In-Color Fifth Avenue

For today's card share I used a couple of the new 2011-12 In-Colors, Calypso Coral and Pool Party, along with Early Espresso (for the card base) and Crumb Cake (front panel).

I really wasn't planning on making a card today, but when I came into my craft room I came across leftover pieces of punched cardstock and a Fifth Avenue Reinker Spread rose and a card began to develop. I really tried to stay focused on the other things I needed to do today, but the card was calling to be made. So, since I did need a birthday card for a friend, I gathered my leftover pieces and came up with this card. I think my favorite part of the card is the color combination. These four colors look great together.

Thanks for letting me share a piece of my creative day with you...and thanks so much for stopping by :-)
Supplies Used

Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White, Shimmery White (rose), Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Punches: Scallop Edge, Itty Bitty scallop, Jewelry Tag
Stamp Set: Fifth Avenue; Tiny Tags

Ink: Calypso Coral, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake (sponging)

Big Shot: Top Note Bigz Die, Perfect Polka Dot Texture Impression folder

Accessories: Jewels-Pearls, Linen thread, sponge dauber, Doilie (non-SU)

 Click to Order Stampin' Up! Supplies

Little Leaves Sponged Card

From Adriel:

I had some flowers leftover from the watercolor spread technique I talked about in this post. I couldn't let them go to waste! =)

I used the reverse masking technique from the Little Leaves sizzlet die and sponging to create the background for my card. I love how the sponged leaves create such a lovely background on this simple card. Sometimes less is more.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

August Color Challenge Card

From Adriel:

I finally got around to playing with our color challenge colors (that sounds a bit awkward). Color challenge colors... anyway, yes, I did! I played with the colors and made a card. We'll probably be making this card later down the road at one of our classes, so we'll probably show it off again later. =)
I used a fun technique for the flowers that is pretty old by now in the stamping world, but it gives lovely results and makes me feel like an artist.

1. I stamped the floral image in versamark ink on shimmer white CS and embossed with white embossing powder.

2. Sprayed this with water and used an aqua painter and reinker (or ink any way you can get it... reinker is better, but I didn't have reinker for Wild Wasabi), and pick up the ink with the aqua painter and almost "drop" it on the wet CS. The water on the CS almost pulls the ink from the aqua painter and creates a pretty effect. I did Wild Wasabi in the centers and Marina Mist for the petals. This technique does tone down the color a lot and actually can change the hue completely. I tried this with the Night of Navy and it ended up being violet... not quite what I was going for.

3. Anyway, allow these to dry (I used a heat tool to speed up the drying process) and trim. They're really pretty! =)

The flowers are from one of my all time favorite sets from Stampin' Up! - Fifth Avenue Floral. It is so versatile and we've done a lot of different things with it. I really hope they don't retire this set for a while, because I really love it and love using it.

There's still time to play in our monthly color challenge! You have until the end of this month to make something creative, whatever it may be, using our colors. All the details are HERE! =)

If you have any questions, let us know! Thanks for stopping by our blog today. Happy Wednesday!

-Adriel & Heidi
Two Happy Stampers

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We Did It! Wednesday

Masking with Die Cuts

From Adriel:

I designed the cards for this month's card classes with a focus on masking, particularly using die-cuts. Many of us have at least one of the popular die-cutting machines. We personally own the Sizzix Big Shot and enjoy using the special dies that are available exclusively through Stampin' Up!. The fact is, none of the die-cutting machines are cheap and finding new ways to use them is a great way to get more bang for your buck! So I wanted to focus on using die-cuts in our masked cards class to give you more options for using your die-cutting machine. Each card employs a different technique on applying the ink to get that masked image, so we're also showing how to get different looks when masking with your die-cuts. A description of each card is below!

Elegant Top Note Card

This card uses the popular Top Note die as a mask. Stamping using the beautiful Fifth Avenue Floral set, along with sponging creates a beautiful frame around the die-cut. A large trimmed flower, a simple stamped sentiment and a lovely cluster of pearls adds just the right amount of extra to the card without taking away from the masking.

Delightful Floral Card

This card combines the combination of brand new colors from Stampin' Up! along with a special floral background using a die cut flower and sponging. The two-tone sponging adds depth to the flowers and the background created is beautiful in itself. A simple stamped and punched sentiment along with some elegant satin ribbon gives the finish that complements the beautiful masking. I was inspired by Dawn's video tutorial for this masking technique.

Butterly Flourish Card

Butterflies are very popular in crafts lately and they get incorporated into this lovely card. Butterfly die-cuts create a mask over the cardstock, which gets a spray of shimmer mist, creating a sparkly background to the sweet butterflies. Stamped images from Vintage Vogue complete the elegant look of this card.

You can purchase the directions for all 3 cards for $5 using the button below. A PDF will be sent to you within 48 hours of purchase.

You can purchase a kit for this class for $12 (which includes S&H) using the button below. Kit will include the pre-cut/scored/punched card stock, die-cut masks, ribbon, and pearls for 3 cards, 1 of each of the designs. You will need your own adhesive, stamps, ink, and shimmer mist. (Because of the angel policy for Stampin' Up!, we cannot pre-stamp for kits we sell.) Kits will be mailed in 1-2 days of purchase and should be received within 1 week. Kits are available only while supplies last.

Let us know what you think about this month's cards and the kit! We'd love your feedback! =)

This & That Thursday: One Year Ago

Let's take a walk down memory lane

and see what we were creating last year in April!

Bella Rose Card - I miss the Bella Rose DSP... this card makes me want a whole 'nother stack to play with. It was so delicate and lovely! I really like the layout of this card and it makes me think I should try it out again with a different color scheme and DSP for a new look.

Patchwork Top Note Card - We still haven't made one of these in our classes yet! That's terrible! This definitely needs to get put on the list, because this card has great results with minimal effort. We've gotta do this soon! =)

Victorian Fifth Avenue Card - My mom used the versatile and beautiful Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set to create this card. I called it the "Triple Decker Rose" (I thought I was being pretty clever). The rose is stamped three times and she cut out parts of it from two of the images and layered them to create that fun 3-layer effect. Another idea we should try again!

Happy Hi Card - I made this card for one of Kristina Werner's challenges. Boy, was this one fun to make and it's still one of my favorites, even a year later. I just love those flowers and the colors! The vase was made by punching a wide oval and then trimming off the top. Then the top is used for the bottom of the vase! =)

Sometimes old ideas can be great for new ideas!

Have you revisited your craft or art recently

from a year ago or more and found some old ideas

that you want to try again?

Tell us about it.

Sweet & Simple Monday

Make a set of sweet and simple gift tags perfect for a variety of occasions! These tags feature one of our favorite cardstock colors right now: Kraft. Kraft is so versatile and adds something extra to these gift tags. Of course, these tags would be perfectly fine using white cardstock... they would still look great!

1. Trim Kraft cardstock to 2-1/4"W x 4"H. Use tag corner punch on top corners to create the "tag" look.

2. Use medium floral image from Fifth Avenue Floral in Old Olive, Ruby Red or Rich Razzleberry to stamp on the bottom of the tag. (I stamped once and then also stamped again without inking up again to create a more subdued, faded look in the left-hand corner of the tag. This is optional.)

3. Stamp sentiment from Fresh Cuts in Chocolate Chip ink on upper right-side of tag.

4. Find the top center of tag and punch a hole.

You can use a variety of fibers to tie this tag onto your gift or bag. Some of our favorites are hemp twine and fine white crochet thread. Ribbon in various colors are also great!

Super simple and you can make a great looking set of tags in very little time! Hope you enjoyed today's project. Join us again next week for another sweet and simple Monday. =)

Supplies: Kraft cardstock, Fresh Cuts stamp set, Fifth Avenue stamp set, Old Olive classic ink, Ruby Red classic ink, Rich Razzleberry classic ink, Chocolate Chip classic ink, Tag Corner punch, hole punch.

Stampin' Up! supplies can be ordered through Heidi by clicking HERE. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: twohappystampers@gmail.com

Sweet & Simple Monday

Today's Sweet & Simple project is a cute mini note card that features designer paper and some heat embossing, but is very simple. You could use any printed paper along with a different stamped image for a similar effect and new look.

1. Fold a piece of 3" x 6" of Whisper White CS in half to form card base.

2. Rub Embossing Buddy over surface of a 3" x 3" piece of Designer Series Paper. Stamp floral image in VersaMark ink on lower right-hand corner of DSP. Sprinkle with White Embossing powder and set with Heat Tool.

3. Attach embossed 3" x 3" piece of Designer Series paper to card front with SNAIL adhesive.

4. On a small piece of Rich Razzleberry CS, stamp sentiment in VersaMark ink and sprinkle with White Embossing Powder. Set with Heat Tool. Punch out sentiment with Large Oval punch. Attach this to a punched Pale Plum CS Scallop Oval. Attach this to a punched Whisper White CS Wide Oval. Attach this entire piece to front of card with Stampin' Dimensionals.

5. Punch flowers out of Certainly Celery and Old Olive CS with Boho Blossoms punch. Layer and attach to oval sentiment with SNAIL adhesive. If desired, attach a small pearl to center of flower.

Supplies: Whisper White CS, Old Olive CS, Certainly Celery CS, Rich Razzleberry CS, Pale Plum CS, Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set, Fresh Cuts stamp set, VersaMark ink, White Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, SNAIL Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals.

All supplies can be ordered through Stampin' Up! by clicking HERE. If you need any help or have any questions, please feel free to email us @ twohappystampers@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by and we hope you enjoyed our Sweet & Simple Monday! Come back soon! =)

Card for Raspberry Suite Challenge #21

From Adriel:

I haven't participated in a challenge recently and this color challenge on Dawn McVey's blog looked fun. It was a great excuse to get creative and do something different!

The colors were so refreshing to work with! Since I was using Stampin' Up! product, I had to improvise with the colors. I used some retired designer paper in So Saffron and last year's in color Baja Breeze. I had pleated (or ruffled) the designer paper strips. I had this awesome wide striped Chocolate Chip ribbon that we got recently, scrunched it, tied a beautiful light yellow button on and it looked just as awesome on the card as it did on the spool! (Yes, love it when that happens.) Clear embossed a couple of flower images from the Fifth Avenue Floral set on the Very Vanilla CS and added the great sentiment from the Priceless set. Added dimensional adhesive to the back of the Very Vanilla panel and attached it to my 3-1/2" x 5" Chocolate Chip card base.

My picture isn't the greatest, but then again, I didn't take it at the greatest time of day! It was evening... I did my best with my photo editing software to make it look decent. Hmmmm... my perfectionist part of me has to sleep right now while I post a not-perfect picture! Ack! ;-)

Anyway, had a great time with these colors and enjoyed the creative process! Enjoyed myself more than I should have, I'm sure! =D

Cottage Wall 3x3 Cards

From Adriel:

I was inspired by the cute little 3x3 card in the new Stampin' Up! catalog on page 18 (sorry, don't have a link to the picture). We recently ordered and received the Cottage Wall DS paper from Stampin' Up! and it worked beautifully on this card design. I love this assortment of DS paper... it's very pretty and sweet. =)

I did two designs, both nearly identical to one another. I used the largest image from the Fifth Avenue Floral set in VersaMark in the lower corner of the DS paper and embossed the image with white embossing powder. I used the lovely "for you" stamp from the Fresh Cuts set in VersaMark, followed by white embossing powder and punched out with the large oval punch. I then layered this on top of coordinating cardstock punched with the scallop oval and the wide oval punches.

Simple Recipe:

Whisper White CS

Certainly Celery CS

Old Olive CS

Pale Plum CS

Rich Razzleberry CS

Cottage Wall DS Paper (love it!)

Fresh Cuts stamp set

Fifth Avenue stamp set

VersaMark ink pad

White embossing powder

Little pearl stickers from Michaels... brand unknown

Boho Blossoms punch

Cottage Wall DS Paper from Stampin' Up! #115671

You can order supplies from Stampin' Up! by clicking HERE! =)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Something from the Scrap Pile

From Adriel:

The other day I found a piece of Old Olive CS in our scrap bin that was already folded as a standard A2 size card and the front of it was stamped with some images from Fifth Avenue Floral. I must have been feeling adventurous because I decided to make the poor card into something...

Um... I'm not sure if I like it. The card may have been better off left uncompleted in the scrap pile. I don't know... when I picked it out of the scraps, it seemed to be screaming for someone to finish it. I just think I wasn't the right person to finish it. =D


Anyway, it was fun to play around with. I used my mom's sewing machine again and tried out
(by memory) a ribbon pleating tutorial I ran across awhile back. It also has a nice paper pleating tutorial along with it and you can find those HERE on Studio Calico's blog. I don't know if I followed their directions exactly, but I ended up with pleated ribbon and that was the point, so I was at least successful in that regard. =P

At least I tried something new and had some fun. And I enjoyed myself!

Embossed Fifth Avenue Watercolored Flower

From Heidi...
I showed you this Fifth Avenue Rose several weeks ago, but at the time I wasn't sure how I was going to use it. I came up with this card and I love how the rose fits so nicely on it... which is one of several cards we'll be making in our upcoming watercolor class at the Tumbleweed Recreation Center next month. Aren't these great colors together (Night of Navy, Almost Amethyst and Blush Blossom)? This technique is the Embossed Reinker Spread that so many have been playing around with. It's a wonderful technique that makes a beautiful central focus for a card.

June SAS: Technique Focus on Heat Embossing

Here are the beautiful cards we plan on making at this month's Technique Focus Stamp-a-Stack. Our technique focus will be on heat embossing and we will also be doing a color focus of black, white and gray. As you can see, these cards are classy!

Technique Focus Stamp-a-Stack

Tuesday, June 16th

At Heidi's house in Chandler

(directions given after registering)

3 cards for $10

Two times to choose from:

1pm - 3pm

7pm - 9pm

The evening class is almost full, so if you're interested in joining us in the evening, sign up soon! You can email us at twohappystampers@gmail.com to let us know you are interested in coming or if you have any questions about our classes. Hope to see you there!

A Pretty Pink Thank You Card

From Adriel:

The other day while browsing SplitCoast, I ran across THIS BEAUTIFUL CARD. Wow, right?! On Mother's Day, I was working on some card ideas (for a card kit) and also needed to make some thank you cards, so I CASED that beauty, although mine didn't turn out as beautiful... sometimes, that's just how it goes. =)

Wanted to share, because if anything, you can follow the link to the original and enjoy it! =)

Recipe:

Pink Pirouette CS

Basic Gray CS

Whisper White CS

Pink Pirouette ink

Basic Gray ink

Rose Red ink

All Holidays set

Fifth Avenue Floral set

Eyelet Border punch

Blender pen

Whisper White tafetta ribbon

Hope you have been inspired today! Thank you for checking in and have a wonderful day! =)

New Mother's Day Card

From Heidi...

Here's a new Mother's Day card using the Fifth Avenue Floral Stampset and paper piecing. I love the soft grey and Barely Banana together. I used a blue accent and sponged Creamy Caramel around the edges to give it a Victorian and vintage look. The pearl embellishments give it an antique look, as well. Thanks for looking!

An Accidental Discovery

From Adriel:

I made a couple of these cards a couple of weeks ago. In the process, I accidentally dropped my stamp pad right on top of one of the cards!! EEEK! I was about to scrap it, but then I thought about "dropping" the stamp pad deliberately and controlled all around the edges. Hmm... what did I have to lose? The card was already "ruined". So, I deliberately laid the stamp pad right on top of the card at different angles and also used the stamp pad directly on the edges to distress them. Anyway, I love how this card turned out with a grunge flavor hand-in-hand with the victorian look. Sometimes accidents give birth to new and fresh ideas! I'll be listing this card soon in our Etsy shop! =)

Happy Mother's Day

From Heidi...

Adriel and I worked on some Mother's Day cards last week. I love the 3-D flower effect, so I made 4 cards using it. The pink and brown card with a touch of blue had a Victorian and vintage look to it, so I sponged the blue with Creamy Caramel to make it look more vintage.

We lived in No. CA for almost 15 years among all the beautiful Victorian Homes. These cards reminded me of those homes...and since the flowers are 3-D, I told Adriel they reminded me of the 3-story Victorians. It's kind of a joke...because she was the one who posted my other dimensionalled flower on Etsy. One of the tags she gave it was triple decker, or 3-decker...something like that, so it had struck me kind of funny. So these cards are known as the 3-D, 3-Story, Triple Decker Victorian cards. Thanks again for looking!

Triple-Decker Fifth Avenue

From Heidi...
Just in case you haven't had enough of the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set yet, here's one more for you. I didn't come up with the paper-pieced and dimensionaled floral idea, I cased the idea form another card I saw on SCS, I love how this effect gives depth and dimension to this floral design. Adriel placed this card in our Etsy shop and gave it the triple-decker name...kind of a fun description of it. Thanks for taking time to look!

March Stamp-A-Stack Cards

From Heidi...

As you can tell by this month's cards, Adriel and I really love the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. We're looking forward to using it in this month's SAS cards along with sponging. Sponging can be used to make paper edges look distressed, or can be used to create a soft look on a floral design, or you can create a desired shape by masking off an area and sponging. We'll be using sponging to create all three of these effects in our cards this month on Tuesday, March 24, 7-8:30 PM. If you'd like to join us, we have 3-4 spots still open. Email us or give us a call to reserve your spot. 5 cards/$10 class fee.

Stitching and Bleaching

From Heidi...

I started this card several weeks ago, but got interrupted with life and other projects, so I thought that today I'd better finish the card before I lost the pieces to it. I used the bleaching technique with the new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. I used tearing, sponging and stitching to get a vintage effect.

I agree with Adriel, I love this set. I made another cool card with it using paper piecing, so I'll have to share that one with you on another day. Thanks for looking!