Wedding Season

All supplies SU unless noted: For the Bride and Define Your Life stamp sets, cardstock in baja breeze, red riding hood, kraft, and very vanilla, ink in baja breeze, ruby red, ribbon in red riding hod and very vanilla, baja breeze from flower fusion too, silver brad, stampin' dimensionals

I'll have an ongoing series of Wedding related cards since I'll be attending a whopping 5 within the next 3 months. However, I'll have to wait until some of them pass before posting the card since I know that some of the brides may read this blog. (Hi Roz! Hi Jessie! Hi Pui-Yun!).



Today's card will be for a couple getting married this weekend. This is the first time that I've actually decorated the inside of a card. To be honest, I decorated the inside of the card in order to cover up a mistake a made while stamping the together definition stamp the first time. However, no worries, just cover it up with a contrasting piece of paper and pretty it up with a ribbon and no one will ever know.



For a close up of the together stamp see below:

I love words and definitions. The Define Your Life stamp set includes 28 stamps featuring different words that can be applied to a multitude of occasions.

There are only 2 days left to take advantage of the Get Connected Promotion and receive a free stamp! Click here to shop right away.

A Sweet Pillow Box

All supplies SU unless noted: Bella Toile Background stamp, cardstock in pale plum, ink in perfect, ribbon in very vanilla, stick strip, sizzix bigz pillow box die

As you can see from the supply list, this project took very little resources and time. I used the sizzix pillow box die on the big shot and out popped a pre-cut and pre-creased box. I folded along the creases, used sticky strip to secure the edge and ends , and voila a pillow box just like that.

The Bella Toile background stamp is featured again today, it likes to show off how it can add elegance to an otherwise pretty but plain piece of paper.

The best part about this box is that it is the perfect size for my favorite chocolate of all time:

I live very close to a Ghirardelli Chocolate factory and my sister bought a case of chocolate squares at Christmas and let me tell you it has taken a lot of self-control not to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

However, I digress. A pillow box filled with your favorite candy would make a great favor for a wedding, wedding shower, birthday party, or as a baby announcement.

Just looking at the pillow box...I want to untie that ribbon so that I can get to the chocolate...but then again I do have an entire case that I could dig into. :)

A Semi-Masculine Card

All supplies SU unless noted: Short & Sweet stamp set, textured cardstock in baja breeze, cardstock in kiwi kiss and whisper white, ink in baja breeze, heart to heart and word window punches, urban oasis designer series paper, ribbon in chocolate chip

I struggle to make masculine cards, I have to restrain myself from adding another bow or a sprinkling of glitter. I would consider this just a "semi-masculine" card because I couldn't help but add the subtle heart accents at the top. However, I think that one can get away with putting some lovey-dovey details if you give it to someone special...since it's a gift from the heart after all.

Within this card I can highlight 3 ways that this card was an efficient use of resources:

1. This card was made from a 6x6 piece of paper folded in half to become 3x6. You may have alredy done the math, but this means 4 cards can be produced from one piece of 12x12 cardstock.

2. After using the Word Window Punch on the tweed patterned paper, I placed a scrap piece of Whisper White behind it. Using a pencil I lightly marked the area that would appear through the Word Window. After stamping the "love you" sentiment I adhered the Whisper White cardstock to the back of the designer paper.

3. I used the Heart to Heart punch to create some textured hearts to add interest to the top of the card.
When you love paper as much as I love paper you'll enjoy using Stampin' Up! punches as they allow you to conserve your resources. When you can see where you're punching you can punch as close to the edge as you can in order to conserve paper.

Don't throw that scrap away! The negative space left post-punch would make a great border for your next project.

Feel free to share some more paper saving tips in the comments!

Caught in the Act!

Look who I caught stampin' up a storm. :) Buddy carefully stamped a thank you sentiment from the Short & Sweet stamp set. Then, he used the small oval punch...to very carefully to punch it out. He caught on very quickly and had a good time despite the fact that I insisted on recording this historic moment on my digital camera. :)

Buddy's Tips for Rubber Stamping:

• ink your stamp well so that you can get an evenly stamped image
• but don't rock back and forth on the ink pad otherwise areas of the stamp that you don't want to show up will make little marks on your paper.
• if you mess up, don't stress you can always use the other side of the paper
• have fun...once you get rollin' it's a blast!
  
  

Crafty Boys

I had the pleasure and privilege of helping five high school make cards for an event that the youth group put on at church. Initially, they were dubious about whether or not they'd be able to replicate the samples I showed them.

However, after a lot of hardwork and determination they were able to add their own personality to the designs I had prepared for them.

I think that they look fabulously snazzy and most importantly they came from the heart.

Don't Forget!

If you haven't already checked out the Spring-Summer Occasions Mini you should definitely put it on your to do list before April 30th. There's a lot of cute ideas and ways to keep connected with loved ones contained in the latest catalog.

Click here to see the new catalog!

The best part about the new release of this Catalog Mini is that a promotion is attached. You'll receive a FREE item from the Under $10 page (p. 208) in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog, when you buy $40 in products from the Occasions Mini Catalog.

However, the promotion is only for 2 more weeks...Don't miss out on this great deal!

*Sorry...no pictures today...for some reason blogger is being difficult.

Flourish

All supplies SU unless noted: A Beautiful Thing and Thank You Kindly stamp sets, cardstock in basic gray, baja breeze, kiwi kiss and very vanilla, ink in so saffron and close to cocoa, photo corners punch, flourish texturz plate, sizzlits birds and blooms die set (for the leaves), ribbon in very vanilla, stampin’ dimensionals

Hello Tuesday!

I think that Tuesday is automatically better than Monday because you've already gotten used to being a little dazed on Monday after all the fun that you've had on the weekend. Therefore, by the time Tuesday comes around you're ready and rearing to go.

I have a mini-tutorial below on how to use Stampin' Up!'s Texturz plates with the Big Shot. It's pretty nifty how you can turn a normal piece of cardstock into something that gives your card a bit of oomph all with a turn of a crank!

Place your cursor on the pictures in the slideshow below in order to see the instructions for that step.

Enjoy!

Bella Toile

All supplies SU unless noted: bella toile background stamp, thank you kindly stamp set, cardstock in kraft, chocolate chip and very vanilla, bella rose designer series paper, ink in chocolate chip and red riding hood, scallop edge punch, stampin’ dimensionals

It's interesting how different people can perceive beauty differently. However, I do think that we are trained to see beauty in things that seem to be harmonious with one another.

One thing that I like about Stampin' Up! products is that paper, ink, and stamps coordinate. For example, the small strip of Bella Rose designer paper coordinates pretty well with the look and feel of the Bella Toile background stamp. Given that both of them are given the adjective of "bella" it was a snap to connect the dots.

With this card it was my first time using a background stamp. You ink up this huge stamp, put it down on the paper and BAM! instant sophistication and beauty. The stamp turned a plain piece of kraft paper into something truly beautiful. You can make out every detail of the design.

I reinked a small portion of the background stamp in red riding hood in order to stamp the small blossom as an accent. The background is so huge you could potentially pick and choose what design you wanted to stand out depending on how big your paper area is.

K.I.S.S.

All supplies SU unless noted: short & sweet stamp set, textured card stock in baja breeze, cardstock in basic gray and whisper white, walk in the park designer series paper, ink in basic gray, small oval punch, scallop oval punch, stampin’ dimensionals

K.I.S.S has come to be known as a mnemonic device for "Keep it simple, stupid" or "Keep it short and sweet".

When it comes to making cards K.I.S.S. can also be used to remember to "Keep it simple and sensible". With busy schedules and long to-do lists sometimes making time to stamp is difficult. However, whenever I do sit down to make something I like to keep it simple and let the paper speak for itself. If I were to add anything else it would just seem like a detraction from what's already great on its own.

Simplicity aids to higher productivity as well as increasing the enjoyment of being able to create something with little stress involved. :) With beautiful paper this card was quick and easy to make.

Think Pink

All supplies SU unless noted: short & sweet stamp set, textured card stock in pink pirouette, cardstock in pink pirouette and whisper white, walk in the park designer series paper, ink in basic gray, taffeta ribbon in pretty in pink, small oval punch, scallop oval punch, stampin’ dimensionals

This card reminds me of the movie "Funny Face" starring Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, and Kay Thompson. Kay Thompson plays a fashion magazine editor who becomes suddenly inspired to "Think Pink" for the upcoming fashion season. After having sung an entire song about the virtues of Pink , she's asked why her gray-clad-self isn't wearing pink and she retorts, "I wouldn't be caught dead!"

So this card is dedicated to "Maggie Prescott", a mix of pink and gray

The Winner

*scroll down to find out the winner

For the first time, Stampin' Up! has created a line of stamps that are all Under $10. They are all so cute and there's one for every occasion.

You can select one for FREE if you place a $40 purchase from the Mini Occasions Catalog. My favorite items are the Mini Note Kits because it not only includes two stamps, but it also includes notecards. Check them out below:

Thank you all for participating in my first ever blog giveaway and sharing SO any great money tips, I feel like I've learned so much reading all of your great tips. Now...onto the winner.

I used the random integer generator* on random.org to determine the winner of the blog giveaway and the winner is...

littlecumulus said...

My money-saving tip is along the same lines as Laurel Plum's - to look at what food I already have and see what tasty things I can make without buying anything new. It always shocks me with how much I can come up with!

Congratulations littlecumulus and thanks for sharing your money saving tip!

I often feel like I have no food in my house, but I looked in my freezer today and what do you know...I could have made myself dinner tonight! :)

*Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

31

Timestamp: 2009-04-03 09:41:52 UTC

A Fabulous Gable Box

All supplies SU unless noted: Oval All stamp set, cardstock in baja breeze, kiwi kiss, very vanilla and whisper white, Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper, ink in basic gray and baja breeze, very vanilla grosgrain ribbon , stampin' dimensionals, sticky strip

The Occasions Mini Catalog is out! It includes some really cute and springy stamps and paper. I especially fell in love with "Oval All" because I like how it coordinates with the large oval punch. Additionally, Stampin' Up! recently added a new punch to their collection, the scallop oval punch. Used together, it's a piece of cake to add something fabulous to your card or project.

I couldn't wait to try out my new stamp set as well as attempt to construct a gable box. I wanted to make a gift for a friend for her birthday (so hopefully she doesn't see this). I made three 3x3 note cards and placed them inside the gable box with three envelopes.

Ooh and before I forget from April 1-30, when you buy $40 in products from the Occasions Mini Catalog you can take your pick of one item from the "Under $10" page (p. 208) in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog--FREE!