Life's Short, Live it with Zest

One of last month's projects.  Base is whisper white embossed with Layered Leaves EF
Add a layre of Pear Pizazz then another whisper white stamped with Lemon zest in Daffodil Delight on the left and sentiment to the right with Memento Black.

Stamp another lemon whole and a slice with Daffodil Delight  and 2 leaves with Pear Pizazz on a scrap of whisper white and punch it out with the Lemon builder punch.  Cut the lemon slice in half and save one for use on the inside.  Layer with dimensionals as shown.

Stamp the matching sentiment on the inside and glue the other half of the lemon slice on the inside.  Easy peasy card.

eskimo girl with bear

When I saw the little girl thought igloo- someone told me there was another card they saw with the same idea but I guess great minds think alike eh?  The base is black with piece of whisper white embossed with Softly falling embossing folder. I took a piece of  vanilla - for a little contrast and Seaside embossing folder to create the base.  I used the Brick Wall EF to emboss a piece of whisper white then  freecut and igloo by hand. I used the door die from the Sweet home set to make the door and the fox punch idea I saw from http://fortheloveofstamping.blogspot.com/  for the polar bear and the fish- sentiment from the Snow Place stampset from the main catalogin Island Indigo to compete the card.  The girl was colored with markers, Island indigo, real red, sahara sand and smoky slate.

A Butterfly Basics case

 I saw a card by Miss Vicky on Splitcoast with this flower out of the box and I just loved it- changed the colors, ribbon, sentiment but still basically the same template. 

I really like the Sahara Sand as a neutral - embossed with theSpring Flowers EF and a layer of the Best Year Ever DSP from Sale-a-bration- such pretty color combination!

I tied the Coastal Cabana ribbon from the Best Year Ever accessory pack.

All the colors are lifted from the DSP.

I stamped the Butterfly Basics flower on a slightly larger piece of whisper white and colored it with blenderabilities and removed some color with the color lifter to highlight and then stamped the honeycomb with Sahara Sand.  Cut the cardstock to size and cut around the parts outside the box. Layer with Crushed Curry cardstock. Stamp the butterfly and ink the sentiment from BYOP - thanks so much with soft suede and Calypso Coral markerss on a piece of whisper white.  Cut the banner and sponge the edge with Coastal Cabana and mount with dimensionals.   Add a little pearl on the butterfly and all done.

Sea Street Hello

   Love this little Octopus.  The base card is crumbcake with a layer of whisper white stamped with images in  Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon.  The sentiment is from Just Sayin' - I cut out the inside word to use separately from the word bubble.  After you stamp all the images then run it through the Decorative Dots EF to add eht bubble like texture. 

I then punched a piece of whisper white and stamped the Octopus with Lost Laggon and sponged the edges to make it pop a bit.  Layered Soft Sky diecut with a  circle framelit to accent and mounted with dimensionals.

Added a strip of DSP from Moonlight paperpak  that looked most appropriate (you can get 6 pieces from one sheet if you cut it where the color changes.)

 I stamped the flags and used the stay put ribbon technique to tied the baker's twine in place, then threaded it through the stamped and punched scallop circle piece pierced with the paper piercer (threaded the baker's twine using a floss threader- it's tight but I like how it looks.)

Watercolor Peaceful Petals

 A very simple looking card but it took a little doing. I had the card in my head but the watercolor part took a little more time than I anticipated.  The base card is whisper white textured with Honeycomb embossing folder.  I then took another piece of whisper white and diecut it with the On Film framelit - my totally favorite tool for the moment!-   then layered a piece of Strawberry Slush behind it about an 1/8" larger then the diecut on 2 sides to add just a touch of color.  

I then took a piece of Shimmery White a tad

smaller than 31/2 square (which makes it perfect for the opening without hanging over)  and used versamark to stamp the images from Peaceful Petals stampset (in Occasions Catalogue Pg 20) after using embossing buddy to get all the static off. After stamping , I used white but you could also use clear embossing powder to set the image.  I then used the Aqua Painter to put a thin and I mean THIN! layer of water all over the heat embossed Shimmery white paper then used dabs of Strawberry Slush, Melon Mambo, Pistaschio Pudding and Coastal Cabana and Daffodil Delight ink refills on a plate to get the watercolor effect.  I suggest you start with the lightest colors such as the daffodil  then slowly then the blues, and greens in a very diluted way then add the pinks , then more concentrated colors where you want it.  The embossed lines should keep the colors within the area you want.  I love how this looks very much like some of the asian print fabrics.  I left the area on the bottom blank on purpose so I could add a sentiment later but I think it is a very pretty general card you can use for anything!
Enjoy.
Lynda

Zoo Babies - make your own DSP

 This was such a straightforward idea of making your own DSP using the variety of animals and different ink colors using the Zoo Babies, I just love it.  I took Pistaschio Pudding base card, embossed with Striped embossing folder.   I stamped a piece of whisper white with the animals in Pistaschio pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe, So Saffron, and Pool Party and bordered it with scalloped ribbon punched from Crisp Cantaloupe CS split in half. I stamped the lion in Baked Brown sugar on white and stamped sentiment in pool party punched it out with scalloped circle punch and lined it with a larger circle and mounted with Dimensionals.  Added a Very vintage button  tied with calypso coral Baker's twine and mounted that with a dimensional too.  I chose these colors to make it good for boy or girl but you can change up the color to make it for either sex.

Enjoy.   Lynda

Things you need to make this card you need

Paper:     Whisper white  CS               100730            $8.50 (40 sheets)

                Pistaschio Pudding CS         131294         $6.95 (24 sheets)  

   Crisp Cantaloupe CS            131298           $6.95 (24 sheets)  

   Baked Brown Sugar CS        131296            $6.95 (24 sheets) 

Stamps:  Zoo Babies   130453  Wood  $27.95             130456 Clear    $19.95 

Ink:       Baked Brown Sugar   131174

            Pool Party                   126982

Pistaschio Pudding         131177 

 Crisp Cantaloupe       131176       

So Saffron                   126957   

Tools:  2 1/2 Circle punch  120906    $16.95

           1 3/4 Scallop Circle  Punch     119854    $16.95

           Dotted Sacllop Ribbon Border punch  119275  $15.95
           Stripes Embossing folder      126128    $7.95

            Dimensionals      104430            $3.95 (300 dots)

Accents:  Very Vintage Designer Button  129327 $5.95  (24 buttons/ 3 designs)

               calypso coral Bakers twine   125573   $2.95 (25 yards) 

You can buy any and all of what you need at http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/lyndalee

Geometric Pinwheels

 Isn't this fun?  I was just playing around with the triangles trying different shapes and I thought this was really playful.  Base cardstock is whisper white with a layer of Strawberry slush CS embossed with Arrows textured Impressions EF on top.   I stamped a bunch of triangles on a scrap piece of paper using strawberry slush, coastal cabana, pistachio pudding and Crisp Cantelope- basically all the in colors, punched them out.  I stamped Hooray for today after coloring with markers Strawberry  slush and Coastal cabana and used the banner die to cut it out but it was too wide so I trimmed the sides to make it fit tighter.  AFTER I put the banner down using dimensionals, I put the triangles down to fit around the banner using dimensionals as well- it was pretty tight I tell you-  and it turned out pretty well I thought....  It could be a fun birthday or celebration card for anyone- Change up the colors to more blues for more masculine card for boys- I added a crystal jewel to the center of each but I actually liked it more plain but it's up to you!  Enoy.

Lynda

Happy Thanksgiving! A pop up turkey for you!

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
  I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  My family's good health, everyone has a job, my home renovation is almost completed, my mother in law is cooking Thanksgiving and all I have to do I bring the ice cream and the screaming hoard of hungy kids- check!

This is a little thanksgiving card I made as a thank you to my customers this month. The base card is white with a layer of chocolate chip  embossed with Woodgrain on top and with a layer or Burlap ribbon, cut in half lengthwise and the strands teased to create a fringe.   The acorn from Truly Grateful in chocolate chip then used the blender pen to smudge the ink a bit. punched with 1 1/4 inch circle punch and the tangerine CS with 1 3/8 inch circle punch.

I used the whisper white CS diecut with pop and cuts and labels insert die (at the same time as the Sweater Weather DSP for that perfect fit!) to create a pop out.

Thank from Harvest of Thanks stamped in tangerine then rolled around the edge with chocolate chip to create the two tone effect.

 The turkey was inspired by a turkey I saw on pinterest by Julie Davison.- It is diecut with the Deco Labels framelet to match and 1 1/2 inch circle head using chocolate chip CS.  The beak is made from a triangle that I cut from the left over from the piece I cut for the front of the card (after the popncuts cut it)  The tangerine piece by the beak is from a piece I cut out from the 4 sided from the itty bitty punch set.  Eyes from the owl punch.

 The tailfeather are made uing the Gift Bows Bigs L Die as shown on the left with the Sweater weather DSP.  You can cut at least 3 layers at a time. So I took 2 inch strips of 3 different DSP and stacked it in the back to make the turkey. 

The feet are from retired SU punch  using the tangerine CS - cut off the rest of the flowers from the punch shown on the bottom.

Flowershop in Primrose Petals

A pretty simple card that has a lot of drama.  Yah, yah yah, I heard all those arguments about why you can't  need another stampset and another flower punch.  I just bought Secret Garden- do I really want another punch? Heck, Yeah!
Is this not the cutest easiest card?  Stamped the flowers using Raspberry Ripple onto Primrose Petal CS.  There is directionality to the stamp so I put a little mark using a Sharpie on the bottom of the stamp that coordinates with the punch so I could easily punch it out. Something about punching is so satisfying to me. It goes so quick that for something you think you will use a LOT like this flower, it makes more sense to use the punch than a diecut.  I used the Pretty Print textured impressions folder for the square panel but you could just as well use a  3x3 piece of DSP.   Hello from Four You stampset.  Used the stayput technique for the ribbon and easy peasy done.

My Conventions Swap

 I have a swap with my upline's downline group and the requested was it be a full card that could be demo'ed at a workshop so this is my card.  Embossed the Coastal Cabana Cardstock using the new very "in" Alphabet Press EF part way as shown.  I am also in love with the Tape It set that mimics washi tape.  The tag from the Notable Notions set matches the Chalk Talk dies perfectly and would you not know it? My favorite sentiment from the Yippee-skipee set fits inside perfectly.  Stamp the tapes using Smoky Slate, Calypso coral and the sentiment using the same color markers adn cut it out.
The tag is stamped using Coastal Cabana too- better to stamp the sentiment and then center the tag image around sentiment then diecut.

Now I made a bunch of these ribbons copying the idea from page 152 of the catalog but the center was too much of a pain to make and I did not have the matching DSP in Coastal Cabana so I made my own.

You need a three inch strip and 2 inch strip of 1/2 CS strips with the Tape It image stamped in center- the side parts get tucked under so you can't see it anyway so don't worry.  Fold then in half and free cut them as shown.  Use multimono on each of the 2 block dots and fold over to make the ribbon body.  Use Glue dot to adhere the back part of the ribbon to the paper clip - the glue dot peeks through the paper clip, sticking to the ribbon body.  Use glue dot to stick on the button from Notable Notions set stamped in Calypso coral and punched out using 1/2 circle punch.  Just attach to the tag using the clip and mount the tag with dimensionals .  This card just feels so "summer" with its beach colors.  Love It!

Animal Talk Bird in a tree card

I do peruse the catalogue when it comes out front to back then back to front.  Why?  I find that when I reverse the process, I sometimes see details that I miss just flipping the pages as it is laid out for me in order.  Like this Animal Talk set-  The sample in the catalog was intriguing.  It used rather unconventional colors but what caught my eye was their use of the little leaves peaking out to extend the theme of tree and wood.  So I took that idea and embossed wood grain onto 1" strip of Soft Suede cardstock.  Stamped the sentiment below in Cherry Cobbler.  Stamped the image using Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist and soft Suede markers, punched it out using the large oval.  Diecut 2 little leaves in Old Olive and assemble as shown.  I mounted the oval using dimensionals and a pretty easy card that would not be mistaken for a CASE per se but I will call it an IBI card- Inspired By an Idea. This will be one of the cards we will be making at my next party.  I think it is so sweet!

A masculine Chalk Talk

 I wanted to make a masculine background so took a night of navy CS, embossed it with houndstooth EF after braying some black ink onto one of the sides and this is what came out-  (Warning: wash out the folder right away with black ink as it will permanently stain it if you leave it out overnight....) I punched the large oval in the embossed paper .  I originally stamped the sentiment in the black oval but it came out crooked so I just stamped a piece of scrap Vanilla CS with the sentiment and punched it out and laid it in the hole and it looked a lot better.  Wrap a piece of natural trim around to the front . 

Now the button is made from the button & blossoms simply pressed mold using the nautral clay color which is white.  I tried a whole bunch of different buttons but none of it "felt right".  I took this white one, and using the side of the brush end of the marker, just colored it in leaving it to touch just the elevated edges and it left this stitch like accent in white which I just loved.  Because it is paperclay, you can color, emboss, whatever you do to paper you can do to this.  Isn't it fabulous?    Now I am not going to worry about mixing in colors, and just make the buttons in the natural color and color it to the color I need when I need it!    I put the seambinding ribbon through 2 of the holes and tied it loosely and glued the whole thing down with gluedots which is really secure. 

Buttons and Blossoms Simply Pressed Clay molded flowers

When I saw these on the sneak peek I knew I had to have them. I have been playing with fimo and other clays for years but the molds were not that pretty but these were wow!  I was inspired by a sample from Stampin' Success, a demo only magazine.  The base is a new In-color called Baked Brown Sugar. I embossed it with Needlepoint border folder twice. I laid down a diecut Delicate Doilies that I pierced. I wanted to use DSP but did not have the new gingham paper so I used the new Gingham wheel in Strawberry Slush and I think it is so pretty.
The flowers were SO EASY!  I took the package of paper clay and divided it into chunks and added some refill colors- daffodil , pool party and it is the exact color when it dries.  Start with just a couple of drops and decide how saturated you want it.  I forgot to get Strawberry Slush refill so I used Melon Mambo instead and OMG it was dayglow pink - so fluorescent I could not use it next to the other two.  So I added some real red and it did tone it down a bit.  So heed my warning- try a little sample first to see what you think before you mix the whole batch!  Keep it dry in the sealed bag or tupperware.  You need tiny bits of clay to make the flowers- my son counted 350 out of one bag which is not bad at all.  I put the flowers in the mold into the freezer for 5-7 minutes then you can pop them out without distorting them and then let them dry over night for perfect flowers.  I made gazillion of them while watching a movie- I had a big tray and I would pop them out, put new ones in, put them back in the freezer blah blah blah.   The banner is a new hostess set called Banner Greetings stamped with Coastal Cabana.  Funny but it would not stamp well on the whisper white so I had to use a different white cardstock.  I had heard there was some quality control issues but it was weird.  I stuck the flowers with multimono and oh so pretty!  This was easy enough to make for my make and take this month.  I will be ordering more paper clay to make more of these!

FYI- the paperclay molds come in  a set of two - one with 3 flowers as shown and another with 3 different buttons- available after May 31st- check out my online store for all the new goodies!
Enjoy!
Lynda

A teenager Birthday

 I can't believe my son is now officially a teenager. I remember when I held him in my hand the night he was born. His whole body just fit on my hand and forearm and now here he is- riding his bike to his friend's house alone, eyes rolling at things I say, embarrassed by me kissing him in public and a total gamer.

This was a set I got a long time ago for such an occasion from PTI.  I embossed Real Red CS with the start EF from CB then mounted the Brocade Blue CS (retired SU) stamped with versamark and heat embossed with white EP with dimensionals.  Finally a layer of Whisper White CS and then the game controller heat embossed with black EP cut out and mounted with dimensionals again.

I added some color on the inside using the sentiment embossed with white EP and a strip of DSP.  I took the color cues from the DSP for the whole card in case you are wondering why I used retired color- besides the fact that I have 3 shelf-fuls of papers.....

A Secret Garden make and take

This is a make and take from  my last Stampin' Party.  I wanted to show the technique of white embossing the flowers on a colored cardstock, enhancing with a blender pen and same color inkpad, diecutting the image with matching dies and this is a more simplified version of the one I shared yesterday.  Take Pool party basecard- I am going to be so sad when this retires.  Take a small piece of whisper white- this is 4 x 2 1/2 . Stamp the sentiment from Friendly Phrases in Basic Grey then emboss the top with Chevron folder. Tie the pool party ribbon- one of the free items from Sale-a-bration. Mount the flowers and leaves- It's the same stamp stamped twice, once in regal rose CS and another onto celery then cut out the celery flower showing only 2 petals and mount with dimensionals.  Real easy but elegant card for a make and take.  Enjoy!

Pinwheel wishes your way

Another simple make and take from my last workshop.  Take a base of Primrose Petal.  Swipe the bottom of the card with embossing buddy then use versamark pad to stamp the sentiment from Wishes your way.  Sprinkle with Pool Party Embossing Powder and heat emboss.

Take a piece of Very Vanilla CS and emboss with Cloudy Day EF.  Stamp the stem from Sweets for the Sweet set in Primrose and cut it out and glue on the Vanilla CS as shown adn poke a tiny hole a little further down the line where the pinwheel will be secured. 
Diecut the pinwheel using More Amore DSPand use the Mini Brad to secure and place the brad through the hole on the Vanilla CS at the end of the stick.  Now tape the vanilla CS to the Primrose base but only around the edges - that will allow the pinwheel to turn.  The take 2 little strips of Pool party CS , emboss with Needle point border EF then distress on both ends.  Attach to card as shown.

I thought thin streamers blowing in the wind look would have been fun but could not figure out how to do it- I think I need some thin sparkly streamer paper....

My Valentine make and take- late posting

 I had a bit of trouble with my blog sign in and some "Cookie" problem  and could not figure out how to clear it so had difficulty posting on my blog- now that my IT genius brother cleared it up for me in a matter of 2 seconds (after 4 weeks of frustration by me) I can get back to posting the backlog of posts I had to share with you.

 This was one of my make and takes for last month- trying to find a good way to use the hearts from the More Amore Specialty DSP. The Very Vanilla base looked too plain so I added the elegant lines EF.  

   I wanted to use the tags from That's the ticket so I stamped the ones I wanted using real red ink and punched it out with the Ticket Duo Builder punch.  Then I added a strip of real red CS and embossed the hearts from Adorning Accents- perfect for Valentine.  Then the heart from Hearts a flutter was stamped and diecut. I added a little banner from Boyond plaid stamped with crumbcake.  I think this is one of my most versatile stamp right now- using it for backgrounds, fabric, add a little texture, love it!  And then of course my favorite accent from the spring catalog - the 5/8 flower trim and added a few pearls for that little sparkle.

Sorry so late posting this.  But the layout would work with any accent  using the other tickets.  More to come.

Lynda

Victorian Dress Up

 I was gone for several weeks with no access to my stamping supplies so I took my catalogues and I sketched what I thought I wanted to do and this is one of those sketches come to life.  
I do have a thing for mannequin dies and stamps.  When I saw this die I really liked it and the sweet heart neck line dress die.  Not so sure about the stampset but as a bundle it was too good a deal to pass up so I bought the bundle anyway.  I love the die but I wanted a longer dress with a wedding dress /victorian dress feel so I diecut the dress in vanilla and then the bottom layer a bunch more times to the desired length, embossed the whole thing all at once with the lacy brocade embossing folder (although I did fussy emboss the bodice part to mimic a collar).  I diecut the mannequin just waist up since it was going to be hidden anyway in expresso.

This was one of the projects for the class I had and I just gave people a quarter sheet of vanilla cardstock and this is what it looked like after they were all done.

I put a small piece of 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon in vanilla and then added a piece of 5/8 inch vanilla flower trim and small pearl trim on the mannequin neck.

The dress seemed to get lost on the background when I did the pool party or some other color. So took pool party cardstock and die cut with apothecary accents and then pierced it with coordinating paper piercing pack, stamped the celebrate in expresso on the scrap piece of vanilla, then diecut using bitty banner framelet and slid it under the dress as shown.

Now that I am home, I just have to put the rest of my ideas into action. More to come....


Lynda

Out of the box Beautiful Season

 This is one of my holiday cards we made for my November workshop. Love the pop of color and the out of the box technique.

Stamp the image from Beautiful Season with StazOn black or memento black Tuxedo black.  Stamp Merry from Pennant Parade set in Real Red.  Put the die from Apothecary Accents Framelits (my favorite die right now!) to see how you want it cut.

Lightly pencil in the inside margins to figure out how far you need to cut the images that you want to stick out.

Put the section you want to stick out over the diecut frame so it will not be cut (the blade of the dies should face down) and this is how it should look after you diecut it.

I used the diecut itself to make the frame.  Took a piece of real red CS same width as the diecut then traced the top and bottom with a pencil to cut it out then flipped it over to make sure the pencil mark did not show before I layered it.  The straight edge sides made it easy.