My American Iris

Our first home when we lived in the US Midwest was purchased from an elderly lady in our church. I was on staff at the church and we were newly married. Our Pastor said...hey you two should look at buying this house from this woman, as she was moving into assisted living. She loved the idea of us buying it, and soon we had a little peach colored house, with a huge yard and countless perennials that had not been cared for in years. So I spent the next year weeding, moving, pruning, dividing and digging. Eventually it was a really beautiful flower garden again.

One of my favourite flowers we had in that yard were a gorgeous deep burgundy colored Iris. They were just such a stunning color and I've never been able to find something like it since. So, when I got this set from Flourishes I remembered my beloved Iris from our life in the US. As a bonus...at the end of the post I've added a picture of my newly blooming Day Lilies in our yard here in Canada.

I realized after I took the picture that they weren't Siberian Iris', so it's really the wrong sentiment (ha...too late now!). But you get the idea.

This flower was colored with reinkers and SW Markers on watercolor paper and cut out. The sketch is wonderful for the use of great designer papers, so this is a mix of several SU DP's some retired as well. I like the depth of color against the deep color of the flower. A pretty organdy bow and some (as always - I really need to break out of this!)...piercing and brads. Sorry the picture is never as good a night but the sun set here a while ago!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Not much stamping for me in the weeks ahead so I'm trying to get it all in this week!

Recipe: Stamps: Flourishes Siberian Iris; Ink: River Rock, Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke Paper: Watercolor Paper, Rver Rock, Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, River Rock DSP, Always Artichoke DSP, old SU Christmas Burgundy paper (sorry I can't remember this ones name!); Accessories: Brads, Piercer, Reinkers, Aqua Pen, SW Markers, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Burgundy Organdy Ribbon

Here is one of our Daylilies in our yard here...I love it's deep orangish yellow color!

Palmolive and the Pool

It's not often I'll post about my family...but today was just one of those days you want to remember, and it took me back to my childhood.

I had a wonderful Aunt growing up who was such a hoot. She was the life of the party, generous, goofy and fun to be with. Often she would babysit us in the summer, we loved going there because they had cable AND a TV remote control :) and she and my uncle also had some funny things at their house. One of which was an old bathtub outside. It was perfectly good, my uncle probably found it somewhere, but they had it outside! On hot summer days she'd fill the tub for us to *swim* in and she'd dribble some Palmolive dish soap in there for fun. We thought it was the greatest thing in the world. To this day I use Palmolive dish soap because the smell reminds me of times like this. She would also let us have Fudgsicles and give us change to walk to the 7-11 to get slurpees. She passed away when I was 21 years old. But I'll never forget her.

Today was one of those days here. Beautifully HOT outside and I told the kids we'd fill up our little pool. Then I had this flash of brilliance and said, "do you guys want some bubbles?" of course the response was a resounding yes! So, a few dribbles later (honest it was only a little soap - the rest is all their doing! well, and the hose bubbling it up)...and we had our own bubble fest. They LOVED it and were in the pool for hours today. I had to hose each of them down before they could even dry off! Are these pictures not hysterical?!?

We even had Fudgesicles and went for slurpees...all in memory of you Auntie Hilda. I'm so glad I could pass a fun and goofy day like today down to my children too. It wasn't an outdoor bathtub...but I know they won't forget it!

A Groovy Lovely Toonie Tuesday

Hi Everyone! I'm back with another round of Toonie Tuesday - even after a very busy week last week with the Dare to Get Dirty Challenges. Thank you to SO many of you who played and made it a phenomenal stamping week! It was a very early morning in our house...sheesh, they are pouring cement at our neighbours house and at 7 am they were pounding and carrying on...I am so not a cheery morning person especially when you wake me on a summer day that early...or wake my kids...anyway...these cards are cheerier than I am :)

Toonie Tuesday is my opportunity to show you two samples, this week one from Stampin' Up! and one from my new stamps from Flourishes in this weeks' color challenge colors at SCS (CC177). Today I want to show you how you can achieve a similar yet unique look with two different stamp sets.

Sample One: Flourishes

I seem to be stuck on this magnolia image from this pretty set called Lilac. I think I like it because it has several images that can be intertwined to form a branch and the blossoms are small and really easy to color. This is on watercolor paper, and I love using the out of the box technique. Just a tip on how I manage making these cuts. I stamp and color all my images first, then use my paper cutter to trim in a spot that will "cut into* the main design on each side of the flower...but just near the out of the box section not through it. Then I get out my handy dandy paper snips and cut out those parts that extend beyond my straight sections. You do have to be careful but with watercolor paper having a much heavier weight it isn't difficult. And I LOVE the effect it gives.

Because todays colors are Groovy Guava, Sahara Sand and White, I wanted to create some soft looking blossoms in the shade of white and guava. The lighter colored blossoms are given some beautiful shimmer with Lumiere and then once dry a light touch of of guava reinker, the other blossoms are just given some light watercoloring. The branches are colored in with a Sahara Sand reinker.

I really love the scallop punch. Have I said that already? :) It's just so easy to use and gives you such nice polished look. Some nice silver brads and a pretty organdy bow to finish it all off.

Sample Two: Stampin' Up! and Garden Silhouettes

I haven't used this set in so long, and with all the silhouette work that's out there I thought I'd pull it out again. I think it gives that similar *vine-like* look that you can have with the Flourishes Magnolia stamps too.

I stamped the flowers and vine several times in both Groovy Guava and Sahara Sand on Whisper White. I carefully trimmed out several of the guava flowers and added them to the Sahara stamped piece with some teeny tiny dimensionals. I added Crystal Effects and some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give it some shimmer.

I think what always gives a card zing is some well placed piercing and accents. So here I pierced around the sentiment and also on the top row and added brads and double stitched ribbon and some scallop work too.

Similar designs, similar sets, similar effects, but beautifully different looks.

Glad you stopped by today!

Recipes:

Sample One: Flourishes Stamps: Flourishes Lilac; Paper: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper, Ginger Blossom DSP; Ink: Black Stazon, Groovy Guava, Sahara Sand; Accessories: Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, Word Window Punch, Lumiere, Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Organdy Ribbon

Sample Two: SU: Stamps: Garden Silhouettes; Paper: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom DSP; Ink: Sahara Sand, Groovy Guava; Accessories: Piercer, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Groovy Guava DS Ribbon, Brads, Piercer, Scallop Edge Punch

Sweet and Fragrant Jenn

Look what just came for me! From my sweet friend Jenn !

Are they not gorgeous? And if only you could smell how fragrant they are...they are literally filling up the room with the scent.

...here's some more pics...I wish it were a little bit brighter...but the clouds have rolled in...

Thank you sweet friend, you are one in a million!

The Little Things - Support *Not A Raffle*

Most of you have probably heard of the flooding that devastated a large swath of the US Midwest this spring. It is my understanding that earlier this year the Red Cross had indicated they had exhausted their available support. We lived for 8 years in the US Midwest and in many ways I still consider it my home, we have many family and friends in that area and thankfully none of them were effected by the flooding, but so many others WERE.

So a wonderful person on SCS decided to do something about it and she began asking for help for this *non-raffle* to raise funds for the Red Cross relief efforts in the Midwest. So if you'll check out this link: over at Splitcoast you can read all about it, and find out how to donate, and be entered to win some fabulous prizes!

I created a simple card set, with 5 mini cards and envelopes. The mini cards are simply embossed and decorated. See here

And some close ups here:

There are some FABULOUS things in the gallery for this *non-raffle*...donations of many company's stamp sets, accessories, hand crafted items... All to support a good cause. Here's the gallery link: SCS *Non-Raffle* Gallery

Thanks for your help in making a difference. It's the little things that often make the biggest difference.

Simplicity

Today's Dare to Get Dirty challenges are issued by possibly two of the most well known and respected Dirty Girls, Holly and Sharon. When I first came to SCS...these two gifted women's creations always stood out in the gallery...and though they both deserve a card of their OWN for their challenges...I just don't have the time (or strength!) to stamp any more...so this is a combination of their challenges. Come see their links here if you're a Fan Club member (if not...see my post from Monday as to HOW and WHY you'd want to be :) )

This card is all about crispness and simplicity. I used some brand spankin' new stamps from Flourishes that I think are STUNNING. I lightly colored in the Magnolias with reinkers (I'm not sure if Magnolias can be a light Pomegranate shade...but we're going with it - I've never been to the south - oh ok that's not totally true I was in Atlanta once, but I wasn't noticing any magnolias!...sorry I digress) And I cut the ovals with my coluzzle cutter. I will very much miss this Pomegranate color....(sniff)....so I had to do a color combination with it that I really always love. It always comes out classy to me.

The Designer paper is from SU's 2007 Christmas Collection...and you can't do a Sharon card without some fabulous ribbon. I added a light shimmer with Lumiere (only visable in this closeup) a couple of brads ...and can you see the tiny shimmery ladybug??? So precious!

Simple, elegant...and it only took me...less than 30 minutes!

Recipe: Stamps: Lilac Set (Flourishes); Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Gray, Whisper, SU White, SU Christmas 07 DSP ; Ink: Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate; Accessories: Silver Brads, Satin Ribbon, Coluzzle Cutter, Piercer, Dimensionals, Lumiere, Aquapainter, Reinkers

Delicious Inspiration

Wow! I never get to stamp this much! But how could you not when you have phenomenal inspiration and a great lady issuing a challenge. Jenn Balcer, our fearly DD leader has her turn at the Dirty Dare Challenges today with a great inspiration photo....I seriously LOVE it. Jenn and I have very similar taste visually....and she always finds the coolest things!

So here's my very elegant looking Delicious Inspiration card.

Another peek at how the new In Colors work. This is Kiwi Kiss paired with Vanilla and black, and I really like it. The flourishes are from Baroque Motifs and stamped in Vanilla. Lots of great ribbon, lots of brads and the essential black row of felt ribbon from Creative Imaginations. Here is a closeup of the felt ribbon....it really does mirror part of Jenn's inspiration photo....head over to here: if you're a Fan Club member to check Jenn's inspiration out.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Recipe: Stamps: Baroque Motifs, All Holidays Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, Basic Black Ink: Black Stazon, Vanilla Craft Accessories: Felt Ribbon (Creative Imaginations), Brads, Wide Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Piercer, Scallop Edge Punch

Follow in Your Footsteps

*Follow in Your Footsteps...and get to where you've been* Love this quote...but I can't find where it was from! Anyone know???

This is a combination card for Julie and Michelle's DTGD challenges today. And VERY out of my comfort zone...all this white space....wow! But that's why it's a challenge right? Sorry for the shadow...it's cloudy here!

I had the idea in my head to mask and emboss these two hiking boots behind one another. I'm not sure that you can see I embossed the square behind the boots, and pierced it with the SU embossing template. I wrote the quote in Close to Cocoa around the square and then also used half of a Designer Label punch for the sentiment. I colored in the gingham and added hemp. I REALLY wanted to add a shoelace...but couldn't find one! Wouldn't that have been cute?

This will be for my husband from our kids. He's with our students in Mexico City doing children's ministry at two churches and they're doing some great things...but we miss him very much here! And single parenting is tough!

Recipe: Stamps: Happy Camper, Fancy Flexible Phrases Ink: Close to Cocoa and Chocolate Chip Craft Paper: Whisper White! Close to Cocoa Accessories: Gingham, Hemp, Vintage Brads, SW Marker, Dimensionals, Piercing Template, Clear EP

A Dare to Get Dirty Toonie Tuesday!

Well, it's a very happy Toonie Tuesday for me today! I am hosting my first EVER challenge at SCS....one of today's Dare to Get Dirty 08 Fan Club Challenges. Our theme is *A Day in the Life of a Dirty Girl!* I'm inviting YOU to come and play too! See yesterday's posts for links to joining the fan club and here's a link to my challenge and Michelle and Julie's. I'd love to see you there! JulieHRR and sf9erfan are also our hostesses today. You don't want to miss it! Come chat with me in this thread too I'd love to hear from you!

Sample One: Friendly Spring

This is an all SU Toonie Tuesday using my favourite technique - Watercolor! Here's the adorable new Serene Spring hostess set that will be unveiled in the catalogue in just a few weeks. It's an adorable set that's perfect for scenic type watercoloring, here using reinker and then Stampin Write Markers blended in for depth. I've used the new SU In Colors and new Designer Series Papers for this card too. They are definitely deep bold colors, but in the right combinations I think they will look GREAT. For me it's all about the Designer Series Paper. If we can get great patterned paper everything else just falls into place!

Love this pretty flower pot and sweet little bird, and I was trying to give it all sort of an earthy feel. See the CUTE little ladybug???
And the new scalloped edge punch is AWESOME! No more corner rounder punch for me!

Sample Two: Embracing In Colors

Another beautiful set to me is Embrace Life...so much you can do with it from a coloring perspective because it's such an open image. This is watercolored with reinkers alone. I love it's depth and wow factor. I've used the out of the box technique to really showcase the blooms and then added simple embellishments. I use brads and pierce everything ...it's sort of my thing I think. :) But I wanted to keep it more simple for these flowers.

Thanks so much for joining us!

Recipe: Sample One Sets: Serene Spring Paper: Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Bella Rose DSP, Watercolor Paper Ink: Black Stazon Accessories: Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Scallop Edge Punch, Vintage Brads, Wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon, Rectangle Slot Punch, SW Markers, Piercer

Sample Two: Sets: Embrace Life Paper: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Watercolor Paper Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Black Stazon Accessories: Reinkers, Aqua Painter, Brads, White Taffeta Ribbon, Piercer, Dimensionals, White Gel Pen.

It's Time to Get Dirty!

Haha....was that a good enough lead in for you???

It's the Fan Club's Dare to Get Dirty Challenges over at Splitcoaststampers for the next 7 days! Yippee! It's the Dirty Girls present and Alumni's opportunity to have some fun and great challenges JUST for Fan Club members. A whole week of fun!

Why become a Fan Club member? A million reasons! To support a site that gives inspiration and opportunity to use your creative abilities EVERY DAY 24/7! To have instant upload capabilities! It's far more economical than some crafting magazines and you have opportunity to build some awesome relationships with great people. It's been the best investment I've made.

To find out how to become a Fan Club member see here

So here's my submission for Laurie (Lauraly's) challenge today. I still hope to get Jody's challenge done later!.

This is done with my NEW Flourishes sets! I've had them for days...but with no time to stamp!

It's all about the sparkle and vellum here. I wanted to create a soft look that you can achieve with Vellum so I stamped the under layer with the new In Colors and then did the same on the over vellum layer, and put them together slightly off so that you get the feeling of a fuller flower garden. Because ink on Vellum dries more slowly you can emboss it easily, and I did here with Irridescent Ice. Embellished with some organdy ribbon, some clear beads on the ribbon, and rhinestone brads. Sentiment reads *just because*. Vellum is also lightly sponged in the various layers.

Recipe: Stamps: Flourishes Spring Ephemerals, Siberian Iris (sentiment). Paper: Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirhouette, Whisper White, Cardstock Vellum, Bella Rose DSP. Ink: Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirhouette. Accessories: Rhinestone Brads, New Scalloped Edge Punch, Scallop Punch, Organdy Ribbon, Clear Beads, Dimensionals, Piercer, Sponge.

Bella Baby Double Pocket

Today's Limited Supply challenge has us using folds to create our project. I remember way back Beate doing a tutorial on a Double Pocket that was adorable. And, best of all it's really simple. You start with a 10 1/2 x 5 piece of cardstock, score on the long length at 3 1/2 and 7 inches, fold accordian style, then cut the depth of the two pocket heights as desired. Decorate, adhere with sticky strip and it's adorable don't you think??? I especially like the opposite ribbon pulls.

I just received this set the other day along with my SU! Preorder for the Fall and Winter 08 Catalogue. I think baby cards are perfect as pocket cards. Here's a very simple use of the pockets and of the new Bella Rose papers the new In Colors AND the new scallop punch. I also added a little chunky glitter to my elephant ear for a little girl glitz. Some simple ribbons and brads and you're done! It would work great for an announcement and picture, or for a gift and gift card enclosure. I hope to get a *boy* one of these done today too...but I also have a journal to make as well - so maybe you'll see me later! Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe: Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose DSP, Ink: Riding Hood Red, White Craft Accessories: Earth Elements Brads, Scallop Punch (Circle and new scallop length punch), Old Olive Wide Grossgrain, Pink Gingham Ribbon, Chunky Glitter, Mono Multi Glue, Piercer

Toonie Tuesday

Thanks for joining me for Toonie Tuesday ...where I have a chance to show you two projects today one from MFT and one from Stampin' Up!

Sample One: Calm Calm Calm from MFT This adorable set is designed by Anna LaPoint. I need this set today. So much going on. We have Power Lab VBS at church this week for the kids, our students and my husband are getting ready to leave this weekend for a Mission Trip working with 2 churches in Mexico City, finishing up DD work, and getting ready for next weeks Dare To Get Dirty Challenges...whew! I need some calm. Cause my head's swimming right now.

This is for today's color challenge Almost Amethyst, So Saffron and Wild Wasabi. I like it's fresh appeal. I love the argyle theme in the tub so I used my papers to recreate that in the card. The only thing I wish I wouldn't have done is try to recreate the argyle on the bottom of the main image ...oh well. It's *ok* but not quite right to me. This is stamped on Shimmer White with Black Stazon. Colored in with SW Markers and reinkers and I added chunky glitter on mono multi glue for the shower stream, the flowers and the silver brads.

I used reinker on one of the leaves to get a deeper color, and highlighted with white gel pen. I tried to follow the indents of the leaves but it's a little hard to tell that from the photo.

Sample Two: SU's Bloomin' Beautiful!

You know how some sets are just in your *groove*? Just your style? Well for me this is one of those sets. I knew it from the minute I saw it in the mini. Every card I've tried with it I've loved. I think it's because its so easy to watercolor and you get such wow results.

I also love the out of the box technique where you extend your images beyond the borders of the shape. With the three colors today I tried to mimic that design in the main image and the papers. (BTW... these patterns on the Wasabi and Amethyst prints paper are the flip side of the argyle). I watercolored with reinkers and Stampin' Write markers on watercolor paper. I used chunky glitter in the center and on the bee's wings, and it REALLY adds pizazz. To give your flowers a pretty effect, try outlining them with a light colored marker and the blending with an aquapainter. (see close up image following).

I framed the images with piercing added the pretty sentiment in layers. Totally my kind of card.

Recipes:

MFT: Stamps: Be Calm Anna LaPoint, Ink: Black Stazon, Paper: So Saffron, Shimmer White, Wild Wasabi, Almost Amethyst and Wild Wasabi Prints, So Saffron Retired SU paper. Accessories: White Taffeta Ribbon, Chunky Glitter, Piercer, Dimensionals, Prima Leaves, White Gel Pen, Brads, SW Markers, Reinker

SU: Stamps: Bloomin Beautiful, Ink: Black Stazon, Almost Amethyst Paper: Watercolor, Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Wild Wasabi, Wasabi & Amethyst Prints, So Saffron (retired) DP Accessories: Chunky Glitter, Mono Multi Adhesive, Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Piercer, SW Markers, Aqua Painter

A Big Day

Well, it's a big day around here. The 15th of the month means that over at Splitcoaststampers it is reveal day on this months Dirty Dozen Fan Club Gallery. And....it is my last reveal day (sniff sniff) I've had the awesome privelage to serve on the Dirt Pile with some amazing women for the last 6 months. It has been a dream come true for me creatively...but all good things must move on and there will be 2 great new girls in Jerri and my place next month....and we move on to other things!

The DD girls work so very hard every month to create fabulous projects for the Fan Club Members. It's like a paper crafters art gallery of inspiration. Well worth your investment in a GREAT site that has given me amazing creative gifts almost every day for the past 4 years.

This month's theme is super fun...and you can have a sneak peek at part of one of my projects on this page here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/news/comments.php?id=745_0_1_0_C

So COME on over! There's two great girls being revealed this month too :)


Some other great news...in just less than 1 week at Splitcoast you won't want to miss A Day in the Life of a Dirty Girl - The Dirty Girl Fan Club Challenges 2008. It's a whole week (July 21 - 27) of challenges for Fan Club members to participate in led by Dirty Girls present and alumni and a chance to take a peek into the creative process of what it means to be a Dirty Girl. More news coming on this one!



I've been tagged a couple of times by some sweet other bloggers to tell you 7 Random things about myself.... in case you might want to get to know me a bit better

So here goes:

1. I absolutely LOVE Coca Cola. But, I'm trying to give it up (gasp!). I could seriously drink it all day long...but I know it's not good for me. Not the sugar...and not the caffeine...or that stomach eating bubbly wonderfulness....and with the craziness of our life and needing to take better care of me...and hey where'd those hips come from????....I'm trying to give it up. So far, so good....we're about 2 weeks in.

2. I need sunshine. Which in Canada in the summer is no problem, here in summer we get like 19 hours of day light....but in December however it's more like 7 hours of daylight. And about December I start feeling a little funky. And since we're not going to be moving to Florida any time soon, I think it's an excuse to go tanning in the winter! (hee hee - I haven't done it yet, just using it as an excuse in case I need it!).

3. My favourite color (my kids ask me this all the time)....well, it's really hard for me to choose. I love color period. I can find an excuse to love most ANY color. If I'm wearing a color I like warmer bolder colors because I'm blonde and fair. I love lime green to wear probably best of all.

4. Speaking of hair...I'm still a natural Blonde (and I mean that in the best possible way :))...I've never colored my hair ever...and I'm almost 40! Sometimes I am *blonde* though through and through.... I'm always asking my husband...*have you seen _____* *can you help me find _______*. He smiles knowingly and helps me see what's right under my nose usually :)

5. I'm extremely afraid of heights. This seems to be getting worse as I get older. When we were in Disneyland as a family for the first time, we went up on the Sun Wheel at California Adventure (it's a big Ferris Wheel over a lagoon...extremely high up). Our then 18 month old son started to throw a temper tantrum while inside the enclosed car we were in ...at the top of the Sun Wheel...he was crying and trying to GET OUT!!!! of the car and banging on the door....and I began to have a panic attack. I was terrified he'd fall out, I was terrified to be up there myself. Not my most shining moment as a mommy.

6. When I was 21 I moved from Canada to South Dakota to take my Master's Degree in Counselling at a Seminary there. I was one of the youngest students in my program, and those years were some of the best of my life. I learned so much, I grew so much, I had some amazing people invest in me and believe in me, I re-met my husband, found my calling and career and calling, got married and stayed there for 8 years. If I had to move somewhere....I'd choose to move back there.

7. I'm a super light sleeper. This has not been FUN as a wife or mom. But, one of the best investments we ever made was 12 years into our marriage....a King Sized bed, not just any mattress either, but one of those individual coil ones where you don't feel the motion of the other person in bed. My husband is like 10 inches taller than me and close to 100 lbs heavier....this bed is a wonder! I sleep a lot better now :)

Alright, I'm supposed to tag 7 other random bloggers, but I know that people often don't have time for this....so I'll just direct you to 7 of my favourite bloggers, how's that?

(besides my DD buddies listed to the right).

Sharon at notimeto stamp, Debbie at Thinking Inking, Kristina Werner, Amy at Pickled Paper Designs, Mary Jo Albright at Beauty Lies Within, and our two newest DD girls: my neighbour down the street Dawn Easton at Treasure Oiler Designz, and the color challenge wonder woman herself Emily at Stamping and Stuff go over and visit, it will be worth your time!

I HOPE to be back later to day with your Toonie Tuesday!

Wonderful Boho Cake

Saturday's Inspiration challenge over at Splitcoast has some wonderful fondant cakes to inspire us. So when we came home tonight and I saw the challenge was up an idea popped in my head and ...well, then I just have to stamp!

Here's the inspiration picture I chose (the one on the left): Isn't it pretty??

What I loved were the colors, circles, ribbon and buttons. And then Boho Backgrounds popped into my head, and I love how that set looks embossed, and then the colors of Berry Bliss DSP popped into my head...and a card was born.

I embossed all the medallion shapes on the cardstock or patterned paper with VersaMark and clear Embossing powder. Each circle was cut out with the 1 1/4 inch circle punch and the pink circles were sponged.

I so rarely use buttons that I chose these pretty pink ones and pink taffeta ribbon, the buttons are more centered than they look. The sentiment medallion was done twice, the bottom half added over top (left over from some of the main *cake* cutouts and a little sponging and coloring with a SW Marker to give it some zing. Here's a closer picture of the embossing:

Recipe

Stamps: Boho Backgrounds

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Berry Bliss DSP

Ink: VersaMark, Pretty in Pink

Accessories: SW Marker, Circle Punch, Embossing Powder, Sponge, Soft Subtles Brads, Buttons, Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

Busy week ahead. Lots of deadlines for me. The DD gallery opens next week Tuesday...and you won't be disappointed there are some fab creations this month for Fan Club members to feast their eyes on! And some great surprises at SCS next week....(not any more of a peep out of me!). We're also polishing off the last bits on our Sermon tomorrow. Yep that's right we're preaching at our church this Sunday. My husband and I are blessed to serve together as Student Minstries Pastor's working with JH through College age students. But as a part of being on our Pastoral team, we all take turns preaching in the larger church setting a couple of times a year. This Sunday is one of our Sunday's (we get to preach together which is really a great privelage) and here's our sermon title *Joseph- Character doesn't come in Microwaveable Packages* ...how's that for a youth pastor sermon title?!

So, I'll hopefully be back next week with some more fun things for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Toonie Tuesday

Ahhh, Tuesday's are a great day. It's our day off and my husband took the kids to swimming lessons this morning. What was I thinking? Putting them in swimming lessons at 9 am for the first 2 weeks of vacation ?!? No sleeping-in in this house! I'm so glad that he took them this morning to give me a little breathing space. And it's been a gorgeous clear quiet morning so far.

Carole (TruCarMa) was our guest hostess over at Splitcoast this morning for the color challenge today. Groovy Guava, Barely Banana and Chocolate Chip. So here are my two samples for your Toonie Tuesday.

Sample One: Stampin' Up! Fresh Cuts

This pretty card uses the new preview set for the fall Fresh Cuts, it has such interesting and pretty images in it. I stamped the image 3 times in Barely Banana, Groovy Guava and in Brown Stazon...this way I could cut parts of it out and add color to the main image and also color in the flowers with SW Markers without the ink running. Sections are popped up. I added rounded corners on two sides to create a less boxy feel.

The sentiment is also trimmed out of the Barely Banana stamped image and then the sentiment is added in Chocolate.

Retired Flirty ribbon has that same ruffly feel, and a few flowers cute out and brads for accent.

Recipe

Stamps: Fresh Cuts

Ink: Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Brown Stazon, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Groovy Guava DSP, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Barely Banana

Accessories: Corner Rounder, Aged Copper Brads, Flirty Ribbon, Dimensionals

Sample Two - Inque Boutique

I LOVE this set by Inque Boutique. It's called Flutter By, Butterfly, and has some gorgeous images in it. These flowers and butterflies are stamped on watercolor paper and colored with reinkers and SW Markers. I love the definition you can get by coloring in this way. I cut the image out with my colluzle cutter leaving the butterfly outside of the box. The smaller butterfly is popped up on a dimensional.

Because the image is so vivid I kept the basic card simple. Just stamping the barely banana layer with on of the sentiments from the set which reads "Just living is not enough said the butterfly, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower". I think that's so suited to summer! Then I sponged the edges with barely banana, groovy guava and a little chocolate chip.

Because the butterflys and flowers are so pretty I added a little Dazzling Diamonds.

No sentiment, I tried to work one in, but I think I want to keep it as an all occasion card and let the images shine.

Recipe:

Stamps: Inque Boutique - Flutter By, Butterfly

Ink: Brown Stazon, Groovy Guava, Barely Banana, Chocolate Chip

Paper: Groovy Guava DSP, Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Piercer, Wide Satin Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, 2 Way Glue pen, Dimensionals, SW Markers, Aqua Painter, Sponge

Featured Stamper

This is for Sunday's Featured Stamper Challenge over at Splitcoast...I LOVE the featured stamper challenge, yet very rarely can play because Sunday's are very full days for us with church ..but Beth posted the challenge early...and I really love Teneale's style so I made a quick card - not difficult when you have a great starting point!

This is based on Teneale's card here: Sweet Motifs I'm crazy about Baroque Motifs again. I kept the basic design, but changed the color palette (I'm getting ALL the use out of this years In Colors I can!), added Zig Painty rather than shadow stamping, and also added extra ribbon and a pearl to the ribbon treatment. Flowers are popped up...simple but so classy don't you think?

Recipe:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Define Your Life
Ink: Basic Gray, Basic Black, White Craft, Purely Pomegranate
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White
Accessories: 1/2 Pearls, Wide Satin Ribbon, Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals, Zig Painty

Tangy Enamels

Here is my submission for today's Inspiration Challenge I found this great pattern of enamel dishware on Mackintosh Enamels and thought I would try and recreate it.

This is a time consuming card, but not difficult. I began by sponging some Rose Red ink on the Always Apricot layer, then clear embossing some of the fruits on that Always Apricot layer. Then you just take your time adding color by sponging and brayering, stamping the fruits again in Pumpkin Pie Craft and embossing ..stamping the cherries in Rose Red dye ink and then finally some last sponging in Rose Red to give the same variation in color as the inspiration piece.

The vellum layer is stamped with Craft Ink and clear embossed and the sponged over with color. I made a *window frame* for my vellum by cutting it just 1/4 inch larger than the vellum and then using my square punch to trim out the inside frame, then a little scissor work to get the rounded edge.

The sentiment section is done by using the 1 3/8 inch circle punch on a Rose Red Scrap, then using the scallop punch to make a *scalloped frame*, the sentiment is just stamped and punched with a 1 inch circle punch. The ribbon is colored with an Always Apricot SW Marker to make it a match for the color pallette.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Recipe:

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, Lovely Labels

Paper: Rose Red, Always Apricot, Cardstock Vellum

Ink: Rose Red, Always Apricot, Pumpkin Pie, (dye and craft)

Accessories: Pumpkin Striped Grosgrain, SW Markers, Clear EP, Scallop Punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 inch circle punch, piercer, dimensionals, EE brads

Toonie Tuesday - Canada Day!

Hi All! And Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians - we're a dual citizen household with my husband being American and one of our kids being born in the US two in Canada...now they're all dualies which is great because we can celebrate LOTS of holidays twice ;)

Sample One: Beauty Flourishing

Here is my Toonie Tuesday pair of cards for today...they are both for the color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers...the colors for today are: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate and Black (optional).

This first card is with stamps from Inque Boutique a set called Nightingale...one I've had for a while but hadn't inked yet. I wanted to show you how you can get a similar look to a card with entirely different sets - and for you SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) people you get a feel for the fact that you can recreate many cards from other companies stamps with what you already have.

This card uses multiple offset layers, piercing, pretty ribbon, and brads as accent. Plus the cut out Nightingale - with Crystal Effects and a little Dazzling Diamonds as almost a *sub-focal point*. I handwrote the sentiment with a black SW Marker and tried to recreate that flourishy feel from the stamps.

Recipe:

Stamps: Inque Boutique - Nightingale

Ink: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegrante, Certainly Celery

Paper: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Accessories: Dimensionals (my best friend), piercer, black brads, Pomegranate Satin Ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Photo Corner Punch

Sample Two: SUO Cherish Kindness

Have you ever had one of those weeks where insensitive or unthinking words were spoken - not intentionally, just without thought...never feels great and it really leaves a bad aftertaste!

I really want to be a person that cherishes kindness - speaks it and appreciates it. So here's my SUO sample of a similar style card with only Stampin' Up! Sets...and is all about cherishing kindness.

The layout has some similarities you can see...offset layers, flourishy feeling stamps, rich colors. The Pomegrante layer on the main card is stamped with the flourish, the Certainly Celery DP is stamped with the sentiment and small flower and layering, scalloping and piercing is added to give it a classy and elegant feel. The main flourished panel has stamped cut out flowers anchored with black brads and then the square shaped medallion is cut out and used as a leaf! (cute hey?).

You'll notice the ribbon effect, it's easy - layering the ribbons, cutting the middle ribbon with nice precision and adding a *faux bow*. Gives it a classy feel I think!

The square medallion is added to give you a large/small shape contrast -and another *sub-focal* point. Love this set and I love that it's sticking around!

Thanks for stopping by today, for leaving a comment, I appreciate getting to know you!

Recipe

Stamps: Baroque Motifs

Ink: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate

Paper: Basic Black, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White

Accessories: Black Brads, Pomegranate DS Ribbon, Dimensionals, Piercer, Corner Rounder