Just One More

I'm sorry, but Live Your Dream is my new favorite set; that is until Wednesday, when I hope to see Mr. Brown at my doorstep with a SU package. I broke down and ordered a few more things from the Occasions Mini Collection. If I recall correctly, I ordered By Ones & By Twos, In The Stars, more Afternoon Tea DSP, and Carousel Notes, which I am really excited about. So, anyway, my stash of new goodies should be here just in time for the long holiday weekend.

Getting back to the task at hand, you will see that I have yet another card creation from the Live Your Dream set to share with you today. Looking at this card again, it occurs to me that the sentiment will be perfect for all of those graduation cards you will be needing in just a month or so; another reason why this is such a practical set to own.

Anyway, to make this card, I used a Groovy Guava base cut at 4-1/4 x 11 (again), scored and folded in half. The first mat is Chocolate Chip and Afternoon Tea DSP. I've used an entire package of the Afternoon Tea and had to order more. ;-) The flower image was stamped on Whisper White card stock in Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip using the ink-direct-to-paper technique. Since the In Colors are not offered in Stampin' Write Markers, use a Groovy Guava re-inker and blender pen to color the rubber and then fill in the middle with Chocolate Chip using a Stampin' Write Marker. Remember, when applying different colors to a stamp, start with the light colors and work your way from dark to darkest. Next, stamp the sentiment directly on the flower using Chocolate Chip and snip the corners of the Whisper White using the Ticket Corner Punch. Adhere the focal image using Stampin' Dimensionals on a mat of Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip. Punch holes at each corner using the 1/16 Handheld Circle Punch and insert brads. I think I used Silver here from the new Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware collection which you can find here in the Occasions Mini. Next, using the 3/16 Corner Rounder with the guard removed, punch a scallop edge on a piece of the DSP and then slip a ribbon around. I used Chocolate Chip taffeta here. Finally, adhere these pieces to the card base.

I hope you enjoyed this card. Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stampin', EdieB

An Embossed Good Egg

This is an absolute CASE from a very talented stamper Amy Celona. Check out her blog here. You are going to want to bookmark Amy's blog. It is full of jaw-dropping ideas. She is a Wow stamper.

You can make this card too. I changed up a few minor details from Amy's but this card is rather simple to make when you have all the right Stampin' Up! supplies.

I used a half sheet of River Rock cardstock for the base card. The half sheet is cut in half 4-1/4 x 11 inches, scored and fold up and down. Stamp the large egg from the A Good Egg stamp set with Versamark and sprinkle with Gold Embossing Powder. Heat to melt the embossing powder, cut out using your paper snips and set aside. Stamp the large filigree stamp from Baroque Motifs with Versamark on the sky blue filigree paper from the Spring Silhouettes Designer Series Paper pack. Again, quickly sprinkle with Gold Embossing Powder and heat to melt. Snip the corners of this layer with the Ticket Corner Punch. This makes a nice indentation to fit a brad and adds a bit of interest for the eye. Next, I stamped a saying from Refuge & Strength which is a nice companion set to A Good Egg. I used River Rock to stamp the saying, but I think I would emboss the sentiment in Gold Embossing powder next time, like Amy's card. The River Rock is pretty and soft, but a bit harder to read. Layer the stamped Spring Silhouettes paper on Soft Sky cardstock and embellish with a gold brad in each corner. Adhere to the card base.

This is a beautiful Easter Card, but don't think that either of these sets are limited to using for the Spring holiday. I have ideas for these cards for babies, birthdays, friendship, support & sympathy cards.

Happy Stampin'! Thanks for looking. Check out Amy's web site. EdieB

Roscoe's Snowy Weekend

Where in the heck is Roscoe? I don't know what the attraction is, but Roscoe can't seem to stop bury his head in the snow. LOL

He jumps in and out and then sticks his head all the way under. He is so fun! After about 20 minutes of more of the same, his face is caked with little frozen snow balls. He doesn't seem to mind though; as soon as Jim heads for the front door, Roscoe is ready to go out and do it all over again.

Speaking of Jim. He has spent his entire weekend shoveling and running the snow-blower. Thank goodness for him, though. He has done a great job keeping ahead of it and keeping us clear to get out if we need to.

I don't mind spending the weekend at home. I find it relaxing and I have been in touch with my stampin' friends all over the globe by email & by phone.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm & Happy Stampin'! EdieB

More Dreamy Flowers

I think I mentioned a couple of posts back that I am in Love with the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper in Stampin' Up!'s Occasions Mini Catalog.

These are my creations using the Afternoon Tea and Live Your Dream stamp set. They are both elegant yet bright & fresh to give you the feel that Spring is right around the corner. I used SU!'s textured cardstock along with the DSP to give these cards an even more polished look.

For the card to the left, I layered the DSP on Chocolate Chip cardstock and then mounted that onto the In Color Groovy Guava card which I made using the textured cardstock. To stamp the multi-color flowered, I used a Chocoloate Chip Stampin' Write Marker for the stem, leaves and flower center. The 2008 In Color Collection does not include markers, but not to worry. I used a re-inker with a blender pen to brush the color on the flower petals. I then carefully outlined the edge of the flower petals with Chocolate Chip to get the variegated look around the edges. I mounted the flower on Chocolate Chip and punched holes in the corners with the 1/16 inch hand-held paper punch so I could knot a bit of natural hemp as an accent at each corner.

A couple of tips: Breathe on your colors before stamping when using this technique to ensure the inks are still moist. When making several cards using the same design, be sure to clean your stamp thoroughly in between stamping so your colors are not muddied. Also, color light to dark as I mentioned above: first apply the Groovy Guava to the petal then the Chocolate Chip around the edges. A good feature of the blender pen is that you can also clean that thoroughly on a scrap of paper in between uses.

The blue card to the right is similar with just a few changes. The DSP is layered on Blue Bayou cardstock and mounted on a Soft Sky textured cardstock base. I used blender pens to brush on Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou ink. I used re-inkers again since these are both 2008 In Colors. I did not add a variegated look to this image since I used a darker color for the petals. I did however, stamp the little butterfly from Live Your Dream set using Soft Sky ink. I cut him out and then pressed him into a Versamark pad and sprinkled him with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. I don't think you can really see the sparkly little butterfly well in this picture, but I think you can see that I did not adhere his wings to the card. I tried to get adhesive mainly on his tiny little body so I could pinch his wings up when he is displayed. This adds a bit of texture and interest when looking at it. To further embellish, I slipped a bit of Blue Bayou Double-Stitched ribbon through a Hodge Podge Hardware buckle and wrapped that around the flower base. I then adhered all of this to the card and, to add balance, punched two holes to the top right side using the 1/16 hand-held punch again so I could push through two matching brads from the hardware kit. These kits come in three colors in the catalog: Aged Copper, Antique Brass, & Pewter. I believe I used Antique Brass here. There is a gorgeous Styled Silver set in the Occasions Mini Catalog. You can see a sample of the Styled Silver a couple of posts back here on my blog.

Well, thanks for visiting. I'm off to work this morning. Have a wonderful day & happy stampin'! EdieB

Circle Box

Happy March 1! We are that much closer to Spring which will bring green grass, flowers, sunshine and renewal of spirit. For me, Easter is a time for reflection and anticipation for the coming Summer. In reflecting, I can't help but think how thankful I am for my DH Jim, my baby boy Roscoe, and my friends. I have made some of the best friends through Stampin' Up! I told you last week how fortunate I was to have friends in Kim & Jen and how Jen & I met by accident chatting about Stampin' Up! on line. Jen & I shared a wonderful experience attending our first Stampin' Up! convention together. Another person we met by accident is our now dear friend Marie. We met chatting on a forum where SU! demonstrators were exchanging hotel information so we could seek each other out as soon as we arrived in Salt Lake City, home to Stampin' Up. Marie is a Canadian girl who was staying at the same hotel as Jen & I. She was traveling by herself, so I invited her to hang out with us. Well, we hit it off within the first minute. Marie is soooo sweet. We love her. Marie is the angel who introduced us to the ladies of Utah Divas International. Since then, I have been a member of the group and have formed wonderful friendships. These gals are my stampin' sisters. We are a growing group of demonstrators who provide business support, share ideas, and enjoy each other's friendship. If you haven't already, check out our blog. Email me directly at jim.edie@roadrunner.com if you are interested in learning more about the Divas and possibly joining our group. One of our newest Divas is Andrea Walford. Andrea is a very talented stamper. She has been holding an Easter Tutorial Blitz on her blog. Check out Andrea's blog here. Day 1 of her tutorial blitz featured this circle box. Andrea posted easy to follow step-by-step directions and photos. This is my result from her inspiration. I used the same stamp set, A Good Egg, but switched out the So Saffron cardstock for Soft Sky. I changed the belly band a little bit too. I started with a 1-3/4 inch x 11 inch strip of Whisper White cardstock and made one edge scalloped using the Corner Rounder punch with the guard removed. I then used the piercing tool and mat pack to pierce holes along the opposite edge which adds a nice touch of texture. I slipped a strip of Old Olive Cardstock behind it to add a splash of color and finished it off with a 1-1/2 inch strip of paper from the Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper pack. I thought I had it bad for Berry Bliss and now I can't get away from the Fall Flowers paper. It goes with everything! Yikes. :O) Anyway, for the box background, I stamped the flowers from the Good Egg set all over in a random pattern and, like Andrea, I used the Signo Gel pen to fill in the flower centers. For the focal image, I stamped the cute little chick from the same set with Black Stazon and colored him using the So Saffron re-inker and a blender pen. I punched out this little guy using the 1-3/8 inch circle punch and mounted him on scallop circles one of Soft Sky and one of Old Olive. He is attached to the belly band with Stampin' Dimensionals to pop him up a bit. This close up is a bit fuzzy, but I think it gives you a better view of the detail. What do you think? I can't wait to see what Andrea posts next. Thanks for stopping by again and happy stampin'! I'm off to stamp a matching card. EdieB