Sweet Summer and a Tidy Tip

I recently helped to host a multi-demonstrator Sale-a-Bration event.  It was a lot of fun!  One of the cards that I had for the ladies to do used the Sweet Summer Sale-a-Bration set.  It is an outline set, which means it works well for coloring!  I used to love to color as a child.  I still do.  For awhile when my daughter was younger and all I ever colored were princesses from Disney, the love of coloring disappeared.  I enjoyed watching my daughter color, but could not muster the excitment to color one more ball gown.  But now that I'm back to coloring with wonderful Stampin' Up markers on my cards, the love has returned. Here's the card.

Stamps: Sweet Summer, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Embossing folder: Tulips

Card stock: Whisper white, Blushing Bride

Inks: Blushing Bride marker, Pear Pizazz  marker, Daffodil Delight marker, Stazon Jet Black

Ribbon: Blushing Bride Poly twill

Punches: Scallop Oval, Medium Oval

It's a super simple card, which is why I think it ended up being such a hit!  It is also the kind of card that will work for many occasions, I used one of the stamps from the set Teeny Tiny Wishes for the sentiment.  That brings me to today's Tidy Tip.  I have to admit that I am one of those people who likes everything neat and tidy.  I cannot create in chaos.  I must have all chores off my mind before I can settle into the right side of my brain.  So, something that was driving me ab-so-lute-ly NUTS was the stamp set Teeny Tiny wishes.  Love the set...hate how the blocks refused to stay neat and all standing up so I could easily read the sentiments.  Because this was the set I used at the Sale-a-Bration event, I spent a lot of time helping guests find a sentiment.  By the time I got home, I wanted to chuck the whole thing!  Urgh!  Then a thought dawned from my weary mind.  It said, "Make ledges."  It wasn't a voice like Kevin Costner hears in Field of Dreams, but I did hear it.  So I took a piece of scrap Window Sheet and began making mountain and valley folds.  Mountains were taped together and valleys were about 3/4" wide.  I then taped the valleys to my plastic case and placed my stamps into the valleys with the mountains becoming the ledges the stamps could rest against.  And it happened...that sigh escaped my lungs as I smiled and felt all neat and tidy!  Look!

Okay, it may not look like much, but those stamps do not slop around in the case anymore.  I can put a sentiment back exactly where I left it last.  No other stamp has slid into it's place or flopped over and messed up the arrangement.  And when I close the lid!!!...Yes... NOTHING changes. Makes me all emotional.  I tried to get a picture of the mountain and valley folds inside the case.  Dare I say this might just be genius!?

 

Just look how that line of stamps stays so soldierly on their ledge!  It's a little slice of heaven for a neat and tidy chic.

Okay, go tidy up your own Teeny Tiny Wishes.  You can thank me later. :-)

Kristine

Greenhouse garden in concord crush

This is a card I did for my demo swap group.  Something about the concord crush and the espresso spoke to me.  I tried a different layout (yeah, some of us tend to get in a layout rut) and I really like how the flower focal point pops off the card.  The background is embossed and then sponged with espresso ink to make the design stand out a bit.  Baby pearls along the side add a little somthin' somethin'.  The DSP behind the flowers is from the Patterns Paper Pack that is the Hostess Level 1 gift.  You know, those packs are great.  I am always pleasantly surprised by what's in them!  To finish the card, I punched three 1/4" circles, adhered them with mini glue dots and then put some shine on them with crystal effects for the faux brad look.  The sentiment is also a hostess level 1 set called Afterthoughts.  It's true...I do love being spoiled!

If you would like any more details on the card, drop me an email.  If you would like to receive the hostess paper patterns pack or the Afterthoughts set, contact me about hosting your own workshop!

Thanks for stopping by.

Kristine

Be yourself

Today I wanted to create a card using a technique showcased in the Stampin' Success Magazine.  In this technique you use a piece of felt and reinkers as your stamp pad.  It allows you to use a single stamp and stamp it once and not have to use markers to get the different colors. It's a great technique when you'll be making many cards of the same design (such as a Christmas card) and do not want to re-marker the stamp for each card.  It is fast! I used the Happy Together set with the three birds.  I find this set of three birds funny.  The middle bird just seems to be marching to her own beat. I played this up by giving the middle bird (that sounds almost naughty!) a different color and some bling.  She also has some "lip" stick too.  Lipstick on a bird...okay, that just makes me laugh.  The sentiment says, "Be yourself," and on the inside of the card, it says, "Nobody is better suited." 

I added a flower from an old pretties kit, but you can now buy them without buying the whole kit. They are called paper daisies and you can find them on page 188 of the catalog.  I sponged some Pear Pizzazz onto it to make it blend better and then topped it with a knot of the new In Color Ribbon in Pear Pizzazz.  The DSP is from the Nursery Suite Specialty.  I think Pear Pizzazz is going to be one of my favorite colors!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today.

Have a good one!

Kristine