Where have I been?

Well, I enjoyed a super fun filled Memorial Holiday weekend and decided to extend it to Tuesday as well. I took tons of pictures and hope to do a SmileBox show soon. In the meantime, I tried my hand at a Flap Card last night. It turned out okay, but I didn't have the proper magnets I needed to make the flap stay down. I'm stopping by my small town Ace Hardware store tonight though to get them because I really do like this type of card. The ribbon is NOT where it's supposed to finally be, I just put it there to get the flap to stay down.

One of a Kind

I was so excited because I got my latest SU order yesterday which had the One Of A Kind stamp set and I also purchased the matching flower punch. But what excited me more about the goodies was the level 1 Hostess Prints Pack that I selected as a result of having placed an order of at least $150 ! OMG, what an incredible value and a newly coveted item. The Red DP paper on this card is one that's in the pack. Ming is going to flip over this!

Bella's Bugs!

So my baby Bella has been at it again making cards. She really seems to like the SU Bugs and Kisses set. Didn't she do a good job?

Green Thumb and Stickles!

OMG, do I just dig Stickles! I picked up some on my way back from my Smith Mountain Lake weekend Sunday from Memories Galore. I only got two colors, but see I need way more; haha! Anyway, I haven't done much since I was gone all weekend and now I'm just suffering so much from allergies/sinuses that I can hardly bring myself to do much. But I did start this card before I left last week and it only took me minutes to finish it. The stamp set is from PaperTrey Ink; Green Thumb. I stamped the little flowers on the background paper and then sponged ink all over the whole piece. The Stickles really do sparkle in person big time.

Emily's Soccer Picture!

Emily was supposed to have her "group" picture taken on her first day of soccer at the local Parks & Recreation Area, but she wanted no parts of it. So the only "group" picture she was in was above with her mommy. And, as far as playing with the other little ones, she wanted no parts of that either. But she had no problems having daddy playing with her. Of course, this was all on her first day, so it was probably a little overwhelming. Ming said she got much better the next few times.

Father's Day!

I know it's soon for Father's Day cards, but I'm all about planning ahead. That way if I'm not totally happy with the creation I've got time to tweak it. And, I probably should have ink distressed the edges of my water color paper, but I'll do it on the next one. Actually, I think this card will be offered in my next stamp class in early June. Love the Robin's Nest embellishments Ming gave me, can't you tell. Haha! Won't be able to use those in class though as they are not SU items.

Have your Cake and Eat it Too!

This stamp set has been a favorite of mine for so long, even if it is more time consuming to create something with it. Just something about a roly poly chef I love. It probably evokes some very fond memories I have of my Aunt Fuzzy (who was as roly poly as this chef) cooking tons of food whenever we'd visit. And, mostly Italian food too. She lived in a fabulous row house in downtown Richmond. And, if you know anything about those types of houses, you'd know they hold a somewhat magical appeal to a young child. The ceilings are wicked high and each and every room has a fire place. And, the windows are ginormous too. Oh, and can't forget the claw foot tub and of course, that one, door-always-closed-small-room you were not supposed to go into, but you always did. Thinking something secret was hidden in there, but only to find it was really just a storage room. But still, you let your mind create all sorts of things about it and it's history.

Anyway, I love the little embellishments on this card. Ming gave me those Saturday from her new stash she got from All That Scraps. I think I shall have to order some too.

Hostess Possibilities!

I tell you the hostess sets from Stampin Up really have such endless possibilities. And, they are easy to get if you have a workshop with at least $150 in sales. Which is almost effortless to do. So if any of my circle of local blog readers is interested in a workshop, by all means let me know. Anyway, this is one of my favorite hostess sets. And, it's only one of the stamps in the 6 set called Sweet Dreams. The CS colors are Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla and Ballet Blue.

Dragonfly!

I've been looking over the 2004-2005 Stampin Up Idea Book and I must say they have an incredible selection of layout ideas and amazing color combinations. So much that I find myself going to that book each day to see what inspires me and what card I'll make with the ideas I've gotten from the book. I made this one last night as a result. The dragonfly is from the Bugs and Wishes set; which I love. Everything is SU except the ribbon.

Oh, and when I forget to take my camera to the studio I take the picture where I can get as good as light as possible. This one was taken in my car this morning when I got to the parking lot at work. So it's not the best.

Aqua Blue as Promised!

The stamps used in this card were all from PaperTrey Ink and they are just wonderful IMO. Like I said in the earlier post, the Aqua Mist CS is from PaperTrey as is the matching ink. And, the Blue Bayou CS and Bashful Blue ink are from Stampin Up. Oh, and the ribbon is from PaperTrey as well.

Not Valentines Day!

I made this card thinking I would give it to my mom for mother's day, but I'm on the fence about it. If it looks too much like a Valentine's Day card I don't want to. But, I did make a card last night that has got to be one of my top favorites thus far. I won't post it just yet, but I'll tell you that PaperTrey Ink's Aqua Mist paper and matching ribbon and Stampin Up's Blue Bayou and Whisper White go together fabulously. Try it if you can. Where am I going with this you may wonder? Well, I may modify the card I made last night to a Mother's Day card instead of a Birthday Card. I'll post it later today.

These Boots...

For my birthday Ming gave me some PaperTrey Ink items; which I love!! And, these boots are from the Green Thumb set she gave me. The designer paper is also from PaperTrey; which I purchased recently and am just crazy about.

Emboss it!

I made this card for my colleague who's birthday is today. I don't usually make colleagues a birthday card, but Debbie I consider more of a friend than a colleague. Anyway, this card was cased from a book I bought that gives huge amounts of tips and techniques. I made one almost just like it Saturday for a dear friend who just retired (early) but I didn't get a chance to get a picture of it first. That one I used Wild Wasabi CS and Certainly Celery ink and ribbon. I don't have a wide ribbon to match this More Mustard, but I do like this color a lot. A matching ribbon would be nice though. Oh, and I hammered the frame to give it a more distressed look. Not sure I would do that again though.

To make:

Ink stamp with Versamark and put randomely on your CS. Then emboss with clear embossing powder. Do the same thing on the tag. Then take a stipple brush and dab it on your ink pad and stipple all the flowers. Put the holes in the tag, thread the wire, place dimensionals on the back and put in place with the brad. Easy Peasy!

Mother's Day!

So, I made my mother's day card yesterday. Holy cow did it take me forever and I'm not so sure I will use this one to give to mom. But it was fun making it. The idea actually came from a card I received in our downline meeting as one of the swaps. I have no idea how she had time to make 9 of these. They are very time consuming. But definitely different. And, of course my sentiment just had to be crooked. Oh, well.

Spoiled Rotten!

Isn't this just the cutest? My dear friend Bobbi made this for me to go in my studio to cover the breaker box above my desk. It's just perfect and does cover it very well. You should see it in person; she blings. Her bracelet, earrings, necklace and ring are blinging for sure and her glasses are done out of purple metallic thread. I showed it to a few people and they said the girl looked just like me. Plus, I think my friends think I'm spoiled. Well, maybe just a little. I absolutely love it!

Bella's Card!

Bella just LOVES to help me make cards. And, here is picture proof; haha!

(I think she may have cased this one a bit.)

So I named this card Bella's Card. She is just the sweetest puppy and always wants to be in her mommy's lap whenever possible.

I took the picture outside because it was such a beautiful morning.

Watercolor Blooms!

So, I'm still trying to master the water coloring technique and I'm still a long way off, but at least I'm trying. What I have found though is I like using the SU Water Color crayons with my blender pen on water color paper very much. More than using their markers. Anyway, this is what I created last night with the Bloomin Beautiful set. The image was stamped on WC paper with Staz On ink and colored in. Then I stamped the image again using Staz On on WC paper and colored that. I then proceeded to cut up the second image (well just the petals) and (using SU Dimensionals) layered the matching pieces on top of the first image I stamped. I love the effect it brings to the card. Not sure if this picture will allow you to see the details as I forgot to take my camera to my studio last night and I took this picture this morning in my bathroom by the glass block window over my jetted tub. Just not the same as my light kit hunh!