Retro Fresh, Part 4... a File Folder Card

Today's post finishes off a little series of cards using Retro Fresh DSP.  This one is a special card... a file folder card!  It's made with our Envelope Punch Board.  It is super fun and easy to make it.  I promise you.  Once again, I've made a coordinating envelope for my card.  I will add stamping and/or writing on the inside card before I send it, along with a little label on the 'file tab.'  Sometimes, I like to wait until I'm ready to send a card, so I can personalize it for the recipient. 

This card uses the ruffled stretch ribbon to be both an embellishment AND a way to hold it together.  A very special stamp is featured here, too, a personalized stamp.  You can order these stamps with your own wording in them.  They are photopolymer and super fun and easy to use for stamping.

If you haven't tried a file folder card yet, please do.  You don't want to miss out on the fun!

- 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.

Retro Fresh, Part 3

Here we go with yet one more card using Retro Fresh DSP.  This one features a 'tag' made using our wonderful, new Angled Tag Topper Punch.  I love this new punch!  The tag has a little sprig of ruffled ribbon at the top, in Baked Brown Sugar.  Instead of stamping the message directly onto the tag, I stamped it onto the wooden pieces and attached them to the tag.

And there you have it... a quick and cute thank you card for a fun friend.

- 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.

Post Number 1000! ...and a You Make Me Happy Card

Today makes me happy.  This card makes me happy.  How fun would it be to receive a card with this message?  Well, it's sure to be fun to make and send it, too.  My color story is totally based on the Sweet Sorbet DSP --- Pool Party, Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding... light, crisp and totally Spring!

Design Tips:
Punch 1 piece of Crisp Cantaloupe using the Decorative Label Punch.  Cut in half and trim to fit behind text stamped from same punch.  Now, you have 2 layers... a text and a mat for it.

Sometimes, you can achieve an extra little pop of color and texture just by adding some little pieces of ribbon, tucked in behind another layer on your card.  I think this simple ribbon addition really dresses up this card.

... and speaking of happy... 
          Today's post marks 1000 posts for me!  
Wow!  I never dreamed when I first started my blog that it would go so well.  Thank you so much for following my humble little blog.  I hope I bring some joy and inspiration to your day each time you stop by here... and be sure to come back often!

- 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.

Happy Watercolor Flower

My card today was inspired by some I've seen online with this type of design, but I went about it a lot differently.  I made mine using our Circle Collection of framelits dies.  I opened my card up completely, cut the circle, then scored and folded back the cover of the card.  Because I decided to add the ribbon trim to my card, I folded the front back so that you still see part of the card base to the left of the ribbon trim.  This gives a completely different look to your card.

The stamped design is actually on the inside of the card and shows through the opening to the front.  Because so much of the inside shows, I used 2 layers inside the card and then coordinating trim on the edge of the front.  I added an embossed strip of CS to the front, to pull all the colors together.  My color story is directly from the Sweet Sorbet DSP, playing with Crisp Cantaloupe and Sahara Sand.  This was a really fun card to create.

Design Tips:
I knew I wanted some kind of 'trim' extending over the left edge of my card and chose the Stretch Trim ribbon because it was out and in use with all my projects using our Sweet Sorbet DSP.  Your supplies can often guide the direction you go in your creative process.  You could easily change the entire color story and try using the edge of a punched piece of CS using one of our border punches or our Tasteful Trim die instead of a ribbon trim.

The flower was stamped onto the inside of the card.  Only the stem will end up showing, so stamp in the color of ink you'd like for your stem.  I actually used Sahara Sand, because I was making the entire card in soft, subtle colors.
The top of the flower was then stamped with black StazOn ink onto watercolor paper --- two times.  The first flower top was cut out completely and adhered flat onto the inside of the card over the previously stamped image.
Only part of the second flower top was cut out (See photo.) and adhered with dimensionals.  This gives an incredible dimension to the flower.

The linen thread was tied into a bow, a glue dot was rolled up and stuck to the back of the bow to adhere it to the card.
The envelope is lined with Sweet Sorbet DSP.  The card base is Sahara Sand.

You can't see it, but I stamped a message on the inside of the card, on the bottom left.  It says:  "You make me happy."
I think anyone would enjoy getting a card like this.

... and one final note:
The size and shape you choose to cut for your 'opening' will be based on the size and shape of your stamped image.  Place different sizes and shapes of framelits over the image you are thinking of using and see how it all works together.

- 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.

A Great Party!

What a great Winter Open House Party we had yesterday afternoon!  I tried to take photos to post, but there were so many people stamping together that I never got a good angle for a shot.  Trust me, I had a full house, a wonderful, wonderful group and the party actually went until 6:00.

I wanted to share my cute little money bags with you today.  I started a new 'program' where you can earn Stampin' Tokens, 1 per each $50. or more order, and when you collect 10, you get to choose a free stamp set.  I couldn't just let people collect their tokens without giving them a money bag in which to keep them, so I used our cute little Mini Muslin bags to create a money bag for each person.  Here they are:

Each person who earned a 'money bag' got to choose what color they'd like.  My choices were Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe and Coastal Cabana.  Here are the tokens:

Super news:
Every time you come for an event, you get to enter your name into my monthly drawing jar.  If you bring a 'Show and Tell' to share with everyone, you get to enter your name 2 times and every time you place an order, you get to enter your name 3 times.
Please note:
I leave it up to you to enter your name whenever you attend and event.  However, I want you to know that, any time you place an order through email or online through my website, I keep track of it all and save up any tokens you may earn to give you, as well as placing your entries into the monthly drawing jar.  You won't miss out!
Pssst:
It's getting close to the end of the month.  That means that very soon Toby Joe will help me choose a winner for this month.

- 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.

Let's Get to Know the New Guys ... A Series on Our New Colors ... Beginning with Smoky Slate

Today, I'm starting my series on getting to know some of the new colors.  We'll work with Smoky Slate and the brand new In Colors:  Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe.  I really like how pretty they look together.  Here are all the In Colors:

These are swatches of our Card Stock (CS), our coordinating ribbons and buttons.  There are different designs in EACH of the 5 colors of buttons.  They are totally flat on the back, so it is easy to just attach them with Liquid Tombow.  The flower is punched and embossed and is sporting one of our clear, faceted buttons.  The ribbons are sewn together with a new button from our Neutrals.

Here are all the colors with labels, so you won't forget which is which.  So, what color should we start out with first?  Don't worry, they will all get a turn:)

Let's start with our gorgeous new Smoky Slate and pair it with one of our new In Colors --- Coastal Cabana!

 

I've added a touch of Basic Gray to mat the Smoky Slate.  You'll see a lot of new products on this card --- new button, new ribbon, new embossing folder.  Isn't the new Beautifully Baroque embossing folder gorgeous?  It looks pretty on the other side, too.  Both focal pieces, cut from framelits or punched, are mounted on dimensionals and a portion of a lace doily is tucked under the edge.  There's a lot of texture going on here!

Here are a couple more ideas for using Smoky Slate. 

On the left:  
     Smoky Slate, Pear Pizzazz and Rose Red
On the right:  
     Smoky Slate, Garden Green and Crushed Curry
Which color story do you like the best?

I came up with these color stories totally on my own, just using what looked good to my eye.  In my next posts, I will continue this series on the new colors but I will be using colors suggested in our new Color Coach.  It's fun to see what they suggest.  I love playing with color and don't ever have trouble coming up with fun color stories, but it's always exciting to try a combination that you may not have thought about putting together, by using the Color Coach.  Come back and see what I have in store for you!

- 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.