Map It Monday - Lots of Dimensionals

I had the 3-heart punch out today, so I went to work & sure had fun.  You might be seeing other upcoming creations with hearts!   Here's what I came up with today, using the card map below. 

Lots of Stampin' Dimensionals are used on this card.  Each little punched heart has either one or two dimensionals underneath to give the card lots of depth.  I mixed several stamp sets here - why not give this map a try?!

Linda

Scrapbook Saturday - Grommit Family

Here's a layout that the ladies made at Scrapbook Club this month. 

We had a lovely color palette and incorporated elements such as chipboard, grommit hardware, and the Jumble Alphabet into the design. 

Join us some time!  Just send me a message & I will give you the deets!

Linda

Fast Friday - Marker Tipped Flowers

I almost forgot to post this card that I created for a stampers group a few weeks ago.  It really is a quick card and can be duplicated even faster if you omit the border punching.

Choose your color combination from scraps of designer series paper that you may have on hand.  All you need are two coordinating prints that are 4 1/4" long.  Any width will do.  The dsp shown here on this card is from a package of Autumn Traditions designer series paper (in the current catalog).  I cut one wide and one thin strip.  I paper punched one of the strips with the eyelet border punch.

Stamping:  An Upsy Daisy message is stamped in the lower right corner.  The daisies stamp is inked onto a  Ruby Red inkpad.  Before impressing the stamp onto the card, I brushed Elegant Eggplant marker onto the flower tips.

That's it!  A pretty card that looks elegant, yet is quick & easy!

Linda

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I ran across a story recently that I saved. I would like to share it with you on this Thanksgiving Day!

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

It was great, Dad."

Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.



Oh yeah," said the son.

So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more.

Giving thanks for the blessings in my life,
and Happy Thanksgiving,

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Another Mini Pumpkin !

Remember the little tab punch pumpkin I posted last week? Well, lookie here! You can make a tiny pumpkin out of scallop circle punches or oval punches too! Who knew?


What you need:


Orange cs (Dusty Durango, Only Orange, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust - any shade)

Ribbon – brown or green

Scallop Circle Punch


2-way glue pen

Follow the tab punch pumpkin instructions (here).  You'll need to add one last step at the end so your pumpkin doesn't roll off the table - trim a little snip off the bottom edge of the pumpkin with sharp scissors.  You only need to cut enough off so the little guy doesn't roll.
 
Give it a try!  You could set one pumpkin on each plate or napkin at the Thanksgiving table! Creating these shouldn't take much time.  I bet the kids might like to make these decorations.  Even young children can do the punching while you prepare the food!

Have fun!

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Border Punches Are Not Just for Borders

Tip for this week:
Border punches, like the Eyelet Border Punch & Scallop Border Punch, look great on the edges of a card or a strip adhered across a scrapbook page.  But one thing I hardly ever think to do is to use the eyelet border punch within the card front intead of only on the edges.

On this card, I have simply eyelet-border punched the message on the ends,  It gives the message a little extra attention, especially with the Yo Yo Yellow cs showing through the eyelets.

It's time for you to pretty up your card messages using an eyelet border punch!  Try it!

Linda :)

Map It Monday - Tiny Hearts

This week's card map has a message, 3 little embellishments, and a main image.  For my main image, I punched a heart out of Perfect Plum cs and adhered it to a square of cs.  The embellishments down the right side are merely punched tiny hearts.

Linda

Fast Friday - Stamping Happiness

Today's Fast Friday card requires cutting two thin strips of cs & adhering them to your card.  Next, stamp some flowers onto your Yo Yo Yellow card in second generation stamping.  Then, stamp a message right over those flowers & stamp some tiny butterflies. 

The butterflies are stamped in Only Orange ink and everything else is stamped in Riding Hood Red (retired color).  You could also use Real Red or Ruby Red instead of RHR.

The right edge of the card looks so pretty with the eyelet border punching!

Have a great weekend!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Only Orange, Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Yo-Yo Yellow

This week's Color Combination card is created by stamping several patterns, one on top of another, using the color palette of Only Orange, Real Red, & Riding Hood Red.

To complete the pattern, I colored in the centers of the circles with a YoYo Yellow Stampin' Write marker & then used a Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen to add white dots & outline the tiny flowered centers of the circles.

Two stamp sets are used here:  Simply Circles and Charming (current set from the Holiday Mini catty).  Although Simply Circles is a retired stamp set, some great alternatives would be Priceless, Wanted, True Friend, Circle Circus, or Baroque Motifs.  Any circular stamp sets that have both simple circle shapes and more intricate patterns could be used together to create patterns such as the one on this card.  Circles are stamped atop each other on the card stock - just make sure the varied sizes are centered over each other.

For the Real Red cs strip at the bottom of the card, I ran the cs through my diecutting machine with an argyle embossing folder & topped it with a button.

The message is created by using the eyelet border punch around all 4 sides of a small piece of Whisper White cs.  The corners sure didn't come out looking good, so I hand cut them, cutting little curves to match the curves that were punched.  The background of the white cs is stamped in Only Orange ink using the Charming stamp set's "inspire/create" stamp, though I stamped it just once in second generation.  That is, I stamped it once on scrap paper, then stamped it a second time on my cs without re-inking.  The "hello" is stamped in Only Orange as well, but not in 2nd generation stamping. 

The stamped white "hello bubble" is then tucked under a strip of plaid ribbon.  I added a happy birthday message in the inside of this card.

Have a great day & hope to see you on December 3 and December 7th at the holiday stamp camps!

Linda :)

Whatever Wednesday - Tiny Thanksgiving Pumpkin Favor Decorations

Here’s what you’ll need:
Dusty Durango cs
Chocolate Chip ribbon scraps
2-way glue pen adhesive

Here's how I made this little pumpkin decoration:
1.  Punch a dozen tabs with the tab punch. If you want to add extra dimension to the finished pumpkin, you can sponge the edges of one side of each piece.

2.  Fold each tab in half (if you sponged the edges of the pieces with ink, make sure the sponged sides are on the inside).

3.  Adhere tabs back to back, applying adhesive to non-sponged sides, one at a time.

4.  You will have a chain of linked  folded tabs. You can insert a stem at this point onto the last link.  Ribbon scraps or cs can be used -- I used a scrap of chocolate chip ribbon.

5.  Now, adhere the first & last tab links together, hold together until it is adhered well. 

6.  Fan the pumpkin out evenly.  You can tuck embellishments in between the tabs or into the center.  You can experiment with stems & leaves - roll a stem from scrap cs that has been distressed, wrap a skinny cs strip around a pencil to make a curly-q, or stamp a tiny leaf & hand cut it.

Cute, isn't it?

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Holiday Gift Tag Bag

Tip for today: 

Get going on your gift tag stamping for the holidays!

 If you have the Christmas Punch stamp set, your work will be easy.  Whether you do or don't, why not attend my Christmas Express stamp camp & we'll make all of your gift tags.  Here is a rather easy gift tag style - using the Christmas Punch stamp set & the wide oval punch.  It couldn't get much simpler! 

Pop some tags into a cellophane bag & add a topper of designer paper & you have a great little gift for a friend or a hostess gift for Thanksgiving!

Linda

Map It Monday - Blue Memories

Today's map is one that can be used with those strips of designer paper you have left over. 

Here's the map:

Hope you like it!

I've been working on my Holiday Express Stamp Camp items - there are so many awesome things to make!  I hope you can be there - both the Stamp-a-Stack Christmas card camp & the Holiday Express Stamp Camp have been rescheduled - Holiday Express Stamp Camp on December 3rd & Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack on December 7th!

Linda

Fast Friday - Prayer Tree

This Fast Friday card really needs no inkpad.  The message can be inked with an inkpad if you prefer, but you can just as easily color on the rubber stamp with a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker.

I colored the leaves of the tree very quickly (didn't worry if I missed any leaves) with an Old Olive marker, then colored the trunk with a Chocolate Chip marker.  I didn't concern myself too much with the tiniest of branches.  I did run the marker up partially on the main branches & colored some of the leaves that I noticed were uninked.  Then, I huffed onto the rubber to remoisten the ink & stamped it on white cs.  The leaves are partially green & partially brown.  Just like Autumn. 

Then, to finish off the card, I added the message, layered it onto Chocolate Chip cs & tied on Old Olive grosgrain ribbon.  Everything is adhered to a kraft brown card.

I fall in love with this Thoughts & Prayers stamp set all over again every time I take it out to create something with it!

Supplies I used for this Fast Friday card:

card:  kraft cs

other cs:  Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

stamps:  Thoughts & Prayers stamp set

inks:  Stampin' Write markers - Chocolate Chip & Old Olive; Classic Stampin' Pad - Chocolate Chip (optional)

other:  Old Olive grosgrain ribbon

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Birdie Trio

Color Combo for this week is

Garden Green
More Mustard
Bashful Blue

I created this card for some brand new stampers.  There's no brads, no designer paper, no hardware - just simply some card stock, stamps & ink, and a little flair.  A great project for a first-timer.

A Little Birdie Told Me stamp set has a party hat that is used for the background pattern. 

A canopy is created with cs and a scallop border punch & it is adhered with dimensionals.

To avoid the use of brads on the flowers, I simply pierced one hole in the center of each flower on the mat pack.   It gives the appearance of a center to the flower.  Tombow -Multi Purpose adhesive can be used to dot some glue & adhere the trio of flowers.

Happy Stamping!

Until tomorow,

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - TREAT JAR

I have been wanting to post this treat jar for quite some time.  A decorated jar filled with home-baked goodies or candy is always a favorite. 

Use whatever you have on hand.  A Simply Scrappin' Kit would be ideal for making & embellishing your jar.  Remember to add pretty ribbon and a big blingy embellishment!  The lid has a glittery chipboard & matching button!  I have distressed the edges of the cs on the lid & scallop border punched the belly band on the jar.  A matching brad can give the jar an interesting detail. 

If you make some of these now, all you need to do is fill them with goodies for friends at holiday time!

Linda :)

TUESDAY TIPS - Elongating a Shape

Get out your sunglasses for this pretty pair!  The black tones down the brightness & adds a touch of class to this card, don't you think?

SUPPLIES: 
CS:  Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White
Stamps:Only Ovals Stamp Set, Many Mower
Ink:  Classic Stampin' Pads - Bermuda Bay & Basic Black
Other:  Wide Oval Punch, Modern Label Punch, dimensionals

The horizontal oval (....friend") here on the first card is too wide for the modern label punch to show on both ends from underneath. Has that ever happened when you've made a card?........try this tip next time you want to layer punched shapes when you want a bottom layer to "grow":

Cut the bottom shape in half & adhere both parts to the card with a small gap in the middle - it'll elongate the shape & nobody will ever know that it is really two pieces instead of one underneath!

This trick works best if the top layer is larger than the bottom layer.  In the second example above, the bottom layer is cut apart & adhered with a gap to elongate it, and then the larger shape is adhered on top of it to give a contiguous flow to the piece.  In the first example above, the bottom shape is cut apart & adhered with a gap to elongate the oval, but the flow is chopped since the top shape is too small & doesn't cover that gap.  There are times when you may want that chopped look on a card - try it.  However, the second example may be just the look you need. 

Linda

MAP IT MONDAY - Cheery Roses

Here's a very simple map that is ideal for a card with a stamped background.  The Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set is a thing of beauty - A Rose Is a Rose stamp set or one of our beautiful background stamps would also look beautiful for a card with this style of map. 

The message is created with the key tag punch, 1 3/4" circle punch & the designer label punch. 

I have used retired colors of Tangerine Tango & Riding Hood Red for this card, though you could substitute Ruby Red & Dusty Durango or Pumpkin Pie.

Why not give the recipient of your card a special treat when she opens the envelope?  Stamp on the envelope itself!  The envelope is custom designed to match the card!

Linda

SCRAPBOOK SATURDAY - 8 x 10 Frameable Scrapbook Page

I just had a stamp camp where we made a scrapbook page measuring 8 x 10" (the Not Quite Navy cs part of this scrapbook page above).  The 8 x 10" page can then be used in a frame for a table or wall, or it can be mounted on a 12 x 12" designer paper for a scrapbook.   Isn't that a great idea?   I chose to adhere my 8 x 10" page to some Close to Cocoa striped dsp & add a bright title.

I started with the 8 x 10" Not Quite Navy cs, then added a layer of Close to Cocoa patterned dsp measuring 6 x 8". 

I cut mats for the photos measuring 2 3/4" square.  The circles are punched with a 1" circle punch. 

Cs strips are added in both Not Quite Navy and Old Olive - the NQN strip is punched with the scallop border punch.

The title is traced on Old Olive cs using Onboard Chipboard letters.

There's no need for a scrap map today - the layout is very straightforward and easy to follow.

Isn't this a terrific color combination?

Linda :)

Fast Friday - Four Parisian Breezes

Instead of one card for this week's Fast Friday post, I have four cards - and, as always, they can be made in just a few minutes - fast!  Look at this set of precious, slender cards that I created in just a few minutes!  I used the retired Parisian Breeze dsp, Best Yet stamp set, and a few punches.   I used scraps from this dsp package.  What a quick & easy hostess gift this would be at the last minute!

Have a great day!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Green Galore, Only Orange & Whisper White

This week's color combination is:  Green Galore, Only Orange, Whisper White

Bright, isn't it?  Not quite neon looking, but almost!

Kaleidoscope dsp adds a nice contrast to the Only Orange card.  I also found a scrap of ribbon that I adhered to the card front to give it extra pizzazz.

The eyelet border punch is used here on dsp - I tend to use that punch on cs only, but I'll try to remember to use it on dsp as well.

The funny lady here is from the Golden Oldies stamp set.  I have colored her with Stampin' Write markers & added an orange brad to her party hat.

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Suede Birdie Keychain

This little keychain is easy to make & sure is handy.  This is what I keep my keys attached to (well, not this particular one) - it's easy to fish out of a purse because of its distinct shape too!  This cutie combines Soft Suede and Real Red - what an awesome color combination!  Soft Suede polka dotted ribbon adds such charm!

Here is what the keychain looks like on the inside - just tear off a small stack of post-it notes & adhere the back sheet to the cs.  I like to reinforce adhesion with ds tape.  The sticky note backing isn't enough of a hold.  The hole is punched with the Crop-o-Dile very easily without much pressure.

The trickiest part of making a keychain like this is inserting the metal keychain through the cs.   You can use either the round slide-thru style keychain or the style I have used here.

The Soft Suede bird on the front is stamped with bird from the Berry Christmas stamp set.

Linda :)

Tuesday Tips - Classy Brass

Tuesday Tip for the Week:  Classy Brass template adds detail to your projects

Have you tried any of the classy brass templates?  They are a great tool to use for dry embossing or for adding piercing detail to projects. 

This is what the "Punches Plus" Classy Brass looks like.  This particular template has various geometric shapes with piercing guides around the shapes.  I have used one of the circle guides to create piercings in this Green Galore cs circle flower.  It works easiest if you can center the template shape around a center point.  Positioning can be tricky otherwise.  I laid a 3/4" punched circle in the center of the large Green Galore circle.....

 then I centered the brass around that small center circle - this ensured that the piercings would be centered well on the cs.  I hope that makes sense.  Here is how I set it up for piercing (don't forget to put the mat cushion underneath the cs):

Though it's not easy to see in this photo, I used paper snips to snip little petals into the Green Galore circle, making it like a "mod flower".  I distressed the flower center with my fingernail & added a brad in the center.

The ticket corner punch and orange brads give this card harmony - black cs corners & the message are both ticket corner punched.  Brads tie it all together in the corners & in the middle of the flower.

Linda :)

Map It Monday - Pink Lady

I had fun creating this little old lady card today.  I actually saw a card that I liked that was created using the map here, so I created my card using the same map.  As you can see, I changed it up a bit, straying from the original map.  That's ok - it's the heart of creativity!

Here what you'll need to make this card:

Supplies -

cs:  white, Green Galore, Pixie Pink

dsp:  Kaleidoscope

stamps:  Golden Oldies stamp set

inks:  black Stazon; Stampin' Write Markers - Only Orange, Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Going Gray

punches:  small & large ovals, tiny circle punch, 1 3/4" circle

other:  mat pack, circle cutter, ribbon, brad

Aren't the little old people in this stamp set cute?  It's fun to color them with markers to match the papers.

The Pixie Pink rectangle is paper pierced with a mat pack & adhered with dimensionals to the card.  The lady is also adhered with dimensionals.   I used the 1 3/4" circle punch for the lady & cut out a larger circle with a circle cutter out of Green Galore cs.

Have a great day!  It's good to be back from a little break - been sick, but feeling better now.

Linda