This is a card I made for a Color Challenge on a new Chat Forum I found called Stampin' Addicts. It is a great place to get inspired, chat, or see what everyone is creating. If you want to take a look click HERE. This is a great group of stampers with happy, positive attitudes who just want to share what they love!

The challenge was to use Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Apricot Appeal. I must confess that I think this is the first time I have used Tangerine Tango since I made a sample sheet of all the new in-colors. It's not that I don't like it I just don't seem to think of it. That is why I like challenges, especially color challenges. SU has so many beautiful colors that sometimes I simply forget about some of them. You know out-of-sight out-of-mind. This was an easy card. I simply stamped the Upsy Daisy stamp twice, once in Apricot Appeal and once in Tangerine, added a little hardware & ribbon and done! I am wishing for some more of this ribbon in different colors-it is so soft and rich! Yummy!!

I am posting this spring card to remind myself that it is actually spring although there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground outside. Yep! Yesterday, here in Kansas City, we had a Spring Snow and not just a dusting but a whole day of cold wet rain, freezing rain, sleet and on top of that 6 inches of wet slushy snow! I was going to take photos but couldn't find my camera. Then I realized I had left it in the van and retrieving it would mean going out in the afore mentioned weather. Luckily it is warmer today and the stuff is already melting but it is March 29th for crying out loud!!!!! I mean I had already put the gloves away, and the boots and pulled out the gardening tools. Geeesh!!!

This should have been a quick card but for some reason I agonized over it. Maybe it was late or it was one of the last cards I put together not sure? I designed this card for my Stamp-a-Stack and I wanted a card that used purple because one of my customer's DD loves purple. I actually like Lovely Lilac but don't use it often. I used some retired DSP and the flower is the Sizzix die cut Flower Layers #3. The ribbon is white taffeta and the stamp in the middle is from the Seeing Spots stamp set.

Here's to warmer weather!!!

Pulled out my pastels for this card! I forget how much I like using these! The background was made by stamping with bleach. The main image was colored with pastels and a blender pen. I also used pastels and and a cotton ball around the edge of the bottom layer. The stamp set is Embrace Life.

My SU pastels were one of my first stamping purchases and I still have them. The case is broken (held together with a rubber band) because "gasp" I dropped them once. A couple of cakes broke but like a Timex "took a lickin' and keeps on tickin'".

When I started making cards I had absolutely NOTHING! I used some markers that belonged to my kids to ink my first stamp set! I colored with crayola colored pencils and bought some white Georgia Pacific paper from Wal-Mart. My first few cards were made with (hold your breath) construction paper. I thought I was really something with my blender pens and pastels! I mean I could almost make something pretty. Luckily I don't have the first few cards I made! They were pretty sad little things.

Look It's a Card Purse!

This is one of the cards we made at Stamp Club Friday night. It is always a good time spent with friends! The snacks are usually pretty good too!

This is a CASE of a card by LeeAnn Gruff. (Found it!! Click on her name to see the card that inspired me) I can't find her blog but her card had a watermark. If this is your card e-mail me and I will post a link. This Top Note die cut has so many uses. I am amazed at all the creative ways it has been folded, cut, stamped and inked. I like the Bigz & Original dies the best because you can cut chipboard and multiple sheets of card stock.

The flowers are cut using the Birds & Blooms sizzlets. One more time I used the Polka Dot Punches stamp set because it matched the paper and I like to be "matchy matchy." The ribbon is from the SAB ribbon bundle. The Curly Label punch coordinates well with the Top Note.

I almost made a big blunder at stamp club (usually I only make small blunders). About 15 minutes before class as I am getting my supplies out I notice that 2 of my projects are using the jumbo eyelets. So what you ask? Well I am FRANTICALLY COUNTING TO MAKE SURE I HAVE ENOUGH. Guess what!? I have just enough! A big sigh of relief!!

Another CASE from the SAB catalog!

I CASED the SAB catalog again! I love the colors in this catalog and in the SAB paper: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, and Sahara Sand (no pink but I still love it!). I enjoy working with many different colors but I always seem to come back to the pastels.

Lately I have noticed several cards made with punched embellishments the same color as the background like the blue flowers on this card. There are several examples of this in the SU catalog. I did add a little faux stitching around the Bashful Blue flowers but who can resist that little white gel pen? Rhinestone brads are in the center of the punched flowers and the ribbon is the Certainly Celery from the SAB ribbon bundle that is FREE with a $50 purchase. The stamp set is Polka Dot Punches.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I did not make a St. Patty's Day card but thought I would post a card that had green in it. I do not want my blog to get pinched!
I copied this card from someone, somewhere but I did not save a copy of the original so if it is yours let me know and I will give you credit.
These flowers & leaves are from the stamp set Petal Pizazz. I stamped them in versamark and embossed them with Iridescent Ice. The sentiment is from a hostess set and the definition stamp is from Bloomin' Beautiful. Paper colors are Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Pink Pirouette, Garden Green and the Whisper White Top Note is layered on Baja Breeze!
I love sparkles! and glitter! and rhinestones! Now that I see this card on the "Big Screen" I like it even better. I think I am going to make another with different colors.

I CASED the SAB Catalog!

Look! I CASED the Sale-A-Bration catalog! This is my CASE (Copy and Share Everything) of the card on the front of the SAB catalog. The ribbon is my new favorite ribbon (I am fickle you know) So Saffron grosgrain. The stamp set is Polka Dot Punches. Both the ribbon & the stamp set are items in the SAB catalog. This was an easy card to make. It is hard to tell in this photo but I broke out my textured cardstock and used some Whisper White in the center. I am not sure why I haven't been using my textured cardstock. Maybe because it is stored on the shelf across the room and my regular cardstock is in the rolling carts by my chair? I wonder how many extra calories that burns? Maybe an extra piece of chocolate?

I had the hardest time getting these photos to post correctly. For some reason every time I loaded the first photo blogger would flip it 180 degrees. So thinking I would out smart the computer I flipped the photo thinking blogger would flip it the right way. But nooooooo it was still standing on its side! I many different things but to no avail. I even asked my computer savvy DS but he said, "I don't know why it's doing that; that's really weird." How did I fix it you ask? I went upstairs and went to bed! Today it uploaded my photos correctly!

Chalkboard Technique

Well-I decided to try some different techniques and projects that I saw posted on either the Stampin' Up! web site or on splitcoast stampers. The first one I tried was a little box with the scallops around the edges. There were step by step instructions and even a template to print on your card stock. As I tried to scallop punch the edges I kept catching the other flap in the punch. Hard to explain without photos but in a nutshell I messed it up in a big way. So flop #1.

Then I decided to make another box (without a template but with measurements so how hard can it be?) read the measurements wrong and nothing matched so I cut one part to fit and then the other side was wrong so I cut again. . .then the box went flying across the basement floor because someone threw a fit . . .flop #2.

So I decide that I wasn't meant to make a box I will move on to cards. I decide to try faux metal (again!). Faux metal uses layers of metallic embossing powder and while it is still hot you press a stamp into it and punch out the image and voila! a metal embellishment. For some reason when I use larger stamps I press too hard on one side but I thought I am experienced now I can do this but instead- Flop #3.

If at first you don't succeed. . .keep trying until you make something, anything!!!! This was my 4th attempt and even though I accidently put the wrong color in the center of some of the flowers it is at least something I can show. I did learn one thing embossing powder goes a long way and you can make many layers on many sheets of paper and still not run out of EP.

This technique is called chalkboard technique. If you use this same technique on black or brown paper it really does look like a chalkboard. I liked pulling out my pastels and using them. They were one of my first purchases from Stampin' Up!Basically you stamp your image on dark
cardstock using white craft ink and then
color the image with pastels. For step by step instructions go here.

A Spring Card

This card reminds me of spring-although our weather here in Kansas City looks more like the dead of winter. We have about 5 inches on snow on the ground and it supposed to get down to 5 degrees tonight. That's right 5 degrees and today is what? March 1st? I know, I know it snows sometimes here even in April but usually it snows and then the next day it melts. But come on 5 degrees on March 1st? Anyway. . .

This was one of the cards we made at stamp club and one of the cards made at the birthday stamp-a-stack (changed the sentiment to Happy Birthday!). For those of you who did not attend either one, see what you missed!!! Aren't you jealous? The designer paper is one of the products from the Sale-A-Bration brochure. It can be yours for "FREE" with a $50 purchase. The colors in this paper are so saffron, bashful blue, certainly celery, and sahara sand. The so saffron grosgrain ribbon is another SAB product. The stamp set is Heartfelt Thanks and the hardware is from the SU silver Hodpodge Hardware kit. Love that hardware!! See when the paper is free you can feel "free" to use lots of layers! Okay, think warm thoughts!!!!