First lily of the summer!

The first daylily has bloomed! Lilies are my absolute favorite flower and our garden is overflowing with them this year. I was playing out in the yard with the kids and I noticed this bright burst of orange in the green stalks. It's official - summer is here!

Roses

Seeing these roses certainly brightened my day... :)

Bucket of Goodies

I'm donating this little bucket of goodies to our church, which is having a silent auction on the 4th of July. I found the bucket in the $1 section at Target and dressed it up with A LOT of ribbon. I had attempted to cover the bottom half of the bucket with designer series paper, but the bucket was just a little too big for a piece of 12"x12" paper to fit and I didn't like the look of the seams left by the patch of extra paper.


This is a picture of the contents: 4 cards and envelopes, bookmark, memo pad with tabs, sticky note holder with matching pen and some strawberry candy. To make the assorted goodies, I used the Tart-n-Tangy stamp set and Summer Picnic designer series paper.

Fresh Cuts Card

Another card using the Fresh Cuts set. I think this card has a "romantic" look to it. The paper piercing reminds me of lace and the colors are understated and classic. This card has a lot of layers, so it feels nice and hefty - a good attribute in a card, in my humble opinion. :) And, yes, that is my (relatively) new kitchen floor in the background - funny where you find good lighting!
Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, River Rock
Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: white grosgrain ribbon, river rock double-stitched ribbon, 1 1/4 circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, scallop punch, ticket corner punch, crafter's tool kit

Gift Card Holder Instructions

These are the directions on how to make that cute little gift card holder! I did not come up with this idea myself, and I'm sure there are other tutorials out there, but this is how I made this card.
Start with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of cardstock.

Using a bone folder, fold in the middle.

Score at 3" and 8".

Fold at scored lines to make a "W" with the cardstock.

Flip cardstock over. Along one of the mountain folds, place a piece of sticky strip along the edge.

Adhere along edge of opposite fold, creating a seam.

This is what the cardstock should look like now, from the front.

Using an old credit card or gift card to guide you, mark the edges of the card. This will act as a guide for your punch.

Using the large oval punch, line punch up along one pencil mark, inserting punch so that the paper only goes in about half way and punch.


Repeat on opposite side.


Insert the oval punch into the center and punch out the point left by the previous punches.

Voila! Your gift card holder is complete! Decorate as you wish.

More cards from June 10 for $10

More cards from Saturday's class...

I think this card is my favorite of the bunch! It's so cheery and fun.
Stamps: Pick A Petal, Absolutely Fabulous
Paper: Yo-yo Yellow, Basic Black, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Black Staz-On, Yo-yo Yellow, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: black & white gingham ribbon, 3/4" circle punch


This is a little gift card holder. It is so cute and so easy to make. Here you can see the outside and the inside view. I'll try to post some specific instructions with pictures so that you can make one, too! :)
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White cs; East Coast Prep dsp
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard, Summer Sun
Accessories: More Mustard grosgrain ribbon, large oval punch

June 10 Cards for $10

These are three of the five cards we made at my June 10 Cards for $10, which was last Saturday. I'll try to post the other two tomorrow - we'll have to see what nap time allows!

This card is made with the June Sneak Peek set "Fresh Cuts." This set will be available in the new catalog (which comes out on August 11 - yeah!) but customers can get it early by ordering it through the end of June. There are more details on the Stampin' Up! website (see link on right). I'm going to try to post some more cards I've made with this set this week.
Stamps: Fresh Cuts, Sanded
Paper: blue bayou, barely banana, certainly celery, whisper white cs; certainly celery dsp
Ink: blue bayou, certainly celery, whisper white craft
Accessories: white grosgrain ribbon, ticket corner punch, celery fine cosmo glitter

Stamps: Define Your Life, Seaside
Paper: soft sky textured cs; basic gray, confetti cs
Ink: soft sky, basic gray
Accessories: basic gray taffeta ribbon, vintage eyelets

This card was inspired by a card I saw on SCS by StampinGirl. I love these colors together - perfect for a wedding card or anniversary.
Stamps: Always
Paper: kraft, pretty in pink, chocolate chip cs; pretty in pink dsp
Ink: VersaMark, chocolate chip
Accessories: wide chocolate chip grosgrain, rhinestone brad (Pretties Kit)

Coffee, anyone?

I love this card! It makes me want to sit back with a nice cup o' joe and call a friend...
I stamped the coffee cup in black craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I used bleach to color inside the cup and went over the hearts with a red marker. To make the scallops along the edge, I used my corner rounder punch and paper pierced holes inside each scallop. I also attached a narrow piece of red card stock along the right edge of the inner card.
Stamps: Pun Fun, Friendship Blooms
Cardstock: kraft, basic black, very vanilla, chocolate chip, real red
Ink: black craft, real red marker
Accessories: real red wide grosgrain, black & white gingham ribbon, corner rounder punch, crafter's tool kit.

Celebrate You

A quick birthday card I demo'd at a workshop. No special technique here, but I like these colors together.
Stamps: A Little Birthday Cheer, Polka Dots & Paisley
Cardstock: bashful blue, certainly celery, rose red, whisper white, cutie pie dsp.
Ink: rose red, certainly celery, bashful blue
Accessories: certainly celery grosgrain, silver brads, crop-a-dile

Enjoy the little things

What a cutie!

This is Enavi at 9 months old. This 6x6 scrapbook page uses the following materials:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Cardstock: soft sky, whisper white, blue bayou, blue bayou dsp, wild wasabi textured cardstock
Ink: blue bayou, soft sky, wild wasabi
Accessories: round tab punch, wild wasabi striped grosgrain ribbon, felt flower (wild wasabi), silver brad.

Hostas

I love all the different greens in these hosta leaves. The colors are so rich! The kids and I had a lot of fun walking around the yard yesterday, shooting some pictures - it was the first sunny afternoon we had in a LONG time. Jevin took quite a few nice shots himself - he has a great eye for detail, especially for an almost 4 year old! Here is one of the pictures he took:

Pretty good, huh? :)

Pretty Peonies

I took this picture in the yard yesterday.

Popsicle Stick Bookmarks

I made these bookmarks to trade at the SU! regional in Milwaukee. Here are the directions on how to make them:
Book Mark Holder: Starting with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch piece of cardstock, score 1 1/8" from either end the long way. In the 2" space in the center, punch the slit punch at one end. On the back, apply sticky strip along one edge of the flaps; fold opposite flap over to seal the bookmark holder. On the front, add designer paper, ribbon and sentiment.

Book Mark: Stamp image and punch with 1 1/4" circle punch. Layer onto 1 3/8" circle and scallop. Apply pop-up glue dot to the back of scallop and place popsicle stick on the other side of glue dot, sandwiching the glue dot in the middle. Glue 1 1/4" circle to the back of the popsicle stick to give it a nice finish. Insert popsicle stick bookmark into the slot made by the slit punch.

Peek-a-Book Treat Holder

I made these treat holders to give out at the kids' last day of music class. I followed a tutorial on SCS and put little suckers inside for each of the kids. They were a big hit!

Tart & Tangy Bookmark

I made these bookmarks to give as thank you gifts. These are very simple to make, and use a giant paper clip (Wal-Mart). Click here for a tutorial on how to make one of your own!

Cards from Ladies' Art Night

I've begun teaching stamping classes at the Rhapsody Arts Center Art Gallery in Verona. This is a monthly gig and I had my first class on Wednesday. These are two of the projects we made. Next month (July 9), we'll be making a Birthday Card Emergency Kit.

Fun in the Sun

A fun little card to celebrate summer. I bought these cocktail umbrellas at the grocery store years ago - I knew I'd use them someday! :)


Color Combo #2

Trade from last downline meeting

This was the card I made to trade at my last downline meeting. I think it looks very summery...



A different color combo + glitter. The darker colors look more elegant to me.