MALE BIRTHDAY CARD CHALLENGE

Today I gave myself a challenge.  What was my challenge?  To create a male birthday card -- male cards are always a challenge for me.  This Sunday is my grandson's 21st birthday, so it isn't like I can do the cutsy animal cards or Build-A-Bear (darn, would have loved doing one of those).  I actually had to dig into my discontinued Stampin' Up stamps to pull out this one from a last year's mini catalog (Man's Best Friend???).  I don't know the name of the set because I am upstairs and my studio is downstairs -- and I'm too lazy to go look it up -- LOL.  But I'm sure all of you recognize the set.  I decided to post a picture of it even tho it is discontinued because the layout can be cased -- just change the image.  I actually had fun doing this once I got started and decided what I was going to do.  Without further ado, here it is:

I used "To the Nines" Speciality Designer Paper (love this for that masculine look), with the "Sanded" background stamped in Chocolate Chip Classic Ink on the Sage Shadow card base.  I used the Clear Circle Bigz Die for the large circle and layered with the watercolor paper smaller circle and image.  The image was colored with SU's Watercolor Crayons and Water Pen.  The Ribbon is also discontinued, but trim matched perfectly with the Sage Shadow card stock base and designer paper.  That is probably the thing I love the most about Stampin' Up:  their 48 main colors.  No matter if the product is discontinued, it will still match perfectly with the newest Designer Series Paper or other products.  Oops, almost forgot -- yes, that is some hodgepodge hardware on the ribbon and a Very Vanilla Jumbo Brad (smaller one). 

I hope you liked my "Male" card, next post I will be showing you what I made for the WOW table at our RubberQueen meeting next week!!
Sandi

BEARY BEST FRIENDS!

Isn't She Cute!!

Birthday Boy Berry Best Friend

Tah, dah!!  And here are the last of my cards from yesterday's card class.  I just loved doing these and everybody just loved them (how can you resist these cute bears).  Yesterday's card class was a true challenge for my guests.  Without thinking, I had 3 designs using some type of watercoloring medium.  But I have to tell you, they all rose to the challenge and did an awesome job.  And, 4 of my ladies were brand new to card crafting and scrapbooking!!  (But, they had hidden talents, I'm telling yah.)  Myself, personally, I had an awesome day.  Yes, I was quite busy giving instructions.  But, it was so worth it.  I lost count after ten on how many times I heard the phrase, "This is so much fun!"  I'm tellin yah, I almost wanted to give the class to them free, it made me feel that good.  This is why I continue to do this, I love it when others get that much enjoyment when they are creating.  It is priceless.  (And just when I thought I would stop giving card classes because of the time involved and devote my time to only scrapbooking -- now I have to rethink that decision.)  Here are the supplies I used for these cards (instead of making 2 each of these cards, they got to make one of each or 2 boys/girls):

STAMPS:  Beary Best Friends and Beary Nice Wishes.

INK:  StazOn Black, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Ballet Blue, Old Olive, Real Red Classic Ink and Markers

PAPER:  Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, and Pawsitivity Prints Designer Series Paper.

ACCESSORIES:  Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, White Jell Pen, Dimensionals, Markers, 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Star Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Blender Pens, 1/2" Pumpkin Pie Stripped Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Circle #2 Bigz Die, and Circle Cutter.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
Sandi

HAPPY FALL TO ALL!!

Happy Fall everyone!! I'm officially in the mood for Fall now after working on my Fall cards the last couple of days. I woke up this morning to the smell of burning leaves (yes, they still do that out here in the country). I couldn't believe somebody was burning leaves at 6:30 a.m. At first I thought our campfire was burning, and I didn't get invited to the party. So do you want to see a couple more cards for my class this Saturday??????   You saw one the last time I posted (I decided not to use my Elf card for this class -- I will use it in my Christmas Gift Class next month). Okay, okay -- I'm getting to the good part. Here is my first card.

Front of Card

Inside front panel.

Inside of Card

I used the same layout from a card Ronda Wade did at our last meeting, just different colors and stamps. Products used, include:

Stamps: Of  The Earth Level One Hostess Set, Smarty Pants, and Three Little Words.
Ink: Taken With Teal
Paper: More Mustard, Taken With Teal, Very Vanilla, Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper.
Accessories: Round Tab and Word Window Punches; 5/8” So Saffron Grosgrain ribbon; and Earth Element (More Mustard) Brad.

I have to thank Tamie Ackerson for providing instructions on how she did the embossed panel with a smooth oval pattern in the middle. I used this technique in the Sympathy card above, and it was super easy. Of course, like any “good” woman; I changed the directions a tiny bit. I put my sandwich on top of the multipurpose platform, without flipping open the first tab, and added one shim (instead of cardstock) before putting down my chipboard negative mask with the oval cut out, and the rest of the sandwich per instructions. Supplies for making this card include:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes and Itty Bitty Backgrounds.
Ink: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Chocolate Chip.
Paper: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla.
Accessories: Final Press Embossing Folder, Scallop Oval Frame Bigz Die, Dusty Durango ½” Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, HempTwine, Dusty Durango Marker, and sponges.

Thanks for stopping by.  Take time this week to be a kid again and jump in a pile of leaves with someone special in your life!!
Sandi

MY FAVORITE DAY IS ALMOST OVER!!

Country Morning Level I Hostess Set

Ornament Punch and Build-A-Bear

Bet you didn't think you would see a post from me again for a while huh!  I even surprise myself because I have been posting on a pretty regular basis (for me anyway).  Actually, my fellow Design Divis won't let me get away with not posting every couple of days.  And because Thursday is my favorite day, I spent the day stamping!!  I need to get some samples done for my next card class, so started on these because they are both cased (somewhat).  Of course I always change things a little (don't all women do this -- just like using somebody's recipe, yah gotta make it your own).

The first card was cased from one of our very own Design Divis, Ponygirl40 (linked in my sidebar).  I thought this card was so awesome, and so much my style.  Looks a little antiquish don't you think.  Because I am very tired tonight and my show is coming on pretty soon, I'm not even going to put down the supplies used to make this.  I think it is pretty obvious just by looking at the card.  I will tell you the colors, as they never show up true in pictures.  I used So Saffron, Rose Red, Creamy Carmel, Bravo Burgandy, Close to Coco, and Ballet Blue.  I also used the Chocolate Chip marker.

My second card is just the cutest punch card I think I have ever seen.  I'm not patting myself on the back, because I got the Elf idea from about three other stampers.  Andrea Walford was the first person I saw doing this, but she just did the face.  I have also seen others use the Build A Bear dies.  Anyway, I used some of my ideas, along with other parts I like from other stampers.  I so, so love this.  But the bad part is that I don't think I can use it for my class, as it does take a while to put together.  I will have to think on it for a while, as I still have until next week.  Depends on what other cards I come up with.  Tammie -- eat your heart out!!  (Sorry, that was an insider joke that I couldn't resist.)  Everything again is pretty obvious in this card so won't list supplies.  I will say my ribbon scarf is discontinued.  If I would have had the die for the scarf I would have used instead of the ribbon for the class.  But the ribbon looks so awesome.  Oh, one more thing; the presents are die cuts from the Christmas Scrap Kit -- I was using up leftovers.

I hope you like them, and thanks for all the mojo from my stampin' buddies for making these cards possible.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Sandi

FINAL CARD (I think): HOLIDAY HOOPLA #6

Front of Card

Inside of Card

Yep, I think this is my final creation for Ronda's Holiday Hoopla Event.  Thank you my friends for all of the lovely comments you have left.  I know we all know how uplifting it is to know that somebody out there is looking at our blog (now if we can just drag in some of the other sex--LOL).

This card ended up so darn cute -- I so love my added touch to the inside with the hearts.  If you can read the sentiment the hearts really go with it.  And of course, it is the rolly-polly penquin from the Cold & Cuddly set in the Holiday Mini.  I used the new Petals-A-Plenty embossing folder (also from the mini) on Whisper White and then brayed over the top with Real Red to bring out the flowers.  I sprayed the entire embossed panel with Frost White Shimmer Paint (mixed with alcohol) -- and it just SHIMMERS.  I'm telling yah, it is gorgeous in person.  I wrapped a piece of the Real Red Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon (reverse ide) around this before applying to the Night of  Navy cardstock base.

I tried to duplicate the flower using the Five Petal Flower Punch and Real Red Brads.  I peeled the cardstock on each petal apart to give it a more layered look, and then sprayed the whole thing with the Frost White Shimmer Paint and attached with a Dimensional.

The tag was made with the Two Tags Bigz Die, sponged the edges with Night of Navy Classic Ink, and stamped with Heard from the Heart and Cold & Cuddly stamps.  Then, of course, sprayed with the Frost White Shimmer Paint.  Yes, I LOVE MY SHIMMER PAINT!!

Finally, I used the 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain ribbon on the tag and cut it into and pulled the threads to give it the destressed look (oops, forgot that I distressed the main embossed panel also before applying).  Now isn't this just the cat's meow!!  Click on it to enlarge so maybe you will like it as much as I do -- LOL.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
Sandi

My Favorite Day: Thursday!!

Today is my favorite day, and has always been for as long as I can remember:  THURSDAY!!  Why, because it is the day before Friday.  It has been the day before the last day of school, party night, last day of work, and now that I am a "senior," the last day before good TV night.  For a lot of people, Friday is their favorite day.  But for me, I like to start on Thursday so that I have 4 days in a row that are great (the day to anticipate, the day before weekend, and the weekend).  It's like Ronda said last night at our meeting, people don't "get" or "give" joy in their life, they "choose" to have or give joy.  So I guess this is my way of choosing to have one extra day to enjoy, instead of moping around on Thursday wishing it was Friday.

So in honor of my favorite day, I'm posting 3 pictures.  Probably not something that you would like (yah, I'm selfish like that), but three of my favorites.

This is another Trivet that I made for the WOW table last night.  I used a 6" x 6" Tile and sponged the entire top with Creamy Carmal Classic Ink, then stamped on the French Filigree using Chocolate Chip Classic Ink.  I then took my Parisian Damask Decor Stencil and used just the flower section and sponged in Cameo Coral, Rubby Red, and Bravo Burgandy Classic Inks.  Heated in oven, cooled, sprayed with Champaing Mist Shimmer Paint, applied Arylic Sealer, and used Sticky Tape to adhere 1/4" Bravo Burgandy ribbon around edges.  This took 20 minutes to complete (including the 10 minutes in the oven).  I love this so much because I colored it to match my dishes on my Pie Cabinet.

 

Here is a picture of it on the WOW table.

I made this card for my niece's bridal shower, using one of my very favorite stamp sets that is discontinued.  I used a piece of the Flower Fantasy Printed Window Sheet for the top layer adhered with brads and punched flower to cover up boo-bo hole.  Image was stamped in Whisper White Craft Ink, then White Embossing Power with a hint of Dazzling Diamonds.  Used the Eyelet Border Punch on right of my Rich Razzleberry Cardstock layer and again on a small piece of Whisper White.  Bravo Burgandy Cardstock was used for the base of the card.

And finally, I can't resist showing you a picture of the newest member of my family -- that would be "Wally" on the left.  He is the son of "Harley" on the right.  And of course that is the old man (aka, my dear husband) holding them.  I did not want another dog, but my dear husband (hmmph) said he would take him to work to train him.  Yep, you guessed it -- it hasn't happened all week, or ever!!  So right now he is over chewing up my last tennis shoe.  Oops, sorry he is picking it up to take into his bed pen to save it for later.  I'm allergic to dog hair, never have been a great pet lover -- but do try to spoil my husband every once in a while.  Well, I guess I like my dogs because they are cute (LOL, can you tell that I am prejudice!).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you find Thursday just as joyful as I do!!
Sandi

Trivets & More: Holiday Hoopla #5

Time for another 3-D project -- Tile Trivets!!  I demonstrated how to make these 6 x 6  tiles at the Ronda's Holiday Hoopla event (still using the Cold & Cuddly stamp set).  I used the brayer technique for the background colors (Whisper White Craft; and Classic Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, and Not Quite Navy inks) and then stamped on the images (after the tile was dry) using Staz-On Black Ink.  I actually had to dry these in the oven for 10 minutes, at 350 degrees) after applying the background ink, as the Craft White was so wet.  I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for stamping all the images because I'm not good at getting things stamped straight or in the right place (LOL).  The ice was painted on using the Frost White Shimmer Paint. 

After they were painted/stamped, I put them in the oven again (on a cookie sheet) for another 10 minutes to dry completely.  After they were cool, I took outdoors and sprayed with a sealiant so the colors would not get wet and run.  And finally, because I could not find any type of cast iron scrolled holder (and my husband doesn't do woodworking), I just put felt pads on the bottom of the tile so it wouldn't scratch up my tables.

The last picture is just a plain ole card -- but very cute anyway!!  I saw a card using this pattern (wasn't a Christmas card) on Splitcoast Stampers (I think as it was a while ago, and we all know about my memory stick:  it's short).  Nothing really new, still using the Cold and Cuddly stamp set and Christmas Cocoa Speciality Designer Paper.  This card when done measures the standard card size (5 1/2" x 4 1/4").

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Sandi

Marvelous Marquee: Holiday Hoopla #4

Well you are in for a treat today.  This is another card that I did for last Saturday's Holiday Hoopla event.  Yes, for those of you that know her -- it is Jan Tink's Marvelous Marquee pattern!!  I wish that I could have just cased her card because I loved it so much more, but I had to stick with the Cold & Cuddly stamp set for my presentation.  And this is what I came up with:

This is what it looks like when it is closed.

This is what it looks like with the "marquee" curtains are open (e.g., card is open).

Now you know why it is called the "Marvelous Marquee" card!!  Everybody just loved opening it up to see the curtains open to reveal the little love penquin.  I had a little trouble understanding the directions, but once it was done, it seemed very simple.  Here are the supplies I used:

Stamps:  Cold & Cuddly, Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Serene Snowflakes.

Paper:  Real Red, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Speciality Designer Paper.

Ink:  Soft Suede, Real Red.

Accessories:  Punches, Linen Thread, Snowflake Bigz Die, Markers.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
Sandi