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

Secret Garden with Razzleberry

Hello all.  Hope you're enjoying your Monday.  Some of you might have had the day off and got a little stamping in.  That's a wonderful way to use your time off.  We didn't have the day off from watching our grandkids,  though I did find a little time to stamp anyway.  Woo Hoo!  Going through my stash of Designer Papers, I found I hadn't used two different prints from the Sycamore Street DSP  pack.  Now I couldn't let that happen, could I?  So I sat down with the express purpose of using one of these paper prints, then I'd move on to the other one.  Well, the first one was giving me fits and nothing (I mean nothing!) was going right with it.  What can you do at that point, but eat some chocolate and put the first one aside and tackle the second print.  And that's what I did.  Now, I've got a card to share with you, but I'm not sure about it.  Please give me some input as to what you think about it.   I'd really appreciate hearing your thoughts...

Stamps:  Secret Garden, Papillon Potpourri, and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Summer Starfruit, and Island Indigo
Paper:  Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, and Sycamore Street Designer Series Paper
Accessories:   Secret Garden Framelits, Big Shot, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, AquaPainter, Delicate Details Lace Tape, Pearls Basic Jewels, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

Whew, feels like I used half of the tools I've got and my stamping space looks like it too with everything strewn about!  But I think it was worth it.  There are a few things I'd like to point out for you.  The largest flower was both stamped and watercolored with the Rich Razzleberry ink.  When I needed some little filler flowers, I did a wash of color to match on a scrap of white cardstock before it was punched.  Each of the flower petals on the card were slightly curled to give more dimension to them.

Did you notice the pearls on the butterfly?  Nice little accent to draw attention to it.  I also added a little pearl in each of the tiny punched accent flowers to give them some love and attention too.

The lace tape is new in the Spring Mini.  You've got to get some of this!   It's wonderful to work with - so easy, and adds such a pretty touch to the card.  I thought it softened the dark geometric print on the background a bit.


Ok, that's it for today.  Let me know what you think about this card.  It's really darker and bolder than what I usually make, but I need to get out of my comfort zone every once in awhile, don't I?  Thanks for stopping by.  And thanks especially if you leave a comment!  grin    Sharon

Honeycomb Happiness

One of the new products in the Spring Mini Catalog is the Honeycomb Texture Impressions Embossing Folder.  How cool is that?  It's a great background for so many different types of cards just the way it is.  But why stop there?  Have you seen it used with little hexagons of DSP tucked into some of the design?  I loved the look, but wasn't sure how to do it.  After giving it lots of thought, (and wondering why SU! didn't have a punch for this!!!) I finally figured it out.  It was one of those 'duh' moments.  Come on now, you know what I'm talking about!  Anyway, here's my card and afterwards I'll explain how easy it is to do!

Stamps:  Patterned Occasions
Ink:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, and Calypso Coral markers
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool  Party, and Calypso Coral with Sycamore Street DSP
Accessories:  Big Shot with Honeycomb TIEF, Decorative Label Punch, Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, and Dimensionals

Now for unveiling the secret of getting the DSP just the right size to fit inside those little hexagons.  Have a strip of DSP and run it through the Honeycomb embossing folder and your Big Shot.  Just follow the embossed lines and cut out as many of the little hexagons as you need and attach them to your card.  How easy is that?!  It was so simple and I was trying to make it so hard by cutting and measuring, etc.  Oh, why do I always try to make things harder than they have to be?

Anyway, now that I know this trick, I'm sure I'll be using it often.  It's just so dog-gone cute!  Oh yes, I've got to remind you that the DSP I used and the stamp set too are items you can get free when you order $50 from either the yearly SU! Catalog and/or the Spring Mini.  Isn't it great to have such fabulous products you can get free?  If you're interested, you can order directly from my website by clicking on the icon on the side or contact me and I'd be happy to host a party for you or just help you place your order.

Back to the card, you can see I've opted for my favorite go-to colors again.  These three colors and also Primrose Petals seem to be what I've been grabbing to use every time I sit down and stamp lately!  I think 'pastel' might be my middle name or something.  Ok, that's it for today.  There's a ladies meeting at church tonight that I don't want to miss.  It's the ladies group's birthday party with dinner and Bunco following, so it's going to be lots of  laughter and fun.  I'm outa here til tomorrow.  Hope to see you then.  Sharon

Decisions, Decisions

Ok, I thought I had a card to share with you today, then decided I really wasn't happy with the way the colors worked together on the card.  So, back to the drawing board and chose a different color palette to work with.   Hmmm, thought I had it, but just not quite.  Do over time with slight adjustments, and there I think I finally have it.  I guess I'd be smarter to not put the card together until I'm sure I have what I really want, but each time I thought it would work.  Oh well!  You're going to see each of the cards and the little changes I made each time and then you can decide which you like better.  Here's what I started with, and each successive card as I made them...

Stamps:  Oh, Hello
Ink:  Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy pads with Not Quite Navy and Old Olive markers
Paper:  Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, and Baja Breeze
Accessories:  Big Shot with Chevron TIEF, Daffodil Delight Stitched Ribbon, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Stamps:  Oh, Hello
Ink:  Pool Party and Island Indigo pads, Tangerine Tango and Old Olive markers
Paper:  Whisper White, Tangerine Tango and either Island Indigo or Pool Party
Accessories: mostly same as above with Tangerine Tango ribbon from the Sycamore Street Buttons and Ribbons Bundle from Sale-a-bration

This is the final card, I think.  I changed the color palette from the first card and wasn't sure I liked the rhinestones so took them off when making the second card.  The placement of the sentiment and flower accent also switched sides. 

I thought the Island Indigo cardstock strip looked a little too dark so switched to Pool Party for the 3rd card.  And liked the layout of the first card better, so it was switched back to the way it was originally.  Whew!!  That was one evening of playing around to get just one final card. 

Now, I wonder what other changes can I make?  Maybe a different color palette again???  Yikes, I've got to leave this idea alone for awhile and give it a rest.  Maybe next week sometime?  Have a great day and thanks for stopping in today.  Hope I haven't driven you crazy yet!    Sharon