Apothecary Birthday

Happy Thursday!!!!!

Did you miss me?  Yes, I'm back from Vegas ... a little poorer but much happier ... well ... I was for at least 36 hours before I was stressed to my back teeth again ... but I'm MUCH better today (thanks to me remembering to *breathe* and realizing that yesterday's *crazy* being down to hormones more than anything else!!)

I have been working SOOOOOO hard on my upcoming Christmas Shoe class ... and tutorial.  I swear this project has taken at LEAST 60 hours of blood, sweat and tears!!  Between me, my MacBook, my desktop, my printer and my lack of patience things were getting pretty ugly around here ... but I'm into the home stretch!!  I don't think I've show the Christmas shoe here before ... wanna see it?  OK.  Here it is :)

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE it!!!  This is just a teaser ... I"ll show the *whole* project when the tutorial is ready to roll out.  I will be selling it but am still trying to figure out how exactly THAT works in this day of technology (I expect another major tantrum on my part coming sometime next week *lol*)

Oh!  I guess you are wondering how my weekend away with Craig was.  It was great, thank you for asking :)  The only negative was that we didn't win oodles of cash ... but really, who does?  I still had a tonne of fun sitting at a machine for hours on end mindlessly pushing a button.  One night I was up about $100 ... of course I lost it all the next day but it was hours of entertainment on a $20 bill!  Oh ... the other negative was it POURED rain for 3 days straight and was only 12 degrees ... but again - a rainy day in Vegas is still better than a snowy day in Edmonton, right??  I actually had to buy an umbrella ... not everyone who goes to Vegas says THAT!  All in all it was a great time - we took in the Terry Fator act - AMAZING talent, slept, ate, gambled, and shopped.  It was a quick trip but very necessary.  It was SO great to spend time together again - we really have just been passing the halls since September!

Right!  Enough about me ... on to a quick card.  So.  Thursday we were leaving for Vegas ... I had 20 minutes before my mom showed up to watch the kids.  I was all packed and everything was ready to go.  Naturally I ran down to my craft room to crack off 4 birthday cards *lol*  Actually - Rebecca had a party to go to while I was away and spotted a card I received as a swap at Convention last year.  She asked if I could make it for her - if I had time.  Yep - this is a quick and easy card.  Check it out!

Now you KNOW I like to give credit where credit is due.  This is a TOTAL case from another demo except on the original the sentiment is "Happy I Do Day" ... but I can't find the original card right now ... so just know it's NOT my creation and I'll get that name to give credit as soon as I can!

Seriously - this card took minutes to make.  Whisper White base run through the Big Shot with the ... hmmm ... apparently retired something-or-other flowery embossing folder.  I then punched out a whisper white piece with the Apothecary framelit ... then ran THAT through the Big Shot again with the Designer Frames embossing folder.  I used the sentiment from Bring on the Cake in Melon Mambo (I did 2 in Mambo and 2 in Pacific Point) ... added rhinestones to the flower centres and a little satin bow (retired ribbon)  I popped the sentiment piece up on dimensionals.  Seriously - about 3 minutes from start to finish.  Once I was done Mom showed up and my to-do list was done ... so I went to Vegas :)

That's it for today.  Pop in again soon when I show you the cutest little angel tree ornaments EVER!!!!  Until then - have a stampy day!


Tam

Snowflake Soiree CASE

Happy Sunday!

I'm winging my way back to Edmonton this morning ... I'll be back just in time to unload the luggage and head out to pick up Alicia from a birthday party .. back to reality with a bang!

Today I have another card from last Sunday's Stamp-a-Stack.  Another CASE card ... this time I used a card designed by Jill Hilliard over at www.jill031070.blogspot.com - this card is so quick, easy and lovely!

I altered Jills card just slightly by adding a layer of Whisper White.  Her original card used Crumb Cake ... but since I only had 3 sheets of that yummy color I had to use Sahara Sand (of course the 2 packs of Crumb Cake I ordered arrived 2 days too late!)  That's ok ... the Sahara Sand works too :)

I stamped the Snowflake Soiree large snowflake in Early Espresso.  The smaller snowflakes are from the Warmth & Wonder Hostess Set ... but any small snowflake will do.  The sentiment is also in Early Espresso and is from More Merry Messages (sheesh - who knew I used that set on so many cards this round!)  I added a large rhinestone to the centre of the large snowflake, smaller rhinestones to the small snowflakes and a string of 5 mini rhinestones along the bottom of the sentiment.  Thank you to Rae Ann and Corina for spotting me packs of rhinestones ... I simply COULDN'T design 5 Christmas cards without any rhinestones!!!  Lesson learned ... I have 6 packs winging their way to me as we speak!!

So that's all for my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack cards for this year.  I will still create a few more for the season ... as I just ordered the ADORABLE "Best of Snow" set ... I just HAVE to use the small Frosty and the little Hedgehog images!!  I still have a few projects to share but they may have to wait a day or two for the post-holiday dust to settle.  I will have all of my club orders to deliver this week ... and it may take a while to get back to reality ... but I won't be too long, I promise - so pop back again soon to see what I have been working on.  Until then ... have a stampy Sunday!


Tam

Simple Snowflake CASE

Happy Saturday!

I hope you're having a great weekend so far!  Since I'm pre-posting this I can only assume I'm having a great time and that I'll be spending part of today relaxing and the other part shopping.  Just my kind of weekend!

Today's card is another CASE.  I've said it before, I'll say it again - there is no shame in CASEing - it's a compliment to the designer, as long as you give hem full credit - which I always do.  So here is a shout out to Laurie over at www.stampingupnorthwithlaurie.blogspot.com to check out her work!  She has some very clean, classy cards posted.  Here is her card that I tweaked just a little ... but it really is her creation so she gets the credit:

The card stock is Whisper White.  The layer was run through the Big Shot with the Northern Flurry embossing folder.  I then punched out the large and medium snowflake from one of the retired Big Shot Dies (I'm so sad this one is retired!).  I secured the snowflakes onto the whisper white layer using one of our retired Chocolate Chip brads (another item I was sad to see retire - I've been hoarding this little beauties for a while now ... and now I have no more chocolate ones :(  Oh well ... that which does not kill us ....)

The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and is from the carried over set Greetings of the Season.  I would recommend grabbing this set while you can.  I'm sure come May 31st it will be gone forever!

That's it for this post.  Pop in again tomorrow to see what else I have to share!  (See??  I'm making up for not posting all of last week!)  Until then - have a stampy day!


Tam

Simply Sketched Christmas

Happy Friday!

As promised, I have a project to share today while I'm relaxing in Vegas.  I can't take any credit for it, though - I CASEd it from the very talented Melissa Davies.  Hop over to her blog at www.rubberfunatics.blogspot.com .  She does some amazing works and is always full of awesome ideas.  I follow her blog and pin a LOT of her work.  This idea came directly from her:

Isn't it awesome?!?  The more of these I made the more I liked it!  SO quick and easy - simple and elegant!  I used a Whisper White base with a Whisper White layer.  I stamped the image from the Simply Sketched hostess set in Balck Staz On and then used my blender pens with Raspberry Ripple and Old Olive inks to color it.  You can't really tell from the picture but the berries have Dazzling Details added to them for a little frosted yumminess!  I stamped the greeting from More Merry Messages in black Staz-on, punched it out with the Decorative Label punch and popped it up on dimensionals.  Done!  Brilliant!  This just may be my mass-produced card for this Christmas.

Thanks again, Melissa for the card - I love your work!

Pop in again tomorrow for another project :)  Until then - have a stampy Friday!


Tam

Lovely As A Tree ...

Happy Thursday!

The countdown is on!  Once I pick up the kids at 11:30 pm I'm packing up the car and heading to the airport - Viva Las Vegas!!  I can't WAIT to spend 3 full days with my husband ... alone!!!  We so rarely go away just the 2 of us - it will be a real treat.  Since school started back in September we pretty much just pass in the halls - I miss him!!!  It will be so awesome to have some good, quality time together!!!

OK - enough bragging already ... onto today's project:

Yes ... you've seen it before ... but this time it's without the flocking!  When I was trying to come up with another card for my Stamp-a-Stack I stumbled across this one from Technique Class last week and figured "why re-invent the wheel"?  It's such a pretty card - I love Night of Navy on Whisper White - it's really striking!  In order to speed the card making process up (which is a MUST for a Stamp-a-Stack!) I omitted the *flocking* aspect from it.  It truly is a fast card to make!  I gave all the details on how to make it on my post last week, if you have any questions about it ... and I have to keep this short and sweet so I can leave town - woo hoo!

I have a few more posts ready to go while I'm away so pop in again soon to check those out.

If you would like to order anything from the big Extravaganza Sale while I'm away click here to place an on-line order and have it shipped directly to your door.  If that doesn't float your boat then send me an e-mail and I'll order for you when I'm back on Monday.

Until next time - have a stampy day - I know I will!


Tam

Endless Wishes

Happy Wednesday!

So!  Have you checked out the Stampin' Up! website to see the DOOR CRASHER SALE items??  Check them out here ... then hop over here to place your on-line order through my website and have your items shipped directly to your door!!  I will be placing an order tonight at 8:00 pm SHARP so if you want to save a bit on shipping send me an e-mail before then ... I HAVE to place it tonight so I can focus on packing for my weekend away - we leave tomorrow!!

Now!  Onto my project for today.  This is another card that I had planned for my Stamp-a-Stack last Sunday ... but I ws low on rhinestones so it didn't make the cut:

Quick and easy!  I used Whisper White and Real Red card stock, along with Tempting Turqoise and Early Espresso inks for the stamping (thank you dear color coach!!).  The stamp set is the new(ish) photopolymer set Endless Wishes.  This set was so popular Stampin' Up! had to turn off the order code for a few days in order to manage the backlog!!  It's a great set full of fantastic words ... in a great font (any other font lovers out there?!)  I made a dovetail in the sentiment strip and then used my finger dauber to ink the edges with Early Espresso to give it some depth ... and then popped it up on dimensionals.  I had a FEW rhinestones left so added those for a touch of bling.  I like the clean, simple look of it ... alas ... it was kind of kaka without the bling ... so I had to come up with something else.

Pop in tomorrow to see what that was.  Until then ... happy shopping ... and have a stampy day!


Tam

Warmth & Wonder

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks for popping in to see my project for today.  It's another busy one as I do those 1,000 things before leaving town so I'll get right to it ...

Here is a card I designed for my Stamp-a-Stack ... but it didn't make the final cut :)

I like it!

I used Whisper White and Bermuda Bay Card stock and the Hostess Set "Warmth & Wonder" at the back of the holiday mini catalogue.  It's a 2-step stamping set which means you two of the stamps in the set to create the tree.  The tree itself is stamped in Soft Suede.  The little dots were stamped in Bermuda Bay and then again with Silver Encore Ink.  The snowflakes are also from this set and are also in the Silver Encore Ink.  I stamped the sentiment (ALSO from the set) with Bermuda Bay, punched it out with the Extra large Oval punch (page 182 - $22.95), tied some Baked Brown Sugar ribbon around the layers, popped the sentiment up on dimensionals and added a rhinestone to the middle of the ribbon for a little bling.  I WANTED to add a bunch of rhinestones to the trees but I couldn't ... I was OUT OF RHINESTONES!!!  HOW do these tragedies occur???  I've had so many classes and workshops in the last few months that I didn't know my ever-present HUGE stash of rhinestones slowly but surely diminishing ... and then there were none *insert gasp of horror here*.  I KNOW!  I was sent into a tail spin ... and had to abort the card for the Stamp-a-Stack :(  Oh well ... *they* say "that which does not kill us makes us stronger" ... it didn't kill me ... and it stretched my creativity to try to design 5 Christmas cards with minimal bling ... but I'm assuming it made my creativity stronger.  Ya.  Let's go with that.

Pop in again tomorrow to see another card I had to abort due to no bling.  Too bad - it was a great card for a Stamp-a-Stack.  Until then ... have a stampy day!



Tam

 Oh! Did you remember that today is the day the new One Week Sale begins? Check here to check out what's on offer. And don't forget to check that site out again tomorrow ... for the BIG DOOR CRASHER SALE ITEMS that are on offer!!!

Best of Christmas

Happy Monday!!!

Have you missed me??  Once again I have WANTED to post over the last 7 days but there simply aren't enough hours in the day ... I was fighting fires all week and simply didn't get a chance to post.  On the bright side, I'm determined to get 6 or 7 posts done in the next 24 hours and schedule them to pop up every morning so you have a reason to come back and see what I managed to come up with last week.  The countdown is on until I head off to Las Vegas and that means I WILL get everything on my to-do-list done before Thursday morning.  Nothing like time pressure to get my butt in hear - heck, this morning I finally managed to send in Albert Blue Cross claim forms that I *planned* to submit back in August ... AUGUST!  Yep - nothing like taking 4 days off to make you accomplish 4 months of work *lol*.

So!  First up ... this is a card I came up with for my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack that ran yesterday (it was touch-and-go as to whether or not it would go ahead thanks to the 20 cm of snow we got Saturday ... but you can't stop a stamper!!  My brave ladies made the trek and we had a great time!)

Here is my card:

Ta Da!  It's so cute!  I like to offer my stampers a variety of *feel* with my stamp-a-stacks - whimsical, traditional, religious and so on.  This was my more religious offering.  Before I give you the details of it I want to share just how it came to be.  As of last Wednesday I still hadn't designed any cards for my SAS.  I was over at my friend Wanda's house and she showed be a number of cards she had recently made.  Here is one she let me borrow ... 

I loved this card ... and the PLAN was to case it ... but in usual Tamara form once I got it home and tried it myself it morphed into the card I ultimately came up with.  So let's see ... exactly what is the same about it??  ... the circle ... that's about it *lol*  Truth be told I probably WOULD have cased it exactly but I'm hoarding my DSP from the Season of Style paper stack for my Christmas Shoe class that is coming up ... and I only had 3 sheets of Crumb Cake card stock left so it HAD to morph!

For my card I started with a Whisper White base.  I then used a Cherry Cobbler layer of 4" x 5 1/4".  Another layer of white - 3 3/4" x 5" and then a layer of the Naturals Ivory card stock (page 156 - $9.25 for 40 sheets)  I really like the sand-like color of this card stock!  For the stamps I used the manger scene from the Best of Christmas set (item #132152 - $17.95) and More Merry Messages (item 126402 - $30.95 clear; item #126400 - $40.95 wood)  Both images are stamped in Soft Suede ink.  The Natural Ivory layer was run through the Big Shot with the heart embossing folder from Adorning Accents (item 125601 - $10.95 for 3 folders).  Now - for the manger piece.  I decided to save a tree and save some card stock (that and I was losing the will to live by 9:00 pm Saturday night and really didn't want to cut more layers for the punched out image ...) SO  Here is what I did:  I took the Whisper White 3 3/4" x 5" layer of paper and stamped the image right in the middle of it:

 I then used my 2 1/2" circle punch to punch it out:

 I then adhered the white layer to the rest of the card:

 .. and then I adhered the Naturals Ivy piece on top ... hiding the hole ... and saving a tree :)  Aren't I clever?

To finish the card off I colored the little heart on the image with my Cherry Cobbler marker.  It needed just a LITTLE punch of Cherry cobbler somewhere else to tie it all together.  After spending about 45 minutes with various buttons, jewels, ribbon and heart I settled on what I think was the perfect touch ... the little teeny heart that comes from the Owl Builder Punch (page 183 - $22.95).  I find it quite interesting that although I use this punch ALL the time I have never actually made an owl with it - go figure! *lol*  I used a mini glue dot to stick it on becase life is WAY to short to do it any other way!

So there you have it!  One post down, a whole bunch to go!  Pop in again tomorrow to see some more Christmas card *CASEs*.  Thanks for looking in - until next time, have a stampy day!


Tam

Serene Silhouettes Birthday

Happy Sunday!

Brrrr ... a nippy one here in Edmonton today.  A high of -17 degrees.  That calls for a pajama day in my books!!  ... and a really good excuse to work on my new knitting project - an infinity scarf!  I really SHOULDN'T have taken on something new - you know me - when I get a new project I'm like a dog with a new bone and everything else seems to fall to the wayside until it's done ... but I have been ITCHING to make one of these scarves!  Now that I think about it it has been about 6 years since I picked up the old knitting needles and now that I have I remember how much I love knitting!! ... Hmmm ... I wonder if I can incorporate knitting into card making ... ooooo *insert shudder here* ... no ... I don't think would really work out too well ... better keep them seperate!

OK!  On to today's card!  This is a pretty little card that I had planned to use for my Stamp-a-Stack ... but I wasn't in the *mood* for the layout.  I'm so into the crisp and clean look this month that it was too noisy for me.  I like it ... but didn't want to mass produce it.  Here it is:

I used Very Vanilla and Early Espresso inks and cs.  I stamped the En Francais stamp (page 100 - $16.95 clear; $21.95 wood) with Crumb Ink then the birds from Serene Silhouettes (page 64 - $21.95 clear; $30.95 wood) in Early Espresso.  I tied some Very Vanilla seam binding around it in a bow (page 173 $9.50).  I stamped the sentiment from the Hostess Set Express Yourself, punched it out with the Extra Large Oval Punch (page 182 - $22.95) and popped it up on dimensionals.  I added 5 pearls to the sentiment and, although you can't really see them, 3 pearls to the tree.  That's it!  Quick and Easy!

 

Right!  Off to get those knitting needles and knit the afternoon away!  Pop in again soon to see what else I'm up to this weekend.  Until then -have a stampy Sunday!

 

 

Tam

Masculine Birthday - Wetlands

Happy Saturday!

Another busy day today so I'll get right to it!

I absolutely LOVE the quick, clean layout of today's card!  I can't take credit for it - I CASEd it from Pinterest, designed by Jaydee over at www.jaydeestamping.com .  I changed the colors slightly and added an extra sprig of the wheat but the layout and design is all Jaydee's!  Here is my version:

So quick and easy!  I used Crumb Cake for the base and Very Vanilla for the layer.  First I punched out the cricle using my Circle Framelits (page 186 - $32.95).  Then I stamped the goose from Wetlands with Basic Gray Ink and the wheat from the same set with Crumb Cake on the circle, plus the wheat on the card layer.  I used a blender pen to add a little Crumb Cake shading to the goose.  I cut a flag from a 3/4" x 3 1/2" scrap of Very Vanilla and stamped the sentiment in Basic Gray.  I added a retired brad and popped the circle up on dimensionals.  That's it!  It takes about 3 minutes to put together - my kind of card!!  The sentiment is fromFrom the Heart (page 99 - $35.95 clear; $48.95 wood).  It's the perfect size and font for this little beauty.  However!  I'm all about finding a set that can be used in it's entirety on one card ... ie you shouldn't HAVE to have more than one set to make a lovely card ... so I made the card again using the sentiments that come WITH Wetlands ... here they are:

Perfect! They all *just* fit and now I have cards for different occasions - all with the same layout and design - perfect!  Thanks to Jaydee for the card to CASE.  Remember Gals - there is no shame in copying work from another crafter!  Why reinvent the wheel?  A great card is a great card .... AND ... it's a COMPLIMENT to the designer!  ... Just make sure you give credit where credit is due :)

That's all for today.  Pop in again soon to see another birthday card that I designed for the Stamp-a-Stack ... but didn't quite make the cut.  Until then, have a stampy day!


Tam

Warm Birthday Wishes

Happy Friday!!!

Today's the day ... I'm FINALLY going to get caught up on a few things around here!  First up is to share a card from last week.  I LOVE this card for all the winter birthday's I have coming up.  We made it at my Birthday Stamp-a-Stack last weekend, again for Technique Class this week and we'll be making it at a party tomorrow night.  It's a great, versatile card as it can be used for birthdays or for Christmas ... I love double duty cards!  Here it is:

Isn't it pretty?  I was thrilled that I finally found a card where I could use the Winter Frost Designer Series Paper Stack papers.  I'm not gunna lie.  When I first saw this paper in the mini catalogue it didn't blow my heair back ... but that happens a lot when I see new products ... but I order them anyway and I'm usually pleasantly surprised when I get the product.  This time I wasn't.  I didn't realize that there were only two double sided patterns ... I thought it was all the same patterns as is found in the larger Winter Frost Specialty DSP.  "Oh well", I thought ... I'm sure I'll still use it and it IS nice that I get so many of the same sheets of paper - makes it a lot easier when I design for my classes and/or Stamp-a-Stacks ... I don't have to ration the DSP due to only having 2 sheets of the same pattern.  Ya - no.  I TRIED to use this DSP NUMEROUS times but just couldn't get it to work ... until now.  This DSP is PERFECT for this kind of card ... one with thin layers of "flags".  The patterns are so bold that they can easily overwhelm a card if using a large piece of it ... this type of design gives just enough *punch* without making it too busy.  Perfect!  I used Whisper White and Island Indigo cs for the base an layer.  The flags are made with two strips of the DSP and one strip of Smoky Slate cs.  The bottom two flags are 1" wide and the top flag is 3/4" wide.  and each length is slightly shorter .. I think they are 4 1/4", 3 3/4" and 3 1/2" (but don't quote me ... the card is now 2 floors below me and I don't wanna go down and get it to measure *lol*).  The sentiment is from Blooming with Kindness (page 65 of the catty - $20.95 clear; $27.95 wood).  I made a few of these cards into Christmas Cards using sentiments from More Merry Messages and they fit perfectly into the oval ... which I punched out with my Oval Framelits (page 186 - $32.95).  I used my finger daubers to ink the edge of the oval with Pool Party.  I tied some of the 1/8" silver ribbon (from the mini - $6.95) around the layers and popped the sentiment up on dimensionals.  As I used this card from my Stamp-a-Stack I ran out of the silver ribbon so I grabbed some of my free Island Indigo and Pool Party satin ribbon that I got during Sale-a-brations last year and used that - it looked awesome too!  It's hard to see in the picture above but I added a strip of 5 rhinestones to the top flag layer for a little bling.  The perfect finishing touch!

This card was a hit and is a *keeper* layout.  I'll definitely be using it again!

That's it for now - pop in again tomorrow to check out the last birthday card we made at my Stamp-a-Stack.  It's a great masculine card!  Until then - have a stampy Friday!!


Tam

Flocking Technique Tutorial

Happy Wednesday!!

I can see the finish line!!!  Yesterday I doubted I would make it ... I thought if there was ever a time I was going to spontaneously combust yesterday was it ... but I'm still here and sprinting to the finish line!  I just finished packing for my party tonight and can't WAIT to start stamping with some new moms and my favorite first-time-mom Ms Sara :)

SO!  I still have 3 cards from last week to share with you but I couldn't WAIT to share this one first.  Hee hee - I was vibrating (as I do) when I came up with what I think is a whole new technique!!  ... Oh I'm pretty sure some other crafty lady has done it in the past but I haven't seen it before ... and I had even looked for it in the past via Google.  So!  Without further adeau I give you (drum roll please ......)

My Flocking Technique card:

Ooooo ... ahhhhhh .... so soft and floofy (yes, it's a word!) 

I don't know which I had more fun with ... making the card or coming up with a name for the technique.  Of course I settled on the boring old "Flocking Technique" just to make it easier for people to find it via Google, Pinterest and/or my blog but the fun options were endless!  My first instinct was to call it "Oh, Flock It!" ... that quickly moved on to "Oh, Faux Flock Sake" ... and my personal favorite "Try it ... it's fun ... if you don't believe me, Faux Flock yourself!" *lol* Yes, those of you who know me and my *potty mouth* I'm sure are SHOCKED that I settled on "Flocking Technique" ... but there you have it ... this IS a family-friendly blog, after all *lol*.

So!  Who wants a pictoral tutorial on how to make this little piece of flockiness?? (ok ... THAT'S not a word ... but it's cute ... and it's my blog so I can make up words if I wanna ...)

First off!  Head to your bathroom and find your Cotton Pads ... or cotton balls ... both would work ... (of course during class on Tuesday we came up with one or two OTHER cotton based products that could work as well ;) *lol*)  

Due to my addiction to Costco and Costco sized *anything and everything* I just "happened" to have 8 rolls of cotton pads in my closet.  One pad will do ( well, unless you want to make 100 of these cards ... then you would need 100 pads ... and a Costco sized pack!) ... but I digress ...

Tear the pad into two pieces, exposing the soft floofy inside of it.

 Stamp your image. I used Lovely as a Tree in Night of Navy (on a Whisper White layer)

 Make sure the ink is dry.  Once dry, cover your layer piece entirely with Versamark.  I suggest using your oldest, grungiest (??!!) Versamark pad as the ink will very likely transfer from your card stock to your pad (... if you use a pretty, new pad that would quickly make it old and grungy!)

Sprinkle the entire layer with Heat & Stick powder:

Heat until melted with your Heat Tool:

 

The card stock will now be tacky.  You don't have to work crazy fast, but don't doddle too long ... the longer you wait the less tacky it becomes.  Grab your cotton pad and dab the floofy side all over the tacky layer:

The cotton will stick to the layer:

If you aren't happy with the amount of cotton left on the card you can re-heat your card stock and re-dab until you get the desired amount of floofyness.

On my first attempt my card looked a little dirty and more like a fur ball the cat yacked up than a pretty Christmas card ...

... but once I pulled off the crazy excess floofyness and then sprinkled it with some dazzling diamonds it came out quite pretty!

The Dazzling Diamonds gets trapped in the cotton fluff but it still may rain glitter when the recipient opens it.  I suggest once you apply the glitter ...

 ... flip over the card and flick / tap / spank the back of the card stock so as much glitter as possible falls off ...

For this particular card I finished it off with a banner stamped from the Hearts a Flutter set and the sentiment from More Merry Messages (carried over from last year's catty).



Oh!  I forgot about the pretty little scalloped border along the bottom of the Night of Navy Card stock!  I used the new Rotary Trimmer attachment and the *Small Scallop Stampin' Trimmer Rotary Cutting Blade* blade ... sheesh!  That's even more verbose than I am!!!  I think they need a shorter name!  *lol*  Now.  I was GOING to take pictures of how to attach this new bad boy to your Stampin' Trimmer and then how to use it ... but I didn't wanna ... Stampin' Up! has a lovely You Tube Video which taught me ... so watch this video and then you'll know how too!

\

Doesn't it make you want to go grab yours and try it out?  I admit it ... I bought it months ago but only unwrapped it Monday ... it's 1:38 and I still haven't made the beds or done the breakfast dishes yet (but I finished my blog post ... it's all about priorities, right??!!)

 

So that's it for today ... but I DO have more cards to share so pop in again soon to check those out.  Until then ... have a stampy day!

 

 

Tam

Wishing You Birthday

Happy Sunday!!

Although it's BEGINNING to look a lot like Christmas ... and although the stamp set I used for today's card is from a Christmas set it's the 3rd card for today's Birthday Stamp-a-Stack.  I love the clean and simple look of it (I seem to be in that kind of a mood this week!).  Check this out:

Yes, it's a standard sized card ... just took the pic at the wrong angle ... again *lol*  Hey!  I'm a master papercrafter, not a photographer!!  ... but I'll work on it, I promise :)

This card uses a Whisper White base with a Whisper white layer measuring 5" x 3 3/4".  I stamped the presents from the "Wishing You" set in the holiday mini (page 23 - $14.95 clear; $17.95 wood) in Bermuda Bay.  Ahhhhh - Bermuda Bay ... my favorite color in the brights .... but I digress ... I used my Oval Framelits to punch it out (did you scoop that little baby up when it was on sale last week???!!!)  I used Crushed Curry and Cherry Cobbler for the layers.  The Crushed Curry piece measures 1" x 3" and the Cherry Cobbler piece is 1/2" x 3".  I made a dovetail using my paper snips (also on sale last week!!!)  The presents are popped up on dimensionals and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes - another must have set .. page 44 - $32.95 clear; $45.95 wood.  I recommend the wood for this set.  I find the tiny stamps easier to work with when they are permanently mounted on the wood blocks ... just my opinion ... I stamped the sentiment in Cherry Cobbler.  A Candy Dot in Cherry Cobbler ties it all together.  Love it!

Wanna see more?  Pop back again to check out the fourth card.  Until then ... happy shoveling for my Edmontonian friends ... happy Sunday to all!


Tam

Flower Shop Birthday

Happy Saturday!

Thanks for popping back to check out my second card for tomorrow's Stamp-a-Stack.  Hopefully the predicted 20 cm of snow today won't keep people from making it safely!!  Ugh - 20 CM!!!  I KNOW we live in Canada ... and I KNOW we were lucky to make it to November without the white stuff but to go from 0 to 20 cm hurts!!!  Walking the dog won't be NEARLY as enjoyable as it was last week!!  On the *up* side it will keep me happily crafting in the warmth of my *happy place* for 4 to 6 months (dog walking notwithstanding!)

SO!  Today's card was VERY quick to put together ... well ... AFTER I spend about 45 minutes trying to put the stamp set TOGETHER!!!  Running on 4 hours of sleep relly didn't help trying to figure out the puzzle of this set ... Flower Shop.  There are lots of tutorials on-line showing EXACTLY how to put it together without the 45 minute hell ... of course I didn't watch those tutorials, thinking that the 5 years of post-secondary education would see me through.  I was wrong.  Watch the videos!  *lol*.  Here's the card:

Love it!!!  Again - the coloring is off ... but the colors are so crisp *live*!  DO YOU HAVE A COLOR COACH??  If you don't you really, really, REALLY should buy one.  I knew I wanted some regal colors for this card.  I don't often send out bright flowery cards in the fall/winter ... and this color combination blew me away!  I can't remember the last time I used my Perfect Plum ink or card stock.  It has probably been at LEAST a year ... it was the first time I used the ink with the new firm foam pad!!!  I hang my head in shame.  It's such a pretty color!  It pairs so nicely with the Raspberry Ripple and Crumb Cake inks ... youreally need to try this combo.  Love it!!  This card really doesn't need explaining ... but I will anyway.  Stamp the flowers from Flower Shop ($21.95 clear; $29.95 wood) ... punch them out with the coordinating Pansy Punch - page 183 - $21.95.  Pop the crumb cake one up on dimensionals.  Add some rhinestones to the centres and stamp a sentiment with black Staz-on.  I used a retired sentiment from Kind and Caring Thoughts - a level 3 hostess set from a few years back.  I love how the font works with the flowers.  Now, is it just me or does anyone else struggle to find just the right "happy birthday" sentiment??  EVERY time I go to make a card I spend at least 20 minutes looking for the right size, or the right font.  Drives me CRAZY!!!  I need to write SU to let them know we need a set similar to the "Another Thank You" but for birthday.  I'm sure they'll listen to me ;)

Right!  Off to cut for tomorrow ... and find that snow shovel!  Pop in again ... more cards to share!  Until next time ... have a stampy Saturday!!


Tam

Birthday Candle Four You

Happy Friday!

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday I was like a bear with a sore head.  Today I'm like a kitten with a new ball of yarn.  Ahhhh ... Halloween is over for another year - woo hoo! *lol*  Although I STILL had a lousy night sleep I don't have the same time pressure that I had a few days ago.  I bought some time by inviting mom and dad over for dinner Sunday so that gave me today with *nothing to do* ... well, nothing I HAD to do today, anyway ... so naturally rather than designing for Sunday's SAS I went to Costco :)  I couldn't help it ... I needed eggs!  But that's ok ... yesterday in my sleepy state I DID head down to the craft room before all the little ghosts and goblins came out and made 3 cards that I LOVE for Sunday.  3 down ... 2 to go ... and I have a few ideas for those so I'm not stressed at all.  So!  Wanna see card #1?  OK :)  Here it is:

Yay!  Kind of a lousy picture ... the lighting and angle is off ... but it IS a standard sized card ... and it's Whisper White.  I used my DSP from the Gingham Garden pack (page 153 - $13.50) ... yes, I finally CUT it!  The candle is 1/2" x 2 1/2" on a whisper white piece measuring 2" x 4".  The flame is made with Daffodil Delight using the Bird Builder Punch (page 183 - $22.95).  I used Old Olive for a mat measuring 2 1/4" x 4 1/4".  I then used another strip from Gingham Garden measuring 1" x 4 3/4".  The sentiment is from the Four You stamp set - page 22 -  $14.95 clear; $17.95 wood), stamped with Black Staz-on on a whisper white piece measuring 3 1/4" x 1 1/4".  The Daffodil Delight mat is 3 1/2" x 1 1/2" and is popped up on dimensionals.  A rhinestone adds a little bling and DONE!  I love the clean, crisp look of this one.  Definitely a "keeper" layout!!!

That's it for today.  Pop back soon to see my next quick, easy, clean birthday card.  Until then - have a stampy night!


Tam