Running With Scissors…

Happy new week to all!  It’s back to the daily grind for me, as I’ve returned from vacation and will now resume my regularly scheduled activities, such as going to work (sad face).  I had a mere three days at home when we returned, during which I made a valiant effort to catch up on everything.  I did not, by the way, catch up.

When we were on the road, we spent a night in the small northern California town of Willits.  Anyone here from Willits?  It’s a lovely little town in the redwoods.  I was leafing through a merchants’ catalog in our motel room when I spotted an advertisement for a shop called The Goods Stamp Shoppe — thousands of original images.  Well, of course, I couldn’t leave town without investigating.  As it turns out, the Goods are sisters who, in the past, designed their own wood mount rubber stamps.  They no longer design stamps, however, and there were very few of those original images left in the store.  In fact, most of the stamps were quite dated and many were stamps which are no longer in production, such as PSX.  I couldn’t leave empty handed, though, so I browsed till I managed to pick out a couple of images unlike anything else in my collection.  This teapot by All Night Media is one of them.

I watercolored the image with Stampin’ Up! inks on watercolor paper.  Some of the tiniest details were added with the fine tip of an SU! marker after the ink was dry.  The flowers are shades of Plum and Blush, and the teapot is Saffron and Mustard.  Something new to me — I’m now the proud owner of a Bow Easy (hooray!) and it certainly does make pretty bows easy to accomplish.  I followed Sharon’s tutorial here.  Thank you, Sharon!

I’ve made my mind up once and for all that it’s simply okay to use these old stamps and share the cards here on my blog.  It has to be about stamping for the sheer joy of it or I fear it will become a job, rather than a pastime.  I have lots and lots of beautiful or fun images I yearn to color — some are new, and some have been sitting in drawers for years.  Oh, I’ll still shop…there’s no doubt about that, but there’s a practical side of me that insists upon getting my money’s worth in terms of enjoyment.  I may not be able to provide links to every product I use but, as far as the images are concerned, I’ll bet all of you ordinary, everyday, regular old stampers like me have drawers, baskets, closets, boxes, bags, shelves — whatever — full of once loved images.  Some of them may have lost their appeal.  Perhaps their appeal came and went before they were even inked.  Yes, that has happened to me.  Oh, for shame!

So…I’ll beg your indulgence while, interspersed with my latest acquisitions, I occasionally share something “just because”.  Now…back to catching up.  Have a great day!

Stamps:  Teapot by All Night Media, sentiment from Flourishes Sweet Violets, Hero Arts zig zag stamp (old and probably retired)  Paper:  Pale Plum, Very Vanilla, watercolor, retired SU! designer paper  Ink:  Palette Umber, Chocolate Chip, various SU! inks for watercoloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, crocheted lace, pearls, Spellbiners curved rectangle dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, friends!  Today I’d like to refer you to my post on the Flourishes Newsletter.  The team is focusing on solid image stamps this week, and I’ve shared several cards and ideas there, in addition to this card:

Look for the article titled “What Can You Do With Solid Image Stamps?”  This card uses the Versamark resist technique.  The images are from Spring Ephemerals, Butterfly Moments, and Many Sentiments.  I hope you’ll join me at the Newsletter where I’ll also share links to the rest of the team.  Have an absolutely wonderful day!

I was out shopping for shoes the other day, and I came home with this Our Craft Lounge Nailed It set instead.  Well, I had to order the shoes…and the scrapbook store is just a few steps away from the shoe store, so…  It thrills me no end that the scrapbook store is stocking more stamps these days.  How wonderful it is to actually be able to drive home with stamps in the bag!  They have a nice collection of OCL stamps.  Gee, could that be because the awesome Cambria (OCL co-owner) lives in my very own town?

I made these cards for Father’s Day but I just didn’t have time to post them.  They don’t have to be specifically for Father’s Day, though, so I don’t feel too bad about waiting till now to share them.

The first card is for my husband.  It seems to me Father’s Day is a good time to say “thanks for your hard work”, especially since he’ll understand the significance of this card.  His big summer project is to build a deck in place of our small kitchen patio.  It’s half done, and he’ll finish it after our vacation trip.  I’m looking forward to barbeques and lunches in a warm, sunny, sheltered spot.  Our summers here, so near the ocean (Oregon coast), are cooler than in most parts of the country and we appreciate shelter from the chill wind, which can be quite vicious at times — but only when it’s sunny.  Many days are absolutely exquisite, but you can never know if the day you’re planning a barbeque will find everyone huddled inside looking out.

All the stamps are from the Nailed It set, except for the simulated wood “deck”, made with 1/2″ strips of Really Rust on which I’d stamped SU!’s retired Weathered background.  The “boards” are glued to black cardstock with minute spaces between them.

The second card is self-explanatory, I’m sure, save to say it’s for a friend’s dad.  It’s actually my favorite of the two, being somewhat clean and simple, and it qualifies for One Stamp Wednesday, and this is Wednesday, after all.  All the coloring was done with Prismacolor markers on Whisper White cardstock.

I have to run off now.  I’m sure I’m doing something fun as you read this, because I’m on VACATION!  I’ll bet I’m having the time of my life!  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Nailed It (OCL), Weathered (retired SU!)  Paper:  Really Rust, White, So Saffron, Basic Black, unknown designer paper, Chocolate Chip  Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Palette Noir, Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Going Gray, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Screw brads, 3/4″ circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I was approached by one of the nurses at work, wanting a wedding card for her “coffee guy”.  She doesn’t know the bride…just this nice young man who’s always so cheerful when she drives through to get her coffee in the mornings.

So I made this card with him in mind.  She says he has a great sense of humor, so I think he’ll be okay with the polka dots.  The ribbon is meant to suggest a bowtie.  It may be difficult to see in the photo, but it’s just a loop of ribbon with a band around the center.

“Mr & Mrs” is part of the Wedding Essentials set from Flourishes.  The frame was fun to make with my Ornamental Elements and Spellbinders Labels One dies.  I’m sure most everyone knows how to do this, but here’s a photo, anyway, for the folks who’d like to see how:

I placed two dies with the cut ridge up on my Cuttlebug C plate.  You can see by the marks on the C plate that there have been a couple of times I’ve accidently placed the cut ridge down — oops!  The largest of these two dies is just under 4″ square.

After I stamped the flourishes on a 4″ square of white cardstock, I placed it face down over the dies.  Then it was just a matter of placing the B plate over top and running it through the Cuttlebug.  A + C + dies (cut ridge up) + cardstock (image down) + B + crank it through = frame.  I also put it through the embossing process, which is fully explained on the Spellbinders packaging.

That’s it for today!  I’m glad you had a chance to visit with me.  Take care, and have a happy Monday!

Stamps:  Wedding Essentials, Ornamental Elements (Flourishes)   Paper:  Basic Black textured, white, retired SU! designer paper  Ink:  Palette Noir, Palette Reflection Blue  Accessories:  Ribbon, Spellbinders Labels One dies, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

I don’t have a card to share today, but I wanted to be sure and let you know about something interesting and worthwhile on the Flourishes Newsletter.  Please see it here, and then have yourself a wonderful day!

 Thank you!

Hello, friends!  I’m so happy it’s Friday, especially this week because I’m on vacation as of 5:00 pm.  It also means it’s Friday Focus time for the Flourishes team, and I had an awfully lot of fun with this one!  Latisha suggested we pull out our Spellbinders dies and share some creative ways in which to use them.  You can see her article on the Newsletter here, and check out the rest of the team’s creations here:  Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, Stacy, and Sharon

I had a whole other card in the works for this focus, but as I was driving home from the store this notion occurred to me so, of course, everything else was put on hold while I worked out this design.  As it turns out, it’s one of the quickest and easiest cards I’ve made, and you know how slow I am.

To make the party dress I used the largest oval die from the complete ovals set and the smallest die from the Labels One set, neither of which I see in the Flourishes store at this time.  I guess I should check these things out before I do the challenges but, honestly, I’m challenge challenged enough without adding more concerns into the mix.  I know they were there… maybe they’re out of stock?  Sigh…

I decorated the skirt with the swirly flourish stamp from Ornamental Elements, then punched across the hemline with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  I traced along the scallop with the Inkssentials white opaque pen, and added itty bitty pearls to the peaks of the scallops.  The Quickie glue pen lays down a very fine line of glue and made it easy to put a narrow border of glitter on the bodice.  Just a bit of ribbon at the waistline and it was done!  Here’s a photo of the parts:

You can make two dresses at once, since you simply slice the oval and the curved square in half.  The lower curve of the bodice fits the upper curve of the oval exactly.  Tape them together in the back to hold in place.  You could add tiny ribbon straps, if desired.  Decorate any which way you choose!

Those wonderful filigree flower brads can be found among the Finishing Touches, in the Beautiful Brads collection.  The sentiment is from Summer on the Patio.

I hope you enjoyed today’s card, and find some interesting ideas from Latisha’s post and among the team.  Have a wonderful day!

Stamps:  Ornamental Elements, Summer on the Patio  Paper:  Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, white, unknown designer paper  Ink:  Lovely Lilac  Accessories:  Ribbon, flower brads, glitter, Inkssentials white opaque pen, Kaiser pearls, Spellbinders oval and Labels One dies, Martha Stewart border punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, again!  Today’s card uses an old Inkadinkado stamp I added to my collection a long time ago in an effort to gain variety in the “guy” category.  It came in handy to fulfill this Father’s Day card request when I ran down my list of options and nothing seemed to satisfy the requester’s needs until I said, “how about billiards?”.

I made this to loosely resemble the lid of a cigar box, including the distressed tab on the lower edge which is supposed to be the broken seal.  The image is colored on Whisper White with Prismacolor markers.  It’s cut out and glued to the Spellbinders Labels Four die cut, and everything is put together with Cosmo Cricket Wanted designer paper (two years old and I’m using it for the first time).  The Spellbinders mat is cut from Very Vanilla cardstock, which I sponged in CTMH Parchment ink, using wadded toilet paper.

Oh, and it’s also a mail-friendly card.  I’m still thinking “no extra postage” for Wednesdays.  Well, I must run.  I don’t know what happened to all my leisure time, but I wish some of it would come back.  I hope you’re having a very fine day!

Stamps:  Inkadinkado El Fumadero, SU! Carte Postate  Paper:  Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Cosmo Cricket Wanted designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, CTMH Parchment, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Brads, Spellbinders Labels Four dies

What could be prettier than a cupcake frosted with violets?

When I picked up this precious little Lockhart cupcake recently I should have gotten one of those cute cupcake sentiments to go along with it.  What was I thinking?  I do like this sentiment from SU!’s retired Treat Yourself, though, and it seems to be working just fine.  I think I’ll keep it!

I colored the cupcakes with Prismacolor markers on Whisper White paper, then cut them out and popped them up on foam mounting tape.  I’ve gone head over heels for all the Martha Stewart border punches and seem to be on a mission to collect them all (in due time).  I found this one here.  I sometimes can’t decide what’s more fun — the stamps, or all the things we use to dress them up.

Well, this birthday card is ready to mail, and I’m ready to meet the work week.  I’ve got a few Father’s Day cards to share later.  I realize masculine cards aren’t as pretty as feminine cards, but I just love to stamp and I have a good time no matter what I’m working on.  Wishing you a violet cupcake kind of Monday!

Stamps:  Lockhart cupcake, sentiment from SU! Treat Yourself  Paper:  Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, PTI Lemon Tart, retired SU! designer paper  Ink:  Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Palette Noir, Prismacolor markers  Accesories:  Ribbon, Kaiser pearls, Martha Stewart border punch, 1 3/8″ square punch, 1 1/4″ circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

 I have one last fruity card to share before I wrap things up for the weekend.  This very simple card uses Flourishes’ new Life, Love & Lemons set.  I mounted the lemon slice, the wedge, and the juice droplets all on one block and stamped it twice, then colored with Prismacolor markers.  I colored over the juicy parts with a Sakura clear glaze pen and added a little bit of Stickles glitter for sparkle.

I wondered at first what I might use this sentiment for, but this card is on it’s way to someone who has been running a little low on juice lately and perhaps this very bright and juicy card may help to perk her up a little bit.  That vivid orange certainly is an eye opener, isn’t it?  Yikes!

So, here they are…the sets we’ve been previewing this week…click for a close up:

Waterlilies  Life, Love & Lemons  Patriotism On Parade

If you love them all, they’re being offered as a New Release Bundle at a 10% discount until June 18.

I hope you all have a very happy weekend!  It looks like it’s going to be a busy one for me, but I’ve got a lot to look forward to with vacation coming up soon.  It seems the vacation preparations make one need the vacation all the more.  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Life, Love & Lemons (Flourishes)  Paper:  CTMH Orange (sanded) & Sunkiss Yellow, SU! Gable Green, white  Ink:  Ranger Distress Tea Dye, Palette Noir, Gable Green, Prismacolor markers  Accessories:  Ribbon, button, linen thread, Sakura clear glaze pen, Stickles Stardust glitter, Martha Stewart border punch

Welcome to the third day of Flourishes new release previews!  Today’s set is a great one for my American friends who need cards or projects for 4th of July, Memorial Day, any of the cards for troops programs, or anything with a patriotic, military, or even political theme.  I guess I mixed in a little bit of all that with this card.

I used five stamps from the set, and I think my favorite is the silhouette image of the children.  The set also provides the same image as a line drawing.  I was thinking 4th of July celebrations when I made this card — picnics, fireworks, small town parades – and, of course, I had to include the flag in case there was any question as to the cause for celebration.  I haven’t made a card like this in ages and I have to admit it was fun working with something other than my “usual”.

Patriotism on Parade is a stamp set with special significance.  The following is a message from Flourishes:

We know many see the Fourth of July as a day of celebration to honor the United State’s independence. But, as many military men and women will tell you, freedom is not free. In times of war, soldiers come home wounded and are in need of a hand up in life. Having deep ties to our country’s military, Flourishes wanted to be a part of the solution. We are proudly donating a portion of the proceeds of our brand new Patriotism on Parade set to the Wounded Warrior Project. It’s a not for profit whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. We believe in the work they do and we can’t wait to support this group’s amazing efforts. Please click on www.woundedwarriorproject.org to learn more.

The team has some great samples to share with you, so please allow me to direct you to:   Christine, Cindy, Faith, Julie, Latisha, Laura, and Stacy.

One final reminder:  Visit here for the pre-release challenge and a chance to win all three new sets, and check in here to find the release party tonight, 9 pm central.  Go here, simply leave a comment, and you may win the Patriotism On Parade set.  All new releases will be available in the store after the release party.

Thank you so much for stopping in to visit during this busy release week!  I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself.  I’ll see you again soon!

Stamps:  Patriotism on Parade (to be released tonight by Flourishes)  Paper:  SU! Real Red and Whisper White, CTMH Clover Meadow (sanded), Frances Meyer gingham designer paper  Ink:  Adirondack Pitch Black, SU! Real Red and Summer Sun, Prismacolor Crimson marker, Sharpie fine-tipped blue marker  Accessories:  Ribbon, brads, Scotch brand foam mounting tape