Happy Birthday, Diane!

I usually send late birthday cards, but this year I managed to get Diane's card completed and in the mail hopefully in enough time for it to actually get there on her birthday. Here is the card I made for her:

It is a top fold with an acetate window. 

Here's the inside

I hope she realizes that is me depicted there and does not take offense...teehee! I wrote the note on the back of the card, in case you gots to know.

I get by with a little help from my friend.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting my friend Graceann and "playing" with our new stamping stuff. The first time we used her gelli plate to make background papers for future cards. I have not used those to complete cards yet, but when I do I share them in a future post. Then we used embossing paste and stencils. That was really more "me" and I will be showing the cards made with those in a future post as well. Lastly we stamped with recently purchased stamps that I had not used yet. Here is one card that I did finish:

The stamp set is called Garden Silhouette and is from Sparkle n Sprinkle. Graceann had a very old book to use as background paper. Boy did that tear easily.The base card is kraft.

Well I just wanted to get this post up as I have not had the ol' mojo juices flowing in quite awhile.

To be continued....

I found my mojo.

I spent the past week playing in my stamp room. My sister Angie is away and my friend (who doesn't stamp) is not back yet, and I volunteered to lead a class at the retreat in February, so I had to get busy. This is what I came up with. The embossing is done with clear on white cardstock, then ink is sponged over top.

The small sentiment stamp is from SparkleNSprinkle.

 This is the back of the card. The sentiment was stamped, then cut out, then embossed using the matching blossom stamp from Heartfelt Creations with versamark and clear EP again. The bigger blossom behind was cut from the front of the card.

I saw this "magic card" at a stamp show, googled it for directions, then came up with my own variation to be able to fit the stamps from Hambo. The die is Blossom 3 from Nestabilities.

This card needs an envelope that is 5x7.

I'm Back!

Oh, my, I did not realize how long it had been since I posted on this blog. I could give you excuses, but "not gonna do it"! My mojo has been missing, so to get it going again I have been blog hopping. Today I want to share Beccy Muir's blog, and specifically her page about different folding techniques:

Tutorials for Making Different Folds

Beccy designs rubber stamps available from SparkleNSprinkle and digis, too. I love her designs!

So check back here, because I want to make a few different cards and will post them below. And go check out Beccy's blog or shop at SNS while you are waiting.

I am still here...

 I have just been busy and forgetting to scan my creations before I send them off.. Here are two cards that I made recently. The first one I sent to son #3 who once owned and rode a unicycle.  I thought of him when I saw the stamp, so he got the first card made with it. It is part of a set from Red Rubber Designs called Hey Life (click here to see).

BTW, if any of you were interested in that old truck stamp that I used with the acetate technique at the meeting , you can still buy it by clicking here at Red Rubber Designs

This second card I used as an Easter card for son #4 and his wife. Angie designed the layout. This is stamped on glossy paper twice, with Memento bahama blue, then one is trimmed and popped up.  A little bling added and layered on Pacific Point paper(stamp and paper from SU). Easy peasy! A few of us stayed long at our 2nd club  meeting in March and made these with Angie's direction. Thanks, Sis!

Getting organized

Well, here it is another New Year to make resolutions. Mine is the same one I have had for years: to get my stamping room organized better so making cards does not have to be an ordeal. I have certainly come a long way since DSH bought me the cabinets to store my stuff in, but we have been in our new location over a year now and there sits my big box and small boxes of stamps that are still not organized, labeled, etc.

I found this post on Operation Write Home that has a great video and follow up  ideas for using those paper scraps:

Scrap Wrangler

Here is a card that I made with one of the suggested sketches using scrap pieces. The Mary Engelbreit sticker is one I found years ago at Michaels in the $1 bin. 

Let me know what you thought of the video and get those fingers inky.

What to bring?

Twice a month I pack up to join the company of other stampers at our Gone Stampin' meeting. Sometimes we have each designed a card to share with others, so those days were easy to pack for. I just needed to bring the exact materials I used in my card.

Other times we just kind of "free form" where we bring something we want to work on. I also have the privilege of attending a stamping retreat once a month where a group of us stampers hightail it to the words for an overnight retreat of stamping the time away. In both of these situations, I am never sure what to bring. I am very spoiled by having my own stamping room with my supplies and stuff in cabinets, bins, and plastic drawers.

I happened to find this list on one of my favorite sites, Operation Write Home. (If you love to make cards, but do not have a place to send them, the girls at OWH collect cards for servicemen and women to use in correspondence home.) There are great ideas and tutorials at this site, too. The link is in the column on the right.

Crop Packing List

• A large bag or rolling tote to hold all supplies.
• A cutting mat – 12 x 12 or preferred size to use as a work surface of your own. A foam-back mat will be good for stamping on and one with a grid will be good for measuring things.
• Adhesives – variety is good. ATG or tape runners, liquid adhesives, glue dots, dimensionals. A wrist strap of scotch tape instead of a whole roll will save space. (see video).
• Punches – stick to your favorites or ones that match the projects that you are going to work on.
• Inks or distressing pigments – the smaller sizes are better for travel or stick to the colors that you need just for the projects that you are taking along.
• Essential tools: scissors, bone folder, paper piercer and mat, scoring tool, favorite pens/pencil, adhesive eraser, corner rounder, hole punch if needed.
• A favorite new stamp set or two. Build everything else that you need to bring around these stamp sets!
• Ink pads for stamping, unless your images are already stamped or printed. Bring along pre-stamped, heat embossed, or even completed images ready to add to cards.
• Clear blocks for your stamps, if needed.
• Coloring tools and some kind of container or way to pack them with you.
• Patterned paper or pads to match your stamp sets.
• Card stock in colors that match your patterned paper for mats and card bases (bonus points if you pre-cut and fold some card bases before hand!)
• Some die-cut pieces to use for focal points – cut from the same colored card stock as above. Have a variety of shapes (circle, square, scalloped) in a variety of sizes. You can also pre-cut some pieces to stamp sentiments on to.
• Some pieces of the same paper that have already been dry embossed with designs that match your stamps / papers that you want to use.
• An assortment of ribbon, twine, buttons, brads and other embellishments to match.
• Your own garbage can (see video) or even a paper or plastic sack to use for garbage scraps if you like.
• Inspiration in the form of sketches or card ideas – maybe a magazine or some photos of cards that you would like to CASE!
•  A drink container – to be a good crop neighbor you should always have a drink container that is guaranteed not to spill if accidentally knocked over – you don’t want to spill on your own or on your neighbors’ precious work.
• One more tip – it’s never a bad idea to mark your own supplies in some way with a Sharpie or permanent marker to identify them as your own – just put your initials on them somewhere.