Longmont Senior Center - March 20, 2023

\I always look forward to my class at the Longmont Senior Center. This month the stampers will be making:

This is a very fun class and I share teaching duties with Cathy Hansen a really gifted artist who also makes two cards.  We try to do a Christmas card each month so that the stampers will be ready when the time comes. Cathy and I take turns doing the Christmas card and this month it's her turn. Here are the cards the stampers will be making with Cathy:

These stampers are a really fun bunch and I enjoy my time with them each month.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Crazy Card Chics - March 2023

Here is the card the stampers will be making from my kit this month:

I love stamping on dsp and creating my own as a result.  The card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of black under the stamped piece of Dandy Designs dsp.  The paper pack was a SAB item during the latest Sale-a-Bration period. I love getting a big pack of paper that has so many great patterns in it! The dies are from the Amazing Thanks die set. I use a MISTI to position the stamp and stick the dsp down with some repositionable adhesive. That allows me to stamp the design twice and get it nice and dark. The stamp is called Curly Tailed Cats from Technique Junkies. I really love their stamps and every month you get a new selection to chose from at a discount for the first month!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  
 
If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Little Surprise from my hubby!

Today is my birthday and DH surprised me with this lovely plant. It was on my desk when I got home from classes yesterday! What a special guy!

I am a very lucky lady to have such a wonderfully thoughtful guy to share my life with!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

More Adventures with Two-Tone Flora

I woke up this morning thinking about this stamp set and had to play with it some more. Here are two more cards:

I don't often make top folding cards, but both of these are. The large die is a bit of work, but I think it's well worth it! The card bases are Basic White with layers of Fresh Freesia and Balmy Blue underneath the large die cut piece. The die is from the Two-Tone Flora die set as are the dies used to cut the flowers and leaves. I used Fresh Freesia, Pale Papaya and Balmy Blue for the flowers and Granny Apple Green for the leaves. I think I would go with a darker color for the accents on the flowers though, Tone on tone just doesn't quite cut it. I added a computer generated sentiment and some rhinestones to add some bling! I found this card by Amy Koenders this morning and watched the video and got some ideas for making these. She used the tone on tone technique, but I think that I might try something a bit different next time I make cards with this set. The card from yesterday used a darker color for the accents and I think I like that style better.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Playing with Two-Tone Flora

I saw this card and given my love affair with Poppy Parade I felt it only right to give it a try. Here is the result:

I made the card base Poppy Parade so that the gorgeous die cut could highlight the color underneath. I made several flowers and had a hard time lining things up. If anyone has any tips on how that works I would love to hear from you. The darker color is Merry Merlot and the flower is Poppy Parade. I then cut them out using one of the flower dies in the Two Tone Flora die set. The leaves were stamped with Pear Pizzazz and then cut with the die. I added a computer generated sentiment cut with a Stitched Rectangle die and called it done! I want to play some more with this stamp/die set, so look forward to a few more samples. The big die has a lot of pieces to cut and pop out, but in the long run it's worth it for special cards. I don't think I would do it for a camp though as I would need to cut too many.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Stamp Camp North - March 2023

This month's stamp camp is going to be a lot of fun. It's our semi-annual craft sale in addition to our regular monthly stamp camp. Here is the card the campers will be making at my table:

The campers will have a choice from six different sentiments for the outside. I just love the Beautifully Happy stamp set which is free with a $100 order until Feb. 28. The card base is Basic White with a layer of Soft Seafoam embossed using the Dotted Swiss embossing folder. There is a panel of Dainty Flowers dsp mounted on a strip of Rich Razzleberry on the left side of the card front. The image panel is stamped using the Beautifully Happy stamp set (it's a 2-step stamping set so no coloring!) and it's mounted on a panel of Rich Razzleberry. I used Fresh Freesia and Granny Apple Green to color the image and the image was stamped using Smoky Slate for a softer look.  I stamped the small dots in Smoky Slate on the image panel. The sentiment is computer generated and punched using the oval punch and it's layered on a Rich Razzleberry scalloped oval punch and I added some Basic Rhinestone jewels.

Here is some more information on getting registered for this camp:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Stampers Stamp Camp - March 2023

Sassy Stampers Stamp Camp is coming up on March 4, 2023. Here is the card the campers will make at my table:

The card base is Daffodil Delight with a layer of Pumpkin Pie and then the stamped layer. The stamped layer is done using a two step stamp in Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight. The stem and leaves are stamped using Mint Macaron. The sentiment is cut using a die cut from the Stylish Shapes dies and the campers will have a choice of sentiments. The stamp set is Marigold Moments. This is always a very fun event and I look forward to it every month. 

Here are some details for getting registered for this camp:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Crazy Card Chics - February 2023

Crazy Card Chics virtual stamp camp kits are going out next week and here is my offering for this month:

This card is really simple and uses a couple of new (to me) products and a couple of older products as well as my computer skills (which are limited). The card base is Soft Succulent with a layer of Daffodil Delight that was embossed with the retired Painted Textures folder. I cut one of the patterns from the new Fancy Flora dsp packages into 5 x 2 inch strips and positioned one to the left  on the embossed piece. The Soft Succulent label and the sentiment were cut using the Tasteful Labels dies. The Soft Succulent piece is popped up using dimensionals. The sentiment is computer generated and the campers will have a choice of Just a Note, Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon or Thinking of You. I added some gold embellishments. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Just add ink ...

It's truly amazing what adding a little ink to designer series paper can do:

This is one of the fantastic dsp pieces in the Dainty Flowers pack and it's free with a $50 purchase during Sale-a-Bration. The piece on the left is the paper as it comes and the piece on the right has been colored using Granny Apple Green and Balmy Blue ink using a blending brush. I really think that the addition of the colors give it quite a 3d appearance. Haven't made anything with this yet, but stay tuned ...

I am busily cutting paper for my cards for Sassy Stampers and Stamp Camp North. Both are really fun events and if you click on the links, you will see information about how to get signed up.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

My babies are turning 17! I decided to make them birthday cards that are, admittedly, below their grade level, but since they are both still babies in my eyes anyway ...

They were born a couple months premature and were in the NICU until their actual due date. Here they are way back when:

They lived with us for several months when they were toddlers and it was great to be able to interact with them on a daily basis.

They have grown up a bit since then:

Getting pictures of them these days is not an easy task. These were taken at our Christmas get together at Uncle Brian and Aunt Margy's house.  They have both grown into wonderful human beings. Julian is very, very tall. Taller than his father and his grandfather and coming very close to being as tall as his older cousin. Isabella is such a talented artist and a great companion at stamp camps!  They live with their dad and younger brother very close to us, but are pretty busy with their own lives these days. Happy, happy birthday to both of them!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Stamp Camp North - February 2023

Stamp Camp North is coming up on February 11 in Westminster, Colorado and I am so loving the Adorable Owls set, I had to use it. Here's my card:

The card base is Fresh Freesia with a layer of Petal Pink and then some strips of dsp from the Dandy Designs pack that is free with a $100 order from Stampin' Up! during Sale-a-Bration. There are some absolutely wonderful papers in this huge paper pack. I stamped the owl and colored him with blends and then scanned him and printed him out. I then cut him out using one of the dies from the Stylish Shapes die. The image was then mounted on a scalloped circle cut from Petal Pink. The sentiment is stamped in Fresh Freesia on a Basic White piece cut using a die from the Pretty Pillowbox die set. I added a couple of gems to give it a little bling! The sentiment is from an old Paper Pumpkin stamp set and has a few sentiments that will fit in that label. Not sure what I will do on the inside yet.

Here are the details about this very fun event:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

More Beautifully Happy Fun

I am in love with this stamp set! I made more cards using it and used all the sentiments in the set as well as another stamp. Here are the cards:

These were fun and used lots of different colors of paper and ink. I used papers from my stash of card blanks and inks that I thought would work well with those colors. Busy today cutting paper for the Sassy Stampers stamp camp and also need to get a card designed for Stamp Camp North which is coming up on Feb. 11.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Stampers Stamp Camp - February 2023

Sassy Stampers is having a stamp camp on February 4, 2023 in Longmont, Colorado. I have put the details for this fun event down below.  Here's my card:

The card base is Balmy Blue followed by a layer of Petal Pink on which is layered pieces of Designer Series Paper from the Dainty Designs and Country Floral Lane packs. I cut the largest circle from the Stylish Shapes dies from Balmy Blue card stock and then cut the next size circle from Petal Pink and embossed it using an embossing folder. The picture doesn't show the Pretty Flowers embossing folder as it was lost at the time I made this card. The hearts and leaves are punched from the Country Floral Lane dsp using the Country Bouquet punch. The small oval was cut using the Double Oval Punch and stamped in Sweet Sorbet ink with a sentiment from the Dainty Delight stamp set.

The cleanup/organize project in the Craft Cave is progressing, but I am still having problems finding things. Once you put things in their proper places, you then have to remember where those proper places are!

Here are the details about this very fun camp:

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

A Beautifully Happy adventure

One of the Sale-a-Bration sets that can be earned with a purchase through the end of February is called Beautifully Happy. This is a gorgeous set that includes some 2 step stamping. I just had to play with it! Here is some of the cards I made:

I am really loving all the 2 step stamping sets in this new set of catalogs! I used Basic White for stamping the images then used (top to bottom) Fresh Fresia, Balmy Blue, Polished Pink and Pacific Point. On the top card I used Highland Heather for my card base but all the others match the color of the flower. The leaves are stamped in Granny Apple Green. I added a single small flower on the inside that matches the flower on the outside. These were quick and easy to make. I put the big flower in a MISTI and then eyeballed the flower and leaves. Fun, fun, fun!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Crazy Card Chics - January 2023

The Crazy Card Chics are making kits for our campers to create 10 gorgeous cards. Here is my contribution this month:

The campers will have the option of several different sentiments for their project - Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon, Happy Anniversary and Thank You. The card base is Rich Razzleberry with a layer of Old Olive under the designer series paper (dsp) which is from the Dainty Flowers pack that can be earned with a $50 purchase through the end of February (or until the supply runs out). This paper pack is absolutely gorgeous, so I have a feeling it will go quickly. There is a strip of dsp across under the sentiment which is a Rich Razzleberry scalloped oval with an oval sentiment. This strip was cut off the top of the dsp panel when I wanted to fit it to the card.

 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

"Swap Card January 2023

My fellow demonstrator Cathy Hansen facilitates a swap for the January-April mini catalog and January-February SAB catalog. Each time a new catalog comes out, she hosts a swap and the cards are all wonderful! Here is mine for this swap:

This card uses the Two-Tone Flora stamp set and dies along with sentiments from the Framed Florets stamp set. Card base is Balmy Blue with a layer of Basic Black and then a layer of Basic White that was embossed using the Pretty Flowers embossing folder. The floral images were two-step stamped in Balmy Blue/Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight/Mango Melody and Flirty Flamingo/Polished Pink and then cut out using the appropriate dies. The leaf sprig was stamped in Garden Green and cut out using the die. The scalloped circle was cut out using the Layering Circles dies and the white sentiment piece was cut out using a die from the Stylish Shapes die set. I also made a sample using a Highland Heather/Gorgeous Grape combination on the smaller flower. Here that is:

I think that one will go in my stash and I like the pink one better. I am a big fan of anything purple, but in this case I think the pink looks brighter somehow.

It's snowing again here. It started last night and we have 6-8 on the ground now. It is supposed to stop by 5:00 p.m. but ... it's due to come back to town on Friday. Yuck. Our wonderful neighbor plowed our sidewalks and driveway with his snowblower. What a champ!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Playing with Dainty Flowers DSP

One of the items in the new Sale-a-Bration catalog is the Dainty Flower dsp pack which is free with a $50 order. Here are two cards I made playing with this gorgeous paper:

I am totally in love with this paper! Every sheet is a complete delight. I also have the stamp set/die bundle and will post some cards using those soon. The card base is Sahara Sand with a layer of Basic Black under the dsp. The bottom card uses a sentiment from Framed Florets and the top card uses a sentiment from Something Fancy. I pulled out some really old die cut flowers that I got from Michael's and used my blending brushes with Blushing Bride and Rich Razzleberry and topped them with some gems and popped them up with dimensionals on the bottom card. The top card uses some gold glitter dots as an accent.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are all staying healthy and safe!  

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.