Happy 18th BIrthday tags and card

My oldest niece turned 18 on March 18th.  Yep, another golden birthday!  After seeing how I made her sister's gifts (see post here), she hinted she would enjoy something similar.  So for her birthday I went about with designing something similar and yet unique for her.  

I was going to try to buy items that were in 18-packs.  But I couldn't find 18 items and many were expensive and not quite useful so I decided on making 18 gift tags and wrapping her favorite candy/gum in the Tag a Bag gift bags with a $5 bill.

When I started designing her ensemble I decided to use the Hexagon Hive Thinlits Die.  I thought it would allow me the flexibility to create different designs, while similar, on each tag.  And of course, I had to use the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. I am so thrilled to have this punch!!  It really made this project go so much faster!

To make the tags I cut cardstock into pieces that were 2" by 4" and then ran them through the big shot using the hexagon hive thinlit.  I saved the inside hexagons and used them to fill in the tags to add a little color.  I used 2-way glue to glue the hexagon hive to whisper white cardstock and then punched the tag with the scalloped tag punch.

For the numbers I used the Morning Post Numbers Stamp Set and punched them using the hexagon punch. 

I used 5 different colors, matching them to the 3/4" chevron ribbon I had on hand.  Pretty simple in that respect! 

 For the card, I followed the same theme.  I raised the hexagon hive image using dimensionals and tucked the contrast hexagons behind the raised image to add color.  I used scraps of ribbon (have a ton of that now) to embellish the card.  

I am not sure it was as much fun to open her gifts since the gifts were all pretty much the same (although getting 18 $5 bills was kind of fun).  I figured it would embarrass her if I bought her underwear like I bought her sister!

Colors: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Blushing Bride

Stamp Sets: Morning Post Numbers, Petite Pairs

Big Shot: Hexagon Hive Thinlit

Accessories: Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Hexagon Punch, 3/4" chevron ribbon in Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, and Blushing Bride

Forty Cheers

My Brother-in-Law turned forty this year so I made him a card to celebrate his special day.  He likes beer so I decided to make a beer card.

I used My Digital Studio to make the beer foam (New Heights-cloud 2 Stamp Brush) and the cheers greeting (Happy Hour Stamp Brush) with my e-cutter.  I made each item a little bigger to fit the card.

The beer mug is made with vellum cardstock, embossed with the stripe embossing folder.  In order to avoid perforating the vellum I embossed the vellum with no tabs on the Big Shot platform (instead of tab 1).  You can still see the lines but they vellum is not coming apart.

The "beer" in the mug is just summer starfruit cardstock.  I used the arrows embossing folder on the background.

The "forty" greeting was made using the Designer Type Photopolymer Stamp set which is no longer available.  Apologies for that, I forgot I wanted to post this one to my blog.

He enjoyed the card so I was happy!  With the e-cutter, it is so much better to have the versatility of sizing your e-stamps to fit your needs!

Colors: Pool Party, Midnight Muse, Summer Startfruit, Whisper White 

Stamp Sets:  Designer Type Photopolymer Stamp set (no longer available)

My Digital Studio: New Heights-cloud 2 Stamp Brush, Happy Hour Stamp Brush

Big Shot: Arrow Embossing Folder, Stripe Embossing Folder

Accessories: Vellum Cardstock, sponge

Good Ol' USA

My department hosted a colleague from Japan for the last 3 months.  He is returning to Japan on Saturday so I designed a card for to say best wishes and thanks for joining our department.  

I decided to use the Map It Out photopolymer set, specifically the map of the USA. A nice way to remember his stay in the US.

I wasn't sure what type of greeting to use so I went with "Best Wishes" from Petite Pairs.  I thought this greeting was appropriate as a "farewell" greeting.

The background is a mix of stamps, both Off the Grid and Gorgeous Grunge.  For the colors I decided to use Summer Starfruit, Island Indigo and Early Espresso.

The card is pretty easy to make.  I only had about 30 minutes to design and make it so I made it fairly simple.  

Baby Shower Favors

It was a very busy week so I didn't have much time to post this week.

I promised to post the baby shower favors I made for the ladies at work.  

I decided to use the same stamp I used for one of the cards (Let the Cute Begin Post).  This stamp is from the Best of Babies and Brides stamp set which is only available for another week!!

For the colors, I pulled in colors from both cards, calypso coral and gumball green.  I figured the baby tee would pull in the theme I used for the Let the Cute Begin card and the flowers would pull in the theme from the other card (Hello Baby Card and Gift Bag post).

The shower was fun and everyone enjoyed the goodies!  Now we just have to wait for the new babies to join us!  

Hole in One!

My Mother-in-Law got her 3rd Hole in One so I decided to make her a card to congratulate her on her accomplishment!  She is pretty humble about it, but we can hear the excitement in her voice!

I started with Gumball Green cardstock and used the square lattice embossing folder to make a "green". I used the circle framelits to make the cup, including the black rim.  

The golf ball was punched using the 1-3/4" circle punch and then I embossed it with the Distressed Dots embossing folder.  It looks like a real golf ball!!  

Inside I used the photopolymer stamp set Sans and Stripes for the "Hole in One" greeting.  I inked the stamps with Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder.

This card did not take took long to make!  And I am positive she will love it!

Sweet Baby Girl

I was asked by a neighbor to make her a gift bag for a baby shower she is attending.  The theme of the baby shower is tiara's and tutus so she wanted me to create something using that theme.  Challenge accepted!  

Since I was using the Baby Tees wheel recently, I decided pull it out once again for this project!  I planned to make a card and matching gift bag.  For the card I decided to play along with the Stampin' Celebration Mid-Month Sketch Challenge SC76.

 

Here is my card.  I used Whisper White cardstock and embossed the front with the Distressed Dots embossing folder.  The flag is Pink Pirouette and the greeting is from Baby, We've Grown stamp set in the 2014 Occasions catalog.  I stamped the greeting using Strawberry Slush and then filled in the BABY using the Pink Pirouette marker.

For the baby tee I rolled the stamp in VersaMark and heat embossed the tee with white embossing powder.  Then I filled in the polka dots with the white gel pen.

I wasn't sure how to make the tutu since we don't have toile in the Stampin' Up repertoire of accessories.  However, I was making flowers from the creped filter paper recently (another project to be posted soon), so I decided to see how the crepe paper would work as a tutu.  It worked great!!For the tutu, I punched a few flowers out of the creped filter paper using the Petite Petals punch from the 2014 Occasions Catalog.  I put a few glue dots on the baby tee and then used my Paper-Piercing Tool (with the black cover on) to apply the flowers to the tee.  I love the way they turned out!!

For the gift bag I followed a similar theme as the card.  I covered a kraft paper bag with Strawberry Slush DSP.  The tiara is from My Digital Studio Topsy Turvy Celebration Stamp Brush Set.  I enlarged the tiara and then cut it out with the e-cutter.

This was a last minute project for this weekend and I am so happy with how it turned out!  I can't wait to give it to my neighbor for her party.

Colors: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette

Stamp Sets: Baby, We've Grown

Big Shot: Distress Dots embossing folder

My Digital Studio: Topsy Turvy Celebration Stamp Brush Set

Accessories: 3/8" Strawberry Slush Ruffle Stretch Trim, 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, Creped Filter Paper, Petite Petals Punch, White Embossing Powder and Heat Tool, Quatrefancy Specialty DSP, In Color 2013-2015 DSP

Beautiful Peacock Mosaic

It seems that peacocks are popular these days.  One day I was looking at the mosaic punch and thought that it would make pretty peacock feathers, thus began the inspiring moment.  Well, earlier this year I had the chance to sit down and design my peacock!

I have been wanting to make wall art so the peacock project was perfect.  I bought a canvas frame, a 16" by 20" frame!  Plenty big for the project.

I started with the feathers and stamped the Mosaic Madness stamp onto Island Indigo cardstock using VersaMark ink and heat embossed them with Pool Party Embossing powder.  Then I punched these feathers out using the Mosaic punch. For the green parts of the feathers I stamped the image onto Garden Green cardstock using VersaMark and heat embossed with Wild Wasabi embossing powder.  I punched these images out using the 4-petal flower from the itty bitty shapes punch pack.

Once all of the feathers were punched I shaped the feathers and then drew the body around it.  The peacock design I used was inspired by the peacock used ny the Joss and Main shopping site ;0) 

To reduce the white of the canvas I diluted some Island Indigo ink and Baked Brown Sugar ink in alcohol in Stampin' Spritzers.  I sprayed the canvas with each color and let it dry.  The colors came out too dark so I coated the entire canvas with gesso to lighten it up.  Worked like a charm!  The gesso also helped give the canvas more of a watercolored look.

The greeting is from My Digital Studio, the Fantabulous You Stamp Brush Set.  I imported the image into the Silhouette program and cut it out using my Cameo.  I enlarged the image a little since I had to fill in the canvas.

Once all of the pieces were ready, I layered them pieces onto the canvas and applied them using Mod Podge.  I outlined the body with a black sharpie and applied basic rhinestones to the feathers.

This picture is my stamp room!  I can't wait to make more inspiring pieces of art work.  I have a few in mind, just need to start working on them!

Thoughts of Spring

For today's post I created a card using two different challenges.  The first challenge inspiration is from the Stampin' Celebration SC76 March Inspiration Challenge and the second inspiration is from Freshly Made Sketches #127.

Here is the card I designed.  I love purple and green together.  For this card I used Wisteria Wonder and Pistachio Pudding with Whisper White.  I haven't used the apothecary framelits for a while so I decided to use the label framelit for this card. I really love the shape of this label.  I was hoping that Stampin Up would come out with a set of nested framelits with this shape.  They have a few that are close, but not exact. May have to just use My Digital Studio and the e-cutter instead ;0).

For the doily, I just scrunched it and played with it until it looked the way I wanted it too.  I ended up fan folding it in the middle and then tried to scrunch more so the fans weren't so stiff.

The flowers on the card were made with the Petite Flowers punch from the 2014 Occasions catalog.  I really liked how these flowers turned out!  I used the same flowers for the baby shower goody bags I made.  

Stamp Sets: Itty Bitty Banners

Big Shot: Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits

Colors: Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Pistachio Pudding

Accessories: 1/8" Mini Brads, Tea Lace Paper Doilies

Let the Cute Begin

Today I am posting the second set of items I made for the baby shower we are having at work next week.  This card and gift bag was made for the Mother who does not yet know the gender of her baby.  The Mom likes green so I used Gumball Green and the colors from the Birthday Basics Designer Series Paper (Crisp Cantaloupe, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit).  I was going to use colors from subtle collection but decided on a brighter/bolder color scheme.

I haven't used the Baby Tees wheel in such a long time so I decided to use this stamp wheel.  I wheeled the stamp onto a few colors and decorated each tee using the white gel pen and markers.  I fussy cut some of the elements (elephant and star) from other tees to add color to the tees.

The Greeting "Let the Cute Begin" is one the stamps from the Bets of 25 Years Babies and Brides collection.  This stamp set is only available for a few more weeks!  I love all of the stamps in these collections!  It is nice to have some stamps I never even knew about!

Now to make the goody bags!  I bought several bags of pastel colored M&M's, now just trying to decide how to present them ;0)!

Instructions on how I made the gift bag are on yesterday's post.

Stamp Sets: Baby Tee Wheel, Babies and Brides Bets of 25 Years

Big Shot: Chevron Embossing Folder

Colors: Gumball Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, Island Indigo, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Whisper White

Accessories: Merry Minis punch set (carry-over from Holiday catalog), 3/4" circle punch, Itty Bitty punches (circle); Summer Starfruit 3/8" stitched satin ribbon, Birthday Basics DSP, white baker's twine

Hello Baby Card and Gift Bag

We are having a baby shower for two ladies at work who are expecting.  One knows the gender of her baby, the other does not.  I volunteered to make cards and a gift bag for the expectant mothers!  I am also making the goody bags, that is this weekends project!

Here is the card and bag for the Mother with the baby girl.

The gift bag was made using the Subtle Designer Series Paper Collection (calypso coral).  The bag is 5" wide, (about) 4-1/2" tall and 2" deep.  The DSP I started with was 12" by 9".  I scored the 9" wide side at 2" and 7".  I scored the 12" wide side at 1/2", 5", 7" and 11-1/2".  The score at the 1/2" mark on either side was to fold the paper over so the top of the bag was not so sharp and keep the design on the front of the bag fluid into the inside of the bag.

Come back tomorrow to see the "neutral" card and bag I designed using the Baby Tees wheel!

Stamp Set: Sweet Essentials

Big Shot: Fancy Fan embossing folder, Secret Garden Framelit Dies

Colors: Calypso Coral, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Pansy Punch, Petite Flower Punch, Basic Pearls, 3/4" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, Calypso Coral 3/4" Chevron Ribbon 

Take Care Owl

Have you ever had an idea that just blossoms in your mind and you're not really sure whether it will work out in the end??  That is exactly what happened with my owl card.  I have been thinking about making a card with an owl on it for a while.  I have several different owl inspiring pictures on my pinterest board, just needed the time to work it out.

This week I had a mind meld of sorts where the idea for my owl card just all of a sudden gelled!  I could not wait to see if the thoughts in my mind would create the owl I had envisioned.

For some reason I thought that the Labels Collection Framelit Dies would be a perfect start to my owl. And to further my thinking, I thought the decorative dots embossing folder would make a great effect for a spotted owl.  To my surprise, everything came together and I was very pleased with the result!

As I mentioned, I used the Labels Collection Framelits die to make the owl base. A tutorial on how I did this is at the end of this post for those interested.  Then I used a smaller label die to make the belly.  I used Early Espresso Core'dination cardstock and embossed the body with the decorative dots embossing folder and then sanded the dots to make the spotted effect.  For the belly, I used very vanilla core'dinations cardstock, but I didn't sand it.

The eyes are 3 circle punches layered and glued together.  I adhered each eye to the card using dimensionals.  For the beak I hand cut a triangle shape and glued it to the body.  Try not to make the beak too big so that it does not show through above the eyes.

The background is the Hardwood background stamp in the Occasions catalog.  I stamped it with Versamark and then embossed with clear embossing folder.  I didn't want the wood background too dark so I thought the clear embossing powder would give a visible yet subtle effect.

The tree branch is from the Take Care stamp set.  I stamped the branch with versamark onto crumb cake cardstock and then used a small spatula to pour gumball green embossing powder on the leaves and the early espresso embossing powder on the branch.  I then heat embossed the whole branch and fussy cut it out.

I really love how this card turned out.  I immediately sent it to a friend who just had a pretty serious surgery.  I hope he liked it!

I made another version of the owl using the Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper. I wanted one that was more colorful and the epic day paper was perfect for the owl.  I love the chevron belly!  For this owl I didn't make the feet.

I am very excited that the owl turned out how I designed it in my mind!

Stamp sets: Hardwood, Take Care (brown owl); Gorgeous Grunge, Happy Day (gray owl)

Big Shot: Labels Collection Framelit Dies, Decorative Dots embossing folder

Colors: Brown Owl card: Crumb cake, Early Espresso, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla; Gray owl card: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake (base), Gumball Green

Accessories: 1-3/8" circle punch,  3/4" circle punch, Itty Bitty punch pack. Designer Buttons Neutral, Linen Thread, Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper, Coredinations Neutral Cardstock, Gumball Green embossing powder, Early Espresso embossing powder, white gel pen

OWL TUTORIAL

Cut a 4x4 piece of cardstock using the second largest label die.  Be sure to line the bumps up onthe top and bottom of the cardstock; these will be the ears and feet.

Use the die to draw the scoop out of the head and feet.

For the sides, I just trimmed the points off, creating a little curve on each side.  This was hand-drawn.

Cut out the edges curves to make the owl body.

The belly was cut using the 4th largest label die.  I hand drew the cut-out edges on the belly, trying to keep close to the intended shape.

I used the owl body to trace the area of the belly where the feet are located.

This was the end result.  Be sure to do any embossing before you glue the pieces together.  I use Tombow Multipurpose glue to adhere the pieces together.

Thinking of You

For my Signs of Spring Stamp Camp I held last Friday, I wanted to create cards that would remind us that spring was around the corner!  So the cards I designed had flowers or butterflies or were made with colors that reminded my of spring.  
This is one of the cards I designed for stamp camp.  

I really love the Hardwood background stamp from the Stampin Up' Occasions catalog.  The pink flowers offset the nice rich brown of the Soft Suede wood background!  This card was fairly simple card to make, despite all of the pieces which needed to be applied ;0).  The hardest part was making sure the flowers were stamped in the right direction so punching them out was easier (see note below).  The petite flowers were adhered using dimensionals to add depth.  I glued the larger flowers and leaves directly to the card front with tombow glue.

The nice thing about this card is that you only need 1 stamp pad for the entire card, Soft Suede!  A very helpful design for a stamp camp to avoid needing to share supplies!

Enjoy your evening!

Stamp Sets: Hardwood (Occasions Catalog), Sweet Essentials, Flower Shop, Petite Petals (Occasions Catalog)

Colors: Soft Suede, Primrose Petals, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Accessories: Pansy Punch, Petite Petals Punch (Occasions Catalog), Bird Builder punch

A little trick for the Flower Shop/Pansy Punch combo, place a dot at the top of your flower shop stamps in the direction which matches the top of the coordinating pansy punch.  The dot should help you always know which way to stamp the flower to get the image lined up the right way for the punch! 

Bubbles and Words

I had a stamp camp Friday night so I had to design 5 cards for my guests to make.  I decided turned to the various sketch challenges for inspiration!  I designed the last card Thursday night!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute ;0)!

One of the cards I designed was inspired by the sketch challenge at Mojo Monday 335.

I wanted to design a card using the word bubbles framelits and Just Sayin stamp set.  They are one of my favorite bundles from the 2014 Occasions Catalog so I definitely wanted my guests to get their hands on this great little bundle!  I also decided to use the Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper, another favorite!

Here is the card I came up with:

I think I have used Coastal Cabana for something in almost every card I made lately.  I love this color!! I was really bummed when Baja Breeze retired with the last catalog, but this brighter color is a great replacement!

Have a great day!

Stamp Set: Just Sayin'
Big Shot: Arrows Texture Embossing Folder, Word Bubbles Framelits Die
Colors: Coastal Cabana, Baked Brown Sugar, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Accessories: Core'dinations In Color Cardstock, Basic Rhinestones, sander, Banner punch (sale-a-bration)

Zoo Babies

Last weekend my sister's and I went to my Mother and Grandmother's house with our kids to make some blankets to donate to the Linus project.  We made 9 fleece blankets and started 2 quilts!  It was a lot of fun and so nice to spend a few hours talking!  My Grandmother donated the blankets to her Linus chapter and the ladies were so nice, they gave her a standing ovation!  My Grandmother turned 87 last month and so instead of taking her to lunch or dinner, my sister came up with this idea! My 87-year-old Grandmother still volunteers, a lot!  And so this time meant a lot more to her than a night out.  And it was really fun for us as well!

 

Rolling off of this inspiring activity, for this week's Freshly Made Sketch challenge #126, I decided to use Zoo Babies to make a baby card. I guess I was inspired by the fabric we chose for the quilt which had animals on it!  The sketch at Freshly made Sketches really fit the look I was trying to achieve so I was happy to play along!

Here is the card I designed.  It's been a long while since I have had to make a baby card and with 3 people in my department at work pregnant, it was time to get a few of these cards ready anyway!  Perfect timing!

I used the Square Lattice textured embossing folder to emboss the layer with the animals.  I thought it would help give the card a "quilt" look.  The baked brown sugar layer is embossed with Distressed Dots embossing folder (a sale-a-bration item).  

Here is another version of the card, minus the embossing on the top layer but with a ribbon border.

Hope you enjoyed the cards!

Stamp Sets: Zoo Babies, Sweet Essentials, A Dozen Thoughts

Big Shot: Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, Distressed Dots Textured Embossing Folder

Colors: Coastal Cabana, Pumpkin Pie, Gumball Green, Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 1/8" pumpkin pie taffeta ribbon, 3/8" coastal cabana ruffle stretch ribbon, Natural 5/8" chevron ribbon (Occasions catalog), 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch

Black and White Thanks

I was able to take a day off of work yesterday so I was able to spend some quality time in my stamp room!  I have had some black, gray and white roses from Stippled Blossoms stamp set sitting on my desk for probably six to eight months now.  I know I have read about other stampers who have pieces of work on their desks and they incorporate them into a card.  Since I had some time I decided it was time to make the card I had in mind for these flowers!

The roses were stamped with Smoky Slate and Basic Black ink.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line the flowers up to get a better image.  Then I fussy cut each flower.  The smaller flowers are adhered to the card using dimensionals.  

The greeting is from the Hello, Lovely stamp set.  I stamped the greeting in Smoky Slate and Summer Starfruit.  I fussy cut the Summer Starfruit image and used a dimensional to attach to the card.

The greeting on this card could easily be changed to make a wedding card!  The flowers in this stamp set are so beautiful, and I love the gray and black look!

Have a great day!

Stamp Sets: Stippled Blossoms, Hello, Lovely

Colors: Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Summer Starfruit

Retro Fresh Thanks

I had an idea for a card using circle overlapping circles and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out. I had a few unsuccessful attempts ;0).  At first I tried using half circles but I didn't like the look (too many white spaces showing through).  On another attempt I layered the circles from the top down which meant the round part was cut off.  While this look was okay, it wasn't what I was going for on the card.   

I loved how it turned out!  Retro fresh designer series paper was perfect for this type of card.  Fun colors and great images to mix and match!  And layering from bottom up allowed the circles to stand out.  Guess I know why I didn't go into roofing!

I could have stopped with just the "hello" greeting but I wanted to add an embellishment.  I thought rhinestones would just get lost so I wanted a bow.  I died some whisper white taffeta ribbon with so saffron ink by running a sponge along the ribbon inked with so saffron. Then I made a fork bow with the ribbon.  I like how the bow stands out!

When I saw the Freshly Made Sketches Sketch Challenge #125 for this week I thought this technique would be perfect for the rectangle in the middle of the sketch!

I made a smaller mat with the circles and added a greeting using the word bubbles framelits die.  With more of the base of the card showing I decided to use Gorgeous Grunge to add some texture.  I was even able to use rhinestones on this version of the card!  

For the word bubble mat I traced the die onto Tangerine Tango cardstock and fussy cut the bubble out.  I love how the Hip Notes stamps coordinate with the Retro Fresh designer series paper!  That is what I love about Stampin' Up!  Hot only do we have great images, quality cardstock and fun tools to play with, I love how everything coordinates!

Hope you enjoyed the cards.

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Perfect Pennants, Hip Notes

Big Shot: Word Bubbles Framelits Dies, Banners Framelits Dies

Colors: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch