Blog Candy Up For Bid!!

A change in the Blog Candy. this fun "To Cheer You" set is the one up for bid. And what would you like to bid for this fine item??? Get any of those "wonderful" gifts for Christmas you have no idea what to do with or what the person that bought it for you was thinking???

Have fun!!!! I will draw a name on Sunday afternoon. PLEASE check back to see if you are a winner.

Thanks for playing,
Wanda

Little Birdie Birthday

This is a fun card to make. I wanted to try a card with different punches. There's the Ticket Punch on the corners. I used the Label Punch and the small Oval Punch to hang the words from the hemp. And the bottom is the Key Tag Punch was used. For that one I stamped the words and punched them out. I affixed it to a piece of copier paper and slipped it back in the punch so I could make it smaller. I did use a scissors to trim the top and bottom. I then took a piece of black card stock and punched another piece out. I taped the white piece with the words on it to this piece. Then I affixed it to copier paper and punched it out to fit.

I used the Canvas Background stamp on the Bashful Blue piece. I used decorative paper for the yellow strip. The camera made the yellow look more orange than yellow but be assured it is yellow! I added a black brad. It just looked like it needed something there. I stamped the bird on watercolor paper and used a blender pen and colored it in. I made a mask of the bird and covered the yellow one up and sponged on some Bashful Blue to cover the background. I sponged the edges. I tied the hemp and added the wording. I taped it to a layer of black and used Dimensionals under the black and set it in place.

It's a pretty quick card.


Oh and the feather was colored and placed on the wing. I punched a hole in the paper and then inserted the end of the feather and taped it on the back. It gave it a nice 3D effect!! Click here to learn how to color the feather.




Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

What Color is Your Feather? Tutorial

I always laugh when I see feathers. When our son was little and had supervised baths we'd tell him to make sure he washed his armpits. He didn't understand the word so we started to tell him to wash his feathers. And as he got a bit older we'd always ask him if he remembered to wash his feathers!! LOL And to this day he still remembers where his feathers "were!" LOL I don't remember why it was feathers but I guess it didn't matter, at least we got the message across to him and he had clean pits!!! LOL You really needed to know that didn't you? And I know our son won't care that I told the world because he doesn't read my blog. Maybe he should start!!! LOL

Ok, onto the tutorial. When adding some 3D items to your cards or scrapbook pages you like to have things match. That is one of many reasons why I like Stampin' Up! products. Before I ever became a demonstrator I had their inks, papers, markers, chalks, etc. Because EVERYTHING matched!! That is VERY important to me.

I am working on a card and realized I wanted to add just a touch of unique 3D. A feather is pretty unique. I suppose I could go out and buy a package of colored feathers and hope that I get a match to the ink I'm using OR I could just color one myself and have an exact match. I had a package of white feathers which are great to have because now I can make them any color I want.

Here is what you need:
A feather

Ink pad

Sponge

Ink up your sponge. While holding the feather down set it on the feather and sponge towards the tip. Repeat until you reach the desired darkness of color. It doesn't take long to do and the results are great.

Now you have a feather to match the project you are working on. The next post I will show you what I did with the feather.

This is a quick and easy technique and can be used for LOTS of projects and cards.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Cute Little Sucker!!!

The title is pretty interesting, isn't it? I bet it got your attention too!!

I was shopping at Michael's today and saw these most adorable little suckers. At the widest part it's only just a bit over 1-1/4". Isn't that tiny. And then there's the plastic stick. With the stick (as it was when I purchased it) measured almost 11" in length. A bit excessive!!! I'm trying to understand why you would want a sucker that long. I suppose if you were going to put them in a vase, maybe??? Anyway, I cut it down to fit with the card.

This is a very simple card to make. So when I sit down to whip out a TON of them I will be able to do it quickly. I was thinking about adding some white craft ink background on the black but I decided to leave it solid and keep it very simple. You can add what you like on yours.

This card is cut the long way on the cutter. Cut it at 4-1/4" and fold it in half. Then cut off the top of the card are 2-3/4". If you don't want to cut it you can fold it inward and secure it. I cut the watercolor paper the same size as the wood on the stamp. I added a 1/4" layer of black to that and then another 1/4" layer of red. I punched out a red tab, folded it and taped it on the red layer piece. I taped down the black layer and after coloring and placing the sucker I taped it all in place. I added a non-Stampin' Up! heart brad to the corner. It just needed a little something there.

A little more info on the sucker. The original wrapper was too long so I had to remove it and wrap the sucker in cellophane. I took a small piece of cellophane and snipped a small hole in the center. I inserted the stick and wrapped the cellophane around the sucker and tied it at the top. Once I got the sucker on the card I trimmed the cellophane a bit more and the stick a bit more to. I just thought this sucker was SO cute and knew it would fit this stamp perfectly!!!

I'm off to work on a baby blanket. I am making them for an organization that distributes them to newborns in need. You can knit or crochet them. I started out crochetting but gave up after about an hour and a half of it. The poor little baby would be graduating high school before I would get the blanket done. SO I dug out the knitting machine and I've now made 5. Well, almost 5. I have to finish the edges of the one I knitted this afternoon and I will have 5. I have a friend who told me about this organization and she crochets the blankets. She said she doesn't have the time to crochet the blanket part and offered to finish the edges when I get one done on the machine. Such a deal!!! I HATE finishing the edges. SO between the two of us we'll be able to get a lot of blankets done this month!!! I have SO much yarn in bins to use up and this is the most perfect way to do it!!! I use to knit my own sweaters but it's SO much cheaper to buy them than it is to make them. I will make afghans once in a while but my family all has them now so I put the machine away. But now it's out and there's going to be some warm babies out there!!! It makes me happy! I'll take a picture of them when I get the ones back from my friend and I'll share it with you.

Have fun making the cards!!!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Neighbors on Wheels!

If you saw my workroom you'd know that I really LOVE wheels, especially the jumbo ones. This wheel is perfect for the "Welcome to the Neighborhood" Forget-Me-Nots. The wheel is by Stampin' Up! and it's called "Neighborhood." Though I really didn't do it justice here. Of all the mediums there are out there to use, I chose colored pencil and it's one of the things I don't really care much for. Mostly because I find them difficult to blend. So you can see by the coloring job that my heart is just not in it. Normally I would have used watercolor paper, watercolor crayons or markers and a blender pen. But since I stamped on regular card stock I really didn't want to use a blender pen on it. Anyway, you get the idea here.

I may just redo the card here so I like the coloring and then I'll be bringing it to my new neighbor across the street. Then when spring comes they'll plant the seeds and think of me. And when they have to go out and weed the flowers on a hot steamy summer day they'll think of me. And then in the fall when they have to clean out the flower bed they will think of me!!! LOL Hopefully by then we'll have been chatting a bit when we are outside in the upcoming summer.

These flower pockets are fun to make. You can find the measurements on the other one I posted. Just click here. The white card stock is a bit shorter here because of the images on the wheel. Just adjust your card stock accordingly.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Takin' Care of Business!

Here is a card I made for the "business" side of stamping. I use to work in a real estate office and the agents would order Forget-Me-Not flower seed packets and put their business card labels on the backs of them. Or should I say, they'd have "us" office workers do it for them. It's designed to get their name out there and to hopefully generate business. SO I got to thinking. Why can't this work for stamping?? Personally I just like the idea of sending out flower seeds. I have made several other cards that hold flower seeds.

This one is very simple to make too. I printed out the poem onto white card stock and then cut it to fit. I needed the width to be 4" and the length I had to work with because of the length of the poem. With this poem the white card stock length is 8-1/2". I folded it at 3-1/2" and added a thin line of glue to the sides. Before gluing I wheeled on the flowers from Stampin' Up! The whee is called "Fast Flowers." I used the flower punch in the "Three for You" kit. I sponged the edges and then punched out 3 little dots to put in the center of the flowers. I sponged all the edges and then glued the sides. I taped the pocket to the background and inserted the flower seeds.

Be sure to put your business label on the back of the flower seeds. The company I ordered them from is Sanzo. They will sell them to you either way, blank on the back or you can order them with your business information printed on each packet. It's all in what you want or need. The page to the seed packets can be found by clicking here. What is nice about this is the blank ones are 25 cents per package and there is no minimum to order, so you can get as many as you need or want.

I think these would be a nice "Welcome to the Neighborhood" little gift too. Not just for demonstrators to give out but for everyone else. Just make a pocket card and insert the seeds. Be sure to write or add a label to the back of it with your name and address on it and welcome your new neighbor to the neighborhood. You can hang it on their door, hand it to them personally or mail it to them. Just a nice gesture for a new neighbor! I will add that card on the next post. So back to this card.

I'm adding the poem in the event you would like to use it for your customers.

Hello my Friend, it’s been a while
Since I’ve heard from you.
Just checking in to ask you if
there’s anything I can do.


You’ve has some time to view the book.
There’s so many things to see.
Please let me know if I can help you
place an order with me.

I’ve enclosed some flower seeds
To plant in the ground or a pot.
I want you to think of me
When blooms the Forget-Me-Not.
© 2008 Wanda Pettijohn

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Quick!!!

Yup you guessed it. Nestle's Quick! And it's Strawberry Quick at that!!! I used a Frappuccino bottle and decorated it up a bit to make this cute gift item for a special girl. I used the new Stampin' Up! rub ons. They are pretty easy to work with. And because they are SO new is part of the reason they are easy to work with. They haven't been sitting on shelves for a long time drying out.

The top of the bottle has a label on it that reads: "Strawberry Quick, Add 1 scoop to 8 oz. milk. Who really limits it to one scoop?? LOL I should include a note to remove the marabou feathers before opening. Those little feathers are still floating around in my workroom. I hadn't worked with them in a very long time and the moment I cut the piece off the boa I knew what the future of my workroom would be for the next 5 days. I swear these little feathers hide and come out just when you bring your coffee cup into the room!!! LOL I don't have that problem with the cat hair but one little boa can mess up a room quicker than anything!!

Anyway, back to the bottle. I have a sweet friend (thank you Peggy) who saves me her Frappuccino bottles. Alas I can no longer have caffeine so those wonderful drinks are off my list. Oh well. I use these bottles for lots of things. I made milk bath and decorated the bottle to go with that theme. Click here to see the bottle. You can decorate these bottles and fill them with candies, little gifts, money, etc. They are a LOT of fun to decorate and give away. Just be careful with the feathers!!! LOL

For the front of the bottle between the rub ons I used the Stampin' Up! Designer Label punch and two round punches. Plus the Horizontal Slot punch on the sides for the ribbon to slide through. I tied the ribbon in a bow in the back of the bottle. I didn't want to glue or tape it. I tied on the boa and then the scoop. Add just a touch of glue to the very ends of the boa to keep those little feathers to a minimum. And be sure to add your mixing instructions to the bottle. Mine is on the top. And if you are making these to sell don't forget to add the Stampin' Up! copyright label to keep it all legal. It's best to be safe than sorry. You can easily stamp on glass with the black Staz On ink pad.

The scoop is from the Southern Goose company. The handles are solid so I had to heat up a needle under a candle flame and poke it in the center and melt a hole. Then I took a pointed file and reamed out the hole to clean it up a bit.

These make wonderful gifts for teachers and students alike. They could be used for a Stamp Camp item but the Strawberry Quick is a little expensive. But then again the bottle didn't cost you anything. I guess it's all in how much you want to spend. Maybe candies would be cheaper. That is something you'll have to do the math on. I HATE math!!! My checkbook can tell you that!!! LOL

I have more Valentine's gift items coming up. Lucky you!!! LOL

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Polishing Up the Polished Stone Technique

I have no idea what to call this technique. It is a form of the non-metallic polished stone. There is no need to spray the card stock when you are done. Once it's dry it's ready to go.

For this technique you will need the following items:

Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
Color Spritzer Tool
Glossy white card stock
Inkers
Marker



For this specific sample I used Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose inkers and the Real Red marker.

Set a piece of glossy card stock on your work surface. I cut my card stock 5-1/2" x 4-1/4". This way it allows me to cut away some edges and there are usually edges that don't get enough ink and sometimes as the paper curls some edges get too much.

With your card stock in front of you, wet your cotton ball with the rubbing alcohol. You want the cotton ball to be VERY wet. You should be able to feel it on your fingers, almost to the point to where it will be running down your arm.

Take your inkers and add color. I attached a photo because I myself often wonder what they mean by adding the ink. Is it mixed together, is it separate on the surface of the cotton ball? Is it allowed to touch the other color? Yes, it is ok for the colors to touch and it is ok for them not to touch too. You just don't want to add them on top of each other.

Once your inkers are on the very wet cotton ball begin dabbing the cotton ball all over your card stock. In the photo I stopped half way through to show you how I was doing it. I continued to cover the entire piece of card stock. If there was an area I thought needed a bit more color I went back over it. You want to do this fairly quickly but not to the point to where you feel stressed. Just cover the piece, set the cotton ball down and pick up the Spritzer Tool and poof some red splatter onto the wet card stock. Because the card stock is so wet the dots of ink will bleed.

This is the effect you want. If you like you can spritz again after the alcohol as absorbed and evaporated a bit more. This will give you both the bleeding dots and the defined solid dots. I like the bleeding dots, it adds a bright color to the non-metallic polished stone and it defines the background a bit more.

You will want to set your card stock on a protected flat weighted surface to dry. If you leave it on your work surface to dry it will curl some. You can pin it down very near the edges and use your heat tool to dry it. This may be something you will want to do if you are planning on using the piece soon.

You can stamp directly onto the card stock or you can use it as a background. Here again is the finished card.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!!

Thank you ALL so very much for the birthday wishes. My birthday was on Friday the 4th. In the small country town where I was born I was the New Year's baby that year for the whole county! I got my picture in the paper and also in the paper were several pages of items my family received to celebrate the event. To mention some of them there was diaper service, shirts for my dad, portrates at the local studio, milk, flowers for my mom and here's the one I need to investigate. A savings account was opened for me at the local bank. Hmmm, I wonder what ever happened to that?? LOL It's very fun to look back on that newspaper article. It was SO long ago and I'm still not telling how long!!

Anyway, yesterday I did have a very wonderful day. My older (MUCH older LOL - hope she reads this) sister Denise took me out to lunch and my son joined us. And get this, I even got to go out to dinner so there was NO cooking and NO dishes on my birthday. Such a deal!!! And there were presents and friends stopping over and cards, oh my the cards!!! It was a very fun day!

And now on to the winner of the Blog Candy. The lucky winner is #83, Amiee.

This is the comment Amiee left:

Aimee said...
happy Birthday...

Amiee, please email me with your snail mail address and I will get the stamp set out in the mail to you. If I don't hear from you by Wednesday evening I will put the blog candy back up for bid!!! I just may do one for bid anyway to see what "wonderful" Christmas presents you are willing to part with this year!!! LOL You all seem to like the "bidding game." And it really is a lot of fun, not just for me but for the other readers too!! Anyway Amiee, you have until Wednesday to get back to me.

Thank you all for leaving your comments. There will be more Blog Candy in a few days. I am nearly at 600 posts!!! My oh my!!
Wanda

Oh No, it's a Mouse!!!!

I was making this card and realized that I was making a Valentine's Day card that has a mouse on it. What does a mouse have to do with Valentine's Day? I don't mind mice, well pet shop ones are ok but I don't care for the wild ones.

The background for this card is something I was messing around with and liked the results. I will be attending a Stamp Share on Saturday and I will be demonstrating this technique. SO tomorrow night I will be posting this technique for you all to try out!!! Lucky you!!! LOL

I'm still wondering about the mouse and Valentine's Day. Is there a connection? I can understand the elephant because it has to do with remembering. But a mouse??? Does anyone know the significance???

I do like this card. I like how the background did turn out (they usually do turn out) and I like how simple it was to put together.

Stop back tomorrow for the tutorial on how to do the background.

Don't forget to enter in the Blog Candy drawing. My birthday is this month and I want you to celebrate with me so I'm offering up some Blog Candy. Click here to be directed to the post where you can leave a comment and be entered in the drawing. And yes, you can enter even if you've won blog candy from me before. Please don't leave your email address in your comment. Spammers LOVE it when you do. They do have some easy way of finding them too.

Check back later Saturday night to see who the lucky winner is!


Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

SUUUUPER Easy! SUUUUPER Quick!

WOW, if you need a card in a hurry this is the way to go. I think it took me longer to find a set that had images that fit in the 1-1/4" circle than it did putting the whole thing together. And if you need a LOT of the same type card or layout, again this is the way to go. You can sure make a lot of cards using the 12" x 12" decorative paper!!!

I used the "Ginger Blossom" decorative paper for this card. I cut the green color and the ruby pieces 2" each by 5-1/4". I wasn't sure where I was going to put the black strip. I was thinking about centering it but then I decided to move it up a bit. Cutting the decorative paper that way allows you to move the strip around until it is pleasing to the eye to you.

The black strip is cut 3/4" x 5-1/4". Mine starts about 1-1/2" from the top of the folded black card stock. I then used the scallop punch on Ruby Red card stock. On top of that is a 1-3/8" circle of River Rock card stock and on top of that is a stamped piece of Whisper White card stock. I used the "Seeing Spots" set and of course the Stamp-a-ma-jig. Ever since I was shown how to use it (by Sue - she's such a sweetie and SO good to me) I just use it for everything I want lined up almost perfectly. I say "almost perfectly" because no matter how hard I try I can not get it perfect. But then I just fall back on some words I heard a LONG time ago, "it's a handmade card." Indeed it is!!! So now I don't lean towards perfection, I just get it "almost perfect" and I'm happy with that!! To finish off the punched layers I set it in place with Dimensionals and there you have it! A SUUUUPER easy and SUUUUPER quick card! I think I'm going to whip up a few birthday cards to give to my mother-in-law using this quick layout. I love easy and quick!!!

Feel free to email me with any questions. Blogger does not allow me to reply to comments, it's not a feature they offer. Also, for a closer view to any of the photos I post, just click on the photo.

Don't forget the Blog Candy. Please leave your comment here to be entered in the Blog Candy drawing.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy Birthday!!

January is my Birthday month. I am not going to tell you how many candles will be on my cake but I will say that should they all be lit a fire extinguisher needs to be handy. The light given off will brighten an entire room and the heat will keep you warm until the candles die down!! LOL

To celebrate my birthday I'm giving away a Scrappy Cat clear stamp set. Just leave a comment on this post only. I will draw a winner on Saturday. Please check back to see if you're a winner. Don't include your email address with your comment. Spammers just LOVE that.

Thanks for celebrating with me!
Wanda

Oh SO Sweet! And Instructions Too!

These are a fun little item to make for your favorite Valentine! They also make a nice "Thank you" gift too.

These are very easy to make. You will need some York Peppermint Patties. I have some left over from Christmas so I used the red and silver. I actually was shopping tonight looking for Valentine's Day ones but they are not on the shelves yet. Can you believe that??? I was shocked. I thought the shelves would be fully stocked by now, it's only 6 weeks away!

I used the flower stamp from the "Happy Heart Day" set by Stampin' Up! I colored them and then punched them out using the 1" punch. I punched out a 1-1/4" piece in black and layered that on top of a piece of red punched scalloped piece and one pink per package. I also punched out one more in each color for the bottom of the mint. It just looked too funny with the scallop hanging over the top. But once I added the piece to the bottom it looked a lot better.

You will need a storage bag too. The baggie I used measures 3" x 4". Both mints fit in this space nicely.

For the header I cut a piece of red card stock 4" x 4-1/4". I folded it in half so it measures 2" x 4-1/4". The next layer is a piece of black measuring 4" x 1-3/4". The white piece on top measures 1-1/2" x 3-3/4". I rolled on the flowers using the "Fast Flowers" wheel. I colored them in using Pretty in Pink and dotted the centers with Real Red.

For the tag I used the image in the same set. I colored in the fine border with the Pretty in Pink marker. I colored a few hearts in pink and the rest in red. I used the small tag punch on the image and the larger tag punch for the background layer. I used the Horizontal Slot punch on the top of the tag and added a pink grosgrain ribbon. I centred the slot on the header and punched a small hole for the red brad.

When stapling the header on make sure the back prongs of the staples are on the front part of the red piece. This will be covered up by the other two layers and all that will show is the smooth part of the staple on the back. It will give it a nice clean look.

For those of you who don't want to fuss with this as much but want to make some fun mints I also made some simpler ones. I just used circle layers and affixed them to the backside of the mints. Why the backside you ask?? Well, for me it's really a personal preference. I tape it to the backside because I think it will keep the mint shut. Plus the backside is flatter and it creates an overall smooth look to the finished piece. These simpler ones are great for the kiddies to make and give to their friends or teachers. These will also make a great Make N Take item for your customers too. This would also make a fun family project too!

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Switching Gears

I had to take a break from the "A Beautiful Thing" set and just have some no stress fun!

I just LOVE the "Baroque Motif" set and did end up buying my own set instead of borrowing it. I needed a birthday card so I thought I'd whip one up. I LOVE this layout. It's got a lot of pieces and layers but so worth it. I am providing the measurements for the pieces, they can be found after I'm done rambling!!! LOL

I have made a few cards using this layout and I, in spite of all the pieces, continue to like working with this layout. It allows you to work with sets that have small stamps and large. I love versatile things!!!

The rhinestone brad in the center is from Oriental Trading. This color matched the ink better than the other rhinestone brads I have. In the center of the black flowers I punched out a tiny dot and glued it in place. I then added some Dazzling Diamonds to the center. It does not show up in the photo but there is also Dazzling Diamonds in the center of all the little flowers that were wheeled on using the Stampin' Up! wheel "Fast Flowers." I used Purely Pomegranate card stock, ink and ribbon. I also used Whisper White and Basic Black card stock.

I wheeled the flowers on all but the large piece. That design is from the "Baroque Motif" set. I stamped the large flower out and cut around it. I sponged just about everything there is to sponge on this card!!! You do know how much I LOVE sponging!!!! I punched out the scallop and after adding the brad to the white piece I taped it in place. I used Dimesionals to affix it onto the white background piece. The "Happy Birthday" is from the "Sincere Salutations" set. That is one set I'm hanging on to for ever! Fortunately right now it is still a current SU set. And lastly the little flowers were cut out by hand, I left a little white around the edges so I could sponge (of course!!!).

Ok here are the measurements. The following measurements are for the white card stock. You will cut one of each of these pieces per card. 2-1/4" x 3-3/4", 2-1/4" x 1-1/2", 5/8" x 1-3/4" and 1-1/8" x 1-3/4".

For the black layer behind the white pieces cut one of each of these pieces per card. 2-1/2" 4", 2-1/2" x 1-3/4", 7/8" x 2" and 1-3/8" x 2".

The Purely Pomegranate card stock is cut 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" and folded in half.

Find a stamp set you like and use it with this layout. Email me a photo of your card and I'd be more than happy to post it here with your first name and last initial!! I'd love to see what you can do with this layout!

If you have any questions, please email them to me. Blogger does not allow me to answer your questions in the comment section.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda