Card for My Daughter

My daughter is a wonderful mother.  And I'm so very proud of her.  It amazes me that she holds a full time job, keeps her house up nicely, and makes each of her two boys feel so very special.  She takes them for walks and to the park every day that the weather allows.  And they love spending time outside with her.  I wanted to make her a special card for Mother's Day to let her know how proud I am.  Thought I'd play with some of the new In Colors that will be available in another couple of weeks.  I hadn't felt up to doing much stamping lately, so I hadn't even looked at the new colors.  But I gotta tell you, you're going to LOVE them!  Yeah, that might have been a little shout there.  Sorry, I just got carried away with how much I love these new colors.  Soft pastels and warmer brights - yippee!  Can't wait til you can use them too.

Stamps:  Secret Garden, Betsy's Blossoms,  Papillon Potpourri, and Wonderful Favorites(ret)
Ink:  Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding, Strawberry Slush, and Pink Pirouette
Paper:  Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, and Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories:  Big Shot with Secret Garden Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, and Dimensionals

Aren't these new colors fabulous?  I think the Crisp Cantaloupe will be my favorite, but the Pistachio Pudding is coming in a close second.  I stamped the large flower on Pink Pirouette cardstock with the new Strawberry Slush ink.  I then stamped the solid stamp with Pink Pirouette ink right in the center to add color.  Nice look, right?  Then used the matching Framelits set to cut it out. It's hard to see in the photos, but there's touches of Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the center of the flower.  The  background was stamped with Pistachio Pudding, Cantaloupe Crush, and Pink Pirouette.  All really soft, pretty colors for spring.  Love them together!!

The butterfly was stamped with the same Strawberry Slush ink, but on white cardstock and punched out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  I added the rhinestones to give it a little more bling.

Decided it was time to get this posted.  Seems like I started writing this two days ago and got sidetracked sometime along the way.  Life is getting crazier as I go on.  My doctor is referring me to an allergist and immunologist since I'm not really getting back to normal (whatever that is!!).  Where will it all end?  Who knows.  I'll just try to keep posting when I can.  Hope you keep coming back to see what's new and don't give up on me yet.  Thanks for stopping by and I'll be getting some more stamping done soon.  Have a great day - Sharon

Heart Warming

Oh boy. Sure looks like this is going to be one of those days I'd like to forget ever happened. I was woken up at 5:18 this morning by the sound of the sump pump. That doesn't usually bother me, especially not during the last week anyway. Because of all the rain we've had for the last week or so, the ground is so saturated and the pump has been running alot and doing a fine job. But this morning it was going on every 6 seconds - not a good thing. It looked like the water was winning the war at the pump! At least it woke me up so things could be taken care of. My hubby hooked up the hose to flush the water out through the window instead of the drain pipe. As of this point in time it looks like things are under control. Except the water is still being pumped out of the window, so the basement is freezing. So it's looking up right now. And all I can say is, "Thank you God for waking me up when you did!" Oh, and did I mention today's my birthday?? It's the big 60. Does that mean I'm officially old now? Happy birthday to me....

Ok, on to the good stuff. Last night I was playing around with some cardstock that was already cut. My hostess club ladies wanted to make the card on the SU! website that was advertising the sneak peak products that are available in April. I always cut an extra set or two because we often have 'visitors' join our club night. I didn't want to make the same card over again, so instead I started playing with the components that were already cut and came up with a different card. Here it is....

Stamps: Filled With Love (retired)
Cardstock: River Rock, Marina Mist, and Cherry Cobbler along with Paisley Petals (sneak peak) Designer Series Paper
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot with Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Decorative Label Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, and Dimensionals





Here's a close up of the detail items. I was really surprised after listing all the punches. It never seems like very many when you're using them all. But when you start listing them, whew! There were alot!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the little black rhinestone (or whatever it's called) that I used. It's back from the Holiday Mini Catalog and I used them for halloween. There were a few left and I liked it better than anything else I had for this card.

Actually this card was supposed to fit the sketch from the Stamping 411 Operators for last weekend. But a funny thing happened. When the card was finished, it really didn't look like the sketch anymore at all! Don't you hate when that happens??

Gotta run. The grandbaby is awake and wants out of his crib. Have a splendid day. And try to stay warm and dry!
Sharon

Paisley Prints Thanks

Is it really April 18th? I wasn't sure, because when I got up at 6:15 this morning it was snowing outside. Yes, you read that right - snowing!!! I could hardly believe my eyes! And it was still snowing at 2pm! And it left a whole inch of snow covering my car - bummer!! The calendar says it's spring, but I'm not too sure about that right now. Anyway, I've been doing some more creating with the Four Frames stamp set and Paisley Prints Designer Paper that are available in the sneak peak promotion for another 12 days. If you haven't gotten them yet, you can click on the order now button on the side and take care of that right away! Ok, back to the card I designed. Looking over the pretty prints available, I was drawn to the soft daisy-looking floral. Whatever I came up with for that paper, I knew I wanted to keep the design very soft and gentle looking. So here's what I came up with today.... Stamps: Four Frames (sneak peak) and Fabulous Phrases Cardstock: River Rock, Marina Mist, and Very Vanilla with Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper Ink: Marina Mist Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Decorative Label Punch, Basic Pearls, and Dimensionals The label is one of the new Four Frames set, and I love all four of them. They each have their own style so it's easy to find just the perfect one to fit your design. I chose this one with the birds 'cuz it reminded me of the robins that I've been seeing outside again. When I see them, they are the real promise of spring to me. And with the snow today, I have my doubts that spring is ever getting here! I'd been having trouble figuring out where to use those teeny tiny pearls from the Basic Pearls set. I tend to choose the medium and larger sizes for my projects. On this one I decided the tiny pearls looked like a perfect match for the white dots on the floral print paper. Don't they fit together nicely? Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by to see what's new. Have a great week and try to stay out of the snow! Sharon

Nature Walk 411 Challenge

Oh my, I'm having such a great time today. It's rainy and chilly outside so I didn't want to get out there and do some cleanup in the yard. So what should I do instead? Yah, yah, the normal laundry and such, but I found time for stamping too! And since it's Saturday, I had to check in with Stamping 411 for their weekend sketch challenge. It looked to be a great basic sketch and I was just itchin' to give it a try. Since I had been drooling over the new sneak peak Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper that just came yesterday, that's what I decided to start with. Then it was just a matter of finding stamps that would work with the print I chose to use. Here we go...

Stamps: Nature Walk and On Your Birthday

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler with Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper (yummy!!)

Ink: Always Artichoke ink ,and Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke markers

Accessories: Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch, Sponge Dauber, and Dimensionals

I love how the colors work together and especially love the mini print from the Paisley Petals DSP. Yes, I did change up the dimensions of the sketch somewhat. It just needed more of the Cherry Cobbler cardstock showing both above and below the focal point. And the sentiment was added onto a separate layer instead of being part of the main layer. But I guess that's what sketches are for - as a jumping off place to get you started. Sometimes that's all you need to get the creative ideas going. And the 411 Operators do such a great job coming up with these creative sketches to get us started. Go on over and check them out. And then play along with your very own ideas! You'll haave fun - I guarantee it!!

Thanks for stopping over today! Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Sharon