Cute Little Birdie and Rhinestones!

Ok, after rebooting many times I think the computer is finally running properly. I have to tell you, I'm not very fond of VISTA at all. But we'll save that story for another day because believe me I could spend ALL day telling you how much I don't care for it!!! LOL

Onto my card for today. I made this birdie card using the Stampin' Up! "Fun & Fast Notes" set. I've used this bird before. It's actually a "thank you" stamp but once you mask off the words you can use it for any occasion you see fit! I chose to use it as a birthday card. I never seem to have enough of those.

I added some pink rhinestones to the card too. I set buttons on it and they didn't look right. I tried to do the pink brad thing but that looked funny. I set the rhinestones on and they were subtle enough to do the card justice. Those areas REALLY did need something and who would have thought it would be rhinestones!!! But it was.

Oh and on the flower center I added a Dew Drop that I had gotten from "The Robin's Nest." They had a special on the 25th and I took advantage of it. I think the are adorable and I wanted to get some and hey, when it's on sale it's even better and it makes you purchase it quicker than if it wasn't. Am I right there??? LOL

I used the Berry Bliss decorative paper here too. I just LOVE that paper. This was a very fun card to make!

I also got to play with my Copic air brush too. I had gotten it for Christmas along with markers but was SO disappointed in the fact that a small can of air is $12. OUCH!!! Plus the cans freeze my hand. It's actually compressed air. The Copic compressed air cans have a special nozzle that connects to the gun and can only be used in conjunction with each other. I was able to connect the Copic air brush to my Badger compressor and now I can play away!!! I just need to find the time to play. My list of "stuff to do" is SO long. And at the top of it sits our income tax. UGH! So once I get this posted it's back to the books. Time is running out on that. 15 days. YIKES!!!

For those of you without an air brush you can sponge the color in. I would recommend a sponge with tiny holes in it. The smaller the holes the finer the color and the more control you have of getting the area covered where you need it.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge

Beate over at Fresh & Fun has a Weekend Sketch Challenge. I don't usually get to play but today I was able to have some fun with her sketch. I spent most of my day doing tax stuff. UGH!!! And I'm still not done. Another BIG UGH!!!! But sometime this week I should be. I tell myself every year that I will be more organized each month and I will start doing my tax stuff early. Well, I did get a bit more organized than last year. I had all the papers in one place this year so I didn't have to hunt for anything!!! Now all I need to do is keep monthly totals and I'd be in good shape for next year. I'll let you know this time next year how that went!! LOL

Ok, here's my card for Beate's sketch. I used the Stampin' Up! "Blooming With Love" set and the Accents & Elements "Flower Fusion" felt flowers. I haven't played with them much but they are a lot of fun!!

The decorative paper is from the "Picnic" designer package. And I used the floral Cuddlebug folder for the white background.

Plus I had some fun with brads!!

Beate didn't give any measurements, you pretty much make it up as you go along and make it fit the stamp you are using. There are more challenges found here and here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!

Oh my, some of those stories had me in tears I was laughing SO hard. I have TONS of stories to tell, some you may not think as funny as I do but for those you would have had to have been there!!! We all have funny stories in our lives and it's important that we take time to look back on them and laugh all over again! Or maybe look back on some things and laugh at them for the first time!!!

Now you are wondering who the lucky winner is. Well, wait no longer the lucky winner is Elaine! And here is her comment:

I asked for "wood screws" at the hardware store and the guy took me to a section where there were some screws. I said, "No, that's not the kind that I need, I need WOOD screws - not metal ones." How was I supposed to know that wood screws are made of metal and not made of wood?? LOL!

Elaine, please email me with your snail mail address and I'll get the package in the mail to you!

Thank you all for playing. Stick around there's more blog candy coming soon!
Wanda

Sharing What They Make!

Here is a picture of some hats made by Susan S. She said once she got through the first one they were easy to make. They are VERY easy to make and you can have LOTS of fun with these!!

Aren't these just FABULOUS? She will be using them for a Red Hat Society social event in April. How appropriate is that?


The instructions and original post can be found here.


Thank you Susan for sharing your creations with me,
Wanda

Flowers from a Friend

My friend and fellow demonstrator and I had some fun stamping. She told me about a card she saw that was posted on the Stampin' Up! demo website that was from the Oakland, CA Regionals. I don't have the name of the one who designed the card so if by chance anyone knows please email me and tell me so I can give them credit.

This card used the decorative paper from new Afternoon Tea designer paper and the Bloomin' Beautiful" set both by Stampin' Up! I don't know how the original background was done but here is how we did it:

We stamped the flower image onto the Decorative paper using black Staz On ink. The flowers were masked when and where needed. You will know as you stamp them. They were colored in using markers and a blender pen. The original one used definition stamp and the word "bloom" from the same set. I used the "happy Birthday" words from the "Fun & Fast Notes" set. I punched it out with the smaller oval punch and then used the larger oval punch and made the back layer for it. I added my ribbon in the upper left corner just to be a little different. Plus I felt that top corner needed a little something.

So to whoever designed this card, I thank you. You did a wonderful job and I hope to be able to give you credit on here!

Don't forget the Blog Candy! The random drawing is Sunday night (March 30th).

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you all SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Hats Off To You Confusion

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the 5 circles with the hole in them.

You want to punch the small 1/4" hole first. Then you take the 3/4" punch and center the 1/4" hole so when you punch it out it's fairly centered. It won't be perfect but close enough works here!

You will glue the 5 pieces together. Set them on top of the brad on the hat brim that was attached to the band. See how the holes go over the brad? Now when you add the other stack of 16 glued 3/4" circles to the top of that it will all lay flat. Had you tried to glue the stack of hats on top of the brad with no holes punched in it, it won't lay flat. So in punching the 1/4" circle it allows the brad to be hidden and the top part of the hat will remain flat.

I hope this clears up any confusion on this. But if it does please don't hesitate to email me. Asking questions in the comments section doesn't allow me to answer you personally. Blogger isn't set up for me to reply to you there.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Hats Off to You! Weekend Project! Tutorial

Here is a fun way to decorate up your candies for those Saturday afternoon teas. These would be cute for you Red Hat Society people too!!!

I took the 1-3/8" circle punch, punched out the circle and set it aside.

I took the 1/4" circle punch and punched 5 circles and I made sure I left at least an inch between them. Then I took the 3/4" circle punch, lined up the 1/4" hole so it was close to centered in the 3/4" circle and I punched the 5 of them out. The reason for these is so the circles will accommodate the brad and lay flat.

And finally I took the 3/4" circle punch and punched 16 circles.

I cut a 1/2" strip of card stock 4-1/2" long. I found the center of it and took my piercing tool and mat and made a small hole in it. Then I took the 1-3/8" circle, found center and made a small hole in it. I attached the two pieces with a brad. It doesn't matter what color brad you use, it's not going to show. So if you have some ugly ones you want to get rid of or an abundance of one color, this is the time to weed through them!!!!

Now take your five 3/4" circles with the holes in the middle and glue them together. I used the Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive for this. Try to get then to line up nicely on top of each other. After you have glued those together glue the remaining 16 solid 3/4" circles. These will be the top of the hat.

Glue the top of the hat to the 1-3/8" circle (brim piece). This glue sets up pretty quick. Do not glue the brim to the strip, the brad should hold it in place nicely. Don't forget that the brad must be in place on the brim and strip before you glue on the top part of the had.

When I got done gluing that I cut a 1/8" strip of Very Vanilla card stock. I used a piece of scrap that was about 4" long and I cut off the excess when I was ready to glue it. I took that strip and lightly pinched it between my finger and thumb of my left hand and took the strip in my right hand and rolled it over my finger on my left hand. I am doing this to get the strip to curl a little so it will be easier to glue in place around the brim. If you cut the piece a little too short you can still hid that with the flower. Glue the strip around the brim. Make sure you leave the seam on the side where you are going to be putting your flower. This will hide the seam.

I used Tacky glue to set the flower in place. My Tacky glue is extremely tacky because it's about 100 years old and it's SO thick it won't come out of the bottle anymore. The only way to get some glue is use a toothpick and dig some out. So my flower set up pretty quickly using that stuff. You can use hot glue but be careful, you only need a little and you don't want it to ooze out the center hole of the flower nor do you want to burn your fingers. I took a green felt flower and I cut it so I had just two petals and I used them for leaves and glued them in place behind the flower.

The center of the flower is a brad. I did take a pair of scissors (ones I don't care what happens to) and cut the prongs almost all off. What was left I pushed back towards the center back side of the brad to hide them. I glued the brad in place with Crystal Effects. I did not add any decorations on the hat, I just kept it plain so you can see the details of the assembly.

The candy used for this is the Hershey Nugget but the Nestle's Treasure should work for this to but they are wrapped in different packaging that my not work well with your colors. I think these companies should get together with Stampin' Up! and work out some "commonly used" colors!! LOL

You can use decorative papers but use them on top of card stock, the paper itself is not sturdy enough to work with like this. You can use pretty much any tiny items you can find to decorate the hat. It's all up to your imagination. Decorate yours, email me the picture of it and I'll post it here!

This project was made entirely with Stampin' Up products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the 5 circles with the hole in them.

You want to punch the small 1/4" hole first. Then you take the 3/4" punch and center the 1/4" hole so when you punch it out it's fairly centered. It won't be perfect but close enough works here!

You will glue the 5 pieces together. Set them on top of the brad on the hat brim that was attached to the band. See how the holes go over the brad? Now when you add the other stack of 16 glued 3/4" circles to the top of that it will all lay flat. Had you tried to glue the stack of hats on top of the brad with no holes punched in it, it won't lay flat. So in punching the 1/4" circle it allows the brad to be hidden and the top part of the hat will remain flat.

More "Weekend Projects" can be found by clicking here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

And once again the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers snuck up on me. Here is my submission for this layout. I found this layout to be a bit more of a challenge than the ones were the last few weeks. It was fun though. Maybe because I was in the mood for the challenge!!!! LOL I needed a graduation card and this was the perfect challenge to try it out on!!

My stamps are retired, sorry to my fellow demonstrators but there were not long "congratulations" words or a smaller cap that are current. So I figured since I was using retired stamps I might as well continue to walk outside the "current" box and add some non Stampin' Up! paper as well. I had gotten this paper a while back at Michael's. I have a TON of papers from Michael's and JoAnns that I really should use up!

I stamped the hat image on the #3 panel and I used gold embossing powder and stamped with Versa Mark on the Night of Navy and after heating I cut it out. I also used Dimensionals to pop it up a bit off the #4 panel.

The guidelines here in regards to the #4 panel are that they want you to stay as close as possible to the 1-1/2" wide piece.

I did write down the measurements to all of my layers and they are as follows starting from the base of the card to the top final layer:

The Night of Navy is a half sheet folded in half.
Decorative paper: 5-3/8" x 4-1/8"
Night of Navy: 3-1/2" x 2-7/8"
Real Red: 3-3/8" x 2-3/4"
Night of Navy: 1-3/8" x 3-1/8"
Very Vanilla: 1-1/4" x 3"
Night of Navy: 4-3/8" x 1-5/8"
Very Vanilla 4-1/4" x 1-1/2"

On the red piece (panel #2) I used the "Lots of Dots" wheel and my Real Red ink pad. I went from the left corner to the right and filled in the piece that way. Then I turned the card and went from corner to corner on that way.

I sponged all the edges in Night of Navy (except for the red and navy card stock).

After cutting the cap out I added a gold brad to the center and I assembled the card.

It's ok, it would have been a lot better if the background decorative paper would have had smaller caps. But it will due. I'm sure it will be tossed after the money is removed from it!!! LOL

So now it's your turn to give this layout a try! You can view my other Wednesday Sketch Challenges by clicking here.

Don't forget the Blog Candy.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Casing Ruth B!

Ruth B. is a fellow demonstrator that I met via my blog. She lives half way across the country from me. We have corresponded a bit via email and I am fortunate enough to be privy to some of her creations. I did ask her permission a LONG time ago to case some of her fabulous creations. This one here is such a pretty card that I just couldn't resist it. I have waited since January to find time to case this!

I have liked this card since the first time I saw it! It allows you to play with the flowers and beads from the "Pretties" kit.

I colored the flowers blue by using a sponge and the Bashful Blue ink pad and just rubbing it over the flowers. THe flowers pick up the color nicley.

This is basically a simple and quick card to make.

Measurements are pretty simple too. You just take a half sheet of Bashful Blue and fold it in half. The next and only layer is a piece of white card stock cut 5-1/4" x 4". Stamp the image on. Tie the ribbon aroudn the white piece only. Assemble the flowers adding a brad in the middle to hold them together. Add your choice of beads to the pin and attach it to the flower. I used a glue dot to hold the flower in place on the card.

Isn't is just a sweet looking card?
Thank you Ruth for allowing me to case and publish your card here!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

700 Posts "Chatty Cathy" Blog Candy

The prior post was my 700th one!!! WOW, I can't believe I have submitted that many posts. And I'm still having fun blogging!!! The subscriber list is growing and the hit counter keeps climbing. There will be more blog candy for that soon too!!

Now what do you need to do to be entered in the blog candy drawing? Tell me something that you did that was funny.

On Saturday I was standing in my kitchen. I had just taken out the bottle of Tylenol because I had a headache. On the counter was a bag of cotton candy. I bought it not just because I like cotton candy but because it said "bunny tails" on it and I thought the cotton candy in side was little puffs of colored balls. Well I was wrong it was one mass of pink, blue and almost white cotton candy mushed together like quilt batting. Not that it took away from the taste of it. Does it have a taste? I just like how it melts in my mouth. Anyway I took a piece of the almost white stuff and gently formed it in a cotton ball size and in my other hand I took the bottle of Tylenol and I said to my hubby, "I can't believe they put so much cotton in these bottles." And I popped the cotton candy in my mouth. He looked at me like I was from another planet and said to me in a VERY concerned voice, "Why did you do that?" At this point I'm laughing so hard tears are rolling down my cheeks and almost wetting my pants. I had to show him the bag of cotton candy so he didn't think I was totally crazy!!! LOL It still makes me laugh when I think about what he said but it's that look on his face that keeps me in stitches!!! There, that's my funny story, what's yours?

In addition to the Friends & Flowers clear stamp set by Scrappy Cat there is a package of square pewter towe brads and 3 yards of vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon!! Plus I tossed something else in the bag for an additional fun surprise!!!

I will draw a name randomly on Sunday evening, March 30th. I can't believe how fast this month flew by!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by!
Wanda

Fun New Layout with Measurements Plus Some Fun (Secret) Blog Candy

I saw a card that Frances at Stamp Owl Studio made and I just had to copy the layout!!! Again this is another great layout to use those smaller stamps with. I'm starting to look at my smaller stamps in a new light after finding this layout. Click here to see the layout that I usually use for smaller stamps. I will continue to use it but when I want something a bit fancier I'll use this layout. Isn't it pretty?

I made this card in less than a half hour too. Using decorative papers speeds up card making!! Here I used the Stampin' Up! Picnic papers.

Here's the measurements on this card starting from the base of the card to the final top layer:

The base part of the card is a half sheet of Old Olive folded in half.
The black layer is 5-1/2" x 3-5/8"
Red apple layer is 5-1/2" x 3-1/2"
Black layer is 5-1/2" x 3"
Green strip layer is 5-1/2" x 2-7/8"
Black square is 2-3/8" x 2-3/8"
Red layer is 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
Scallop, 1-3/8" and 1-1/4" punches are used here.

You will also need:
a couple feet of 5/8" wide red grosgrain ribbon.
a couple of Earth Elements Olive brads
and a stamp (the apple from "Tart & Tangy) was used here.

Ok, I found out more information about this layout. Each week at SplitCoastStampers (on Sunday) there is the Featured Stamper CASE (Copy And Study Everything). You are invited to go to the featured stamper's gallery and your challenge is to case something they made but you need to change at least two things plus it can not be a case of a sketch challenge. It must be something that is an original layout of the featured stamper. I was not aware of this until I saw this same layout on another blog and then that little bright light went on over my head. I was shocked to see that it was still functioning!!! LOL So to give the credits due to where they belong. The featured stamper is Pickletree, here is her gallery and here you can find her blog . And now I need to enter my design in the FS59 gallery on SplitCoastStampers That was a fun card to make. I may be paying a bit more attention to the Sunday Featured Stamper CASE from now on.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

I can't wait to try this layout again!! Click here to view a few other cards that I have linked here that include the measurements. I know there are more on this blog but I forgot to link them to the label. If you find them please let me know so I can link them. Just copy the link at the top of the page you are viewing the untagged card with measurements on and leave it on this post. Then email me with your snail mail address and I'll send you something fun!!! This offer is on a first come first serve basis. Duplicate links will not be accepted.

Ok, this is my 700th post. On Thursday I will be offering more blog candy!!! So be sure to check back.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Fruity Birthday!

This was a VERY fun card to make. I was going to say it had lots of pieces but as I look at the card it's not really that many. But I made 8 cards and I recall seeing lots of fruit circles in front of me!!! LOL

For this card I used the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. My papers include Green Galore, Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow, Only Orange. The decorative paper is from the new "Picnic" papers and I used Pumpkin grosgrain ribbon. The brads are not from Stampin' Up! I think I got them from Oriental Trading.

I cute my Green Galore card stock at 5-1/2" and folded it in half. I added a piece of white card stock on it that measured 5-3/8" x 4-1/8". I added a 2" x 5-3/8" piece of the Picnic paper on top of that. Before I taped the white piece on top of the green I added the ribbon. Then I stamped the fruits and punched them out using the 1-1/4" punch. I punched out matching colors of card stock using the 1-3/8" round punch. I added the brad and assembled the pieces. Not a whole lot to this card and it's always nice when you can pull it off!!!

Now I have a few birthday cards plus I'm going to be giving some out with the upcoming blog candy!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Beate's Weekend Challenge Birthday Card

I thought I'd give Beate's Weekend Challenge a try today. I haven't done one of these in a while. Finding new card layouts is always fun and to actually make a card with it (on your own) can be quite a challenge.

This is what I came up with for her challenge. I used the Stampin' Up! "Pun Fun" set. I also used two Cuddlebug folders to create the background texture on the Soft Sky card stock. I used the large scallop punch by Marvy. The whale was stamped on watercolor paper and colored in using a blender pen and sponging. The words are from "Everyday Flexible Phrases." I added the corners using Bayou Blue card stock. I did sponge over the top layer of the bubble embossed card stock so it would stand out more against the other textured Soft Sky background.

I did flip her sketch. I just couldn't get the "happy" and "birthday" bubbles to work right without flipping it.

So this is my take on her sketch. Now I'm to post it on SplitCoastStampers and then post a link to it on Beate's Blog.

I encourage you to try new card layouts. Always keep learning and studying how other people make cards. It's like any other thing you'd study for. The more you notice the more you learn!!!

It looks like this week I'll be offering up some Blog Candy. It seems that the "Chatty Cathy" blog candy is coming due. I'm coming up on 700 posts!!! WOW!!! Check back in to find out more.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Graduation Time is Nearing! Party Favors Weekend Project

Graduation time is quickly approaching and that for many means an open house "party" with food and treats. Here's a fun treat my friend Leah came up with. Yup, this is the same Leah that came up with the other mint candy ideas in May of 2007! She's SO talented!

The school colors here are blue and silver. Leah used a blue pearl card stock, it's VERY pretty. Cut a strip for the band that measures 3" x 1/2". Punch out a 1-3/8" square and center it on the blue band. I would recommend using the piercing tool and Mat Pack kit here. Punching through two layers is hard on your hand and it's much easier and quicker to punch through both pieces at one time. You can also add the ribbon here too if you wish. I would add it after I punched the first two holes. I guess it really depends on your card stock and how hard it is to punch through that. If it's pretty easy then add the ribbon at the same time. The ribbon measured 2-1/4". You may want to add just a touch more so you can trim it once it's in place. After punching and the ribbon is ready, add the brad and secure it on the back. Wrap the band around the candy and secure it on the back. You can tape it but I would recommend using glue. The tape may not hold. Any white glue that dries clear will work.

If you want to get REALLY creative here you can open up your word processor and type in "Class of 2008" and space them apart up and down on the card stock. Line up the words in your punch and punch away. Or you can type the graduate's name or "Congratulations" or whatever else you would like.

Thank you Leah for sharing your idea with me and for allowing me to put it on my blog. Isn't it the cutest???

Edited: The candy used here is either Treasures or Nuggets made by Hershey and Nestles.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Lucky Me!

It snowed again and this time DH and I went out to make a snowman together. This is the first time in ALL the years we've been married that he helped me make a snowman. It's much bigger than I would have made it only because I can't lift snowballs that big. But together it's amazing what you can accomplish, isn't it?

And isn't he fabulous??? I look outside at him now and his mouth has fallen off and some of the buttons. If it were November he'd be hanging around for a while. But he won't be here long so I took LOTS of pictures. It was fun making him, it's one of the things about winter that I enjoy the most!!! This made my day!

Happy Easter!

Thank you for checking in,
Wanda

Quick Birthday Card!

I need a birthday card and I needed it quickly. This is one of my favorite layouts and it's one of the quickest ones to work with too!

The original pattern came from Kwernerdesignblog I wrote down the layer measurements and put them on the inside of one of the cards I had made a while back. That way I wouldn't have to try to find them when I wanted to make a quick card.

I also LOVE this layout because you can use the smaller stamps as a focal point. Some of the smaller stamps usually just end up as a background with VersaMark. But with this layout you can use them as the main theme of the card.

It's obvious here I needed a birthday card!!! I used Rose Red card stock and decorative paper along with some white card stock, Rose Red and Basic Black ink. Some dimensionals and a ribbon and you've got a quick card.

And this card is a nice way to use up some of that decorative paper too!!! I still have not learned to NOT hoard it.

I will provide measurements here but be sure to visit Kwerner's blog to see her card too.

I'm starting from the base of the card and working up to the top layer/piece.
Half sheet of card stock (Rose Red was used here)
3-1/2" x 4-5/8" White
3" x 4-1/8" Rose Red (punch with 1-1/4" round punch)
2-7/8" x 4" decorative paper (punch with 1-3/8" round punch)

Stamp your image on a 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" piece of white card stock

To punch the holes I put two tiny bits of tape on the back of the decorative paper and lined it up on the Rose Red piece. I punched through both of them by dropping the taped layered piece in the punch on the right side of the layers and lining up the top piece on the side of the punch. It gets it pretty close to center. If it's off too much you can always trim each piece individually. Remove the decorative paper and place a scrap of card stock or copier paper behind it. Take the larger punch and line up the circle and punch out the "ring." Your layers are now ready to tape down permanently. Stamp your wording on.

Once the image is stamped add a dimensional to each corner. Expose the tape and line up your layered piece on top of the stamped image. Once it is centered press down on the dimensionals to make them stick. Tie your ribbon on and then add a dimensional in each corner, expose the tape and layer on top of the white piece. Tape the white piece on top of the Rose Red card base and your card is done!!! So quick and so simple.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I can not believe how fast these Wednesday's sneak up on me!!! The Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers this week was very fun. I needed a masculine birthday card so I thought I'd combine the two!!!

The stamp is from PSX. I stamped the image on watercolor paper and added some fun colors with a blender pen and markers.

I used the bubble Cuddlebug folder and I sponged the edges.

I didn't feel the card could support a bow since it was suppose to be masculine. So I thought a knot would work fine and it did. That area just needed something and the knot took care of it.

I also felt the top part appeared to be a bit blank too so I added 3 black buttons and it just seemed to complete the card.

The measurements given for this card from SplitCoastStampers are as follows beginning with the base of the card and working the way to the final layer.

Black card stock 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" folded in half

Very Vanilla 5-1/4" x 4" (textured and edges sponged)

Black 5-1/2" x 3-1/8"

Almost Amethyst 5-1/2" x 3"

The three pieces are on a layer of black 5-1/2" x 2-1/2"

The three pieces are 1-1/4", 1-7/8", 1-7/8" and all are 2-1/2" high

Small Black layer 2-1/8" x 1-7/8"

Watercolor paper 2" x 1-3/4"

If you have time give the sketch challenge a try. Give your creativity a chance to bloom!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Don't Mix Red & Orange!

I remember as a child that red and orange don't go together. Why not? I always thought they did and from the looks of this card I still do!!! LOL

Once again this is a very simple card because of the background papers. Background papers save so much time.

I really like this layout because you can use these smaller stamps as the focal part of your card and get by with it! You don't have to use them as an accompaniment to layered wording or other images. It does just fine all by itself!!!

I also LOVE this wider grosgrain ribbon too. I can't seem to get enough of it and actually I don't have enough of it! I need to order some other colors. It's a LOT of fun to play with!!! They help to pick up the slack of the open areas and allow you to use these smaller stamps.

I stamped "thank you" directly onto the decorative paper. No layering for the words. This keeps the apple the focal point of the card. This is a very quick card to make too!!! Plus this card is extremely versatile. It would also work for other occasions too!

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Touch of Silk

I have not used Perfect Plum and Pale Plum card stock in a VERY long time. I was looking at the flowers in my "Pretties Kit" and was wondering what I could do with the very tiny ones. I sponged a little Pale Plum ink on it and let it dry. Now I had some Pale Plum little flowers. I was looking at a few of the stamp sets I still had sitting on my worktable because I was too lazy to put them away!!! And I saw the "Embrace Life" set. I thought I would just put the flowers over the small stamped flower images on one of the images. Then I thought I'd use the leaf one and add flowers to it. The flowers were too big so I folded them in half. It was still too big so I cut them in half and then folded that half in half. I glued them together with Tacky glue. My bottle of Tacky glue is SO old the glue is SO thick it holds instantly!!! It's got about 2 more weeks left to it and it will be solid!!! LOL

I stamped the leaf image and colored in the leaves with Sage Shadow. Then I glued the flower halves in the crooks of the leaves. I thought the vanilla background was too bright so I lightly sponged it and I also sponged the edges. I added a layer of Perfect Plum and used Dimensionals to adhere it to the card.

I used the butterfly from the "Priceless" set. I stamped two of them on vellum using Very Vanilla pigment ink and clear embossing powder. I cut them both out and glued the center of the top one on top of the other one.

The main background piece was done using Pale Plum and the "En Francais" stamp and Pale Plum ink. I sponged the edges there too.

Here's the measurements for this card:
the main card is an 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" piece of Perfect Plum card stock folded in half
Very Vanilla cut 5-3/8" x 4-1/8"
Pale Plum cut 5-1/4" x 4"

The layer with the ribbon is:
Perfect Plum cut 3-3/4" x 2-1/2"
Pale Plum cut 3-5/8" x 2-3/8"

The stamped layer:
Perfect Plum cut 3-7/8" x 2-1/8"
Very Vanilla cut 3-3/4" x 2"

I like the layout of this card. I will be using it again. It works great for images of this size.

This card works well for an Easter Card, Birthday, Mother's Day, Thinking of You, Get well and even sympathy card.

This card was made entirely of Stampin' Up! products. To view more cards/items made entirely of Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I'm Shocked!!!

We finally got a good sticky snow. I have been waiting ALL winter for this. Every snow we've gotten has been that dry fluffy stuff. And every snowstorm I was disappointed. But this one made my day. Or I should say evening. I went out to shovel around 10:30 pm and knew it was the most perfect snow for a snowman. Well, I couldn't go in and go to bed knowing there was ALL that snow waiting for me!!! I had all the "stuff" in the garage. We trimmed our black walnut tree this fall and there were some perfect branches so I saved them for this day!!! I took pictures last night but they didn't turn out so good, it's difficult to focus a camera in the dark.

When I got up this morning I looked out the window and the snowman was leaning backwards. I quickly got dressed and ran out there to straighten him up. I no more got behind him and he fell over. SO I just HAD to stay out there and make another one. I took pictures of this one too. I'll post them in a little while. After I got the pictures taken I went in to feed the poor kitties who were waiting for me to get back in the house. I wonder what they were thinking when they saw me leave and didn't come back for a while!!! Their little tummies rumbling!! Poor babies. See how important this wet snow was to me??? LOL

Most of the snow melted today. It was pretty while it lasted. And speaking of lasted. This snowman did not make it through the day. But that's ok. At least I got to make a snowman. I have waited since November to do this!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Chalkboard Technique Improved!!

Here's a fun "Chalkboard Technique" that was shown at SplitCoastStampers. It's VERY simple to do too. You stamp your image, preferably a solid image, with white craft ink. Then you use daubers (or Q-Tips) and dab on the color with chalk. According to their instructions you are to remove the excess chalk with a Swiffer floor towel or a paper towel. I found it easier to use an art gum or kneadable eraser. If you don't have one of these erasers I highly recommend you buy one. They are in the drawing department of your local craft store. The eraser is pliable. You can knead it into any shape you like. I kneaded mine and formed a cone with it and used the tip of the cone to pick up the excess chalk on the black area after I lightly brushed off the excess on the solid areas. The chalk showed up on the black card stock so I thought I would give the eraser a try. It worked SO well that it will be my choice item for removing excess chalk. This eraser is also great because it will pick up graphite off your papers and not wear the paper down nor leave a mark. It removes the marks very cleanly. I have actually been able to remove some ink smudges from my cards too. Not every time but once in a while I catch a break and it works!!!

I thought this would be a fun technique to use making a teacher or student card. The apple is from the Stampin' Up! "Tart & Tangy" set. I also used the "MY ABC's" wheel and the "ABC Images" set. I colored the background apples in with markers. A few punches later and I had a card. This is a VERY quick and easy card to do too. I am going to have to play with the Chalkboard technique a bit more. It was very fun plus it was an easy technique.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Oh Baby, Baby!!

You are NOT going to believe this. I got caught without a baby card!!! Of all the cards I have sitting around here I didn't have a baby card. Ok, I did have a baby card but not one I was willing to part with. It's still a sample card and until the set retired it's not one that can be used!!!

Tomorrow is the last day to place your $50 Stampin' Up! order and get a free Sale A Bration set. The scallop image here is from the Sale A Bration set "Many Scallops." I thought it was a very cute and fun set to play with.

This was actually a fairly quick card to make too. It does have lots of pieces to it but they are simple to put together. Using background papers helps speed up card making immensely.

I used several punches to make this card. The new Boho Blossoms punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, The 1" circle punch and the Scallop punch. Of these my favorite is the Boho Blossoms punch and I'm hoping to find some time this week to play with it a bit more. I think I could have some fun making flower "bunches" with it!!!

And I like playing with the 1-5/8" wide ribbons that Stampin' Up! came out with this year. They are SO much fun to add to a card! I also used the Stampin' Up! "Short Order" alphabet set. I don't play with the alphabet sets enough. It was a lot of fun to use it today.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

What Smells? Weekend Project

Here's a fun weekend project for you. And it won't take the whole weekend to do it either! But you may want to use the weekend to make TONS of these!!! These Sachets make great gifts, a fun Make N Take and you can sell them at craft fairs. (Click here for more Weekend Projects)

I like to slip one under the front seat of my car. I don't smell it so much in the cold Minnesota winters but come summer it keeps my car smelling nice!

Here is what you need:

Vellum
Stamp
Stamp Pad
Piercing Tool & mat
Potpourri (small pieces/chunks)
Glue (Tacky or any white glue that dries clear, I used Tacky)

Begin with making your envelope. I recommend Vellum because most potpourri is made with an oil base fragrance. The oils will come through regular card stock or paper and leave a "grease" mark. It could also ruin the surface it's sitting on too. You can use the envelope pattern maker by Stampin' Up! or you can go online and print out a template. Click here to be directed to some free template places on the Internet. Mirkwood Designs has a nice Trading Card/Gift Card Envelope template. You can print it out and use it as a pattern or you can just print directly to your Vellum. I don't recommend that because you won't get more than one per sheet. These are 2" x 3" finished so you should be able to get 4 per sheet of Vellum.

Once you have your pattern cut out and the sides scored you are ready to stamp on it. For mine I used the "Priceless" set by Stampin' Up! This particular design fit perfectly in the area plus it had some nice dots that are very useful!

Your image may take a few minutes to dry. If you don't want to wait you can use your heat embossing tool and speed up the drying process.

Once the ink is dry you will be taking your paper piercing tool and poke holes in the Vellum. This is necessary to release the fragrance from the envelope. I pierced mine along the long swirl of dots.

Next glue the envelope together on three sides. Add your potpourri and glue the flap shut. You want to use glue for this project. Tape and fragrance oils do not mix well. The oils will break down the tape and your envelope will open up. I did this with bath salts and sour cream containers once!! I had made 50 of them and as I made them I put them in a basket. When I went in my workroom the next morning I had bath salt all over the table and all of the containers had opened at the seams. I had to make all new ones and I glued them!!! Lesson learned!!!! LOL

Once the flap is set you can tie a ribbon around it and it's finished!! So cute and SO quick to make. Plus it's useful!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

You Get What You Pay For!!!

I was Blog Hoppin' today and found this adorable card by Maren at Zany Not Crazy. I didn't have the same cat stamp as her but I remembered I had bought one of the Studio G dollar stamps at Michael's and it had a cat on it. I dug it out and figured I could make it work.

I didn't have any black and white dotted paper so I made my own. I took a brand new pencil and dipped the eraser end in my VersaMark pad and put dots all over the black card stock. I embossed them in white and VIOLA I had my own dotted paper!!!

I was not happy with the way the image came out on these stamps. It's as though the rubber is too soft. Maybe I'm just too use to using stamps with firmer rubber. I don't know. But I can see that the quality is not there. The image didn't stamp crisp like I expect images to be when I stamp.

I just thought Maren's card was adorable and I wanted to make one something like it. My niece LOVES cats (too) and I know she's going to love receiving this card!!!

I do like this layout and may try it on with different images or theme. It's a quick card to make, quicker if you use decorative paper!!!

My tip for the ribbon is to cut your piece of ribbon 2 inches longer than the area you are going to cover. I tape the edges on the back so the ribbon does not actually go all the way around the card stock. It saves on ribbon plus it makes the bow look nicer because you add it on. For this type of bow I tied a knot in the middle of the ribbon first and before I tightened the knot I added a 4" piece of ribbon. Once the knot was tightened I adjusted the bow and then taped the ribbon to the back of the card stock. I trimmed the bow after it was all taped in place. Such an easy way to get a bow to lay flat nicely.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Bunny Butt!

I was at Debby's Stampin' Heaven website and saw the cute bunnies she's been making SO I thought I'd try one.

The bunny didn't show up as much as I would have hoped it would. Had the background been darker it probably would have. But in person you can see the bunny just fine. And I got to play with some pink velvet ribbon too!! I LOVE velvet ribbon!!

Even though the bunny doesn't show up very well here the whole concept is cute!! Check out Debby's bunnies. She used the new Carousel Notes on hers. I didn't have any so I just used my Coluzzle.

The carrots are from a stamp by Inky Antics. I cut a tiny carrot from the image and taped it to a clear block and just stamped a bunch of carrots (no pun intended!!!). LOL

The bunny body is punched out of a 1 3/8" circle punch and the feet are the from the small oval punch. The tail is a 1/4" white pom pom. Such a cute idea Debby has!!

I am working on a fun weekend project for you so stay tuned!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I Have Been Awarded!!!

I received the "You Make My Day" award from Jennifer at Glitter in My Hair. She has some adorable cards on her blog. Take a few minutes to check it out!!

I am to award some other bloggers who "Make My Day!"

I would like this award to go to Sara at Sara's Studio. I check in on her blog every day. She finds the time to post quite often. She has some fabulous ideas too!!

And I'd like the award to go to Melissa at Simply Pink. She makes some REALLY elegant cards. I have a list of them I plan to CASE one of these days. And when I finish I'll have to add her name to my blog!!! LOL

I think Paula of Paula Ponders is worthy of this award too. She has some wonderful cards on her blog as well.

And I'd like the award to go to Debby at Debby's Stampin' Heaven. Her posts inspire me a lot!!!

There's SO many more but I must leave some blogs for those 4 people to pick!!!

Thank you all for inspiring me!!
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

This is the card for the Sketch Challenge today on SplitCoastStampers. Isn't it a fun looking one?? It was SO easy too. In the instructions we were asked to keep the areas in the size printed. My circle started out much smaller until I added the additional two larger areas. I added a little knotted black grosgrain ribbon to the rectangle pieces. I felt they needed something. Though I was talked out of bows by Katie and Sandi!!! *grins* Even though when I look at it I feel it still needs something more. They didn't agree.

So here it is (still needing something)!!

If you have the time I highly recommend you taking on one of the sketch challenges. It's a lot of fun plus you get a new layout to play with!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Faux Cloisonne Card Challenge

On Monday's at SplitCoastStampers it's "Try a New Technique Day." Every Monday they have this. I have participated in a couple of them but not as many as I do the Wednesday "Sketch Challenge".

This technique is called "Faux Cloisonne." You find some colored areas in magazines and emboss on it. For mine I pulled out pages that had red on them. One of these flowers is from a bedspread photo, one is from a little girl's dress and the other one is from robe. I happened to run across an old magazine from Christmas so there was LOTS of red in it!!! The leaves were from a Christmas tree in the background of one of the photos!!! That part was fun. Too bad the magazine/catalog was expired, it was kind of fun shopping too!!! LOL DH will be glad to know it was expired!!! LOL

After I found the colors I wanted I found a stamp that had lines, not a solid stamp. You stamp your image with VersaMark or a gold ink pad. Then you emboss in gold or if you used the gold ink pad you can emboss in clear or gold. I used gold embossing powder. I LOVE using gold or silver embossing powder because it seems to melt the easiest and it's fun to watch it melt across your image. You know when it melts and when it's done. I embossed the flowers and cut them out. I arranged them on my workspace until I got them to where I liked them. Then I made my page layout. I'm not overly thrilled with it but it worked for this design. I added three buttons on the right side because that area needed just a touch of "something." And I also added a sentiment at the bottom. I was in the middle of taking photos and realized that the bottom corner needed something so I added the "thank you" (from the Stampin' Up! "All Holidays" set) and I punched it out with the oval punches. It was just what that corner needed.

This is a VERY fun technique to do but extremely difficult to photograph. I couldn't get the camera to NOT bounce the light off the shiny magazine paper.

I highly recommend you stop by SplitCoast sometime and try one of their challenges. There's a new one every Monday through Saturday!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Bobble Head Hippo!

While surfing other blogs I ran across a tutorial I thought would be a lot of fun to do. It's called the "Tilt Card Tutorial" and I found it at Charmaine's site Oodlebugalley. She used a hippo stamp from another company. Since the hippo from the Stampin' Up! "Fun Pun" set was laid out differently I thought I would make the head wobble instead of the bum like shown in the tutorial. I also found the penny you use behind the cut out piece was too big for this design I took the 1/2" round punch and punched out 4 circles using the thicker white cardboard that comes in the 12" x 12" decorative paper packages. I taped two together for more stability and thickness and proceeded to follow the instructions as though they were the pennies. The other change I made was with the Dimensionals. I made mine a little smaller too so it would still be hidden behind the head. You just have to work with it a little to see what you need to do to keep all things hidden hat should be hidden!

I think he turned out cute and it's going to make an adorable card for that special little kid!!!

I used a very familiar layout. I like this layout because it allows you to use these size stamps and get by using it on a regular size card!! I'm not much for stepping out of the box and making different size cards. Smaller ones require different envelopes (that I don't usually have) plus the postage is also different for those. Or you can put them in a card envelope but then you've got all that space in the envelope that doesn't look quite right either. So why not just make a "normal" size card?

I also got to play with the Basic Gray card stock here. I don't get to use that very often!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Frosting on the Cake!

While surfing this weekend I ran across a card by Chat at "Me My Stamps & I." I found her idea for the cake frosting to be just too cute to pass up. Her sample used decorative paper. Both decorative paper or card stock will work for this. I was SO thrilled with making this cake (easiest cake I ever made!!! lol) I was going to use the SplitCoastStampers Sketch Challenge for the layout but as I was trying to put it together it just didn't look right. Then I remembered I had printed out the Weekend Sketch Challenge Beate had. I sometimes print these out but have yet to do one. Well, this weekend I did it!!! It's fun when you can mix a couple of different papers together and make it work, isn't it??? I tried to stick to the sketch as much as possible but the wording just didn't work well so I moved it off to the side. But for the most part it's Beate's weekend sketch!

For this card I used Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava and Whisper White card stock. I used decorative paper, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, a brad, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals, Scallop Punch, Birthday Whimsy and So Many Scallops stamp sets. It was a fun card to do and a fun sketch to play with.

All products on this card are Stampin' Up! materials. Click here to find more cards and projects that are made entirely of Stampin' Up! materials.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Carrot Box - Weekend Project

Here's a fun "Weekend Project" for you. I found this adorable carrot box at SplitCoastStampers. It was designed by the user Dazzling Diamonds and the link to the pattern is found here. It is in the form of a PDF file and it will print out onto your decorative paper or card stock. If using decorative paper be sure not to press to hard when using the Fiskars scoring blade. Using a bone folder helps a lot to prevent the paper from being scored too deeply. I was able to cut the two long sides on the paper cutter and the rest I cut out by hand. It's pretty quick and very simple to put together.

I had some left over pieces of green striped decorative paper from the "Afternoon Tea" collection so I cut it in tiny strips and used it for the top of the carrot. I didn't have a Stampin' Up! bunny so I used the bunny from the stamp I got at Michael's. I think you could also use green ribbon or card stock for the top too. My first thought was to use some green Easter grass but I didn't have any and I wasn't going to go out and buy any just for this. I like the paper and I REALLY like the color of the paper so I'm going to stick with that. Plus I already have the paper!!!

You can decorate these up as much or as little as you want. Either way they are adorable. And trust me, this carrot holds quite a few M & M's!!!

I just think this is such a clever idea. Ever have those moments where you think, "I should have thought of that?" LOL

I can see making a lot of these little ggems for my family for Easter.

Have fun with these!!! Email me your finished one and I'll post it here for you!! I'd LOVE to see what you do with this pattern!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I Don't Like It!

I LOVE making cards but I don't like it when I need to make a get well card or a especially a sympathy card. Not that I can't make them. It's just that I find them difficult to do because of the occasion.

I needed yet another get well card. I still had a piece of double sided card stock from the new "Afternoon Tea" collection. It's such pretty paper. I have a feeling I'll be buying a LOT more of that paper!!! Then I can design some cards using the other side of the paper!!! I seem to find that I like one side of the papers a lot better than the other but in this case I like them all.

For this card I used the tea cup with flowers from the Stampin' Up! set "Fun & Fast Notes." At first I didn't think this paper would go with my coloring but it did.

This was a "fun and fast" card to put together too.

For my layers I cut a half sheet of card stock and folded it in half. I added some Chocolate Chip that measured 5-3/8" x 4-1/8." On top of that I added the decorative paper measuring 5-/4" x 4" I tied the ribbon before I affixed the Chocolate Chip piece to the vanilla card.

The top layers are as follows
Image is 2" x 2-1/4"
Groovy Guava piece is 2-1/8" x 2-3/8"
Chocolate Chip piece is 2-1/4" x 2-1/2"
Green Decorative paper is 2-3/4" x 2-1/2"
Chocolate Chip layer is 3" x 2-3/4"

The image was stamped on watercolor paper and colored in with markers and a blender pen.

I like this layout because it keeps your eye focused on the image and best of all it's simple and quick to do!!!

All products on this card are Stampin' Up! materials. Click here to find more cards and projects that are made entirely of Stampin' Up! materials.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Birthdays and More Birthdays!!!

It seems that if I'm not making thank you cards I'm making birthday cards. I would still have to say I send out more thank you cards than I do birthday cards and the Christmas cards still hold the number one spot for most cards!

I had some pieces of decorative paper left over so I thought I'd make the birthday card I needed with it. Figuring out the colors was easy for a change. Not hard to do when the background paper only has two colors in it!!

I used the Stampin' Up! "True Friend" set for the flowers on the vanilla piece and I stuck with the two color theme. From the Sale-A-Bration book I used the "So Many Scallops" set. That's a pretty fun set to play with. Too bad it won't be in the fall catalog.

I used the Groovy Guava ink pad on the scallop stamp and then colored in the words with the Chocolate Chip marker. I added a little Dazzling Diamonds to the flames. The words came from the "It's Your Birthday" set. I punched out the center of the scallop with the 1-3/8" round punch and then punches out the scallop using the 1-1/4" circle punch and then lined up the scallop punch and punched it out. I affixed the scallop over the vanilla piece and affixed that on top of the vanilla top layer.

The measurements for this card are as follows:
1/2 sheet of card stock folded in half
5-3/8" x 4-1/8" Chocolate Chip
5-1/4" x 4" Decorative paper
2-1/8" x 4" Chocolate Chip
2" x 4" Very Vanilla

A very quick and simple card. I wasn't planning on such a simple and easy to make card. Isn't that nice when it works out that way? I made two!! One for display in my workroom and one to use. I do need to make more but I have some other stamps I want to play with!

All products on this card are Stampin' Up! materials. Click here to find more cards and projects that are made entirely of Stampin' Up! materials.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

My goodness how fast these Wednesday's roll around. I am just amazed at how fast the time is flying. Today's sketch was very fun. I LOVED the layers, very easy to work with. It's always nice when you find a stamp that fits within the sketch window. It's not that important to have it exact but it sure makes it easier for me. It's sort of like copying but you get to be creative at the same time. Many of my card assembling problems has to do with the layout. This layout will work for LOTS of sets I have!!! Every now and then I run across a sketch that I just use and use and use because I LOVE it and it's so versatile. This is one of them!!!

For my card I used a Penny Black stamp I had called "Bunny Trio." There is also a heart shaped balloon stemming from the center bunny and the bunny on the right has a heart near his bum!!! But I left it out because it looked toomuch like a Valentine's Day card than the Easter card I was going for. I used the Egg Borders clear stamps by Stampendous. I got them at Archivers for free last month from their "Hot Spot" section. Gotta LOVE free stuff!!! LOL I stamped the eggs on a piece of vanilla card stock and colored them all in. I cut the paper to fit after because I wanted the paper to have that unplanned look to it. Sometimes when I cut a piece of card stock to fit and then stamp on it, I tend to stay within the area and it shows. SO I've learned to cut my card stock just a bit bitter so I can trim away and give it a fresh look. I wasn't sure if I wanted the egg part to go on the #3 spot or the #2. I cut it for #3 and wished I would have used it on the other one. But since I didn't cut and color a big enough piece I had to keep it at #3. But as I look at it and try to invision the eggs in the #2 spot I think the card wouldn't be as colorful. Most of the eggs would be hidden behind the bunnies. SO this is how it's going to stay.

I got the card all assembled and then I step back to look at it. I could see that it needed something more. But what? I punched out a few black dots to set around so I could see if I wanted to add brads in those spots. I like to do this because dots are easy to play with and take off the card if I don't like where I'm going with that idea. And as you can tell I didn't like the black dots on the card, hense no brads!!! Then I thought I'd punch a row of scallops and after I set one row in place I liked it so I did another one for the bottom of layer #2. The bunnies still needed something so I used the flower punch and a square punch and made my own corners.

After that I still felt like there was something missing. Ribbon. Yes, I wanted to add some ribbon but where? There was just enough space on the side of layer #2 & #3 to add the wider grosgrain ribbon and tie a bow. I got it all done and then came out the black dots again. I set them up along the top above the scallops and immediately removed them. The card was done!!!

The bunnies were done using white card stock. I masked them and sponged in Apricot Appeal for the background. It was just enough to give it a finished look. I added a piece of vanilla card stock inside so I can write in it when I need to. My first of many Easter cards!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Very Green Birthday!!!

My hubby's aunt's birthday is on St. Patrick's Day. So I thought I'd make her a "green" card this year. When I had made the Leprechaun candy header I made an extra Leprechaun. I wanted to make two at the same time in the event I would ruin one in the process. That ruined one gets dubbed the title of "prototype!" LOL But that time, much to my surprise I ended up with two that were usable!!! So the first one I made the candy header with and the other one I thought I would save for a card. I looked at the March calendar and saw the St. Patrick's Day birthday and I knew I was going to use it for a card for hubby's aunt.

I also ran across a piece of wallpaper sample I had gotten sometime last year at Menards. And it was green, not the color green of the hat but that's ok, his aunt won't notice!!! LOL

I used the "Circle of Friendship" stamp for the birthday greeting, layered Old Olive and Close to Cocoa along with a piece of sponged Very Vanilla and the wallpaper sample and I had a card in no time at all! Using the wallpaper sample is much like using decorative paper. But if you do use a wallpaper sample, please take into consideration that the paper is prepasted and it's best to use double sided tape and not a wet glue to affix it to the card stock. Once the paste gets wet it begins to activate and it can warp your card stock.

For more items to make using punches check out Memory Lane's gallery on SplitCoastStampers.

There's SO many cute things you can create with just punches alone. I was amazed at all of the ones on her gallery. And I didn't, not for one moment stop and say "why didn't I think of that?" It was beyond me to think of my punches like that. And still I can only copy and not design, I can't step out of the box that far! LOl

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda