Every Little Bit Birthday Card

There are lots of things I just LOVE about this "Every Little Bit" stamp set.  One of them is, there are 28 images to pick from and they cover just about every event you would need.  I love the smaller image stamps because I really like this one layout I have and it's perfect for these smaller images!  I will use that layout in a few days.  But today I wanted to try something else with this set.  I would like to make a card using every image in the set but there are a few in there that would be too much of a challenge for me.  I don't know what to accessorize with a Menorah, for one.    

Anyway, lets talk about my card.  I used the adorable gumball machine image here.  I wanted to use this strip card layout and this set came to mind.  The most difficult part of making this card was deciding which image to use. 

I thought I would make a children's card since I don't have a lot of those in my stash!

This was actually a pretty simple card to make. I especially liked sitting down with the markers and coloring.  Something I don't do too often.  I think I'll look for an image that I can spend some time on coloring!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Fabulous Florets Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Honestly, I do put this set away!  It does not sit out all the time, that is not the reason why I find myself using it a lot!  I just LOVE this set and I have to say that I have used every image in the set.  That is very unusual for me!  Most of the time there is just one image in a set that will call out to me and it's the one I will always use.  This whole set calls out to me.  I have had a lot of fun with this set.  And I'm still into making cards with flowers on them.  I glanced over at the Halloween stuff (and I did see Halloween and fall stuff in the fabric and craft store I shopped at tonight).  I went in for some "holds forever" glue and found myself in the clearance section!!!  So much for going in for the two items I had on my list!  But I did get some great deals!!  Anyway, back to my card!

I stamped the flowers with black StazOn and I cut each one out.  Good thing there were only 3 flowers!!  And the leaves were stamped in Garden Green ink and cut out too.  I didn't mind cutting the flowers but the leaves were a bit tricky because they were so much thinner.  

I thoroughly enjoyed making this card.  Everything went so smoothly on it too.  Ya can't ask for more than that!  

Once the flowers were cut out I colored them in with the Pretty in Pink marker.  I added a little highlight to them with the Regal Rose marker.  And in the centers I used Daffodil Delight.  It was pretty basic and easy coloring too.

The leaves were stamped on scrap card stock using Garden Green ink.  I liked these leaves but I honestly didn't care much for cutting them out.  Half way through the cutting I was thinking about just stamping them in place and setting the flowers on top.  But I wanted some of the leaf to hang over the #3 square and stamping them on wouldn't give me that look.  SO I continued to carefully cut the thin strips on the stem and when I got it all done and set in place I was glad I stuck with it!  And when I got the card all together I was pleased with the way it turned out.  

I have to admit, I've been a bit depressed since my KC died and I hadn't felt very creative either.  This card did help a bit.  I need to try to keep busy and stay focused!  I do thank you all for your kind emails, cards and posts to my blog, it was so kind of you.  KC was a remarkable cat and I will miss him for a very long time. 

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Touch of Kindness Card

I bought this set because of the cat!  I'm such a cat lover. 

I was not all that thrilled with this card.  I felt it was in need of a bit more of something.  I am not sure of what but it needs something. 

I wanted to add words but the gals stamping said not to add a thing.  

I love using the embossing folder and the oval template to keep the center smooth so you can stamp in it.  You can either buy a thin wood frame "thing" that has the oval already cut out or you can make one. If you buy one of those then you just need one clear plate with your folder. If you make one you would need to use the oval die cut and cut a piece of card stock (the size of the folder) and cut out the oval.  I did this for 4 pieces of card stock. I glued them together and set a heavy book on top so it dried flat.  Once it is dry you can use it on top of the embossing folder and get that same smooth center effect.  

I did stamp the cat on the card stock and I stamped it on a piece of scrap card stock.  The one on the scrap piece was cut out by hand and set in place on top of the one on the embossed piece.  I did color it first!!  I also cut out the butterfly.  The bird is from the set but from the bird bath piece. 

In my attempt to add more to the card I put the ribbon on the corners. I felt it could use some color there!  The gals liked it but I had to leave the rest of it alone.  SO this is my card.  I am leaving the set out because later this week I'm going to play with it again. I have a fun layout I want to play with and this set will be perfect for it (I hope!!!).

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Just Believe Sympath Card

My friend Ann sent me this card shortly after she heard or read about the death of my wonderful kitty KC.  

It's such a pretty card.  I especially love the butterflies.  

I SO love using the "Just  Believe" set.  There is SO much you can do with it and you all know how much I love sets that are versatile!

This is one of those cards that the white part is folded and taped in place on top of a 1/4 piece of colored card stock.  I have not made a card like that in a long time.  This card has inspired me to give this a try again!!

Thank you Ann for the pretty card, for thinking of me and for being such a good friend.

And thank you for stopping by today,
Wanda

Sailing Birthday Card

I wasn't sure if you wanted another Weekend Project or a card.  I decided since I did 2 Weekend Projects in a row I'd toss a card in the mix!!  I wouldn't want to be responsible for you spending your entire weekend making stuff!!!  LOL  Though as warm as it was here this weekend, I'd rather have been indoors where it was cool and make "stuff" than being outside.  UGH!!

On this card I did use the rubber stamp instead of the digital image. I like using both.  They both have their own individual benefits.  With Digital you don't have any stamps to clean!!!  With the rubber stamp you just stamp and your are done (except for the cleaning of the image and putting it back!). 

I did CASE this card off Kris at Late Night Stampers.  

For the base of the card I used Sahara Sand.  Now this is a color I don't often run to when I'm going to make a card.  Thus the big stack of it in my card stock cupboards.  

The strip on the back is made using a piece of Nigh of Navy that was textured using the Lattice embossing folder.  

The words came from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set and were punched with the Word Window punch.  Then it was layered on a piece of Marina Mist that was punched out using the Modern Label punch.  I did set that one in place using Dimensionals.

The sail boat was stamped using Night of Navy ink (so were the words) and it was layered on a piece of Marina Mist.  

Your card was AWESOME Kris and I was glad I ran across it.  You can never have enough masculine cards in your stash!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Fabulous Florets Scratch Pad Holder Weekend Project

I made and sold a lot of these scratch pad holders in last falls craft fair.  What I like best about them is that they are refillable.  I got the pattern for them from Linda at Splendiferous Creations.  

These scratch pad holders are very simple to make too.  You make 4 scores on the full sheet of card stock and cut away two sections.  I did find that if I trimmed the part that goes between the cardboard of the the scratch pad and the papers on the pad that it fit in the holder better.  It just needed to sit down in there a hair deeper for that back fold to lay nice.  You'll know what I mean when you make one.  

I did cut out the flower. Actually I cut out two flowers and I lost one somewhere in my workroom.  When it turns up I'll make another scratch pad holder with it and next time I will move the words over a tad bit more so they aren't in the stem of the flower.  Once again I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.  But I will on the next one.  I'll be making more of these with different designs and I'll share them with you.  I had gotten some emails about some of the things I make and if they would be in the web store.  SO I am thinking about adding some of these to the web store so check back there now and then to see what else has been added.  Right now I have several new retired stamp sets in there.  

SO back to this cute scratch pad holder.   Lisa has the instructions posted on her blog.  The link is there in the first paragraph of this post.  You can get scratch pads at any of your local or online office supply stores.  They often sell them in bulk packs.  Just be sure to read that they don't say "irregular shapes" or you may have a bit of trouble getting them to look nice inside the holder.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Posy Party Builder Wheel Bath Fizzy Box Weekend Project

Today I thought I would play something a little different!  I have a bunch of bath fizzies I need to box up.  I had gotten a new Cricut Cartridge and made some boxes and box tops.  I punched a 1-1/4" circle in the lid of the box and glued in a piece of acetate.  Before I assembled the box I wheeled on the "Posy Party" Builder Wheel.  I had purchased two of the same wheel because I really liked it and knew I would be using it for a wider area.  SO I just put the two on the wheel at the same time and I can cover twice the space in half the time!

These little bath fizzies are wrapped in clear wrap and set inside a tiny bon bon paper and placed inside the box.  On the bottom of the box I will be adding the ingredients along with a warning about children under 5 and in big letters DO NOT EAT.  So sad we need to add these warnings but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

I punched out some small flowers and added them in the corner to dress up the top of the box.  I was going to tie a ribbon around the box but with such a small window the ribbon would hide what is inside, so I went with the tiny flowers.  

I am making these for the fall craft show and a few for gifts for some special friends.  These were a lot of fun to make and I'm SO glad because I have a bunch more to make.  

Materials needed to make this project:
Cricut Machine

Sweet Tooth Boxes Cartridge

Acetate

Bon Bon papers

Card stock

Stamp for outside image

Ink Pad

Tiny Flower punch

Glue dots to hold flowers on

Bath Fizzy

Scissors

Glue

3D Glue Dots

I am going to be making some more in different colors. I have a bunch of 12" x 12" pieces of card stock that is retired and it's a perfect way to use them up!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Sailing Birthday Card

I can't believe I actually tied a sailors knot!!!  It wasn't that difficult either.  I'm sure it would be easier with rope.  The fuzziness of the Baker's Twine made it a little difficult in making the strings stay where you put them.  And extremely dry hands don't help much at all either!!!  Once I got the knot tied I taped it to the strip.  It was a nice touch to the card.  And a perfect masculine card too!

I don't ever seem to have enough masculine cards so this will help pad my stash of them!  

The sail boat is from the digital download "Sailing."  I love it because I can make this image pretty much any size I want.  Here I shrunk it down quite a bit.  The decorative papers are from the "Nautical Expedition" download.  I LOVE downloads on the paper because I can pick and choose what pages I like and print out as many as I need.  Such a deal!  

And the words are from the "It's Your Birthday" set.  Yup, I actually stamped something on here!  LOL

This was a fun masculine card and I did save it in my software so I can print out more if I need to!

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Fabulous Florets Wednesday Sketch Challenge Card

WOW, when a holiday is at the beginning of a week I tend to forget what day of the week it actually is.  I thought the Sketch Challenge came early.  I'm so messed up on the days this week.  I have to keep telling myself "it's Wednesday, it's Wednesday, it's Wednesday"  LOL  And since it IS Wednesday it's time for this weeks fun Sketch Challenge.

My card was done using the "Fabulous Florets" stamp set.  I is a FABULOUS set. I have been having a lot of fun with it.  And I love how versatile it is too.  That is why I buy a lot of the sets I have.  I LOVE versatility in a stamp set!

The "Hello" is from the "Pocket full of Posies" digital suite.  It was from the "Avante-garde Collection DVD" that was offered in the latest mini catalog.  It was SO full of fun things.  The thing I like best about buying digital images is that I can make them any size I want. I like how the "hello" looks. It's a fun and refreshing new look.  

I also used the new "Lace Ribbon" border punch and the "Beautiful Wings" embosslits die.  I have used it so much it's almost wore out!  I wanted my butterflies to look exactly like the flower so what I did was I dragged my Calypso Coral ink pad over my Whisper White card stock and then punched out the butterflies.  I set them in place with Dimensionals.  The flower was also set in place with Dimensionals.  

I like how the card turned out and I can see myself using this layout again!  I can see myself making this same card again with different wording at the bottom.  I think the "Sincere Salutations" set would work well in that space!

If you have time play with this sketch.  And be sure to go to SplitCoastStampers and have a look at what the other stampers have done with this layout.  That is what makes these sketches so much fun.  Everyone has a different perspective on this layout.  You see some things and say "why didn't I think of that?" I do it all the time!!  LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Aviary Card CASE

If you are looking for a fun card with some variety that is not only easy to do but quick, then this is the card layout for you!!

I found a card on Late Night Stampers.  I had the page open on my computer all day and about a half hour ago I was closing windows because I had SO many open I couldn't find what I was doing.  The next thing I know I'm looking for the card and it's no where to be found.  UGH!  The original card was a baby card.  The words at the bottom of the circle were "welcome baby" and I think the image was an elephant.  I was interested in the layout, not so much the images.  If you know who's card that was, please let me know so I can give them the credit they deserve.

This card was fun because of the 3 different textures on the background.  Those panels on the top measure 1-15/16" x 3-1/2" and the bottom panel measures 1-3/4" x 4".  The Marina Mist piece behind the panels measures 4-1/8" x 5-3/8" and the white card base measured 8-1/2" x 4-1/4" before folding in half on the long side.

I used the "Aviary" stamp set.  I just love using this set and it's been a while since I've played with it.  I was originally going to stamp an owl inside the cage but I ended up stamping a bird on white card stock and cutting it out.  I set it in place using a dimensional.  I punched out the circle after stamping the cage and I taped it on a scalloped circle.  Fun, easy and cute too!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Added 7-6-11:  The artist of this card is Kris at Stamping With Kris.  Thank you Mary for finding this!

Bridesmaid's Necklace

Happy 4th of July!  Since it is a holiday I am taking the day off to have a BBQ with out son and his fiance.  

I have made 3 of these necklaces and next is the earrings.  I share the photo of them with you when I get them done.  And then I need to make the bride's necklace.  It will be just like this one but it won't be in black and blush, it will be in crystals.  I'll share that photo with you when I get it done.  I'm hoping to have it done soon.  I have a billion other beading projects I want to start and a half a billion I want to finish!

If you are into beading, click here and you will be directed to my beading blog where you can find out how to get the pattern (for free) on to make this.

I hope you are having a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Flower Fest Thank You Card

I needed a thank you card last week and I could have gotten one out of my stash but that just seems SO wrong!! I had to make a "fresh" one. I used the "Flower Fest" stamp set to make this one.  

I stamped the flower and the leaves using white embossing powder.  I stamped 4 flowers so I could cut out each layer.  And I stamped and cut out 3 sets of leaves.  

I colored the flower with Pretty in Pink ink and a blender pen for the outer layer.  The other 3 layers I used the Pretty in Pink marker.  And for the center of the flower I mixed some Frost White all purpose ink and Crystal Effects to make a flat looking pearl.  

The leaves were done by embossing in white on Pear Pizzazz card stock.  

The decorative paper was a piece left over from some I had printed out using the "Flirtatious" images.  And on the very background I used the Lattice die.  It gave that open space a nice look to it.  And the "Thank You" is from a stamp I had made just for me!!

I actually got this card off in the mail a few days before I posted it on here!!  

Can you believe it's July already?  I do like this month though.  I have no birthdays or anniversaries to make cards for this month.  It's the only month in the year that I don't have any cards I need to make for so I should be on time with the ones for August, right?  LOL  Wishful thinking!!!

Thank you every so much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Sour Cream Container Bath Salts Weekend Project

I tried and tried to get a decent photo of these bath salts.  Most of them looked like a blob on a table.  I just couldn't get them to look right in the photo.  

Sour cream containers are easy to make but you have to remember one thing. They must be rectangle when you start out!  For mine I started with a 3" x 5" piece of vellum.  I stamped on each piece a bunch of the "Lavender" images from the "Herb Expressions" set.  I have had the set for a while but have never used it.  I stamped the image using the new Wisteria ink pad.  I should have used a different color because it didn't show up very well on the vellum.  Anyway, once the ink dried I glued the short ends together, one on top of the other, making sure the words were on the outside!

Next I glued the bottom.  I glued it so the seam was centered.  After I glued it I pinched it in the paper crimper just a little to help seal the end and also to give it a more fun look.  Then I added the bath salts (2 tablespoons) and glued the other end.  This time I glued it with the seam at one side, doing this gives the container that twist like a small sour cream container has.  I set them aside to dry.  Once they are dry you can pack them up or give them away.

I prefer to use glue on them.  One time I had made a whole basket full of them using decorative paper and snail tape.  Something in the bath salts caused the tape to let loose and I had bath salts all over the place.  So from now on I glue them.  I do prefer to use decorative paper over vellum because one, it's cheaper and two, it's already got a design on it so it's quicker to put together! 

If you are going to make these to sell, be sure to include an ingredients list and directions (which also include something about keeping it out of the reach of children and adding Not Edible in there somewhere).  You have to protect yourself when it comes to this kind of stuff!

The recipe for the bath salts can be found here.  Have fun making these.  Oh and they also make great stocking stuffers (just don't put them next to candy in a stocking!!!).

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,

Wanda

Delicate Doilies Card

First of all I can't believe it's July 1st already.  This year is just flying by and it always seems that after the 4th of July the rest of the summer goes by even faster.

And since it is the first of July you may want to check my web store for retired stamp sets.  I have added a lot of brand new ones plus used ones. 

Now onto this fun card!  I made it using the My Digital Studio and the "Delicate Doilies" download.  I really do like this set and will be ordering the 3-D one too.  What I like about digital designing is you can resize the images to fit your needs.  You can also just print out as many as you need or want without getting any ink on your fingers!!! LOL  I only printed out one card but I did save it so if I want another one later it's there waiting for me.  And the images always come out nice and solid too!  There are a couple of things I can't do with it.  I can't emboss and I can't do multi colors like you would with the direct to rubber technique.  But other than that you can do everything else you would with rubber stamps.  Including stamping off.  You just change the opacity level and it looks like it's been stamped off.  It's fun and I could spend hours playing with it.

I have a fun weekend project coming up for you!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda