A Little CAS Note

Wow... I just realized that this year is almost half over - it seems like time definitely speeds up as you get older! I know that we all become pressed for more time in a day, and you may find yourself needing a quick clean and simple (CAS) card for something unexpected... how about today's card as an example? This one was very fast to put together. I like using this layout - it's one of my "go-to" layouts when I'm pressed for saving some time. I know that I've mentioned this before, but it really does help to have several "go-to" layouts that you can fall back on again and again. I love using the embossing folders too. They always provide a Wow factor with texture. This stamp image was colored directly with markers, so the colors really pop IRL. A bit of organdy ribbon adds a nice touch without going overboard, so it'll be easy to pop in the mail.

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons, Apple Blossoms (hostess, 2010-2011 IBC)
Paper: Whisper White notecard & cardstock, YoYo Yellow
Inks: Basic Black, markers- YoYo Yellow, Bashful Blue, Green Galore, Creamy Caramel, Only Orange (for the bird beak)
Accessories: Bigshot/Square Lattice embossing folder, organdy ribbon, dimensional popdots

I hope that you are having a wonderful Wednesday... thank you for visiting me today!

Teen Birthday card

We celebrated another birthday in my family this week, and I made this card for my oldest son. After stamping the tree and wolf in Chocolate Chip ink, I punched a 1/2" circle post-it for the moon shape and sponged all around it in River Rock and Crumb Cake inks. This was trimmed down and matted with C.Chip cardstock. The background River Rock panel was scored vertically several times to create a slight texture on the left side, then matted as well with C.Chip cardstock. I stamped the birthday sentiment and added a small piece of ribbon with a large decorative brad inserted to hold it down. The pieces were assembled on a Vanilla cardbase. The cardbase has some random stampings using the speckle stamp from Itty Bitty backgrounds in C.Chip ink (by the way, this little stamp set will be officially retired on June 30th - I love my 15+ year old speckle stamp, and it will still be lovingly used in my home for many more years to come!!). This masculine card could be used for a variety of occasions by changing the sentiment, and I hope it's given you some ideas. Have a nice weekend, and I appreciate your visit...

Stamps: Nature Silhouettes, Sincere Salutations, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Cardstock: Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, River Rock
Ink: Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Crumb Cake
Accessories: 1/2 inch circle punch, sponge dauber, scoring tool, chocolate chip ribbon, brad

Black & White - Ollie...

Happy Saturday to you! I thought I'd share a birthday card made for my younger son today. The background in Whisper White uses the new embossing folder available in the Summer Mini catalog called Square Lattice - one of the really neat things about this particular folder is how you can have two subtle, but different, designs with items that are embossed with it. If you click on the picture above, a slightly larger picture should appear and you can more easily see the little crosses in the pattern are debossed (going inward). A few posts down titled Sponged Backgrounds shows you a card with the little crosses facing outward. Anyhow, since this card was made for a male teenager, I had to be careful not to go overboard with the "girly" embellishments. I think the cardstock texture adds just enough to keep the card interesting, don't you think?

The neat background stamps on the main panel are from Extreme Elements. The black ink was stamped off on scratch paper two or three times before the final stamping on my main panel. Promotion plug here - you can order this stamp set, or a number of other selections, in Stampin'Up!'s Scrapbooking Promotion this month and receive Free designer brads through May 31st.... read all about it HERE. The Extreme Skateboard stamp is awesome and was stamped in Versamark/black ink, then heat embossed in black embossing powder. The black frame was made using a ruler and craft knife, then glued to the main panel before final assembly.

I really love the Extreme Skateboard stamp because it fits my son to a "T". Although he's more into the Ripstik now than the skateboard (which is quite amazing because it only has 2 wheels, not 4!), this image is good for both. I love watching him do tricks (and yes, my heart does skip a beat now and then!), and one trick he's good at is called the "Ollie". It's where you make the entire skateboard (or Ripstik) "jump" or "pop" off the ground with you still on it, land and keep on going without your feet (... or other body parts... yikes!) touching the ground.

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you soon. :)

Black & White Daisies part 2

Here's the last grouping of cards using Upsy Daisy and Well Scripted. Again, trying to keep within the the Black and White theme (ok, and gray too!). They are a bit simpler in design than yesterday's post, but the benefit is that they assemble much faster!

Tomorrow's card is for a male teen - I hope you can stop by if you need an idea or two! Take care.... see you again soon.

Black & White Daisies part 1

The next few posts are cards that I made using just black, gray and white cardstocks, embellishments and inks. The grey tones that you'll see on the stamped portions of these cards is a simple technique of just using the same stamp repeatedly without reinking in between impressions. Today and tomorrows cards are using basically the same main image of Upsy Daisy with different sentiments from Well Scripted - I just changed up the layout a bit on each one. The card above also uses Versamark ink and white embossing powder/heatgun along the bottom, as well as the Eyelet Border edge punch. I added a flower and ribbon layer for the card below.... a quick and simple touch if you're pressed for time.



I hope you like them and can stop in tomorrow for slightly different layout variations using Upsy Daisy. Saturday's post is a birthday card in black and white created for one of my sons.... kids grow so darn fast! Have a great day!

Mother's Day

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday - I had to work the night before, so Sunday morning had me sleeping till noontime. Then I was up to help the kids with school projects - why do teacher's pack the "big" projects so close to the end of school? Ugh!! Anyhow, my Mother's Day ended with a delicious dinner made by DH - he's the cook in our family... I'm so spoiled, I know.

These cards were made last week for Mother's Day, and I got as far as watermarking the pics and then forgetting I had them in my folder to post - Doh! Anyhow, the sentiment can be changed up to fit any occasion, so if you need a quick card, this may fit the bill.

It was made with SU's notecards with envelopes - these are a must-have item for your stash and are perfect to use as a base for last minute cards. The floral spray comes from Watercolor Trio - a new set offered in the Summer Mini Catalog. It was selectively colored and stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Old Olive and Ballet Blue markers, and then finished with a Barely Banana butterfly (try saying that five times fast - I can't even say it once without twisting up my words! hee hee). The matting is Barely Banana and Ballet Blue. The sentiment is from Well Scripted. The background is En Francais, a new favorite of mine! Slight sponging finishes the cardbase edges...

The pic below shows one closeup for better viewing, you can click it to make it larger.

I have a series of black & white projects and cards lined up to start next Monday - I hope you can visit and check them out! Have a great day...

Baby Cakes

Howdy! This baby card was created using multiple paper patterns to fit the Ways to Use It challenge over on Splitcoaststampers.

The patterned paper comes from selections within SU's Welcome Neighbor SAB paper pad. The On Board chipboard circular ring and heart is from the Blossoms & Basics package. Sadly, these are no longer available, but the chipboard shapes can be found repackaged in the "Essentials" and "Batch of Blooms" selections that are available now. I used Versamark and white embossing powder/heatgun 3 times on the ring to get the thick coverage needed for a smooth surface. I colored the heart with Melon Mambo ink, then applied a thick coat of Mono-Multi glue and sprinkled the Crystal Iris chunky glitter on top.

The elephant from the Pun Fun stamp set was stamped in Basic Black, and watercolored with Going Grey and Pretty in Pink inks before punching it out with a 1 3/4 inch circle punch. The edges of the elephant panel and Hip-hippo-ray label were lightly sponged with Pretty in Pink ink. The Whisper White Organza ribbon bow was tied around the white embossed ring and everything was assembled. The ring was glued down with Mono-Multi, and I used dimensional popdots under the elephant panel and hand-cut wavy label. The heart is adhered with a square of sticky strip, and half-back pearls were added last.

Thank you for visiting today!

Spring is Upon Us

So do you ever find yourself needing to put together a quick card? Try blocking as a technique to whip one up in a snap. Simply use leftover pieces of patterned paper to use for your base background, stamp on a strip for the top layer, add alittle embellishment and your done!

Stamps: Out of the Box Hostess Level 1 stamp set
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, white, More Mustard, Past Hostess 1 Patterns Paper Pack using More Mustard, Rose Red paper
Ink: Melon Mambo, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard
Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, gold brads

This little flower card is perfect for spring. Here in Phoenix, the flowers and roses in my garden are really bloomin' up a storm - here's a couple for you:


Mexican Evening Primrose


Joseph's Coat Climbing Rose

Hope you are enjoying Spring in your neck of the woods! See you next time...

Melon Silhouette

Hello again! Today's sample is a shoebox swap project brought in by one of my sidelines, and I loved how bold and bright these colors are together. Plus, I don't have that SU exclusive Finial Press embossing folder (yet!) and was very happy to play with it. Yep, that folder is going on my next order! It is sssoooo pretty!!!! :)

I hope you have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by...

Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes

Paper - Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink - Old Olive, Melon Mambo

Accessories - Scallop Edge punch, Melon Mambo ribbon, Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder

Celebrate

Hello again.... I was up at 4:15 this morning in order to get one of my daughters to school by 5:30 - she's enjoying Science Camp for a few days, and I miss her already! :) My boys have already done this outing and other extended trips, and I realize these little getaways help prepare us for when they're finally out on their own. However, I already know that I am going to have such a hard time dealing with the "empty nest" syndrome, so to preoccupy myself after my other kids went off to school, I thought I would spend some time on my blog. I changed it to a 3 column format a couple days ago, so I played with that alittle more. There's tons of info about how to do this on the internet, and I used a tutorial from "The Cutest Blog on the Block" - it's a pretty nice site for general blog help. And, I've got some projects lined up for sharing over the next several days, so I hope you are able to check in from time to time.

Here's a rather quick card created with the "Made 2 Last" stamp set. I stamped the pocket first on Whisper White cardstock using Ballet Blue ink. I did use the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to place the stitching outline stamp over the blue jean pocket, then placed a post-it note along the top of the pocket. I stamped the flowers randomly in Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo inks. I stamped 6 more flowers on some scrap white cardstock in Melon Mambo ink and cut them out. These were popped up with dimensional popdots after I used a Green Galore marker to color in the leaves on all the flowers. The Celebrate stamp was done in Rich Razzleberry, then the edges of the cardfront was sponged in Crushed Curry to define the edges a bit. This was mounted on a white cardstock mat, then glued to a Melon Mambo cardbase.

Have a great day!

Stamps - Made 2 Last

Paper - Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Inks - Ballet Blue, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Green Galore marker
Accessories - dimensional popdots, sponge, StampAMaJig, post-it note

CAS Take Flight

Happy Saturday!

Today's post is one geared toward Clean and Simple (CAS). I made a set of these on Stampin' Up! notecards with envelopes, and it has no additional layers of cardstock. I added a sponged background in So Saffron ink to give the card a pretty contrasting color with an illusion of a layer. This was done by cutting out a rectangle in scrap paper and sponging the opening that was made - easy and simple! The butterfly and sentiment were stamped with the assistance of my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig along the side and bottom. The flower centers one this card have little rhinestones added for flair. The envelopes were stamped in the lower left corner with the small butterfly from this stamp set to really coordinate the whole project.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend... see you next time!

Stamps - Flight of the Butterfly

Paper - Whisper White notecards with envelopes, scrap paper

Ink - melon mambo, so saffron, pixie pink

Accessories - craft knife, ruler, rhinestones, SAMJ, sponge

A Happy Wish

The last day of summer vacation is here! My boys are groanin' - the girls are thrilled... (I am siding with my girls on this one!). My "to-do" list is a mile long, and I really should be focusing on it, so my post will be a quick one today... Anyhow...

This very simple card was created using the kissing technique. If you're not familiar with this technique, you can click the link to see a step-by-step tuturial by Beate Johns over on SCS. I wanted to add some texture to the solid flower & leaves from the Petal Pizzazz stamp set, so I used stamps from Circle Circus stamp set to bring out some patterns. The flower stem is a stamp from Flight of the Butterfly. I swiped the edges of the white main panel against my Lovely Lilac inkpad. This was matted and placed on a white cardbase. Lastly, a half-back pearl was attached with a gluedot.

Have a terrific Sunday, and I'll see you again very, very soon. :)

Stamps - Petal Pizzazz, Circle Circus, Flight of the Butterfly

Paper - Lovely Lilac, Whisper White

Ink - Lovely Lilac, Lavender Lace, Old Olive

Accessories - half back pearl, gluedot

Mother's Day Promotion!!!

Hello again - I hope that you are having a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I wanted to make a quick card today using some papers from my huge paper scraps bin - I always check there first and use the papers that I need, but it still manages to grow! I was able to complete this card in about 20 minutes... ALOT faster than finding my keys, driving to the store, staring at all the hundreds of cards for sale, standing in line at checkout, finding my keys (again...) in my bottomless pit of a purse, and driving home. LOL - but isn't that the truth!?! Make a card instead that you would truly love to give someone, and is a wonderful reflection of you!!!

So what do you think of my simple, but sweet, little card? The little Fabulous Friend oval was stamped on a piece of leftover "Faux Linen" glossy white cardstock that was from my last Techniques class. I just swiped Pink Pirouette ink over it, and the ink filled in the lines very nicely with just enough color. The flowers were colored in with markers, then it was punched out with the large oval punch. I layered this with a Kiwi Kiss scalloped oval. I don't know if you can see it, but the white block was run through the Big Shot with the diamond Texturz embossing plate - in real life, it really adds a pretty touch to this card.

I hope that each of you will have the most wonderful Mother's Day! In celebration of Mother's Day, I am offering all my customers a Free spool of 1/4 inch grograin ribbon in the color of your choice for your purchase of the "Buy 3, Get One Free" paper special being offered by Stampin' Up! this month. (The details are that if you purchase 3 packs of Designer Series paper - including our Specialty Designer Series paper - and/or 12" x 12" textured card stock, you'll get one Free! You can mix or match your paper choices as you wish!) I hope you take advantage of this great promotion, and my offer of a free ribbon spool to be included in your order ends at midnight on Tuesday, May 12th. Please email me your paper collection choices (including the free paper and ribbon selections) at june@mycreativecorner.com or simply fill out my contact page and type in the comment section on that page. I will contact you thereafter to finalize your order. You can view the paper selections HERE and the ribbon choices HERE. Treat yourself to something special for Mother's Day! Thank you so much for visiting with me! See you soon...

Stamps - Oval All
Paper - Bella Rose paper collection, Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink - Black, Pink Pirouette, SU markers: Rose Red, Old Olive
Accessories - Scallop Oval and Large Oval punches, BigShot, Texturz plate (diamond grid pattern), Pretty in Pink ribbon
Technique - Faux Linen

Spring Wagon

Recently, I made some clean and simple cards that used Wagon Full of Fun for my main images, and they were colored in with a SU blender pen and Stampin Pastels. Stampin Pastels are chalks that come in all of our standard colors, and are held together in a flat, easy-to-store container for just under $25 - you can't beat that! Truly, it's a very economical, versatile, and useful product. Instead of using the included sponge applicators to color - which gives a soft, pastel coloring to your projects - I chose to use the blender pen. This technique results in a darker, more pronounced coloring. Simply touch the tip of the blender pen on the corner of an individual chalk block to pick up some color, and off you go! When you are done with that color, just clean off your blender pen tip by scribbling on some scratch paper until the color is gone, then pick a different color to use. Easy-peasy, and oh-so-pretty!!

I used the masking technique to make the flowerpot and cupcake look like they are inside the wagon. Stamp the wagon on a post-it note and trim around the top edge of the wagon. After stamping your wagon on your card block, use the post-it to cover the wagon, then stamp your other image just above the wagon. Remove the post-it and ta-da - your image looks like it's sitting in the wagon. How cute! :)

The sentiments were stamped, punched out, and layered. I assembled the cards together and finished them by using a 2-way glue pen and sprinking Dazzlin Diamonds on the images.

Have a super Saturday, everyone... see you next time!

Stamps - Wagon Full of Fun, Sentiments are from Thoughts and Prayers, Voila

Paper - Lavendar Lace, Old Olive, white

Ink - black

Accessories - Stampin Pastels, blender pen, Scallop and Circle Punches, Dazzlin Diamonds glitter, 2 way pen

Relax, Honey!

My DH and I just celebrated our 23rd anniversary this week, and I made this clean and simple card for him. He is always supportive and excited about all my projects, but seems to appreciate my clean and simple cards that are made specifically for him the most. It used a stamp from "And Many Mower" that is in the new mini... the inside is stamped with "RELAX" to finish off the front sentiment panel. This stamp set is great as it's geared toward masculine cards - perfect! Let me say that he took the sentiment to heart and definitely enjoyed the day (and I enjoyed it with him, veggin' around the family room, watching the latest installments of "House", "Hell's Kitchen" and reruns of the sci-fi shows like "Stargate SG-1" and Star Trek's "Enterprise"... yep, we're Trekkies!). Anyhow, just thought I'd post a quick card for you all today. Till next time...

Sachet Pillowbox

Hello again! Today's post is about a very quick project that would make sweet little Mother's Day gifts for family and friends. It's a sachet made from the Pillowbox Die and Big Shot. After die-cutting the pillowbox, I stamped in Pink Pirouette ink around the edges with a floral selection from the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set. The butterfly came from Great Friend, a wonderful little stamp set found in the new Occasions Mini catalog, and is stamped on both sides of my pillowbox in Riding Hood Red ink. I used my Mat Pack and paper piercer to punch little holes around the butterfly and pillowbox, and closed one end securely with Sticky Strip tape. Then I crushed very fragrant potpourri into smaller pieces (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in size), and filled my sachet pillowbox. I secured the other end with Sticky Strip tape and added a ribbon around one side, adding a few spots of snail on the ribbon to keep it from sliding off the pillowbox. The small holes allow the fragrance to breathe - it smells so nice and it's not too strong - to me anyway! I think I know a few ladies who would love a few of these to put with their linens or clothing drawers at home... maybe you do, too! Have a great day, and thanks for checking in with me today.

Stamps: Great Friend, Pocket Silhouettes

Paper: Pink Pirouette

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Big Shot, Pillowbox Die, ribbon, mat pack, paper piercer, Sticky Strip, Snail adhesive, potpourri

Goodbye SAB.... Hello Occasions Mini!!!

Well, I had to make a couple tribute cards with items from the Sale-A-Bration promotion as one last Hurrah! I hope that you love your free SAB items as much as I do. The Delicate Dots DSP will be sorely missed, and I'll be using it up over Spring because of it's perfect blend of colors for this time of year. My first card with hearts came from Polka Dot Punches, and is lightly sponged all around. The second card below was made for my niece who just had a baby boy on Saturday. Many congratulations, Tabatha! The whale stamp came from Pun Fun (not retired - it's available in the main catalog on page 48, item #115054). He is watercolored with markers and an aquapainter. I used the eyelet edge punch on the Apricot Appeal block to bring out more dots! tee hee... Well, *sigh*, it WAS another great year for SAB...

Although it's a bit sad knowing that some things are no longer available, it does mean that NEW items are NOW available! Stampin' Up!'s Occasion Mini catalog starts today!! Products from this mini catalog will be available until June 30th. There are ALOT of cool things in this mini, and I'll be posting many projects utilizing the new items to help inspire you to be creative!

With Easter around the corner, I had to make an Easter basket made from the Big Shot/Scallop Envelope Die. I cut 4 of the envelopes out of Gable Green cardstock and assembled it by arranging & gluing the flaps together inside of the box, and the scalloped topper folded to be on the outside. I also had a (1 x 8.5 inch) strip of Bashful Blue cardstock that I punched along with the Scallop edge punch on both sides to create my decorative trim on the handle. The trim was glued to a (1/2 x 8.5 inch) strip of Gable Green to create my Easter basket handle, and is attached with brads. The green striped patterned paper comes from the Rainbow Sherbet DSP paper pack. Finally, the marker-colored Easter eggs are stamped from a new stamp selection called Wagon Full of Fun, and it adds the perfect touch for this very fun and easy project.

(angled view)

(front view)

Have a great Wednesday, everyone! See you soon!!!

Praying for You

Sorry for the yellow/pink tint in this photo... I messed up my camera settings and haven't quite figured out what I did!!! LOL!! Anyhow, this card shows you a couple of stamps from the new SS09 catalog set called "Thoughts and Prayers". Image-wise, it's one of my very favorites from this catalog as the images are clean and simple and pack alot of punch! Since I have a very limited sympathy-type sentiment collection, the verses were a real necessity, too. There are a couple other applications, like "thinking of you" and "get well soon" - so this set is versatile!!


You can see my use of one of SU's Sizzix texture plates with the polka-dotted background. The polka dots are subtle, but I like that with this card. I could have achieved a more pronounced effect by spraying the paper with alcohol first before running it through the Big Shot (as I did two posts down with the diamond background on the flower trio card), but I appreciate the softness that this background provided for this card. The flower spray was colored directly with Old Olive and Rose Red markers, huffed on (so the moisture from my breath could reactivate the ink), then stamped on Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment was stamped and the whole thing matted. The ribbon bow was tied after punching two small holes and threading the tails from the back of the block.

Thanks for stopping in today - see you soon!

Stamps - Thoughts and Prayers
Paper - Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, white
Ink - Riding Hood Red, SU markers: Old Olive, Rose Red
Accessories - Big Shot, texturz background plate, ribbon, 1/8 in hole punch

Snowflake Patchwork Inspiration

Hello again! This was a last minute card made a couple days before Christmas, and I wanted to quickly share it with you today. I stamped my snowflakes first on white cardstock, and then trimmed them down to the same size blocks. I sponged them with Sahara Sand ink on the edges, and arranged them on the larger black background. The center snowflake block is matted and popped up with dimensionals. Finally, I glued tiny half-back pearls on the center of each snowflake. I'm making my Christmas cards throughout 2009 to avoid the last minute crunch and stress to get them done and mailed... wanna join me? I like how this card came together quickly, and will be making a set of them to get started on this year's stash. Maybe this layout can help inspire you to get started, too! Take care, and I'll see you next time... :)

Stamps: Winter Post, $1 sentiment stamp
Paper: Whisper White, black
Ink: black, sahara sand
Accessories: sponge dauber, half-back pearls, dimensionals

Simple Christmas Thank You Card

I hope that your Christmas celebration was filled with much happiness! The last two weeks were very hectic for me (and I'm sure for you, too!), so I apologize for not posting... I squeezed in work and sleep between finishing up Christmas shopping, cooking and baking, wrapping gifts, and completing all the Christmas cards. I made over 70, but most were done assembly-line style (once I decided on which card, that is!).... and to top it off, they were either mailed or hand-delivered to boot.... YAY!

Well, I had to work the day after Christmas, so yesterday was spent vegging around the house and making some simple thank you cards for family and friends for the wonderful Christmas gifts that were given to my family. I love this Merry & Bright stamp set, and decided that this little snowman would bring a smile to just about anyone's face. I stamped the snowman and trees, masking where necessary, in order to create my little scene. Then, I re-masked the snowman and little tree beside him to protect them from sponged ink done in Summer Sun, Bordering Blue and Night of Navy which created the glow from Heaven above. The snowman and tree were colored with markers, and snowman shadows were colored with light blue colored pencil. I stamped the snowflakes in White Craft ink. This was mounted on a Real Red block, and the sentiment is from Warmest Regards (retired).

I hope that you get some time to wind down after the holiday hustle and bustle. Take care and see you soon...