Birthday Wishes

One of my goals this year is to send out birthday cards to friends and family. I always start off with the best of intentions but before you know it, everyone's birthday has passed!

Today's card is totally not my normal style but I saw it on Jackie Topa's blog and loved how it used the new tag punch from the Occasions mini. It's great when a punch has more than one use and this card shows that.

I used my brayer to ink the sky (I'll be having a class on that soon!), stamped and cut out the flowers. Used my bigshot for the leaves and of course the tag punch for the fence posts. All you do is punch out however many posts you're going to need and adhere it to a strip of cardstock, very easy!

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Sincere Salutations, Nature Silhouettes
Paper: Rich Razzlebery, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive, Brocade Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzlebery, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive, Brocade Blue,

Thanks for stopping by!
Tina

Snow Days

I love snow days, LOVE. THEM. We had a blizzard that started yesterday evening and it's been blowing ever since. My poor neighbor across the street has a 3 foot snow bank over her entire driveway, we were spared because our house faces south, lucky us.

The kids have been playing all day, and almost no bickering. Can you tell why I'm loving this snow day! Lol. So that left me with a day of baking, cardmaking, and computer time. Perfect combination if you ask me.

Today's card is a fun card using bright colors. Another thing I like about this card is that I actually used some of the flowers from the Pretties Kit. At one point I just "had" to have that kit and find myself struggling to use some of the contents, like this flower but I really like it on this card. I used my brayer to ink it up to match the cardstock and the rest is very basic.

Stamps: Happy Moments (Sale-A-Bration set)
Paper: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, DSP-Sweet Pea
Ink: Old Olive, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Other: Pretties Kit, Button (not SU!)

Have a great day!
Tina

Valentine's box

I love how versatile Stampin' Up's dies are! The scallop envelope die makes such pretty envelopes but thanks to some very creative ladies over SCS, it also makes really cute boxes of all sizes. You could use these boxes filled with candy or it would be a great box for little note cards.

For those of you that are coming to my class this Monday this is actually one of the projects that we'll be making, they are so fun to make! The hardest part for me this Valentine's, will be deciding which small gift to give to our kid's teachers.

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Tiny Tags
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, DSP-Sending Love
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Other: Grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!
Tina

Valentine Fever

Isn't it crazy how we crafters go from one holiday to the next! We're ordering Christmas stuff in October, Valentine's in December, Easter in February, etc. But what would we stamp without all these holidays to keep us busy! Lol.

I saw this cute idea in the blog world and I thought it might make great teacher/co-worker gifts. You can find these cute little heart shaped boxes at almost any store, these have the cartoon characters on the front. But since they get covered it doesn't really matter what the outside looks like, buy whatever is in your budget. I think I'll hunt for boxes where you can remove the chocolate lining on the inside so that I could put my own baked goodies in there.

I first traced the heart on to the designer paper and cut it out and then lightly sanded the box itself so that the glue would have something to hold on to. I used our sanding blocks to lightly sand the edges so that they were nice and smooth. And than all you do is decorate to your liking. I used the scallop evelope die and punched/cut out a bunch of hearts so that they could spill out of the envelope, just like a card I posted earlier. Some of the hearts are on dimmensionals. Wrap the heart in ribbon and glue the envelope on and you're all set!

Stamps: I (heart) Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Real Real, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, DSP-Sending Love
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Other: Real Red Corduroy Buttons, Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon

Have a great day, and kiss the ones you love!
Tina

Winter is back

After a week of + degree weather you could almost feel spring in the air, but since it's only January we knew it would be short lived. Not that it's super cold now, but it's lightly snowing and we're definitely back in winter mode.

Today I'll be posting the other two cards that I experimented with for my Demo card swap. I ended up choosing the first one in this post, made with Rich Razzleberry.

Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Orchid Opulance, Whisper White, DSP-Cottage Wall
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Other: Rhinestoen brad


Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: Old Olive
Other: Rhinestone brad, Grosgrain ribbon

Have a great day!
Tina

Butterfly overload!

Have a I mentioned yet how much I love the new Beautiful Wings embosslit die?! So easy to make a pretty cards.

Stampin' Up! has just launched a brand new site for us Demonstrators to go for ideas and a great forum for all of us demos to interact with each other. So while I was on there one day I signed up for my first ever card swap, eek. The hard part was deciding what kind of card I should make. So that left me with experimenting, and today's cards is one of the results. I opted for a different card than this one but I still like it, it's a really quick card for when you find yourself needing one out of the blue.

Stamps: SAB set
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, DSP-Sweet pea
Ink: Chocolate Chip

Have a great day!
Tina

Sweet Treats

I saw these adorable gum wrappers from a fello demonstrator and knew instantly that I wanted to make them for my class attendants. I love to give everyone a little something fun to take home to show them how much I appreciate them coming out to my classes.

If you're in the Steinbach area why not give me a call and plan to attend my next one, January 25, 7:00pm. We'll be making 2 cards using various techniques and one
3-D project. For more info or to see the rest of my class schedule just click on the Stampin' Up! logo on the left and that will take you to my Stampin' Up site where you'll find my schedule for the next little while.

Aren't they cute?!!!!!!!!!!! I popped the hearts on dimensionals and used the new Pinking Hearts border punch. I then used the Round Tab punch to create the little tab on the side. The notch was created using the slit punch, you could use a small circle punch.
Stamps: I heart Hearts
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Very Vanilla, DSP-Sending Love
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip

Thanks for stopping by!
Tina

Quiet Mornings

Good morning everyone! I love quiet Monday mornings, especially after a busy weekend. But having said that I really should get busy and start with my long list of to do's.

I made this card last week only never got around to posting it. I don't think I quite got it right but I do love the colour combo. I was just so excited to be able to use some of our new paper out of the Occasions mini! I stamped the main image on watercolour pp and using my aqua painter to watercolour. I once again coloured the leaves in old olive and used always artichoke to create some deeper shadows. I also used taken with teal behind the image to help the flowers pop off the paper a little.
The flowers were coloured using my brayer, I really find that to be one of the fastest ways to colour flowers.

Stamps:
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Dusty Durango, Whisper White, Watercolour pp, DSP-Sweet Pea
Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Dusty Durango, Taken with Teal
Other: Brads, Latte Buttons, Pretties Kit (flowers)

Thanks for stopping by.
Tina

My love overfloweth

I spent a good part of the day playing with my new stamps, punches, etc. And I didn't feel the least bit guilty, lol. Every once in a while you have to have a day where you do something that brings you happiness and forget about what you could be doing. Although it was nice that the housework was caught up because otherwise I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt when I have a stamping day.

Today's card looks a little busy but I saw this idea using the Scallop Envelope die with a bunch of hearts spilling out of it and I really wanted to try it. I did take away a piece of dsp and that helped to lose some of the chaos. I only wish the envelop was a little more visible, but the ribbon is on there now and I'm not removing it.

Very easy card, I used the new I Heart Hearts set and the matching punches. And of course, my new favorite, the Scallop Trim punch!

And here's a shot of the inside, I love finishing the inside. It helps to balance out the weight of the front and makes the card feel finished. Plus with all the new dsp and punches it's super quick and easy!

Stamps: I Heart Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink, DSP-Sending Love
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Other: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

Have a great weekend!
Tina

I am in Looooooooooooooove

I tease my husband sometimes that he has to compete with my love of stamps and all things stamping, lol. Thankfully he has a sense of humor and gives me a big smooch, (You can almost hear my kids going "eeeeeewww"!

But seriously! I am in love with the new Occasions mini. Wow, I love the new stamps, the clear acrylic blocks, all the new dsp!! My brain doesn't know where to start. So I opted to case a card that I found on one of my favorite blogs, only problem is, I'm not sure which one it was (sad, I know). It was either from "Pickled Paper Designs" or "Just give me Stamps". But as soon as I saw her card I knew I wanted to try that same card with SU's new Beautiful Wings embosslit die.

This was such an easy card to make, well it took me a little longer because I kept quietly gushing to myself about how beautiful the butterflies were, lol. Shh, don't tell my husband or he'll really think I've lost it! The middle piece of cardstock was embossed with Backgrounds 1 texture plates, love the effect it gives.

Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Bermuda Bay
Ink: Soft Suede
Other: Rhinestone Brad, Beautiful Wings Embosslit die, Texture Plates

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Tina

The Evidence is gone...

Yesterday I spent the morning cleaning up all the Christmas decorations, and boy was there a lot to clean up. But when you're done it feels so clean and refreshed, I can't believe how much dust can collect on the decorations in such a short period of time. And my DH decided to take the kids snow sledding while I am baking us a little treat that I'm sure won't last for very long, our kids don't stop eating. Ever, lol.

But enough rambling, on to the card. I made this card once again using the new Abundant Hope stamp set, love it! I watercoloured on watercolour paper using SU! ink pads and my aqua painters, very easy. I used Old Olive on the leaves and stem and then used Always Artichoke to give a little deeper shading for the shadowed areas.

Stamps: Abundant Hope
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulance, Old Olive, Watercolour pp, DSP-Cottage Wall
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, So Saffron, Always Artichoke
Other: Grosgrain Ribbon

Have a great Sunday!
Tina

Simple Thanks

Hi everyone, it's another cold, cold day here in Manitoba but it looks like we'll get some warmer weather soon. Yesterday I literally gasped as I stepped into the cold outside of Superstore, brrr! But at least I gave the gentleman coming in a nice laugh, lol.

I am in the process of making some Clean & Simple cards for a potential client and I thought this card fit the bill rather nicely. I always struggle with a card that has no designer paper on it, I can't help by think of how nice it would look to add just a strip. I guess you could say I have an addiction, lol.

As you can see it's a very simple card, the picture isn't showing the colours very accurately but you get the idea. I love the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, it adds a nice elegant touch to any card.

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes
Paper: Soft Suede, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow
Ink: Soft Suede
Other: Antique Brads

Thanks for stopping by!
Tina

The snow has been falling softly for the last two days, you would think that I would be making winter cards, but instead I made a card that is the opposite, lol. Maybe it's my way of coping with the cold...

Some of the paper that I used today is retired but every once in a while I like to use it, otherwise it collects dust forever! Very basic card, not much to say about it, but I did get to use my new punch again on this card, loooooooooove this punch. I did the faux stitching using the chocolate chip marker and that beautiful ribbon is from the clearance rack at Stampin' Up! LOVE this ribbon and it's so cheap, which means that I'll actually use it. I'm probably the only that does this but if the ribbon was a little pricier I try not to use "too much" or I'll run out, lol.

Stamps: Define Your Life, Seaside?
Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Whisper White, DSP-Retired
Other: Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Chocolate Chip marker

Have a great day!
Tina

Happy New Year!

My poor neglected blog, it's been a while hasn't it! I hope everyone had a great holiday and enjoyed some time to relax. We had a good Christmas, spent it with family in Alberta and are now very happy to be home and back to our regular schedule.

I can definitely tell that I am in dire need of some new stamping stash, lol. It was a challenge to find the right paper, the right stamps, and the right layout. Funny how new stamps and paper can make the creative juices flow.

But after all that trouble I think I like this card. one of my favourite colour combos is black, kraft & very vanilla. I believe the layout was from a sketch challenge over at SCS, as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use it. The designer paper is retired and I can't remember what it was called. I embossed the main image in black and the rest is stamped in basic black. I added a black brad to the center of the little flower.

Stamps: Of The Earth, Flight of the Butterfly, (Sentiment is from a retired hostess set)
Paper: Basic Black, Kraft, Very Vanilla, DSP-Retired
Ink: Basic Black, Versmark
Other: Black Embossing powder, Black Brads, Black Grosgrain Ribbon, Nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by!
Tina