Sale A Bration is Almost Over!

Hi guys! I have a card today that features one of the lovely sets from the SAB catalog. The biggest SU promotion of the year is almost over and when it gos away, your chance to earn these fabulous sets is gone. Today's card uses the set called Bliss which can be yours with any $50 purchase. Take a look at the card and I will tell you more about it.
This card uses tons of materials but each one adds a little something so it was worth it to make that huge mess on my desk as I created it. That's what I'll tell myself as things slip off the piles, right? ;D

As I mentioned, I used Bliss for the little butterfly. It is stamped in Marina Mist which is the same color used for the middle border strip. I stamped a strip of it with the Mini catalog offering called In Stitches. I used Soft Suede ink for this part as well as much of the distressing. After I stamped the faux stitching, I crumpled it a little to rough it up. I wanted a shabby look tot he card so everything is distressed in some way.

The floral embellishment is created with a couple paper daisies that were sponged with Very Vanilla and more Soft Suede inks. The centers were punched (Boho Blossoms) from So Saffron CS and then spritzed with Log Cabin Smooch Spritz. I LOVE this product so much. It is perfect to add just a touch of color or shimmer to your project and it is so easy to use! A couple brads (Marina Mist from the Subtles Designer Brads collection) and leaf sprigs (2 Step Bird Punch) finish it off.

The sentiment is from Word for You and it is stamped with Soft Suede ink. I masked off a portion to just leave the word "thanks." That circle is cut using the new 3" Circle Sizzix die and my Big Shot. I love that we now have larger circles to choose from for our projects. This die is offered in the Occasions Mini but will be carried over in the next big catalog. I sponged the edges with more Soft Suede ink. The edges of the card are all sponged too. That lovely green polka dot DSP is from the Level 1 Hostess 6x6 In Color DSP paper pack. I love that the patterns are a little different from the regular Patterns DSP series. You can earn this cute little paper pack by holding a qualifying workshop or ordering at least $150 yourself.

I think that does it for this card. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

A Little Glitz

Hi everyone! Another long absence stretch in blogland I am sorry to say. I guess it is just one those times that we all have...one thing after another comes at you and you can't seem to catch up. Various members of my family have been sick and now I have the crud. Oh well. I have a great card to show you though. It has just a touch of sparkle too.
And a side shot to show a little of the sparkle:
I got the idea for this sketch at a recent rubber stamping show and I loved the simplicity. I wanted to come home and use an SU image to create the same look. The tiny butterfly from the new SAB set called Sweet Summer worked really well here. (Just a reminder too....this set will only be available until the end of the month so get it while you can. Any purchase of $50 or more earns you this set for FREE.) I colored them in with Blender Pens and ink pads for a look that is less intense than markers alone. And for a little visual interest, I topped all the wings with some Smooch Pearlized Illuminate Top Coat. This adds a glittery look without the mess and also without changing the base color of your image. The middles of each butterfly are colored in with the Gold Lame Smooch ink. If you haven't tried these inks, you must! They add a lot of appeal for very little work. I am very surprised at how easy they are to use and how well the applicator tip is controlled with minimum effort. I thought they would be hard for someone that could flunk Paint Your Nails 101...the remedial course. ;) I even added some Top Coat to the brads around the sentiment and it worked very well.

That about does it for this card. I will be back TOMORROW with another new card. I can promise that because it is already made and photographed. I might just give a few hints about some new products that will be found in the new Summer Mini catalog which I got to preview today. Very exciting! I also want to holler out a reminder to my Hostess Club girls too. tomorrow night, the 16th is Hostess Club so start putting those orders together. Have a great evening!

As promised... Owl Birthday Card

Hello gals! I am back today with the previously promised owl b-day card. I had to re make parts that got damaged by the dewey grass yesterday. Yep, wet grass does a number on water soluble inks for sure! How about I show you the card and then tell you a little about it?
Do you ever have images that you seem to put together over and over again? Well, for me, I can't seem to use an owl without putting it in some sort of branch or tree. Here, my little guy is sitting in a portion of the Season of Friendship tree. I stamped it first on a scrap of Whisper White CS, in Crumb Cake ink, and then used an old shape template to cut just the portion I wanted to use. The panel itself is trimmed with Pear Pizazz CS, which brings me to my next point...the color scheme for this card...

I wanted to use rub-ons so when I looked in the package of the Bday Party rub-ons which coordinate with the Celebrations DSP, I realized that a few of them used only 2 of the colors from the very vibrant primary colors used in that product line. When you take away the red and bold blue of Pacific Point, the softer Pear Pizazz and Bashful Blue take on a whole new look. The softer yellow print paper (from Sunny Garden DSP) pair nicely with these colors too.

The owl is from the new SAB set called Punch Bunch. This set includes 5 images that all coordinate with a matching punch. If you hate to cut images out, this set is for you. To give my owl a little personality, I added a birthday hat that I made out of scraps and popped his eyes up on Dimensionals.

As I mentioned above, the sentiment is a rub-on from the Bday Party set. One thing I love about rub-ons is that you get great coverage and an opaque image that you just don't get with ink and a stamp. Even using embossing powder doesn't give you quite the same result. I know that many people avoid rub-ons and think they are too difficult to use. I find that with a good embossing stylus or rubbing stick (which comes with SU rub-ons) they go on very easily.

For more info about this card or other SU products, please contact me. I love to help! :)

Sunny Garden Birthday- SU only card

Hi everyone! I hope this weekend is treating you well. We are having gorgeous weather in our neck of the woods so my family and I are headed off for a day of fun outdoors. Before we leave, I have a card and tag to show you first. The card and tag themselves are rather simple but I used a couple new techniques that I want to talk about just a bit. Let's take a look!
And an angle shot of just the card...
And just the tag alone...
First, I will tell you a little about the materials I used. The lovely print paper is from Sunny Garden DSP. This assortment has grown on me since it came out. You may recognize the patterns in this pack as those used in last year's Cottage Wall DSP. They changed the color scheme to reflect this year's palette. When I first saw it in the catalog, I thought it was rather "meh." I didn't even order it until recently and even then, it was more to challenge myself than anything. Well, these prints are much prettier in person! They look great when used singly or in combination and they really come together well with the coordinate solids. Too much fun!
Another point I want to mention is the line of "stitching" across the middle of the card...where the 2 prints meet. This faux stitching is part of the new In Stitches Jumbo Stampin' Around wheel. As I have talked about before, I unmounted the rubber and then snipped each line of stitching apart for easier access. The Craft & Rubber Scissors we used to use to trim our new stamp sets work well for this job. I used a little Dotto adhesive to adhere the rubber to a clear block. I love the results! The card and tag feature just one of the 6 types of stitching included on the wheel. I stamped it in Poppy Parade on the card and the tag uses it in Blushing Bride. Once I stamped it, I trimmed it by hand because I wanted it thin enough to just sit in the middle of 2 strips that I punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch. You get a totally new look with a tool that isn't even very new, huh?

I stamped my sentiment in Peach Parfait ink onto Whisper White CS and then I trimmed it by hand, just outside the border line that is part of the image. This birthday message is included in the super versatile set called Perfect Punches. Talk about a go-to set! Every image in this set coordinates with a matching punch, making it a very easy set to use on lots of card types. To set off the image, I punched a wide oval from Blushing Bride CS and then mounted those ovals onto a scrap of Poppy Parade CS and hand trimmed again.

The last thing I want to draw attention to is the little cluster of blossoms under my card sentiment. If you follow paper crafting at all, you have probably seen the plethora of 3D flowers and buds that are being done right now. There are several dies and tools out there to produce these rolled blossoms shown here but as you would expect, they are all very pricey and somewhat one dimensional in their function. I like to get several uses out of the tools I purchase.

The flowers I used here are made with an old fav of mine...the SU 1 3/4" scallop circle punch! I cut a free hand spiral (as shown below) and then rolled it with a quilling tool which can be found in most craft stores. You can also very easily use a pair of tweezers. I just happened to have the quilling tool laying around so I used it but it is not a must. After rolling, you secure the blossom with a glue dot and voila! The ones I used here are finished off with a few Real Red brads ( from the Brights brad assortment) and leaves which I punched from a few scraps of Pear Pizazz CS with my new Build A Blossom punch. This punch is way too much fun! I really hope it makes its way back to the catalog next summer. For now, it is available in the Occasions Mini until April 30th so don't miss out. This is a great addition to any paper crafter's tool collection. There are limitless combos for flowers and leaves as well as other shapes for punch art projects. I don't know how I lived without it all these years! The brads are attached to the buds by squeezing just a few drops of Crystal Effects into the very center of the bud and then just poking the unopened brad into the glue. You could also use the Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive here too.
Since this card is a birthday card, I decided a matching gift tag might come in handy. I used scraps from the card to create a simple tag that won't seem so simple when it sets off a wrapped gift alongside the card. I inked up part of the "so happy for you" image from the same named set (included in the Sale A Bration catalog right now!) in Basic Black for the tag but you could also use a happy birthday image here if desired. A length of ribbon (1/4" Pretty in Pink grosgrain) finishes the tag and we are ready to make someone's day!

I think that about sums it up. This is an easier project than it looks to be. Just a little effort on your part can make someone's day very special. Isn't that what card making is all about? ;) Have a great day and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Edit: I forgot to mention a very important point about this card and a loyal reader immediately noticed the issue. Thanks to Susan for reminding me! :) Mailing these types of 3D flowers can be a problem so you have to choose location for the embellishment very carefully. I would not place flowers like these very close to the top of the card...where it will inhibit the flap of the envelope from closing. Also, if you cut the spiral in the scalloped circle so that the width of the strip is no more than about 1/4", it won't stand up as high. Overall, my recommendation for a card with this type of embellishment would be to give it locally but if you are careful, it could be sent through the mail to someone special. I hope this info helps!

Make a Monster Mash

Today's card is inspired by one I saw on the gorgeous blog by Teneale Williams, an SU demonstrator in Australia. Her cards are always lovely but this one really caught my eye. I liked it so much, I decided to copy it pretty close and this is what I came up with...
And a shot from the side:
When I saw hers, I loved the color combo and the sketch as well as the adorable focal point image. I was lucky enough to have just purchased this set recently so I pulled it out and gave it my best shot. The cute little creature is from the set called Make a Monster. I accented him/her with a little Pear Pizazz Designer (Polka Dot) DSP which is part of the In Colors Designer Patterns Assortment. The marina Mist strip across the middle was embossed with my Square lattice embossing folder and then trimmed with a strip of Whisper White CS which I punched with my Pinking Hearts border punch.

I stamped a couple balloons from the Crazy for Cupcakes set onto Marina Mist and cut them out so I could pop them up on Dimensionals. If you don't like to fussy cut, you could always stamp them directly onto the white and color them with markers too. I added a little white 3/8" Taffeta ribbon and a sentiment from the So Happy for You set featured in the SAB catalog right now. You can earn this set for FREE with any $50 purchase from now until March 31st.

I am off to my day. Have a great one!

Le Cage Aux...BIRTHDAY! (SU only)

Hello my friends! It is back to the grind I guess. Happy Monday to ya! I have a darling card to show you today. I hope it makes a January Monday a little brighter for you. The sentiment is from the new SAB set called So Happy for You but everything else can be found in the regular catalog. Take a look and I will tell you more in just a minute.
And here is an angled shot for a different perspective:
Since we had a little burst of warm weather this weekend, I was in the mood for some bright color and a little whimsy. That cute little bird cage image is from the set called Aviary. I bought it to demo a while before Christmas and it sat, unloved & uninked all this time. For shame! It is too cute to just sit! I combined it with prints from the Build A Bear Pawsitively Prints DSP and a few embellishments and voila!... a sweet and simple birthday card to have on hand. The set includes several different birdcages and various birds to go in them. They all mix and match well and lend themselves perfectly to embellishment. Here, I added a brad (Tempting Turquoise from the Brights brad assortment) to the top of the cage and a little ribbon (1/4" grosgrain in Daffodil Delight) to the cage pole. The red trim down the side of the card was made by punching a strip of Poppy Parade with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. Last but not least, the 2 little red buttons are from the Brights button assortment.

I think that does it for me today. Check back tomorrow for another new card using another print from the Springtime Vintage DSP. Have a great day!