Oh, Whale Birthday

Seems like the birthday season is starting for us, so I've been scouting around for ideas for children's birthday cards.  I wanted something quick and easy, but that would look fun too.  Here's my simple card using the Oh, Whale! stamp set.  This set is so cute and I used it for a baby shower card last month.   But unfortunately, I gave the card away before taking a picture.  Now how silly is that?!  So before this card gets used next week, I got the picture taken right away!  Here we go...

Stamps:  Oh Whale!, and Word Play
Ink:  Pacific Point, Marina Mist, and Real Red
Paper:  Whisper White and Pacific Point cs, with Sunshine & Sprinkles DSP
Accessories: 2 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Brights Designer Buttons, Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Paper Snips, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

It was fun trying to get this whale to fit into one of our circle punches.  He just barely fits, but that's just fine!  The idea of all the circles was to represent bubbles.  I wanted the water squirting out to be a lighter color, so I used Marina Mist.   Because this card is for a little boy, I wanted to use only bright, primary colors.   But didn't like the yellow button on the card, so switched it for the Old Olive one.  I added the Island Indigo Baker's Twine for a little extra fun.  Even though there are a lot of different blues used, the strip of DSP had so many different tones of blue so it all worked together fine.

I hope Benny likes his whale of a birthday card as much as I liked making it for him.  Have fun stamping with this little whale - it's a cutie!  Hope you have  great week!  Sharon

Serene Silhouettes Done Softly

Happy Sunday to you.  Today was a special Easter party at church for the little ones.  Of course, I had to go along to have fun with my grandsons.  Both boys had fun 'looking' for the eggs.  I use that term very loosely, as a barely one year old doesn't have a clue.  He just had fun shaking them and crawling after them when the eggs rolled away from him.  And the older one - almost 3yr old - found some trucks and trains to play with and that was more interesting than plastic eggs!  All in all, it was enjoyable for grandma to watch the boys have fun.

Now on to the card for today.  For your sakes, I hope you haven't been needing too many sympathy cards lately, but seems like I need another one almost every week.  I find it very hard to make these cards as needed, so try to keep a small stash on hand.   This is one of the sympathy cards I've made recently for my stash...

Stamps:  Serene Silhouettes, Trust God, Papillon Potpourri, and Thoughts and Prayers
Ink:  Early Espresso and Marina Mist ink pads, Marina Mist and Old Olive markers
Paper:  Early Espresso, Bashful Blue, and Naturals White cardstock
Accessories:   Big Shot with Fancy Fan TIEF and Apothecary Accents Framelits, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Linen Thread, Pearls Basic Jewels, Sponge quarter, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

Love the texture on the background layer with the Fancy Fan embossing.  So pretty.  I added just a light touch of Early Espresso sponging on the edges to soften the look.

The flowers were colored on the stamp with markers and then did the heavy breathing before stamping.  The butterfly was stamped on a scrap of Naturals White cardstock, then stamped again on the die-cut piece without re-inking.  This gives just a light shadow look behind the punched and layered main butterfly.  Pearls were added to the butterfly for elegance.  The Linen Thread was added to keep it from getting too frilly.  For the inside of the card, one of the sentiments from Thoughts and Prayers worked nicely. 

Hope you like this idea.  If you don't need sympathy cards, you could easily change it by using a different set of sentiments.  It would be pretty no matter what you used it for.  Enjoy the day.  Looking forward to Easter and all the blessings God has in store for us!   Oh happy day!  Sharon

Everybunny and Shimmer Mist

Hi there!  What a time we've been having over here.  The 'cold of the month' has hit again and knocked us for a loop.  How is it possible to get a cold of some sort once a month for 5 months in a row?  It hits one of the little ones first, and then hubby and/or I get it another couple of days later.  This has got to stop soon 'cuz I just can't handle being under the weather and cancelling all the fun stuff we plan on doing!!  NOT FAIR!  Yes, that was me venting there.  Sorry!!  Anyway, back to why you're here.  This card was one of the cards made during class week that I had planned to share with you a week ago.  It uses one of my stamp sets from last year that is still in the current catalog.  Usually I'm using new products during class, but I know several of my students had purchased this set last year so it needed to get revamped and updated.  You know what I mean?  Here it is for your viewing pleasure...

Stamps:  Everybunny
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black pad, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink, and Daffodil Delight re-inkers
Paper:  Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Pool Party, So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Accessories:   Big Shot with Framed Tulips TIEF, Ovals Collection Framelits, Small Oval Punch, Frost White Shimmer Mist Paint, AquaPainter, Piercing Tool and Mat, Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack, and Dimensionals

The idea of mixing drops of re-inker into Shimmer Mist has been done before, in fact I might have done it sometime in the last bunch of years.  But it hasn't been done in the classes, so it was something new for the ladies.  The colors the bunny and shell were painted all had the Shimmer Mist base, some had heavier applications of paint to get a solid color.  I used only a dime-size amount of Shimmer Mist to 1 - 2 drops of ink color, except for the bunny.  The Crumb Cake was too light so I added another large drop to the mix.  That worked out nicely.

On my original card here, I didn't use any yellow when painting, but knew the ladies would want to, so I made a mixture of Shimmer Mist and Daffodil Delight re-inker to get a soft yellow shade.  The So Saffron re-ink looked too brownish to be pretty on this card, so it was disposed of properly by throwing out.

Another wonderful side note, as long as you keep your mixtures in an air-tight container (I used empty embossing powder containers), the paint mixtures are still wet and useable over a week later!  I just checked to be sure, and I'm quite surprised!  Think I'll make a couple more cards now that I've got some energy again.  I've got a few kids to send cards to and these would be perfect.

That's it for this message.  Glad you're not sitting any closer to me because I've been sneezing and coughing again while writing this.  Oh boy, guess I'm not quite over this like I was hoping.  At least you can't catch anything over the internet!!  Stay healthy and find some time to stamp - it's good therapy!
Sharon

Another Ears to You

Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying the single stamps that Stampin' Up! is offering lately?  My newest obsession seems to be the Ears to You stamp.  When I first saw it, I thought it was just too cute, and I still feel that way after using it several times.  Here's the project the classes made this week with one of the little bunnies.

Stamps:  Ears to You
Ink:  Pretty in Pink pad, Crumb Cake marker
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze
Accessories:   Big Shot with Honeycomb TIEF and Designer Frames TIEF, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Brayer, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Pearls Basic Jewels, Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon, and Dimensionals

I

Wish you could see this card in person.  The colors are so subtle, but very beautiful.  I had seen this card (sort of) some place and knew I had to make something similar.  Thought about it a few days, and then couldn't find the original card.  And I'm not too sure how the original looked exactly (and can't give credit where due!), but this is my version anyway.

The Honeycomb embossing folder was brayered with Pretty in Pink ink before inserting the cardstock and embossing it.  This leaves a pale pink color inside each of the hexagon shapes.  Very pretty.  To coordinate, the bunny oval and sentiment layer were both sponged lightly with pink on the edges.  Very subtle.  Don't know why I don't use the small Frames TIEF more often.  It really is the perfect frame for this little bunny. 

And speaking of the bunny, I only used the middle bunny of the trio.  He was colored with a Crumb Cake marker to single him out.  For a variation, this card could have been made landscape style and used one of the other bunnies that are more crouching down and then used the oval on it's side.  Just an idea....

I liked the addition of the tiny flower and pearl.  This keeps it looking sort of vintage and feminine too.  Hope you like this idea.  Sorry I can't give credit to the person that inspired me to try brayering on the embossing folder and using this stamp with it.  It's a winner, isn't it!  Thanks for stopping in today.  It's been a crazy week trying to watch grandkids everyday and hold classes three evening too.  Can't wait for tomorrow for my workshop with some lovely ladies.  Then, relax.......ahhhhhhhh        
See you soon,  Sharon

Ears to You Bunnies

Have you seen and stamped with this adorable single stamp called Ears to You yet?  If not, you don't know what you're missing!  These cute bunnies are all patterned differently and just a clean silhouette of each one, so they can be used in so many different ways.  The card today was going to be one of the class projects for this week until I realized I didn't have enough Pool Party cardstock or satin ribbon on hand.  Dog-gone it!  It's such a pretty card and I know everyone would have loved making it.  Oh, well.  I guess I'll just let them 'look' at it instead.  Aren't I nasty?  ha ha  Here you go.  You get to 'look' at it too!

Stamps:  Ears to You
Ink:  VersaMark, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder
Paper:  Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, and Shimmer White
Accessories:  Big Shot with Lacy Brocade TIEF, Heat Embossing Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponge Daubers, Sycamore Street Ribbons and Buttons(SAB)

I took several pictures to try and show the lovely look of the Shimmer Paper underneath the sponging and embossing, but couldn't get it to show up.  Needless to say, this card is so ymmy and soft looking - just like pretty Easter candy colors.

The bunnies and sentiment were embossed first and color sponged over using the ink-resist technique.  Thought this would look nice because of each of the different prints on the bunnies.  Sponging over the embossing makes all the tiny details just pop.

I loved the texture of the Lacy Brocade embossing on the background.  It just fits with all the other prints.  And I can't imagine what I'll do when this pretty ribbon isn't available after Sale-A-Bration.  Boo hoo!  I think I need to get another order in before SAB is over on March 22nd.  Have to get me some more of this ribbon!!!

Thanks for stopping by.  I spent the weekend stamping and I've got lots to share with you, so come on back soon.  Happy stamping,    Sharon

Get Well Floral Card

I mentioned yesterday how much I've been enjoying the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit and I've used it for today's card as well.  This time I've used only the punched out flowers and nothing else.  This whole kit is so versatile, and I seem to be using bits and pieces of it separately - not all of it together as it's shown in the Summer Mini Catalog.  Wish I could get the different elements of the kit separately because I've just about used up the Pool Party flower used in today's project.  Now let's see just what that project is...

Stamps:  Mixed Bunch and Delightful Dozen
Ink:  Pool Party and Island Indigo
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Whisper White cs, and Subtles Collection Paper Stack
Accessories:  Pop-up Posies Designer Kit, Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack, Blossom Punch, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Sponge Daubers, and Glue Dots

I like the play of different designs and colors used in the layers here.   It all draws your eyes to the sentiment and flower as you want it to.  Can you see all the layers on the flower?  First the Mixed Bunch flower is stamped on white cs with Pool Party ink, punched out with coordinating punch, then sponged on the edges.  The next layer is just one of the Pop-up Posies from the kit.  This is sponged with Pool Party ink also.  Next comes a Boho Blossoms punched flower from Island Indigo cardstock.  Lastly is one of the free buttons that come in the Sale-A-Bration Sycamore Street Ribbon and Button Pack.  Don't all those pieces work well together?

The ribbon from the same Sale-A-Bration freebie is used across the card to tie it all together.  Don't you love it when you can make good use of the free Sale-A-Bration items, and they add the perfect finishing touches?  That seems to be what has happened with this card.  Hope you enjoyed this idea and it gives you more ideas to try on your own.  Thanks for stopping in again today.  I appreciate any comments you share with me.  Have a fun, creative weekend and get stamping!    Sharon 

Butterflies for you

How does life get so out of hand sometimes?  Whew!  Too much to do in too little time with too many deadlines.  That's my life lately.  But I've got a few days off right now so I've got to cram lots of stuff into it to get a little bit caught up!  How's that for taking some time off to regroup?  Oh well, I'm sure you know how things get sometimes.  So enough of the crabbing about life and getting on with the card I have to share with you today.

Stamps:  Papillon Potpouri, and Just For You
Ink:  Rose Red and Marina Mist
Paper:  Marina Mist, Rose Red, Whisper White cs with Subtles Collection Paper Stacks
Accessories: Big Shot with Square Lattice Folder, Adorning Accents Edgelits, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, and Dimensionals

Have you ever tried using the Adorning Accents Edgelits set on a diagonal on your project instead of the straight edge?  I love the look of it used diagonally on this card to cut the design in half.  Such a different look.

The circle was punched and then embossed  to add texture and background for the butterflies.   And speaking of butterflies, I'm so happy we have two sizes of these great butterfly punches now!  Very handy, and makes it easy to add lovely butterflies to just about any card!

The sentiment is part of the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit.  Love the kit, and love the sentiment stamp that's part of it.  It's a nice generic one that can be used for so many different occasions.  In fact, we've been using it a lot on different cards we've made for the soldiers the last two months.  Definitely getting a lot of mileage from this kit as you'll see tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate any comments you might care to leave.  It's nice to know someone is here checking things out.  grin  Happy stamping, Sharon