Whoo! Hoo! It's Friday!

I think this title says it all! Excuse the not-so-great photo, it was taken at 12:30 with a lack of light, and the design of the card did not allow it to stand up. Yes, 12:30. The last two nights I could not stay awake and took short naps, then somehow managed to stay up until 12:30, resulting in 4 hours of sleep. I felt okay Thursday, but this morning is not good. Doh! But enough crying, back to the card, lol!

I've been seeing so many great owl cards, I had to use my little Woody once again. The base is Wild Wasabi with More Mustard on top. I cut 1/2" off the top layer and rounded the corners, since I was using a lot of circles. For the large circles on the background and around Woody, I used the circle stamp from So Much (see, trying to use it some more and make the most of my *investment*!). The Woody circle was cut out using the Coluzzle, and the other circles are 1 3/8", 1" and 3/4" from the East Coast Prep paper.

I colored Woody with the Pure Color Pencils. The other day Donna mentioned coloring images with Pure Color Pencils on Kraft cardstock like she did here using Pun Fun, and I wish I had thought of it because I loved the way it looked. Reaching for that Whisper White is like a crutch for me, I need to break free more often!

Okay, off to finish getting ready...definitely need time to stop at Starbuck's for a muy strong Venti something today! I'm going to a special bridal crop tonight from 6:00 to midnight. My friend Robyn is getting married next month and her sister Lori put this together where we all make a two-page wedding layout and then put them in an album Lori bought, so at the end of the night Robyn has a wedding scrapbook all ready to go! Isn't that a great idea?! Hopefully I'll have lots of great pictures to share of it tomorrow!

Have a fabulous Friday! Whoo! Hoo!

Recipe Stamps: Just Celebrate, So Much. Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, More Mustard, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP. Accessories: Coluzzle, 1 3/8" & 1" & 3/4" & 1/8" Circle Punch, Wild Wasabi Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder, Pure Color Pencils.

So Much

Happy Thursday! Here's a quick and easy card (my favorite kind!) I made last weekend with the SU set So Much. It had been on my wish list for a long time, and I knew it was a set that SU was using and giving at the Regionals events this year, so I thought I would get it then and never ordered it. Alas, my sister's wedding was the same weekend as the Tulsa Regional in March (she didn't consult with me, obviously, or I would have made her change the date! lol!) so I didn't get to go. I finally broke down and ordered it last month with my stamp club order. I have a thing for circles, and it'll be a really great set for scrapbooking (and I clearly do so much of that...in my dreams anyway!).

Here I stamped the flower four times in Chocolate Chip ink. I didn't even use the circles yet, shocker! I stamped the center dot with the solid circle stamp from Enjoy Every Moment using Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue, and Wild Wasabi (stamped off once though because it was too dark). I also got the Lots of Dots wheel last month, so used it across the bottom of the card. Ummm, I won't tell you how many cards I tried because it kept going crooked! Note to self: maybe you should invest in that wheel guide! Lastly, I used the white rub-on "thinking of you" from A Perfect Day rub-ons in the SU Occasions Mini Catalog.

Hope your Thursday is great! Just remember like I will...all day long...it's almost Friday! Hooray!

Recipe Stamps: So Much, Enjoy Every Moment, Lots of Dots wheel. Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Apricot Appeal, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi. Accessories: A Perfect Day rub-ons, Wild Wasabi Double Stitched Ribbon, Dimensionals.

Wednesday Dig it Out and Use it Up #2!

Happy Wednesday! Hump Day, thank goodness! You may remember last Wednesday I started the Wednesday Dig it Out and Use it Up! challenge. Of course, now I'm not sure how appropriate the "Use it Up" part is as we don't really "use up" or stamps, I guess I was thinking more of my paper and ribbon hoarding, but I like the way it sounds, so I guess I'll stick with it anyway!

I had started working with masking and circles using my Coluzzle last weekend for this project I showed on Monday. I ended up going a different direction with that one, but when finished I started working on this project. I pulled out the Tres Chic background, which I hadn't used since this card last August. (I know, I know, please tell me I'm not the only one who hasn't picked up a certain stamp in 8 months?!)

Anyway, to make the mask, I cut a circle out of regular copy paper using the largest ring of my Coluzzle circle template. Then I used temporary adhesive to stick it down to the card front. Lastly, I inked up the background stamp and stamped the card front over the template. When finished, pull the template off and voila, you have your masked circle!

The whole card is oversized at 5"x7". I think I'm going to add some photos inside and use it as a Mother's Day card for my grandma. If I do that, I'll have to redo the "spine" with some jumbo eyelets probably and maybe run the ribbon through them. The glittery heart is just like the one I posted on Monday, I ended up changing colors on that project and had the heart left over. Waste not, want not! lol!

Hope you have a great Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Stamps: Tres Chic, Always. Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Pale Plum, Spring Break DSP. Ink: Not Quite Navy, Versamark. Accessories: Coluzzle, Heat & Stick Powder, Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles glitter, Heat Gun, Pretties flower, Slit Punch, Sherbert Ribbon Originals, Ice Circle Rhinestone Brad, and Dimensionals.

•Father• Oh Wise One

Happy Tuesday! Yesterday I showed one of the April Stamp Club projects, for the mother, so today I'm showing the other project, for the father. You can slip a gift card right inside this one, if you're like me and give your dad a Lowe's gift certificate for every Father's Day, birthday, and Christmas.

You can see a tutorial for this great project template over at Splitcoast here (but if you're in my stamp club, don't look and act totally surprised and think I'm awesome when I show you how to do it next week! lol!). I used the Just Celebrate set from the SU Occasions Mini, something about that little owl and the "oh wise one" just hit me and seemed perfect for Father's Day. I colored the owl with the Pure Color Pencils, they are still one of my favorite coloring tools and I wish they came in more colors. I used my little scissors to cut the jagged edge border around the owl pieces (still don't have those Nestabilities, so have to improvise!), and I managed to find a way to sneak some ribbon on there, even though it's a dad's card!

Guess I need to finish getting ready for work. I'm feeling like a pile of warm goo (dh's favorite sickly term) with a head full of goo (also his). Started on Sunday with a sore throat, etc...don't know why I'm surprised, I had two kids out sick Thursday and Friday. Man, I thought this junk was behind me for this school year! Hope y'all have a happy and healthy Tuesday!

Recipe Stamps: Just Celebrate, All Holidays, Straight Up Mini Alphabet (retired). Cardstock: Kraft, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Spring Break DSP. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy. Accessories: Pure Color Pencils, Earth Elements Brads, Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Coluzzle, Word Window Punch, Dimensionals.

Thanks Mom Carousel Note

Hope your weekend was great! How do they go by so fast?! I spent part of yesterday creating this project that will be one of the April Stamp Club projects. I came up with a Father's Day project the previous weekend, so I guess we'll have these holidays covered!

I hadn't played with my Carousel Notes from the SU Occasions Mini Catalog much, but they really are cool and come with the nice Chocolate Chip envelopes you see pictured behind the card. I stamped and cut the heart out from the Always set on Groovy Guava carstock, then covered the whole thing with the Versamark pad, then Heat & Stick Powder and heated with the heat gun, then poured on the Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles glitter (also from the Occasions Mini Catalog) and heat set one more time with heat gun.

For the "thanks", I've been wanting to try one of those little banners that are popular now. I cut the triangles out of the end free-hand, but I have noticed if you punch an arrow out of the end of a narrow piece of cardstock, it leaves the cardstock looking like that too. I distressed the edges, then curved and rolled the piece around a watercolor paintbrush. I rolled one side up and the other side under (if that makes any sense!) then secured with brads to hold the shape.

A few other notes, I cut the Chocolate Chip "circle ring" that goes around the flower using the Coluzzle, by just using the two largest rings. Don't move the template until you're done, then cut them both out. I paper pierced holes inside the ring, but you can't see it much here. Lastly, I made a "faux" button by punching the Double Circle Punch on the Afternoon Tea DSP, then punching around those holes with the 3/4" Circle Punch. I also punched a 3/4" Circle Punch out of chipboard (the kind that comes in the DSP packaging) and adhering it to the back of the "button" to make it firmer. Hope all that makes sense!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks especially for all your great comments recently! You really make a girl feel good! Hugs!

Recipe Stamps: Always, So Much, Alphabits (retired). Cardstock: Carousel Notes, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Confetti White, Afternoon Tea DSP. Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: Coluzzle, Vintage Brads, Paper Piercer, 3/4" & 1/4" Circle Punch, Heat & Stick Powder, Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles glitter, Heat Gun, Three for You flower punch, Double Circle Punch, Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon, Dimensionals.

Dilly-Dally Banner

It's the weekend! Has anyone else been as lazy as me?! Yesterday I managed to make one card, grade a lot of papers, and take two short naps. That was it for me! So back to the thing that was most fun...making the card! You know I love banners, going way back to here, and I had seen this new stamp set from Paper Trey that I loved and was wondering how I could create something similar. (I think Nichole Heady is one of the *best* stampers out there and so far I have resisted starting a new addiction, but she makes it harder and harder for me every month!)

So, I searched through the Stampin' Up! catalog looking for a "triangle" shaped stamp that I could turn upside down, and voila, there was the party hat from an old favorite, Dilly-Dally! I decided to poke holes with the paper piercer so that I could "sew" a string for my banner to be hanging from, but without thinking I made the holes very close together...if you try it, spread them out a little more!

By this time Saturday Night Live was over (I'm an old married woman who lusts after Ashton Kutcher, what can I say! It's purely physical and best when he doesn't talk.) and I needed to wind it up, so I borrowed another idea I had seen from this card at Paper Trey. I loved the way she did the greeting on top of the ribbon, so I did my version of it.

I'm off...probably for a repeat of Saturday...with a little laundry thrown in too. We've had a GORGEOUS weekend here in Dallas...cool mornings...warms up to low 70s...cool evenings. We only have about two of these a year it seems like, the next thing you know it shoots up to the 100s! Hope you have a great day!

Recipe Stamps: Dilly-Dally, It's Your Birthday, Straight Up Alphabet (retired). Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Regal Rose, Whisper White. Ink: Blue Bayou, Regal Rose, Old Olive. Accessories: Linen Thread, Paper Piercer & Needle, 1/2" Circle Punch, 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon, Vintage Silver Brads, Dimensionals.

Be Inspired Challenge #8

Happy Friday!! Hooray! And I got a chance to try one of Beate's Inspiration Challenges last night. This is Inspiration Challenge #8 based on the picture below. (I love that dress, but it's definitely not made for a short, round person!) At first I started to replicate the inspiration piece very literally, but then decided to be a little more funky and have fun with it. I wanted to use a green ribbon originally for the flower stems, but I could not find one narrow enough with a color I liked, so I used the paper piercer to punch holes diagonally and make faux stitches.

Two last things...were any American Idol watchers shocked about Michael Johns going away last night? Boo! Hoo! I was worried about Brooke, so I voted for her, never dreaming Michael would be in trouble. I don't think he's the best, but he's definitely better than three others I can think of. Darn! And second...if you go to Starbucks I tried a new drink you might like. I usually get the White Mocha (I'm a sweetaholic!), but I tried one Caramel pump in place of one White Mocha pump, and it was the yummiest!! Another coffee shop I go to has a drink like that so not sure why I never thought to have Starbucks try one like that.

Okay, that's it for now! I'm afraid I'm going to regret staying up until 12:30 last night...somehow convinced myself that it would be okay since I had a 30 minute nap and today would be Friday. The kids will be testing this morning, then I'm interviewing new teachers for next year from 12:00 on, so I guess I'll make it! Hope you have a great Friday!


Recipe Stamps: Always. Cardstock: So Saffron, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Jersey Shore & East Coast Prep DSP. Ink: So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Versamark, and Always Artichoke marker. Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Heat Gun, Light Blue Fine Cosmo Glitter, Dimensionals, Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, 1" Circle Punch, Paper Piercer, small orange brad from Target $1 Spot.

Friendly Flowers

Do you ever fuss with a card for hours and can never get it right?! That's how I felt Sunday when trying to make this card. I wanted to use this new K & Company ribbon I had bought at Michael's with my 50% off coupon and my new Lots of Dots wheel (I've had Friendly Flowers for quite awhile & not used, it's a hard one for me!). The wheel never worked and the ribbon barely did! (I started out trying to use the one with blue and green circles.) I finally gave up in frustration at 6:00 and went to make dinner and finish schoolwork to get ready for Monday. Then I came back Monday night and just threw this card together in about 15 minutes. Still didn't LOVE it, but at least it was done...a huge relief since I couldn't get anything I liked on Sunday. Here are some rejects and a picture of the ribbon.

Okay, I better run, bad storms and rain still...makes for a very unpleasant and sloooooow drive to work! Have a happy Thursday!

Recipe Stamps: Friendly Flowers. Cardstock: Pink Passion, Gable Green, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White. Ink: Pink Passion, Green Galore. Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Slot Punch, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" & 3/4" & Scallop Circle Punch, Heat & Stick Powder, retired glitter, Ticket Corner Punch, K & Company Margo felt ribbon, Dimensionals.

Wednesday Dig it Out and Use it Up!

I posted a comment on someone's blog last week (my pea brain can't remember which one now, grrr!) because she had got something out and used it finally, and I said I need to do that and should make it a weekly challenge on my blog. So I decided to do it! Every Wednesday I'll challenge you to dig (in my stamp room, the "dig" is appropriate because that is what is required to find stuff usually!) something out that you've never used...or haven't used in the last year...and make something with it! I hope you'll play along and post a link to your creation here!

While surfing over at Splitcoast last weekend, I saw this beautiful card by criminalgrace. I loved the bird stamps she used and when I went to look at what it was, I was shocked to realize that I own that stamp set! Doh! It's a clear stamp set, Birds Galore,by Inkadinkado. I had bought it awhile back with a 50% off coupon (before I had my SU owl!), but when I inked it with the SU classic and craft pads, it did not do well. Long story short, I went to Michael's Saturday night with a 50% off coupon, and all the stamp pads were on sale 40% off, so I decided to buy a few of the little Brilliance and Versamagic combo sets. These inks worked much better with these clear stamps.

I was not having a creative weekend, I'll spare you the details, so this is what I came up with. I also wanted to use my new SU Spring Break paper, it's so fabulous! I used the "a" from the SU Always set, it's still one of my favorites right now.

Okay, I now challenge you to Dig it Out and Use it Up...and share it with us, of course! Can't wait to see what you create! Have a great Wednesday!

Recipe Stamps: Always by SU, Birds Galore by Inkadinkado. Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Spring Break DSP. Ink: Versamagic Spanish Olive & Aegean Blue. Accessories: Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Dimensionals.

Tutorial: Mini Photo Book

Schwooo! The computer and I had a little battle this morning, but I have emerged victorious! I wanted to finally post the tutorial for my March stamp club project, so I spent two hours recreating the project and taking pictures. (As I mentioned before, the cover design is from the Stampin' Up! Demo Website under Bulk Buy projects where they used it on a long card. I came up with the little book design.) After uploading them and starting to edit them in Photoshop, they disappeared, the iPhoto library disappeared, bad noises were emerging from the computer...it was not good! DH worked on it a lot and all is well. Schwooo, that was a close one!

Let me warn you, this is a crazy amount of photos! I took 45 originally, but I narrowed it down to 29 here, yikes! I wanted everything to be clear, but now I think I should have just made it a video. If you have any trouble reading the directions on the photos, click them to enlarge them. Let me know if you have any questions, I'll answer as soon as I can!






























I can't wait to see how your projects turn out! Post the link to your finished project here in the comments so we can see! Happy creating!


Edited to add: Splitcoast asked me to make a new version and tutorial of this project for their website, you can see it here.