Last Chance Embrace

With the Last Chance List upon us, I've taken the opportunity to look through my samples. Since I don't often part with samples--whether my own, swaps, or cards people have sent me, I have a few to look through. :-)

Anyway, my favorite floral set that is retiring this year is Embrace Life. This is one of those sets I've used SO much. In fact, I did a search on my blog and was surprise to find only one post using this set. (See that HERE.)

So I took a few pictures to share with you. This first card above is actually pretty simple. The flower is colored using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aqua Painter. I cut it out and added a half back pearl from the Pretties Kit (also being discontinued).

For the scallop border along the side, I actually used my corner rounder punch with the guard taken off. . . . Why? Well, I made this card BEFORE the scallop edge punch was available. Seriously. :-) If I were to make this card again, I'd use that scallop edge punch!

And here is a mini version of the first card. This is an odd sized card at 3 3/4" by 2 1/2". I think this may have been one of the first mini cards I made to add to customer orders as a thank you--several years ago.


And here is another card with this same set Embrace Life. There is just something serene about this card. The colors are Sage Shadow and Handsome Hunter. Both of these colors are being discontinued. The images on the Sage Shadow layer are stamped with Versamark, and the main image is stamped with Basic Black and colored with a Sage Shadow marker. The sentiment is stamped with Handsome Hunter.

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me! Remember if you don't have this set, you'll want to order it before June 30th!

Stamps: Embrace Life
Ink: Basic Black, Rose Red, Versamark
Paper: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow, Whisper White
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, half back pearl (Pretties Kit), Linen Thread, dimensionals

Stampin' Celebration # 3

It's Thursday, which means another Stampin' Celebration Challenge! I just love the inspiration piece this week. Of course anything with purple is a sure win for me. :-) If you missed last week's challenge, you can see it HERE, along with the top 3 picks, HERE.

So, here is what I designed for this week:


The first thing I thought of when I saw this inspiration piece is the little flower that is part of the new Island Floral Bigz Die that is found in the Summer Mini Catalog. So, all of my projects today feature that same little flower. The colors I picked were Elegant Eggplant and So Saffron. And I seem to be stuck in 'clean and simple' mode lately, so I went with that theme.


To create the vase, I used the Wide Oval punch and trimmed off the two ends. Then I added a little bit of ric rac from the Orchard Ribbon Originals. The stem and leaf are actually the branch and wing from the Extra Large Two Step Bird Punch. :-) The flowers are of course from the Island Floral Die, and the button is from the Fresh Favoties II buttons.


For this card I used my Big Shot to cut out the Lattice die, and then mounted it on a 3x3 piece of paper. I trimmed the excess and then matted it with So Saffron. I wrapped hemp twine around that layer and added the flower. To create the center of the flower, I used the circle punch from the new Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack found in the Summer Mini and then added Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The So Saffron layer and the flower are up on dimensionals. The finished card size is 4" by 4".


I made the tag using my Medium Jewelry Tag Punch and the stamp set Tiny Tags. The flower, the 'frame', and the Elegant Eggplant layer are up on dimensionals. Finished card size is 4 1/4" by 4 1/4".


And last but not least, I have these cute little hair clips. I used the same Island Floral Die and ran it through my Big Shot with some felt. I was easily able to cut four layers of felt at once! To create the leaves, I just used two petals from a green flower. Some Whisper White grosgrain ribbon and a half-back pearl from the Pretties Kit finished them off nicely. Now my 2 year old daughter is not usually a fan of keeping anything in her hair, but I'm hoping that these clips may just be 'pretty' enough for her to want to keep that hair out of her face. :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by! Make sure that you head over to Stampin' Celebration to see what the other members of the Design Team have created using this same inspiration piece! And then play along with us--we'd love to see what you are inspired to create!

Stamps: Tiny Tags
Ink: Elegant Eggplant
Paper: So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Accessories: Lattice and Island Floral Die, Big Shot, Wide Oval Punch punch, Extra Large Two-step Bird Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Fresh Favorites II buttons, Pretties Kit, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Orchard Ribbon Originals, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, hemp twine, linen thread, dimensionals

Happy News!

Don't you just love happy news? A little while back I found out that I won Stampin Up's July Art Contest in the Flutter by Butterfly category! I was so excited. :-) Not only did I get to choose any 3 stamp sets from the catalog, my project is published in Stampin Success--the monthly magazine for demonstrators. Since the magazine went online today, I thought I would share my project with you!

I actually made this project quite some time ago--shortly after I made this butterfly bag. As you can see the bag grew a little bit. :-) I wanted to create a bag that was made entirely of Top Note Die cuts, and this is what I came up with. All of the brown you see on the bag (handles, inside, butterfly) all use the faux suede technique. There is also a pocket on the inside.

Note: I'm creating a tutorial for the bag that will be posted soon.

Ink: Chocolate Chip marker (for stitching detail)

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Bella Birds DP, White Vellum paper

Accessories: Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons, Pretties Kit, dimensionals, Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies die, Top Note die, thread

Polka Dot Elegance

Today I have another Sale-A-Bration card to show you! Just a reminder that Sale-A-Bration ends March 31, so if you want to take advantage of earning free product with a $50 order, now is the time! You can see the brochure HERE.

Anyway, I don't often copy ideas exactly from other people, but this card was just so pretty that didn't want to change a thing! I first saw this card on the idea boards at the Stampin Up Leadership conference, and later found the creator. Dawn over at DOstamping with Dawn made this card for the leadership boards. You can see her card HERE.

You'll notice that I didn't change very much. The only minor modifications were that I used the new Taste of Textiles paper (the white pin stripe paper on the left) and the new Organza Ribbon on top of the Brushed Silver strip of paper.

Another quick note: I actually used Basic Black craft ink, and then embossed with the Silver Embossing Powder. As long as you work fairly quickly, the silver embossing powder does cover the Basic Black craft ink. I used the black ink because when I was stamping the hearts for the panel along the right side, I started using Versamark ink, and was having a hard time seeing where to stamp! I didn't have that problem with the black ink. :-)


I also made up a coordinating acetate box. This could be used as a wedding favor, bridal shower favor, or as part of a wedding gift. The box shows off how pretty the Organza Ribbon is! For directions on how to make the acetate box, THIS POST (Halloween acetate box) has a link and the modifications I made.

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches, Fundamental Phrases
Ink: Basic Black Craft Ink
Paper: Brushed Silver, Taste of Textiles, Whisper White, acetate
Accessories: Full Heart Punch, Pretties Kit (hat pin and beads), Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Organza Ribbon, embossing buddy, silver Stampin' Emboss powder, heat tool, sticky strip, dimensionals

Wedding Happiness

Here's a card that was one of the projects we made a my Technique Club class this past week. It uses the Heard From the Heart set--another one of the sets 15% off until the end of Sept! I thought the sentiment "wishing you happiness today and always" sounded perfect for a wedding card, so I set out to design something appropriate. I must admit that wedding cards have always been very hard for me, but hopefully this one turned out ok.

The base is Very Vanilla card stock (finished size 3" by 6 1/2") and then layered with Pink Pirouette card stock, designer paper, and last vellum card stock. The Designer Paper is from the Parisian Summer set, and then the sentiment is embossed on the Vellum card stock with Silver Embossing Powder. (Note: If you are embossing on vellum, I would suggest using the Vellum Card Stock as opposed to the Vellum Paper.) I tied around the 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon and then added the hatpin and beads from the Pretties Kit. The card fits into one of Stampin Up's small open-end envelopes.

Happy weekend everyone!

Stamps: Heard From the Heart
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Card Stock Vellum, Parisian Summer DP, Pink Pirouettee, Very Vanilla
Accessories: 1 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit (hatpin and beads), Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Stationary Box Class

Come learn how to make these adorable stationary boxes! I will be holding a class to make these on Thursday, September 25th at 7:30pm. The original idea for these stationary boxes came from Jackie over on Addicted to Stamping. The link to her tutorial is HERE. Go visit her blog and leave her a comment so that she knows we appreciate her wonderful idea!

At my class, you can choose to make either the Bella Rose box (pictured above) or the Hawaii Papaya box (pictured below). The pictures show the box closed with the lid on, the lid off and the box open, and the cards, 3x3 cards, and tags that go in the box. The box also features an address book, postage stamp holder, and pen holder. With the holidays coming up, I think this is a perfect gift idea!

Class details:

--Thursday, September 25th at 7:30pm at my place

--Class Fee is $15 and includes everything to make one box (of your choice) and detailed instructions

**If you register AND pre-pay by September 18th class fee is only $13**

--Additional kits can be ordered for $12 each

--RSVP today to reserve your spot!

Class by Mail details:

If you can't attend or live far away, you can still participate! Kits can be ordered for $12, and shipping will be $5 (priority). If multiple kits are going to the same address, I will of course combine shipping. The kit will have everything cut, scored and ready for you to stamp and assemble. All of the accessories (ribbon, brads, etc.) are included, and I will email you the pdf file with the instructions.

If you make these on your own, listed below are the supplies you will need in addition to the kit. Let me know if you need to place an order for some or all of these items.

Bella Rose Box:

Dream du Jour stamp set ($18.95)

Pink Pirouette stamp pad ($5.25)

Chocolate Chip stamp pad ($5.25)

Riding Hood Red stamp pad ($5.25)

Rose Red marker ($3.25)

Certainly Celery marker ($3.25)

Scallop Edge Punch ($15.95)

Tag Corner Punch ($6.95)

Adhesives--You'll need a strong adhesive such as Mono or Sticky Strip and dimensionals

Hawaii Papaya Box:

Eastern Blooms stamp set ($18.66 if ordered before Sept 30th, $21.95 after)

Versamark stamp pad ($7.50)

Tangerine Tango stamp pad ($5.25)

Chocolate Chip stamp pad ($5.25)

Scallop Edge Punch ($15.95)

Tag Corner Punch ($6.95)

One sentiment stamp of your choice

Adhesives--You'll need a strong adhesive such as Mono or Sticky Strip and dimensionals