Beaded Bangle

Today I thought I would get away from stamping and finish up a beading project.  What is really sad about this project is that all I had to do to finish it was to bury or hide the threads.  So sad. I think I didn't finish it because I didn't like the way it turned out.  It's my very first bangle and I used too many beads. And isn't the first time you do something a learning experience?  I know that the next one I make will look a lot better.  All of the beads will be evenly distributed around the bracelet.  Ok, here they are around the bracelet but bunched up because I wasn't really sure what I was doing.  And the end results showed me that I have too many beads at the beginning.  My plan is to make another one. It's not a difficult bracelet to make, just a bit time consuming.  And of course I will share with you how the next one turns out.  I may even put it up for sale in my web store.  I won't be selling this one as it doesn't not meet my quality standards!

The pattern for this is found in the Bead & Button 2nd annual Best of the Best books.  I'm not sure if that is what the book is called.  I'll check on that and add it to this post (in red) so you can find it if you want to make one of these yourself.  Just remember, when the strip is long enough so the ends touch stop and move onto the next step!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

By the Sea Masculine Card

Today's card comes from you off the pages of Pinterest!  I found it here.  I did change the "ribbon" part.  I didn't have the ribbon that was used in the original one so I used the "Tasteful Trim" die and cut a scallop to sort of look like waves.  But it didn't! And that's ok.  I like it anyway. It actually looks much better in person.

The squares are set in place using Dimensionals so it gives it some depth.  The squares are punched out with the 1-1/4" punch and behind them they are layered with a 1-3/8" square of Midnight Muse.

The base of the card is Crumb Cake.  Stamp the words on first with Midnight Muse ink and then the sea fern or coral or whatever that is was done using VersaMark and gold embossing powder.  I actually stamped that first and then the words.  I had to blot off the ink from the words that got on the gold.  It still worked out, so either way you want to do it, it's up to you.  The "bubbles" were from a very old and retired "Beyond the Basics" set.  One set I hadn't given up yet.  And see, it came in handy.  I am not sure what was used on the original card but this set came to mind when I was looking at the original.  I wanted to use the "Gorgeous Grunge" set but I don't have it yet!!! I think that splatter in the set would look good there too.

I liked making this card and I think it would be fun to make more for the guys in my life!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Blossom Party Pop Can Flower Weekend Project

I have not posted a "Weekend Project" in a whole and today I thought I would post this flower.  I have seen a lot of these fun pop can flowers all over the place. So I thought I would gather a few pop cans (washed out of course) and cut them up to make my own flowers.  I had hubby hunt down his tin snips and cut a can. What a nightmare. Tin snips are so thick to work with.  So I thought I'd try a cheap pair of scissors I have and they worked SO much better.  You may want to wear protective gloves to do this.  The aluminum can is a bit sharp when cut.  But it's not sharp once you cut it with the die.

I cut my cans so I could make the maximum number of flowers from it.  You can cut two layers at a time too.  Actually you can cut 4 layers but it's hard to keep them all together.  They tend to slip around.  The flower here is made with 3 cut pieces.

After I cut my pieces I poked a hole in the center with my piercing tool.  Then I pushed the Antique brad through each one separately.  I am thinking about putting this in my flower garden.  It's certainly not going to rust!!  I am not sure how I will mount it.  I'm thinking of using a wooden dowel.  I'll take some wire to the back of the brad and wrap it around the dowel and it will be ready to go outside.  Or I was thinking of using it on a 4th of July card since the Pepsi cans are in Red, White and Blue!!  The Coke can I used here has a bit of the black showing on one of the tips but it's hardly noticeable.  It mostly looks like it's in red, white and blue!

These are very fun and easy to make (just protect your skin when cutting the can).  They are great for use on cards, something for your flower garden or even as a pin!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Flower Shop Ombre Technique

I ran a cross this Ombre technique.  I found it to be a lot like the Paint Chip technique.  It's where you have colors that go from light to dark or vice versa.  Here I used Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie.  These are not the best colors to pick for this.  I think the blues in the Stampin' Up! colors may have been a better choice.  Start off with Soft Sky and work your way through the blues to the darkest.  You need at least three colors to see the color change from light to dark.  Using five colors would be a lot more effective.  Before the recent color change at Stampin' Up! my color choice for this technique would have been Pinkm Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and then Rose Red.  Depending on the color of the background cardstock I would put it on, adding Whisper White before the Pink Pirouette would give you the five colors and you will see the light to dark effect much better.  That is why I would lean more towards the Stampin' Up! blue colors for this instead of what I chose.  But I did get to play with the "Flower Shop" set again.

I have shared a fun tip last week with a group of stamping gals.  Before you wood mount your stamp, punch out a flower from scrap paper and mark the top of it.  Line up that paper with your stamp and mount it that way so that when you stamp the image the punch will line up easily.  If you use the clear mount stamps then just put an arrow on the rubber so you know that is the top and you should be able to line up the punch just as easy.  

Have fun with this technique.  See how many fun color schemes you can come up with.

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Timeless Talk Card Pack

Today's card comes from you right off the pages of the new Stampin' Up! catalog.  Sort of.  I did add a layer of colored cardstock behind the image piece.  I thought these cards were simplistically beautiful!  They were SO easy to make and even easier to put together!

I thought it would be fun to make a gift pack with them.  I have some clear card boxes and I even stamped the image on the envelope.  I know my friend Ann would be SO proud of me!  She always stamps on her envelopes and we all do know that it's about the presentation!

These cards don't need a lot of explaining to do.  I used Marina Mist for my color and Timeless Talk for the stamp set.  Nothing more other than some ribbon to tie around the container just to make it look prettier!  You don't get much more simpler than this!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Timeless Talk Friendship Card

Here is a fun and adorable card I ran across this cute card while surfing the net for some samples from the "Timeless Talk" set.  The words on this card are from that set.  Other than that there is no more stamping on this card.  That's fun to do now and then!

This card was originally made by Mary at Stamper Camper's Corner.  This card was too cute to not copy.  

The flowers are from the Boho punch.  Be sure to punch all three of the flowers out.  Punching only the flower or image you want can cause your punch to shift to one side and eventually not work at all.  A little bit of extra pieces is SO worth the punch still working.  You just put those pieces in a container and who knows, one day you'll be digging in your little stash and use them!!!  

The colors used here are Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Melon Mambo, and Marina Mist.  

Black was also used for the flower centers.  They were punched out using 1/4" round punch.  The flowers were set in place using glue.  And the panel they were on was set in place using Dimensionals.  And also on that panel, two lines were made on the Simply Scored tool.  And that was it.  So simple and so quick!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Timeless Talk Matchbook Notes

These are called "Matchbook Notes" because the open like a matchbook.  The flap fit just behind that piece you see with the 4 pearls! 

You can do this with any scratch pad you have sitting around.  Just take a piece of card stock and scrap it around scrap copier paper to see if the 11" part is long enough.  Then you cut it to fit the width of the scratch pad.  

Glue the back of the scratch pad to the cardstock.  I also glued the little front flap to the  first piece of paper in the scratch pad.  The glued end of the scratch pad is at the bottom and I did glue that to the cardstock too.  

I found a scrap piece of the Patina Technique and I thought it would work well with this.  It's always fun to use some of your scrap findings!!  

I thought the phone image from the "Timeless Talk" set would be perfect for a scratch pad notebook.  And of course the "Hello there" was a perfect fit too!  

I embellished the phone with a lot of tiny pearls.  One in the center of the dial and tiny ones all around it, plus a few up above the dial too!  It looks SO much better in person!  

I will probably gift it.  I will wrap it up in cello wrap and set it aside until it's needed!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Simply Sketched

Today's card was fun and quick too!  I got to do a bit of sponging, which is one of my favorite techniques!  I used the butterfly Sizzlet and cut out 3 butterflies using Melon Mambo, Raspberry Ripple and Rose Red card stock.  I did my sponging in Melon Mambo.  

The words are from that same set.  It's too bad it's a Hostess set.  It will get used a LOT before it retires!!!  It's such a fun and pretty set. 

For my flower I colored in the stems with Wild Wasabi and the flower was colored in using a sponge dauber and Melon Mambo.  I had made a template for the flower at the last project I did using this set and I saved it.  This time I did better on the sponging.  I find I can sponge better using a dauber than just a wedge of sponge.  I lightly sponged over the whole flower and then I sponged over the edges and center of it several more times to give it some depth and definition.  

The white background was done using the stylus and the Simply Scored Diagonal plate.  It was the first time I had used it.  I got it back in January during the Sale-a-Brations event and I have never used it!!  It's difficult to see in the photo but the score lines go in both directions.  I scored 2 lines, counted 8 lines and then scored on the 9th and 10th line.  I repeated that across the piece.  Then I turned it and repeated that again.  

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Lovely as a Tree Textured Waxed Paper Technique

Today I have a fun technique to share with you.  It's called the "Textured Waxed Paper" technique.

It's a very simple technique to do too.  It's often done using glossy card stock but Stampin' Up! has retired the glossy card stock so this one is done using the shimmery white card stock.  

First you take a piece of waxed paper and place it inside an embossing folder and run it through your Big Shot like you normally would.  Then you take two pieces of your cards stock and sandwich the waxed paper between it.  Then you will iron the card stock and the wax from the waxed paper will transfer over.  You will also have 2 pieces of waxed card stock to work with!  

Next you sponge on the color.  It will transfer to the card stock and resist the waxed part.  Wipe off piece with a paper towel to get any excess ink off the waxed part.  And you are done!  Isn't that fun?  And easy?  And pretty?

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Secret Garden Thank You

I was playing with the Secret Garden set and the dies that go with it.  You have gotta LOVE these dies.  No more cutting out anything from that set!!!  It's quick and it's easy!  I LOVE both of those words when making cards!! LOL

Today I also played with the Smoky Slate ink pad.  What a lovely shade of gray that is!  I did some direct from the ink pad to the paper and some stamped off on the background.  I stamped a 1/4 sheet of card stock and I cut it in half so I had two cards.

The leaves are made from Basic Black card stock using the leaf die in the die set.  

It's hard to see it but the center panel is set in place using Dimensionals and so is the flower and the words in the top left.  

I used some black ribbon to hide the seam of where the two pieces of Whisper White card stock join.  I was also able to get 2 cards from the one 1/4 sheet of embossed white.  So I got two quick and easy cards with very little effort!  Don't you just love that?  

Oh and everything on this card is in the current catalog!!  Nothing retired here!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Flower Shop Birthday

This was my first attempt at making a card using the new "Flower Shop" set.  There's 3 flowers in it that I REALLY love and the other 3 are ok.  I know which ones I will be using the most!  You'll probably see them a lot on here too!! LOL  

I used the Little Leaf Sizzlet for the leaves. I cut out 3 of them.  One I just cut the top flowers off and used them in the corner.  

The flower was stamped using Pumpkin Pie ink.  I then punched it out with the new flower punch.  Imagine that, no more cutting out teh flowers!!!  

The "Happy Birthday Wishes" came from the "Simply Sketched" set.  Another set I am growing very attached to!

This is a very simple card to do.  I just trace the center piece in using the Pumpkin Pie marker.  That center piece measures 3-3/4" x 2-1/2".  Trace the edges first and then add the leaves.  The flower was set in place using Dimensionals.  I stamped the words on and that was it.  Now I'm wishing I had sponged the leaves and the edges of the flower! It looks a bit drab on the photo!  Oh well!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Serene Silhouettes Stampin' Up!

I think I need to change my card layouts a bit.  Today I made another long focal image one.  It's a different set but yet the same type of layout. I know there's other layouts to use with these size images!  Do you ever get suck in a layout or stuck on one stamp set and keep using it over and over?  Me either!!! LOL

I SO love black and white cards.  They can be used for lots of occasions and you know how much I LOVE to use versatile stamp sets!

Today I used the Serene Silhouettes along with the Fancy Fan embossing folder.  

This is a very simple card to make.  You can even substitute the stamped circle for some words.  There's a few that will fit in the round 1-1/4" punch and there's always the oval punches and scalloped border too! Lots of possibilities there!

The image panel and the scalloped piece were set in place using Dimensionals.  It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Too Kind Birthday Card

This was one of the first sets in the new catalog that I had my eye on.  I knew I could have a lot of fun with this set!  And so far I have.  I haven't used it much but each card I've made with it, I've had fun and I have liked the outcome!

The colors here are fun too.  I used the new Costal Cabana and Bermuda Bay.  I LOVE how the two colors just compliment themselves.  It's such a warm and inviting color combo.

To stamp my image I first used the stem stamp and Pear Pizzazz.  With the larger flower image, I stamped the Coastal Cabana color first.  And since this is a two step stamp set I took the other flower image and stamped the Bermuda Bay color over the Coastal Cabana.

I layered the focal piece with Bermuda Bay.  The strip textured piece is layered with Coastal Cabana.  And the scalloped piece had both colors on it.  The words on there were done on the computer.  And that was it.  It's a very quick and easy card to make.  Plus it doesn't have any buttons or knots on it so the postage won't change!  Ya gotta LOVE that!!!  I tend to go for the clean and simple look on my cards.  Oh and this card was not copied off anyone's blog!  Shocker, I know!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Embossed Marble Technique

Today I found a fun technique called "Embossed Marble."  It's a combination between thumping and embossing.

You do need your Stamp-a-ma-jig to do this one.  

You cover the image (mine is from the "Too Kind" set) then I thumped (with a marker) the new Strawberry Slush and then some Chocolate Chip.  I huffed on it and stamped the flower on top of the stem.  I repeated the technique for the smaller flower.  

Then you take your Stamp-a-ma-jig and stamp the images on it because you will be using VersaMark on the stamp and lining it up on the paper and then heat embossing it to give it that shiny marble look.  And you repeat for the other flower.  

I found this technique at Stamp TV.  You can go there and get the step by step instructions to make this.  It's fun and very easy!

Thank you SO much for visiting,
Wanda