Everything Is Alright

This is my favorite card that I made with our free set!  I don't even know where to start because I love all of it!  The flowers were stamped in Pool Party and Island Indigo.  I stamped some of the leaves around the side in Garden Green, which believe it or not is becoming my go to green!  I love love love the gold splatter from the Wink of Stella Gold Pen.  The doilies are so pretty off to the side. 

The centers of the flowers are really fun and super simple to make I used the 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches to make them.  I punched the larger circle from some vellum and the smaller one in Delightful Dijon cardstock.  I crumpled the Delightful Dijon cardstock to add a little more texture.  To finish it all off I added a rhinestone in the center.  Really quick and easy.  I have one more fun card with this set and I'll share that on Monday!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!   

I Love Everything!

If you're a Paper Pumpkin subscriber you got a free stamp set this month with your kit.  The stamp set was All About Everything and I love everything about this set!   I love the greetings and there's a good variety of them so you nice options for almost any occasion.  Plus I love this brush-strokey looking flower!  I stamped this flower all over in Calypso Coral and Cajun Craze.  When it was done though, while I loved it, it was a little too orangey for me.  But it was so pretty and I still wanted to use it.  I decided to layer some vellum over the top to 'tone' it down a bit.  That was the perfect solution!  

I embossed the greeting on the front of the vellum and tied the vellum to the stamped cardstock with some Bakers Twine.  Stampin' Up! will no longer carry the black embossing powder and it's already sold out on the retired list.  I won't be getting rid of or stop using my black embossing powder.  I know the struggles that come with black embossing powder, it probably is the least forgiving and the hardest to use but I still consider it a needed staple in my stamp room, mostly because we don't carry a black ink that will stay wet long enough to emboss clear over.  Of everything on the retired list, this was the item I was most heartbroken over.  There is some new copper embossing powder in the new catalog which I'm anxious to get my hands on but I'll still keep my black :)

Thanks for looking see you soon! 

Birthday Blooms

I was a little hesitant to get this set when the Occasions catalog first came out.  First I have tons of floral stamp sets. Second my wishlist was waaaayyyyy to long with other stuff I *HAD TO HAVE*.  I did finally get this set a couple weeks ago and now I've been kicking myself for not getting it sooner!  Oh my goodness this set is soooooo much fun to color, and it's gorgeous!!!!  I've made a bunch of cards with this set and every single one of them I love!  I can't pick a favorite.  Though this one could be it!  I stamped the flower all over the background in Sahara Sand on Sahara Sand cardstock.  I love that tone on tone look. In the stamp set there's this little cluster of dots stamp and I stamped that in the small gaps on the background then gold embossed them.  It was such a simple step that added so much to the background.  Just the right amount of sparkle and shine!    

I used my Blender Pens to color the image.  To pick up the ink with my Blender Pen I pressed my ink pads onto an acrylic block.  I know you can squeeze the lid to get your color pallet there too, but I prefer to do it on the block.  I find from the block you can get a more intense color and you can blend a couple colors together on the block before bringing it to your paper.  When your done the blocks clean up nicely and they're ready to use for stamping.  When using Blender Pens also remember that you don't want to go over one area too much, your paper will start pilling and won't look good.  I find that the Thick White cardstock or the Shimmer White cardstock are the best for using with Blender Pens they're thicker and can hold the ink from the pens a little better than our white cardstock.  To finish this card I added a little Gold Dazzling Details to the center of the flower.  It just adds a little sparkle and ties in the gold from the thread and embossing.  This is such a pretty card!  I love it!!!!  The rest of the week I'll be sharing some cards I made with our free stamp set that we got in this months Paper Pumpkin kit.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!! 

You Are Made Of Wonderful

Do you ever find yourself stuck in one stamping technique?  I have been watercoloring flowers like a mad woman!  Over the next couple of weeks you'll see them all.  I'm having serious trouble putting the aqua painter and blender pens down :) But when they result in gorgeous cards how can you stop!!!  I have soooo many colored cards that I'll be sharing, some this week, some next week, starting with this one!  I love this Elegant Eggplant flower.  I'll be the first to tell you I don't reach for my regal colors hardly at all.  So this was a challenge for me to pull out my Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant.  But I do love the finished card.    

I really went for lots of pops of gold on this card too.  The entire white piece is brushed with the Wink Of Stella Gold pen and I also did some splatters of the gold Wink Of Stella too.  I have some Gold Glimmer paper on the right and my greeting is gold embossed.  I love the gold accents.  The flower was watercolored then cut out and attached to the card with dimensionals.  So pretty!!!!   

Pink And Gold Glitter Butterfly

 Today's card is very similar to the card I shared yesterday.  I'm telling you I'm addicted to making these cards though this one will be the last one I share.  This card actually was made first and inspired yesterday's card.  Today's card was inspired by this card by Steffi.  I'm sure I've completely confused you now.  I may have confused myself :)

That gold bow gave me all kinds of problems, but I took care of it with some strategically placed glue dots.  When all else fails pull out the glue dots, they'll fix everything!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Gold Butterfly

I've been watercoloring random cardstock on my desk for a while.  Actually I'm not even entirely sure it's watercoloring.  I color on a window sheet and spritz it with some water then smoosh it onto some cardstock.  Watercolor cardstock is ideal, but the shimmer white cardstock works well too.  Then it dries and your left with a gorgeous background.  I love doing this!!!  I also have an obsession for butterflies so I add those to cards.....a lot.....but they're so pretty.  

One of my favorite things on this card is those enamel dots.  I'm going to tell you a secret, a tip I learned from Steffi a demonstrator from Germany.  Those little dots are the White Perfect Accents that are in the catalog.  I bought some never knowing what I'd do with them, then I saw in one of her videos where she took the white backing off and then attached it to her card and my life was forever changed. Then it's a clear enamel dot (which I know we also sell in the Itty Bitty Epoxy Stickers.....but not in as large of a quantity as the white ones). I love the look they give and they're flat enough to be post office friendly.  I made this card for a swap.  I saw this swap advertised on Brian Kings blog and thought, why not?  I'm already mailing a bunch of cards today why not get a fun one in return!  I'll make sure to share it when I receive it back.  I'm excited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Over The Rainbow

My May stamp set of the month is Over The Rainbow.  This set is tooo cute.  I just love it!!!  If you buy this set in the month of May you'll receive the supplies to make these three cards.  Directions included.  

This kit will be available the entire month of May
Preorder the kit by May 1, 2016 and get a free gift!!  *Please note that the kits will not be pre-stamped.  Your finished cards may be different then the examples depending on what ink colors you have.  Ask me what ink you’ll need and get 15% off any ink pads you order.  All items that need to be pre-punched or run through the Big Shot will be done for your kit.

This kit is only available through me.  Contact me to order the May stamp set of the month today!  \

Thanks for looking see you soon!!!!

Retired List

It's that time of year again!  Time to say goodbye to some of our favorite stamps and accessories!  Here's a couple things to keep in mind when shopping the retired list. 

• Items are only available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!  Some items will sell out in hours!  If there's something you want don't wait! Get it now! 
• The easiest way to shop is via my website. 
• You can email, text or call me your order.  I will be putting in orders as soon as I can, please know that an item may sell out before I can get the order in.  Plus when you order online and use this hostess code C9Z4XFM3 you get DOUBLE punches on your punch card!!!!

Sign up to attend my May Retiring Stamp Set class and get a chance to use the sets one more time before they're gone!  

May 7, 2016 at 9:30 am at St. John's Cathedral (318 Silver SW in downtown Albuquerque)
Retiring stamp set class!
We’ll say good bye to some of our favorite retiring stamp sets at this class.  All retiring stamps will be on sale 10% off!  You’ll make 4 cards all featuring retiring stamp sets.  This class is $20 or free with a $35 class order.  Last day to sign up is May 2. 

Here is the retiring list!  Please contact me if you have any questions! 

Guest Card

I received this card a while ago and have been meaning to share it but there's just never enough time in the day!  My downline Michelle made this card for me after the Disney Scrapbook Weekend.  I love the balloons on the black card, it makes them 'pop' that much more!  I really loved this card and I thought I'd share it with you!  Thanks Michelle! 

I will be back later with another post.  The retired list is being announced today!  EEEEK!!!!  Look for that post later today!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Pop Up Birthday

I had a big weekend last weekend.  Not only did I have my class but I also attended my dowline Michelle's downline meeting.  We made this fun birthday card using the Party Pop Ups Thinlits.   

I really love the DSP behind the pop up.  I never thought of that idea but it adds soooooo much more detail to the card.  It's a great addition.  

Also at the meeting we learned to make a box, but I'm not sharing that box just yet because I loved it so much that I'm going to make a lot of them soon, I'll share then!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Fun Shaped Cards......Fussy Cutting

Yesterday I shared two of the fun shaped cards we made at my class over the weekend with the help of the Big Shot.  Today I'm sharing the two 'fussy cutting' cards we did.  Though I do want to clarify that I'm using the term 'fussy cutting' loosely today, because neither of them were hard to cut at all, and I had stencils to cut around so it was really 'easy cutting' :)  I actually love fussy cutting, but I know there are those that hate it and that's only because we've been spoiled by punches and framelits.  Ok, I'll get back to the cards.  The first is this fun cake card.  You could use any DSP and really customize this cake to anything you wanted, you could make it a wedding cake too!    

Finally, this card is my FAVORITE card!!!! I just love this fun pencil!  OMG it's toooooooo cute!!!!  The end of the school year is rapidly approaching, how adorable would a set of these be for any teacher!!!??!  This card was so easy to cut, we just trimmed off the corners to make the point of the pencil.  This card just makes me happy! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Fun Shaped Cards....With The Big Shot

My class over the weekend was Fun Shaped Cards.  This class was so much fun to plan and to make the cards for.  When I created the theme I had no idea what I would do.  After a little research and some brainstorming I came up (some are CASED) with four really cute card ideas that I really ended up loving!  The first one is this adorable little purse!  Isn't it cute!!!  I really love this card!!  This one was the smallest one, but it was still big enough for a sweet message :)  I used the Deco Label Framelits for this one, the largest one. 

This card was my kids favorite.  I have to admit this card is pretty sweet!!!!  These oreo twist cards are all over Pintrest.  I'm not sure who the original creator of this card is but I love it!!  The circle framelits collection makes this card quick and easy to put together!!  We also make a custom envelope for it too! 

And with the help of a brad it twists open just like a real oreo cookie would!  Isn't that cute!!!!?!?!  I just love it to pieces!  I have the other two cards to share tomorrow. 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!

Gift Bag Punch Board

 Aren't these little boxes just the cutest??!!!!  I just love them, they're so simple but so pretty and elegant.  These would be beautiful for a wedding or bridal shower or even a baby shower. I gave them out at my class over the weekend to all my wonderful guests!  I started with a 5.5x8.5 piece of cardstock and made a bag according to the directions on the punch board, BUT instead of using one of the S, M or L box lines.  I only used triangle and side score lines.  The side score line replaces the S, M, L score lines in this box.  Of course you still want to do your horizontal line too. 

To make it close I added a 1.5" score line with my paper trimmer across the top and cut all all but the back flap so that it folds closed.  I used some magnetic tape to hold it closed.  Finally I used some doilies and some punched flowers to finish the box.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!! 

One Card Two Ways

I'm trying to ink up sets that have never been inked up before.  This Number of Years set is one of them.  I have yet to really break it in but I wanted to play with it a little.  The number part is awfully specific, you really have to plan out who that card will be for.  You can't really have a stack of 'Guess who's 30?' cards lying around, unless you know lots of people turning 30 this year.  But I do love the little bunch of flowers.  I thought I'd use this opportunity for a little experiment.  The card on the left is 'watercolored' the card on the right is just stamped.  Now when I say watercolored I use that term loosely.  I mean I inked up the stamp and then spritzed it with some water then stamped, so it gives a watercolored look but I didn't use anything except stamps and ink.  I wanted to see the difference in the two, see if I liked one better?  I actually really like them both so it's hard to tell, you be the judge!   

I started with shimmer white cardstock for both cards.  It's a little thicker and I knew would hold up to the water better.  This is a close up of the watercolored, spritzed one.  I used our color spritzers with just water and after I inked the stamp, before stamping it on the paper I sprayed it gently and then stamped.  I love that the colors are much brighter.  You can see this most on the stem and leaves stamp.  Both were inked in Wild Wasabi then 'rolled' in Garden green.  It's harder to see those colors on the non spritzed version.  The purple flower on the right is an example of what happens when you get too much water on your stamp, but because none of the images are perfect I think it goes well.    

The watercolored one is pretty but I love this one too!  I love the clean crisp lines of the stamps.  It's a tough call.  Both are beautiful!!!  I added a gold embossed greeting to both of them and added some glitter tape to the card bases.  The cards are pretty simple but really really pretty!  I know I'd love to receive one of these in the mail ;)  If you have a preference of which you prefer, do you like one more than the other let me know :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!

Set of Cards

I've been making multiple cards lately.  Just to have some on hand.  Usually when I sit down to make one I'll make 2 or 3 of that same card.  This time I decided to make them all a little different and make a set of cards from one stamp set.  I'm using the Love You Sew hostess set in the Occasions catalog.  I don't often get the hostess sets, I find I just never use them.  But as a crafter I was so drawn to these greetings I had to get this set!  

I made a set of 5 cards.  Using each of the greetings.  The cards are all very similar and use the same layout, I was inspired by this card, and ended up with a whole set of cards :) The greeting sizes differ a little based on the size of the greetings.  But other than that they're all pretty similar.  I used the white notecards to make them really quickly.  I kept with only a couple colors of ink for all of them, again to keep them on the simple side.  I used Watermelon Wonder and Lost Lagoon and Black Memento for the greetings.   

The 'Thanks a hole punch' card was probably the easiest card to do.  There's minimal stamping and I got to just randomly punch a bunch of holes in the card stock!  Fun!!!  All the cards have a thin strip of Black Glimmer paper on them to separate the 'stamping' and the greeting.  The black glimmer paper is no longer available but any glimmer paper or cardstock would work too.  

I'm not a sewer but I do love the little spool of thread stamp.  It's so cute!!!!  To get a clean line of stamping on all the cards I used some post it tape to mask a line on the card.  Then after stamping just pulled the tape up and attached my glimmer paper.  

The scissors are super cute!  Of course they look exactly like our Paper Snips, which happen to be the best scissors anyway! Really cute images in this set to make a fun set of cards!  Of course if you don't have this set, look at what you do have.  You probably have a stamp set with smaller images that would work great too!  

There was no specific stamp for this greeting.  So instead of stamping I simply 'embellished' the side of the card. I used some glitter tape, sadly it's no longer available, BUT I'm hoping it will be in the next catalog!!!!  Just in case though I stocked up during Sale-a-Bration so I won't run out!  I also used some Pool Party glitter ribbon for extra sparkle!  

Finally the paint brushes.  They're really cute.  I'm not sure what I'll do with this set of cards.  I may give it away or just mail the cards individually to friends.  Either way this is one cute set!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!!

Sparkle Happy Birthday

Guess what I'm still here!  I haven't blogged in a while.  Even longer than you think.  My posts through the end of last week were scheduled weeks ago.  Then I never got around to catching up on posts.  Truth is, I haven't stamped much lately.  Not because of a lack of interest just a lack of time.  Probably a lot has to do with a little (maybe a lot) of disorganization on my part.  I'm finding more and more I need to make a to do list for the day, sometimes with time limits on some things, just so that I can get everything done.  I haven't taking on any extra tasks, I think I'm just trying to improve and do MORE with what I'm already committed to and that has taken up more time than I thought.  Not to mention spring break was last week for the kids and well, when they're around it's even harder to get stuff done.  But they're a good distraction.  But I did have some time yesterday to sit and ink up some rubber.  When I go to long without stamping sometimes it's hard to get back your creative mojo, that's when I hit Pintrest and start casing thing!  This cards was inspired by this card by Mercedes.

I love the Party Pop up thinlits, but you don't always have to use them on the inside of a card.  I loved how Mercedes attached this to the front of the card AND in glitter paper, even better.  It really makes for a fun, quick card!  I threw in a few background stamps from the Timeless Textures set and used the Brushstoke background stamp on my card base.  I'm loving the staples lately too.  I've reached for my stapler a lot lately, it's a fun and different way add some layers.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!