Birthday Wishes

I swear I have not fallen off the Earth. I have been stamping so much I barely have time to post. I will post some of the goodies I have been doing. Some I can't... *bites her lip* I will at some point, just not right now. Here is my first lovely. Now I totally CASEd this card from this wonderful artist! Visit this blog:
http://inkingalong.blogspot.com/2007/09/just-playing.html

What I learned most is that the background NEEDS to be light! I would suggest dabbing the image with a paper towel, wetting it again and dabbing it again before using a heat gun on it. Once you use a heat gun, you can't get any more ink off of it. This card turned out so beautiful! Thanks Jen, for sharing!! You have inspired me!

I used basically the same stamp sets. Here's my recipe:
Stamp Sets: Floral (background), So Swirly Jumbo Wheel (background) and Garden Silhouettes (hostess set)
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip, Bravo Burgundy
Paper: Watercolor Paper, Purely Pomegranate, Bravo Burgundy
Accessories: Spray bottle (with water), Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads, Word Window Punch, Paper Piercer and Sponges.

Here Comes the Bride!

Here is the other Wedding card. I tried a technique called Spotlighting. I also made the white of the card, the card. The black background is in the back. Does that make sense? To open the card, you open the white portion of the card...

Recipe:
Happily Ever After stamp set; Basic Black, Whisper White and Lavender Lace card stock; Stazon Black Ink; Watercolor Crayons and Aquapainter; Accessories: Black Organdy Ribbon, Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Crafter's Tool Kit and 1" circle punch.

Thanks for looking!

Resist Embossing

So, I am gearing up to make gifts for family members this year. I have a few aunts (everyone has someone in their family like this) who have everything they could ever need or want. So, I decided to make them some note cards.

Here is a sample of the card I have made. It is so simple yet so elegant. I used black embossing powder on the Baroque Motif's swirl then used the baby wipe background technique, leaving part of the card lighter than the others to really give the swirling effect... I will probably give 15 - 20 of these cards with envelopes to this particular aunt.

Recipe:
Baroque Motifs and Big Deal Alphabet; Very Vanilla card stock; Soft Sky and basic black ink pads; Accessories: Black embossing powder and baby wipes

BB Cards

Good morning... OK by the time I finished this post it was afternoon. I had to stop mid-blog and go off to Karate. Whew, I am tiiiiiiiiiiiiiired! hehe.

I have "stamper's block." I was working on a double slider. I am so frustrated (yes, because I am a perfectionist). I was looking through the Stampin' Success when I saw the double slider (no not for the first time) thinking it would cure my "stamper's block."

Now... BB stands for Before Blog. Here are a few more cards that I have made... This one in particular was CASEd from Beate's Blog. I love the Gatefold card and with this stamp set, it is oh so elegant! I basically made it exactly the way she did because I have never tried a Gatefold. Plus, it was the first card I made with the Baroque Motifs stamp set.

Recipe:

Baroque Motifs Stamp set; Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi ink pads; Purely Pomegranate, Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi and Shimmering White card stock; Accessories: 3/4" and 1" circle punches, sponges, Fire & Ice Brads (Circles, red).

Slit Punch Frame

I got this idea from Maria Bell... It was a lot of fun! My only suggestion is that if you use it as a frame, be sure you sponge EVERYTHING before assembling the card. After I put it together, I wished I had sponged more... I can't stop sponging... hehe

Here I used another non-SU product. Creative Memories Custom Cutting System (CCS). It's a personal choice whether you want to use the Coluzzle from SU! I "grew up" using the CCS. Anyway, I cut a 3" Circle with the CCS right out of the middle of my card front and used the slit punch starting inside the circle I had cut out...

Recipe:

Three for You Punch Box, Hugs and Wishes, & Year After Year Stamp Sets; Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi and Shimmering White card stock; Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava ink pads; Bashful Blue Stampin Pastel Chalk. Accessories: Large Oval Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Sponges and Daubers.