Now for something totally different...

I love making cards! They can be elegant, sassy, whimsical, simple. I can finish a card quickly or invest a lot of time in it. Card making is a great hobby!

But what about other projects and other (non-paper) materials?? Last week, the club member who was hostess wanted to decorate a jar. Hmmm...what to do? She has a Big Shot, so I decided to use Sizzlits and Decor Element vinyl sheets. I never expected to buy this vinyl, but I am hooked already! What a great way to make gifts for friends and family!

The jar is a simple canning jar from alocal store. I used the Floral Fusion and Little Leaves sizzlits. Vinyl colors are old olive, pumpkin pie, night of navy and so saffron. The flowers have no centers, so I used half-back self adhesive pearls. The top is So Saffron Pattern paper, from the subtles pack, cut with the large scallop circle die. I dampened the card stock to shape it over the lid, and wrapped hemp twine around it. Actually, Bruce did! I just could not get my hand coordinated enough! The wide striped grosgrain ribbon is an alternative to wrap around the lid. That's what I'll do next time!

This project forced me to remember...the Big Shot is not just for paper!! It cuts through a lot of materials! I think I am going to buy some magnetic sheets next for refrigerator magnets...or or cork board for coasters....so many options!!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Holiday Mini Sneak Peek!

In just one week, Stampin' Up! fans will be able to order from the NEW Holiday Mini catalog! There is so much fun stuff in there! As a SU demo, I get to order items early...WooHoo!

I make a gazillion Christmas cards each year, so I really need to get going on them before I go into panic mode! LOL My Christmas cards always include a sacred theme...I'll use the snowflakes and ornaments for samples...or even winter birthdays and thank you's...but my main cards demonstrate my faith. It is a lot of fun! I love angels, and so this NEW stamp set, Angelic Joy, is a perfect choice! This is a slight variation of a swap I did with area demos. I apologize...I assembled this late last night, and really should have stamped the angel again. It is a bit faded in the center. My hubby/photographer had a tough time with this!

The card base is Crumb Cake. I also used Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, and Very Vanilla, along with the NEW Deck the Halls DSP. LOVE this stuff! Rich, vintage patterns...would be great for scrapbooking too. I stamped the angel in Chocolate Chip ink, and sponged the edges with Crumb Cake. The sentiment is stamped in Cherry Cobbler, and you can see I used my scallop oval and modern label punches. I added the NEW Cherry Cobbler seam binding...very pretty!...and a NEW Deck the Halls Big Designer Button with a touch of hemp twine. The packages of Big Buttons are wonderful! I just recently fell in love with buttons, so I will play with these a lot!

This card is bulky with layers and lots of dimensionals...so it will either be hand delivered or mailed in a padded envelope. Either way, I hope to make 12 more this weekend!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

My Dad

Today, my dad would be 72 years old if he were still living on this earth. He has been gone 5 years, and I still miss him. I often picture him with my little boy in heaven. Or perhaps swapping stories with Bruce's dad, since they did not meet this side of eternity. Hmmmm

One thing is for sure...I always knew my dad loved me! I grew up singing with him at church, family gatherings, even Camp Fire Girl events. I remember the smell of Folgers coffee each morning when he was home...and phone calls in the evenings when he was on the road. He taught me how to play cribbage, and the right way to make a seriously good sandwich. He took me fishing at a local small lake, with a 12 foot bamboo pole. That fishing card from yesterday brought back memories! I watched Dad create many beautiful woodworking projects, and always knew to keep some distance because he became very verbal when things didn't go well! He was rough around the edges, but with an incredibly tender heart.

Love you dad...see you heaven someday.

Birthday Celebration

Back to a Stampin' Up card...
I just found a blog yesterday (after someone just found mine!) It's called Party Time Tuesdays, and it's all about birthday cards!

It looks like there is a challenge each week...and this week's challenge was to use pink and brown. Well, I pulled out my Felt Flower Fusion Too (retired), and just had to add baja breeze. The stamp is also retired. I had set my Greetings Galore aside for a donation to a local school...but kept it anyway! The image is simply stamped in choc chip and colored with markers.

The card base is chocolate chip. I ran some pink pirouette patterned paper through my Big Shot with the perfect polka dots impressions folder, the cut it out with the Top Note die. Word to the wise...cut your shapes out first, THEN texturize/emboss! My dots are all smashed! LOL! I added a strip of baja breeze with healthy polka dots. Felt flowers, silver brads and 1/4" grosgrain ribbon fill this out.

I have someone in mind to receive this card...better mail it soon!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Quaker Retirement

My husband works in the maintenance department of the local Quaker plant, which makes gazillions of chewy granola bars among other things. One man is retiring at the end of the month, so I was "commissioned" to make his card. He loves to fish, and a close friend requested a card with a man and boy fishing together. Hmmmm. None in my stash, so I searched and found a set called "Gone Fishing" at Gina K Designs. Perfect! The people, pier and cat tails were actually 3 separate stamps! I stamped with chocolate chip craft ink, heat embossed, then colored in with my blender pens. I then went over the entire scene with my versamarker, used clear embossing powder to heat emboss again, then sponged the grass, sky and water. This is called emboss resist, I believe, because the sponging resists the images. Love this! I used lots of colors in this card...soft suede, dusty durango, basic gray, bordering blue, mellow moss, old olive, always artichoke, so saffron, blush blossom, and night of navy. Whew! There were no fishing lines, so I used my basic black stampin' write journaler pen, and added subtle ripples in the water. Larger fish were used as background images (and on the envelope), stamped and heat embossed in chocolate chip and night of navy. The card base is crumb cake, and I added a layer of (retired) bordering blue, embossed with divine swirls in my big shot. I corner punched just the right side of the layers for a different look. The ribbon is retired SU, the brads are non SU, and the twine is current SU. LOTS of dimensionals on this card!! LOL!!

This was fun to make...I hope the guy likes it. He better not throw it away! heehee

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Lots of Friends!

One of my new stamp sets from the Idea Book and Catalog (IBC) is Friends Never Fade. The solid images are great for quick cards. I have used the stylized flower before, with the thumping technique,. but these cards feature other stamps in the set.

This first card shows off the two sides of dsp from Greenhouse Gala. I made the card front for a swap, using chocolate chip and whisper white, then mounted it onto a base of baja breeze. The main image is stamped in chocolate, the other image in pumpkin pie. I used certainly celery satin ribbon.


Now this card features my favorite new color...Cherry Cobbler...along with basic black and river rock. I had to force myself to use river rock. When it was first around a few years ago, I stayed away...but now that it is a core color, I am playing with it. Who knows...I may learn to like it! I used Versamark ink to get a tone-on-tone look on the river rock, along with the cherry cobbler. The main image is stamped in cherry on vanilla, with 2 basic black brads. The black layer is texturized with a Texturz plate and the big shot.




Finally, this is an old color challenge card I had not yet posted...baja breeze, so saffron, and rich razzleberry. LOVE this combo!! I made my own dp by stamping the tiny flower from Because I Care in the 3 colors. The pre-made dsp is from Greenhouse Gala. Saffron brads and white organza ribbon finish it off.

Isn't it fun to see one stamp set in 3 different cards? Have fun being versatile!!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Sketchy Swap

I had such a busy week, that my poor stamps have been neglected! After speaking for a local prayer & Bible study group early this morning, I buckled down and stamped away. Just 2 days ago, I signed up for 4 swaps...perhaps foolishly considering my work schedule for the next month! One swap is for sympathy cards. I had made a simple card quite awhile ago...expected too simply duplicate it...but then I looked at the sketch challenge on SCS. I kept changing things up...colors, sentiments...and this is the final product. I wanted something earthy for the upcoming fall season.

I started with Woodland Walk dsp...that led me to a chocolate chip card base, and layers of both garden green and wild wasabi. I added peach parfait for contrast. I used the retired stamp set Close as a Memory, coloring the image with garden green, peach parfait and pumpkin pie markers, then sponged the edges with crumb cake. The scallop trim border punch adds a lot, I think. I didn't have room for the sentiment that goes with the flowers, so Teeny Tiny Wishes is featured again with the modern label punch. The wide chocolate ribbon and corduroy button are retired, but the hemp twine is still available. And hey, the button works for the Ways to Use It challenge this week! Ta-dah!

I made 2 extra cards, but the rest will go postal to my swap hostess Monday morning.

On to my next swap!!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Thinking Outside the Card Box

This card features last week's SCS Color Challenge (blushing bride, riding hood red, and early espresso) with last week's sketch challenge. The card used for the sketch example was created by my good friend Dawn (aka dawnmercedes) so I had to give this a try.

I need more Thank You cards for the ministry, and I already know who will receive this! Everything used is from Stampin' Up!

The main riding hood red card base is just 3-1/2" wide, so it still fits in a standard A2 envelope, even with those layers sticking out. I used 3 stamp sets: Friends Never Fade, Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Define Your Life. The stylized flower is colored with stampin' write markers on very vanilla card stock, (petals colored with blushing bride, "thumped" with riding hood red, center colored in so saffron, stems in early espresso) lightly sponged with blushing bride. I cut the oval using my Big Shot and the Ovals die. I used pieces of paper from the Regals and Neutrals Patterned Paper Packs, reinforced with blushing bride card stock. The self-adhesive pearls add a bit of elegance, and I also used Crystal Effects and Riding Hood Red re-inker for the faux brads. I LOVE this new detail, and will be using it a lot!

It was tough, but definitely fun to make a card that is not a rectangle, square, or even a circle! Sometimes we need to be challenged to think outside the box...give it a try!!

Make Your OWN Designer Paper!!

I will be the first to admit, I love, Love, LOVE Stampin' Up's designer series paper! I have gobs of it...current, retired...it is so fun to use!

But a few years ago, I was actually "Anti-DSP" Gasp!! I rarely bought those individual sheets in the big box stores...thought they were often "too busy" for scrapbooking, and the colors always clashed with my SU! Card stock.

I'm not sure when SU started selling packs of dsp (way before I was a demo), but I remember falling in love with the Recollections pattern. I didn't buy it...until just before it retired. Why?? All I could think was "I am a STAMPER! I don't need someone else's patterns!!" I would frequently make patterned paper and use it in a One Sheet Wonder card set. It was fun.

Now I love dsp, and I realize there are neat ways to use it. BUT, I still love making my own!!

One of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges called for us to make our own dp AND embellishments! WOW! So, I used 3 similar colors...Early Espresso, Soft Suede, and River Rock, with one single stamp from Baroque Motifs on Very Vanilla. Just made a random pattern...it's that easy! I sponged the edges with River Rock. I also cut one of the medallions out, then used my Not Quite Navy Stampin' Write Marker to color in a simple dot. I then placed a drop of Crystal Effects on top and let it dry...my own little faux brad! Instead of ribbon, I ran a strip of NQN card stock through my neglected paper crimper. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes, on a piece of vanilla punched out with the word window punch.


This second card uses the Brights Collection: Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, and a touch of Wild Wasabi. I ran the pacific point through the Big Shot with the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder. I used images from the stamp set Hello Again to make my dp. I then used my markers to color the flower image (Hello Again) and the ribbon! That way I could match my green stem. The sentiment is from Thank You Kindly. Ice round rhinestone brads and the corner rounder punch finish it off. One tip...whenever I use brads, especially large ones like these, I put dimensionals on that layer. It keeps the layer more even.


I still will use Designer Series Paper (DSP) from Stampin' Up! because it allows me to create a quick card very easily. But I know I can do it on my own too...choose my own colors and my own patterns. The possibilities are endless!!

Inky {{{HUGS}}}

Extreme Birthdays!

This weekend, I did more of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on splitcoaststampers. I did not finish them all...but I think I got 25 out of 33 completed! Pretty good, huh?

Stampin' UP! has some cool silhouette stamps great for teens. I used the 2 that I have: Extreme Guitar and Extreme Snowboard. I got them both FREE last March during Sale-a-Bration, and now I wonder why I waited so long! I plan on getting the others...including Extreme Elements before the end of the year!

Because DTGD challenges are for Fan Club members only, I am not going to post the details. BUT you can sign up for a mere $25 for a full year!

Here is one card: I used Pacific Point for my card base, and a distressed pattern from the Blueberry Crisp DSP. I sponged just a touch of Baja Breeze in the lower right corner, and on the snowflake, cut out with my sizzlit die, which runs through the Big Shot. The Extreme Snowboarder is stamped in Pacific Point, and the sentiment is from On Your Birthday.



Now this next card is one of my favorites from the weekend! I had no idea what I was going to do...then the design kinda "happened." I used Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, and Very Vanilla card stock. I roughly brayered Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, and Cajun Craze ink over the main panel. Next, I used Night of Navy craft ink and clear embossing powder to highlight the Extreme Guitar image. I used retired stars and a retired sentiment on the "ticket" which I distressed as if it was in a teen's back pocket...then added Teeny Tiny Wishes. 2 brads in the corner finish it off. I have a teen nephew who loves classic rock...this will be for him!

Thanks for stopping by!
Inky {{{HUGS}}}