Blastin' Off in Bubble Wrap

Yes, I'm back. Didn't expect me, did ya? I wish I could say that last post about me cutting back on my blog was a bunch of hooey, and that I'll actually greet you here at 10:23pm sharp every night... but my husband is a lot more fun to have a late night love affair with than this computer. Sorry y'all! But... he's out of town tonight. So I threw aside the boxes and bubble wrap (no fun jumping out of boxes wrapped in bubble wrap when Michael's not here)... and decided to make a card instead.

A good neighbor friend of mine came down the other night so she could play with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and decide which color family to get (of course I told her she simply had to have them all). During our play-time, I colored a couple of these rockets from Pun Fun. I'm not sure why I decided to color this little guy Turquoise and Eggplant, but I did... maybe it was so I could show her TWO different color families - yes, that's me... saleswoman extraordinaire. In any case, this is what I wound up with:

My favorite part about this one is the cool texture in the background... Talk about a love affair? That Big Shot and I have somethin' pretty special going on. Don't tell Michael.

Here's a better shot of the background:

And, just in case you wanted to see the fruit of my labored sales pitch, here's a close up of the rocket, in all it's multi-color-family glory.

She only bought one color family this time... maybe I oughta stick to the bubble wrap gig.

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Pun Fun
Ink: Black StazOn
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Naturals White, textured Elegant Eggplant, Watercolor Paper, Rainbow Sherbet DSP
Accessories: Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Bold Bright eyelets
Tools: Big Shot, Stampin' Backgrounds Texturz Plates, Scalloped Edge punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Cutter Kit, Dimensionals

Loads of Love

My friends and I are wanting to thank some childcare workers who so lovingly care for our boys each week (between us we have 8 boys). My sweet 2-year old Maddox literally RUNS into their arms - and that says A LOT about the way these women nurture our boys. They are two dear, sweet ladies, and a true blessing in my life. What better way to express that than with a homemade card, and what better set to use than the old standby, Loads of Love?!

These adorable trucks were watercolored with an Aquapainter and the Watercolor Wonder Crayons - except for the hearts, where I used the Riding Hood Red ink pad lid. Remember what I said in this post about how the ink pad lids give you a more vibrant color? These cards are the perfect example... the trucks are a softer color coming from Watercolor Wonder Crayons, and the hearts are more vibrant, coming from the ink pad lid. I chose to keep the trucks softer, because I wanted to draw attention to the hearts. Oh, and don't forget that you can get a single Aquapainter this month for only $7.25 - that's a great savings, and one is really all you need. No minimum purchase, no limits, but only while supplies last.

I knew I wanted to put some ribbon on these cards, but I struggled with it because it was too much when laid across the whole card. I knew I just wanted a touch of ribbon... and voila! The perfect solution presented itself!

One of my favorite things about these cards are the fun new Clips Assortment that is in the current catalog (#112580, pg. 184, $6.95). These things are so stinkin' cute!! I love the little chunky paperclip - which is what I used on the cards above. It provided the perfect way to tie on just a touch of ribbon. Another one of my "gotta have" products!!

Thanks for visiting, friends... Have a blessed weekend!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Loads of Love
Ink: Black StazOn, Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue, Watercolor Paper, Banbury DSP
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Clips Assortment
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Cutter Kit

Girl-y Birthday!

Hi folks! Sorry I've been MIA for so long... but you will be happy to know that I've been working so diligently on the cards for my upcoming Christmas Card Buffet, that I've not had time to stamp anything else for you! I have created 8 different cards for it and I am hoping to show those to you by Wednesday, if all goes well.

In the meantime, here is a card I whipped up for a dear friend's little girl over the weekend. I love having a chance to make girl-y pink cards!!

Nothing tricky about it! I used my Stampin' Write markers to color in the cake, and even though the cardstock is Pink Pirouette, the Pretty in Pink marker works fine. That's not always the case, though. I really hope that Stampin' Up! decides to give us Stampin' Write markers in the In Colors someday... and for those of you who agree with me, how about sending them an e-mail asking for it? If we all join forces, maybe we can make it happen! Their e-mail address is marketing@stampinup.com.

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: It's a Stretch, Best Yet, Classic Stripes background
Ink: Basic Black, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Versamark
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Accessories: Pink Gingham ribbon, Pretty in Pink brads
Tools: Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, 1/16" Circle punch

Trick or Treat!

The start of October means it's almost that time! You know, when you have to start rearranging the pantry to make room for all the candy? And then we get so sick of it after a couple of weeks (only because we've already scarfed down the ones we like *giggle*) that we start secretly throwing handfuls into the trash so as not to upset the kids?! (I know I'm not the only one!) Well, to help get myself into the spirit, I decided to bust out a new Halloween set I purchased. I don't buy many Halloween sets, but I really liked this one - and what makes it better is that the little peppermint stamp in it can be used at Christmastime, too! Soon, I'll show you another Halloween card using the stamp I'm talking about. For this one, I used candy corn!

I used my Stampin' Write markers on the sentiment and the candy corn to get the different colors. But on the candy, I then went back with a Versamark Marker to re-moisten the different candy segments and then coated it with Clear Embossing Powder and heated it with the Heat Tool so they'd be shiny... here's a closer look in the glare so you can see what I mean:

I wondered how I was going to get the white part of the candy corn to show up, but what I did was allow my stamp to be a little dirty when I stamped it onto the Whisper White cardstock, and the top portion of the candy (which I didn't color at all) was just a little darker because of the stamp not being totally clean. You can't really see what I'm talking about in the photo above... but the the embossing makes that top segment show up regardless.

So don't forget to start stocking up on your candy corn real soon for all the ghosts and goblins that will be at your door in a month... okay, so maybe it won't be ghosts and goblins. More like Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles, and I bet we'll see a couple Wall-e Robots this year. Hey, since I don't have costumes for my kids yet, why don't you leave a comment of what your kids are going to be so I can get some ideas?! Any costume tips would also be helpful. Hmmmmm... all this talk of candy and comments seems like a good opportunity for some blog candy! (Now I'll see who actually reads my posts...) *hee hee* I'll do the drawing on October 8th - one week from today - and since this is kind of a hidden candy, I'll be sure to make it extra "sweet".

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Tasty Sweet
Ink: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Buttons, Linen Thread
Tools: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Tearing Edge

Sleepover Invitation

My oldest son turned 11 this week, and we scheduled a sleepover for tomorrow night with some of his friends... but with Hurricane Ike scheduled to pass over us about that time, it may have to be postponed. But here are the sleepover invitations I made for it:

This was a fun way to use the bear from Under the Stars - he's certainly fun to watercolor, but as you can see, he also looks great just stamped in Chocolate Chip! I did use a couple of retired items for this card - that Chocoloate Chip Twill ribbon is no longer current (and I was sad that it didn't make it into the big catalog), as well as the Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware.

The little sleeping bag from this stamp set was perfect to go on the inside, and I left enough blank space so I could write in the details.

If you are here in Texas and in the path of Hurricane Ike, please be safe. And hug your family for me!

Invitation Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Under the Stars, Family Phrases
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Confetti White, Close to Cocoa, More Mustard
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Twill ribbon (retired), Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware (retired)

Another Apology

This was another version of a card I made for my friend whose little boy bit a little girl (read this post for the story). I gave her both of these to choose from and she chose the one in the earlier post, but I thought I'd show you this one anyway.

I do love the Pun Fun stamp set. And this little skunk is just so cute, but the sentiment is my favorite part! The flower in the background comes from Holiday Blitz - but it matches his little flower nicely!

Get off to a great week, everyone!

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Pun Fun, Holiday Blitz
Ink: Black StazOn, Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Accessories: Black Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Word Window Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, Stampin' Pastels, Stamping Sponge, Dimensionals

A Sorry Froggie

Happy September, everyone... Yes, it's the first of the month. And yes, that usually means a new batch of Stamp-a-Stack cards. But yes, this was a holiday weekend. And yes, I was out of town, again. So no, there are no Stamp-a-Stack cards to share this time. In fact, I am re-thinking my direction on Stamp-a-Stack and may not have them this month - at least not in the format you are used to. I'm still giving it some thought, so I will be letting you know the outcome as soon as I get it all figured out.

In the meantime, a good friend of mine needed my help. Her adorable little boy uncharacteristically bit one of his little friends. She wanted to send the little girl a card, and she admitted that I've ruined her from store-bought cards (yippee!!!)... but she didn't have the right supplies to make a cute little apology card herself, so I stepped in. This is what I made for her to send:

This is using one of our new sets, called A Flower For All Seasons. It has 4 cute little stamps, and I thought this was the perfect one for a little boy to send to a little girl, what with that cute little frog and all! I watercolored it with my Aquapainter and beloved Watercolor Wonder Crayons. Here is a closer look:

I normally don't use retired items in the cards I show you, but I must confess that I did use part of a sentiment from Unfrogettable ... "sorry" about that! The full recipe is below. A simple card for a very specific occasion... isn't it nice to be able to whip something up for circumstances like this?! A homemade card is often times the best way to sum up your feelings when a spoken apology just doesn't seem like enough.

Recipe for an Apology:
Stamp Sets: A Flower For All Seasons, Unfrogettable (retired)
Ink: Black StazOn
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Textured Pumpkin Pie, Confetti White
Accessories: Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Scallop Edge punch, 1/16" Circle punch, Small Oval punch, Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter

A Big Cupcake Thank You

This new giant cupcake stamp is just what I needed to make Maddox's thank you cards! I wanted to use the same basic colors as I did in his invitation, which you can see in this post. I was inspired by this card on Splitcoast, so here's my version:

I thought the crimping on the bottom was just perfect! And I need to use up all these eyelets I still have as we no longer carry them, so this was an ideal opportunity. I put the sentiment on the inside - which is so great because it saves you from having to write the same thing over and over!!

It'll be even better when Maddox can write them out himself! ...not that I'm rushing him. As promised, here is a photo of him on his birthday playing with the balloon bouquet.

He still melts my heart... but then again, so does his daddy. Life is good. ;)

Card Recipe:
Stamp Set: Simple Birthday Thanks, Family Phrases
Ink: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Real Red
Accessories: Real Red Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, Linen Thread, Bold Bright Eyelets (retired), Chunky Essentials glitter
Tools: Crop-a-Dile, Crimper, Small Oval Punch, Glue Pen

The Set I HAD to Have!

As soon as I turned the page in the catalog to the new Under the Stars set, I gasped and knew I HAD to have it! It was first on my list... so you'll be seeing more. (Edited to add: How could I forget to mention that this set is currently 15% off?! This is through September 30th - see this post for details. Thanks, Tabitha, for reminding me!) Here's the first thing I made with it:

This is a gate fold, where it opens from both directions. I think you normally see it vertical, but I did mine horizontal. The bear is only attached at the top and he comes down to rest on the bottom fold. You'll notice that I used the sentiment from Wild About You, which I thought was appropriate! And oh, those skeeters with the spray... just TOO CUTE!! Here is the inside with space for another sentiment or a hand-written note:

Brent Steele, Stampin' Up!'s VP of Creative Services, created a fabulous card for us at convention using this set - he had the bear's arms flapping up and down with a pull tab like in a children's book. He was swatting at all those skeeters! Perhaps I can duplicate it someday.

Thanks for visiting!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Under the Stars, Wild About You
Ink: More Mustard, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Naturals Ivory, More Mustard
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain ribbon, Vintage brads
Tools: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Aquapainter, Large Oval punch

Maddox is Turning Two!

I can't believe it myself... just yesterday he was trying to walk. But our little guy will be two this Sunday! You may know that there is a 7 year gap between our second son and baby Maddox (he was planned, I assure you!), so having a little one around again has been both a challenge AND a true joy! He's an easy kid... and just the cutest darn thing.

I knew I wanted to do a cupcake invitation for him, because I'm dying to use the new Simple Birthday Thanks stamp after the party! (I like my invitations and thank you's to coordinate). And I WANTED to use the new Crazy for Cupcakes set for the invitation, but I'm still waiting on Mr. Brown to bring it to me! So, I had to use another fun cupcake found in Big Bold Birthday. I am pleased with how it turned out - I wanted green and blue, and that's what I got!

No real tricks here - other than stamping the cupcake base and the candles onto the Whisper White first (with some blank space between), and then cut the icing out separately and added it with Dimensionals. I also glitzed the icing up a bit with a Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds. Full recipe is below.

I'll share a photo of our sweet baby Maddox after his party on Sunday... just cuz I like to show him off a bit! :)

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Big Bold Birthday, Family Phrases
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue, Old Olive
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie narrow grosgrain ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds
Tools: Key Tag punch, Two Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals

Swirly Bugs!

One of the neatest things about Convention was all of the great new techniques and ideas we learned. Here is one such example. Check out the front of this card...

You can't really tell in the photo, but I stamped the Kiwi Kiss with the Paisley background. Cute, but nothing too exciting, right? And why on earth would I want to use Basic Black as my base? Well, this is what you see INSIDE:

B-O-I-N-G! Isn't it darling?! There is a curly-Q attached to the top and bottom that folds up very well when it's closed, but springs out when you open it! I've attached some brightly colored bugs to it - but you could do this with almost anything! The presenter at Convention did one with the beer mug in the new set, Cheers To You, and it was a fantastic masculine birthday card! I had to use the Coluzzle to make mine as I am still waiting on my new 1-3/4" Circle Punch to arrive, but basically you take some scissors and cut a nice size circle into a swirl. Then you put Glue Dots on the ends of the swirl (the top of the center, and the bottom of the tail end). You want it to fold up into a nice circle again when the card is closed, so in order to achieve that, place the circle where you want it on the inside bottom of the card, and then close the card so the other end attaches to the top. Here are some more views:

The one above shows you a better side view so you can see how it stands up. The one below is just so you can see the sentiment I used.

I am going to be teaching my downline how to make a card like this at our Team Meeting on Saturday afternoon! So girls, if any of you are looking, I hope you're planning to be here!

Card Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Bugs & Kisses, Paisley background
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun
Cardstock: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: Whisper White narrow grosgrain ribbon
Tools: Coluzzle Cutting System, Glue Dots

Did Someone Ask for YoYo Yellow?

The Skool Teacher is still MIA - but I know she'll turn up eventually as she's the winner of my earlier blog candy! And I do intend to make a card using the More Mustard that she has trouble with. But since I haven't heard from her yet, I thought I'd take an opportunity to offer a suggestion on the #1 listed color challenge - YoYo Yellow! It seems that so many of you have a hard time with this color, so I made it a priority to make something with it as soon as possible.

I will start by admitting that this is probably my least used color as well. I'm not much for bold and bright colors in general, but when I do use them, I never let them overwhelm my cards. I usually only use splashes to brighten up the look. Here, as you can see, I used a YoYo Yellow base, but toned it down by adding a layer of Close to Cocoa and some Pumpkin Pie from the Jersey Shore DSP. I think those colors are also appropriate since I'm using a giraffe here! And because I intend to give this to a darling little girl (I won't mention who in case she sees this before it arrives!), I decided to add a little bit of bling as shown below:

These are some Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads... there's one in the sentiment as well. Aren't they cute? I'd say this giraffe is STYLIN'...

I will work on some other cards with this difficult color, as it is my aim to make those of you who are as challenged as I am in the YoYo Yellow department go "Ahhhhhh! Now I LIKE it!" Just let me know when I hit the winning look! :)

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Wild About You
Ink: YoYo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: YoYo Yellow, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Jersey Shore DSP, Whisper White
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain ribbon, Fire Circle Rhinestone Brads
Tools: Large Oval punch, Dimensionals

Childhood Sock Monkeys

My grandmother made sock monkeys and I remember having one as a kid. When Stampin' Up! showed us this sneak preview stamp set, I knew I had to have it!

He was so much fun to make - with his white paws and tail! I stamped him with Chocolate Chip ink onto Kraft cardstock, cut him out, and then stamped him again onto some Confetti Cream and Ruby Red so I could cut out the appropriate parts to glue down on the Kraft monkey. ...and yes, I used some MORE Textured Old Olive cardstock! Are you tired of this color yet??!

Here's the recipe for this cute little guy:

Stamp Sets: Sock Monkey (NEW!), A Little Birthday Cheer
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Textured Old Olive, Confetti Cream, Ruby Red
Accessories: Earth Elements Buttons
Tools: Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Stamping Sponge, Tag Corner punch, Glue Pen

Just a warning real quick - I won't be posting much over the next week or so. I'll be heading to the Stampin' Up! Convention on the 30th (Yippee!!), but that means I've been hard at work on my swaps. You'll get to see my swap card on August 1st, as I'm going to use it as one of my August Stamp-a-Stack cards! I'm also hard pressed for stamping time because as I mentioned, I have MORE houseguests staying with us... my in-laws (mother-in-law, step-father-in-law, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew). So that means my lovely Stamp Room is being used as a guest bedroom!

But don't worry - when I get back from convention, I'm sure I'll have LOTS and LOTS of things to share with you!! :)

Wild About Pumpkin Pie!

I have a couple colors that I'm really "digging" right now... Old Olive (as shown in a recent post) and Pumpkin Pie. Not necessarily together, mind you! ...but hey, that could work? In any case, here's another card I created before my Scottish guests arrived, and it's full of Pumpkin Pie!

My favorite part is the lion's head. I stamped the lion three times - twice with Apricot Appeal and once with Pumpkin Pie - and then cut out the different pieces to layer it together. The pieces are raised up with Dimensionals to give it a 3D look. Here's a better view:

There's no other tricks... so here's the recipe!

Stamp Sets: Wild About You, Paisley background
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Basic Black
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Apricot Appeal, Whisper White
Accessories: Narrow Grosgrain ribbon in Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, and Apricot Appeal

Oh, and the Retiring Accessories List will be posted tomorrow (Monday), so stay tuned and I'll keep you informed!

Happy Birthday, Morgan!

My middle son, Morgan, is 9 years old today. My, how time flies! I sat down bright and early this morning to make his card, and choosing colors was the easiest part. You see, Morgan and I kind of have this running joke about Only Orange. Refer to this post for an explanation. It's been one of his favorite Stampin' Up! colors ever since! Often times, when I'm working on a new card, he'll come in to observe and he'll ask, "Are you going to use Only Orange on this one?" So, I knew his card simply MUST have Only Orange in it! His other favorite color is blue, so I chose Brilliant Blue and Bashful Blue. The Color Coach approves of my decision, so I knew it would turn out well.

I must also remind you that this card uses both Big Pieces and Little Pieces stamp sets - both due to retire in August!! See this post for the lists. Eeeeeek! Best snatch those up while you still can! They make for simple cards and other projects (see the Tic-Tac-Toe board we made in Girls Club last month, too!). The sentiment comes from Family Phrases, which is NOT retiring.

Recipe:
Stamp Sets: Big Pieces, Little Pieces, Family Phrases
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Only Orange
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Only Orange, Whisper White
Tools: Word Window Punch, The Tearing Edge

What I love about Morgan... he's my avid game player. We love to play Bananagrams, Blokus, Labyrinth, Scene It, and many more together. He's softspoken... (which also means you have to say "Excuse me?" a lot!) He has a incredible love for animals, which he no doubt got from me. And he loves to play with my hair... from before he could even crawl, my hair has been his comfort. He is a kind, sensitive, and loving young man... my life is richer because he's in it. Happy, Happy Birthday, my sweet boy!!

The Last Day of School!

This is it! The last day of school! It flies a lot faster than it did when I was the one in school... who can relate?! The good news for me is that I can sleep in a bit more now... well, as long as baby Maddox will allow, that is! Below you'll find the cards I made for the boys' teachers.

I made these using Bashful Blue bases paired up with Brilliant Blue and various patterns from the Jersey Shore DSP - and what fun they were! I started with the main element - the boy and his teacher. These were stamped with the All in the Family stamp set and I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up perfectly. In case you are new to my blog (welcome!), you may want to take a look at my Stamp-a-ma-jig Tutorial if you've never used this tool. All three cards are adorned with some Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon - which is in my CURRENT Ribbon Share! See this post for more details on that! The sentiment comes from Family Phrases - great for when you're making a card for a kid or giving a card FROM your kid (as in this case). After making the first card, I just changed the elements a bit to create two more similar, but different, cards! Here they are close-up:





It's hard to believe that after today I will have a new 5th grader and 3rd grader... and one of them is almost as tall as me!! (well, that's not saying too much since I'm only 5' 2 1/2", but STILL!! Aren't they supposed to stay shorter than Mom until they're at least 17?!)

We're heading out of the country right after school lets out... so my posts may be sparse for the next few days. Enjoy your weekend!!

Quick Birthday

Here's a quick birthday card you can whip up pretty fast... probably in the amount of time it took me to publish this post! (in a hurry today)

Ingredients:
Stamp Sets - Think Happy Thoughts, Sweet Stars jumbo wheel
Cardstock - Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Rose Red, Cutie Pie DSP
Ink - Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Accessories - Circle punches (1-3/8", 1-1/4", 3/4", 1/16"), Scallop punch, Rose Red brad, Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon

I hope you are all having a terrific week!