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!

Leaves of Kindness

Back in January, I found myself in need of a Thank You card for a group of people, both men and women. I wanted something that would appeal to both genders, and that looked like a very sincere thank you. I was out of town when I needed this, and had brought limited supplies with me. I had also just finished designing the Rustic Wedding stuff, so this color combo was stuck in my head :)

I really like how this one turned out. And for once, I didn't spend 2 hours on it! I tend to fiddle around quite a bit with ideas before I am happy with the end result... I know I am not alone! It is so great to have  a hobby that I must slow down for, since my professional life is all about fixing people with speed, accuracy, and compassion. Wow, that sounded awfully self-important didn't it! We all have challenges in our jobs, and we have a part to play in the workings of the world. We should all feel like we are contributing to the greater good, even if it is making sure the toilets are clean (which I still have to do in my job, lol) Ok, I digress! Back to the STAMPING!!
This stamp set is so easy to work with, and I really have a soft spot for leaves.  And I think I used the Labels Framelits on every project I made for about 3 weeks, lol!

More leaves inside, a little white gel pen outlining, and the sentiment down and to the left to leave plenty of room to write a note.

• Stamps: French Foliage, Thank You Kindly
• Paper: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Whisper White
• Ink: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede
• Other: Big Shot with Label Framelits, Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, Signo white gel pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Splendid Birthday

This is the last of the swaps for the birthday card swap. This is the for GENERAL category. I liked this one so much, we made it for club this month!

I love the 3 banners that are each stamped with a different leaf. For the 10 swap cards I did, I stamped the cardstock, then cut it. Great time saver! Notice I did not ink any edges or outline anything. While I am sure  this would make the card look better, I was trying to keep this fairly simple, especially since there is actual stitching on it. For the swaps, I must confess, I used a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine...
The dovetails on the banners were made with a square punch which is super fast too.

• Stamps: Autumn Splendor, Perfectly Penned
• Paper: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso (I used Chocolate Chip on the swaps, looks better), Whisper White
• Ink: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso
• Other: 1¼" Square punch, 1-3/8" Circle punch, Paper Piercer with Mat Pack, White Baker's Twine, Silver Mini Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals

Stampin' Addicts 3rd Anniversary Blog Hop- Girls' Night Party

Another year older and better than ever!! Stampin' Addicts is 3 years old now! And to celebrate, everyone on this hop has done a different party theme. 

If you lose your way, here is a link to the master list for the hop. Feel free to leave  a comment on that thread also, and suggestions for future hops are always welcome :)

 I am stop #5, so you may have just arrived from Heidi's blog where she did  a Rapunzel Birthday Party. That woman always blows me away with her creativity, so I am feeling a little intimidated today :) Leave her some love! So let's see if I can wow you with my Girls' Night theme. I could have gone many ways with this, but I chose to use colors that match the walls, I mean the insulation sheets (roll eyes), in my kitchen, which are just a titch lighter than Daffodil Delight. Think banana yellow, since I am looking at the bananas sitting right next to my wall and they almost blend in.... This is a bit of a challenge to make things look good for a party. I mean yellow is not exactly a neutral color. Oh, and I do have white salad plates, and yellow salad plates, which will fit nicely in the 3 tiered goodie rack I bought before Christmas. I plan on making some carrot cake cupcakes, some Sweet Pressed Shortbread cookies with the flower stamped on them.

So let's start with the invitation! If you have followed my blog for very long, you know I love all things Crumb Cake, including the packing paper that comes in the SU orders :) I discovered that you can easily punch through 4 layers of it at once! This flower takes 8 Blossom punches to complete, and it is so full and lovely! 

Now, the Raining Flowers set is one we got at convention, and I really wasn't sure I liked it at first, but it has definitely grown on me. I like the modern feel to it and the endless combinations you can do with it. The sentiment is from Hugs & Wishes, which is only available on MDS now. 

The first project I did was actually this banner. This is only 1/4 of the banner, I couldn't get a good picture of the whole thing as it is hanging above my 5 foot wide kitchen window. Way too distracting in a photo. The centers of the flowers are all buttons and glimmer brads. I figure when I am done with the banner, I can reclaim them to use on another projects!  The white flowers are 6 layers of  White Waffle paper punched with the Fancy Flower punch, and the yellow is 4 layers of Faux Sueded Daffodil Delight cardstock punched with the 5-Petal Flower punch.

Now these are for popcorn in my mind, but could hold all kinds of things. When I think Girls' Night, I think drinks, cupcakes, cookies, cheese and crackers, popcorn, and movies. These are paper lunch bags cut with the Adorning Accents Edglit and then embossed with the coordinating embossing folder. I found that you can cut and emboss 2 bags at a time! And each one is slightly different so you can tell which one is yours :) Imaging having those flavored popcorn sprinkles for everyone to customize their fresh buttery popcorn, yum!

I had to make a wine tag. They just look so fun! Come back next week and I will tell you how I made it. Super easy. The sentiment is from Pursuit of Happiness and it just goes so well with the vibe of this theme. And I just had to do some coasters. I have gobs of blank ones in my stash, and they take ink so well, I couldn't resist. I think it too me about 10 minutes to do these 4.  

Now I can't wait to have a Girls' Night party!! All I need to do is pick a date and call the girls! ANd hope I can find a night most of us don't work, lol!

On to the next hop where Lisa is going to show us a FABULOUS bridal shower theme! Boy, I tell you it is tough to be stuck between these two because they are sure to outshine little old me! Yes, I can be clever, and make some cute stuff, but these ladies are such inspirations to me!

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