Stampin' Mama: A mama that stamps

GinaK Sneak Peek - Day 3 - using stamps for embroidery

I like to think outside the box and I'm in love with working with felt these days. As I sat down to create a card for each of the two sets that the design team is sneak-peeking today, I started thinking about how I could do something entirely different than just stamping and coloring. I thought about how I could use felt on my card and then it dawned on me.

GinaK stamps make for perfect embroidery patterns! Why didn't I think of this before???

I cut a piece of felt and then inked up my stamps from Asela Hopkins' new set, Dream Birds, with black Staz-On ink. I stamped off on a piece of paper to take most of the ink off and then stamped it onto a piece of felt (I like to use a blended felt - 70% rayon and 30% wool). I used the Staz-On ink so that it wouldn't bleed into the fibers of the felt and I stamped off so that I would get a very faint image that wouldn't show as I stitched over it. It was just dark enough that I could see where I was going, but light enough that the floss covered it and you can't even tell I stamped the felt.

I then used embroidery flossed and did a lot of back stitching to complete the images. It really didn't take long at all since the designs from Asela's new set, "Dream Birds," are very simplistic, but fun, line art drawings. I started thinking that this type of project would be great for my daughter to practice her embroidery!

I adhered the felt to a piece of Sweet Corn cardstock and then used a thumb tack to punch staggered holes through the felt and cardstock. I used some green floss to create a zig-zag stitch. I then mounted it all on a card base of Fresh Asparagus cardstock. 

The sentiment was stamped with black ink and also comes in the Dream Birds set.

I added some sweet little green buttons (from the new Spring Collection) to the card with mini glue dots. I threaded some green floss through them to look like they'd been stitched onto the card. 

So....after this card, I was totally hooked on using stamps like this.

I just couldn't get enough, so I used the new GinaK set, "Spring Florals," on the next card. 

This set has more detailed line art images and I wasn't quite sure how it was going to turn out, but I don't usually turn down a challenge, especially one issued to me by myself....so I went for it!

I stamped this image on a piece of coral felt with Staz-On ink and started stitching. I used the shading of the design to guide where to put my stitches.

Because there was more detail to this image, I set the image sheet from the set next to me as I stitched to make sure I was following the basic lines to get the effect I was going for.

I mounted the finished felt piece of a piece of Fresh Asparagus cardstock and used my thumbtack to poke holes through the felt and cardstock then stitched a running stitch through it all.

I wrapped a piece of pink gingham ribbon (from the Spring Collection) around a piece of Innocent Pink cardstock and layered that onto a base card of Fresh Asparagus cardstock. I mounted the felt piece on the card with pop-dots. 

I stamped the sentiment (from the Spring Florals set) on Innocent Pink with Hunter ink and cut a small flag from the cardstock, layered it onto Fresh Asparagus and trimmed it to match the pink flag. I curled it a bit with the barrel of a pen and mounted it on the card with a pop-dot underneath the left side and adhered the right side with a bit of double sided adhesive. I threaded a pink button (from the Spring Collection) and added that to the flag with a mini glue dot.

For a limited time, a free Card Kit will automatically be included with each purchase of the Spring Florals stamp set. The entire kit includes the stamp set, a binder sheet, the instructions and materials to make 3 complete cards for $19.95. For more details on the cards, please visit Jessica Fick's blog. Then, check in with each of these GinaK designers to see all the beautiful projects they've made with the two stamp sets previewed tonight!

Dream Birds Illustrator: Asela Hopkins Spring Florals Illustrator: Gina Krupksy Theresa Momber Melanie Muenchinger Nina Brackett Carolyn King Tami Mayberry Cathy Tidwell Lee Murphy Lynn Mercurio Kurtis Amundson Donna Baker Emily Giovanni Erika Martin Sankari Wegman Valerie Stangle

One Design - Multiple Cards ....with new GinaK sets

GinaK Designs came out with a whole slew of new sets earlier this month. So many great sets to use for the fall season!

It's always amazing to me to see the same layout and design done with completely different sets, inks, papers, etc. They look similar but always have their own personality. That's what my One Design - Multiple Cards is all about.

I created two cards for you with 2 new GinaK sets using the same layout but they look very different. This is a very simple sketch, too. The sketch starts with a card base stamped with a design in the same color of cardstock for a tone-on-tone effect. Near the top of the card is a row of stamped images across a strip of cardstock with two layers of cardstock/paper underneath. In the bottom right corner of the card is a greeting with 3 small brads to the left of it for embellishment.

This first card uses Rupa Shevde's new fall set called So Grateful. I adore my set of Koh-i-noor pencils and used them to color in the images on both of these cards, then blended the colors with blending stumps and Odorless Mineral Spirits. I used Baja Breeze cardstock for the base, More Mustard for the larger strip of cardstock and Ruby Red on top of that. My images were stamped on Very Vanilla.

The greeting on this card also comes from the So Grateful set. I used my paper piercing template and tool to pierce the three holes for my mini vintage copper brads.

For this next card, I used the same design. I even cut my strips of cardstock/paper at the same dimensions that I used for the first card.

The first card used a stamp that had all the images lined up in one stamp. For this second card, I wanted a line of images but only had one stamp so I stamped it across the Very Vanilla cardstock in succession (turning the stamp upside down and right side up as I went along) to get the effect of having a long stamp image.

The stamp set that I used for this card is GinaK's new Autumn Leaves set. For just a couple weeks more, you can get this stamp set for free when your order 3 other stamp sets! The greeting on this card also comes from this set.

I used More Mustard for my cardbase. The striped patterned paper that I used for my large strip is actually from a brand new line of paper that GinaK is carrying in amazing pads! This paper is from the Imported Rythym pad. These papers are full of funky designs and are double sided! They come in a great 6x6 size! I used Really Rust cardstock for my next strip and the images were stamped on Very Vanilla. I used 3 of the mini vintage copper brads for this card, as well, since it matched the colors so well.

Hope you all have a wonderful and creative weekend! I think I'm actually going to get some scrapbooking done tonight (can you tell I'm getting my energy back??) and we're going to the orchard tomorrow afternoon for our annual apple-picking out. I have my pie crust already made and ready for an apple pie tomorrow!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards

I told you all I'd be better about posting my One Design - Multiple Cards feature. Here's another one! Less than a month since my last one!

I usually make my cards with the typical "quarter fold" size (5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches) but went with a square style card this time. This card is 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches.

I used the new Jumping for Joy! set from GinaK (and designed by Melanie Muenchinger) for both of these cards.

At first glance, I assumed that the bear was a polar bear, but then realized that he could be a brown bear or a black bear, too. He didn't HAVE to be a polar bear. Heck, you could even make him tie-dyed if you wanted to (now the wheels are turning in my head and visions of the rainbow bears dancing around are going through my head). One of these days, you just might see a tie-dyed bear on my blog!

I used Bashful Blue for the card base, Certainly Celery for the next base and then used a piece of Bashful Blue patterned paper (from the 6x6 Prints Pack from Stampin' Up). I stamped my image on Whisper White cardstock and then used my Copic markers to give him a little bit of color and the Cool Blue shading around the outside of the bear. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but I colored inside the bear's ear and along his smile with a very pale pink Copic marker.

I cut a small square of Certainly Celery cardstock and cut it in half to put in each of the corners on the right side of the patterned paper.

I tied a piece of black gingham ribbon around the card and tied it off with a double knot and trimmed the edges. Most all of my ribbons are tied off this way because it keeps me from having to worry about getting a perfect bow and having it lay flat.

I punched two scalloped circles out of Certainly Celery cardstock and then cut them in half and adhered them to the back of the Whisper White cardstock. I mounted this over the top of the ribbon.

The little clear dots that I used on the card are clear Rain dots. They seemed to match the polka dotted patterned paper so well, but they don't make the card distracting. The greeting on the card is from the same Jumping for Joy set.

I used the same design for this card, but went with a little bit of a bigger card so that it could accommodate the larger zebra image. This card is 5 x 5 inches.

I love the little heart on the forehead of the zebra, so I brought it out by using a marker around the outside edge with a red Copic marker. I used the same Cool Blue to go around the outside edge of the entire image.

This card uses Real Red patterned paper (the same polka dotted pattern as the Bashful Blue above) and Real Red cardstock as the card base. I used Basic Black as the middle layer and for the scalloped circles and corners.

The greeting on this card also comes from the Jumping for Joy! set.

This set coordinates perfectly with the other sets that Melanie designed:

Just so Hippy

Just so Hoppy

Hip-Hop Accessories

There's a ton of word images in all of these sets and they're all in the same font so you can mix and match from all of the sets! How awesome is that??

Hope you enjoy your Thursday evening!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards.....from the Kitchen Sink

I realized, just recently, that I haven't done a One Design - Multiple Cards post in a long time. Since February, to be exact. It's definitely LONG overdue!

I'm itching to get in my garden and plant, but I don't dare to put anything in there until after Memorial Day weekend. It's a hard and fast rule in our family that we wait until then. This was something my mom always did and it's something I always do. I found out years ago that my mom waited because the elderly woman across the street from us (when we were living in northern New Hampshire) waited until then. She had a HUGE garden and always had amazing crops. She had rules that she played by when it came to gardening, so she was a good example to follow. The reason she waited until after Memorial Day was because up here in the north, you don't want to take chances on any late frosts that will kill your tiny and tender plantlings.

So.....after Memorial Day it is. I've been wanting to get in there and plant my seeds and go to the farmer's market in town to buy my plants, but I've been holding off, knowing that I NEED to wait just a little while longer. It won't be long now. And it's a good thing I've waited because it's been pretty chilly and wet lately.

I have plans to start planting next week. I'm SO excited! I adore this time of year. I love being out under the sun, with my bare feet feeling the dirt underneath, working the earth. Davy has been getting it ready for me to start planting. He's been out there with the hoe after work, turning the dirt over, getting it all loose. Girly has been weeding it out and taking the rocks out.....funny how they always seems to appear every season when you know you took a bunch out the year before.

Anyway...........these sunflowers, from the Honey Bunny set  (from Kitchen Sink Stamps), make me ache for the warmth of summer and get me anxious to start putting my sunflower seeds into the ground.

And then there's the amazing Hydrangea stamp set (also from Kitchen Sink Stamps). I don't have any hydrangea flowers in my yard, but that doesn't mean I don't adore them. I can tell you every house on Main Street in town that has hydrangeas in their front yard. I look forward to when they're all blooming and love looking at them when I drive into town.

For these two cards, I went with the same design, but it's amazing how the cards look so different just by changing up the floral images and the colors. The sunflower card has such a warmth to it with all those sunny colors, while the hydrangea card has such a cool calm to it with the blues and greens that I used.

I stamped a frame of flowers around a piece of Confetti White cardstock for both cards. The greetings in the middle of the flowers comes from the Whole Family stamp set. There's lots of different combinations that you can create with this set.

I mounted the Confetti White cardstock on a piece of coordinating cardstock and then onto a coordinating card base.

I almost felt like I had to add something more to the cards.....because it's just how my mind works most of the time.....but realized that it would just be too much. These flowers are so beautiful that they can stand on their own.

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards.....try out this sketch!

It's back! Here's another One Design - Multiple Cards post.

I really enjoy doing multiple cards of one design. It's always interesting to see how one sketch can look so different when you switch up colors, stamps and embellishments.

Below is a sketch that I created for GinaK's new stamp release earlier this month. You can click on the picture for a larger view in a pop-up window:

Above is the card that I created as a sketch challenge for GinaK's new release. Quite a few people took up the challenge and tried this sketch out. You can view all the different variations of this design by going here ---> Erika's Sketch Challenge gallery There's some amazing artwork over there and shows exactly what I was talking about when I said that it's amazing how one sketch can take on so many looks with changes.

The card above uses Gina's new set, Baskets of Happiness. I inked up all the edges of the patterned papers with Blue Bayou ink so that they'd stand out a little bit more from the Soft Sky cardstock that I used for the card base.

I used my Stampin' Pastels (aka: chalks) to color in the flower pot image. I have just dug these back out of my GINORMOUS collection of stamping paraphernalia (I actually had to look that word up on dictionary.com to make sure I spelled it right....I say it often enough, but apparently I don't spell it often enough *wink*) and started to play around with them again. I've created a few really cool techniques with them that I'm very proud of but I also love to JUST COLOR with them with the little applicators that come in the case. They give such a soft and delicate effect. So simple and classic.

I stamped the greeting (from the same set) with Blue Bayou ink (I ADORE that color!).

The little plastic flower that I used for my embellishment is from GinaK's new Bling & Dazzle Plastic Flower Outlines. These little babies can be inked up with pigment ink or you can use them "naked," as I've done here. Gina also carries little plastic tags made with the same material and these tags can be covered with paper, ink, fabric, etc.

I put a mini brad through the center of the plastic flower and positioned the "arms" on the back of the brad so that they hid under the outline of the flower. I used a mini glue dot to stick the flower to the patterned paper strip. Those little glue dots are amazing! They stick to just about EVERYTHING and hold really well. One thing that I've found, though, is that you shouldn't touch them a bunch with your fingers when you're working with them. For one, they can easily get stuck to your fingers and they're hard to UN-stick, they get stretched out of shape if you're trying to pull them from your fingers and the oils from your fingers can make them lose their "stickiness" if you mess around with them too much. I just place the embellishment on top of the glue dot (while it's still on the roll) and pull the glue dot up and away from the roll once it's good and stuck to the embellishment. I don't have to touch it at all with my fingers by doing it this way.

The next card I created with this same sketch also uses the Baskets of Happiness set from GinaK.

I kept the sketch concept pretty much the same, but added a few more "bells and whistles" to this card.

I added a layer of Ruby Red cardstock under the patterned paper circle that I cut out (I used the Ginger Blossom Designer Series Paper on this card). I also added a patterned paper layer underneath the patterned paper strip at the bottom of the card. I also added a ribbon around the bottom strip.

One of the things that I did change with the sketch for this card was the greeting. Because I cut the circle at the top of the card much larger than the circle I drew in the sketch, it didn't leave for a lot of room under the strip at the bottom for a greeting. I chose to place the greeting on top of the strip instead.

I used the "Easter Blessings!" stamp from the Baskets of Happiness set and then punched it out with the Word Window punch. I mounted this on top of the ribbon with a couple of pop-dots. Speaking of pop-dots, I also mounted the stamped basket image (with layers) on the top of the card with pop-dots.

Just like the first card in this post, I colored the basket/eggs image with my Stampin' Pastels. I used the little applicators and with the fine detail on this image, I was bound to go outside of the lines with my chalks. I love the little white eraser that comes in the Stampin' Pastels case....it erases the color that you don't want very easily.

If you're looking to make perfectly cut and layered circles, the Coluzzle Cutting System is a great tool to use. There's a circle AND an oval template in the kit.

For my embellishment on this card, I layered a couple of prima flowers together and secured them with a light pink brad. I mounted this on the card with a Pop-up Glue Dot. This is much bigger than the mini glue dots and has a raised bump. It gives your embellishments a little more dimension if you want it, or you can cut it in half or quarters to get more mileage out of them with dimension to boot. For some of my embellishments, I like to press them down so they lay a bit more flat, but I like that they're bigger and cover more space than a mini glue dot. That's what I did with the pop-up glue dot on the back of these prima flowers.

It's off to bed for me.....my kids are home all week for February vacation and they've got me all tuckered out. They have a LOT of energy when they're not using it on work at school. And its laundry day tomorrow....you all know how much I LOVE that (not really). We'll make our most anticipated stop for laundry day.....a stop at the dollar store! The kids always look forward to that.

 

I also realized I've yet to write up my thoughts on last week's episode of Survivor on my Survivor Mama Blog. I promise I'll work on that tomorrow!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards.....from the Kitchen Sink

I have felt so out of the loop lately. When I left for Rhode Island to visit my parents (my dad had to have surgery), my computer was acting really weird and I couldn't get my card reader to upload or even show the photos I had taken. I had to leave my desktop PC behind and realize that I wouldn't be able to deal with it until I came home.

After time spent on the phone with tech support, trying to figure things out on my own. reformatting all of my memory cards and a trip down to my sister's house to plug in my card reader into her computer, I realized it wasn't my computer or my USB port, but the actual card reader that had finally given up the ghost. I found it funny that I was actually praying that my card reader was broken because it meant that it was an easy and inexpensive fix than if it were my computer or needing an external hard drive.

We took the 1 1/2 hour round trip drive this weekend to the nearest Best Buy and bought myself a brandy spankin' new card reader. Fortunately, this one is an all-in-one and will accommodate up to 25 different types of cards. Some day, when I finally upgrade to a new camera, I won't have to buy a new card reader.

It's amazing how dependent I've become on pictures, my camera, my card reader, my computer.....and to think that about 8 years ago, I didn't want anything to do with computers. Funny how people change! (I said that same thing about stamping and look where I am now....haha!)

So.....now that I have a new card reader and I can finally get pictures on my computer again, I am playing catch up. I feel like I've neglected my little home on the web here.

I had created a couple cards for a One Card - Multiple Designs post and I'm finally getting the chance to post them for you.

After I had the chance to play around with the new Love & Luck set on THIS POST, the wheels started turning on how I could use the cute "loves me" and "loves me not" stamps again. Whenever I think of these phrases, I always conjure up pictures in my mind of a little girl picking the petals off a flower and hoping that the last one will be "loves me."

I decided to combine the Love & Luck set with the Pretty Petals set to create the flower that a little girl would pick. I stamped the words right on the petals themselves.

This card was also another foray into the world of stamping on a color layered as my main focal point and using white cardstock as a back layer.

To dress up the inside of the flower, I used a light yellow prima flower with a mini silver brad adhered with a mini glue dot.

I wanted to add something to the corners of the cardstock, as I felt it was missing something. Who says that old fashioned photo corners have to be used just on photos? Sometimes I forget all the great little treasures I have tucked away in some of my craft boxes....those plastic boxes with little boxes in them to put things like buttons, clips, sequins, etc. I need to start digging into those more often! What's old becomes new once again.

For this card, I again used the Love & Luck set and the Pretty Petals set....but I also added in another set - the Never a Loss 4 Words set.

Originally, I wanted this card to say "good luck" but then realized I didn't have any stamps that said "good" and the alphabet set that I have was just too big to use in the small space, so I decided to come up with my own saying and make it work for me.

 

The layer under the Whisper White cardstock looks gray, but it's actually Bordering Blue cardstock (from Stampin' UP) but I realized after I'd put the photo corners on the white, it made the Bordering Blue cardstock look really gray.

I stamped the checkered heart around the spiral stamp to create a funky clover. To dress up the clover and add some dimension (which I love), I added some cute little flower and round sticky jewels in the center of the flower and in the center tops of the hearts. I also found some mini brads in my drawer that I never really matched anything I was working on, but matched this card perfectly. They were applied around the center of the flower.

Just like the first card, I used the same old fashioned photo corners to give the corners a finished feel.

I used the "Luck" stamp from the Love & Luck set and stamped that in Blue Bayou ink. The "happy" and "day" stamps were done with Bordering Blue ink and they are from the Never a Loss 4 Words set.

The Never a Loss 4 Words set doesn't actually have a stamp that says just "day." I used the "birthday" stamp and simply only inked up the last 3 letters of the stamp to get this effect. I used my ink pad to do this and was very careful with it, though you could also use a brush tip marker and color directly onto the stamp if you needed to.

I've always liked the new Wild Wasabi color since it debuted last July, but after I used it on this card, I fell even deeper in love. I'll be sad to see this color go out of the catalog come August of this year. At least I'll still have my ink pad and I'll stock up on cardstock when the time comes.

It's just such a glorious color to use for St. Patrick's Day projects and for clovers!

I have a fun give-away coming up tomorrow, so make sure you check back!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards

It seemed like, for a couple of years, all of my friends were getting married. I was invited to one wedding after another. Now they're having babies.

GinaK's new set, Heartfelt Hits 1, made me wish I had this set back when all of my friends were tying the knot.  Well, I still have plenty of friends that are still headed that way and now I have a beautiful set to make lovely wedding cards with.

When I created this card, I thought it would be fun to do a One Design - Multiple Cards post. I didn't realize it's been 2 whole months since I've done one of those. So, here it is.

I get asked a lot what my favorite technique is and hands down, it's the direct-to-paper technique (or "swiping," as I like to call it because that's exactly what I do with the ink pad on the cardstock - I swipe it). I used that for this card here. I swiped the Elegant Eggplant ink pad along the edges of the Perfect Plum card base.

The couple dancing were also stamped with Elegant Eggplant. I felt like it was lacking just a little bit, so I used my 2-Way Glue Pen to fill in the dress image and then sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds Glitter over the image. It made the dress so sparkly and purty!

The dark purple patterned paper that was use under the couple image and on the strip down the left side is from the Old World stack of papers from Die Cuts with a View.

The greeting at the bottom right corner of the card base is also from the Heartfelt Hits 1 set. It's actually all in one straight line, but in order to get them all to fit in the space at the bottom of the card, I inked up only the first three words with Whisper White craft ink and stamped that first. Then I wiped the stamp clean and then inked up the last three words with the white ink.

I used a piece of narrow ivory ribbon around the strip and tied it in a double knot. I popped the couple image on the top of the card with pop-dots to give some extra dimension.

When I saw GinaK's set, You Know You're Old When....., I immediately thought about my grandfather. I know that sounds funny, but he's always picking on himself about his age. Even when my grandmother was still alive, they would BOTH pick on each other about their ages. My grandmother was always telling people that my grandfather was 10 years older than he really was. Then she would say, "Doesn't he look great for such and such an age?" People would always agree and then it would come out that she had added 10 years onto his age. Well, of course he looked good for that age because he was actually YOUNGER!

For this card, I worked off of the same design that I used for the wedding card above.

I haven't used my watercolor pencils in such a long time, so it was nice to break those out and use them again. I found that every one of my pencils needed to be sharpened, as my daughter has been using them WAY more than I have. Pencils are so much easier for her to use than my pricey markers. I don't wince and grimace when she uses the pencils. They can always be resharpened.

Even though I used watercolor pencils, I didn't put any water to them. I just colored with them like regular colored pencils and let them that way.

I used three greetings on this card. They all came from the You Know You're Old When... set. The one on the front of the card is one stamp. Inside the card (I didn't take a picture of the inside) there are two greeting stamps. One says, "your ears are hairier than your head." Underneath that, I stamped "Happy Birthday." The greetings were all done with Whisper White craft ink.

I was going to add some glitter to the little pom-pom on the top of the party hat and then thought, "Hey, Gina sent me those really cute little red Glitter Dots. That's just what this hat needs!" I used a Mini glue dot to adhere the dot to the top of the hat.

I used White grosgrain ribbon to tie around the strip of polka dotted paper. Both the polka dotted paper and the argyle paper used as the layer underneath the old man are from the Blue Bayou Prints Designer Series paper. This perfectly coordinates with the Blue Bayou cardstock that I used as the card base.

I'm always amazed when making two cards using the same design.....to see that they start out with the same design concept, but just by changing around the stamp set, colors and papers, you come up with two cards that don't look anything alike.

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design - Multiple Cards....it's back!

Since so many people are thinking about buying for people on their wish lists right now, I thought it would be fun to show you two different cards, made from the same design concept.....and it holds a gift card! Something everyone LOVES to get....and not just for the holidays, but also for other occasions. So, this "One Design - Multiple Cards" post will show you two different cards for different occasions.

Speaking of gift cards.....I came across two AWESOME and quick articles online that will help you to be better informed when you shop for gift cards this season.

The first article teaches you how to do one-stop shopping this season: Buying & Giving Holiday Gift Cards

The second article is a heads up on the gift card scams that are going on right now and teaches you how to make a wise purchase on your gift cards: Buyer Beware: Gift Card Scam Alert

Everyone loves getting a gift card, but make sure you're well prepared and educated when you go into a purchase.

The first card I created is a holiday card. (Both of these cards use the same tri-fold design.) I didn't even use holiday paper, but combined colors that work really well together to bring a holiday look together perfectly.

I DID tell you that I'm in love with the Prints Designer Series Paper, right? Each of the papers that you see here are from those packs (Old Olive, Rose Red and Blue Bayou). Oh.....and don't forget, you get 1 free pack of Designers Series paper when you order any 3 packs by November 30th....check it out: Paper Party Promotion

Just a little bit of simple layering of the papers and BAM (said in an Emeril voice....who I've never actually watched, but I hear that's what he says).....you've got yourself some nice patterns and colors going on with no stamping at all (that's not a bad thing sometimes).

I used the "merry & bright" image from the free Punchy Words set that GinaK Designs is giving away with any order of 3 or more stamp sets. The images in this set fit the Stampin' Up 1 3/8 inch circle punch and the Stampin' Up Word Window punch. I used my Rose Red and Old Olive marker to color directly onto the rubber stamp. I punched it out with the 1 3/8 inch circle punch. I then mounted that on top of a piece of Blue Bayou cardstock that I punched out with the Stampin' UP Scallop Circle punch. I wanted to add a little bit of extra dimension to the card, so I swiped some Whisper White Craft ink along the edge of the scalloped circle. I also swiped along the top and bottom of the card with white ink, as well. The scalloped circle got mounted with pop-dots over the ivory organdy ribbon that I double knotted (because I suck at making bows *wink*).

The inside of this tri-fold card has a piece of patterned paper that I punched with my Stampin' Up Slit Punch, then mounted in the middle section of the tri-fold. The gift card gets slipped underneath the slits. (That little punch is GENIUS!)

On the bottom inside section of the tri-fold card, I stamped one of the images from GinaK's new Festive Labels set with Whisper White craft ink. 

To close these cards up, you can just put a little dab of adhesive along the inside edge of the front of the card. Or, you could use a Mini glue dot.

The second card I made also uses the Punchy Words set, but rather than using the holiday greeting, I used the birthday image. I used my markers for this stamp, as well. I really like the contrast of two colors on these little stamps.

I followed the same dimensions and design concept for this card, as I did with the first. Isn't it amazing that you can use the same dimensions and concept, but change the colors and images around and you get a totally different looking card?

I used the Cutie Pie Designer Series paper for this card. I wasn't quite sure about this paper when I ordered it, but I had heard that this was a really popular pack of paper and so many people rated this pack as the one they couldn't live without, so I decided to give it a chance.

Dang, it's cute paper! (Hence the name: Cutie Pie...talk about an "Aha moment." Seriously, people....sometimes it takes me just a little while to catch up on stuff like this.) I just opened it up today and was excited to play with it!

You can click on the two pictures below for a larger view of the details.

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

And safe and smart shopping on your gift cards this season!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design.....multiple cards....GinaK Style!

It's been a little while since I've done one of my One Design....Multiple Cards post. I decided that today was the day.

I have some brandy new stamp sets from GinaK Design's newest stamp release that I wanted to break in and play with, so for this post, I used two of the new sets.

The card design is pretty basic. It's a piece of patterned paper mounted on top of one that it just slightly bigger, by a half inch, to create the border on the top and bottom of the smaller patterned paper. A coordinating strip of patterned paper is mounted across the middle, with three pieces of folded-over ribbon accents stapled onto it.

The stamped focal point is mounted on pop-dots on the left side of the card, over the patterned strip. A greeting is stamped below the patterned papers, in the right corner of the card base.

For the first card, I used the new Text Messages set. This is a really great set for teens that love to stamp.....or to make cards for teens that love to talk on their phone and text their friends.

I have to be honest and tell you a little secret. I barely know how to text. ;) I didn't own a cell phone up until 2 years ago, actually. I just kept holding off, thinking I'd never need one. I still don't rely on it like most people do these days, but it IS nice to have it when the hubby goes to the store, or when I'm on the road. The thing that pushed us to finally get one was when we were traveling to Belgium and France in October of 2005. We missed our flight home from Belgium and had to get on another flight. That changed everything. We had a bunch of people to call but had to have our friends in Belgium do the calling....and I quickly rushed the phone numbers onto a piece of paper to hand over to our friends while we were rushing to get through security and to our boarding gate. Our connections got delayed and we had to break out the calling card in NYC. When we got home, I went out right away to get myself a cell phone. But.....I still barely know how to text. I know LOTS of people that do, though, and this is a perfect set to use to make cards for them. (Yeesh, I sure know how to ramble, don't I? *wink*)

GinaK created some uber-cool text messages to stamp inside the phone screen. 9 text messages total! And they're all in "text speak!" How ingenious is that?

I used the "Au Chocolat" (the brown papers) and "Loves Me" paper (the pink paper) that Stampin' Up *used* to offer back at the beginning of this year. I'm really hoping that when the new catalog comes out on January 1st, that we'll see this paper in the catalog. I sure would love to get my hands on some more of these packs because I LOVE them. Yes, I'm hoarding what I have left of them, but you know how much I'm trying NOT to hoard....they just make my hoarding obsession hard to get rid of.  ;)

I used watercolor paper for the phone and watercolored my image in using a paint brush and my ink pads.

Supplies: Test Messages set - GinaK Designs; Taken with Teal cardstock; Jet Black Staz-On ink; Taken with Teal, River Rock and Regal Rose Classic ink; watercolor paper; Au Chocolate and Loves Me designer series paper; pop-dots; Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon; stapler and staples; paint brush and water

For the next card, I used the hilarious new Way to Go! set. Gina has just started a new line called, "Tickle your Funny Bone." This is the first set in that line and wait till you see what she's coming up with next in this line for the January 1st release! She has an amazing and zany sense of humor.

This set is great for all those guys in your life that you just can't make another flowery type of card for. They'll LOVE the images and sayings in this set. This set was a must have for me. I mean, come on! If you know my family well enough, you'd know there's ALWAYS a use for a toilet stamp. ALWAYS!

You have to check out the other images and sayings that are in this set. They truly WILL tickle your funny bone. :)

Normally, I would use the Brocade Background designer series paper for something really elegant, but since it reminds me of wall paper to begin with, it just seemed to be a bit of a paradox (can you believe I actually had to look that word up to make sure it meant what I thought it did....and thank goodness, it actually DID mean what I thought it did), since it also reminds me of wallpaper that you might see in a bathroom in an older house. And it also seemed to be so contradictory to a toilet. You know.....something so elegant next to something so *cough* "regular." (pun intended) I just couldn't help myself.

I roughed up the edges of the patterned paper and cardstock with the distressing tool on my Cutter Kit. When I did the little ribbon accents, I was going to use Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon to match the color theme I was working with. But then I realized that the Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon would actually be pretty funny because they reminded me of piece of toilet paper. Okay, okay, so sometimes I have the mind of a 5th grader and I laugh at things like this. Again.....I just can't help myself sometimes.

I stamped the small toilet paper roll in the bottom right corner of the card with Whisper White craft ink and then stamped over the top of it with the greeting. I really like this effect. I HAD to use that toilet paper roll on this card and this was the perfect way to incorporate it into the design without overwhelming it.

Supplies: Way to Go set - GinaK Designs; Old Olive and River Rock cardstock; Brocade Background designer series paper; Old Olive, Basic Brown and River Rock Classic inks; Whisper White Craft ink; distressing tool from Cutter Kit; pop-dots; stapler and staples; Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama

One Design.....Multiple Cards

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for another installment of "One Design.....Multiple Cards."

That made me feel all announcer-ish. ;)

I have not just ONE card to show you today, but TWO cards! And the great thing about them?? They both use the same layout design, but I've used totally different products and images on them. In fact, one of them doesn't use any stamps at all!

The first card that I created uses two of GinaK's new Fall/Holiday images, along with the large oval from her Scalloped Frames and Doodles set.

I had a lot of fun with this little penguin and was so pleased with how he turned out. This is my favorite watercoloring job on Whisper White cardstock EVER! I have never gotten flawless watercoloring on Whisper White before so this was a Monday of Victory! What a way to start the week!

My husband has been SO sick all weekend and stayed home from work today. I was sitting at my desk working on this card and asked him, "Honey, do penguins have orange feet?" He was reading something at the time and apparently I distracted him from something he was really into (he really couldn't do much more than read all weekend). He said, "I don't know." I said, "Fine, then he's getting orange feet." He thought I was being snarky with him or something because he said, "It's not that I don't want to answer you. It's just that I don't know and I'm REALLY interested in what I'm reading." I told him, "It's no big deal. I'm just used to talking to myself all day so it was kind of exciting to ask a question out loud and actually have someone other than myself actually answer the question." And yes, I do talk to myself quite a bit. The good thing about talking to myself is that I win EVERY STINKIN' argument! SCORE!

I used some of the papers and cardstock from the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit that I used in Saturday's post.

I used the lids of my ink pads for watercoloring the penguin. I went over with a light wash of color first and then went back on the edges with more ink to give the penguin shading. If you look closely, you can see that I used a really light dillution (yes, that's my own word....it's a cross between diluted and solution) of Going Grey ink on the belly and face of the penguin to give those areas a little more dimension. I also used this "dillution" to create a shadow underneath the penguin so that he didn't look like he was floating in a Scalloped doodle bubble. I mounted the penguin on the card with Pop-dots.

The greeting was done by coloring my greeting stamp with a Real Red Stampin' Write marker one word at a time and stamping them on Whisper White cardstock, then cutting them in a "retro fashion."

Yes, I had to subject poor little Petey the Penguin to glitter. (And a pink scarf, for that matter. He's a very secure penguin when it comes to his masculinity.) I took my 2-Way glue pen over the cuff and the pom-pom of his hat and sprinkled them with the ever illustrious Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Come on, you KNOW that hat is SO much cuter with glitter on it. Even on a boy penguin!

I had so much fun with this easy layout that I decided to try another card with the same layout design. This time with no stamping at all!

These cards were cut at 7 3/4 x 3 7/8 inches. Yes, I know that sounds like a really weird measurement, but it just happened that way because I didn't want to cut into a full sheet of cardstock and the 7 3/4 inch length is what I had left on a piece of cardstock, so I went with it and the size ended up being something I really like. It's such a cute size.

For this card here, I used supplies from my FAVORITE EVER Simply Scrappin' Kit - the Secret Garden Kit. I chose the Groovy Guava and River Rock textured cardstocks from the kit, as well as one of the patterned papers.

The rest of the embellishments on this card were taken from the sticker sheets that come in the kit.

I really had my mind set on doing something that looked like a flower on a stem, but since I've used so many of the stickers already, I had to get a little creative. It's amazing what you can do with those lines of stickers in between the "real" border stickers. Those "left over strips" became the stem of the flower, as well as the borders above the "love" sticker. The love sticker looked so lonely without that special "something else." "Left over strips" to the rescue! The colors matched and it was just enough, but not too much. And who says "S" scrolls can't double as leaves? I had used up all the leaves on my sticker sheets and the flower just didn't look right without them (it actually looked like a flower shaped lollipop with a halo without the leaves and that just wasn't the look I was going for).

There was no stamping involved in this card and once again, another great use of the Simply Scrappin' Kits. This card took me less than 5 minutes to put together!

If you haven't yet used Stampin' Up's textured cardstock, you're missing out BIG TIME! This stuff ROCKS! It has such a rich look to it.....you can see the detail in this picture here. Both the River Rock and the Groovy Guava cardstock are textured.

Actually, ALL the cardstock in the Simply Scrappin' Kits are textured. I LOVE THIS STUFF! You can get it a bunch of different colors and it's colored all the way through. Gorgeous cardstock!

Hope you all have a lovely evening! See you tomorrow!

Happy Creating!

-Stampin' Mama