to the box to make a bigger basket. It was just as cute! Here is a list of the supplies that I used to make this project:

STAMP SETS: none

CARDSTOCK: Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Tea Party Designer Paper

INK: none

ACCESSORIES: Three Flower Punch, Crop-o-Dile, Jumbo Eyelets, Soft Subtle Brads, 5/8" Striped Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Tape, Big Shot, Scallop Envelope Die

Everyone at Saturday's Class loved the quick and Easy projects that they could make for Easter. Some were going to use the tiny baskets to decorate a tree, another was going to make the small baskets for their child's class treats, one was going to use them as favors! Just so many ideas to use them for. I am sure that you can even come up with other uses for them. Enjoy the ideas and enjoy today!

Outside the Comfort Zone

Wow...A new adventure!!! My friends Buffy and Kim have encouraged me to step of my comfort zone and join the the world of blogging. A new way of showing people my love of stamping and creating. At Leadership in Orlando, we had a wonderful speaker who spoke to us about going outside your comfort zone and trying new things. Well here I go, stepping outside my comfort zone and trying something new. If you knew me, you would understand how this is so not like me. But hopefully, I will be able to share some of the projects I am working on and you will enjoy them. Wish me luck! Here is to a new adventure!