Card purse kit

Yesterday was Stefan's aunt's birthday. Debbie is just one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Her dear husband Paul invited the family out to Olive Garden to celebrate with them. It is always good to see them and visit! I had a fabulous time with them.

Since it was Aunt Debbie's birthday, I wanted to bring her a little something. She likes birds so I thought I'd make her a card with a bird on it. Then I decided a set of note cards would be even better. Now there is a slight problem. I have OCD when it comes to nature images. They have to be accurate or cartoony. There is no in between for me. I hate blue roses, and cardinals are red! I don't like purple daffodils. Artistic expression? Whatever! (just so you know- "whatever" is code for "You're full of it!" or "Go away!") Taking realistic nature images and coloring them weird colors is just not for me.

So for this little set I freed myself and made no attempt at realism. It wasn't that hard because I know almost nothing about birds other than 101 ways to cook a chicken. I used the Extra Large Two-Step Bird, the perfect polka dots impression folder, and the scallop trim border punch. The color palette is chocolate chip, certainly celery, and soft sky. Soft sky is retired and no longer available. I'll wait while you dry your eyes. I know it is very sad. Sniff. Sniff.





Above is the inside of the card purse. Isn't this a clever idea? I didn't come up with it. These have been cropping up at several stamp gatherings over the last year, and I just thought they were adorable! I found the tutorial here on Julie's blog. Check it out. She does very nice work.



Finally this is the little card we put our birthday wishes in and tied to the handle. This set went together surprisingly quickly. I came up with the design and made ten cards and the tote in about an hour and a half. I take longer than that to choose a color palette some days! So to make something that I like that comes together quickly makes for a very good day. I hope you had a good weekend too.

Yin and yang

I have a confession to make. There are two very distinct sides to my personality. The evidence is here in these two cards.

On the one hand, I recognize that every human being struggles with something. Sometimes people are going through very difficult times. I feel for them. I pray the good Lord will give them strength and courage to carry them through. So in these times, I may send them a nice, little card like this one.





I actually made this one for my Grandma. She broke her tibia and is struggling in rehab. And since I can never get her on the phone, I went the archaic route of snail mail. Crazy! I know.

Then there is the other half of my personality. It isn't as nice. It says, "What the heck are you belly aching about?" and "Would you like some cheese with all that whine?" I know. It's not pretty. It was this little devil inside of me who encouraged me to make this next card.



It looks pretty, right? Did you see the sentiment? Oh yes. It does say, "Suck it up, Buttercup!" This is for all the times I read FB and tire of my friends constantly complaining. Quite frankly, I don't care that you have the sniffles, it's cold outside, or that your dog farted and is stinking up your house. Okay, I probably do care unless 99% of your statuses are complaints. This is for the people who never say "fine" when you enquire about how they are doing. Instead, they give you a diatribe about ingrown toe nails and unfair bosses and global warming and their large hineys. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! You're a grown up. Sometimes life sucks. Deal. I told you it was not pretty.

So this is where I come back to my senses. I remind myself that God did not equip everyone with the same set of coping mechanisms. Some people can't just suck it up and roll with the punches. I cannot control how other people behave, but I can control my reaction to it. So I make a mean card that I will pull out and laugh at, but never send. I make 2 more like the one for my Grandma and I pray that the good Lord grants me restraint the next time someone annoys me. I will try to offer encouragement and not just a big old cup of "Suck it up!"

All products used are Stampin' Up!
Nice card
Stamps-Thoughts and Prayers
Ink - Whisper White, choc chip
Paper - Choc chip, Kraft
Accessories - Scallop edge punch, scallop corner punch, pretty in pink satin ribbon

Naughty card
Paper - So saffron, Choc chip, Very Vanilla
ink - So saffron sponged on flower's edges
Accessories - XL flower punch, big brad, double stitch ribbon, mover/shaker die, oval punch

Dress forms

I have been using Chic Boutique like crazy. This is one I made as a little thank you for a friend. The Night and Day paper from the Stampin Up! holiday mini is amazingly versatile. I just love it. If you are on the fence about it, get off the darn fence and buy it! This card uses the houndstooth print. I also embossed the dress forms on this one. I used black craft ink and clear EP.

This is a really simple card. It went together in a snap. Like the other two cards the middle dress form is paper pieced and popped up with dimensionals.


This one is almost the same as the first card. I just tweaked it a bit. I love the houndstooth and pink. It's such a fun combination. I hope you enjoy!

Hello...hello...hello

Did you hear the echo? Helllloooo. We've been having PC issues. Dh's cousin is helping us out and we should be back to full running speed soon. You thought I was never going to post again didn't you. I wasn't kidnapped by pirates or affflicted with some horrible disease, and I didn't die of fatigue watching politicians go back and forth fighting like 2 year olds. I'm still here. And I've made a few cards even.

This one was one I made for a tiny, little get together with a few girlfriends. They are the best group of girls ever. I just love them. I love that little bird in the cage. This wasn't a set I thought I wanted at first, but the more I flipped through my catalog, the more I knew I wanted it. Badly! It came to live at our house a few weeks ago. My other stamp sets resent it because they are now being neglected. This is a color combo I saw on some fabric I think. I though it was fun and different. It may be a new favorite. I hope you like it. I'll post more cards I've made with this set later in the week, if the pirates don't come and get me.

Stamps - Chic Boutique
Ink- Choc CHip(craft and classic), Bermuda Bay, markers
Paper- Old Olive, Certainly celery, choc chip, Whisper White, Bermuda bay
Accessories - ribbon, felt flower, edge punch, sponges, embossing powder

A challenge, Elmo, and a big cup of suck it up

So these were the color's for Dawn's color challenge this week. Purple - eek! As I have previously admitted, purple and I often butt heads. I usually win and end up trashing anything I make with it. I occassionally make something I like with purple though, and I do like it with pink. This has scarlet red too though. Yikes! I love red, but never use it with purple. Okay so now, I've used once. I think I may have used the two together in another challenge four or five years ago. This will probably be the last time. LOL.



I was almost defeated by this color challenge. I thought about it several times this week. I stared at my stamps and paper and did nothing. Now today is a very busy day at our house. Lots of fun stuff planned since the kids don't have summer session. That means no stamping until they're in bed - usually. I try not to let them watch much more than an hour of TV a day. And that time is usually spent with me sitting next to them or cooking or cleaning. So this morning they wanted to watch Sesame Street. We're sitting in the living room, talking about 6, and singing the alphabet. Then my mind wonders to this challenge. I think there is no way I'll get it done at this late date. Then I decide to drink a big cup of "suck it up" and see what I can come up with. So I literally ran to the girl cave and slapped this together - all during Elmo's World. I don't hate it and I feel a huge sense of accomplishment in not totally getting my butt kicked by these colors. Thanks, Dawn! This was really a challenge. So here's the card. I hope you like it.





My smarty pants son just came over and saw I was blogging, and promptly ran to the television and put in a VeggieTales video. The little stinker. He thinks he can sneak in a few more minutes of TV time. So with that, I'll end my loquacious diatribe and wish you a happy day. Have a good one!

Working with limited supplies

This past weekend I got to spend some time with my fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators at a mini-convention in Portage. It was such fun. I love hanging out with these girls. I eventually remembered to use my best behavior after getting slugged once and the threat of soap to the mouth. Thank you, Debra, for having us and putting so much work into this. Thank you, Emma and Lorien for helping her. And thank you to all the ladies who attended. It was so nice getting to know you better.

Usually when I travel somewhere to stamp or scrapbook, I bring WAY to much stuff. You know... I might need that color I've only used once in the last five years or the 3 year old package of eyelets that is still unopened. Not this time. I had nothing other than my make and take and my swap planned. So I decided to just pick a color scheme and a couple of sets to go with it. I stepped way out of my box and went with pinks and black instead of pink and brown. I'm getting bolder by the second. These are what came of it. All I brought was three stamp sets (one of which was only sentiments), paper and ink from my color scheme, a few punches, and a few matching embellishments. I'm pretty happy with the results.

All products are Stampin' Up!
3 squares friend to friend

Stamps - Teeny Tiny Wishes, For All You Do

Paper - Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo

Accessories - Scallop edge punch, Word window punch, modern label punch, crystal brads, black ribbon

3 butterflies

Stamps - Flight of the Butterfly, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink - Black Stazon

Paper - Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Whisper White

Accessories - Curly Label Punch, Butterfly Punch, Scallop edge punch, black grosgrain ribbon, crystal brad

A man card

This is a card I made for a new catty swap recently. One of my dear MI Mingle friends hosted it. These girls did a top notch job. It was a pleasure getting their cards. I love getting swap cards from my friends. I'm sad I didn't sign up for the latest PSF/Dork swap, but next time I will. Although, as I'm finishing my twentieth card I usually say, "Never again!". Never rarely lasts more than a month or two.

It's a man card or an attempt at one anyway. It doesn't have any pink. That's something, right? The pheasant is embossed with clear EP. It got Stefan's seal of approval. Then again he liked that purple one from the other day too... His mom is an interior decorator so it isn't a huge stretch for him to show a little attention to detail. I appreciate that. In fact, I appreciate a lot about my beloved husband. I probably don't tell him that enough. Bossing everyone around really takes it out of me, and I just forget sometimes. Don't get me wrong; I'm not a nag. I am way too bossy though. So if you need someone to tell you what to do, give me a ring. I'm happy to help.

A confession

Brace yourself. I have to make a confession. It is something that has weighed on my mind for years. Are you ready? I don't like working with purple, not at all. I find it a tedious chore. I like somethings other people make using it, but I hate almost everything I make with purple. It is a deeply rooted neurosis of some sort I'm sure. Just confessing makes me feel much better.

In an effort to improve myself, I'm attempting to use purple more. This is a set from Stampin' Up's new catalog. It went together very quickly and I didn't feed it to the trash can. Double bonus.

Flitting and fluttering

Greetings from the slacker blogger. I hope you are having a great Sunday.

This is a little card I made for my friend's birthday. It will be late, but hopefully she'll like it just the same. This uses Stampin' Up! 's new butterfly punch to make the butterflies' wings pop. I stamped the wings on vellum CS, colored the backside of the vellum with my SU! markers, and then adhered them to the stamped images. You can see the detail best in the first picture. Don't ask how to adhere those little suckers. It involved a little swearing and a small jab in my finger with paper snips. I used glue dots just on the body. I would love to hear how you adhere vellum.

Stamps -Flight of the Butterfly, sentiment

Paper - vellum CS, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Regal Rose

Ink - Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories - SU! Markers, corner punch, Butterfly punch, Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon, Scallop punch, circle punch

The bird is back

Today I will make a card without using a fat bird. I have skinny bird images, right? I like birds. What can I say? All their friends are full of it (exhibit 1 - my windshield) and yet they keep right on singing. So today - be a bird. Ignore the crap and sing a nice little song. Even if the best you can hope for for dinner is a fat worm. LOL. This is what happens when I post before I have coffee.

And you may notice I've got a new look. Bright and cheery. I just love it. Thank you Veronica!

Supplies

Stamps - Cheep talk

Ink - Pacific Point, choc chip, summer sun

Paper - Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories - Top Note Die cut, Scallop punch, circle punch, ribbon, Latte button, embroidery thread

Raspberry Suite Color Challenge

So my friend Dawn
is hosting her first ever color challenge. This should be a lot of fun. She always comes up with uniquely cool combos. You should play along! Here is what I came up with. I should have been working on Mingle stuff, but I needed a card for a friend anyway so this will work nicely. I used a combo of PTI and Su products. The stamp set is Petal Pizzaz. So Happy Everything to you!

Sing, Bluebird, Sing!

This card makes me happy. I'm thinking about spring and not the fact that my basement is so cold I could use gloves.

I just got my new Stampin Up!© order. I'm having a lot of fun playing. I've made some things I love, some things I like, and a couple of things that are amazingly fabulous additions to the recycling bin. I can't decide if this is in the like or love category. I will tell you what though. I LOVE those corduroy buttons. Love 'em. This corduroy button is actually a brad, which made me happy as sewing is not my thing. I would do it though for these cute buttons. Oh yes I would.

All the products on are Stampin Up!©
Sing, Bluebird, Sing!
Stamps - Good friend
Ink - Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip
Paper - Kiwi Kiss, White, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Accessories - Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain, pacific point corduroy button, clear EP (on flower), scallop edge punch, dimensionals