Category Archives: cards

Starting to think about Christmas

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I generally object to any kind of Christmas marketing before about the middle of November, but when it comes to crafting I have to make an exception.  Cards, tags and decorations take time and planning.  Leave it too late and they just don’t get done.  I go through a lot of paper, ink and accessories in the process of choosing our annual family card, and I need time to let the ideas and examples simmer before I make my final selection.

This won’t make the cut – literally – with those hand-cut pines.  Sure are cute, though!

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  • Patterned Pines and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set
  • Handsome Hunter and Real Red Classic Stamp pad; Champagne Mist Shimmer paint
  • Kraft, Handsome Hunter, Whisper White and Glossy White cardstock; Riding Hood Red Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Kraft Taffeta ribbon
  • Modern Label punch, Stampin’ Sponges, Sponge Daubers
  • Metallic eyelets and Crop-a-dile

This concept actually began as the embellishment on the top of a box for A-2 cards.  The tutorial is HERE and don’t miss it – the first box is two pieces, base and lid.  Scroll down to the bottom and look for the dimensions for the pizza box.  That’s what I made.

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Cute, isn’t it?  And easy as can be.  But please don’t ask me about that evergreen garland.  It’s a retired wheel.  Use Soft Holly (112968) instead.  It’s better.  Really.

And no Christmas Carols in the stores until after Thanksgiving, OK??

The message comes later

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Nope, this isn’t some weird puzzle.  It’s how I make my cards most of the time.

I usually make a card for the creative satisfaction and don’t add the sentiment until I’m ready to send the card.   That way it’s easier for me to choose the right card for the right person.  Once in a while I make a card that insists on a particular message – red and green cards with pine trees are a good example – but that’s the exception.  When it’s time to send the card, I pull out the message I want, ink it up, and add it to the front…or in the case of this card, I’ll put it on a word window and attach that to the striped paper.

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  • Flight of the Butterfly stamp set
  • Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, So Saffron and Bashful Blue Classic ink pads
  • Whisper White and Certainly Celery (the carde base)  cardstock and Sale-a-bration 2009 Designer Series Paper
  • Sale-a-bration Certainly Celery Poly-twill ribbon
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig

This card looks a little empty and off balance now, but when there’s a message nestled into those stripes, it’ll be just right.

Big Shot Daisies

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It took me a while to break down and buy these daisies.  I already had some Big Shot flowers.  Why did I need more?

I kept seeing samples.  Creative people doing beautiful things.  Cards.  Scrapbook pages.  Package toppers.  It went on and on until I couldn’t stand it any more.  Shoot, it only cost $19.95 (114520), and I could use my demo discount, so what was the big deal?

I’m so glad I bought this Bigz Die.  These graduated flowers are such fun.  It took me a while to figure out that they need an itsy bitsy curve in the petals to look their best.  You can do it with the side of a pencil or even your finger – just give a little roll to the edge of the petal and suddenly you have dimension!  Don’t whine, it’s not that much effort, and it looks great…

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  • No stamps!!  No Ink!
  • So Saffron, Bashful Blue, and Kraft cardstock; Sale-a-bration 2009 Designer Series Paper
  • Big Shot, Daisies #2 Bigz die, and Stampin’ Up! backgrounds 1
  • Piercing tool and mat pack; retired colored buttons (substitute Fresh Favorites)

You could easily add a message on an oval punch – this card was for a custom order without sentiments.

Why you should invest in Ink Refills Part II

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Ink refills plus an Aquapainter equals simple watercoloring.  A drop or two in the lid of your stamp pad and you are good to go.  Mix in some Shimmer paint and you won’t be able to stop yourself!  I’m no Monet, but this is really fun.

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  • Sweet Stems stamp set
  • Mellow Moss Classic Stamp pad; Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, and Barely Banana re-inkers
  • Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla and Pink Pirouette (retired) cardstock
  • Scallop Square, Scallop edge and handheld rectangle (retired) punches
  • Very Vanilla narrow grosgrain ribbon
  • Aquapainter and Champagne Mist Shimmer paint

I didn’t think I’d use these stamps much.  Crystal (middle name Give) gave them to me when she realized she had a duplicate  set.   Turns out they’re just the thing for a sweet little card.  She  gave me the layout, too.  I played with it a little – added the scallop on the edge and a little Shimmer to the pink – but it’s her design.  She’s good, no?

Bunches of flowers

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These floral outline stamps make a quick and easy card.  It’s easy to layer them by using a simple mask:  stamp the image on a re-positionable note and cut the image out.  When you’ve stamped your first image, cover it with the mask and stamp an overlapping image.  I keep my masks in the plastic box the stamp sets come with, because a little bit of Dotto will refresh the “stickiness” of the mask for many more uses.  You can use scrap paper and dotto with the same results, but make sure the paper you use for the mask is lighter than cardstock weight or you’ll have gaps around the edges of your mask.

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  • Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set and a retired sentiment
  • Dusty Durango, Pumpkin Pie and Apricot Appeal Classic Ink pads
  • Very Vanilla, Dusty Durango and Apricot Appeal (sorry, it looks kinda yellow) card stock
  • Pumpkin Pie narrow grosgrain ribbon and Scallop Edge punch

The Stampin’ Up! color families make it so easy to design a monochromatic card.  It’s one of the things that sold me on Stampin’ Up! right from the start.  It would be simple to change this color scheme into pinks, reds, golds, lavenders, even blues and greens if your flower favorites run avant garde.

A Medallion Tri-fold

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It’s rare that I see a completed card in my head before I start it but that was the case with this card.  Some of the details came along as I worked, but I saw that Medallion on the front of the tri-fold and knew it would work.

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  • Medallion, Wonderful Favorites, and All Holidays stamp sets
  • Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze Classic Ink pads (ret’d); Champagne Mist shimmer paint
  • Kiwi Kiss textured card stock, Baja Breeze and River Rock card stock, andDesigner Series Papers, all sadly retired
  • Vanilla Hodge Podge Hardware; Circle Ice Rhinestone brads; Flower Fusion II (retired)
  • White gel pen; ticket corner punch; Circle Scissors Plus

I free-hand cut around the Medallion, then adhered it to the Baja Breeze Designer Series paper and cut a border.  I know, I know, it’s kind of ridiculous, but it had to be done.  I stamped the center again in Baja Breeze and cut it with the Circle Scissors Plus, then stamped it one more time in Kiwi Kiss, sponged it with Champagne Mist (my go-to product of the moment!) and punched that with the scallop circle.  The rest of the embellishments are fairly simple because I wanted the Medallion to really pop.

I really miss these colors.  I think last year’s In Color collection was the absolute best and if I had to choose colors to bring back, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss would be at the top of the list.  I’ll eventually get over it.  Eventually.

Saint Damien de Veuster of Molokai

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Today Hawaii – and the rest of the world – celebrates the canonizaton of Saint Damien de Veuster.  His life as a priest who came to serve the Hansen’s Disease community exiled on the Kalaupapa peninsula is a testament of love, compassion and service that is inspirational and humbling.

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  • Branch Out, Thoughts and Prayers, and En Francais stamp sets
  • Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip and Real Red Classic Stamp pads
  • Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Kraft cardstock
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig, Real Red narrow grosgrain ribbon, Double rectangle punch

When you need a little color…

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This year’s In Color collection is a lot of things, but honey, it’s not subtle.  These are colors that pop.  They stand up and shout!  My color preferences tend to be more muted or rich tones but this bunch just vibrates with intensity.  It’s taken a little getting used to for me.

I made this card at a shoebox swap at a demonstrator meeting.  If there’s anything I like more than stamping, it’s stamping with friends.  We’re usually kinda noisy, and sometimes we get distracted and have to hurry up to finish, but we always have a great time.

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  • Hello Again stamp set
  • Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo Classic ink pads; Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write markers
  • Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo cardstock
  • Crushed Curry polka dot ribbon
  • Gold brads and 1/16″ handheld circle punch

You can’t help but feel cheery when you’ve got colors like this in your face.  They insist that you smile.

Four calling birds

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I’m not much of a morning person.  If there was no outside influence on my schedule, I would be up late into the night and sleep well into the morning.  Life, however, has determined that I need to be up with the birds most mornings, and thank goodness for those birds.

If I’m awake early enough, the first bird to sing in my neighborhood is a cardinal.  It’s usually a male perched in the top of a tree – often the tall coconut in my neighbor’s yard – calling out to the rising sun.  His brilliant red color makes him easy to pick out, and his distinctive song is enough to banish the fog from my brain.  Soon the doves add their cooing, the mynahs start to scold, and the francolins…well, if you’re not awake by the time the francolins start in, they’ll do the job.

This little quartet doesn’t sing out loud, but I think there’s music here all the same.

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  • All Holidays stamps and Cornelli Lace wheel
  • Chocolate Chip, Bermuda Bay, and Very Vanilla cardstock;  Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper
  • Rose Red Classic ink
  • Big Shot and Merry Details Sizzlet
  • Scallop Square punch

This little fellow is found as both an exclusive Stampin’ Up!  Sizzlet (Merry Details, 116823, $5.50) and a stamp (Berry Christmas, 116509, $22.95).  I think he performs well outside the holiday arena, don’t you?

Halloween Branches

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My kids are old enough now that they don’t do those little goodies bags of candy for their classmates.  They don’t come home with backpacks stuffed full of sugary loot, either, and then head out as soon as the sun goes down for more.  It’s a good thing, because like all devoted mothers, I felt obligated to save them from all of that candy, especially the dark chocolate.  Well, and the Butterfingers.  And maybe a Snickers or too.

Oops.  Chocolate Detour.  Back on track.

I don’t buy Halloween stamps much anymore because I just don’t use them.  A couple of cards and I’m done.  I have friends (not to mention any names, Robbie – you too, Claudine) who adore anything and everything Halloween, and I can enjoy Halloween cards vicariously through them.  All the same, as October rolls in I start to think about stamping a Boo or two.

Were you paying attention yesterday?  Didn’t I tell you Branch Out was an all-purpose stamp set?

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  • Branch Out and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie Classic ink pads;  Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers
  • Naturals White, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Old Olive cardstock
  • Old Olive 1 1/4″ stripe grosgrain ribbon
  • Slot punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

This card was inspired by one that Claudine brought to share at our last club.  She had spiders in the tree, which I actually liked better.  But the bird from Branch Out is a raven today and that will have to do.

Trick or Treat!