Monday, August 30, 2010

In Love with Greeting Card Kids

Oh, how I love this set! The Greeting Card Kids are so stinkin' adorable, I just want to pinch their little cheeks. I put this card together for my hubby, as a cute little way to remind him how special he is to me.

This card was definitely on the putzy side - I paper pieced the dress, heart and bows on the little girl and made my own ruffles out of the BABW Pawsitively Prints II dsp. Here's a close-up of some of the detail work:

Even though this card took a little more time, I really like the way it turned out... and my hubby is definitely worth the extra effort! Thanks for stopping by - I'll have another Greeting Card Kids creation to share tomorrow. 'Bye for now!

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Three Little Words
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, BABW Pawsitively Prints II
Ink: Basic Black, Blushing Bride (skin tone), Regal Rose (blush)
Accessories: Scallop Border punch, crimper, Poppy Parade stitched poly ribbon, Neutrals Designer Button, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

Friday, August 27, 2010

Fast and Fabulous Friday

I have two cards to share with you today using the Fast and Fabulous hostess set. This is such a beautiful and versatile set. I played around with Fall to Layout #103 and came up with these cards.

This first card is soft and delicate and the colors remind me of sweet pea flowers (Blushing Bride, Regal Rose and Pear Pizazz). I added a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to the flowers for a little sparkle.
Stamps: Fast & Fabulous, Three Little Words
Paper: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz, Confetti White
Ink: Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, Pear Pizazz
Accessories: Scallop Border punch, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Aqua Painter, Mat Pack, Paper Piercing Tool

The second card has a more "fallish" feel to it, but I really like this color combination: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.

Stamps: Fast & Fabulous, Occasional Quotes
Paper: Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Naturals White
Ink: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Border punch, Old Olive grosgrain ribbon
On both cards, I watercolored the images using my Aqua Painter, although I could have used the coordinating 2-step stamp that is in the set. I wanted a softer feel for the colors, which is why I chose the Aqua Painter.

Today I am off with the kiddos to visit Old World Wisconsin - kind of one last hurrah before school starts next week. We are looking forward to our little trip together and enjoying our weekend. Hope you do the same - 'bye for now!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sweet Scoops Celebration

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream and I thought this was a fun way to share the Sweet Scoops set at my last stamp-a-stack.

I was inspired by a card I saw on Dawn Olchefske's blog - I really liked her layout, which I copied here. I changed the color scheme to reflect my love of mint chocolate chip ice cream. :) This is such a fun set and you have a few more days to order it. The Summer Mini ends on August 31st, so if there's something you've had your eye on, now's the time to buy it! Feel free to e-mail me (see link to the right) if you would like to place an order. Have a fantastic day!

Stamps: Sweet Scoops
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, BABW Pawsitively Prints II
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizazz, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Skater Boy Birthday

Hey there! I thought I'd share another card we made at last week's stamp-a-stack. This was one of my favorites - not only is it simple, but it looks really cool! :)

I used some of my Greenhouse Gala designer paper and pulled the colors for the card from there. To make my skater boy look more 3-D, I inked him up with Early Espresso ink and stamped him on the Whisper White panel, picked up the stamp and moved it slightly up and to the left of the original image and stamped it again (without re-inking the stamp). A great card to send a special tween or teen!

I also wanted to share my zucchini bread recipe with you. I made this for a treat for my stamp-a-stack and everyone loved it. My favorite way to eat it is with a little schmear of cream cheese and have it with my coffee in the morning. It's like heaven on a plate! Plus, this is actually a vegan recipe, since my kids have several food allergies and we try to make things they can eat, too. You'd never know that this bread didn't have milk or eggs. Enjoy!

Vegan Zucchini Bread
Adapted from a recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot powder (optional)
* 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 cups shredded zucchini

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and sugar two 9x5 inch loaf pans (it's like flouring a pan, but use sugar instead). Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, and arrowroot in a bowl until evenly blended; set aside.
2. Whisk together the applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture and shredded zucchini until moistened. Divide the batter between the prepared loaf pans.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you have a fantastic day!

Stamps
: Extreme Skateboard, On Your Birthday
Paper: Baja Breeze, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Greenhouse Gala dsp
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: silver brads, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Friday, August 20, 2010

Happy Bearthday!

Happy Friday! I had lots of fun at my stamp-a-stack last night and I wanted to share one of the projects we made. Our theme was "kids and critters" and this card fits into both categories.

This is such a fun use of the Build-a-Bear stamp sets and there's no coloring required - yippee! I was inspired by a project I saw in a former issue of Stampin' Success, Stampin' Up!'s magazine for demonstrators. I got to break out some of my Poppy Parade cardstock and the BABW Pawsitively Prints II designer paper. I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch the holes for the ribbon - spacing the holes 1/2" apart works perfectly for two crayons. I love cards that are interactive like this, and some lucky little person will love receiving it, too.

It sounds like there is some interest in a tutorial for the toilet paper roll treat container. I'm hoping to put one together next week, so keep an eye out for it. Have a fabulous weekend! 'Bye for now!

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Paper: Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Whisper White, BABW Pawsitively Prints II dsp
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Scallop Border punch, Crop-a-Dile, crayons

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Reinvented Tissue Paper Roll

Isn't it fun when you can take something as humble and boring as an empty tissue paper roll and use it in a new way? I demonstrated a project at a workshop yesterday turning this tissue paper roll...
..into this fun little giftie!

I got the idea for this project from my upline, Karla Anders. These are quick and easy to make, and you can fill them with any assortment of goodies (I used Hershey's Kisses for this project). The measurements are as follows: the gift wrap tissue measures 14 1/2" x 12" and the designer paper is 4" x 6". Would you like a little tutorial on how to make these? If so, leave me a comment and I'll put one together.

Thanks again to Brook for hosting her workshop last night - I had a great time! 'Bye for now!

Stamps: Friends Never Fade, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala dsp
Ink: Basic Black, Baja Breeze marker, Cherry Cobbler marker
Accessories: 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Marina Mist narrow taffeta ribbon

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Back from Vacation

We're back from the lake and here are a few of my favorite pictures from our week in Minnesota.
All the cousins, fishing off the dock.

A lovely sunset on the lake...

Here are the kids at Vergas Looney Daze. They love climbing in all of the fire trucks.


I've been busy prepping for some workshops and upcoming classes - I'll be back soon with some stampin' projects to share. Have a great day!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Vellum Butterfly

Today I have another one of my former favorites to share with you. This card is probably one of my all-time favorites from my Clean and Simple cards and there's not even a single stamp on it! That vellum butterfly and button were so fun to put together. You can view my original post here.


Stamps: None
Paper: Soft Suede textured cs, Whisper White, Vellum, Thoroughly Modern dsp
Ink: None
Accessories: Scallop border punch, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Butterfly punch, Button Latte, Chit Chat rub-ons

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

A Few Favorites

This week I thought I'd share a few of some former favorites with you. These are cards that I have shared previously on my blog, but sometimes it's fun to have a little blast from the past.

This is a card I created for a Clean and Simple Challenge on Splitcoast. You can view my original post here.

Amazingly, all of the products on this card are still current! Thanks for stopping by today. I'll have another former favorite to share with you tomorrow.

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Sahara Sand
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Accessories: Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Watercolor Impressions

Hi there and happy Thursday to you! I know it's been awhile since I've posted something for your viewing pleasure so I thought I'd throw this card out there. I used a technique called Impressionistic Stamping, and I case'd the card from Julie Davison. I saw her card on her blog and I knew that I had to try it out. The Watercolor Trio stamp set works perfectly with this technique.

Basically, I colored in the floral image with markers and misted the Confetti White cardstock with water before I stamped the image. I colored the stamp again, stamping it just slightly off the first image, creating the 3-D effect. I really like this technique because it doesn't require any special tools or skill, and I had everything on hand to do it.

I hope you have a great day planned. We've been busy working in the garden and trying to stay cool in the heat and humidity. Today is supposed to be sunny and pleasant, so I'm looking forward to spending a good part of it outside. See you soon!

Stamps: Watercolor Trio
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Confetti White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
Accessories: water bottle, Clips Assortment, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Oval punch