USWDAF- Rustic Wedding Decor

Wow! It's time for a new event already!! I designed another fun project for UStamp, and this time I went crazy with the butterflies! The tutorial for my project was posted on the Big Shot Round Up event on 2/16/12. Go check it out!

Doesn't this look fun? One of my girlfriends wants me to make this for her niece's wedding in Montana. I think that would be perfect!!

Valentines for Sons

I was not as prepared for Valentine's Day as I should have been this year. I had quite a stash of cards to sell at work last year, but not this year. Oh well. One of my co-workers did come to me last weekend and told me she needed 4 cards. One of them would be for her adult son. She has been getting cards from me for about 3 or 4 years now, and her son had made a comment about them a couple years ago. He told her that she was finding the most amazing cards! I used to think guys didn't notice this stuff, but even the guys at work want to use my cards because they are "special" and "little works of art". Now, I don't let that go to my head, because I know that I am not the most talented  card maker out there. Not by a long shot! But who doesn't love some admiration of their efforts?!

All that being said, I really like how this one turned out. I am rather enamored with cutting birch bark with my Big Shot dies right now, and those birch bark hearts really made this card for me! And it will be going to that lovely son of Bekki's, who recognizes art when he sees it ;) (BTW, this young man is a Harley mechanic...)

I really think the Letterpress Plates are missing out on the love from most of us. They are such and awesome tool, and I love the look they give. I find myself using them just as much as the embossing folders. Check out the "son". It is form the Family Reunion set, which I earned with my sales during Sale-A-Bration last year. I love being a demonstrator :) So many great perks! There 24 stamps in the set, and 19 of them are family relation names! Bet you didn't know there were that many to use!

The birch button was cut using the Buttons #5 sizzlit. You do have to peel the birch bark to a couple layers thick for this to work, but the results are awesome! And if you are like me, and burn wood to heat the house, then you don't have to go far to find birch bark. Otherwise, you can find it online in lots of places. Or maybe you know someone else that has some you can use. And Tombow liquid glue holds the birch bark just fine!

• Stamps: PS I Love You, Family Reunion
• Paper: Naturals White, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, black pen
• Ink: Chocolate Chip
• Other: Big Shot with Buttons#5 sizzlet, Hearts Framelit, Lots Of Love Letterpress Plate, birch bark, Signo white gel pen, Stampin Dimensionals, Early Espresso Baker's Twine

I Love You More

Happy Valentine's Day!! I am a bit of a romantic, as is my hubby. So you would think this day would be a big deal for us. It's not, because we like to do little acts of kindness for each other most every day. But maybe we should make it more special... we all like an excuse to do something extra special for those we love!

This is the card I made for my hubby. There is a little private meaning to this :) We get into a little playful fight with this phrase, and the winner is the one we says it last. Silly , I know. But silly is good for the soul. Really. It is. Look it up. ;)

I finally broke down and got the Houndstooth  embossing folder, and it is so perfectly masculine, I just love it! ANd reinked my Craft White inkpad and used the back of a plastic spoon to really rub it in. Boy Howdy, what a difference that made!

 I will have to think of something witty and sweet to put on the inside, before he gets home in 4 hours! I don't think I will share that with you all, it might get a little X rated, even after all these years ;) We have been together for 23 years, will be 24 this summer, and will celebrate our 22nd anniversary this June. How did time go so fast?!
I hope you all have a great day, whether it is with a honey, or blissfully free of commitment!

• Stamps: Woodgrain BG, I (Heart) Hearts, PS I Love You
• Paper: Naturals White, River Rock, Cherry Cobbler
• Ink: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, River Rock, black pen
• Other: Big Shot with Houndstooth EF and Hearts Framelits die, Word Window and 2-3/8 Scallop Circle and Jewelry Tag punches, Silver Mini brads, 1/16" punch, Stampin Dimensionals.

Sweet Madison Rae and SA Sketch Challenge #71

It's the first Saturday of the month, so you know what that means! It is time for another Scrapbook Sketch Challenge over at Stampin' Addicts :) I went for a more simple sketch this time, trying to embrace the "white space". I tend to want to fill the page with stuff, so this was a real challenge for me, lol!

Here is the sketch, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover some goodies in my embellishments that I didn't realize I had! They are from the Noteworthy digital collection you can earn as a hostess benefit from the main catty!

And here is my example. This is the newest member to my hubby's side of the family. Our new little niece, Madison Rae born on Nov 28th, 2011. This picture was taken on Christmas and she is just such a sweet baby!! I really miss the babies....I only get to play with sick babies at work...and I usually have to make them cry.
I even got tp play with my Vintage Overlays, which I fell in love with but never really used. It took me a while to figure out how to make them look the way I wanted..just because I was being dense! I had forgottn that you can change the opacity of your images on MDS, duh!

This entire page is done on My Digital Studio, which you can get a free 30 day trial of now!! How exciting is that! Go check it out at mydigitalstudio.net now!

• Stamps: Cheerful Treat, Vintage Overlays
• Paper: Blushing Bride,  Twitterpated DSP
• "Ink": Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Basic Black
• Embellishments: Rhinestones, Twitterpated Designer Buttons, Doily Triple Punch, 5 Petal Flower punch
• Font: Bored Showers

Show us what you made!! Post it on the challenge forum or link to yours in a comment here :)
Pretty please!

Field of Birthdays

This was supposed to be a sympathy card. I really thought it would make a nice sympathy card. But I think it is too cheery...So I decided it would be better suited as a birthday card.

 I am back to outlining again. It almost adds another layer to those limited layer cards. That ribbon is part of the offerings in the Sale-A-Bration brochure!! ♥ it!

•  Stamps: Field Flowers, Happiest Birthday Wishes
• Paper: Pretty in Pink, Lucky Limeade, Naturals White
• Ink: Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
• Other: Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelits and Labels Framelits, Lucky Limeade 1/8" Organza ribbon, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Clear Coat Accent Ink, Frost White Shimmer Paint, sponge, Signo white gel pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

 Everything got a little layer of shimmer in some way or another. The white strip on the side was spritzed. The label and banner with shimmer painted, and the main flowers were accented. Wow, that's a lot of shimmer! Too bad it doesn't show up in the photos :(

I've gotten pretty good at getting the 2 layers of the flower lined up without really trying! I need to use this stamp set more. So, do I need to add a little bit of stem to this flower?

Grassy Sympathy Card

There is just something about the image of tall grass swaying in the wind that makes me think of peace and contemplation. Both of these thoughts together make me think of sympathy cards. We are trying to convey peace to the bereaved, and are often contemplating the life that has passed, and how our lives will now be changed. Some passings are a thing of peace, and that in itself is something to celebrate. So says the ER nurse who has seen death in all kinds of forms.... I no longer fear death like I used to, and I am pretty sure it has more to do with my job than my age :)
Wow, these are pretty deep thoughts for a stampin blog! Better get to the Happy!!

I decided to use the  Adorning Accents Edgelit in the opposite direction this time, offering a peek at the cardstock beneath. It feels more masculine this way, don't you think? Really, what makes something masculine? It is sometimes not quite definable. But this feels like it. I was going to add some kind of embellishment to the right side of the oval, but decided I liked it this way just fine :)

• Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Thanks for Caring (retired)
• Paper: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Naturals White
• Ink: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso
• Other: Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelits and Labels Framelits, Wide Oval punch, Always Artichoke Seam Binding ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

 You can almost hear the wind softly blowing, can't you. This would make a great masculine card for any occasion, not just a sympathy card.

I wish the Thanks for Caring set had not retired. It has such a wonderful sentiment, very timeless. If you have one, you have quite a little treasure in your stash!
And here is hoping that no one I know, including myself, needs a sympathy card any time soon....

Elegance in Blue

This was my first attempt at a swap with Elementary Elegance but it didn't feel quite right. I do like how the small elements fit on the Jewelry Tag punch.

 I used some Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and then sponged over it to add more depth. I did stamp the little elements first and then punched them out.

• Stamps: Elementary Elegance
• Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red,  Pear Pizzazz, Naturals White, Twitterpated DSP
• Ink: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red,  Pear Pizzazz, Versamark
• Other: Big Shot with Adorning Accents Edgelits, Curly Label punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Stampin Dimensionals, sponges, Signo white gel pen, Cherry Cobbler embossing powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Gun

I did a little bit of fussy cutting around the main image and the sentiment is also embossed.
I hope to find just the right person to give this to!

Don't forget, Sale-A-Bration starts tomorrow and you can ear this stamp set with a $50 purchase (before shipping and tax) !