Weddings on my mind

Pin It Now! This week I have been busy working on invitations for a friend's upcoming wedding this summer so I don't have anything new to share today. However, I would like to share with you the wedding invitation I did for my cousin's wedding last September. Their colors were champagne & hot pink so I used Sahara Sand for the base & used the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder. I added a layer of Melon Mambo & used the Scallop Trim Border punch. The invitation was printed on Very Vanilla before I stamped the large flower from "Wedding Sweet" using Melon Mambo ink. The RSVP card went inside the pocket & the hotel information was adhered to the front of the pocket.. These were the very first wedding invitations I ever did & I am very pleased with the way they turned out; the bride & groom loved them, too :)  This weeks Pals Paper Arts challenge (PPA82) is to use scallops on your project so I think this "old" project may qualify, what do you think?

"You'll be missed"

Pin It Now! What crazy weather we've experienced in the past 2 weeks! We had zero degree temps the first few days in Feb. & now today we're suppose to see close to 80 degrees for the second day in a row! Can ya believe it!? I've actually had the heat turned off for the past few days; it feels wonderful! :) Now I just pray the weather doesn't get crazy again... :)

Last week a friend of mine asked if I would make a card for a co-worker that was leaving for a different job. I knew the card would be from the entire staff at the clinic so I decided to make a large card to accommodate all their signatures. I took a piece of Very Vanilla & ran it through the Big Shot using one of the Texturz Plates (sorry it doesn't show up that great in the photo). I layered that onto the Early Espresso card base. On a second piece of Very Vanilla I embossed one of the trees from the set "Lovely As a Tree" (this set has been around forever & it a definite must have; great for all occasions & masculine cards!). I first inked it with Versa Mark & then immediately inked it in Chocolate Chip before stamping it. I was then able to use some Clear emboss powder & ended up with a brown tree. I adhered the image on a piece of Early Espresso. It seemed to be missing something so I added some brads. I was able to line them up nicely using the Mat Pack & Paper-Piercing Tool (all from Stampin' Up!). I created the sentiment using My Digital Studio & printed out on Very Vanilla. I used the Curly Label punch to punch it out & then sponged the edges with Early Espresso. I adhered that to the bottom of the Early Espresso layer before popping the whole thing up with dimensionals. I also added 2 pieces of Very Vanilla card stock to the top & bottom on the inside so all the signatures would show up. I did learn that the recipient really liked it & so did all the other co-workers so I accomplished my goal :) I hope you all have enjoyed the project for today. I'm off to finish a project for the next Stamp Camp!

Because I Care

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I found out yesterday some close friends of ours suffered a miscarriage & immediately wanted to create a card for them to let them know we're thinking & praying for them. I hadn't used the hostess set "Because I Care" in awhile so I dusted it off & started to create.This was cased from a gorgeous card from Tina who posted it on our demonstrator website. I did change mine up a bit though but I think it turned out beautifully. I first stamped the hydrangea with Jet Black StazOn on Whisper White card stock. Using Aqua Painters & Cherry Cobbler ink I colored the entire image. When it was completely dry I used a Blender Pen & some more Cherry Cobbler to darken the shadows. I used a Blender Pen & Certainly Celery on the leaves first & then added Old Olive with a Blender Pen to darken them.. I carefully cut out the entire flower & set it aside. I measured in from all 4 sides of the Whisper White piece of card stock 3/4" & with a pencil lightly drew a frame. I then added large post-it notes around the frame. With a sponge inked with Crumb Cake I sponged the inside of the frame I created with the post-its. After doing that it occurred to me that I could have just as easily cut out a frame to create a mask; live & learn I guess! lol I then stamped the sentiment from the same set with the StazOn & then used my 2-way glue pen & glued the flower to the paper. I didn't think the hydrangea looked like it had enough depth to me so I used the small tip of the Cherry Cobbler marker & darkened the shadows some more. To make it really pop I used my white gel pen to add some centers. Before adhering the panel to the Early Espresso card base I wrapped a piece of 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta ribbon & tied a simple knot. Once the panel was in place I added 3 tiny pearls to it. I am very pleased with the way it turned out & it went together fairly quickly. I hope you enjoy it & have a wonderful weekend.

Blog Award!

Pin It Now! I have been awarded my first blog award & I am really surprised! Alex over at Lex//Art was given the award & was asked to pass it on to 5 people & I am so glad she chose me! Thank you Alex! Go check out her blog; she is super talented with paper crafts & jewelry too :)

Now it is my turn to pass this award on to 5 people; that's difficult to narrow it down since I visit so many different blogs & enjoy every single one of them. Here are my 5 choices:

1. Mary Fish at Stampin' Pretty has very a very clean & elegant style & she frequently posts videos to help everyone achieve that little bit of "wow" to our projects. I love her style & hope you check her out.

2. Michelle Zindorf at Freedom in Creating is the queen of brayering! I would love to be able to attend one her classes someday but for now I have learned some pretty easy techniques from her blog. Because of her I'm not afraid of brayering now lol.

3.Margaret Bussan at Scissors Cut Paper is my upline back in Wisconsin; with out her I don't know where I'd be. She has some amazing ideas too; check her out!

4. Mike Funke at Stampin-Style always has amazing projects & fresh way of looking at things. He always opens my eyes to different & new ways to use stamps; such a refreshing outlook! Make sure you check him out; I know you'll really like him too!

5. Julie Buhler at Paper Pleasing Ideas is so cleverly creative & I just adore her. She can really add pizzazz to her creations & is very talented. I've been a follower of hers for a couple of years now (hope that doesn't make me a "stalker"  lol). Please go check her out, too!

Please take a few minutes to visit each of them; they're all FANTASTIC & in some way each & every one has inspired me in some way. Thanks for visiting my little 'ole blog & I hope you have a terrific day!

SALE-A-BRATION

Pin It Now! Stampin' Up!'s annual SALE-A-BRATION event starts today! Now until March 31, 2011 earn FREE products with every $50 purchase! You don't want to miss out on this fantastic event! Click HERE to visit my online store to learn more or simply click on the Sale-a-bration icon on the right. Have a stamp happy day!

Stamp Camp project

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My apologies for not posting more regularly. Last week I was getting ready for the Valentine Stamp Camp that happened yesterday. We had a lot of fun & are already looking forward to the Stamp Camp in February. Today's post is one of the cards we did yesterday. Very simple yet elegant. We used Riding Hood Red & a bit of Basic Black for the sentiment. The small hearts are punched with the Small Heart punch & popped up with dimensionals. The image is from the set "Elements of Style"; who know it could look so pretty by itself!? We used the Scallop Trim Border punch to create the small panel of Riding Hood Red. To really make it elegant we tied a piece of Whisper White Organza ribbon around the panel. This card was quick & easy to put together & who doesn't like that!? I hope you enjoyed today's card. I will be sharing the other projects we did over the next several days so please be sure to check back to take a look. Thanks for looking & I pray you all have a wonderful week!

Many inspirations

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For this particular card there were a couple of different things that I used for inspiration. I saw a card here last week & watched the tutorial on how to create the animal print background; super easy! To be honest I'm not a huge fan of animal print; however I bought a new canvas tote a few days ago to set on my craft table & it just so happens that it's a black & white zebra print & hot pink on the inside. One of my friends has a birthday this week & she LOVES animal print so I decided to make her a card with a little bit of animal print going on. While re-organizing the office/craft room I realized I have A LOT of hot pink & black accessories & that's the reason why I chose to pair Melon Mambo with Basic Black for my friend's b-day card. I used 3 different stamp sets here: Tote-ally Tess, Birthday Bakery, & Occasional Quotes. The last 2 mentioned are Hostess sets which you can earn for FREE so please email me to find out how easy that is! I used the gift bag image from the Birthday Bakery set & carefully cut it out so I could drape it over her arm. I then used one of the cupcake images from the same set & cut that out so I could make Tess carry it for special delivery. :) The sentiment is from the set Occasional Quotes. The sentiment, Tess, cupcake, & gift bag are all popped up using dimensionals. It was missing a little something so I added 2 tiny pearl "buttons" & the pearls at the bottom right. I had a lot of fun making this & I may have just become an animal print gal in the process! :) Thanks for looking; have a great day!