Last Ship Sailing

Today (Aug 31) is the very last day to get anything from the Summer Mini Catalog. And by anything, I'm talking about the great set - The Open Seas- and the coordinating Designer Paper called Nautical Expedition. Bummer!! I'm going to miss both of these items so much. They're my favorites for making masculine cards and the cards always turn out so nice. So I just had to share this set once more before it's gone. (Unless you order it today or get the Digital Download for them. Then you can use them forever!) For the card today, I used the set alone without the Designer Paper and made a versatile masculine card that could be used for many different occasions. Hope you like it...

Stamps: The Open Sea and Whimsical Words (past SAB set)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, and Confetti White
Ink: Stazon Jet Black and Chocolate Chip
Accessories: AquaPainter with Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Big Shot with Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Curly Label Punch, Chocolate Chip 3/8" Taffeta (retired), Sponge quarters, and Dimensionals


Making the card is very straight-forward - stamping, coloring, Big Shot, punching, etc. It was really made in about 15 minutes. You know you have to work fast when the little munchkin is down for a nap!! So thanks for stopping in and seeing what's up. I've got one last (really!) ship card that I just have to share with you tomorrow because it's too cool and a Jan Tink original!! So make sure you have your stamp set and Designer Paper 'cuz we'll show it tomorrow and you won't want to miss it!
Toodles, Sharon

Sick Turtle Card

Wasn't sure just what to call this post, hence the weird name. Yes, the card does say {sick} and it does have a turtle, so what would you call it?? I thought this was a cute stamp set and it really was fun to work with. But the best part about this set is that it's the Ronald McDonald House Charity stamp set. That means when you order this set, Stampin'Up! will donate $3 to RMHC, so you can help others by getting this stamp set. It's one of those wonderful win-win situations! Now I need to find time to try a few other ideas with this set twirling around in my little brain. As soon as I saw the words in the set, I knew I had to make a turtle on it's back (so it could get back on it's feet again!). And it was fun doing a bit of a different cut and fold on this card.

Stamps: Turtle & Co. and Word Playstamps, and Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, So Saffron, and Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive pad and Daffodil Delight, Old Olive markers

Accessories: AquaPainter, Jumbo Handle, Cutter, Paper Snips, MultiPurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals, and non-SU! googly eyes

The dimensions of the card base are 5 1/2" x 11" folded in thirds. Then the two flaps were cut on the diagonal to match across the front. A very easy fold that's fun to try every once in awhile.

This picture gives you a better look at how the flaps come together in the front. I chose to add the background on only one of the flaps to play up the diagonal cut more.

The sentiment was colored with markers in the two different colors to play up the word. I chose to add color with Daffodil Delight instead of the So Saffron so it would be a little brighter.

On the turtle, I watercolored the shell with the same two colors on Certainly Celery cardstock. It made him stand out a bit more that if he was stamped on white cardstock.

Hope you enjoyed this whimsical card and it put a smile on your face. Thanks for hanging out here today! Sharon

Vintage Doilies

So many demonstrators have been making vintage looking cards with the new doily stamp sets. Of course that means I had to have a go at it too! I chose to use neutral colors that would enhance the lovely, old feel of the stamps. We have a wedding coming up in a three weeks and I thought this would be the perfect card for the couple. Here's the details...

Stamps: Hello Doily, Delicate Doilies, and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Very Vanilla and Soft Suede

Ink: VersaMark, Crumb Cake, and Soft Suede

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Victoria Crochet Ribbon, Antique Brads, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Sponge quarters, and Dimensionals

It's amazing how nicely the large background doily shows up when you just add a bit of Crumb Cake ink sponged over the embossing. All of a sudden you have this delicate aged doily on your paper! How wonderful! This is a perfect stamp for embossing then using the Resist Technique of sponging color over it. Then add several more smaller stamped doilies around the edges to fill in the background. Finally add the crochet ribbon and antique brads and it's just gorgeous! You really need to make one of these yourself. You're going to fall in love with it - I know I did!

So that's it for today, short and sweet. Hope you're enjoying your Sunday and finding some time to relax and recharge for the coming week.

Sharon

Kindness Card

Time for another post! Hooray! Today's card uses a really cute set from the Summer Mini Catalog. All of the images in this set are of the cutesie variety, and that makes them fun to make and send to children especially. If you like this set, you still have until the end of September to order it for yourself. Now on to the details...

Stamps: Touch of Kindness

Cardstock: Marina Mist and Whisper White

Ink: Stazon Jet Black pad, with Bashful Blue and Daffodil Delight markers

Accessories: AquaPainter, Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Neutrals and Subtles, Big Shot with Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Marina Mist 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, and Dimensionals

I love the clean lines and simplicity of this card. The embossed background gives it lots of texture without overwhelming the design with alot of clutter or color. Just a pretty little card that puts a smile on your face.

This is one of the cards the ladies made this month in class. A couple of them changed up the sentiment for a birthday card and were quite happy with that. Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate any comments you might leave for me. It would make my day!

Sharon

Catalog Card Remake

First of all, I apologize for being MIA for almost a whole month. I threw my back out and was a mess for about 10 days til I was pretty much back to normal. Then I put a box of cereal away in the cupboard and did it again. Let's just say this hasn't been a good month for me. I'm still getting twinges, but hopefully it's finally going to be alright. So while I can actually sit here and type today, it's time to get on with sharing a card with you. One of my friends fell in love with the Christmas card on the bottom of page 45 in our new catalog. She wasn't sure how the corners were made though. She asked if we could make it at the next hostess club. Of course, why not. Oops, don't have the set. Well, that just means it's time to improvise - my favorite thing to do! And here's what I made...


Stamps: Happiness Shared
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, and River Rock
Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Basic Pearls, Mat Pack and Piercing Tool, Sponge quarters, and Dimensionals



It's a little hard to see on the pictures, but I used River Rock to sponge in a background around the rose. Funny how it shows up very nicely in person. Oh, the quirks of technology!

To make the corners, four Curly Labels were punched. Then I cut a slit in each one to slide over the corners like the original. Very easy to do once you know what to do. The piercing was done from the backside of the cardstock so it gives much more texture to the finished card.

I debated about adding a bit of the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz on the white layer, but decided against it. I liked the card the way it was, so why mess with a good thing. If you try this, you might want to make that addition to your cards.

Thanks for taking the time to come back for a visit. Again, sorry for the long absence from posting. Hopefully I'm finished with any more back problems for a good long while. Have a fab day! Sharon

Soft Elements of Style

Hey, can you believe it? I'm back again today! Think this might be a cause to celebrate. And after the day I've had, I think I need to celebrate that I made it through in one piece! Our grandson is sure giving me a run for my money. Do you have any idea how wiggley a toddler can be when he wants to get out of your arms and run around a bank? For being so small, he sure is strong. And when he's twisting around and pushing away, it's really hard to keep him in my arms. After we got out of the bank, he played outside and really wore me out. After he was picked up I just flopped on the couch and got nothing else done. Hmmm.... Do you think I'm getting too old for this?? Naw, not just yet, but I'm getting close!
Anyway, today I'd like to share one of my favorite stamp sets done in a soft, Victorian style. Or is it a shabby chic kind of style? Or maybe it's a cross between the two styles. Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to go with here.

Stamps: Elements of Style
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, and Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Brown (retired), Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, and Soft Suede pads, and Soft Suede marker
Accessories: Frost White Shimmer Paint, Sponge quarter, Aqua Painter, Basic Pearls, Color Spritzer Tool, and 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon


I love the look of the Shimmer Paint lightly sponged all over the stamped and colored images. It gives it such a pretty mother-of-pearl look to the card and makes it quite lovely. There were quite a few color layering techniques used on this card. First the stamping and watercoloring. Then the edges were sponged with Crumb Cake to give it a more antique feel. Then came the sponged on Shimmer Paint. Give it a few minutes to dry nicely, then for the final touch. Adding a spritzing of color with the Soft Suede marker. Love the very delicate overall speckling effect you get with the Spritzing Tool. Just the perfect finishing touch for a vintage style card.

For this card I decided not to put any kind of sentiment on the front. This was it can be used for any occasion that comes along.

Thanks for coming by today. Hope you find time to stamp. My evening will be finished up with getting together one more card idea for stamping tomorrow night. I've got the idea in my head already. Hope it actually comes together when I get the stamp, paper, and ink out to make it!
Toodles - Sharon