Hello Forest Babies

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There’s a new baby I’m looking forward to meeting.  His Auntie, Grandma and Grandpa are here from the Mainland, so I’ll wait my turn – but while I am waiting, I made him a card.

Welcome from the Forest Friends

  • Forest Friends, Woodgrain and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Naturals White, Brocade Blue, Ruby Red and Soft Suede card stock
  • Brocade Blue, Ruby Red and Soft Suede Classic ink pads
  • Versamark ink and Whisper White Craft ink pad
  • Clear embossing powder, heat tool, Stampin’ Sponges, piercing tool and mat
  • Jumbo grommet, Soft Suede polka dot ribbon and Scallop trim border punch

There was a lot of masking involved in lining up these images.  It’s not hard at all – and it doesn’t take much time.  Stamp your image on a re-positionable note and trim it out.  I just stamp again after I’ve stamped my first image – you only need the outline.  When I’ve used the mask I stick in inside the storage container for the stamp set so I don’t have to cut another one the next time.

A sweet and whimsical basket

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The Weekly Inkling from SplitCoastStampers had a tutorial for a charming little basket last week.  I had an idea I wanted to try but it’s taken me a while to put it together:

SCS Easter Basket

  • Very Vanilla, Blush Blossom, So Saffron, Barely Banana and Apricot Appeal cardstock
  • Various Designer Series Papers
  • Scallop, 1  3/8″, 1  1/4″, 1″, and 3/4″ circle punches
  • Piercing tool, mat and gold brads
  • Sticky Strip and Vanilla Taffeta ribbon

It takes a while to punch all those circles and smush them all up.  If I do it again, I’ll  spritz them with water to make them more pliable.  The brads go right through the center of those stacked up circles and into the side of the basket.

I love the soft, romantic look of these pastel colors.  These baskets would make great bridal shower decorations if you had help putting them together.  Or if you only needed one.  I’m not so sure I would sign up to do a bunch of them myself.

Happy Birthday to me

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Nothing new for you, though I did work on a couple of projects today.  It’s my birthday, I’ve had a lovely day, and I just wanted to share a couple of highlights.

Happy Birthday from Kseniya

I came downstairs this morning VERY early and I had my own Balloon Birthday from Kseniya.  Yes, she did the pencil drawing of me in the middle of the balloons – she’s very talented!  What a great way to start my day.

I’m training to be a Weight Watcher’s leader, so it was off to an early morning meeting.  After the meeting, Cheryl, Robbie and I met for pedicures and laughs.  I’m sure the salon professionals thought we’d been drinking, we laughed so hard!  Cheryl got sparkley pink, Robbie got a pinky- purple, and I went for violet:

Purple toes

Yep.  Those are my wide Birkie feet.  Those purple toes look great in Birks!

It’s been a wonderful day – I’ve gotten cards and flowers, lots of  happy phone calls, and we have plans for dinner later tonight at Mala’s Wailea.  I even set up a Facebook account – my girls finally gave up protesting.  I’ve promised not to lurk.  Shoot, I probably won’t even keep my own page up to date!

Happy Birthday to me!

Still workin’ through the Stash

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Here’s the deal:  I’m in the process of moving all my craft supplies into my oldest daughter’s FORMER bedroom.  When she left for University 4 1/2 years ago, I put up a 6 foot folding table in her room.  (Her younger sister promptly took a photo and sent it to her, the rat.)  When she would come home for breaks, I would clear out the debris and we would attempt to peacefully co-exist in that space.  Once she graduated, she moved home for 8 months, and I had to move out.  Everything went into the laundry room, which is a lovely laundry room but wasn’t quite designed for paper, stamps, ink, a Big Shot, ribbon, hardware…you get the picture.  Now that she’s moved to Australia for the time being (SIGH) I’m reclaiming that room.  Silver linings and all that jazz.

Where is all this going?  As part of moving I’m going through lots of crafting supplies.  Some are staying, some are going, and some, well, I just haven’t decided yet.  But I keep coming across retired products – stamps, papers, ribbons, In Color stuff – and remembering how much I loved those things when they were current.  Some of them I still love a whole lot.  Like this goofy owl:

Love Owl Ways

  • Love Owl Ways stamp set (retired) and Wood grain background stamp
  • Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede and Naturals White card stock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
  • Soft Suede Classic Ink Pad; Soft Suede, Cameo Coral and Bermuda Bay ink refills
  • Soft Suede and Cameo Coral Stampin’ Write markers; white gel pen
  • Aquapainter, Ticket Corner punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals and Soft Suede polka dot ribbon

You can’t see it in the photo but there’s a little Champagne Mist shimmer in the owl’s wings and chest because there was already shimmer paint in the lid of the stamp pad when I went to watercolor with my aquapainter.  I usually just put a drop from the re-inker into the lid of the pad when I watercolor, because if I don’t use it all or if I change my mind and need more, it’s there next time I need it.

If owls are your thing, then I’m sorry to torment you with retired stamps.  There’s hope, though – I’ve seen the Stampin’ Up!  Summer Mini catalog, and it may or may not feature a new owl stamp set.  How’s that for sneaky??

A Special Birthday

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It’s not every day you turn 16.

Today is my son’s 16th birthday.  I remember it very clearly – he was 11 days late, and our entire household was anxiously waiting for him to make up his mind.  Turned out he was worth the wait.

Our host daughter was up VERY early and prepared a special surprise for him in the hallway outside his room:

Balloon Banner: Matt Happy Birthday

She leaves the house at 6:30am to catch the bus, so she was at this very early.  He thought it was pretty cool.

Here’s one of the cards he’ll be receiving later today:

Happy #16 Matt

  • Vintage Labels (SAB) and Short Order (retired) stamp sets
  • Chocolate Chip and Bermuda Bay Classic ink pads
  • Very Vanilla card stock
  • Welcome Neighbor and Sweet Pea Designer Series papers; retired DSP
  • Chocolate Chip ribbon, Curly Label punch, linen thread and a Fresh Favorites button

Matt’s a wonderful kid, though at 16 I guess he’s not really a kid any more.  He passed me up a long time ago and is very close to seeing eye-to-eye with his dad.  He’s smart and has a wicked sense of humor, and he keeps us on our toes.  He’s also very thoughtful (uh oh, I’ll be in trouble for that one) and we love him whole big bunches.

Happy Birthday, Matthew.

Inspired by Poppin’ Pastels

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True confessions time:  I have never tried the Poppin’ Pastels technique until now.  I know.  What was I thinking?

I thought it would be hard.  I thought it would be messy.  I thought it would look stupid.  I thought wrong!

Inspired by Poppin' Pastels

  • Inspired by Nature and Whimsical Words (SAB) stamp sets
  • Certainly Celery and  Whisper White card stock; retired Designer Series Paper
  • Versamark ink pad;  Certainly Celery and Almost Amethyst Classic ink pads
  • Stampin’ Pastels, Curly Label punch,and So Saffron grosgrain ribbon (retired)
  • Stampin’ Sponges, Brayer and Perfect Details Texturz plate

This is so easy and so fun.  Reminds me of those old coloring books way back in the time before dirt when you just dipped your paintbrush into water and painted it onto the page to reveal the colors.  It was MAGIC!  So is this.

Stamp your image in Versamark and be sure you use a clean Versamark pad, not the yukky one you keep just for embossing.  Open up your Stampin’ Pastels and grab one of the little applicators (they’re basically skinny little Q-tips) and start dusting the color where you want it.  You can mix and blend and shade to your heart’s content.  There’s even an eraser if you smudge the pastels onto the paper.  Too cool.

The other little trick I discovered is to use a brayer and a Big Shot Texturz plate to create visual texture on cardstock.  If you look closely at the Certainly Celery card base, you’ll see a design that isn’t embossed, it’s inked.  I just brayered the ink directly onto the Texturz plate, put the cardstock face down, covered it with scratch paper and brayered again.  More subtle than running it through the Big Shot.

Go try something new today!!

Blast from the Past Page Two

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This was the first paper I found in my foray through the scrap bin.  I loved this paper the first time I laid eyes on it, and it took me a while to cut into it – I kept thinking there was something I needed to save it for!  Upsy Daisy is so appealing.

Always Upsy Daisy

  • Always Stamp set
  • Baja Breeze, Brushed Silver and Gloss White card stock; Retired Designer Series Paper
  • Baja Breeze Classic ink pad
  • 1 3/4″ circle punch; Embossing Buddy, Clear Detail Embossing Powder and heat tool
  • White taffeta ribbon and Stampin’ Dimensionals
  • Paper Snips

I think I’ve rhapsodized about the Stampin’ Up! Paper Snips before, but if you weren’t listening, well, here I go again!  They are so sharp and precise and they making cutting details so easy.  Did you notice I even cut out the space between the bird’s two skinny bird legs?  I made an X with a craft knife then used the snips to finish the job.

Speaking of craft knives, I have the one that belonged to my grandfather.  I remember finding it in his desk drawer when my sister and I went through the house before it was sold, and at the time I just wanted it because it was his.  Now I keep it on my craft table and and I get so much pleasure from using it.  Such a small thing, but it reminds me of him.

In Color: Blast from the Past

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I was digging through the DSP (Designer Series Paper, but you knew that) scrap bin the other night.  It’s not very organized, though it’s better than it used to be.  I kept running across retired paper and thinking about how much I loved this design or that color.  Before I knew it I had a handful of things I wanted to use, so this is a warning:  The next couple of days will be “SU Retro”.

SU Retro Kindness

  • Define Your Life and Contempo Alphabet stamp sets
  • Baja Breeze (ret), River Rock(ret), Night of Navy and Naturals White card stock
  • Retired Designer Series Paper
  • Baja Breeze (ret), Old Olive and Night of Navy Classic ink pads
  • Spiral punch, Stampin’ Sponges, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon and Filigree Designer brads
  • Stampin’ Dimensionals, Clear embossing powder, Embossing buddy, and Heat tool

This layout came from the Stampin’ Addicts Sketch Challenge from this week (SASC44) but I twisted it around.  I’m getting kind of rebellious about that kind of thing lately!  It’s not intentional, it’s just that my mind sees the possibilities of doing something different.

I sponged around the edge of the Naturals White panel with Baja Breeze ink to soften it a little.  And while we’re on the subject of Baja Breeze, if I haven’t mentioned it before (though I know I have) Baja Breeze is one of my all-time absolute please-bring-it-back FAVORITE Stampin’ Up! colors.  Ever.

Twice as nice

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Last night I couldn’t make a decision.  This isn’t news, by the way – I often have a hard time making decisions (Vanilla Swiss Almond or Deep Dark Chocolate??  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter Fudge??)  Last night’s choice, however, had nothing to do with food and everything to do with color.

The Color Dare Challenge this week was Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery and Whisper White – a combination I would choose myself, so an easy one for me to work with.    My problem was proportions.  When I start a color challenge, the first thing I like to do is determine which color will be the dominant color – usually the card base – and which colors will be secondary.  I’m a blues-and-greens girl myself, so I knew Regal Rose would be an accent color, but I couldn’t decide which color to choose for my card base.

Birthday Gifts in Tempting Turquoise

What do you think?  Does it work in Tempting Turquoise?

Birthday Gifts in Certainly Celery

Or is it better in Certainly Celery?

  • Happy Moments, Crazy for Cupcakes, Itty Bitty Backgrounds and You & Moi stamp sets
  • Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock
  • Patterns II Designer Series Paper (retired)
  • Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise and Certainly Celery Classic ink pads
  • Ruby Red and Tempting Turquoise Stampin’ Write markers
  • Scallop Trim, Corner Rounder, Photo Corner and Modern Label punches
  • Piercing tool and mat, Fresh Favorites II Buttons, Stampin’ Sponges and Linen Thread

I still don’t know which one I prefer.

And if that sketch looks familiar, yes, it’s the Mojo Monday sketch for this week.  For some reason I’m fighting the circle thing.  Call it rebellion.  More likely I just need some Deep Dark Chocolate and everything will be fine.

Friendly little houses all in a row

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Had to dig out the Stamp-a-ma-jig with this one.  When you’re stamping little boxes in a line, nothing but STRAIGHT will do.  I attempted this 3 times before I gave in.  After all, I was using my Good Neighbors Clear Mount stamps, wasn’t I?  Shouldn’t I be able to line the houses up that way?  The honest answer is No, at least if you’re as picky about straight as I am.

Friendly little houses all in a row

  • Good Neighbor (SAB) and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
  • Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede and So Saffron card stock
  • Welcome Neighbor (SAB) and Patterns Pack III (Hostess) Designer Series Paper pads
  • Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango, Old Olive and Soft Suede Classic ink pads
  • Old Olive Stampin’ Write marker and Aquapainter
  • 1 3/4″ and 1 3/8″ circle punches;  corner rounder,  piercing tool and mat
  • Stamp-a-ma-jig and  Button Latte Designer Buttons
  • Big Shot and Matchbox Bigz XL die (label)
  • Ribbon Originals Elementary and Linen Thread
  • Non-SU:  A needle to sew on the button and “self-adhesive notes” to mask the images

This is based on this week’s Mojo Monday sketch, but I kept digressing so it’s not true to the original design.  I can’t begin to count how many little scraps of paper, buttons, labels and punches were littering my craft table when I finally decided I was finished.  Ah, the creative process is a messy state of affairs!

The papers in the Welcome Neighbor Designer Series pad are really inspiring.  They’re vibrant colors, but many of the designs have enough white mixed in to keep them from overwhelming a project.  Some of the patterns are whimsical, which makes them fun to play with, and the “B side” is always a great neutral-type design that gives you lots of room to play.  (I guess “B-side” is one of those phrases that will go the way of the “E-ticket”.  Sigh.)

I hope these little houses have juiced up my Mojo.  I have a little time tonight to play some more.