Happy Days

Hi Everyone!

On Friday Robbie will celebrate his 25th birthday. Late one night about a year or so ago, he called me to his room. "Listen," he said to me. I listened and heard the hooting owl that he had heard. We sat in the darkness listening to the owl calling out again and again. Hooting owls are rare in our neighborhood so we were both excited about Rob’s discovery. We heard the owl a few more times over the next few weeks. On night’s that we didn’t hear it, as we were calling out good night to each other one or both of us would "Who-o-o."

I am guessing that story sounds sort of silly to those of you who are reading this post, but there’s more to the story. Robbie and Marie both asked what I wanted for Mother’s Day and I mentioned some choices of clear stamps from PaperTrey Ink. Rob went online and discovered that the stamps he had planned to give me were out of stock. On his own he scrolled through all of the stamps that are shown on PaperTrey Ink’s web site and discovered their "Wise Owl" stamps. He wasn’t sure if I already owned them or not and didn’t want to give away his discovery to me so he took ALL of my stamps into his room and checked through them to be sure. He was delighted to discover that "Wise Owl" wasn’t among my collection and ordered them for me.

When the package arrived Rob was as excited about his gift as I was because he had found and selected "Wise Owl" on his own. He gave them to me along with a very special note that ended with the words, "Love, Guess Who-o-o."

And so I created this "Who-o-o" card for Robbie’s 25th birthday. I know it will be meaningful to him. The branch on the card is from PaperTrey Ink’s "Take a Bough" collection. The owl is from PaperTrey Ink’s "Wise Owl" collection. The moon and the leaves are stickers from Recollections.

Riley, is my sister Jeanne’s dog. She loves Riley as if she were her biological child. I’ve created several "Riley" cards for Jeanne over the past 6 months or so. When I saw the "Patriotic Puppy" stamp on the Serendipty Stamp’s web site I knew I had to buy it to use on a card for Jeanne. "Happy 4th of July" is a stamp from Northwoods Rubber Stamps. I used Stickles to highlight the fireworks that are a part of the stamp. The background fireworks are stickers from Mrs. Grossman. The flag and dish of food are also stickers.

I loved the fireworks stickers from Mrs. Grossman so much that I decided to use them on a card of their own. I already had the blue sticker letters on my table so I quickly added them to the card.
It didn’t take me very long to create those 3 cards, but I am guessing the recipients will all enjoy them.

Have a great night!

Carol

Citronella Drinks

Hi Everyone!

Didn't this weekend just fly by! I had so many things I wanted to accomplish and I can cross very few of them off my list. Oh, well...there's always tomorrow.

I think I’ve only eaten one meal in my life that was made with "Hamburger Helper", but the slogan for that product is stuck in my mind, "One pan, one pound, one happy family!"

For some reason I thought of

that slogan while I was making

cards the other day.

I had one package of

K & Company Citronella

Grand Adhesions and used them to create 7 cards. "One package, 7 cards, one happy Carol!" My friend, Toni, bought me those embellishments after I mentioned I was trying to locate them since they coordinate with the Citronella paper I wrote about many blogs ago. Toni also bought me additional blocks of that paper. Thanks, Toni!

I used Citronella paper for most of the cards, but the paper with the little cherries is from the DCWV Sweet Mat Stack and the paper with the large cherries is from paper called "Yummy Cherries" from Hot off the Press. I used a couple of different Martha Stewart edger punches to create the decorative strip across the cards. The "Enjoy the Sweet Things in Life" stamp is the same stamp that I mentioned a couple of blogs ago. It is manufactured by Impression Obsession.

I think these cards could be used for "thinking about you", "thank you", "birthday" cards, etc.

Enjoy!
Carol

Tea!

Good Morning Everyone!

This wasn’t the blog I intended to post today. For the first time in a long time I actually have a back up of 3 or 4 posts, but this new one gets priority for today because I MUST tell you about my newest stamp.

As a child I used construction paper, crayons, and home made paste to create greeting cards for every occasion. As an adult I visited the Hallmark aisle to purchase greeting cards for all occasions.

But all of that changed when I bought my first issue of Papercrafts magazine, studied the cardmaking ideas in it, and said to myself, "I can do that!" At first I used mainly die cuts and clip art to create my cards. I steered clear of all kinds of stamps and told everyone, "I am not ever going to take up stamping." Yeah, right!

I started out with clear stamps. I liked being able to "see" what I was doing. I steered clear of wooden stamps. I was nervous about being able to stamp where I wanted the image to be placed on the card. One day I broke down and purchased a couple of wooden stamps. I went home and tried them out. I stamped and the images appeared right where I had hoped they would. I was hooked. Hooked on clear and wooden stamps. Then I heard about "cling stamps" and for reasons unknown to me, dragged my heels about giving them a try.

But I broke down one day and bought one to give clings a try. It was sort of a cross between a clear stamp and a wooden one and I liked it. Picked up a couple of others over the past few months and liked them too, but I wasn’t really excited about any of them until I bought the "big cup" cling from Hero Arts. I’m in love! With a cling stamp! With the "big cup" cling stamp from Hero Arts!

The stamp arrived in yesterday’s mail around 2 PM. I didn’t use it right away, but I am guessing it was out of the package and in my hands within an hour of its arrival. Since it’s arrival I have used it to create 9 cards! And I have other cup images cut and trimmed, but haven’t placed them on a card yet.

I’ve told you before that I like to buy stamps that can be used in more than one way or can be used for a variety of occasions. Well, the "big cup" fulfills both of my expectations. It can be used as a cup or cut off the handle, and it’s a bowl. I can create "tea tags" to hang from the cup that say, "You’re my cup of tea", "Feel better soon", "Happy Mother’s Day", "Enjoy" and more. I can place stamped text like "Happy Birthday" in front of a "bowl of ice cream". I’ve only just begun. The stamp hasn’t even lived here for 24 hours yet!

At first I selected scrapbook papers that had tiny prints on them that reminded me of delicate tea cups. Then I chose papers with more vibrant prints that remind me of dinnerware sets I have seen at the store. I stamped and embossed the big cup image onto all of the papers.

Since the cup is "big" it was easy to cut it out. My hand isn’t as steady as I would like it to be when I use my craft knife, but I was able to score along the lip of the cup so I could insert a tea bag or "scoop of ice cream" in the opening. I also scored inside the handle of the tea cup, but used scissors too, to remove the paper that was filling in the handle.

The string on the tea tags is taped to the back of the cup. The tea bags pull out of the cup so that they can be used, but the tea cup will remain intact. The scoop of ice cream can pull out of the bowl so that you can write a message on it.

Now I need to run out to buy some fine glitter for some different cards that I am creating.

Have a great weekend!

Carol

Strawberries!

Happy Friday!

Recently I shared some ice cream cone cards with you and today I’ve decided to move on to STRAWBERRIES! They seem to be especially gorgeous and sweet this year. Marie keeps popping them in her mouth. Robbie keeps eating bowl after bowl of fruit salad. I keep buying them, making all sorts of salads with them, and thinking that something so bright and yummy belongs on a card. So...

I looked through my papercrafting supplies and found a strawberry die, strawberry buttons, a bowl of strawberries rubber stamp, a strawbery rubber stamp, strawberry paper, and some strawberry embellishments.

The strawberries on this first card were created with a stamp from A Muse stamps. I discovered it was easiest for me to stamp a series of strawberries across a sheet of paper and then use a one-inch square punch to punch them out. I am mentioning that because I usually trim my paper before I stamp it, but I was trying to have the strawberry face different directions and that's why it seemed easier to trim the paper after I had stamped the image.
"You’re Sweet" was created with a stamp from Impression Obsession. Think of how many ways you can use that stamp! The "seeds packet" is a button from Favorite Findings.

I HAD to own the bowl of strawberries stamp from the Lockhart Stamp Company. Not sure if it’s meant to be a bowl or a colander, but either way I love the stamp.
"Enjoy the Sweet Things in Life" from Impression Obsession is another stamp I can see myself using on all sorts of cards. As I glance up and look at my stamps, I guess that’s true for many of my stamps meaning that they can be used on a variety of cards, but I see the "Sweet" stamps being used on baby cards, little child cards, for cards about cookies, cupcakes, fruits, as a thank you card, etc. The strawberry and leaf buttons are from Favorite Findings.

I used an AccuCut die to create the chocolate covered strawberry on this card. First I punched out an entirely red strawberry. Then I positioned some green paper just over the leaves, punched that out, and trimmed it. I positioned some brown paper over the lower part of the strawberry and punched that out. Then I trimmed the brown paper to make it look as if the strawberry had been dipped in chocolate. The message on the strawberry is a clear stamp from
Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps.



I’ve been busy creating cards all week and just need some time to write about them so expect some posts over the weekend.

Carol

Ice Cream

Hi Everyone!

Mmm...ice cream! What a yummy treat to enjoy during the hot days of summer. Today I drove by an ice cream stand called The Daily Scoop and that reminded me that I had a stamp at home that says, "Here’s the SCOOP!" so I came home and created a couple of ice cream cards.

I used a Martha Stewart ice cream cone paper punch to create the scoops of ice cream and cones for both of my cards. The scoop and the cone punch out separately so I call it a 2 piece punch. I have had a little difficulty punching with some 2 piece punches so I suggest that you ask to give your punch a try before you purchase it.

The "Here’s the SCOOP!" stamp is manufactured by A Muse Artstamps. The ice cream brads are from Eyelet Outlet. They have a great selection of brads and eyelets and also now carry ribbon. I put a pop dot behind each of the scoops on this card to add dimension to the card.

The scalloped edges on this card were created with a Martha Stewart edger punch. The alignment guide on Martha’s edger punches helps you create a continuous pattern.

I had so much fun creating these cards that I think I’ll make others in a little while.

Hope you have a great night!
Carol

Flower Chat

Hi Everyone!

I spent this humid day surrounded by 3 fans! I sat at my worktable and prepped 4 workshops, created games for a summer program for preschoolers, and made some cards. I decided to use a set of clear stamps from Stampendous called "Flower Chat" on today’s cards.

When you look at the picture of "Flower Chat" you will notice that instead of phrases many of the words are individual words that have an outline around them. There are additional phrases and single words in a variety of fonts and a bunch of flowers in a "window box".

Since the words are individual words you can arrange them any way that you want on a clear block before you stamp them. The "window box" has a space in it for a word to be stamped.

On this first card I stamped everything onto a white background paper and then used my Marvy Twinklette markers to color the stamped images. I put a tiny brad through the middle of each flower before I adhered the white background paper to a layer of green paper and then attached those papers to a blank card.

On the second card I cut the words out before I attached them to the card. A thin layer of foam tape would make the words pop out a little more.

The words are just stamped on the white paper for this card. Instead of using the "window box" stamp, I used silk flowers and brads for the floral arrangement. I added a butterfly to the arrangement after I studied the photograph I had taken of the card.

This time I just used the "window box" stamp and stamped the word "hello" in the window box’s empty space. I placed different sizes of white pearls in the center of each flower.

This is my favorite card. Stamped the window box on white and adhered the white onto a layer of brown. I wrapped some sheer brown ribbon around the polka dotted paper, added brads to the ribbon and attached it to the blank card before I attached the paper with the floral arrangement.

Hope that at least one of these cards inspires you.

Stay cool!

Carol

Happy Friday!

Good Morning Everyone!

I often purchase stamps that have specific messages such as "Happy Birthday", "Congratulations" or "Get Well", but the stamps I want to share with you today are just for fun. I’ve learned that humor works as well in cards as it does in life. We smile, we laugh, sometimes we nod our heads in agreement when we read a humorous card or one that "plays with words".

I order many of my stamps from http://www.addictedtorubberstamps.com/ which is one of my favorite sources for stamps. I think their search engine is fantastic. Sometimes I get an idea for a card and think I’d like a stamp for it so I search on their web site and more often than not I find exactly what I wanted. They ship quickly and protect the stamps by placing them on corrugated cardboard and shrink wrapping them. The stamps arrive with a couple of pieces of hard candy and a sample sheet of scrapbook paper. If you are a member of their "Red Carpet Club" your order gets priority shipping and arrives with a surprise in it. Sometimes the surprise is a stamp or some ink. I ordered all of the stamps that I am writing about in today’s blog through addictedtorubberstamps.

First up, "I like you better than flies!" This stamp is manufactured by Penny Black and is called "better than flies!" "Inky the Frog" is manufactured by Inkadinkado. I didn’t have any "flies" handy, so I substituted some dragonfly gems from Favorite Findings. I figured the frogs wouldn’t mind. I used my Twinkling H20s to paint my frogs

Next up, "Life’s a beach" from A Country Welcome stamps. I’ve had that stamp for a while, but hadn’t used it recently. I picked up some Jolee’s "Beach Bikini" dimensional stickers in the clearance section of Michaels the other day, and thought they’d work well with my stamp. I threaded the clothesline onto the "pebbles" paper before I attached it to the card. The clothespins are just strips of adhesive labels. I know that there are mini clothespins, but decided that the other embellishments added enough dimension to the card.

Now that I am creating more and more cards when I am stamping an image, I stamp extras, emboss them, and set them aside so I can "grab" one when I need it. I have extra images of "Life’s a Beach" so I decided to use one for the next card.

My July/August 2010 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine arrived in the mail the other day. I love the sandcastle idea that is shown on pages 27 and 28 of that issue. You can print out the template for free on the Creating Keepsakes website. The sandcastle is created from sandpaper. I’ve used sandpaper on other cards so I store some sheets of it with my scrapbook paper. The different grades of paper have different shades and textures. You can pick up packages of sandpaper at the dollar stores. There will be several grades of paper in each package. To create the sand on the beach just tear strips of sandpaper. Don’t try to tear it straight...just tear it!

I used Cloud9Design rub ons on my card. I was amazed that they stuck so easily to the sandpaper. I backed some scraps of red and blue paper with Scor-Pal tape and then cut out the flags for the castle. The backing for the tape peeled off easily and then I attached the flags to the card.
And that’s it for today! Have a great day!
Carol

Flowerpot a la Susan DeMuth

Hi Everyone!

Ever had one of those days when you are in a funk and not sure why? Well, that's how I felt yesterday until the mail came. My friend, Susan DeMuth, had sent me a package filled with surprises. In seconds my mood swung from "funk" to "fantastic".

Let me start out by introducing you to Susan. Susan is an artist. She is the owner and president of a company called Shapes, ETC. If you are a classroom teacher you NEED to know about Shapes, ETC. and can learn about Susan's note pads and cutouts by visiting her web site. In addition to drawing all of the images for her business, Susan knits, sews, quilts, makes button necklaces, makes Sculpey dough pins, makes her own cards, gardens, cooks, reads every book that she can, and probably does a lot more things than I have listed. She is AMAZING. I want to be "Susan" when I grow up!

Susan designed my logo for me. I described what I wanted over the phone and she understood exactly what I wanted and created my business cards and labels for the backs of my cards.

Susan is the friend who totally turned me onto papercrafting. About 2 years ago when we attended the annual school supply trade show, we roomed together and both brought some papercrafting things with us. That was when I learned how to make what I now call "Flowers a la Susan" which I will explain to you later in this blog. First I want to tell you about the package Susan sent me yesterday.

There were slipper socks in the package...amazing socks that Susan knitted. She's made me slipper socks before and I LOVE them because they actually stay on my feet when I walk around.

There were six Sculpey dough pins in the package. They are the most detailed and amazing pins you have ever seen. I just took the picture of them a few minutes ago and the light is not great right now so the picture doesn’t do them justice. You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you now amazing they are. I especially love the owl.

And there were 3 cards in the package. Cards that I totally loved. Cards that inspired me to make my own card. Cards that inspired me to make a template that I could share with you so that you can make these adorable cards too. I scanned in the template I created and another awesome friend of mine, Cindy Montgomery of The Virtual Vine turned my template into a PDF file for me. If you are a teacher you also need to know about Cindy who is a SPED teacher in MS who has the most amazing web site, The Virtual Vine. Cindy is also a papercrafter so be sure to check out her incredible cards.

Wow, this is a long blog, isn’t it! So much to tell you about today! Well, here’s the card I created after oohing and aahing over Susan’s cards. The flower arrangement pulls out of the flowerpot and that is where you can stamp a message or attach a gift card. Study the flowers. I punched them out with one of my EK Success paper punches. Then I placed them on a thick piece of foam, (you could use your mouse pad), and pressed a stylus down in the middle of each flower which makes the flowers "pop up" and become 3D. That is a technique that Susan taught me which is why I call them "Flowers a la Susan". I used my bone folder to score each of the leaves and then folded them slightly along the scored line. The leaves are created from a Martha Stewart leaf punch.

I traced one of Susan’s flowerpots and created this pattern for you. I think you will understand how to make the flowerpot just by studying the cards that Susan and I made. If you have any questions, please post them on this blog and I will answer them for you.
Now I must do some of my "real work"!

Have a great night.
Carol

Patriotic Wreath and cards

Hi Everyone!

I decided to make use of the red, white, and blue scraps I had left over from the star cards and tote I created a few days ago. I cut the scraps into one-inch squares and pieced them together to create some patchwork cards.

As I sat here admiring my patriotic creations I decided to make a new wreath. I used my large star Sizzix die and cut out more stars. I followed Kimber's instructions from her post last week for Scrapbooks & Cards Today when I was folding the stars. After the stars were folding I used some pop dots to adhere them to a wreath form. I may add some small stars to the wreath, but for now it's hung on the wall.

Have a great night!

Carol

Embossing Folders

Good Morning Everyone!

I have a collection of Cuttlebug embossing folders. I love the background effect they create on my cards. I store them in a "browsing container" in front of me on my worktable so that I remember to use them.

When I put standard weight scrapbook paper in an embossing folder and run it through my Cuttlebug, I end up with a nice impression in the paper. When I put tag weight scrapbook paper in an embossing folder and run it through my Cuttlebug, some of the impressions appear "cracked" because you can see the white core of the paper.

I just watched a video on youtube and learned a great technique. Place tag weight paper that has a white core in an embossing folder and run it through your Cuttlebug. Then, rub a sanding block on your paper and the white core will show through all of the raised impressions. The technique is quick, easy, and effective. Try it! You'll like it!

This first image shows the paper after I have embossed it.

This next image shows the paper after it has been embossed and sanded.

Here's another image that has been embossed and sanded.

Here are images of a few more cards I made last week.

Have a great day!

Carol