Sunshine for a Cloudy Day

Hey there, stamping friends!

Hope your Monday is off to a happy start, even though it is a bit cloudy out there.  The forecast is calling for rain, but inside my sunny yellow stamping room, things are bright and cheery.  Just in case you are in need of something bright and cheery, I've got a very sunny card for you today.  Check it out

This tri-fold cut-away card requires 12 by 12 card stock.  I cut it in half at 6 inches, then placed it horizontally on the scoring board and scored it at 4 inches and 8 inches.  Then I placed it on my cutter and cut from the 8 inch score line diagonally to the opposite edge, ending the cut 2 inches above the  lower edge. 

The colors I used are Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, and Early Espresso.  The stamp sets I  used are Mixed Bunch, Flower Shoppe, and Sassy Salutations.  To get the color variations on the large flowers, I first inked the stamp with Daffodil Delight, then used a sponge dauber to apply Tangerine Tango ink around the outside of the petals.  Then I used another dauber to daub Early Espresso onto the center of the stamp.  Then I stamped the image, which revealed the three different colors.  I used the Blossom Punch, the Pansy Punch, and the smallest punch is part of the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack. 

I think you probably know someone who would enjoy getting a warm and sunny card like this on a cold, gray, and rainy Oregon day.  And while you're sending some warmth and cheer, why not include a gift card for a latte or other cozy drink.  Your friend will be delighted!

OK, stampers, that's it for today!  I've got lots on my "to-do" list and I'm sure you do too!  Look for an email from me tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 14th) when I'll be sending you a flyer about the newest stamp set from Stampin'Up! as well as the Weekly Deals.

Thanks for stopping in today and please come back on Wednesday for another classic card.

Happy day!
Susan

Classic Christmas

Happy Friday, Stampers!

Hope all is well in your world today and that you are happily anticipating the weekend.  It looks like our gorgeous Indian Summer is almost over, but wasn't it wonderful while it lasted?  We should see some sun today, but Saturday is looking like the start of "stamping weather."   Are you ready for it?  Let's see... here's a list of things to do to get ready for stamping weather. You know how I love lists!

1.  Check to see if you have ink refills at the ready.  There's nothing more annoying than running out of ink in the middle of a project.  Email me if you need ink refills.

2.  Take inventory of your card stock and Designer Paper.  Again, you don't want to run short.  Email me to place an order for more card stock.

3.  Clean your crafting area.  Put away paper scraps, wipe down your work surface.  There's nothing more inspiring than a clean craft space.  Then it just seems to be begging for you to mess it up again.
Please don't email me to come and clean your crafting space.  You messed it up, you clean it up.

4.  Make sure you have plenty of coffee, tea, hot cocoa mix, and chocolate on hand.  All of these things are necessary when creating, especially the chocolate.  If you eat enough chocolate, the ideas will come.  I promise.

5.  Go through the Holiday catalog again and see if there isn't something else you need to get started with stamping weather.... like maybe some more ribbon, buttons, washi tape, stamp sets, framelits, etc.  You get the idea!  Then email your order to me so you can get your new goodies asap.

All kidding aside, once the rain starts, you are going to be very thankful to be a stamper.  No longer will you feel guilty about the neglected yard work.  You'll have the perfect excuse to stay inside and stamp.

OK, I guess it's time to get to the card now.  Here it is...

Does this card look a bit familiar?  That is because I shamelessly copied the card on page 8 of the Holiday Catalog.  Uh oh!  That card has 5 rhinestones on it and mine has only 3.  Oh well, it is almost an exact copy!  I added a panel of Cherry Cobbler to the Very Vanilla panel, just because I love Cherry Cobbler so very much.  The sentiment is stamped in Versamark and heat-embossed in Gold Embossing Powder.  I colored some rhinestones with my Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities marker, being very careful not to damage the tip of the marker.  This simple card has an air of simple elegance and would be perfect if you need to create a lot of cards.  The one change I'd make if I planned to send these through the mail would be to substitute sequins for the rhinestones.  Flatter is better when mailing.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Please come back on Monday for more stamping ideas!
Have a creative weekend!
Susan

Zippety do dah...

Zippety ay, My oh my what a wonderful day!

Plenty of sunshine, headed our way,

Zippety do dah, zippety ay!

Hey, there, stampers!  Yes, there's plenty of sunshine headed our way and I'm happy about that!

And in honor of the sunshine, I've got a sunny card for you.  If you know me very well, you know how much I miss the sun during the rainy winter and spring months.  So you won't find it hard to believe that this was the first stamp set I purchased when the new annual catalog came out in June.  

It's called Ray of Sunshine and you can check it out on page 159 of the big catalog.

Here's my sunny card...

I used Crushed Curry and Early Espresso with Very Vanilla for the colors.  The spiky rays of the sun come from the stamp set Kinda Eclectic.  I used a double layer of ribbon... Crushed Curry Chevron with Early Espresso Cotton ribbon on top.  I added an extra sparkle of gold with the gold sequins, which I adhered with mini glue dots.  The sentiment is one of my very favorite quotes... "Keep your face always towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you."  Walt Whitman

Hope you can get outside today for a dose of that good vitamin D!

Thanks for stopping by today and please come back on Friday for another Classic Card.

Susan

Hello Fall... are you there? Hello? Hello?

Hi there Stampers and a happy Monday to all!

Does anyone know what happened to fall?  It seems to be MIA, although I'm not complaining.  Wasn't the weekend weather just the best?  I'm sorry we stored out outdoor furniture, because it certainly has been warm enough to eat breakfast,lunch, and dinner outside.  Last night we enjoyed happy hour outdoors at our favorite spot, the Oswego Grill in Wilsonville.  Might as well enjoy time on their patio while we can, because I don't think this great weather will last forever.

OK, so let's get to the card, shall we?  This "hello fall" card seems a little premature, as our fall weather certainly hasn't materialized.  But here it is anyway...

Isn't Blackberry Bliss the best color ever?  While a deep, rich purple isn't what most people think of when they hear the phrase "fall color," it does play nicely with Hello Honey and Old Olive.  Normally, I'd use Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry or Hello Honey, with maybe a little Pumpkin Pie thrown in for good measure.  But those colors have been used in combination so much that I'm a little tired of them for fall cards.

These fun little leaves are from the Fall Fest stamp set on page 46 of the Holiday Catalog.  The sentiment is from the stamp set For All Things on page 41 of the Holiday catalog, as is the little banner background.  I used the Arrows embossing folder (page 226 of the big catalog) to give a little texture to the Blackberry Bliss panel.  

Today is the last day to place an order for the Stamp, Stock, and Save promotion, where you can save 20% on 5 selected stamp sets and 15% on stamp pads, envelopes, and card stock assortments, as well as Whisper White card stock.  It's all over at 10:59 Pacific Daylight Savings Time, as Mountain Time is an hour ahead of us.

Hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing weekend!  May the week ahead bring happy things your way!
Hugs,
Susan

A Card for my Baby Girl

Hi there, Stampers!

Today is my youngest daughter's 33rd birthday and I'm feeling pretty old.   It is shocking to think that my sweet baby girl is turning 33 today.  I know it is beyond trite to ask "where did the years go?"  Those days flew by one by one, just the way they do now and before you know it, your babies are grown and gone.  Now my baby is a mom with two little girls of her own.

Since she lives out of state, we won't be getting together to celebrate her special day, I thought the least I could do would be to make her a card to let her know that she's very special to us.  She's loves bright tropical colors, so I thought her card should reflect that.  Here's what I came up with...

Doesn't this just shout "happy?"  I used the very versatile Flower Patch stamp set to create this bright and cheerful card.  The largest flowers are stamped in Calypso Coral, the blue flowers are Bermuda Bay with the centers in Pacific Point.  The yellow "filler" flowers are stamped in Daffodil Delight.
I hope she'll enjoy receiving this card as much as I did creating it for her.  Oh, I guess I should mention that this is larger than the usual  5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card that I usually make.  This one measured  approximately 5 by 7.  When the card is a special one, sometimes it's nice to make it a bit larger. Because this has to go through the mail, I decided against using any embellishments that would cause a lump or a bump in the envelope.  I would have loved a pearl in the center of each of the Calypso Coral flowers, though.

Hope you've got some fun plans for the weekend ahead.  I'm excited that tomorrow is my World Card-Making Day event.  I'll be cooking up some yummy soups for lunch, not to mention my "famous" Pumpkin Squares with the most delicious Cream Cheese Icing for dessert.

Have a great weekend and please come back on Monday for more fun card ideas!
Susan

Mingle All the Way

Hi again!
Happy October 1st everyone!

Have you chosen the design for your Christmas cards yet?  If not, here's one you might consider as it is fresh, clean, and simple.  Take a look and I think you'll see what I mean.

If you are making cards in quantity, there is minimal stamping on this card... just the sentiment.  I started with a piece of card stock in Whisper White that is 5 1/2 by 8 1/2, folded to make a card. The next layer is a panel of Cherry Cobbler, cut at 5 1/4 by 4.  On top of that is another panel of Whisper White, cut at 5 by 3 3/4 and embossed with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.  I wrapped the embossed panel with a piece of Cherry Cobbler Chevron Ribbon.  Next I cut two ovals with my oval framelit dies.... one in Cherry Cobbler and  a smaller one in Whisper White.  I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set Mingle All the Way ( page 17 of the Holiday Catalog) on the white oval with Cherry Cobbler Ink, I punched the tree using my Tree Punch (page 24 of the Holiday Catalog) and the Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack on page 7 of the Holiday Catalog.  I popped the tree up with a couple of dimensionals and voila!  It's done!

By the way, this card is one that we'll be making on Saturday, October 4th at my World Card-Making Day event.  I think you'll enjoy making this one... super simple and not a lot of ways for things to go wrong.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone and please come back on Friday for a card with a fun fold!

Stamp something pretty today!
Susan

Fall for a Guy

Hi there stamping friends!

Whoa!  How did it get to be Monday already??  Those weekends just speed by even faster than the weekdays, don't they?  Whatever you did over the weekend, I hope you had just a bit of time to stamp.  That always seems to make my weekends better and I hope it's the same for you!

Did the title of this blog post make you wonder what I meant?  Do you think I'm suggesting that you fall in love with some guy?  No, that's not it at all!  What I meant was that I have a fall card that is just perfect for sending to a guy.

So let's get right to the card...

Here;s what makes this card masculine, at least in my mind:

There are no pastel colors.
There are no flowers.
There are no bows, pearls, or rhinestones.
The background texture is woodgrain... very textural in a manly way.
The colors are autumnal... warm without being girly.
The images are from nature (leaves).
The trim is a burlap-y texture.
The layout is clean and simple... not a lot of fussy layers and shapes.
The sentiment is not "sweet."

So I think this card would be just about perfect for any age guy who has a fall birthday, don't you?

The leaves are from the For All Things stamp set on page 41 of the Holiday Catalog.  The great sentiment is from the Fabulous Four stamp set on page 13 of the big catalog.  The ribbon is called Natural 5/8 inch Chevron Ribbon and can be found on page 207 of the big catalog.   The colors I used are Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, and Early Espresso.

Hope the week ahead will be smooth sailing for you!  Please come back on Wednesday for more stamping inspiration.
Susan