Father's Day for a Friend

Here is a card I made for a VERY wonderful man. He's the guy who has been doing handyman work in my home for the past few months. He's such a nice guy. He's the kind of person you'd like to have for your dad. He's such a sweet heart! I will be sad when all the projects are completed here, I will miss him!!! I'm sure I'll see him at some events my sister has. I met him through her. Here is how he is "related" to her. It is her husband's brother's wife's sister's father-in-law!!! And now my friend!!!

He's such a calm mellow person and I thought this card would reflect that in him. I wish the water coming off the mill would have turned out bluer but that is what you get when you color in the browns first!!! If I had used watercolor paper I may have been able to tone the brown there down some but since I didn't I had to be careful not to work an area too long or the paper starts to thin and sluff off. Once that happens there is nothing you can do to fix it. You either have to leave that area alone or start a new card. Fortunately I didn't work an area too much for that to happen but I did try to get that water a bit bluer but it didn't work. Only I know that it is suppose to be lighter (well, now you all do too!!!). LOL

I am getting a website open to sell some of my stamps. This one is going to be listed. I have TOO many stamps and I have even more I'd like to purchase. But with no room to add more I must sell the ones I don't use very often. I took this one out to test the rubber to make sure it is still in good condition. As you can tell by the detail in the picture (click on the card for a closer view) the detail is very vivid. After I cleaned the stamp I did spray it with the Stampin' Up! Stamp Mist. It has a fabulous rubber conditioner in it. I use it on ALL of my stamps to keep the rubber from drying out. I great little investment and it doesn't cost much at all, plus the bottle lasts a long time. And it comes with a built-in bonus, it smells SO wonderful!!! As soon as the store is up and running (it's in the process of being established as I type this up) I will let you know so you can go shopping.

Ok, back to my card. I used a blender pen to color in the areas of this card. For the main part of the card I used Ballet Blue card stock and the Stampin' Up! "Flannel Plaid" background stamp and Ballet Blue ink. I used my computer to do the wording and I layered it with a punched circle and a scallop. I added 3 black brads because that side looked like it needed just a little something and once again being it is for a male bows and buttons didn't quite fit the bill!!!! LOL

I like how it turned out, except for that waterfalls part.

For more Father's Day cards, click here.

For more masculine cards, click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Feedblitz Issues Figured Out - Sort of!

Upon checking into my subscriptions part of feedblitz I saw that all of my subscriptions had been canceled. I didn't cancel any of them. I have no idea what happened and I did email feedblitz yesterday but have not heard back from them.

I had checked my junk mail and spam folder and nothing. I had to go and reinstate each subscription individually. That took a long time since I subscribe to almost 100 stamping ones as it is!!! But I finished it and we'll see if I get the feeds tonight. Keep your fingers crossed.

What I find odd is that the responses I got back from a lot of you was that you were receiving your updates regularly. I had subscribed to my own blog and I was not getting the updates. It's such a mystery. But now I know where to look should this happen again. I hope it doesn't happen again. Reinstating each blog one at a time was very time consuming. They need a button to click on to reinstate them all at once. There's one to stop the subscriptions all at once.

Thanks for letting me vent!!!
Wanda

For Someone Special on Father's Day!

With Father's Day approaching rather quickly I thought I should get a few Father's Day samples out on my blog to you. This one I made for a friend who I thought would like getting a card from me. I think it will brighten his day to get this in the mail. I have a few friends like that so I'd better get a move on it and get my needed cards done!!!

This one used the Stampin' Up! set "Noble Deer." And the wording is from the "All Holidays" set.

I used Basic Black for the main part of the card and I added Chocolate Chip on top of that. I added a piece of Old Olive stamped with the "Linen" background stamp using Old Olive ink. The deer and words are stamped in Basic Black on Very Vanilla card stock. Each of those were layered on Chocolate Chip card stock. I added some brads, sponged the edges and that was pretty much it. No ribbons or buttons or bows. They don't speak "masculine" as much as brads do!!! LOL It's a pretty quick card to make too!

For more quick cards click here.

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Feedblitz Issues

I use the Feedblitz company for my subscriptions. Many of you have subscribed to my blog using this method. I too have entered my name in as a subscriber so I can see that the emails are sent out. I have not received one in about 5 days now. I'm hoping that it is just me not receiving the reminder. I also subscribe to other blogs as well and I have not gotten anything in my emails (or in my spam folder) from those blogs either. I am considering using Feedburner as an alternate subscription form. The Google Reader is another great way to subscribe to blogs too. That one allows you to get the update the minute it entered in. The only catch there is it doesn't come in your email. You have to open the reader each time you want to see who entered something on their blog. You can check it out at www.google.com/reader

Please let me know if you are receiving your email reminders.

Thanks SO much,
Wanda

You Are Invited!!

One of the swaps for the DIVA event was to make a wedding invitation. This wedding invitation layout holds it all. I had used one of the SplitCoast Sketch Challenge layouts for the front. I had gotten the invitation layouts from my friend Katie who was working on her own invitations for her son's upcoming wedding. She had used the Stampin' Up! "Artfully Asian" set on hers. It's VERY beautiful.

On the front of the invitation below the bow I used my computer to do the wording in the circle/arch form.

When you open the first fold you see the RSVP card. I think I would turn it around so those receiving it would see the postage stamp and know this is the card to be mailed back in. I set it in place with photo corners I made using a Marvy photo corner punch. This can be done with decorative scissors and scoring or you can also purchase photo corners. That would be much quicker if you're making LOTS of invitations.

The next part of the invitation you see is the actual invitation itself. With the date, time, place part. The designs on the sides were stamped on. The rest was done on the computer.

When you open the bottom flap you see the reception time/place card and the map to the church and or reception. I like having all the pieces on one card. Though as I look at it I'm thinking that the invitation part itself should be on top and then the RSVP card should be the 2nd thing they see. Then open it up and show the reception and map pieces.

Most of the card was done on the computer which really does save LOTS of time and not to mention how much money you save doing it yourself. And since most weddings are booked so far in advance you have plenty of time to work on them yourself or hire your Stampin' Up! demonstrator to do them for you!!!

This is a very elegant wedding invitation and would be pretty in almost any color. I chose these colors because I just like them together.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Simple Wedding

A simple card for a simple wedding. Is there really such a thing as a simple wedding anymore? There's SO much planning and work to do for a wedding (right Katie & Sandi???). But it all manages to get done and the couple gets married (though I think they would even if every little detail didn't get tended to!).

I wanted just a simple wedding card. So for this card I used to basic colors. Basic Black and Very Vanilla. On the left panel I stamped the little 3 flower stamp from the Stampin' Up! set "Polka Dots & Petals" with Versa Mark and used white embossing powder. I did the same for the dress too. Click on the photo to see the embossing close up. I used black StazOn ink and just one little black brad in the bottom corner. It doesn't get much simpler than that. It's a quick and easy card to make and for those of you who don't have any embossing powder I think you can pull off this design/layout without it and still get an elegant looking card.

The wedding stamp set used here is "To Have and to Hold" from Stampin' UP!

For more wedding cards click here.

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Step By Step! Weekend Project!

Here's a fun Weekend Project that would also be a great gift for birthday parties as a party favor. Who wouldn't like a pedometer? I think it would be a great item for craft fairs too!

I got this cute little pedometer at Target in their Dollar Spot. I actually got it today!!! It's not one of those things I got there months ago and put it aside until now. I actually bought it today and made something with it today. Shocker, I know!!! LOL

They measure 1-3/4" x 1-1/4" and are around 3/8" thick. Aren't they cute? They come in red, green, yellow and blue. They look like the Bold Brights colors!! Luck me!!

I used the shoe set from the Stampin' Up! "ABC Images" set and the words came from the "Tagger's Dozen" set. I used Brilliant Blue ink, the 1-1/4", 1-3/8", and the Double Rectangles punch. I added a bit of white grosgrain ribbon and assembled it.

The header is made using Brilliant Blue card stock that measures 3-1/4" x 4-1/4". Folded in half to measure 3-1/4" x 2-1/8". The white piece of card stock is cut 1-7/8" x 3". I stamped the tennis shoe all over the white and then sponged the edges. For the circle, I taped off the flower on the stamp so I would only get the wording. Remember to remove the tape before you stamp the image on your paper. Every now and then I forget to do that. But I have learned to stamp the image on a piece of scrap paper first to see if it inks up well with the tape there. Seeing that fuzzy taped out image on the paper reminds me the tape is there and to remove it. It works MOST of the time!!! LOL

When assembling it I always make sure that the prong part of my staples are on the front of the header. I will be covering them up with the rest of the layers. Now the back of my header has nice smooth staples on it. It looks VERY professional!!!

For more Weekend Projects, click here.

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Rocket to the Stars!

Next month at the Stamp Share one of the swaps is to make a card using punches from the list emailed to us. This is one of my rejects. I cased most of this card from 2dee at SplitCoastStampers. I changed the colors and added the larger star and moved things around a bit. I do like the wheel "See You Around." It reminds me of asteroids when using it with the rocket stamp.

It's a cute child's birthday card but not what I want for the swap. SO I've been working on something else. I started it last week but have not finished it. And I'm NOT going to show you until after the Stamp Share!!! I know, SO mean!!! LOL

This is a very fun and easy card to make. I LOVE using punches. They add so much to a card, don't they?

For the rocket I used watercolor paper and black Staz-on ink. I chose watercolor paper so I could color the rocket in with markers. When using watercolor paper and markers you can color directly onto the paper and in any direction you want, it doesn't show. Isn't that just the best???? It's not like regular card stock where it shows every mark you make with the markers. On this one I even colored over the same spot a couple of times and it doesn't show. Such a deal, huh???

For more quick cards, click here.

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

It's A Boy!

I needed a baby card and I saw one on SplitCoastStampers a week or so ago that I downloaded. I thought it was SO cute but I know I didn't have the ducky stamp. But that was ok, I knew I'd find another stamp that would work. The card was done by the user stinkincute. Just click on her name and you can view her adorable card. I did change it a bit due to different stamps available to me.

I didn't use an "it's a boy" stamp, I figured the blue would say it all!!! LOL

I used the baby buggy stamp from the Stampin' Up! "Fun and Fast Notes" set. I added a few brads to the buggy too.

For the dots I used a toothpick and some white acrylic paint. I wanted to use my gel pen but it wasn't being user friendly. It's been writing off and on. I think I need to order a new one!!!

I used the 3/4" circle punch for the Ballet Blue circle and the 1/2" circle punch for the Whisper White circles. And the dots on the circles were done using the Ballet Blue marker. I did add the "Many Dots" wheel background using Ballet Blue ink. It was a fun card to make and I think my girlfriend will like it. I'm not sure I would like knowing what I was going to have. I liked that element of surprise. But then again it does have it's advantages. You know what color to paint the room and what color sleepers and blankets to buy!!!

Well, I'm off to clean off my worktable now. I've made a mess on it for the last few days and now my workspace is about the size of a dinner plate and I really do need more space than that to create!!! I'm such a slob when I work!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Forever!!!

My, "Forever" is such a LONG time, isn't it?? LOL

This is a card I made for an upcoming wedding. I used the Purely Pomegranate card stock and ink along with Basic Black, Basic Gray and Whisper White card stock. I did use Black Staz-on ink for the wording only because the stamp pad was still sitting on my worktable. Though I do think it stamps crisper than the Basic Black does. And I did use a black marker. I had stamped the flower image with Purely Pomegranate and then colored over the stems with a black marker.

I added a piece of 1/4" white grosgrain ribbon and 3 white brads. If you don't have any white brads you can always make your own by using a pinch clothespin to hold the brad, heat it with the embossing tool and dip it in white embossing powder. The brad may be hot enough to melt the embossing powder with the first dip, if not just repeat until you have the coverage you are looking for. Allow to cool before handling.

For the background on the larger Purely Pomegranate card stock I used the same flower image and the Purely Pomegranate ink pad. I felt the background needed something.

This was a pretty quick card to make too! Click here for more quick cards.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A VERY Pink Birthday Case!

My card was came from being SO inspired by a card that I found by Nancy Riley at iStamp. Her card is a blue baby card and she also used rub-ons on her card. Mine is a soft pink Birthday card and I added a few different things to mine. I didn't want to copy exactly but I did like the layout and how I could use more of my decorative papers. I REALLY need to use those papers more. I know there is no contest to see who has the most decorative papers. I have TONS but I'm sure I don't have the most. Yet!!! LOL

I did like the layout of Nancy's card too. And adding the striped paper with the flowers was different for me. Do you think the vertical strips makes my card look thinner? LOL I know, bad joke!!! LOL

This was a very fun card to make. Nancy has a several cards on her blog that have inspired me and I hope to find time to make them too.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Weekend Project! Card Holder and Matching Cards!

I have seen these card holders around for a while now and have always wanted to make one. The tutorial I used was found at Rochelle's Blog "Impressions." Though I have seen it on other blogs I found her tutorial to be the easiest to follow (and get it right the first time too!) And she also has instructions for using the Fiskars to score your lines. She's the best!

I was SO excited to make this holder, I had wanted to make one for a long time and I liked the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. SO I was ready to play. Oh and PLUS I was using more decorative paper!!!

After making the box using Real Red card stock I set some decorative paper on top and marked it lightly with a pencil and cut it to fit. For the top flap I used the corner rounder and liked the outcome.

I used the apple from the "Tart & Tangy" set. I stamped two on the flap and one on a separate piece of card stock and punched it out. I layered it on top of a 1-3/8" circle of Old Olive and set that on top of a Real Red scallop.

The cards were made using the scallop and circle punches. Pretty much the same way as the holder was made but with only one apple. The cards were much quicker to do than the cover of the holder. It seems that coloring on rubber with markers seems to slow up stamping for me!!! I try to get it covered SO solidly and it doesn't always work. Then I have to just step back and remember that it is a handmade card.

I made 4 cards. 4 cards and 4 envelopes fit perfectly in this holder. It is just slightly lumpy because of the bows but I did face 2 towards the front and two towards the back to offset the bulk of the cards.

I made this for a gift of appreciation for someone but I can not say who. If they read my blog they will know and it will ruin the surprise.

Well, now I need to work on the challenge that Terri gave us for next month. We are to decorate a white Stampin' Up! bag. I know what I want mine to look like, lets just hope it works out that way!!! Sometimes what goes on in my mind doesn't always come out that way on paper!!! We'll see. I'll post it after the Stamp Share so you'll just have to sit on pins and needles until then. If you're anything like me you'll forget about it before then!!! LOL

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Be sure to stop by Rochelle's blog and check out her tutorial on the card holder. Take some time to make one, or several. They make wonderful gifts!! Plus they are SO impressive looking when you are all done with them.

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

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Apple Cider Birthday!

I'm trying to challenge myself to start using and using up my decorative papers. I have SO many of them and I'd bet half of the ones I have that are from Stampin' Up! are retired. I thought I'd try to make some cards using my decorative papers and try to use the papers up before they retire. That would be a first for me!!! LOL

For this card I used some unusual colors as well. The paper on the bottom is from the "Apple Cider" designer series. I used River Rock card stock above it and used the "Lots of Dots" jumbo wheel and River Rock ink. I didn't get it straight the first time so I flipped the piece of card stock over and gave it another try. If that wouldn't have worked I was going to take a 1/4" of card stock and roll the dots on and then take it to the paper cutter to even it all out!!

I taped those two pieces on top of a piece of Bravo Burgundy card stock. I added 3 copper brads using the dots already on the paper!!! Nothing to line up there! And I did use the Mat Pack to make the holes in the corners on the right side of the card. I added the River Rock stitched ribbon and affixed the layers to a piece of folded Chocolate Chip card stock.

I punched out the Scallop in Bravo Burgundy, the 1-3/8" circle in Chocolate Chip and the Birthday greetings using the 1-1/4" punch. I did the "Happy Birthday" on the computer using the SchneidlerAmaTBla font. I have no idea what that means but it was in the list of fonts on my computer and I liked the look of it. If you don't have it on your computer I'm sure you can get it if you Google it. Someone out there has probably posted it for downloading.

Before I taped the scallop part together I added a brad from the Earth Elements group. I taped it all together and now it's ready to send off. Though it should REALLY read "Belated Birthday." I don't think I've gotten more than 3 cards out on time this year!!! I need to challenge myself to try harder to get my cards out on time too. It's not like I don't have any extra ones here or that I can't make one up!!! I have no idea what my problem is and if there is a name for it I'm sure it's very difficult to pronounce!!! LOL

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

Thank you SO much for stopping by,

Wanda

Blooming With Love Thank You

This is a very fun and easy card to make. Not quite as easy as the "Touch of Nature" get well card that Melissa made but still easy enough. This one has a few layers and some brads. It probably took twice as long as the "Touch of Nature" card did, which was all of 5 minutes!!! Once again I think it took me longer to pick and cut the card stock than it did to actually make the card. Ok, the coloring did take a little bit of time but not much.

For this card I used the Stampin' Up! set "Blooming With Love." There's a lot of things you can do with this stamp set. I tried to keep the card a Stampin' Up! products only but I just couldn't leave out the white brads. Stampin' Up! NEEDS to carry white brads. Hopefully there will be lots of requests to them for it and they will carry them someday!!

Here are the measurements for this card. The image was stamped on a 2-1/4" x 2-1/2" piece of Whisper White card stock. The Bashful Blue layer is 2-3/8" x 2-5/8". The Basic Black layer is 2-7/8" x 2-5/8"

The blue decorative paper is from the "Picnic" pack and is cut 3-7/8" x 5-1/8". And the Basic Black layer is cut 5-1/4" x 4". I sponged the decorative paper and the Whisper White card stock. I used a blender pen to do the flower pots and the rest of the coloring was done directly from the markers. I used Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Brocade Blue, Apricot Appeal, Really Rust and Bashful Blue. The sentiment is from the "Sincere Salutations" set. And I did use the Mat Pack to line up the holes for the brads.

All in all it was a pretty simple card. At first I didn't like the colors I chose for the images but once I got it layered on the card stock and decorative paper it kind of grew on me.

I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend. My plans tomorrow consist of the endless task of picking dandelions (every morning I do this ritual!!!). Then I will be giving the buffet a final sanding and final coat of polyurethane and it will be done. The doors and drawers will be a couple more days since there are two sides to those and only one can be done at a time. But I should be done with them by Monday! My hopes are to have the entire thing done and in the dining room by late Monday afternoon. And then just wait for Lowes to get the top to me. They take SO long it's unreal. I was told it would be done in 2 weeks, it's now deep into the 4th week. They did the same thing with our bathroom vanity top and the kitchen counter too!!! Then DH and I will move on to the list of things I wrote down that need to be finished inside. I'm hoping to get a couple of those done tomorrow and then I'm spending the rest of the day in my workroom. It needs to be cleaned up plus I want to play with some stamps that I finally got put together. A busy day indeed!!! And if I have any energy left after 9 pm I am hoping to work on a beaded bracelet!!! I have a trillion beads and want to play with them too!!! Why do we have to sleep??? LOL Do you know how much more stuff I could do if I didn't have to sleep??? And do you know how crabby I'd be if I didn't get any sleep?? NOT a pretty picture!!! LOL If I get a chance to make a bracelet I'll post it on here so you all can see it!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,

Wanda