Open Seas Patina Style

This was another one of the samples that I created for the Demo meeting at Janet's on Saturday.  I have loved this stamp set from the first time I saw this in the Stamping Up Catalog.  This is my favorite go to stamp set when I am trying to come up with a masculine card.  

The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS:  The Open Sea, World Map, Glorious Grunge
PAPER:  Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Early Espresso, Whisper White
INK:  Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Versamark
ACCESSORIES: Sponge, Chevron Embossing Folder, Espresso Baker's Twine,  Silver Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Brayer, Circle Framelits

If you are looking at the supply list and are wondering where some of these supplies were used, let me help you.  To create the Faux PatinaI used a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I opened the Chevron Embossing Folder and inked the smooth side of the embossing folder using a brayer inked with Crumb Cake.  I then ran that through the Big Shot.  I then took that piece of inked card stock and sponged over the card stock with Basic Gray.  The next step was to then sponge Night of Navy over the raised area.  The last step in this process was to take one of the speckled stamps  from Glorious Grunge stamp set, ink with Versa mark and stamp all over the inked card stock.  I then took Silver Embossing Powder and then used the Heating Tool to emboss.  

The Faux Patina technique has a lot of different steps, but it is not hard to do.  I liked using the Silver Embossing Powder with this color combination because of  the blues being a cool feel and the silver also has a cool look to it.  

All in all it was a nice day.  It also gave me a good excuse to get this stamp set out again.  Enjoy the day!

June Technique Class- Card 1

Wow!  Did this weekend fly by fast.  Sorry I did not post Monday but I have been so busy with life events that I just could not squeeze in posting the last few days.  So the past few days have been an out of town wedding, a first birthday party for Emmett  held at my house, baking for my close friend's mother's funeral, then the funeral and finally a Technique Class yesterday.  

So now I am back and ready to show you what I have planned for this month.  This month's theme for Technique Class is "NEW PRODUCTS".  So I made all the cards trying to use as much product from the catty that I could.  For this card I used the new Epic Day Washi Tape.  All the supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS:  Lovely as a Tree, Delightful Dozen
PAPER:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
INK:  Soft Suede
ACCESSORIES:  Epic Day Washi Tape, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango Markers

My goal for this month's class was just to get the feel of using the Washi Tape and keeping the rest of the card very simple.  I  will be using the Washi Tape again in the Fall at another Technique Class but using the tape in a different way.  I like the this card.  It came out with a masculine feel and I can always use another masculine card.  Oh and if you are trying to figure out where I used the 2 markers, I used the Thumping Technique on the leaves of the tree.  The extra colors on the leaves give it a little more depth.

I will be holding 2 more Technique classes this month.  This coming Saturday morning and next Wednesday evening.  If you would like to attend, please contact me for more information.  Enjoy the day!

The Open Sea Swap Card

On Saturday I attended a downline meeting with a different upline than my own.  My upline lives in Washington State and this demo lives much closer.  She invites demos who do not have an upline who lives close along with her own downlines.  My sideline and I try to go to her meetings at least once a quarter.  It is so nice to meet with a group of other people who love to do the same thing as you do.  One of my favorite parts of the meeting is when we get to swap with each other.  This is the swap that I put together for this past weekend's meeting. 

The picture for this post did not turn out very well.  It is hard to see the details of this card.  I guess the light this morning was not as good as it usually is.  The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET:  The Open Sea
PAPER:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy
INK:  Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Versamark
ACCESSORIES:  Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Windows Framelits, Chevron Embossing Folder, Big Shot, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Gold EP, Heating Tool

The Night of Navy triangle is embossed using the Chevron Embossing Folder.  I think it is very hard to see in this picture.  I did that to create the feeling of the waves.  Also it is hard to see in the picture the gold embossed compass which I punched out using the circle punch. 

All in all I was happy with how this swap turned out.  I was thinking that maybe I would use this card design or maybe just the layout using another stamp set for my swaps at Convention.  Wait and see until later.  Today I only have the youngest grandson to watch. So this is going to be one of the easier babysitting days this week.  Hopefully it will give me more time to get prepared for my Hostess Appreciation Gathering this Friday.  Enjoy the day!

Need For Speed Swap

When I go to events where you swap, I usually try to take one masculine card.  People are always looking for masculine cards at these events.  So this time I cam up with this quick and simple card for a masculine swap.  The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SETS:  Need for Speed, Best Dad Ever
PAPER:  Whisper White, Brushed Silver, Real Red, Basic Black
INK:  Basic Black, Versamark
ACCESSORIES:  Black Embossing Powder, Heating Tool, Scallop Duo Die, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Naturals Glimmer Brads

This is a really quick swap.  If I was going to give this card to someone, I would probably color the car red using a Blender Pen.  This post is really short because I am getting ready to go into New York City to see "The Chew"!!!!  I love that show and this will be my second time going.  So enjoy the day because I know I am!

Love At First Stamp's First Blog Hop

This is the first LOVE AT FIRST STAMP Blog Hop.  I am so excited to be here!  Our group may be small but we have some wonderful ideas for you.  If you are here then you came here  from Jennifer Gregorsky's blog  you are in the right spot!   But if you started right here, fear not! You can manage to get all the way around the entire tour just by following the links at the bottom of each post.

This post is going live on the morning of the 15th, so if you find some posts in our tour have not yet posted, please be patient.  The entire tour should be accessible at some point this evening. Keep checking back!

My challenge is focused on Father's Day.  This was challenging for me because it has a male theme and I do not create a lot of masculine cards.  I had a slow start because my mind was jumping all over the place trying to figure out what I wanted to do.  I had a rough time trying to focus until I settled on a Designer Series Paper instead of a stamp set and then everything fell very quickly into place.  I chose "PARKERS PATTERNS"( which I think has masculine prints ) for the DSP and used that in every project so everything in this post was cohesive.

 

Here is my first card which uses the same sketch as all my other fellow stampers. It was designed my Jenn Campbell who is one of my stamping sisters.    I think why I was having the rough time was because the sketch was designed with a flower for the focal point.  I had to flip my brain over to manly and I came up with 
using the "JUST THINKING" single stamp from the Spring Catalog in place of the flower .  If you look closely you will see that when I  put the focal point together, I made sure I used many layers to give depth to the card just as the flower had many layers to it.   The supplies used for this card were:

STAMP SETS: Just Thinking, Teeny Tiny Wishes
PAPER:  Parkers Patterns DSP,  Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
INK: Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Window Frames Collection Framelits, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Early Espresso Marker, Basics Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Silver Brads

This is one way of taking a sketch and using the main elements but changing it up a bit.  The sketch had a more feminine  feel to it because of the flower but I was able to change it up a bit with a more masculine feel to it.  

This second card also used DSP from Parkers Patterns DSP but I decided to use the  "BY THE TIDE" stamp set also from the Spring Catalog.  I used a Z Fold to create this card.  And to make it pop, I used Tangerine Tango Embossing Powder to create raised coral and a spark of color on the inside insert.  The supplies that I used for this card were: 

STAMP SETS:  By the Tide, Delightful Dozen
PAPER:  Parkers Patterns DSP, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
INK:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Tangerine Tango, Versamark
ACCESSORIES:  Heating Tool, Tangerine Tango Embossing Folder, Sponges






The third idea is a "SQUASH BOOK" .  It is a mini album which I thought might make a great Father's Day gift.  Inside the book there are places to place photos.  What a great gift to give your father or husband with photos of their children or grandchildren!  I think every man would appreciate this.  I used Parkers Patterns DSP on the inside to add a little color to the project.  And I think the sentiment on the front of the Squash Book is perfect for photo giving.  The supplies that I used  for this project were:

Squash Book from the front and closed

STAMP SETS: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Elements of Style
PAPER:  Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Parkers Patterns DSP
INK:  Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
ACCESSOIRES:  Natural 7/16" Trim, Dimensionals, 1/8" Mini Brads

Close up of inside of Squash Book

Inside of entire Squash Book

The final project is a Gift Card Holder .  I used the Twisted Card technique.  So many men are so hard to buy for.  I know my husband is.  So sometimes it is easier on me to just give him a gift card.  This Twisted Card Technique is a really neat way to present that favorite guy (your Father ) in your life a gift card.  Again I used the Parkers Patterns DSP in the construction of this project.  It is so easy to make and I plan to show that in a future post. The supplies that I used for this final project were:

Outside of the Twisted Card- Gift Card Holder

STAMP SETS:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Just Thinking
PAPER:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Parkers Patterns DSP
INK:  Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES:  Cherry Cobbler Marker, Natural Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Window Frame Collection Framelits, Big Shot

Inside the Gift Card Holder

I hope you enjoyed all the projects I created.  I really enjoyed putting this special post together.  And I think all the people involved in this blog did a terrific job this month.














If you wish to go back to Jennifer Gregorsky's blog, please Click here for Jennifer Gregorsky's Blog


I am the last person on the blog hop.  So if you wish to start at the beginning please Click 
here for Katherine Rock's Blog


Just in case you get a little lost along the way, here is our blog order for this hop:

Katherine Rock- St Patrick's Day 
Buffy  Allen- Happy Spring 
Jennifer Campbell - Easter
Susan Peters - Mother's Day 
Jennifer Gregorsky - Memorial Day 
Gail Derea - Father's Day 

Enjoy the day!

January Technique Class- Card 1

The theme for my technique classes this month was "Glitz & Glitter".  And what a perfect theme it was since Stampin' Up kicked off their 25th anniversary this month at Leadership. This is the first card that we made at my classes this month. 

This card used the a technique to color the Silver Glimmer Paper.  This time I used a Sponge Dauber to color the Glimmer Paper instead of using an Aquapainter.  All you need to do is place a few drops of Re-Inker into a container.  Take a Sponge Dauber , dip it into the container to soak up some of the re-inker, and then sponge over the Glimmer Paper.  The supplies that I used fro this card were:

STAMP SET:  The Open Sea
PAPER:  Not Quite Nave, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Silver Glimmer Paper
INK:  Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
ACCESSORIES: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Cherry Cobbler's Baker's Twine, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Soft Suede Ink Refill, Sponge Dauber

This card was designed before I left for Orlando and all my supplies were cut.  When I came home I changed the layout.  And then the first day I had the class, I added the Baker's Twine because it needed something added to it.  My cards a lot of the time are works in progress.  I am always thinking how I can change it or make it better.  

Speaking of Silver Glimmer Paper, during Sale-A-Bration if you host at least a $150 party you will receive a package of Silver Glimmer Paper.  That is in honor of Stampin' Up's 25th Anniversary.  Enjoy your day!

Leadership Swap Card 2

I love going to Stampin' Up events!  There are so many things going on.  There are training events, Share Fairs, swapping and more. When I go to different events where there is swapping, I always try to make 2 different cards.  I showed my first design and here is the second card I took to Leadership.  The supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET:  The Open Sea
PAPER:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Soft Suede Pattern Pack DSP
INK:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Large Oval Punch, Chevron Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals

I find that a lot of demonstrators are happy that I also try to make a masculine card to swap because we are always looking for cards to give to that favorite guy in our lives.

I would also like to share a few of the swaps I received at Leadership:

card by Pam Joel

card by Robyn Boyer-

The cards that I shared with you today were swapped with me by two of my side lines.  We always try to sit together in the same area when we go to events like this.  We had a great time at Leadership!  I have more to share with in the next couple of weeks.  Enjoy your day!

A More Manly Card

I always find it is so difficult to come up with cards that can be used for a male.  I can easily come up with floral cards, kid cards, baby cards, and holiday cards.  but the manly cards stump me.  But Pennie came up with this card on Saturday for a Make & Take and I think everyone probably went home and ordered this set.  This card is so easy and perfect for that young man or adult male in your household who loves the outdoors.  Another simple card that uses very few colors but the flames of the fire really make this card pop.

The supplies that we used for this card were:

STAMP SET: The Great Outdoors
PAPER:  Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Natural Specialty Designer Paper
INK:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie

ACCESSORIES:  Scissors, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals , 3" Circle Die, 3-1/2" Circle Die, Big Shot, Linen Thread

This card comes with a little surprise.  The front of the cad is not a complete piece.  I think it is adorable!  Pennie came up with another sure hit!  As you can tell, I am still excited about our Saturday Event.  Enjoy your day!

July Technique Class Card 1

I posted this card before I left yesterday.  This was one of the cards that we made this month at Technique Class.  This was the Faux Metal Plate Technique.  It is great to use on Masculine cards especially if the image you are stamping has something to do with wheels. The supplies that I used for this card were:


STAMP SETS:  Need For Speed, Itty Bitty Banners
PAPER:  Basic Black Whisper White, Real Red
INK:  Basic Black
ACCESSORIES:  Glue Stick, Versamark, Black Embossing Folder, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Itty Bitty Banner Framelits, Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil ( non SU )


The trick to this technique is to adhere the foil onto cardstock before you run it through  the Big Shot.  For me, I found that the Glue Stick worked the best for adhering the foil.

June Technique Class- Card 2

  My customers are always complaining to me that we never seem to make enough Masculine Cards.  So I purposely decided I needed to make one for June.  Especially with Father's Day.  I decided to use the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set which you have a variety of sentiments to add to a card that has a masculine feel. 


 This month's  theme for the cards we are making is "Tips, Tricks, and New Products".  The New Product on this card is the DSP which is called COMFORT CAFE.  You are probably trying to figure out where the Tip or Trick is.  My hint to you is to look very closely at the sentiment.  I will show you how you can make the label with an item you might already own.


 I really love it when I can show people how they can use the products that they own in a different way.  I like it when you can use items in may different ways.  I always feel that you really get your money's worth when you can use a product in more ways than one.  Well I have another busy day today.  I need to clean up all my stamping supplies.  The past week I have been very busy with my Hostess Appreciation Dinner, Technique Class, a Home  Workshop, and my Open House.  I am not complaining but I will say, the one room on my house looks as though someone ransacked the room.  It is so bad.  So I really need to get in there and get things more organized.  So go out and enjoy your day!