Sweet Birthday Cupcakes

Hello and happy day to you! Today's card was created to celebrate another birthday in our family. It seems like I never have enough birthday and thank you cards, so that is what I focused on making these last few days.

This card uses images from the stamp set "Crazy for Cupcakes", and the sentiment comes from Well Scripted (retired). The balloon image is "open", and I used a few of the miniature background stamps (page 140 of the IB&C), A to Z, Solid Stripes and Dot, Dot, Dot to add a little bit of character to each balloon. Several of the balloons are popped up with dimensional popdots. The base colors of this card are using two In-Colors - Peach Parfait and Pear Pizzazz... these colors remind me of slightly muted shades of orange and lime sherbert. They really look very nice together - don't you think? I colored in the cupcake platter with markers. I sponged the edges of the panels and balloons, and dotted the three white panels with the Pear Pizzazz marker for interest. The background was dry embossed with the BigShot and dotted embossing folder. I also die cut the small scalloped rectangle to back the sentiment.

I hope that you are having a nice week, and I look forward to your next visit... :)

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. :)

Roses for Prom

Hello again - This card was made for my oldest son to give to his date on their way to their high school's Junior-Senior Prom next weekend.... along with chocolates and a rose corsage, of course! He will be wearing the standard black tuxedo and white shirt with a red vest/tie to match her lovely red dress, so that's why I chose these colors for the card. The layout is this week's Sketch Challenge over on Splitcoast.

The large rose and rose buds on the tags were made with hearts punched from various heart sizes, and I inserted little half-back pearls that are held in place with Crystal Effects. The two smaller roses were made with the Trio Flower punch, with 3 punch-outs stacked on each other and scrunched up with a little pearl inside. The stamped "flower stem" is a portion of the flourish stamp from SU's new Elements of Style (which will be available for purchase on May 1st), and it was selectively colored with Old Olive marker before stamping. I lightly sponged the edges and used the speckle stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Real Red ink to add alittle more color to the flower panel. I applied a smidge of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint with a make-up sponge to the large rose/leaves - the leaves were hand cut from scrap DSP.

I used the scallop trim border and tiny tags punch for the ribbon layer. I left the middle tag blank so that my son could write his date's name in Japanese handwriting - my son and his date met in their Japanese language class, so I think that will add a special, personalized touch for this card. The background embossed panel was created with the Finial Press folder/Bigshot.

I hope you have a great weekend and can stop in again very soon! C Ya!!

Lots of Bots to the Rescue!

Here's an example of a quick (for me!), last-minute birthday card for one of my kids' friends. I had to make it for a "tween" boy, so I stuck with browns and added no frills like ribbon to it. I really love the little robots in the "Lots of Bots" stamp set... and this one is my favorite of the group. This card took about 20 minutes to complete - faster than finding my shoes, keys, wallet, driving to the store, staring at cards, checking out, and driving home! Tee hee! Honestly, a big tip on saving time with any card is to find 3-5 "go-to" layouts (sketches) that you can fall back on whenever the need arises... these 3 panel layout cards are quick to put together and always look appealing!

I stamped the birthday robot on watercolor paper in black ink (omitting the "happy birthday human" sentiment), and colored him with various shades of brown SU markers. TIP - only color around the stamped lines, and use a slightly wet aquapainter to "move" the color around to create your lighter colored areas in each section. If you've found that you used too much marker color, use this method to remove the color by "cleaning off" your aquapainter by swiping the bristles on a paper towel. Repeat until you've removed your excess color. This does take a small amount of practice, but I'm sure you'd get the technique down quickly. Just remember to use really good quality watercolor paper like SU offers. It resists the water, moves the color more easily, and prevents pilling of your paper (little balls of paper as it breaks down from the water - very frustrating, so don't go there!). :)

The Really Rust patterned paper comes from the Hostess Level 1 Pattern Pack, and a sheet was cut down into 3 rectangular panels and glued to a Whisper White block. The edges of the white block were distressed using the Cutter Kit and then matted with Really Rust cardstock. This was glued to the Creamy Caramel cardbase. After matting the robot panel a couple times, I popped this up with dimensional popdots.

Stamps: Lots of Bots (pg 82 of the Idea Book & Catalog)
Paper: Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, & Whisper White cardstocks, Pattern Pack DSP III (pg 13), watercolor paper (pg 158)
Ink: black, various SU markers for coloring
Accessories: aquapainter (pg192), cutter kit (pg 191), dimensional popdots

I hope that you enjoy today's post - see you again soon!

Happy B-Day, Human!

It's Friday once again... I tell ya, it seems like the older I get, the faster time flies! Is it that way with you, too? Speaking of getting older, this birthday card was made for one of my daughter's best friends and she just turned 11..... many Happy Birthday celebrations to her!!!

This cute, girly robot comes from Lots of Bots, one of the new stamp sets available with the new catalog. My daughter flipped for this set when she saw it. She read the sentiment that comes with this image out loud in the most perfect robotic voice "Happy Birthday Human!" - gosh, we laughed so hard because I think she startled herself. Kids are great, aren't they?

I stamped the sentiment only on Whisper White, punched it out with the large star punch, sponged the edges of the star's points, and put it on the inside of the card. The card's colors and watercolored robot are Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry (perfect for a little girl), and the patterned paper is another selection from the Razzleberry Lemonade collection. The scallop circle is a die cut from the Scallop Circle #2 die. I added pen dots around a couple of the panels from the new Melon Mambo marker - I love that Stampin' Up made the In-Color markers.... YAY SU!!

I hope that you have a wonderful start to your weekend. I have my monthly scrapbook club meeting tomorrow, so I better go dig around in my stash and figure out what I'll be working on... take care and come back soon!

Stamps: Lots of Bots
Paper: Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
Ink: Black, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Melon Mambo marker
Accessories: aquapainter, sponge dauber, circle cutter, brads, small & large star punch, BigShot, Scallop Circle #2 die

Graduation Shutter Card

Ggggoooo Cougars! (tee hee hee!) Hello everyone... it sure has been a busy last couple of weeks... last minute school projects & kids getting out of school, 2 of my kids with birthdays and some with their friends w/birthdays, graduations, dad having surgery (he's recovering nicely, thank goodness)... not to mention WORK thrown in there, too! I'm glad that things seem to be slowing down (and I hope it stays that way!)...

OK, now let's talk about this card. I made this graduation card for my nephew who completed his high school last Thursday! WTG, Blaine!!! This style of card is called "Tri-Shutter", and it was a Splitcoast Technique challenge several weeks ago, although specific directions can be found here on Bonnie's blog. The various individual stamps come from a large variety of retired stamp sets - it's really hard for me to let any go because they come in handy sooner or later... OK, truth be told, I love being surrounded by all my stuff in my craft room! (wails... I can't help it!)

As you might guess, Blaine's high school colors are purple, teal and white. I made my card base with a "basic gray" speckled paper, and went from there. I used a computer/printer for the school name, class year and Thoreau quote, and the cougar image was a photo found on the internet that was cropped and printed black and white. All these things were measured out to fit the individual sections of the card and matted in the school colors. See the section where "congratulations" was heat embossed with white embossing powder? That area was large enough to easily fit my VISA giftcard, and was attached there with temporary 2-sided tape. I loved that it fit! (Yes, I am easily amused by the little things in life!)

Before I forget, you can click the picture and it'll refresh with a larger version so that you can see the details alittle better - as you can imagine, this one was alittle tricky to photograph for you, being the amateur photographer that I am! :)

Here's the card closed, and it fit into a standard A2 envelope. The mortarboard for the graduation cap was stamped again, cut out and popped with a dimensional. The "hip hip hooray" was punched with a 1/2 inch punch and popped up too. The card was alittle bulky due to the thick buttons, hardware with ribbons, and many brads that I added, so it did take extra postage to mail.

I'm glad to be posting again! Stampin' Up demonstrators were able to do some pre-ordering of selected items in preparation for the new catalog to be released July 1st. I'm looking forward to receiving my shipment later in the week - new goodies are always inspirational, and I can't wait to share! If you'd like to pre-order a catalog for just $5, let me know by filling out the form HERE. Have a great day!

Stamps - Carte Postale, Circle of Friendship, Greeting for All Reasons, Mini Messages, Sketch an Event (all retired stamp sets)

Cardstock - white, taken with teal, elegant eggplant, "basic gray" type cardstock for base (I think it comes from "cottage collection" by Keeping Memories Alive)

Inks - Versamark, Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal, Basic Gray

Accessories - craft knife, ruler, cutting mat, stylus, various circle punches, sponge dauber, silver brads, heatgun, white embossing powder, hodgepodge hardware, matpack and paper piercer, dimensional popdots, non-SU 1/8th inch ribbon in white, blue, purple

Flowerpot Card Full of Pizzazz

These little flowerpot pocket cards are so much fun (and easy!) to make. Here's some instructions by Stephanie that'll inspire you to create a "dare to be different - WOW" kind of card! I love lifting the little flower cluster out of their flowerpot to see the special message inside. This was made for one of my daughter's best friends (who is celebrating a birthday this weekend), and I adapted my flowerpot dimensions so that it would fit horizontally in the envelope. The flowers were stamped on white & cut out, then adhered to the upper portion of a rectangular white piece of cardstock that simply slides into the flowerpot pocket. The blue flowers are popped up with dimensionals. I was trying a variation of the Faux Shaving Cream technique on the red flower - the picture doesn't do this flower enough justice! The swirl on it was created using the paisley stamp from the Wanted stamp set. The leaves were made by using the 5 petal flower punch with Old Olive cardstock, then cut apart to make the individual leaves. I hope you enjoy this little creation today and be sure to have a great weekend!

Stamps -Petal Pizzazz, Wanted stamp sets
Paper - More Mustard pattern paper and cardstock, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, white
Inks - More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point

Accessories - 5 petal flower and scallop edge punch, dimensional popdots

The Chef Presents... a Cupcake!

A real quick post for today... gotta get my kids off to school. You know, one of these days, I will build up my stash of birthday cards! Here's one that I put together for my other son... he's attending a birthday sleepover tonight. I like the bright colors on this card, and it all started with the patterned paper. Since Stampin' Up's colors match up so nicely, it's easy to coordinate projects!
Have a great day!

Stamps: Voila, Party Hearty (cupcake stamp)
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP
Inks: Basic Gray, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: brads, dimensional popdots, aquapainter

Thumbs Up Teen Card

Of all the various occasions out there where I find a need for a card (Christmas, birthday, new baby, sympathy, thinking of you, congrats, etc etc etc......), I know that - for me - the challenge of making MASCULINE TEEN cards ranks right up there with fire walking or skydiving! They are the hardest ones for me to do!! My boys are darn good about giving me plenty of notice when they need a card, but it's my procrastination or "half-listening" that gets me every time. I'm always scrambling to get a card done a couple hours before they have to be somewhere... egads! :)

I found myself... again, needing to make a card for DS #1 yesterday, and this card was the result. I find that this is a real "go-to" set for masculine cards... it's called "Happiness is a Journey", and I simply adore this reverse-image train. It's a unique stamp, and one that will not leave my ever-growing collection. The image was stamped on Whisper White in Basic Gray ink. I used a sponge to color in the train with More Mustard ink, and the smoke with Baja Breeze. I went over the smoke again with a blue/gray colored pencil to create swirls in the smoke. This was matted and silver brads were inserted. I glued this main panel to my More Mustard cardstock that was sponged on the edges with Kiwi Kiss ink. I freehand cut branches from Chocolate Chip, and used my Big Shot/Little Leaves sizzlet to diecut leaves from Old Olive and Kiwi Kiss cardstock scraps. The leaves were snipped off the stems, individually glued to the branches and very lightly sponged with Kiwi Kiss ink. A few of the leaves are popped up with dimensional popdots that were cut in half. I used my stylus to add veins in the leaves, but I don't think you can see that detail from the photo. Lastly, I used my StampAMaJig to line up the sentiment from Sock Monkey (my daughters love this set!).

Well, I held my breath and showed it to DS #1..... A Thumbs Up! Whew!!

I'm not trying to make my sons sound like they are incredibly difficult or picky, but... they are teenagers (and those of you that have them, or went through these years with them, know what I mean!). And I must not forget what I was like those few short years ago. {snort! OK, OK... but it wasn't that long ago!}

Have a great Sunday! :)

Stamps: Happiness is a Journey, Sock Monkey sentiment

Paper: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, white

Ink: Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Big Shot, Little Leaves sizzlet, dimensional popdots, silver brads, sponge daubers, colored pencil, StampAMaJig

Easy Coaster Chipboard Album

Hi Everyone! I thought I'd post about this 4x4 inch coaster chipboard birthday album for you today. I made this for one of my daughter's this weekend while scrapbooking with some wonderful friends. We are so fortunate to be able to get together once a month at a clubhouse and share ideas & laughter - I think we've been together over 4 years now! Anyhow, I've posted both sides of the album fully open up above, and the pictures below are each of the individual squares so that you can get a better view.

First, this type of album is very easy to put together - it's held together by 2 strips of long ribbon.... in the picture directly below, you will see how I started laying out the strips of ribbon about 3/4 inch from the top of the coaster edges and leaving 1/4 inch gap between coasters so that it would fold accordion-style when closed - I needed nine coasters all together. I decided to keep the ribbon in one long, continuous piece for strength. I glued the ribbon to the coasters, but I would have simply "scotch-taped" them in place if I had remembered to bring it with me! Anyhow, I repeated this with the ribbon about 3/4 inch from the bottom edges. Then I cut 18 4x4 inch squares of cardstock (Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive) and swiped the edges of cardstock with an inkpad to add some visual interest. I glued the squares on the front and back of the coasters, alternating colors on both sides, then decorated each square.



On a side note, I used wallet sized photos that I printed from my photo printer beforehand - this size is perfect for projects like this! Our family was celebrating my daughter's birthday in 2007, and the letters on the front cover are my daughter's initials. I used the BigShot and Naturally Serif Alphabet Sizzlet strip die for that purpose. The chef serving the birthday cake is chalked and watercolored with markers. The cake is directly colored w/markers. See you at the end... enjoy!












The back side of the album spells out my daughter's name. It's the second picture at the beginning of the post. It starts off with a cupcake block, then a letter on each block thereafter. I used the BigShot and Serif Essentials Alphabet dies for this... I hope that you enjoy my little project ~ Heather loved this little gift to her. Take care, and have a great day!!

Stamps: Voila, Party Hearty, Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, white
Inks: black, Bashful Blue, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, SU markers for coloring
Accessories: Coaster Chipboard, ribbon, silk flowers, brads, chalks, dimensional popdots, mono-multi glue, BigShot, Naturally Serif Sizzlet Alphabet, Serif Essentials Alphabet, SU punches: photo corner, designer label, scallop circle, 1/4 inch circle, spring bouquet flower

Teen Masculine Birthday

Happy Saturday! One of my son's needed a card for a friend's birthday party tomorrow, and being a teenager, I had to be careful not to make it too "girly". Usually, in these situations, my go-to embellishments are brads and hardware instead of ribbons, just to be on the safe side. I picked out the train from a "brand new this catalog" set called Happiness is a Journey. I loved this stamp set the moment I saw it because it reminded me of my father who loves trains and swears he was an engineer in a former life.... :) Nevertheless, this is an awesome set to use for masculine cards, and I look forward to using it often for many years to come. This solid style train stamp was inked up with Versamark first, then sponged with Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy ink. This was pressed to white cardstock and heat-embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I Versamarked the whole block, and heat embossed again with clear embossing powder several times to create a smooth, glassy surface. This main panel was mounted on black, Not Quite Navy and Chocolate Chip with edge distressing on the C.Chip layer. I added silver brads along the top. The blue background paper is from my scraps pile (source unknown), but a very similar effect can be achieved by sponging and spritzing ink. This layer was edge distressed as well, then mounted on C.Chip cardstock with brads added in the corners. This was placed on my Not Quite Navy cardbase. There's a white insert inside stamped with a birthday sentiment, and my son was pleased with the look of it. So what do you think? Have a great weekend, and I'll be back tomorrow. See you then!