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".