Humble Beginnings

I was recently thinking about the joy that stamping brings to my life. It led me to think about how I got into this fabulous hobby to begin with. I always liked to decorate binders and things so card making was a natural progression. But it wasn't until a good friend of mine invited me to a Stampin' Up! workshop and INSISTED that I come that I found my passion! Looking back, I realize how much I had to learn. I've kept that passion for learning and have been blessed to meet such wonderful people and learn new things each time I stamp! Thanks to all of you who make my stamping group the BEST group in the world--thanks for all the fun and all the memories, gals! I hope you take the time to make something simple this week because by small and simple things, great things are accomplished! Happy stamping!!!

Use Your Tools!

I submitted this card for a SCS challenge. The challenge was to use ribbon in any way other than making a bow or a knot. The tutorial suggestion was to make a ribbon butterfly, which I loved, so I chose to incorporate that. But I also wanted to do something to use ribbon in a new way. I wanted to make a sky or cloud with it! And what I came up with was this: take a strip of ribbon and slit it at an angle all the way down. After I was done with the cutting, I used my heat tool to curl the edges up. And voila! It turned out better than I thought it would! I hope you take the chance to play with your ribbon this week--happy stamping!!!

Recipe for Success!

I recently got onto splitcoaststampers.com (a favorite of mine, if you couldn't tell yet) and saw an adorable tutorial for an accordion box made from paper. I quickly went down to my crafting area and made the one pictured here. I wanted to do it as a workshop, but I felt like it needed more substance. Luckily for me, my husband is a wonderfully creative man who lets me bounce ideas off of him. His first suggestion was to make it into a recipe box! So, now I am looking forward to getting together with friends and fellow stampers soon to make a recipe box--we also decided to make one of our recipes to share so we can eat, stamp and talk. We'll exchange recipes and get to take home more than a project--it'll be a great symbol of the friendship in our group. I hope you can join me! It will be Tuesday, August 24th at 6:30pm at my home. Message me if you need my address! See you then!!!!

All That Glitters is...Glitter!

One of my favorite ways to bling up a card is to use glitter. Glitter comes in so many colors and types and is very versatile. My favorite glitter to use is Stampin' Up!'s fine Dazzling Diamonds glitter. It is a "clear" glitter that just adds dimension to whatever you put it on. For this card, I stamped my butterflies in Elegant Eggplant classic ink and then cut them out. After I did this, I "colored" in the image with a glue pen and added the glitter. I love how the glitter adds richness to the already beautiful butterflies and gives them the feeling of movement. I challenge you to use glitter on your next project! Enjoy!!!

Spot On!

One of my favorite tools to use is a paper punch. I have TONS! They are a great investment because you can use them many time over. If they get dull, you can sharpen them by punching through foil a few times then through wax paper to smooth the edges. I also have a New Year's resolution to use my scrap drawer more. I utilized this when making these cards. ;) Anyway, I used one of my little circle punches to create this cute card set. It was quick and easy. These cards are 3"x3" notecards. I simply cut a strip of black and placed my punched out scraps onto the black. I stamped my sentiment in Basic Black ink then added the strip to the card. It took me all of five minutes! I hope you find a few minutes in your day to create something--it's well worth it!

Spotlight on Style

I love to learn and play with new techniques. I found an oldie but a goodie again while doing a challenge for SCS (Splitcoast Stampers). It's the Spotlight Technique. It's quite simple, really. Take a look at my sample and try it for yourself! Happy stamping!

Spotlight Technique

Materials:

• Stamps (line art)
• Black ink
• Markers or Blender pens for coloring
• Punch
• Cardstock (Whisper White or Very Vanilla)
  

Instructions:

• Stamp your line image onto your neutral cardstock to create a black and white image.
• Stamp image again onto another scrap piece of the neutral cardstock and color it in.
• Punch out the desired area of the image you colored.
• Adhere it over your black and white image.
• Use on your project!
  

Fly Away!

I LOVE BUTTERFLIES! This card makes me happy for three reasons: the colors, the texture on the butterflies and the 3D look of the little flutteries! :) This is one of my new favorite color schemes: Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point and Wild Wasabi. The colors are bright, vibrant and fun! Another part of this card that gives it more whimsy is the butterflies. I inked the stamp with the base color and then used a small flower stamp inked in another color and stamped on top of the inked stamp. When you do this, make sure you clean the smaller stamp before you stamp on the main image each time. Finally, use glue dots to create a 3D accessory out of your butterfly. Fold the butterfly in half, and place the glue dot in the middle then adhere to the card.

Jelly-Filled Donut

We all know that the best part of the jelly donut is the inside! The same is true about these cards!!! The outside is a little plain, because the best part is the inside! Have fun using this concept on your next project--and show it to me or show me pics! Happy stamping!!!

Plaid Silhouettes

Okay. Here is a quick and simple way to give your card a BIG WOW factor! The technique is called Plaid Silhouettes and I learned it from Joan Ervin who lives in Texas. She shared it on SplitcoastStampers so I want to share it with you!!!

Materials Needed:

• 3 colors ink
• Solid Stamp
• Whisper White or Very Vanilla Cardstock

Instructions:

• Ink up your solid stamp with the lightest color.
• Turn your stamp over. Using the edge of your next stamp pad, take the next lightest color and place 3-5 lines on the stamp about 1-2 inches apart at an angle.
• Turn your stamp 180*. Using the edge of your last stamp pad, take the darkest color and place 3-5 lines on the stamp about 1-2 inches apart at an angle.
• Stamp your image onto your Whisper White or Very Vanilla cardstock.
• Use on a card or as a scrapbook page accent.

I hope you enjoy!!!