Bee Happy. . .Sweet Friend!

I am planning to attend my Stampin' Up mentor's Totally Lovin' Christmas annual event on October 1st.  She had a special fee running for those that signed up and paid at her last Birthday Bonanza event in August, but refused to take payment from me.  Her reasoning, when I don't pay her directly, I have been in the habit of mailing my payment, accompanied by a specially designed card just for her.  She said she was feeling deprived, because she had not received any lovely handmade cards from me in a very long time, so she would much rather receive my payment via mail.  She said I would get the special rate, but only if payment was accompanied by one of my handmade cards.  Now, I ask you, is that bribery or what. . .LOL!

I was feeling the pressure to really get with it and perform at the top of my game, but I had so many commitments and cards to make with absolute deadlines that it took almost a month before I could begin Liz's card.   Meanwhile, while making  my other needed cards, my creative juices were flowing in the background around numerous ideas for Liz's special card.  

I finally got down to finalizing the design for Liz's card.  Since she is such a sweet friend, I decided to incorporate a bumblebee embellishment die-cut that I made a few years ago at a store that had AccuCut dies for use.  Using this bee, I would make a "Bee Happy" card.  I added Wink of Stella Clear to my bee's vellum wings and to the flowers, but the picture does show off the shimmery wings very well.  Take a look below at my finished card front and coordinating inside design with my little "bee" verse.

 Ingredients:  Stampin' Up cardstocks:  Basic Black, Crushed Curry.  Black & White digital stripe.  Flower pattern: scrap.  Vellum.  Grafix Lt. Chipboard.  AccuCut die: Mini Bumblebee.  Little B work die.  Pretty Pink Posh: Stitched Borders 1.   EK punch:  Trumpet Flower Corner.  Wanelo Washi Tape.  Petaloo Darjeeling flowers.  Prima leaves.  SU Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine.  Wink of Stella: Clear.  Computer verse.  Size: 4-3/4" x 5-7/8".

A Birthday for My Niece Who Turns 10!

It's time to celebrate my little niece, who lives here where I am visiting.  Another card that I finished on my Girls' Get-Away to Mt. Shasta was one I started at a cardmaking class hosted by Dara Peterson and Luci Kirschbaum, a partnership of two Stampin' Up demonstrators.  Their classes are always fun to go to, and the other cardmakers make it a fun gathering one doesn't want to miss!

This is what I would call a "clean and simple" card, which is not always my favorite style of card to make as I usually favor cards with lots more detail and fussiness, but I really like this card's color combinations, with the little balloons and the washi tape application so it moved to my "I'm likin' this one" category!  I did add another layer of color with the black cardbase under the Melon Mambo layer.  I just thought it needed just a bit more and made the other colors pop!  Thanks to Luci Kirschbaum for her design for us to make).

True to my cardmaking style, I set myself to design and inside to coordinate with the front card design.  I chose a retired stamp for the verse, as I wanted to color it with Copics to tie in the rich vibrant colors depicted on the card front. 

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Black, Melon Mambo, Whisper White.  Stamps:  Party Wishes (balloons/ sentiment), Big Day (2015 SAB).  Ink--Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron; Memento-Tuxedo Black.  Punch--Party Punch Pack-balloon, Curvy Corners (inside).  Washi--It's My Party (2016 Occasions).  Twine: Thick-Blace/Melon Mambo.  Other: Goosebumps--Queen & Co.-Hot Pink Quartz (inside).

Celebrating a Friend's Birthday!

The wife of one of my husband's long-time friends is having a birthday in February.  I wanted to make her a card to let her know we were thinking of her on her birthday.  I had recently attended a Stampin' Up Occasions KickOff where we were able to use some of the new catalog items to make-n'-take sample cards to take home.  I chose to give our friend one of the cute birthday cards I made at this event.  The card was designed by one of our hostesses, Dara Peterson.

I just love the stamp set, Party with Cake, and its coordinating pop-up die, Party Pop-Up Thinlits, that this card was designed to use.  We die-cut the Party Pop-Up die with white cardstock and then masked and sponged the candles, happy, birthday, and the cake stand using a different ink color on each.  I did choose the change my cake stand color from Tip Top Taupe to Crushed Curry as well as one of the washi tape strips.  The corner confetti was stamped from the Party with Cake set, and a patterned paper oval backdrop for the cake, a bit of washi, and baker's twine finished off this cute little card.  (Note:  Layers popped up off card base; Oval die-cup + pop-up cake are popped up off card front).  I love it!  Thanks Dara for sharing it with us.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up Products:  Cardstock--Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Whisper White; DSP--Cherry on Top.  Stamps--Party with Cake (2016 Occasions).  Ink--Pool Party, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry.  Dies:  Oval Collection Framelits.  Washi--Cherry On Top set.  Baker's Twine--Crushed Curry.

Thank You for Officiating!

I felt another card was needed as a thank you involving my daughter's wedding.  This one goes to the priest who will perform the ceremony this Saturday.  He is now retired, but was our parish priest for more than 30 years, and he agreed to come out of retirement to officiate at the barn wedding/ reception site venue.  We are very thankful that he agreed to marry our second daughter, although this one is after he retired.

The card I chose to use is a re-creation of one we made at a class given by Liz Thayer, who by now, if you read my blog, should be a very familiar name.  She is my upline in Stampin' Up (though I am just a demonstrator for myself and I'm not pursuing it as a business venture), but I so love to socialize and make cards with the many great gals who are invited to her events. 

This card uses the Baby Wipes stamping technique which is lots of fun.  If you are interested in trying it there are many places where tutorials can be found:  YouTube, Splitcoaststampers, and Pinterest to name a few.  

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products:  Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Tangelo Twist cardstocks.  Sweet Li'l Thing dotted Washi tape.  Seasonally Scattered stamps (Holiday 2014).  Blackberry Bliss, Old Olive, Tangelo Twist Inks.  Versamark Watermark Ink.  Clear Embossing Powder,  Apothecary Accents framelit dies.  Tiny Triangles Embossing Folder.  Gold Basic Metal Buttons,  Gold Metallic Baker's Twine.  Inside: EK Fancy Photo Corners. (Re-creation of Liz Thayer design). 

Thanksgiving Pressies!

My good friend and cardmaking buddy, Sandy, sent me the cutest darn Thanksgiving card.  She has been on a bing of cardmaking using her flip-it framelit die, because, as she says, "I've had it for close to a year now and never used it...shame on me!  Don't you think it's about time!"  But, not only did she use her flip-it framelit die, but she also created her cute little scarecrow with punch art, added with felt leaves and a bit of washi tape.  Take a look at this darling little scarecrow with the goolies eyes and yarn hair!  Isn't it just the most adorable thing ever!

Next came a thank you card from my sister, using Papertrey Ink's Quilted: Autumn stamp and coordinating die set.  Love that copper metallic crocheted lace bordering the leaf panel and the bit of burlap setting off her quilted leaf!  Thank YOU, Heidi, for such a lovely card!

Christmas is Coming!

I've been attending several fun cardmaking events and have made about 20 of my Christmas cards so far.  Tonight, I went to a great event at the new Running Scissors scrapbooking store in East Hill Kent.  Darcy Christensen, Regional Manager for American Crafts, was visiting the store to give a card class and demonstrate two new American Craft tools, the WRMK Photo Fuse Tool (which makes wonderful shaker card envelopes) and the Mini Minc Machine using the Minc transfer foils.  Note: There are other brands of heat transfer foils on the market as well, such as: Therm O Web Deco Foil, iCraft Deco Transfer Foil, etc.

We were given six white card bases, envelopes, embossed gold foil paper, vellum foil, Minc Tags to use with the Minc foil and the Minc Heat Transfer machine, Photo Fuse sleeves to use with the WRMK Photo Fuse Tool to make clear shaker envelopes, sequins, white cake sprinkles (for snow), washi tape, and American Crafts Holiday dimensional sentiment tags.  We also received paper cutting instructions for the six samples cards Darcy had created for the class.  We started with mostly different Minc tags than Darcy used plus a few that were the same.  She challenged us to come up with six cards that were different than hers.

For my first card that I completed at the store, I chose to make my snowflake red with the red transfer foil.  I added not only white cake sprinkles for snow but some round red, green sequins with a few gold star sequins to coordinate with the gold foil dot background.  I added the kraft sentiment tag with holly berries and finished it off with holly berry washi tape at the top.

It was so much fun to use the new American Craft tools.  I have my own brand new WRMK Photo Fuse tool and have used it a few times in the past few weeks, and loved every moment.  I hard of applying foil via heat transfer, but had never seen the Minc Heat Machine in action.  It was impressive, and I love the results.

Recipe:  SU Whisper White cardstock.  DCWV Foiled Cardstock Stack.  Jen Hadfield Gold Dot Foil.  Heidi Swapp Minc Tags (snowflake).  Minc Reactive Foil: Red (used with Minc Heat Machine).  American Crafts: Remarks Holiday Dimensional sentiments.  American Crafts Christmas Sequins & Buttons.  Cake Sprinkles (snow).  WRMK Photo Fuse sleeve (made with WRMK Photo Fuse Tool).  (Size: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2").

Ginger...Snap! It's Her Birthday in August!

My lovely daughter-in-law celebrates her birthday just two days after my mother...two very special ladies for sure!  I finished Mom's card, and now I needed to focus on Ginger.

I'm going to a Stampin' Up demonstrator "shoebox crop" hosted by my upline in several weeks.  Those in attendance each design a card and bring cut papers, stamps, and materials for each of the other demonstrators to make your card and take it home.  Everyone will go home with new ideas and cards totaling the number of gals at this festive occasion.  It's sort of like a cardmaking make-n'-take potluck!  The catch is that each person's card must be created using strictly Stampin' Up currently available products...no previously offered or retired products allowed.  My goal was to create a card for Ginger's birthday and use it for my "shoebox crop" offering.

I had several ideas running around in my head that I wanted to try out, and one was the Embossing Folder Stamping technique that I had seen in early May in the Splitcoaststamper's Weekly Inkling tutorial.  It looked like a great idea and an easy and fun technique to try.  I have attached to link in case you are interested in seeing just how it works:  www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/embossingfolderstamping/.   Of course, I had to bite the bullet and try it out on my offering for the upcoming shoebox crop.  After making my mother's birthday card with embossed vellum, I wanted to use it again so I'd be completely comfortable with this technique for future use, so I incorporated that in my card as well!  

My next task was to create a birthday verse that suited Ginger and to make inside decorations that complimented the outside design.  I am pretty please with the way my card evolved and I think Ginger will love her birthday card.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up papers:  Night of Navy cs, Real Red cs, Coastal Cabana cs, Watercolor Paper. White Vellum cs.  Stampin' Up stamps:  Beautiful Bunch, Sassy Salutations.  Stampin' Up Inks:  Night of Navy, Real Red, Coastal Cabana.  Stampin' Up Punches:  Fun Flower, 7/8" Scallop Circle.  SU dies: Apothecary Accents framelit (modified).  SU EF:  Chevron.  Other SU Products: Pool Party Emboss Powder, Dazzling Details (glitter glue), Color Sequins, Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine, Beach House Washi tape - red.  (Embossing Folder Stamping technique). (Size: 5-1/4" x 6").

Tickets to Merry Christmas #1!

I went to a Christmas card-making event sponsored by my friend, Liz Thayer.  She shared several techniques that I really enjoyed.  One was the glitter window (like a snow globe shaken), the second was double embossing, and the third was techniques and ways to use washi tape.  My card was inspired by one that Liz had us make during this event.  

The double embossing was done with Stampin' Up's Stripe Embossing Folder, which is a diagonal multi-stripe. By rotating the paper 180 degrees and embossing it a second time, it made a diamond-shape embossed plaid.  On this card, the glitter window is created by punching out the ornament shape and putting clear 2-inch wide packing tape over the hole on the back side with the sticky surface showing through the ornament window and then sprinkling with white fine glitter and tapping off excess glitter.  On this card, three patterns of washi tape are diagonally placed on the second paper surface beneath the window, creating a pattern to show through as the ornament's pattern and through the glitter window.  The washi tape was also used diagonally on one of the tickets.  Just love the way this card turned out.

Recipe:  Stampin' Up products: Old Olive (base), Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede cardstocks.  Authentique: Festive-Glistening (plaid); Stamps: That's the Ticket; Ink: Old Olive; Punch: Ticket Duo, Christmas Ornament; Stripe Embossing Folder; Washi tape set: Season of Style; Soft Suede seam binding ribbon.  Scotch 3M 2" Clear Packing tape. Martha Stewart white fine glitter.

Sister-in-law Number. . .What Number is She??? I'm Losing Track!!!

My husband's sister, Joanie's, birthday is in August, so I needed to get busy and get a card made for her.  I had a two-year-old card kit, purchased at the Paradise Scrapbook Boutique in Chico, CA, that I had been wanting to make up.  Because it was designed as a smaller card than I like to make (silly me), I had to do a little tinkering.  

I had the paper that was in the card kit in my own stash, and I was very glad that I had the same hot pink Wasabi measuring tape, because that provided in the kit got stuck together while wrapped up.  I began by making a new Vanilla cardbase to add another layer and to make it larger than the blue provided, thus I was able to use the blue cardbase for matting both inside and out.  I moved some of the design elements from vertical to horizontal and placed my bird a bit farther to the left allowing for my added petite banner birthday sentiment.  Stampin' Up does not yet have a "Happy Birthday" stamp to fit their Bitty Banner Framelits, so I came up with my own idea to use Microsoft Word's WordArt to make my own wavy banner sentiment.  With a little fiddling, I was able to get it just the right shape and size to fit the die frame. . . I was so excited! ( I see many possibilities in the future!)  I really liked this card's original design, so my re-design creation basically retains the flavor of the original with a bit of tweaking here and there and a few enlarging additions.  I hope Joanie likes my bird's birthday message flown to her across the miles to the Midwest!

Recipe:  SU Pool Party cs. BoBunny Double Dot-Blush Dot. Le Paper Cafe Wasabi measuring tape. SU Bitty Banners Framelits. EK Success Victorian Corner punch. Hug Snug Seam Binding-Limoges Blue. Colorbox Chestnut Roan (distressing). Sentiment: Computer-made for Bitty Banners Framelit). Kit provided: Accu-Cut Bird die #10 (Swallow), Pink pattern paper/chipboard (for bird), Lt. blue cardstock, Pattern papers, Blue button, 1/8" Lt. pink ribbon, mini flower.