Botanicals Faith Style

A friend of mine is at a place in life that I found myself in several years ago. My heart goes out to her because I can well imagine where she is emotionally and mentally. I wanted to send her a special card to let her know that I am thinking of her and I care. I have also wanted to try to make a card using Faith's style. Her cards are just remarkable and gorgeous! You really should check out her blog!

Honestly, this card does look better IRL. The colors in the Pouncing technique faded which then makes my attempt at dots in not-so-straight lines even more noticeable. You also can not really see the shimmer from the lumiere.

I have held on the my Botanicals stamp set for several years. It was my favorite for awhile, but even with the best of intentions I haven't pulled it out since it retired. Well, I needed something for the center of the scallop layers. I wanted a stamp that was elegant and not too large.

I stumbled upon this set rummaging around and knew that this flower would work perfectly. I had completed a couple of pieces of glossy cardstock with the TJ Pouncing technique using some old lumiere (this jar has crossed the Atlantic twice and you can tell!) mixed with small amounts of dye inks. I stamped the flower onto acetate and used my Giga scallop punch (my mega wouldn't completely cut through the acetate) to punch it out. I ran the acetate through my Xyron and layered it on top of the two scallop layers after I made all my dots.

I used a sharpie to color my Hodgepodge Hardware black and my Signo Gel Pen to make the white dots. I used my SU Black marker for the black dots. I guess I need a lot more practice to get my dots to look nice and uniform! *sigh* Oh well, I have to keep in mind that this is going to a friend and she really (hopefully) won't notice all the little boo-boos.

Stamps: Botanicals, Morning Soft (sentiment); Ink: Staz-On Black, Garden Green, Bordering Blue, Certainly Celery, Signo Gel Pen, Basic Black marker, Black Sharpie; Paper: Garden Green, Basic Black, Glossy, Certainly Celery; Accessories: acetate, Hodgepodge Hardware, 1/16th hole punch, Giga & Mega Scallop Ovals, wax paper, Xryon.

Technostamper Sketch #6

It is funny how the creative process can work sometimes. Last night I was working on a technique from the latest TJ newsletter. I was working with Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery and Brocade Blue for the Pouncing technique. Today I decided to make a card for the Technostamper Sketch #6 and somehow the Wild Wassbi and Certainly Celery cardstock I had been planning on using for the pouncing card mossied over when I started working on this sketch. I think my early intention was to use the pouncing pieces I had done with this sketch, but that never happened. Instead, this is what I ended up with.

I stamped the flower using Basic Grey because I didn't want the outline to be as bold as it would be if I used Black, I wanted a more subtle line plus I wanted something that wouldn't run when I water colored it. I used the Giga scallop circle to punch out around the flower as well as a Basic Black to layer under the white. I like how the black just shows because it is "off centered" and adds some subtle dimension to the white layer.

I used CRAFT White for the sentiment so that the flower wasn't the only white on the card, which would make it too bright. (I may even use my white gel pen to color in the word "friends" to add some more bold white.)

I layered the two ribbons together, using a line of adhesive on the double stitched Wasabi to stick to the wide grograin. I then snipped the ends to have two "tails" (is there an official name for this?)

I have seen several people use a 1/8" circle punch to punch out the little circles inside the flower and I really liked the idea so I did that here. I only did the white layer so the black shows through. With the very center circle I punched through both layers so the Wasabi shows through. I think I shouldn't have gone through both, I think that black would have looked better. Oh well. You can't win them all! LOL!

Stamps: Time Well Spent; Ink: Basic Grey, So Saffron, More Mustard, CRAFT White; Paper: Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Whisper White, Pallet O'Prints; Accessories: Aquapainter, Giga Scallop Circle, Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain, Wild Wasabi Double Stitched ribbon, 1/8" circle punch.

Directions For The Zigzag Cut

I received an email on how to make the zigzag on the Blue Bayou layer. So I thought I'd post the answer here as well. It really is pretty simple, but it takes a little time. Still, it is worth the time and effort to help keep down the thickness if you are sending it through the USPS.

I took the Blue Bayou layer and laid it on my grid cutting mat. I made two pencil lines from top to bottom the width of the zigzag (I used an old CM grid mat that has lines every ¼ inch) so my lines were ½ inch apart. I started from the top and moved a ruler down ½ inch drawing a line from the top left line in a slant down to the ruler at the right line. I continued to zigzag to the bottom of the c/s. After I finished drawing my zigzag line I took my hobby knife and used my ruler (actually my Perfect Layers) and cut along the zigzag line only to the point that my top layer could slide underneath the blue bayou. Make sure to flip the cut layer over so no one can see the pencil marks.

I recreated with scratch paper how I did this so hopefully it will show you better than just my written instructions. I inserted the pictures at the bottom. It really is pretty simple, perhaps a little time consuming but not too much.

I hope this helps! Enjoy!

If you get this twice, I apologize. I was merely changing the bright blue letters to black. I think I gave myself some kind of retinal burn with that blue! LOL!

Techostamper's Card Sketch #5

Tuesday night I attending our Army Spouse's monthly coffee. Although we are stationed here at Scott Air Force Base we have a nice size group of Army spouses and our monthly get-togethers are always so much fun! This month the two gals hostessing treated us to a spa night. I painted my nails, ate some yummy food and walked away with some Amish Friendship Bread (I think the name of it is anyway). I'm not familiar with this bread so I'm following the directions carefully! LOL!

I say all that because I needed a couple of thank you cards for these two gals. Of course I could go to my extra card storage box, but what fun would that be? Those should only be used for emergency use only! I decided to use MJ's Monday Lunch Sketch. I went to SCS to look for some color inspiration and picked CC127. This color challenge uses Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip and Sahara Sand. I also decided to use a TJ technique. Well, in trying to come up with something meeting all these criteria I lost the Sahara Sand because I decided to use the Rainbow Double technique that requires glossy cardstock. *sigh* I guess you can't win them all! LOL!

Although both cards are nearly identical there is one obvious difference. On one I used black velvet ric-rac and the other I used Blue Bayou tabs using the word window punch. Here is the first one, using the velvet ric-rac.
I love the feel of the velvet ric-rac! (I bought some from here at All That Scraps! Shhh, any order of $10 or more gets FREE shipping! Yikes, once she realizes what a great deal that is she may up the order amount! LOL!) I thought that the ric-rac (lovely as it is) distracts from the rest of the card. On the second card I tried to coordinate that lower right corner and decided to add these tabs of Blue Bayou, but they needed something. Brads and eyelets did not feel right so I decided to (finally) mount my All In A Row stamp set so I could use that row that looks like stitching. Both cards scanned a little crooked and the spectrum pad is a bit darker, so they do look better IRL.

I'm not sure that I am satisfied with this card either, but I need to get these out the door to thank the two gals for the wonderful evening we had.

Stamps: Both: Priceless, 2nd also uses All In A Row; Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black, Pumpkin Patch Spectrum pad; Paper: Chocolate Chip, Blue Bayou, Glossy; Accessories: Detail Black EP, heat gun, grid cutting mat & hobby blade, 1st card: black ric-rac, 2nd card: Word Window Punch and Stamp-A-ma-jig.

TJ's Just One

I don't think it is a secret that I love Stampin' Up! I also don't think it is a secret that I love Technique Junkies. I have been a customer or demonstrator for SU since October 2000. I have always used the internet as a means to learn more about stamping as well as sharing my projects (mostly cards.) I have been a TJ member for about two years now and a member of the TJ Yahoo group for nearly that long. I believe that I can really see greater personal growth in my stamping these last two years. I attribute my personal growth to the TJ newsletters. The TJ newsletter (and the techniques therein) have stretched my knowledge and pushed me to try things I never would have otherwise. Since I learn better visually I love having access to the subscriber only pages where I can see the actual process of each technique. This allows me to work a little, check to see if I'm doing it right, then work a little more. *Where am I going with all this????*

Another benefit of being a member of TJ's Yahoo group is the monthly Just One swap. You join and get paired with another member and swap a card. You can see my card for Sandy here. This month my partner is Sandy. Sandy sent me a card that uses the Pouncing technique. She added beads that say "hello", embossed the flowers and painted them with Twinkling H2Os. The vibrant background is also warm and really makes me look forward to the flowers that arrive in the spring. Being that it is only 20 degrees (F) outside, this card warms me from the inside out! It also inspires me to try out the Pouncing technique!

Thank you so much Sandy! I really love this card!

Stamps: Flower: Impression Obsession, Word: TAC.

Febuary's Class Projects

I forgot to post the second project for January's class, and since I got sick and had to cancel class I guess I never gave it another thought. Well, now I am recycling the original card. I used crayon resist technique for the main layer. This stamp set is the Priceless that was so popular when the last catalog came out. I bought it but haven't used it much. It is such a pretty set that I thought I'd pull it out to use it. I thought this technique would work so well with this set, and yes, I believe that it does.


Since I had to cancel last month's class none of my customers got to see or do these cards. So why waste perfectly good cards?? I wanted to showcase one of the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) stamp sets, Merci, so I revamped my Priceless card and came up with this version.


The tricky part of using the crayon resist is that if you miss a spot you generally can't tell until it is too late. In looking at this card I can see that I should have added some crayon to the center flower. Now when you see the card IRL it isn't as obvious as the scanner shows so I didn't feel the need to redo that layer. Also, I like to leave little things like this to show my class because I think that a) it shows that I'm not perfect and b) that cards don't have to be perfect in order to be used. It is the handmade that makes these cards so much more special than any Hallmark card!

By using this card I also get to show an alternative way of using the scallop punch! I saw somewhere (either on a blog or on SCS) that if you punch your scallop then repunch it so that the punch notches are on the scallop edges you get this cool looking medallion. I found that it is easier to adjust the scallop if you mount it on wax paper and since you are using wax paper it removes sooo easily! Here is a close up of the medallion so you can see more detail.


Stamps: 1st card uses Priceless; 2nd card uses Merci; Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose; Paper: Glossy, Rose Red, Accessories: clear crayon (the kind you use to write on Easter eggs before you dye them,) white taffeta ribbon, scallop punch, brayer w/foam attachment.

TJ One-on-One

Have you had one of those cards that just came together and you just loved and didn't want to give it away? This card is one of those for me. I really like the Opalite Color Infusion from the TJ newsletter. (It was the technique I used for DH's Valentine card after all!)

I did the technique layer for my One-on-One partner the same time I did DH's Valentine's card. Then I turned to CardMaps for inspiration for the layout. The designer paper is from DCWV The Once upon A Time mat stack. I used the SU corner rounder for the scallop edge, it gave me a better scallop for this size then the slit punch, plus it allowed me to scallop the edge without having to add the strip after scalloping due to the way it punches. So all that came together BUT (LOL) it was missing something. I glanced over at all the bottles holding my Primas, but they were all too small. That's when I seriously looked at the Minnie Can. I took one of the large flowers and started searching through my SU buttons and found a match. I used some mini glue dots (love those things!) and attached the flower to the card, then the button to the flower.

Ta-dah!
I have seen cards where they have some embellishment hanging over the edge of the card and I always thought "that looks nice, but how would they mail it out? I'd never do that." Well, here I go hanging the flower over the edges. I had to mail it to my partner, (okay, a brief thought of keeping it and making her another card but I quickly brushed the thought aside.) I put it in a 6x9 manila envelope and folded the flap end over at the point just before the flower tips. I sealed it up. That helped (I hope) protect the card in its travel through the USPS system. So it did cost a little more, but well worth it so long as it gets to it's recipient in good shape. Here's to hope that she likes it! *clinking glasses* ;)

I would like to add, I am seeing myself producing better cards when I use sketches. I believe that taking out that part of the challenge in creating a card allows me to focus more on other aspects of card making, such as the technique, embellishments or coloring. I feel less overwhelmed in creating a card without directly CASEing. I hope that makes sense!

Stamps: Sketches; Ink: Staz-On Black, Garden Green, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal, More Mustard, Plus a few more I can't remember, OPALITE: Winter Rust & Arctic Emerald; Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, DCWV Once upon A Time; Accessories: SU Corner Rounder, sponges, SU Button & Prima Minnie Can, Eire Collection 2.

Happy Valentine's Day

I was thinking this morning about wrapping up Troy's gifts for his teacher and her assistant. I like to match the wrapping paper with the gift so I thought I'd show what I did for them. I used two layers of tissue paper, but only wheeled one. (If I only sued one layer of tissue it would be a little too thin and you can see through.)


I prefer to use wheels because they are so QUICK and EASY! If you aren't familiar with stamping wheels here is a picture of a handle, ink cartridge and the wheel itself.

All you do is place the cartridge into the handle ensuring that you push it down until it snaps into place. Next place the wheel into the top of the handle. Make sure you snap it all the way in so it will spin easily. Now push the cartridge up so that it just touches the wheel and inks the wheel while it turns. Then wheel away! I normally wheel on a diagonal because the eye is less likely to notice any mistakes like lines that aren't perfectly straight. Stampin' Up! does sell a wheel guide which really helps keep you rolling straight.

Now if I can brag a little and show a picture of Troy and his pre-school teacher. She is just a great teacher and handles the children (all 20 of them) superbly! Troy and I found a "Hoppy Valentines' Day" t-shirt at The Children's Store and of course he had to have it! Why they would make or market a t-shirt for Valentines day when it is cold outside is beyond me!


Here is a picture of my Valentine's card for DH. I love this stamp by Stampin' Up! and have used for numerous anniversary and Valentine's day cards! Yes, these are non-traditional colors for Valentine's Day but I chose them because they coordinated with the colors I used in the couple layer. The couple layer uses the Opalite Color Infusion technique in the current Technique Junkies Newsletter. This card looks so much better IRL where you can see the shimmer. I used the layout for this week's Technostamper's sketch. I used a retired background stamp On The Spot because I think if you use a little imagination it can look like fireworks going off! Isn't that what every couple needs is some fireworks! ;)


Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Give the ones you love an extra big hug!

Stamps: On The Spot, Weathered, Summer By The Sea; Ink: Staz-On Black, various Classic SU, Opalite: Artic Emerald & Winter Rust, White gel pen; Paper: More Mustard, Garden Green, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: sponges, Crafters' Tool kit (paper piercer & mat, template).

Wow, Another Award!

I have been honored again today by Laurie at Tip Junkie. She was so sweet to select my blog for a Great Tip Award! If you would like to learn where this award came from go here.





The participation rules are simple:

1. If you get tagged, write a post with links to 3 blogs that also have great tips.
2. Link this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Great Tip Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.
4. Optional: Submit the tip(s) to be featured on TipJunkie.com.

Now for the three blogs that I would like to bestow this award to:

Julie from Paper Pleasing Ideas I have learned so much from Julie, she is truly amazing!

GinaK from A Day in the Life Gina's generosity is absolutely amazing!

Julia from Belle Papier is also an inspiration!

Thank you three ladies for the constant source of inspiration you give!

Upcoming Valentines Day

Here it is, two days before Valentine's Day and I still haven't made my DH's valentine! In my defense look at what I have done.


These are for the children in my DS's pre-school class. I found the idea (and directions) for these at Julie's blog. I put the smarties in two of them so you get the idea. I'll wait until Thursday morning to fill the rest. I don't want to risk them tearing or just getting lost. He has 11 girls and 8 other boys in his class. I started getting tired of making these and still had most of the boys' left so I got out one of my wheels and finished lickety-split! Why didn't I think to use a wheel earlier??? LOL!

I made two of these for his teacher and her assistant. I got the idea from Sarah's blog. I think her Sweetheart boxes aren't quite as bright as mine, so I struggled a bit on the belly band. It was interesting using the different layers and trying to incorporate SU and non-SU punches.

Now I need to figure out what to do for DH. :D

I have received an award!

My friend Nancy, from FancyNancyLoves2Stamp has just awarded me this Excellent award! Nancy is an awesome stamper! I remember the fun we had stamping together in Germany. I am so glad that she started a blog so now, even though we aren't neighbors anymore I can still see her wonderful creations! So run don't walk to her blog!

Here are a few gals that I feel exemplify excellent bloggers:

Dorinda

Kimm

Pat

Paula

Lisa

Karen

Lisa S.

Wanda


If anyone can tell me how to make this award a little smaller I would appreciate it. I'm not quite sure how I even got it here since I couldn't do it my normal way of uploading.

Aged Metal, Sort Of

I wanted to try one of the new techniques from the TJ newsletter called Aged Metal, but I didn't have the right kind of sheet so I substituted some Silver cardstock. I also wanted to try this week's Sketch Challenge on SCS. This is what I came up with. I like it, but it feels like it needs something.

Stamps: Fine Lace, Morning Soft; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Staz-On; Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Silver; Accessories: Cuttlebug with Folder, Pop Dots (under the sentiment's top right corner.)

Magic Garden

Again I have combined a couple challenges. First, I wanted a card for this month's class. Secondly, I wanted to use one of the techniques from the newest Technique Junkies Newsletter, preferably the Magic Pattern since that technique is the one for this month's Card of the Month Challenge. Thirdly, I wanted to use the colors from this week's SCS color challenge. Basically all I had to do was pick out a stamp set! Here is my card.

I think if I were to do this again I would chose a different background stamp. I think that the Weathered stamp is a little too busy since there are so many lines in the From the Garden stamp. I would also use a lighter color than Apricot Apeal since it is a very bright color when used as the main layer. Since the flower is so large that I couldn't think of another way to do this without omitting some of the flower. I haven't decided yet if I will submit this for the TJ's Card of the Month Challenge. What do you think?

Overall, I do like this card, but I would probably only send this to a good friend who would forgive me for being so bright! I have a sentiment from Stampabilities which says, "Hello Sunshine" that I will stamp on the inside.

Stamps: From the Garden, Weathered; Ink: Versamark, Staz-On Black; Paper: Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, Real Red; Accessories: Aqua Painter, Clear EP, Photo Corner Punch, Watercolor Crayons: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke, Apricot Appeal and Pumpkin Pie.

Opalite Merci

Here is a card I did this afternoon. Let me tell you, using a sketch is soooo helpful! It probably took me half the time that I normally would need to compete this card. It started when I saw Pat's card and decided I wanted to play along with technostampers' sketch challenge. Mary Jo has started these sketch challenges on Monday. You can see this week's sketch on her blog here.

After I saw Pat's card and decided to jump on board I also wanted to use some of my new Stampin' Up! designer paper Porcelain Prints, I wanted to use my new Sale-A-Bration (SAB) stamp set Merci, AND I wanted to use a technique from the newest Technique Junkies Newsletter. Whew! Here is what I came up with.


Yes, the "merci" is stamped a little crooked, but I really didn't feel like redoing it. I think it adds some personality to the card, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! It is probably hard to tell, but the layers with the bee has the Opalite Color Infusion. I like the shimmer that it creates! If I were to do this card again, I think I'd stamp the canvas on the Bashful Blue layer.

Stamps: Merci, Ink: Staz-On Black, Basic Black CRAFT, Summer Sun (bee) and Blue Bayou (wings), Arctic Emerald Opalite; Paper: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, River Rock and Porcelain Prints DP; Accessories: Slit punch (scallop top), scallop punch, Black EP, Black eyelets.

Opalite Comparision

Opalite Color Infusion is a technique from the newest Technique Junkies Newsletter. This newsletter is worth every penny! Not only do you get a bi-monthly newsletter, you also get access to the online tutorials! I am a visual learner so that is exactly what I need.

I wanted to show the difference between my flower with and without the Opalite. The card is so much smoother than without. I must add that both look better IRL, not as splotchy. The scanner picks up better than the human eye the intensity of color.

Stamp: Morning Soft (Stampin' Up!) Ink: Summer Sun (flower centers) Lovely Lilac, Yo-Yo Yellow and Golden Mist Opalite; Paper: Whisper White.

Morning Soft Opalite

When I first saw this stamp set in the new Stampin' Up! catalog I fell in love with it. I knew immediately that I wanted it for my MIL. She is such a warm and giving person! The new Technique Junkies newsletter is now accessible on-line and this card utilizes one of those techniques called Opalite-Color-Infusion. You can't see the shimmer that the Opalite ink gives this card, but it is nice and shimmery. After I finished the flower layer I was looking for a layout and came to Beate's blog. Oh yea, Beate's got it going on! LOL! She took her inspiration from SCS's color challenge. Without further ado here is my card for my MIL

I borrowed Beate's square main image and those yo-yo yellow circles. The scan is a little crooked; the yellow background was sponged on (and doesn't look so blotchy, IRL it looks better than the scan shows. Isn't that how it always is, it looks so much better in person! LOL!

I really like how this turned out and can hardly wait to show my DH. Yes, I know he usually just looks at my projects and mumbles something but I think that this will be different. His mother is under a lot of stress right now (well, has been for quite some time) so I think she really will appreciate the saying on the inside: "It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing that matters. ~ Mother Teresa"

Stamps: Morning Soft and Canvas B/G; Ink: Staz-On Black, Summer Sun, Lovely Lilac, Yo-Yo Yellow, Going Gray; Paper: Whisper White, Going Gray, Basic Gray and Golden Mist Opalite; Accessories: sponge daubers, silver brads, 1/2" & 1/4" circle punches.

Priceless Class Project

Well, my monthly class was supposed to be on Thursday (Jan 25th), but last minute I ended up having to cancel class. I was sick! It turned out that only one gal was coming (thankfully, in an sad way) so I called her 15 minutes before class to cancel. I've never had to cancel class before but I was getting nauseated. Yes, I was sick the rest of the night. Thankfully, I was the only to get sick, so I'm thinking it was something I ate. Anyway, here is the second card that we would have done.


This card uses the Crayon Resist technique. It has been around for awhile, and I've taught it before, but I really thought it complemented this stamp set so well. I did want to show my customers how to use the scallop punch to make the medallion. I'm sorry, I can't remember where I first saw this done. If you know, please drop me a line and I'll update this posting to include the info.

Stamps: Priceless; Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose; Paper: Rose Red, Glossy; Accessories: scallop punch, Rich Regal brads, white crayon, brayer, and white taffeta ribbon.