Inspiration

This card was made for my 10 year old grandson, because I am so very proud of him. He fasted for 30 hours to raise money for World Vision. Right now he is truly an inspriation to me, because he is doing exactly what we all are called to do - sacrifice for the good of others .

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This card just takes a few minutes to make. The base is the standard 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded at 4 1/4", in Sahara Sand card stock.
A 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" piece of Early Espresso DSP was glued on the bottom of the card front. A 5 1/2" piece of Early Espresso was punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border. The result was adhered to the top of the DSP. The definition of inspire was stamped on the top, right of the Sahara Sand. This sentiment came from the "Define Your Life" stamp set.

A 2 5/8" scallop was punched out of Early Espresso. A 2" circle was punched out of Crumb Cake. The owl from the "Punch Bunch", which is in the "sale.a.bration" catalog, was stamped on the Crumb Cake circle. This circle was glued onto the scallop and then embossed with the "Square Lattice" folder.

Where ever you are I hope that your days are blessed and filled with much happiness.

Learning To Think Out of The Box

I love looking at cards that other people have made and one of the things I have observed is that that most creative card makers think out of the box. They look at a product and think of as many different ways to use it as possible. Lately I have seen multiple people turn the oval punches into vases. Stampin Addicts showed a technique of inking acrylic blocks and stamping directly onto card stock to add texture or color. So I tried both of these techniques on this card:

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First, I formed a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" card base out of Very Vanilla card stock.

The second layer is Baja Breeze and measures 5 1/4"x 4". I embossed it with the Elegant Lines folder and attached it to the center of the card base.

The third layer is a piece of Very Vanilla, 4 3/4" x 2 1/2". I placed an acrylic block on a Baja Breeze ink pad and then stamped the block directly onto the Very Vanilla panel. Then I sponged the ink around the edges.
Next I colored the flowers from the Nature Walk stamp set with the Riding Hood Red and Garden Green Stampin' Write markers and stamped them in the top middle of the panel. I repeated this 2 more times. Then I used the Regal Rose anad Garden Green markers to color the berry stem from the Autumn Days stamp set and stamped it among the flowers.

I used the 2" x 1 3/8" oval punch to form a Baja Breeze oval and snipped off the ends to form the vase. I painted it with Frost Whie Shimmer Paint to give the vase a look of frosted glass. I used dimensionals to attach the vase over my flowers.

Finally, I added Basic Pearls to the vase and the embossed Baja Breeze.

Try to think of multiple ways to use your Stampin'Up products. You can come up with some cool looks and make your investment really pay off.

Beautiful Butterflies

Wow! I just got my "Beautiful Wings"embosslit die and had to try it out. I absolutely love it. It cuts and embosses 5 butterflies, the distance bewteen wing tips range from 5/8" to 1 7/8". I put 2 on the outside and 3 on the inside.

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I formed a Pink Pirouette card base. I cut out a piece of Basic Gray card stock and adhered a piece of 1/8" Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon 1 3/4" from the top and a second one 1 1/2" from thte bottom. The I centered and attached this panel to the pink card base.

Then I stamped the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set rose in Basic Black ink on the top part of my Very Vanilla card stock. I stamped a second rose onto a sheet of copy paper, cut it out, and used it as a mask. I then stamped the lily from the same stamp set on the bottom of the vanilla card base, making sure part of it overlapped the rose. I created a mask for the lily. I coverd both the rose and the lily with their masks. Finally,I stamped the last flower from the set between the rose and lily.

I colored the rose with Pink Pirouette and Pretty In Pink inks and the lily with Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait and Basic Black. I cut the flowers out on the right side only and then attached the resulting piece on the top left of the gray panel.

I cut the butterflies out of Whisper White scraps with the embosslit and sponged them with Pretty In Pink ink .

I punched out 1 3/8" x 5/8' oval in the Pink Pirouette and stamped my sentiment on it. I dotted a border around the oval. Then I placed the oval between the ribbons.

Materials:

5 1/2" x 8 1/2 " Pink Pirouette card stock scored and folded at 4 1/4", plus a 2" x 1" for punch

3 1/2" x 4 3/4" Basic Gray card stock

2" x 4" & 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" Very Vanilla Card stock

2 - 4" pieces of 1/8" Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon

Basic Black, Mellon Mambo, Pretty In Pink, Pink Pirouette, Peach Parfait and So Saffron Inks.

Beautiful Wings embosslit

1 3/8" x 5/8" Oval Punch

Double Stamping

I saw a technique on line that I wanted to try. So, the card today is an experiment. I like it overall, but have decided if I use this techniques again I will use brighter colors. The card seems a little dark to me.

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Materials:

1. Chocolate Chip cardstock(8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4") and a
scrap 2 1/" x 3/4"; Whisper White Card stock (5" x 3 3/4" and a 2"
x 3/4"scrap)

2. Inks: Crumb Cake, So Saffrom, Tempting Torquoise, Early Espresso

3. Punches:Word Window, Modern Label

4. Elements of Style and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets

5. Snail Adhesive and Inl Applicator.

5. Stamps:

Steps:

1. Fold large piece of brown card stock to form at 5 1/2" x 41/4' card
base.

2. Randomly stamp floral pattern on white card stock, using Crumb Cake
ink.

3. Using an ink applicator lightly apply So Saffron, Crumb Cake and
Tempting Turquoise over floral images.

4. Load the floral stamp up with Early Espresso and stamp it diagonally
from the top left to the bottm right hand corner of the above panel.
(Refer to photo).

5. Punch out Word Window in white card stock. Sponge So Saffron and
Tempting Turquoise onto paper. Center and stamp sentiment of this piece
in Early Espresso.

6. Punch out Modern Label in Early Espresso card stock. Adhere above piece
to it. Attach resulting tag in the top right quadrant of the card.

7. Center and mount this panel onto the front of the brown card base,

Stone Coaster

I love stamps. The more I use them the more uses I find for them.
Lately, one of my favorite things to do with them is to make coaster sets for my friends. They end up with a nice gift that is one of a kind, made just for them and is not too expensive. I have made coasters sets with the following stamp sets: Dream Gardens, Crosses of Hope, Make A Monster. The possibilities are endless! Whatever you do,HAVE FUN! Here is an example:

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Materials:
1. Travertine tile squares. Found at such places as Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

2. An Aqua Painter

3. Classic ink pads: Certainly Celery and Pretty In Pink or with colors of your choice.

4. Piece of copy paper.

5. Spray sealer - glossy or matte.

6. Growing Green stamp set

7. Cork Sheet

8. Spray Adhesive.

Steps:

1. Wash and dry stones.

2. Stamp flower image in black on the stone tile and on a piece of thin paper such as the copy paper.

3. Cut the image out of the paper and position over the flower on the stone so that it is completely covered.

4. Stamp fern frond over flower and then remove the paper.

5. Depress the cover of the Pretty In Pink stamp pad and open. There will be droplets of ink on the lid.

6. Pick up this Pretty In Pink ink with an Aqua Painter and paint your flower.

7. Clean the Aqua Paint by rubbing the brush on the copy paper until there is no color.

8. Using Certainly Celery ink use the same technique to paint the fern frond.

9. Allow the ink to dry and then spray with your sealant. Be sure to do this in a well covered and ventilated area . I did mine outside.

10. Cut a piece of cork to cover the back side of the stone tile. Spray adhesive on the back of the stone and apply the cork.

There are numerous ways to color your images on stone. Don't be afraid to experiment. One hint: If you decide to use StazOn ink you will not need the sealant.