Wednesday Sketch Challenge Card

I was SO thrilled that I was able to have some time this Wednesday to play with the new Sketch Challenge from Split Coast Stampers. I SO look forward to these. Anxiously awaiting the email saying the sketch is in at SplitCoast. Then hopping on over there to see it and oooh and aaaah at it. Then try to find an image I want to play with that will fit in the focal point of the card. In this case the #4 spot.

As I was paging through the catalog to see what sets I had that would fit in that space I came across several but settled for the "Pocket Silhouettes" set. I chose that one because I have not used it very much. I need to start using what I have a lot more. But I get stuck on a stamp (like the hydrangea from the "Just Because" set and the next thing you know you're making cards with it for days. I guess it's a good way to use the set. And I do have more ideas for that beautiful hydrangea!

My card went together rather quickly. I used one of the Builder Wheels, the "Posy Party." I have not used those wheels much at all either. That went in the #3 spot. The #2 spot is a piece of Always Artichoke decorative paper. The background, the #1 spot is a piece of white card stock that had been dry embossed using the Dotted Swiss folder (one of my favorite folders - for now).

I tied a piece of 1/4" black grosgrain ribbon around the #4 panel and it filled up the empty space as planned. I was hoping the words wouldn't be too big or two long for that bottom space. And they weren't. They were just perfect for that space. Adding the ribbon filled up the empty space between the image and the words. I was thrilled that what I had in my mind actually turned out the way I wanted it on paper! That's a first in a long time!

For a finishing touch I sponged all the edges of the white card stock. It was just what the card needed!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Gems & Jewels

Ok, it's not real gems or real jewels. It's seed beads and Czech fire-polished beads, which at times could be called gems! You use enough of them in a project and it's going to cost you a bit of change!! And speaking of change that is what this post is tonight. A change from the stamping posts. It's tough when you are torn between stamping and beading. I LOVE doing both.

I LOVE making bracelets. This is a Serpentine bracelet. Named that because of the waves in it. I had made one a while back, you can see it here. I think they're fun to make and it's amazing how different they look in different colored beads. The first one I made I used silver seed beads and black AB (aurora borealis) fire-polished beads. On this one I used gold lined seed beads and garnet fire-polished beads. I'm partial to garnet since it is my birthstone. It's such a beautiful deep red. Sometimes the beads and stones are so deep that they almost look black. You will have to click on the photo to see the beads up close. They are SO pretty! I do take special orders for these. If you're interested please email me!

Tomorrow is the Wednesday Sketch Challenge over at Split Coast Stampers so I will be back to stamping then. I just needed to take a day off from stamping and play with beads. Just a little time to regroup and have some other kind of fun.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Watercolor Trio Quick Card

I am SO into these quick cards lately. I'm not purposely making them. I just think of a layout and suddenly it all just goes together so quickly.

I wanted to do a black on white card but decided not to. I wanted a little more color than just black but I wanted to be able to do the white ink on my card. SO the new Concord Crush color worked perfectly for this.

When using Craft white ink you want to stamp your image first and set it aside to dry. Craft ink takes longer to dry. So after I stamped the images I set the piece aside to dry. And when it's sitting there I was looking at it thinking of what to put in the upper left corner. It had to be something simple and the way the card was going, it had to be something quick too! Well, you can't go wrong with punches!!

The words were done using the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set. It's such a fun set. The words work really well with the "Word Window" punch but some of them work well with the oval punches too! And this one happened to have worked out!

I stamped the words in the Concord Crush ink so it matched the card stock. I could have done them in black too but this ink was dark enough to work!

That's pretty much all there is to this card. And this set has words with it too so you don't need more than one set to make a card. Though I'm not sure if the words would fit in the oval or not. This is a very versatile set too. You can use these images for other cards as well. Like thinking of you, thank you, sympathy, Mother's Day and get well. Plus other things you can think of that would work with these flowers. It's such a pretty set.

You can ship up a bunch of these cards in no time!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Just Because Card Holder

I'm a bit late in posting tonight. It was such a busy weekend. I'm trying to get things done with a sore leg from a fall I took on the 3rd. It's healing but it's SO massive that it's going to take a while. Anyway, I thought I would play with the "Just Because" set again. I am SO loving that hydrangea stamp. I thought I would make a set of cards with it since the image fits so may occasions.

In the set I usually make a birthday card, a thinking of you card, a get well card and a sympathy card. All four of those fit with this image.

You can get the pattern here for the card holder. There are no photos in the store right now. The computer was upgraded and something happened. I've contacted the web master and the problem should be fixed soon. I hope! The item is called "Greeting Card Holder Instrucion Sheets with Patterns."


These card holders are very easy to make. Once you follow the directions for the first one the rest can be done SO quickly. I LOVE making these for gifts. I'm in the process of making a bunch of them for the up coming fall craft fair.


I have a ton of decorative papers and I plan on using up a lot of it on these!


I'm hoping that I can get the three photos on here with out enough words for them to be inside of. I've never had more photos than words. I guess I didn't ramble on in this post! There's a first time for everything!!! LOL



Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Awash With Flowers Notebook Weekend Project

Here's a fun weekend project that does not take the whole weekend to complete! I LOVE altering items though this notebook I didn't alter. I made this notebook so there was nothing to alter. I just cut and punched some copier paper, added card stock to the front and back and decorated it.

Since the copier paper is cut in quarters it is the same size as a card. SO any card you like can be made into a notebook! How cool is that? I LOVE making these and giving them as gifts. Everyone can use a notebook. I keep one in my car too. They are fun to decorate.

Wow, this is a short post! I'm off to play with some beads. When I'm done with my bracelet I will show you it. I like it so much because I think beading is a lot of fun and very relaxing!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Sweet Scoops Birthday Card

Well, you can hardly have a "Sweet Treats" milk carton (with an adorable eraser) without making a birthday card to go with it. When I finished the milk carton yesterday I kept thinking that I should make a card to go with it. And today I took a few minutes and played with that stamp set. It's such a cute set. I wanted to keep the card simple so I just stamped the cone once instead of a multiple of times like I did with the milk carton box.

The card went together rather quickly. I even got to use the new "Vintage Wallpaper" embossing folder on the background. It was a toss up between that one and the "Dotted Swiss" and since this one was new and already sitting out I thought I'd play with it. I'm glad I did, I like the look of it on the background of my card.

I accented with Pretty in Pink card stock, ribbon and ink. For the sprinkles on the ice cream I used the Cherry Cobbler ink pad. It was a bit dark but it is still cute on it.

The words are from my favorite "Sincere Salutations" set I bought MANY years ago. I find this set comes in handy a lot! Plus I LOVE the fonts on it. It's one of those word stamps you look at and know it says "greeting card". And I think it's because of the font. Doesn't really matter, I just like the looks of the stamps in the set and use them a lot!

So this card will go with the milk carton as a set! Just TOO cute!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Milk Carton Gift Box Weekend Project

I thought it was time for another weekend project. It's been a while since I've posted one. I was playing with the Sizzix Milk Carton die. It's my most favorite die of all!!! I LOVE using it and creating with it.

Today I created a mini milk carton. Imagine that, a mini milk carton from a milk carton die!!! I was also playing with the "Sweet Scoops" stamp set. I stamped the ice cream cone image all over a half sheet of card stock. Then I ran the card stock through the Sizzix Big Kick with the Milk Carton die and got my milk carton cut out. It's all scored for you too! Before I assembled the box I cut out a window and added a piece of acetate to cover the window. I glued the bottom flaps and side together.

I also made a little stand for the inside of the box. I measured the bottom flaps of the box and added 1/8" on all sides. I scored those sides at the 1/8" mark. I then folded the score lines. In each corner is a tiny little scored square. I cut those away and folded the flaps down. I inserted the stand inside the box and placed my adorable little ice cream cone eraser inside. Isn't it just adorable? When I saw it in the store I HAD to buy it. This "Sweet Scoops" set immediately came to mind. You will need to click on the photo to get a closer view of that eraser. It's just TOO darn cute!!!

I was glad I got to play with it before the set retires. A lot of times I get these ideas and buy the stuff and by the time I get around to making something with it the set has retired. Though I suppose I could still make up my item, not everyone lets go of their retired sets. Plus I can always sell what I make with it so I guess I should just start digging out some of that "stuff" I've bought and tucked away.

I added a piece of Pretty in Pink ribbon to the top of the milk carton and it just finished it off nicely. Personally I think it turned out cute and I may have to pick up another eraser when I'm out and about shopping!! I LOVE making these milk cartons and I especially LOVE making them as bath salt gifts. They hold a little baggie of bath salts perfectly and they really do make a WONDERFUL gift. I'm going to be making some for the upcoming fall craft fair. I keep saying that about a lot of things and I have nothing made. I guess I'd better get cracking on it, fall will be here before I know it! It always seems like after the 4th of July the summer just flies by. So on that note I will close here so I can hit publish and you can see my creation! And I will get out some card stock and start cutting out the milk cartons. I think that part would probably take the longest in making these bath salt boxes. And I have to remember to stamp the copyright logo on the bottom flap before I assemble the box. It's SO much more difficult to do it when the box is assembled!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge Card

I have SO much fun with punches and I really like this 2 Step Bird Punch. I wasn't sure where I was going with this card. All I knew is that I wanted to play with the Pussy Willows from the Summertime Splendor download. I was SO excited when I saw that in the downloads and I had to buy it right away. I played with one of the other images but have not had time to play with anymore until today. I originally printed it out on #30 white copier paper. It's very important to print these out on nice paper to get the best effect of the colors as you can. Regular #20 copier paper will work but it absorbs the ink more and the colors are not as vibrant and true to the original image.

Anyway, after I printed the image on white I didn't like how bright it was against teh Newsprint decorative paper so I printed it out on Very Vanilla card stock. I sponged all the edges in Early Espresso. On the #1 layer I used the Smooch Spray after I ran the Crumb Cake ink pad across the decorative paper. Then I sponged the edges. The "hello" is from the "Hello Again" set. It's the only stamping on the whole card, the rest is punches and layers. And don't forget the Embossing Folder on the small green #2-a piece. I also sponged that and then I dragged the sponge lightly over the top so the raised parts took the ink. It gave it a nice dirty look.

I wasn't all that thrilled with my spritsing technique. I got a bit too much on the "hello" circle. I'm still up in the air about adding an eye to the bird. What do you think? Does it need one or is it ok as it is? I think it's buggig me that the bird doens't have an eye!! LOL

The card turned out ok but grungy stamping is really not my thing. I do like the layout and hope I can use it again sometime. I can't believe that this is sketch # 288. I started playing back at # 126 and I think I've only missed a couple of weeks in there. I have never gone back and done 1 thru 125 and maybe one of these days I will. I did print them all out and put them in the album. And when I'm finished with this post I'll be putting this one in the album too. It's SO great to have them all in one album. Anytime I have an image I'm not sure what to do with I just take it over to the album and flip pages until I find one that the image fits on and I run with it. Such a time saver!

So, if you have some time, play with this layout and see what you can come up with. You can also head on over to SplitCoastStampers and see what everyone else has done with this layout. I love the different takes on it. I flipped mine a quarter turn. I wanted to use that bird and had I kept it the other way the bird's tail would have had to have been cut off and I didn't want that at all.

Thank you for visiting today,

Wanda

Elements of Style Anniversary Card

I really like this "Elements of Style" stamp set. I thought I would play with some embossing powder with it. I originally was going to emboss it in black and do some coloring but I'll save that for another day.

This time I played with black card stock and silver embossing powder. The base of this card is Brushed Silver and so is the scalloped layer.

I stamped the image with VersaMark and then embossed it with the silver powder. I heat set it and taped it in place on the silver card stock. I used glue dots to set it in place. I find that the tape doesn't stick as well, it needs something a bit stickier. The Sticky Strip would work too but the glue dots were already sitting out! I also used them on the silver scallop piece. This card is not coming apart!!

The words were done on the computer and punched out. This is a great card if you need to make something quick that doesn't look like it was whipped together in no time at all!

I think it would be fun to try out the bleaching technique on the flowers and then color in some of them with vibrant colors. I'll have to give that a try sometime. Or you give it a try and show me your finished item!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Because I Care Hydrangea Quick Card

I actually put my "Because I Care" set together. Ok, only the images I used here but it's almost all together!!! I just love this hydrangea. I was amazed at how quick it was to make this card. Including the sponging and the Dotted Swiss embossed background.

To ink up this flower I just took my Bashful Blue ink pad and got as close to the stem as I could. I did get a little ink on the stem and on part of the leaf. I just took my blender pen and wiped it off. Then I took the Wild Wasabi ink pad and inked up the stem. I got very close to the flower but didn't touch it. I then huffed on the image and stamped it. Simple as that. I'm not a big fan of coloring directly on the rubber with markers. Especially on images such as this. The texture of the image wears on my marker. NOT fun! I don't like replacing markers before their time!

This is a very versatile stamp set too. It would work well for birthdays, thinking of you, sympathy and friendship cards. I'm going to have to make some more of these cards, they just went together SO quickly!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Because I Care Hydrangea Card

I just love this new Hydrangea stamp. I have seen several cards that are absolutely stunning. I am really not sure who made this card. Was it Amy or Sue A??? We made this last week at the DIVA Day event. I especially LOVE the embossing on it. Click on the photo for a closer view, it's just beautiful! This card is SO much prettier in person.

There are a lot of fun elements to this card. The Old Olive card stock was punched with the "Eyelet Border" punch. The blue piece was punched with the "Scallop Trim" border punch.

If you look real close you can see 3 of the new tiny pearls at the bottom. Aren't they sweet? Oh and those little pearls can be found in the center of the flowers too. I can't wait to order me some of those!!!

This is such a pretty card and I thought it was very fun to make! Thanks Amy or Sue for such a fabulous card!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Motorcycle Birthday Card

I am SO loving this motorcycle stamp. I made this card for my nephew. I don't know if he liked motorcycles but the card screams "masculine!" It's so difficult to find images to make nice masculine cards with. SO I'm running with this card! I think he's going to like it too!

I used Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla and Night of Navy card stock. I also used new "Newsprint" Designer Paper on the second panel/layer. I sponged the edges with Always Artichoke.

On the motorcycle I colored in a few parts using Night of Navy and a blender pen. I also used the Color Spritzer Tool to make the Night of Navy splatter marks on the front of the card. It only takes a few poofs on it and your card is splattered. If you have never used one you should practice on scrap paper first to get the feel of it. Keep a nice distance from your work too helps. And how hard and quick you squeeze the bulb gives you different effects. That is why you should play with it first. It's a lot of fun once you know what you are doing!

The "happy birthday" is from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set. I LOVE that set because every word/phrase in it fits in the Word Window Punch. And what you punch out fits on top of the "Modern Label" punch. It gives a fancy look to the card.

I am happy with the way the card turned out but mostly I like the way it opens. It's SO different. I don't often find cards that I really like the unusual way they open but this one is GREAT!!

The measurements for this card are as follows:

The base of the card, the Night of Navy is cut 4-1/4" x 9" and scored at 3-1/2". The Always Artichoke piece is cut 9-3/4" x 3-1/2" and scored at 4-1/4". And you decorate as desired. Refer to the photo for taping. The long pieces get taped together and the smaller pieces get folded in the front, one over the other. It's not as bad as it sounds, really!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Card Holder Weekend Project

I LOVE making these Magnetic Tri-fold Card Holders. They are very simple to put together too. I like how they stay shut with the magnet plus the sides are closed so the cards don't slide out at all. One side holds the cards and the other holds the envelopes. These make great gifts. They also are a fun item to sell at Craft Fairs too. They even make a nice Stamp Camp project.

The pattern for the card holder can be found here.

I have posted a couple of these. You can see one here. And here, this one is my favorite so far! I think it's because of the decorative paper I had used, it was one of my favorites.

The card holder pictured here is one I made for a sweet friend of mine. She had left me with some of her pretty decorative paper so I decided to play with it and turn it into a gift for her. I felt bad though because this one got ink on it from an ink pad that had some strings hanging out of it. A lesson was learned here too. Always pull off those strings that hang out of your stamp pad once it is closed up. SO I made her a new one. You can see that one here. That one I liked a lot too. And each card in it was for a different occasion.

I am hoping to have a weekend where I can sit and make a bunch of these for the craft fair that is coming up in November. I'm SO far behind on everything. UGH! And I wonder if I ever will get caught up! I have a million projects all going on at the same time and all take a lot of time to complete. Plus we have some not so fun home projects this summer too. We are waiting on our shed to be delivered. It is a week late as of yesterday. Some issues with not being able to get the hardware for it. SO we wait. And in the meantime we are getting the house ready to be painted. I can do a lot of it as long as it doesn't involve going too high on the ladder. I can usually handle the back of the garage and the back of the house up to the top of the living room windows. Our deck goes across the whole back of the house so I don't need a ladder to paint up there. I like to do window and door trim so I will start there in a week or so and hopefully get the house all done within a few weekends. Siding would be nice but it's not in our budget so we make do with what we have. SO some projects are huge and others are not but there are a LOT of them!!! I have some in the works that I will be posting on here soon too! Lucky you!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Scallop Envelope Bags Weekend Project

I have not posted a Weekend Project in a while. It's about time for one, huh? A long, long time ago our DIVA Day event was held at Cyndi's. She had the most adorable bags made from the Sizzix "Scallop Envelope" die. I'd always wanted to make those little bags but never had the time. SO today I took the time to play. I SO love using the dies. Dies of any kind really. It's amazing to be able to run a piece of paper through this machine and out comes a shape all cut out for you! How cool is that?

These little bags are very easy to make too. You do need to cut off the bottom part of the envelope to get it to be proportioned right. The side flaps measure 1/2" so the bottom flap will need to be cut to 1/2" as well.

So let's begin. You will need two envelopes. You can use card stock or decorative paper. Cut them one at a time or they machine will end up cutting your paper on the score lines and you really don't want that.

After the pieces are cut with the die you can cut off those ends as described a few paragraphs above.

Next you will want to punch your hole for the handle. Do them one at a time, though with decorative paper you could probably cut them both at the same time. I just do them one at a time and I know everything will be punched right.

Now you can tape those new bottom flaps together. Next tape the side flaps. Use your bone folder on the inside to press the sides together. Tie your ribbon on and decorate as desired. Pay special attention to what part of the box is the front and which is the back. On the front the flaps will be going towards the back. It has a nice clean look to it when you use that as your front.

Fill them with whatever your heart desires.

These little bags are great for Customer Appreciation gifts, Hostess Appreciation gifts, Make n Takes, Craft Fairs and even fun Stamp Camp gifts!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda