Crisp Cantaloupe Card and Some Schedule Changes

How about a Crisp Cantaloupe card to encourage Spring to get back to us?  This one certainly looks like Spring.

The corner of the card and the envelope corner have a sponged portion, using the stencil from our Artisan Embellishment Kit.  I've used a bit of DSP under the focal piece on the card and on the inside of the card.

The beautiful Something Borrowed Embellishments piece just adds the perfect finishing touch to my card.  It's even prettier in real life, because it has a nice shimmery sparkle to it.  I attached it over the bow, using Liquid Tombow.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Crisp Cantaloupe Card and a Treat Bag

I have another card with a matching surprise for you today.   This one is a Sahara Sand and Crisp Cantaloupe combo.  Let's look at the treat holder first.

The holder is made using our French Fry Box Bigz Die.  You simply cut 2 and use only the backs of each one.  The little photo tutorial below shows how to put it all together.  

I just added a squiggle of watercolor onto the embossed Thank You on a scrap of watercoloring paper and then, once dry, cut the v-cut using the Hexagon Punch.

The card just showcases the gorgeous background stamp.  I've embossed with white EP onto Crisp Cantaloupe CS.  I used parts of the stamp to decorate the inside of the card and the envelope.

I lightly sponged the doily to blend in to the vintage look of the card.

The flowers are from our Artisan Embellishment Kit.

I masked off part of the inside of the card to stamp the lower border.

Pretty?

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Blackberry Bliss Card and a Little Surprise

Today's card features the last of my 5 In Colors cards... in Blackberry Bliss.  I've used embossing, punches and embellishments from our Artisan Embellishment Kit to pull together the elegant look.  Be sure to keep scrolling down to see a little surprise I made to go with this card.

The circle punches help make the card a pretty quick and easy one to assemble.

Adding the embossed layer always bumps a card up to a new level of elegance. 

Whew!  That's all 5 of our In Colors.  So, how about a little surprise to go with this one?

Wouldn't this make a super fun gift for a special someone?  They'd have a beautiful card and their own Artisan Embellishment Kit. 

I've simply wrapped the paper around the box from the kit.  They can actually slide everything out and save the wrapping.  Perhaps they could use the kit, save the box, put a new treat in the box, place it back into the wrapping and pass on the joy to another special someone.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Blackberry Butterfly Layout #1

I waited on posting my layout to be sure I had everything the way I wanted it.  Since then, I've actually completed 2 versions of this layout.  I'll post one today and the second one in my next post.  After that, I'd love it if you'd tell me which one you like the best.  Here's today's version of Blackberry Butterfly Layout #1.

This layout features a lot of wonderful products from our Spring Occasions Catalog.

Here are close-ups of the butterflies.  They are double layered.

The butterflies are cut from Blushing Bride and Blackberry Bliss CS.  My colors are right out of the color story from the designer papers.

The beautiful fabric rosettes are attached with Liquid Tombow.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Studio Wreath Redo

You know how much we love to use the 'undo' and 'redo' keys on our laptops?  Well, I decided to redo my studio wreath and add more flowers.  Let me know what you think.

It now has flowers all the way around it.

Here's the original wreath:

...and here it is now:

I have 2 and they're both hanging inside.  I just took this outside to get a better photo of it.  So, tell me what you think.  Should I add some butterflies?  It has a lot of lace from the Artisan Embellishment Kit, but it doesn't show up very much in the photo.

I have been so busy this week in my studio.
After getting the retiring list and then my brand new catalog (goes live on May 31), I marked all the retiring products from the current catalog and then started pouring over the new catalog.  I like it, I like it, I like it... a lot!  I just sang that.  Could you hear me?

In preparation for my Left-Overs Party (class) on this Sunday afternoon, I pulled out all the retiring stamps and accessories.  I then studied the layout of the new catalog.  The stamps are organized a little bit differently than in the current one.  I relabeled and resorted all my stamps and put them away according to the new format.  I will have to get used to everything being moved a bit.

Now, I'm off to play with the new stamps and products that I got in my pre-order.  You'll be seeing some sneak peeks very soon!  I'm happy now that I did the work first.  I will enjoy my creating just that much more!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Another Journal from the Try It Kit

In my last post, I showed you a journal that was pretty much like the suggested version.  Today, let's step it up a bit!  Here's a vintage version with a little seaside thrown in for fun.

Here's how I made it:

• I stamped directly onto the journal, using Crumb Cake and Soft Suede inks.
• I sponged around the edges of the journal with Soft Suede ink.
• I wrapped linen thread around the front cover of the journal.
• I tied in some seam binding and crochet trim.
• I attached a piece of the gorgeous lace from our Artisan's Kit.
• I stamped a shell and some sand dollars, cut them out and attached them over the lace.
• Liquid Tombow holds everything securely in place.

That's it!  A beautiful, vintage journal in no time at all.

After all the excitement of getting to peek at the new catalog online yesterday, not to mention ordering a few of the new goodies, I am still kind of reeling.  My advise to you:  If you want to get something from the current catalog - DO NOT WAIT - get it now, because things will be going fast.  Once they're gone; they're gone.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

This And That --- An Awesome Journal AND My 700th Post!!!

I am loving our new This and That journal.  It is a kind of smash book, where you can add pretty much whatever you'd like to put in it.  I've used all the stickers that came with it and decorated a lot of the pages.  The pages are gorgeous already, with the beautiful papers, so adding stickers was over the top in terms of fun.  I used some of the washi tape that came in the bundle, too.  It is really nice, super easy to use and adds a bit of fun to wherever you place it.  There was also a package of DSP that came with the bundle and I used a bit of that on the cover.  I'll be playing with it a lot more, for sure!

Here's a peek at the cover of my journal:

I painted on some gesso, just for fun, then started decorating the cover.  I used some of the DSP (from the bundle) and then added a bit of washi tape and some stickers.  For the finishing touch, I added a bit of lace from our Artisan Embellishment Kit and wrapped a Builder Brad around a bit of our woven ribbon.  Because the brad is on the front of a journal, I added a dot of Liquid Tombow before placing down the epoxy bubble in the center of it.  To keep it neutral, I used a punched piece of Crumb Cake CS under the bubble, rather than a bright color.

What will I put inside my journal?

• all those odds and ends of little mementos that usually end up in a drawer, misplaced or lost...
• funny quotes that the kids say and you don't want to forget...
• extra photos not needed in a layout but too good to discard...
• lists of plans, dreams, goals...
• interesting quotes... (I love collecting quotes!)
• story ideas... in case I ever get back to my writing  (I have good starts to several children's books.)...
• odds and ends...
• dates, when needed, using the super fun rotary stamp that came in the bundle... You can also use it to stamp little comments.

I've ordered a second journal to save for our next road trip or vacation.  Hmmmm... maybe I should get one to take to Convention, too.  I'm all registered for it!

This bundle is available until the end of April and then it all goes away until the new catalog comes out.  Give it a try and I think you'll enjoy it a lot.

• How will you decorate the cover on your journal?
• What will you put inside your journal?

By the way, I think these would make wonderful gifts.  I got one for each of the boys for when we have some of our 'project time' sessions this summer.  Shhhhh!  Don't tell them!  It's a surprise!

I'm off to work in my studio all morning and into the afternoon... love it!!!  Then, I'm going to the Wildflour for a late lunch with my daughter and to add lots of new goodies to my Prairie Treasures booth.  It's in the Root Cellar (basement) at the Wildflour and your really should go, if you live in the area.  It's a great place to find all kinds of treasures.  (The food in the bakery is yummy, too!)

Have a good day and a wonderful weekend.  I'm so thankful the thunder has stopped, so Toby Joe can calm down and be happy again.  Poor baby!  He has a hard time during the storms.

Framed Bunny Babies

After making my framed bunny project, I decided to make some bunny babies.  These are all from our First Edition DSP.  I love how they turned out!

I used 3 different punches for the body.  The size punches or dies you use depends on the size of your frames.

 

The background papers are from our paper stacks of DSP.  We have a stack for each color family.  I added a nice little white satin bow at the corner of each frame and attached it with Liquid Tombow. 

The bunny tails are flowers from our Artisan Embellishment kit.  If you're looking for a nice little vignette for Easter, try adding a banner and several framed bunnies.  You could go on to add some decorative eggs, grass, more bunnies... whatever you can dream up.  

Here's what I came up with for my dining room table.  Picture these on a buffet with some framed bunnies and a banner in the background.  Wouldn't that be pretty?

So, are you wondering how my Work Like a Dog mission came out?  I'd say it was a huge success, except for a bad back keeping me up all night last night.  I accomplished many, many things on my To Do list and it was a pleasure to knock them off --- one by one.  Am I finished?  Well, no, because I knew I had a longer list that I could possibly finish, even in 6 days.  The good news is that what is left is manageable AND I have a working plan for completing it.  I'm happy to say that I didn't go crazy and that I have calmed down my Spring Fever of madness as far as being in a frenzy of activity.  The only thing I have left to say is:  Where is Spring?  and... Why do we say we've 'worked like a dog?'  I don't see any of that in my furry studio mascot.


Where is Spring?

Work like a dog?  Really?

So here's to a more sane and 'normal' week this week AND a better back.  Hope you have a good one.

Everybunny Loves a Framed Bunny Project

I love bunnies.  There is just something so cute about them ... unless, of course, they're eating up your plants and vegetables.  That has been known to happen to us --- a lot.  So... I decided to create bunnies that won't do anything but look really cute.  In today's post meet Bob, my super cute (and nice) bunny.

Here is my Crumb Cake bunny, sporting our new Natural Trim ribbon.  I love this ribbon because it adds a ton of texture to any project and it's really easy to work with it.

I added a cute little banner to this framed project, using our Hearts A Flutter Framelits.  The paper is Tea for Two DSP.

 

Tip:
To create a banner that will 'hang' from our linen thread, I scored a little line at the top of each banner piece where I wanted to fold it over (about 1/4" from the end) and then I added a line of Liquid Tombow adhesive and folded it over the thread.  It stays in place beautifully.  I also added a dot of Liquid Tombow at each end of the thread, to attach it to the frame.  The ends of each banner piece are loose.

What bunny would be complete without a fancy tail.  This tail is a flower from our Artisan Kit.  The kit has all kinds of cute buttons and flowers in it, along with some gorgeous lace.

To complete the frame, I added a strip of ribbon flowers.  Now our bunny can live in a beautiful place and he won't eat a bite of the flowers, I promise.  

Here's a peek at all you get in the Artisan Kit.  Doesn't it just wake up your creativity?

For further inspiration, here is a peek at some display boards (from the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference) using items from the kit.

So, have a great day and a great weekend.  I'm off to deal with Day 6 in my Work Like a Dog mission.  It's going well, but I'm getting a little tired.  I'm thrilled to say that I've crossed off a ton of items from my To Do list.

Up next:
Baby bunny framed projects...
More Spring projects...
April class schedule...
This and That...

Coming soon --- This and That --- a smash book.
For now:  Sign up on FB to win a free vacation, compliments of Stampin' Up!  Click the link and watch a video to learn more about a smash book.