World's Greatest

Well, this is a surprise mid-week post! My life is gradually becoming less hectic as the school year begins to wind down and I'm finding I have a little bit more time to blog :) Now to find the time to actually do some STAMPING with my new catty goodies...that is definitely in the cards for this weekend!
Before I get to today's project, I have to give a shout out to my amazing students. Last week I took my senior concert band to perform at MusicFest Canada Nationals in Niagara Falls. They performed brilliantly and earned a gold award! I am so proud of each and every one of them for their hard work, dedication and commitment to making beautiful music. Anyone who wonders about the youth of today need only stop by my band room at 7:00 am some morning to see that we are in good hands. These are truly fabulous kids!

Now for some stamping...today I have a man-card for you. I know many people struggle designing projects for the men in their lives, so I thought I'd show you one that could work for Father's Day or a birthday, as I did here:

I used lots of retiring products on this project, so if you like what you see you'll want to act fast before they're gone for good. The background is a piece of DSP from the Urban Underground specialty pack. The word DAD is from the Urban District stamp set and is stamped in Basic Black Archival ink on Very Vanilla card stock. Then I used my Delightful Dijon marker to colour selected images from the stamped letters. I chose images that relate to my own dad to personalize it a little.

I stamped "world's greatest" on a strip of vellum card stock, punched one end into a banner using the Triple Banner punch and then adhered it to the stamped panel using a glue dot at one end so that I could hide it with the twine. One of the tricky things about using vellum is you always need to think ahead to how you're going to conceal the adhesive ;)
The only embellishments I used, besides some linen thread, were some metallic sequins, which I adhered using the Fine Tip Glue Pen.

 On the inside I added another Very Vanilla card stock panel and stamped a sentiment from the Super Duper stamp set in Basic Black. I added a hint of colour once again using the Delightful Dijon marker.

As I said earlier, this card could easily be transformed into a Father's Day card by simply changing the inside sentiment. Gotta love when projects can do double duty!

Have a wonderful week!

Product List

Urban District Clear-Mount Stamp Set [143071] $23.00	Super Duper Clear-Mount Stamp Set [142874] $23.00	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $9.25	2015-2017 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [138333] $20.50
Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101650] $11.25	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $10.00	Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101856] $10.00	Urban Underground Specialty Designer Series Paper [142783] $17.00
Linen Thread [104199] $6.25	Metallics Sequin Assortment [138390] $6.75	Banner Triple Punch [138292] $30.00

Mother's Day Succulents

Happy Friday!  I hope you've had a good week. This has been a long one for sure!! I'm looking forward to some serious studio time this weekend to play with all of my preorder goodies that arrived this week. So many ideas swimming around in my brain that need to be brought to life.
This weekend is also Mother's Day which means (hopefully) that I'll get a bit of a break on the house and yard work which means more me-time :)
In celebration of Mother's Day I thought I would share with you a card I designed for a private class I did last weekend. The hostess had asked for a card that would work as both a Mother's Day or a feminine birthday, depending on her guests' needs. This is what I came up with...

I think this may have been inspired by Pinterest, but it has been a while since I designed it so I can't remember exactly whose card it was. I used some Succulent Garden DSP for the background panel, mounting it on a larger piece of Whisper White card stock. I layered that on a piece of Mint Macaron card stock embossed using the Petal Burst TIEF. The wreath is die-cut using the Swirly Scribbles thinlits and the flower is done with the Succulent Framelits. I use Mint Macaron and silver glimmer paper to construct the flower.

The sentiment is from the Oh, So Succulent stamp set and is stamped in Mint Macaron ink. The only embellishments are some lace trim peeking out from behind the DSP panel and a single rhinestone in the centre of the flower. Just the right touch of bling :)

On the inside I stamped some flowers from the Oh, So Succulent stamp set as well as another sentiment in Mint Macaron.

This card was a hit with the guests at my class...and what's even better is that most of the products I used, although retiring, are on sale until the end of May or supplies run out. The Succulent Garden bundle is one of my favourites and I am sad to see it go away, but plan to get lots of use out of it before it does.

Have a fabulous Friday and wonderful weekend!

Product List

Oh So Succulent Photopolymer Stamp Set [142992] $26.00	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [138326] $8.50	Mint Macaron 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [138337] $10.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $11.25
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $9.25	Succulent Garden Designer Series Paper [142778] $14.50	Silver Glimmer Paper [135314] $6.75	Big Shot [143263] $136.00
Petal Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [141493] $10.00	Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies [141497] $35.00	Succulent Framelits Dies [142757] $44.00	Mint Macaron 1" Dotted Lace Trim [138424] $7.50
Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246] $6.75

Almost Back to Normal

Wow...talk about the lost week! I haven't been that sick in a very long time. This flu totally knocked the stuffing out of me. I am feeling much better, though still not 100%. Hopefully the weekend will bring renewed energy and time to get into my studio again. My poor stamps must think I've abandoned them!
 Before I show you today's project I must remind you that the Retiring Products List has been posted in preparation for the launch of the new 2017/18 Annual Catalogue in June. Some of my most-beloved products are going away *sigh* but I know there will be lots to love in the new catty. Because the list has posted, all items on that list are now available on a while-supplies-last basis, with the exception of stamp sets which are guaranteed until May 22nd. If there are items you would still like to get, order ASAP, as some items will sell out very quickly.

Click the image to view retiring products.

Now for a project. This is one we'll be making at my Watercolour 101 class this week...

The background was created using Watercolor Pencils and Irresistably Floral specialty DSP. I just love the way the watercolour wash makes the floral images pop. I layered the DSP on a piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock before mounting it on a thick Whisper White card stock base.

The sentiment is from the Suite Sentiments stamp set and is heat embossed in silver and then die-cut using the Stitched Shapes framelits. I layered the label on a scalloped Rich Razzleberry oval die-cut using the Layering Labels framelits, and mounted that on a silver metallic doily. The flowers were die-cut using the Stylish Stems framelits. I cut the top layer from Whisper White card stock and the bottom from Watercolour paper on which I had done a wash using the Watercolor Pencils and an aquapainter. The only embellishment is a tiny vellum butterfly, punched using the Bitty Butterfly punch and  accented with a few little rhinestones.

On the inside I stamped a sentiment from the Picture Perfect stamp set in Rich Razzleberry ink and added another little vellum butterfly.

Thanks for stopping by and for your patience while I was ill. Have a great week!


Product List

Suite Sentiments Clear-Mount Stamp Set [142971] $25.00	Picture Perfect Photopolymer Stamp Set [140520] $33.00	Irresistibly Floral Designer Series Specialty Paper [141644] $17.00	Rich Razzleberry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [115316] $10.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $9.25	Vellum 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101856] $10.00	Watercolor Paper [122959] $6.75	Watercolor Pencils [141709] $21.00
Aqua Painters [103954] $22.50	Rich Razzlebberry Classic Stampin' Pad [126950] $8.50	Embossing Buddy [103083] $8.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $11.25
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131] $6.75	Heat Tool [129053] $40.00	Big Shot [143263] $136.00	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $40.00
Stylish Stems Framelits Dies [142750] $41.00	Layering Ovals Framelits Dies [141706] $46.00	Bitty Butterfly Punch [129406] $21.50	Metallic Foil Doilies [138392] $5.25
Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246] $6.75