A Polka Dot Birthday Card and Our Party Winners

I really enjoyed my Spring Open House Party yesterday.  Even with writing up orders, shopping and making our projects, it seemed like we had more time to sit and visit, talk about art and just enjoy each other's company.  In my book, that's a good Stampin' Party!  I'll share my card for today with you and then be sure to scroll on down to see the party winners and my next events.  Please note there is a DATE change for my Saturday Stampers in April.  Even though I looked at my calendar repeatedly, I still didn't realize I'd scheduled it for Easter weekend.  It has now been moved to the following week (April 22).  Here's my card.  This is one from my stenciling class.

It was fun to add the polka dots to the envelopes and the inside of the card. 

It doesn't show up well in the photo, but I added Wink of Stella to all the blue polka dots ... just for fun.

I really love this card and its soft colors for a Spring birthday.  So now, here are my party winners.

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SPRING OPEN HOUSE PARTY GAME WINNERS

The following questions are the ones I used for the contest.  Other  questions were solely for my information.  The purpose of checking out numbers of cards and naming projects was to get you to look around and soak up all the inspiration I could give you.  I hope you had fun!

1.  What is Stampin’ Up’s longest running stamp set?  Lovely As A Tree

          We had 4 winners:  Angie, Cherie, Deb and Dara

3.  What new In Colors are you hoping to see?  Can you invent a name for one?

          Best Answer --- Dara --- Yippee Yellow  (I love this one!)

5.  How many cards do you think are up on display?

          There were 74.  We had 3 winners:  Deb and Dara were right at 74 and Jessica was at 72.  (I thought that was pretty close!)

6.  How many paper crafted projects can you name that you see on display in my home (besides cards)?

          Best answers/most named:  Dara, Cherie, Sy, Angie and Nancy.

TOTAL SCORES:

Jessica - 1

Sy – 1

Nancy – 1

Angie – 2

Cherie – 2

Deb – 2

Dara – 4

OUR GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS DARA!!!

YOUR PRIZES WILL BE IN WITH YOUR ORDERS OR YOU CAN PICK THEM UP AT THE NEXT CLASS YOU ATTEND.

NOT EVERYONE TURNED IN THEIR PAPERS … MAYBE NEXT TIME.  I KNOW I HAD A GOOD TIME AND I THINK OTHERS DID, TOO.

MY NEXT PARTY WILL BE MY SUMMER OPEN HOUSE PARTY --- JUNE 25 / 2:00-5:00.  IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PARTY (SPECIALS/ACTIVITIES/REFRESHMENTS) BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW.

April Events:
April 10 / Scraps and Prayers / Easter Egg Carton Project / 5:30-7:30 / $15.00 / I'll have a special treat for you, too!

April 22 / Saturday Stampers / Birthday Bonanza / 1:00-4:00 / $20.00 / NOTE:  NEW DATE.

Be sure to look over on the left side of my blog for sneak peeks at the projects for my April classes!!!

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

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Another Stenciling Project

Here's another of my 'working with stencils creatively' projects.  And, before I share, be sure you've sent me your RSVP for my Spring Open House Party, so I can have a really fun gift waiting for you.  You'll never guess what it is! 

We made this card at my class to show how you can use stenciling as a background.  Be sure, when working with a delicate stencil like this one, that you sponge carefully so you don't ruin the design.  You could also try this one with one of our sponge rollers.

The flowers are all embossed (Black EP) --- on the card front, on the inside of the card, and on the coordinating envelope.

I lightly sponged over the flowers on the envelope.  I love the look of crisp black and white with touches of bright yellow (Crushed Curry).  Once again, you could change the sentiment and have a great card for several other occasions.

Don't forget:  Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event ' / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun! 
ALSO:
Be sure to look over on the left side of my blog for sneak peeks at the projects for my April classes!!!

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

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Sometimes Simple is Just Simply Beautiful

This was one of the top favorites from my recent Saturday Stampers class where we worked on cards that used stencils creatively.  I just love how it turned out.

The stencil I used is actually not a stencil at all.  It is a framelit with 3 little square openings along the side (or the top, if used that way).  It actually had another opening that was a long rectangle, but I only needed the 3 squares.  I've had it a long time, so I'm not sure of the source.

I sponged slightly darker at one corner of the square and then used a lighter touch to complete filling in the square.  Notice that I chose a different corner of the square to be the darker portion for each of the 3 squares.  It just makes it more artistic.

I used Island Indigo ink for the sponging and the text.  After making sure the sponged ink was completely dry (heat set) I embossed a dragonfly over each square.  This would make a good sympathy, birthday or thinking of you card, just by changing the text.

Don't forget:  Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event ' / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun! 
ALSO:
Be sure to look over on the left side of my blog for sneak peeks at the projects for my April classes!!!

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

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

More About my Hexagon Stencil Card

The weather here has turned colder and more like winter again, so it's nice to see the bright, fun colors of my hexagon card.  I've always loved blues and greens together.  I used watercolor paper, just to give it some more texture. 

I made my own stencil for this card project.  It's cut from watercolor paper, using a retired Stampin' Up! die.

The sentiment (from One Big Meaning) seemed just the perfect size for this card.  If you're looking for a stamp set with lots of fonts and sizes to say thanks, this one is perfect.

I added a flower cut from our Succulent Framelits Dies and placed a rhinestone in the center, for the perfect finish.  I used a smaller flower on the inside of the card and added a few hexagons, from my stencil, to the envelope.  What a bright and cheery way to say thank you.  This would also be a great birthday card, by changing the sentiment.

My next classes and events:
Saturday, March 18 -- Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / Using stencils creatively (on cards) / $20. / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class. 
CLASS IS FULL.  REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift just waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun!

REMINDER:
Don't forget that SAB is nearly over.  As products run out, like the cute card tin below, that's just it.  They are done.  We also have an entire line of In Colors that will be retiring soon.  If you need anything that will be retiring, scoop it up now before it's too late.

RETIRING SOON:

Don't wait until retiring items are sold out. 

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

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Stencils, Masks, Spritzing, Daubing and More ... It's All Fun!

I have a card to share with you today where I used my Brusho Crystal Colour and a stencil for some creative fun.  There are many ways you can use stencils/masks in your projects.  Gee, if you'd like to learn more about some of these fun techniques, I just happen to be having a class on Saturday, March 18 and I'd love to have you come and join us.  We'll be using stencils creatively.

For this card, I covered my watercolor paper with an old Stampin' Up! (retired) stencil.  Then I sprinkled 3 of my Brusho Crystal Colour powders over the areas where I wanted to add the design.  (You only need a teeny tiny bit of the powders.)  Then I lightly misted over it with a fine misting bottle.

After removing the stencil, I let it air dry.  I then took another piece of watercolor paper and just added powders and water mist, until I got a nice effect.  I let this one air dry, too.  When it was completely dry, I punched out the butterflies, using 2 sizes of punches.  I punched 2 extra of the larger butterflies --- one for the inside of the card and one for the envelope. 

Adding the black layers behind the stenciled piece and behind the butterflies really makes the colors pop.  Please note --- This is not really intended to be a perfect design.  It's just to give a fun, random effect of adding colors to your project... more of an abstract art style.  It is super fun, too!  Once the butterflies were punched out, I added shimmer mist to them to give them a beautiful shimmer.  Love it!!! 

In my next post, I'll be sharing some hexagons in bright blues and greens.  See you then!

My next classes and events:
Monday, March 13 --- 
Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / Beautiful Spring cards / $15.00 / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class.  See sneak peeks on left side here.
Saturday, March 18 -- 
Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / Using stencils creatively (on cards) / $20. / Pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class. 
See sneak peeks on left side here.
Sunday, March 26 -- 
Spring Open House Party / 2:00-5:00 / a 'no fee' event / RSVP by March 24 and I'll have a special gift just waiting for you.  Come and join us for an afternoon of creative fun! 

Special Reminders:
As always, you must pay to register at least 2 days prior to each class.  If you are using a coupon, you still need to register at least 2 days prior to the class and present the coupon at that time.  I need it for tax records, please.
See the left side of my blog for sneak peeks on upcoming classes and events.  Class schedules and descriptions can be found by clicking on 'my classes' at the top of my blog.

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

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

- Look on the left for sneak peeks and registration policies. 

- Please sign up to follow my blog and/or leave a comment. 

- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

Designing and Creating Your Own Stencils... Step by Step Instructions

It's so much fun to work with stencils, but even more fun when you design and create your own.  That's just what I did for today's card.  

I cut a circle from watercolor paper, so it would be sturdy.  I then cut shapes where I thought they would go together to make a good design.

I laid it over my card and used a sponge with my stencil.

After I had all the design just the way I wanted it to look, I added a light watercolor background around my stenciled leaves.  I also sponged around the edges of this top layer of my card.  Then, I spritzed it with my spritz mixture, to give it a very subtle, all-over sparkle.

I sponged the edges of the inside of the card and then added a stenciled leaf.  I stenciled a leaf onto the envelope to coordinate with the over-all design.

I cut a couple of leaves and a flower, using the coordinating framelits and attached them to the lower right corner of my card front.  Adding a black mat under the stenciled layer really makes the design pop.  This was a super fun card to create and I really like how it turned out.  I hope this will encourage you to try your hand at some stenciling.

- 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 look on the left for sneak peeks. 

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