A Christmas Cardinal

Hi there!  Today the sun is shining - finally!  A little bit of snow is predicted for tomorrow morning and cloudy skies.  Ugh!  Anyway...today's card was inspired by my friend and former upline, Pam D'Urso.  Years ago, she sent us a Christmas card similar to the one above.  I always wanted to re-create her card and this was the year.  Plus, it was perfect for our Card Buffet. 

Must get going to finish some things around here.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!

 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Ornamental Pine (sentiment) 

Paper: Always Artichoke, Real Red, Black, Crushed Curry, Vanilla 

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark, White Chalk Pen 

Tools:  1-3/4” Circle Punch, 1” Square Punch, Bird Punch (wing), Fun Fall Framelits (leaf for tail) 

Other:  Dimensionals

Getting Down to Business

Hi there and happy Monday!  Wow, what a great turnout for Laurie's Line-Up held Saturday at DeLeo's!  Jayne Singleton coordinates this service project event with Card Care Connection, which is a local non-profit organization.  Their volunteers compose compassionate and motivational messages on the inside of our handmade cards, which are then mailed out to cancer patients.  We made 224 cards!  Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to assemble cards or donated cards/supplies for this worthwhile cause!

Changing gears now, let me tell you about the business card keeper shown above.  Mary Taylor, my friend and downline, saw mine and asked for the directions so she could make some.  I didn't have any instructions as to how it was made since my business card holder was a gift from Pam D'Urso, my former upline.  Then the idea struck me to make one for Mary and write up some instructions at the same time.  Here's a look at the inside.

For the instructions: 

Base: 

2-3/4” x 11”

With 11” side against top rail of score board, score at 2-12” and 2-34”; flip to score from other end at 4” and 4-1/4”. 

Inside pocket: 

5-1/2” x 4” – with the 5-1/2” side at top rail of score board, score at 1-1/2” on both sides.

With the 4” side against top rail, score at 1/2”.

Use circle punch to nip out a portion at top of “pocket” for easier access to business cards. 

Fold and crease score lines.

Adhere the overlap in back of pocket.  Secure pocket to inside of base (11” long piece).  Smallest portion of base will be at top.

Decorate with cardstock colors that coordinates with project piece. 

Decorative rectangle flap is 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”.  The flap overhangs the front about 1-1/4”.
Base piece is 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”.
White decorated piece is 2” x 3”

Ok, must get busy cutting paper for our Card Buffet this coming Saturday.  Thank you for stopping by for a visit today!  You're always welcome!

Gift of Journaling

Hi there!  We got more snow - but only about an inch.  I am so done with the white stuff already.
Yesterday was a busy day, which is why there was no blog post.  I finished addressing envelopes for our daughter's wedding invitations, discussed reception plans, made flight reservations, worked on class projects, and then tried to figure out why my printer won't work.  Me thinks it's time for a new one!  Ugh!
The notebook above was a gift that Pam D'Urso sent to me in the mail.  What a wonderful surprise!  (Thanks again, Pam!)  The size of the notebook is 5x7 and has a Crumb Cake cover.  She stamped the focal piece in Old Olive ink with the Ex Libris background stamp.  Some Baked Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffle Stretch trim and a Cherry Cobbler butterfly adorned with a Vintage Faceted Designer button complete this lovely notebook.  It's so pretty that I don't want to use it!

Must run.  Thanks for coming by for a visit today!

   

Joy to the World

Hi there!  Been in bed the last two days with some sort of crud, but now I'm back!  And we have snow!  We're supposed to get more later today according to the forecast.  Tomorrow is our Christmas party that Sally Nusbaum is organizing again this year.  Can't wait to see everyone!  The weather will keep some from attending - like Pam D'Urso.  It's been so long since we've seen her and that makes me sad that she won't be able to join us.
So in the holiday spirit, let's move on to the above card that was on our Card Buffet last month.  This was an easy card and seemed to be popular at the Buffet since there weren't any kits left.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Joy to the World, Special Season (tree & pine cone images), World Map, The Open Sea (world image for inside) 

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, White 

Ink: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke marker, Soft Suede Marker

Stay warm and have a great weekend.  Thanks for stopping by today! 

Just a Note

Hi there!  Here we are in the middle of the week - again.  Boy the weeks sure seem to go FAST!   Let's not waste another minute and get to today's project. 
Normally, I don't make 3-D projects but this little tote containing 3x3 notes and envelopes was just too cute not to replicate!  Pam D'Urso invited us Demos for a stamping retreat weekend at her home this past summer.  When Diane Mikles and I saw Pam's tote, we CASE'd hers but used different paper for our versions - some retired Not Quite Navy cardstock and DSP.  Pam gave us some written instructions with measurments, but I honestly don't remember the person's name who wrote the tutorial.  The stamps we used came from the Postage Due set and were then punched out with the coordinating punch.  The border strip was made from an image found in Mosaic Madness.  The Decorative Label punch was used to create a "handle".  The only directions I could find that are similar to Pam's version were on Beth Beard's blog.  You can view her video here.  This would make a darling little hostess gift.  The holiday season will soon be upon us and that means parties to attend!  I'm just saying... 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.

Must run some errands.  Thanks for stopping in today!

Butterfly Courtesy of Starbucks

Hi there and happy Friday!  Most of you will have a nice, long weekend.  I've been out all day - a lot of crazy drivers out there!  It has been so hot this week, too.  

Been going through photos and came across the above card that I CASE'd while at Pam D'Urso's the last time we Demos were at her home.  The large butterfly was punched out from a Starbucks coffee wrapper, of all things!  A piece of cardboard could probably be used to get the same effect.  The sentiment came from the Blooming with Kindness set.

Stamps: Blooming with Kindness
Paper: Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pink Piouette, Vellum
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Elegant butterfly punch, Bitty butterfly punch, XL Oval punch, Designer Frames embossing folder, pearls

That's all for now.  Hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend.  Thanks for coming by today!

A Note From Penny

Hi there!  Two posts today.  How about that!  Forgot to post this sweet note card that I received from Penny Thomas - my upline's upline.  Pam D'Urso is my upline and Penny is her sister.  The Designer Series Paper peeking through the heart cutout is Modern Medley.  Love the patterns in that whole pack!
OK, just wanted to share this card with you.  Need to take Rocky (the granddog) for a walk.  Thank you for coming by!

Mixed Bunch

Hi there and happy Monday!  This week will be a busy one so I'll just get right to the card for today.  It is one that I received from Pam D'[Urso, my friend and upline.  There were some retired products used to make this pretty card.  First of all, the color Baha Breeze retired - as well as the square scallop die and the crimper.  Pam lined the envelope with Daffodil Delight Designer Series Paper to coordinate with the ribbon and the flower center.  So pretty.

Sorry but that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Polka Dots and Stripes

Hi there!  Popping in real quick to post this card I received at a Shoebox Swap last month - forgot to do that!  It was made by Pam D'Urso, my friend and upline.  Love it!  The bow tie was made from the large oval punch and a circle punch.  She added some texture to the "shirt" with the Stripes embossing folder.  A white gel pen was used for the "thread" in the buttons.  Wasn't she the clever one?

Watched a couple of movies while working on projects but now I need to get to bed for a little sleep!   lol  Certainly have my days and nights mixed up!  Thanks for stopping in today!

Blossom Punch and DSP Scraps

Hi there!  Hope your week is going well.  Mine has been fairly low key except for today.  Must run a couple of errands before meeting some friends for lunch.  From there, I'll pick up our granddaughter for an overnight visit.  Later in the evening I'll take Miss M to our youngest daughter's softball game and to pick up the granddog, Rocky.  Miss M will love that!  At the last game we attended, Miss M made friends with a little girl of one of youngest daughter's teammates.  They had a grand time.  OK, enough chit chat - let's get to the card for today.

This card was mailed to Taya Hyde, Pam D'Urso's new recruit, to welcome her to our Pieces of Heart team!  Congratulations to both ladies!  It is made from DSP (Designer Series Paper) scraps.  What a great way to use up some of your DSP scraps!  The four squares are 1-1/2", with two opposing corners rounded.  Flowers were punched out using the Blossom punch and the Boho punch.  The scallop border was cut with an Edgelit die, then a strip of DSP was added to the inside bottom edge for an extra pop of color.  A few score lines made with my Simply Scored Scoring tool gave this card a little extra pizzazz.  Oh, and I added a Real Red circle punched out with a standard hole punch for the center of the flower.  That was after the picture was taken.  It's amazing how a small detail can really make a difference!  Wish I would have taken another photo before mailing the card.

Well, friends, I must run.  Thank you for coming by for a visit today!



All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: none
Paper: Retired Brights DSP stack- Real Red patterns
Ink: none
Other:  Blossom punch, Boho punch, Edgelits - Finishing Touches, Simply Scored, standard hole punch

Cherry and Suede Eleanor

Hi there and happy Friday!  Do you have big plans for the weekend?  Since next week is the 4th of July, I would think some of you are taking vacation for an extended holiday.  St Louis has a big holiday celebration every year by the Arch - and it's free admission!  It used to be known as the VP Fair years ago but the powers that be, changed it to Fair St Louis.  The nightly fireworks display is awesome.  Enough talk about that.  Let's focus on today's card.  lol
I copied (or CASE'd)  a card that Deana Schultz had when we were at Pam D'Urso's stamping retreat last month.  I don't know if it was Deana's design or a CASE (Copy And Share Everything).  The label and the flower were cut out and adhered to the card front with Dimensionals.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherswise noted


Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Bring on the Cake (sentiment)
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede
Other: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Dimensionals, Pearls

Must scoot to get ready to meet a friend for lunch.  Have a great weekend and thanks so much for coming by today!

Oops!

Hi there!  I had a great day with my stamping peeps today and really great cards from the shoebox swap that we did!
It was brought to my attention by a kind reader (yay! a reader!) that I posted the same card twice this month.  Oops, sorry about that!  Guess I really liked that card.  lol  So here's a different card to make up for that little blunder. 

This is actually a 3x3 fridge magnet (or it could be a small notecard) showcasing a technique that Cheryl Renth demo'd at Pam D'Urso's stamping retreat last month. It's the white wash technique.  You may have seen it on other blogs.  Line art images work best for this technique.  Stamp your image with Versamark, sprinkle some white embossing powder onto piece, then heat set.  Let it cool for a minute.  Stampin' Up! White Craft Ink, which is a pigment ink, was applied sparingly with an aqua pen - as if white washing.  I prefer dipping my aqua pen into a small well of water, then picking up some White Craft Ink that has been pressed into the lid of the stamp pad.  The water thins the ink and helps to achieve that "white wash" look.  When that layer dries, a color (or colors) of your choice can be applied by using markers and a blending pen to color and shade your image.  In this sample I used the marker around the inside perimeter of each bloom, then  "pulled" the color towards the center of the bloom with the blender pen.  Make sure your project is completely dry before trying to glue it to anything. 

OK, need to get to bed.  Hope the rest of your weekend is awesome!  Thanks for stopping in!

                                                                                                                   

Patterned Occasions Get Well

Hi there!  Hope you've had a good week!  The last couple of days got really busy.  I'll post about it later but first, the card.  I totally CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) this card from Deana Schultz when we Demonstrators were at Pam D'Urso's last month for a stamping weekend.  I don't know if she CASE'd it as well.  It's a quick card, which is always nice.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Patterned Occasions (retired)
Paper: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, White
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, rhinestones

OK, for my story.  Yesterday I was getting things ready for our granddaughter's visit - putting dinner in the crock pot, a bit of housekeeping, and bill paying.  Then hubby's friend stopped by so I visited with him until it was time for me to leave to pick up Miss M.  Later that evening we went to our youngest daughter's softball game.  (31 and still playing softball)  Her fiance was there with their dog, Rocky.  After the game, they stopped by our house to drop off Rocky.  We are dogsitting for the weekend.  Now, for those who know us real well...this is BIG!  We've never had pets - except a gerbil and some fish.  Our son and I have allergies.  I must say that this dog (an English bull dog) has such a cute personality and is well behaved.  Guess who he's been following around?  Yep, me!  He even waits by the door for me when it's shut.  (I don't want him in the rooms where I sleep and work 'cause those allergies never went away!  In fact, I'll be taking some allergy medication before going to bed tonight.)
Today Miss M had to be at her daycare by 10:30 to go on a field trip, I then had lunch with our son, stopped to buy some  printer ink, and the last stop was to get my hair trimmed.  Rocky was so happy to see me.  Guess "grandpa" wasn't giving him much attention.  lol  Kids and dogs, you gotta love them for their unconditional love.

Tomorrow is Sally Nusbaum's shoebox swap.  I'm ready to hang out with my stamping peeps all day!  With that, I'll sign off now to get everything packed.  Have a great weekend and thank you so much for coming by today!

Last of the Swaps!

Hi there!  Well, today I have the remaining shoebox swaps from our Demo weekend at Pam D'Urso's home May 30 - Jun 2.  What a great weekend it was!  The above card was our hostess with the mostess' swap.  Love the understated simplicity and elegance of Pam's cards.  The flower from the Love and Sympathy set was colored with Calypso Coral and Old Olive markers.  The sentiment is stamped in black.

Next up is Mary Ellen Cope's card using some new products from the 2013-14 Annual Stampin' Up! catalog. 

A strip of Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper (DSP) was layered on the strip of Strawberry Slush Core'dinations cardstock.  The Daffodil Delight butterflies were cut from the Beautiful Wings Embosslet die. The sentiment is a new set called Label Love, which was stamped in Island Indigo ink.  There is a coordinating punch for this set.

The final card is mine.

I chose the Summer Silhouettes and Label Love stamp sets for this card.  The ink colors are the new In Colors: Crisp Cantaloupe, Strawberry Slush, and Pistachio Pudding.  (Are you hungry yet?)  My embellishment was made with the new Artisan punch.

That completes the line-up of shoebox swaps from Pam's retreat.  She has already sent out the date for the next retreat in September!  Can't wait!  Love spending time with these girls!  And to think I never would have met these ladies had I not become a Stampin' Up! Deomonstrator! 

Tuesday evening our granddaughter spent the night.  It was a spur of the moment thing.  She brought along the scrapbook that her other grandma gave her and some photos that mom provided.  Miss M completed her scrapbook yesterday and did a really nice job for an almost 6 year old.  I was so busy helping her that I didn't even think about snapping some pics of the process.  Miss M also wanted to make Carla Spradling a gift, whom she never met.  We were meeting Carla later that afternoon at Lion's Choice for an early dinner.  (Carla and I meet there before her Card Buffets and my DIL was stopping in after work to pick up Miss M.)  I was busy pulling out supplies so that Miss M could make Carla's gift.  She's so sweet like that - always wanting to make people gifts.  But what a little task master!  lol   Unfortunately, Carla got stuck in traffic and didn't make it to the restaurant until after Miss M left.  Carla did receive her "gift" of a bunch of decorated hearts and graciously told me that she'll hang them on her board at home.  She's such a sweetie!  (I'll post photos later of the Buffet cards I made)

Time to tackle some chores.  Hope your day is going well and thank you so much for coming by today!

More Swaps!

Hi there!  I'm back today with more swaps from the Demo retreat at Pam D'Urso's house May 30th - Jun 2nd.  We all participated in a shoebox swap with a challenge of only one-layer cards and no more than two embellishments.  That was a difficult challenge for someone who really likes layers!

The first card (above) is Jayne Singleton's swap made with the Summer Silhouettes stamp set.   Love this set!  Each layer of color was sponged on, the flower and leaves stamped in black, then the mask was removed to reveal sharp, even lines.  Sorry but I don't remember what set was used for the sentiment.

Susan Fields' swap used a new Hostess set from the new 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog called Simply Sketched.  The image was colored in with Calypso Coral and Pear Pizzazz inks after stamping it first with black StazOn ink.  A strip of Calypso Coral cardstock added to the side, some Washi tape, and sentiment completed the card.  It was fun using the Washi tape - just rip it off the roll and adhere.  I'd never used it before.  Another cool thing about Washi tape is that it's transparent.  You can find this fun item in the new catalog.

The last card for today was Sally Nusbaum's swap using the Road to Happiness set.  I didn't do a very good job on my background scene.  Sally's sample was darker and her hill looked like a hill rather than a blob like mine does.  Sally also had a surf board in the car.  My thought was to put something else in the car - maybe presents or maybe nothing.  I definitely didn't do her card justice!  Even seasoned stampers make mistakes.  That's when you get creative to "hide" your mistakes and sometimes end up with an even better card.  I'll have to put on my thinking cap!

Must run for now.  I have a few things to accomplish before leaving for Carla Spradling's Card Buffet tonight.  Thanks so much for visiting today!  Your visits are always appreciated!

Sunfower and Butterflies!

Hi there!  Today I have a couple more Shoebox Swaps from our Demo retreat at Pam D'Urso's the first of the month.  The sunflower was Deana Schultz' swap.  Remember, our challenge was to make a one-layer card with no more than two embellishements.  The Sunflower image was stamped in Early Espresso ink, then Daffodil Delight ink was sponged on.  The center of the sunflower was embellished with small flowers made with a punch from the Itty Bitty punch pack.  The flag counted as the second embellishment, which was made with a new stamp set -  Banner Greetings.  Seems I got a bit carried away with my sponging. Oops!

The next card was Diane Mikles' swap.  The Daffodil Delight area was masked off so that the ink could be sponged into that area.  The butterflies from Papillon Potpourri were then stamped in black.  The sentiment is from Perfectly Penned.  Such a simple technique but a great look!

Must get going to work on some projects for our Card Buffet next month and another Shoebox Swap.  At least I got the grocery shopping out of the way yesterday!  Thank you for stopping in today!

Mosaic Madness Meets Christmas!

Hi there!  Hope you had an awesome weekend.  I sure did!  Had a fun 50th anniversary party on Saturday and our Card Buffet on Sunday.  Fun times! 
Today I'm sharing one of the swaps made at Pam D'Urso's Demo retreat the beginning of this month.  Our challenge was to make a one-layer card and no more than two embellishments.  Talk about a challenge!  This was a tough one for me.  The above card was Cheryl Renth's swap using the Modern Mosaic stamp set to make the poinsettia.  How clever is that?  I forgot to add my sentiment and had to do so after returning home.  The Petite Pairs set was used - don't remember what set Cheryl used. 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Mosaic Madness, Petite Pairs
Paper: White
Ink: Real Red, Pear Pizzazz
Other: Pearl

That's all for today.  Must tackle my to-do list and probably go to the grocery store.  I've procrastinated long enough and am forced to go shopping since we're out of most of the basics!  Have a great day and thank you so much for stopping in today!

I'm Back With a Get Well Card!

Hi there and happy Friday!  I'm back - for those of you who happen to check my blog!  Things got a bit crazy when I returned home Sunday evening from Pam D'Urso's Little House on the Prairie stamping retreat. We had NO power due to the storm that went through our area last Friday!  (Fortunately, our power was restored Monday evening around 6 pm.)  So I had a lot of catching up to do going through/responding to emails and cutting cardstock for our Card Buffet this coming Sunday.  Sure glad I wasn't around for most of the power outage.  My poor hubby endured those long days and nights with no TV or microwave.  It was more like the real Little House on the Prairie here than at Pam's!  lol 
Speaking of the retreat, we had a blast!  Pam and Steve are the BEST hosts!  Lots of fun, food, laughter, and late nights!  Just love hanging out with these girls!  We had a great time playing Bingo Friday & Saturday nights.  Saturday was our shoebox swap, which is where you provide everything in a shoebox for the others to reproduce your card.  There were also demonstrations using products from the new 2013-14 Stampin' Up! catalog and a couple of fun techniques.  We had it ALL going on!  Besides the shoebox projects,  I made other cards that I am able to share with you.  The one shown above was CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) from Deana Schultz.  Not sure if this was her original design or if she CASEd it.  The Patterned Occasions stamp set was offered as a freebie during Sale-a-bration.  I really didn't get a chance to use this set and lately, there's been a need for get well cards.  Talk about perfect timing!  The supplies are listed below.

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Patterned Occasions
Paper: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, White
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, small heart punch, Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon, rhinestones

That's it for now.  Need to finish cutting paper and packing up for Sunday.  Thanks for your visit today - and every day!  Have a great weekend!

A Sweet Gift

Hi there!  Just wanted to show you this adorable business card holder that Pam D'Urso made and sent to me!  It also came with a pretty card but I accidentally deleted the photo from my camera and I don't have time to take another one today.  Isn't it just too cute?  Speaking of Pam, I'm in the midst of getting ready to hit the road to her house for some stamping FUN!  Pam has invited the Pieces of Heart Stampers and adoptees for a girls weekend!  It will be crazy fun!  Thus the reason for this abbreviated post. Sorry!  I'll be back with a post on Monday.  Must run.  Thank you for coming by today and have a great weekend! 

Patterned Occasions Get Well

Hi there and happy Friday!  This week sure went fast.  Ha!  They all seem to go fast these days!  So, I won't waste your time - just get right to the card du jour.  This sample was made at Carla Spradling's Card Buffet back in February.  Unfortunately, some of the products are no longer available since they were Sale-a-bration (SAB) items.  The Band-Aides from the Patterned Occasions set were stamped, then cut out and popped up on Dimensionals.



All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Patterned Occasions (SAB), Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Summer Starfruit, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB), Sahara Sand, White
Ink: Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Summer Starfruit
Other: Word Window punch, Sycamore Street button pack (SAB), linen thread, Scallop border punch, corner rounder, snips, Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder


Must run to get started packing for a trip to Pam D'Urso's "Little House on the Prairie Retreat"!  The Pieces of Heart team members (and adoptees) will gather at Pam's for a weekend of stamping FUN!!!!  We are having a shoebox swap - a one layer card.  Yikes, what a challenge!  It's OK, I have mine ready to go.  Pam mentioned that we will also be playing Bingo.  Played that at her sister, Penny's, retreat in Texas a few years ago and it was a lot of fun.  OK, really must run.  Have a great weekend and thank you so much for stopping by today!