Working with patterns

Sometimes in a paper pack, there are some prints or patterns that might not appeal to you, even if you like the overall look of the paper pack. For this card, I challenged myself to use a pattern that was difficult for me. This chevron pattern is very bold and not something I would gravitate to on my own, so that's what I decided to try. The trick, I've found, is to use it in small doses. The other thing that I had to do with this card was add some white layers behind the two chevron panels - I had the card laid out without them, but in this case it needed something more, and that extra little layer did the trick. I found this sketch (from Splitcoast, I believe) and it works. This card turned out very neutral; it could be for males or females, old or young. A perfect card to keep in your stash for when you need a quick card!

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: See Ya Later (SAB)
Cardstock: Real red, coastal cabana, Bermuda bay, whisper white, Fresh Prints DSP
Ink: Real red and Bermuda bay markers
Other Stuff: Chevron EF and dimensionals

A Banner Day

Today's card was inspired by two things. First, I saw a really cute card on Splitcoast that used banners on the top and bottom (thank you Jennie Maier, who I don't know but I loved her card!). It made me think of flags, so then naturally my mind went to a nautical theme, which always makes me think of the Pottery Barn Kids summer catalogs. I love these catalogs because they have such cute, preppy boys' rooms. I decided to go with Soft Sky, Night of Navy, and Real red as my color theme. From there it came together so quickly and was fun to make - I'm already thinking that I could do one with the same stamp sets in 'girl' colors. This is the kind of card I need to sit down and make a few of, so that I have them when I'm scrambling to get the kids to a birthday party and they say, as we're walking out the door, 'Hey, don't we need a card??' Sometimes it's nice to get back to basics - this card is just stamps and punches, nothing fancy or time consuming.

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Banner Blast(SAB), Blue Ribbon
Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Sky, Night of Navy, and Real red
Ink: Night of Navy, Real red
Other Stuff: 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Banner Punch (SAB), Dimensionals

Love the Starburst

The Starburst Sayings and Starburst Framelits have got to be, hands down, my favorite things in the Occasions Catalog. I keep reaching for them every time I start to make a card. I always stayed away from card sketches with circles on them, because I never had the "right" stamp set to incorporate into the design. Not anymore!!!! Now I LOOK for sketches with circles just so I can use this set more. Today's card uses a little tip I picked up somewhere along the way and I'll share it with you. The Starburst framelits have lots of space in between the different layers, and sometimes I want a closer layered look (look at the layers on the small circles). The smallest starburst on each of them is from the framelits. The next 'starburst' is home-made by using the 1 1/4" scalloped circle punch. I punched the scalloped circle out, and then stuck it to a sticky note to be able to put it back into the punch and re-punch, this time in the center of each scallop, to give the 'starburst' look. Pretty tricky, huh?

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Starburst Sayings
Cardstock: Crumb cake, Whisper white, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Fresh Prints DSP stack
Ink: Pool party, Bermuda Bay
Other Stuff: Starburst Framelits, Circles Framelits, Dazzling Diamonds, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, 1 1/4" scalloped circle punch, Basic Rhinestone, Dimensional, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay and Crumb cake markers

My blog is back!

Hi everyone!
Yes, it's true. I'm going to start posting on my blog again. Let's do a one sentence recap of the past couple years. Sold house, moved in with mom, built house, moved into new house, had benign brain tumor removed. Sooo . . . I've been kind of busy and have not had much motivation for stamping at all. Now that all the big stuff that I knew was coming up has come and gone, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I have a lot of creativity that's just coming out. Plus, I REALLY like the new stuff in the Stampin'Up! occasions spring catalog and it's helped me get over my creative slump.
So, without further ado, here's my Valentine's Day card, with hardly a minute to spare! I used a sketch to help me get started (that will be a common theme). This one is from the Mojo Monday blog, if I recall correctly. It's my take on a Shabby Chic style and I had a lot of fun putting it together.
I'm still working out some kinks, so expect to see some changes in the future. I'm going to figure out how to watermark my pictures (please don't steal my pictures!), and I have to update all the sidebars and stuff, but I didn't want to wait any longer to start posting, so we'll just fit that stuff in as I can (and as I figure it out!)

Card Supplies: (All supplies from Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Hearts a Flutter, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Yippee Skippee
Cardstock: Raspberry ripple, Crumb cake, Primrose petals coredinations, Whisper white
Ink: Raspberry ripple, Crumb cake
Other Stuff: Primrose petals marker (because I can't find the ink pad!), Burlap ribbon (from the Burlap and Blooms Simply Created Wreath Kit), Hearts a Flutter framelits, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Raspberry ripple ribbon, Very vintage button, Vintage faceted button, Basic pearls, Chevron Embossing folder, sponge dauber, glitter pen (non-SU), mini stapler (non-SU), dimensionals, Sanding block