Vintage Embossed Mother's Day Card

Marlene and I have been swapping again!  And, today I have one of the cards I sent to her to show you -- for this card, I wanted to create something vintage-y for Mother's Day.  This card also uses 2 embossing folders, which fits this week's challenge over at Late Night Stampers.

Here is my card:

The card base is Crumb Cake card stock.  Then, I added a layer of Wisteria Wonder (distressed around the edges).  On top of that is a piece of Very Vanilla, which I embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, with a bit of Crumb Cake ink brayered on the embossing folder.  I saw that technique on this card by  the amazing Diane Vander Galien (love her style!!!), and just had to give it a try!  

The butterfly images are from the Kindness Matters stamp set, and I stamped them in Early Espresso on a piece of Very Vanilla, which I punched using the Wide Oval Punch.  I stamped over the butterflies using the "Take Note" image from the Notably Ornate stamp set in Crumb Cake Classic Ink, stamped off once on scratch paper before stamping over the butterflies.  I colored the butterflies using Regal Rose, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder inks, and a blender pen.  Here's a close up:

Then, I used my Aquapainter, and painted some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint over the butterflies, and dotted the centers of the flowers around the "take note" image.  Here's a slightly different angle, so you can see the shimmer better:

The oval piece is layered on a piece of Wisteria Wonder, which I embossed with the oval frame from the Designer Frames Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  Then, I used an Aquapainter to draw a rough oval around the outside of the embossed frame, and tore around it.

The little flowers on the card were punched out using the four-petal flower from the Bitty Punch Pack.   I punched them out of Blushing Bride, then sponged Regal Rose around the edges.  In the center of each, I attached one of the smallest pearls from the Pearl Jewels.

The leaves are from the Bird Builder Punch, and are punched out of Pear Pizzazz.

The greeting is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, and is stamped in Early Espresso on a piece of Very Vanilla.  I hand cut the piece to shape it like a banner, then sponged around the edges with Wisteria Wonder.

Near the top of the card, I added a scrap of Wisteria Wonder that had been punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, and also hand cut into a banner shape.

The ribbon started as a piece of Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon. I dyed it using a Regal Rose re-inker, and then sponged it with Wisteria Wonder.  I then spritzed it with Vanilla Smooch Spritz, so it would really sparkle!  After it dried, I tied it in a bow and attached it to the card using Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue.  Here's a close-up of the ribbon:

Lots of details on this card.  Great fun to make!  Hope it inspires you to create something wonderful!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Embossing with Framelits, My Way! (Video tutorial!)

Hi, everyone!  You might remember this card I showed you a little while back, where there is an embossed Label Framelit in the middle of the die cut:  

Well, I finally had a few moments to make a video to show you my technique for doing this type of embossing (a little different from some similar techniques I have seen out there because it only uses one of the Silicone Rubber mats -- and yes, I called it the wrong thing in the video!  On the bright side, because of my mistakes in making the video, I finally figured out how to add captions to them.)  So, without further ado, here's the video:

You might notice that there is a little bit of sparkle in the coloring around the bunny image (from the Everybunny stamp set) -- that was a happy little accident.  I had been using my Aquapainter to paint some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint onto an image, and turns out even though I thought I had cleaned the Aquapainter, there was still some sparkle left in it when I used it to blend the "sky" I'd colored around my bunny.  I really like the effect . . . will have to do it again sometime!

Here is the almost finished project I put this piece on, along with a couple other samples stamped with the Heaven Blessed set (another fun set to color!):

These are CD Envelope cards (like these albums, but using only one envelope).  I still want to finish them off by adding a greeting and perhaps a flower embellishment or two on the outside, and some photos on the inside.  I used the Spring Fever Simply Scrappin' Kit from the Occasions Mini to create these.  I'll post more photos when they're finished!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Scallop Frame Challenge

Hi!  Back with another quick blog post today.  This one is the last of the three projects we created at this month's Creative Connections class.  For this one, my dear friend Jana, who was this month's hostess, gave me the challenge of coming up with a project that would use some Scallop Oval Frame die cuts we had saved after making these reindeer treats a couple years ago.  

I wanted to give the die cuts a bit of a makeover, so I embossed them in the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, then applied Very Vanilla Craft Ink onto the raised areas using a brayer.  I die cut a piece of Very Vanilla using one of the larger Labels Framelits, and stamped that using the Fresh Vintage Stamp Set and Elementary Elegance Stamp Set (both are free choices for Sale-a-Bration . . . only available a few more days!!!).   I then attached the two pieces, creating a tag, or a piece that could be attached to a card front . . . lots of possibilities.  Here's how it turned out:

 

The large butterfly on the frame is a scrap of Pumpkin Pie that was stamped with the Mixed Bunch stamp set in Real Red Classic Ink, then punched out with the Blossom Punch.  I cut the top two petals off to form the butterfly (inspired by the sample on page 16 of the Occasions Mini).  Then, tied some Calypso Coral Baker's Twine around the butterfly's body, and sponged the twine and butterfly with Early Espresso.  I also painted Gold Foil Smooch on the twine and around the edges of the butterfly's wings.  

Still have some Scallop Frames left . . . will have to come up with some more ideas for using them!  Would love to hear your ideas and suggestions!  (And would be willing to share if you'd like some to play with, too!)  Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

- Michelle

Vintage Butterfly CASE Card for March Creative Connections Class

Aacck!!!  It's been a while since I've blogged . . . was a busy week of school, baseball, and church activities here.  We actually had a wonderfully rainy day today, though, and I've been able to catch up on lots of stamping projects!  So, thought I'd pop in and do a quick blog post, too.

Here's the second of the cards we created at the Creative Connections class this month.  

This card is pretty much a direct copy from this card by Sara Douglass.  (I only omitted the hat pin and newpaper piece at the bottom.)   I just love the soft colors and wonderful texture and details on the card!  Hope you do, too.

Supplies used:

Paper:  Pool Party, Naturals White, Basic Black and So Saffron Card Stock; Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper (from the Occasions Mini)
Ink:  Basic Black Classic Ink, and Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker (to use with Spritzer Tool)
Stamps:  Apothecary Labels
Accessories:  Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Labels Framelits, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die, Boho Blossoms Punch, and Antique Brads.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Michelle

Happy St. Patrick's Day Weekend!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  We're having crazy weather here . . . it's cold, and we actually had a few minutes of hail yesterday and again today!  If it weren't for the beautiful flowers blooming all around, it'd be hard to believe spring is almost here!!  But, I digress . . . on to the craft projects!

The big craft project around here for St. Patrick's Day was helping Timothy create his leprechaun trap for his kindergarten class.  Here he is putting on the finishing touches:

We covered the box in Garden Green card stock, and used the Full Heart Punch and Trio Heart punches to create shamrocks on top of the "trap."  Then, Timothy used Sticky Strip all around the top of the box and on a rainbow trap door into the box as part of his method for catching the leprechaun.  He was so excited and hopeful his creation would work!  He didn't catch anything, but he loved seeing all the mischief the leprechaun did in his kindergarten class.  Glitter and little green footprints everywhere!!!

- Michelle

Easter Card for Creative Connections Class

This past Sunday was my March Creative Connections Class, and one of the cards I designed for it was this Easter card:

If it seems kind of familiar to you, that might be because I used the same layout as in my Hello Baby Bunny Card.  I just changed the colors and embellishments a bit.

This card has a Calypso Coral card stock base, with a Very Vanilla card stock layer on top of that.  The designer paper is one of the patterns from the Sale-a-Bration Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (only available until March 31st!!!)  The ribbon across the top of the designer paper is the Baja Breeze Pleated Satin Ribbon.

The stamped images are from the Everybunny Stamp Set.  I watercolored the main image using ink from my ink pads and a Blender Pen.  The image was punched out using the 1-3/4" Circle Punch, and layered onto a piece of Early Espresso punched out using the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch.

The bow next to the bunny is a faux bow (Mary Brown style), held together with one of the brads from the Sale-a-Bration Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack.  I used the Lucky Limeade ribbon from that pack layered on top of some 3/8" Certainly Celery Taffeta Ribbon.

The little flowers are punched out of the Everyday Enchantment paper using the Boho Blossoms Punch.  I layered them together, then held the layers of each flower together using a brad from the Regals Collection.

Hope you like it!  Thanks for visiting my blog.

- Michelle

Angry Birds Birthday Party

Yesterday, I showed the card I created for my oldest for his most recent birthday, and that reminded me that I've been meaning for a while to show you some of the projects I made for my little guy's 6th birthday near the end of last year.  My little guy adores Angry Birds, and so I searched the Internet for ideas . . . and found quite a few (even without the help of Pinterest at the time . . . now it would be so much easier, I bet!!!)

Anyway, the kids helped me create a Piggie-ata (pinata).  Here it is in progress:

 And, unfortunately, the best picture I could find of the finished Piggie (sorry it is blurry, from the dent on the side, I'm thinking I took this shot right after Piggie had been hit!):

I found the instructions for making the Piggie-ata on this great blog.

The kids also made Angry Birds Balloons using these awesome templates from The Party Animal blog.   Here are a couple of the balloons we created:

And, I think my favorite project was the playable Angry Birds cake.  The idea and recipes for that came from Simply Styled Home and My Cake Adventures.   Here is a photo of some of our fondant birds:

 My big guy helping create the pigs:

And, our finished cake:

The kids loved being able to play with their cake before eating it!  

And, for the thank you notes, I used My Digital Studio to create a card with photos from the party on one side, and this space for my little guy to write his note on the back:

The strips of color in the Pacific Point sky were added by using digitally "stretched out" square punches, filled in with Tempting Turquoise.  The clouds are the frosting of the Digital Cupcake Punch layered on top of each other.  I used the Feast of Flesh font for the "Thank You."

Thanks for stopping by!  If you have Angry Birds fanatics in your friends and family, hope this inspires you to create something fun for them!!!

- Michelle

F-16 9th Birthday Card

My oldest turned 9 a little earlier this year, and he loves airplanes, so I knew I had to make a card for him with the airplane from the Need for Speed Stamp set.  Here's how it turned out:

This is a larger than standard card, created by folding an 8-1/2 x 11" piece of Night of Navy in half.  I then used a 8-1/4 x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White on the front. 

I stamped the planes repeatedly in Night of Navy Classic Ink in the 9 shape. I added some Gold Foil Smooch onto the planes to try to make them look a bit more like Blue Angels.
 
For the sky, I added the clouds from the Send Me Soaring set in Pool Party.  Then, I sponged around the clouds with more Pool Party.  The greeting is from the Sweet Cake stamp set. 

My son enjoyed this card, and I hope you like it, too.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

- Michelle

SUper Friends Swapping Again

As promised, here are the February swaps from my SUper Friends group!  

Charlene made these adorable baskets for us using the Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper and Brads from Sale-a-Bration, as well as the Blossom and Boho Blossoms Punches:

. . . and she even filled them with treats:

 Nancy created this simple and elegant card with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder:

Renate created this beautiful card with quilled flowers:

Here's a fun thank you note by Jodi:

Agnes created this beautiful birthday card,using the Fresh Vintage and Elementary Elegance Sale-a-Bration stamp sets and the faux tile technique:

Carla created this wonderful card using the For All You Do stamp set:

For my swap card, I used the Everybunny Stamp Set, which I watercolored, and then cut and embossed around the image using my Label Framelits (got the idea for embossing from Patty Bennett's blog here, but have come up with my own method for doing this -- will try to get together a video tutorial on it soon!):

Hope you enjoyed seeing our cards!

- Michelle

P.S.  I'd love to have you join my group of SUper Friends!  And, joining during Sale-a-Bration is fabulous!  The Stampin' Up! starter kit is only $125 right now, plus you will get a free paper pack or digital download every month for the rest of the year!!!  For more information or to sign up, please click here.

My SUper Friends' January Swap Cards

While going through photos, I realized that I hadn't shown you the amazing projects from the January SUperFriends swap yet!  Didn't want you to miss out on seeing these beauties, so here they are:

From Agnes, a Half-Cut Card using the Take It to Heart (with Poppin' Pastels technique), Bordering on Romance, and Outlined Occasions stamp sets:  

From Renate (you can also check out her brand new blog here), using Mixed Bunch and lots of wonderful punched details:

From Carla, using the I {Love}  Love Wheel:

And, from our special guest Mabel: 

Aren't these all wonderful?!  I have more swap cards from the February swap to show you tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

- Michelle

P.S.  I'd love to have you join my group of SUper Friends!  And, joining during Sale-a-Bration is fabulous!  The Stampin' Up! starter kit is only $125 right now, plus you will get a free paper pack or digital download every month for the rest of the year!!!  For more information or to sign up, please click here.

My Digital Studio: March Calendar Page

Hi Everyone!  It was a busy weekend here -- we had baseball activities for both boys as we get ready to kick off their season.  We had beautiful weather, so it was wonderful to be outside!

Today, I wanted to share with you another of the calendar pages I created in My Digital Studio.  Here it is:

Again, this page is very simple to keep the focus on the photos -- clockwise from the top left:  my boys with some great friends, our cat Isabella, the boys all dressed in green on St. Patrick's Day, and my backyard daffodils!    The background paper on the page is from the Year to Remember calendar template, as is the "March" stamp.  The banner is the Flag Punch digital download.

If you haven't downloaded your free trial version of My Digital Studio yet, what are you waiting for?  This program is so much fun to use!  Head on over to my online store, add the My Digital Studio Express free trial to your bag, and you can download it and start creating your own amazing projects right away!  There's also a wonderful resource you should check out: www.mydigitalstudio.net (there are samples, tutorials, and much more there!)

- Michelle

A Framelit (and Edgelit) Storage Upgrade!

You might have noticed that I have been using my Framelits Dies a lot lately!!!  Well, I wanted to share a little storage tip for them with you today -- the idea actually isn't original to me -- I owe a big thanks to my friend Connie who first gave me the idea!

So, when you first receive your Framelits (or Edgelits for that matter), they come in a neat little envelope with double-sided tape holding them onto heavy-weight white paper.   Here's the basic idea (I'd already covered over my double-sided tape, so can't show you that anymore):

My double-sided tape started to lose some of its stickiness as I was using my dies, so I "upgraded" by adding a piece from one of Stampin' Up!'s Magnet Sheets, cut to fit the white paper my dies came on:

And, everything still fits in the neat envelope it came in:

The Magnet Sheets are a great deal -- you get 3 sheets (6" x 13") for $9.95 (plus shipping & tax).  I used a 6" x 5" piece for my Heart Framelits and another one for my Labels Framelits, and the leftover 6 x 3" piece for my Adorning Accents Edgelits.  So, I was able to do all three sets with just one of those sheets.  You might be able to hold them in place with a smaller amount, but I wanted to be sure that my dies laid flat and wouldn't warp or bend around the magnet sheet, so the sizes I used worked well for that.

I'm hopeful Stampin' Up! will have more Framelits and Edgelits for us in the new catalog, and I'm ready with more magnet sheets for those!  If you'd like to order your own magnet sheets, you can find them in the Stampin' Up! online store here (if you are in the U.S., and don't already have a demonstrator, please be sure to select me as your demonstrator when you check out so you can qualify for preferred pricing.)

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle