Tulips Wonder

Good News! The craft room is ready! I can't quite say finished, because I don't have furniture and hooks and things yet, but the walls are painted, the floor is in, and I've started working on the space. I'll post pictures in another week or so. In the meantime...

Now that my craft room is done, I was digging through some boxes-sorting through my crafting supplies. I found this fun little spring card that I thought was appropriate. It's a fun two-step card.

Sad News

I have sad news. My lovely and talented sister, the Anne of Lizzie Anne Designs and her business partner, Tricia, have decided to close the doors on Lizzie Anne Designs.

The two of them are hugely talented designers and have created a fantastic product, but the current economy just won't support them continuing in their business. You can read all about their decision here.

You can still purchase merchandise at their website--in fact they are giving a 40-50% discount on their products.

I'll still post the pictures of cards I made with her products--and I'm going to make more (as soon as I uncover my inks from my in-construction basement)--I'm just really sad I won't be able to send you their website to buy anymore. In the meantime, check them out while you can.







http://www.lizzieannedesigns.com/images/logo.gif

Poppin' Pastel Tulips

I designed this particular card a while ago when I was still a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. My upline had a great idea for making cards from just 1/2 sheet of white cardstock. This is one of her ideas.

I don't have "How To" pictures, so I'll do my best to describe the process. Feel free to post comments/questions.

Basically I tore half of the front of the card off. Set the torn piece aside. I then sponged purple pastel chalk on the left (with the card open to keep it off the back half). I then stamped the tulips in Versamark clear watermark ink on the back half and then sponged on the green pastel chalk with a second sponge. The center overlay comes from the torn off portion you set aside. Stamp your two flowers in Versamark clear watermark ink and tear off the excess paper. Then sponge the purple and green on the appropriate halves of the overlay, and adhere to the left side.

I really like how the torn edges pick up the pastel colors and create a darker variation of color.

Happy Spring everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. In honor of this day of love, I thought I'd post one of my favorite Valentines Day cards I've made.

The top layer is vellum. The heart is embossed in fine detail white powder.

You can see the pink layer is stamped in red flowers that will be muted by the vellum. On the backside of the vellum, I colored certain roses with a red marker. The effect is what you see above.

I think it would be great to see your twist on this card. Any ideas? Post the link to your card in your comments and I'll check it out.

Spring Time

I know it's not spring yet, but I'm tired of cold and snow and I wanted to post something a little cheery. I confess I didn't design this one--I made it at my friend Peggy's make-n-take--but I thought it was cute enough to post here today.

Simplicity

I find myself trying to simplify my life in as many ways as I can. I'm decluttering--a slow and occasionally painful process--which is somehow liberating at the same time. As I write I this, I have spent most of the day working on a backlog of projects trying to get them out of my hair. It feels good to either let go or get it done and over.

I find that though the trends in scrapbooking and card making are often cyclical (I've seen decorative scissors at least twice as well as crowded backgrounds, simple backgrounds, diecuts, etc.), I tend to gravitate to clean, simple designs.

I've become this way in many areas of my life. I've simplified my taste in my dishware (plain white is a classic), home decor (as much as I love the elegance of Queen Anne furniture, I love the simplicity of Shaker and Scandinavian designs even more). And in my home I have a somewhat unifying color scheme that is manifest in each room. The overall effect is calming to me. (Greens, Yellows, Browns and Reds--all earth tones that I love in nature).

This is a very simple card, but it speaks to my need for simplicity right now.

I love it, and I hope you do to.

Sweet Tidings

Crystal Effects has many uses, (I'll tell you my favorite one in a minute). I love how it creates a smooth shiny surface. It was the perfect accent for the glass in the gumball machine for this card.
I tried to get a close up of the crystal effects here. It wasn't the best light, but it was the best shot I could get.

Now my favorite use for crystal effects...

I had a cabinet door where the screw had come loose. We had tried putting the screw back in a few times, but it always worked its way out again. Eventually it stripped the wood inside a little. I remembered a tip from a SU! convention when I had a similar problem with the rolling suitcase/backpack they gave us. So I pulled out my crystal effects, filled in the hole a little, let it set up just a tiny bit and then screwed the hinge back on.

It hasn't budged since.

:D

Let me know if you have another unusual use for crystal effects.

Beautiful Ballerina

Well apparently my camera doesn't like taking pictures of pale purple (I took 15 pictures with a ton of different settings & couldn't get the purple to come out darker), but here is the card I made with LAD's brand-new ballerina stamp. I used Bazzill papers and SU! inks. The ribbon is from American Crafts. The background stamp is In the Background from LAD.

I had fun making her. I colored her hair dark brown to play off the ribbon as well as a tribute to my daughter (who has taken to calling herself "Princess June" after the Little Einsteins character). Both have darker hair. :D

I've been posting a lot of paper crafting projects lately, so I think that I will post some vinyl projects next. Stay tuned...

A Bouncing Baby Boy!

I have a nephew! Well technically I have 10+ nephews, but the newest one made his appearance yesterday! He was a little over 8 1/2 lbs. & 21" long. Another nephew was born about a week ago. (He's adorable too!) He weighed just over 8 lbs and is 20" long.

So in honor of my two nephews, I thought I'd post a baby boy card.

Actually, I used this for my little boy’s birth announcement. I have to admit, I stole this fabulous idea from C. Tepa Farias. We swapped cards at a SU! convention, and I just knew I had to have this card. Her version was in pink, and used a different background stamp and ribbons, but it was just too cute not to "lift".

And speaking of babies, I'm really happy to report that my friend with the broken kneecap is doing so much better. It was tricky getting around with a newborn and a cast, thankfully that came off a little over a week after the baby was born. She then wore a brace for a while, but that is off now too. She's able to bend her knee & drive again and has regained most of the motion in her leg. She hasn't been able to do any running yet, but I'm sure that is coming. (The baby is only six-weeks-old after all).

Babies are so sweet aren't they? (Especially when they are napping :D ).

***********

The other day I mentioned the sweet new stamps I got from my friend, Meridith Anne of Lizzie Anne Designs? She gave me the brand-new pirate, pirate saying, and ballerina from their winter release. (Before they were available for purchase). I can't tell you how excited I was/am. I had planned on having a card posted with my cute new stamps already, but life has interfered with my plans. I'm hoping to finish the ballerina card tonight and post it tomorrow.

The Gift that Keeps Giving

Happy New Year! I apologize for the funny error with the photos from my last post. My computer randomly dropped my internet connection while I was uploading my photos as I was posting. I reconnected and thought it went through alright, but apparently I was wrong. You should be able to see the photos now.


My friend Mica send me this darling gift in the mail. She rolled the white lunch sack, and made her cards with Stampin' Up! stamps and materials. I particularly love her card. It's simple, but very cute. The two-sided paper and stitched ribbon add a fun flair.

(Alas, this year I sent Mica and the other 200* people on my Christmas card list store-bought cards--though in my heart I stamped them one). As I mentioned in my last post, it was a particularly busy Christmas for us this year. And to top it all off, one of my children had us singing "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth". My sweet pea has been miserable as two bottom teeth made their way through the gums. Add to that an ear infection and pretty much all my sweetie wants to do is be held.

I don't know if you've ever tried stamping with a young one in your arms, but it's pretty impossible. :D

Anyway, inside Mica's cute wrapping job was this recipe card holder. I had cut the vinyl letter for her and her church group as well as a few extra for gifts she was making. I guess I was one of the lucky recipients of the gifts!

Thanks Mica! I love it. I've already got my favorite Williams-Sonoma recipe for Butternut Squash soup on the metal board and ready to go for dinner tomorrow. I'm so excited to use this. Mica knows I love to cook (when I have the time), and I have needed a good recipe card holder for a long time.

And speaking of gifts, let me just say there are definite advantages to being such good friends with the owners of the best new stamp company out there, Lizzie Anne Designs. Meridith (Anne) sent me the cutest new stamps for Christmas, AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE YET!! (Okay, so if you wait a few more days you can get them too, and BELIEVE ME you want to get these stamps).

Not sure what I'm talking about? Well throughout this week LAD is revealing several new stamp sets they adding to their already fantastic collection on January 7th. Today they revealed four new sets. I can't tell you what the stamps that I received are yet (I promised them I wouldn't spoil their surprise), but I can STRONGLY encourage you to check out their sneak peeks throughout the week.

So what was your favorite Christmas gift this year? Was it handmade? I'd like to hear from you if you are willing to share.

*The actual count is 199 Christmas cards--really it is. When you have as many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends from numerous moves as we do it adds up quickly. :D

Frosty the Snowflake

Okay, so I was trying to think of a clever title. Anyhow, I thought I'd post another holiday card. I decided to depart from my usual colors of red & green, and I'm very happy with out it turned out. I have to confess, I got my courage after Meridith Anne from Lizzie Anne Designs sent me a Christmas card. I'm pretty sure I hung onto it, so if I find it I just might post it.

Anyhow, I used a white craft pad on the snowflakes. I liked how they were a little more translucent that way. I also used whisper white to set off the boxed snowflakes, though if I had some shimmering white I might have used that instead. I made this card before I saw Lizzie Anne's snowflake. Cute huh?

You use what you've got though, right?

So, what is your favorite holiday card color combo?

Holiday Fun!

Wow, what a busy weekend. I fully intended on posting more blog entries, but time truly got away from me.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We spent a lot of it with my in-laws who came into town. We also put up the Christmas tree (no, it's not decorated yet), and did some "fall" cleaning. (Leaves, move mattresses around, etc). It's only just stated to calm down, and tomorrow we're back in school!

In any case, after so much vinyl, I thought I'd post a fun little holiday card I made a couple of years ago.

This card I used two different naturals paper. The gingerbread men were stamped on kraft paper, cut out, embellished with marker & a painty pen, then popped onto the card with dimensionals. I got the idea from some wood gingerbread men I made years ago. The real wooden gingerbread men I painted have holes in their hands and are tied together with jute. For my card version, I drew little bows between their hands with a zig pen. (I probably would have used wire, but I came up with this card before Stampin' Up! carried decorative wire.

Stay tuned for more fun projects.

It's time to make your Christmas Cards

I was clearing out the set samplers again and I came across this Christmas card I created. I used the embossing gun on the ribbon to make it shrink & shrivel the way it does. It is a simple, yet elegant touch. You have to be careful though—if you hold the heat gun in one place too long you can melt a hole into the ribbon. You can see what I mean in the close-up. The hole in the ribbon and the frayed edges are why I hung on to this card--I didn't want to send a damaged one to a friend.

If you want to try shriveling your own ribbon, I recommend trying the heat gun on a test sample first to make sure you don’t end up with a ribbon that pulls too tight on your cardstock. (I found it easiest to tie the ribbon first, then use the heat gun).

I also don't recommend sending too many of these through the mail. The year I did these I discovered I had to pay extra postage due to the bulk they created in the envelope.

All materials are Stampin’ Up!

World Card Making Day Card

Well, things have finally slowed down enough for me to finish assembling my WCMD card & take a picture of it. I used High Hellos from Lizzie Anne Designs & Stampin' Up! inks. I was sitting in the dentist office waiting for my kids to get their check-ups done, when this idea came to me. I love this color combination--it's very earthy and organic to me.

I love High Hellos from Lizzie Anne Designs. It is light & whimsical--perfect for the fun stamper in me.

Do you have a favorite Lizzie Anne stamp set?

Another baby card!

So, I still haven't had time to finish assembling my latest stamped card (using Lizzie Anne Designs' High Hellos). But as I was clearing out my stamp room, I found another baby card. This one was my daughter’s birth announcement. I’ve got a tiny “she’s here” embossed in the corner. By Definition (Stampin' Up!) provides the background. I was careful to make sure love showed up in the top corner of all the announcements. It's a pretty simple color scheme, but it works for an announcement.

Do you have a favorite color combination for baby announcements/cards that is a little unusual, or do you stick with the basics too?

Looking Back in Time for World Cardmaking Day!

Have you heard about World Card Making Day? I heard about it from Lizzie Anne Designs. I think this a wonderful idea, and I'm going to be entering some new creations in their contest. I just got High Hellos in the mail, and after I take care of a couple of vinyl orders I plan on making up a couple of new cards using that set. I'll post them here when I'm done.

For the last couple of months, I’ve been cleaning out my stamp room. Now that I’m no longer a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator, (which I did for 8+ years) I find I don’t need any of my set samplers. I've uncovered some buried treasures as well as some cards that make me laugh. (What were we thinking?)

I’ve been turning a few of the nicer card fronts into full-fledged cards. I think I'll use these are my backup cards when I don’t have time to make new creations.

Now as for those cards that make me laugh--as I’ve been looking back I’ve found some cards I made during my early days into stamping. I remember how awed I felt by the things you could do with Brush markers (see the Thank You sample in which we separated the flower from the verse). I also remember my first attempt at a wedding card and my first foray into spectrum pads. I’m posting them here for you to see. Don’t mock—these are from the days when I had only eight pads, two kinds of paper (white & naturals) and a couple of markers. I've definitely come a long way in style and technique since then.

BTW, all sets copyrighted Stampin’ Up! and are retired. If you’re dying to recreate these masterpieces--I’d be happy to sell you the set if I still have it. :P

Back to My Roots Baby!

I've had a lot of friends having babies lately, so I felt the urge to get back to my creative roots and create a simple card to go with their baby gifts. The stamp sets I used are Scrappin Stamps & Scrappin Stamps II from Lizzie Anne Designs. I also used Warmest Regards and I'm Here from Stampin' Up! Inks & paper are Stampin' Up!

I tend to like fairly simple, clean designs in stamping. I love little embellishments (like the flower eyelet) which add some interest and don't detract from the overall picture. I'm that way in decorating my home. Clean lines--no clutter.

Of course when are we ever clutter-free when we've got kids running around?

Still it's a dream I aspire to. :D

It's been a while since I've had time to sit down and stamp. I'm hoping now that school has started back up I might find the occasional 15 minutes to stamp here & there. I'm hoping I'll be able to post slightly more than once a week too.

If you have children, how do you make time for your creative pursuits? Leave a comment--maybe we can give each other some great ideas.