March Card Kit of the Month now available

Another new month is here - that means it's time for the March card kit!

With this card kit you’ll receive complete instructions and all the consumable supplies needed to make 6 of each of these card designs – a total of 12 cards. The price of this kit is just $15, including envelopes.

If you purchase the monthly kit, you will also have the opportunity to purchase the coordinating stamp set at 15% off retail price (tax and shipping not included). This month the featured stamp set is Cheep Talk.

Cheep Talk stamp set regularly $26.95, with purchase of kit $22.91

The rest of the products used in making these cards are given in the list below. If you have all of these then you’re ready to go, but just let me know if you’d like to order any of these items. You can also use the kit to make your own cards with the supplies you already own.

Please get your orders to me by March 12. You will receive your kit by the end of the month.

Lori Rider
loririder@verizon.net
978-486-8102
divastamper.blogspot.com

To purchase, please choose your option:
(1) One kit delivered in person - click here
(2) One kit delivered via U.S. mail - click here
(3) Two kits delivered in person - click here
(4) Two kits delivered via U.S. mail (to the same address) - click here

If you need more than two kits, OR if you are ordering any Stampin’ Up! products along with your kit(s), please contact me to work out the cost and shipping.

Additional Product List

• Taken with Teal Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Rose Red Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Pretty in Pink Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Old Olive Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Chocolate Chip and Old Olive Stampin’ Write markers ($3.25 each)
• Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set ($36.95)
• Dazzling Diamonds glitter ($4.50)
• ½” circle punch ($5.95)
• 1 ¾” circle punch ($15.95)
• Flower trio punch ($15.95)
• Paper snips ($9.95)
• Bone folder ($6.95)
• Stamp-a-ma-jig ($11.95) (optional)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL adhesive ($6.95)
• 2-Way Glue Pen ($3.50)
• Pop-up Glue Dots ($3.95)

If you have any questions, please let me know!

The Write Stuff class kit by mail

Now available for purchase is this kit using the Write Stuff paper collection to make a set of four cards (including envelopes) and a coordinating gift box.

Cost of the class: $20
If you order the Well Scripted stamp set from me, you get the class for $15!

Click here to purchase the kit (plus $3 shipping). If you wish to order the stamp set as well, or any other products, please contact me first so I can arrange your payment and shipping. The ink used in the kit is Soft Suede, which is not included with the kit but is available for $5.95 plus tax and shipping.

Special offer: Place a $50 online order via my SU site and get the instructions for this kit for free!

All offers outlined here are good ONLY through March 12, 2010. You will receive your kit by the end of the month.

Please note: Because I did not design this kit, I cannot sell it to Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. For more information please email me at loririder@verizon.net. I intend to design my own kits from now on, and I will make those instructions available to demos on my Diva Designs for Demos site. Stay tuned!

OCC sketch, Color Throwdown

I'm back from vacation! We had a great time in Mexico. Maybe someday I'll get some photos up, but not this week. I had no choice but to schedule my stamp club for the Friday after we got back, which was yesterday, so there has barely been time for anything else.

I did need to do my card for the latest challenge over at Our Creative Corner. Linda is wrapping up her hostess month with a fun sketch challenge, so be sure you check it out. I hope I didn't tinker with this one too much - it kind of took on a life of its own! I also played along with the Color Throwdown challenge. Of course I had to tweak that one as well - hopefully no one minds that I used vanilla instead of white with my pretty in pink, chocolate chip and old olive.

I tried something different with my background shapes by using the Top Note die cuts. I wanted to stay SUO and not use Nestabilities so that's how I ended up here. What do you think? The paper is from Sending Love. I adhered these to a 5.5" square panel of chocolate chip cardstock, then wrapped this wide striped chocolate chip ribbon around the panel before I adhered it to a 5.5" square vanilla card base.

One thing I wish were different with this card - I think the focal image should be bigger. The balance looks a bit off to me. But I didn't have time to start over so I went with this anyway. The flower is from Friends 24-7, stamped with chocolate chip and colored with pink and olive markers. I used the scallop trim border and corner punches on the chocolate chip layer. Once I'd adhered that panel with dimensionals, I had room to add a knot of ribbon to the right of the image.

The sketch indicated something in the upper right and lower left corners. I first put the two pearls in the upper right, figuring that I would balance them with a third pearl somewhere else. That ended up going on the sentiment, which is from Think Happy Thoughts. Isn't it cool that the flowers from the DP fit perfectly inside the flowers on the Flower Trio punch? You can only punch one at a time, but it looks super cute and gave me a great place to put my pearl.

When all of this was done, I felt like I needed one more olive green something, somewhere. I tried a few things but ended up tying a Playground button to the ribbon with linen thread. It's a very big ribbon treatment, but it really fixed the balance problem with the green. That's one thing I love about stamping and cardmaking - I'm always learning new things, and I think this card taught me a few things.

That's it from me - now go take a peek at all the other wonderful creations from our fabulous team! And have a wonderful weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #22

I have a little bit of a different challenge for you this week. Right now, as you are reading this, I am relaxing with Todd in sunny Mexico on a second honeymoon (and a very early celebration of our 10th anniversary in September). I'm sure that I'm having a great time! So in honor of our trip, I have a photo from one of the hotels where we're staying for your inspiration this week.

I used some old and new stuff on this card. The leaves come from the stamp set Paradise, which I've had since July but I'd never used it. I combined pacific point (retired In Color) with crushed curry (current In Color), old olive, and whisper white. The squares in the pool influenced my layout and my choice of the grid DP. I wanted to be sure that I used a lot of white, so I went for a CAS style with some open space.

The sentiment (from Whimsical Words) is framed out with Nestabilities, and then I added the cut-out leaves and the popped-up flower (which comes from the retired hostess set Itty Bitty Buds). The bottom of the card still seemed to need something. I first added the scalloped border, but then I wanted to bring some color to it and had the idea to glue on these skinny little cardstock strips. I really love how it looks - just a bit of graphic pop. Three silver brads in the lower left corner and I was done.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC22. Have fun and look for the next challenge in two weeks!

To Be Loved

This week over at Our Creative Corner our awesome hostess, Linda Coughlin, gave us a challenge that - at least for me - lived up to its name. We are supposed to find something we've had for a long time but have never used, or haven't used in a good while. The challenge in this for me goes back to my efforts to mostly use Stampin' Up! products on my blog. I struggled with knowing what to do because I just don't have much SU stuff that's old at all, or old and unused. Once I gave myself permission to use some other products, this card came together very quickly.

The whole card started with the papers. I confess, I am a paper hoarder. I have SO much. I'm really trying to make use of what I have, but these Daisy D's papers were sitting around unloved, even though I always thought they were gorgeous. Since I love the fact that SU's products always coordinate, when I use other stuff I find myself figuring out tricky ways to get around not having an ink that matches as well as I'd like. In this case I used American Crafts chestnut embossing powder and Versamark. (The cardstock is by Bazzill.)

I also found some stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms that had been terribly neglected. I stamped the Sophisticated Swirl backgrounder directly onto one of the papers, then embossed it and used it for the background. The sentiment is a stamp that I had to have when I saw it - so why haven't I used it? It's a wonderful quote. I embossed it onto another of the patterned papers and then cut it out with Nestabilities. I created the layers behind the sentiment by cutting out a couple more of the same shape then cutting them apart and fitting them behind the sentiment.

Originally I thought I would stamp an image and maybe color with Copics, but I didn't even get that far. I realized that one of the papers had these gorgeous circles that would look stunning cut out. For the center I used a kiwi kiss button and some skinny satin ribbon that was in my stash. When I put the card together, I did something that I'm not sure I've ever tried before - putting the sentiment under another layer. I didn't plan it out that way - it's just the way the pieces fit together the best, but I love the result. It allows the circle to stand out but somehow features the sentiment at the same time. I decided not to add anything else to my card - and in this case I think that was exactly the right call!

I hope you will dig through your stuff and find something old that calls out to you for this challenge. I enjoyed doing it, once I figured out what I wanted to do! And don't forget to visit the OCC blog to check out what other wonderful creations our team came up with this week.

Last chance for February card kits!

I'll be ordering the materials for the February Card Kit of the Month this weekend. I can extend the deadline a bit for any latecomers - let's say, by Saturday night at 10 pm Eastern - but that will be the absolute cut-off. If you missed my post about the kit, click here for all the info!

Hey, it's me...

I know you are probably tired of me saying this, but it's really, really true this week... I am so busy!! I haven't had much time to stamp, apart from some cards you'll see on my blog in the next week or so. I made this card a few days ago and thought it was a good time to share it. I made one similar for my dad's birthday - his didn't have the little flowers and pearls, though!

My idea with this card was to make something different out of the new bird punch. I used the Bella Bleu DP and punched a couple of the branches, then from the same paper I punched 7 wings that became the leaves. I glued them right on top of the tiny leaves that are already on the branch. You can't tell this because I put the Boho punched flowers (with Pretties Kit pearls) on top, but it's possible to attach the "leaves" so they completely cover the original leaves. Try it and see - it's very cool!

I finished my card with a Top Note cut from basic black textured cardstock, a kraft taffeta ribbon, a sentiment from the SAB set Vintage Labels, and the frame from Great Friend. I just love the color scheme of vanilla, kraft and black - I think it's so elegant.

OK, it's back to work I go. Thanks for stopping by - I'll definitely be back on Saturday for the OCC challenge so come check that out, too!

Rawhide Hearts

It's a new month and that means a new hostess over at Our Creative Corner. For this week's challenge we are to make a masculine valentine card. The card I'm sharing was actually used at my last club meeting, so it's on the simpler side, but it was a hit with my stampers. My layout was inspired by this card.

This was our technique card (we always do one new technique at club) using the technique called faux rawhide. The tutorial I used can be found here. Tip of the day: I learned the hard way that when the tutorial says to put a "few" drops of reinker on your waxed paper, that means 3 or 4 drops, not 10! That much ink just made a big globby mess.

The heart (from what else, I {Heart} Hearts) was stamped on very vanilla cardstock in ruby red and soft suede, then cut out and mounted on a vanilla panel with dimensionals. The faux rawhide background was pierced in the corners and the sentiment (from the SAB set Whimsical Words) adhered inside a Hodgepodge Hardware frame. And that's pretty much it! I think the clean lines, textures and colors would appeal to most men. Maybe not my husband... but those of you who know Todd are probably well aware that he isn't like most men. ;)

That's it from me today. Go check out what everyone else on the OCC team has created - I'm sure you will be inspired to play along. Have a great weekend!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #21

ETA: We had a little mix-up with the challenge link among the DT members. Some of us used a different photo for inspiration, but it's also really pretty. So just enjoy all the creations from the team and take your inspiration from where you find it!

Here's our first challenge for the month of February. I wanted to use something with a Valentine's Day theme and I thought these candy bars shown on the Better Homes & Gardens site were too cute to pass up - even though they are a papercraft item! I think there is plenty of room here to use hearts or not, so have fun with the challenge wherever it takes you.

For my card I pulled out from the inspiration piece the red flowers and bow, the pink stripes, and the use of text. My layout comes from this week's Mojo Monday sketch challenge. I have to confess, it was kind of fun going over the top for Valentine's Day with this card!

I started out punching real red cardstock with the border and corner scallop trim punches. This was my first time using them together - I've been a little afraid after hearing the learning curve required to use these together. But I have to say, with the help of Gretchen Barron's awesome tutorial, it was almost painless. (I say "almost" because I pinched my hand in the border punch twice! OWWWW!) I used the Solid Stripes a la carte stamp (from the Occasions Mini) with pretty in pink ink and very vanilla cardstock for the smaller panel, and some of the Sending Love DP for the larger one. Then over the stripes I added this beautiful heart from I {Heart} Hearts with a pink corduroy button tied with linen thread.

I really wanted to feature words in the circle, and after trying a few ideas I settled on the I {Love} Love wheel. I used a Nestabilities circle to cut it out and created my scalloped circle with the border punch. I cut a slit between each of the scallops and folded them over to make a circle. I wanted to use the gorgeous red satin ribbon at the bottom of the card. I put the ribbon through the front of the card with the slot punch (something I rarely do - just one of those things I prefer to avoid, but I didn't want to add another layer). The bow is separate and was glued on top of the circle. So tell me... was all the effort worth it? I think this is one of those cards that unfortunately looks better IRL. I do like how it turned out, though.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC21. Have fun and look for the next challenge on February 18!

JFF

This is my motto this morning: "just for fun." Is "JFF" my invention or do those of you who text (I don't, LOL - not yet, anyway) use this already? Anyway, I decided that it's been way too long since I did a challenge purely for the fun of it, and today was the day to rectify that. Actually I did two challenges: the sketch challenge on SCS and the color challenge on Stampin' Connection (which I can't link because it's a forum for demos only). These colors were really fun to play with so you should try them even if you're not a demo: dusty durango, bashful blue, basic black, basic gray, and whisper white. When I saw this I thought, "Five colors!?! Now this is my kind of challenge!"

I started out with the main image panel. I wanted a stamp that could somehow incorporate all five colors, and I managed to do it with this image from Asian Artistry - let me tell you how! I inked the flowers with my dusty durango marker, then the stems with a basic gray marker. And then, I shaded the bottom and sides of the stems with a basic black marker before stamping on bashful blue cardstock. Finally I added some highlights to the flowers with a white gel pen. I used a similar technique for the bird: I inked it with the basic gray marker (omitting the bamboo around it), shaded with the black marker, then highlighted with the white pen. The bird is cut out and popped up on top of the same image stamped in black, then circle punched.

To finish my card I made the background with a technique I've been wanting to try. I ran dusty durango DP - the sheet that's solid - through the Big Shot with the Perfect Details texture plate. Then I sanded over the embossing with a sanding block - because this paper has a white core, the white will begin to show through. The gray panel is retired DP from A Walk in the Park, and the sentiment is also retired - from Hugs & Wishes. I used the modern label punch and the Movers & Shapers die there. Finally I added three black vintage brads and a strip of white satin ribbon.

Well, what do you know - that WAS fun! ;) Now I have more stamping to do... getting ready for the first DDIC of February tomorrow. I'm sure that even though I'm on a deadline, that will be fun as well. So be sure to check back tomorrow for a timely challenge I hope you will enjoy!

February Card Kit of the Month

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be offering a card kit on the first of the month. Since it's February 1 it's time to launch my first kit!

With this card kit you’ll receive complete instructions and all the consumable supplies needed to make 6 of each of these card designs – a total of 12 cards. The price of this kit is just $15, including envelopes. Please note that I can only ship to the U.S. at this time.

If you purchase the monthly kit, you will also have the opportunity to purchase the coordinating stamp set at 15% off retail price (tax and shipping not included). This month the featured stamp set is Vintage Vogue from the Occasions Mini.

Vintage Vogue stamp set (wood-mount) regularly $23.95, with purchase of kit $20.36
Vintage Vogue stamp set (clear-mount) regularly $17.95, with purchase of kit $15.26

The rest of the products used in making these cards are given in the list below. If you have all of these then you’re ready to go, but just let me know if you’d like to order any of these items. You can also use the kit to make your own cards with the supplies you already own.

Please get your orders to me by February 12. You will receive your kit before the end of the month.

Lori Rider
loririder@verizon.net
978-486-8102
divastamper.blogspot.com

To purchase, please choose your option:
(1) One kit delivered in person - click here
(2) One kit delivered via U.S. mail - click here
(3) Two kits delivered in person - click here
(4) Two kits delivered by U.S. mail (to the same address) - click here

If you need more than two kits, OR if you are ordering any Stampin’ Up! products along with your kit(s), please contact me to work out the cost and shipping.

Additional Product List

• Soft Suede Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink ($5.95)
• Soft Suede Stampin’ Write marker (from In Color marker set, $17.95) – optional
• Very Vanilla 5/8” grosgrain ribbon ($7.95)
• Short & Sweet stamp set ($17.95)
• Jumbo 5/16” brads ($7.95)
• Silver brads ($6.95)
• Eyelet border punch ($15.95)
• Paper snips ($9.95)
• Bone folder ($6.95)
• Paper-piercing tool ($3.50)
• Mat pack ($9.95)
• Clear blocks A ($3.95), C ($6.95), G ($4.50), H ($8.50)
• Stampin’ Dimensionals ($3.95)
• SNAIL adhesive ($6.95)
• Pop-up Glue Dots ($3.95)
• Mini Glue Dots ($4.95)

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know right away - I've tried to think of every possible detail, but since this is my first kit, I might have overlooked something!

You rock!

This isn't what you'd normally expect to see on my blog, would you? Well, I needed a card suitable for boys (tweens/teens) for an upcoming workshop, and this is what I came up with. The intention is for it to be a Valentine's Day card, so I hope this works! The timing was perfect since the challenge for Our Creative Corner this week is to make a card inspired by music in any way you want. I was mulling over a *lot* of ideas for how to use music on a card, considering that music has been so important to me my entire life. To end up with this card feels like a bit of a cop-out, but time just ran out and it turned into a twofer. It hasn't been the best week around here so you get what you get!

OK, enough with the apologizing and on to my card. I took a little inspiration from this card (the spiral punch, angling the main panel, embossing in black over the splatter image) and also (sort of) used the sketch challenge that was posted on Stampin' Connection, which is the new SU forum for demonstrators only.

I first stamped the splatter (from Extreme Elements) with going gray on whisper white, then embossed the Extreme guitar player with Versamark and black EP over top. Tip of the day: Even though my going gray was classic ink, I learned the hard way that you can't immediately emboss on top of it without the EP sticking to the classic ink. Kind of a "duh" moment, I guess. So let your background stamping dry before you emboss! You can also see that I forgot to use my embossing buddy. But actually I think on this card it looks kind of cool to have the black speckles on top of the gray.

I finished my card with going gray textured cardstock that was stamped with another of the Extreme Elements images in basic gray. I used the spiral punch on the edge and then roughed it up with my finger a little. The real red background is from the Jackpot DP, and the sentiment is from Just Jawing - I stamped it on real red cardstock and cut it by hand. The final touch was three black vintage brads in the upper right corner.

OK, that's it for today! Don't forget to go see what all the other OCC gals made this week - I'm sure you won't be disappointed! And I hope to be back this week with some more stamping projects... I'll do my best!

Launching a new venture

I had a great meeting with my new club last Friday night. We had lots of fun stamping - if I get a chance this week I'll try to share our projects with you. But something totally new for me came out of it.

One of my club members asked if I did a monthly card kit. I had never even thought of it, but she was very enthusiastic about it so I told her I'd look into it. Well, if you know me, you know that once I decide something is a good idea, I usually won't rest until it's accomplished. So I spent most of yesterday working on a new blog (which I designed in My Digital Studio - Debbi has three great tutorials for how to do this and I promise, it's really easy!) and my first card kit.

The new blog, which I'm calling Diva Designs, is a site for Stampin' Up! demos to purchase the instructions for the kits. On February 1 I will offer the kits themselves here for anyone to purchase. So if you like what you see but aren't a demo, I hope you'll come back for that!

I'd love to hear your feedback - I'm really excited about this new aspect of my stamping business and I hope both demos and customers will find it helpful in inspiring even more creativity!

By request - ribbon and paper shares!

A member of my club requested that I start offering product shares. So, here are my first two! Please note these are available in the U.S. only.

Product share #1: 5/8" satin ribbon

This is the ribbon offered in the Occasions Mini catalog. For the sake of round numbers, I will also include the Whisper White ribbon that is in the main catalog.

What you get: one share = 3 yards of each ribbon (Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Basic Gray)

Cost: $20 (including tax and shipping from SU)
I am happy to ship anywhere in the U.S. for an additional $2 shipping (for one share).

This is a great way to sample this really wonderful ribbon at a fraction of the retail price (which would be $104 for all 10 rolls). We need 5 people to participate in the share, and once the share is full I'll place the order.

Product share #2: Designer series paper

For this share I will be offering 6x6 sheets (2 of each design) of the following designer series papers (which can be viewed online or on pp. 160-62 of the catalog):

Nouveau Chic
Merry Moments
Cottage Wall
Tall Tales
Pink Flamingo
Kaleidoscope
Razzleberry Lemonade
Tea Party
Flock Together
Bella Bleu
Thoroughly Modern
Shades of Spring (mini catalog)

Cost: $36 for 144 sheets. If you are outside my local area please add $4 for shipping (for one share). (Note that for my first time out, to keep things simpler I am not including the specialty papers.) This share requires 4 people to participate.

**Order both the ribbon and paper shares and your shipping will be $5**

Please let me know if there are any questions! I am also working on offering monthly card kits, so stay tuned for more info on that, hopefully soon!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #20

Our challenge this week is something for the little girl in us - well, at least in me! I was a total girly girl when I was little and I would have loved this Garden Tea Party set from Rosanna. (If you want to see more close-up photos, click here.)

For my card I used the blue stripes (bashful blue DP) and the pattern that has a mostly white background with tiny bunches of flowers. I thought the little bouquet from Happy Moments (a Sale-a-Bration stamp set) would be perfect - I stamped in basic black and then very carefully watercolored the flowers with an Aqua Painter and pretty in pink, certainly celery and bashful blue reinkers. They were punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch, and the scallops are actually cut from the full heart punch, a technique I found here. I kept the image on a white background, embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder for texture. My embellishment is simply a pretty bow with the new satin ribbon in pretty in pink. The sentiment from Well Scripted, stamped directly onto the DP, was the perfect finishing touch. If you haven't seen this sentiment set in the mini catalog, then you're missing out. It's simply gorgeous.

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Kerri

Keri Brown is taking a leave of absence from the team - we wish her well and hope she can rejoin us soon.

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on online forums will be DDIC20. Have fun and look for the next challenge on February 4!

Thoughts of Dots!

I guess it's been a quiet week on my blog. I had a couple other projects to finish up after the holidays, and my stamp club starts in a week so I have other things on my plate. But I'm here with my card for the Our Creative Corner challenge. Joycelyn's challenge this week is easy peasy: use blue and green. Two of my favorite stamping colors!

This is another card showcasing lots of new products. I got the new heart treat cups and the matching stamps, a set called Sweetheart - but the flower stem image makes adorable flowers for any occasion. I paired it with the large image from With All My Heart, which (as you have probably seen) fits perfectly inside our new extra large flower punch. I used old olive for the stem and leaves, and not quite navy for the flower. Then I put a bashful blue button (tied with hemp twine) in the center and a bashful blue bird (another image from Sweetheart) at the bottom.

The frame around my image uses the new scallop trim border punch - one of the offerings through Sale-a-Bration. Instead of figuring out the right size to make a whole layer with scalloped corners, I took inspiration from a card that's shown on the flyer for the heart treat cups. I just punched out four border strips and cut them to size. (My white panel measures 2.75" x 4", so the short sides use six scallops and the long sides use nine.) Then I adhered them to the back of the white panel with dimensionals. Tip of the day: Start with either the two long or two short sides and put dimensionals down the length of the strip. Then when you adhere the other two strips, you will only put dimensionals in the middle and regular adhesive on the ends. That way the whole frame lays flat.

I finished my card by making a false card front of bashful blue cardstock embossed with the new Perfect Polka Dots folder. (The card base is actually whisper white.) Around that I tied old olive striped ribbon before adhering to the base. Then I added a sentiment from Whimsical Words (a SAB set) that was punched with the wide oval and attached to a tag from the Lots of Tags die set.

I hope you'll come play along with the challenge this week - there is even a prize up for grabs from Totally Stampalicious. Come check it out and be sure to take a look at all the DT cards - they are always amazing! Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Love in 3-D

For this week's Our Creative Corner challenge, Joycelyn has asked us to make something 3-D. I have to say that cards are (and probably always will be) my first love, but I do enjoy making ABC projects so this was a good opportunity to have some fun with something different!

My idea for these blocks came from a project I saw in Stampin' Success (the SU demo magazine) a couple of years ago. They did blocks for Halloween and they were super cute. I decided to do a Valentine's Day version, using lots of the new products from the Occasions Mini. (Apart from the paint on the blocks themselves, these are made completely with current SU products.)

First I took my 2" wood blocks, sanded the edges, and painted them with Folk Art vintage white paint (this is a really good match for very vanilla). Then I decorated the letter side of each block and adhered patterned paper squares to the other sides. The letters are the negative image squares of some of the letters from the Lots of Letters chipboard. The paper I used is the gorgeous, glittery Sending Love paper from the mini.

Let me briefly tell what I did to decorate the front of each block:

The L was embossed using chocolate chip craft ink (I know it looks black in the photo) and clear EP. I tied real red grosgrain ribbon through the hole for the L and put one of the DP prints behind the hole to show through. The heart is from I {Heart} Hearts (the three-heart punch) and was also embossed using real red craft ink and clear EP. Then I added a pink button (Sherbet) tied with hemp twine.

The O was covered with DP and trimmed/sanded. I put a red Playground button (again tied with hemp twine) in the center.

The V was painted with the same paint I used on the blocks, then I stamped the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp from the mini catalog with real red craft ink. The ribbon is pretty in pink taffeta with a 5/16" chocolate chip brad.

I covered the E with red galaxy glitter. Tip of the day: Be prepared for a mess if you use this much glitter - it got everywhere! The "love" heart is from the same stamp as the L block's heart (this time embossed with chocolate chip), and the flower is from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit set with a real red epoxy brad (available in the mini) in the center.

How did I do with my 3-D project? I think they came out pretty cute, and although they might look labor-intensive, it really wasn't much harder than making one of my more elaborate cards. I just did the painting in little increments over the course of a couple days and then decorated them in one afternoon, once I received my first Sale-a-Bration order. (Woohoo!)

OK, that's it from me - be sure to go check out what the rest of the OCC gals have come up with. And then come join in the fun!

Divine Diva Inspiration Challenge #19

Happy 2010! Wow, I can't believe it! I think we have a fun challenge for you this week. Just about everyone I know loves chocolate, but this week's inspiration piece is some chocolate that won't ruin your waistline: Chocolate Box Soaps from Terrain. (Sorry the photo isn't bigger - it's the best I could get. You might be able to see the patterns larger if you go to Terrain's site.)

I'm still having fun with my new products from the Occasions Mini. For this card I wanted to use the Very Vintage wheel with the Vintage Vogue set. I chose chocolate chip, so saffron, and really rust for my colors. Using naturals white cardstock for my base, I first stamped the damask from Friends 24-7 in chocolate chip down the left side. Next I used the wheel with saffron ink to make a background panel and stamped on of the Vintage Vogue flower images in the corner with chocolate chip. The large F was inked with rust and chocolate chip with the rock 'n roll technique, then layered onto chocolate chip and rust cardstock. I used the eyelet border punch on one edge of the rust panel. Then I stamped the large flower with saffron craft ink and embossed it - hoping to make it pop just a bit more, and I think it worked. I put a chocolate chip corduroy button in the center. When I put it all together I added the strip of chocolate chip satin ribbon, but it looked really bare. So for a finishing touch I chose three little saffron buttons (from Fresh Favorites) tied with hemp twine and adhered with mini glue dots. I'm loving the end result!

Be sure to check out the cards made by all the Divine Divas for this challenge!

Anne

Chris

Donna

Julie

Keri

Kerri

Hope you are inspired to come and play along. Just leave a comment here with a link to your card. We can't wait to see what you create! The keyword for uploading on SCS will be DDIC19. Have fun and look for the next challenge in two weeks!

Clean and Simple - that's an order!

Welcome to the first 2010 challenge from Our Creative Corner! We have a new challenge hostess for the month, Joycelyn Turner. Today Joycelyn is challenging us to make a clean and simple card. Aw, shucks, if I must!

I had such a great time making this card. I got to play with some new goodies out of the Occasions Mini, which goes into effect next week! You are going to love this catalog if you haven't seen it yet. Oh, so fabulous. This card uses the flower image from Messages for Mom, which I purchased in the clear-mount option. In case I haven't said this yet, these stamps are really wonderful. They feel just like the wood-mount stamps when you use them, but you can see where you're stamping and the flat storage is really great. The SU clear blocks themselves are also great - I love how they feel in your hand. You will definitely want to attend one of my stamping events to try these stamps out for yourself!

OK, on to the card. I started this card out with the Fine Flourish image, which is one of the new A La Carte background stamps. These stamps are smaller than traditional background stamps but big enough to make a statement all on their own, as I've done here. I stamped it a couple times (with help from the Stamp-a-ma-Jig for alignment) in rich razzleberry on whisper white. Everything on the card is in these two colors - I love the monochromatic look for clean and simple cards. I scored the card base on my Scor-Pal before I adhered the flourish panel. For a little more pizzazz I added razzleberry ribbon over that panel. I used Nestabilities to cut out the flowers, and then it looked like it just needed something in that open space under the bouquet, so I used one of the flowers from the Blossom Party die. The white button, which I threaded with razzleberry cardstock, is a random button from my stash. Finally I added the sentiment, from Kind & Caring Thoughts, which I punched out with the modern label and then layered with help of the Movers & Shapers die.

Be sure you go visit the OCC blog to see the rest of the team's creations. They are always fabulous! Thanks for stopping by my blog today. Happy New Year to everyone!

A simple, sweet sneak peek

Today I needed to make a birthday card for my niece, who's about to turn 5. I brought the new stamp set Something Sweet specifically for this purpose. This card started out as a sketch challenge card, but wouldn't you know, my main panel was too big so I came up with my own layout.

I first stamped the gumball machine in rich razzleberry on whisper white. If you couldn't tell already, this stamp set is meant to go with the sweet treat cups, but I decided to just use the stamps on this card. Instead I filled my gumball machine with cut-out candies in razzleberry, melon mambo, and taken with teal. I glued the candies inside the machine with two-way glue, and for the ones on the outside I popped up a couple candies on each side. The background papers are melon mambo and taken with teal DP (the latter is from the Sweet Pea collection). The oval-punched sentiment is from the same stamp set, and to finish I added a melon mambo bow.

I hope my niece loves this card, which I think is almost as sweet as she is!