A Secret Garden Mother's Day Card Stampin' Up!

I saw a card on Pinterest that used a black and white theme.  The black square in the bottom middle of the card was a frame.  Well, I didn't have the time or the effort to make a nice frame with punches or even cut out by hand using a ruler and a craft knife.  So I cheated and used a piece of card stock on top of the black polka dot paper.  It kind of seems like a waste of that paper only because I don't have much of that design left.  

On my cheating white square I stamped some leaves in Wild Wasabi.  I first stamped off and then stamped on the card stock.  Then I stamped 3 flowers from the "Secret Garden" set using Daffodil Delight.  I also used the "Secret Garden Framelets" to cut out the flower.  And for the center of the flowers I was just going to use a small circle punch but I ended up using the small flower from the "Itty Bitty Shapes" punch pack.  I set them in place on the flower with tape.  The flowers were set in place using Dimensionals and the background was set in place on the folded card base using Dimensionals.  

The words came from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set and were set on top of a Modern Label punched piece which was set in place with Dimensionals.  

The background was done using my scoring board.  I scored two spaces and then skipped 2 spaces and did that across my piece of card stock.  After I finished I then cut that piece to fit the front of my card (cut 3-1/2" x 4-1/2").

And that was it.  It's a very simple card to make and quick too!  I can see myself making more of these.  Personally I think they would be fun in a pack of cards with other occasions (to be given as a gift for a very special person!).

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Crinkled Paper Technique Technique Page

This is one of the techniques Terri taught at her Technique Tuesday group.  It's such a fun and effective technique.  

You punch out the shape you want and scrunch it up in your hand. Unfold it and scrunch it again.  Repeat this until you like how much it's crinkled.  

It's a very easy technique and so effective too.  You don't need to do much else to a card, the crinkled look is the center of attention!  

I will be adding this technique to the 5th set of technique pages.  I'm slow at getting them done but I'm almost ready to release the 5th set.  I still have other sets left and there always available on CD.  Just stop by at my web store and check them out.  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Thanks a Ton Stampin' Up! Card

I had gotten this card from Terri.  She had made it for one of her FABULOUS Stamp-a-Stacks and she had made a sample for me because I was unable to attend that one. I LOVE going to her Stamp-a-Stacks.  Heck, I LOVE going to all of her events.  She is such a creative person.  You can find her website here.  (and this time I checked to make sure I added the link!!!) LOL

I do not know what set the elephant is from.  I paged through the catalog a couple of times but didn't see it.  So if you know what the name of the set is, please let me know so I can add it to my post.  Thank you in advance.

It's such a cute card too.  I like how Terri does her cards.  This one is done using 1/4 sheet of colored card stock.  The Very Vanilla piece is cut 5-1/4" x 8" and folded in half on the long side.  Then it's taped in place on top of the colored card stock.  

The strip of decorative paper is cut 2-1/2" x 4".  The circle is from the 2-1/2" punch.  And the elephant is punched out using the 1-3/4" scalloped punch.  The Word Window Punch and Modern Label punches are also used here.  And I can only guess that the words came from the same set the elephant is in.  

The large circle is set in place using Dimensionals and then a ribbon is tied to the paper clip piece and attached to the circle.  

It's just TOO stinkin' cute!!

Added 4-29-13: The set used here is "Patterned Occasions."  Thank you bensarmom for letting me know, it's much appreciated.

Thank you for stopping by today,
Wanda

Family Reunion & Butterfly Punch

There's not a whole lot of stamping going on here today!  This card has a lot of layers and the only stamping is the words.

I needed to make a card for my mom. Her birthday is tomorrow.  Nothing like waiting for the last moment.  Well, actually I did have a card for her but I misplaced it along with a few others.  I had this yearly (month to month) card keeper and I misplaced it.  I have no idea where I moved it to.  I'm sure I put it somewhere for safekeeping until I could get back to it.  And when I do that I lose a LOT of things. I guess I should have written a note to myself! UGH  So anyway, I had to make a new card and  thought these butterflies would be pretty along with the Wisteria Wonder.  I also wanted to use the ribbon too, I still have quite a bit of it on the spool and I'm sure it's going to retire too. Not that I can't use it but I try to use current products when I post.  

Anyway, this is the card I made for my mom.  I used the postage punch, a square punch, the small butterfly punch and the scallops on the top are from one of the Big Shot dies (I don't remember the name of it right now and I'm not near a catalog to look it up, sorry).  I added some pearls to dress it up a bit and I set the images on Dimensionals.  And that's about it.  It was pretty simple to make!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

It's a Wrap Occasions Baby Shower Candies

This "It's a Wrap" set has been a lot of fun to play with.  I also kept the other stamped candy wrapper set.  I just think they are fun to have.  I used the set to make shower candies for my daughter-in-law's bridal shower, I used one of the sets to make wedding ones for the Groom's dinner and I have made "thank you" ones too.  And today I made baby shower ones.  The baby shower is tomorrow and I am not done making the baby blanket.  It's not like I don't have other gifts for her.  I could put the blanket on hold (well, not on hold, I could not give it to her tomorrow) and bring her something else.  I have another shower to go to for her so I could bring it then if I don't finish it tonight.  Though I am REALLY hoping on getting it done tonight.  

I did the candies in Daffodil Delight, Certainly Celery (soon to retire), Pretty in Pink (soon to retire), Bashful Blue (soon to retire), and Wisteria Wonder.  They don't know the sex of the baby so I just used all of the pastel baby colors!  

I really don't have a lot to say about these candies.  They are easy to make.  You just stamp on mailing labels, remove them from the label sheet and wrap them around the candies.  So simple.  You need to use the Hershey Nuggets. I originally bought the Hershey miniatures but they labels would work nice on them, they weren't wide enough.  Note to self: I need to hide those miniatures from hubby.  He's such a candy freak!!!

I will let you go now so you can head to the store to get some Hershey Nuggets and some mailing labels.  It's the address ones you want (30 to a page).  Have fun with these!

And thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Blast Off Waterfall Technique Card

This is one of the cards from Terri's Tuesday Technique Night.  She always gives me a sample of each of her techniques.  She's such a sweetie.  Sometimes I have a few moments to watch her demos but most of the time I'm pretty busy getting the area ready for the second part of the techniques.  It's very fun and I LOVE to be busy!  I look forward to the monthly technique night!

This card was made using the "Blast Off" set.  A set I do not own and I'm not sure if I will get it or not. It was way down on my wishlist and there's still other things I want!  Anyway, back to the card.  Waterfall cards are fun to make and even more fun to make work!  When you are all done, you just pull the bottom piece and the cards flip.  I have made one in my life and it worked out just fine!  It was fun but they do take a little bit of time to make so I have never made another one.  You can find a good video on how to make this card here.  

I thought it would be fun to do one for a graduate.  Start out with a baby or toddler photo, then an elementary school photo, a middle school photo and then the graduation photo!  But our son had graduated a while ago so that is out of the question for me right now!  It's a fun idea.  If you give it a try, send me a link so I can see your card!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Need for Speed Fun Fold

I have loved the look of this layout for years.  It's so fun and yet easy to do!  And I LOVE making masculine cards.  It just seems like there are not enough fun samples out there to be found!

First you fold a half sheet of card stock in half.  Then you cut half of the front of the card off.  On the front piece that is attached you can add some decorative paper.  I don't know what package this paper is from, this was a card I had gotten from Terri from her last Stamp A Stack.  

The inside little card piece is cut 7" x 2-1/4" and folded in half.  It's taped inside the card with the fold about 3/4" from the outside (right) edge.  

The stamped image piece is cut 2" x 3-1/4".  Stamp your image before you put it on the front of the small piece.  If you put it on first you're pretty much guaranteed that you will make a mistake!!!  It happens to me EVERY time I tape first!!  LOL

For other size images, figure out what size you need for the image.  Cut it out and stamp your image.  Then make the inside piece by cutting the card stock 1/4" wider and 1/2" longer.  Yup, just that simple!  I have several images that I want to use this layout on and the above simple instructions will come in handy!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Just Believe

The "Just Believe" set is a fun one to play with because it is an extremely versatile set.  It covers most occasions and in my book it's a "must have" set!

I found this card on the February 14th post at Artfelt Impressions. I have not been at Deb's site in a while.  She has a lot of fun cards.  Many of them are clean and simple to make.  Like the one I picked to make today.  

I chose this card mostly because I LOVED the stripes on the side edge.  There was something about it that caught my eye.  And I think this is a layout that I can see myself using in the future.  The near future!!!  

I think I would do something else on the word part.  I think it needs a bit more color.  Maybe a border behind it or a different punch/die cut that can be layered.  But it's still pretty as it is.  Keeping it the way it is gives it the clean and simple look.  I made this card in under 10 minutes and that included getting all the papers, inks and punches out.  To make this for a Stamp-A-Stack would take less time than that to stamp and put together.  

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

Rain or Shine Friendship Card

 I saw a card from doing a Google Image search and wanted to copy it.  As I was making it I found it to be too plain so I thought I would give it some colored layers and dress it up a bit.  That was just what the card needed for me to like it better.  I liked it the way it was, that is why I wanted to make one but I now like it much better.  The thin boarders gave it that punch it needed.  You can see the original card here.  

This was a VERY simple card to make.  I did dress it up a little by adding the pearl to the top and a string of them to the handle.  

My colors here are Cherry Cobbler ink and card stock and a scrap piece of Daffodil Delight card stock for the flower.  The center panel is popped up using Dimensionals.  And the words came from the "Rain or Shine" set.  And that's it.  There's not a lot to this card.  It's clean, it's simple and it's pretty!  Just the way I like it!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Papillon Potpourri

I do have a lot of fun with the "Papillon Potpourri" set. I love butterflies and this set has 6 of them, 3 large and 3 small.  And there happens to be two punches that fit the butterflies too so you don't have to cut a single thing out by hand. Now you know I LOVE that!!!

I got my inspiration for this card from Pinterest.  I was actually going to copy the card but things just weren't working out the way I wanted so I just did what I could and then ad-libbed the rest of it!  If you see a card that is somewhat like this, please email me so I can give credit for the inspiration (I didn't save the web address of where the original card came from).  

Again I went for a Mother's Day card.  I am still not sure on which one I want.  I'm not totally thrilled about the ones I've made.  There was one I did like but I figured I could do better so I'm still plugging along trying to find the one card!

This card was very easy to make. A few layers and some butterflies, a piece of ribbon and a couple of punches.  Very simple to do!  Maybe if I try a more complex card I might like it better!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Bootiful Occasions Baby Shower Card

Okay, I promise this is the last baby card for a while.  And that means for at least for another month or so!  I just wasn't happy with one of the baby shower cards so I felt I had to make another one that I liked better.  

I'm thinking I should have done the boot in blue but since the sex of the baby is not known I did need to keep it neutral.  Though with the blue layers and sponging, I am hoping for a boy!!  But a girl will be fun too.  I would look forward to the nail polish and dresses with a girl and with a boy, it's all old news for me!  So either with it will be fun!

On this card I used the Bootiful Occasions set for the boot and I cut it out and set it in place with Dimensionals.  

I punched out flowers and for the stems I used a piercing tool and punched holes in the paper and drew in lines of Certainly Celery for the stems.  The flowers were punched out and set in place with Dimensionals as well.  And that whole panel was set on the card using Dimensionals.

The second panel was done using the Sunshine & Sprinkles decorative paper.  I still have a lot of that paper to use up!!  

And the background was made using the Dotted embossing folder.  This was fun, easy and quick to make!  And I like it a lot better than the one I was going to use.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Secret Garden Tiny Book Weekend Project

 As I promised, I have a cute little project for you today.  I made a tiny book.  I've always wanted to make my own little book and I did.  I don't know if I would want to make too many of these though.  They involve sewing and I don't like to sew ANYTHING!  To this day I have not made a card with anything sewn on it!!!  I use to sew a lot and now my machine holds my paper cutter!  I hate setting it up and sewing.  

This was a fun book to make though and if you want to make one yourself you can find the easy to follow instructions here.  

The inside pages of my book measure 1-1/2" x 2", which meant I cut my copier paper 1-1/2" x 4".  You fold 3 pieces together and then in half.  You punch holes in the 3 paper stack.  There's actually a word for that stack.  I also Googled how to make a handmade book and got a little more information on a several other websites too.  This website was helpful but I felt I needed just a bit more information before I could proceed.    

I decorated the outside of my book with the Print Poetry paper pack paper.  I almost used a full sheet of it this time!!! LOL

Once I got the book together I set it under a heavy glass dish I have at my worktable and I left it there overnight. I wanted to make sure it dried flat and even.  And I was also tired!! LOL

So today I added the charms to the spine.  I had added the jump ring before I glued the paper stack spine to the spine of the book. I also added the flower and the brad.  The flower is from the "Secret Garden" set and the brad is from the "Antique Brads" container.  The flower was stamped using VersaMark and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  I cut the flower out (which was difficult to do because it was hard to see the edges of the flower, you had to catch the light just right).  I glued it in place with Crystal Effects.  I cut the prongs off the brad and glued that on top of the flower with Crystal Effects and it is now sitting on my worktable drying.  I did take the photo right after gluing and I was hoping that nothing would slide while it was leaning against the backdrop.  It all seems just fine.  

You can decorate these little books as little or as much as you like.  I do think though, if I ever make another one I would make it a little bigger, which does mean more sewing!!  UGH!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

More Snow

Once again we are getting a lot of snow.  It seems that Minneapolis is the epicenter of this storm.  We've already shoveled about 4" and it's still snowing.  And the bad news is that it's suppose to snow all night.  UGH!!!  I have to work in the morning and I'm going to have to leave an extra 15 minutes or so earlier so I can drive like a little old lady!! LOL

After the shoveling was done I got to make a snowman with hubby.  Or should I say, hubby got to make a snowman with me? LOL  He's such a good sport.

I had gotten a very fun Christmas gift from my friend Katie.  It was a box full of snowman parts.  The smile killed me and I just had to put it on this snowman!!!  I LOVE the nose too! And the hat was in the box too!  Cute, isn't it?  There's a lot more snowman parts in there too.  There were heart shaped buttons, sunglasses, a bow tie, other eye and button shapes, different shaped mouths and noses.  Such a fun present and I finally got to play with it!  The snowman won't last long but at least I finally got out to make one this snow season.  Between colds and a bad hip I didn't think I would get to make one but today I was actually feeling good and got out there.  Man was that snow heavy.  I had hubby lift the body parts for me.  And he helped pack them and smooth them off.  I had the 35mm camera and he had my cell phone and we were both taking pictures.  This is one he took with the phone.  It was fun making the snowman and it was especially fun that he helped me make it!  And this guy may end up being on our next Christmas card!!  He's cheery enough!!! LOL

I have a fun little project to show you tomorrow so be sure to stop back.  

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

By the Sea

I have no idea what was going on with the computer.  I ended up checking all the stuff that's plugged into it and gave it one more reboot and everything was fine.  Imagine that.  It may have been something not staying connected.  And how did it get disconnected you ask?  LOL  I moved the tower to dust under it.  I guess I won't be doing that anymore!  LOL

Ok, now onto my card.  I saw this card at Ink A Stamp.  I thought it was SO pretty.  I didn't do it justice.  Not putting stamp pads away can cause you to pickup the wrong color and sponge with it.  Then you take the right color and sponge over the wrong color and this is what you get. It's ok if you don't compare it to the original card!!  You can find the info to make this card at Ink A Stamp, there's a direct link to the card, not just to the blog.

This was a fun card to make until I got to the sponging.  But I can live with it!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda