Yet Another Vintage Rose!

My friend Diane asked me if other shapes of punches would work to make these roses.  So here's my attempt at making one with the oval punch (1 3/4" x 7/8"). I still used the 2 3/8" scallop circle to make the center.

I made this card a bit different than the first two just to change thing up a bit.  I used Confetti Cream as my card base and added a layer of Springtime Vintage dsp cut with the Top Note die and sponged it with Soft Suede.  The sentiment and punches are different, too.

Stamps:  Because I Care (hostess level 1)
Paper:  Confetti Cream, First Edition designer series paper, Springtime Vintage Designer series paper, Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, So Saffron
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch Crystal Effects

My kids are getting on my nerves today.  No one seems to want to help with household duties. I am trying to remain calm with them.  However, there will be consequences.  Guess I'm feeling a little down and unappreciated. Gonna go run the vacuum cleaner and pray!

Happy stamping!

Susan

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I Love Tulips!

Tulips have always been one of my favorite flowers.  When I was very young, I remember picking yellow tulips from my neighbor Miss Morgan's garden.  When I was in high school, I won a photography contest with an entry of a yellow tulip. And when we lived in the Netherlands, I even got to visit The Keukenhof.  I drove 2+ hours with a friend and my daughter Annika to see these magnificent gardens.  At that time Randy was in Afghanistan and it was my last chance to visit.  Here are some photos of my visit in April of 2004.  To me these photos look like they should be sold on postcards.









This photo is of me and Annika at the Keukenhof. I was a bit skinnier then.  There's still hope!

 You don't even want to know the anxiety that I went through to find those photos.  I thought we transferred them from our old computer to our new one.  But I couldn't find them on the computer or on the external hard drive.  I ended up finding them on my Snapfish account.  This means that other photos may have been lost.. I'm just sick about it!

Okay, so here's the card that you've been waiting for. I am really excited to share it!  The idea came from Jackie Topa.

Stamps: none

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White. Pear Pizzazz. Pretty in Pink. So Saffron

Ink: Bashful Blue, Pear Pizzazz, Rose Red, Peach Parfait

Accessories: Blossom Petals punch, Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon



The flowers were made with the large leaf from the Blossom Petals punch.  The leaves were also made from the same shape then cut in half.  The base of the flower is the small wide petal.  I sponged all of the flower pieces. It's difficult to see in the photo,  but I also sponged the top and sides of the Whisper White card base with Bashful Blue ink.  After I photographed the card, I also sponged the bottom of the card with Pear Pizzazz.  But my computer anxiety is WAY too high right now to mess with any photos or any extra computing. I've got to decompress for a while!

Happy stamping!

Susan

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Beary Birthday Card

This card was made using my new Create a Cupcake stamp set and the Build a Cupcake punch.  I entitled this post "Beary Birthday" because I used the Build-a-Bear Pawsitively Prints II designer series paper that coordinates with all of the Build-a-Bear items.  The colors are bright and cheery.  Just what we need to welcome spring to this cold and dreary northwestern PA.

All I had to do was choose a few coordinating colors from the dsp and I was in business.  The opposite side of the flowered paper is a Poppy Parade and Whisper White checkered pattern. So, this card could easily be made into a "boy" card.  Can  you see the glitter on the frosting?  Next time I make a similar card I'll make the Whisper White piece a bit smaller.

Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Build-a-Bear Pawsitively Prints II designer series paper
Ink: Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Build a Cupcake punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots textured impressions folder, Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon, 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin' dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

My five year-old daughter Dide had a birthday party to attend last Saturday.  I suggested that she send the above card to her friend.  However, she insisted that she make her own card. I was okay with that.  She used some scraps that I had on my work table.  Here's how it turned out:

Can you guess what items were scraps? I'm so glad that I let my daughter do her own creating. She was so proud of her work.  Should've gotten a picture of her holding it.

Okay, last night was a busy night.  Annika had to be at Girl Scouts at 5:00 pm.  As soon as I dropped her off, I drove to Marcey's house to close out her workshop.  This meant that I had to have supper ready before 5:00 pm.  This was so that Annika could eat supper and the rest of my family could eat while I was gone.  Dide and Clarice ended up going with me.  Marcey has daughters that they played with.   It takes planning, but I try to put my family ahead of my Stampin' Up! business.

Right before I left Marcey's house to come home I called Randy and asked if he had eaten supper.  He then told me that he went to Subway because he "didn't feel like eating chicken."  Apparently he had eaten chicken at lunch time while at an out-of-town meeting.  And because I took the girls with me and Bradley was off playing with friends, Randy was home alone to do what he wanted for dinner.  Of course, I was a little hurt by his actions.  I worked hard to make homemade macaroni and cheese and baked chicken breasts - and have it ready to eat on time. 

In reality I know that Randy appreciates me.  But now that I'm writing about this incident, maybe I'm not completely "over" the incident.  The two of us ate chicken salad sandwiches and soup for lunch today.  And guess what we're having for dinner tonight - chicken!  I think chicken - in one form or another - will be on the menu for the next few nights.  Tonight is garlic/balsamic marinated chicken. ...  Let's think -- grilled chicken, chicken and dumplings, chicken a-la king, fried chicken, chicken pot pie, chicken soup, coconut chicken, chicken fingers, baked chicken, .... 

Okay, I hope you all understand that I'm writing this all out of fun.  But I am serious about serving chicken for a few more nights  ; ) 

Happy stamping!

Susan

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Sweet Summer here we come!

Oh, I love the smell of fresh air!  It's so great to be able to finally be outside again without the hassle of bundling up with heavy coats, boots, etc.  Actually, today was a brisk day.  I still wear my gloves when the temperature is below 50 degrees. Still it feels good.  I also have to admit that it feels good to be able to say to the kids, "Go outside and play!"

The card I'm sharing today uses the Sale-a-Bration set called Sweet Summer.  Here's a look:

Stamps: Sweet Summer, Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Pretty in Pink; markers: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Subtle Glimmer brad, Crop-o-dile, Signo white gel pen

I stamped the card base with a branch stamp using Pear Pizzazz ink.  Next, I stamped the stem with Pear Pizzazz ink onto Whisper White, then colored the leaves with the Pear Pizzazz marker.  I added a flower using Pretty in Pink ink that was them colored in with a Pretty in Pink marker. I stamped the butterflies by coloring the stamp with Marina Mist ink then coloring them in with the marker.  The two lighter butterflies were "stamped off" with the Marina Mist marker then colored in with Bashful Blue.  All of the bodies of the butterflies were colored with a Soft Suede marker.  The Signo white gel pen provided the final touches to the pink flower.

I demonstrated a similar card at my friend Marcey's house last Thursday night.  I placed three flowers onto the front of the card and stamped a bee using Soft Suede and Daffodil Delight markers instead of butterflies.  Actually, this card isn't the same one that I demonstrated, but very close. 

For this sentiment, I used the Curly Label punch and the Decorative Label punch, the first time I've layered those two punches like that. For Marcey's card, I used the same flower stamp like I did for the first card and only used the Curly Label punch.  Marcey loved it!

Here's a close-up of the flowers:

As I was putting away my supplies the day after the workshop, I noticed that the little bee stamp was missing.  To save time at the workshop, I had placed the materials for each project back into their separate bins. I didn't "dismount" the stamps from their acrylic blocks.  Bad choice on my part!  So, I was panicked for a few moments.  I knew it had to be with all of my stuff.  Turns out that it got stuck onto a punch.  I'll know next time to put all of my clear mount stamps back into their rightful cases ; )

Happy stamping!

Susan

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Another Vintage Rose

I had so much fun creating the card for my last post that I had to do another one.  The only difference between this card and the last one is that I made the flower out of Regal Rose card stock, added a few extra petals, and sponged it with Rose Red ink.  The card base is Old Olive as well as the ink for the sentiment.  (I used a different one from the same stamp set.)  Here is the entire card:

Stamps: Afterthoughts (hostess level one)
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose, First Edition designer series paper
Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Accessories: Two-Step Owl punch, Extra-Large Scallop Oval punch, Decorative Label punch, Wide Oval punch, Oval punch, bone folder, sponges, Tombow adhesive, dimensionals, Crystal Effects

Clarice is the latest pinkeye victim in our family.  Since she couldn't go to my friend's house to play, I had to take her with me to my hair appointment.  I used this opportunity to hand-deliver this very card to my hairdresser, Jamie.  When I walked into the hair salon Jamie was cutting my friend Marcey's hair.  I'm doing a workshop for Marcey this Thursday and needed to contact her today.  How weird is that?!?  Marcey and I caught up on some things regarding the workshop.  Then I joked that I'd have to make another rose card to display Thursday night.  Hmm, maybe I'll do the next one using So Saffron.

While I was getting my hair done Jamie told me that her mom had fallen a few weeks ago and broke her ankle in four places and will be recuperating for a few months.  She went on to say that her mom is going absolutely stir-crazy.  She's already done way too many crossword puzzles and needs something different to occupy her time.  Because she can't get around on her own, her boyfriend drops her off before work every morning with her elderly mother to be "babysat."  Then he picks her up after work.   ... So Jamie and I agreed that the best therapy is for her mom to make some cards!!!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Vintage Rose

How do you like that rose?  I believe it or not, the rose is made with the Two-Step Owl punch!  Last night I read Julie DiMatteo's blog and HAD to make one.  She found the original idea here.  So, I grabbed some supplies to make this rose and headed for the tv to watch Big Love.  Voila! I created a rose!

The card base is Soft Suede. I also used the First Edition designer series paper.  This was my first attempt at making a vintage-type card.

Here's another peek at the top corner.  At first I just tore the edge of the dsp and sponged it with Crumb Cake ink.  Then I decided to get a little rough and wrinkle the paper.  I liked that look, but it needed a little more distressing.  So I sponged it some more with Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink.

The sentiment is from the hostess level one set called Afterthoughts.  I inked up the stamp with Always Artichoke ink, then wiped off the portion of the stamp that says, "...so you don't have to share" with a baby wipe. Otherwise the sentiment didn't fit in the wide oval punch.  Then I layered it onto a piece of Soft Suede cut with the Decorative Label punch.  That got distressed with some Soft Suede ink, too.

Oh, and the leaves were made using an oval punch. I first folded the Old Olive card stock in half then punched just a portion of it.  Then I added some drops of Crystal Effects to the petals to look like dew.  Kinda went overboard with that.  If I do that again, I'll be a little more strategic in where I place them.

Stamps: Afterthoughts (hostess level one)
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Real Red, First Edition designer series paper
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Accessories: Two-Step Owl punch, Extra-Large Scallop Oval punch, Decorative Label punch, Wide Oval punch, Oval punch, bone folder, sponges, Tombow adhesive, dimensionals, Crystal Effects

Bradley is home today with pinkeye!  Dide had it last week, but got over it.  I kinda thought that this little bug had escaped the rest of the family. I was kinda paranoid that Clarice would get it before her surgery. ... While writing this post, one of my eyes started to feel a little funky.  Hope it's just a psychosomatic symptom!

I took photos of several other projects today. Can't wait to share them with you!  I'd stay at the computer all night and write, but then who would cook supper, LOL!

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Simple Swap Cards

This month I was asked to participate in two different swaps.  Of course, being the Stampin' Mom of Four, I combined my efforts and used the same card layout for both swaps.  Why make anything more complicated for myself?!?

There's one weakness that I have that's a bit difficult to admit -- I hoard designer series paper!!!  I'm not alone.  Closet hoarders are everywhere!  They just don't admit it.  What I can't understand is why some of us have the urge to save designer series paper. It's so gorgeous that we should be sharing it with everyone we see!  Could you imagine me at Walmart in the diaper aisle showing the mom (or dad!) next to me the beauty of the Springtime Vintage dsp?!?

On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who never buy designer series paper.  Why is that???  Are they afraid they'll never use?  Are they afraid to cut up the paper?

For only $9.95, designer series paper (AKA dsp) is worth the cost!  You get 12 sheets total: two 12" x 12" sheets of six double-sided design.  That's equates to only $1.20/sheet. What a bargain! 

Here are the cards I made:

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers, Style Beautiful
Paper: Baja Breeze, Always Artichoke,Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Springtime Vintage designer series paper
Ink: Always Artichoke, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Big Shot, Tasteful Trim die, dimensionals

At first, I cut the dsp 4" x 5 1/4" then planned to overlay a piece of very vanilla cut with the top note die like I did with this card.  But that would've covered up the beauty of this paper.  That's why I decided to keep it simple.  These cards were quick to create, too.  I used Tombow adhesive to attach the zigzag trim because Snail is a bit too wide.

I forgot to take a photo of the inside of these cards. I stamped the smallest image from the Style Beautiful stamp set in Not Quite Navy (stamped off) onto a 4 x 5 1/4" piece of Very Vanilla to decorate the inside. I also stamped the image on the corner of the envelope.

One of the personal goals I set for myself this year is to use an entire package of designer series paper.  And I have to say (write) that I'm on my way to meeting that goal.  "I cut the dsp and I'm okay.  I cut the dsp and I'm okay.  I cut the dsp and I'm okay."  Call it my exposure therapy.

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Recovering!

Thanks all of you for the prayers for Clarice! She made it through her surgery just fine.  The only time she cried was when she had to take off her new purple shirt to put on a hospital gown.  That's when I whipped out the new "Raspberry Girl" from Uncle Joe.  That distracted her for about 30 seconds.  She ended up carrying her shirt into surgery along with the Raspberry Girl.  The surgery and wait to see Clarice in the recovery room seemed like forever.

Clarice got some internal sutures and some surgical glue, so we don't even have to return to the surgeon.  She might be in some pain after the local anesthesia wears off, so the doctor gave her a prescription for Tylenol with codeine.  We'll try to sick with the regular Tylenol.  She's been up and walking around, playing with her new purse and make-up cell phones that my friend Liz gave to her.  (Of course, I'll have to make a card for her.)  Those are sure signs that Clarice is recovering : )

My stamping friend Tina is bringing my family dinner tonight.  Of course, I'll have to make a card for her, too.  However, all card making will have to wait for another day.  I'm quite exhausted from being up since 4 am!

Susan

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Pray for Clarice

My youngest daughter Clarice was born with a bald spot on the top of her head.  Right after her birth, the pediatrician examined her and thought it was a cutis aplasia and said there wasn't anything to worry about. Fast forward to a few months ago when Clarice's bald spot began to grow a small bump on it.  I took her to the pediatrician who referred us to a pediatric dermatologist.  She diagnosed Clarice with a nevus sebaceous.  We then had to see a pediatric plastic surgeon.  He recommended removing the growth because it has a chance of becoming cancerous over the course of her lifetime.  So tomorrow is the day Clarice has her surgery.  Of course, I'm a little nervous for her.  I'll give everyone an update tomorrow night.

Susan

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A Thank-You for Steve

Last Saturday I spent a few hours at the Asbury Woods Nature Center with my eight year old daughter Annika and some of the Girl Scouts from her troop.  We had to drive about an hour and a half to get there.  It was cold and rainy the entire time, but so worth the trip!   Our tour guide was a man named Steve.  He talked about the wildlife native to this area and let the girls pet some animals.  Next, we went into a classroom and Steve talked all about maple syrup and how it's made.   Finally, we went outside (in the cold rain!) and saw maple sap coming out of a tree, listened to the legend of how maple syrup was discovered, and viewed the "evaporator" that processes maple sap into syrup.  We also got to taste maple sugar.   All I could think about was making a batch of my favorite waffles and eating them drizzled with melted butter and pure maple syrup.  Yummy!  After we finished I thought I'd send Steve a thank-you card for the informative tour.

Annika and I got to eat at Red Lobster and do a little shopping.  We went to TJ Maxx, AC Moore, and Target.  I had to pull out my "magic wand" and cast a spell on Annika to change her evil mood into a good one because she was having a tantum about not buying her a 48-color eye shadow collection.  (For those of you wondering, all I did was wave my finger in a circle and looked into her eyes and said something like, "Please remove this evil mood from Annika and turn her into the sweet girl that she really is!")  Randy and I are in serious trouble having three girls who LOVE all things girly.  I was really glad to get some alone-time with Annika.  We rarely have that opportunity.

Dide was also supposed to go with use since she's a Daisy Scout.  But when she woke up she said that she was sick and had a "boogery throat" aka post-nasal drip.  So she stayed home with her dad, Clarice and big brother Bradley. I'm glad that I did because when I got home I took one look at her and realized that she's got pink eye!  I'm hoping that my home remedy will clear her eye so she doesn't miss school -- and doesn't spread it to the entire family.

Okay, onto the card:

I thought I had a stamp of a maple leaf in one of my retired stamp sets, but it was an oak leaf.  Then I remember about the leaf image in the Every Little Bit stamp set.  (I got that set for free!)  So I did a little stamping on the inside.

Stamps: Because I Care (hostess level one) for the sentiment, Every Little Bit
Paper: Autumn Traditions designer series paper (retired), Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, More Mustard
Accessories: Decorative Label punch, Modern Label punch, Oval punch, dimensionals

I'm gonna take the card to the Girl Scout meeting tomorrow and have those who attended the program sign it, then we'll send it to Steve.

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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Silhouette Sentiments

Hi,

Just wanted to let everyone who's reading my blog not to think I've forgotten about you.  This has been a busy week for me.  I haven't had too much time to stamp, but I will have some goodies to share in the upcoming weeks. 

Here is a card that I designed and demonstrated at my friend Melissa's workshop a few weeks ago. It came together rather quickly.  Those are the kind of cards I like best.

Stamps: Silhouette Sentiments (hostess level one)
Paper: Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wasabi
Accessories:  Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper textured impressions embossing folder, 1 1/4" square punch, white satin ribbon, dimensionals, glue dot

I tore the Wild Wasabi card stock at the bottom and adhered it to the embossed layer with dimensionals. Then I stamped the three images and the sentiment, then centered them in the punch before punching them out. The bow was tied using the fork bow method and adhered with a glue dot.

Happy Stamping!

Susan

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