Category Archives: All Occassion

Two Pineapples

Posted on by
2

I inked up my Undefined Pineapple:

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined Pineapple

  • Undefined hand carved Pineapple
  • The Good Life stamps, May 2013 My Paper Pumpkin
  • Gorgeous Grunge and Yippee Skippee stamp sets
  • Old Olive, Baked Brown Sugar, Crushed Curry and Whisper White card stock
  • Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Baked Brown Sugar FFIP
  • Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Crushed Curry and Baked Brown Sugar Stampin’ Write markers
  • Natural Trim ribbon
  • 2 1/2 inch circle punch
  • Big Shot and Thinlets Circle Flip card die
  • Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die
  • Honeycomb TIEF
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig
  • Sticky Strip
  • Stampin’ Sponge

Yeah, I kinda pulled out everything in the stamp studio for this one 🙂

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleThe pineapples are inked with markers and masked.  I carved just one pineapple, and I carved it in a hurry!  It has a folksy, rustic look to it.

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleDidja break down and get the Thinlets Flip Card die yet?  I confess that if I hadn’t seen them in person at convention I might not have been so anxious, but I did and I was so I ordered them on August 1st – the first day I could.  The 5 chevron pieces are one of the accent dies that accompany the Circle Flip die.

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleI stamped this sentiment from Yippee Skippee three times in three colors of ink and cut them up.  There’s a strip of Crushed Curry card stock stamped with the diagonal lines from Gorgeous Grunge behind the words to serve as an anchor.  Lining that up was definitely a job for the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleIf you stretch the entire card out, this is what the first side looks like.  You’re seeing the front of the card, the back of the flip, and the inside of the card.  The Baked Brown Sugar panel was run through the Honeycomb TIEF before I adhered it to the Old Olive card base.  I added a strip of white card stock (more details HERE) to the inside for additional writing space, and I put a Crushed Curry 2 1/2″ circle behind the flip to give it a finished look.  I might write an additional note here, or I might add a photo.  And yes, this is an extended card.  Patty Bennett has made an excellent  tutorial – see it HERE.

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleTurn the card over to see the second side.  If you look closely at the Natural Trim ribbon you’ll see that I butted the edges on the diagonal to create a finished edge – I didn’t want a knot or a bow.  It also creates a more finished look over the scallop trim from the Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die.  I used a full-height piece of Sticky Strip to secure the trim.

Maui Stamper handmade card Undefined PineappleThis card looks a lot more complicated than it is – you could surely make one yourself.

Scrappin’ Inspiration

Posted on by
Reply

I am…inspired to scrap!  Convention is a great place for new ideas and I saw TONS of great scrapbook pages.

One of the projects on my List (admit it, you have one too) is a family history scrapbook.  I loved the combintation of sepia and pink to create this vintage but feminine page.

This has a completely different feeling, but it still has a family archive/vintage feeling.  The buttons holding the banner are a perfect touch.

This is so well done for a baby – sweet but not too sweet!  Easy to adapt to any age – and look at those birds on the wire!  Ah, birds…

I’ve never used this layout – 2/3 photo, 1/3 embellishment and journaling – but it’s bold without having to rely on graphics.  This one is very soft despite the strong block layout.

Inspired to scrap?  I am!

 

A Manly Tree

Posted on by
2

The tree from Thoughts and Prayers is just right for a masculine card.  It lends itself to earth tones and has such a balanced, solid feeling that makes it so suitable for special occasions:

Stampin' Up! Thoughts and Prayers Masculine Tree

  • Thoughts and Prayers, Woodgrain, Vintage Vogue and Inspired by Nature Stamp sets
  • Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Not Quite Navy card stock
  • Old Olive, Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Classic ink pads
  • Soft Suede and Not Quite Navy Stampin’ Write markers and Blender pen
  • Aquapainter, Stampin’ Sponge, SAMJ and Ribbon Originals Elementary ribbbon

And now the very astute of you are thinking “Ha!  The abundant sea air has finally driven this woman bonkers!  There’s no Vintage Vogue here – she is so obsessed with that stamp set that she’s hallucinating!”  Ah, my friends, behold the inside of the card:

Vintage Vogue Stampin' Up! interior

And here you have your Vintage Vogue, ever so slightly crooked despite multiple attempts AND the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  I decided it was meant to be this way.

To create the multiple colored effect with the tree and the border for the inside, I inked the stamp in Old Olive and used a blender pen to selectively remove the Old Olive ink.  It’s very simple to go back and add in the color that you want with a Stampin’ Write marker (Soft Suede for the tree trunk, Not Quite Navy as flowers on the border).  This has the advantage of being faster than inking the entire stamp with markers, and it also helps avoid the dreaded “skipped rubber” when you are using only markers and miss a spot entirely.

This card was made for my son, who was Confirmed over the weekend.  We are quite proud of him, and I thought you might enjoy one final photo:

Dad, Matt and Mom

True confession:  I made him stand on the step below us.  He’s as tall as his dad  (or perhaps even taller, I haven’t measured today).

A Mom’s gotta brag a little…

Posted on by
Reply

My son loves to take photos.  He has the ability to see ordinary things in an extraordinary way.  A year and a half ago he bought a new digital SLR camera, and we’ve all enjoyed seeing  the world through his lens.

For the past two years, I’ve teamed up with him at Christmas to produce cards using a selection of his photos.  This year he bought a macro lens and took amazing plant photos last summer at Lotus Land and his Grandma’s garden, both in Santa Barbara.  (Sorry, Grandma doesn’t have a web site!)  It was really hard to narrow it down, but we finally decided  on 6 floral shots.  Before I show you the cards, I have to warn you that I’m not much of a photographer, and taking pictures of pictures is harder than you can imagine!

Poppy and Roses

Waterlilies and Rose

Lotus and Cosmo

The prints are standard 4×6 prints, mounted on a coordinating piece of cardstock 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 and attached to a 5 x 7 card.

Of course, there’s a custom stamp on the back to identify the photographer.

My Digital Studio

Posted on by
Reply

Well, I’ve taken the leap and landed on both feet – at least for the first attempt!  I’ve had My Digital Studio for a couple of weeks, and have been trying to squeeze in the training and some play time.  One of the tasks I needed to complete for certification through Stampin’ Up!  was to design a card and have it printed by the printing service Stampin’ Up! has contracted.  My debut arrived yesterday afternoon and I am absolutely thrilled.

4th_Nov_09-001

I used the Summer Home Designer Series Papers with the Friends 24-7 Stamp brush set.   Friends 24-7 has been on my wish list for a long time, and now I have it – along with many, many other stamp sets – at the click of my mouse!

The part you can’t see from the upload – and this isn’t a scan, it’s a direct jpg from the MDS program – is the gorgeous quality of the printing and the paper.  I really ought to try a home print job on my inkjet printer, but I kinda hate to waste the ink because there’s no way it will compare with the look and feel of this card.  I’m something of a paper snob, and this paper is really beautiful.

Now, check out the inside:

4th_Nov_09-002

4th_Nov_09-003

I know it’s hard to see, but there’s a gorgeous filigree image that continues across the entire inside of the card.  I was able to align the two pages perfectly using the tools in MDS, and faded the image out enough so that it creates a subtle watermark.  I’m really pleased.

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to part with this card.  It’s stored on my hard drive and I can print another one any time I want one.  We’ll see.

For more information about My Digital Studio, click HERE or contact me.