Category: Card Ideas

May 18, 2013

An Armed Forces Thank You!

Today is Armed Forces Day. I don’t know if any of you have friends or family members who have or currently are serving in any of the branches of our military, but I do. I wanted to create a thank you card in My Digital Studio to honor them.

The photo I used is from the Department of Defense website. The site also has a nice history of Armed Forces Day.

I created a custom card size in MDS: 4.25″ by 6.25″. Since I don’t plan to print this card out, I used a slightly larger size. My background is designer series paper: Stripes in Night of Navy. I reduced the opacity to 50% so that my other elements would stand out more. Colors I used were very basic: Night of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White and Basic Black. The larger stars are recolored punches. The smaller star clusters are from the digital stamp set ‘Extreme Elements‘, again recolored. The sentiment is from ‘Thank You Kindly‘. I allowed some of the stars to be above and below the armed forces image for interest. This is easily done by bringing forward or sending backward the stamped, punched or photo elements. Here’s a quick video from My Digital Studio explaining how to layer elements.

Try My Digital Studio FREE for 30 days! Then, be sure to order it–it’s fun to use and I’ve just begun to explore its features!

May 6, 2013

Thank You, Nurses

Happy Nurses Day! There are two special nurses in my life. The card below uses some retiring Stampin’ Up! supplies and is a virtual “thank you” for their work!

First, my Mom. She retired from nursing a few years ago after a 40+ year career. When I was little, she was a pediatric nurse. As I grew, her jobs changed as her interests and circumstances changed. At all times, I was proud of the work that she did! As many daughters do, I thought I might become a nurse myself.

My Mom, the nurse, taught me that shots DO hurt, but just for a minute. My Mom, the nurse, taught me that working hard at a job you love is a way to stay healthy. My Mom, the nurse, taught me that lime jello makes the pain of getting your braces adjusted subside for just a while.

Second, Nurse Ann. I met Nurse Ann a little over 14 years ago. I had had my baby girl a day earlier and she was fussy. I hadn’t experienced her being fussy yet, and I was working hard to try to soothe her. At the same time, some of my husband’s extended family were visiting us in the hospital and my husband was on the phone with the woman who would be our daughter’s Godmother. In short, it was NOT quiet or relaxing in our room.

As my daughter continued to fuss, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Finally, I pressed the call button for help. Nurse Ann appeared. There are two things I remember about Nurse Ann: she had beautifully manicured red fingernails, and she rescued me! To the family members who were suggesting that what my daughter needed was macaroni (because she must be hungry!) she shushed them and stated “I’m Italian so you can’t push me around–the baby is too young to have macaroni! ” She then told my hubby–who was used to this much family chaos–to “get off the phone and help your wife!” Oh. My Goodness! Nurse Ann! My heroine!

After she shooed everyone out, we took a good look at my sweet baby girl. Oops, she was just a little gassy! Whew! The rest of the evening was blessedly peaceful. I never saw Nurse Ann again but I’ve never forgotten her! I wish I’d had the opportunity to say a proper thank you and let her know just how relieved she made a brand new Mother feel!

I guess my point is…thank your lucky stars for good nurses. Nursing isn’t just a career. It’s a calling. Today, they are even busier and have much more technology to learn, but even with that, their most important skill is the one in which they make YOU feel better. When you are at your worst, it is then that nurses are at their best! Say thank you to a nurse you know today during National Nurses Day!

Here’s what I used to make this thank you card:

Pretty Postage stamp set (w123095, c123097)–RETIRING–get it now!
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Daffodil Delight (119683) and Baja Breeze (111352)–RETIRING–get it now!
Ink: Baja Breeze (126960)–RETIRING–get it now!
Designer Buttons Brights (119747)–RETIRING–get it now!
1″ Square Punch (124094)
Postage Stamp Punch (122344)
Scallop Trim Border Punch (119402)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)
Glue Dots (103683)

Don’t forget to order your retiring supplies SOON! Some items are in very low supply. Your best bet is to order straight through my online store so you don’t have to wait for me to place your order! You can order here:

May 2, 2013

Tea Shoppe Mother’s Day Card

It’s not too soon to make a card for your Mom! I love the Tea Shoppe stamp set from Stampin’ Up! and it makes a terrific card for Mom. My Mom and I used to fantasize about opening a bookstore with a tea shop, or was it a tea shop with a bookstore? It was a while ago! Although we’re both coffee fans, we’ve enjoyed many a pot of tea! Here’s a card I made with my Mom and this memory in mind (oops! It’s not a surprise for anymore–sorry, Mom!).

My favorite thing to do with the largest stamp in this set, is to cut along the top edge and insert a tea bag with the card. If you’re going to do that, you’ll need to use at least 2 layers of Stampin’ Dimensionals, perhaps 3, depending on how thick your tea bag is. The layers of Dimensionals will prevent your image from bowing. I stamped my image on Whisper White card stock in Wisteria Wonder–woohoo, it’s being carried over into the 2013-2014 catalog! Here’s a tip: insert your teabag from the back and get it situated before you adhere it. You’ll risk tearing the image if you try to stuff it in after. Ask me how I know…

I laid my largest Apothecary Accents Framelit centered over the image and ran it through my Big Shot. I ran the framelit again on So Saffron card stock to make my mat. You can see how I used them in this video. I did the same with my sentiment–which is from the retiring set: Friendly Phrases–but trimmed the So Saffron mat so that I could place it under the top and bottom instead of left and right, as I did for the teacup!

The Wisteria Wonder card stock background was created using the Fancy Fan Folder and my Big Shot. (How did I ever live without my Big Shot???). The whole thing is mounted onto a piece of Midnight Muse card stock! I added a few of the small pearls to the flower centers on the teacup. What do you think? Would you like to receive a card like this? How about making one? What will you do to make your Mom’s day special? I’d love to hear your plans!

Here’s what I used:
Tea Shoppe Stamp Set (w125545, c155547)
Friendly Phrases Stamp Set (w126149, c126151)
Wisteria Wonder Ink (126985)
Wisteria Wonder Card Stock (122922)
Whisper White Card Stock (100730)
So Saffron Card Stock (105118)
Midnight Muse Card Stock (126843)
Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439)
Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003)
Fancy Fan Folder (127751)
Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)

April 30, 2013

Color Challenge

Let’s do a color challenge! In honor of Certainly Celery’s retirement, let’s do a Certainly Celery, or a green, challenge! (Lucky Limeade is retiring too! I’d love to see your cards made with it!)

I created a card this weekend featuring Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke and Whisper White!

Even though Always Artichoke isn’t a retiring color, the 1/2″ Seam Binding Ribbon in this color is. I think the Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke go well together! I also loved using the new Naturals Designer Buttons to dress up this masculine card!

Countryside, the set that contains this great old truck, is retiring. Kind of a bummer, because this set was great for watercoloring, too! If you like the old farmhouse, country look, this is the set for you!

I used another set that is retiring: Wordplay. This has great sentiments and I used “Remember When” for this card!

I have used every one of these sentiments at some point. It’s so versatile! Get it in Wood or Clear Mount! You won’t regret it!

You can get these supplies in my online store!

Supplies I used:
RETIRING Countryside stamp set (w116998, c120495)
RETIRING Wordplay stamp set (w120308, c120651)
Always Artichoke Ink (126972)
RETIRING Certainly Celery card stock (105125)
Whisper White card stock (100730)
RETIRING Always Artichoke 1/2″ Seam Binding Ribbon (121000)
Naturals Designer Buttons (127554)
Glue Dots (103683)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)

April 22, 2013

Happy Mother Earth Day!

To celebrate Earth Day today, I’ve recycled a card design! The original card was designed by my Stampin’ Up! friend Linda Cullen and I decided to use the same design with new colors and stamps!

I love the sponging and torn edge of this card, but that floral stamp set is retired…

Instead I used the Secret Garden stamp set.

You can see I copied the card pretty exactly. My colors were: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight and Very Vanilla. It seems corny, but I chose these colors because blue represents water and yellow, the sun. Sun and water mixed with Mother Earth creates a beautiful planet for us to inhabit. I still remember cleaning up our neighborhood in the early days of Earth Day!

I switched out the sentiment because I wanted to use the Elegant Butterfly punch and wanted to be able to see it beneath the sentiment. Beside, these are great colors and this would be a great Mother’s Day card! I used First Edition DSP and tore the edge and sponged with Marina Mist. Then I stamped the largest outline flower from Secret Garden in Stazon ink. Using a sponge, I applied Daffodil Delight ink over the flowers. A rhinestone center adds a bit of sparkle!

The stamped image was layered onto a piece of Marina Mist Polka Dot Parade DSP. A length of Daffodil Delight Seam Binding was adhered to the card front before being decorated with the sentiment. This whole piece was mounted with Stampin’ Dimensionals onto Marina Mist card stock.

Why don’t you find an old card and recycle the design? I’d love to see your results! Leave me a comment and a link to your card so I can give you some comment love!

April 17, 2013

A Great Mother’s Day Gift

I’m in love with the newest card kit offered by Stampin’ Up! The Dolled-Up Birthday Kit is so pretty and feminine!

This would be a great gift to get for your favorite Mom for Mother’s Day. She can make her own birthday cards or buy it yourself and make the cards for her. Better yet, buy two and make cards together! If you have other stamps you could change the greeting out easily! The only thing you don’t get with this kit is the Adhesive. Order a SNAIL or box of Glue Dots with the kit and you’re good to go!

Here’s what’s in the kit and the VERY simple directions:
Kit includes:
Dolled Up Birthday Photopolymer Stamp (1)
8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ Crumb Cake Cardstock (6 pieces)
2″ x 4-1/4″ Very Vanilla Cardstock (6 pieces)
Very Vanilla Medium Envelopes (6)
Tea Lace Paper Doilies (6)
Dress Up die-cuts (6)
Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Spot (1)
Vanilla 5/8″ Flower Trim (6 pieces)
Sponge Dauber (1)

*Adhesive not included

To assemble one card, follow these simple instructions:
1. Place the stamp rubber side up and ink with the Soft Suede Classic Stampin’ Spot.
2. Stamp “Happy Birthday” at the bottom of the card front.
3. Ink the Sponge Dauber with Soft Suede ink and gently antique the doily and the edges of the dress form.
4. Adhere the pieces to the card front in this order:
1. Doily
2. Very Vanilla Cardstock
3. Dress form
4. Flower

Fun, no? You can order this kit in my online store!

Dolled-Up Birthday Kit
SNAIL
Glue Dots

April 15, 2013

A Banner of a Birthday!

I finally took some time to play with the new Designer Type Photopolymer Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up! I love the banner stamp the best about this set! I decided that I wanted to create a card with the banner and designer series paper. Here’s what resulted:

The design is simple and the execution is easy. To get the different colored banners I stamped one or two banners onto a variety of patterns on the Tea for Two Designer Series Paper from the Spring Catalog. I then trimmed the triangles out just inside the stamped line and adhered them to the stamped banner on my card. I stamped my sentiment, which is from Word Play, at the bottom of the card. I stamped it again onto some scrap card stock in Island Indigo, a color that coordinates with the DSP, and trimmed the “direction” arrow. I added that over the stamped image using a Stampin’ Dimensional. Oops! Before I added the arrow, I used the butterfly from the Occasions Paper-Piercing Pack to create interest and symbolism on the card. I enjoy paper piercing and this was a quick and easy image to pierce!

Even though my banners are straight, I could have easily curved them because the photopolymer is super flexible! Here’s a snippet of a layout where I curved the banner.

Look! It’s a sun!!!

Stampin’ Up! has released a new photopolymer stamp set: Bombs Away Birthday Stamp Set. It’s full of snarky and clever sentiments! I can’t wait to get it!

I’ll share some projects made with these later!

You can get both of these stamps sets in my online store!

April 9, 2013

Elements of Style Sympathy Card

The card I have today can be adapted to any occasion very easily! Stampin’ Up!’s Elements of Style stamp set is so feminine and lends itself to many emotional situations from sympathy like this card to congratulations!

I used the Print Poetry Designer Series Paper stack and Midnight Muse Ink. I think Midnight Muse might be my favorite blue right now. It’s sooooo rich and the perfect shade of dark blue! Put it with Whisper White and you have a crisp color combination. I love the roses from Elements of Style. Here, it is simply stamped. You can also color the roses and leaves with ink and Aqua painters, or sponge in the color, even color with markers! This stamp would also look beautiful colored with markers direct to rubber–color onto the stamp with markers and then stamp onto the paper!

The sentiment comes from the Loving Thoughts stamp set. This set has lots of sentiments as well as single words (“dream”, “create”, “imagine”, “inspire” among others!). This is one my my go-to sets for elegant sentiments.

Try this card in neutrals for a more masculine feel. Pinks or yellows are great for birthdays. Emboss the roses in gold, silver or pewter and make a great focal point for a wedding or anniversary card.

Supplies I used:
Elements of Style (w118611; c120045)Loving Thoughts (w125843; c125845)
Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack (129312)
Whisper White Card Stock (100730)
Midnight Muse Classic Ink (126860)
Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)

You can order these and any other supplies in my online store!

April 8, 2013

My Digital Studio Aligning Elements

As I continue to explore Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio, I find more to learn!

I’ve been creating some pages and have been wondering how to align my elements. This handy video from Stampin’ Up! helped a LOT!

Here is the project that I made…a card!

I used the Align Tool for the leaves on the left and the pearls on the top right. The colors I used were Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede to recolor the pearls. The background was selected from digital Card Stock and the leaves and sentiment are from the digital Sale-A-Bration set: Bloomin’ Marvelous. Digital colors/stamps/kits/embellishments never retire! Woohoo! And now, Stampin’ Up! has permanently lowered the cost for My Digital Studio! It’s now only $19.95.

Click on the button below to try it free for 30 days and I’m sure you’ll find that it’s a great design software that you’ll want to own forever!

DON’T FORGET!!!

The Free Shipping Offer from Stampin’ Up! ends tonight at 11:30 MT! Get your order in before then! You can order directly through my online store and all items qualify–stamps, inks, papers, clearance, tools and more! Basically, anything in the catalog or on special can be ordered and you won’t pay a dime in shipping costs!

So…click on over to my Stampin’ Up! store and order to your heart’s content!

April 1, 2013

New Catalog Video Series

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is not even ready and I’m excited for its release on June 1st! To help feed my need to create with new stuff and your desire for sneak peeks, I’m putting together a video series to celebrate!

I’m planning 5 fun projects featuring NEW COLORS, NEW STAMPS and NEW PATTERNS! Each project will be released in a video with a link to a PDF with full supplies and cutting measurements. The projects are EXCLUSIVE to my newsletter subscribers.

By the way, my New Catalog Video Series logo is created using a new digital product with coordinating paper supplies. I mentioned how excited I was to play with the This and That Epic Day smash book/journaling product line in this previous post. Imagine my excitement when I saw the papers and embellishments in digital form! I used the digital download, This and That Epic Day Kit, to create my logo. I love the colors and the fun arrows and buttons!

If you aren’t already subscribed to my newsletter, take a moment to do so now. It’s OK; I’ll wait…

It’s easy and I never, ever share your information with anyone! If you are already subscribed, then you know the ideas and projects that are in my newsletter. Encourage your friends to subscribe by forwarding this blog post…share it on Facebook, Tweet about it, Pin the logo to your crafting board! However you like to share, please do!

I look forward to sharing some of Stampin’ Up!’s new products with you in my exclusive New Catalog Video Series, but you won’t get the series unless you subscribe to my newsletter, so join today!

March 28, 2013

Labels Framelits Border Video

In today’s video I share a trick for creating a shadowed border around your sentiment. I used Stampin’ Up! Labels Collection Framelits and the Single Stamp “Hello Hello” to create these simple and pretty cards.

Here are the supplies I used in these cards:Hello Hello Single Stamp (132675)
Labels Collection Framelits (125598)
Big Shot Die Cutting Machine (113439)
Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack (129312)
Birds of a Feather Designer Series Paper (126899)
Whisper White Card Stock (100730)
Old Olive Card Stock (100702) and Classic Stampin’ Pad (126953)
Primrose Petals Card Stock (126841) and Classic Stampin’ Pad (126858)
Summer Starfruit Card Stock (126839) and Classic Stampin’ Pad (126991)
Midnight Muse Card Stock (126843) and Classic Stampin’ Pad (126860)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)
Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246)
Paper Snips (103579)

You can buy any of these Stampin’ Up! items in my online store!

March 26, 2013

Peter Cottontail Easter Card

I experimented with punch art this weekend and tried out 3 different bunnies. Two are very similar and on the more elegant side, the third is big on the cute factor!

I did a non-scientific poll of my daughter and husband and asked which one they liked. Their favorite was number 2. What is your favorite? You’ll see what my favorite was in the card below.

These bunnies are pretty easy to create using Stampin’ Up! Punches and a few other fun supplies.

Bunny #1 was made with the Extra-Large Oval Punch, the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch and (just for this one, because I wanted to try it…) the rounded diamond shape from the Holiday Ornaments Framelits. I used Sahara Sand card stock and Crumb Cake Ink sponged along the edges. Stampin’ Dimensionals are used to pop his little bunny bottom from the back of his head. I loved using the 5/8″ Flower Trim for his tail!

Bunny #2 was made with a few more punches as well as the Holiday Ornaments Framelits–this time the triple bauble shape trimming both the top and bottom baubles off. The bunny head is the 1 1/4″ Circle Punch and the feet are a 3/4″ Circle Punch cut in half. The ears are the Large Oval Punch with a bit of the side trimmed off on each ear so they are a bit pointier and smaller. Again I used the Flower Trim for his little bunny tail. By the way…why are these bunnies hims and not hers???

Bunny #3 was made with the 1 3/4″ Scallop Circle Punch, the Large Oval (trimmed just a little bit more for the inside of the ears), the 1/2″ Circle Punch (cheeks), the circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes Pack (nose) , and the medium circles from the Owl Builder Punch (eyes). In addition to the Sahara Sand, I used Primrose Petals card stock and sponged with Primrose Petals ink. (Oops…I forgot to add the little white dots to his eyes…just pretend I added them, OK? Thanks!)

So…I won’t keep you in an further suspense…Here is my favorite bunny on an Easter Card.

I just fell in love with the wide bottom of this bunny! I mounted her (because I’m the designer and I can decide the gender of my bunny!) onto Wild Wasabi, embosssed with the Stripes Folder, and then sponged with Crumb Cake Ink. I wrapped some of the Natural 7/16″ Trim around the card stock and secured it with some Linen Thread with a button tied onto it. The button is from the Subtles Designer Buttons. I then mounted the whole thing onto a piece of 4′x11″ Primrose Petals card stock scored at 5.5″ and folded in half. I liked the extra quarter-inch so that the ribbon could hang off the edge of the card and also fit into a standard envelope. The sentiment is from Delightful Dozen stamped with Primrose Petals ink onto Very Vanilla card stock.

What have you been making to get ready for Easter? I have one more project and it involves one of the bunnies you see here. What will it be??? You’ll have to check back to find out!

Supplies I used:
Extra-Large Oval Punch (119859)
Large Oval Punch (119855)
1 3/4″ Scallop Circle Punch (119854)
1 1/4″ Circle Punch (119861)
3/4″ Circle Punch (119873)
1/2″ Circle Punch (119869)
Owl Builder Punch (118074)
Itty Bitty Shapes Pack (118309)
Holiday Ornaments Framelits (127816)
5/8″ Flower Trim (126869)
Delightful Dozen (w-122650, c-122652)
Crumb Cake Ink Pad (126975)
Primrose Petals Ink Pad (126858)
Stamping Sponges (101610)
Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker (100082)
Sahara Sand Card Stock (121043)
Primrose Petals Card Stock (126841)
Early Espresso Card Stock (119686)
Wild Wasabi Card Stock (108641)
Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650)
Natural 7/16″ Trim Ribbon (129287)
Linen Thread (104199)
Subtles Designer Buttons (119745)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)

Order any of these Stampin’ Up! supplies in my online store!

March 22, 2013

Quick and Elegant Sympathy Card

Unfortunately, I’ve needed a few sympathy cards lately. I wanted to make a simple card that would be easy to make in a hurry and, again, Stampin’ Up! comes to the rescue!

This card was inspired by one I saw in Paper Crafts magazine and I knew I’d recreate it with the Elegant Butterfly punch. There are very few supplies needed for this card. Very Vanilla card stock is cut at 5.5″x8.5″, scored at 4.25″ and folded in half make the base. Next, a piece of the Print Poetry DSP Stack from the Spring Catalog is adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals to the front panel. I cut the DSP to the same size as the card front (4.25″x5.5″), but it would also look nice cut down just a bit to 4″x5.25″. I trimmed a piece of Very Vanilla card stock to 2.5″x3.75″. I centered the punch from the bottom of the piece and punched. I stamped “With Sympathy” from Teeny Tiny Wishes in Gumball Green to match the DSP. Pop the punched and stamped strip off the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals and add a bit of bling. The card is ready for you to write!

Sympathy cards can be difficult to write and I have developed a tool that I think will help! When you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll get “Finding the ‘Write’ Words: 4 Steps to Writing Meaningful Greetings”. In this guide, I’ll help you figure out what to say whether you’re writing a card for sympathy, get well, anniversary, and more! Just scroll up and enter your information in my subscription box!

Supplies I used:
Very Vanilla Card Stock (101650)
Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack (129312)
Gumball Green Ink Pad (126861)
Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set (w-115370; c-127802)
Elegant Butterfly Punch (127526)
Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)
Stampin’ Trimmer (126889)

You can order these supplies in my online store!

Thanks for joining me. See you soon,
Diane

March 21, 2013

Monochromatic Birthday Card

Let’s go against type and share a monochromatic card in shades of gray in celebration of the gray, snowy days we’re STILL getting in Massachusetts! This card is prettier than the snow we’ve been shoveling and is perfectly elegant.

This card uses Basic Gray and Whisper White card stock, with Basic Gray and black StazOn ink, and the By the Tide stamp set. I saw a card similar to this and based my card on it. This card would look great in any other color and stamp combination.

This card was easy to create! The card base is a piece of Basic Gray card stock cut to 8.5″x5.5″, scored at 4.25″ and folded in half. On a piece of scrap Whisper White card stock I stamped the images from the By the Tide stamp set in Basic Gray ink. I punched them with the 1 1/4″ Square Punch and matted them with the 1 3/8″ Square Punch. On a piece of Whisper White cut to 4″x5.25″ I stamped the coral in Basic Gray ink and then over-stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in Black StazOn. Everything was adhered with SNAIL, although you could pop-up one or more of the square images.

This would make a great masculine birthday card. Change the sentiment for a thank you or congratulations or get well card. This is a very versatile design and I could see lovely cards made from the Secret Garden (w-129141; c-129144), Zoo Review (w-122197; c-122199), Storybook Friends (w-126735; c-126737) and Happy Hour (w-126640; c-126642). What stamps can you see using with this design?

Supplies I used:
Basic Gray (121044) and Whisper White (100730) card stock
Basic Gray (126981) and StazOn (101406) Inks
By the Tide Stamp Set (w-129117; c-129120)
1 1/4″ Square Punch (119865)
1 3/8″ Square Punch (199877)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)

See you soon,
Diane

March 18, 2013

Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail

I’ve been enjoying Stampin’ Up!‘s single stamp: Ears to You!

The little bun-bun silhouettes are so cute! For my card today, I decided to cut the bunnies out of the Print Poetry DSP Stack.

Although they aren’t oriented in the same way as if they were stamped, I like the effect. Here’s how I did it. I chose 3 patterns I wanted to feature. On the BACK of each of the patterns I stamped one of the bunnies. I used Stazon so that I would be able to see the outlines, and because it dries quickly. I trimmed each bunny fairly close to its stamped edge. When turned over, you can see the result–cute, patterned bun-buns!

Originally, I’d thought to put the bunnies directly on the Primrose Petals field–made with the large stamp from Just Believe, but once I laid the bunnies on it…it didn’t feel right…I needed something to “ground” the bunnies. I die cut a piece of Primrose Petals card stock with the label from the Apothecary Accents Framelits and adhered the bunnies to that. A little “Happy Easter” greeting from Delightful Dozen and a Very Vanilla 1/2″ Seam Binding bow and the card is complete.

Here are the supplies I used:
Ears to You Single Stamp (132659)
Just Believe (w-116948, c-120453)
Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003)
StazOn (101406)
Primrose Petals Ink (126858)
Primrose Petals Card Stock (126841)
Whisper White Card Stock (100730)
Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
Very Vanilla 1/2″ Seam Binding (120999)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)
Paper Snips (103579)
Glue Dots (103683)

I love this Single Stamp and I have a few more Easter cards to share in the next two weeks. If you want this cute stamp, you’ll need to order it soon! While you’re ordering, be sure that you order at least $50 of product so that you can earn some free Sale-A-Bration items, too!

See you soon,
Diane

P.S. Don’t forget that with every $50 order of supplies you qualify for 1 FREE Sale-a-bration item!!! But…only through March 22nd–5 days from now!!! See what you can get here!

March 14, 2013

Romantic Distressed Card

I spent some quality time with my Stampin’ Distress Tool and some Stamping Sponges this weekend! I really need to distress more paper on my cards–I really love the way distressed edges look!

I’ve also been enjoying a bit of collage stamping lately. The By the Tide stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalog works well for collage. (Clockworks, Artistic Etchings, Creative Elements, French Foliage, Postage Due and Nature’s Pace are just a few other great sets for collage!) This time, I wanted to use this great-for-male-cards stamp set and use a very feminine pink color! I think it worked! I love Primrose Petals and Soft Suede together!

When I first thought the card was finished, I was wrong. The card was out of balance. All of the images in the lower right corner was not working. I didn’t really want to add another stamped image. I decided that the lace ribbon that matches the Primrose Petals color from Artistic Embellishments Kit would be perfect in the upper left corner. A button from the kit and some Linen Thread tied to the button and the card was complete!

What do you think? Will you try out the Stampin’ Distress Tool and/or collage stamping? You can get all the supplies I used in this card in my online store!

Supplies I used:
By the Tide Stamp Set (w-129117; c-129120)
Soft Suede (115318), Primrose Petals (126841) and Very Vanilla (101650) Card Stock
Stampin’ Distress Tool (127562)
Soft Suede (126978) and Primrose Petals (126858) Classic Ink
Stamping Sponges (101610)
Artistic Embellishments Kit (129328)
Linen Thread (104199)
Glue Dots (103683)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)

See you soon,
Diane

March 13, 2013

International Bazaar Smile Card

I got to make cards this weekend and made this one.

I CASEd (Copy and Share Everything) it from fellow stamper, Kimberly Van Diepen. Sometimes I want to try a style that doesn’t come naturally to me. That’s when I go to my favorite card designers and try out their style. Kim’s style is vintage but with a clean look. She sometimes uses lots of layers, but mostly she uses touches of supply like spritzing or a bit of lace to give interest to her cards. I have to think to make cards like that, so I love CASing a card to get a feel for what it’s like to design that way.

This card was pretty simple to make and I L.O.V.E. the colors in the International Bazaar Designer Series Paper. Tangerine Tango and Whisper White were my base colors. I used my Pacific Point Stampin’ Write marker in my Color Spritzer to add a splash of dark contrast to the bright papers.

I enjoyed replicating this card and went on to create another card that has a shabby chic vibe with layers of distressed paper and collage stamping. That one though…is for ANOTHER DAY!

Supplies I used for this card:
Whisper White (100730) and Tangerine Tango (111349) Card Stock
International Bazaar Designer Series Paper (126920)
Petite Pennants Builder Punch (122361)
Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309)
7/8″ Scallop Circle Punch (129404)
Fabulous Phrases Stamp Set (w-117002, c-120501)
Brights Stampin’ Write Marker Set (119702)
Color Spritzer Tool (107006)
SNAIL Adhesive (104332)
Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)
5/8″ Crochet Trim (118481)
Antique Brads (117273)
Stampin’ Trimmer (126889)
Paper Snips (103579)

What do you think about this card? Is this a style that appeals to you? What would you change about this card? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Don’t forget that with every $50 order of supplies you qualify for 1 FREE Sale-a-bration item!!! But…only through March 22nd–10 days from now!!! See what you can get here!

See you soon,
Diane

March 8, 2013

Stampin’ Distress Tool and Mosaic Stamping Video

Today’s video tutorial shows you how to use Stampin’ Up!’s new Stampin’ Distress Tool to make a rough edge on your card stock. No more finger nails for me!

I also feature a mosaic stamping technique with an easy to make stamp using the rubber left overs from wood mount stamps! Keep those edges!

Wasn’t that fun! Here are the supplies I used in the video! You can order these items (except for the wooden sheet and old acrylic stamp blocks!) in my online store. Just click on the item to go to my store!

Stampin’ Distress Tool (127562)
Stamping Sponges (101610)
Soft Suede Ink (126978)
Artistic Embellishment Kit (129328)
5/8″ Flower Trim (126869)
Elements of Style Stamp Set (w-118611; c-120045)
Versamark Ink (102283)
Rose Red Card Stock (102544)
Rose Red Ink (126954)
Apothecary Accents Framelits (127003)
7/8″ Natural Cotton Ribbon (127844)
Bitty Butterfly Punch (129406)
Pearl Basic Jewels (119247)

See you soon,
Diane

March 4, 2013

Color Challenge

Hey there, stampers! I’ve been pinning color combos like crazy on my DianeStamps1 Pinterest page!

Have you seen it yet? Take a minute (or an hour!) to check it out. It’s OK. I’ll wait.

Wasn’t that fun?! Today I wanted to take one of the photos and use the colors to create a card. I chose…

image credit

Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White and Daffodil Delight are the colors to use for the Color Challenge!

What do you think??? I used the Everything Eleanor (w-124162, c-124164) and Blissful Bird (126472) stamps for this 2 layer card. Here are the steps I took. First, onto Whisper White card stock (100730) I stamped the label shape in Daffodil Delight Ink (126944). Because I wanted to have the swirl looking like it was coming out from under the label shape, I created a mask of the label shape. To make a mask: Use a sticky note and stamp the image onto the note making sure that some of the image includes the sticky part… Trim closely around the image. Place the trimmed image directly on top of the stamped image and stamp over the mask.

I then stamped the lined floral image directly over the Daffodil Delight stamped image for some added interest. I love the Blissful Bird stamp and it matches the Bird Builder Punch (117191). I stamped the bird onto Whisper White with Tempting Turquoise Ink (126952). I lined the image within the punch and punched! A little SNAIL (104332) to hold the wing on and then a Stampin’ Dimensional (104430) pops the bird up onto the card. With a scrap of Tempting Turquoise card stock (102067) I punched the branch and adhered it to the card with a tiny DAB of Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755) on the leaves and end of the branch. With this liquid glue, less is more!

Sometimes I need help coming up with color combinations. I tend to use the same colors all the time–they’re familiar and comfortable for me to use. Creating and doing a color challenge is a great way for me to stretch my creativity. I hope this challenges you to try a color combo that you might not have used before. Share your cards, tags, scrapbook pages or 3-D items with me in the comments!

Remember, you can get all the supplies I used on this card in my online store! Click on the hyperlinked text to go directly to that item or click the Online Order button below to shop!

See you soon,
Diane

P.S. Don’t forget that with every $50 order of supplies you qualify for 1 FREE Sale-a-bration item!!! But…only through March 22nd–19 days from now!!! See what you can get here!

March 2, 2013

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

I have very fond memories of reading Dr. Seuss stories when I was little! My Mom refused to read me Fox in Sox once I could read it myself–I think the tongue twisters got to her after a while–LOL! The Cat in the Hat was a staple in my home and continues to be loved now in my library. There’s something so fun about being naughty!

Theodore Seuss Geisel was born on this day in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts! In honor of his birthday and his most famous creation, I created this card with Stampin’ Up!‘s awesome supplies!

I used Basic Black, Real Red and Whisper White for colors and hand cut the hat. It was fun, fun, fun to make and I popped the hat up on Stampin’ Dimensionals! “Bring on the Cake” is from a set of the same name! I inked it up in Real Red!

This was a quick and easy card, even though it might not seem like it. You can find Cat in the Hat hat samples online and because the original illustrations are line drawn and whimsical, you don’t have to be too precise–and you know, I’m a wing-it kind of girl most of the time! I like paper piecing and had fun using it to make this card.

I cut out the base of the hat in Whisper White card stock and then cut strips of Real Red card stock and trimmed them to indicate the rounded shape of the hat. I adhered them to the Whisper White and then trimmed the Real Red pieces edges to fit the hat. I roughly outlined the edges with my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker. I adhered the hat to a piece of Basic Black card stock and trimmed around the hat again. A bit of Basic Black scrap and the inside of the hat was done. This card, hat and all, took me no more than 10 minutes and I think it’s a cute tribute to an author that has brought so much pleasure to my life!

Happy Birthday, Ted Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss (AKA Theo LeSieg). I hope to see you someday on Mulberry Street where I can tell you how much you mean to me! Love, Diane

See you soon,
Diane