Spring is coming, right???

This is the view from my front door right now. Yesterday, it was 52. Today, it is snowing. Fortunately, we are on the edge of the storm, so we are only supposed to get a few inches. But if March comes in like a lion, isn't it supposed to go out like a lamb??
Here is what I have been working on for the last few days. Not steadily, thank goodness! That would be pitiful. It's an acetate box. It's 2 inches square and 3 1/2 inches tall. As you can see by the second photo, it holds 7 peppermint patties comfortably.
You can find the pattern in this thread. I used last week's color combo from SCS: Whisper White, Soft Sky and Basic Gray. Love it, love it, love it! I stamped Seeing Spots on the acetate (AKA transparency sheets) using White StazOn. The stamp has a tendency to slide a little on the acetate, so a quick up-and-down motion with no hard pressing is best. I let it sit for a while to dry thoroughly before scoring. The acetate is adhered to the bottom piece with Sticky Strip. For the tag, I used Tagger's Dozen. Next time, I'll make the loop for the tag a little shorter.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Seeing Spots, Tagger's Dozen; Paper: acetate (non SU), Whisper White, Soft Sky; Ink: White StazOn, Soft Sky, Basic Gray marker; Accessories: small and large tag punches, hole punch, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain ribbon

Saturday Challenge # 9

This week's challenge is to make a monochromatic card. Just use shades of one color plus one neutral. If you upload to your SCS gallery, use keyword ISC09. Be sure to link back here to your gallery or blog!
A great way to get ideas for a monochromatic color scheme is to look at the SU Color Coach. On one side, there is a set of Dynamic Duos. That's how I chose Pumpkin Pie and Apricot Appeal plus white. There's not much stamping on this card. The background is Sanded stamped with Apricot Appeal craft ink and then heat set. The patterned paper is from the Level 1 Hostess Prints Pack (2 1/2" X 4"). I made 2 sets of scallops for the border using the scallop circle punch. (See this post for directions.) The flower is from the Die-cut Blooms in the Occasions Mini. I used a rub-on from A Perfect Day. (These are also in the Occasions Mini. The Die-Cut Blooms, A Perfect Day rub-ons, Summer Picnic paper and Tart & Tangy stamp set all coordinate. I love that!) I added some dimension to the flower with a felt flower from the Flower Fusion tin and a flowery brad from the Styled Sliver Hodgepodge Hardware. I tied on some Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon and added a row of rub-ons to the bottom of the card to finish it off.
Also, the layout is Beate's sketch for this weekend's challenge. She made the COOLEST accent for her card by gluing a half-pearl into the center of the flower ribbon slide. Check it out here.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Sanded; Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Die-cut Blooms, Apricot Appeal Prints DSP; Ink: Apricot Appeal craft; Accessories: A Perfect Day rub-ons, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Flower Fusion Accents & Elements, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

Rhonda's stamp club projects

My new downline, Rhonda, had her first stamp club meeting last week, and she was kind enough to share her projects with me. She also said I could post them here. They are so cool! Maybe you remember the cool 6X6 page holder that Rhonda gave me at Christmas. This is the project her group made for the holder. It uses Enjoy Every Moment and Ginger Blossom paper. The flowers for the letter O are punched from the patterned paper with the Boho Blossoms punch. The scalloped edge looks like it was made with the slit punch.
The card on the left is the faux silk technique. Rhonda stamped the flower from Embrace Life onto tissue paper and colored it using watercolor pencils and blender pen. The background swirl is from Baroque Motifs. The card on the right uses Simply Said. I love the felt flowers on there! The patterned paper is Bali Breeze, and the scalloped edge was made with the corner rounder punch with the guard removed.

Awesome projects, Rhonda, and thanks for letting me share them!

Split negative in eggplant

I finally finished my split negative cards. Here are the 3 I finished. It's kinda cool because you get 2 cards each time you do it. I just changed the ribbon.
Here is a close-up of one. This has the Basic Gray taffeta (!) and the other has eggplant grosgrain. In case you want more details, check out my original post.
On a totally different note, I cleaned off my craft table! I really wanted to put the magazine holders on it, so I bit the bullet and did it. (Just don't ask to see photos of my other table or my desk!) It still looks pretty good. I'm in the middle of a project that's on the table, and there's a VERY SMALL pile of cardstock to be re-filed. This is proof to my mother that I can actually clean/straighten something!
In case you are wondering about the table, it came from JoAnn's about 5 years ago. It has a drink holder, trash bag holder, carousel (not attached--it goes where the magazine holders are) and marker storage (underneath the lamp). I love the grid on the tabletop! The shelf on the wall was from Target several years ago. The back has moon and star cutouts. The top shelf has ribbon and very small stamp sets, middle shelf is Stampin' Stack containers, bottom shelf is adhesives, gel pens and blender pens.

Saturday Challenge # 8

This week's challenge is to make something that's not a card. It can be a box, a pouch, a tin, anything! I've been inspired to try new things by the demo challenges on SCS. On Friday, it's a 3-D challenge. Of course, I'm behind on them, but I'm trying to get there!
If you want to play along, please post a link here to your blog or your gallery on SCS. If you upload to SCS, use keyword ISC08. That's Indyemmert's Saturday Challenge! On Friday night, I'll randomly choose one player to receive a card in the mail. That gives you plenty of time to play because I want this to be fun, not stressful!
My project for today's challenge is 2 magazine holders. I'm going to put them on my craft table. One will hold project directions that I want to work on, and the other will hold In Color cardstock and specialty items like acetate. I used the Love & Happiness rub-ons to decorate mine. What fun! I did one in black and one in chocolate chip. I got the magazine holders from Ikea. They come in a 5-pack for only $2.99! I had already stamped on 3 of them. They hold my Stampin' Success magazines and mini catalogs. Rub-ons are definitely easier!
Happy stamping!

Look what I got in the mail!

Here are some gorgeous cards I got in the mail recently. The Soft Sky card is the birthday card Mama sent me. I just love the monochromatic look. What's so funny is that she made it in HER favorite color! What's up with that? LOL Thank goodness Denise sent me a purple card! She won blog candy and sent me this beautiful thank you note. The closure is the slit punch with a little hole punched in it and ribbons tied through the hole. Be sure to check out her blog for more cool projects. Beth sent me the third card. She used Easy Elegance, one of my all-time favorite stamp sets. Why, oh why couldn't they put it in the regular catalog??? This card makes me ready for spring!
Come back tomorrow for this week's challenge!

All this green is getting out of hand!

One of the demo challenges on SCS this week was to create a demonstratable card using only green and a neutral. I cracked open my new Prints Pack of paper (hostess level 1). For the flower, I punched the scallop circle punch twice. I cut from each indentation towards the middle to create the petals. I put a dimensional in between the 2 flowers. The center is a pop up glue dot covered with glitter. You just press the glue dot into the glitter, and the glitter completely covers it so it's not sticky anymore. (I saw this at a regional seminar a couple of years ago.) Below is a close-up of the photo so you can see the petals and the dimension better.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Fundamental Phrases; Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi cs and Prints; Ink: Whisper White; Accessories: scallop circle punch, pop up glue dots, crafters tool kit, Wild Wasabi ds ribbon, fine cosmo glitter

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Amazingly, I have a green card to post today. It's a total coincidence and pretty surprising, since I don't use green that often.

I've been wanting to try the split negative technique for a while, and I finally did it! I'm also working on an eggplant one that I hope to finish and post later this week. For directions on the split negative technique, I refer you to Lori Craig's fabulous tutorial here. As she states, the key to success is cutting the cardstock the same size as your stamp block.

I have to admit that I'm not 100% thrilled with this card. The reason is that the celery craft ink and celery cardstock don't match. Yes, I know they coordinate, but this is one instance where I want matching! So I'm only 99% thrilled with the card.

Just a few details for you. The card base is 8 X 5 1/4, folded in half. It's mounted onto a 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 piece of Certainly Celery cardstock. The black cardstock is textured.

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Hugs & Wishes; Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Basic Black textured; Ink: Whisper White & Certainly Celery craft; Accessories: clear EP, white EP, scallop circle punch, ticket corner punch, vintage brads, Certainly Celery narrow grosgrain ribbon

Later this week, I hope to post the eggplant card as well as some cards I've received in the mail lately. Happy stamping!

Saturday Challenge # 7

This week's challenge is to use a card for inspiration. I don't want you to CASE the card (copy it). Just use it as a jumping-off point.
I got some swaps in the last couple of weeks. I just loved Crystal's card! I saw it on her blog first, and I was thrilled when I got a real "live" one! There's a link to Crystal's blog over on the right, and she is caspen1973 on SCS. Her card is the top one, and mine is on the bottom.
I wanted to try the faux silk technique and also Beate's sketch for this week, so I used Crystal's card for inspiration and made it my own!
For the faux silk technique, you stamp onto tissue paper, crumple it up, smooth it out and then glue it onto a piece of cardstock. (Glue stick worked great for me.)
Happy stamping!
Supplies: Stamps: Always, Weathered; Paper: tissue paper, Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery; Ink: Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise; Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Tempting Turquoise narrow grosgrain, white gel pen, word window punch

Third Day Rocks Duluth!

Last night, I saw a fantastic show! Headliners Third Day with new band Revive, DecembeRadio and Sanctus Real. One of the things I love about Third Day is the way they turn a concert into a worship service. (Of course there are many other things to love! LOL) They encourage everyone to dance and sing along. Also, I found out that holding up your cell phone has replaced waving cigarette lighters. Welcome to the new millennium!
As an aside, I always get homesick for Georgia listening to Mac Powell talk. The band is from Atlanta just like I am!
When Mac was introducing all of the band members, he said, "There are 3 defining moments in history: the discovery of fire, the invention of the submarine, and the musical styling of Dr. Mark Lee!" That just cracked me up! I would add a fourth: Stampin' Up!

This is a band from Australia called Revive. They opened for Third Day in Australia, and the band invited them to come to America. So they live in Atlanta now, too! They were very friendly. I got high fives when I told them I'm from Atlanta. And the lead singer invited the whole audience to stay at his mum's house if/when we visit Down Under!
This is my friend and downline, Rhonda, with the lead singer of DecembeRadio, Josh. We saw them last summer at Higher Ground too. They are a great, hard-rocking band! Josh shook our hands and introduced himself to us, and the whole band signed Rhonda's CD. They were just as friendly at Higher Ground.
Sanctus Real is one of Daniel's favorite bands. He hasn't seen them in concert yet, and he had to work last night. He was so bummed! I bought him their new CD last night and got the lead singer's autograph. When I told him about Daniel, he said, "Tell him I said hi and that we missed having him here." Isn't that sweet?

I'll have the Saturday challenge up later today. I've gotta get stamping first!

Fun Workshop!

Here are the projects we made at the workshop tonight. We did the votive holder similar to the one I posted before. We made a tag punch envelope pouch. These are awesome and so easy! I used the tutorial by Amanda Collins. Inside the pouch, there are peppermint patties with scallop circle punches attached. The card we made was one I got from Stampers Showcase. I added a brad and ribbon slide from the new Hodgepodge Hardware.
Here's Pauline doing some wheeling. It was her first good wheel experience, and she also had her first rub-on success! Whoohoo!
Deb and her mom, Louise, are always so much fun! Louise was our hostess.
Louise's cat loved my purse! He was digging in it and laying on it.
Tomorrow night, I am going to an awesome concert: Sanctus Real, DecembeRadio and Third Day!
Saturday, I will post a challenge for you. If you have any suggestions, let me know! Happy stamping!

Weekend Sketch Challenge card

Here's the card I made for Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I needed a baby card this week, a rarity for me! One of my co-workers had a baby boy. I decided to use the Cutie Pie paper for the background; I used the white gel pen to add fake stitching. I don't have many baby stamps, so that choice was easy. I love this set from last year's spring mini; it's one of the few I kept that isn't current. Since I use the stampin' spots, it's easy to ink just one line at a time. I debated between using buttons or build-a-brads, but I thought the buttons would add more color. The rub-ons were so easy to put onto the buttons; just adhere the buttons first. The rub-ons even went right over the holes!

Supplies (all SU): Stamps: That's Nice; Paper: Shimmery White, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron, Cutie Pie DSP; Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron; Accessories: white gel pen, cutter kit, blue gingham ribbon, Soft Subtles buttons, Love & Happiness rub-ons, double hole punch

Saturday Challenge # 6

This week, the challenge is a little different. Find a card that you've made that you really like, and make the card again but totally change ONLY the color combo.

On the far left is a card that I made at the end of October at my up-up-upline, Sandi's. It's so pretty! The color combo is Naturals Ivory, Blue Bayou and Close to Cocoa. One day, I looked at the card and suddenly thought that I'd love to make it at a workshop, but I don't have the Blue Bayou ribbon. I started thinking about the ribbon that I have. Thanks to my NEW downline, Rhonda, I have a nice long piece of the Pomegranate ribbon, and Purely Pomegranate and Basic Gray is one of my favorite color combos! I thought Shimmery White would make it really elegant.
So I made the card, but the Pomegranate seemed a little too much. (That's the middle card.) I tried again, using Basic Gray for the sponging. It turned out great! Even though the card is the same, it has a much different look just because of the change in color. I was thinking this card would also look great using some of the other stamps in Priceless, especially the heart!
Happy stamping!

Sour cream container

Remember when you'd get a baked potato in a restaurant and they'd bring you a cute little triangular container of sour cream? Well, that's what this is based on! Isn't it adorable? It would be a great party favor. It could hold candy or even $50 gold pieces as Carol Duvall always says. It's very easy to make and doesn't even use a lot of materials. You can find Beate's fabulous tutorial here, but I'll tell you how I made mine too.

Beate's tutorial calls for 1/4 sheet of cardstock. I used a 4 X 6 piece of designer paper so I could get 6 from one 12 X 12 sheet. I used sticky strip to close it into a tube. Then I used sticky strip again to close each end and used the crimper 2 turns on each one. To get the authentic sour cream container look, the sealed ends should be turned 90 degrees from each other.

I like Beate's tip on putting the sticky strip on before closing up the tube, although it was not too hard to apply the sticky strip afterwards. She also has a pretty acetate one at the end of the tutorial.

It would be very easy to make a lot of these!

Supplies (all SU):
Stamps: Priceless, So Many Scallops; Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron, Rose Red, Cutie Pie; Ink: Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, white craft; Accessories: crimper, retired ribbon, scallop circle punch, 1 1/4 & 1 3/8 circle punches

Still using the accessories, baby!

This is the card I made for Beate's weekend sketch challenge. I'm continuing my "no more hoarding" theme for 2008. This card uses chipboard, glitter, ribbon, embossing powder, patterned paper and hardware! The bird on the chipboard is embossed in white and then I sponged the chipboard with Cameo Coral craft ink. My recommendation is to let the craft ink dry naturally and then use a baby wipe to carefully wipe the ink off the embossed image. You can always go back and fill in with more craft ink around the edges of the image as needed. (I tried drying the ink with the heat gun, and it set the ink on the embossing too.) I used the corner rounder punch to make the scalloped edges.
What's the most accessories you've ever used on one card?
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Always; Paper: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron Prints; Ink: Versamark, Cameo Coral (classic and craft), Chocolate Chip, So Saffron; Accessories: white EP, On Board Accents, heat & stick powder, fine Cosmo glitter, corner rounder punch, chocolate chip polytwill ribbon, Styled Silver hodgepodge hardware

Saturday Challenge # 5

This week's challenge is to use a stamp set that you haven't used in 2008. Bonus points if you combine it with another challenge. Here I've combined it with the no more hoarding challenge. I've used 3, count 'em, 3 brads, and one is a rhinestone brad. Shocking! I've also used some brand new ribbon, and my white gel pen.
I created this card for the Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS. This week's challenge seemed so hard that I just wanted to see if I could do it. Here's what you can use: One flower stamp and any embellishments. NO background stamps, NO decorative paper, and NO rub-ons except sentiments. Yikes!
I got the color combo from Julie's blog, Paper Pleasing Ideas. Last week, her color combo was Bordering Blue, Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie. I went through a bunch of saved card ideas on my computer until I found a layout that I thought would work; it was a card from Stampin' Up. Then I looked through my stamp sets to see which ones have been gathering dust. (There's more than I would care to admit!) I decided to use Bud Basics. Normally, I would use the coordinating jumbo wheel and then use the solid stamps to fill it in. But I thought the large outline stamp would make a good focal image as well as a good background. I stamped it in bleach on Wild Wasabi cardstock to create the background piece. (Different colors of cardstock will have different colors where you bleach depending on what the base color of cardstock is.)
For the focal image, I stamped on white cardstock using Pumpkin Pie ink. Then I used my aquapainter to pull some of the color from the outline to color in the petals. I'd never tried this before, and I was really pleased with the result!
Since I'm not hoarding my accessories any longer, I put a rhinestone brad in the center of the flower. The blue brads and the ribbon were part of the original card layout I CASEd. I added paper piercing and wrote the word "friend" with the white gel pen.
Supplies (all SU): Stamps: Bud Basics; Paper: Whisper White, Bordering Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi; Ink: Pumpkin Pie; Accessories: bleach, aquapainter, Ice Circles rhinestone brads, Fresh Favorites brads, white gel pen, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon, crafters tool kit
Tip: Whenever you see a card or technique you like, do you print it out? Do you have a HUGE stack of these? I used to do this. Now I save paper by saving the documents to my computer instead. I copy the image onto a blank document and also copy a link of where I found it so I can give credit. I've got folders on my computer for sketches and techniques. Then whenever I want, I can just look through the documents on my computer. When I want to use a particular one, I can either print it out or just leave it up on my screen to look at.