A What I Love and Perfect Pairings Sale-a-Brations Birthday Card

This was the first set that I knew I just had to have from the 2016 Sale-a-Brations catalog.  I liked that the flower was a 3 step.  When there's more than one step you tend to get very beautiful flowers. I wish this set would be in the catalog but it retires tonight at midnight.  It will be one I will be selling in my web store in a week or so. It depends on if I can figure out how to do it by myself!  

Since it is retiring tonight, I thought I would play with it one last time.  I used Tangelo Twist ink and card stock.  My decorative paper is from last year.  I had a whole package that was hardly used so I didn't purchase the new images. 

The flowered background was made using the tiny flower from the "What I Love" set.  I used Pear Pizzazz to stamp the leaves and I also used the Pear Pizzazz marker to color in the leaves.

I thought about adding a pearl to the center of the flower but I think I may just use the Daffodil Delight marker and color it in.

The words are from the "Perfect Pairings" set that also retires tonight.

This was a super easy and quick card to make. I'm going to miss these two stamp sets.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Pedal Pusher and Happy Home Missing You 2016 Sale A Bration Card

Today I wanted to play with this fun bike image from the "Pedal Pusher" set that my friend Katie gave me!!  Such a fun set!  I love this bike. 

I like this layout too.  I took a half sheet of Lost Lagoon card stock and folded it in half.  Then I cut the front panel  to 2".  I used the scrap piece for the layer behind the bike.  

I stamped the image on Whisper White card stock and I trimmed it down.  I cut the layer from the scrap and then I colored in the image. 

I wasn't sure what I wanted for words.  I didn't care much for the ones that came with the set, so I went looking in my stamp sets and found the "Happy Home" set.  Once I saw the words in that set I knew who I was going to give this card to.  

This is an adorable set, plus it's clear images and I was able to put the basket, the flowers and the flag on the bike with no spaces at all.  They lined up perfectly!!  That is why I LOVE working with those types of stamps.

This set retires in a couple of days.  I am glad I at least got to play with it once.  I just had too many stamps to play with.  And I tell myself this every time, I'm not going to buy a bunch of stamp sets because I don't get to play with them all as much as I want to.  But I think for the most part, I do get to play more with the ones I REALLY like!

I have SO many retired stamp sets and I think I am going to start putting them in my web store soon. I need to get my workroom cleaned up, organized, plus make room for new stamps!!!  If you're interested, I will post on here when I add sets to the store.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Perfect Pairings Birthday Card

The "Happy Birthday" from the "Perfect Pairings" set is such a fun font.  I am going to miss this set at the end of the month when the "Sale-a-Bration" is done.

This was a fun card to make too. It's from Terri's very fun Stamp a Stack last week.  We played with the "Going Places" Designer Paper.  I wasn't thrilled with a lot of the images in that paper pack but once I saw what was being made with them I started to like it more and more. Sometimes I think I'm losing my creativity.  I don't see foresee things in papers and stamp sets like I use to.  Perhaps I just need to take a few days off and just do some looking and see what ideas I can come up with on my own. But for today, I have these fun cards to share with you.

We used Lost Lagoon for the base of our card.  I looked in my papers and I have a lot of Lost Lagoon left and that retires in a couple of months.  That means I'd better get in gear and use up as much of those in colors as possible or I will be stuck with them.  Well, not really stuck with them, there are people that will buy them (if you sell them that is!!!).  

We used the Ornate Tag Punch, punched the Very Vanilla card stock and then after sponging the edges we added the thick Baker's Twine.  I really like the feel of that stuff.  We set the tag in place using Dimensionals.  

These were quick and simple cards to make.  I LOVE this layout.  You can use it with any decorative papers and make some quick and beautiful cards.  

For a closer view of the cards, just click on the photo.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Paper Pumpkin Happy Birthday Card

Today I would like to share with you a card from the latest Paper Pumpkin kit. 

The base of the card is splattered with a light blue, I'm guessing Pool Party.  Then I punced out the square layers.  I stamped the words and the balloon at the same time using Bermuda Bay ink. 

The layers were set in place with Dimensionals.  The final touches were the bow below the words and the adorable light green pearls.  I LOVE the look of those pearls.  It's such a soft pretty green.

These are fun to make. I look forward to my Paper Pumpkin kit each month.  Next month (April 2016) is the 3rd anniversary of Paper Pumpkin and there is going to be an extra stamp set in the pack.  I can't wait to see what it is!!  I have such a great time with these.  It's just nice to sit down and put cards together without having to do any cutting.  It's like taking a card making vacation!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Bloomin' Love Wedding or Anniversary 2016 Occasions Catalog Card

Today I was busy getting things together for Easter.  We are going to my nieces house.  I have lots of things to bring. I need to make a list so I don't forget anything.  Plus I baked my son some peanut butter cookies and I also made a lemon loaf thingy to bring. It's suppose to taste like the Starbucks lemon loaf.  I wouldn't know, I have never had it.  My sister said she's had it and it's really good. I'll ask her how it turned out.  I originally was going to make it for my sister's birthday last week but I didn't pay attention to the recipe. It called for sour cream and we didn't have any and I didn't buy any when I got groceries the day before.  GRRRR.  So I ended up making her pumpkin bars for her birthday.  She likes them too, so I was safe!!!  This lemon recipe made 2 loaves but I had 3 just a bit smaller loaf pans, so I ended up with 3.  I will probably give my sister two of them and cut one up to set out on Easter.  That's the plan anyway!

Okay, onto this pretty wedding or anniversary card.  This is another one of the cards I made at Terri's fabulous Stamp a Stack.  I LOVE the look of this card. I  used the "congratulations" on my card so it could be used for either a wedding or an anniversary.

We used the "Bloomin' Love" stamp and Crumb Cake ink to make this card.  The decorative paper is from teh "Love Blooms" 12" x 12" paper pack.  It' goes so well together.

I love the simplicity of this card.  It's pretty and elegant.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Botanical Builder Stamp a Stack Birthday Card

Thursday night I went to Terri's super fun Stamp a Stack.  I LOVE going to her events, she always has so many fun and beautiful cards to make.  

This one was made using the Botanical Builder for the flower and the leaf.  We used the Scallop Tag Topper punch and stamped the words on it using Cajun Craze ink.  

The flower was sponged with Cajun Craze ink and then set in place using a Dimensional. The center of the flower is a White Perfect Accents colored in with a black Sharpe marker.

The tag was set in place using Dimensionals.

The decorative paper is from the "Botanical Garden" paper pack.  I have had a lot of fun making cards with that paper pack.  You can change this card so much just by adding a different panel on the left side. The paper pack has a lot of fun images that will work!!!  SO much fun!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda 

A Wild about Flowers and Rose Wonder Open Panel Technique Card

I found this fun card on Pinterest but when I went to find what website it came from I couldn't.  Sorry. If you know who is the original designer of this card, please let me know so I can give them credit.  Edited 3-26-15: Thank you Bonnie. You can find a similar card here by Sharon Burkert.

I used the decorative papers from the "Pretty Petals" paper stack. I did change the bottom design from the original card.

The colors of ink I used here are Pear Pizzazz and Calypso Coral.

The stamp set is "Wild about Flowers" and the words are from the "Rose Wonder" set.  

This is an easy technique to do.  You just cut the front of the card into the size pieces you want.  If I make more, I am going to dig out some of my scrap decorative papers and then cut my card front accordingly.  It's a great way to use up scraps.  

Here I cut the panels so they were both 2".  Then I cut the decorative paper 1-3/4" x 4".  The front panel was cut 2" x 4" and the Basic Black layer was cut 2-1/4" x 4-1/4".

I didn't have any Calypso Coral ribbon so I colored a piece of white by running it across the ink pad. It was pretty blotchy so I sprayed it with rubbing alcohol and ran a paper towel over it.  The color blended well and I set it aside to dry.   Once it was dry I tied it to the panel and then set it in place with Dimensionals.  Make sure you line up the bottom well before affixing the panel.

I added the inside piece, closed the card and stamped the words in that open space.  

Super easy, very fun and ever SO quick to make!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Flower Shop Sliding Bar Technique Birthday Card

Today I'm going to share with you a fun tutorial I found on You Tube.  It's a fun and easy technique.

The trick to this technique is getting enough Dimensionals in two straight lines on the back.  If you don't get enough, especially to the left side, the bar will drop down and not look so pretty. 

Oh and cut the extruding bit on the right to match the shape of the Dimensional.  You don't need that excess piece there so trim it as close to the Dimensional as possible.  That will reassure you that none of that part of the bar will show when it's slid to the left.

Pick some nice decorative paper and decorate it as much as you wish.  This card needs a lot of finesse on the bottom half. But what's done is done and I'm not adding anything to it right now. I just wanted to try this technique and I did.  And I like it!!

You can find the You Tube video here for your step by step instructions.  It's a well done video and I am sure you will be able to follow along too.  3-24-16:  Oops, I forgot to add the link before I posted.  Sorry.  You can find the instructions here.

I will give you my measurements here in case you wish to change them. I don't remember if I followed them exactly as in the video but here they are anyway.  The front panel consists of a piece of decorative paper backed with a piece of Whisper White card stock.  It needs to be firm, that is why the 2 layers.  A single layer of card stock would do the trick too, but decorative paper is just too thin. I cut it 3-3/4" x 5"

I used a 1" circle punch.  I did draw lines on the back side and cut them. Those pencil marks are not visible!

The strip is 4-1/2" x 1".  Again it's got a card stock backing.

This was fun to make and I can see myself making more!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Botanical Builder Envelope Punch Board Gift Card Holder

I had picked up my mom a couple of gift cards and I thought the cards looked awful on the hang tags.  So I got a bug in me and decided to make mom a couple of gift card holders.

I took some retired decorative papers, mom doesn't care if they're retired, plus she doesn't even know.  LOL  

I was just going to make the envelopes but after I finished them I thought they were too blah.  SO, I added the flowers from the "Botanical Builder Framlits".  I even went that extra step and cut some small cards for the inside for mom to write on.  I even rounded the corners!!  What a good daughter!!! LOL

These were easy and fun and easy to make!  Oh, I forgot to tell you the size of the paper.  I cut it 5-1/2" x 5-1/2".  I started 2-1/4" and I made the score line.  From there you just turn the paper and line up the score line, punch and score and repeat!  Simple as that.  I did cut a little slit for the tip of the flap to fit in because I didn't want to have my mom lick dried glue!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Flower Shop Tunnel Card Technique Thank You Card

Today I want to share a card with you made by Tanya.  It is the Tunnel Card Technique.  This is a very fun and easy technique to do too!  You can find the instructions for this technique here.  

I do not know what set the words and flowers on the inside are from.  I don't have that set and they do not look familiar to me, though I do know they are a Stampin' Up! product.

This is such a pretty card and I LOVE how that tunnel just highlights the sentiment!

Give this technique a try, I think you will find it fun!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,

Wanda

Magic Window Stamping Card Technique

Today I am going to share with you another card I made  using the "Magic Window" technique.  This is such a fun technique and it is a lot easier to make than it looks.  It's just 3 pieces of card stock on the inside and the card base on the outside.  Then you embellish as you wish!!

This card was made by Nancy.  She used Blackberry Bliss for her card base.  I LOVE that color and I need to use it more! Actually I need to use the in colors from the prior year's collection, they are going to be expiring soon.  I always end up with lots of papers left over.  UGH!!  I should make using the in colors a priority!!!  

Anyway, back to this card.  Nancy also used some of the fun and pretty vellum on the front.  This is such a pretty thank you card.  

I also like that she used white card stock on the inside for her center panel.  It allows you to write on the card.  When I made mine, I did use a lighter color so the writing would show up.

My card can be found here and there is a link on that post to the instructions for this fun technique.  

Give this technique a try.  You can decorate it as much or as little as you like and it will still be a really cool card!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

The Open Seas Banded Birthday Card Z Fold Technique

Today I had fun with some decorative papers.  I had gotten the "Perfectly Artistic" decorative papers and didn't play with them much because I couldn't think of what to do with them.  I saw a card on Pinterest that was laid out like this one.  It used the airplane from the "Sky is the Limit" set from the 2016 Sale-a-Bration catalog.  

Here I used the ship from "The Open Sea" set.  I stamped it in black and used the circle framlits to cut it out along with the Marina Mist circle.  

I got to play with some more of the papers from the "Going Places" 6" x 6" paper stack.  I can't say it enough, I LOVE those stacks.  There's lots of papers and lots of variety!  And because there is lots of papers in it, I don't use them up!!!

This card was fun and easy to make.  I just cut a piece of Very Vanilla 4-1/4" x 11".  I also cut a strip of Very Vanilla 11" x 1-1/4".  That piece is used for that band.

I folded my card stock in half and then I folded the front of the card in half but I folded the raw edge towards the folded edge of the card.  Just fold the front of the card back.  I hope I explained it well enough.  Just look at the photo for reference. 

After I added the decorative papers, I set the folded strip in place.  The strip is folded the same way as the card front but backwards.  With the strip laying in front of you, fold it in half.  The fold is on your right. Take the raw edge and fold it towards the right.  After you stamped and or embellish the strip add it to the card by taping the 2-1/8" piece and only tape 4-1/4" of the large part of the strip.  If you go beyond that you will be sticking the strip to the inside of the card.  You can lightly mark the area with a pencil if you need to before you tape.  

Once the band is on, you can decide where you want the circle to go.  It's an easy card to make and fun too.  I was happy with it, plus I got to play with two different decorative papers!!  YAY!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Botanicals for You and Perfectly Artistic Magic Card Technique

Today I am going to share with you a card made by Beth from our latest technique swap.  This technique is called "Magic Window".  You can see on of my other posts here and there is a link to the instructions.  

The image used here is from the Botanicals for You" from the 2016 Sale-a-Brations catalog. 

Beth used Marina Mist for the base color of her card and for the ink.  

She also used the "Perfectly Artistic" Designer Series Paper (Smoky Slate color) for the side strip.  The flowers were punched out using the Melon Mambo paper from that pack.  I have some of that paper but have not used it much.  I have found it difficult to work with.  But now that I've seen a lot of things made using it, I may give it another try!

These cards are a lot easier to make than it looks. I love how when you open the card, the window opens slowly and reveals the words.  It's magic!!! LOL  It's fun, give it a try!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

   

A Framed Spotlighting Technique Birthday Card

Today I am going to share with you one of the cards I received in the Technique swap last night. This card was made by Tanya.  I do not know what the name of the set is, so if you know it, please let me know so I can add it to my post.  I quickly paged through the catalog and occasions catalog but didn't see it.  I'm sure I passed it up. Oh, and it's obvious that I don't own this set!!!

I posted some instructions for this easy technique here.  

I have a couple more swaps to share with you later.  It was a fun swap and I had a great time playing along with the other ladies!

I have over 130 techniques on my blog.  Click here to be taken to the category! They range from very easy to a little complicated but they all have either a detailed description on how to make it or a link to where directions can be found.

Edited 3-18-16.  Thank you Ellen for letting me know the image is from the "Corner Garden" background stamp.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda