Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Fun thank you




I have to say this right away: I totally CASE'd this card from someone on Splitcoast stampers called Eured99. I don't usually show cards that I totally copy since it is not my idea, but this card is so stinkin' cute I felt the need to show it to a new audience. I made about 18 of these cards as thank you's for my son's birthday. I wrote out the notes but my son (who just turned 4) wrote his name in each one. I am so proud of him for that - he usually doesn't like to do 'schoolwork' but he sat down (in 2 sessions) and wrote his name with no complaints. Gotta start those kids early on the thank you notes!! My children are VERY fortunate and I am working hard to let them know that from an early age. It's very easy to just give in to them and not listen to the whining and crying but, just as my parents did with me, I make a conscious effort to sometimes just say no. And not just say no, but tell them WHY they can't have every toy in the store or candy in the checkout aisle. I'm hoping that eventually my message will sink in. Although, at 4 and 5 years old, we are not there . . . yet. But at least they write thank you notes. It's a good start, right???

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: I dig you, Teeny tiny wishes
Cardstock: Gumball green, Midnight muse, Pumpkin pie, Whisper white
Ink: Gumball green, Midnight muse, Pumpkin pie, Daffodil delight, Basic black
Other Stuff: 3/4" circle punch, Word window punch, Gumball green, midnight muse and pumpkin pie ribbon, stamp-a-ma-jig

Friday, September 21, 2012

Figured it out




As promised, here's the card that I had such problems with earlier this week. I normally don't make religous Christmas cards, since I send cards to such an eclectic group of people. But since I've started making so many different cards, and this stamp set was so awesome that someone bought it twice and it was just sitting there on my desk, staring at me, I decided to go for it. I had this vision in my head and started cutting away, but then I worked and worked on it and had this huge blank space in the middle. I got frustrated and had to put it aside for a few days (see my previous post for the card I made in the interim). When I picked it back up, I tried a couple different things and bounced some ideas off my mom (LOVE having her sit across from me when I am creating now!). This is the final design that we came up with. Simple, but very beautiful while still keeping the focus on the message of this card.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: First Christmas, Greetings of the Season
Cardstock: Midnight muse, Whisper white, Brushed silver
Ink: Midnight muse, Versamark
Other Stuff: Apothecary accents framelits, Midnight muse ribbon, Silver embossing powder, Silver stampin dazzle marker

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A happy accident




Lately I have been riding a wave of creativity and everything that I'm doing is turning out at least something like the vision in my head. I've been hard at work on my holiday cards and had this idea for a card using a set that one of my ladies, well, she liked it so much she bought it twice. Of course I look at that as an opportunity to buy a stamp set that maybe I wouldn't have bought without some encouragement (send it back - what???? - no way!). So I had this great idea in my head and started cutting out 12 shapes for the main image and - oh no! - the execution of the card was not matching my vision AFTER I cut out TWELVE shapes. So after I tried to do what I wanted to do with both sides of the shape I decided to go down a different path. I set aside my new stamp set and desperately tried to find something that would fit in that shape - out popped the beautiful tree from Christmas Lodge. So I decided to go with a rustic, preppy look. Something 'lodge-y' but more preppy than really cowboy, actual rustic (thus more like me). I pulled out some Christmas paper from last year that I hoarded (why do I do that????) and wrapped some cherry cobbler twine around the whole thing and voila . . . my rustic, preppy Christmas card, perfect for the single men on your Christmas card list that do not want glitz and bling. Oh, and just because it's that kind of period for me, after a day or so I went back to the first idea in my head and got it to work. I'll share that one next time!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Greetings of the Season
Cardstock: Cherry cobbler, Whisper white, Frostwood Lodge DSP (retired)
Ink: Garden green, cherry cobbler, Versamark
Other Stuff: Cherry cobbler embossing powder, Cherry cobbler baker's twine, dimensionals, Apothecary accents framelit, sponge dauber

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Hard at work




I LOVE that the new Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog came out in August this year. It gives me an extra month to get my stuff together and get working on my holiday cards. I'm not one to brag . . . well, actually, I am. It is September 13th and I have FIFTY (50!) Christmas cards completed already (okay, bragging complete). Since there are so many stamp sets out there and so many different designs, I've shifted from making 100+ of the same design to making 10-12 of a bunch of different cards. In the past, I've had the intention of writing down who gets what card so that I can safely send similar, if not duplicate, cards out from year to year. Of course, I've always been frantically finishing my cards in years past in the second (or third!) week of December so you can imagine where my good intentions ended up. So now I'll be periodically showing you some of my Christmas cards for this year - just don't get mad if you already 'saw' the one you get later this year!
Today's card started out as an idea in my head and then as I was browsing some websites, I came across one that almost matched the image in my head, so I'm going to give a shout out to Stampinnerd's blog for having a great mind that thought like me :-)
I've been trying to figure out how to use the absolutely gorgeous Champagne glitter paper (just those words sound beautiful to me) on a Christmas card so I decided to go with a vintage type feel with neutrals and a muted red (Riding Hood red). I used a shape from the Apothecary Accents framelits collection for the Believe sentiment, and then traced around the outside of the framelit on the glitter paper to make the mat. A little extra work, yes, but oh so beautiful!!!!!


Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Snowflake Soiree
Cardstock: Riding hood red, Very vanilla, Champagne glitter paper
Ink: Crumb cake, Soft suede
Other Stuff: Apothecary accents framelits, dimensionals, Riding hood red pleated satin ribbon (retired), Champagne shimmer paint mist

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Halloween Fun Fold

Today I am sharing a card with you that was so much fun to make. I saw the directions for a 'Fun Fold' card in one of my stamp magazines (really honey, I need these magazines for my work) and it caught my eye because I'd like to have a class on Fun Folds this fall. So I decided to try my hand at this particular design. And my consensus of one says that it's a winner!!! One of the best parts of cardmaking, for me anyway, is making things that look SOOOO impressive but in reality aren't that hard to make. The hardest part about this card is whether or not I'll be able to let it go and actually send it to someone. . . Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted) Stamps: Googly ghouls, Tricky treats Cardstock: Basic black, Basic gray, Very vanilla, Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP Ink: Stazon black Other Stuff: Tangerine tango, basic black and Rich razzleberry markers, Oval punch, Tasteful trim die, ruler, dimensionals

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Sympathy swap

This month's stamp club was a first for me. I have always avoided making sympathy cards until I need one, so I never ever planned one for Stamp Club. When I asked my club last month if they had any suggestions for August, this came up and we decided to go with it. We've been making swaps in stamp club as well so we went all in and made the swaps Sympathy-themed as well. This was my swap. I kinda-sorta copied a little bit of a Zindorf card but only used a little bit of it and added it to a card sketch that I liked. The butterfly is cut out and popped onto the card with a squished up mini glue dot for a little more dimension. I also used the new Coredinations paper and woodgrain embossing folder (which I sanded to get that cool effect) and I'm really pleased with the result. And now even though I have a pile of sympathy cards, I hope I don't have to use any anytime soon. Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted) Stamps: Summer Solstice Cardstock: Soft suede, baja breeze, very vanilla, early espresso (coredinations) Ink: Espresso Other Stuff: Blender pen, baja breeze, soft suede and sahara sand markers, vintage trinkets, woodgrain EF, mini glue dots, sanding block

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Inspiration everywhere

Today's card was inspired by a card on the cover of July's CardMaker magazine. I have had a hard time using the Floral District DSP because some of it is really wildly patterned. I try, and then end up not using it because the pattern takes away from the rest of the card instead of complementing it. So one way to get around that is to use the patterns in small doses, as this card does. This card is perfect for those extra strips of paper you have that you save and put back into the paper packet (don't lie - you know you do it too!!!) Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted) Stamps: Curly cute Cardstock:Whisper white, Lucky limeade, Floral district DSP Ink: Melon mambo Other Stuff: Daffodil delight 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, basic rhinestones

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Umm, yeah

Oh my goodness. How is it possible that I haven't posted anything since March???? Well, let's recap. We sold our house. That was big. Now we live down the street with my mom and we are all building a new house together. Exciting stuff, but it's kept us extremely busy for the past couple months. So on to cards - the new catalog came out, the holiday catalog came out, and not even a single post from me. Horrible. I've actually made a few cards, but haven't had time to photograph and blog about them. So the good news is, I have a backlog of cards to share. Today's card is a fun, summery one using the Happy Hour stamp set and the Floral District DSP. This is a fun set that has a lot of stamps to mix and match to give different look. Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted) Stamps: Happy Hour Cardstock: Daffodil delight, Whisper white, Tempting turquoise, Floral District DSP Ink: Tangerine tango, Tempting turquoise, Daffodil delight, Rose red, Old olive Other Stuff: Sponges, dimensionals

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Pretty in pink


Field flowers is one of those stamp sets that's been on my wish list all year, but I haven't had the chance to buy it yet. So you can imagine my surprise and joy when, while poking around at my mom's house this weekend, I noticed that she HAD bought this set!!!! I made a pretty convincing case to have her let me "borrow" it (it hadn't even been opened yet and she's had it for MONTHS!)so I had to make a card with it pronto. I did some stuff with this card that I haven't done in a while . . . fussy cutting out the flower head, smooch spritzing the flower head and the background paper for a 'distressed' look, using the crocheted ribbon trim for just a touch of lace, and pulling out my much beloved En Francais background stamp (please please please don't retire that one, Stampin Up!!!!!) This set is going to get a lot more use now that it's found a good home!!!!!!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps:Field flowers, En francais
Cardstock:Sahara sand, Blushing bride, Early espresso, Very vanilla
Ink: Blushing bride, regal rose, Pear pizzazz, Chocolate chip
Other Stuff:Backgrounds 1 texturz plate, Pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon, Victoria crochet trim ribbon, gold glow and log cabin smooch spritz, color catcher, sponge dauber, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

Card art?


This is one of those cards that I had a lot of fun making, but at the same time I totally know that this card has no purpose whatsoever. I love the way it turned out - I had a 'vision' of it in my head and this is pretty close - but why would I send someone a card with a bird's nest and eggs on it????? If anyone can think of a reason to send this, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, we'll just call it 'card art' and appreciate that it's a pretty cool card, even if it has no purpose :-)


Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Nature's nest
Cardstock: River rock, Whisper white, Wonderfully worn DSP
Ink: River rock, Chocolate chip, Baja breeze
Other Stuff: Baja breeze satin pleated ribbon, Early espresso striped ribbon, dimensionals, sponge daubers, markers, blender pen, oval scallop frame bigz die

Monday, March 26, 2012

Better late than never


Okay, so I didn't quite get my whole week of posts published in a row, but I was close. Here's the last of my sneak peeks for Summer smooches. I know that this paper is going to get a lot of use with my summer pictures, if I ever get to scrapbook them :-)
I've still been busy up in my scrapbook room so I'll have more posts coming!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Just believe, Pursuit of happiness
Cardstock: daffodil delight, whisper white, summer smooches dsp
Ink: old olive, daffodil delight
Other Stuff: markers, circle punches, sponge dauber, basic rhinestones

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A great idea



Today I was talking with one of my friends who is also a member of stamp club and a terrible enabler. She had looked at the new Digital downloads that Stampin' Up released today (they do that almost every Tuesday) and found one kit that she really loved and said that she'd be ordering it soon. Well, one of the things that we all wish Stampin'Up would 'fix' is being able to buy digital downloads during a club or workshop order (No, they haven't fixed that yet). We feel like someone should get "credit" for that purchase, and hence we don't often order downloads. As we were talking, we realized that at least we could get another free Sale-a-bration goodie if we buy $50 worth of digital downloads at one time before the end of March. That way, at least we get SOMETHING for that purchase. How had I not thought of this before????? But then my next thought was, 'Do I actually have $50 worth of digital downloads that I want?' Silly me. I started looking at things I had on my wishlist and realized - quickly - that I could spend 2-3x that $50, so no worries there!!! So if you've been putting off getting some digital downloads, head over to my Stampin'Up website and place your order today, and get some free goodies along the way!!!!

Friday, March 16, 2012

Funky!


Trendy trees is one of my favorite stamp sets ever. My post the other day about using smaller stamps with the summer smooches paper turned on a lightbulb in my head and made me run for Trendy trees to do the same thing. I messed it up just a little bit (hence I had to cut my green tree to fit over my patterned square) but sometimes you just have to improvise and go with it. This is one of those cards that I got frustrated with and left overnight before throwing it out. When I went back up the next night, I decided that it was still cute and not deserving of the trash bin. How could I throw out those cute little trees????

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps:Trendy trees, Distressed dots BG
Cardstock:Old olive, Whisper white, Summer smooches DSP
Ink: Early espresso, Real red, Island indigo, Old olive
Other Stuff: Mat pack, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, small scalloped circle punch, 5/8" red grosgrain ribbon (retired, I think), dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Send me soaring


Here is installment #3 of my "Summer smooches" phase. Today's card used two stamp sets that I HAD to have and then didn't use: Send me soaring and Petite pairs. Both sets are really cute but small, and I have a problem sometimes using the smaller images on cards. So that brings me to reason #47 that I LOVE the summer smooches paper: The patterns are bold and bright and can 'help' a card along so that you can use a smaller stamped focal image. Brilliant!!!! Usually I like to use designer paper as a background and let my stamps be the highlight of the card, but sometimes with smaller stamps they need a little boost, and this paper is perfect for that!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Send me soaring and Petite pairs
Cardstock: Real red, whisper white, Summer smooches DSP
Ink: Lucky limeade, bashful blue, Markers: Island indigo, Real red, Daffodil delight, lucky limeade
Other Stuff: Stamp-a-ma-jig, small and medium oval punches, mat pack, paper piercer

Sweet!


One of my card/stamping/scrapbooking magazines recently had an article about how to use Baker's twine. I was especially interested since I had just bought all 5 colors of the Baker's twine from the Occasions mini catalog (yes, I really am my best customer!). One of the cutest things that they said to do with it was to coil it. I think that these lollipops are so stinkin' cute I can hardly stand it. I'm not gonna lie - it took a bit of time to get the hang of it since the twine is thin and getting it to start coiling took a little work (and some tweezers), but like most things once you get the hang of it, it's easy-peasy. Since I have little kids I think that this card design will be a big hit - and will help me use all that twine I bought!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Create a cupcake (sentiment)
Cardstock: Whisper white, daffodil delight, Summer smooches DSP
Ink: Real red
Other Stuff: Corner rounder punch, 1" circle punch, Baker's twine, Big shot multipurpose adhesive sheets (perfect for getting the twine to stick!), Word window and modern label punches, sponge dauber

A week of smooches!


Alright y'all . . . I told you I've been busy up in scrapbook room, but I doubt any of you are ready for this: a WHOLE WEEK of new blog posts!!! The Stampin Up promotion for April is a preview of a new product line for the new catalog that is called Summer Smooches. As a demo I can preorder some stuff and I bought the digital download as soon as it came out. I absolutely LOVE the new paper. I printed out 4 sheets of my most favorite designs and have been using them like crazy, so I'm going to share a new card with you every day this week that uses this paper. It's bright and summery and cheerful and I just think it's fabulous.
So here is card #1, using the Button Buddies stamp set. I got some buttons for FREE from SAB and used some on this card, along with the Island Indigo baker's twine from the Occasions mini. Who wouldn't love getting this card in the mail?

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Button buddies, Teeny tiny wishes
Cardstock: Old olive, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil delight, whisper white, Summer smooches DSP
Ink: Tangerine tango, Tempting turquoise, old olive (marker)
Other Stuff: Scallop edge border punch, small oval punch, large scallop circle punch, brights buttons, 1/16" handheld circle punch, Island Indigo baker's twine, basic rhinestones, mat pack, mini glue dots

Thursday, March 15, 2012

There's still time!


I haven't been able to fit in a Stamp-a-Stack this Sale-a-bration period, but it's not too late to place an order. SAB is the best time of the year at Stampin' Up as you get a FREE gift of your choice for each $50 you spend. We won't go into detail about how many gifts I myself have qualified for, but suffice it to say it's easier to pick things in the SAB catalog that I DON'T have . . . shhhh!!!
Today's card features the absolutely beautiful paper Everyday Enchantment. One thing I really love that Stampin Up has been doing this year is offering some of the paper as a digital download - no more wishing I had just one more piece of that one extra-fabulous pattern in the pack. Now I can print out as much or as little as I need!!!! This card is using the real deal cardstock, but you really can't even tell a difference - promise! Also in this card is the vintage-styled Apothecary Art stamp set and the labels collection framelits dies that go with it. The longest part of this card was the coloring!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Apothecary art
Cardstock: Soft suede, Very vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP
Ink: Soft suede
Other Stuff: Markers and blender pen, Labels collection framelit, Pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon, sponge dauber, Vintage wallpaper EF, dimensionals

Easy Easter


I think I'm having Easter at my house this year. I tend to go overboard sometimes at the holidays with crazy food or decorating ideas that end up wearing me out (one time my friend and I made these RIDICULOUS easter eggs that Martha Stewart had in her magazine and it consumed us for about a week) but I'm learning that simple really is okay. For instance, the card I'm sharing today. Super simple but, I think, super cute. I am really hoping that Stampin Up keeps the pleated ribbon in the new catalog this summer. I LOVE IT. It looks crazy hard, but in reality, it's just like regular plain ribbon, but fancier. What could be better?

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Everybunny
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Whisper white, blushing bride, Pear pizzazz DSP
Ink: Stazon black
Other Stuff: Blushing bride pleated satin ribbon, Scallop trim border and scallop trim corner punches, Dazzling diamonds, markers and blender pen, Subtles glimmer brads

Busy busy


Hi friends! I've been busy busy busy up in my stamp room!!! I have rediscovered the wonders of the 'sketch challenge' and while I don't actually upload my creations to the various websites, I've been using a lot of sketches lately to help spark my creativity. It seems like I went through a long period of 'tweaking' other people's work, but not really coming up with anything of my own. With sketches, I'm using someone else's base, but the stamps, colors, papers, etc are all from my own mind. So this next period of my work is going to be my 'sketch period.' Also, once I make the card the sketch sometimes gets lost in the process, so I'm going to just tell you about some of the best places to go for inspiration. I love the sketch challenge (each Wednesday) on splitcoaststampers.com and also Mojo Monday, Ispy sketches, the deconstructed sketch, and the sweet stop. All of these places are wonderful when you need some card inspiration and I encourage you to check some of them out!
Now on to today's card. I used an odd size, something I rarely do. But now Stampin Up has a new diagonal board to go on top of its scoreboard, so I can now make my own envelopes with ease - no more worries about how to send those random cards!!! I did some coloring with my markers and my blender pen on water colorpaper, which I absolutely love. I see this as a gorgeous Mother's day or special birthday card. Lovely.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Bordering on Romance
Cardstock:Sahara sand, old olive, Rose red, basic black, watercolor paper, cardstock vellum
Ink: Stazon black
Other Stuff: 2 1/2" circle punch, Scallop trim border punch, vanilla satin ribbon, blushing bride pleated satin ribbon (LOVE!!!), Beautiful wings embosslit, basic pearls, Perfect details texturz plate, Stampin Up markers, blender pen

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Feeling lucky


So I guess I should preface this and say that I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me. I grew up a Penn State fan, thus not liking Notre Dame on principle. I do have some Irish friends that I have had some fun St Patrick's Days with in my younger years, drinking green beer and whatnot. But I can't say I've ever really had an urge to celebrate St Patrick's Day, wearing green and going around kissing people and all. So why did I make a card for St. Patrick's Day??? Who knows? But as I was making it, I knew immediately who would get it: my mommom. When I was younger sometimes my mommom would find a 4 leaf clover and she would give it to me. I think she even sent me one or two when I was in college. So I decided to send her one back. Mommom likes to play bingo and the lottery so I figure she could use a little luck. Can't hurt, right????

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Sincere salutations, 5th Avenue floral (stem)
Cardstock: Garden green, River rock, Lucky limeade, Garden green DSP
Ink: Lucky limeade, garden green
Other Stuff: Oval scallop frame bigz die, small heart punch, gold glimmer brads

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Simple Thanks



My daughter's birthday has come and gone, and as usual, I am reminded how blessed we are to have such generous family and friends. Katie and I have quite a few thank you notes to write, so I had to make a card that was simple but also pretty enough to let the recipient know that we truly are thankful. The design you see is what I came up with. I've been making a conscious effort to not make everything so complicated (and not just with cards!) and I'm constantly reminding myself that simple is often better on so many different levels.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Mixed bunch, Thank you kindly
Cardstock: Whisper white, Pretty in Pink, Pool Party, Wisteria wonder, Poppy parade
Ink:
Pink card: Pink pirouette, Pretty in Pink,Melon Mambo
Blue card: Island indigo, Pool party, Lucky limeade
Purple card: Wisteria wonder, Elegant eggplant, Lucky limeade
Red card: Poppy parade, Tangerine tango, Daffodil delight
Other Stuff: Blossom punch

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Back again


Betcha all gave up on me, didn't you? Well, I deserve it. No posts since November? Really Karla, pretty pathetic. So let's catch up. Thanksgiving was fun with immediate family and some good friends. December went by in a flash with the holidays and a bunch of family in town for my sister's wedding. I got to spend Christmas week with my husband, kiddos, mom, dad, BOTH my grandmas, and my aunt and uncle. We haven't all been together for a holiday like that since I had the kids. It was awesome and something I'll always cherish. Then there was the main event: the Saner-Browder wedding extravaganza on New Years Eve. I'll say this: my mom really knows how to plan a party!!!!! I think that my feet still hurt from all the dancing I did that night! Now that my sister is successfully hitched, I can get back to regularly scheduled life.
The next big event is my little girl's 5th birthday party! I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I've been a mom for five years. There are times (like right before bed) that it seems like I've been doing this FOREVER and other times (like when they are finally asleep and the house is quiet) that I wonder where my tiny little baby girl went. So today I'm sharing her birthday invitation. I went to splitcoast and picked bits and pieces that I liked to come up with this. I even used My Digital Studio - what a cool little program that is! I've gotten up in my stamp room a little bit this year so hopefully I'll get myself back onto this blog more than once every 3 months.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: stars builder wheel
Card stock: real red, whisper white, basic black
Ink: basic black
Other Stuff: MDS, printer, clip art