One of my closest friends celebrated a birthday this week. Of course, she needed a birthday card! Her favorite color is purple, but I had several scrap pieces of this designer paper in front of me at the time, and in my effort to use up some of my scrap pieces, I decided to go with this color scheme. It seemed to me to be almost more of a child's card, but I was pleased with the way it came out and so I decided to give it to her anyway. The layout is fairly simple and I stamped the cupcake itself again and cut it out before adhering with dimensionals to make it pop. I used Stickles around the icing of the cupcake for a little extra dimension. Light pink brads and pink taffeta ribbon were the only other accessories. The inside was decorated as well.

Supplies:

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Bravo Burgundy, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Parisian Summer DSP (retired)

Inks: Black Stazon, Pale Plum marker, Summer Sun marker

Accessories: Stickles (non-SU), pink brads, dimensionals

Thanks for taking a peek! Enjoy your weekend.

If you missed the Stamp-A-Stack last night, you missed a great time! Attending stampers made nine cards, three each of three designs, to add to their supply of cards. The first card we made utilizes the Love You Much Bundle that Stampin' Up! currently has on special at 20% off. (This special is only available through January 31st, so don't delay - order yours today!) I love the color scheme used for this card ~ Sahara Sand, Night of Navy, Baja Breeze and Whisper White. I think they are so striking together.

The second card we made uses the Flower Fancy set along with Sincere Salutations (greeting). The base of the card is Elegant Eggplant, followed by layers of Basic Black, Pale Plum and Vanilla. This is a two step stamp set. I stamped the outline of the flower image in Black Stazon and then used the Pale Plum and Garden Green markers directly onto the solid flower / leaf image and used the Stamp-A-Majig for the placement of the solid image. The grosgrain ribbon is Elegant Eggplant as well.

Our last card basically was CASE'd, though I added an extra layer. The original card that I saw had a base of Basic Gray, but it seemed a little dark to me and so I made my base in Whisper White before adding the other layers. I also used Elegant Eggplant again, instead of what appeared to be Lavendar Lace in the original card. For the life of me, I can't find the blog that I saw the original card on to give credit to the designer and I apologize for that. Her card was beautiful and had some ribbon as well if I remember correctly. If you know who designed this card, please let me know so that I can edit this post and give the proper credit. The stamp set used here was Flight of the Butterfly and the accessories used were the white gel pen, scallop and circle punches.

The next get together will be on February 5th for the Stamper's Club Project Night. I have some cute projects planned for that night and will let you take a peek at those as the project night gets closer.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great evening!

I have been on a quest to use up some of my ever growing scrap pieces. I know I really need a better system, but have yet to implement one and keep up with it. I was blog surfing ~ blurfing...? ~ and came across this card by Jenn Diercks. These colors are definitely not in my comfort zone, but I do have a TON of scraps so I decided to CASE her card. It is actually a bit prettier in person, though not as beautiful as Jenn's! She has such pretty cards on her blog. You should check them out! Anyway, this card was a little bit different so it was appealing.

Supplies:
Stamps: Best Yet (current Level I hostess), Echoes of Kindness (Level III hostess from new catalog)
Inks: Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie marker and Garden Green marker
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green, retired DSP (don't remember the name, though ~ sorry!), Whisper White

Thanks for looking. Have a wonderful day!

• …Join a Stamper’s Club,
  get free stamps & more!
  
  
  When your wish list is longer than your grocery list, this is a terrific way to budget your purchases over a 6 month period AND receive hostess benefits! By purchasing $25 of product a month for 6 months (approximately $31 after shipping and taxes), not only will you be able to slowly build up your stamping supplies while staying within your budget, you’ll also receive the following:
  
  1. 2009 Spring - Summer Idea Book & Catalog
  2. Exclusive hostess stamp set
  3. $15 of Stampin’ Up! Merchandise of your choice…and more!
  
  
  As an added bonus….
  
  I am including 6 monthly stamping classes where you will have the opportunity to learn more advanced stamping techniques than you would at a workshop. Each class is between 2 to 3 hours long, and you get to make 3 projects each and every month! All your project supplies are also FREE. Be sure to check back for a peek of upcoming projects.
  
  
  Even if your schedule won’t allow you to make it to the classes, it’s still worth your while to join because you’ll receive all the hostess benefits without having to host a workshop!
  
  Stamper’s Clubs are forming now ~ so contact me to join!
  Szeto72858@aol.com
  

Better late than never....

So, I seem to be a little behind, but that is nothing new for me. This is the Mojo Monday sketch from last week (1/5) that I just got around to last evening. While I missed the deadline to enter the contest, I did have fun playing and making the card. Again, for me, having a layout to work with is half the battle. Each Monday, Julee posts another sketch challenge to work with. You can check out her sketch blog by clicking on her Mojo Monday button on the right side of my blog or go to http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/.
The card (details below) I made is for a dear friend who received some wonderful news. She is working and going to nursing school and now has been accepted for an internship in a local hospital. We are going to lunch today to try to catch up on what has been happening in each others' lives and to peruse our new catalog. That's right! I said new catalog!

I received my shipment of catalogs as the new catalog period begins next Monday, January 19th! It is full of lots of new cool stuff! Catalogs are $5, but you can receive one FREE with a $25 order or FREE as one of the many benefits of hostessing a workshop or class. Contact me to reserve your copy today! Also, if there are any stamp sets from the retiring list that you haven't ordered yet, contact me to place that order before January 18th or you can order directly from my website here and click "shop now". After the 18th, those retiring stamp sets will be gone....

Hopefully tonight I will get to work on this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Supplies:
Stamps: Pun Fun
Ink: Black Stazon, Garden Green (sponging the white edges)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Going Gray, Prestwick DSP
Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, blender pen, white brads, white grosgrain ribbon, circle punches, oval punches

This morning's card used up some scraps that I had laying on my desk.It is pretty simple and self-explanatory, so I won't go into a whole lot of detail about it. The layout is one that I have used before. It always makes it easier to have a layout in mind as that is usually half the battle for me. I ended up using three separate stamp sets, though, so that the images would fit. Since I was working with such a small scrap and didn't want to cut a new piece of white paper, I tried to improvise.

Supplies:
Stamps: Best Yet (sentiment, Level 1 Hostess), Heartfelt Thanks (flower), Flower Fancy (leaves)
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Ridinghood Red, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Inks: Ridinghood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss ribbon, scalloped edge punch, dimensionals

Off to work on my sample for Tuesday's class. We will be making card organizers again. I will try to post a picture of my latest sample when it is completed. Thanks for looking! Have a great day!

Today's card uses a set that I have had sitting on the shelf, but have never used before ~ Eastern Blooms. I am pleased with the way it came out and the sentiment can easily be changed to accommodate a variety of card needs. I think the paper piercing definitely adds to the card. What do you think? The flowers are all cut out and adhered with dimensionals after the brads are put in. Very simple!

Supplies:
Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Bella Rose (sentiment)
Card Stock: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip, Ridinghood Red, Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Ridinghood Red
Accessories: Ridinghood Red taffeta ribbon, oval punches, dimensionals, chocolate brads

Thanks for looking!

Simplicity at its best, but hey, it's a scrapbook page. LOL! I used some Felt Flurries from the Holiday Mini and my Big Shot with the Bounce Sizzlits. These cuties are the three children my sister adopted. Eventually they might get a whole scrapbook, but I know my sister is not holding her breath! My goal is to work on one page per week. That isn't too much to ask now, is it? You can hold me accountable!

Supplies:
Stamps: None
Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Brilliant Blue, So Saffron
Ink: None
Accessories: Big Shot, Bounce Sizzlits, So Saffon button, Filigree brad, Rhinestone brad, Felt Flurries

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Still in my quest to find my mojo, I CASE'd another beautiful card. The overal layout of the card is the same, but I changed the cardstock colors and simplified it overall quite a bit. You can find Christine's card here. Aren't her cards gorgeous? She is quite talented! It is amazing how different a card looks in person. In looking at the picture on the screen, my poor bow looks so puny. I don't think it looks nearly as pitiful in "real-life", but.... I also cut out the large flower image on the stamp and attached it with a dimensional to make it "pop" a little. In lieu of using gold brads, I used my Zig Painty pen to make little dots. Probably should have practiced on scrap paper first as quite a few of the dots came out real oily and messy. Guess it hasn't been used in a long time...

Supplies:
Stamps: Toile Blossoms (retired)
Cardstock: Basick Black, Kiwi Kiss, Ridinghood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Black Stazon, Ridinghood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Ridinghood Red taffeta ribbon, blender pen, Zig Painty pen, dimensionals

I enjoy decorating the inside of the card when I use dark colored cardstock. I usually stamp the envelopes to match as well.

Thanks for looking. Have a great Tuesday!

It appears that my tempermental computer is going to let me upload a photo or two this evening, so I am going to take advantage of the situation and publish a blog post. For some strange reason, my computer and camera have been having some communication issues lately and I have been getting increasingly frustrated!
I love using the Big Shot. It sure beats cutting out flowers...! So quick and easy! As always when I haven't stamped for a while, I find that I need to look at other stampers' creations for inspiration to get going again. I found my inspiration here with Christine's card. Her card is so beautiful and elegant and I knew immediately that I was going to need to CASE it. I did use the retired Toile Blossoms for the background on the upper portion of the card. Since I did not have any River Rock background paper, I also used the retired plastic Stripes template and rolled Vanilla Craft ink directly onto the cardstock with my foam brayer. I then took a ruler and the white gel pen and added some extra lines, hoping this would give the appearance of background paper on the lower portion of the card. White taffeta ribbon would have been really pretty on this card too, but I don't have any at the moment, so I chose to just leave it off.

Supplies:
Cardstock: River Rock
Ink: River Rock, Vanilla Craft, White Craft (edges of the River Rock large flowers)
Stamps: Toile Blossoms, Elegant Cheer
Accessories: Big Shot, Birds and Blooms Sizzlits, silver brads, ticket corner punch, white gel pen, retired Stripes plastic template, foam brayer

Thanks so much for taking the time to look and for your patience as I work through these computer "issues". Have a great day!