Ashley's Artwork

New Catalog and New Classes

2009-01-16T14:37:00.002-06:00

Since I am finally able to see light at the end of the tunnel I am trying to plan some classes for the upcoming months!!!

In February I want to have a Sale A Bration event. Details to come.

In March I want to do something with new sets from the new catalog. Details to come.

I am also willing to start having in home workshops again. If you want to hold a party let me know and I will get you booked!!

Thanks for your support over the past couple of months.

My Other "Personal" Blog

2008-11-02T18:36:00.002-06:00

Thanks for reminding me that I did not update my other blog address (you guys know who you are)....here it is.....

www.ashleyvaerst.blogspot.com

Read it at your own risk!!!

The "C" Word

2008-11-01T21:04:00.007-05:00

This blog may remain quiet for a while. Yesterday I was diagnosed with cancer. Cervical Cancer to be specific. I am back in the waiting mode. I am waiting for an MRI on Tuesday to see what we are dealing with (to see if it has spread at all). Then from there I am waiting on a referral to the University of Minnesota. I will be treated at the U of M.

Please keep my family in your prayers if you are the praying type. I am going to fight this and fight it hard. I am only hoping that I have the endurance to stay strong.

I am sure I will start updating a blog that I started for family and friends a couple of months ago. I will post that address here later. This is where I will fill you in about my journey with the "C" word. I really want to keep this blog about fun craft projects and not about the "c" word. By the way I took a few pictures over the past couple of days of other craft things I have done lately. I will post those here soon.

Sorry I Have Been Quiet

2008-10-24T21:05:00.003-05:00

Sorry I have quiet the last couple of weeks. At first I became really busy with a school project on Climate Control (yuck). I really do not mind the subject it is the project that I did not like.

So I finished what I needed to for my project and thought I would spend last weekend playing since I had four days off. My plans were put to rest after a visit to my doctor. Last Friday I went in for my yearly physical and a "growth" was discovered "down there". My life was frozen last week. Since the appointment was on a Friday I knew I had to wait at least until Monday to hear anything.

It has been a week of an emotional roller coaster ride. I played almost every scenario in my head this week. Today I was back at the doctors. It is a growth that will need to be removed. I am waiting on the biopsy to come back to see if it is the big "C" word. My "new doctor" told me that she does not think it is, it does not look like what she has seen of cancer, but a biopsy was preformed just to be sure.

I am told that the growth is probably a fibroid tumor. Wednesday I will have an ultrasound to see how large my tumor is. Friday I go back to my "new doctor" to see what needs to be done. She has prepped me though for a hysterectomy. Yes, 33 and a hysterectomy.

Anyhow, I am sure I will be quiet in the coming weeks. Maybe new posts, but I am not sure if I will have many new cards to show off.

Dreaming of Friday

2008-10-02T05:25:00.001-05:00

I know you are shocked, three days in a row! I will let you in on a little secret - I took a math test on Tuesday and I have not slept well since then. I am worried that I did not do well on it. I am NOT a math person.

Here is another card that I made with the Dream du Jour set. I like this set a lot. Maybe because I have been in the coloring mood this set has stayed on my table.

Of course I pulled out the Chocolate Chip Card Stock. I used Chocolate for the base. I topped this with Whisper White and then Bordering Blue. I pulled out the Designer Series Paper - for the pop of Saffron on the side there. I backed the Designer Series Paper with Chocolate Chip to make it pop.

I pulled out my Nestabilites again and used the long rectangle die for the frame of the words. Yes you are seeing it right the scalloped fame is in Chocolate Chip. The words are in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White.

The butterfly is stamped in Basic Brown and water colored in with my Aqua Painter (which there is a special on this month). I used So Saffron and Bordering Blue to color my butterfly. Not that you can see in the picture, but there is some glitter on the wings. The butterfly is cut out and glued on the corner of the word panel.

I also added three brads from the retired Hodgepodge Hardware set. Plus, there is some Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon and some Natural Hemp in there too.

Oh and in the bottom right corner of the Bordering Blue is a butterfly stamped in Bordering Blue, it is barely there, but adds a little something to the card.

I better get off the couch and see what is for breakfast for the kids today. Enjoy your Thursday everyone.

Happy Wednesday - Happy October

2008-10-01T06:06:00.002-05:00

Not that I have much time to read lately, but I was in the mood to make a book mark with my long rectangle Nestabilities. I love to read so this will come in handy as soon as I have a break in my school work.

I of course pulled out my Chocolate Chip Ink and loaded up the flowers from Upsy Daisy. I stamped the daisies on Very Vanilla and set aside. I used the Nestabilite die with the Chocolate Chip Designer Series Paper.

I knew I wanted a second color included, it was just deciding which one. I love fall so I went for the Earth Elements. I decided on Pumpkin Pie since I have ribbon to match. I then trimmed the Daisy image down to size and backed it in Pumpkin Pie.

The words were added as an after thought. I really needed something to cover up a smudge so I decided words were the way to go. "Life" is from the Upsy Daisy Set. I inked up the word with a craft spot in Pumpkin Pie. Then I clear embossed this. The words were not big enough to cover the smudge so I improvised from there. The brown circle is the 1/2 circle punch and the Pumpkin circle is actually from the Crop a Dile punch scrap from adding the Jumbo eyelet.

The bookmark came together quick and easy. For me the hardest part was not adding anything that was three dimensional on the part that would stick in the book. I am now ready to make a few more of these since I usually have more than one book going at a time.

Enjoy your day!

Some Tuesday Pun Fun

2008-09-30T18:15:00.003-05:00

Ok so I am sorry that the picture is crooked. It looked MUCH better on my camera.

This set is made with the Pun Fun stamp set. I was in a streak where I seemed to be using more earthy colors with Chocolate Chip being a main color, well not this card. I drew my colors from the Designers Series Paper.

Here is the list of supplies for the card:

Stamp Set: Pun Fun

Ink: Basic Black, Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange.

Paper: Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White.

Accessories: Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon, Three Flower Punch, Rhinestone Brad from the Pretties Kit and non SU! Nestabilities.

You've Got Mail

2008-09-22T19:27:00.000-05:00

Good Monday Morning!

I planned on posting this past weekend, but I spent ALL day Saturday at Archiver's scrapbooking. I was very lucky to sit next to a wonderful lady who designs for Archiver's. Let me say WOW! I wanted to cover my work and hide in shame. I really wished I had my camera along to take pictures of her works of art. Maybe they will come out on display sometime soon for all of you to see too.

On to my project (that I liked when I made it). This is an older project from last May, but I still wanted to share it with you. This mailbox was made for Andrew's first grade teacher. She had a baby in May. We purchased a gender neutral outfit for the baby and I decided this would be a cute way to package the outfit (yes the outfit fit in the mailbox).

The mailbox was from the dollar spot at Target. I covered it with the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (since retired). I pulled the colors from the baby outfit. I added some Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon (which was retired then, but is now back - yeah), and some Wild Wassabi Double Stiched Ribbon (now retired). To add the flower and the Silver Hodgepodge Hardware onto the mailbox I used the Crop-A-Dile. It punched right through the metal and the plastic like butter. I also used the flower punch to add something onto the flag.

I know many of the items used are now retired, but you can use the idea right?

See you back here tomorrow, because I have my posts all sorted out now.

Oops.....

2008-09-18T10:49:00.003-05:00

Oops. Here I was doing so good. I had scheduled some posts to publish this week. This morning I came on here to see what the last card was that posted. I then realized that none of the cards I had scheduled to post actually posted. Here is why.....it is 2008, NOT 2009. Oh well. I tried.

Here is one of the cards I was planning on showing you. It is made with the set Pocket Silhouettes. I really like the clean lines of this set and the fact that it is a bold image (even though I love water coloring).

I will post more later. My sister is in surgery today and the phone is ringing I am hoping it is from my parents.

TGIF

2008-09-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

I am so glad that today is Friday. We had a rough homework night last night with my oldest child (exciting was a hard spelling word and we all felt it by the end of the night). After the kids climbed into bed I had to study for a test today of my own, but I was too tired after trying to ger Andrew to spell exciting (Me: Andrew there is no "s" in exciting. Andrew: Yes there is (exsiting) because when you spell "sigh" it starts with a "s" and the word is ex-si(gh)-ting). I think a lot of this is just getting back into a routine with school. Plus, Andrew is like his Dad, more into math than words and reading. I will be overrun in this house if the "math" brains continue on in the form of our children.

We have a busy weekend. Swimming lessons, a family birthday party, Church and all the normal weekend activities of cleaning and grocery shopping. I have a test to take and a paper to write too, so if you do not hear from me check back on Monday.

Here is my card for today. I love this card. This card, like so many others, is not what I had in mind when I started out. I originally had a base of 4.25 x 5.5, but quickly changed that when I messed up on coloring the image. The image is from Fresh Cuts. I stamped it in Basic Brown so I could water color.

To color the image I used a very fine water color brush and used the new Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point Classic Ink Refills. Once done coloring I used a very wet, broad watercolor brush and inked it up with a So Saffron. I brushed this over the entire image to age it just a little.

Once the image was dry I inked the whole piece up with Versa Mark. I then used the clear embossing powder over the image and heat set.

I mounted the image on Kiwi Kiss and then onto Chocolate Chip (shocker I know). I cut the Chocolate Chip larger than I intented so I just pierced the edges.

The saying comes from the Fresh Cuts set also. I inked "for you" up with Basic Bown and stamped it on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla. I used the small oval punch to cut it out. To give a little something to the "for you" tag I used another image from the Fresh Cuts set, inked it up in Tangerine Tango, stamped it off onto scrap paper then stamped it onto the oval. I added the Chocolate Taffeta ribbon by first punching a hole on one side of the oval and tying it on.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Thursday Already

2008-09-11T05:50:00.001-05:00

My week has been good so far. I have a couple quizzes under my belt, a few chapters have been read and I have even been able to post. The only thing that has not gone my way is a paper on the movie The Wit. It was a tough movie to watch and my paper is just as hard to write.

Anyway here is a card made with my FAVORITE set from the new catalog. I have a TON of samples to show you with this set (I hope you do not get bored with them).

This set is called Upsy Daisy. I love the bold image. This card is not how I intended it to turn out, but I love it. The base of the card is Sage Shadow. I then pulled my Chocolate Chip Designer Series Paper for some inspiration. I mounted the Designer Series Paper on Whisper White.

For the main image I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip Classic Ink on Whipser White (which after stamping I realized that I needed to reink up my pad). I had already inked up the Scalloped Chipboard Frame in Sage Shadow Craft Ink for a different card that did not turn out right so I decided to use it here. After attaching the frame I mounted this on a scrap piece of Chocolate Chip Card Stock. I used my Crafters Tool Kit to pierce the outer edge of of the Chocolate Scrap.

I used my new Chocolate Chip Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon. Then decided I needed some words. I stamped the phrase "thanks so much" from Pocket Silhoutes in Sage Shadow directly on my stamped image. I sat back and realized that the phrase was crooked. I then stamped it again on a scrap piece of Whisper White. I used the Word Window Piunch to cut out the phrase. I mounted this on top of my crooked words with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Done!!! Thanks for stopping back today and checking out what I have to offer.

A Mid Week Share

2008-09-10T05:56:00.001-05:00

Wow, Wednesday! It has been a busy week so far. School is definitely in full swing.

This card was made with the Teacher's Pet set. I loved this elephant. My sister and I have a joke about elephants so I had to purchase this set.

I purchased the Nestabilities that everyone seems to love a few months ago. I was finally able to play with them a couple weeks ago. I love making 3x3 cards to hang on gift bags. The long scallop rectangle Nestabilities dies were perfect for a 3x3 card.

I punched the card out in one of the new In Colors, Pacific Point, with my Cuttlebug. I then used a scrap piece of Kiwi Kiss Card Stock and also cut punched it with the long rectangle Nestabilities.
I folded the Pacific Point Card Stock in half. Then stamped the Dotted Background Stamp on the Kiwi Kiss Card Stock in Kiwi Kiss.

I stamped the elephant from Teacher's Pet in Basic Gray. I then colored him in with my Going Gray Classic Ink and the Aqua Painter. Once all colored I mounted the stamped image onto a scrap of Tangerine Tango. This was then mounted onto my Pacific Point card with Stampin' Dimensionals. To add a little something to the card I used three Silver Brads.

No words were added so that I can do that to fit the occasion. I am not really sure how much stamping I will get done over the next couple of months so I am trying to do as many all occasions cards as possible.

Thanks for stopping by. See I have been able to post at least semi consistently this week. Hope your week is going as good as mine :)

Good Monday Morning

2008-09-08T05:44:00.005-05:00

So I am back two days in a row. This is another card that I made with a set before the new catalog came out. The set is called Dreams du Jour. I love this set. I have actually made quite a few cards with this set.

This card is a little more simple than what I am used to, but I really like the way it turned out.

The card base is 4 1/4 by 4 1/4. I used the new scallop edge punch to add detail to the side of my Riding Hood Red card stock. Then I used my 1/16 hole punch in each scallop.

The butterfly is stamped in Basic Gray on Whisper White. I colored it in with Bashful Blue and Riding Hood Red Classic Ink. I did a light watercolor with the Aqua Painter and then went back over the whole image with a really wet brush to get a softer look. Once dry I added some two way glue and glitter (not that it really shows up).

I layered stamped image on top of Riding Hood Red Card Stock. I then layered this on top of a piece of Whisper White where I stamped my words in Riding Hood Red (the words are also from Dreams du Jour. This Whisper White Card Stock was layered on Bashful Blue Card Stock which was added onto my scalloped Riding Hood Red Card Stock.

When I was done with this I thought it needed something. I pulled out my new Designer Buttons (which I also love) to accessorize. To secure the button I sewed it on with Linen Thread.

Done! A simple card with the main focus being the butterfly.

I hope you all have a great week.

Sock Monkey

2008-09-07T19:27:00.005-05:00

Well I took a break before my classes started for the semester. Then Andrew started back to school. We have been busy getting back onto a school routine, with reading and math facts nightly. Then this weekend we spent time at the cabin with family. The kids had a blast, but boy am I tired after a weekend of cleaning, fishing and just hanging out.

I have not had time to stamp in a week, but I do have over 20 samples to show you from the last couple of months. I am really hoping that I will be able to squeeze in enough time to post over the next couple of weeks. I always seem to think about posting when daycare is in session or while I am in bed trying to get my last hour of sleep.

Please check back and stay with me. My samples may not be consistant, but they will be updated periodically I promise.

Here is a card that was stamped over a month ago, but I have not shared it before so please enjoy. The card is made with the Sock Monkey Stamp set from the new catalog. I had a sock monkey that a neighbor made for me when I was younger. Here is the recepie for you.

Stamp Set: Sock Monkey
Card Stock: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla.
Ink: Basic Brown
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Small Oval Punch, Bella Rose Designer Series Paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, Natural Hemp Twine, Crafters Tool Kit and non SU! liquid glue.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to be back tomorrow time will tell. I have a test to take tomorrow for school (among other school work), a PTO meeting and of course daycare. I hope you all had a good weekend.

Dreams du Jour - Day 2

2008-08-14T06:40:00.004-05:00

Two days in a row, I know what a shocker huh?

Here is another sample made with the Dreams du Jour set. I like this set and have a few more samples to show off with it. Tomorrow I will try and post a different set.

This is another square card with the base being 4.25 x 4.25 (folded). The base is my favorite Chocolate Chip. I layered the chocolate with Riding Hood Red followed by a piece of Bella Rose Designer Series Paper.

The image is stamped in Basic Brown and colored in with my handy dandy Aqua Painter. I used the Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Bashful Blue Classic Stampin' Pads to achive my color.

I layered the Whisper White stamped image with Kiwi Kiss and then Chocolate Chip card stock. On the chocolate chip I used my crafter tools kit to pierce the card stock.

To finish the card off I used three Antique Brads.

Thanks for looking!

Dreams du Jour and a Personal Update

2008-08-13T12:27:00.005-05:00

Ok so I am back after a looooooooooooong break. In May I graduated with my AA degree after many years. Then in June I started right in on classes that I need for my teaching degree. After a month of constant work and school I needed a month to myself. It really was not all that relaxing, Dave (my husband) ended up with some medical issues the begining of July. After an ER visit and quite a few doctors appointments we are headed in the right direction.

I have had a few sets from the new catalog now for a few months, but just had time to really play with them this week. Let me start off with I love the new colors. I was not sure I was going to like them, but they are all that I have really pulled from in my last 15 cards. Yes you read that right I have 15 samples ready to share that are all from new sets in the new catalog. AND tomorrow I get more new things so I will have more ready to share.

Today I have one card to show you using the new colors Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango. I was not too keen on the Tangerine color at first, but I love it now. The new set is called Dreams du Jour. I also used the new Designer Series Paper Bella Rose, the new Scallop Edge Punch (love it) and the returning Chocolate Chip Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon. To color the image I used my Aqua Painter with So Saffron, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss Classic Ink.

The card base is 4.25 x 4.25.

Thanks for stopping by and looking. I will have another card to share tomorrow.

Used Stamp Sets for Sale

2008-08-11T11:41:00.011-05:00

I have a TON of used things for Sale. I am posting them here first BEFORE I post them on Craigslist and E-bay (on Friday). Prices are as listed, which are close to 50% off retial. If you want any of them please e-mail me. The sets are sold on a first come basis.

Stamp Sets
Ahoy, Matey -$12.00 - taken
All About U - $14.00
All in a Row - $10.00
Around and About - $5.00 - taken
Artfully Asian - $12.00
Autumn Fest - $12.00
Basic Backgrounds - $6.00
Be Happy - $10.00
Big Pieces - $15.00
Birthday Whimsy - $5.00
Bodacious Bouquet - $14.00 - taken
Booglie Eyes - $10.00 - taken
Bud Basics - $9.00
Carved and Candlelit - $8.00 - taken
Causes for Celebration - $10.00
Circle of Friendship - $9.00
Double Line Doodles - $13.00
Eat Cake - $13.00
Figures of Speech - $11.00 - taken
Flannel Plaid - $9.00 - taken
Flower Filled - $12.00
For a Friend - $5.00
Fresh Flowers - $5.00 - taken
Friendship Blooms - $5.00
Frosty - $9.00 - taken
Greetings Galore - $15.00 - taken
Holiday Woodcuts - $5.00 - taken
Hung Up on the Holidays - $8.00
I'm Here - $13.00
In the Spotlight - $10.00
Itty Bitty Borders - $5.00
Label Classics - $10.00
Little Pieces - $9.00
Looks Like Spring - $15.00
Lots of Thoughts - $5.00 - taken
Natures Secret - $5.00 - taken
Office Accountrement - $16.00
Oh So Lovely - $7.00
Peaceful Wishes - $12.00 - taken
Polka Dots & Paisley - $9.00
Print Pattern - $9.00
Sassy Stems - $9.00
Sidekick Sayings - $7.00
Silly Sealife - $10.00 - taken
Snow Flurries - $5.00 - taken
Spring Solitude w/ Solitude Wheel - $10.00 - taken
Sweet Shapes - $13.00
Time Well Spent - $15.00
Vases in Vogue - $15.00
Warm Words - $10.00 - taken
Watercolor Minis - $5.00
Weathered - $9.00 - taken
Wildlife Reserve - $16.00 - taken
Original Cricut Machine with two cartridges (Stamped and Mini Monograms, extra blades and a cutting mat) - $125.00
Monogram Uppercase Stamps all 26 (only four have been mounted and used) - $100.00

Accessories
All the Trimmings Simply Scrappin' Kit - $5.00
Friends and Flowers Simply Scrappin' Kits (3) - $5.00 each
Halloween Night Designer Series Paper (2)$5.00 each
Holiday Tyme Designer Series Paper - $5.00
Island Blossoms Simply Scrappin' Kit - $5.00
Just Delightful Simply Scrappin' Kit - $5.00
Petals and Paisleys Designer Series Paper -$5.00
Spring Showers Designer Series Paper - $5.00
Toy Box Simply Scrappin' Kit - $5.00
Over 1000 Assorted SU! Eyelets w/ case - $8.00 - taken

Hello.....

2008-06-11T14:55:00.002-05:00

I'm back!!! Wow TWO whole months (and a few days) since I have posted to my blog. School was hectic the last couple of months. I finally secured my AA in mid May and then the next week started summer courses. I am in two classes at the moment, but seem to be keeping up. I have not done much stamping in the last couple of months, but I have made some teachers gifts that I can show off.

Next weekend I have club so I will be stamping in the next week or so. Come July I am planning on spending at least an hour a night in my stamp room playing catch up with creativity.

Please hang on, my creativity will come back.

In Colors for 2008-2009 Catalogs!!!

2008-04-07T06:21:00.005-05:00

There is no card post today, instead I thought I would share the new In Colors that will be available in the next catalog. I know that the next catalog does not come out until August, but I was excited to see these and knew I needed to pass them along to you.

I really like the Pink and the Baja Breeze, but the rest I will have to see up close and personal before I pass judgement.

Some Flowers for your Saturday

2008-04-05T20:42:00.005-05:00

On this past Sunday I posted about a friend who has cancer, this card was made with her in mind. She is always bright and cheery. Just thinking about her brings a smile to my face. This card I feel is bright and cheery to me (minus the black).

I started the card with Soft Sky and then actually cut an orange piece for this card, but did not like the orange so I used that on my cat card below. I then pulled out the Olive stripes from Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper. This did not look good right on the Soft Sky base so I added a mat of Basic Black between the Soft Sky and Olive. Since I added the Basic Black mat to the Olive I decided I needed to add one to the Soft Sky also.

Not much stamping took place on this card. I used the Holidays and Wishes stamp set for the words (which were stamped in Basic Black Craft and embossed with clear embossing powder) and the Dotted Background stamp for the Pumpkin Pie Die Cut Flower and the Soft Sky Background.

I knew I wanted to use the Die Cuts from the Occasions Mini Catalog so I pulled those out. I added a flower slide from the hodgepodge hardware kit and a clear Rhinestone Brad in the center of the flower slide - those were both placed in the center of the flower.

To finish the card off I used my Crafters Tool Kit and paper pierced on the Olive piece of Designer Series Paper.

Thanks for Looking

Free Wheeling Promotion- Wonderful You

2008-04-04T06:26:00.007-05:00

I figured I would post this card after a gorgeous day here in Minnesota. We reached the 60's today. What a way to end a week after starting it with seven inches of snow.

This card was created last weekend with the Free Wheeling Promotion set Wonderful You and Stems and Silhouettes Jumbo Wheel.

I knew I wanted a spring feel to the card so I grabbed So Saffron for the base. I then stamped the image from Wonderful You in Basic Brown on Very Vanilla. I colored the image with my Watercolor Crayons and the Aqua Painter. I then stamped the flower again on a scrap of vanilla cutting out just the flower head. I popped the flower head off of the other flower (will post a picture of that later) to give some dimension. I thought it needed a little more so I stamped the leaf image from the set on a scrap of Very Vanilla and cut out two of the leaves. I popped those off the image also. To finish the flower off I added a little sparkle in the middle with my two way glue pen and dazzling diamonds glitter.

I already planned on using the green scrap from Afternoon Tea for the card, but I then decided to pull the wheel into the card also. I used my Garden Green Classic Pad and rolled this wheel across it, then rolled it on my green piece of designer series paper. I think it shows the wheel just enough, but does not over power it.

I backed both the designer series paper and the stamped image in Close to Cocoa (gasp......no it is not Chocolate Chip). To finish the card off I used my Vanilla Wide Grosgrain Ribbon just tied in a knot. I then stamped the words "with all my heart" that comes with the set in Basic Brown. I thought that the words were sort of floating so I added three paper piercings.

Did you know this month if you purchase a set that is part of the Free Wheeling Promotion you get the matching wheel for FREE? I had two of the sets on my wish list so this was the perfect time for me to take the plunge and purchase.

Just Celebrate Melting Snow

2008-04-03T12:58:00.004-05:00

I know I am the first person to complain about the snow that falls this late into the season, but here is another card that I made because I felt like I was ignoring the snowman. The snowman comes from Just Celebrate. I love the set and have used all the images except for the snowman, so now I can say I have used them all.

The card was inspired from Beate's sketch challenge from last week.

I started with my favorite base, Choolate Chip and then added a layer of Whisper White topped with Soft Sky (I was on a Soft Sky kick this last weekend).

For the image I stamped Miss Snowwoman on a piece of Whisper White in Basic Brown. I added some highlights to the snowwoman with Soft Sky Classic Ink and the Aqua Painter. I also colored in the scarf and hat with Groovy Guava and Close to Cocoa Classic ink and my Aqua Painter.

To finish the card off I pulled out the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper, cut to size and backed it with Chocolate Chip. I backed the stamped image with Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip. I also added some Chocolate Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, some dots to the scarf and hat with my white gel pen, some paper piercing with my crafters tool kit and some sparkle to the snowwoman with my dazzling diamonds and a glue pen. Oh yeah the words were stamped in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.

If I am asked to make Christmas Cards for Fieldstone (Andrew's school) again this card may be in the running. It was failry easy to do, little coloring and not too many accessories.

This card came just in time before ALL the snow is gone. It is 50 here today, I have all the windows open and am enjoying the beautiful day.

More Pun Fun this Wednesday

2008-04-02T20:48:00.002-05:00

So I am in love with the square cards. This card was made because I have not used the cat image out of the Pun Fun stamp set and decided it was time.

The base is 4.25 x 4.25 in Chocolate Chip. I followed this up Whisper White and then a piece of Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper.

I stamped the cat in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and then clear embossed it. To color it in I used Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink and my Aqua Painter. I also water colored the sky with Soft Sky and made some grass for the kitty to play on with Old Olive and the Aqua Painter.

To finish it off I grabbed a scrap of brown and matted the stamped image. I also grabbed a scrap of Old Olive and put a scalloped edge along it with my corner rounder.

I added Chocolate Taffeta ribbon and then stamped right below it with Chocolate Chip. A card would not be a card right now with out some paper piercing. I pierced in the scallops and along the edge of the Chocolate Chip that mats the cat.

Thanks for looking and have a good rest of the week.

Wildlife Reserve x2

2008-04-01T06:24:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. This card was made for him and was quick and easy.

This card measures 4.25 x 4.25.

The base is Creamy Caramel with a strip of Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (see I made a masculine card with a very girly pack of paper).

The image is from Wildlife Reserve. I stamped it in Chocolate Chip Craft ink and clear embossed it. Then I watercolored over the image with watercolor crayons and my Aquapainter (in all the browns) and Old Olive with some Garden Green and More Mustard. This was stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla.

I backed my image with Garden Green and Chocolate Chip.

To finish the card off I stamped "for you" from All Holidays on a scrap of Verry Vanilla that I cut to fit inside a small Hodgepodge Hardware frame. Plus, I added some paper piercing (I think I am a piercing addict).

For those of you in Minnesota, enjoy your white April Fools Day!

Oh I almost forget to share Andrew's creation. Here is a card that Andrew made with the Wildlife Reserve set for his Grandpa (it is a 3 x 3 card). I had the image stamped and colored in. He stamped the background and sponged it all on his own. I helped cut the card stock for the base and to back the stamped image, he just told me what he wanted. I punched the holes for the large eyelets (his choice of three - he actually wanted five, but I could not fit in five). Andrew has loved to stamp since he was about two, now he is almost seven and his creations are getting pretty good.

Hugs and Wishes on a Monday Morning

2008-03-31T06:26:00.003-05:00

This card was a simple card. The card was inspired by Beate's Sketch Challenge from Friday.

The base of the card is Whisper White followed by a layer of Basic Black and then Soft Sky. I then started with the Soft Sky rectangle and stamped it with the Floral Background Stamp in Soft Sky. I backed this with Basic Black and then Whisper White.

The words are stamped in Basic Black Craft Ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.

To finish the card off I added three small flowers from the pretties kit with a blue rhinestone center. I also added a piece of white taffeta riboon and some paper piercing.

The card was simple and made in under 10 minutes (including cutting card stock and all).

Some Pun Fun for Sunday

2008-03-30T16:53:00.006-05:00

Sorry it took me longer to post than expected. Some things came up over the past few days, the main one being a cold. Yes, I had some days off to hang out with Andrew and Jacob, yet ended up with a cold. I am feeling better now. Unfortunately on Thursday I found out that a really good friend of mine has Thyroid cancer. I made this card for her hoping it will bring a smile to her face. It is hard knowing she having to suffer this at such a yong age (32).

The card base is 4.25 x 4.25 in Basic Gray.

The image is stamped on Watercolor Paper in Staz On. I then colored it in with Classic Inks in Soft Sky, Wild Wassabi, Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink and Yo Yo Yellow using the Aqua Painter. I then matted it on a piece of Whisper White.

The bottom half pink sheet is from the level one hostess Prints Pack. I faux stitched along the top of the pink paper with my paper piercer and the white gel pen.

I had this gray taffeta ribbon that I ordered by mistake a few months ago. It was calling my name to be used on this card. I tied in the flower slide from the Silver kit in the Ocassions Mini Catalog.

To finish the card off I used my corner rounder and scalloped a scrap of whipser white. The words come from Curvy Verses.

My Favorite Creation from the Weekend

2008-03-24T12:40:00.003-05:00

I saw a cute little purse on Cambria's blog (a blog I frequent) made from the Carousel Notes and I knew I had to copy it. Ok so I did not copy the tote exactly, but I did copy her idea of the tote.

The tote is made using one of the envelopes for the inside (see picture below). I used the bagalope concept.

The outside is basic. I used the Afternoon Tea Designers Seires Paper for the outside. I knew I would not be using this particular pattern on any of my cards so it was perfect for this project (plus it is what Cambria used and I could not think of anything else to use).

On the inside (or the back of the Afternoon Tea paper I adhered a Groovy Guava carousel note then trimmed around the edges of the patterned paper. Once I had both front and back cut out I decided it needed something to break up the pattern on the front. I added a scrap of Chocolate Chip and tied that off with the Chocolate Twill.

I had just used the "h" from the sticky letters on my last card (will upload that later) and still had the sticker punch out on my desk. I used that to trace out the "h" in a scrap of Afternoon Tea paper that had the Groovy Guava on it. That was simply cut out with scissors.

I purchased the Define Your Life set with my SU! $50 gift card I had earned from the first half of the Stampin' Up! year and decided it was time to be used. The "happy" worked perfect with the "h". To finish the front off I added a small white flower from the pretties kit. In the center of the flower is a green rhinestone brad. Oh yeah, I also added some paper piercing on the top of the ribbon and on the bottom of the Chocolate strip.

For the handles I used the jumbo eyelets and the Wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon.

Here is the recipe:

Stamp Set: Define Your Life.

Card Stock: Carousel Notes, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White.

Ink: Basic Brown

Accessories: Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper, Sticky Cuts Letters, Stampin' Dimensionals, Chocolate Twill, Pretties Kit, Ice Rhinestone Brads, Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets, Chocolate Wide Grosgrain Ribbon and Crafters Tool Kit.

PS: I laughed when I visited Cambria's blog on Saturday and I saw that she had done the same thing to her flower that I did on mine (see previous post).

Happy Monday Morning

2008-03-24T12:18:00.002-05:00

What a pretty day so far on this day after Easter. The sun is shining (melting away the snow from this past weekend) and the sky is blue. I have my kids and husband at home and the day care kids are all getting along.

I did get some stamping done this weekend. This card was done on Friday as part of Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I love Friday's and her sketches. Her sketches are what I need to help kick start my creative juices for the weekend.

I knew I wanted to use a large flower from the Pretties Kit, it was already dyed Saffron. I had made a card in the past (I will see if I can find a picture of it) where I had stamped some dimension onto the flower using my Canvas Background stamp, this time I grabbed for the Polka Dot Background Stamp and my Chocolate Chip Classic Pad. I love the way it turned out.

The rest of the card is pretty straight forward so here is the recipe:

Stamp Sets: Polka Dot Background and Holidays and Wishes.
Card Stock (from base up): Whisper White, Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Whisper White and Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper.
Ink: So Saffron Re-inker (to dye the flower), Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (for the polka dots) and Chocolate Chip Craft Ink (for the words that I embossed).
Accessories: Crafters Tool Kit (for the Paper Piercing), Build a Brad, 1/2 circle punch (for the build a brad), Pretties Kit (the flower), Clear Embossing Powder (for teh words), Vintage Brads, Chocolate Wide Frosgrain Ribbon and Groovy Guava Stitched Ribbon.

Sorry about the picture, I have better ones but they would not upload no matter what I did. I will try to change it later. I am tired of fighting with it right now.

Happy Easter - Our Egg Creations

2008-03-23T17:40:00.006-05:00

I will have cards to share tomorrow. Today I am sharing something else that is SU! inspired. We went to dye our eggs last night (after shoveling snow for three hours at Church). I realized that the dye packet that I had purchased was missing the dye. Now I was not in the mood to drive anywhere to purchase a new kit so I grabbed my reinkers and went to town. I tried reinkers in bowls, but the eggs were not as vibrant as what I wanted so I decided to do it the no drip way. I grabbed a few cello bags and we tye dyed our eggs.

I LOVE the bright colors. We started with the lighter colors and then put the egg in a cello bag that had a darker color in it. Once the egg was in the cello bag we lightly squeezed the cello bag getting some of the ink on the eggs. I loved the way it turned out. What a fun night exploring our egg creations. It was had this morning when Andrew wanted a hard boiled egg and we had to choose which one to crack and eat.

March Snow

2008-03-21T13:42:00.007-05:00

I knew that we were getting snow today. I knew that we could be in for a lot of snow, yet it is still depressing this late in March. I do find joy in the spring snow when it sticks to the trees. When I looked out the window this morning and our trees had snow stuck to them I knew I had to get some pictures to remind me that there is beauty in the snow (especially when I do not have to drive in it). Sorry that the picture is so dark, I took it close to 7:00 this morning, before it warmed up enough to melt it away.

It is now close to two and the snow is still falling, just a light mist to cloud the air. The air is warm enough so the snow is not sticking to the roads anymore and for that matter it is not sticking to my trees either. Across the county road the neighbors pine trees are still flocked and a joy to look at (I am looking for anything to keep me excited about the snow).

Andrew is excited that we will have snow on the ground for Easter. Here is his thinking, if there is snow on the ground he will be able to see the bunny's tracks as he comes and goes. That way when we get home from Church on Sunday he will be able to tell right away if the bunny has been here just by looking for his tracks. Oh the mind of a six year old. I on the other hand would rather have the snow gone and have it be warm enough for an outside Easter Egg hunt. Yeah we can do it in the snow, but I am not getting the kids all dressed up in their snow attire finest just to run around for eggs (that will be messy and wet in the end).

I will post cards later. I really want to stamp tonight since we have a busy weekend ahead of us. One more picture before I leave though, here is Andrew's snowman from Monday's snowfall. He was upset that his "Frosty" was all melted by Tuesday when he got home from school.

Have a good Easter weekend everyone. Stay safe in the snow.

Happy Thursday - Big Birthday Candle

2008-03-20T06:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I shared a card that did not turn out the way I had hoped it would, this is another one. I think the red candle is not right, but I will live with it. I started off with the other side of this designer series paper from Summer Picnic, but it was too busy. When I flipped the designers series paper over it looked MUCH better.

I did not make this card for anything or anyone in particular. I knew I wanted to use my Big Birthday Candle stamp set so I actually started there. I can use it for the many two year olds in my care that will turn three this year (four of them, with a fifth one

For the colors I pulled them from the other side of the designer series paper (Bashfull Blue, Real Red and Pumpkin Pie with some Basic Black and Whisper White added too).

The card measures 6 x 6 since the candles are so big. I have never made a true 6 x 6 card. I have made scrapbook page cards that involve pictures, instead of a picture I used the image as a "picture" instead.

The "happy birthday" is from Family Phrases stamp set. The ribbon is the Pumpkin Striped Grosgrain. The black brads are from the Vintage Brad set. I did the paper piercing with the Crafters Tool Kit.

Chipboard Adventure #4

2008-03-19T11:25:00.003-05:00

When I started making this card I had a different image of how it was going to turn out. I wanted to use the stars and their negative image that I punched out from the frame that I used on my monkey card (see Chipboard Adventure #1). I wanted to used them in the layout that I have, but nothing else is the same.

I pulled out the red dotted paper from Summer Picnic. I pulled out Night of Navy for the base of the card (even though it looks black in the picture). The card base measures 4 x 8.5.

I knew I needed to tie in the navy so I inked up the negative image of the stars in Night of Navy craft ink and used my clear embossing powder to give it the shine. For the stars I used my Barely Banana craft ink and embossed those too. I put the stars back into the negative image.

I backed the star squares and the designer series paper in Whisper White. I did not like the way the red looked against the navy so I pulled in Barely Banana card stock that I paper pierced with my Crafters Tool Kit.

Not that you can see it, but I stamped the small star from In the Stars in Navy all over the Night of Navy card stock. I also used the phrase from the In the Stars stamp set inked up in Navy Classic Ink.

The card is nothing like I pictured, but will make a good "congratulations" card, maybe for a graduation.

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #39

2008-03-18T20:17:00.002-05:00

I am taking a break from the chipboard. I made this card last Friday. For my inspiration I used Beate's Sketch Challenge. I love her sketches and her card ideas (you will have to check out her site.)

My main theme for this past weekend was to use product that I have not touched in a long time. I started looking at my stamp sets and this is what I pulled out. We received this set at convention a few years ago and I do not think I have used it too much since right after then.

Here is the recipe for the card:

Stamp Sets: Heartfelt Thanks and En Francais
Card Stock: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip
Inks: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, and Old Olive Classic Inks
Accessories: Chocolate Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

Chipboard Adventure #3

2008-03-18T06:36:00.005-05:00

Here is another chipboard card for you.

I needed a birthday card for a "boy" (like yesterday). This one was put together rather quickly Sunday night so I could get it in the mail yesterday.

The Chipboard is from the OnBoard Simon Upper Collection. I used my Not Quite Navy Craft ink to color the star chipboard. I set that aside to dry.

I used my In the Stars Stamp set from the Ocassions Mini for the main image. I stamped this in Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink and punced it out with the Large Star Punch. I adhered the Pumpkin Star to the Chipboard with Stampin' Dimensionals.

The base of the card is standard card size (4 1/4 x 5 1/2) in Not Quite Navy. The next layer is Pumkin Pie, just an 1/8 of an inch smaller than the Not Quite Navy. The Olive striped paper is from Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper (also from the Ocassions Mini Catalog). The white at the top of the cars is actually Confetti White.

I added the Striped Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain Ribbon layered with Black Grosgrain to break up the Olive and the Confetti. If you look closely at the chipboard star you will see I added some black dots (with a fine tip sharpie) to add more black to the card. In the end I put three black brads along the bottom of the card.

All in all the card took me under 10 minutes to pull together. Most of the time was waiting for the chipboard to dry enough for me to pick it up and play with it.

Chipboard Adventure #2

2008-03-17T19:45:00.004-05:00

In my last post I mentioned how chipboard was my fetish this past weekend. Here is another one for you.

The chipboard is from the On Board Blossoms and Basics. I inked it up with my Rose Red Craft Ink. I left it to dry on my desk as we ate dinner.

The base of the card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 in So Saffron. I then grabbed for the Prints Pack Designer Series Paper. I pulled th Wild Wasabi paper for the next layer. I cut this at 4 x 4. I decided something needed to be put between the Wasabi and the Saffron so I added a layer of Whisper White an 1/8 of an inch larger than the Wasabi.

The only stamping I did on this was the "sweet" in the middle of the flower. I used the Everyday Flexible Phrases for "sweet". I punched this out with the 1/2 circle punch. I placed my word circle on a Build a Brad which I placed in the middle of the chipboard with my Crop-a-Dile. To secure the flower to the card I used Stampin' Dimensionals.

I added three Vintage Brads also. Plus, if you look closer I paper pierced around the edge of the Wild Wasabi.

Chipboard Adventure Begins Today

2008-03-17T13:06:00.002-05:00

This weekend I actually was able to spend a few hours in my craft room (not all at one time unfortunataly). I did get a few cards stamped. For some reason I had to pull out the chipboard this weekend. Over the next couple of days I will share my chipboard creations. Enjoy!!

Here is one of my favorites from the weekend. First off, it is a small card (one of my favorites at the moment) measuring 3 x 3. Secondly, it has a monkey on it. I had forgotten that Zoofari had a monkey in it until I made myself use sets that have not been touched in months. So I pulled out Zoofari and went to work.

I made a card before this one that used chipboard so it was still sitting on my desk. One of the pieces of chipboard was a long piece that had three frames. I cut off one of the frames and decided to use that to "frame" the monkey. To color the frame I used my Vanilla Craft Pad and inked the whole thing up. I used my clear embossing powder so I could use the frame right away (plus it added a shine). The heart is also a piece of chipboard that I used Ruby Red Craft Ink on (no embossing on the heart).

Here is the recipe for the card:

Stamp Sets: Zoofari and Canvas Background
Card Stock: Old Olive, Close to Cocoa and Very Vanilla.
Inks: Basic Brown, Vanilla and Ruby Red Craft Ink
Accessories: Chipboard, Crafterstool Kit, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Pastels (Gasp...I know I have not used these in a LONG time. They actually still look brand new).

Club Cards

2008-03-11T12:51:00.003-05:00

One more post for today and then I need to try and get some school work done (if I can with all the crying). Here are the cards from my last club. I seem to have had a theme with the background paper, Aqua Painters and Dimensionals. I guess I get into a groove with product and use it a lot. Last month we seemed to emboss on every card. I always use Dimensionals (as Jean would point out....and my husband because I seem to drag the backings me and drop them all over the house).

If you want a close up of any of the cards let me know and I will get one posted.

Tuesday - Some Pun Fun

2008-03-11T12:26:00.007-05:00

Two posts from me today and maybe another one on the way. I have a child here that has been crying for the past two hours at the top of his lungs. I cannot get him settled down and I need to do something to distract me from it. I have called his parents and left messages, but so far no luck. Please wish me luck so that I make it the rest of the day without having a breakdown!!

Anyhow....here is a card that I made a few weeks ago. It is from the Pun Fun set. This was a set that made it on my first order from the current catalog. I love the images and the words that go with them. Another two in one set for me. Out of all the images I fell in love with the rocket first. Maybe because I have boys and there are way to many flower sets that scream out "girl".

I did not make this for any particular occassion, I was just playing around with new things. The background paper is where I started. I pulled this thinking I would use the new Old Olive Poly Twill Ribon too, but I could not figure out where to put it once I had everything laid out.

I will not bore you with any more details, here is the recipe for the card:

Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Basic Black and Whisper White.
Inks: Black Staz On, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.
Accessories: Stampin' Sponge (to add depth to the stars), Small Star Punch, Black Brads, Aqua Painter and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Thanks for looking!!!

Card Box

2008-03-11T08:45:00.003-05:00

Sorry guys I thought I hit the post button yesterday on this!!

When I finished my paper on Sunday for Cultural Anthropology I needed some down time in my craft room. I spent about an hour cleaning up from club on Friday and then I wanted to play. I decided to give Just Celebrate a break and pulled back out Pun Fun. I wanted to make "something" for a lady at Andrew's school for all that she has done for the kids and teachers over the year. Here is what I came up with.

As some of you know I was asked to stamp almost 80 cards for the teachers and staff of Frieldstone for Christmas. I was actually given a fair amount of time too (10 whole days). I have had a lot of positive feedback on the cards. I wanted to show off my card making skills again so I made this box that has 18 - 3x3 cards and envelopes in it. It only took me a couple of hours to cut, stamp, color and assemble so it was a quick and easy project.

Here is the recipe for the box and card

Stamp Sets: Pun Fun and a retired alphabet that I cannot think of at the moment.

Card Stock: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Basic Black and Whisper White.

Inks: Balck Staz On, Black Craft Ink (for the chipboard and letters), Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Classic Ink.

Accessories: Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper, Aqua Painter, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crafter Tools Kit, Black Brads and a non SU! chipboard for the "C" (I was out of SU! "C"'s or I would have used that one instead).

Stampin' Up! Information

2008-03-07T08:13:00.002-06:00

So I have a few tid bits to pass along from Stampin' Up!

Starting immediately (from what I understand) the minimum shipping price has increased for an individual order to $6.95. I was half expecting all shipping prices to go up so this was a pleasent surprise for me. We still only pay 10% shipping for any party order of $150 or more. Do not fret, I place an order at least once a month so you will not have to pay the $6.95, unless you do not want to wait for a club order to be placed (we will talk when you order).
There is a Wild Wasabi promotion going on right now (see the side bar for a link to the promotion).
Coming March 18 to April 30 Stampin' Up! has TWO promotions for you. The first is for the hostess, for a party of $350 or more the hostess will receive an extra $25 in hostess dollars to spend. For the customer there is a wheel promotion. I will add the link to the side bar later today. Let's just say that you will not want to miss out on this promotion. I already have a few sets on an order form ready for March 18 to roll around (no pun intended).
The catalog will be released later than anticipated this summer. August 15 will be the first day that we can order from the new catalog. So for those of you in club we will have a fun event planned in July since our club is supposed to end in June. Details will come later.
Anyone up for a stamp a stack? I am thinking of putting together one in the near future. For those of you interested either e-mail me or add a comment to this post some dates in April/May that will work best for you.

Sorry my card samples have been sporadic lately, I have spent my "free time" searching myspace for long lost friends. I acutally found a few and it has been fun catching up with them. If you are interested in a more personal side of me check out my myspace page at www.myspace.com/ashleyvaerst

I have club tonight and will post those cards later. For those of you going stamping for the weekend in the Clearwater area have fun. I really wished I could have gone too. I am leaning towards going to convention (shhh I have not talked to the hubby about this one yet). I REALLY want to be one of the first to see the new catalog.

Two in One Day...Embrace Life

2008-03-05T13:35:00.003-06:00

I just finished the first part of my Cultural Anthropology mid term and decided since I finished what was available I would post another card today.

This card is for my club that is meeting on Friday night. Have I told you how much I love this set?? Embrace Life is another set that has not left my desk since it arrived in my house.

I knew I wanted to use paper from the Ginger Blossoms Designer Series pack and this is what turned out the best (I will post my really UGLY one later....it is on my desk burried so I did not have to look at it anymore).

Dang it my son is screaming at something. I will finish posting later. Enjoy!!

Fun and Fast on a Wednesday

2008-03-05T08:13:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago Splitcoast had a color challenge of Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Orchid Opulence. I never would have put these colors together, but decided I wanted to play anyway (maybe I would be surprised at the results and love the color combo, who knows). So I played for a few hours with these colors and my neutrals. I had a tough time pulling these colors together and not come out with a Halloween card (I have a few to show you later that I actually like for Halloween).

Here is my attempt at something "springy" with these colors (plus Basic Black and Whisper White).

The main image is from the set Fun and Fast Notes. Plus I used En Francais background stamp (not that you can see it very much, it is stamped lightly on the Orchid card stock).

The base of the card is Certainly Celery. The I pulled the Orchid Opulence and backed that with Whisper White and then Basic Black.

I stamped the main image in Staz On on Whisper White and backed that in Basic Black. To color the image I one again pulled my Classic Stampin Pads in River Rock, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Orchid Opulence. I used my Aquapainter to color the image in.

I wanted to pull more of the Pumpkin into the card so I used the Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon to finish the card off.

I do not love the card, but I do like it. I like the Halloween cards I came up with these colors more, but I am thinking spring not Halloween (even though it is SNOWING again today...agh!!).

Two Days in a Row!!!

2008-03-04T07:04:00.002-06:00

I am in love with this Designer Series Paper (Afternoon Tea - Available now in the Occasion's Catalog).

I built my card off of the scrap of paper I had. This card is a 4 1/4 square. The base is Soft Sky with layered on top of that and then my Afternoon Tea Paper.

I liked the soft colors and thought Wedding. Now most of my friends are Married, but a good friend of my sister's is getting married this June. This card is for Liz and Jason. After I made the card my sister told me that the colors of her wedding are Chocolate and Light Blue - perfect!!

The only set that I have that shouts wedding is the Fun and Fast Notes, well not the entire set, just the cake. I stamped the cake image in Basic Brown on a piece of Whisper White Card Stock. I backed this in Chocolate Chip. The card looked a little busy with just the chocolate square on the background paper so I added the rest of a Groovy Guava scrap that I had already scalloped with my corner rounder a few cards ago. I trimmed this to size and it looked much better.

To color the image I pulled out my Classic Stampin' Pads in Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky plus my Aqua Painter. After my cake was colored I added some sparkle with my handy dandy glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

I knew I wanted to play with the new Hodgepodge Hardware from the Ocassions Catalog so I pulled out all my frames and settled on the square frame. I stamped the words on Whisper White in Basic Brown and framed it in the Silver Hodgepodge Frame. I added brads and then I sat back and said "done".

After showing the card to my sister she said she liked it, but mentioned it did not look like one of my cards because it did not have "Holes" in it. So I went back and pierced the Soft Sky base with my crafter tools kit.

I am hoping to give Liz this card in person in June. I want to go with my sister to California to the wedding, but we will have to see. Just thinking about Liz brings back a ton of fun memories of my sister and her growing up and getting in trouble together, then calling me to get them out of trouble.

Bright and Early on a Monday

2008-03-03T06:58:00.004-06:00

I know some of you have already seen this card, but some of you have not so here it is.

This past Christmas demonstrators received a Level Three Hostess set (Time Well Spent) from Stampin' Up! as a thank you. I had to try it out, here is the card I made with the set.

The base is Wild Wasabi. On the Wasabi I stamped the little flower in Wild Wasabi Classic Ink (for a tone on tone look). I layered the Wasabi with Groovy Guava.

I stamped the flower image with Basic Brown on Whisper White. To color them in I used my Groovy Guava Classic Pad and my Aqua Painter. For the center of the flower I used the So Saffaron and Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Markers. I backed this with Chocolate Chip. I cented this (top to bottom) on the Groovy Guava and secured with Stampin' Dimensionals.

For the words I stamped the image in Basic Brown and colored in with the Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker and my Groovy Guava Classic Pad just like above.

To add a little something to the card I pulled out my Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware and added it to the words. I added the wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon tied in a smiple knot to finish the embellishments off.

Once I had everything down I decided that the Groovy Guava needed something so I pulled out the crafters tool kit and did some piercing (which I think I use on every card these days).

This card was another card from my January club, but it is one of my favorties (if I do say so myself). I just love how it turned out, even though this card took a while to complete at club.

Have a good Monday everyone. It is cold and windy here right now. Dave stood out at the bus stop with Andrew since he is off this week and came in rubbing his ears. I guess since it is only 9 outside and windy my ears would be cold too.

So I Lied

2008-03-02T20:57:00.002-06:00

I know I said I would post on Wednesday, but Wednesday was not a good day (neither was Thursday or Friday). I had plans to post tonight, but my camera battery is charging! I will post tomorrow.

I do not have a lot to show. I have a club meeting coming up on Friday and Saturday so I have been working on cards for club (and do not want to post those until we get closer). Plus, I am in charge of the Vacation Bible School Preschoolers again and I have been working out kinks in the program so it runs a lot better this year. I will post those fun crafts when I get those done, this year the theme is all on Science (which is a challenge for me, but I have great help).

Anyone want to read my Cultural Anthropology book for me? Yeah I don't want to read it either, but I guess I better if I want to pass the class.

Look for some cards tomorrow. My battery is charging right now.

Have a good week!!!

Is it Friday Yet? Agh, it's only Wednesday!!!

2008-02-27T07:29:00.000-06:00

Last night I spent the night in the emergency room at Children's in Minneapolis with my sister and her son Josh. He is six and woke up yesterday not able to walk. She did take him into the local hospital here (which is a joke) and they said they were leaning towards leukemia, but then sent her home with no other explinations (after a ton of tests that they claimed leaned towards leukemia). Everything is fine with him, thanks to Children's putting our minds at ease. He has a viral infection that settles into the joints and muscles. It is more common in boys than girls and comes on fast. A child in my daycare had this same thing just last month so when the doctor started talking about it I knew right away where he was headed with it. Now I would like to know how one hospital comes up with a leukemia diagnosis and the other one just a viral infection. I guess that is what a second opinion is for!!!!

I was hopping to get some stamping in last night since I am "caught up" with school. I guess caught up would not be the right words, I was comfortable that I could take a night off and not feel stressed out about it afterward. Today I am tired and have to continue on my school path. I am thinking no stamping tonight, just reading my Cultural Anthropology book (which will probably put me to sleep). I do however have a few cards left over from last weekend that I can show off. Some of my creations from last weekend are for club next weekend (March 7 or 8th) so I will hold off showing those until we get closer

To top off my semi bad mood, it is snowing outside. I am ready for spring and do not want to repeat last March (we received several feet of snow in the first week of March). I am ready for warmer weather and green grass. Winter is getting old

I will share a card later when the kids are napping here. Until then, have a good day!

Tuesday - Just Celebrate

2008-02-26T06:29:00.007-06:00

Yes, I know this is another card from Just Celebrate - did I tell you how much I love this set?

I started with the Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper and built from there. I love the Groovy Guava with the Chocolate Chip. The base of the card is 4 1/4 x 8 1/2 (folded in half to make it a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4. I layered the Chocolate Chip with Whisper White and then the Afternoon Tea Paper.

I stamped the cake image on Whisper White in Basic Brown and backed that with Groovy Guava and Chocolate Chip. The Chocolate Chip is distressed and the white is pierced.

I used the scrap from my Groovy Guava and made the scalloped edge with my corner rounder and pierced each scallop too. I layered this on top of the Afternoon Tea Paper. I topped the scalloped Guava with the wide grosgrain ribbon in chocolate.

To color the cake I used my Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava and Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pads and my Aqua Painter. I added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the frosting with a glue pen.

I popped the image off the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. To finish the card off I added three Antique Brads above the ribbon.

Embrace Life - Even on a Monday

2008-02-25T19:23:00.003-06:00

For my club in February we used this layout. I liked it so much I changed some things around and came up with this card. I have to say that this set (Embrace Life), it becoming a favorite too.

This card became a make and take for the SBS meeting I went to a few weeks ago.

The base is Basic Black, layered with Very Vanilla and Ruby Red. The patterned paper is from Ginger Blossoms Designer Series Paper and each piece is layered in Basic Black.

The flower is stamped in Staz On Black on a scrap of Vanillla. I used my water color crayons and aqua painters to color my image. I then cut the flower out and adhered it to the Very Vanilla rectangle with "embrace life" stamped on it. I used the mini glue dots to adhere the half pearl from the Pretties Kit in the center of the flower.

On a side note, I tired to mail this card over the weekend and it was returned. The pearl in the center of the flower ended up tearing the envelope so I have purchased a padded envi so I can get it back in the mail tomorrow.

I hope you have a good week. I have more to share from this past weekend, I have not uploaded them yet so stay tuned this week.

Pun Fun from January

2008-02-23T18:31:00.003-06:00

This is another card from my January club. I have to say that I am really into these sets that have the cute images and the words to go with, basically two sets in one. A tip for those of you who have not been to an event of mine in awhile, I have mounted the words from this set on the edge of thge block and the image on the regular "bottom" side. This way I can stamp the image without the words and vice versa.

This set was on my first catalog purchase. I love the rocket ship in the set (I will share a sample of that later), but this time I used the cute hippo. My club members have said that they wanted more "birthday" cards so I gave them birthday cards this month.

The base of this card is Soft Sky with a strip of Soft Sky Designer Series Paper. I layered this with Basic Black and Real Red. I stamped the image on Whisper White and adhered that to the Real Red.

The image is stamped in Black Staz On and colored with the Aqua Painter and Soft Sky Classic Ink. For the balloon and the bow we used the Stampin' Write Markers in Real Red and So Saffron.

I had to used the new striped Grosgrain Ribbon (hense the Real Red cardstock). The words are stamped in black Staz On also. To finish off the card I pulled out my handy dandy tool kit and pierced some hole along the bottom right.

Thanks for looking.

Just One More

2008-02-22T12:19:00.002-06:00

Since I did not post for a whole week I have decided to post another one today (maybe more who knows).

This card was done at my January club. The main image comes from the set A Light unto My Path. Last summer my family and I took a trip to Duluth and had a day adventure to Splitrock Lighthouse. My oldest is counting down the days until we get to go again. I purchased this set because I too love lighthouses.

The lighthouse image is stamped in Chocolate Chip and then misted with water to give it a softer feel. We stamped it on a piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock. Very Vanilla is backed in Bordering Blue. The base of the card is Chocolate Chip (yes I have a Chocolate Chip fetish these days), layered with Creamy Caramel (they are meant to go together - Chocolate and Caramel I mean). Not that you can see it, but the Creamy Caramel is stamped with the Flannel Plaid Background Stamp in Creamy Caramel Classic Ink.

To finish the card off we used a "S" paper clip from Hodgepodge Hardware and secured that to the card with Vanilla Grosgrain with a little Caramel Gingham Ribbon.

Just Celebrate (Again)

2008-02-21T20:27:00.003-06:00

I told you, this is my favorite set at the moment.

I knew I wanted to use some of the new Designer Series Paper from the Ocassions Mini Catalog. I just love the soft feeling of this particular piece of background paper.

Once I pulled the paper I settled on Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky and Groovy Guava.

Look close enough and you will notice the glitter on the butterfly.

Here is the recipe in case you want to copy it.

Stamp Set: Just Celebrate

Ink: Basic Brown, Groovy Guava and White Craft

Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava and Whisper White.

Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool, Corner Rounder, Vintage Brads, Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Three For You Punch Box and Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper.

I'm Back Whoo! Hoo!

2008-02-21T20:16:00.004-06:00

This is one of my favorite sets at the moment. It is called Just Celebrate and is in the new Occassions Mini Catalog.

Sorry for taking a week to post again. This past week has been very stressful here, a true test of my faith.

I made this card for a SBS swap. I got togther with my fellow SBSers this past weekend.

I am not going to get into details but here is the recipe.

Stamp Set: Just Celebrate
Ink: Chocolate Chip Craft and Classic, Creamy Caramel, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black
Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Chocolate Twill, Piercing tool from Crafters Tool Kit, Clear Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Cutter Kit and Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper.

Check back tomorrow for another card made with the same set, different image.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T11:40:00.005-06:00

I wanted to wait until today to post the card I made for my husband for Valentine's Day. I am notorious for making cards and leaving them on the kitchen counter or on my craft desk, he ends up seeing them and then I stress making a new one that is never as good as the first one.

I had many versions of this card before this one just sort of fell into place.

In the previous post I showed you the Valentine's treat bags that I made for my daycare kids. I printed "Happy Valentine's Day" on Real Red card stock in dark Red ink so it would show up enough, but not stand out. The long piece of Real Red that is under the hearts is a scrap from my treat bags. It was perfect for this card. I wanted something to go on the side, but nothing was catching my eye until I was cleaning up after working on the treat bags.

The base of the card is Whiper White (4 x 8 1/2). I then layered it with a piece of Basic Black. The Basic Black is layered with Real Red. I then layered my scrap pieces of Happy Valentine's Day Real Red with Whisper White and Basic Black. The heart image comes from the Occasions Mini in the set Just Celebrate. I stamped the first one at the bottom on an angle and then masked it and stamped again. For some reason the card was calling for TWO hearts. I stamped the hearts in Black Staz On and colored them in with the Real Red Stampin' Write Marker. I followed the outline of the image with my Basic Black Journaler (I like the blunt end of this maker for thick lines).

After coloring I placed the stamped piece of Whisper White onto a larger scrap of Basic Black. I was going to trim down the Basic Black to fit the image better but decided to pull out the Crafter Tools Kit and do some paper piercing (you really cannot see this unless you enlarge the card). I then popped this off of the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I stood back and thought of what the card needed to be finished. I grabbed my Black Grosgrain Ribbon and added that across the bottom. Notice the bow, I never tie a bow!! I knot all my ribbon, but the knot did not look right so I retied it as a bow.

I looked at the card again and decided it needed something on the top now, so that is where the three black brads came into play. One last thing, I needed to add some glitter. I pulled out my glue pen and my Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and filled the polka dots on the hearts in with glitter. After I set my card aside for a few hours I thought the hearts would look good with Crystal Effects over them too. Now it is done!!

Hope you enjoy it!!

Daycare Valentine's Projects

2008-02-13T19:45:00.004-06:00

For our Valentine's Day Party tomorrow for daycare I made these little treat bags. I found my favorite Valentine's candy in the bulk candy bin at our local grocery store so I purchased enough for my treat bags. I have 12 kids in my daycare so there are 12 treat bags here.

I knew I wanted to use the Just Celebrate stamp set from the new Occasions Catalog (available to customers on 3/1). The heart from the set was calling my name, begging me to be used. To match the red candy hearts I pulled out Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White Card Stock.

I stamped the image in Staz On Black because I thought I was going to watercolor. Unfortunately the image did not look good watercolored so I grabbed my Real Red Stampin' Write Marker.

The Happy Valentine's Day stamp that I had would not fit in the space that I had left after finishing up my hearts. I was stumped at what I was going to do. I was not in the mood to make the stamp I had work so I had to come up with something. If you look close enough I took my Real Red Card Stock put it in the printer. I printed "Happy Valentine's Day" over and over across the whole piece of Real Red.

I finished the goodie bag up with a Black Grosgrain Ribbon just tied in a not. The cello bags that are used are Stampin' Up! small Cello Bags.

Thanks for looking.

3 x 3 - Friendship Blooms

2008-02-13T12:20:00.004-06:00

This here is a card for my club that is meeting this weekend.

The card started by looking at my messy desk. I had just cut the supplies for another card that I am using for club (I will post the card later) and had a pile of Soft Sky Card Stock pieces sitting on my desk. I decided to use these up THIS club or else they will just get filed and forgotten about.

I knew I wanted to focus on Sale A Bration this month and show off the cute sets that are available so I grabbed Friendship Blooms. I stamped the large flower from the set in Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored the flower with my Classic Ink Pad in Soft Sky with my Aqua Painters. I went over the outer part of the petals a few times to get it darker. To finish off the flower I placed a Felt Fusion Flower in the center and secured it with a Blue Rhinestone Brad.

The strips on the card are also scraps that I found on my desk (basically this card is using up scraps from other projects). I layered the Chocolate Chip strip on Whisper White followed by Purely Pomegranate. This was all layered on a Soft Sky base. The card is just a mini, 3 x 3.

On the Chocolate Chip I stamped the three flowers from Friendship Blooms in White Craft Ink. The words "for you" are from the All Holidays stamp set. The ink used for the words is Chocolate Chip Classic Ink.

Thanks for looking!!

SCS Tuesday Color Challenge

2008-02-12T16:59:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I had time to stamp today. While the kids were napping I decided to take some me time and stamp a card.

I browsed Splitcoaststampers for their weekly color challenge and saw that the colors were Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore and Kraft. I love Tempting Turquoise and use Kraft often enough, but Green Galore is not a color tend to grab for. I decided I would attempt this challenge along with yesterdays technique challenge.

I started with the base of my card as Kraft and then added some Basic Black in there to help break up the bright colors. I used a scrap of Tempting Turquoise and left it the size it was. I added polka dots from the Background stamp set Polka Dot in Tempting Turquoise. I layered this in Basic Black also. To pull in the Green Galore I pulled another scrap and cut it to the length of the card. I layered this too in Basic Black. To add a little something to the Green Galore I used my Distressing Tool.

I knew I wanted a layer over the Basic Black with white, but it was too plain. This is where I decided to pull in the technique from yesterday on Splitcoast. I pulled out the Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore Classic Refills and my Glossy Cardstock and followed the technique directions. I actually liked the way it turned out.

Ok, so I get this far and I did not know what set I wanted to use. I had a few in mind, but decided to play with In the Stars stamp set from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I pulled in Yo Yo Yellow (another color a seldom use). I stamped the larger star out of the set in Yo Yo Yellow Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I cut this out and layered it on the Tempting Turquoise. It was still too plain so I punched out three stars out of Yo Yo Yellow with the small Star Punch.

The words were stamped in Basic Black and also came from In the Stars. To finish off the card I added three black brads along the Green Galore strip.

Enjoy and thanks for looking.

Late Night Stamping

2008-02-12T08:01:00.000-06:00

Here is my first attempt at using my new items from the Occassions Mini Catalog. I could not sleep last night so I went to stamp. My husband asked me why I put a red eye in the middle of my flower. Does it really look like an eye?

I am having a tough time with the black rub ons. I LOVE the white ones, but I am saving those to play with at club.

For the base of the card I pulled Real Red. I wanted to use the new Designer Series Paper Summer Picnic and love flower images. I orginally had the designer series strip cut as a larger square and centered towards the bottom of the Real Red (then I dropped my stamp pad on it and it needed to start over). Once I had the flower paper cut to size it needed to be layered. I originally started with the Old Olive, but it needed a neutral to sandwich between the Olive and the flowers. To tie in the black from the rub on I decided my neutral was going to be Basic Black. I used the Black Flower rub on from A Perfect Day Rub On pack on Bashfull Blue scrap and puched it out with the Scalloped punch. I then used my 3/4 circle punch and punched out a Whisper White circle for the middle of the flower. Still too plain. I pulled out a button, but did not like it. I then grabbed the Build a Brad since they were still on my desk from Friday's card (see last post). I used the Black rub ons again to add something to the center of the flower.

Once the Flower was finished it needed to be layered on something. I pulled out a white scrap and cut it to size, but it was too plain. I pulled out the All in a Row stamp set and added a frame in Basic Black. I layered the Whisper White on Basic Black and then again on Old Olive. For the word "celebrate" I used the set Just Celebrate from the Occassions Mini (I really like the font of the words from this set).

I added the Poly Twill Ribbon in Old Olive at the end.

Thanks for looking.

One of a Kind - Beate's Sketch #34

2008-02-11T08:22:00.001-06:00

Yeah, two weeks in a row I was able to participate in Beate's Friday Sketch Challenge.

Forgive me for the Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa Combo. I guess I am still thinking Valentine's Day, even though this card was supposed to be for my club, not Valentine's Day. I am thinking of reworking the colors, we will see how my time goes this week.

Images are from the One of a Kind stamp set, which is becoming a favorite already. I stamped the large flower from the set onto Very Vanilla in Chocolate Chip Craft ink. I then embossed this with clear embossing powder. I colored the image with my Pretty in Pink Classic Ink Pad and Aquapainters. I was not too fond of the look, it needed "something". So I repeated the process again on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla. I colored this with Pretty in Pink and Purely Pomegranate with the Aquapainters. Then I cut this image out and popped it off the original image. I thought the flower still needed "something". I have been sitting with the Build a Brad box on my desk now for a few months and nothing amazing had come to me with them, but tonight I thought that the Build a Brad would be perfect for this card. I stamped the small circle flower from One of a Kind in Purely Pomegranate on another scrap of Very Vanilla and punched this out with my 1/2" Circle Punch. After building my brad I popped this in the center of the flower, much better.

For the base of the card I used Chocolate Chip, followed by Very Vanilla and then Pretty in Pink. I pulled out the Close to Cocoa Designer Series Paper and pulled out a piece of scrap, which fit perfect. I layered both the stamped image and the Close to Cocoa Designer Series Paper with Chocolate Chip. Then I assembled the card.

Ok, so I was not done, the card still needed "something". I pulled out the Wide Grosgrain Ribbon in Chocolate and the Pretty in Pink Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon because I was not sure which one would work best. I decided to layer the ribbon and use them both.

In the end I liked the way the card turned out. I think I am going to play with the colors so that it does not look like a Valentine's Day card. Maybe Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip instead.

Friendship Blooms Sale-A-Bration Set

2008-02-11T08:09:00.000-06:00

These are my cards from Friday night. I liked them on Friday, but come the light of the morning on Saturday and I thought I could have done better.

Anyhow, here are three cards featuring the Sale A Bration Stamp set Friendship Blooms. I guess I had a thing for my rhinestone brads because each card has one for the center of the flower. The Pumpkin Pie centered flower is a felt flower (which I love and we will be using at our February club meeting). The Rose Red center flower is made with the Boho Blossoms Punch and the Bashful Blue center flower is cut out with scissors from the flower of the Friendship Blooms stamp.

If you want a close up of an individual card just e-mail me and I will post one. If you need more info on any of these three cards just e-mail me and I will get into more detail.

Thanks for looking.

This and That

2008-02-10T20:44:00.000-06:00

Wow, I have not posted since Wednesday. I actually spent some time on school work. Not as fun as stamping, but if I plan on getting out of Anoka Ramsey I HAD to focus and not think of stamping. I did get time to play this weekend though. I will post pictures in the next couple of days.

I did get to play with some of my new items I received last Wednesday. My mind kept on saying Sale A Bration though, so I played with those this weekend. Plus, I played with my new rub ons (and I am in love) and cannot figure out why I did not order these sooner.

Coming this week will be a list of stamp sets I will have for sale from the last catalog. Take a look to the right under ITEMS FOR SALE. I know I am a little behind, but I was still trying to decide what I wanted to keep and what needed to go. E-mail me if you are interested in any of them.

By the way, once my blog grows you will be able to find samples by set name. Just look to the right and you will notice them listed under LABELS. Yeah, this will be easy to find my samples again. Enjoy!!

New Occassions Mini Catalog Items

2008-02-06T12:06:00.000-06:00

UPS just pulled up with my latest order. I placed an order on February 1 for a good portion of the items from the Occassions Mini Catalog (available for customers on 3/1).

I could not help myself, I really wanted almost everything in there. Plus, Stampin' Up! has started allowing demonstrators to purchase some new accessories in bulk so I had to tack those on the order too.

Here is what I purchased from the mini:

In the Stars Stamp Set (I had to get this one. I love the Star Punches so this was a must have).

Just Celebrate Stamp Set (This is another set that has an image with words that I will cut off and attach to the side. I loved the Owl, Heart and Butterfly).

Hodgepodge Hardware Syled Silver (Oh my gosh, these are too cute. There are brads that are embossed, circle frames, a cute flower slide and more frames to match our popular punches).

Carousel Note Cards and Envelopes (Can I just say I cannot wait to place another order for these. They are circle scalloped card stock that are calling my name to play. They come in Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava with Chocolate Chip Square Envelopes).

Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper (I love the soft images and see a TON of cards made with these cute papers. This is the paper in the bottom corner of the photo).

Summer Picnic Designer Series Paper (I am not into the fruit, but I love the other side of the paper. Now I will not feel bad using it. These are the papers in the upper corner of the photo).

1/4 inch Chocolate Chip Poly Twill Ribbon and the 1/4 inch Old Olive Ploy Twill Ribbon (I am a ribbon freak so these were a must).

A Perfect Day Rub Ons (Believe it or not these are the first Rub Ons that I have purchased from Stampin' Up! I have several packs of Rub On's from other companies. I cannot wait to play with these).

Die- Cut Blooms (These are sort of like the Chip Board, but in our textured card stock. These too are calling my name to play with them. Opps I forgot to add these into the picture).

Oh the ideas running around in my head. I cannot wait to play. Maybe I will skip school work tonight and just play. We all need time to play don't we? If I do play, check back tomorrow for some samples.

Boho Blossoms and Punches Galore

2008-02-06T09:02:00.000-06:00

I am in the mood to stamp today. Unfortunately I have to work so I can afford my stamping supplies. Plus I have been avoiding school work all week so I know I need to concentrate on that tonight. Here is a card I made over the weekend that I finally took a picture of.

I started with the Boho Backgrounds and One of a Kind Stamp sets. Then I grabbed for my Scalloped punch, my all my Circle Punches and my new Boho Blossoms Punch. From there I just played. I like how many of the images in these two sets works with many of the punches.

For the colors I grabbed Basic Grey, I wanted to use this color today for some reason. I then grabbed my Pumpkin Pie Card Stock because I wanted to use my Pumpkin Pie Stripped Ribbon. For some reason the Wednesday Sketch from Splitcoaststampers kept on calling to me (see post from 2/2). From there everything fell into place. The other colors used were Pink Passion and Whisper White.

There is too much detail to type up regarding the card. If you have any questions just e-mail me and I will give you more info. on it.

Valentine's Goodies

2008-02-03T18:17:00.001-06:00

Andrew, my six year old, brought home a letter from his teacher saying that they will have a Valentine's Day Party this year at school. I silently cheered inside knowing that this would be my last year that he will allow me to make his Valentine items. He wanted something that he could include the big converstaion hearts (he loves these). I wanted something that he could help me with and something that was going to be fast.

I decided to make them in Pretty in Pink, Whisper White and Basic Black. He wanted Red, but I was trying to coordinate with the colors of the candy, I know something that only a crafter would think of. I stamped the heart from Priceless in Pretty in Pink Craft ink. I tried my Classic Ink but it was not as dark as I would have liked and I am fresh out of Classic Refill (reminder to self, add to next order). Then I stamped Happy Valentine's Day From Holidays and Wishes in Basic Black. To assemble I put together one and had Andrew do the rest.

For the card I used the same Priceless Stamp set, decided to use Beate's sketch challenge again (see post from 2/1). I wanted the card to go with the Valentine treat bags for the class, but did not like Basic Black on the card so I opted for Close to Cocoa. I grabbed my Close to Cocoa Designers Series Paper and the rest fell into place. The swirls are stamped in Close to Cocoa on Whisper White. I stamped the heart in Pretty in Pink Craft ink on top of the swirls. Then I stamped the hearts again on srap paper, cut those out and Dimensionaled them off the original hearts. I backed the Whisper White in Pretty in Pink which was layered onto of another Whisper White piece. At the bottom of the long Whisper White I tied a Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon in a bow. I layered this onto the Close to Cocoa Designers Series Paper and my Pretty in Pink base. To finish it off I added three Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets. I wanted to add words too, but they just did not look right so I placed them inside instead.

Sale a Bration - Birthday Whimsy

2008-02-02T07:31:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are familiar with Splitcoast know that everyday of the week they have a different challenge. On Wednesday's they post a sketch challenge. Often I use these sketches to come up with a card design. This card is my impression of Wednesday's challenge.

To start I grabbed my East Coast Prep Designers Series Paper. I thought the large dots would look good with the balloons that I wanted to use from Birthday Whimsy, a Sale a Bration stamp set. I layered my dotted paper with Whisper White and Basic Black. Next I grapped Wild Wasabi to finish off the base of the card.

For the belly band of the card I pulled my color from the dots in the Designer Seriers Paper. Soft Sky jumped out at me since I wanted the ballons in More Mustard. I layered the belly band in Basic Black.

For the balloons I statered stamping them in More Mustard Craft Ink because I wanted to emboss them with Clear Embossing Powder, but the fine details in the balloon were lost the minute I started to emboss. So I grabbed my More Mustard Classic Ink and my Versa Mark Pad and embossed this way. [To emboss with classic ink, first stamp your image in Versa Merk then ink it up in the Classic color of choice, then stamp onto your card stock. Cover your image with embossing powder and heat as normal.]

Once the balloons were embossed and cut out I added strings to the back. I wanted to use my Linen Thread and keep the card 100% Stampin' Up!, but I cannot find it so I went for some retired Stampin' Up! fibers. I taped the fibers to the back and used Stampin' Dimensionals to pop them above the belly band.

For the words I grabbed the "Happy Birthday" from the Birthday Whimsey Stamp Set. I stamped the phrase in Basic Black and thought I was done. The words were too small for the space so I used the Crafters Tool Kit and pierced some holes to fill up the space.

Beate's Sketch Challenge #33

2008-02-01T21:57:00.000-06:00

So today I woke up with a sore throat and a fever. With strep throat going around my day care kids I just knew I had strep too. Nope, it was my sinuses again. I used today to stamp since I was actually in the stamping mood.

Here is one of my favorite cards from today. I did get more than one card stamped today. This is an unconventional size, 4 x 8 1/2, and will fit into a large envelope. The layout was not mine. I frequent another stamper's blog, Fresh and Fun and on Fridays she posts a layout challenge. This is the first time I have been able to take the challenge in a long time.

I knew I wanted to use a patterned paper so I chose that first. I chose East Coast Prep. Once the patterned paper was chosen I decided on Tempting Turquoise for the base of the card. From there I was unsure where I wanted to head with this card. I actually wanted to use a new Sale-A-Bration stamp set, but had a tough time fitting it into the design. Then I remembered that the new Occassions Mini (which will be available to all customers starting March 1st) had a star set in it that I just ordered today. My two star punches were begging to be used. I punched More Mustard with the Large Star and Real Red with the Small Star. Layered those on Whisper White, followed by Basic Black, Wild Wasabi and then Basic Black yet again.

For the words I knew I wanted to make this a Thank You card since I am still have not sent out any thank you cards for Christmas gifts. I used the Sale-A-Bration set Lots of Thoughts and just inked up the Many Thanks in Basic Black. I stamped that on a Whisper White scrap that I made into a tag. I tied this on with Black Grosgrain Ribbon and tacked it down with a little bit of Snail Adhesive.

To finish up the card I punched out Real Red with my 1/2 circle punch, snailed those down and added black brads from the Vintage Brad pack.

I was going to wait to finish this card when the order I placed today arrives, but I wanted this one done tonight. So I pulled out my Polka Dot Background Stamp, my More Mustard Craft Pad, my Clear Embossing Powder and my Heat Gun and went to town on the More Mustard Stars. This added the little bit of detail that the card was calling for.

By the way I am leaning on using this card or a version of it at my February Club meeting.

It's About Time

2008-01-25T13:39:00.000-06:00

So I decided it was about time to enter the blogging world. I have not been good at getting newsletters out in recent months, sorry about that. I have been hounded by e-mails over the last several months too wondering what happened to my card samples from the past. The company that I used to store the pictures is no longer in business so I moved them to snapfish. I will get an address for you later.

Anyhow, welcome to my blog. I am still working kinks out, but look for samples galore coming up. Plus, I will post any event coming up and specials offered by Stampin' Up!

Thanks for visiting. Check back often (weekly at least).