Ladies' Art Night Sneak Peek

This is one of the cards we will be making at the next Ladies' Art Night at the Rhapsody Arts Center Gallery on Wednesday, September 3rd (see my calendar to the right for more details). The theme of the class is Pocket Cards and we will be making two cards and one mini book with pockets to tuck a special note or gift. There's still time to sign up! You can call Katie at Rhapsody Arts Center at (608)848-2045.

Kristina's Top 10

Wow! My Lovely Flowers card made it into Kristina's Top 10...very cool! Click here to view the complete round-up. Thanks to you all for your kind comments!

Janesville Make-N-Take

I will be demonstrating this card in Janesville on September 13. It will be one of the make-n-takes for the meeting participants.

Stamps: Best Yet, Canvas, Priceless
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: new large oval punch, word window punch, 5-petal flower punch, crimper, crafter's tool kit, horizontal slot punch, Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain

Jevin's Card

Jevin was very intrigued by my painting of the flowers for my color inspiration challenge and wanted to make one of his own. He selected So Saffron and More Mustard for his colors.


He also felt his card needed some half pearls and buttons. Here he is with the finished product. He's so proud!

Lovely Flowers

This is a card I came up with for Kristina's Color Inspiration challenge of the week. This is my first attempt at one of her color challenges and I really enjoyed it! You can check out her blog to see more great projects.

So, this was the challenge - to use Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette and Very Vanilla. What a beautiful color palette to work with!

To make the card, I used a piece of the Bella Rose designer series paper with a pattern in Pink Pirouette. I stamped the butterfly from the new Dream du Jour set using Regal Rose. I sponged ink along the edges with Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose ink pads. I layered that onto a Chocolate Chip and then Regal Rose panels. Next, I used my aqua painter to paint two flowers from the Pretties Kit. Once they were dry, I added a Build-a-Brad with a vanilla half pearl (saw this on Beate's blog and thought it looked really elegant!), attached with a glue dot.

For the sentiment, I colored the stamp using Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose markers and stamped it onto the Very Vanilla panel. I distressed the edges of the panel and layered it onto Chocolate Chip. I used the scallop edge punch along the edge of my Certainly Celery card (with a little paper piercing thrown in for good measure) and added a little Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery ribbon.

Whew! It sounds like a lot more work than it actually was. It came together very quickly - I had enough time to put it together while my 4 year old had his "quiet time" in his room for his allotted 30 minutes. I can't wait to see what Kristina comes up with!
Stamps: Dream du Jour
Paper: Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla cardstock, Bella Rose dsp
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop edge punch, paper piercing mat and awl, Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, Pretties Kit, Build-a-Brad

Sock Monkey Love

I wanted to play around with my new Sock Monkey set and this is what I came up with! First, I stamped the monkey in Chocolate Chip ink on Kraft cardstock and then I stamped him again on the Bella Rose designer series paper. I cut out his little jammies (or as my 4 year old calls them, "P-jammies") and adhered them on top of the image on Kraft. I stamped the monkey one last time and cut out the head to pop up and give a little extra dimension. Next came the heart, stamped heart on Real Red cardstock, trimmed and popped up in his hand. I layered the Kraft onto Chocolate Chip and then Real Red cardstock.

For the card, I took a piece of 4 1/4" x 11 Very Vanilla carstock, folded in half, and trimmed 1" off the right edge. I stamped the heart border in Real Red, added some more Bella Rose dsp and put it all together with a little Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

Stamps: Sock Monkey
Paper: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Kraft cs, Bella Rose dsp
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Accessories: Real Red grosgrain ribbon, round tab punch, stapler

Just Because

A quick little card that is easy and elegant, to boot! :) I like how this card shows off the new Bella Rose designer series paper and all those beautiful new In Colors.

I've been thinking about this card for awhile, but finally had the time today to put it together (love it when both kids nap - yippee!). I thought this layout might be too simple. I didn't add any paper piercing (gasp!), but I think it still works. Let me know what you think...

Stamps: Best Yet
Paper: Riding Hood Red textured cs, Bella Rose dsp
Ink: Whisper White craft ink
Accessories: Pretties Kit, Button Bouquet Designer Buttons, hemp twine, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, 1 1/4" square punch

Embrace Life

This is another one of the cards from the Fabulous Folds class at Rhapsody. The card is scored at 2" from one end and 2 1/2" from the other end. I wheeled the vine across the top panel. Next, I colored the flowers with watercolor pencils and used my blender pen to soften the colors. I punched the flowers out with the 1 3/8" square punch and layered it, then placed it on top of the belly band, which slides off to open the card. Finally, I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner.


Stamps: Embrace Life, Watercolor Vine wheel
Paper: So Saffron, More Mustard, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla, Ginger Blossom dsp
Ink: Basic Brown, Ruby Red, So Saffron, watercolor pencils
Accessories: blender pens, 1 3/8" square punch

Key Chain Notebook

I made these mini key chain notebooks while on vacation. I included them in my customers' Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book packet, as a little thank you for their catalog pre-order. These are quick and easy to make!

I divided a large stack of sticky notes into five sections, so that each one would fit into the punch on my crop-a-dile. I folded the cardstock around the sticky notes and punched a hole in the upper left corner. I put the ring through the hole and added the belly band with the stamped image adhered over the top.

This is a close-up picture of the belly band that goes around the notebook. You can slide it off to make your notes.

Stamps: Wow Flowers
Paper: Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, key chain ring, black eyelet, circle punches, scallop punch, sticky notes, black and white gingham ribbon

Happy Bird-day!

A cute little birthday card from my last Ladies' Art Night at the Rhapsody Art Gallery. The class focused on unique folds, and this card was made using the Triangle Tri-fold card, featured on Splitcoast.

Here you can see a view of the open card.

I watercolored the little bird using an aqua painter and the ink from the lid of the Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery stamp pads, and markers on the hat.
Stamps: Pun Fun
Paper: Bashful Blue, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White, Cutie Pie dsp
Ink: Black Staz-On, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Rose Red
Accessories: aqua painter, word window punch, 1/8" punch, Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon, hemp twine

Simple Thank You

This is the final card from the August 10 Cards for $10 - a simple thank you inspired by a project found in the current catalog. I used my aqua painter to pick up ink from the lid of the stamp pads to watercolor the images.

Personal Note: I will be on vacation for the next week, so no new posts until after August 18th. Hope to see you then! :)

Stamps: A Little Bit of Happiness
Paper: Bordering Blue, Groovy Guava, Kraft, Naturals White
Ink: Basic Brown, Groovy Guava, Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Groovy Guava ribbon, crafter's tool kit, aqua painter

Kindness from the Heart

Card 4 of 5... This card features two new sets and some of the new In Colors. I think this one was my favorite of the 5 cards. I used a blender pen to watercolor the flowers using ink from the lids of the new In Color ink pads.

I received my copy of the new catalog on Tuesday... WOW! It's really beautiful. I hope you like all of the new stamps, paper and accessories as much as I do. :)

Stamps: Heard from the Heart, Window Dressing, Polka Dot
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Black Staz-On, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze.
Accessories: scallop edge punch, circle punches, scallop punch, black grosgrain ribbon

Time Well Spent

Card 3 of 5 from Saturday - I case'd this from my upline. I really like this color combo! The ribbon is covering up part of the saying, which says, "Time spent with friends is time well spent."

Stamps: Time Well Spent (Hostess)
Paper: Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Shimmery White
Ink: Basic Black, Regal Rose, Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery
Accessories: hole punch, black brad, Certainly Celery ribbon, white gel pen

Funky Hello

Card 2 of 5 from Saturday... To put the ribbon on the card, I used the small slot punch, inserted it along the left edge of the card (a little lower than half-way down the side)and punched. This made a hole for the ribbon to slide through. I then tied a small piece of ribbon, going through the slot and around the left edge of the card. My stamped panel covers up the hole made by the punch.

Stamps: Big Pieces, Little Pieces, Hi & Hello
Paper: Real Red, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss, Basic Black
Accessories: slot punch, Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon

Flower for a Friend

This is one of the cards we made at Saturday's 10 Cards for $10. Many of the cards we made used retiring stamp sets - next month we'll be using all *NEW* stamps - yippee! I case'd the layout for this card from the current catalog (p. 86) and tweaked it a little.

Stamps: Stemming From, Forever in My Heart
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Bali Breeze dsp
Ink: Old Olive, So Saffron, Regal Rose
Accessories: Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon, turquoise brads

Deer Friend

It's hard to get in the Christmas spirit with 90 degree heat, but hey, why not give it a shot? This cute little guy is from one of the new hostess sets in the Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book. It's hard to see, but I colored his nose red and put a little bit of Crystal Effects to make him more Rudolph-ish. I think it would also be cute with the chunky red glitter, but I don't have any of that! :) Have a great weekend!

A close up view of the shiny, red nose...

Stamps: Deer Friends
Paper: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Old Olive, Dashing dsp (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Accessories: Crystal Effects, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop punch, scallop edge punch, Old Olive poly-twill ribbon, crafter's tool kit