Project 365/Day 21 - Cardmaking with Ree

Sometimes you are lucky enough to find a friend in life who makes you feel totally appreciated, who shares a passion for the same things you do and inspires you to be a better person. This is what I have found in my friend, Ree. She is a wonderfully sweet person (who is soon to be seen on Extreme Home Makeover in February) since she volunteered to help out with a home being built in the Central Florida area. She has more energy and enthusiasm about life and stamping, and has helped build my self esteem in always crediting me as her creative mentor. Whenever we get together for a day of stamping, I always leave with a smile. We share new tips and techniques we picked up between our play dates and catch up on family and friends...isn’t that the very best of living life creatively?!!! Here is a mishmash of some of what I created. We did more talking & eating than creating, but walked away energized and inspired to try new products and techniques.

I was very anxious to try out the Springtime Vintage DSP collection and pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon that was part of the goodies she gave me for Christmas. I typically am not drawn to old fashion style papers, but wow, was I inspired the more I worked with this. And the softness of the seam binding ribbon is awesome. I insisted that she teach me how she made these incredible paper flowers on a recent project she posted. And in her truly generous spirit, she dropped what she was doing to teach me how she made them. I am a bit disappointed that after mine flattened out on the ride home, I haven't been able to restore it to quite how good it looked when I was at her house, but you get the idea. And...it was made using the 5 petal flower punch, an idea she cased on the web. Pretty easy to do, and they looks so beautiful. Not great for mailing, but excellent for hand delivered cards and gifts! Check it out...

I took some closer up photos too. It is assembled using a simple brad!

I hand cut some accent leaves from Wild Wasabi that was texturized with an embossing folder.

And here is Ree’s Beautiful Letterpress card that was my inspiration!

Here is the Vintage Love Ya Card I made at her house

using background paper from Springtime Vintage DSP from Stampin’ Up!®

and 3D stamped butterfly cut out from K&Co Que Sera Sera clear stamps.

This card features the pear pizzazz seam binding ribbon...can you say gorgeous!!!

Trust me you will love the feel of it and using it on your projects.

My daughter had to make a poster for a conference she was attending this weekend and we picked up some silver glittered adhesive foam for her to create the letters and graphics. She had some leftover scraps so I brought them along with me for Ree and I to play with. She ran some through the diecuts she had and I had fun using them on a couple cards. She really liked the color combination of red, black and white and silver. This could be used as a simple valentine, but I made it into a Thank You card.

I swear that this pink and black background with the canvas textured stamping strip has been in my scrap pile for several years now. I finally snagged some other scrap elements to make it into a cheery card. Don’t you just love that lil' owl. He is in one of the stamp sets (Punch Bunch) that are available for free during Sale-a-bration with a $50 purchase. So if you are needing any SU supplies, now is the time to order. I no longer am a demo, but Ree can take care of that. She has a website for doing online orders.

So, I encourage you today to surround yourself with friends who inspire you creatively and it will enhance your experience  and inspire you to live life creativley!

Collaborating to Raise Money for Breast Cancer Research

Artists, or at least the ones I know, are good hearted people who are always willing to lend their talents to help out when needed. So it was no surprise that when Lindsay posted a call on Mygrafico to do a collaborative set to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer that so many talented designers jumped right to it. In light of having several family members and friends diagnosed within the past couple years and one friend newly diagnosed, I eagerly wanted to create some designs for this set. So here is a peek at the set...

The set sells for only $5. It is a great way to get some fun graphics for use and also support Breast Cancer research. It is now available for purchase at www.mygrafico.com.

I created these 3 graphics for the set...

I hope you will take the time today and support someone you know who has been effected by Breast Cancer and brighten their day by showing your love and support!

To Thy Own Self Be Kind - what a great concept!

When I first read this verse on a stamp, it struck me a little odd, but the more I think about, it is a great reminder especially to all the moms out there who often are overworked and far less appreciated for the little things they do. I know that Mother's Day has come and gone, but take a moment this week to feel guiltless and to thy own self be kind! Here is a card created with the Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-Bration set, Botanical Blooms.

Birthday Sale-A-Brations!

With just two weeks left of Sale-A-Bration, I wanted to showcase another Birthday card made with the Sale-A-Bration Yummy stamp set. I call the top card Birthday Yum. It is another fast and easy to duplicate card using a wheeled background, hand colored stamp with hand colored verse. Selective coloring is a stamping technique shown in these two card samples where you choose portions of the stamp design to add different color(s). In the Birthday Yum card (top), I applied markers directly to the stamp to make a colorful cupcake. Since the sprinkles are reversed out, I added those marker colors in after the design was stamped. I used the same selective coloring technique to add emphasis to the word Yummy by making it red in the verse. The ribbon is red gingham threaded through a tiny slit in the seam!

In the second card, Candles and Sprinkles, I got a little bit trickier by coloring in the top of my cupcake in brown, using a versamarker (clear ink) on bottom, stamping and embossing the cupcake liner in silver EP. I then went back and added the color sprinkles afterwards. I used the same Illuminations wheel on each background. Instead of using the candle in the cupcake, I repeated it at the bottom of the card as a graphic pattern. I separated the color block panels with a white scallop edge border that I punched. All supplies available on my SU website for order! Don't wait because the S-A-B sets are only available for a limited time, until March 31st!

The birthday set used in both of the cards is my new Stampin' Up! favorite...Party Hearty!

Naturally Masculine

When trying to plan a card for a guy, it is often easy to create a good look by using elements from nature. In this card example, I used the Botanical Blooms Sale-A-Bration set with a verse from Sincere Salutations set along with the Sanded background stamp to add some texture. Color comination used on this is Ivory Naturals, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke and Night of Navy cardstock. Inks used were Creamy Carmel, Old Olive and Night of Navy. For the border strip, I used repetition stamping to create the varied tones. The Ivory Natural cardstock was laid on top of the scratches background stamp inked with Creamy Carmel ink. The verse and leaf patterns were then stamped on top. I used a square punch to create the window on the front panel and glued the stamped leaf to the back side of the front panel. You can also mount on the inside left panel and leave as a true window.

This design can easily be used to create a wonderful Father's Day card. Here it is shown as a masculine birthday or get well card.

The KISS Method

Although the original KISS theory is meant to stand for Keep it Simple Stupid, I prefer for it to stand for Keep it Super Simple...and simple is just what these two cards are. You, your kids and even your husbands could create these designs!

But just because they are super simple, doesn't make them uninteresting. Just look at what rounding the corners, tearing a paper layer and tying a ribbon does to the Get Well Card. And on the Quickie Quacker card, I intentionally colored him in under 10 seconds to show you that you don't always have to pull out the aqua painter and color like an artist to have something look cute. Just think — you can do the stamping and your kids can do the coloring to send out this adorable Easter card. The set used is A Good Egg from Stampin’ Up! The Get Well Greeting features the Baroque wheel with pretty in pink ink, a verse from Sincere Salutations set and the outlined flower stem and leave stamps from the limited time only, Sale-A-Bration set named Botanical Blooms which you can earn FREE with any $50 purchase during Sale-A-Bration.

Simple Sale-A-Bration!

Who says every card has to be a masterpiece that you slave over for hours. Just take a peek at these three different cards featuring stamps from the Polka Dot Punches Sale-A-Bration set that you can earn for FREE! See my Stampin’ Up! website for details. Just pair up with some verses sets, a background stamp or punches for added wow, as shown in the top two examples, or use the image as a repetitive tone-on-tone background element with the same design matted and done in a 2-tone color on top, as I did on the Warm Wishes card. These are a sneak peek at some of the cards we will be making at my Stamp-A-Stack night on March 6th.