3 x 3 Note cards

I am still adding to my stash :-). This week I decided to add some 3x3 note cards with little envelopes and I left the inside unstamped so I can add what I need when I need it. Let me tell ya', I have needed a few cards from my stash already and it is sooooo great to have one all ready to go when needed! Yep, building up the stash is a good idea ;-). Why didn't I do this sooner?!!

I made my note cards with Almost Amethyst as the base and used Lavender Lace and YoYo Yellow for my other colors. I used the Ex Large Fancy Flower punch and the Scallop Trim Corner punch. One of the flowers is punched in Whisper White, stamped in YoYo Yellow and then sponged around the edges with the main flower color- in the card below- Lavender Lace.

For some reason, these flowers remind me of a pansies. Maybe because pansies often have white centers with yellow in the very middle. Speaking of yellow, here is the YoYo Yellow note card...

The Scallop Trim Corner punch paired with the Perfect Polka Dots Textured embossing folder and the Ex Large Fancy Flowers, make me think of the hankies that my grandmother used to have when I was growing up. Some of them had Swiss Dots, they all had pretty crocheted borders, much like the Scallop Trim punches :-), and they all had pretty flowers embroidered on them. Do they even make hankies like that anymore? Fortunately for me, I have some of my great grandmother's hankies and they are the same. So tell me, do these little note cards remind you of the hankies that your grandmother owned :-D ?

Here is the whole lot of them, all together. I think they look kind of pretty in a group :-). That's my post for today. Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day and that the sun is shining brightly where you live. It's going to be 78 degrees here today- oh yeah! See ya' tomorrow- thanks for stopping by!

Oh, just a reminder- today is the LAST day of Sale-a-bration. You can get free stuff for every $50.00 order you place, so if there is anything you want from the Sale-a-bration brochure, please be sure to follow the link in the upper right hand column to my online Stampin' Up! store and get your order in.

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: With All My Heart- 118623 (wood mount- 118134)
Paper: Almost Amethyst- 102158, YoYo Yellow- 107108, Lavender Lace- 101614, Whisper White- 100730
Classic Stampin' Ink: Lavender Lace- 101305, YoYo Yellow- 102717
Punches: Ex Large Fancy Flower- 118073, Trio Flower- 109183, Scallop Trim Corner- 118870
Other: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder- 117335

Two Tags Die

I'm late posting this morning, but I have a really good reason :-). I had to get up early this morning to take my daughter to a special skate camp today with her coaches, fellow team mates, and with John Peck. In the world of roller figure skating, John Peck is a World Class coach, so this is a wonderful opportunity for her today. She will put in about seven hours of skating today, with lunch in between. I'll bet she is going to be tired when I pick her up late this afternoon, lol! But like any athlete, she is completely dedicated to her sport and she LOVES it- another very important factor. She takes classes three to four times a week, works even through the bruises that come from falling when learning and practicing new skills (one week she earned 8 bruises), and would literally live at the rink if that was possible :-). I am amazed at her. She just wore skates for the first time in her life in October. Poor thing, she couldn't stay up if she was paid to do it that first time. But the owner of the rink noticed how she was struggling that first night and told my husband and I about the classes they have available teaching kids and adults alike how to skate. She breezed through Level One, then through Level Two, and then she was asked to join the Jr. Artistic Team. She has come a long, long way in such a short time.

I made some tags with the Two Tags die and the Daisies #2 die. I LOVE the Two Tags die! It's such a great tag. It folds up into its own little slot and has a hole at the top for adding ribbon to tie it on a package. For these tags, which I made in no time flat, I used the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions embossing folder to emboss just the bottom half of the tags. I added the smallest of the daisies on the Daisies #2 die and two leaves cut from the 5 Petal Flower punch. A little sponging around the 1/2" circle punch out for the center of the daisy gives the daisy die cut a little more depth. Here is one tag in Rich Razzleberry...

And the inside of the tag is done by punching the corners of Whisper White with the Tag Corner punch. You can leave the inside blank so you can use it for any occasion as needed, or you can stamp a little sentiment inside ahead of time. I used some of my tags to attach to customer's order bags.

You can make these in any colors that you need to match wrapping paper, gift bags, or hand stamped cards. You can make them as fancy or as plain as you like. Emboss them, stamp them, embellish with die cuts- there are lots of things you can do with this tag :-).

Bashful Blue Tag

Lavender Lace Tag

Did I mention that you can also sponge ink around the edges of the tags too? Make a set of tags and put them in a cello bag for a cute little gift that would be appreciated by anyone who gives gifts :-). It took me a while to purchase the Two Tags die, but I am so happy to have it now. It is one of my favorite dies and it also comes with a second tag which makes a great bookmark and coordinates with the Scallop Circle punch. The Two Tags die is a must have die ;-) ! I wish you all a wonderful day today! We are looking at a 75 degrees day here today- whoo hoo!!! I love Spring (sigh). Oh, by the way, my daffodils lived through the icy layer that was thrust upon them by a recent snowstorm and they have bloomed. My daughter brings me in bouquets of daffodils and they smell so good, filling the inside of our home with the scents of Spring. Can't beat that!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly- 111700, Hello Again- 113780
Paper: Rich Razzleberry- 115316, Whisper White- 100730, Old Olive- 100702, YoYo Yellow- 102824
Classic Stampin' Ink: Apricot Appeal- 105218, Rich Razzleberry- 115658, YoYo Yellow- 102717
Punches: 5 Petal Flower- 109041, 1/2" Circle- 104390, Tag Corner- 107215
Dies: Two Tags- 115954, Daisies #2 114520
Other: Perfect Polka Dots Impressions embossing folder- 111735, Sponge Daubers- 102892, white 1/8" grosgrain ribbon

Fancy Flower Punch

Good Morning! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Today, my cards use the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch. To give you an idea of the size of this flower, my cards are A2 size (4.25" x 5.5"). For the first card, I borrowed my good friend Donna's Pinking Hearts Corner punch :-). Thanks so much Donna!!! I also used the Scallop Trim Border punch on both of these cards.

I did just the corners of my cards as I kind of like that look :-), but you can use the matching border punches and punch the design all the way around. As you can see in my photos, I layered the Fancy Flower, by first stamping the flower image from With All My Heart in YoYo Yellow, sponging around the edges of the punch out in Apricot Appeal, and then punching out another flower from Apricot Appeal card stock. I also sponged the edges of the solid card stock flowers. I finished off the flower centers with a Trio Flower punch flower and also inked the edges. I did two cards, pretty much the same, but changed out the corner punches and the colors that I used. The card above is on the bold side and the card below is much softer due to the use of pastel colors.

For the tags on my flowers, I stamped one of the sentiments from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched it out near one side of the sentiment instead of centering, then simply trimmed off the end and poked a hole with my piercing tool for the crochet thread. So there ya' have it! One basic layout, but two slightly different looks by using different color combos and different corner punches :-). I have to pick up one of my daughters and take her to work this morning so I have to run. I hope you all have the best day! Thanks for visiting my blog today- I appreciate that you take the time to do so.

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370, Sweetheart- 120780, With All My Heart- 118623 (wood mount- 118134)
Paper: Apricot Appeal- 05124, Pumpkin Pie- 105117, Whisper White- 100730, Old Olive- 100702, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Bashful Blue- 105120
Classic Stampin' Ink: YoYo Yellow- 102717, Pretty in Pink- 101301, Apricot Appeal- 105218, Old Olive- 102277
Punches: X Lrg Fancy Flower- 118073, Word Window- 105090, Scallop Trim Corner- 118870, Scallop Trim Border- 118402, Pinking Heart Corner- 118072, Trio Flower- 109183
Other: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder- 117335, Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon- 109030, Pretty in Pink 1/4" grosgrain ribbon- 109032, pearl gems

Jan Tink's Teeny Tiny Scrapbook

I LOVE little scrapbooks! I think they are so cute! So, yesterday when I found Jan Tink's Teeny Tiny Scrapbook tutorial, I absolutely had to make one of my own. I've linked to the instructions (and a video too) for Jan's tutorial. Just click on the blue link in the sentence above to get there. I used Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper and Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, and Pale Plum card stocks to make my little book. I'll add a list of a few of the supplies I used at the end of my post, but most of the supplies are already listed in Jan's tutorial.

I knew I wanted to make my Jan Tink Teeny Tiny Scrapbook to match the notepad book that I posted yesterday. I also made a designer ;-) pen to go with the set. Here is my book...

Is this not the cutest of the cutest little scrapbooks you have ever seen?!!! I love it! Jan Tink is a genius, in my humble opinion, to have come up with this. The little tags above slip into each of the coin envelopes for adding journaling or more little photos. You will notice when you see Jan's tutorial that I made my own coin envelopes. I did post instructions for making your own coin envelopes in the post below this one. I'm not done decorating my teeny tiny book yet, but it sure is going to be fun to finish!

Here is a photo of my completed set. The teeny tiny scrapbook, the designer pen, and the notepad that was posted yesterday. Don't they look great together?

The pen was really easy to make. Usually you see these pens made with the clear barrel pens made by Pentel. Our Walmart doesn't sell the Pentel pens anymore (boo!), but I found some clear barrel pens by Bic. They are called Bic Cristal pens and you get 10 pens for a dollar. To make your own designer pen with the Bic Cristal pens, cut a piece of Designer Series Paper
4 9/16" x 3/4". I used a chop stick to help mold the paper by rolling the paper around the chop stick . Pull the ink pen from the bottom of the clear barrel with pliers and wrap the paper tightly around the ink pen shaft. You will leave the plastic bottom of the ink barrel unwrapped. Just wrap it around the part where you can see the ink. Slide the wrapped ink pen shaft back into the clear barrel as far as it will go. That's all there is to it!

Thanks for visiting- Have a great day!

Blessings!
Barb

For a complete list of supplies, please see Jan Tink's tutorial, but for a shortened list of the supplies that I personally used see below:
Stamps: Vintage Vogue- 118598, Best Yet (retired Hostess set)
Paper: Cottage Wall- 115671, Rich Razzleberry- 115685 Designer Series Paper, Old Olive- 100702, Rich Razzleberry- 115316, Pale Plum- 101658 card stock
Classic Stampin' Ink: Rich Razzleberry- 115658, Pale Plum- 102732, Old Olive- 102277
Dies: Little Leaves:114511
Other: Clear Rhinestone brads- 113144, Coin Envelopes- please see my tutorial below.

Coin Envelope Tutorial

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, lol! I wanted to make Jan Tink's Teeny Tiny Scrapbook, but there were no stores in my town that sold coin envelopes. I didn't want to wait for an order of them to come in and I sure didn't need 500 of them! Sooooo, I made my own coin envelopes from Designer Series Paper for my Teeny Tiny Scrapbook :-). Below you will find instructions to make your own coin envelopes.....

1. Cut Designer Series Paper 4.75" x 5"

2. With the 5" side at the top, score 1" from the right edge and 1/2" from the left edge.

3. Flip the paper so that the 4.75" side is at the top. Score 2.25" from the right edge. Move the paper to the right and score 2.25" from the first score line. This will leave a 1/4" on the left edge.

4. Fold on all score lines and crease each fold with a bone folder so the score lines are nice and crisp.

5. With the 4.75" side at the top, cut the corners off the top and bottom right edge and the top and bottom left edge as shown in the photo. You will have a 2.25" flap on the right, a 1/4" flap on the left, a 1" flap in the center top, and a 1/2" flap in the center bottom.

6. Fold in the 1/4" flap to the inside of the envelope and put some Two Way glue on the outer edge of the 1/4" flap. Bring the 2.25" flap over to line up with the outer edge of the 1/4" flap and press to adhere.

7. You will now have an envelope with a 1" flap at the top and a 1/2" flap at the bottom. Corner round both sides of each flap as in the photo above. Put some Two Way glue on the edges of the 1/2" bottom flap and fold up to adhere to the envelope. The 1" flap that remains is not glued. You will use this 1" flap to adhere the coin envelopes to the little book in Jan Tink's Teeny Tiny Scrapbook. Now we can have coin envelopes in any color we need :-). I hope you have fun making your own coin envelopes! See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Friends Notepad

Some time ago I bought some notepads and I had planned on making a cover for it. I finally got around to it :-D! I used three different Designer Series Paper packs- Cottage Wall, Rich Razzleberry, and Old Olive. I really like the Vintage Vogue stamp set and wanted to use it for this project. I used a card map from Mojo Monday (Week #88) for the cover. The 'Friends' mat is popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals and the flower and leaves are stamped and cut out, with only the flower popped up on another Stampin' Dimensional. I used a clear rhinestone brad for the center of the flower and curled the petals to give it more dimension.

On the inside, I added a 2010 bookmark calendar matted on Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper. I may add some small flowers from the Vintage Vogue stamp set to the inside left cover, but for now I am leaving it as is. If you want to make one of these, please see instructions below:

Cut Rich Razzleberry card stock 8 1/8" x 10.5". With the 10.5" side running across the top, score 5 1/8" from each side. Cut Old Olive card stock 4.75" x 7.75" for the front mat. Cut top part of Designer Series Paper 4.50" x 4.25". Cut bottom part of Designer Series Paper 4.50" x 3.25". Adhere to the Old Olive card stock mat. Cut Old Olive card stock 4.75" x 2" and punch with the Scalloped Trim border punch. Trim straight edge so the border piece is 7/16" wide. Adhere to the front between the two Designer Series Papers. Cut two mats from Old Olive 1.25" x 4" and two Designer Series Paper 1" x 3.75". Adhere the Designer Series Paper to the Old Olive mats. Add a brad to the two outer corners of the mats and adhere. Stamp the Friends image onto 1.75" x 2.25" Whisper White card stock in Rich Razzleberry. Mat onto Rich Razzleberry Textured card stock cut at 2" x 2.50". Add Stampin' Dimensionals to the back and center on the two Old Olive mats with brads. Stamp the small flower from Vintage Vogue in Rich Razzleberry, cut out, curl the petals a little, add a clear rhinestone brad to the center, a Stampin' Dimensional on the back and place on the lower right corner. Stamp two leaves from Vintage Vogue in Old Olive and adhere underneath the flower.

For the inside, cut Designer Series Paper 4.75" x 7.75" and adhere. You can add a calendar if you would like, add some flowers from Vintage Vogue, or just leave it plain.

For the top of the notepad, cut Designer Series Paper 2.75" x 5". Line it up at the top, bringing it around to the back and adhere. Use four to five strips of Sticky Strip on the back of the notepad to make sure it stays put and line up the left edge of the notepad with the right scoreline, press down to secure the Sticky Strip.

Hope you will try one of these. It would be great to give with a set of matching 3" x 3" note cards and/or a designer pen made with one of the papers used for the Notepad. Have a great day everyone!!! See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Vogue- 118598 (wood mount- 117690)
Paper: Rich Razzleberry- 115316, Rich Razzleberry Textured- 115719, Old Olive- 100702, Whisper White- 100730, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper- 115671, Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper- 115685, Old Olive Designer Series Paper- 112160
Classic Stampin' Ink: Rich Razzleberry- 115658, Old Olive- 102277
Punches: Scallop Trim- 118402
Other: Clear Rhinestone brads- 113144, Gold brads- 104337, Stampin' Dimensionals-104430, Sticky Strip-104294, 5" x 8" notepad

Happy Bearthday Boy

I've been working on building up my stash of cards this year and decided I should add some children's cards. Little boys seem to like bright colors, so I chose Tempting Turquoise and YoYo Yellow. When using very bright colors, it's always a good idea to break them up with a place for the eye to rest. To that end, I used Whisper White as a mat between my colors. I don't make many male cards so I really need to work on more of those :-).

The Build a Bear Workshop line of products, exclusive to Stampin' Up!, includes some adorable stamps, along with dies for making cute, cute bears. I thought these two stamp sets would be perfect for a little boy card.

I stamped this cute little bear with Black Staz-on and colored him in with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen on watercolor paper. If I am going to color with my Watercolor Crayons directly on my card stock, I will normally use Whisper White or Very Vanilla. Both of these card stocks have a coating on them, making them perfect for coloring. Simply outline only the edges of your image with the Watercolor Wonder Crayon, and in a tight, tiny circular motion, pull the color into the center with the blender pen. Use gentle pressure so as not to pill your card stock. If I am going to color in my image by picking up the color directly from the crayons, I use watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is much more sturdy so it doesn't pill very easily. With picking color up directly from the crayon, you would use the same method of pulling in color into the center of the image, by starting your coloring on the outside edges of your image. To finish off my image, I used Bashful Blue chalk to color in the sky around the bear. I added just a bit of texture on the YoYo Yellow with the Perfect Polka Dots Impressions folder. Easy peasy card :-)
Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by- see ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Beary Nice Wishes- 118050, Beary Best Friends- 118052
Paper: Tempting Turquoise- 102067, YoYo Yellow- 102824, Real Red- 102482, Whisper White- 100730, Watercolor paper- 105019
Classic Stampin' Ink: Real Red- 103133. Black Staz-on-101406. Blender pens- 102845
Watercolor Wonder Crayons: Bold Brights- 106695 (Brilliant Blue, YoYo Yellow, Glorious Green)
Earth Elements- 106696 (Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Old Olive)
Neutrals- 106746 ( Sahara Sand, Going Gray, Basic Black)
Dies: Stars #2- 113461
Other: Bashful Blue Stampin' Pastels- 105542, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions embossing folder- 117335

Vintage Birthday Card

My daughter #3 has a birthday coming up very soon, so I needed to make her a birthday card. She loves pink and she loves vintage, so the Vintage Vogue stamp set was the one I reached for. I had one idea in mind when I started and as I worked, the card took on a life of its own. I love it when that happens, cause you never know what you will end up with :-). I really aged this card as I worked! I first stamped the En Francais background stamp on Very Vanilla card stock with Bordering Blue ink. Added some Bashful Blue inking around the edges and here and there on the front. Next I crunched it up several times and distressed the edges. Flattened it out with my hands and lightly inked Creamy Caramel over the wrinkles. I chose not to age the elements on the card to give it some interest. Here is my finished card front....

The inside of the card really designed itself, lol! I decided that it would be kind of cool if it looked like the pages of an old book when you opened it. I stamped and then distressed the Very Vanilla card stock on the inside the same as the front of the card. The only element I chose to age is the inside of the heart. I also added some flowers and a butterfly to make the inside consistent with the front of the card.

Now I suspect, that this particular card is the kind of card that you will either love or hate, lol! I hope my daughter loves it :-). Have a great day!!! See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Vogue- 118598, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370 (wood mount- 117690), Well Scripted- 118601 (wood mount- 117072), En Francais- 109521
Paper: Regal Rose- 105130, Old Olive- 100702, Very Vanilla- 101650, Bordering Blue- 102630
Classic Stampin' Ink: Bordering Blue- 102265, Bashful Blue- 105209, Creamy Caramel- 103220, Old Olive- 102277, Regal Rose- 105211, Summer Sun- 100537
Punches: Scallop Oval- 114889, Large Oval- 107305, Full Heart- 113693
Dies: Beautiful Wings embosslit- 118138, Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslit- 117322, Little Leaves Sizzlit- 114511, Buttons #5 Sizzlit- 113440
Other: Stampin' Dimensionals- 104430, Very Vanilla 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Crystal Effects- 101055, white pearls, pink gems

So Wrong

THIS is what our first day of Spring looked like :-(. The day before it was 65 degrees here and a beautiful sunny day with a clear blue sky. My horse was out in the west pasture enjoying all the pretty green grass. When it was really close to dark I went out and got her and we put her in the barn for the night so she wouldn't be out in the elements. She is still in the barn two days later, but when it's like this she doesn't mind. She gets to eat her hay, get groomed each morning and evening, and stay warm and cozy in her stall.

This is part of our backyard coming up from the barn.

The east pasture. The grass under that snow is actually green.

These flower buds are encased in ice. They grow into pretty pink and white flowers. I don't think they will this year.

And this is what my pine trees look like right now. All the needles are covered with a coating of ice.

And THIS, this is my daffodils!!! They grow along the fence line of the east pasture. As you can see, they already had their pretty yellow flowers on them just getting ready to open. Each flower is encased with ice! When this happened a few years ago on March 17th, they didn't bloom at all because the blooms were killed off by the snow. One of the things that I look forward to every year is the Spring flowers. That year when we had a snowstorm on March 17th, we had no Spring flowers at all that year :-(. It is just soooooo wrong to have a snowstorm on the first day of Spring. So, how was your first day of Spring? I hope yours was much better than ours.

Blessings!
Barb

Build a Bear Workshop Easter Bunny

Sorry for being so late in posting and for not posting yesterday. My daughter is a figure skater (roller skates) and I made her a new skate dress for St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday so she would have it for class on that same day. It's emerald green, of course :-). I have a shoulder injury and amazingly, there is a lot of reaching when you sew- who knew?!! The reaching irritates the rotator cuff, so I needed to take a couple of days to rest my shoulder.

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you already know that the Build a Bear Workshop dies can be used for so much more than 'just' bears. This morning I was thinking about bunnies and an idea popped into my head, so I went to my stamping room and got to work. Yep, you guessed it, I turned the Build a Bear into a bunny... isn't he cute? :-) I love his little suit, lol!

He is all dressed for Spring and for Easter Egg deliveries! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE my Build a Bear dies? Who says you have to have a child who is into Build a Bear Workshop to get these dies ;-)? Ah, well it happens that I do have a daughter who loves her Build a Bears, but I am the one who plays with the dies :-D.

In case you are wondering how I turned the bear into a bunny, I'm gonna tell ya'. The first thing to do is to die cut a bear from Whisper White card stock. Next, punch out a circle with the 1 1/4" circle punch out of a scrap. Flip the bear over so he is face down. Line up the edges of the circle with the very edges where the ear meets the head. The circle punch out will be on the bear's face when you are lining up the ears with the head. Trace around the circle from the top of the ear to the bottom of the ear. Repeat for the other ear. Now take your scissors and cut along your trace line, removing the bear's ears. Punch three Small Ovals from Whisper White card stock. Two of the ovals will be for the ears and one will be for a mask to color the inside of the ears. Now that you have that done, take some Almost Amethyst Classic Stampin' Ink and a sponge dauber, and lightly ink around the edges of the bear body, the muzzle, and the ears. I think it's very important to ink the edges of your bears, otherwise they just look flat with no dimension. Cut a small piece of Pretty in Pink card stock and layer behind the nose on the muzzle. Finish the muzzle with a 1/4" circle punch of Basic Black behind the mouth. Take one of the Small Ovals that you punched to use as a mask and lightly draw the shape of the inside of the ears. You will cut out the 'inside' of the ear shape that you just drew. You will have just the outside of the ear left. Lay the ear mask evenly over each ear oval, hold in place, and with Pretty in Pink chalk, chalk just the insides of the ears. Lightly chalk a little bit of Pretty in Pink chalk on the cheeks, using the perforation of the muzzle in the bear die cut as a guide. Now adhere the muzzle. Adhere a 1/4" circle punch in Basic Black behind each of the eyes. Add some eye highlights, a nose highlight, and two little teeth with a white gel pen. Dress your little bunny with clothes from the Beary Essentials die. I used the Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper for my bunny's coat and his bow tie. See how easy he is to make? Ya' really do need the Build a Bear Workshop dies ;-). See my Polar Bear Christmas card and the little elf under the category for Christmas in my sidebar and the pirate is under the Birthday category. These Build a Bear dies are too fun to play with!!!
I will be back on Monday! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings!
Barb PS- the flowers were stamped with the small flower in Cheep Talk. Just stamp the flower once, then twist the flower and stamp again.

Supplies:
Stamps: Season of Friendship- 111776, Cheep Talk- 113204, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370
Paper: So Saffron- 105118, Bashful Blue- 105120, Certainly Celery- 105125, Almost Amethyst- 102158, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Creamy Caramel- 102514, Whisper White- 100730, Basic Black- 102851, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper- 118060
Classic Stampin' Ink: Blush Blossom- 102609, Bashful Blue- 105209, Certainly Celery- 105217, Almost Amethyst- 101723, Chocolate Chip- 100908, Pretty in Pink- 101301, Crushed Curry- 115659
Stampin' Write Marker: Certainly Celery- 105106
Dies: Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978, Beary Hoppy Sizzlit- 117327, Beary Girl Sizzlit- 117982
Punches: Small Oval- 107304, 1 1/4" Circle- 104403, Scallop Circle- 109043 (to make the clouds)
Other: Pretty in Pink chalk- 105542, Stamp-a-ma-jig- 101049, White gel pen- 105021, green and yellow gems,

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Today I get to celebrate my Irish heritage- whoo hoo! My Great Grandparents came to America from Dublin, Ireland and settled in Paterson, New Jersey. Yep, I'm a Jersey Girl, although I haven't live there for a very long time :-). My Great Grandfather passed away before I was born, but I well remember my Great Grandmother. She lived to be 95 years old. I'm very fortunate that I have photos of her and a couple of things that belonged to her.

I made a card for all of you, whether you be Irish or Irish at heart :-), to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

And some Irish Blessings for you....

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370
Paper: Certainly Celery- 105125, Very Vanilla- 101650, Old Olive- 100702, Soft Suede- 115318, Whisper White- 100730, Basic Black- 102851, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper- 115671, Pawsitively Prints Designer Series Paper- 118060
Classic Stampin' Ink: Old Olive- 102277
Stampin' Write Marker: Old Olive- 100079
Punches: Small Tag- 108264, Word Window- 105090, Scallop Trim Border- 118402, Scallop Oval- 114889, Large Oval- 107305, Shamrock (non Stampin' Up!)- EK Success
Dies: Bear- 117977, Beary Essentials- 117978, Beary Lovely- 117987, Beary Hoppy- 117327
Other: Cameo Coral chalk- 105542, gold gemstones

Thank You

Each month demonstrators receive a great magazine, Stampin' Success. Each month there are wonderful projects showcased and a card sketch. I chose to use the card sketch from the April Stampin' Success for my thank you cards. For my first card I used Rich Razzleberry as the base and as the darker color in the daisy flower. If you click on the photos to make them bigger, you will notice that I covered the flowers in Iridescent Ice embossing powder to make them sparkly. It's a cloudy day here today so my camera didn't quite pick up the true colors :-(.

This second card is done in Elegant Eggplant for the base only. The flower is Orchid Opulence and Pale Plum.

The leaves are punched out with the Small Oval punch and then inked on the edges with Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Ink. The centers of the daisies have a flower punched from the Boho Blossoms punch and inked with Crushed Curry. The small flowers to the right are from the Trio Flower punch, also inked with Crushed Curry. I chose to use rich jewel tone colors for my cards today, but I plan to make more in pastel colors. Have a wonderful day today! See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370
Paper: Whisper White- 100730, Pale Plum- 101658, Barely Banana- 102701, Old Olive- 100702, Elegant Eggplant- 105126, Rich Razzleberry- 115316, Orchid Opulence- 100969, Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper- 115671
Classic Stampin' Ink: Elegant Eggplant- 105210, Rich Razzleberry- 115658, Crushed Curry- 115659, Always Artichoke- 105219, Versamark- 102283
Punches: Small Oval- 107304, Boho Blossoms- 110711, Flower Trio- 109183, 1/8" circle
Dies: Daisies #2- 114520
Other: Iridescent Ice embossing powder- 101930, April 2010 'Stampin' Success' card sketch

A Good Egg for Babies

I am late posting this morning from a busy weekend, but here I am, finally :). Over the weekend I was preparing for my stamp class this evening and I was working with the stamp set, 'A Good Egg' for Easter cards. I kept looking at that adorable little chick and thinking how cute it would be for a baby card. This morning I got up and made one for a baby boy and one for a baby girl to add to my card stash. I used my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a blender pen to color in the baby chicks. Lol! These little chicks just crack me up- they are so stinkin' cute!

The baby chicks are popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

I left the inside plain, but I used two sentiments. One of my favorite baby sentiments comes from the stamp set, 'God's Blessings'. It says: "A baby is a gift from Heaven above, bringing joy down to earth, filling hearts full of love." I paired it with another sentiment from 'Well Scripted', which is "Congratulations." And here is the baby boy version....

The 'Perfect Polka Dots' Textured Impressions embossing folder is great for so many different kinds of cards, but it really lends itself well for baby cards. Hope you are having a great day so far and wishing you a wonderful week! Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: A Good Egg- 114974, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370, God's Blessings- 114972, Well Scripted- 118601 clear mount & 117072 wood mount
Paper: Whisper White- 100730, Barely Banana- 102701, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Bashful Blue- 105120, Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper- 118401, Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper- 112151
Classic Stampin' Ink: Pretty in Pink- 101301, Bashful Blue- 105209. Black Staz-on- 101406, White gel pen- 105021, Blender pen- 102845
Watercolor Wonder Crayons: So Saffron- 106698, Barely Banana- 106697, Only Orange- 106695
Punches: Scallop Circle- 109043, 1 3/8" Circle- 104401, Word Window- 105090
Textured Impressions Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots- 117335
Other: 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon in Pretty in Pink- 109032 & Bashful Blue- 109029, Stampin' Dimensionals- 104430

Addin' to the Stash :-)

Remember a few posts ago, I mentioned that I was working on building up a stash of tags for gifts? There are the usual types of gift tags that you need throughout the year- birthday, anniversary, thinking of you, get well, wedding, new baby.... but sometimes you just need a really generic gift tag for no specific occasion. Those are good ones to add to the stash too so you have them on hand! Introducing my first 'no specific occasion' gift tag for the stash.... drum roll please ;-)

Tada!!! This is the front of my 'no occasion' gift card folded up . This is a pretty nifty kind of gift tag. Made from the Two Tags Bigz die exclusive to Stampin' Up!, it folds up into its own closure and has a handy little hole at the top to thread your string through. I used DMC embroidery floss for my string, but I didn't make a note of the color #- so, so sorry :-(. But, if you go looking with a scrap of your card stock with you, I'm sure you could match it up easy peasy.

Open it up and you'll find the little sentiment that simply says 'For You'. Now that ought to cover just about anything! Don't ya' think?

To make this tag, just layer your card stock and a piece of Designer Series Paper of your choice on top- side that you want showing face down on the die. Run both of them through your Big Shot or other die cutting machine at the same time. Bigz dies can cut through a few layers of paper at a time and cut through several other materials too. They are way cool ;-). This can be done on the Big Shot, but not sure about other die cutting machines, so be very careful if you cut more than one layer at a time on another machine, you don't want to break your machine- OK? Never, never, never force the handle. If it won't go through easily- don't do it.

After you die cut your two pieces- card stock and Designer Paper, you will see that you have a score line on both. You are going to cut on the score line of the Designer Paper only (not the card stock die cut) so you have two pieces of Designer Paper. One will fit the top of the tag and the other will fit on the bottom that folds up. Adhere your Designer Paper to the card stock tag and embellish. Viola! Before you know it you're done and you have a cute little tag to add to your own stash ;-). Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!!!!

Blessings!
Barb PS- the card in the previous post to this one would go great with this gift tag!

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Labels- 119122 clear mount or 118392 for wood mount. This set can be earned as a free stamp set during Sale-a-Bration.
Paper: Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper- 118401 (also a Sale-a-bration freebie), Old Olive- 100702, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Melon Mambo- 115320, Barely Banana- 102701, Whisper White- 100730
Classic Stampin' Ink: Crushed Curry- 115659, Melon Mambo- 115656, Old Olive- 102277
Dies: Two Tags Bigz- 115954, Beautiful Wings embosslit- 118138, Little Leaves Sizzlit- 114511, Daisies #2 Bigz- 114520
Punches: Curly Label- 112208
Other: DMC embroidery floss

Congratulations....

to my oldest daughter Christine- she just landed her first internship!!!

She has been in college for three years now and she has two more to go. At times she feels like she is going to be in college forever, but she is more than half way there now. When she graduates, she will have earned two Bachelor's degrees and an Associate's degree. Actually, she has finished the requirements for her Associate's, but will receive all three diplomas upon graduation. She is studying international business, marketing, and graphic art. The internship she just landed is with a university and she will be helping them through her art background and her marketing background to make their research and their discoveries known to the world. They were very impressed with her art portfolio and with her cutting edge take on things. I know that she is the right person for the job they want. She is very creative and consistently thinks outside of the box. We are so proud of her!

I wanted to make her a card that expresses that this is just the beginning of a very successful career. Now she will have the opportunity to 'bloom' and she will grow through her experience and take that with her into the future.

For the front of the card, I used the Daisies #2 die for the flower in Melon Mambo and Pretty in Pink. The flower is mounted with a Stampin' Dimensional on the Two Tags die cut. Die cut letters are in Old Olive. The cute Designer Series Paper can be earned free during Sale-a-bration, which ends March 31st.

The inside has congratulations, but also a little reminder that she is on her way and that the 'Best' truly 'is Yet to Be'. I used two ink colors for my sentiments- Melon Mambo and Old Olive. I like the look of two colors for the sentiments. Makes them just a little more interesting :-).

By the time you read this post, I am most likely preparing for my grandson's birthday party, which is at our house this year. My daughter #2 has some work being done on her house so it's just not feasible to have it there- which is OK by me! LOL! Daughter #4 has skate class tomorrow and then a sleep over on Saturday- so a busy few days ahead of me :-). Wishing you all a wonderful day today! See you tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Well Scripted- 118601, Best Yet- 111604 (retired Hostess set Fall/Winter 2008)
Paper: Welcome Neighbor Designer Series Paper- 118401, Melon Mambo- 115320, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Old Olive- 100702, Barely Banana- 102701, Whisper White- 100730
Classic Stampin' Ink: Crushed Curry- 115659, Melon Mambo- 115656, Old Olive- 102277
Dies: Beautiful Wings embosslit- 118138, Two Tags Bigz- 115954, Daisies #2 Bigz- 114520, Birds & Blooms- 113485, Hay Seed alpha (Sizzix- not sold by Stampin' Up!, but coordinates with the Build a Bear Workshop dies)
Punches: Scallop Trim border- 118402- you can earn this free during Sale-a-bration

Summer Mini Album- Part 1

I made this mini album last year, but I found it a couple of days ago in my cabinet when I was looking for Post-it Notes. I thought I would share it even though the Designer Series Paper (Sale-a-bration 2009) that I used is retired. The card stock colors are always available and it would be a simple matter to substitute a current Designer Series Paper. This is a really easy mini album to put together. If you would like a copy of the instructions, email me and I will be happy to email the Word Document to you.

The Front Cover

Page One and inside of front cover

Please see Part 2 below for the rest of the photos....

Summer Mini Album- Part 2

Page Two

Page Three

Page Four

Page Five

Page Six (last page)

I made the picket fence with strips of Whisper White card stock and the Tag Corner punch. I staggered the heights of the pickets for added interest. The orange part of the sun on page three is one of the flowers from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlits. I added a large button from the Buttons #5 Sizzlit for the center of the sun. Now that I found this mini album, I'm going to have to add some photos to it before I put it away and forget about it again!! I hope you are all having a wonderful day today!!! See you tomorrow!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral- 113734 (sentiment)
Paper: Certainly Celery- 105125, Pretty in Pink- 100459, Pale Plum- 101658, YoYo Yellow- 102824, Old Olive- 100702, Bashful Blue- 105120, Only Orange- 102837, Chocolate Chip- 102128, Whisper White- 100730, Close to Cocoa- 101341, Apricot Appeal- 105124
Classic Stampin' Ink: Regal Rose- 105211, Bashful Blue- 105209, Chocolate Chip- 100908, Close to Cocoa- 103139, Apricot Appeal- 105218
Punches: Boho Blossoms- 110711, Round Tab- 108340, Photo Corners- 109042, Tag Corner- 107215, 1/4" Circle, Butterflies- Martha Stewart
Dies: Birds & Blooms- 113485, Cherry Blossom- 114516, Little Leaves- 114511, Top Note- 113463, Buttons #5- 113440, Basket- Spellbinders
Other: Brads

The Donna Fold :-)

Well actually, this kind of card is called a joy fold, but my good friend Donna asked me to help her with some dimensions on a joy fold card that she wants to make for her grandson's birthday. Lots of grandson birthdays around here, lol! So when I came up with the dimensions for her card I mentally thought of it as The Donna Fold :-D.

After cutting and scoring it to see if it would work for her, I couldn't leave the folded card stock laying around doing nothing, so I made a card myself, lol! Thanks Donna, for the inspiration!

This is the front of the card folded into a standard 4.25" x 5.5" size and below is a photo of the card opened up. It can be stood up for display by the recipient. Joy fold cards are so nifty- don't ya' think?

I did make this card with a purpose already in mind. My soon to be 25 year old daughter moved to Texas not long ago because her husband has recently returned safely home from deployment in Iraq (thanking God everyday for that). She told me that now that she has moved I can feel free to send her some cards :-). Is that a hint or what?!!! She loves pink and she loves pink paired with brown, so I used Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip for the base of my card for her. Accents in Old Olive, Barely Banana, and Bashful Blue make the card bright and cheerful. I think she'll like it :-). Thanks for stopping by. See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweetheart- 120780, Well Scripted- 118601, Teeny Tiny Wishes- 115370, God's Blessings- 114972
Paper: Chocolate Chip- 102128, Whisper White- 100730, Regal Rose- 105130, Barely Banana- 102701, Bashful Blue- 105120, Old Olive- 100702, Patterns Pack II Designer Series Paper-114325 (retired/Hostess)
Classic Stampin' Ink: Old Olive- 102277, Regal Rose- 105211, Barely Banana- 101170, Bashful Blue- 105209
Punches: Full Heart- 113693, Word Window- 105090, Modern Label- 116630
Dies: Birds & Blooms Sizzlits- 113485, Beautiful Wings embosslit- 118138
Other: Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon- 111368, blue gems