Step It Up Swap #2- Nature's Nest

I can't wait to keep showing my swaps, so if you are participating in this swap, close your eyes! By the time I started designing my second set of swaps, I thought I should try to stick to the colors in the Getting Started collection. New stampers can get pretty overwhelmed and the Getting Started collection is a nice way to, well, get started! I stretched it a little with the Crumb Cake though.

This is the first version, good for a Make & Take.  Yes, I am still working on doing limited supplies... but when you have all kinds of stuff, it is really hard not to use it! I used punches, a background stamp, and the white gel pen. I somehow managed to NOT use the Big Shot here. That takes effort I tell you!
The main image is stamped on Naturals White in Early Espresso, I used a blender pen to blend the Early Espresso ink to color in the nest, then used the blender pen and Certainly Celery, Garden Green and Marina Mist ink to color the leaves and the eggs.

• Stamps: Nature's Nest, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Woodgrain BG
• Ink: Marina Mist, Early Espresso, Certainly Celery, Garden Green
• Paper: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Naturals White
• Other: Wide Oval punch, Bird builder punch, 1" Square punch, Signo white gel pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Blender Pen

The stepped-up version adds a Early Espresso card base, the use of the Simply Scored and the Big Shot, and a few other goodies.

• Additions: Big Sot with Designer Frames EF and Ovals die, Simply Scored tool, Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink

 I hope you can see the shimmer of the Accent Ink on the eggs and the leaves here. It was tough to capture on camera., but it adds such a wonderful effect on the card!

I have one more Step-It-Up to share with you in the next couple of days, so stay tuned!

Create a Cupcake Step it Up Swap

This was a super fun swap. The concept is to make a card with minimal supplies that is super cute to use for a Make & Take at a workshop, then to make a stepped up version to demonstrate at said workshop to show customers how you can "Step it Up" with a couple of embellishments or a technique. Love this idea!
I signed up for 3 groups. This is one of them.

Here is the Make & Take version.  Cute right. I am totally in a dovetails/banners phase. Love them! This card is cute, simple, and fast.

• Stamps: Create a Cupcake
• Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
• Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Soft Suede, Whisper White, Brights DSP pack
• Other: 1" circle punch, 1-3/8" square punch

 And this is the "stepped up" Demonstrate It version. I used the Cupcake builder punch to punch out the cupcake frosting images, popped the middle one up with a dimensional. Tied some Bakers Twine around the main image panel. I also added some Dazzling Details glitter glue to the sprinkles, and outlined the card base with a Signo white gel pen.
So the added elements are:

• Cupcake builder punch   $16.95
• Dazzling Details glitter glue  $2.50
• Early Espresso Baker's Twine  $2.95
• Stampin' Dimensionals  $3.95

Now, how fun  was that?! I think this kind of swap is a wonderful idea.

Birthday in Poppy

Now that we all have some of that yummy Everyday Enchantment paper and the Fresh Vintage SAB set, how about we PLAY with them :) This is actually from a workshop on March 31st. It is amazing what can pop up on short notice :)

Everyone had a great time making this card, even the first time stampers!

• Stamps: Fresh Vintage, Perfectly Penned
• Ink: Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade
• Paper: Poppy Parade, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP
• Other: Fancy Flower punch, 1-1/4" Circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch pack, Scallop Trim border punch, Corner Rounder punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Signo white gel pen

I have to say, it was really fun to do a workshop again! It has been about 3 years, and that is much too long. I have been doing just my monthly Stamp Club for too long, time to expand my fun! Anybody want to have a workshop? :)

Zippers for Mom-USWDAF

 Lookie what I made! Zipper Cards! I have seen just a few of these and decided to figure out how to make them using tools I already have. It was actually pretty simple, and the result is so fun! I wrote a tutorial for them and you can find it by clicking on the link at the end of this post and purchasing a pass to the Cards with Cool Moves 2012 event. My tutorial was posted on March 29th and is available NOW :)

Here is the suite of cards I made, 2 of them have zippers.

Here is a zipper "unzipped". Don't you love it?! Click on the link below to buy your pass to this awesome event. There will be over 30 Cool Moves with full tutorials, and at least 3 cards per tutorial! All for 24.99

Watercolored Romance Birthday

Need something a little spring, a little country, a little pretty? Have I got the card for you! I was stamping just for fun the other day while dreaming about a garden and this is what popped out. I didn't have much time to pull this one together as my Geoffrey had an orchestra concert that evening, and I have to say, that usually just results in nothing getting done, lol.

The watercolor paper is so yummy to work with, and layering color on it is to easy! After I watercolored, I brushed some Smooch Top Coat over the flowers and buds. That really added some life to them! They looked almost dew-kissed.  And I recently broke down and bought the big DSP packs by color family. They are awesome!! Why did I wait so long?!

Inside I stamped the companion stamp to the sentiment on the front. The Petite Pairs set is great for this! I like to leave plenty of space to put a handwritten note to the recipient, so I like to tuck the stamped sentiment towards a corner.

• Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Petite Pairs
• Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Crumb Cake
• Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Brights DSP pack, Watercolor paper
• Other: Signo white gel pen, White Baker's Twine, Lace Ribbon border punch, Aquapainter, Smooch Pearlized Top Coat, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Go Guitar!

Ok, I have to confess that is has been really hard for me to tear myself away for the amazingly warm weather we are having here in Northern MN. We are usually still having  highs in the 30's and still have lots of snow on the ground. Check out this post from last April! The last 2 weeks, the lows have barely made it to 40 let alone 30! I am actually thinking about planting my garden in a couple weeks instead on the last week of May, which is when it is normally safe to plant started plants. They actually had to turn off the heat and start the air conditioning at work this week...which is a 2 day process apparently. Bring in the fans! I can't believe it was getting into the 80's in the hospital when it was only in the 50-60's outside. Not fun when you are running your butt off, lol!
I was inspired by someone's card out in the blogosphere to make this style card. I have just spent more time searching for the inspiration card than I did writing this post, so I am sorry, I can't reference the one to blame ;)

As you problably have noticed already, there are a lot of boys/men in my house and in my family. I have been the only female in the house for a long time now. SO I am always in the need for more masculine cards. I could not resist doing this fun guitar card!

This card base was made with a 3¼"x11 card base scored at 4½" and then added a 1" strip that I die cut with an Adorning Accents die to create the curve. I still have my little Star punch and it sure comes in handy ;)

Inside I stamped just above some of the fabulous Everyday Enchantment DSP that is a Sale-A-Bration goodie! I love how this turned out! Now, who will be appropriately appreciative of such a gem? Hmmm... Geoffrey, my youngest turns 16 on May 1st and he is teaching himself to play guitar. He already plays viola, alto sax, and bari sax. Dakota (just turned 20, OMGosh!) and Geoffrey begged for an Xbox game that you plug an electric guitar into and it teaches you to play guitar, and I caved.

•  Stamps: Grunge Rock, Bring on the Cake
• Ink: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso
• Paper: Naturals Ivory, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Poppy Parade, Early Espresso, Everyday Enchantment DSP
• Other: Big Shot with Adorning Accents die and Circle #2 die,  small Star punch, non-SU guitar die, Stampin' Dimensionals

Well, this is Tanya, signing off from my deck! The birds are calling!

SASCRAP75 Sketch Challenge and Tent Love

It's the first Saturday of March! Wow, where did February go?! As usual, last month was packed with activity and seemed to just fly right on by. Then a few days ago, Holly reminded me that it was time to do another sketch. It is embarrassing to admit that I put this all together at 10:00pm last night! So here goes. You can find the official challenge thread here.

I know there is a way to fill a punch with a picture, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember it last night. I am sure that plenty of people remember how though :) This one is fairly simple and I actually tried to force some embellishments on it, but it felt unbalanced somehow. You sure could add them, and I would love to see what you all add!

Here is my sample picture. I did not start with the photos and build from there this time. I just grabbed the first photos I found on a CD filled with old pictures. Sometimes we need to challenge ourselves that way, especially if you tend to dawdle over a page for hours, like me :)
These pictures are from Easter 2003 when we had found kid tents with kid sized sleeping bags for an amazingly affordable price. We got them for the kids, and they were so excited! I think they had to wait a month to use them, since we frequently have snow until into May here in northern MN, and if there isn't snow, then the ground is wet and muddy! But they had that tent set up as fast as they could! My kids are almost all adults now, and they still have a tent pitched out in the yard a good chunk of the summer. They sleep in them, hang out with their friends, play poker, or just read in peace :) The Tent Love never faded, lol!
I used the Piece of Cake DSP with My Digital Studio, which I had forgotten I had! It is a Sale-A-Bration goodie, and is full of goodness. The blue is not quite the same on the tent, but I love the star-burst effect on the paper and the fun patterns on the other papers. Definitely full of energy.

Ok, now show us what you've got!