Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

Here is my submission for the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. I'm posting early today because I'm off to a class I signed up for. Nope, not a stamping class but a beading class. There is this one bracelet that I've wanted to make since November but couldn't find the patter. Well, the bead shop I was at was offering a class on that very bracelet. I'll show you my bracelet tomorrow, imperfections and all!!! LOL

We were to make a long card today. It measured 8" x 9-1/4" and then folded on the 8" edge. The part where I have the long scallop was a fold. The card was scored at 3/4" and folded forward. It added a nice touch. And something a bit different too!!!

I added some brads and ribbon to the scallop area but I didn't want to add too much. I wanted to keep it a clean looking card.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Flower Pot Mother's Day Card

This is the third Mother's Day card I've made. I'm still somewhat stuck on the first one.

For this card I used the Stampin' Up! "Fun and Fast Notes" set. I made the background circle using the Coluzzle. I cut out the circle and kept the large hole part instead of the circle!!! I set it on top fo the card and sponged on the Bashful Blue. Then I took the Color Spritzer Tool and splattered Bashful Blue all over the front. I stamped the flower pot and colored in the image. I added layers and set the piece in place to decide where I'd like to stamp the words.

It's a simple and basic looking card and that is what I'm going for. I realized that there are a lot of stampers that have limited supplies so I thought I'd make some cards that fit in that category too. And I believe this one does.

For my coloring I did use the watercolor crayons but this effect can be achieved by using markers and a blender pen. I color with my marker on a piece of plastic. You can slip a piece of white card stock into a zip sandwich baggie and have a piece of plastic to work with. I add white card stock inside so you can see the ink you put on it. Once you scribble some ink on it pick up that ink with your blender pen and color in on where you think the darkest area would be. I started with the center of the flowers. That would be the darkest part of the flower. The fresh ink you pick up with the blender pen is the darkest the ink will be. Work our way outward until you have no ink left on your pen, then pick up some more but not in the same spot as you did the first time. That area now has a mixture of ink and blender pen fluid. It's a very weak color that you don't want to use. It's too washed out and too much blender pen fluid on paper will cause it to wear on the paper if you work the area too much. It's best to use fresh ink and work the color outward

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Mother's Day Card #2

Here is my second Mother's Day card. This one was fun because I got to play with the flowers from the Stampin' Up! "Pretties" kit.

I didn't come up with this layout. I saw it on SplitCoastStampers by user name sf9erfan. I made a few subtle changes but for the most part it would blend in with her cards!!

I made my own background paper here using the Stampin' Up! "Polka Dot" background stamp. I used the "Mother's Day" word image from the "All Holidays" stamp set.

Measurements for this card are as follows (working from the bottom layer to the top):
Black card stock = 8 1/2" x 5-1/2" folded in half to measure 5-1/2" x 4-1/4"
Barely Banana = 5-3/8" x 4-1/8"
Black = 4-1/8" x 3-1/8"
White = 4" x 3" (this piece has the Polka Dots stamped on it)
Black Strip = 1-5/8" x 5-1/2"
White Strip = 1-1/2" x 5-1/2"

The center of the silk flowers is a flower from the Boho Blossoms punch
And a crystal rhinestone brad was used in the center of the flower. The flower was attached with a Dimensional.

I added two black brads to the strip and assembled the piece. This is a very simple card layout to work with. It's a quick card to put together too!!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Mother's Day Just Around the Corner!!!

I just looked at the calendar and Mother's Day is sneaking up on me!! I thought I'd better get a few Mother's Day cards made up to see which ones I'm going to want to use for those special people in my life.

This is the first of the Mother's Day cards I'll be making.

I used the new Dotted Swiss Cuddlebug folder for the background. I was asked about this background. No, it's not a retired background, it's new and very difficult to get. I got mine at Oh My Crafts I ordered several folders but a few of them were on back order, one of which was the Dotted Swiss. But it was less than a week and it arrived. I was sad because that was the folder I wanted the most. Isn't that how it always works out?? LOL But anyway, I got it and I'm having a lot of fun playing with it!!!

I used the Stampin' Up! "Embrace Life" set and the words I did on the computer using SchneidlerAmaTBla font set at 18. It seemed to fit in the 1-1/4" punch the best. It was roomy enough and no part of the lettering got cut off. I layered it on top of a 1-3/8" Mellow Moss circle and then layered that on top of a Regal Rose Scallop Circle. I set it in place using Dimensionals.

I added a piece of Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and tied a bow to finish off the card.

It's a pretty simple card to make. For you Stampin' Up! demonstrators who want to convert this card to all Stampin' Up! products, use the large "Polka Dot" background stamp. You can use it with clear embossing powder to emphasise the dots more but yet keep them subtle. You can also try white craft ink on the "Polka Dot" background stamp and emboss in clear. You'll get a touch of offset color to aid in making the dots slightly visible. You don't want them to stand out, they are a background. The flower is the focal point of the card. There's a lot of background you can use that will work with this set

I do like this card!!! And it may be one I'll be using for Mother's Day. But there's still more to come so I won't commit to it yet!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge WSC45

Once again I had time to make a card for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. This one was a very fun sketch and it was perfect timing too. I am in need of wedding cards. It seems we have more weddings this year than we do graduation parties. And I need to make cards for those too!! I'll be taking advantage of the challenges that are out there!! It's a nice way to kill two birds with one stone!!!

This card was actually simple to make. I did use the Cuddlebug "Dotted Swiss" background folder. I just got it and this was the first time I got to use it!!! And this was the perfect card for that background

I used the Stampin' Up! "To Have and to Hold" set. I did have to add my own ampersand between the Mr. & Mrs. I ended up doing the one that looks like the backwards "E" because every time I tried the one in the line above this one it kept coming out like the musical symbol!!! I just couldn't get myself to make it right!!! LOL SO after ruining a dozen of them I decided to give up!!

I only colored in the flowers on the wedding couple. And I did add some glitter on the veil and dress.

Such a fun card layout!!! If you have time give it a try!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Lemon Tree Very Pretty!!!

Once again I find myself using the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. This time it is for a technique page for my Technique Book. At our Diva Day event one of my fellow demonstrators, Julianne demonstrated an oldie but goodie technique. Scratch n Sniff.

It had been many years since I've done it and it's still as simple as it was back then. And this "Tart & Tangy" set is perfect for this technique!!! I did mine as a lemon because lemonade Kool-Aid was all I had in the cupboard. I think of that old Peter, Paul & Mary song "Lemon Tree" when I use this stamp set. Dating myself a bit here!!! Though they really are older than I am. I just liked listening to their music!

To make the powder mixture I used one teaspoon Kool-Aid and 1-1/2 teaspoons of clear Embossing Powder. Mix them together well and you're ready to go. I also used Craft Ink instead of the water-based because the color showed up more vivid. And of course lemon was the lightest color too!!

Here's now you do it in it's simplest form. Once your color is mixed, stamp the image on card stock. Sprinkle your color mixture on the card stock. Heat emboss the image. Once it cools it's ready to scratch n sniff!! As simple as that! Kids just LOVE this!

Now what to do with that leftover Kool-Aid. Well, like I said, all I had in the cupboard was lemon. That is because I use it in my dishwasher!!! I use it in there to keep it sparkling clean. I add it right with my dirty dishes in it too! You see, dishwasher cleaner is really just citric acid and whatever other chemicals they may add to it to make it unique of their company. Lemonaid Kook-Aid is citric acid and a bit of colorant. I prefer to use this to clean my dishwasher because of this very thought: "if anything is left behind on my dishes or the walls of my dishwasher it is only Kool-Aid. Something I would have mixed with sugar in a container and consumed anyway!!!" SO if it's ok to consume and it cleans my dishwasher it must be ok??? The first time I used it I used 6 packages because the water in my area is high in lime and calcium and the inside was starting to look a little rusty. I ran it empty that first time only because I still had dishwasher cleaner package instructions still on my mind. After it cleaned it SO well and realizing it's just Kool-Aid a consumable item I ran it with my dishes to save on water too! Plus I thought it made my silverware shinier too!! Now I just use one package about every 2 or 3 weeks whether it needs it or not! There, see?? Nothing goes to waste!!! Oh and I forgot to mention, I don't need to wear protective clothing or gloves to put this in my dishwasher. AND it's cheaper than the dishwasher cleaner stuff!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Happy Birthday Denise!!!

One of my fellow demonstrators had a birthday this week. But I won't mention her name. But I bed you can guess it!!! LOL I won't tell you how old she is. I won't tell you how many candles were on her cake either but I will tell you that if you were to light those candles a fire extinguisher should be on hand!!! And the neighborhood would have been a little brighter too!!!! LOL

I made this card for my friend (you're still my friend, aren't you??? LOL). I've had the decorative paper that I've never used yet and I've always wanted to make a card or something with that little hedgehog. It's SO cute. SO I played around and wasn't too thrilled with the colors. Maybe it's becaues they are not in the color groups I prefer or use the most. It's always uncomfortable when we step out of our boxes, isn't it?

It was a bit of a challenge but I did manage to get it all together. And I got it out in the mail to be only a couple days late!!! I don't think I've gotten a birthday card to anyone on time this month!! Did I say month? I really mean this year!!! I'm so terrible with that. And it's not like I don't have any cards or can't make a card. I just don't look at the birthday calendar like I should. I use to be a LOT more organized with that. Oh well, better late than never, right???

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

Today's Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers was a lot of fun. Much like one last fall but just a bit wider on the sides. But last fall I did a snowman card. As much as I LOVE snowmen I just couldn't do one. Besides I needed a wedding card!!! Actually I need LOTS of wedding cards!!!

SO here is my card for the Sketch Challenge. I used the bride and groom from the Stampin' Up! "Viola to Go" set. The Mr. & Mrs. and background flowers came from the "Together Forever" set. Not a whole lot to this card but it will get the job done

I used Whisper White, Basic Gray, Bashful Blue and Basic Black card stock. I added Bashful Blue and White grosgrain ribbon to the final top layer and left it simple. There's not a lot of bling on this card!! Pretty clean and simple

For those of you who like measurements, if you print this sketch out, it prints out actual size so you can measure the areas yourself!! I like that feature

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

We're Off to See the Wizard!!!

There is a gal I know who LOVES the "Wizard of Oz." SO I thought I'd make her a bracelet with some photos I found online.

I printed out the photos on my computer using photo paper. Regular copier paper, even the #28 good quality stuff does not do a photo justice like photo paper does. I did use copier paper to test my photos first before the final draft!! I didn't want to ruin the photo paper. And I had to adjust photos to get them small enough to fit.

Once the photos were printed and dry I punched them out using the 1/2" round punch. I then set them in place on top of my prepared brads. I used the brads from the "Build A Brad" set. To prepare them you need to open the prongs, snip a about 1/4" off the end and then curl the end up to make a loop for the jump ring to attach to. I secured the photos with a touch of Crystal Effects. Once I got done adding all the photos I put the clear acrylic pieces from the "Build A Brad" set on top. They are self-adhesive so I just peeled them and set them in place.

Then I opened up the jump rings and linked the pieces all together. I added two red brads on either side of Dorothy. I wanted to give it a "ruby" look. An emerald green would have worked with this theme too! I added a lobster clay clasp and it was done. I'm a bit disappointed in it though. I wanted jump rings to match but I couldn't find any. I did get a brainy idea to take a piece out of the Hodge Podge Hardware set and I was going to open it up and make my own jump rings. Well, I pulled a piece apart and had such a time cutting it. I never did get a piece cut off it so I gave up and went with gold jump rings. I didn't have much of a choice!! She'll be too awestruck to even notice the different colors of metals!!! Well, that's what I'm hoping for anyway!!! LOL

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Completely Out of the Box!!!

I took a GIANT step out of the stamping box here. I used my love for primitive stitching and the Accents & Elements Flower Fusion felt flowers to make this for Sue! Sue is the BEST!! She's my upline and has been VERY supportive of me, very helpful and had a good ear to listen to me!! And she's a good friend!

There's not a lot to explain here. I stitched the wording with DMC floss on muslin and added the flowers. I secured them in place with the brads. I cut a few of the green flowers up so I could use them as leaves. I usually stain dye my fabric but here I used the Stampin' Up! chalks to give the piece an aged look to it.

This was a LOT of fun to do. And these flowers are SO much fun to play with.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

And More Gifts

There was also another person I wanted to make a gift for. Cyndi! She LOVES to see her name on my blog! She's famous now!!! LOL

My niece and nephew went off to college and I bake them cookies (though I have not been too faithful about it lately). Cyndi gave me many tins so I could mail the cookies to them. SO I thought I'd make her something too.

I had gotten my hands on these cute mini album/scrapbooks. Aren't they just adorable???? I added my own personal touch to it in the Boho fashion that Cyndi likes so much and presented it to her on Sunday.

These are very fun to do. You just take them apart and wrap the front and back with your favorite decorative papers and put the album back together. Then decorate away!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge WSC44

I was able to find some time this weekend to play with Beat's Weekend Sketch Challenge. She has some fun sketches to play around with.

Her sketch was pretty similar to the one on SplitCoastStampers this past Wednesday. The background part was similar.

I REALLY wanted to use some decorative paper for my background but I did that on the Wednesday sketch. SO I decided I'd make my own background and just run with it. I used the flowers from the Stampin' Up! "Boho Backgrounds" set. I colored in the flowers with Pretty in Pink, the leaves in Certain Celery and white for the dots on the center of the flowers. I sponged all of the edges with Chocolate Chip.

For the flower I used the "True Friend" set and for the birthday part I used the "Think Happy Thoughts" set. I also used the corner rounder to make my scallops on the Chocolate Chip card stock strip. I added some 5/8" Chocolate Chip ribbon to the top of that and on top of that I added a piece of Pretty in Pink ribbon. Before I attached it I took my sponge with Chocolate Chip ink on it and ran it across the ribbon to "dirty" it up a bit. Adding it right off the spool was just too bright. Adding the ink to it toned it down and it just blended right in.

I tied a bow of the 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon to the top and it pretty much filled up the card. I didn't see any areas that I wanted to add any more to. Well, except for the center of the flower. I had colored it in with Pretty in Pink and added Chocolate Chip dots to it. Once I got it layered I didn't like what I saw so I got out the small round punch and punched out a circle and glued it in place on the center of the flower. It was just enough to "finish" off the card.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Making Gifts

Last month at the Stamp Share I got to participate in the Shoe Box Swap. It was a totally enjoyable time. Anyway, in preparing for the swap I forgot my black ink pad. Now the card I had for the swap required black ink to stamp the wording on with. I found another demonstrator who was using black and parked my swap next to hers (with her permission of course!!!). It was SO sweet of her to share her ink pad. Though I think any demonstrator there that I would have asked would have done the same, it's such a nice group of ladies! And I'm SO glad to be a part of the group!

Anyway, I was shopping at Target one day and saw these notebooks. The were REALLY nice and with LOTS of pages in them. Almost like the thickness of a paperback book! SO I purchased a couple with nothing in mind to do with them at the time. After the swap I thought I would alter one for Peggy who was SO kind to share her ink pad. I used the Afternoon Tea decorative paper and taped it to the front and back of the notebook. I covered the edge with some black velvet paper I had. The letter is a die cut from the Cuddle Kids alphabet set. Not Stampin' Up!, sorry! But it's still cute. I wanted to make the notebook a bit more personal than just doing a "thank you" on it. It was pretty simple to put together. I gave it to Peggy on Sunday at our FABULOUS DIVA Day event and she just LOVED it

Altering notebooks is a lot of fun. Keep your eye out for some of those on clearance, especially at Target. They don't seem to keep items very long before they move inventory!!! They make great gifts!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Birdie Birthday!

I was playing around with some decorative papers (I have a bunch of the 6" x 6" ones I need to use up) and I thought I'd make a birthday card with it. I really wanted a quick simple card. Most of the time they are quick with decorative papers but when you start adding things like punched circles, brads and paper piercing the card isn't so quick anymore. But it was still pretty simple.

After I saw this card in the photo I took I regretted using the green on the top left strip. I think I should have used the Ruby Red there. My eye keeps getting pulled to the right to look at the bird. That is a good thing because the bird is suppose to be the focal point of the card but your eye is suppose to continue to move around the card. Mine just stays focused on the bird. I'll have to remake this card and let you all decide what you think!!!

I really didn't do anything special on this card other than using a blender pen on the bird body and under the bird for the shadow. I colored in everything else with markers. I used the white gel pen to draw in the stitches and I added some 3/4" circles and brads to the strip on the left.

As you can tell I'm not overly thrilled with this card. SO I redid it by changing the color of the strip on the left. I like this MUCH better. It keeps the eye moving doesn't it??

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

This was a VERY fun Sketch Challenge today over at SplitCoastStampers. I loved being able to use two different sheets of decorative paper on one card. It always adds some nice contrast!

For my card I used the Stampin' Up! set "In Your Dreams" from the mini catalog. It's such a fun and pretty set. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it appears in the new catalog!!!

The papers used here are Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Groovy Guava and Afternoon Tea decorative paper.

I used the corner rounder to create the large scallops. I used the Ticket Punch on the corners. I sponges the edges on the lighter color papers and I added some 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. I LOVE playing with that wider ribbon. It's SO fun!

And finally I added some antique brads to fill in those open spaces that needed just a little something but not to much to take away from the flower.

Oh and I did stamp the flower twice and I cut out pieces and set them back on using Dimensionals. Such a fun sketch to play with. I have LOTS of other cards that fit well in that rectangle area. I think it's a sketch that I will get a lot of use out of.

If you have time head on over to SplitCoast and give the Wednesday Sketch Challenge a try!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I Was Given a Challenge

Once again Sue gave us DIVA's a challenge. Sometimes I struggle with them and other times they seem to go pretty good. For this one we were to come up with something to do with the Gerber plastic baby food containers. Well, since I was on the candy kick AND I had some candies left over from the last project I thought I'd see if they'd fit in the baby food container. And lucky me, they did! SO I ran with that one!

I took a piece of copier paper, used my stylus and ran it around the top of the container. The top center is recessed so you can't just cut a piece of card stock and set it on top. Well, I suppose you could but the center wouldn't be solid. You could perhaps use two pieces for better stability. But I didn't want the top all one look so I thought I'd set a piece of decorative paper in the recess of the lid.

I cut out the form from the copier paper and traced it on top of the red paper. Now looking at the paper I used and the strawberry one would think I should have made the strawberry an apple. Inside the container is strawberry candies. I just liked the color of the paper and it's a fruit so I figured it would all go together. I had taped the decorative paper to the plastic lid using double sided tape. I added the scalloped layer and taped it in place using the double sided tape.

And don't you just LOVE that new red 5/8" wide grosgrain ribbon? That was just want the container needed to finish it off. This really didn't take long to make either. And it was actually a fun challenge. Thanks Sue for this challenge!!!

These would make great Make N Take items, Hostess Gifts, Stamp Camp Items, Customer Appreciation Gifts or Teacher Gifts.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Candy Fun Project!

First I have to tell you what a FUN time I had yesterday at our DIVA Day event. Sue (my manager) treats us to a day of fun and pampering! She had some fabulous cards for us to make and she gave us another challenge. UGH!!! I will post this months challenge tomorrow. It's amazing some of the stuff she comes up with to challenge us with!!! But we always seem to come through and impress her!!! All of us fellow demo's bring in what we've been working on to show everyone. I refer to that time as "Show and Tell!" It's just amazing at what projects every one's been working on! I always remember to bring my camera with too! There's just too much to see that I can't remember it all so I rely on my camera.

Here's a fun project to use with the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. I got these candies at Cub Foods in the Oriental section. Now keep in mind that I shop there at least once a week. But once a week I go up and down every aisle. I have passed these candies for months and maybe even years. But this time they caught my eye. Actually it was the strawberry ones that caught my eye and then next to them was a bag of lemon and orange mixed. SO keep that in mind if you're going to make these, you will have more strawberry ones if you only buy one bag of each.

I was able to make a "One Sheet Wonder" and cut my pieces needed from that. For those of you who are not familiar with the "One Sheet Wonder" technique I'll fill you in.

For that technique you stamp your images on a single sheet of card stock, filling all the areas you want. You can make it as full as you want or as sparse as you want. When I am going to be cutting it up for smaller pieces I tend to add a lot more items and for larger pieces I use less. You'll get the feel for it once you make one. You can also use it as a background for your card making! But that, in just a few words is how you do a one sheet wonder!

I cut my pieces out and after I stapled the background piece with the little zip bags of candy in them, I layered them on. I stamped my fruits on card stock and then punched them out with the 1-1/4" circle punch. Then I punched out the next layer with the 1-3/8" punch and then I punched out the scallop. I layered them all together and added them to the candy header.

And there you have it! Some fun little gifts to give to your friends, for a hostess gift, customer appreciation gift or just to impress people!!!

And I bet you'd like measurements too!!! Ok since you asked!! LOL

The header piece is 4" x 3-1/4" folded to 2" x 3-1/4". The candy was placed in a 3" x 3" zip baggie. The header piece is then stapled to the baggie. I staple mine so the smooth part of the staple is in the back and the prongs are in the front. This way the layer will hide the prong side and the back side will be smooth and clean looking. Ok, now add your One Sheet Wonder layer and then your scallop layer. That's it. Simple as that!! Have fun!!

This item was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Click here to see more Projects!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

There's Always One!

I'm posting a little early today because I'm off to the DIVA Day event that my manager has for us. It's SUCH a fun time. Lots of things to do and learn! And the group gets to be together to catch up on things, share what we've been doing and just have FUN! I just LOVE it when this day rolls around!!

So here is my post for today. You know there's always one stamp in a set that you just don't seem to use. Well in the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set the cherry stamp was mine. I used the other 3 stamps SO much and yet nothing with the cherry. Well, nothing until now. I wanted to make a thank you card for someone and I knew she liked the cherry paper. Well, you can hardly use the cherry paper without adding the cherry stamped image to the card.

I found a card layout that I thought would work nicely and I ran with it. And this is what I came up with. It's a quick and pretty easy card to make. Plus the layout give it a new fresh look.

I did punch out a cherry and attached it to one of the Build A Brads brad. Those things are SO fun!!!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Altered Notebooks

Here's some fun notebooks I altered. I used the small composition notebooks. You have to wait for Walgreen's to have them on sale or you pay a lot for them. When they have a sale I can usually get them at 3 for $1.00. Such a deal. But they usually limit you to 6 so I tend to go back later in the week or I go to other Walgreen's, grabbing an ad as I head out the door so I have a coupon for my next purchase!!! Some deals are just too great to pass up!!

I covered the notebooks with some leftover decorative paper I had. I did use my Crop-A-Dile to make holes in the front and back cover to thread the ribbon through. I wanted the ribbon to be secure but not glued on. Gluing the ribbon doesn't always come out the way you want it to. You have to be SO careful as to how much glue you use plus it will many times bleed through the ribbon and look even uglier. So I try to avoid it when I can. You can use double sided tape but it's difficult to keep it off the edges and when you are ready to set it in place you need to be exact because it's difficult to remove it nicely off decorative paper.

I used the Defining Alphabet set and the Define Your Life set on the front of the notebooks. The "K" letters accompanied the "kindness" definition from the Define Your Life set. "Y" with "you", "R" with "remember" and "D" with "delight." These were a LOT of fun to make!!

The black edges were already on the notebook so I worked around them. I set my decorative paper on the notebook and traced the notebook with a pencil to get the right measurements. The front and back do not measure the same so you have to do them both separately.

These make great gifts too!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Weekend Project! Mint Bridal Shower Bouquet

I'm still playing with the candy crafts!!! And did you know that these mints only stay soft for about 3 months and then they become hard as a rock? SO if you are planning on making these or any other projects that use the round Pearson's or York Peppermint Patties you may want to wait to buy them a week or so before the event to be sure they are as fresh as possible but yet still give you time to tape your finished pieces on. (Right Katie???)

Now I can't take full credit for this. I found the pattern for the bouquet on SplitCoastStampers. Meredith Burnsed has quite a few pages of items she's made using only punches!!! Some of them are just unbelievable!!! You'll have to go on over there and do a search for her name and take a look at her creations. Sorry I don't have a direct link to her items. I downloaded these many months ago and finally printed them out a few weeks back.

For the Bouquet you will need the following punched pieces:
"Scallop Circle, 6 pointed flower from the new "Boho Blossoms" punch, flowers from the "Three for You Punch Box" and the center of the flowers are from the 1/8" Circle punch.


I took my Mat Pack and piercing tool and punched holes in each one of the scallops on the white piece.

Then I added the three green pieces I punched out from the Boho Blossoms punch. These pieces are representing the leaves. I punched out one more to cut apart to use pieces from it for individual leaves.

Then I glued the flowers on with my two way glue pen. I tucked a couple of leaves in where it looked too bland. You'll know where to add them just by looking at your bouquet.

For the ribbon part I took a 3" piece of Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon and cut very close to the edges. I folded it in half and then cut it. I had 4 thin strips when I was done but felt it needed a bit more so I cut another piece of ribbon and cut the edging off it. I glued it in place under a flower so the edges wouldn't show. Once the glue set I trimmed the edges and then taped it on top of a York Peppermint Patty.

Isn't it just adorable? Wouldn't this be a lot of fun at a bridal shower??? It sure would be a lot less to make of these than ones for a wedding!!! This looks like it's a lot of work because of all the pieces but much to my surprise it went together pretty fast.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Click here to see more Weekend Projects!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Here Comes the Bride!

With summer coming it not only brings with it the warmer weather and family picnics but weddings too! I'm not ready for that. I need to get some cards put back in my stash for these events. I don't really like whipping a card up at the last minute. I like to take a little time when I'm making cards!! I REALLY don't want them to look like they were whipped up at the last minute!

SO here's one I whipped up!!! LOL Ok, now there is a difference (a BIG difference) between a quick card and whipping up a card!!! And this card was pretty quick to make. The part that took the longest I would have to say was the embossing. And that really didn't take all that long but in the scheme of things it was the part of the card that took the most time.

I did stamp the image on copier paper and then I cut out the dress area. I was able to emboss in that area only using that copier paper piece as my mask. If you click on the picture you'll be able to see the embossing better. I had to do the white on white because it was a wedding dress and in person you can see it and it does look VERY pretty if I must say so myself. It gives the wedding dress the appearance of being lacy.

The bow was fun, I just tied a loose knot in the ribbon and taped it to the back of the panel. SO simple and pretty! I sponged the edges to help keep the focus on the image.

I colored the people in using a blender pen. I did stamp the image with Staz-On. I didn't use a lot of colors because I wanted the image to have an elegant look to it.

This is a fun, quick and simple wedding card.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

Once again I was able to play in the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers (SCS). This was a pretty basic layout. I thought the angled oval would throw me but it was pretty easy to see a design in the center of it as I was looking at the printout of the sketch. I usually print out two copies. One to keep in my file for future reference and the other to actually stamp or write on. On this one I actually stamped right in the oval to see if the bride and groom would fit. They did and the rest of the card was a breeze!!!

Ok, I do have to admit that the scallops around the oval were not all that much of a breeze. I did use my Coluzzle to make both ovals, the one I stamped the image on and the scalloped one. I don't have a jumbo oval scallop nor do I have the Nestabilities. SO sad, I know. Feel sorrier for me!!! LOL

I had to use a corner punch and go around the whole oval to get the scallops. And of course they didn't meet up exactly like I wanted them to when I got all the way around but it was ok, the flowers hid that!

I did use the Cuddlebug folder for the background on the brushed silver card stock. I used whisper white and Not Quite Navy card stock. Pretty simple colors that all went well together.

The flowers were plucked from a silk hydrangea spring I had in my storage closet. I keep plucking little flowers off it and you can't even tell. Hmmm, maybe I should pay better attention to the silk flowers at my sister's house!!! I might have some new colors for my cards!!! LOL Hope she doesn't read this. But if she does I bet she checks her flowers after I leave!!! LOL

All in all it was a pretty simple card to make. The scallops took a few minutes but it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't want to make TONS of them though having to do the scallops by hand. But at least you know you can do them if you want them bad enough and don't have the other punches!!

Click here to view more wedding cards and wedding items on my blog.

Next week I will have some fun things to show you. I have been working on extra projects here this past week, including the income tax! UGH!!! But that is finally done and turned in and we actually get a refund! About enough to fill the gas tank 3 to 4 times! Pretty sad, isn't it? I won't be posting these items until next week because the event I am going to (our DIVA Day event) is not until Sunday and I don't want the other gals to see the things before the event. I know some of them are faithful readers so I have to keep these things under wrap until after Sunday. Then you all will get to see what I've been doing in my spare, spare time!! LOL

If you have any questions please email them to me. When you leave a question along with your comment I cannot answer them. Blogger software doesn't allow us to reply back to comments. It would be a nice feature if they did! So it's best just to email me if you would like an answer to your questions!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

One More Orange!

One more orange card for you! I wanted to make a quick card and believe me this card was VERY quick. I was going to use the green strip paper in the Picnic designer package of decorative papers but I felt like I should do some stamping!!! So there is still a quicker way to make this card!!!

I LOVE wheels and this dotted wheel stamp is SO much fun to play with. I inked it up with Old Olive ink and went one direction and then turned the card stock and went in the other direction. Doing this hides the lines so you can't tell it's crooked!!!

I cut a one inch strip and layered it on a 1-1/8" strip of black card stock. I punched out the scallop, an orange (Pumpkin Pie) 1-3/8" circle and after stamping the orange in Pumpkin Pie I punched it out with the 1-1/4" punch.

The word "sweet" is from the "Sweet Shapes" set.

This is a pretty versatile card too. I replaced the word "Sweet" with "Thank You" because I need thank you cards. I'd say again but the correct word is "still!" LOL

Again I say using decorative paper makes making card a quick experience!!! Well, for this one it does anyway!!

When assembling the orange layers I added the brad before I put the black scallop on. I used Dimensionals under the scallop. Because of the ribbon and two layers of card stock the scallop wouldn't sit evenly. Dimensionals make up for that extra space and lay flat on the card.

I did add the ribbon to the strips before attaching them to the card. And the brad is from the Earth Elements Brad pack. It didn't look like it was going to match until I actually affixed it to the orange and then it just suddenly blended!! Amazing, isn't it?

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Six by Six It!

I'm posting something totally different here for a change. I was trying to look back on previous posts to see if I have ever put any 6" x 6" recipe cards on here. Then it dawned on me to look at the labels on the right side of the blog. DUH!!! I have only one other recipe card on here. Such a shame, they're SO fun. And the BEST part is I know where to find my favorite recipes!! Here's the link to the one lonely other recipe card. It's for Monster Cookies and they are REALLY good too. I usually just make them at Christmas time now!

I have a wonderful recipe for Mandarin Orange cake and I was trying to clean off my worktable and ran across the "Tart & Tangy" stamp set and realized I have not played with the orange much. Well, then this cake recipe came to mind and the next thing you know I'm making a 6" x 6" recipe card for my album. These are SO much fun to make as a swap item. That is how my album got started, at one of Terri's Stamp Shares and I've loved the whole concept since!!!

What is fun with this is summer family picnics. Everyone brings their favorite dishes to share and no one brings the recipe. Well, this year ask everyone to either bring you their recipe or have them email it to you. I would prefer the email part so you don't have to type it, just cut and paste!! I'm SO lazy can you tell? LOL And then make the pages and put the album together for the family for Christmas or for the next year's reunion. Once people get their hands on these they want more!

It's such a fun way to display your favorite recipes. Plus they are in protective sleeves ( the 6" x 6" ones are available through Stampin' Up!) and once in those sleeves they are pretty protected. Just a word of warning here. Try not to make your page interactive. Meaning, don't make a pocket and place a recipe card in it. That would mean you'd have to go into the sleeve to get it out to use it or to even read it. Try to keep the entire recipe on one level/layer so you just read it through the sleeve. It will help keep the recipe nice and it's easier to access it, especially with sticky hands!!!

Have fun with these! There's TONS of fun stamps that could be associated with themes or food items in your recipe. And there's always the card stock and decorative papers that will do that too!

If you click on the photo you can see the recipe better in the event that you'd like to make this wonderful cake!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Garden Whimsy Thank You!

Again I am finding myself in need of a thank you card. I have hardly played with the "Garden Whimsy" set by Stampin' Up! It's such a cute and fun set too. It can make some pretty quick cards because there's not a whole lot of coloring you have to do. You can make the card as difficult or as easy as you'd like. I guess that is true with pretty much any set. Though I have found a few stamps that I find a complete struggle to do anything with it but making a monochromatic card. Anyway, this set is not one of them!!! It's got lots of potential to keep you busy for weeks!!!

I used some fun colors too. Ones I had never used together before. Orchid Opulence and Pumpkin Pie to name a couple. The other colors used here are Very Vanilla and Certainly Celery. Interesting combination, isn't it?

I used the direct to rubber technique on the image. And the image was done using Black Staz-on and watercolor paper. I sponged the edges on the vanilla and watercolor paper. The "thank you" is from the "Happy Heart Day" set. It fits SO well in the 1-1/4" circle punch!! Because of all the layers under the flower
I had to use Dimensionals under the scallop.

I also used 3 different colors of ribbons. I used the 5/8" vanilla with strips of Always Artichoke ribbon under it and Pumpkin Pie ribbon on top. That's pretty much it. Not a whole lot to this card. The sponging makes the card look more "fancy" than it is. It's pretty much a simple basic card.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

And to view more "quick cards" click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge #42

This is my card for Beate's "Weekend Sketch" challenge. It was a lot of fun but it sure took a lot of time for me do make this card. I had a mental block but muddled through it and this is the results.

I used Basic Black, Ballet Blue, Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst card stock and watercolor paper.

I stamped the background on the Ballet Blue using the very tiny flowers stamp from the Stampin' Up! "Boho Backgrounds" set. I dotted each center with the gel pen. I then stamped the larger flowers stamp on the Bashful Blue and dotted each center too. The flowers on the Always Amethyst piece is the small stamp from the "One of a Kind" set and once again I dotted the centers. I sponged all the edges before I layered them.

The circle piece was done using the Coluzzle. The flower is from the "One of a Kind" set, stamped with Black Staz-on using watercolor paper and then cut out. I colored the flower in using Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst and a blender pen. All the black dots were dotted with white to tone them down and stick with the dotted white theme I seemed to have going here!!!

I used a brad from the "Build a Brad" kit and a piece of Ballet Blue card stock with the same flowers from the Bashful Blue piece. It doesn't show up on here but in person you can see a tiny flower in the center of the brad. I added a triangle corner piece at the bottom right and added a white brad to tie it all together. The top I added a piece of 1/4" white grosgrain ribbon and tied a bow on it. That was pretty much it. It took me all of 3 minutes to describe to you what took me 2 hours to design!!! LOL I had no idea where I was going with this layout when I started and everything I did I didn't like. You should see my recycling basket!!! LOL

SO here you have it. If you have time try this layout and then post it on SplitCoastStampers and give Beate a link to it on her blog. It's fun to play with new sketches when you have time!! I think tonight I will get some sleep instead of staying up so late playing. The time just gets away from me when I'm stamping. Doesn't it always when you're having fun?

Click here for a few other challenges on my blog.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products except for the large scallop, I used a punch. I did replace the scallop with a circle I cut out using the Coluzzle so I can use the card to demo with. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Boho & Butterflies

Ok, it's not butterflies, it's butterfly but it didn't sound right. I used the stamp with the three flowers on it from the "One of a Kind" set and the butterfly from "Garden Whimsy."

This is a VERY quick and simple card to make. I used a half sheet of Regal Rose and folded it in half. I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock 5-3/8" x 4-1/8" The white piece is cut 5-1/4" x 4".

I inked up the flowers and stamped off once. For those of you who don't know what the term "stamping off" means, it's where you ink up your stamp and then stamp the image on scrap paper. Then take the stamp and stamp on your card stock, don't re-ink it, just stamp. You can usually get two to three viable images after stamping off. Stamping off keeps the images light, soft and subtle. After stamping off I stamped the image two more times on the card stock. I wanted some very faint flowers in the background, giving it an "airy" look.

For the butterfly I inked up the stamp with Regal Rose and stamped the image on a scrap piece white card stock, I inked it up again and stamped another one. I inked up the stamp one more time but this time I used the Chocolate Chip marker and colored over the rose on the body part of it. I stamped the image on my white card stock where I wanted the butterfly to be. Then I cut out one of the other images I stamped. I cut off the body part and just cut the wings only, including the white dotted line area. Then the next one I didn't include the white dotted area. After I cut the second one out I took the Chocolate Chip marker and ran it around the edge just to give it an outline. I used dimensionals to put the first one I cut out on top of the butterfly on the white and flowered card stock. Then I took the outlined one and just glued it in place over the top of the wings I just put on with the dimensionals.

The words are from the "Hugs & Wishes" set and I stamped them in Chocolate Chip ink.

I added some Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon and tied a bow on and that's all there is to this card. Pretty simple stuff. The cutting out of the butterfly was the most time consuming part of it and it really didn't take that long to do. I think I would have liked the 5/8" wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon but I don't have any yet. It's on my wish list!!!!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Here's My Take on the Bridal Candies

I just thought I'd whip up a couple of hats that could be used on the tables at a wedding.

For the man's hat I just stacked the black like I did for the first hat I made. I added a Basic Gray piece of card stock around the brim. There wasn't much I could do to decorate that hat without making it look too feminine.

For the brides had I took a 6" x 6" piece of Tulle and folded it in half. I added it with the band and round brim piece. I glued the top part on and then pulled the Tulle to the back and secured it with a piece of white thread. Then I took a flower from the "Pretties" kit and added it along with the stamen and wrapped the long end of the stamen around the Tulle where the thread is. Even with a close-up lens and natural light I it was difficult to get the flower to show up. Anyway, you can decorate these up as much or as little as you'd like and they'll still turn out cute!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Sharing What They Make!

Peg sent me a picture of one of the hats she made. Isn't it just adorable? She did a fabulous job. Here is what her description of materials: "it contains a real feather (pheasant down). Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, punched flower, leaves and fern, patterned narrow ribbon." I just LOVE it!!! Email me your creation and I'll post it here for you too!

The instructions to make the nugget hat can be found by clicking here.

Thank you Peg for sharing your work with me/us!
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I am REALLY starting to look forward to the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. I'll tell you how much. Monday night I kept waiting and waiting for my email notice to tell me to go to SplitCoastStampers to see the new sketch. It was WAY after 1 am and still no email. It didn't dawn on me until Tuesday (afternoon, mind you!!!) that I realized it was the wrong day and it would be late night that night I'd be getting that long awaited email!!! LOL SO last night, I was up and online and email came in and the sketch was ready so I headed on over there and downloaded it, printed it out and found the stamps that would fit within the spaces. And this is what I came up with.

I used the printed out sample for my measurements. The flower from "Embrace Life" fit perfectly in the long space. I wanted to make it a "Mother's Day" card but I didn't have any words that would fit in that open area on the left. So it became a birthday card, which is ok too because I go through a LOT of those!!!

This was actually a very simple card and again I attribute that to the decorative background paper. The flower was stamped on watercolor paper, colored in with the Almost Amethyst marker and then colored over again in the darker areas only. No blender pen here!! The top part of the flower was made by stamping the flower image again and cutting that center part out. I colored it with the marker and then added Dimensionals on the back to pop that part up. It doesn't show well in the picture but there really are Dimensionals under there! I did punch holes on either side of the flower stem and tied the bow on. I also used Dimensionals under that piece too. Adding the bow like that would make the layer lumpy and to compensate for that I just added the Dimensionals and the whole panel is level.

After adding the words the card still needed something so I added some white buttons and it kept the card simple, clean and soft looking. And that's pretty much it, not a whole lot to this one. Quick, simple and ready to use!!!

To view more quick cards click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Fruity Artfully Asian

I was trying to think of a title for this post and I was looking at what I named the photo so see if it would work. Nope, just couldn't use that!!! I certainly wasn't thinking when I named this photo. I like to try to include in the name of the photo the stamp sets I use. I used Artfully Asian and Tart and Tangy and I ended up with the name "Asian Tart." I didn't even notice it right away. I AM getting old!!! LOL

I used the Artfully Asian set because I thought I could make the sprig look like an orange blossom. Why not. After all I've never seen an orange blossom so I was convinced it looked like one!!! Does it do it for you too? LOL We northerners up here don't have orange trees in our backyard. And if we did it would only be for one season and they'd freeze out!!! LOL I suppose I could have Googled "orange blossom" and been better informed but then I probably wouldn't have been able to use this set!!!

This was a pretty quick card to make. It seems that any time I can use designer paper the cards are pretty quick to do. The paper here is from the "Bali Breeze" package. I used Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke and Whisper White card stock on this card. I also used watercolor paper. On that I stamped the image and used a blender pen and markers to color it in.

I stamped the orange using Pumpkin Pie ink and I punched it out using the 1-1/4" punch and punched out an Always Artichoke layer using the 1-3/8" punch.

The measurements for this card are as follows:

The main card is Whisper White, a 1/2 sheet folded in half
On top of that is a piece of Always Artichoke cut 5-3/8" x 4-1/8"
On top of the Artichoke is the designer paper cut 5-1/4" x 4"

The layers for the rectangles are as follows:
Always Artichoke - 3-5/8" x 2"
Pumpkin Pie and watercolor papers - 3-3/8" x 1-3/4"

On the Pumpkin Pie piece of card stock I stamped the leaves image using Pumpkin Pie ink. The VersaMark pad was just too light.

The "thanks" image is from the "Everyday Flexible Phrases" set.

I added an orange brad from the Rhinestone Brads "Fire" collection. And I think that's it!! Pretty simple stuff.

Here's a tip for those of you who don't enjoy using the blender pen. You can stamp your image on white card stock and then again on a piece of scrap copier paper. Cut out the flowers and round buds (masks). You can cut out the leaves if you'd like but it really isn't that necessary. Add a bit of removable tape to the backs of the cut out pieces and set them in place over the matching piece on the white card stock you stamped. Take your sponge and the Bashful Blue ink pad and sponge in the area where I have blue on my card. Remove the masks and color in the flower using the Apricot Appeal marker. Then take the Pumpkin Pie marker, using the writing end, add a bit of color to darken some of the areas on the flowers. Use the Pumpkin Pie marker to color in the buds. For the leaves use the Certainly Celery marker and color them in. Take the Always Artichoke marker and color in the darker areas. Not such a difficult way to get pretty much the same look. And you can have your very own "Asain Tart" card too!!! LOL

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda