How to Make a Tag Punch Flower Pinwheel

Once again it is HOW TO TUESDAY. Today I'll show you how to make a pinwheel flower using your tag punch. I would love to say this is my idea, but it wasn't. I had a really fun upline meeting the other night, and my great upline Kristin showed us a card she had gotten from one of her customers Jean. It was this totally fun pinwheeled flower and I thought-there's my next how to Tuesday idea. She used some older designer paper, but I thought the new paper was perfect for this idea. So here we go:Start by punching out a series of paper with your tag punch. I used the bigger one for mine and I punched out 7 tags.
Now take the lower left corner and fold it up to the right corner before the top of the tag.
Your fold should look like this when done. Now take the top of the corner and fold it back to make a small triangle.
Your finished folded tag should look like this.
This is the finished product with the petals arranged to make a flower. I added some of the fun new Rhinestones to accent it and then the word "KIND" from Baroque Motifs. The blue paper is the new new Soft Sky, and then layered on the Purely Pomegranate.
Thank you to Kristin and Jean for such a fun idea!

Another thank you!

I know I've said this already a couple of times, but TRULY a huge thank you to all of you who have sent cards to my sister. She has been very touched by the kindness of strangers and has loved seeing all the handmade cards-What a talented bunch you are!!!! I'll give you an update on her tomorrow as she has appointments today that will tell us more. She did have surgery last Thursday that was a success, but I'll let you know more tomorrow.
Thank you AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And keep them coming!!!!!

Baroque Motif Wedding Invite

So when I saw this set in the preview I had to cover up the examples and really look at the set. My specialty is NOT the vintage look and I don't tend to gravitate toward it. Sometimes pictures sell and set and sometimes they ruin it. For me, I didn't like the pictures that went with this set, but when I looked at the set itself,it I really liked it and it instantly screamed wedding invitation to me. Luckily, I've been married for 10 years and don't have to pump out 200 of these! On the slide out invitation, the large stamp is stamped white cardstock in soft sky and then black as well. The invitation was printed on cardstock quality vellum on my computer. They were then layered together. You could make these so easily match your wedding colors.

Enjoy!!!

A little late for DAD...

I just wanted to get this card up there for those of you that came to card class last week and got to make one, I said I would but a link up of how to fold the little shirt. This is totally a cased idea from the inspiring Cambria Turnbow, I think she makes such cute stuff. So click here for the directions to her shirt. My spin on her idea comes with the necktie. I just punched out a piece from the window punch, folded down the top edge and then cut the other end to look like a tie. The paper is a piece from Stampin' Up's Sarah collecion. Makes a great guy's shirt doesn't it???

Double Line Doodle Bag

Well I'm finally getting some stuff posted using some of the new sets! Yeah!!! This cute set we got free by attending regionals last year (that seems like forever ago now.) It's called Double Line Doodle. The cute One Sheet Box is an idea from the amazing BEATE and you can click here for the tutorial. It's really quite simple to make. One of those things that once you read the directions and make one you get it quickly, but the first time your going "HUH??". I'm a visual learner too, so I always do better if I'm shown verses reading the directions.
Anyway, that is the new Pomegranate Paper, and Wild Wasabi, and Groovy Guava ink. So pretty. I wasn't crazy about the Wasabi when I first saw it, but it's growing on me and I love it with the Purely Pomegranate. The flowers are colored with a blender pen and check out the new rhinestone brads-LOVE IT!!!! For those of you in the swap I'm in, one of these will be in your possession soon!

And the WINNER is......................

FLOSSIE"S FOLLIES!!!!!!!!! Here's her comment:
OK, I have to go with Usual Suspects, my favorite scene, is when the detective realizes that the person he has been talking to (Kevin Spacey) is Kaiser Souzey (sp) the guy he is looking for, it is a great moment.


My random selector (aka 8 year old son) was asked to pick a number between one and 26 and he came up with what turned out to be Flossie. I have to say I was happy to see that, as Flossie put out a call on her blog to send cards to my sister and a lot of you found your way here because of her.

I can't tell you how much fun I had reading all the comments. Refreshed my memory on some great ones...Moonstruck, The Usual Suspects, Love Affair. And a couple of movies I've never seen, Everafter and Before Sunrise.

Thanks for playing-I'll definately be doing it again!!!!

I think it's time for some CANDY!

So I hit over 3000 hits overnight, and I think that calls for a little blog candy!!!! This my first ever blog candy too!!! It contains a complete set of the Friends and Flowers simply scrappin kit, 3 large paper clips for you to alter, and 6 each of the round and oval giga punch for you to play with.

I also want to say a HUGE thank you to all you who left a sweet comment about my sister's cancer diagnosis and how many for you said you would send cards. If you haven't read that entry page down and please consider sending her a card!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am TRULY touched by the support for her that strangers and friends have both shown.

So to play along for the blog candy, you have to think MOVIES!!! I LOVE movies, you name it I'll watch it EXCEPT for horror, I won't waste my time or my sanity. So what I want to know in your comment is what it one of your all time favorite movies and your favorite scene or a good quote from that movie.

Let me give you a couple examples:
The Notebook-yes it is one of my all time favorites-I CRY every time!!!!! You can't beat the scene where she returns to see Noah, and they go and see all the swans (white geese, not sure which they are) and on the dock she says "it wasn't over for me" and he says "it's still not over", and if you've seen the movie you know where it goes now.
Out of Africa-I LOVE that movie! I know some people don't but it's epic to me. I love in the beginning when you hear her say "I had a farm in Africa". The moral of that movie is don't get syphilis.
Best unknown movies: Powder, and the Power of One.
I better stop I could go on and on and on and............
I pick a winner Thursday morning

I just thought of THUMPIN'

Today is How to Tuesday again. Today is a technique called thumping. It's a really simple put highly effective coloring tool. As a demonstrator we were able to purchase some of the new level 2 and level 3 hostess sets. The stamp I'm using is from a new set called Garden Silhouettes.You start by stamping up the entire stamp. I used Almost Amethyst. You need to use a light color as you will be adding darker colors to it.
I started off by going back over the stem pieces with a Chocolate Chip Marker. Now is the THUMPING. You simple take the Eggplant marker and thump it done in a random pattern across the flowers. Don't over do it. Less is more with this technique!
Huff on your stamp and stamp it. It will look like this when done.
Here is the finished project. The background in the linen stamp in River Rock-I'm diggin' the new neutral!!!!
Enjoy!!!!

A Favor to Ask-Cards for Karen

So I've been away a little this week, and I've debated overnight whether or not to post on the subject because I said that I was going to keep my blog mostly about stamping. I've come the the conclusion though that I believe most of you out there have huge hearts and I've become my "friends" even though I know very few of you personally.
So, my sister Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer this week at the age of 41. For those of you that know me and have come to my classes or to stamp camp, you know her, very different than me. Petite, quiet, and sweet. (Well I might be sweet at times, but petite and quiet will never describe me.) For those of you that don't, she is the reason I stamp and the reason I became a demonstrator. SHE was the stamper, not me! She got me hooked, and she was the one that introduced me to Kristin who is now my upline.
So I'm asking a favor of you. Will you help me fill her mailbox in the coming weeks with love, laughter, hope, and prayers? I would love for her to walk out there and find a least one card a day from a stranger that is thinking of her. If not, would you please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
I'm posting her address here with the hope that it doesn't get misused, that the power "GIRLFRIENDS" is alive and well. Thank you to all you, and if you would like to link this and spread the word for CARDS FOR KAREN, please do!!!!! Thank you (okay I'm all teary eyed, time to go...)

Karen Jeanson
215 21st St. SE
Rochester, MN 55904

Big News and A Tutorial!

Good morning all! I have big news! If you visit Paper Trey at all, you may know that they hold a monthly contest to be a guest star stamper. You use their current release and if you win, they post your card in their gallery and you get the new release for free. Well...I didn't win, but I did get an honorable mention!!!!!!!! You can see my card listed on Nichole Heady's blog. In all honesty I am just as excited as if I would have won. I took the chance and submitted some of my idea's to them and I feel rewarded. I'm excited, can you tell????

Okay back to my poor neglected blog. Here is my Tuesday Tutorial-on Friday. Sorry about that, it's been a week, I'll explain more later. This is a technique to make your own impressed embossed tags. I put a little spin on it using craft ink instead of just a versa mark impression. For my first version you will need a versamark pad, black embossing powder, heat gun, a simple saying, and some type of pigment ink-I'm using silver.Step one is to take a piece of scrap white and ink it up with your Versamark pad.
Next, poor on your black embossing powder and heat set this.
Repeat the above step-reink with Versamark and heat set again.
Now you need to prepare for the next step. Take your word set and ink it up with your pigment ink and set it aside.
One more time you will ink up your paper with Versamark, black powder, and heat set. But be ready...as soon as your powder melts again,
you will quickly set the paper down and impress the word set into the warm embossed paper.Next, take any sort of punch that is appropriate for the word you chose and punch it out. (Sorry for the quality of the picture, it looked okay on my little screen, but on the computer a little sorry looking.)
Here is the finished product. The Daisy paper is something my sister bought and shared a sheet of with me. I just chalked the one flower with some yellow to give it a subtle look.
You can also achieve this technique by using craft ink and clear embossing powder to color match your tag to your project. Instead of impressing with pigment ink, impress with your stamp inked in Versamark. It will give it a totally different look that is impressive in person.
Here is the finished version of that technique.
Here is a close up of that tag so you can see it.

BUSY WEEK

Sorry no recents posts, I promise I will be back tomorrow in full force. It has been a crazy week around here. Flag football camp, swimming, baseball every night and work too! Stick with me, and don't forget about me!!!!!

Little Lady Finds her own Path

Well, I stayed away from her for about a week, but she just keeps calling my name. My last one, I promise for a while as I'm having card class next week and I need to concentrate on retiring sets. This card was actually inspired by a piece of paper that my son's second grade teacher wrote a thank you note on. (I should have taken a picture of it-duh!) It had all of these ladybugs in a corner and it got me thinking about that, and then I wanted one unique one breaking away from the crowd. I toyed with a bunch of different sayings:
Break away
Be unique
Go your own way
Spread your wings
Follow your own dream

Anyway, I settled on this one as not one of them jumped off the page for me.
The one breaking away was stamped first in Gable Green, then the edges rolled in Lovely Lilac, and then some pink dots added. I gave her pink antenna too. Then I used my Versamarker on her wings and sprinkled with Iridescent Ice and heat set. The saying I just printed on the computer and cut out. I hope most of you find this post on Saturday morning as it is almost 10pm here and I never made it to the computer today. Have a good weekend!

It's 7:15 at night and I am finally getting to my post for today. Wow, did I get used to my own little rountine when the kids were at school. We just need to find our summer rountine. They think that we should do every "summer" activity in one day: invite friends over, go biking, have a water fight, go to the pool, fly kites, blow bubbles, go fishing, go camping........STOP-I'M OVERSTIMULATED!!!!!!
(Big sigh) Back to stamping. I made this ladybug out of circle punch. Her wings are a piece of Au Chocolate brayered in red. Her antenni (?) are 1/8 strips of red cardstock rolled around a small pen.
See you tomorrow!

How to make a Embossed Watercolor Picture

Well I succuessfully found time to post today. I can see with the children home for the summer it is going to be a challenge to find time to stamp and post. So here is today's HOW TO TUESDAY edition. I'm going to show you how to use your water color crayons to make a soft embossed image.You will need regular Whisper White paper, a Versamark pad, a Versamarker, watercolor crayons, clear and black embossing powder.
Step one is to stamp your image in versamark on the paper, then cover with black embossing powder.
You will then heat set it and it should look like this.
Next you take your watercolor crayons and make some color lines on your image. You are not trying to color it in, you just want the color on the page. I used Ruby Red and Summer Sun. Two colors work the best to get the nice blended effect at the end.
Now take your Versamark and blend the colors together. I went around and blended all the red first, then returned and did the yellow and blended them. Your Versamarker will work like a blender pen and it will not get ruined by the color, you just simple wipe it back and forth on scratch paper to get the color off the tip.
When you have finished blending this is what it should look like. I also used the old olive crayon for the green and went over the top with the Versamarker. Now you will cover this image with clear embossing powder and heat set it.
This is the image after heat setting.
I hope this translates well on the computer and you can see the nice raised embossed image it creates, but yet has the softness of the watercolors.
Here is the finished product. I used my scalloped scissors for the border, and the Palette o Prints Paper. I love this Natural Beauty set, it's one I'm bummed about seeing go. Good luck, post a comment with a link to a picture if you make one.

Thank you card sketch challenge

Well this week it took me all the way until Friday to get Amy Westermans Sunday Card sketch done, but here it is. I really struggled with this one. The circle at the bottom was redone 10 times with different things. Both the top image and the circle have a layer of vellum over them, that's why they look a little muted. The top saying is stamped in staz on ink on the vellum. Thanks for pushing my creativity Amy-even if the card isn't that great!

Also, one of my demo friends started a blog, and she wrote and told me that I inspired her to do it, figuring if I could do it, she could do it. She is a really talented stamper and I want you to go check her out. She doesn't have a ton of stuff up yet but she just started and you will be inspired by her in coming weeks-I promise. She has a really nice SCS gallery too! So check Sara out!!!