Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, aunties, and mentors out there!  This is the Mother's Day Card that I sent this year.  It's a combination of new product sneak-peek and current merchandise - there's soooo much gorgeousness in the new catalog...

New beauties available June 1:

Coastal Cabana card stock and ink (blue-green card base) - the French translation for "Coastal Cabana" is "Copacabana" - feel free to sing a little Barry Manillow if you like... :)

Crushed Curry card stock and ink

Bermuda Bay card stock and ink (small label and darker blue green shading) I'm so glad it's back!!!

Artisan Label Punch

Modern Mosaic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Current and continuing catalog beauties:
129216c/131943wSwallowtail stamp
127790c/128562wEn Francais stamp
125845c/128436w Loving Thoughts stamp set
Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad
Whisper White card stock
Sponge Daubers
Stampin' Dimensionals
Versamark Ink
Basic Black Embossing Powder

It's a very simple card to make, but is very striking!  For a 5" x 7" card, I cut a 5 x 3-3/4 rectangle of Whisper White and stamped the Swallowtail in Versamark ink slightly off - center.  I heat embossed with black embossing powder and set aside to cool.  For the card base, I used a 10" x 7" piece of Copacabana card stock folded in half to make a 5"x 7" card.  The En Francais stamp is stamped 4 times on the back to cover the corners, with the "seams" of the stamping under the Crushed Curry card stock and Swallowtail image. Then I sponged the card base edges with Bermuda Bay ink and a sponge dauber.  Then I embossed the Crushed Curry (3" x 7") with the Modern Mosaic TIEF and Big Shot, and sponged the edges and ridges with Crushed Curry ink.  When the Swallowtail image was dry, I rubbed over it with Crushed Curry and Chocolate Chip ink and sponge daubers, edged the Whisper White with Copacabana almost to the butterfly and Bermuda Bay along the edge.  Added the sentiment in Copacabana ink over the Artisan Label punched from Bermuda Bay card stock.  Voila!  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to all!  This is a photo of the Christmas Card I sent out this year.

Supplies: Rejoicing With You stamp set (item 126300 wood $21.95 or 126302 cling $16.95)

Northern Flurries embossing folder (120902 $7.95) 

3 1/2 inch Circle die (122125 $17.95) 

Versamark Ink (102283 $7.50)

Gold embossing powder (109129 $4.75)

Uni-ball Signo gel pen (105021 $3.95)

Stampin' Dimensionals (104430 $3.95)

Brushed Gold Card Stock (102935 $7.95 for 10 sheets)

Natural White Card Stock (102316 $7.95 for 40 sheets)

Riding Hood Red Card Stock (111348 $6.95)

Stampin' Pads: Cherry Cobbler  (126966), Midnight Muse (126860), and Garden Green (126973) $5.95 each.

Sponge Daubers (102892 $10.95 for 12)

Retired items:  Round Tab Punch and Peaceful Wishes (branches)

I like to keep Christmas cards simple, because, like most stampers, I send lots of cards. 

First I cut all my card stock first, embossed the card front and stamped the back with my personalized stamps -name and website ;) .  

Next, I cut out all my "ornaments" from Riding Hood Red card stock using the circle die and Big Shot- the 3 1/2 inch circle die can cut 3 sheets of card stock at a time, so that went quickly.  I stamped the angel in Versamark Ink on Riding Hood Red card stock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.   That was the longest step in the process, and I did about 5 at a time to keep the assembly line rolling without drying too quickly.  

I sponged the edges in Cherry Cobbler Ink, and added little shiny marks with the Uni-ball Signo gel pen.  The ornament tops were cut from Brushed Gold card stock using the Round Tab Punch, folded and stapled to the ornaments.  

The last step for the front was to stamp the branches on the background, and sponge the edges.  The edges by the branches were sponged in Garden Green, the remainder of the edges were sponged in Midnight Muse.  The ornament was adhered to the background using Stampin' Dimensionals.

For the inside, I got clever - I scored a sheet of Whisper White card stock into 4 rectangles, 4" x 5-1/4" and stamped my sentiments in color and signed them with a Cherry Cobbler marker, and color copied it to make enough inserts for all my cards.  Slice slice slice and they were perfectly sized to glue inside the cards with the 2-Way Glue Pen (100425 $4.50) and was done!

Stamping with Embossing Folders

Stamping with Embossing Folders

This technique is so easy it's ridiculous, and what's funny is that it took me so long to find out how to get this look! All you need is an embossing folder, card stock, and classic dye ink.

First, open the embossing folder and ink the raised portion on the inside.  This is the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder from Stampin' Up.

Next, carefully place your card stock squarely on the inked side of the folder.

Last, close the folder and press down with your hand, or use a bone folder or empty acrylic block to create nice even pressure. DO NOT RUN THIS THROUGH THE BIG SHOT. 

Just open the folder and, voila! A fabulous delicate background for your card.

Another way to stamp with embossing folders is to ink the “deep” side of the folder, place your card stock, and run it through the Big Shot. Gives a bold textured look.

Cleanup is a snap, just run the folder under the tap and dry it off. Very simple.

Enjoy!

Inspiration Everywhere...

Someone recently asked me where I get my inspiration for making cards.  There's inspiration everywhere!  A few good places to look are paper crafting magazines, which are great for demonstrating new products and techniques, another is blog-surfing - also a sure-fire way to find something new to try on your own projects.  Today, we're talking textiles.  In a recent blog, I demonstrated a card modeled after one of my grandmother's needlepoint creations.  This blog is about taking what you see everyday, and letting that fuel your creativity.

My 5 year old son took this photo of me in my favorite T-shirt.  It's a gray background with red, yellow and orange filigree chairs, and it says blah blah blah "coffee" blah blah etc... (I love coffee).  It's a very simple everyday item...

So now, here's the T-shirt in the form of a card - Basic Gray card stock, with Summer Starfruit lattice die cut, and a Riding Hood Red blossom.  The "Thank You" sentiment comes from the Perfectly Penned stamp set, #122890w/112892c stamped in Riding Hood Red classic ink.  Basic Gray is a fantastic launch pad for zany color.

This is a sweater from my church's coat closet... There's no telling who's sweater it is, but as I was hanging up my coat before church one morning, this sweater was there and I had to take a photo of it, it was just too brilliant.

I cut some concentric squares with my paper trimmer, 1-1/2", 1-1/4", 1" and punched a 3/4" circle of Whisper White card stock for the center.  The colors here are:  Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum, Wisteria Wonder (purples); Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink (pinks).  Sponge the edges in the darkest color, pierce the center of the stack, give each layer a good scrunch, and hold it all together with at brad.  Stampin' Dimensionals are the best way to adhere the flowers to the card front, they give the brad a little cushion as well as popping the flower up off the surface.

The background is a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of vellum card stock, run through the Big Shot with the Houndstooth embossing Folder.  The Label background is Basic Gray card stock cut with a Label Framelets die, and run through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The leaves are Summer Starfruit, Lucky Limeaid and Old Olive card stock.  Like the flowers, I sponged the edges in the darkest layer color (Old Olive) and gave each a scrunch.  The leaf shape comes from an old stencil of a rounded triangle, and a little free-hand extrapolation.  Stamp set is Loving Thoughts #125843w/125845c

While neither of these examples are exactly like the originals, the inspiration comes from the forms and colors of the fabrics.  Take a fresh look at your decor, closet , or coat rack, and see what inspires you...

Enjoy!