Folds & Tears!

I am SO into folding my card stock in half and decorating away. I need to step outside of my comfort zone now and then and try different things!!! Here I did fold the card stock in half but I also gave it another little fold and then tore the card stock. I don't tear card stock half as much as I use to do.

To do this fold I cut my card stock (Rich Razzleberry - again!!! LOL) in half on the shorter side. Cutting it at 4-1/4". I scored that cut piece at 5-1/2" and then I slid it down a bit on the scoring mat and scored it again at 8-3/4". I then tore that flap in half, sort of. You don't want it to be perfect so just tear and guide it a little to keep it fairly straight.

I used the Daisy Dash wheel (finally). I'm such a collector of wheels and there are a few I have not used and this happened to be one of them. But not anymore!!! I covered a piece of card stock measuring 3" x 4" with the daisys and dashes!!! This piece is taped on under the flap and centered along the side and bottom edges. Before you tape it you need to punch out the slots for the ribbon with the Double Rectangle punch. Tape the white wheeled piece in place and punch out the slots that show through from that white piece. Once you do that you can either tie the bow on or you can tape the flap and then tie the bow. For mine I just tied the bow. I didn't think it needed to be taped. Once the bow was tied on the flap was never going to open!!! I suppose the edges could curl but they shouldn't curl much if at all so I'm just going with the bow!!!

For the 4" x 5-1/4" inside white piece I struggled with it. First I used the wheel and thought I would do the background just like the flap. I did but I had the "stripes" going the wrong way. SO I cut another piece of card stock and got them to go the right direction. I set it in place and heard myself say a big "YUCK!!!" Then I thought it has to be lighter so I inked off on the wheel and wheeled on the design. I set it on the card and once again I heard myself say a big "YUCK!!!" What to do, what to do???? Why can't it be just white??? It really should not have much design on it, especially if you want to write on it!!! So just white it was. Well, that was just TOO bright so I sponged the edges and it was enough. SO since I sponged the edges on that piece I needed to sponge the edges on the front piece. I removed it and sponged the edges and was careful about lining up the holes when I set it back in place. Such a struggle for a "simple" looking card!!! LOL

I used the "enjoy" from the Stampin' Up! "Enjoy Every Moment" set. This part was actually the easier part of the card. Maybe not so much easier as it was less trouble for me to do!!! Gosh!!! After I got it all stamped, sponged and layered I thought the center of the "o" needed something. I took out the "Trio Flower" punch and punched out a single flower. I pierced the center and added a pink rhinestone brad and it was just what the card needed. Just a touch of bling!!!

The card needed just one more thing!!! I know, when do you say enough is enough??? I thought the inside could use a little something so I took floewr from the "Enjoy Every Moment" set and stamped it in the inside on the bottom right corner. And I finally called it done. But was it really??? Not according to my friend Ann. The envelope needs to be stamped, right Ann??? She stamps on her envelopes all of the time and they are wonderful and when I send out cards I never stamp on my envelopes. I'm just to into making the card I forget about the envelope. I did to that once and then when I finally wanted to use the card I had no idea where I put the envelopes!!! SO Ann, sorry but I won't be stamping an envelope for this one today!!! LOL

So here it is, all done and ready to go in the mail!!! Now that I know what I'm doing here I think this would be a pretty quick card to make. Too bad the flowers from the wheel didn't show up better. But you can see them a little and they do go with the flower inside the "o".

Now I'm off to clean up my work tables so I can pull out the majority of my retired stamp sets and get them priced for the Retirement Party on the 10th of July. After that party then the remainder of the stamp sets will be put in my web store. You may want to take a look over there now. I had entered for me quite a few single stamps from various companies. Most of those stamps are new!!!

Thank you for muddling through with me on this one!! Happy Stamping,
Wanda

A New Photo!

Here is another photo of the "Razzlebox" that I posted yesterday. It seems that when I take photos of my boxes I take them head on and you can't tell it's really a box. It could be a piece of decorated card stock for all you know!!! But really, it was a box and here is the proof!!! Taking the picture this way gives it a whole new and even better look!!!

Maybe someday I'll take that free class on how to use my camera and maybe I'll get some tips on how to take better photos!! But for now you just have to suffer along with me!!! LOL

Pretty cute box, huh? I just LOVE that die cut!!!

Razzle Box! Weekend Project

This was a very fun box to make. A friend of mine is such a coffee lover and when I was shopping at the dollar store I found this box of Nescafe Taster's Choice coffee packets. They are like the ones you add to your bottled water but a bit longer. And because they were a bit longer I had to fold down the tops of them to get them to fit in the box. 7 packets came in the box but I was only able to fit 4 in the box I made. I used some decorative paper from the Stampin' Up! Razzleberry Lemonade package. I am REALLY loving that paper and it's on my list to re-purchase when it's available!!!

I ran the paper through the Big Shot using the "Bag with Scallops" die cut. I've used that die cut SO much I'm shocked at how sharp it still is!!! After I glued it together I set it aside to dry. I went to my computer to type up the wording. I use to use these words when I was into crafting and was making wall plaques. The plaque was in the shape of an old coffee pot and I would stitch the words on and add real coffee beans and measuring spoon full of coffee beans to the front. It was SO cute and I use to sell a LOT of them!! Anyway, I'd always liked the wording and when I saw that coffee in the store those words came to mind and then I HAD to buy that coffee because I knew what I wanted to do with it!!! Shocking part here is that I remembered what I wanted to do with it!!! LOL

I printed the words out on white card stock and then cut it. I layered a scrap piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock to the back of it. I was going to tape it shut when I realized the scallop looked too plain. What to do, what to do?? I remembered seeing a flower from the Pretties Kit being used under the scallop but sad to say I don't remember where I saw that. I did like the effect it gave. It did look much better against the colors I saw than it does here. But it's still cute here! It's SO girly like!!! I added a rhinestone brad to the scallop and was about to tape it shut when I realized that rhinestone was not quite enough either. SO I picked up a piece of the Rich Razzleberry card stock and poked a hole in it. Then I centered that hole in the 3/4" circle punch and punched it out. I pushed the brad through the hole and then into the scallop flap. I liked the effect and I taped the flap shut. I was going to use velcro but the flower made the flap stick up a bit as it was and velcro would have made it worse. I did use a glue dot and many times with those if you open things slowly it will not rip the paper. But it is better than gluing it!!!

Don't you just LOVE this paper???

This was such a fun and VERY quick project to make too and I know my friend is going to LOVE it!!! This item can be used for so many things, Stamp camp, make & takes, hostess gifts, customer appreciation gifts, open house gifts, friendship gifts, the list goes on and on!!!

Click here for more weekend projects, there's over 70 of them to see!!! It will take you a weekend to see them all!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

What Does This Card Say to You WINNER!!!

I did forget to draw a name for the winner of the card on the "What Does This Card Say to You" post! A drawing was held for those who posted a comment to that post telling me what that card said to them. To me it looked more like a sympathy card. Though it can be used for a lot of occasions.

The winner is Susie and here is her comment:

I thought of it as a card that would be for someone who needed to know you cared for them - like giving someone that's hurting a pretty bouquet of flowers and a hug.

Susie, please email me with your snail mail address and I will get this card off in the mail to you. It was a lot of fun seeing what others thought the card was saying to them. I am going to have to do that again. You did enjoy it, didn't you??? Wouldn't it be fun to do that once or twice a month??

Thank you all for playing along,
Wanda

Golden Razzleberry!!!

I just LOVE black and a burgundy together and this new Rich Razzleberry card stock is close enough to a burgundy and it works well with the black card stock!!!

This card can be used for many occasions. Birthday, Thinking of You, Get Well, Friendship, Mother's Day and even a Wedding card!!!

I used the retired Stampin' Up! "Live Your Dream" set. It's one of those sets I didn't get to play with much. And it's also one of those sets I'm not ready to let go of yet either!!! I need to play with it more so I can feel ok about letting it go! But for now it's still a part of my stock!!!

The cute little butterflies were in the set too. I embossed them and the flower image using VersaMark and gold embossing powder. I wish I would have used the Embossing Buddy before I stamped the image using the VersaMark. Then I wouldn't have these little bits of gold dotted on the card!

I had cut my Rich Razzleberry card stock in half on the 8-1/2" side. I cut a quarter piece of black card stock. I tore the Rich Razzleberry at the top part of the card and then punched the slots in it for the ribbon. I set the black piece of card stock behind the flap I created and traced the slots so I could get them to line up. After punching the black ones out I taped it in place under the flap. I had this wonderful gold and burgundy ribbon on hand and it went close enough with the Rich Razzleberry card stock!!! Lucky me!!

I layered the flower on top of a scrap piece of the Rich Razzleberry. Yup, I've used that card stock enough that I actually had a scrap piece!!! I taped it in place in the center of the black area. And viola, the card was done. It was actually a quick card to make too! Gotta LOVE those!! I know I do!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Case of CASING!!!

I just couldn't help myself. I saw this card on Deann's blog De Stampin' Corner and I knew I just had to make it. It caught my eye. It is so clean looking, something that I like in a card.

I did change mine a bit. I did not add the organza ribbon, I changed the wording and added a scallop layer with the oval. I also layered the white background. Deann's card was all white.

It was a fun card to make and I have a special friend I am mailing this off to in the morning. I know this card will make her feel better.

For this card I used the Stampin' Up! "God's Blessings". It's a level one hostess set. The wording is from the retired "Friend to Friend" set. I don't give up my word sets quite as easily as I do the image sets. And I was glad I had this set because I couldn't find another set that had the "thinking of you" in a small enough font to fit inside the oval. I feel that you can never have enough word sets!!! I like to make cards blank and add words later to fit the reason I'm sending out the card. That is why I LOVE versatile sets. This "Gods Blessings" set is a very versatile one. I will be sad to see it go. And I will be sad to see the Pink Pirouette card stock go too! It was such a pretty color. But the new colors are fun too! The background was created using a Cuttlebug folder. They are SO fun to play with!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Just Beachy Birthday!

I needed a quick birthday card today for my nephew. I thought I would be caught up on my cards but my week got away from me. Too much beading. I will show you in a couple of days my new bracelet!!! It's SO pretty!!! I love the sparkle of the beads!!!

Anyway, I needed a quick card and I had some "stuff" sitting out so I grabbed the "Just Beachy" set, the "Birthday's Count" set and the "Razzleberry Lemonade" decorative paper. I was surprised when I was looking through it that I could make this piece work for a masculine card!!! So I cut the orange piece and set it on the black background. Now what to do on the decorative paper??? I like the fish so I thought I would punch them out and I was going to use the scallop punch but I wanted to keep it totally masculine. I stamped three fish and punched them out using the 1-1/4" punch. Then I colored them in with a blender pen and marker. I colored in the whole fish with the blender pen and a color. I then took that same color and did the highlights on the fish. I layered them on a 1-3/8" punched out black circle. I set them in place on the front of the card. I had them in a long row but didn't like that so I thought I would scatter them. Then I needed to find something to fill in those big orange gaps. "Happy Birthday" was just not enough. I needed one more word to go on the card to fill it in and complete it. Well, "Happy Happy Birthday" came to mind and then it went on the paper!!! I didn't use anything to line it up, I just eyed it and it worked!!! LOL It was a very quick card to make. Really!!!! I think my nephew will like it. He's such a fisherman!! And I did get it done on time!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Web Store Update

I have some more items in my web store. Most of the stamps I have put in there are unused. I have a lot more to add too. Just need to find time to do all this "stuff." It's slow going but it's going!!

The web store figures out the postage for you, it's very simple to use. The store has some little issue going on right now but you can still view the items. When you click on the link you'll seen an "oops" thing. Just click on "All Items" on the left just under the header and it will open up into the store. I reported this issue but it hasn't been resolved yet.

Thank you,
Wanda

What Does This Card Say to You?

What does this card really say to you??? This is a new Stampin' Up! level 3 set "Kind & Caring Thoughts." It's a VERY versatile set. It has "Thinking of You, Best Wishes and Thanks SO much words plus other wording for the inside of the card that go with those sentiments. I think this is one of those "Must Have" sets!!! It is not only great for those three themes mentioned above but it would also be nice for a Sympathy card and Mother's Day card too!! You wouldn't even need the words for that, you could just write something on the inside or find some words from another set. I have LOTS of ideas for this set and I probably should put them down on card stock before I forget. Plus it would motivate me to use every stamp in the set. Probably not all of the inside word stamps but most of them!! But the main images are ones I would play with right away!!! I love this leafy looking vine/stem image and this pretty little flower that is in there too. I'm sure you'll be seeing them here soon!!!

SO, what does this card say to you??? Let me know what you think it says. Leave your comment here and I will have a random drawing and the winner will receive this card. I'm not posting this drawing in the title of this blog, it is for those of you who read through this entire post!!! It's the only way to find out there is a drawing!!! SO sneaky, I know!!! LOL

Just tell me what your first thought of what you would use this card for when you saw the card. I will draw a name on Saturday!!! Please leave your comment to this post only!

To make this card I used a half sheet of Basic Black card stock. Then I cut a piece of decorative paper from the new Razzleberry Lemonade package. I stamped the large flower image from the "Kind & Caring" set. I used VersaMark and clear embossing powder. Then I sponged in Razzleberry ink over the embossed area. Every time I had to ink up my sponge I started sponging it over the center part of the flower. That is how it got to be so dark around it. I didn't want to add fresh ink to light areas, it would leave a spot that would be too dark to blend in. After I was done sponging I took a paper towel and wiped off the embossed area. Ink beads up on embossing and you don't want to be picking it up on your fingers and smearing it on the rest of the card. After I finished with that I took out my out my Nestabilities, the oval and the scalloped ovals and ran them through the Sizzix Big Shot. I tied on a piece of white ribbon and then affixed the ovals. It really is a very simple card to make and even simpler to win it!!! *winks*

So leave me a comment and be entered in the drawing for this card!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!

I bet you thought I forgot to announce the Blog Candy winner!!! Well, I did remember it once today but I didn't get on my computer. I'm SO frustrated with this computer. It's a Compaq laptop. I get no warning noise when the battery runs low, not even a flash of the screen. The screen goes black. Then you plug it in. Now you'd think the screen would come back and you could resume on AC. Nope. You have to reboot the whole system to get it back. Oh but that's not the worst of it. When it finally comes back on it's in Classic Mode. Classic Mode is the screen with the HUGE icons. And because it's so huge some of my other icons are now buried below the screen line so you can't see them. I have to go into Control Panel and click on the screen resolution so I can move it back to the highest resolution. Now here is where there should be something to click on to make this default. GRRRR. It's SO frustrating. I don't know if this is part of the ongoing list of VISTA issues or not. I don't like going on the computer when I have to use this one. And the design in it has a bit of a flaw too. The mouse (which is centered below the keyboard is almost flush with the part where your palms rest on so your the palm part of your thumb will brush against it and the next thing you know your cursor is somewhere else on your screen. Anyway, I'm online, I've got the computer running and charging and I used the random number generator and got a winner of the stamp set plus other "stuff" I've gathered along the way!!!

The winner is Joyce Spear and here is her comment:

"I am most definitely a card maker, as I've never even attempted a scrapbook page! (Not sure if that's wisdom or cowardice, lol!)I love visiting your blog daily... great ideas! Thank you so much!"

Do you think we'll ever convert her to scrapbooking??? Will I convert?? I did take my scrapbook out the other day and looked at the blank pages. I haven't clue what I want to do with it yet but I have a feeling that once I figure it out I won't want to stop!!!

Anyway, Joyce please email me with your snail mail and I will get the package mailed off to you.

Thank you all for playing along. There's more blog candy coming in a couple of weeks so stay tuned!!!

Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge

This weeks sketch challenge at SplitCoastStampers was VERY fun!!! And easy too. Though I had to make it a bit more difficult by cutting out the cute duck from the Stampin' Up! "Wagon Full of Fun" set. It's too bad it won't be in the new catalog. It's such a cute set.

I used up some of my decorative paper. Some retired stuff. It's from the Delicate Dots package. I still have some more left but hey, I actually have been using it!!!! I know shocker. I'm trying SO hard NOT to hoard the paper!! Use it, use it, use it!!!! I didn't use much but at least I did use it!!

I colored in my duck using a blender pen and markers. Blending is still at the top of my favorite techniques!! For the oval shadow I punched out the oval using a piece of scrap card stock and then I sponged the Bashful Blue color in. Being it was more of a "comical" duck and not a realistic one I thought an oval would be better than a contoured shadow. And it was easier too!!!

This card was actually pretty quick to make too. Yes, it took a few minutes to cut the duck out and to color it but the whole card took less than a half hour!!! Not bad for a card with that many pieces.

The words in the corners were from some left over scrapbooking package. It had some other baby words in it. They are like buttons but have no holes. There was adhesive on the back of them which made it easy to affix too. I was going to use double-sided tape and hope it would hold it but after seeing that it had it's own adhesive I figured it would stick better. So far so good, both are still stuck on the card!!!

It was a lot of fun to make this care. If you have time play with this sketch. You don't need to be a part of the SplitCoast community to make a card using this sketch. I LOVE trying different sketches. Well, as long as they are not the 4" x 4" square ones. Those are a big challenge for me and I don't really like making them because I don't have envelopes for them. It's not fun making a card you know you don't have any envelopes for!!! And I really don't plan on getting any either. But lately at SplitCoast when they have a square card they also have the sketch in a regular size too. It's so nice of them not to torture me!!! LOL

Have some fun with this sketch, it's SO worth it!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Altered Address Book! Weekend Project!

Gotta love those quick "Weekend Projects." For more "Weekend Projects" click here, you'll find over 70 of them. Enough to keep you busy for a while!!! LOL

While I was digging through my stash of "stuff" I ran across a couple of address books I had bought. Don't ask me when I bought them, I have no idea. I just know it's been about a year that they have been stashed away in the box I found them in! And it's about time I alter them! Oh and what a perfect time to do it too, with all the new papers and colors!!! I'm loving these new Stampin' Up! papers. The paper here came from the Razzleberry Lemonade pack. Pretty, isn't it?

First I opened up my word processing program and typed in the "Address Book" words. I set it up on the paper where I thought it should be and then did a test print on white copier paper. I set the paper against the book and saw that I was way off. After a bit of tweaking I got the words where I wanted them and I ran my cut decorative paper though the printer. I measured my paper using the book as my guide. I wanted it the exact size and it's the easiest way to do that.

After printing I realized I had cut the paper too short so it wouldn't go all the way around the book. Oh and I cut it on both pieces so both books were short!! GRRRR. Measure twice cut once. I've heard that many times before, except for today!!! LOL Anyway, I was able to hide the mistake by cutting the paper down so that it would cover the front and the back and I got to use my black Duck Tape again (yes, it's called Duck Tape and not Duct!!). I added the tape to the seam of the book. With the black wording the tape fit on the book just fine.

I stamped the bird on a branch image from the "Asian Artistry" set. It's such a fun and pretty set. I used the new "in color" markers and colored directly on the rubber. I am SO thrilled every time I see those markers. It's SO wonderful that the new colors come in markers now!!! It sure makes my day every time I play with them!!!!

I stamped the image on white card stock. I had taken a make-up sponge wedge and sponged the edges. I had ran across some of those too and am trying to use them up!!! I do like the soft look they give the edges. Different sponges give you different effects when you do the edges with them. Experiment a bit with them and see for yourself. Sometimes I like the softer look of the make-up sponge but most of the time I prefer the regular sponges.

I layered the image on black card stock and taped it in place. All in all it was a fun project to do. It was a bit tricky on the back with the elastic but all I did there was to make a couple of slits in the paper before I taped it down. I just slipped the elastic in at one corner and worked my way around the entire piece of paper. It's something you really can't do all at once unless you tape as you go. And of course I didn't think of that until I was all done setting it in place!!! Silly me!!! LOL

I took a photo of the address book with the elastic on and now I wish I would have moved the words over. Oh well!! The original book was done like that so I didn't even give that a second though. Lesson learned here!!!

Have fun altering items, it's basically easy to do and always fun!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today, Wanda

Technique Page Time!

I thought it was time I added another technique page to the agenda. I haven't posted one for a couple of weeks. I was going to try to do one once a week. I have of them to make. This one will make #9 in the third set of 20 pages. Almost half way there! I do have some extra packages of sets 1 and set 2. If you are interested in them please email me. You can also go to my webstore and purchase these pages on CD to use for technique page books for classes! It's a great way to bring in some new and fun things for your customers to attend, do and have for themselves!!!

This technique is called "Faux Buttons." It's pretty simple to do too! You just stamp an image on card stock. Punch it out with a shape you want to use as a button. Sponge the edges and emboss it using clear embossing powder. Add a piece of hemp or thread, tie it and it's ready for your card or scrapbook page!!! Not much simpler than that!!! This can also be done using Crystal Effects but you need to let it dry overnight. I didn't and don't have the patience for something like that. The only drawback of using embossing powder is it could crack. I made mine a bit too thick and it did crack but all I did to fix it was to reheat it. And that happened after I had it affixed to the black layered squares!! But reheating it melted the crack and you would never know!!! I used foam tape to affix the button to the card stock. The hemp in back made it stick up a bit too much for mono adhesive to hold it in place. It needed something to raise it up a bit and the foam tape was what it needed!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today, Wanda

Sharing Your Sorrow Sympathy Card

I really don't like making these cards. No, not the card itself but the "theme." And it seems I only make them when I need them and I find it very difficult. I should make up a few of them to have on had and then it may be less difficult. And isn't it one of those "Murphy's Law" type things??? If I have a bunch of sympathy cards I won't have any need for them????? Hey, that's worth a try!!!

I have two other cards I still need to make for this month and once again I'm caught up with cards!!! Everything else in my life is behind schedule but the cards!!! Well, at least it's something!!! LOL

I am actually a little late in getting this card made and sent off too. I keep losing the notes I write. Are cats vindictive creatures??? One of the cats was having some behavioral issues so I shut it in the guest room for a week. Not to worry the cat got LOTS of attention. That is where the computer is so I was in there a lot. Plus I had to go in there to clean the litter box and make sure there was food and water. And little Boo insists on coming in there and visiting or she invites herself to a sleepover. LOL She's such a character. Anyway, when we got back last week from our overnighter I realized I wrongly accused the one cat. SO now the cat who is having the issues is now in the guest room and of course Boo LOVES to have a "girls night out" with her. LOL In fact she is in the room right now!!!And this late in the evening she will probably find a comfortable spot on the soft blanket I have on the bed and spend the night!! So my question is in regards to the cat who was wrongfully accused. Stuff is missing and he's a smart cat . . . . . do you think he is messing with me? LOL

But now that I remembered to make this card I will get it off in the mail tomorrow and one less thing on my list to tend to!

To make this card I used Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Close to Cocoa ink. I ran the Close to Cocoa and Certainly Celery through the Dotted Swiss Cuttlebug folder. I didn't measure the width of the Certainly Celery piece, it was a piece of long scrap I had and it worked!!!

I stamped the words in Chocolate Chip ink. I used the larger oval punch, punched it out and then sponged the edges in Certainly Celery. I punched out a Chocolate Chip scallop and layered them together.

Now here's a trick I use when I did the tree. I stamped the whole image in Certainly Celery and then took the Chocolate Chip marker and colored in the trunk and branches. It sure was a lot easier than coloring the leaves one at a time!!! This works as long as the darker marker is dark enough to absorb the lighter color and still stay not only solid but remain as dark as it is intended to be. Chocolate Chip works perfectly for doing this!!!

The tree image is from the Stampin' Up! "Thoughts and Prayers" set. I just LOVE that set. And I'm SO happy it's in the new catalog!!!

Now to get this post published and get the card addressed and ready to go out in the mail tomorrow morning. Then I'm headed for my beads. I'm working on a really fun and pretty bracelet and I'll show it to you later in the week!!! I went to a fun beading night at the local bead store. I will also be teaching there in July and August!!! That will be a lot of fun. I haven't taught there since last fall.

Don't forget about the blog candy!!! The random drawing is on Tuesday evening!

Thank you SO much for visiting today, Wanda