Thursday, July 31, 2008

Set the Sails

Another new color combo - Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, and Kiwi Kiss. Very nautical, don't you think? Nothing too fancy here. I swiped my Kiwi Kiss ink pad over the panel of paper to give it a weathered look and roughed up the edges with the Cutter Kit. I also used my circle plastic canvas as a template for paper piercing around the oval. I highlighted the words "set the sails" using my blender pen, picking up ink from the lid of the Baja Breeze ink pad (since I don't have a BB marker).

Stamps: Set the Sails, Canvas.
Paper: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White craft ink
Accessories: Cutter Kit, paper piercing tool, mat and template, white grosgrain ribbon, oval punches

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Wow Flowers

More new stuff! New In Colors and the new set Wow Flowers... No special technique here, but I really like the way this turned out!

Stamps: Wow Flowers
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, turquoise brad, large oval punch, circle punches, crafter's tool kit

Monday, July 28, 2008

Celebrate You

Playing around with some more of the new In Colors. I used Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, and Baja Breeze. I also used a set from the new catalog - Wow Flowers - to make the background on the In Color panels. As mentioned in a previous post, I used the plastic canvas circle as a template to do my paper-piercing.

Stamps: Wow Flowers, Celebrate Everything, Holiday Blitz
Paper: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze
Accessories: white taffeta ribbon, circle punches, awl, paper-piercing templates, mat

Paper piercing tool

I love to paper-pierce something on just about every card I make, in case you haven't noticed! :) I've been looking for a way to paper-pierce around circles, and I read about using these plastic canvas shapes as templates on Splitcoast. They work extremely well! I found a pack of 6 at Wal-Mart for $0.99. They also had square, star and heart shapes, but I only bought the circles. I have one for each member of the Creative Consortium (you know who you are), but if you're looking for a nifty piercing tool, I highly recommend it.

Here you can see a close up view of an embellishment I used the plastic canvas to pierce. I'll post a full picture of this card later today or tomorrow.

Friday, July 25, 2008

So Thoughtful

Happy Friday! This card shows three more of the new In Colors that will be available in the new catalog.

Stamps: Stemming From, Absolutely Fabulous
Paper: Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Pirouette Pink, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: black brads, crop-a-dile, black grosgrain ribbon

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Cards for Sale!

I am excited to announce that I now have handmade cards for sale at the Rhapsody Arts Center Gallery! The gallery is located at 109 South Main Street, Verona - if you have friends and family in need of cards, take a trip to the art gallery and check mine out. The gallery also has beautiful paintings and other unique pieces for sale. They are very impressive! If you haven't visited, you should stop by. Visit the link above to find out hours, etc.

I am also teaching classes at the art gallery on the first Wednesday of the month. We are calling them Ladies' Art Night and each month has a different theme. In August, we will be making cards with unique folds/openings to give your cards an extra "WOW" factor. Call Rhapsody at 848-2045 if you are interested in attending. You can also view my calendar to right to see my other current classes.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Snowman Shaker Card

Another sneak peek at the new hostess set Window Dressing. As soon as I saw this set, I knew it would be perfect for a shaker card. I haven't made one in ages, so this was really fun! There is an excellent tutorial on Splitcoast if you would like to make your own shaker card. I showed this card to my husband and he said, "I think that is the coolest card I've ever seen." :)

There is another new set showcased on this card called Heard from the Heart, as well as the scallop edge punch.

Stamps: Window Dressing, Heard from the Heart, Holiday Blitz
Paper: Bordering Blue, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Staz-On, Close to Cocoa, Real Red, Bordering Blue, Whisper White craft ink
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Real Red brads, red gingham ribbon, scallop edge punch

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

10 for $10 - Final Installment

This is the last of the cards from the July 10 Cards for $10. I really like the way this one turned out - I actually used the round tab punch to punch the circle window in the card. First, I inserted the punch from the bottom, towards the far right edge and punched. Then I inserted the punch from the right edge (position the punch at a right angle to the original punch), matched up the edges from the first punch and punched again, making a complete circle. I love using punches in new ways - makes me feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck!

Stamps: Two Cute, Time Well Spent
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Certainly Celery (textured cs), Cutie Pie DSP
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Round tab punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop punch, slot punch, Bashful Blue striped grosgrain ribbon, button, hemp twine

More cards from 10 for $10

Two more cards from the last 10 Cards for $10... I case'd the layout for the top card from my upline, Karla, and the second card was completely case'd from another member of our group, Rachel. We have so many talented stampers in our group and it is wonderful to be able to use their designs!

Oh, and be sure to check back in the next couple of days - I'm planning to add another card using one of the *NEW* sets from the next catalog! We'll have to see how naps and all other things mom-related work out, but I'll hopefully have something new created by tomorrow.

Stamps: Infinite Goodness
Paper: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Groovy Guava, Groovy Guava DSP
Ink: Basic Brown, Groovy Guava and Creamy Caramel for watercoloring
Accessories: Aqua painter, Dazzling Diamonds, eyelets, crop-a-dile, ticket corner punch

Stamps: So Much
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Always Artichoke, Old Olive
Ink: Always Artichoke, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, Old Olive wide grosgrain

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Peek-a-boo!


Isn't this card too CUTE?! I made this using one of the new hostess sets from the Fall/Winter 2008-09 catalog - it's called Window Dressing. Two other new items I used to make this card: the scallop edge at the bottom was made using the new scallop edge punch (can't wait to show that off) and the new In Color Baja Breeze. I'm looking forward to playing around with the rest of my new sets - they are all trimmed, mounted and ready for a work out. :)
Stamps: Window Dressing
Paper: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Staz-On, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Blush Blossom
Accessories: word window punch (to make fence), photo corner punch, ticket corner punch, real red brads, red gingham ribbon, scallop edge punch, paper piercing awl and mat

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Tiger Lily


Such a pretty lily... This is from our garden - although it looks like a jungle!

Friday, July 18, 2008

July 10 for $10

Happy Friday! These are two of the cards from my 10 Cards for $10 last weekend. These cards, for the most part, are made using retiring stamp sets. I have case'd most of these cards from my upline or other members of the dowline group.

I'm looking forward to the new catalog - I just received the new In Color paper and stamp pads and I LOVE the new colors! I also have 4 new sets waiting to be mounted (all the new sets are die-cut - yippee!). I hope to get to that this weekend and then I can play with the new colors and stamps next week.

Stamps: Wild About You, Dotted, Much Appreciated
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip marker
Accessories: scallop punch (for "bites" from paper), Purely Pomegranate ribbon

Stamps: Polka Dots & Paisley
Paper: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red and Old Olive markers
Accessories: Real Red narrow grosgrain ribbon, paper piercing template, pad and awl

Monday, July 14, 2008

Gift Bag from Ladies' Art Night


This is the gift bag we made at the last Ladies' Art Night. We put the birthday cards we made inside to make a birthday card emergency kit. See the tutorial below to learn how to make your own!
Stamps: Holiday Blitz, Big Bold Birthday
Paper: Wild Wasabi textured cs, whisper white, East Coast Prep dsp
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, Summer Sun marker (for candle)
Accessories: Wild Wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon, gold brads, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, scallop punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Gift Bag Tutorial

This is a quick little gift bag, the perfect holder for a set of cards and envelopes.

Supplies: 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock, scoring tool, scissors, sticky strip, brads and ribbon for handles.

With the paper oriented the long way, score at 1 1/4" and 7 1/4".

Rotate the paper 90 degrees and score at 4 1/2" and 6 1/2".

Along the long edge of the paper, you will see where the short score lines intersect the long score lines. Cut from the edge of the paper up to the point of intersection along both sides.

Apply sticky strip along the outside edge of two of the side flaps.

Crease folds, making a bag shape. Remove backing from the sticky strip and attach to the other side flap, creating a seam on the side of the bag.

This is a view from the inside. Repeat on opposite side.

Using a slot punch or small circle punch, punch holes for your handles along the top edge of the bag.


Add ribbon and embellishments as desired. Your bag will measure 6" across, 4" deep and about 2" wide.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Little Birdie Gift Card Holder


I made this little gift card holder for a friend's birthday. The card is patterned after the Little Birdie birthday card, posted below. To make the bird, I stamped it twice - once on white and once on So Saffron. I cut the bird body out of the saffron and popped it up on top of the image stamped on white.

Here you can see the inside view. For a complete tutorial on how to make these gift card holders, visit the Tutorials link to the right.

Friday, July 11, 2008

July Ladies' Art Night

Last Wednesday was the second Ladies' Art Night at the Rhapsody Art Gallery. We made a Birthday Card Emergency Kit. The class participants made two of each of these cards, as well as a matching tote (pictures to come).

Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me
Paper: Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Cutie Pie dsp
Ink: Staz-On, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: aqua painter, round tab punch, stapler, Purely Pomegranate ribbon

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday, A Little Birthday Cheer
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, East Coast Prep dsp
Ink: Wild Wasabi, More Mustard
Accessories: More Mustard ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Cute Little Purse



Finally, a new post! I made this little card tonight and I'm posting it in between trips. I made the purse completely with punches (see list below) - I love the little "bling" I added to the clasp. Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Stamps: Absolutely Fabulous, Stitched
Paper: Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink
Accessories: round tab punch, small and large oval punches, word window punch, rhinestone brad, crafter's tool kit, pink gingham ribbon