Love note

I love the love note sized cards. They're so cute and easy to put together. I keep thinking that I should make a huge bunch of them and then put one every day in my husband's lunch. I bet he'd like that better than when I wheeled his lunch bags for him one week -- LOL!

Anyway, this little note was made with passion pink and basic black card stcok and ink, plus a little whisper white card stock. I used the Sweet Celebrations and Pictograms stamp sets. The only accessories dimensionals and the scalloped circle punch and the 1 3./8, 1 and 3/4" circle punches. Cute and easy!

Scavenger hunt solution

Well color me impressed! Melody (Lacyquilter) knows her SU stamp sets like the back of her hand. She got every single one of these right. WOW! I know that if I hadn't stamped these myself I would not have been able to do that, especially with nuber 6 and number 9. Woo Hoo, Melody! Great job!

This morning Stampin' Up! announced that the One of a Kind set, the set with flowers that are intended to coordinate with this punch, is temporarily unavailable for purchase. Apparently there were some issue with the way the flowers were lining up, or not lining up, with the punch. But I'm sure Stampin' Up! will have it all squared away soon and in the meantime the punch can still be enjoyed with many other images in the catalog.

I was rather fortunate in that I received this stamp set earlier this month and tonight, like the preverbial forbidden fruit, it just kept calling me to stamp with it. Well, you know me, I can never ignore a call like that, especially when the mojo has been so elusive. So I stamped this very simple card and didn't even use the boho flowers punch. I like the way it turned out -- very minimalist, but still pretty.

How about a scavenger hunt?

I guess my stampin' mojo decided to take sick leave. I felt better today and actually tried to stamp, but nothing was happening. No inspiration whatsoever. A couple of ideas that sounded real good in my head turned out to be disastrous in real life. So, once again, I have no new projects for you.

However, in my quest to do something worthwhile in the stamp room today, I came up with this little game for you. So we're going interactive! Yes, it's a game. No, there's no prize (other than smug self-satisfaction if you get all 12 of these right). But whether you play or not and regardless of how many you get right, tomorrow I will post answers for all to see and everyone will get to find out how they too can achieve so many different looks with flowers punched from the new boho flowers punch.

So here's the deal. These 12 images were all stamped using 6 current Stampin' Up! sets (and not One of a Kind -- that would have been too obvious) and punched using the boho flowers punch. You mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify the set used to create each flower. You can click on the photo to see a larger version to make this a little easier. Some of these are easier than others, but I think all are pretty guessable, especially to Stampin' Up! catalog scholars like my readers! I have every faith that you will all get these right! If you're feeling brave, you can post your guesses as a comment. Brave or not, tune in tomorrow for the answers. Good Luck!

Friendship Blooms

Thank you so much for all your well wishes! They are very much appreciated. I was doing better today, but not quite well enough to go back to the stamp room. But I do have a card to share with you. This is a card we stamped at the Stampers in Stitches meeting last Wednesday as one of our make and takes. It features the Friendship Blooms Sale-A-Bration set. Isn't it cute? I really like the layout and the colors and I love the fact that one of the flowers fits perfectly into one of the shapes from the new boho flowers punch. Too Cool! Kudos to Glenda for designing another great card!

I sure do hope I will be back to my old self again soon. There's lots to do to get ready for February and Sale-A-Bration and not a lot of time to do it in!

Still sick - and it shows!

Well, I have to hand it to this cold. It came on quick and totally knocked Bill and me out! Some time this afternoon he decided that he felt better today than he did yesterday, so there's some hope for tomorrow, but today even after sleeping for 12 hours last night and taking along nap this afternoon I still can't say I feel well. I did feel a little better this evening, so I trimmed and mounted my From the Garden hostess set and quickly made this card, but even this simple card took just about all of the energy I had. As you can see, my water coloring is pretty poor, but I think I will be able to add a little more color when I feel better and will be able to salvage the card. And in any case, if you can overlook the water coloring flaws, isn't it a nice card? And so simple! Just one image and one sentiment. I can't wait to see what else I'll be able to come up with using this stamp some time later this week when my energy and creativity come back.

It all started out so well

Today, I mean. We had a great time at the Happy Heart Day class at my house this morning. Then I got lunch for my sick hubby ( he picked up a really nasty cold on a business trip this week) and went over to my friend Liz's house for an awesome stamp-a stack. I had such a fun time stamping with Liz and her friends (and sampling the chocolate fongue and all the other yummy snacks) but towards the end of the afternoon my brain started to refuse to cooperate and I had the hardest time stamping straight. Then, when I came home, I totally hit a wall. Shivers, aches, fuzzy head. It's all I could do to make some tomato soup for dinner and now it's early to bed. All this to say, not stamping tonight so nothing new to post. Sorry! I hope a full night's sleep will help me feel better tomorrow.

One of a kind zoofari

If this layout looks familiar, it should. Every once in a while I get this urge to copy a card from the catalog keeping everything but the stamp set the same. When I first saw the Spring Summer Collection I really liked this particular card, featured on page 61. I don;t own the unfrogettable set, so I knew I couldn't copy the card exactly, but I really wanted to re-create it with stamps I already owned.

It so happened that I also really wanted to use a "one of a kind" sentiment with the birds from te zoofari set, and tonight it all came together. So there you have it, a perfect example of how the big book is more than just a simple catalog. There are some fantastic ideas out there that you can make your own just by changing one of the elements. Go ahead, give it a try! I bet you;ll be really pleased with the results!

Easter Whimsey

I know it seems a little early to be thinking about Easter, or at least I thought so until I drove by my favorite bakery today and saw a sign for pre-orders for paczki day. For those of you not from the midwest and not Polish, paczki day is Fat Tuesday. And actually, traditionally in Poland it's the Thursday before fat Tuesday, when kids walk around door to door, much like on Halloween, but instead of candy they get paczki, Polish jelly filled doughnuts. Well, in the US the tradition got a bit modified so paczki day is celebrated on Fat Tuesday and out town bakery makes the world's best paczki. They're not at all like the Polish paczki I know and love, mind you, but they are just stuffed to the gills with really yummy fillings, not just the traditional prune, but also strawberry, lemon, canolli, Bavarian cream, I could go on and on. Needless to say, paczki day in Itasca is something to look forward to every year! (and if you'd like to read more about paczki day, here's a fairly accurate wilkipedia article.)

But paczki day also marks the beginning of Lent, which means Easter really is not that far away. So, in a way, this card could almost be considered timely.

I made 24 of these babies for a swap today and let me tell you, I must have been crazy when I thought this would be a good swap card to make. It may not look like much at first glance, but take another look. The certainly celery strip at the bottom is hand cut to resemble grass. the eggs, made with the baloon stamp from the Sale-A-Bration birthday whimsey set (an idea I picked up at the Leadership convention) were hand cut, the flowers were stamped and punched bu the stems had to be hand cut and adhered using 2 way glue and the ribbon slider also involved multiple punches. Suffice it to say that this was not in my usual simple swap mode. But for some reason when I made the prototype it just screamed to be duplicated, and how could I resist?

So there you have it, that's what I've been working on the last few days. Hope you (and the swappers) like it!

Smackin' Acetate

As you probably already guessed, this was the fourth acetate techniques card from my class. This card showcases the Smackin' Acetate technique, which was used to create the background for the stamped roses. I really like this technique because it's a super easy way to create a lovely background.

For this technique you need a piece of acetate and, ideally, stampin' write markers. I used 6 different markers to create this background. First I painted on 3 stripes of the "lighter" shades -- gable green, regal rose and bashful blue. Then, in select areas, I added some "darker" shades -- green galore, rose red and brocade blue. I then spritzed the acetate with water and flipped it over onto my whisper white sheet of card stock, rubbing the colors off the acetate and into the card stock. After the card stock dried I stamped on the roses from the Embrace Life set. That's all. the whole thing probably took no more than 5 minutes, including drying time.

To complete the card I simply layered it first onto a brocade blue mat, then onto a strip of regal rose, to which I added some wide brocade blue grosgrain ribbon. I layered the regal rose strip onto a strip of gable green and attached the whole thing to a brocade blue base. The finishing touch will be the sentiment which I will stamp in basic black in the lower right hand corner of the card as soon as I figure out what occasion I want to use the card for :-).

I hope you enjoyed seeing the different acetate techniques cards. I'm finalizing my class schedule for next month right now so stay tuned to find out what I'll be focusing on at next month's techniques class.

One Sheet Wonder Class Update

For those of you who have contacted me about the One Sheet Wonder Class by Mail, I have good news! I finally finished compiling the templates and instructions and can start mailing out the class kits. I will be sending out paypal invoices tomorrow and will mail out the card kits as soon as I receive your payments. If you reside in the US or on a US military base overseas and would like to purchase this class, please e-mail me at stampwithdiane@comcast.net with your address and payment preferences. To see more detailed photos of the one sheet wonder cards please see this post.

it's so transparent

Yes, you guessed it. Tonight I'm featuring yet another card from my clearly delightful acetate techniques class. This one turned out well, but was a bit difficult to photograph. When I put the gray background behind it the acetate reflected the camera flash. Without the background you cuoldn't see the stamped images. So I'm posting both bad photos in the hopes that you can see beyond the photograph and imagine how cute this card looks in person.

The card is really very simple, using my favorite baroque motifs set. It's been more than six months since I first purchased this set and I still love it just as much as I did in the beginning. It's just so darned versatile!

This card featured the acetate base technique so, obviously, I started with a 5.5x5.8" piece of acetate and folded it in half. This is where a bone folder really comes in handy because you want a nice tight crease at the fold line.

I stamped the swirl image twice on the back of the card. After the acetate dried I layered the groovy guava and whisper white squares over the back of the base. For the front, I stamped the flower image in groovy guava on whisper white and trimmed it out with my craft and rubber scissors. I colored in the center with my apricot appeal stampin' write marker. I punched the little holes with my 1/16" handheld punch and added a flower punched with the new boho flowers punch to the center. I finished this off with a brad and used a dimensional to mount it to a really rust scalloped circle.

I stamped the Happy Anniversary sentiment on the apricot appeal card stock and mounted the flower on the outside of the front of the card and the sentiment on the inside of the front of the card. To finish off the card I stamped the little flower image from Baroque Motifs on the outside of the card with white stayzon ink.

This was the first card I ever made using this technique and I really like it! I can't wait to try it out again!

Lovely Reflections

Tonight's card is yet another card project from the Clearly Delightful Acetate Techniques class. This was the sample for the Reflection technique. I love how this card turned out! I used my stampin' write markers first to color in the "above water" image, and then to create a palette so that I could use the same colors with an aquapainter to create the softer "underwater" colors. After both images were colored I sponged on a couple of different shades of blue over the reflection to simulate the look of water, which further muted the colors on the "underwater" image. The resulting image really looks just like a reflection. I tell you, this is as close to being an artist as I'll ever get!

At first I was so enamored with my artwork that I just attached the matted image to the card front and left it, not wanting to do anything to take the focus off the main image. But when I took a photo of the card I realized it still needed something. It took me a while to come up with the perfect additions. Finally I settled on the picture hanging thingie (yes, I believe that it the technical term) from my hodgepodge hardware kit along with some light blue and caramel gingham ribbons. I also stamped the sentiment from the Summer by the Sea set in the lower right hand corner in close to cocoa ink, so that it would be visible but not too distracting. I wanted this card to be usable for many occasions, so the"joy is not in things, it is in us" sentiment worked out quite nicely.

The stamp set I used for this card, Summer by the Sea, is on the Stampin' Up! dormant list (you can see the images from the whole set on page 14 of the dormant list), so you will not find it in the current catalog. However, it is available for purchase for just $28.95.

You Gotta listen to Da Coach!

Sorry everyone for that little bit of Chicago local flavor Mike Ditka reference in the title. I'm not actually going to talk about football today. The coach that I was talking about is Stampin' Up!'s color coach. This little $9.95 purchase can save you lots of aggravation when you're looking for just the right combination of Stampin' Up!'s colors. And, as my friend Liz tried to show me last night, you can use it as a bit of a crystal ball too. You see, Liz sometimes closes her eyes and gives the color coach a spin -- whatever color her finger lands on she uses as a starting point of her card.

So last night using this method Liz landed on Green Galore. Unhappy with her first "fortune" she tried again and guess what? Yup, Green Galore again. Thinking the third time was going to be the charm she landed on Pixie Pink. I kept telling her she should have listened to the wheel the first time -- the wheel is never wrong, but she stuck with the Pixie Pink. Well, I really liked the design she came up with, but it didn't make Liz's final cut. I kept thinking if she had just listened to da coach, it all would have turned out differently!

Well, I'm not one to want to offend the color coach forces, so when I got home I decided to use Green Galore in my card. It wasn't a difficult decision, actually, because the color went very well with my card design. This is one of the cards for my Clearly Delightful Acetate Techniques class and the technique used here is stained glass window. The flowers in a cup are actually stamped on acetate in black stayz-on ink and colored on the reverse side with my Bic permanent markers. Since my marker color choices were pretty bold, it seemed right to use card stock from the bold brights family.

I confess I don't use bold brights very often, but I love how this card turned out. I even like the little faux brads made with the 1/8" handheld circle punch. They're a bit of a pain to adhere (I used 2 way glue), but they look so cute! I would have used my brilliant blue brads, but since I failed to plan far enough in advance, by the time I put the card together I realized I would not have enough brads to give each student 8. But hey, faux brads are a technique too, so my card techniques students just got a bonus!

For anyone who likes to know these things, the card stock is brilliant blue, tempting turquoise, pink passion, green galore and whisper white. The only ink used was black stayz-on and the Bic permanent markers. I also used the coluzzle cutting system for the circle mat (for a circle this size you could also use the round tab punch -- just punch once, rotate 90 degrees and make sure everything is lined up and punch again) and the word window punch for the sentiment, as well as the 1.8" handheld circle punch for the faux brads. The panel with the main stamped image is adhered to the white panel underneath with dimensionals.

Another index card

I know, I know. I keep saying I'm going to stamp and then other obligations get in the way. It seems like lately I've been spending all my free time answering e-mail. I've also been finishin up my instructions for the One Sheet Wonder Class, which I want to mail to all those interested by early next week at the latest. The original goal was to get it all done by tomorrow, but I really underestimated how long it would take me to do the cutting templates for the solid card stock so that the patterns would be easy to replicate with other designer paper and colors. It's quite ironic that the 12x12 template, which is the basis for the whole class, was the easiest one to develop! In any case, if you're waiting for an e-mail from me it is coming and the class materials will be mailed out soon, I promise!

As for the stamped project today, it's another index card. This one for a super cute little set called A Little Birthday Cheer. I think this set is just a classic and should reside in every stamp room. What I really like about it, though, is that it's actually quite possible to put together a decent card using all of the phrases from the set (and no stamps from any other set) on one card front.

Since this is an index card, I didn't want to use any other images from any other set. And I was worried that the card would really look like, well, an index. But then I saw that all the phrases kind of flowed. I really can see myself saying to a friend "Happy birthday, make a wish, celebrate you . . . and you thought I forgot!"

To dress up the card a bit I made a candle out of scrap pieces of card stock. I cut the flame out of barely banana card stock by hand. And I can;tthink of a beter example why it's a good idea to never throw anythig awya, including those long strips of card stock that are only 1/4" wide. Sure came in handy for the candle stripes here!

By the way, just in case it's not clear from the photo, the card base is basic gray, the other card stock colors are pretty in pink, purely pomegranate and barely banana and the ink is basic black.

glitter and beads and sticky cuts, oh my!

I really wanted to stamp today, especially since I just got those awesome new sets, but it just didn't happen. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to show you some cool stuff from the new catalog along with a preview of things you'll see in the Occasions Mini Catalog, which will be available for customer orders on March 1.

The first thing I want to show you are samples of the new Sticky Cuts letters paired with out new bead duos. WOW! Are these striking when you see them in person! talk about making any project absolutely POP! The beads add such awesome sparkle and dimension -- the seriously take any project about seven miles past wow and into FANTABULOUS!

Now, everyone knows I love all things Stampin' Up!, so it's no surprise that I was excited by these new additiona to our accessories line, but when I saw these in person my excitement went off the charts! I really, really love the beads!

And don't even get me started on our new assortments of glitter! First, the fine glitter now comes in awesome colors! as you can see in this photo, the color glitter is just as sparkly as dazzling diamonds and it makes stuff look Awesome!

And as for the chunky glitter, I will be the first to say that when I first heard about this product i was a bit sceptical. I love, love, love our ultrafine glitter, and I through the chunky glitter might make projects look like a 1st grade project gone awry. But I stand corrected! In person the chunky glitter does everything the fine glitter does, plus it adds even more dimension! Very cool!

And if you want to see more glitter, here is a sneak peak at a new assortment that will be available in the Occasions mini. Chunky glitte in four more fantastic colors, perfect to use with all your spring and summer projects.

And here is what the new chunky glitter would look like on a card made, by the way, with an awesome new stamp set called Big on Occasions. Think Big on Christmas for spring. It's a really neat set and I don't need a crystal ball to know that this set will be hot, hot , hot and flying off the shelves when it becomes available in March.

So there you go. Probably better than something I stamped, right? No worries, though. We'll be abck to my stamping soon.

More Fruit Stand

I just cannot get enough of watercoloring the images from this gorgeous new Fruit Stand stamp set. For this card I simply stamped all three images, water colored them using an aqua painter, punched the corners with my ticket corner punch and added purely pomegranate mats.

I normally would not do a card using all three of the images, but I volunteered to make an index card of this set for SCS and the whole purpose of an index card is to make a card using all images from the set.

Still, I think the images work really well together and although this may be yet another simple card, I really love it!

Woo Hoo -- New Stamps are Here!

What's better than spending 5 wonderful days in sunny California with my demonstrator friends? Why coming back home just to receive a package full of new stamps, of course! Just look at all these wonderful stamps. But do you want to know the best part? They were all free! That's right, these babies did not cost me anything. Just one of the cool things about being a Stampin' Up! demo.

The Sweet celebrations set was the set we received at Leadership. I got the other four sets and the punch with the $100 in free products I received for promoting to Senior Supervisor. It was hard waiting until January to submit that bonus order, but I'm so glad for once I was able to exercise some self restraint!

I wasn't able to stamp a lot today because I needed to trim and mount all the sets and also because my hubby took a vacation day to spend with me. How nice was that? I guess he missed not having me around last week! Anyway, we slept in, had a nice leisurely breakfast, saw a movie and just hung around. It was a great day, but stamping had to take a back seat.

I did manage to stamp this simple card with my new Fruit Stand set. I totally fell in love with this set when I first saw it in the Spring Summer Collection and had to have it right away. This was the first image I stamped. I used the basic gray ink pad on naturals ivory card stock. I then used the aqua painter and bravo burgundy, mellow moss and always artichoke ink to watercolor the image. I used the direct to paper technique to color the edges of the naturals ivory card stock and added a bravo burgundy and so saffron mats. I cut a piece of mellow moss card stock to 4x5.25", added an always artichoke strip and a bit of bravo burgundy wide grosgrain ribbon. Finally, I attached the main image to the front and then attached everything to an always artichoke base.

I didn't add a sentiment, because the card doesn't really need it. However, I left some room on the front just in case I wanted to add a sentiment later.

One of my Leadership swap cards.

This is a swap card I prepared for the SCS swap at leadership. For this swap I used the Embrace Life set and the Sincere Salutations set.

The flower was stamped with ruby red craft ink on ruby red card stock and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then the area inside the stamped outline was bleached. I added a very vanilla and always artichoke mat to make the flower pop.

On the river rock base I stamped the leaves in the upper third of the card in classic always artichoke ink. In the lower right hand corner I stamped the greeting in always artichoke craft ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. In the middle of the card I adhered a strip of always artichoke, topped with a strip of ruby red, topped with a strip of ginger blossom designer paper. I then adhered the flower with dimensionals.


I have to tell you I really wanted to add some sort of embellishment to this swap card. I tried so many different combinations of ribbons, I can't even count them all. In the end, though, the card just looked best as is (Thanks, Liz, for making me see that more is not always more). I just hope the swap participants agreed.

And here is a photo of a project we were shown at Leadership also using the Embrace Life set and bleaching. This time the project is a love note (check out the cute scalloped edge at the bottom) and the cherry blossoms are stamped with craft brown ink and embossed with clear embossing powder, but the technique is the same. Very pretty, isn't it?

Chipboard Coaster Desktop Calendar class

Tonight I want to share a project from another upcoming January class. Join me on Tuesday, January 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to make a super cute desktop calendar out of chipboard coasters.


This was a project that I got to make at a special stamping event with Glenda at the end of 2007, and I loved it so much I just had to share it with everyone. What better way is there to show off your creativity than to place this on your desk at work or in your home office or even on your kitchen counter for all to admire?

Registration and class fee of $10.00 for this class will be due on or before January 18, 2008. Don't miss out - contact me to reserve your spot before they're all filled.

Happy Heart Day class

Hi everyone -- tonight I want to share with you the projects we'll be making at my Happy Heart Day Class later this month. The class fee will be $15 (or $10 with the purchase of this month's Valentine's Day bundle special and it will include 2 of each of the 5 projects pictured here (1 to keep as a sample and one to give away!).

You will make four 4.25x5.5" cards with coordinating envelopes, four 3x3 love notes with coordinating envelopes and two treat bags filled with Hershey's Kisses. You might notice that these project use every stamp in the Happy Heart Day stamp set as well as the ribbons and cello bags that come in the bundle, so if you purchase the bundle you will be able to easily re-create these projects at home.

This class will take place on Saturday, January 26, 9:00-11:00 a.m. in Itasca, IL (contact me for directions). Registration and payment due on or before January 21. Stamp club members may choose this as their free class this month but must register by January 21.

This class is available by mail at the same prices, but you will have to provide your own basic black ink to stamp the images, the Happy Heart Day stamp set (unless you elect to purchase the bundle in conjunction with the class,) coloring medium of your choice (at class we'll be using stampin' pastels) as well as the crop-a-dial for dry embossing on one of the cards.

I hope to see some of you on the 26th!

I thought you all might be getting just a little tired of all the One Sheet Wonder posts, so tonight I actually stamped another project for your viewing pleasure. This is a very simple card using the Happy Heart Day set. What I like about it is that for once I pretty much stayed away from all the pinks and reds. The hearts on the butterfly and in the flower centers are pink, but everything else is more neutral, which is a nice change.

I used lavender lace card stock for the base and bashful blue and apricot appeal for the mats. I stamped the butterfly and flower images on whisper white card stock in basic black ink and colored them in with my Stampin' Pastels. I also used basic black ink to stamp the happy heart day sentiment on bashful blue ink and punched it out with my word window punch.

Yes, I could have made this a lot more intricate. In fact, even as I'm looking at this photo I'm thinking of where I could have added tabs and brads and other accessories. I'm glad I didn't add all those things, though, because sometimes a card like this is really all you need. Plus it's easy to mail without having to use extra postage. Woo Hoo!

What in the world is a OSW?

I just realized that in my posts yesterday and last Friday I did something that I absolutely hate -- I used an acronym without explaining what the letters OSW stood for. I am so sorry! This is a huge pet peeve of mine when I go to other sites and I am so embarrassed that I did this.

OSW stands for One Sheet Wonder. I think originally the term was used when several projects were made using just one sheet of stamped card stock, but it soon morphed into meaning a series of projects that use different pieces of the same stamped piece of card stock or, in this case, designer paper to create a unified look.

Yesterday I posted the 3 pricing options for my One Sheet Wonder class by mail where you use a single 12x12" sheet of designer paper to form backgrounds or foregrounds on 12 different cards. The sneak peak photo I uploaded last Friday was not of the greatest quality, so I thought I would take close-up shots in groups of 3 based on the card base color. This way you can see a little bit better the cards you would be making if you purchased the class.

Of course, regardless of which option you choose (project materials only, project materials and a full pack of ginger blossom designer paper or project materials, the full pack of designer paper and the embrace life stamp set) everyone will get all instructions and the cutting template for the OSW.


As you can see, these cards are not really all that complicated, which is one of their best attributes. The beauty of a One Sheet Wonder is that you can put all of the cards together quickly but still have that very "polished" look.

Please note that since I am leaving for the Stampin' Up! Leadership meeting Wednesday morning and I have a ton of things to do tomorrow before I leave, I will not have time to send out any projects until I return next Monday. If you place an order for the class via e-mail while I'm gone I may not be able to get back to you right away, but I promise I will do so just as soon as possible.

Simple Valentine

Here is a simple Valentine's card we stamped at my party hostess and club member new catalog preview night this past Friday. The card is 3x6" and I just stamped the flower and butterfly images in black stayzon ink on a strip of whisper white card stock. I colored the images in using stampin' write markers in real red, pretty in pink and regal rose. I also stamped and punched out the happy valentine's day tag and colored that in using the stampin' write markers. I added a large tag mat in regal rose to the tag and a real red mat to the strip of whisper white. I also added dazzling diamonds glitter to all of the hearts using 2 way glue. I used a handheld rectangle punch to punch a hole in the tag and added a bit of red gingham ribbon. All that was left was attaching the images to the card. The main image and mat were attached using SNAIL. The tag was adhered with a dimensional.

I'm happy to say that my swaps for an organized Leadership swap I signed up for are done! Woo Hoo! I still have to make general swaps, but it feels really good knowing that I'm done with all of the stamping I had to do -- from now on the rest is optional (sort of -- LOL!)

Open House Card

Today was such a fun day! It started with my Spring Summer 2008 Collection open house where we all made 2 cards -- this being one of them. (I'm saving the other one to post tomorrow or some time next week because over the next few days I will be working feverishly to finish my leadership swaps and I won't want to post those until I return, so I have to leave something in "reserve"). Those of you who studied the OSW cards from yesterday might recognize this layout. I liked it so much I decided to use it again in different colors. I think this is really a fun way to use just a little bit of designer paper to frame out your stamped panel. The card base is pumpkin pie and the designer paper is from the new Bali Breeze pack of double sided designer paper. I stamped the flower image by coloring the stamp with my pumpkin pie and old olive markers. Once the image was stamped I colored in the flowers with my apricot appeal stampin' write marker. Did I mention how much I love our markers? Ha ha -- of course I did. If you don't have a full set you may consider signing up for a spot in my marker club -- a new club is forming now.

Anyway, at the bottom of the whisper white panel I stamped the sentiment from Sincere Salutations. I added some wide old olive grosgrain ribbon and some narrow pumpkin pie grosgrain with a WAXYO cheater knot, of course. I mounted the whisper white panel onto the apricot appeal mat with dimensionals. I then adhered the designer paper to the card base and adhered the stamped panel over the designer paper. I really like the colors and the Asian feel of this card and my open house guests did as well!

After the open house I spent the afternoon stamping with my friend Liz. (Waving hi!) I was so happy she was here. I was working on my swaps for Leadership and it is so helpful to have another pair of eyes to help with a design. I'm really happy with the final product, and I want to thank Liz for saving me from myself and the "what if I added ______" syndrome.

This evening we had our last Christmas dinner. My step-sister is always out of town for Christmas so she usually holds a big dinner the week after New Year's. She's an awesome cook and uses a different theme every year. This year it was Polish food -- not so different for us, since we have it every Christmas Eve, but it was something new for some of the other guests. In any event, everything was great as usual and I just ate myself silly.

Tomorrow we take down the tree and I will continue to work on my swaps. I cannot believe I'll be leaving for California on Wednesday! Woo Hoo!

shades of chocolate

When I saw this photo in a Linen Source catalog last year I just knew I would have to use it as an inspiration for a card. Isn't this bedding yummy? I really love the simple stripes in shades of brown and the lovely flowers embroidered on the vanilla fabric.

Up until a few days ago I didn't really have the right stamps to try to mimic this look, but then I got the Embrace Life set.

I used Chocolate chip card stock for a base, with a stripe of creamy caramel and brushed gold. I then used some of the chocolate chip satin ribbon for the last stripe. The satin ribbon is not available on a roll any more, but you can still get it as part of the Theater ribbon originals!

For the main image I stamped the cherry blossoms in chocolate chip on a piece of very vanilla card stock. On a separate piece of very vanilla card stock I stamped the larger flower in chocolate chip ink, cut it out, colored it with a creamy caramel marker and accented with the gold zig painty. I could have stamped the flower on creamy caramel card stock, but I wanted a little variation in the color. I adhered the large flower to the cherry blossom background with a dimensional and added a creamy caramel mat, which I edged with the zig painty. I have to thank my friend Karen Salsini for the idea to add a gold edge -- great idea Karen! I attached the image to the card front and stamped the embrace life sentiment right on the satin ribbon with encore gold ink. It's a fun card that shines nicely when it catches the light!

Farwell, Outlaw

I think it's rather fitting that on the last day of the Fall/Winter collection I upload a card made with the now retired Outlaw double sided designer paper. I used both sides of one of the designer paper sheets to create the points of the star on a piece of really rust card stock. I added the layered circles into the "blank" squares. I mounted the whole thing onto a sage shadow base and added a greeting flanked by two stars. It's a pretty neat country western look.

Unfortunately I still have not had a chance to figure out who I want to "tag" so I will do that when I have a little more time tomorrow.