Cute Little Birdie and Rhinestones!

Ok, after rebooting many times I think the computer is finally running properly. I have to tell you, I'm not very fond of VISTA at all. But we'll save that story for another day because believe me I could spend ALL day telling you how much I don't care for it!!! LOL

Onto my card for today. I made this birdie card using the Stampin' Up! "Fun & Fast Notes" set. I've used this bird before. It's actually a "thank you" stamp but once you mask off the words you can use it for any occasion you see fit! I chose to use it as a birthday card. I never seem to have enough of those.

I added some pink rhinestones to the card too. I set buttons on it and they didn't look right. I tried to do the pink brad thing but that looked funny. I set the rhinestones on and they were subtle enough to do the card justice. Those areas REALLY did need something and who would have thought it would be rhinestones!!! But it was.

Oh and on the flower center I added a Dew Drop that I had gotten from "The Robin's Nest." They had a special on the 25th and I took advantage of it. I think the are adorable and I wanted to get some and hey, when it's on sale it's even better and it makes you purchase it quicker than if it wasn't. Am I right there??? LOL

I used the Berry Bliss decorative paper here too. I just LOVE that paper. This was a very fun card to make!

I also got to play with my Copic air brush too. I had gotten it for Christmas along with markers but was SO disappointed in the fact that a small can of air is $12. OUCH!!! Plus the cans freeze my hand. It's actually compressed air. The Copic compressed air cans have a special nozzle that connects to the gun and can only be used in conjunction with each other. I was able to connect the Copic air brush to my Badger compressor and now I can play away!!! I just need to find the time to play. My list of "stuff to do" is SO long. And at the top of it sits our income tax. UGH! So once I get this posted it's back to the books. Time is running out on that. 15 days. YIKES!!!

For those of you without an air brush you can sponge the color in. I would recommend a sponge with tiny holes in it. The smaller the holes the finer the color and the more control you have of getting the area covered where you need it.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge

Beate over at Fresh & Fun has a Weekend Sketch Challenge. I don't usually get to play but today I was able to have some fun with her sketch. I spent most of my day doing tax stuff. UGH!!! And I'm still not done. Another BIG UGH!!!! But sometime this week I should be. I tell myself every year that I will be more organized each month and I will start doing my tax stuff early. Well, I did get a bit more organized than last year. I had all the papers in one place this year so I didn't have to hunt for anything!!! Now all I need to do is keep monthly totals and I'd be in good shape for next year. I'll let you know this time next year how that went!! LOL

Ok, here's my card for Beate's sketch. I used the Stampin' Up! "Blooming With Love" set and the Accents & Elements "Flower Fusion" felt flowers. I haven't played with them much but they are a lot of fun!!

The decorative paper is from the "Picnic" designer package. And I used the floral Cuddlebug folder for the white background.

Plus I had some fun with brads!!

Beate didn't give any measurements, you pretty much make it up as you go along and make it fit the stamp you are using. There are more challenges found here and here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!

Oh my, some of those stories had me in tears I was laughing SO hard. I have TONS of stories to tell, some you may not think as funny as I do but for those you would have had to have been there!!! We all have funny stories in our lives and it's important that we take time to look back on them and laugh all over again! Or maybe look back on some things and laugh at them for the first time!!!

Now you are wondering who the lucky winner is. Well, wait no longer the lucky winner is Elaine! And here is her comment:

I asked for "wood screws" at the hardware store and the guy took me to a section where there were some screws. I said, "No, that's not the kind that I need, I need WOOD screws - not metal ones." How was I supposed to know that wood screws are made of metal and not made of wood?? LOL!

Elaine, please email me with your snail mail address and I'll get the package in the mail to you!

Thank you all for playing. Stick around there's more blog candy coming soon!
Wanda

Sharing What They Make!

Here is a picture of some hats made by Susan S. She said once she got through the first one they were easy to make. They are VERY easy to make and you can have LOTS of fun with these!!

Aren't these just FABULOUS? She will be using them for a Red Hat Society social event in April. How appropriate is that?


The instructions and original post can be found here.


Thank you Susan for sharing your creations with me,
Wanda

Flowers from a Friend

My friend and fellow demonstrator and I had some fun stamping. She told me about a card she saw that was posted on the Stampin' Up! demo website that was from the Oakland, CA Regionals. I don't have the name of the one who designed the card so if by chance anyone knows please email me and tell me so I can give them credit.

This card used the decorative paper from new Afternoon Tea designer paper and the Bloomin' Beautiful" set both by Stampin' Up! I don't know how the original background was done but here is how we did it:

We stamped the flower image onto the Decorative paper using black Staz On ink. The flowers were masked when and where needed. You will know as you stamp them. They were colored in using markers and a blender pen. The original one used definition stamp and the word "bloom" from the same set. I used the "happy Birthday" words from the "Fun & Fast Notes" set. I punched it out with the smaller oval punch and then used the larger oval punch and made the back layer for it. I added my ribbon in the upper left corner just to be a little different. Plus I felt that top corner needed a little something.

So to whoever designed this card, I thank you. You did a wonderful job and I hope to be able to give you credit on here!

Don't forget the Blog Candy! The random drawing is Sunday night (March 30th).

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

Thank you all SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Hats Off To You Confusion

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the 5 circles with the hole in them.

You want to punch the small 1/4" hole first. Then you take the 3/4" punch and center the 1/4" hole so when you punch it out it's fairly centered. It won't be perfect but close enough works here!

You will glue the 5 pieces together. Set them on top of the brad on the hat brim that was attached to the band. See how the holes go over the brad? Now when you add the other stack of 16 glued 3/4" circles to the top of that it will all lay flat. Had you tried to glue the stack of hats on top of the brad with no holes punched in it, it won't lay flat. So in punching the 1/4" circle it allows the brad to be hidden and the top part of the hat will remain flat.

I hope this clears up any confusion on this. But if it does please don't hesitate to email me. Asking questions in the comments section doesn't allow me to answer you personally. Blogger isn't set up for me to reply to you there.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Hats Off to You! Weekend Project! Tutorial

Here is a fun way to decorate up your candies for those Saturday afternoon teas. These would be cute for you Red Hat Society people too!!!

I took the 1-3/8" circle punch, punched out the circle and set it aside.

I took the 1/4" circle punch and punched 5 circles and I made sure I left at least an inch between them. Then I took the 3/4" circle punch, lined up the 1/4" hole so it was close to centered in the 3/4" circle and I punched the 5 of them out. The reason for these is so the circles will accommodate the brad and lay flat.

And finally I took the 3/4" circle punch and punched 16 circles.

I cut a 1/2" strip of card stock 4-1/2" long. I found the center of it and took my piercing tool and mat and made a small hole in it. Then I took the 1-3/8" circle, found center and made a small hole in it. I attached the two pieces with a brad. It doesn't matter what color brad you use, it's not going to show. So if you have some ugly ones you want to get rid of or an abundance of one color, this is the time to weed through them!!!!

Now take your five 3/4" circles with the holes in the middle and glue them together. I used the Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive for this. Try to get then to line up nicely on top of each other. After you have glued those together glue the remaining 16 solid 3/4" circles. These will be the top of the hat.

Glue the top of the hat to the 1-3/8" circle (brim piece). This glue sets up pretty quick. Do not glue the brim to the strip, the brad should hold it in place nicely. Don't forget that the brad must be in place on the brim and strip before you glue on the top part of the had.

When I got done gluing that I cut a 1/8" strip of Very Vanilla card stock. I used a piece of scrap that was about 4" long and I cut off the excess when I was ready to glue it. I took that strip and lightly pinched it between my finger and thumb of my left hand and took the strip in my right hand and rolled it over my finger on my left hand. I am doing this to get the strip to curl a little so it will be easier to glue in place around the brim. If you cut the piece a little too short you can still hid that with the flower. Glue the strip around the brim. Make sure you leave the seam on the side where you are going to be putting your flower. This will hide the seam.

I used Tacky glue to set the flower in place. My Tacky glue is extremely tacky because it's about 100 years old and it's SO thick it won't come out of the bottle anymore. The only way to get some glue is use a toothpick and dig some out. So my flower set up pretty quickly using that stuff. You can use hot glue but be careful, you only need a little and you don't want it to ooze out the center hole of the flower nor do you want to burn your fingers. I took a green felt flower and I cut it so I had just two petals and I used them for leaves and glued them in place behind the flower.

The center of the flower is a brad. I did take a pair of scissors (ones I don't care what happens to) and cut the prongs almost all off. What was left I pushed back towards the center back side of the brad to hide them. I glued the brad in place with Crystal Effects. I did not add any decorations on the hat, I just kept it plain so you can see the details of the assembly.

The candy used for this is the Hershey Nugget but the Nestle's Treasure should work for this to but they are wrapped in different packaging that my not work well with your colors. I think these companies should get together with Stampin' Up! and work out some "commonly used" colors!! LOL

You can use decorative papers but use them on top of card stock, the paper itself is not sturdy enough to work with like this. You can use pretty much any tiny items you can find to decorate the hat. It's all up to your imagination. Decorate yours, email me the picture of it and I'll post it here!

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

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the 5 circles with the hole in them.

You want to punch the small 1/4" hole first. Then you take the 3/4" punch and center the 1/4" hole so when you punch it out it's fairly centered. It won't be perfect but close enough works here!

You will glue the 5 pieces together. Set them on top of the brad on the hat brim that was attached to the band. See how the holes go over the brad? Now when you add the other stack of 16 glued 3/4" circles to the top of that it will all lay flat. Had you tried to glue the stack of hats on top of the brad with no holes punched in it, it won't lay flat. So in punching the 1/4" circle it allows the brad to be hidden and the top part of the hat will remain flat.

More "Weekend Projects" can be found by clicking here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

And once again the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers snuck up on me. Here is my submission for this layout. I found this layout to be a bit more of a challenge than the ones were the last few weeks. It was fun though. Maybe because I was in the mood for the challenge!!!! LOL I needed a graduation card and this was the perfect challenge to try it out on!!

My stamps are retired, sorry to my fellow demonstrators but there were not long "congratulations" words or a smaller cap that are current. So I figured since I was using retired stamps I might as well continue to walk outside the "current" box and add some non Stampin' Up! paper as well. I had gotten this paper a while back at Michael's. I have a TON of papers from Michael's and JoAnns that I really should use up!

I stamped the hat image on the #3 panel and I used gold embossing powder and stamped with Versa Mark on the Night of Navy and after heating I cut it out. I also used Dimensionals to pop it up a bit off the #4 panel.

The guidelines here in regards to the #4 panel are that they want you to stay as close as possible to the 1-1/2" wide piece.

I did write down the measurements to all of my layers and they are as follows starting from the base of the card to the top final layer:

The Night of Navy is a half sheet folded in half.
Decorative paper: 5-3/8" x 4-1/8"
Night of Navy: 3-1/2" x 2-7/8"
Real Red: 3-3/8" x 2-3/4"
Night of Navy: 1-3/8" x 3-1/8"
Very Vanilla: 1-1/4" x 3"
Night of Navy: 4-3/8" x 1-5/8"
Very Vanilla 4-1/4" x 1-1/2"

On the red piece (panel #2) I used the "Lots of Dots" wheel and my Real Red ink pad. I went from the left corner to the right and filled in the piece that way. Then I turned the card and went from corner to corner on that way.

I sponged all the edges in Night of Navy (except for the red and navy card stock).

After cutting the cap out I added a gold brad to the center and I assembled the card.

It's ok, it would have been a lot better if the background decorative paper would have had smaller caps. But it will due. I'm sure it will be tossed after the money is removed from it!!! LOL

So now it's your turn to give this layout a try! You can view my other Wednesday Sketch Challenges by clicking here.

Don't forget the Blog Candy.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Casing Ruth B!

Ruth B. is a fellow demonstrator that I met via my blog. She lives half way across the country from me. We have corresponded a bit via email and I am fortunate enough to be privy to some of her creations. I did ask her permission a LONG time ago to case some of her fabulous creations. This one here is such a pretty card that I just couldn't resist it. I have waited since January to find time to case this!

I have liked this card since the first time I saw it! It allows you to play with the flowers and beads from the "Pretties" kit.

I colored the flowers blue by using a sponge and the Bashful Blue ink pad and just rubbing it over the flowers. THe flowers pick up the color nicley.

This is basically a simple and quick card to make.

Measurements are pretty simple too. You just take a half sheet of Bashful Blue and fold it in half. The next and only layer is a piece of white card stock cut 5-1/4" x 4". Stamp the image on. Tie the ribbon aroudn the white piece only. Assemble the flowers adding a brad in the middle to hold them together. Add your choice of beads to the pin and attach it to the flower. I used a glue dot to hold the flower in place on the card.

Isn't is just a sweet looking card?
Thank you Ruth for allowing me to case and publish your card here!

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

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

700 Posts "Chatty Cathy" Blog Candy

The prior post was my 700th one!!! WOW, I can't believe I have submitted that many posts. And I'm still having fun blogging!!! The subscriber list is growing and the hit counter keeps climbing. There will be more blog candy for that soon too!!

Now what do you need to do to be entered in the blog candy drawing? Tell me something that you did that was funny.

On Saturday I was standing in my kitchen. I had just taken out the bottle of Tylenol because I had a headache. On the counter was a bag of cotton candy. I bought it not just because I like cotton candy but because it said "bunny tails" on it and I thought the cotton candy in side was little puffs of colored balls. Well I was wrong it was one mass of pink, blue and almost white cotton candy mushed together like quilt batting. Not that it took away from the taste of it. Does it have a taste? I just like how it melts in my mouth. Anyway I took a piece of the almost white stuff and gently formed it in a cotton ball size and in my other hand I took the bottle of Tylenol and I said to my hubby, "I can't believe they put so much cotton in these bottles." And I popped the cotton candy in my mouth. He looked at me like I was from another planet and said to me in a VERY concerned voice, "Why did you do that?" At this point I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling down my cheeks and almost wetting my pants. I had to show him the bag of cotton candy so he didn't think I was totally crazy!!! LOL It still makes me laugh when I think about what he said but it's that look on his face that keeps me in stitches!!! There, that's my funny story, what's yours?

In addition to the Friends & Flowers clear stamp set by Scrappy Cat there is a package of square pewter towe brads and 3 yards of vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon!! Plus I tossed something else in the bag for an additional fun surprise!!!

I will draw a name randomly on Sunday evening, March 30th. I can't believe how fast this month flew by!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!
Wanda

Fun New Layout with Measurements Plus Some Fun (Secret) Blog Candy

I saw a card that Frances at Stamp Owl Studio made and I just had to copy the layout!!! Again this is another great layout to use those smaller stamps with. I'm starting to look at my smaller stamps in a new light after finding this layout. Click here to see the layout that I usually use for smaller stamps. I will continue to use it but when I want something a bit fancier I'll use this layout. Isn't it pretty?

I made this card in less than a half hour too. Using decorative papers speeds up card making!! Here I used the Stampin' Up! Picnic papers.

Here's the measurements on this card starting from the base of the card to the final top layer:

The base part of the card is a half sheet of Old Olive folded in half.
The black layer is 5-1/2" x 3-5/8"
Red apple layer is 5-1/2" x 3-1/2"
Black layer is 5-1/2" x 3"
Green strip layer is 5-1/2" x 2-7/8"
Black square is 2-3/8" x 2-3/8"
Red layer is 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
Scallop, 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" punches are used here.

You will also need:
a couple feet of 5/8" wide red grosgrain ribbon.
a couple of Earth Elements Olive brads
and a stamp (the apple from "Tart & Tangy) was used here.

Ok, I found out more information about this layout. Each week at SplitCoastStampers (on Sunday) there is the Featured Stamper CASE (Copy And Study Everything). You are invited to go to the featured stamper's gallery and your challenge is to case something they made but you need to change at least two things plus it can not be a case of a sketch challenge. It must be something that is an original layout of the featured stamper. I was not aware of this until I saw this same layout on another blog and then that little bright light went on over my head. I was shocked to see that it was still functioning!!! LOL So to give the credits due to where they belong. The featured stamper is Pickletree, here is her gallery and here you can find her blog . And now I need to enter my design in the FS59 gallery on SplitCoastStampers That was a fun card to make. I may be paying a bit more attention to the Sunday Featured Stamper CASE from now on.

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

I can't wait to try this layout again!! Click here to view a few other cards that I have linked here that include the measurements. I know there are more on this blog but I forgot to link them to the label. If you find them please let me know so I can link them. Just copy the link at the top of the page you are viewing the untagged card with measurements on and leave it on this post. Then email me with your snail mail address and I'll send you something fun!!! This offer is on a first come first serve basis. Duplicate links will not be accepted.

Ok, this is my 700th post. On Thursday I will be offering more blog candy!!! So be sure to check back.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Fruity Birthday!

This was a VERY fun card to make. I was going to say it had lots of pieces but as I look at the card it's not really that many. But I made 8 cards and I recall seeing lots of fruit circles in front of me!!! LOL

For this card I used the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. My papers include Green Galore, Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange. The decorative paper is from the new "Picnic" papers and I used Pumpkin grosgrain ribbon. The brads are not from Stampin' Up! I think I got them from Oriental Trading.

I cute my Green Galore card stock at 5-1/2" and folded it in half. I added a piece of white card stock on it that measured 5-3/8" x 4-1/8". I added a 2" x 5-3/8" piece of the Picnic paper on top of that. Before I taped the white piece on top of the green I added the ribbon. Then I stamped the fruits and punched them out using the 1-1/4" punch. I punched out matching colors of card stock using the 1-3/8" round punch. I added the brad and assembled the pieces. Not a whole lot to this card and it's always nice when you can pull it off!!!

Now I have a few birthday cards plus I'm going to be giving some out with the upcoming blog candy!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge Birthday Card

I thought I'd give Beate's Weekend Challenge a try today. I haven't done one of these in a while. Finding new card layouts is always fun and to actually make a card with it (on your own) can be quite a challenge.

This is what I came up with for her challenge. I used the Stampin' Up! "Pun Fun" set. I also used two Cuddlebug folders to create the background texture on the Soft Sky card stock. I used the large scallop punch by Marvy. The whale was stamped on watercolor paper and colored in using a blender pen and sponging. The words are from "Everyday Flexible Phrases." I added the corners using Bayou Blue card stock. I did sponge over the top layer of the bubble embossed card stock so it would stand out more against the other textured Soft Sky background.

I did flip her sketch. I just couldn't get the "happy" and "birthday" bubbles to work right without flipping it.

So this is my take on her sketch. Now I'm to post it on SplitCoastStampers and then post a link to it on Beate's Blog.

I encourage you to try new card layouts. Always keep learning and studying how other people make cards. It's like any other thing you'd study for. The more you notice the more you learn!!!

It looks like this week I'll be offering up some Blog Candy. It seems that the "Chatty Cathy" blog candy is coming due. I'm coming up on 700 posts!!! WOW!!! Check back in to find out more.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Graduation Time is Nearing! Party Favors Weekend Project

Graduation time is quickly approaching and that for many means an open house "party" with food and treats. Here's a fun treat my friend Leah came up with. Yup, this is the same Leah that came up with the other mint candy ideas in May of 2007! She's SO talented!

The school colors here are blue and silver. Leah used a blue pearl card stock, it's VERY pretty. Cut a strip for the band that measures 3" x 1/2". Punch out a 1-3/8" square and center it on the blue band. I would recommend using the piercing tool and Mat Pack kit here. Punching through two layers is hard on your hand and it's much easier and quicker to punch through both pieces at one time. You can also add the ribbon here too if you wish. I would add it after I punched the first two holes. I guess it really depends on your card stock and how hard it is to punch through that. If it's pretty easy then add the ribbon at the same time. The ribbon measured 2-1/4". You may want to add just a touch more so you can trim it once it's in place. After punching and the ribbon is ready, add the brad and secure it on the back. Wrap the band around the candy and secure it on the back. You can tape it but I would recommend using glue. The tape may not hold. Any white glue that dries clear will work.

If you want to get REALLY creative here you can open up your word processor and type in "Class of 2008" and space them apart up and down on the card stock. Line up the words in your punch and punch away. Or you can type the graduate's name or "Congratulations" or whatever else you would like.

Thank you Leah for sharing your idea with me and for allowing me to put it on my blog. Isn't it the cutest???

Edited: The candy used here is either Treasures or Nuggets made by Hershey and Nestles.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda