Sometimes, you have to make it yourself... and last Sneak Peek

To complete today's card, I searched through all my stash of buttons and brads.  That's quite an accomplishment because I have tons of them!  I could not find the right kind of button that I needed for my card.  I needed to use one that I had a supply of on hand, so everyone could use the same for my Friday Night Cards class this Friday.  I did not have it, so I made my own.

I have been wanting to try our new Simply Pressed Clay and I was, pun intended, just simply pressed for time to get around to it.  My card was completely finished except for the final embellishment, so I dropped everything and got out my clay.  It was so fun and easy!!!  I made all the buttons and flowers from the molds, so I could have more for using later.  You get 2 molds in the package.  One makes 3 sizes of flowers and the other makes 3 sizes of buttons.  I will be making a lot more of these.  You can color them in a variety of ways but, for this card, I just wanted white.  Here's my card.

Isn't my clay flower cute?  I love it!  I attached it with Liquid Tombow Adhesive.  I've seen versions of this card here and there online, including on the Stampin' Up! site and really liked the bright and cheery look of it.  At my class, I'll share with you how I made the stamped, oval frame.

After I had the front layer totally finished, I thought it looked a little plain.  It was too late to emboss it because I didn't want the frame embossed, so I got out my new Gorgeous Grunge stamp set that I got at Convention and added some texture to it with stamping.  I love this set and look forward to using it a lot in the future.

So, now that I've shown you all the cards for my Friday Night Cards class (August 9), would you like to see them again - all together?  Here you go:

- 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.

Step It Up Series, Card 2

In continuing my series on using card templates and making stepped up versions of cards, today's cards are from Laura's sketch.  Here are my 2 cards --- following the sketch and then stepping up my design. 

Here is the sketch that Laura chose:

This one was a little challenging, because I didn't want to make it look like the butterfly.  I wanted to show how you can really change the image, but still start with a sketch as your inspiration.  This was fun!

Don't forget about the Stamp Club deadline to pay to register for August.  If you did not sign up for the 3-month club (July-August-September), you can still pay $45. and take the August class.  
Pay to register by Monday, July 22.

Here's what we'll be making:

And here's what you'll get to take home:

I hope you'll join us.  We're going to have a lot of fun and I'll give you more ideas to try at home, using your take-home goodies.

Today is the first day of Convention.  I'll be posting about some of the fun things we get to see and do, so be sure to check back often.  Thanks for stopping by.

Another Beautiful Card by Lynn

Today's post features a beautiful card that Lynn shared with us at our last Team Meeting.  Enjoy!

This card is a good reminder of Spring, in case we forgot.  We have had a dose of cool weather lately.  This card is also a good example of stamping onto designer papers.  It adds a lot to your card.

- 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.

More Shimmer Painting

Here's yet another card I made using the Shimmer Painting Technique.  This one is in Calypso Coral and features an embossed border across it.

This card is very monochromatic.  For the flowers, I used Regal Rose and Calypso Coral reinkers, with Daffodil Delight for the centers.
I hope you can see the embossed border on the card.  It's just a light, subtle effect.  The ruffled ribbon adds the final touch of elegance.
I stamped flowers on the envelope as well, to coordinate with the card. 

Have you tried shimmer painting yet?  If not, this is your week to get going on it.  If you have, I'd love it if you'd share what you made.

- 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.

Shimmer Painting Tutorial

Get ready for a super fun tutorial today.  I am in love with this technique! 
We made the Calypso Coral version at my workshop last week.

I made 2 versions of each card --- horizontal and vertical.  

Aren't the flowers gorgeous? 

Here's how you do it:

• Stamp your flowers (Secret Garden stamp set) with VersaMark ink.
• Heat emboss with white embossing powder.
• Gather some old containers from brads, buttons or embossing powders.
• Mix reinker (in the color of your choice) with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint (a few drops).
• Using an Aqua Painter,  stir it up and paint on the mixture of reinker/shimmer paint.  The embossing helps to keep the reinker inside the line, making it super easy to paint them.
• Let the ink/paint mixture dry.
• Cut out the flowers using our framelits, for a quick and easy way to have perfect cuts every time.
• Now create your card, using your beautiful flowers.

NOTE:
Be sure to really clean your Aqua Painter, to get out all the Shimmer Paint.

I used Wisteria Wonder on my first card --- reinker AND card stock.
I used Calypso Coral and Regal Rose reinkers on the coral cards, with Calypso Coral card stock.

I used Daffodil Delight reinker for all the flower centers.

I tried really hard to get a close-up of the flowers so you could see how much they actually shimmer.  In real life, they are gorgeous.

So, what do you think?  Can you think of any other stamped images that would look pretty using my Shimmer Painting technique?  Let me hear from you!  Now, go try this!!!  You'll love it.

- 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.

It's All About the Team / A Teeny Weeny Mini Tutorial

I had my Team Meeting yesterday for my downline and we did a shoebox swap.  Would you like to see what we made?  This post kind of runs like a narration for a fashion show ... and fashion and style is what we have here!

First up is Lynn's design.  She used a delightful combo of Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake and Island Indigo.  The stamp set and framelits coordinate --- Secret Garden.  If you love to add cut flowers to your design but don't like fussy cutting, these framelits were made for you!  The large framelits are from our Window Frame Collection of framelits.  The DSP is Print Poetry.

 

Next up is my daughter Jenn's design.  She's used Tea for Two DSP and the cute little stamps and coordinating punch from our Sale-A-Bration collection.  Once the 2 pieces of DSP were attached to the Lucky Limeade layer, we embossed the entire piece, giving it the look of a wonderful, cuddly quilt.  I'm not a big pink lover, but this card is a winner for sure.

For Laura's card, she used the chalkboard technique.  You can find more about this fun technique here.  I really love this card.  Banners are really hot right now and the Hearts A Flutter stamps and coordinating framelits help to make this card a winner. She's used them in a very creative way, too.

Didn't my team do a great job?

Before I show you mine, I want to share one more of Lynn's projects with you.  This is a Valentine's Day card she made for her kids.  She even added real stitching, which I just love!

 

Is this cute or what?  Love it!

Now, I've saved my card for last because I have a teeny weeny mini tutorial to go with it.  Is there such a thing?  Well, there is today. 

I've had lots of questions about how the layers were created for the project in the top, left photo on page 20 or our Spring Catalog.  Do you see how the frame sits higher than the circular part of the image?  I love the look and just worked until I figured out how they did it. 

Here's what I did.

Stamp the image TWO times.  Cut out 1 of the images using the framelit from our Window Frame Collection.  Now, using paper snips, cut out the circle from your second image.  (We do not have a punch the size you need for this circle.)

Now, cut around the outside edges of the frame image.  Place dimensionals (You'll have to use the tiny edge pieces, so they'll fit.) on the back of the cut frame, all around the edges.  Attach the frame to the larger piece.  That's all there is to it.  It has a really nice look.

So, that's it for our Team's designs.  I'm really proud of them and hope you love their creations as much as I do.  None of these cards were overly complicated, either, so they were fun and relaxing to make.  I'll hope you'll give them a try.

- 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.

Friday 3-4-5 Sneak Peek

I have so much fun getting all the projects ready for my Friday 3-4-5 classes.  You'll have 12 choices this week.  You may choose to make 3 cards for $5.00, 6 cards for $10.00, or 9 cards for $15.00.  I've even had people make 12 cards for $20.00 --- because they just wanted to build up their stash.

Here's a peek at 2 of the choices for this week.

I love the clean, crisp and elegant look of black and white cards.  This one would work for using it with a gift for the bride and groom or for the bride and groom to use as a thank you note.  It's nice to have options.

This next card uses an embossing folder that will be available during our upcoming Sale-A-Bration.  It also uses the new Secret Garden stamp set and its coordinating framelits.

- 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.