Welcome Home

I finally had the chance to put a card together that features the new blendable makers Stampin' Up is offering this year. Vivid Vases is the stamp set that really lends itself to being colored. Peeking through this window, makes me feel warm and cozy inside. It's how I'd like the window sills in my house to look from the outside, but unfortunately, a green thumb is something I lack. Adding color to the woodgrain embossing folder with the brayer before running it through the Big Shot adds great texture. What a fun card this is!

Simplicity

Sometimes simple is best. The simplicity of this card is calming. At times I just get overwhelmed when I think about starting a project. I want to emboss and embelish everywhere! Thinking of you today and wishing it'll be calm and uncomplicated.

The Wedding is Really Happening!

It's been over a year since our eldest son proposed marriage to his beautiful girl friend. The wedding date was choosen but it always seemed so far in the future. It took a village to come up with just the perfect Wedding Invitation and get them mailed out but they are officially signed, sealed, and being delivered. This has been such a labor of love. Unexpectedly I am missing thinking about which colors will work best and evaluating the stamp sets. The card pictured here is the finished product and I think it couldn't be any better!

At the Beach (In my mind.....)

I love the Stampin Up stamp sets By the Tide and By the Seashore! Growing up about 10 miles from the coast of Southern Maine my summers were spent on the beach. We'd bake in the sun, getting all toasty warm then we'd run down to the water and jump in quick. The cold cold salty ocean would take your breath away. Then you'd go numb and body surf in the waves until you couldn't stand the cold anymore and we'd run up the warm sand to the blanket and "unthaw". I miss the coast of Maine. Fortunately card crafting, specifically all the textures incoorporated in this card, provides me an outlet to go there again in my mind. Hope you can feel the warm sun on your face today.

Colorful Washi Birthday

Who can look at this card and feel sad? The bright bold colors just make you smile! Plus it's not complicated to put together either. Two thumbs up! This one features retro fresh washi tape which makes color coordinating easy, fast, and fun. Brighten someone's day today and send a "just because' card.

Hello to a Star

Even though I've been missing in action I've been stamping up a storm. I truely love the new in colors this year. This card includes Hello Honey, a great mellow yellow, and Blackberry Bliss, a strong rich berry color. Cards accented with stars work in so many occasions that the new Stars Framelits are a fantastic addition, as well. Everyone loves being a star for the day!

Happy May Day ....Belated

Traditionally April showers bring May flowers. In my neck of the woods the flowers come in March, but I remember as a very young child making May baskets out of tissue paper. On May 1 we'd sneak up to our friend's front door, put the basket on the porch, and run as fast as we could so the basket would be a surprise. I thought I'd continue the tradition and make May Baskets this year. They were fun to do!

Hoppy Easter to You!

Do you have any Easter traditions? We do. The Easter Bunny sneaks in Saturday night when all the good girls and boys and dogs are asleep and hides pastel colored eggs throughout the living room. The contents of those eggs have changed over the years. At first they held jelly beans. they used to be hard, super sweet, and quite plain. Then as the kids got older, coins became the stuffing of choice. Now they contain snickers eggs and jelly belly candy. YUM! Hope your sugar high lasts the whole weekend through. Happy Easter.

Save The Date

A very special couple is getting married in October and here's the save the date postcard we sent out. It definitely was a labor of love. The card design has gone through many phases and actually has turned out quite different from my original vision. Fortunately the bride and groom had ideas and with their input... viola! I love how it turned out and most importantly I think the engaged are pleased as well. Hubby addressed them this weekend, took them to the post office, and they are sent. Where does the time go?

More LSU Tiger Love

Here's another card celebrating the purple and gold that's LSU. The technique's a little different. The letters are stenciled on creating the ombre effect by starting with the lighter gold on the top and gradually adding darker colors ending with elegant eggplant (one of my favorite colors). This card opens up from the middle but flips up and down not the usual side to side front. The top section is embossed with the stripes embossing folder (get it..... LSU tigers.....stripes!). The front even has Mike the Tiger's "paw" of approval, his John Hancock finishes off the card. This is another one of the cards we'll be putting together on Sunday. Hope you can join us!

Ombre LSU

This weekend the second of the 2 classes I'm teaching for the LSU Leisure Classes will be held on Sunday from 4-6 pm at the LSU Union. The first one was great fun and I hope to see those participants back along with some new faces on Sunday. The class will incorporate LSU, monograms, and ombre techniques in all 3 cards. Plus the cards will feature more than run-of-the-mill designs. This one opens from the middle instead of the ordinary right to left cover page flip. If LSU embellished cards aren't on the top of your list, first don't let anyone know, second your secret's safe with me, but easy alterations can make this a monogram, I <3 U or...let you imagination run wild. Come join us for some crafting. You won't be disappointed.

Soccer Birthday

I have had great fun with the hexagon punch. My niece has turned out to be the fantastic athlete in our family. Here's her birthday card I put a few frills on to make it a little girly. Embossing whisper white card stock with the perfect polka dot embossing folder really gives a realistic feel to the soccer ball card front. This is a fun card to put together for sure. What else can you create with hexagons?

St Patrick's Day Wishes

May the Luck of the Irish be extended to you and yours this weekend. In Baton Rouge you pick your friends based on where they live on a parade route. This is the first St Pat's Day since our Wearin' of the Green Parade connection moved to the west coast. The plan is to meet at her former house and camp out explaining that they must have missed the fine print in the sales contract about the party they are required to host on parade day. Of course we'll bring enough food to share. See you there!

Thank you Sale-a-bration

Here's my version of a card my upline and dear friend shared with us at our last stampin' up demonstrator's meeting. I tried to use as many free and new items as I could. The designer paper series sweet sorbet, embossing folder Decorative Dots (black layer is embossed) and the in color crisp cantaloupe tag is stamped with a stamp from the Petal Parade stamp set. The designer paper, embossing folder, and stamp set were all "free" options with my order. Items that can be found in the Celebrate Everyday Catalog available through June 1 are the gold interwoven baker's twine and the angled tag topper punch. The coordinating colors and the great products make card making so much fun! What do you think?

Spring brings Weddings

It's fun to have the opportunity to play with all the Stampin' Up products that I have and this card provided me with a reason to experiment. The colors are the bride and groom's wedding colors, so those were a given. Pearls, frills, and ribbon combined to give an elegant effect. I take any excuse I can get to make "girly" additions to cards since the majority of my card recipients are male. The embossing folders really change the texture of the paper making it appear almost cloth like. Hopefully this card will standup through the years so that when Allyson and Josh are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary they can look at this card, remember the sweet day in March 2014 they were married, and share a smile.  

Sweet Bouquet

 

This past week was spent in Florida with the most special people in my life. My 3 "ants" and I did so many fun things which included lots of time being crafty. Half the mornings were spent putting together a quilt. I've done some very basic quilting but never completed anything that I would want to use. I brought card making projects so we spent one morning putting them together. I wanted to get their input on putting together the blossoms I've created. (Remember them from back in January.) Here is what we came up with. The wedding's color scheme has been nailed down since I made these flowers back in October but I love how this nosegay came together. So I'm on a mission to create gold, yellow, teal, and purple blooms. Busy hands are happy hands....

Me & You, Forever

Today I'm sharing the box style card my honey bunny received today. We run in the morning very very early, but a cold has slowed sweetums down this week. When I came back after jogging around the neighborhood there was a small gift bag on the table waiting for me. I LOVE SMALL gift bags! Inside was a golden amber bracelet given to me so that I'd "always have sunshine with me". We've had some uncharacteristically dark winter days here in Louisiana these past 3-4 weeks. Needless to say, I've been missing the sun. The yellow amber bracelet just glows. I think I'll keep him...

Be My Valentine

I recently led a card making class given as part of LSU's Leisure Classes. In putting the cards together for the class I had given the organizers some cards as examples of possible projects, but since everything was done 6 months ahead, Valentine's Day had been overlooked. So I went ahead and made each of the 3 projects into Valentine's Day versions so the participants could make a choice. Butterfly's rarely come in shades of red but really liked the effect the embossed resist technique gave to the card. This card's base is a little different as well.

Sending You Love

Here's another Valentine's Day Card inspired by quilting. I am blessed to be part of a family of women who sew and are "crafty". What I've started doing is making a card a month to send out to them, just to let them know how important they are to me. I've always wanted to put together a quilt and have managed to put together one as a baby gift, but I find inspiration for cards in quilt patterns. Next best thing is incorporating those familiar patterns into cards and sending them to loved ones through the mail. For my 3 special "aunties". Love you.

Sunburst hearts

Here's a little different way to use the sunburst technique. I love the patchwork quilt look to this card. It brings back memories of a quilt that my Gram made out of pieces of old dresses and shirts. Now there was a time when nothing was wasted. Hope you have a someone to share a Valentine with this week. If not, I share this one with you.

Here Comes the SUN

Here's a card that was created as the arctic vortex brought on it's worst to Louisiana. I had seen various versions of the box card out on the web and mother nature coorporated bringing sleet and freezing rain causing interstate closures and 2 days filled with unexpected free time. Not to mention a friend's birthday party popping up at the end of the week. Here's my attempt at the box card. Hope it fills you with visions of warm tropical sun filled days!

Happy 2014

 

 

Here's the card that goes with the first post of the year just a little late. Slowly getting the hang of things here on the sight. Hope your year is going well. Tonight is the monthly meeting of the local Stampin Up Demonstrators. It's always great to see what everyone is doing plus a couple of the gals just got back from the leadership conference so it'll be exciting to hear all the new happenings. Talk to you soon!

New Year 2014

What are your thoughts about starting a new year? For those of us who dislike change writing 2014 on everything is a real pain in the neck. But for a procrastinator like me a new year is a perfect opportunity to start something that's been put off for way too long. I became a Stampin Up demonstrator this past year and have wanted a forum to share my creations. Above are paper flowers created with an upcoming wedding in mind. Crafting, especially with rubber stamps, ink and paper, is a great outlet in many ways. Look at me, I've started blogging.