Garden Whimsy Gift Card

Here's a gift card holder that I made the other day - for one fantastic customer from another fantastic customer! It was super fun to make. I lost the slip of paper that I had written the measurements on, but I made it to fit into a gift card envelope. The finished card measured 3-7/8 x 2-3/4", so I believe that I started with a piece of Rose Red cardstock measuring 3-7/8" x 10". I scored it at 2-3/4", 5" and 7-1/4". I folded it up to create an M (or W, depending on which way you look at it). In the middle section (which when folded is a double layer of cardstock), I used my Word Window Punch, as well as my 1" Circle Punch to cut out a little area so that the gift card would fit and be visible. Once I was sure that it would fit and everything was in the right spot, I carefully glued the middle sections together (from the backside of the cardstock. I tried to stay close to the edge of the cardstock so that the gift card wouldn't stick to the adhesive once it was put inside. The neat thing is that this should fit any gift card - A Stampin' Up! gift card, Tim Horton's card, etc. - a perfect gift!

I decorated the outside of the holder using Rose Red ink and the Jumbo Whimsy Wheel. I added ribbon to the front by making a slit on the spine of the card and feeding it through. The ribbon is the Wide Celery Grosgrain ribbon (I love this stuff!) and it's done in a double knot. The focal image of the butterfly was inked up using Apricot Appeal and Rose Red ink and the Rock 'n Roll technique. I stamped it twice - once on my measured piece of Whisper White cardstock and once on my scrap piece of Whisper White. I carefully used my Paper Snips to cut out the butterfly from the scrap and glued the body of this butterfly to the body of the other one. This allowed the butterfly wing to pop up as you can see in the second picture. I added black antennae with my Stampin' Write marker, layered the Whisper White layer on top of Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal and then adhered it to the card with dimensionals.

I hope to put a video tutorial for this up in the next little while once things slow down a little and I have a chance to catch my breath. Stay tuned and thanks for popping by!

A card for someone special!

Here's a sweet card I made for my niece's second birthday. I just love these All in the Family stamps and the accessories. They are so cute and look exactly like little Ava.

I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock. To this, I added a piece of Pixie Pink cardstock that I had stamped with the Big Deal Numbers stamp set. The number was stamped in Pink Passion ink and then I sponged the edges with a sponge dauber and the same colour ink. I added the sentiment from Family Phrases. It was stamped on Whisper White with Basic Black ink and then punched out using the Word Window punch. I adhered it to the card along with three Pretties flowers that I had coloured with my Stampin' Write markers. The flower centres are the rhinestone brads from the Pretties Kit. I used the All in the Family set, Basic Black ink and Stampin' Write markers to colour the little girl image. I blended the colours together using Blender Pens. This layer was adhered to Pixie Pink and Lovely Lilac, everything was adhered to the front with dimensionals and then the front layer was adhered to the Lovely Lilac card base.

In other news, Happy Birthday to my mom who celebrated her birthday today! Here's a picture of the card that I gave her. I have been saving it for someone special! Love you very much, Mom!

I'm still here!

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the major lapse in posting lately. It's been a busy few weeks. I held my big Tart & Tangy Stamp-A-Stack this weekend and we had a great, but busy time! We made 10 cards using the Tart & Tangy stamp set and the matching Summer Picnic DSP from the Occasions Mini. I was really pleased with the way the cards turned out and I'm hoping that everyone enjoyed themselves. It was hectic trying to get all 10 cards done, but it was nice to teach some new techniques and to do some giveaways. Everyone walked home with a prize, which was great. I have a fantastic group of friends and customers and I love being able to show my appreciation with giveaways.

Here are a few pictures from the big day. I hope to post the cards that we made over the next few days, so be sure to pop by!

Here are the tote bags that everone walked away with. Inside was the stamp set, a stamped notebook, an incentive stamp and their envelopes for the cards. Each person's stamp set was marked with a Stampin' Up! colour. When we did the prize draws, those colour names were drawn from a hat. At the end of the day, everyone picked up a half-pack of the DSP from the table (you can see them stacked in the back).

Water bottles decorated with Crystal Light holders.
A couple of shots of the prize table. I had more prizes than ladies, which was great. Everyone won something and was able to choose what they wanted. Prizes included stamp sets with rub-ons, stamp sets with ribbon and stamp sets with Prints Pack DSP. I had been saving up for quite a while! :) I still have a few prizes leftover, so keep your eyes out for a blog giveaway soon!

Thanks so much for coming on Sunday ladies! It was so fantastic stamping with you and I look forward to doing it again! Hope you had a good time!

Promotions!

Stampin' Up! never ceases to amaze me with their fantastic promotions! This month is no exception! Here are the details:

FREE WHEELIN' PROMOTION:
Dates: March 18-April 30, 2008

Buy a preselected stamp set and receive the coordinating wheel for FREE! Options, prices, and bundled item numbers can be found in the PDF flyer available HERE!

HOSTESS PROMOTION:
Dates: March 18 - April 30, 2008

Host a $450 workshop between March 18 and April 30, and earn an EXTRA $35 in hostess awards! More information is available in the PDF flyer available HERE!

LOONIES FOR LITTLES PHILANTHROPIC CAMPAIGN:
Dates: April 15-May 31, 2008

Purchase a Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit for $32.50 ($34.95 special offer price less a seven percent price adjustment) and Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBSCA). The Loonies for Littles campaign benefits the "Littles" (kids) and "Bigs" (adult volunteers) in the BBBSCA's In-School Mentoring program. The Loonies for Littles Stampin' Kit creates a beautiful journal/mini scrapbook and includes the following:

• Exclusive double-mounted Good Together stamp set
• One 5" x 5" On Board Art Journal
• Two sheets of double-sided Designer Series paper from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
• Three sheets of self-adhesive die cuts from Boho Blend Simply Scrappin'
• Four sheets of 12" x 12" textured card stock
• Two Classic Stampin' Spots: 1 Old Olive, 1 Pumpkin Pie
• Full-color insert with photos of projects, along with step-by-step instructions
• One Craft Keeper

This kit, including the stamp set, was designed exclusively for this campaign and will not be offered again after May 31, 2008. This offer is available only in Canada. Catch a peek at this adorable project and kit HERE!

Please contact me for more information or to place your order! Order forms can be found by clicking here!

I am AWFUL!!!

I am so sorry that it's been so long since I last posted. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything in a week. What's worse is that I've only stamped once or twice in the last week! Just when things can't seem to possibly get any busier, more "to-dos" pop up! Since I last posted, Craig and I have been looking after more wedding details and hunting down a place to live. Wedding details are pretty much looked after with a few things to firm up in the next little while. I am hoping that I will have the invitations done and ready to go by the end of the month, but we will see.

Looking for a condo has been a very exciting process. We have narrowed things down considerably and are getting so close, but it has meant a lot of driving back and forth and late nights doing some legwork. I'll keep you posted and will attempt to fit in a few more posts in the next little while!

Here's a super quick card for tonight and then it's off to bed to start it all again! To begin, I stamped the onesie image from By Ones & By Twos in Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and then again on Berry Bliss DSP. I cut out the onesie from the DSP and adhered it over top of the Whisper White onesie - makes a very cute fabric! I added the flower to the onesie and coloured it in with Purely Pomegranate ink and Blender Pen. I did the same to the leg holes so as to make the onesie look 3-D. I poked a hole through the centre of the flower and added a Silver Brad. The sentiment from the set was stamped in Basic Black ink and then this layer was adhered to a piece of Regal Rose cardstock. I tied a piece of Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon to the top of this layer, trimmed with my Craft & Paper Scissors and then used Purely Pomegranate for the card base.

Sparkly Slides!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Craig and I have been busy looking after wedding details and looking for a place to live. We are making a fair amount of headway, but it's been a busy stretch this last little while. I'm hoping this longer post will make up for yesterday's absence!

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a fabulous idea and I was so excited about it. I have seen this in many places since, but I first found it here on Patty's blog (which is fabulous, by the way!). She did her ribbon slides with Crystal Effects and reinker, but I thought I'd change it up a little. I used the Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive and Tempting Turquoise reinker, mixed it with a toothpick and applied it in the channel of the slide. I used the Tombow, thinking it might be a little easier to work with than my Crystal Effects, which is quite thick. What I forgot is that Tombow is both a permanent adhesive and a temporary one if left exposed to dry (great for making your own sticky notes though!). Well, I ended up making sticky blue ribbon slides instead! Not to fear - every mistake is an opportunity for creativity to flourish!!! Okay - maybe not that dramatic, but my solution kept me from throwing out my ribbon slides! I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to add a little sparkle! I sprinked on a little Fine Cosmo Glitter and it stuck to the tacky Tombow! I was really pleased with the outcome! Here's the resulting card:

And now for some tips:

1. Keep your glitter in Ziploc containers with a spoon. It makes it easy to sprinkle on the glitter and keeps it from ending up all over your table, clothes, face, etc.
2. If you're having a difficult time handling the tiny ribbon slides, apply some SNAIL to a scrap of cardstock and then stick the ribbon slides to the adhesive. They will stay put while you are working with them and are easy to remove when you are done!

Stamps: So Much, Thanks for Everything
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Tempting Turquoise, Vanilla Craft, Tempting Turquoise Ink Refill
Tools: Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive, Dimensionals, Craft & Paper Scissors
Accessories: Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Fine Cosmo Glitter, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon