Everyday Enchantment meets Beautiful Wings

I will admit...it has been a rather mild winter here in the Midwest. At least it has been here in Missouri. This Everyday Enchantment DSP makes me long for spring and summer though! The DSP is from the SAB that is going on right now. I just love this whole package of paper. Most often there are only a few different designs out of the DSP packets that I really like. Not with the Everyday Enchantment though. It all has a vintage feel too it and I love vintage. Here is a list of the items/products I used to make this card.

Stamp set: Tiny Tags (it may be difficult to see but there is a little tag hanging from that bent corner of the DSP)

Cardstock/paper: Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Everyday Enchantment DSP

Ink: Soft Suede

Other: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelits, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Pool Party Baker's Twine, glue dots, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Rue Des Fleurs

OK...I'm officially scaring myself now! This post makes me posting TWO days IN A ROW! I haven't had time to do that in, like, FOREVER! Anyway, the Rue Des Fleurs stamp set is from the new Occasions Mini catalog and I love it! I just love the "old" and "antiquey" (yes, I know that's not a real word!) feel of the whole set! The DSP also has that same feel to it. The DSP is called Everyday Enchantment and it's from the upcoming SAB catalog. Here is a list of the items I used to make this card.

Stamp set: Rue Des Fleurs

Cardstock/paper: Soft Suede, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP

Ink: Soft Suede

Other: sponge, Lace Ribbon Border punch, Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled ribbon, glue dots, Stampin' Write markers in Pool Party & Peach Parfait

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Fresh Vintage Birthday

I haven't done very well with posting lately have I? There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I need to get done. Creating and posting those creations is what I've cut back on. Well, I MADE time to make some new cards this weekend. And, here I am posting one of them. I still may not be able to get on here and post every day like I used to but I've got some cards all made up to show you so I promise I'll be posting at least every couple of days. Here's the first one I'd like to show you. The DSP and flower stamp are from the upcoming SAB catalog. The "Wishing You A Happy Birthday" stamp is a stamp from one of the hostess sets in the current Idea Book & Catalog. The ribbon is from the Holiday Mini so I know I should not have used it since you can't purchase it any longer but it just "went with" the whole vintage look of this card so I HAD to use it! Here is a list of the products I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Fresh Vintage (Occasions Mini catalog), Happy Birthday Wishes (hostess set)

Cardstock/paper: Poppy Parade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantments (from the upcoming SAB catalog - I LOVE this pack of paper!)

Ink: VersaMark, Soft Suede

Other: heat tool, Very Vanilla embossing powder, sponge, velvet ribbon from the last Holiday Mini catalog

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

I GOTTA get back in gear!

It has been FOREVER since I've posted! I did make Halloween cards but didn't get a single one posted. I also made Thanksgiving cards but, again, didn't get a single one posted. So, figured I might as well start with Christmas! This is one of the many Christmas cards I'll make this year. The "idea" for this card is not my own though. I got a "kit" from a couple of the other ladies in my group last year and a card very much like this one was in that kit. I could be wrong but I am pretty sure the card was designed by Gayla O'Dell. The only major difference between her card and mine is that we didn't have these cute stitched felt pretties last year. Here is a list of the items I used to make this card.

Stamp set: NONE? WHAT?

Cardstock/paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Metallic Silver

Ink: Basic Gray

Other: circle hole punch (for doorknob), mini glue dots, Winter Wishes Stitched Felt, Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up!

Alcohol Splash technique

GEEZ....again....it's been awhile! I can't seem to get my body to conform to my new schedule! I should have started working outside the home at least a few years back. Maybe then I'd be used to being gone and on my feet for about 8.5 hours a day! I'm just so tired by the time I get home that I can't bring myself to create. And, on the weekends I have other things around the house that I have to get done! I do so miss my create time. Anyway, I've found a new fascination with alcohol inks. I used them on the flowers on this card. The technique is called Alcohol Splash. All you need is a piece of glossy cardstock big enough for your images that you want to stamp, 2-3 colors of alcohol inks, black permanent ink (i.e. StazOn), a stamp with open areas and some scissors. Other than the alcohol inks I'm sure most stampers have everything they need. So, you squirt the first color of alcohol ink onto your glossy cardstock. Then, squirt some of the second color. If you are using only two ink colors, use this second color to fill in any white areas on your cardstock. If you are using a third color, you use that one to fill in any white areas. Lift your cardstock while the ink is still wet and tilt it and move it around so that the inks mix. You can repeat with any of the alcohol inks to get the color and mix you want. Then, after the ink is dry (you can use your heat tool to speed the drying) you stamp your image directly on top of the alcohol inks using the permanent ink. Let that dry or use your heat tool again to dry it and then use your scissors to cut out your stamped image. That's it! Use your cut out images on your card or whatever your project is! Here are the items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Flower Fest, Full of Life

Cardstock: Glossy White, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight

Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Melon Mambo

Other: alcohol inks, Big Shot, Finial Press embossing folder, XL Oval punch, XL Decorative Label punch, sponge, Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up! (except for the alcohol inks)

Punched Through Ribbon technique

MAN....I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted here! SHAME on me! It's been a busy, busy time for me. First, I had cataract surgery. The left eye was done in mid-July. My right eye was done just a couple of days ago. My vision is WAY better already!

Alot of you know that I volunteer and help run a dog rescue here in Missouri called 7 Bells Sanctuary, Inc. Well, the founder passed away last year. The other volunteer and I have been able to carry on with the rescue. Well, the other volunteer passed away unexpectedly just a few weeks ago. She was our main foster home. Her husband and son are helping out with all the foster dogs at their house. As soon as we are able to find homes or other rescues to take those dogs we will be shutting down 7 Bells Sanctuary. It's so sad for me. Not only have I lost my two best friends over the last year or so but now 7 Bells Sanctuary will also be no more. It has been such a big part of my life for so long. I will really miss it. But, I also know I can't carry on without either one of them.

On top of those two things, I also got a job outside of my "stay at home" law office job and Stampin' Up! I am working at our local pharmacy as a pharmacy tech. NOT an easy job like you might think it would be! I am not picking up the computer part of the job as I had hoped I would. It's been tough and my old bones aren't handling it well. Working a full time job (my law office job) and a part time job (at the drug store) and still have time for my dogs, cleaning house and playing with my Stampin' Up! stuff is more than my body can take most days! I feel every one of my 48 years most days now!
OK...enough grumbling from me! I'll get on to telling you about my card.

The technique is called Punched Through Ribbon. Basically, you punch a shape into the front cover of your card and then use scraps of ribbon to fill in the shape. As you can see I used our Butterfly punch and then used the different Daffodil Delight ribbons to "cover" the hole! Here are the products I used to make this card.

Stamp set: Flight of the Butterfly

Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Basic Black

Other: XL Butterfly punch, asst. Daffodil Delight ribbons, Stampin' Write markers in Basic Black & Daffodil Delight, stick on gems (not Stampin' Up!), sponge dauber, sponge

All products made by/sold by Stampin' Up! (except the stick on gems)

Pencil Over Ink technique

Do you have things/tools that you bought just knowing that you would use them alot and then find out that you don't use them as often as you thought because you just don't know "how" to use them? That's what happened with my colored pencils. I just HAD to have them but I rarely use them! I use my watercolor pencils all the time but not my regular colored pencils. So, needless to say I was happy when I came upon this technique! Basically, you stamp your image on dark cardstock using white pigment ink. Heat set the white pigment ink and then color over it with your colored pencils. Your image just seems to glow! Here are the items I used to make this card.

Stamp sets: Countryside, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Whisper White

Ink: Whisper White, Night of Navy

Other: colored pencils, heat tool, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Sizzlets Lots of Tags 1, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

All products (except colored pencils) made by/sold by Stampin' Up!