Apple of My Eye

Today I am preparing for Fall! A friend, God love her sweetness, is hosting a women's bus trip to Brown County, Indiana for the Lady Shriners. Debbie herself is Indiana's First Shriner Lady, a divine appointment by virtue of being married to the Grand Poopaa (Potentate, for real). If you've never seen Brown County in the Fall ... well, you are missing some of God's best leaves, shopping, and food! Think "Shipshewana" times 10! Today's notebook project, and many more to come, will be included in their gift bags.
If you know Mish's fabulous blog, you know she's queen of notebook covers! They are SO fun to make. The apple basket is from Gina K's Whimsical Autumn stamp set, colored with copics and cut with a regular square Spellbinders Die. The sentiment was curved on a glass block before stamping onto old olive cardstock, the background is stamped with PTI polka dot basics (an absolute stash staple - just get it)!

A neat trick: BEFORE I removed the stamped apple basket out of my die, I used a Martha Stewart fine tip brown marker to outline my image. A nice and easy touch, that really sets its off. (see below) In keeping with the polka dot theme, I used a white Inkessentials pen to dot my punched embellishment before topping off with a shiny red button. Mass producing is my most-best-favoritest way to create! Gives "satisfaction for my soul" and makes me feel extra productive! My notebooks came from Walmart, and any office supply store will cut them in half for you. Ready, set, create!

I cover my notebooks using a 1/4" score line for the fold, but there is some variation between notebook brands so best to measure! The back cover is all one piece, which is attached separately after the scored, folded, cover has been adhered with the red sticky never come off adhesive tape. But I used regular adhesive for everything else. Stretch your cardstock and your adhesive = stretch your dollars = go online and shop!

Now we have a cute little shopping list notebook, with a matching inside! Paper is from K&Company, delicious paper I might add! (from Michaels) 5 down. 45 more to go!

I hope you have a chance to create this weekend! For me, the last month has been filled with Kevin's knee surgery, Kevin's brother's massive stroke (still not responding), Fall conference season at the law firm, state certification process in our family-owned business, and ... yes, I'm still smiling! Learning to turn chaos into calm! Praise Dee Lord!

Serving Up!

My good blogarooni friend Lori inspired me to post these pics using the SU chef set! This chubby chef can serve up just about anything! These are just two things he's served up lately!

One is a birthday card, serving up a cake which comes with the SU set. The other card is a graduation card, serving up a diploma from the $1 bin at Michaels. Both chubby chefs sport some happening bloomers thanks to paper piercing! Then I copic colored their jackets and embellished the buttons with brads. I used a sponge dauber to highlight with antique linen ink to add some depth. I thought chubby chef needed to be walking on a wooden floor, so I lightly inked the edge of an acrylic block and made "floor slats" to ground the big guy! Overall, these cards were just crazy fun to make! Thanks for the inspiration Lori!

Somebunny Loves You

I pulled out the cutest little bunny stamp from my stash! It's an old set from The Angel Company (TAC), but I can't bring myself to let loose of it because of the cuteness factor. This little guy has a girlfriend too! Maybe I'll get something made with her too.

The new Spellbinders Labels 4 die is to die for! This card shows the largest nestie, so imagine how darling the tiny one is! I glittered my own embellishments with a glue stamp pad and Martha Stewart's AquaMist glitter, and tied the buttons with Martha Stewart's new spring colored twine - both products rock!

The stamped images are colored with copics. Base cardstock is Kraft, and the polka dots are stamped with PaperTrey's Polka Dot Basics. Hope you have a Blessed Easter!

Bloomin' With Love

I have Spring on my mind! As in ... planting flowers! But for now, I'll have to do it on paper and wait for warmer temps. Becky at Inking Idaho inspired me to do these springy cards.

There are SO many cute stamps in this set - SU Bloomin' With Love! The wheel barrel is stamped twice - once on white cardstock and once on designer paper and cut out. I masked the wheel barrel and flower pots when stamping - what a cool technique!

Kraft cardstock is a great compliment to Parisian Breeze DP! I simply flipped the 2-sided DP for this card, showing the blue polka side instead of the brown floral side shown above. It is noteworthy that Parisian Breeze is a speciality DP which is heavy weight cardstock! Nice!

Stamped images are cut and framed with Spellbinders Rectangle Die, and I added a cute photo corner from SU punches. This is one of my go-to punches - I find that photo corners can really pop on a finished card!

Images are colored with copics, and then I used a stipple brush while it was still in the Spellbinders Die to get a nice background. Notice the wheel treatment? A jumbo eyelet with a crystal brad inside!

Here's the inside card treatment ... a matching strip of Parisian Breeze DP with the sentiment. And another little flower for good measure!

Close up of inside sentiment and matching envelope. I DO hope your day is blooming with love!

Pottery Garden

How about one of my finds from the Heirloom Rubber Stamp Show that I attended yesterday? After hours of strolling the booths {and spending money!}, my girlfriends and I stopped for a quick bite to eat ... and then I came home ready to CREATE! The message was clear to Kevin when I said "I'm going upstairs to change into my stamping clothes!" Here's what I made:

These are 5x7 sheets of stationery --- in other words it is not a card that opens up. The message is intended to be written on the front, short and sweet! This is a 5-piece stamp set made by a most fascinating company, Rubber Stamp Tapestry. They had so many beautiful sets it was hard to choose just one! I know that I am going to use this set over and over again.

Here is a close up of my first notecard. I used my long rectangle nesties to frame the stamped Pottery Garden, and added a nice sentiment at the bottom separated by a thin piece of cardstock. Note the flower clusters on both sides of the sentiment? You can do so much with this stamp set!

Here is a close up of my second notecard. This time, I cut my card a bit smaller so the oval nestie could be adhered as a card-topper (hangs off the edge of the card). I then created a custom 1" strip of stamped DP using the Pottery Garden stamps and adhered it across the bottom. I really like this look!

I stamped the Pottery Garden directly onto the top of my third notecard, separated by a thin strip of DP, rounded the top edges only, and added a sweet sentiment at the bottom. I did a lot of aging with a stipple brush, because I think it lends itself well to the Pottery Garden. Since these stamps are so unique, I prepared a step-by-step tutorial to demonstrate. Here we go!

To start, I stamped a row of pots in Chocolate Chip on watercolor paper, but any good quality cardstock will do. This is one stamp - five pots, but you could easily mask your stamp if you did not want all five pots.

All of the flower and leaves stamps in this set are mounted on a wood pencil. How cool is that? To build my flowers, I first stamped the itsy bitsy pinwheel flower in Perfect Plum. Stamp 2 or 3 times to get a lighter color with the second impressions.

Next, stamp itsy petal flower in Night of Navy, stamping in clusters. The pencil stamps are so quick and easy!

Next, I stamped the itsy accent leaf in Mellow Moss. The stamp company provides a placement line on the pencil stamp indicating the direction of the leaf, so it is very easy to position the image however you want your leaves to fall.

Finally, I stamped the Tiny Evergreen Branch in Always Artichoke. This is a good filler branch and really makes your image take shape! At this point, if you feel you need more flowers, you can add more color -- or not! It's up to you.

I then used two copic markers that added so much! I added a little bit of color to the pots (Y26-Mustard) and shaded the bottom of the pots with W1-Warm Gray, which added depth so the pots don't look like they are floating in air.

After centering and cutting my stamped image with a nestie, I left it in the nestie and stippled it. {this is where I would use an airbrush system if Santa ever brought one to me!} But the stipple brush trick is easy and I encourage you to try it! Nesties lend themselves so well to stenciling! On this particular stamped image, I stippled the top half with Soft Sky and the bottom half with River Rock. You can scroll back up to the finished cards to see the effect - so pretty!

I hope you enjoyed the Pottery Garden as much as I did! What a beautiful bang for your buck, in my opinion!

Valentines - Bling it on!

Disclaimer: These cards are ridiculously fun! And busy. And did I mention fun? You know Picasso is at work when there is only one square inch of dining room table that does not have something covering it! It all started innocently enough ... my Unity Kit of the Month arrived and then I made a spontaneous combustion stop at Archivers with my mom. Let's dish, shall we?

Ridiculously Fun Card #1 front view. DP is from the Basic Gray/Urban Prairie collection. I could not resist this paper any more than I could ever resist a cream-filled twinkie! It is hip, fresh, and full of life. Get thee to Archivers and indulge yourself! The stamped flower and sentiment are both from Art Warehouse/My Heart Flowers {limited edition}, colored with copics - doesn't it match the DP to a tee! Ridiculously Fun Card #1 inside view. You've heard me say this a million times, and here is a million and one -- if you care enough to send the very best {and I bet you do}, then match the inside and envelope to your card! The recipient will think you went the extra mile for them ... and you did!

Ridiculously Fun Card #2 front view. The stamped heart explosion is from Unity KOM -- my mailbox does the happy dance when the monthly box arrives! Again, image is colored with copics and cut/embossed with Spellbinders Nestabilities. Okay, I HAVE to figure out a storage system for my Nesties ... I digress, but it's on the to-do list! Sentiment is from Stampendous Clear/Love Messages.

Ridiculously Fun Card #2 inside view. This shows you a great view of the heart explosion. If you are new to copic markers, don't forget to outline your copic-colored images with W1 {warm gray} for depth. SO much bang for your buck!

Ridiculously Fun Card #3 front view. Go ahead, ask me how I cut the black scallop mat around the stamped flower image ... notta, uh uh, no way, did not do ... it's part of the stamp! Unity KOM again! Now I admit, this one wins the busy prize but shouldn't Valentines Day be a little giddy? Besides ... I HAD to use the bling flower accents since they were my one free Hot Spot item from Archivers!

Ridiculously Fun Card #3 inside view. Speaking of hot ... wouldn't this be a fabo card to send to my 86 year old mom who makes cards and loves shopping at Archivers with me? She would trot off to the activity center at her Independent Senior Community and announce to the world she is hot! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, kids. Have a beautiful day!

Gold Shimmer Sends Me

Gold shimmer card stock just sends me! I like color, but there is just something about gold shimmer card stock that simply sends me to the moon. Almost any stamped image looks good on gold or silver shimmer. Embossed images shine even brighter. That's why I'm ordering a bunch of it for Christmas card making. I challenge you to make a gold or silver Christmas card that doesn't trip your trigger like no other! {Let me know if you do, so we can dish over gold and silver cardstock!}

Tonight's card is another Crafty Secrets Victorian Christmas image. This baby doll was fun to color with copics and, yes, I finally received my Spellbinders Labels 1 die! Happiness! Wanna know sompthin tricksy? When cutting/embossing my stamped image with the new Spellbinders Label die, I was off center a bit. Plan B --- add flourish stamps that are included in the Crafty Secrets set, all available at Papertrix. Good mistake, huh!

Snowbunny Bella for Thinking Inking's B-day

Debbie Olson, over at Thinking Inking is having a birthday today! And this is my virtual "gift" to her for inspiring me to purchase my first Bella! You can see Debbie's Snowbunny Bella here, which sent me and my plastic to the Bella Store! I want to wish Debbie a very Happy Birthday and thank her for graciously sharing her time and talents.

I made my Snowbunny Bella to share with my Atlanta card swap group, and I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the little cutie! I used my Scor-Pal to emboss a frame around the stamped and copic-colored Bella, with Soft Sky cardstock as a mat. Debbie often uses her copic airbrush system to highlight her stamped images {which is something that is on my wish list} so I was able to get a similar effect by masking Bella and using a sponge dauber to highlight with Soft Sky ink. And I love the fur effect on Bella by using liquide applique. See how creative juices flow when you read Debbie's blog word-for-word? Try it! And wish her a happy birthday today!

Father Time

I'm chipping away at Christmas cards. This is one I designed for Papertrix, a wonderful rubber stamp store located in Nashville, Indiana. This simple card would be easy to mass produce, yet it packs an elegant punch. First, I punched the card corners with an EK success elegant corner punch, and THEN I embossed with the Textile CB folder. {Let me emphasize the hint here - punch corners first and then emboss to avoid a jam in your corner punch, she said with authority!) I then added red cardstock as a background to add highlight to the corners, along with pearls. Father Time is stamped, then cut and embossed with spellbinders oval dies.

This beautiful garland is included in this Crafty Secrets stamp set, available at Papertrix. I used it to accent both the envelope and card-inside, using copics for coloring. I mean, after all, since the card was a 1-2-3 snap to do, why not go the extra mile for the receiver? When you care to send the very best .... you do!

Stamp Simply Quilts (ssnotime54)

This weeks stamp simply challenge is 2bKrafty with Janine. Visit Janine's blog to see her style of rich, vivid colors that pop on large focal images. My new Quilters Sampler set from PaperTrey Ink had just arrived in the mail this past week, so it needed ink!

A friend of ours is getting married this weekend, and this set has a really nice sentiment for that. {Note - there is a companion set of additional Quilters Sampler Sentiments also available at PaperTrey Ink. Yep, it's on my wish list!} The marriage sentiment is actually stamped on the inside of the card, below the layers of Martha Stewart Scallop Edged Punch.

This picture gives you a better viewpoint - to give you an idea of what on earth I am talking about! I placed the individual clear stamp quilt blocks on a glass block with grids to get an evenly placed image. Copics used were BG10, BG13, BG72, G21, Y21. We'll put a gift certificate inside and wa-la -- instant wedding gift!
I love the colors in this card! The DP is from K & Company and the copics used were RV11, RV14, R81, E31, Y28. Won't this be a colorful card to receive in the mail if you are under the weather? {Let me know if you get ickie sickie.}

These dark, rich colors really exemplify Janine's style best, but I found it challenging! By adding a chain scallop punch on one side (Paper Studio), and a strip of DP on the other side (Angel Co), I was finally satisfied. The saying is oh so adorable (much easier to read in real life): Birthday's are like quilts stitched together one year at a time. Copics used were V09, V15, E04, YG03.

Yawn ... Wanna know a secret? I took a 2 hour nap in between making these cards today! Under a quilt!

Apples for Alzheimers

Camie King recently released her newest stamp set through Gina K. Designs called Whimsical Autumn, which benefits the Alzheimer's Association (you probably already knew that unless you've been living under a rock :) I knew that I wanted to get involved because, as many of you know, we recently moved Kevin's sister to a nearby assisted living facility because of her Alzheimer's. I wish we had time for me to tell you story after heart-breaking story about caring for Jane, but many of you already know the pain. So all I would say is, if you are reading this and you are a stamper, please please please visit these links and support this worthy cause. And all the people said Amen!

Okey dokey then - it gets even better. Camie has coordinated a ginormous blog candy give-away for anyone who will make a card and send it to a caregiver (details on Cammie's Blog). Prepare for a jaw-drop when you see all the beautiful donations. My fav's are:

COMPANIES:
1. Papertrey Ink (your choice of 3 stamp sets)
2. Flourishes (Mixed Greeting stamp set)
3. Polka Dot Plaza (Nestabilities and $20 gift certificate)

INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS:
1. Susan Roberts (Rainy)
2. Denise Marzee (Peanutbee)
3. Beate Johns (Beate)

But there is so much more! Christmas is coming early this year, folks! Click here for a visit to Santa!

I am sending card #1 to Jane's nurses aids who help with her daily meds. I used CB swiss dots, and two scallop edge punches (Martha Stewart Scallop and Fiskars threading water). I'm "crazy for copics" and the apple basket in Whimsical Autumn is perfect for coloring! Love the double ribbon treatment too!

I am sending card #2 to the dear sweet adorable lovely lady who lives across the street from Jane -- my mother. She tirelessly calls Jane for breakfast, exercise class, runs errands to the grocery, gathers up the neighborhood girls to help look after Jane, and rescues her each time Jane loses her house key --- pretty darn good for an 85 year old! God bless her. Love her guts!

I am giving card #3 to ....... JANE! Yes, she has Alzheimer's. Yes, she cannot remember details. Yes, she loses everything. But one thing she does - and does very well - is write notes to people. She believes letter-writing is a lost art, and she does her part to fix that by sending many cards and letters to family & friends. What better way for me to "share the love" in this Alzheimer's Outreach than to include JANE herself?!

Peoples of the craft world -- go hug an Alzheimer's patient today. Or hug a friend or family member of an Alzheimer's patient. Or hug your boss and tell him/her about this effort. But no matter what -- just smile when you do it! :)

Quote For Today: You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.