Monday, December 31, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I wish all of you a prosperous and creative new year. May your inks be moist and your paper be the right color. May your head be filled with ideas as plentiful as the SCS gallery. May you have a card for every need and a friend for every card. God bless all of you and have a great 2008.
I hope to be back up and blogging with new cards soon. My DH is depolying to Iraq sometime this year. We are spending this lengthy holiday season to its fullest together.

Friday, December 21, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I will not be updating for a week or so. Due to recent information from my DH's army unit, we feel it is best that we make the most out of this years Christmas together. I may take some personal breathers to stamp a little and read blogs, but I have promissed myself to spend every moment I can with my family and not blog during this precious time with everyone together.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and in case I don't see you soon, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! God Bless all of you and Peace be unto this Earth.
Please think of our troops and their families who are spending this holiday apart. Pray for their safety and safe return when their job is done.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Time Well Spent Birthday

I need another birthday card, I have these metalic pencils begging to be used, and I love the new Level 3 hostess stamp set "Time Well Spent". Put that all together and you get this card.
Using a simple masking technique I stamped the flowers onto the Naturals White Cardstock. I colored all the flowers with my Metalic Pencils. I also colored and cut out another flower and a butterfly. The sentiment is from "All Holidays". It is stamped in black ink and punched out with the small oval. The large oval is Elegant Eggplant. Silver brads for the sides of the sentiment. The card base is Bordering Blue.
Here is a close up of the butterfly.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Blog Candy Winner

Thank you all for the Birthday Wishes. I appreciate your kindness.
I used Random.org to pick the number. Here it is..

Here are your random numbers:2
Timestamp: 2007-12-18 15:21:19 UTC

The second post was by Rita. Thank you. Please email me your snail mail so I can get your goodies in the mail. fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net

DH's First Card

Bless him for trying. I told my DH he was not allowed to buy me a card for my birthday. He has never used my stamps before. He had no idea what he was doing and I was not allowed to look until he was done. He went through all of my stamp sets to find what he wanted, so most of the images are retired. He even cut out one to put on the inside. He did write a very nice message on the inside.


Just to show that you can get inspiration from anywhere, here is my take on his card. I updated all the stamps to something current. Go through some of your old cards and see what comes to mind now.
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Time Well Spent, All Holidays
Paper: Pink Passion, Lilac Prints DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark, Bold Bright Markers
Accessories: Gold EP, Dimensionals

Monday, December 17, 2007

Gift Tags

I had a good birthday. My new book was fantastic to look at. Some of you asked what my must haves are. There are a few. I wish I could post pictures for you, but that is against SU! rules. You can be certain that as soon as funds allow you will see new items made with my favorites.

1.) I am always on the lookout for a good patriotic set, so "The Free and the Brave " tops my list. There is a very realistic soldier standing in front of a waving flag. There is an eagle surounded by the words Honor, Duty, Service, etc. Three stars with a rocky texture, and a saying "What LOVE is to the HEART, LIBERTY is to the SOUL."
2.) To compliment it there is a 4th of July set called "Independence Day", but I like the Jumbo wheel of "Classic Starts" that coordinates with the Father's Day sentiment stamp set "Dad's Day"
3.) For my little boy, I love "Prehistoric Pals". A set of 4 dinasaurs, and a couple prehistoric tress.
4.) I have always liked the set "Embrace Life" that is shown in the preview catalog.
5.) Many new saying stamps are in the catalog. My favorite is "Smarty Pants". Very comical verses.
6.) As for accessories, WOW!! I am in heaven. Lots of new pattern paper for everyone. Boys, men, girls, ME!! Felt Flowers in 3 colors--too cute. I am always up for a new punch. And the new beads duos are very pretty, along with the new glitter stacks are great for many projects.
7.) As for hostess sets, I like many of them, but am glad my must haves are in the 1st level. Of course I like ALL of the Level 1's and it wil be hard to choose from the large flower (background size), the "For a Friend" stamp set and the Designer Prints Paper Pack.
I love wrapping gifts. Yesterday I started to finally wrap all the gifts for my kids. First I had to make all the gift tags to mark the presents. I wanted to keep them simple but noticable. I also wanted them to be sturdy so I could save them for future years. A few basic materials and here they are. The images are embossed and popped up on dimensionals. It was also easy to punch the hole at the top of each tag with the Crop-A-Dile, as it will go through many layers of cardstock at once.
Stamps: Big on Christmas
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Brushed Gold
Ink: Versamark, Markers (Real Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie)
Accessories: Gold/Silver Painty Pen, Dimensionals, Tag Punch, Small Tag Punch, Gold Elastic Cord, Crop-A-Dile

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Happy Birthday to ME!!__Blog Candy

So far my birthday is going great. I was up late last night dying my hair so I didn't wake up gray. We had been out all day running errands and forgot to get the mail. My DH went out in the cold to check and the best Birthday Present in the world was there. The New Spring/Summer 2008 Stampin' Up! Catalog.
I have checked my counter and we are just about to 3000 hits also. Would you like to celebrate with me? Leave me a comment here and be entered into my blog candy drawing to be held on Tuesday morning. The winner will receive a goodie bag. Sorry no picture yet. It is my birthday and I am going to be lazy on the couch with my new book.

Keeing it simple

My DH came home the other day, he had receive an email that a friend of ours from church was in the hospitol for chest pains. He wanted me to whip up a card super fast, so we could go visit him. Here is the result. We called the hospitol to check the room nuber and our friend was discharged, so now I have a card for next time.
The little water bottle is from "Under the Weather" (retired). I embossed into Rose Red cardstock. The 6x3 card base is Naturals White. The DSP is Fall Flowers. The sentiment is stamped in Old Olive Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. It is from "Sincere Salutations". Yes, that is the new Spring/Summer catalog in the photo. It came in the mail yesterday.

Friday, December 14, 2007

The Ol' Standby

Whenever in doubt of what stamp set to use, I say, "Go for the Good Ol' Truck"......."Loads of Love" that is. I love this wintergreen paper. I especially like this falling snowflake print. You will probably never see the other side I like it so much. I think this pattern is the perfect winter day scene. It is an instant snowfall background. But what to stamp on it today. So, I go for the ol' standby, the truck from "Loads of Love."
Again, I used a Whisper White card base. I also added a strip of WW at the bottom. First I ran my "making tracks" wheel over the edge. Then I ripped it to look like fresh fallen snow. The truck and presents were stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White, colored in with an aqua painter and then cut out to mount on dimensionals. The tag is from the same stamp set. It is punched out with the Key Tag Punch and placed on a piece of Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon.
Quick, Simple and Fabulous!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Wintergreen Snowman

The Wintergreen DSP has really become a favorite of mine. The snowflake print it the series is wonderful. I love the color combination of the Sky Blue and Sage Shadow. This card was simple to make and I think turned out quite stunning.
The base is Whisper White. I stamped the image in Basic Black ink on WW cardstock. I then colored in the scarf and arms with Sage Shadow and Creamy Caramel Markers. Since I don't have a gray marker yet, the hat was colored with my black marker and an aqua painter. The backgound on the image panel was colored with Soft Sky and my aqua painter. The panel is then matted on Sage Shadow and Whisper White. I tied the White Taffata Ribbon in a knot and then attached it to the Wintergreen paper before attaching everything to the card itself. The sentiment from the "Jolliest Time of the Year" is stamped on the inside of the card.
Sometimes less really is more and this basic card layout can be used for ANY card giving reason. Simply change the Designer Paper and the Image to reflect your message.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Christmas Cards

One more for your idea book. I like whimsey cute funny cards also, but these religious cards have been nice to do this week for the church. Here is the last one that I made for them.
The "Baby Jesus is Born" stamp set caught my eye when I saw it back in July. I got in right away with my first catalog order. I havn't used it too much, but will still not give it up for some time. This was the perfect time to use it. I had also gotten some River Rock Prints Paper in last months promotion. Along with some matching double stitched ribbon, it fits perfectly with this stamp set. I wanted to keep the colors low key. I colored the embossed image with my markers; Bordering Blue, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa. I watercolored the sky with my aqua painter and Soft Sky ink pad. For the grass I again used my aqua painter with Wild Wasabi ink. The aqua painter wasn't very wet and the tip was somewhat separated. By using strokes in a downward direction I was able to get it to look more like blades of grass.

Monday, December 10, 2007

More Wintergreen & Triptych Cards

I made several cards today for the chuch event tomorrow. I wanted to use the Holy Triptych stamp set from the winter mini for most of them. I also really like the Wintergreen paper I got last month. It gives the cards such a nice grown-up feeling of this holy time.
I don't own all the ink pads in full size yet. Mostly I have the brights that came in my demonstrator kit 2 years ago and a couple of others I have aquired along the way since. I did want a softer feel to the coloring of my first card. So I pulled out my aqua painter and my Stampin' Write Markers. It takes a lot longer this way, but does work. Wet the aqua painter, then touch the tip to the brush tip of the marker. The color runs out fast, so keep adding marker ink. I then colored in parts of the hats and bottles with the Gold Zig Painty Pen. I didn't color their faces or hands. I also left the rest of the image panel white. It is matted on Sage Shadow to match the Designer Paper. I colored the Wisemen with Sage Shadown, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke. To keep all the colors from running easily I first embossed the image with black EP.
For the second card, I also embossed the image with black EP and a versamark pad. I watercolored the image this time with my aqua painter and ink from the lid of my classic ink pads. I used Purely Pomegranate, Yo Yo Yellow, and Soft Sky. The panel is matted on Always Artichoke and some Holiday Harmony DSP. I love the Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon and am glad the In Colors do not retire till the end of June.
The third card does not use the Holy Triptych stamp set, but it's counterpart "Star-Studded Season". The star and sentiment are embossed in the retired Copper EP. There is a thin mat of Brushed Copper below the Sage Shadow panel. Again the Designer Paper is from the Wintergreen collection. The sentiment is punched out with the Key Tag Punch.
For all 3 cards there is a sentiment embossed on the inside of the card.

Retiring Accessories

Here is the retiring accessory list. It just came out today. I will do my best to update availability of the items on this post ONLY. Please come back to this post to check for updates. I have to make some more cards today for the church, so I hope to post again with cards to view later.

ITEMS IN RED ARE GONE

Item # Product Description
109198 Accents & Elements Borders & Blossoms
109199 Accents & Elements Little Reminders 2
109197 Accents & Elements Tagged
100700 Album Leather Post Black 8-1/2x11
105385 Album Linen Post Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104520 Album Linen Post Natural 8-1/2x11
104517 Album Linen Post Navy 8-1/2x11
105382 Album Linen Post Real Red 8-1/2x11
105392 Album Linen Ring Mellow Moss 8-1/2x11
104510 Album Linen Ring Natural 8-1/2x11
104513 Album Linen Ring Navy 8-1/2x11
105388 Album Linen Ring Real Red 8-1/2x11
105067 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment I
105068 Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment II
108798 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Confetti White

107246 Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Kraft
105747 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large
105748 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large Divided
105744 Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Small
105749 Boxes Stamp & Supply Jumbo
105734 Boxes Stamp & Supply Large
105746 Boxes Stamp & Supply Medium
105745 Boxes Stamp & Supply Small
101052 Brayer Attachment Foam
107293 Cards & Envelopes Greeting Very Vanilla Medium
109149 Designer Series Paper Brocade Background
109161 Designer Series Paper Cerise
109162 Designer Series Paper Charbon
109155 Designer Series Paper Creepy Crawley
109152 Designer Series Paper Darling Doodles
109150 Designer Series Paper Dashing
108503 Designer Series Paper Petals & Paisleys
109156 Designer Series Paper Linen Prints
109147 Designer Series Paper Notations No. 2
109148 Designer Series Paper Outlaw
109158 Designer Series Paper Uptown
109157 Designer Series Paper Wintergreen
107285 Envelopes Open End Very Vanilla Large
107284 Envelopes Open End Whisper White Large
107296 Envelopes Shimmery White Medium

107287 Envelopes Square Vellum Large
107310 Envelopes Square Very Vanilla Mini
107294 Envelopes Vellum Medium
107290 Envelopes Very Vanilla Large
107291 Envelopes Whisper White Large
101016 Eyelet Tool Kit
105317 Eyelets Bold Brights II
105379 Eyelets Silver
105315 Eyelets Soft Subtles II
107282 Fancy Fibers Bella
107283 Fancy Fibers Elizabeth
103352 Stampin' Glitter Romantic Red
103349 Stampin' Glitter Silver Shine
106650 Greeting Glue
102620 Liquid Glue
103145 Page Protectors Post 8-1/2x11
104523 Page Protectors Ring 8-1/2x11
103598 Paper Vellum 12x12
105543 Pastel Refills Bold Brights
105544 Pastel Refills Earth Elements
105547 Pastel Refills Neutrals
105545 Pastel Refills Rich Regals
105546 Pastel Refills Soft Subtles
105962 Perfect Layers Tool
104184 Post Extenders
106522 Punch Spring Bouquet Flower
109722 Simply Scrappin' Creative License Hostess Level 1
109611 Simply Scrappin' Happy Me Hostess Level 3
109596 Simply Scrappin' Out & About
109626 Simply Scrappin' Primary Colors
109649 Simply Scrappin' Round Up
109635 Simply Scrappin' Secret Garden
109663 Simply Scrappin' Winter Bright
107415 Simply Sent Friendship Shapes
109230 Simply Sent Happy Day
105580 Spectrum Pad Blue Frost
101492 Spectrum Pad Celebration
105579 Spectrum Pad Cotton Candy
101336 Spectrum Pad Pumpkin Patch
100000 Spectrum Pad Un-inked
103953 Stamp-a-ma-jig Imaging Sheets Refill
104432 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Clear Embossing
101460 Stampin' Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Whisper White
102391 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Clear Embossing
103017 Stampin' Around Ink Refill Whisper White

103151 Stampin' Emboss Powder Hologram Highlights
105677 Stampin' Kids Pad Bear Brown
105676 Stampin' Kids Pad Beetle Black
105675 Stampin' Kids Pad Boxcar Blue
105674 Stampin' Kids Pad Gumball Green
105673 Stampin' Kids Pad Poppin' Purple
105672 Stampin' Kids Pad Princess Pink
105671 Stampin' Kids Pad Robin Red
105670 Stampin' Kids Pad Yahoo Yellow
103174 Stampin' Pastel Applicators
100852 Stampin' Pastel Erasers
100081 Stampin' Write Marker Going Gray
100945 StazOn Ink Refill Timber Brown
103088 StazOn Pad Timber Brown
107235 Tag Sheets Bold Brights
107239 Tag Sheets Confetti White & Kraft
107236 Tag Sheets Earth Elements
107240 Tag Sheets Kraft
107237 Tag Sheets Rich Regals
107238 Tag Sheets Soft Subtles
100894 Watercolor Brush Flat
101551 Watercolor Brush Medium
101331 Watercolor Brush Small
105395 Wire Works Metallic
105652 Wrapping Paper Whisper White

Stampin' Around wheels
100360 Acorns
109812 All about Birthdays*
109690 All about Christmas*
109812 All about Gratitude*

109676 Autumn Dots
104070 Bloomin'
107466 Bodacious*
105750 Bouquet*
107481 Butterflies & Blossoms
104065 Fishy
100267 Happy Jacks
107563 Ho Ho Ho
104312 Hot to Dot
104279 Leaf Prints
106062 Leaves Awash*
107479 Rough around the Edges*
101927 Snowman Fun
107465 Speckled*
105521 Spooky Skyline*
108979 Spotted*
107480 True Hearts
105033 Wings & Things
* Jumbo Stampin' Around wheels

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Gold, Gold, Gold

Here is another card I made for the church. I saw a card a little while back with gold embossing on gold cardstock and said, "that looks so elegant, I will have to try it." This is my take.
I stamped the large swirls from "Priceless" on the Gold Brushed Cardstock and embossed it with Gold EP. The "Holy Triptych" image is also embossed in Gold EP on Whisper White Cardstock. The main card base is Whisper White. A simple River Rock mat, the ticket corner punch and some River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon and it is done.
Super simple, very elegant, and perfect for anyone who celebrates Christ's Birth.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Wintergreen Christmas

I have to bring 6 cards to our ladies group at church next week. They are going the Priest and Deacons of the parish and their Christmas gift from the Ladies' Guild. Normally they just go and buy cards, but of course I am going to make them. I have had all the new Designer Series Paper I just got sitting on my desk. It is time to use some. I thought "Wintergreen" would give a nice soft feeling to the cards for this occassion.
The first card feels incomplete, but I will show it to you anyways. It would tear the card to fix it. I may make another one today, the way it should be.
The card base is Sage Shadow. I stamped in Versamark the Angel and Frame from Holy Triptych on Whisper White. I then embossed it in Silver EP. I colored it with Soft Sky, Yo-Yo Yellow inks and an aqua painter. I also color the hands with my tan Watercolor Wonder Crayon and embossed the wings with Iridescent Ice. I cut it out and mounted it on a simple matting of Certainly Celery and some Wintergreen DSP. The White Taffetta ribbon adds a little something simple. It needs a tone on tone swirl (maybe Baroque Motifs) in the upper background. The main image panel is on dimensionals. I did emboss a sentiment on the inside. Do be careful if you emboss the inside on your cards. They may impress to the other side when you close the card. Place a piece of velumn or tissue to protect the embossing if mailing.
For the second card, I kept with the Wintergreen colors. I used a layout from the SCS sketch challenges last week. This card was simple to make and took minimal materials. The main card base is Whisper White. The two DSP strips are 4" x 1-1/8". The Lovely as a Tree image is stamped in Always Artichoke. I thought it look beautiful on its own, so I did not distress the edges at all. I did frame it with 4 simple silver brads. (Gosh I love my Crop-A-Dile) It is then layered on a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock. Again I stamped a sentiment on the inside. This time in ink.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Christmas Countdown

Jumping right in....I made this Countdown the other day. I have been playing with my new Cricut toy. DH was nice enough to go to Walmart VERY early on Black Friday and get me one. It was a great deal at $119.00. It even came with an extra cartridge so I had two to play with right away. This countdown went together really fast with the Cricut. All of the letters and numbers were cut using my new toy.
I got the cookie sheet at the Dollar Store. The rest of the supplies are SU!
Here are some dimensions and basic notes to make your own.
The background is Naturals White cardstock. I used my corner rounder on the corners to make it match the curve of the cookie sheet. I used one whole sheet and a few inches x 8.5" to cover the rest of the cookie sheet. I held the background on with sticky strip.
The letters were cut from Holiday Harmony Designer Paper. It took less than 1/2 sheet to do this. The squares used the other half of the sheet. The 25 squares are cut at 1.5" square.
The numbers were cut from Naturals White cardstock.
The stripes above and below the letters were made with a strip of Always Artichoke cardstock. Each strip is 8.5" x 3/4". The Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon in layered on top.
I punched two holes in the edge of the cookie sheet with my Crop-A-Dile and strung a piece of Always Artichoke Grosgrain Ribbon through it to hang the calendar.
The marker for the days if from the On Board Chipboard Collection. I didn't cover it yet. I just couldn't decide what I wanted it to look like. It is growing on me plain. I may just coat it with some clear EP.
For those with a Cricut. The numbers and letters were cut at 1" with the Keystone Cartridge. The star on the last square was cut at 1" with the George Basic Cartridge.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Using the retiring stamps

I like background stamps. I don't use them as much as I probably could, but I do like them. I just bought "On the Spot" last month. I was sad to see it on the retiring list, but not surprised. It has been around for some time. I have thought about "Fine Lace" and may have to consider getting that one before it retires at the end of the month.
When I found out that "On the Spot" was retiring, I got it out and stamped it a bunch of times. Two of the cards I showed you the other day. Here are two more. I stamped the background color-on-color again. I then cut the Pixie Pink cardstock to use on the other two cards. I lined the designs up so it would look like it was one continuous image.
For the first card (Gable Green), I added the ribbon strip to the center. The red and black brads were added to match and frame the area. The "Birthday Wishes" stamp is from a retiring hostess level 1 set, "Party Punch". I punches it out with the Designer Label Punch. The second card (Green Galore) uses one of the most versitile stamp sets "Greetings Galore". It is not retiring yet, but I expect it to in June. It has been around for many many years. I colored the cake with the same colors I used on the cards and added Tempting Turquois for a little extra color. I also attached the smallest circle brad from the Ice Rhinstones collection to the center of the flower. The little tabs of ribbon have much better color in real life. I used Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink, and White Grosgrain ribbon.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Saying Goodbye

It is retirement time for many SU! Stamp Sets. I have 11 stamp sets that are retiring from the current catalog. I also have several of the hostess sets and many from the mini catalog that we will not know the fate for some time. I will keep several of them for my personal collection and future use, but most of them will go to the sale pile.
Flaky Friends is one I plan to keep for awhile. It is one of the first stamp sets I ever bought. It does make me sad that it is retiring. So to honor it I made a "blue" snowman card. The background was also stamped with a retiring set, On the Spot.
Everything on the card is either Whisper White or Brilliant Blue.
I am also loosing Merry, Merry from my Holiday stamp sets. It also stamped the background of this one with On the Spot. Both cards used a tone-on-tone effect. I stamped the background in the same color ink as the cardstock itself. The little words on the Merry, Merry card are from the same stamp set. I cut the sentiment apart into little pieces. I used my new stickles on the ends of the word "Merry".

Friday, November 30, 2007

Newly organized work in progress

I always like seeing how others organize their stamping area. With the addition of my two new toys for Christmas I need to expand mine. I thought I would share my area with you today.
I used to just have the shelves on the wall and the desk. I added my sewing cabinet, that used to be in another room. It now houses my sewing machine, Cuttlebug and Cricut (THANKS SANTA!).




I also brought in the book case from another room. It houses all my 12x12 papers, photo albums, scrapbooks, alterable items, old catalogs, and several boxes of cards. The drawer at the bottom has most of my retired stamp sets. Some of my favorite retired sets are still on the wall shelves. I want to put the bookcase back where it came from in the house and replace it with a tall closed utility cabinet after the first of the year. I need to be able to lock it up so the kids don't pull everything down. (my DS already broke an ornament when he pulled the box down today. I also want to get clear bins to put on the shelves. I want it all to match and be able to see the contents. The matching just gives me a calm feeling that things are organized.
I also need another small file cabinet to hold my business type supplies. The lower cabinet next to my desk is actually a file cabinet. All of the color families are in hanging files in the bottom drawer. The top drawer has neutrals and a few other items like transparencies and such. My wheels, embelishments, EP powders, cutting tools, adhesives and such are all in the drawers on top of the file cabinet.


My favorite part of my area is my punch wall. I used curtain rods. I am ready for another rod. These are full and I have 6 more punches to complete my SU! collection. Actually I have 7 to get now that they came out with a large star punch for sale starting in Jan. I keep my scrap paper in the drawers below my punches. I am thinking of changing this set up and sorting them into bagies in the file drawers.







Bowmaker Winner

Since I only had 11 people leave comments, I decided to use the random number generator to pick. It picked number 3.
The third person to leave a comment was Angel Wilde.
Please check out her blog. I enjoyed looking at everyones blogs. As always, I thank you for visiting mine. Angel.....please email me, fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net , your snail mail address so I can order your bow maker. Please be sure to come back and tell us all how much you love it when it arrives.
CONGRATS ANGEL!!!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Don't forget about those Inspiration Sheets

Stampin' Up! decided back in June to no longer offer demos the oportunity to purchase Inspiration Sheets. They decided that there are many places on the internet now to get ideas from. They are right. SCS is the best by far. There are also tons of blogs like mine to get ideas from. Besides the magazines, books, old catalogs and straight from your demo themselves.
That doesn't mean though that the Inspiration Sheets don't have their place anymore. Most all of the stamp sets they were designed for have retired, but they are still good ideas. I refer to them once in a while when I need a fresh layout idea or color combination. I made my club members a couple of cards the other day as a gift with their last purchase. Each one is inspired by a sample on the Inspiration Sheets. Sorry about the dark pictures, we are having some gloomy weather here and the lighting is bad in my house.
The first card is from the Balmy Breezes IS. I used the layout from the sheet and the alternate color combination. I colored the image in with my markers. The snowburst punch dangles freely. I even got out some of that Hodgepodge Hardware that I like to hoard. My sentiment overlaps a bit, unlike the original, but it still fits nicely.
The second card was inspired from the Hearfelt Thanks IS. I used the payout, but made up my own color combination. I pulled out the In Color papers and ink for this one. The colored the image with my aqua painter and the ink from the lids of my ink pads. The picture does not show it at all, but the image and sentiment are stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock. The sentiment panel is also edged in the Wild Wasabi ink. I just draged the edge of the paper on the ink pad. The tab at the top wraps to the back of the card and is held down with a little sticky strip.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Public Service Announcement

In case you didn't see this anywhere else, be sure to read it here. There is scam going on with gift cards. If you are even thinking about getting gift cards for your friends and/or family this year, be sure to check out this link.

Gift Card Scam Article

100 POSTS--Candy Time!!

I can't believe how time flies. My little blog is up to 100 posts and I have several regulars and subscribers. I thank you all for joining me this far and appreciate all the comments you leave.
First, how about a card. I got the chance to play a little more with my Christmas present from Shelli (SU! CEO). This stamp set is fun. Not only do I love the double line image, but the combination of flower and secondary images are wonderful. This card did not turn out exactly how planned, but I like it anyhow.
Watercolor Wonder Crayons do not work for the crayon resist technique. I need to steal my DD regular old crayola white crayon. All of the heart outlines were supposed to be white. After sponging on the two different ink colors (Real Red and Pixie Pink) I went back with a White Gel Pen and highlighted a few areas. I got the inspiration for this card from one I saw on Patti Chesky's Blog. Patti's had a little more random pattern to the colors. I wanted my hearts to be the focus with the color.
There is great news in the Stamping World. The Card Ladies are back in business. After a devistating fire that took their home and fur babies, The Card Ladies have some of their items ready for sale in time for Christmas. I absolutely love their Adjustable Bow Maker. It makes the cutest little bows of any size. You don't have to worry about them coming untied and you can put them anywhere on your projects without having to wrap the ribbon around something.
This brings me to my blog candy. I am giving away an Adjustable Bow Maker.
You simply need to leave a general comment. I would love to check out your blog as well, so if you have one please put the address in the comment. Friday morning (when I finally drag my body out of bed to blog) I will randomly draw one name out of a hat from all the comments left on this post and order that person their very own Adjustable Bow Maker from The Card Ladies. Please be sure to check back and see if you won.
Please check out The Card Ladies web site for the other crafting items they have. Their templates for covering tin boxes are also back in stock. She is waiting on her new embroidery machine to get those wonderful t-shirts going again. Their shipping rates are also quite reasonable.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

#99--Tag Punch Starburst

WOW! 99 posts so far. Be on the lookout for #100. It may just have a special treat attached.
I have seen these done by many other stampers. For instructions on how to make the tag punch starburt check out this tutorial. It takes a little bit of time and patients, but are not too hard. Many people layer them on top of one another for a larger looking burst, but I also wanted to make a scrapbook page. I could have made more, but these took awhile and the kids were getting fussy.
The outline of my tags were made with River Rock Cardstock. I placed them on a piece of "Dashing" DSP. To hold them in place I used my two way glue pen. I made the center using a 3/4" and 1" circle punch. I also wanted to try and use things I tend to hoard. I hoard Hodgepodge Hardware in a big way. Even here I still only used a page turner.
This scrapbook page came to me as I was making the starburst. It went together super fast. The large Old Olive area is an 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock. The photo mat on the left is for a 4x6 photo. It is Naturals Ivory over River Rock. The River Rock mat on the lower right is for a 4x4 photo. The other piece of Natural Ivory is for some journaling. The numbers were stamped with Old Olive craft ink using my "Headline Numbers" stamp set. I used a couple more of those page turners here also.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Simple Noel

I played most of the day yesterday with my new toy, but I am still not ready to show my creations yet. I did get 5 layouts done.
I wanted to share a card I made awhile back with you today. It has a simple layout that can easily be adjusted for any stamp set. It is also a great one to show off all that new Designer Paper you ordered this month.
I really like this "Big on Christmas" stamp set. The three stamps have the perfect combination of image and sentiment. I chose the "Noel" stamp for this card. I took most of the colors I used from the Dashing DSP strip. The main card base is Real Red, as is the ornament. The letters and mat behind the DSP are Old Olive. I colored the top of the ornament with my gold ZIG painty pen. There is also a silver tip for those who prefer. I also colored the stripes on the ornament with the gold painty pen. To bring in the gold a little more, I matted the main image panel with brushed gold cardstock and tied a piece of gold elastic cord around the DSP strip.
Any larger image would work will in this layout. The card can also be turned on it's short end to accommodate a tall image like "Frosty". Change out the DSP for an entirely different color scheme.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Happy Post Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. If you half as good a day as mine, you had a great day. We spent the time with friends at various places. Since I didn't cook this year, I had time to stamp that morning. I made cards for the people we were visiting that day. Of course, silly me, forgot to take pictures of those cards before giving them away.
I asked Santa for a couple of new toys this year. One he bought a couple of months ago and it sat under the table since then. Santa gave me permission to take it out of the box early. If you do not have one yet, there is still time to ask Santa for a Cuttlebug. He got mine at Hobby Lobby with a coupon. He also got another present at the Black Friday Early Bird Sale at Walmart, but we will talk about that one another day.
I have the original Sizzix machine also. It is heavy and a pain to get in and out of it's box. I don't have anyplace to leave it out perminately. The dies for it were also pricy when I got them, so I don't have many. When I found out that I could use them in the Cuttlebug, it hightened my interest even more. I did a couple of test items the other day. It was so easy. The plates and embossing folders move through with easy. Even my 3 year old can turn the crank. The carry handle on the top makes it much nicer to move around. It doesn't weight near as much as the Sizzix, but the suction on the bottom helps to hold it to the table when you are working with it. I did cut once with the complimentary die in the box. It left a fairly good groove in my cutting plate, but no more than was left in the Sizzix. I would advice getting an extra cutting plate just for that purpose if you plan to cut alot. I plan to emboss a TON. That is why I wanted the machine. I still like my background stamps, but this gives things a nice texture too. It even works well on the thick cardstock of SU! with little effort.
Here is my latest Cuttlebug card.
The letters are colored in with markers, then with a 2 way glue pen and glitter. Everything else is straight forward, but please ask if you have any questions.
Stamps: Big on Christmas
Paper: Ballet Blue, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Markers (Ballet Blue, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Only Orange)
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Wide Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, 2 way glue pen, Dazzaling Diamonds Glitter, Dimensionals, Snowflake (Cuttlebug) Embossing Folder

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Bright Color Chirstmas

We normally think of red and green when it comes to Christmas. How about ORANGE? It's not just for Halloween. I started this card with the image panel. I wanted to use a bright blue for the letters and thought Tempting Turquoise would be nice. Of course most snowman have orange carrot noses. I wanted to use a little of that on the card itself. I desided to use a lot by making the bottom background Only Orange. The Green Galore went well as a third color for the main card base.
The two colors were rather bright so to tone them down a little I stamped snowflakes from the Flaky Friends set on the top portion in White Craft Ink. I also rolled the Jumbo Snow Wheel on the bottom in White Craft. In the top right corner of the image is a velumn image punched with the snowburst punch.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Clear Ornaments

Once I saw someone else's ornaments, I HAD to have this stamp set. I was sold at first sight. It has taken me a long time to finally make the ornaments the stamps were meant for , but well worth the cost of the stamp set.
I only had time to do two of them the other night, but they are fabulous. I have an ornament exchange next month at church. I am definitely taking one of these. I also think this will be part of my Christmas gift to the family.


1.) Stamp the image in Stazon onto transparency sheets.
2.) After it is dry-turn it over and color with sharpie markers. If you want white, use a Watercolor Wonder Crayon.
3.) Allow that to dry--then cut out the circle to fit inside the ornament. Leave a small tab at the top of the circle for easy placement into the ball.
4.) Coat the back with a thin layer of Crystal Effets. I put CE on one ornament and then squishes them together to get a nice even coat on both.
5.) Cover with Dazzaling Diamonds. Shake off excess. Allow to dry OVERNIGHT.
6.) Wipe off any more loose glitter with a small brush.
7.) Roll up and place inside a clean clear ornament. It will open on its own once inside. Use the tab to hold the circle in place.
8.) Spoon in some fake snow on both sides of the circle. Replace the top of the ornament being sure both prongs are on the same side.
9.) OPTIONAL--Tie ribbon to the top hanger of the ornament. I did not do that here.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Super Fast Peppermint Treats

Everyone loves treats. Here is a super simple way to decorate your treats.
All you need is some scraps of cardstock, a small stamp image, a basic ink pad, something to color with, some adhesive and a few punches.
1.) On a neutral piece of cardstock, stamp your small image with your basic ink. I stamped the mitten from "Flaky Friends" in Basic Black onto Whisper White cardstock.
2.) Color in your image. I colored my mittens with Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore Markers.
3.) Punch out your images with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.
4.) Punch out coordinating cardstock with the 1 3/8" Circle Punch and the Scalloped Circle Punch. I punched my shapes out of the same colors I colored the mittens with.
5.) Layer your punched items together using the adhesive of your choice. I used my SU! Snail Adhesive.
6.) Attach your layered images to the flat side of some York Peppermint Patties.
7.) The last and best step--Give them away to all your friends, use them as an after dinner mint on your holiday table, or curl up next to the fire and eat them yourself.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Membership has it's privileges

Being a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! that is. I had a stamping sensory overload on Friday. First I stalked the demonstrator web site all day to get an early look at the Preview catalog coming out. Those who have ordered from my within the last 6 months are receiving your own copy sent to your home with the next short time. They come from the distribution center, so I don't know the exact day they will arrive. It finally went online about 3:15 in the afternoon.
At that very same moment the UPS man arrived at my house. He had with him a small bubble envelope from none other than the CEO of Stampin' Up!, Shelli. This woman is wonderful. She sent all of the demonstrators a FREE stamp set.
Which one you ask? A brand new never seen before stamp set. It is called, "Time Well Spent". It is going to be a Level 3 Hostess set in the Spring/Summer Collection coming out in January. It is BEAUTIFUL!! The double line images make shading a breeze. The different flowers, leaves and sayings are perfectly matched.
Oh, I'm sorry, you want to see a picture of it. Well, I can't. Do to copywrite laws I can't show you a photo of the stamp set. I can do one better though. I made a card with it last night. I love the largest flower in the set. I also love the butterfly, but didn't want to overdo it on my first card. As a side note, the Designer Paper I used here was also free. Thanks again Shelli. She felt bad that all the demos had to deliver (newly corrected) and appologize to our customers for the misprinted Holiday Harmony DSP, that she sent us a random free pack of DSP. I received Fall Flowers. I didn't like it too much in the catalog, but LOVED it in person. I may have to order the other papers that I am not sure about. They are probably fabulous in person also.
I used a paint brush to color in the images with ink from the lid of my In Color ink pads. The slot punch made it easy to put some River Rock Double Stitched Ribbon on each side of the sentiment. Again, the Designer Series Paper is from the Fall Flowers Collection. I wasn't sure about Blue Bayou or Groovy Guava separately, but together they really work here.
Here is a stamped index one of the lovely ladies on SCS made for this stamp set. She colored everything in with markers. All of the images are double line and ready for your creativity of color. This stamp set is only available to hostesses with a $500 workshop. With Sale-A-Bration from Feb 1st - March 15th, this is the perfect time to book your workshop and earn one for yourself.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Tripple Treats for Friends

Do you have 12 friends that you would love to make coordinating projects for with minimal supplies? Are those 12 friends worth $9.95 and a few other on hand cardstock and supplies? With the Stampin' Up! November Paper Special (Buy 3 get 1 Free) you can increase that to 48 friends for only $29.85. Change the colors of the paper and have coordinating gifts for any party from Baby Showers to Birthdays.

My monthly club met the other night. Instead of learning a new stamping technique we learned three quick projects for perfect gift giving. The best part is the supplies were minimal and only used one sheet of Designer Series Paper for all three projects. All of the directions for each can be found on SCS. The direct links are at the bottom of this post.

The images on the Criss Cross Card are from the "In The Spotlight" Hostess Level 2 Stamp Set. They were both stamped in Always Artichoke ink onto Very Vanilla. They were puched out using the Snow Burst and Scalloped Circle Punches. The snow burst image is held on with a brad through all the layers of the insert. When we were done with all the projects there was enough pattern paper left over to make a couple of the gift tags I showed you yesterday.

Here is a list of supplies needed to make all three projects.
1 sheet of Designer Paper 12x12 (Cut into three parts 2-6x6 and 1-12x6)
1 sheet of solid cardstock-Always Artichoke used here
1/4 sheet of coordinating cardstock-River Rock used here
1/2 sheet Neutral cardstock-Very Vanilla used here
Scrap of coordinating solid cardstock-Purely Pomegranate used for tag on insert
1 1/2" x 12" piece of cardstock for card band (Optional)-Purely Pomegrante used here
4 brads (3 for bow & 1 for card tag)
1/16th Hole punch
3 Glue dots or dimentionals for bow
Ribbon-Always Artichoke used here
Sticky Strip
Snail Adhesive
Paper Cutter with Cutting and Scoring Blades
Punches, Ink and Stamps of choice

Directions for each project can be found by clicking on the name of the item.

Paper Bow

Party Favor

Criss Cross Card

Friday, November 16, 2007

Holiday Tutorial Blitz

If you have not been over to SCS lately now is a good time to check it out. They are having a Holiday Blitz Tutorial. Each day there is a new tutorial for a gift projects. On Monday was this adorable treat box. Here is a direct link to the tutorial. I used Real Red and a couple sheets of my dwindling collection of "Dashing" Designer Series Paper. I wasn't too sure how sturdy it would be at first glance. After making it I can say that it is quite sturdy. I wouldn't load it full of lotion bottles or anything, but it qill hold some snacks (popcorn or candy) for the table.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Quick favor

I made these for the craft fair at the church. I have seen them several times before on SCS. This is my version. The tag was stamped with an image from "Festive Favorites". I printed out the poem on my computer for the back of the tag. I colored in the image using my stampin write markers. I wanted whoever bought them to be able to take the price tag off, so the angle policy stamp is separate from the tag.
The oatmeal and glitter were put into a small 4x6 zip bag and tied in the middle with some silver cord. The woman who bought most of them plans to give them to her grandchildren.
REINDEER FOOD
Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home


Tuesday, November 13, 2007

WINNER!!

Sorry I am late. I was stamping for the first time in over a week.
The winner is Melanie aka batgirl. Please email me (fa_stamper@sbcglobal.net) with your address and I will send your candy out.
Congrats to Melanie and thank you to all who entered.
Keep checking back often. I am close to 100 posts, my SU! anniversary and 3000 hits will be here before I know it.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

CANDY TIME!

Thank you for being patient with my lack of posts. I have had NO time to stamp. The church bazaar is in it's final day and then clean up begins. I hope to start stamping again on Tuesday making Thank you's for all those wonferful people who helped me this week.
That brings me to my blog candy. I have been over 2000 hits for a week or so. All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered. If you would like a second chance at some candy, please link your comment to a thank you card. It can be one you made or one you plan to CASE. I am looking for simple WOW! cards. Something that I could CASE about 75 cards in a day or two.
You have until Tuesday at 8:00 pm CT to enter. I don't have a picture as of yet. There is a free stamp set involved. I will pick one winner randomly (DD picks out of a hat) from all the comments.
THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK!!

EDIT:........................
Here is a picture of the candy. There is 6 sheets of 6x6 Au' Chocolate Designer Paper (retired), 2 yards of 1/4" Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon (Retired), 4 pieces of "Holiday Trimmings" Chipboard, and the "Blooming with Happiness" stamp set (NUM)

Thank you for all the comments so far and to those of you who linked or emailed me thank you card examples. I'l pick the winner tomorrow.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Thank you CASE

Last week I shared a gift set I made for someone who had just had surgery. When I dropped off the gift set and a meal for her family, she asked if I would make some thank you cards for the ladies who have been making her family meals. I said yes of course. I went home that day and made two for her. Both ideas I got from SCS. When the church bazaar is over I will make her some more.
The first card I CASED from willosmoma. I liked the layout and color scheme she used. I did decide to color my tree differently. Her coloring was beautiful, but I didn't have that kind of time or talent in coloring. I colored mine with a dauber and some classic inks. Though it is hard to see in this photo, I did steal her punched edges on the pattern strip. To make my holes quickly I ran it through the sewing machine without any thread. I didn't put a sentiment on it. If she has enough cards, I thought this one would be perfect to save for any occassion.
The second card I adapted from mommyoftwo. Again I used the layout. I changed the stamp set this time and the colors. I like the verses you get with the "Define Your Life" stamp set. The "kindness" definition worked great for this card. The pom flower is stamped several times without reinking the stamp to give the faded look. Using a sponge I applyed the Groovy Guava onto the white areas. I also added the silver cord to tie the top and bottom of the image panel together.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A baby thanks

I made a sample thank you for the lady who wanted the announcements. Again, she wanted someting simple. Whenever I need a simple, yet effective, card I grab "Greetings Galore". It has 8 stamps in the set. One for each major need. I love the little baby on the rocking horse.
The pattern paper is from the Designer Prints Series again. There are 12 sheets in each package. (2 each of 6 double sided designs) The Banana strip is paper matted behind the print. I off set the oval punches to make room for a brad.
The sentiment is from the same stamp set, but from a different stamp. Under the baby it says "welcome baby", but these are meant to be thank you cards for gifts she receives. You can easily substitute whatever small image you have and change the colors to be more gender specific. This layout is timeless and usefull for everything.

Monday, November 5, 2007

She's having a baby

Not me.
A few people have asked if I would make cards for them. I sat down the other day and made a couple of samples for each of them. I will try and show you one each day this week. I am chairman of our church craft bazaar this weekend and have an incredibly time consuming job with set up this week. Please be patient, I will do my best to show you some new things.
On to todays card.
The first request was for some baby announcements. She wanted them to be very simple. I only own one "baby" stamp set and it was retired in July. This basic design would work with many stamp sets, in many colors, with many sentiments.
The bunny is colored in with markers to match the Designer Prints So Saffron Paper. On the left edges of the image I went over the coloring with a second layer of the same marker color to give it a little shading. The mat for the image and the sentiment is Sage Shadow cardstock. The ribbon is white grosgrain. I cut a length, tie the knot and then attached it to the card with some snail adhesive. The sentiment is from "warm words" and punched out with the small oval punch. It is layer on a piece punched with the large oval punch.
For the announcments, the birth information would be placed on the inside of the card. This card could also be used as a card for the new mom. The colors are very gender neutral, but can be changed easily with the selection of Designer Paper. Then simply color the bow to match the paper or gender of the baby.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Get Well Angela

For those of you who don't know the FA in FA_Stamper stands for Field Artilery. My husband is in the army. We have a group of wives that get together to support one another and be sure we are up to date with any news for the unit. I received notice the other day that one of the ladies had to have emergency surgery for complications from a previous surgery.
I have volunteered to make a meal for her family on Friday. Angela is an on the go person who is always doing things for others. I wanted to make her something special to make her feel better that she has to stop and rest. What better way to do that than with chocolate.

I made her a chipboard coaster box using the "Cutie Pie" Designer Series Paper. I had to hide the candy from my DD, I will add that tomorrow. I covered the four sides of the box with the Designer Paper. The inside is covered with Bashful Blue. The bottom on inside bottom are covered with Old Olive. I used the same image on each side. It is from the "Greetings Galore" stamp set. This set is perfect for any quick note card you could ever need.

I had a few pieces of the Designer Paper left over so I also made her a card and candy wrap. The base of both items is Bashful Blue. The ribbon is Wide Old Olive Grosgrain. The simple tag on the candy is from "Loads of Love". I punched it out with the tag punch and attached it to a scallop circle with a brad. Be sure to check out the after Halloween candy sales. I got this giant Kit Kat bar for only a quarter today. I got a few (19) extras just in case. :wink:
The card uses the largest flower in the Pretties Kit. It is held on with the rhinstone brad that came in the kit. The sentiment, from "Sincere Salutations", is stamped on Old Olive and punched out with the Key Tag Punch.
I used less than one sheet of Designer Paper, 2 sheets of Bashful Blue and 1/2 sheet of Old Olive. This was a quick simple project that will hopefully warm her heart. Try one for a friend of yours today.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Designer Series Paper November Special

For the month of November Stampin' Up! is offering a special perfect for everyone. When you purchase 3 packs of Designer Series Paper, you get a 4th for FREE! The Designer Series Paper is found on pages 170-173 of the Fall/Winter Collection. There are also two in the Winter Mini Catalog.
To help you keep all your projects looking good, here is a list of the colors used on each paper. Check your stock and be sure you are ready to make wonderful coordinating projects.

Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
Cerise: Real Red, Very Vanilla
Charbon: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Creepy Crawly: Basic Black, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust
Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron
Darling Doodles: Brocade Blue, Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Wild Wasabi
Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Flowers for You: Certainly Celery, Lovely Lilac, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise
LeJardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Linen Prints: Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Pink Passion
Notations No.2: More Mustard, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi
Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean (retired), Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Taken with Teal
Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi
Uptown: Almost Amethyst, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi
Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky


Holiday Harmony: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Apple Cider: Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, River Rock, Wild Wasabi

Prints: Monochromatic papers available in Almost Amethyst, Always Artichoke, Blue Bayou, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Close to Cocoa, Groovy Guava, Lovely Lilac, More Mustard, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, River Rock, Rose Red, So Saffron, Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Trial and errors with Mod Podge

I have been working on a number of crafts to give to the church craft bazaar in two weeks. Most of the crafts have nothing to do with stamping at all. (the reason I have no new stmaping items to show lately) This is one project I was hoping to make for them, but it has turned into a big learning tool for the future. There are too many mistakes and imperfections on here to give it to the church craft bazaar, but it is good to show you what you can and CAN'T do if you try and make one.
The first thing I learned is to use something other than newspaper to protect my table. Newspaper is my standard table protectant. Easy to clean and always available in my house. When you are working with Mod Podge though the newspaper can become stuck to your project and does not peel off. The picture covered most of it well, but there are dirt smudges all over the bottom area.
I do like the cookie sheets that I got at the dollar store. When I was done I could peel the excess glue that was not on the paper, but on the cookie sheet itself. It does make me nervous that later the paper will peel from the cookie sheet also.
When you use the Mod Podge and white or vanilla paper, be sure your hands are clean. Wear gloves if possible. Any dirt I got on my hands from the newspaper would get into the Mod Podge on my project and give it little dirty spots.
DO NOT USE CLASSIC INK IF YOU PLAN TO COVER IT WITH MOD PODGE. The ink will run and give a faded look. Afterwards I did go back with a marker and color the letters in "christmas" back in. It helped a little, but I still had to seal the ink afterwards with a spray. It is best to use craft ink or emboss your items first before coating them with Mod Podge.
The flowers and leaves are cut out of paper. These went on easily and look very nice.
Don't be alarmed if your paper bubbles up a little when you cover it with Mod Podge. As it dries it work its way out on its own. Be sure to coat the item with a good layer of Mod Podge before putting your paper down, this will help it to stick better. It dries enough to hold the paper very quickly so be careful when placing it, so you don't have to try and move it.
The numbers are also cut from paper. After the letter fiasco I had to try something else. I stamped the numbers in versamark onto the Real Red cardstock. I cut them out and adheared them to the panels with Mod Podge. The number panels are actually chipboard coasters cut in half. I covered them in Old Olive cardstock. I them put a panel of Very Vanilla on top and the number on top of all that. Each layer was put on with Mod Podge. I like how these turned out and next time will do all the letters this way. There are pieces of magnet on the back of the number to hold them on the sign. The extra number go on the other side of the sign (what is actually the top of the cookie sheet).
The crop-a-dile went through the top edge easily to tie the ribbon on.
I hope my trial and errors helped you as you think about talking a project with Mod Podge.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Left Overs

I havn't posted one of my own works in a little while. I have some other obligations I need to tend to right now. I did make this page this morning. I had to get out my sewing machine for something else and thought, "I havn't sewn on a card in a long time." I have also had a bunch of pieces from my Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit taking up space on my desk.
I rumaged through my paper scraps and found a Real Red 6x6 piece. Perfect for a little scrapbook page. In my SSK pieces I have a number of little pattern pieces left over. I pulled out my photo corner punch and some scrap Wild Wasabi. A couple pieces of Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon and we are done.

I stitched the photo corners on so I can add a picture later. The piece in the lower left corner is from the SSK. It has some lines on it to write on. I think it will be perfect for names and ages of those in the photo. That is my sewing machine in the background. Nothing special, just basic stiches.