Teacher Cards

HAPPY THURSDAY ... and FIRST DAY OF SUMMER BREAK!!!!

Yes ... in THEORY I'm thrilled ... no more lunches!  ... in reality I'm dreading it!  Well - I'm not dreading the WHOLE summer ... just the first week or two.  Those without kids don't know what I'm talking about ... or those with older kids may FORGET what I'm talking about but this with kids 6 and 9 know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.  The first week or two of summer are BRUTAL!  Every year it's the same - the girls fight, bicker and whine from morning to night.  Anyone who knows me know I have patience for that kind of nonsence for approximately 10 seconds and then I snap.  Yep - so far this summer is right on track.  The girls weren't home for 2 hours before Alicia was throwing a tantrum and had a time out!  Everything calmed down after about half an hour and the rest of the day was saved but MAN it has me more than a little scared for what is to come!  *lol*

Right - on a happy note, I managed to get all the teacher cards and gifts done and delivered on time.  Here is what I gave to the two "main" teachers this year.  I cased it from another demonstrator but I can't for the life of me find the originator .. I HATE that!!  I printed off a card that inspired me and then tweaked it a little ... but I stamped over the printed sheet and can't read the watermark of the creator so I apologize.  I like to give credit where credit is due but I can't this time :(  I believe the originator was Natasha Hein.  I LOVE how my version turned out.  It was SO quick and easy!!  Lookie:

Isn't it adorable???  Almost everything I used is retired, though *lol*  It's just Whisper White with Basic Black and Crumb Cake.  I used my RETIRED corner rounder in the corners.  I wrote the teacher's name with my gel pen with my left hand so it looked like a child wrote it.  I used the "Family Phrases" Thank You in white craft ink.  I stamped the apple from the retired Tart & Tangy and cut it out.  I then punched a leaf using the (current) bird punch out of Gumball Green card stock.  I made piece of chalk with a scrap piece of whisper white and again used the corner rounder to make the point.  I popped up the ledge with dimensionals.  Cute!!!!!!  I made 8 of these so that next year I won't have the same last-minute rush!

Here is the card I made for their music teacher, Mrs. Mason.  This time I CAN give credit to the originator - Carolyn King.  I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE her original card:

Isn;t it FABULOUS??!!

Here is my super quick version:

I stamped the square using my clear block in Crumb Cake ink.  I then wheel the music notes wheel in Soft Suede and the Note Of Thanks (retired Thank You Kindly set) in Early Espresso.  I used the retired Soft Sued 1 1/4" ribbon to finish it off (oh and the card stock I matted the Very Vanilla on is Soft Suede).  It was SO quick and easy.  I will be making a bunch of these for my "stash".

OK - it's very late for the girls to be up and they won't go to bed without a snuggle from Mom so I'm off.  Enjoy the first few days of summer ... if you can *lol*

Have a stampy night!


Tamara

Teacher Thank You

Happy Monday!

ARH!  Can someone please press pause on the clock??!!  I need a few more days this week to get everything done that I want/need to get done!  Today I WANTED to make my club-girl gifts, make my Teacher Thank You cards, make a few special treats for some good friends, finish making my Stamp-a-stack left-over templates (and clean up the disaster area), send my ribbon-share e-mail out, sign up Koda for Doggie Day Care and a swack of other odds and ends.  What I ACTUALLY did today was take Koda to the vet, took a shower, went to the chiropractor, did a little impromptu shopping (shhhhh ...) and then entire house cleaning.  I did NOTHING that I actually needed to!  Yes, tomorrow is another day .. but it is also the last full day I have at home WITHOUT THE CHILDREN!!!  Yes, in theory I could do all those things tomorrow I wanted to do today but ... just to throw a wrench into the works, Craig is on holidays this week.  He scheduled his car to go in for an oil change/tune up so that means we are on the road bright and early.  The up side is we are heading to Ikea to buy a cabinet for our basement bathroom to house my linens (and free up some space upstairs) and then we are going for lunch for a day-time-date - the downside is WHEN am I going to get those teacher cards done??!!  Wednesday I'm at school all day volunteering for Games Day ... and then Thursday is the last day!  Ack!  Guess I should get off the computer and get on it!

So ... since I don't actually have a new project to show off I'm posting last year's Teacher Card.  Here it is:

Cute, yes?  It was a little time consuming to use the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the numbers and letters but I love how it turned out.  I obviously used Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black cs and ink.  I also used white craft ink for the letters and numbers .. let's see now ... what sets were they from ... I think it was "First Day" ... retired a few years ago.  The A+ and the paper image are from that set too.  The sentiment is from Word Play.  I punched out the a+ with the 1 1/4" circle and matted it with the 1 3/8" circle (those have GOT to be the most-used punches I own!!!). 

Hmmm - let's see ... I think I have another old Teacher Card somewhere.  I'll have to go down and see if I can find it.  Until then ... have a stampy night!


Tam

The 5 Hour Card

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen ... after 5 hours of blood, sweat and tears I bring you .... The 5 Hour Card. 

I just couldn't let it go ... so I invested another 1.5 hours into this card ... I was DETERMINED to make one I liked with the Button Buddy cherries and the sentiments from A Cherry on Top.  So - without further adeau (and because I have now pretty much lost the will to live, let alone ever craft again!!!) ..... The 5 Hour Card ....

Sooo - what d'ya think?  Where did I get the idea from?  This time I cased myself!  This is the layout I cased:

I liked the simplicity of it and figured if it wrked once, why not again!  Naturally I spent 1 1/2 hours fiddling with different designer papers before I settled on the new Fancy Fan embossing folder.  It kind of looks like a woven basket to me.  So (now I have to hurry along as it's past the girls' bed time!!)  I used my Circles #2 Big Shot die to cut a 2" circle in Whisper white and then I stamped the image on the circle (Gumball Green, Early Espresso and Real Red markers).  I layered it with the 2 1/2" circle punch in Espresso.  I stamped the sentiment (A Cherry on Top hostess set) in Espresso.  Matted teh fancy fan piece on Real Red and tied some Gumball Green ribbon around it.  Yep - the 5 minute card that took me 5 hours *lol*.  I've siad it before, I'll say it again ... it's hard being me!

Have a stampy night ....


Tam

Happy Stampy Thursday!

Hope you're having a more productive day than I am.  Gotta admit - today I'm just a waster of make-up!  I've definately hit the wall for this school year - Mama needs a vacation!!!  So ... in order to procrastinate on attempting that 5th card just a LITTLE longer I'm going to post my other 3 cards ... so here we go ...

First up is a sweet little card that can be used for many different occasions - Thank You, Birthday, Just a Note ...

It's similar to the little 3x3 cards I made a while back.  I used the Oval Designer Fram Folder to get the oval frame and then used my markers (Real Red, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry,Old Olive) to color the stamp (from Bright Blossoms).  I used Tangerine Tango ink for the sentiment (from Curly Cute) - Island Indigo card stock with the Summer Smooches DSP and Daffodil Delight seam binding.  Very quick and very easy.  It is card ##3 for Sunday's Stamp-a-Stack.

Next up is a sweet one that I will use for a few occasions - promarily Sympathy and Thinking of you but it certainly could also be a birthday, thank you or just because card:

I again used the new Flowering Flourishes stamp set for the swirl.  I used it with Versamark and clear emboss powder and then used sponges to add some color.  I actually only used my Crumb Cake ink but later realized I had some So Saffron on the sponge - hence the yellowish, aged tinge around the butterfly.  I like it!  Nice mistake!  The sentiments is from Thoughts and Prayers punched out with the Decorative Label punch and popped up with dimensionals.  Some Crumb cake seam binding adds some interest.  The butterfly is from the new Papillon Potpourri set (in crumb cake) and punched out with the new butterfly punch.  3 pearls are used for the body and 1 wing is popped up with a dimensional.  I used my finger dauber in Crumb Cake for extra shading around the layer of Whisper White cs.

Right.  Lastly.  My least favorite.  I don't know what it is about this one ... it just isn't sitting right with me.  I'm not rolling over yet, though.  The SAS isn't until Sunday *lol*.  Ready?  OK ... here it is:

Not much to say.  I used the Button Buddies cherries (you can't see that the cherries are punched out with my 3/4" circle punch and popped up but they are) and punched it out with my 2 1/2" circle punch.  I layered that with my 3" Bigz die circle in Early Espresso.  I sued the leaf from Betsy's Blossoms in Gumball Green and the Gumball Green Satin ribbon.  The sentiment is from A Cherry On Top hostess set in REal Red with the corners rounded and popped up on dimensionals.  This one MAY make it to the SAS but something tells me I'll pull something out of the fire at the last minute and this one will get ditched.  (I'm going to post this on the SU website ... I'll see from the number of "hits" I get on it whether or not it's a keeper ....)

OK .... think I'll go flip through a magazine for the 10 minutes of peace I have left until the girls come home from their playdate ... ahhhh ... silence is golden, isn't it??

Have stampy evening!


Tam

Betsy's Blossom

Happy Wednesday!

MAN today was a full day.  By noon I had already take the girls to school, gone for blood work, dropped off an order, gone to London Drugs, gone to Safeway, gone to my Dad's, gone to the dentist, gone to the chiropractor and then gone back to my Dad's before heading home!  The afternoon was about as busy but at least it was all home based!  I'm shattered! 

I just tried to make yet another card ... and failed.  I don't know what my problem is!  I just want to make a nice, big, simple, clean birthday card and it just isn't coming to me!  You would think that with access to 248,000 card samples I would find SOMETHING ... but no.  I'm just not luvin' what I'm coming up with.  Maybe tomorrow ....

Well - until then lets look at another one I DO like ... I can't take credit for this one - I cased it from Jennifer Tinko (Stampin' on the Fly).  Here is my version:

I used the new 1/4" stitched grosgrain ribbon in Daffodil Delight - the paper is from Floral District.  The inks are Rich Razzleberry, Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight.  The sentiment is from the new set "Made for You". (pg 44 ... very inexpensive ... $10.95 for clear; $14.95 for wood!) Oh!  And of course the main images are from Betsy's Blossom.  This set is really starting to grow in me!

Ok ... I'm off to do some more R&D for that perfect last card ... sigh ... it's hard being this anal *lol*.  Have a stampy night :)


Tam

Flowering Flourishes

Happy Tuesday!

Wow.  I'm happy to report that I have now designed the five cards we will be making at my Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday.  This is DEFINATELY the latest I have ever left the designing process for such a big event ... then again, I guess I DID only decide to have it a few weeks ago!  Today was the first "down day" I've had in over a week.  Between funerals, garage sales, Father's Day and field trips I have been scheduled up the ying yang!  I realized if I didn't get my SAS cards designed today there would be a very good chance that I would be doing it Saturday.  That's a little too close for comfort for me so I'm SO relieved I have it done with a few days to spread out the cutting.  It never ceases to amaze me how long the "quick and easy" cards take me to design!!!  It took me approximately 7 HOURS to come up with 5 cards!!  My mojo was lagging a bit today and I had to keep "undoing" things to try to keep them simple!  I'm going to tease you and only show you one card a day ... that will keep you coming back :))

Naturally - the degree to which I like each card is inversely related to how long it took me to make it!  Yep - the quickest one I like the most and the one that took me the longest I like the least.  Typical.  Soooooo - I think I'll start with my favorite one first.  Here it is:

Love it!  So crisp and clean!  I used the new Flowering Flourishes for the flowering flourish (*lol) and Loving Thoughts for the sentiment.  I stamped the flourish in Versamark and used black embossing powder.  The sentiment is just in black ink.  I simply attached some of the 1/2" Scallop Dots Black ribbon and some rhinestones to finish it off.  Wa-low!  Quick and easy!  Seriously -this one took me about 5 minutes to come up with.  What I love about this card is that SO many different sentiments work with it from the Loving Thoughts set.  This can be used as a sympathy, wedding, thank you, thinking of you or just because kind-of card.  This is definately one I will make a swack of and then add the sentiment on a need-to-mail-basis.

OK - I have now lost all feeling in my left butt cheek due to all the sitting today (oh ... sorry ... was that an over-share? *lol*)  I'm off to read the girls a bed-time story.  Come back tomorrow for another card.  Have a stampy night!


Tam

Teacher Gift 2012

Happy Thursday!

I don't have much time so I'll be brief (ya ... right, I hear you say!)  No really!  Apparently we ARE going ahead with the garage sale tomorrow so I have a lot of last minute things to take care of.  (We decided we wouldn't have it since ALL the weather forecasts were for 80% chance of rain Thur through Monday ... of course in true weather-man form they have now completely changed the forecast and it should be quite nice.  Grrrrrr.  We decided to go ahead - if it rains, it rains ... not ideal but really there is not other weekend until August to have it!)

So ... just a quick post.  Last night my friends Rae Ann and Wanda came over to stamp with me (hi girls!)  We all worked on about 7 different projects over 3 hours for teachers and students/children.  Here is what I'll be taking in for the staff at St. Charles tomorrow:

... and up close ...

These were really quick and easy to put together (the hardest part was getting the fresh, sticky licorice into the little plastic sleeves!)  I used the 2" x 8" sleeves from SU and punched out (35) 2 3/8" Scalloped Circles and (35) butterflies (with the now retired butterfly punch ... I like the new one but I liked the look of this one better for this particular project).  I taped one wing down so the other wing can flip up a bit.  I stamped :gratitude: from Fabulous Phrases in Real red.  Oh!  The butterflies were punched out of the DSP Paper Pack - Real Red.  I just taped the scallop directly to the bag.  Wa-low!  35 treats ready to roll as a little appreciation to all the staff for all that they do for our kids.

Next up ... my gift for the teachers ...

I bought them each a "From Your Teacher" stamp set and a Real Red ink pad and wrapped them together with the (retired) Ridinghood Red 1 1/4" Ribbon.  Now I just have to make them a card and THEY are done ... I'm about half way through my to-do list before the end of school!

Right - that's it for today ... gotta go price those last few items ... and make some signs ... a clean up that old bike ... and load the car ... oh my ... could be a long night ...


Tam

Betsy's Bloom

Happy Friday!  Woo Hoo!  We made it through another week ... 2 1/2 left until the kids are off school ... wait a minute ... that means I have them 24/7 .... for 8 weeks ... oh dear ... better come up with a game plan to keep us busy ... oh ... wait!  I already HAVE a game plan.  Yep.  Super Mom here.  Got it allllllllll figured out.  We're gunna have a "Phineas and Ferb Summer".  Now those of you who don't have children aged 4 - 10 may not know about Phineas and Ferb ... so I'll tell you.  They are characters created by Disney and they have a show.  These two step-brothers have 104 days of summer vacation and they don't want to waste a minute of it so each day they come up with some elaborate plan for the day - they invent a time travel machine, or build a roller coaster, or some such thing.  Of course MY plans won't involve that much brain power but I'm trying to get the girls into my way of thinking and not waste their summer (they would happily watch TV or game or use the computer all day every day!)  So ... I have been faithfully surfing through Pinterest and coming up with LOTS of crafts, games and projects to do.  Some will be more exciting than other - one day we are going to build a robot ... have no idea how or out of what but that's what we're gunna do.  Another day we're just going to make sidewalk paint and paint the driveway.  Another day we're going to make some sock puppets and a puppet theatre and put on a show ... and so on.  THEN - each afternoon when it's hot hot hot outside (and Mommy needs a nap!)  we'll head to the basement where we will all make a page for our scrapbooks.  Each of us picked out one of the 8x8 scrap albums that are/were in the Clearance Rack ... the girls have already created a cover pages ... and each day we will make a page by drawing a picture of what we did and journaling about it (I'll take photos for mine).  At the end of the summer we'll have a GREAT keepsake showing off what fun we had.  Cool eh?  The girls can't wait to get started (little do they know half the days will be things like "go to the park" ... "go for a bike ride" ... things we do ANYWAY!  ... hee hee - those will be on the days Mommy's too tired to be too crafty!)

Sooo ... tonight is my Technique Class.  In true Tamara form I started cutting the paper at lunch time ... and was still undecided on my 3rd project.  I was thinking of doing the Christmas card I posted the other day but I really didn't want to have two cards using Hostess sets (I'm also doing the "Happy Birthday with a Cherry on Top" card) ... so ... off to Stampin' Connection I went.  For you non-demonstrators who are reading this, Stampin' Up! has a website exclusive to demonstrators whereby demos can upload pictures of projects/cards they have made.  It's a FABULOUS resource ... and yet another great reason to be a demonstrator!  You have hundreds of THOUSANDS of samples that all use Stampin' Up products.  You can type in the name of a stamp set and Wa-low!  You have TONS of cards to get inspirations from.  That's what happened today.  I was looking for inspiration using the Betsy's Bloom stamp set.  I have wanted to like this set but so far hadn't stumbled across any cards that blew my hair back ... until today.  I fell in LOVE with this card made by Janet Hill:

So I had to copy it.  Here is my version:

I LOVE it!  I love Janet's colors and layout and I love the simplicity of my version.  It's clean and pops.  Yay!  That's my third card sorted.  Thank for sharing, Janet!

Right - guess I should go get the kiddles now ... have a fabulous weekend everyone ... and a stampy day :)


Tam

Movie Time!

Happy Thursday!

Hope y'all had a fun day.  I.  Did.  Not.  I'm only now, at 8:16 pm, just 2/3 of the way through the hell that is .... pricing items for a garage sale.  My Dear Lord!  Did I really BUY all this stuff?????  Wow.  Please.  If you EVER see me in or around a toy department any time other than November I beg of you - kick me in the head until I leave!!  Honestly.  I won't press charges ... in fact I may even send you flowers as a thank you.

So - I am taking a little break to "talk" to you (yes, I know I'm really just typing ... and there is a chance no one will read this ... but it's therapeutic ... and let's face it ... my husband and kids don't really listen to me so if you ARE out there and reading this, it's by CHOICE and you're really paying attention, right?  Which leads to my next question ... why do you keep coming back and reading my rather neurotic ... or is it psychotic ... ramblings?  Hmmm - interesting ... I'll have to ponder that more later ...)

Perhaps you REALLY come to see the projects ... and you skip the rambling ... hee hee - na ... you read it ... I know you do.  I do the same thing.  To be honest - there are quite a few blogs I follow and I don't really care for the projects at all ... I just like reading about their lives ... yes - I guess that makes me a cyber-voyeur!

Right!  I did come with a purpose - no, I don't have a project to share today ... instead I'm posting two videos.  The first one is from the SU Home Office and shows off the new ink pads ... which I LOVE and can't wait until I own the new ones in ALL the colors .... patience, Tam .... one pad at a time ...

The second video is one I found on the net showing off how to REINK OUR MARKERS!!!!!!!!!!!

So - grab a drink and a nice light snack, sit back and enjoy the show.

I'll post a project in a few days (I've grounded myself from stamping until the other 1/3 of the garage sale pricing is done!)

Have a stampy evening!


Tam

Masked Field Flowers

Ugh.

We interupt this basement toy purge to bring you a card.  Seriously.  I'm losing the will to live over here.  Did I seriously BUY all these TOYS??!!  No WONDER I'm not rich!  I was obviously on a real roll with my "if some is good a million is better" mentality for the last 5 years of my daughters' lives!!!  I've spent all morning sorting out Dora, Diego, My Little Pony and Little Pet Shop toys for my upcoming garage sale.  I haven't even TOUCHED the 4 boxes of children books, 2 boxes of clothes, box or cookbooks and 19 boxes of general "stuff" yet.  I think it's going to be a loooooooooooong run up to next Thursday.  I say it again.  Ugh.

I had to stop the madness and head to my craft room to "reset".  Although this card will only take a sane, toy-free crafter about 10 minutes to put together it took me the better part of an hour.  But I feel mildly better now ... and yes, I now have Friday's technique card sorted out :)

I love this set ... Field Flowers.  It's SO versatile!  This card can be used for Birthday, Sympathy, Friend, Just Because, Thank You ... anything!  You can't really get the full effect from the photo but I used the masking technique on this.  I started by stamping the flowers on a piece of computer paper and then cutting it out very closely to the stamped image.  I then placed the cut out image on my Very Vanilla cs and stamped the En Francais stamp (in Calypso Coral) over top of it.  (In order to get a really subtle color of the color I stamped off on a scrap piece of paper before stamping on my vv cs.)

When you then lift the cut out of your flowers there is a blank space where you paper was.  You then use your Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp your flowers on the cs.  I used Crumb Cake today.  Then came the fun part - the antiquing.  I used a sponge to apply some Crumb Cake shading to the front.  I distressed the corner using my fingernail.  I used my Spritzer Tool to spritz blotches of Crumb Cake here and there - I used my finger dauber in Crumb Cake to shade the edges a bit.  Oh!  And I used a very very very slight dab of Coral in the centre of the flowers with another dauber.  I inked the sentiment (from God's Blessings) in Crumb cake and used punched it out with my Decorative Label punch.  I used my dauber to shade the edges.  A little snipped of Victoria Crochet Trim ribbon, some dimensionals and a pearl and Wa-low!   A fabulous vintage card :)  Just the distraction my little garage-saling brain needed to re-charge.

Guess I should get back at it.

Have a stampy day :)


Tam

Bits and Pieces

Happy Tuesday!

OK - I think I fell into a time warp last week - I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted!  It has definately been whirl wind around here - especially on the weekend.  In true Tamara fashion I bit off WAY more than I could chew ... but chew I did an eventually managed to get 'er all done! 

The highlight of the last week had to be yesterday.  For those of you who aren't on my e-mail list ... yesterday I officially earned the Stampin' Up! Getaway vacation for two.  I am just so over-the-top excited and can't STAND it!!!  I was actually fairly emotional about it yestereday which I found very odd.  I've know that I WOULD earn it ... it was just a matter of placing a few more orders .. but when I finally placed the order yesterday ... the one that put me over the finish line I almost burst into tears!  I just can't thank my customers, friends and family enough for their support, encouragement and orders!  This has been an amazing year for me business wise.  The success I have achieved has filtered into every other aspect of my life - I'm more confident, driven and happy!  My "work" is fun - I get to make money "playing" with my craft toys ... and then I get to have parties with friends!  My Club-Girls generally start off as customers but after a few classes together truly do turn into friends - I don't have to "work" when they come over to craft - I"m just myself and we all have a good time.  Don't get me wrong - having a home-based business isn't ALL fun!  There are days where I don't have a creative ounce of energy but HAVE to come up with a project - or the days when I HAVE to do the paperwork or HAVE to assemble all the marketing material.  Those days are few and far between, however and I fell VERY blessed to be able to do what I do.  Every now abd then I get the urge to get a job outside of the home - but really, the cost of child care, gas, lunches out and everything else that goes with it just doesn't make financial sense.

I know most of you who read my blog are already demonstrators - but those of you who aren't ... and are looking for a way to make a little (or a lot!) of money in your "spare" time you really should give this business a try.  Buy the Starter Kit.  It's only $125.  If you decide the "business" isn't for you then don't do it - you still get a smokin' good deal on the kit and you have some great craft supplies at a low price.  But just think ... what if the "business" IS for you?  Well ... then you will be one of the lucky ones - like me - and find yourself being pampered on an all expense paid trip for two to some exotic destination.  And heck - we could hang out together ;)

Right!  Enough babbling on for this post - let's see some projects!

First up is a quick and easy card I put together for my party Sunday afternoon (shout out to Sheila D - thanks again for havingt me Sheila - I really had a great time!)

Love it!  It's the perfect "go to" card when you are in a rush.  I used the new Betsy's Blossom set and Birthday Wishes for the sentiment.  The colors are Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green (love it!), Pacific Point and Raspberry Ripple (love it too!).  I stamped them and punched them out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and matted them with the 1 3/8" circle punch with the Pacific Point.  A few rhinestones in the centres and some dimensionals and Wa-low!  Done!  It's a gret generic card - Thank You, Birthday, Just a Note, Hello ... lots of options - and bright and cheery.

Next up is one I WANTED to have for Sheila's party but I realized after stamping the image 5 times it might not be a great card to make at a party ... with first time stampers *lol*.  I think my Club-Girls can handle it, though ... so we might make a version of it Friday ... but with Crystal Clear embossing for the lid rather than the Espresso ink:

I like the final result of the card but it really was a long-time-a-comin'!  I used Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Daffodil delight cs, ink and ribbon.  Even though I have the "A Cherry on Top" set in clear mount I found my Stamp-a-ma-jig was a must for this one.  I think that was because when I had the lid on my block I didn't have it on straight and it took 5 tries to get it straight.  I stamped the sentiment in Daffodil and the cherry in Cobbler.  I used the eyelet punch and my corner rounder.  Hmmm - yes - we may use it Friday ... we'll see if I can come up with something else ...

Next is a card I made today - I actually preferred it before I sprayed it with my Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz ... I love the rest of it though.  Again, a bit of a high maintenance card but I had fun getting lost in the process:

What I like best about it is the little bitty pops of red.  I used Baja Breeze, Real Red and Midnight Muse cs and markers.  I ran the white piece through the polka dot emboss folder.  I stamped the entire snowflake and bird in Baja Breeze ink first and then used my Marina Mist and Midnight Muse markers to go over some of the snowflakes, bird, branch and Real Red for the hat.  I punch the image out with the 2 1/2" circle punch.  I used my 3" Circle Big Shot Die for the Midnight Muse circle (I KNEW one day I would use that one!!)  I then punched the bird out with my 1" circle punch and trimed the teeny tiny little white edge so only the blue edge circle around the bird showed.  I put a 1 1/4" circle in the hole and popped the bird up on a dimensional.  I used my Word Play sentiment in Real Red ... then stamped a midnight muse snowflake and punched it out with the 1/2" circle punch and popped it in the middle of the "joy".  It's hard to see but I put a rhinestone in the centre of that snowflake.  I then spritzed it with Vanilla Shimmer ... but like I said, I preferred it before I did that (HATE when that happens!  Gotta learn when to stop!)  All in all I really like this card.  It's quite striking in person - the color combo really pops.

OK - had enough?  Good - my fingers are getting sore *lol*  Come back again ... I'll see if I can post inside of a week this time :)

Have a stampy day :)  (hee hee - I like that as my new tag line :)  )


Tam