Grateful Embossing Resist

Embossing is by far one of my most favorite techniques, when you add in some watercoloring too you're in for a beautiful card!  This card I stamped a flower from the Remarkable You stamp set over and over again and embossed in White Embossing Powder then I used an aqua painter and some markers to color it all in. The great thing about having an embossed image to watercolor is that the embossing obviously resists the ink but it also creates little wells to color in so the colors stays in or out of where it's not supposed to be.  

Once I had it all colored and it was dry I added some splatter and an embossed greeting on some vellum.  Of course there's some glitter there too!!!  Today is the last day of Sale-a-Bration!  If there's anything else you need make sure you head to my site and shop today!  Tomorrow is the last day of spring break (not counting Saturday and Sunday I guess).  I won't have a post tomorrow but check back on Monday for a new project! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!

Masculine Flowering Fields

This is my last project from craft weekend.  This card would be a great masculine card.  If you're like me you might struggle a little with masculine cards.  I used the Writing Notes Background set and layered some of the stamps from the Sale-a-Bration Flowering Fields stamp set on there in Mossy Meadow and Hello Honey ink.  

I used a wet aqua painter and some Hello Honey ink for some splatter and added a greeting. This card came together quickly and you could make a ton of them in no time and have them on hand for when you need them.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Bunny Bottoms

So I apparently am on a bunny theme the last few posts???  Not sure how they all ended up in a row but they're all cute!!  This is the final bunny card though, sorry for those that love bunnies, yay for those that might be done with bunnies :)  For these bunnies though I used the Balloon Builders set, a set I just LOVE!!!!  I only used 4 stamps for these bunnies; the heart for the bodies, the regular balloon shape for their heads, the long skinny balloon for their ears and the small round one for the tails.  I only used two inks Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo.  For their tails, because I wanted them to stand out more, I stamped them over and over a few times to make them a little darker.  A few hearts and some glitter tape and that completes this fun card!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Bunny and Balloons

I have one more card featuring the same bunny from Friday's post.  I seriously just LOVE all those little animals in the Made With Love set!!  This card was CASEd from a demonstrator in Germany whom I've been following lately.  I just love her style and her cards!!!  Here's the card I CASEd  from her.  While you're there make sure to check out her blog.  She does amazing work!

I just loved that she made the bunny hold the balloons and I had to recreate it!!  So adorable!!!  Of course I added some glitter tape to mine because seriously what's a card with no glitter????  The bunny is simply colored with some Crumb Cake ink and a blender pen.  Easy and quick!   

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Happy Easter

Easter is this Sunday, I have a really cute Easter card to share today.  I just love this bunny, he's from the Made With Love Set.  I stamped 4 of them and colored them quickly with a blender pen and some ink pads.  I attached them to a vellum card lined with some DSP.   I love using vellum for a card base especially with a simple, soft card like this.  

I kept with the soft, spring theme of the card and colored my bunnies using Wisteria Wonder, Wild Wasabi, Pool party and Calypso Coral ink.  Have a wonderful Easter! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Party Animal

I have another really quick, really fun birthday card to share.  This one is super quick and easy, you could make a stack in no time and in any color!!  I used the It's Wild background stamp with some VersaMark and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.  The greeting is embossed with silver, which goes nicely with the silver glitter tape :)  Inside the card reads "Party Animal".  This card is so fun, you could even get your kids involved to make a ton of them in one afternoon! 

Late Snail

I'm back to posting my final cards from the craft weekend last month.  If you remember I took a little break to share some more timely posts.  I have a few cards left to share so I'm going to share those over the next week.  This first one is super simple and all you need is a few circle punches.  Of course, like I do most of the time at craft weekend I pulled out my rotary stamp.  This one stamp allows me to make any greeting I need.  I love it!!!  

The card is pretty simple the circles are covered in Wink of Stella for a sparkly snail, because they all should sparkle right!?!?!?  I used sponge daubers to create the background.  All in all it's a pretty quick card, perfect for when you miss a birthday or any other event :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

April Stamp Set of the Month

I feature a different stamp set of the month and I like to announce them the month prior so you can pre-order for a free gift!  In April I'm featuring the Me=Grateful set.  When you order the April Stamp Set of the Month you’ll receive supplies to make these 3 cards with this set.  Directions included.  This month’s kit is $18 (clear, normally $20), $26 (wood, normally $28). 

This kit will be available the entire month of April.  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. 

If you preorder the April stamp set by March 25, you'll get a free gift with your kit.  This offer is only available through me.  Contact me today to order!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!! 

Cards That Move

I had a class a couple weeks ago featuring cards that move!  This was a really fun class.  I had fun coming up with the samples.  They're a little more involved than my other classes but I think these cards are worth it!  I CASEd a few of them.  I'm good at finding the most challenging way to make a card and for cards that have moving bits I didn't want to make them the hardest way possible, which I often do.  

This fun sliding, hidden message birthday card was inspired by this card by Anna Keyes that I saw on YouTube.  It's actually really easy to make and once you make one you'll make a hundred!   

 This tea card looks unsuspecting from the front.......

But as you open it a little tea cup slides up from a hidden pocket!!!  I thought this card was so cool and I can't wait to make more.  These would be so much fun for a kids birthday!
This card was inspired by this card by Dena Rekow

 

This card is probably my favorite.  If you pull the bakers twine on the flower it spins!  SPINS!!!!  That's really cool!!!!  When I saw this card here by Connie Stewart.  I HAD to make it!  It was pretty easy and sooooo much fun!!  Think of all the fun things you can make spin on your cards!!! 




Finally this card, so cute!!  This is the only one that I didn't CASE.  I've made a few of these cards before and they're much fun!!!  It's another spinning card but instead of spinning on the front of your card it spins in the center of your card.  All you need is a symetrical image, you'll need two, a front and a back.  You need at least two layers of paper to sandwich your thread in, that's it!  Sandwich your thread in the center of whatever shape you've cut out in the center of your card (a circle in this case).  Attach your two images on it and watch it spin! 

Sale-a-Bration Workshop

I had a workshop for a friend this month.  I planned some simple but fun cards.  This first one features the Petal Pusher Sale-a-Bration stamp set. So cute!!  I just love that bike and we used some balloons from the Balloon Celebration set to 'tie' to the handle bars.  So cute!  Someone else came up with this idea. I don't remember where I saw it, might have been Facebook.  I'm sorry!  I like to give credit when I can.  I thought this was so cute and had to make one!  Some stapled ribbon in the top corner gives just enough sparkle!  

The other card we did was this easy watercolored card.  My hostess specifically asked for a watercolored card and this technique is sooooo easy!!!!  Take a piece of window sheet and use your Stampin' Write markers and color on the window sheet.  Spritz with a little water and turn over the wet mess onto some watercolor paper and smoosh around.  That's it!!!!  You can do different colors separately, after each color dries so they don't blend together.  It's so easy and fun!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!! 

Party Wishes Cake

This was the first time I inked up my Party Wishes stamp set.  And it's sooooo cute!  I mentioned yesterday that you'll probably see lots of birthday cards from me this year. I hope they inspire you too!  This card came out really cute!  It's super simple and all done with our Stampin' Write Markers!  

Did you know that you can color directly onto your stamps with our markers it's a great way to get multiple colors on one stamp.  I tested out a new technique with my markers with the cake, I'm not even sure what it's called, I've never seen it done but I love the look of it!  I used my Blushing Bride marker to color the cake then I used the side of my Pink Pirouette marker and quickly scribbled over the cake.  When it stamped it looked like the cake was full of ruffles and just so pretty and cute!!!  Make sure you use the side of your maker and don't put too much care into it.  You're really just using a lighter color to push the darker out of the way.  The finished result is so fun!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!  

#Imbringingbirthdaysback

I'll get back to my craft weekend projects soon.  I wanted to share some other stuff I've been working on too.  At the beginning of the year Shannon West who works at the Stampin' Up! home office started a HUGE movement and I'm so excited to be on board!  She's bringing birthdays back in a big way!  You can read about her movement here.   She's basically sending a birthday card to anyone who wants one!  I thought it was a great idea and I wanted in!  I offered the same thing to my friends, anyone who wanted a card is getting one!  Three months in, I'm happy to report I"m still on schedule.  March was my biggest month...so far! 

I've been making lots of birthday cards for the cause.  I even made the Build a Birthday set my March Stamp Set of the Month!  Order this stamp set this month and get the supplies to make these three cards!  They're really cute and a great way to get started on the #imbringingbirthdaysback movement too!  But wait there's more!  
You can get the exclusive #imbringingbirthdaysback stamp to add to your cards and envelopes here!  Shannon West carved this stamp and Stampin' Up! made it happen for the rest of us!  YAY!!!!!  I'm doing my part and I love that I'm actually mailing my cards!!!  PLUS I'm so excited to mail birthday cards that I'm also mailing thank you, thinking of you and more!  You don't have to go as far as Shannon's 1,000+ name spread sheet of birthdays but make a commitment to send a few birthday cards this year.  Join the movement today and bring birthdays back! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!

Little Cooler

When I'm bored or just playing on my phone or tablet I like to browse through etsy and look for cards with silly puns.  When I find a pun I like I write it in a notebook that keep and then when craft weekend comes along I have a whole notebook full of puns.  This is one of those puns, and it's sooooo cute and soooooo easy, scraps of cardstock is all you need!  That cooler is tiny, but you can make your cooler any size or color.  If you have any puns you'd like to see in a card send them to me.  I've never met a pun I didn't like :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!! 

Are You Cured?

This picture doesn't do this card justice.  It's so cute in real life!  This card left craft weekend with another crafter, I made it for her mom who had an accident the day before craft weekend began.  I made this and hopefully it made her smile!  I used the Balloon Builders set for this cute little pig!  Isn't he the cutest!!!!  The card layer under the pig is made from the white glitter tape that is a Sale-a-Bration choice right now.  I can't tell you how much I love this stuff!!!  For the background I just applied the tape over and over laying it down right next to each other and unless you're really looking close, like really close, you can't even tell that it's tape!  It just looks like one sheet!  I love this tape so much!!  I'm really hoping it will be in the next catalog!  But what would really be great is glitter tape in EVERY color!!!!!!!  But that might be being a little too greedy :) 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!  

Mountain Sunset Challenge

I was excited to pull this challenge from my jar.  It just said mountain sunset.  I immediately thought watercolor so that's what I did.  I used watercolor paper and our Stampin' Write markers for this card.  When I watercolor I like to scribble the markers onto one of the acrylic blocks and either use a paint brush or an aqua painter to pick up the color from the block and add it to the paper.  You could also smoosh an ink pad onto the block to get the color that way too.  The blocks clean right up, no big deal.  If you really don't want to use a block, just use any non porous surface, a stamp case, plastic plate, laminated paper, anything that will hold the color and not absorb it.  I used lots of colors and makers for this, it's a really rough watercolor and I made sure to dry between the layers.  Over all though I loved it!  That's it for the challenges. I did make a few cards for myself at craft weekend and I'll begin sharing those next week.  I feel badly that I didn't get to everyone's challenge, I do hope to continue working on them when I have time. 

Dino Birthday Challenge

The next challenge card I drew was 'Dinosaur birthday card for a boy' I nearly jumped out of seat, cause this one was one I knew I could do.  I pulled out my No Bones About it set---which I LOVE and got to work. I fussy cut all the dinosaurs, grass and the volcano.  I love these dinosaurs.   

Because I had cut an extra dinosaur I added him on the inside of the card.  The person who received this card was happy with the final result as well.  I hope her grandson likes it too!

One more challenge tomorrow!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!   

New Mexico Chile Art

Challenge number 3 was green chile.......seriously people!  After a quick conversation with the person who suggested this challenge I came up with a cute, chile modern art piece. I really love this one!  the little tiny easel is very small, the whole thing is only 3x3 inches.  But that makes it even cuter!  I used some Wink of Stella on all the chile's.  Because they're pretty small they were all cut free hand.  Three challenges in, I still wasn't stumped!  I was able to do two more challenge cards for the weekend.  I have them to share tomorrow and Friday!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!! 

A Welder????

Continuing with the challenges I was given this weekend, we come across this welder......I'll be honest.  I was not happy to pull this one.  I generally stay away from people in punch art, that's why the post yesterday featured a BEAR playing football! People present a much larger challenge.  Thankfully I didn't have to do a face, because welders wear masks.  All in all I think it's ok.  I also think it looks like something out of Star Wars with an orange light saber but that's just my opinion.  Thankfully the person who put welder in the bucket was very happy with the final results, so I guess this challenge was a success!  The welders mask is made from the owl punch, which was suggested to me by another crafter there, so you could say this was a team effort!  The body is oval with photo corner arms, the legs are just strips of cardstock and circles for the feet and hands.  Thankfully this was my only HUMAN I had to make.

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

Stump Ruth???

New at the Disney weekend was a Stump Ruth Jar.  I'm not even sure who's original idea this was, maybe mine? I just remember talking about it in January as kind of a joke, not thinking anyone would really participate.  But we had a jar on my table, you could put in $1 and a card suggestion.  I randomly choose suggestions all through out the weekend and did my best to create what was on the paper.  I couldn't believe how many people put suggestions in!  I felt horrible that I couldn't get to all of them either!  I saved all the ones I didn't get to and who knows maybe I'll continue to work on them and mail them off as I finish them :)  The very first suggestion put in, when my jar was empty was 'Denver Broncos'.  We're a Bronco family so this was something I was very familiar with.  I knew I could figure something out.  I was happy to get a challenge where I can work with a team that had complex logos and colors, unlike some other teams....like Dallas for one, where all I would have to do is make a silver star and stick to a blue card and call it a day.  Thankfully this is a lot cuter :)  I searched Pintrest for football punch art and there was a little football bear that popped up.  It is a little weird that I made a bear into a Bronco but it's pretty cute so it's ok!  Of course he's in Bronco colors and is sporting the number 18 on his jersey (It's Peyton Manning's number).  My original intention for these challenge cards was to make 2 of everyone.....that's didn't happen, though I do have the pieces for this bear punched out, they just need to be assembled.  His head, ears, eyes and nose are made of of different circles and his body, legs and arms are ovals.  Depending on the sizes you use will depend on how big your bear is.  I have lots more challenge cards to share with you this week! 

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

Disney Weekend Wrap Up

I'm honestly not even sure where to start!  Even though I knew going into this weekend what to expect I was still excited and overjoyed to be showered so generously with gifts!  This isn't even everything I came home with!  There's a couple of things that missed getting in the picture that I didn't realize until too late, I'll have to share those later.  These are all the gifts, all the make and takes, prizes, etc!  

There's so much to go over, there's a balloon punch, rhinestones, bakers twine, washi tape, glitter!  So much love went into everything here!  Michelle always asks her downline to help make a few things for the weekend.  They made tags, and bags so we had stuff to put all our gifts in!   

I've mentioned before that I was fortunate enough to be part of the planning of this weekend more than any other weekend.  I was fully blown away by Michelle's commitment to making sure every detail is taken care of, nothing is over looked and everyone has a great time.  This truly is Michell's gift.  Oh and her organization for the weekends is out of this world!  She was printing and emailing me spread sheets and ideas, far more elaborate then I ever could have imagined.  Or that I would ever be capable of on my own.  She started doing these weekends with just a couple friends and it's turned into this!  Her weekends now sell out in days!  I'm just so fortunate and blessed to be able to help out and do what I can!  She's sets an amazing example for everyone, not just when it comes to crafting but how to live your life.      

She's mentioned before that one of the reasons she started these weekends was because she never had a birthday party as a kid.  I thought this weekend would be the best time to surprise her with some birthday surprises.  Our pajama party on Saturday night was 'The Mad Hatter Very Merry Un-Birthday Party' I did that on purpose!  But before we even got to the PJ party we surprised her Saturday morning by filling her table with crafty gifts.  I sent an email before the weekend and let people know what we would be doing and if that wanted to bring some crafty gifts to bring them and get them to me on Friday.  I had help from my good friend Kim to set everything up Saturday morning before she came into the room.  She was so surprised and touched we made her cry...ooops, not my intention!  They were happy tears!  

She thought that was it, not knowing we had more surprises in store for her at the pajama party.  We surprised her with a cake and sang 'Happy Un-Birthday' to her :)  

We made her cry again!  I promised not to make her cry at the next weekend :)  I think everyone there was more than happy to get the chance to shower her with love!  I've always known how much work she puts into these weekends, she does it because she loves doing it. It's her gift and we're all just fortunate enough to be on the receiving end.  While I helped with a few suggestions and projects, this weekend was a success all thanks to Michelle.  Her generosity and kind heart make everyone in that room feel special and loved.  On behalf of the other attendees of the Disney Magical Express Weekend, Michelle we love you and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  You're amazing and I still don't know how you do it all!  Thanks for letting me help!  So Michelle, I hope you're not in tears again but you deserved it all and so much more than we could have given!!  I promise NOW to stop making you cry.  Sorry, but not really :)

Next week I start sharing all the crafts I made including something new we did this weekend, called 'Stump Ruth'....don't miss next week! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Welcome Tables

We always shower our guests with fun welcome gifts when they first arrive.  This is what everyone's spot looked like.  There's a lot going on!  I'll try to break down what's there.  On the far left is an iron on, we all bring shirts and iron on the event logo I guess and wear our shirts the next day for group pictures.  There's the adorable agenda Michelle made!  On the grid paper is a giant monogrammed cookie, all the cookies had everyone's name on them.  We had our own autograph book, made by Michelle and some Mickey candy in a heart.  There's a jar on a doily, more on that in a minute, then a pencil-advertising the next weekend this summer on it and finally a Mickey coloring sheet.  

The jar.  Michelle and I save these jars, I think at this point we have enough jars for a couple weekends.  They're so handy and fun to reuse though!  In the jar is a monogrammed Mickey letter, personalized to everyone's name.  I made these.  Each letter is a little different. There's a glitter star, just because I had too :)  a Mickey straw and finally Minnie ears for everyone!  So cute!!!  Now the actual jars, each table group (7 tables all pushed together makes one group) was a different park from Disney World.  I was sitting at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios was next to me,  Michelle was sitting in EPCOT and finally there was Animal Kingdom.  Every jar featured a different landmark from that park.  Magic Kingdom had the castle of course, Animal Kingdom had the tree of life, EPCOT had Spaceship Earth and the Studios had the Earful Tower.  I'm so so so so sad I didn't think to take pictures of the other jars.  I loved them all too.  I'm sorry I don't have the other three parks to share, you'll have to trust me that they were cute :) 

This is my whole table group all together.  I hope everyone had a good time!  I sure had fun at in our group!

Here's the rest of the room.  You can kinda see the Hollywood Studios jars....kinda.....  Check back tomorrow for the full weekend wrap up, with lots of pictures! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!

Some People Are Worth Melting For

At the weekend we organized a card swap, lots of people participated and I came home with lots of cute cards!  But we all needed something to hold those cards in...so because the swap was Frozen themed I designed these adorable boxes for everyone!  The front says 'some people are worth melting for'.  

I used MDS to design the boxes.  I still use MDS pretty frequently, especially for craft weekends. Each side features a different character.  They're so cute!!  I love them!!!  There were 29 boxes in all, these were assembled Friday morning in my hotel room for the swap Friday evening!  Talk about cutting it close!  Whew! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Tinkerbell Clips

I had a great time at the Disney Craft Weekend.  I have lots to share.  I helped plan this weekend more than any other craft weekend.  I did a lot of prep for this weekend, making things and working stuff, I failed to take pictures of everything! I normally photograph stuff as I make it before it gets packed, this time that didn't happen.  So my plan was to take pictures at the hotel of everything, well then I forgot my camera!  So I used my phone to take all the pictures, which isn't ideal but worked in a pinch.  Then when I got home and went through pictures I realized I forgot to take pictures of some of the stuff I made.  I was distracted with friends and projects and presents.  I'll share what I did take pictures of though.  We love to give gifts throughout the weekend.  Of course all the gifts were Disney themed to coordinate with the weekend.  These Tinkerbell clips were so much fun to make and they're soooooooooo cute!!!!  

Her head is just circles, her body is the Bow punch, just the long curvy piece, her wings are the retired butterfly punch.  So cute and easy I just love it!!!  They're all stuck onto the little clothespins and attached on the bag.  I still have lots to share! I hope you keep checking back throughout the next few weeks.  I'll have the full weekend wrap up on Friday on my blog.

Thanks for looking, see you soon!