Mail Me Monday...Sweetheart Edition!

Today I wanted to make a card for my sweetie Brett. He is going to be now working in sales at his job. I am so excited for him!  It is going to be a lot less hours and stress on him, so hopefully we can get his health in order and our family life back to normal!  He loves sales and is really good at it, and I know he can't wait to get started.  I thought the challenges at CAS(E) this Sketch! and Dynamic Duos would be perfect for my card.

I know what you're thinking...pink for a man card?! Haha, I couldn't help myself. I wanted it to be a kind of mushy card and pink just screams lovey dovey to me. :) 

I combined the two sentiments because I wanted this to be a Yay for you! and I love you! card all in one.  I love that big Wahoo, don't you?!  It is from September's My Paper Pumpkin.  It took me a while to find some hearts to use.  I finally found these perfect little guys in the photopolymer set Another Thank You. Who would have thought? :) And did you notice the big chevrons?  Just got that big border punch in my order that arrived today.  LOVE it!  They are much bigger than I was expecting them to be. Of course, I had to save the leftover punches for another project...one that will probably never get made, like most of my plans for scraps. lol 

Stamp Sets: Another Thank You, Itty Bitty Banners, Wahoo MPP

Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals, Whisper White

Ink: Blushing Bride, Primrose Petals

Tools: Chevron Border Punch

Accessories: Rhinestones

Fall Garage Sales

Yesterday my bestie Steph and I went to garage sales and practiced our duets we are singing at church this week so I did not get in much crafting time!  We have a great new challenge at Addicted to CAS though!

I combined it with these great fall colors at Create with Connie and Mary: 

I love that they threw Bermuda Bay in the mix. It's probably not a typical fall color scheme, but it worked great for my sentiment on my card!

I had lots of negative leaves left over from my fall banner class, so I used one as a stencil and sponged ink inside of it.  I then stamped some of the images from Gorgeous Grunge over the top, and finished it off with the sentiment.  It needed a little something else so I added the burlap ribbon and pearl.  Perfect finishing touch! Oh, I almost forgot that it also fits the challenge at CASology this week! :)

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Oh Hello

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Bermuda Bay

Tools: Autumn Leaves Bigz Die, sponge

Accessories: Burlap Ribbon, Large Pearl, Dimensionals 

Throw Back Thursday

I'm continuing my trend of theme days, and today is my new Throw Back Thursday!  Each Thursday I am going to try to use an old technique or a stamp set, tool or accessory that I haven't used in a while.  I have tons just sitting around begging to be inked, so I thought this would be a great way to force myself to use them!  Today I decided to use Swallowtail, which has been sitting around for some time now, as well as the Word Window and Modern Label punches. It's funny...I always think I have to have EVERY punch. But most of them only get used a few times before they retire! sniff, sniff I'm trying to be better!

For today's card I used the challenges at colourQ and Freshly Made Sketches.

I liked that I had a little bit of freedom to pick my color for this one. I knew I wanted some pink in there and at first I was all set to go with Melon Mambo. Then I realized I have hardly touched Strawberry Slush since its debut into the Stampin' Up! family, so I went with that instead. :)

I colored my butterfly using my Aqua Painter and ink from the inside of my smooshed ink pad. I know, really technical huh? lol The butterfly panel is raised on Dimensionals. I wasn't sure how I wanted to add my sentiment but thought it worked pretty well with the two punches!  This was one of those cards that came together in about 15 minutes. I must be getting sick or something because usually it takes me forever to figure out how to get a card just right. :)

Stamp Sets: Swallowtail, Sweet Essentials

Cardstock: Strawberry Slush, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Strawberry Slush

Tools: Modern Label Punch, Word Window Punch, Aqua Painter

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Neutrals Paper Stack

Workshop Wow Wednesday!

I have decided that Wednesdays are now going to be my Workshop Wows!  These are techniques that I would show at a workshop that would really wow my customers. Today's technique is so easy and I can't believe I've never tried it before!  It is called Salted Background and you can find the directions here.  I chose the colors at Color Throwdown. 

When I first read about the Salted Background technique, I knew instantly that I wanted to do a sky/land background with Lovely as a Tree, so this color combo was just perfect!  I do a little cringe every time I see Lucky Limeade in a challenge though, because we have NOTHING similar anymore. sniff, sniff :( I chose Wild Wasabi for my green this time. 

I used regular table salt for my background and it worked just fine. I would like to try a more coarse salt though, just to see what the difference is. I will have to add that to my ever-growing list of supplies I NEED for crafting. :)  Most of my list is for things I want to try on Pinterest...I'm sure a lot of you can relate! Anyway, after I did my background, I stamped the trees in Pacific Point and then I went back in with my Aqua Painter and dabbed on some Wild Wasabi for some more color on the trees. This background technique is so cool that you really don't need to do a whole lot to it!  Here's a closer look:

Stamp Sets: Lovely as a Tree, Sassy Salutations

Cardstock: Marina Mist, So Saffron, Glossy White

Ink: Marina Mist, Pacific Point, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi

Tools: Heat Tool, salt, spritzer with water, Aqua Painter

Accessories: Marina Mist Chevron Ribbon, Rhinestones

Ten-Minute Tuesday

It's been a while since I've posted a Ten-Minute Tuesday and today's Addicted to Stamps and More! challenge gave me the perfect opportunity!  Today's challenge is to make a Clean and Simple card.  I also used the challenges at retro sketches and Black Tie Fridays.

I wasn't sure about these colors at first but after I put them together I fell in love with them!  

My card base is Smoky Slate and the back panel is Night of Navy.  I cut the white panels and then used my Circle Framelit to make the cut.  This is one of my FAVORITE stamps ever, from Emily Montoya's winning stamp set that she designed herself, Spread the Joy. It's kind of hard to read because it's so small but it says You are my bucket list. SOOO sweet!  I used my Aqua Painter to color in the image with Melon Mambo and Smoky Slate, added some rhinestones and a candy dot and considered it complete! :) 

Stamp Set: Spread the Joy

Cardstock: Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate

Tools: Aqua Painter, Circle Framelit

Accessories: Rhinestones, Brights Candy Dots, Dimensionals

Mail Me on Monday

I have seen some blogs where demonstrators have "Mailable Monday," where they make cards that can easily be mailed with no extra postage.  I have decided to do something similar, but I renamed mine to "Mail Me on Monday." I had a few minutes to myself last night before the kids got home from Awana and found these great challenges at Fab Friday and Hand Stamped Sentiments.

This card came together in less than 10 minutes!  I love it when that happens!  I was also able to quickly get all of my mess cleaned up, INCLUDING all of my scraps of cardstock put back into their file folders. I don't know about you, but filing cardstock scraps tends to be on my back burner of things to do and I often end up with huge stacks of it all over my scrap room. It feels so good to get all of that cardstock put away, but if I let the stacks get too big, it is a pain in the butt to file away. So YAY for me for cleaning up right after a project for once! lol

I really love this layout and the colors were perfect for some fall leaves. The embossed background is sponged with Brown Sugar ink. After I stamped the leaves and sentiment I stamped off the splotches from Gorgeous Grunge and then stamped them on the squares so the color was lighter. That's about all there is to say for this one! :)

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Magnificent Maple, Really Good Greetings

Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Raspberry Ripple

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple

Tools: Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Sponge

Quick and Classy File Folder Card

I have a quick but classy card to share with you today. It is a file folder card made with our new Envelope Punch Board.  I found this amazing video by fellow demonstrator Patty Bennett on how to make file folder cards and had to try one immediately.  I used these fabulous colors from Dynamic Duos.

I just LOVE these two colors together and thought they would make a fabulous thank you card. 

I am SOOO glad that I didn't sell all of my paper stacks at my annual Retirement and BOGO Sale that I had this summer. These papers have come in quite handy for making envelopes and now decorating these cute file folder cards. I don't use retired items in my workshops, but I decided that it doesn't really matter if I use them for the challenges I participate in...unless it is against the challenge rules, of course. :) I loved this black polka dot pattern that was in the last stack, and the backside is the print that you can see up at the top.  I closed the pocket on my card with the washi tape strip.  The flower and sentiment are embossed in black and I also sponged on some random VersaMark splotches and embossed those in black as well to dirty the card up a bit. There is a large pearl in the center of the flower...not sure why it looks so weird in the picture! haha The card pulls out of the pocket to reveal a message at the bottom.  I cannot wait to try some more versions of the file folder card!  

Stamp Sets: Another Thank You, Flower Shop

Cardstock: Basic Black, Crumb Cake

Ink: VersaMark

Tools: Pansy Punch, Heat Tool, sponge

Accessories: Retired Neutrals Paper Stack, Pearl, Washi Tape, Dimensionals 

Stamps in the Mail-Christmas

I'm starting my next round of Stamps in the Mail and the theme for the next three months is Christmas!  If you are interested in joining, there is still time!  I will be sending in the order on Monday, so email me if you would like more information or would like to sign up. I mail everything you need to you, so you do NOT have to be local to take part!  As soon as I saw this sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, I knew it would work perfectly for my first round of Stamps in the Mail cards.

This first month each participant will be getting the Merry Little Christmas Card Simply Created Kit (along with other goodies :) ), so this sketch was just what I was looking for to go along with the cute little pennant that is in the kit.

Working with limited supplies can sometimes be tricky but the kit contains buttons and Baker's Twine so there is enough to still make a cute card!  I sponged on a little bit of Silver Encore Ink over the embossing to add a little bit more interest. Here is a closer look:

Stamp Set: Merry Little Christmas
Ink: Real Red, Silver Encore
Tools: Pretty Print Embossing Folder
Accessories: Merry Little Christmas Card Simply Created Kit

New Blog Design

I've had my blog for a year and I have never changed the design!  I really liked the summery feel of the design I used before, but I figured it was time for a change. :) I decided to go with something that had more of a fall feel to it. My plan is to change it up with each season, but we shall see how that goes!  I also noticed that I hadn't changed my catalogs from last year!  How embarrassing! lol I had to delete them for the time being until I figure out how to get the new catalog links up there. I'm also hoping to get a card designed and blogged today...I know it's been a few days!  Thanks for stopping by! :)

Snow Day!

It's time for a color challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  These are my favorite challenges so I was pretty excited about this one. :) I also used the sketch at Try Stampin' On Tuesday.

I thought these colors would be perfect for a winter card. I know, I know...I'm not to keen on making winter cards when it is technically still summer here, but my new Snow Day stamp set was begging to be inked with some Marina Mist. :) 

This stamp set is SO easy to stamp with. I first thought I might need my Stamp-a-ma-jig for all of the little parts, but it was really easy to line up everything without it, thank goodness. I am not so handy with the SAMJ sometimes. :)  I wanted the snowflakes to be in the top left corner so I used the debossed side of the Crumb Cake cardstock. Everything else is just simple stamping! :)

Stamp Sets: More Merry Messages, Snow Day

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Shimmer White

Ink: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist

Tools: Northern Flurry Embossing Folder

Migraine Monday

That's what today feels like anyway!  I went to bed with a little headache and woke up in the middle of the night with a pounding migraine that I can't seem to shake. I should not complain though because Brett has had a constant migraine since last Tuesday. I have no idea how he is able to go to work because it was all I could do this morning to drag myself out of bed!  I wanted to get at least one card finished today for Friday's Card Camp though, so I managed to pull myself together for a few minutes at least. :) I used the challenges at Black Tie Fridays and Freshly Made Sketches.

I already have a few fall cards planned, so I thought this would be a nice change of pace.

I used Pool Party and Bermuda Bay as my two shades of teal.  I thought the flowers that I stamped in Pool Party needed a bit more oomph so I used a sponge dauber to add some Bermuda Bay to the center of each flower.  After I did my stamping I embossed the entire sheet of Shimmer White with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. I then inked the edges with VersaMark and embossed them with black embossing powder. I thought about embossing or stamping the Bermuda Bay strip of cardstock, but decided there was enough going on with the rest of the card already so I left it be.  That's hard to do sometimes! lol

Stamp Sets: Everything Eleanor, Flower Shop, Perfectly Penned
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Shimmer White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Black StazOn, Pool Party, VersaMark
Tools: Heat Tool, Sponge Dauber, Square Lattice Embossing Folder
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Subtles Collection Buttons

Sophia the First...or Second!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating my cousin Mandy's sweet little Sophia's 2nd birthday. It is hard to believe she is two already. My how time flies!  She is having a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party. I know it is going to be adorable!  Today's card is for my sweet Sophie.  I used the challenges at colourQ and retro sketches.

I just love these bright colors!  I've been working a lot with fall colors lately so this was a nice switch. I haven't used Primrose Petals since it first came out. I think I heard the ink pad say "Yippee Skippee!" when I opened it. :)

I didn't think I would EVER figure out how I wanted to do this card. I restarted it about four times before deciding that I liked the butterflies that I had originally stamped and punched out. lol I did the tye-dyed background by spritzing Shimmer White Cardstock with water and then using my Aqua Painter to flick droplets of reinker onto it.  I dabbed up the extra puddles of water with a tissue so it wouldn't run too much.  I love this technique!  It's so simple and different every time!  OOOHHH, so this also fits in the challenge at SUO Challenges...a favorite technique!  Yay! :)

Stamp Sets: Papillon Potpourri, Sassy Salutations
Cardstock: Daffodil Delight. Primrose Petals, Shimmer White, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight, Primrose Petals, Rich Razzleberry
Tools: Butterfly Punch, Aqua Painter
Accessories: Daffodil Delight Ribbon

Brrrrrrr!!!!

This whole week it has been in the 90s. Today is supposed to be a high of 69.  The temperature was 48 when I took the kids down to the bus stop this morning!  It's crazy!  It was so cold that they didn't even complain about wearing long pants and sweatshirts to school today. :) Today definitely called for a fall card for our challenge at ATCAS. 

I also used the challenges at Pals Paper Arts and CAS(E) this Sketch!

Aren't those colors yummy?!  I just love Baked Brown Sugar. It is so rich and reminds me of oatmeal, my favorite breakfast food. :) It pairs perfectly with Calypso Coral too!  

I did a bit of full-strength stamping and second-generation stamping with the Calypso Coral to get a few different shades of leaves. I did the same thing with the Baked Brown Sugar for the splotches, stamping off onto my scrap paper before I stamped it on my cardstock. This is a great way to get more ink pads for free! lol

Stamp Sets: Gently Falling, Gorgeous Grunge, Sassy Salutations 

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Calypso Coral

Stamps in the Mail

We just finished up our last round of Stamps in the Mail and I thought I would share the last three cards with you today.  All three of these cards are shaker cards.

I will be starting my winter session of Stamps in the Mail in October. Sign-up deadline is next Friday, September 20th.  If you have any questions or would like to sign up, shoot me an email at brettg12@aol.com. It's lots of fun and you get to keep all of the product that I send you to make your cards!

A Stressful Day

As usual, I waited to the LAST minute to write up my blog post for our challenge at ATSM this week, Make Your Mark.  Well, I got a call this afternoon that my husband had been taken to the hospital with numbness in his hands and heart pain so I didn't think I was going to get to my post in time today. However, he was released and they couldn't find anything. Our next step is to find him a specialist that can figure out what is wrong, because he has been suffering for quite some time now!  Anyway...I used the challenges at retro sketches and Fab Friday to get me started on my marker challenge.

I thought those were great masculine colors so I decided to make a card for my hubby. The funny thing is, my bestie Steph said "You better give me that card!" lol So I guess this one could go either way!

I had fun with this and tried to make it very different than what I usually do. I tried first to use my markers to color directly on the embossing folder. That didn't work. I didn't care for the results AT ALL. So then I tried to color with my markers onto the cardstock after I embossed it. NOPE! That was worse.  I finally decided to go with my good old stand-by technique...I colored on my biggest block with markers, spritzed the block, and pressed the embossed cardstock onto the block. PERFECT! Exactly the result I was hoping for. :) I also wanted to use the 'I Freakin' LOVE you' stamp, but it didn't fit on the framelit I wanted to use. My markers came in handy here because I could ink up just the part of the stamp that I needed and stamp it in the location that it needed to be. I did have a few stray ink spots but I was able to camouflage them with my trusty Gorgeous Grunge stamp set. :)

Stamp Sets: Gorgeous Grunge, Seriously (MPP), Yippee-Skippee
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky
Tools: Alphabet Press Embossing Folder, Chevron Embossing Folder, Labels Collection Framelits
Accessories: Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Hung Up Cute Clips, Rhinestones, Washi Tape

Halloween Happiness

I recently purchased what I believe is my first pumpkin stamp set!  Well, I had one before but when I sold it it had never even been mounted, so that doesn't count. :) I'm pathetic!  First no Santa sets, now no pumpkin sets!  I couldn't resist this one from the Holiday Catalog though, Halloween Happiness. I made a quick set of 4x4 note cards using washi tape for the challenge at The Friday Mashup!  I was also inspired by the sketch at Mojo Monday.  

The sketches at Mojo Monday are usually very complicated, so I was surprised to see this simple sketch!  I love it though. I turned it sideways to work with my stamp, which is kind of long.

Here is a close-up of each individual card:

Stamp Set: Halloween Happiness

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Tangerine Tango, Very Vanilla

Ink: Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango

Tools: Paper-Piercing Tool and template

Accessories: Washi Tape

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday!

My cousin is having a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party for her daughter Sophie's 2nd birthday.  She LOVES that show. I babysit her and she will say "Toons? Toons? Mickey Moooouuuuse!"  She's so stinkin' adorable. :) Anyway, Mandy is having themed food and asked me to make up some place cards to set in front of the food.  Here is how they turned out.  I thought they were pretty cute!

I used black cardstock but the Chalk marker worked perfectly on it!  I was afraid it might soak in too much but it is SOOO much better than the white gel pen.  I like that it has a slightly thicker tip too.  I hope Sophie likes them!

Cardstock: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Ink: Chalk Marker
Tools: Circles and Hearts Collections Framelits, 3/4" Circle Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder
Accessories: Brights Collection Paper Stack