another card for Dad

Actually, this is grandpa's card. I used another retired stamp set that I just love because it's so vintage and masculine. The card is made to resemble a vintage photo album - it's a pretty neat design and I'm sure I copied it from somewhere but I can't remember where!

If you are local, our monthly GNO will be Friday night. It's just a great gathering of ladies who craft, or just want to get out of the house for a few hours. You can scrapbook, stamp, crochet, bead, sew (yes, some have brought their machines :), organize your coupons ... or just sit and chat. We have a nice time, and we'd love to have you join us. Message me for details ---> info in the side bar.

happy stampin'

the cat drug me in...

Not really, but that's kind of how I feel after not blogging for soooo long. I hope you can overlook my absence. Our family went through a little change when I started working full-time, then a friend of my son's moved in for a few months (ok, 5 months) and by the time I found a new routine, there just wasn't much time for the ol' bloggity. I'm not promising that I will be posting as regularly as I once did considering "the job" takes up a good bit of my creative time, but I am testing the waters...

Today I have a Father's Day card to share that was quick and easy - I'm saving the more complicated card for the next post (you know, sort of like a cliffhanger ... teehee).

I used a retired stamp set from Stampin' Up and papers I had left over from another project. The main image is stamped in black, then Ranger Distress Inks were applied using felt. It made a nice Father's Day card for my husband today.

happy stampin',

How about a little Christmas Jingle?

I am attempting to learn how to make digital projects and want to share with you today, if you will indulge me just a bit. I'm trying to learn & improve my digital skills (or skillz, as the kids say) so I would really appreciate your feedback. I made this card based on the Unscripted Sketch #28. First, the sketch:

Now my attempt to build a completely digital card:

What do you think? Seriously, be honest, I really want to know. Ciao!

Supplies: Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio

happy (digi) stampin'

Peaceful Wishes

Friday is our monthly Girl's Night Out ~ when a wonderful, fun group of ladies gather to craft the night away! I will be bringing ALL the Christmas stamps I own, plus stamp pads for anyone who wants to get started on their holiday cards.

We will also have an optional make'n take card that is folded in a way that provides space for a photo and plenty of room for including a personal note too ... see below:

It's a dreary day outside, so the color is not quite "brilliant", but you get the idea. If you'd like to come to GNO, email me with the link in the side bar, or send me a facebook message. :)

happy stampin'

Valentine Tag

Made using a plain round coaster, today's project can be a card or a tag. My peeps made this last month at our Girl's Night Out. They brayered the coaster with Pretty in Pink classic ink, made grass with SU!'s new scallop edge punch, and stamped the images. Everything except the truck was stamped on white cardstock and colored with SU! markers. The adorable polka dot truck was made by stamping on patterned paper and trimmed. We adhered the truck with dimensionals for a little variety.

A hole is easily punched in a coaster using the Cropadile - which also sets the large grommet (eyelet) like butter! Tape a sucker to the back and call it a day!

happy stampin'

Always

I have been attempting to share projects appropriate for Valentine's Day on the ol' bloggity. I can't avoid sharing one of my most favorite stamp sets, Always, by SU! I love this stamp set! Both the images and the sentiments.

This was a card from January's Girl's Night Out. The papers are Bella designer series paper - so yummie all by themselves ... but look at them paired with the heart image from Always:



The heart was stamped on ruby red in white craft ink and embossed with white ep, then trimmed and adhered to the card front. I like the chocolate cardstock because it gives some depth to the pinks/reds and grounds everything. My favorite touch (other than the embossing) is the little surprise of polka dots inder the main image! I hope you like today's share as well.

happy stampin'

Heart Pouch

I'm not sure if this project looks as easy as it really is ... but trust me, it's sooo easy to make! You can whip up a dozen or more before Valentine's Day.

I started with a 4 petal die by Sizzix - you will need 2 of the shapes die cut from red cardstock. I then embossed both pieces with a Cuttlebug folder. Next, fold in the two bottom petals of each die cut and stick them together with tape. That gives you the heart shape and the pouch as well. I adhered the ribbon with a glue stick and decorated the front.


The print paper is an older design from SU! I was going through my stash and the colors worked, so ... The image and tag were colored with SU markers and a white gel pen. Would you like a closer look? Good ...

All you need to do now is add a cellophane bag of chocolates! Yummie!

happy stampin'

Green snow?

Today's card is a gift card holder too - for double the fun! The colors are quite unexpected. I based the stamped image colors on the patterned paper, but I wasn't quite confident about adding green and orange to a snowflake image!

The card has a pocket fold on the inside bottom which holds a gift card perfectly. Since I didn't have an actual card, I just slipped in a paper for the photo, lol!



Here is a smaller photo showing the inside. I kept the card very simple, but you could definitely bling it up and add a ribbon too.

Guess I'll have to find a real gift card to insert inside. The best thing about this card is you can make it in a jiffy.

happy stampin'

supplies: Chocolate chip, sparkle and pattern paper; stamp image from Country Living Holiday kit and scallop punch by SU.

Winter Post

The weather this week is feeling more like winter ... or at least winter in the south! I have made zero preparations for Thanksgiving next week, but did manage to make a Christmas card!

This card uses my new favorite stamp set, Winter Post, from SU! I have several new sets that I hope to use making holiday cards, but this one tops my list {at the moment}. I can be a very fickle stamper for sure!

I used the sketch from CPS this week as my beginning point, but I didn't make a long card, I kept the card to an A2 size like usual. If you are planning to attend Girls Night Out on Friday - this will be one of our project cards.

happy stampin'

supplies: Winter Post, white, real red, bashful blue and pattern paper by SU; Snowflake embossing folder by Cuttlebug; red grosgrain by Offray.

Happy WCMD!

Today is World Cardmaking Day! What a great day to steal away time to craft (but I have to work, poo)! So to compensate, I am hosting an event next Friday (Oct. 10) for WCMD. The event is in my sidebar ---> and will be a fundraiser for our local Senior Center. I hope we have a good turnout. Everyone who attends will leave with 8 cards - but the best part is that 100% of the money will go to the Sr. Center. All the card making supplies are donated!

Today's card uses a technique JanTink calls "moonlighting". It is a nice effect which can be used to highlight an element of your image too.

all images © SU! 1990-2008

The images were colored with rockin' Copics and the background was sponged (just wait until my air brush arrives!!). Everything else is from SU! I hope you like them because I love to read your comments (hint, hint).

happy stampin'

Susan

Finally a card to share

I've been so swamped with things lately I haven't had time to post a card. No worries ... today I have a card for you. I made this card for JanTink's Wicked Challenge waaaay back in August! Oh my, how embarrassing.

This card satisfies the Wicked Color Combo Challenge: Tangerine Tango, Perfect Plum, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron. BTW, it's really hard to make a card that doesn't look like halloween using these colors, just in case you wanted to know that!

all images © SU! 1990-2008

I'll have another card posting tomorrow for World Cardmaking Day!

edited to add: This card's little bitty flower is totally colored with Copics!

happy stampin'
Susan

Halloween or Thanksgiving

This is the most adorable candy container I've seen in a while! It was the August Art contest winner for the SU demo magazine - but no creator credit was given! If you know who made it, leave a comment and i'll give credit where credit is due.

Anyway - it's designed for halloween but I think it would be a fantastic candy holder for Thanksgiving don't you? I think it might even be a great place setting for a kiddo and you could replace the greeting with their name. What kiddo wouldn't love getting a special place setting + candy at the Thanksgiving table?

all images copyright 1990-2008 SU!

The pumpkins were made with the small oval punch and dimensionals to pop up the mid section. The pumpkin stem is a flower from the Boho Blossom punch.

happy stampin'

Susan

Big News this week

I have two big announcements for this week ... one of them I can not reveal until tomorrow! So check back for that info. The second announcement is very exciting. I am now able to offer a limited number of classes via download.

What does that mean for you? It means you can get complete and detailed instructions for fabulous projects to complete at your convenience ... even in your PJs if you wish! You can purchase only the instructions and use up your stash or order additional supplies from me for a more complete project. Here is the first class:

PURSE + CARDS SET:
This card set makes a great gift for a friend, teacher, daughter or a co-worker. The cards can be used for thank you, congratulations, Easter, or Mother’s Day. Send the cards and keep the purse to be re-used for storing, displaying or gift giving.

With this project you will receive complete detailed instructions to complete:
A set of five 5 ½” x 4 ¼” cards and a coordinating purse. These projects as shown are created with bold spring colors and floral patterns. You will find that you will be able to use these templates and card patterns to recreate these projects in many color palates and themes.

This class is delivered by email and immediate download the same day. No supplies are included unless ordered. Ordering is simple - just send me an email and let me know you want to purchase the instructions. See My Events Calendar for pricing or Contact Me for information. To celebrate even more ... the first person to order will receive the project instructions absolutely FREE! A little thank you from me for visiting my blog.

* edited to add: Congratulations to Amy Patterson! You were the first to order the instructions. I am sending them to you now (FREE) yay!

happy stampin'

Susan

TGIF! Am I right??

Yes, today is definitely a TGIF day! Whew, what a busy week. Last night I took a moment for myself and wouldn't you know something happened! My husband called about 30 min. after I left the house and said his mother had fallen and was at the ER. He was heading to the hospital and wanted to let me know where he would be. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt bad - falls can be so dangerous for older people and those in fragile health like my mother-in-law. She received 4 stitches in the back of her head and they sent her home after making sure nothing was broken.

I have been working on my demo website today and sent out a couple of emails. If you didn't receive one you can go to StampwithSusan and sign up to receive future notices about events, etc. If you did receive one and wish you didn't - there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter to unsubscribe.

I want to remind everyone about the upcoming PMS night (pizza, music & stamping). Our monthly Girl's Night Out is a great time to socialize and get a few crafty things done as well! It is FREE for those who want to work on their own projects - everyone gets their own 6' table to work on - plus I am offering an optional project using new SU! products for only $5. I'll provide the pizza and drinks, you bring a snack to share! RSVP is requested ... it helps me prepare!

Watch for the October Stamp a Stack for Seniors announcement. It will be a fundraiser for our local Senior Citizens Center. A very worthy cause!!

Finally, a beautifully simple card to share with you today:

happy stampin'

Susan

Altered Carousel

I found a small remote control carousel and decided to alter it for me! Actually, what you are going to see in this post is the carousel designed for a baby gift. I thought it would sit nicely on a chest or changing table to hold lotions, powders and other items you'd need close at hand.

First, you have to paint the entire piece, then I added Bella Rose designer paper using Golden Gel - Mod Podge will work just as well. Once the paper dried, I applied another coat over everything for protection, then tied pink grosgrain around the carousel.



Another view:

Close up of the tag - with cut and pieced elements from the designer papers, a mini Crate Paper tag, and letters cut with Jasmine font (Cricut), ribbon and a smidge of Martha's white gold glitter, plus a rhinestone brad and a little Distress ink from Ranger:

Now, for the truth ... after the project wasn't accepted for the magazine, I took off the baby tag and set the carousel on my desk to hold Copic markers! Yay - I now have a lovely home for my Copics {and room for more}! That was my original intent when I bought it! So now it's right at home on my table.

happy stampin'

Susan

Hippo!

Oh, what an adorable hippo! I've never seen one like this at the zoo, have you? I think the image was made with birthdays in mind, but I adapted it for a baby card. The card opens to the side, and is a matchbook style with the little flap over there, but I added a button to loop ribbon around and keep it closed.

all images copyright SU! 1990-2008

Miss Hippo's bow and balloon are paper pieced, and her toenails are painted red using Copics. The scallop edge was made with SU!'s new scallop edge punch (delightful!) and I embossed the large flap with a cuttlebug folder. All the papers are new In Colors and Designer paper by SU as well. The sentiment was printed from the computer and punched with the Word Window punch.

You can see how the card opens a little better in the next two photos:

I haven't done anything to the inside of the card yet. Do you usually decorate the inside of your cards, or do you add the sentiment and sign? Quite often I just write a note and sign it - but sometimes I think I should do more to decorate inside too.

happy stampin'

Susan

Baby Bunny

This little bunny is such a cutie peeking over the basket rim! It's a new set from Stampin' Up - and I'm just loving the new catalog. Not to mention I just got a peek at the upcoming holiday mini ... and I'm thinking I may need to find another part-time job to finance my purchases over the next few months!

The scallop circles were cut using Nestabilities. These dies are so neat because they cut and emboss. The pattern paper and ribbon are from Crate paper's Blue Hill collection. I found a packet of the collection at my lss and decided that I must buy it! I think I had a coupon ... but it's much less expensive buying in packs than buying the paper individually by sheet.

all images copyright SU! 1990-2008

I colored the image in with Copics. The welcome sentiment is printed from the computer and punched with SU! oval tag punches.

happy stampin'

Susan

Dreams du Jour

Another look at this lovely new set from Stampin' Up! I began by stamping the butterfly image as the background on Kiwi Kiss. The new Scallop Edge punch makes a nice border, along with a smidge of Riding Hood Red and a pearl from the Pretties Kit.



This time, instead of coloring in the Dreams image, I left it as is after stamping. The image is matted on Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy.

happy stampin'

Susan

Swap Card

This is one card I made for a demo swap of the new In Colors. Instead of a new set, I chose to use Pun Fun coffee cup image along with Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, and Bella Rose in a yummie brown dot. I've always liked the colors brown, pink and blue together. You may also notice the scallop edge on this card ... Stampin' Up! will have a new Scallop Edge punch in the Idea Book & Catalog ... yay! Oh yes, the button you see there will also be in the new catalog!

I stamped the mug image twice, once on Whisper White and again on Baja Breeze - then I painstakingly (not really) cut out the mug and placed it on top of the white image. It kept the card from looking so plain, and is a change from coloring the image - which is what I usually do.

happy stampin'

Susan

Bella!

I received a small pre-order last week of preview items from the upcoming Stampin' Up! catalog. As demos, we only get to see a few stamp sets and the new In Colors plus a couple of accessories - the majority of the catalog will be a surprise to me too (and I can't wait to see it!!).

Here are two cards I made using a new stamp set called Dreams du Jour, some absolutely yummie designer paper, Bella Rose and a few of the new In Colors!

The above card uses Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red In Colors with Whisper White cardstock and Bella Rose dsp. I dyed vanilla taffeta ribbon with RH Red ink, and used one of the new buttons from the Button Blossoms. The scallop circles were cut & embossed with Nestabilities. I used Copics to color in the image.

Supplies for this card are the same (minus kiwi), except I used the Key Tag punch to round the edge of the sentiment and the Photo Corner punch. The image and sentiment are stamped with Chocolate Chip classic ink.

I am loving the new Bella Rose papers. They remind me of my grandmother's house - specifically her linens. I haven't even cut into my most favorite pieces with larger floral images. Lots of polka dots and roses, yum-o! I'll share more as I have time to stamp.

happy stampin'

Susan