Clean & Simple Frame

TGIF!!! I can't figure out if this was a short or long week. Either way I'm happy that it is Friday. While hopping around blog land, I came across this weeks Clean & Simple Sketch (FTL138). I was immediately inspired. This was a fairly quick card to make. I think photographing it was more time consuming than making the actual card!! (If anyone has any tips on how to photograph a white card, I'm all ears!)
I love the look of line frames and have been seeing them a lot lately. All you need is a pencil, ruler & a black marker. I used the same technique on my card for the next Outlawz challenge, so come back on Sunday to see that!!!

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Have a wonderful day, come again soon!
Maureen

**Just a reminder that today and tomorrow are the last days to order from the Spring Mini Catalog.

All supplies SU!
Stamps: Growing Green, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Only Articoke, Basic Black Classic Ink & Marker
Paper: Whisper White & Basic Black
Accessories: Basic Rhinestones

Click here to visit my online store!!

Playing it safe

(You may need to click on he picture to get a better look at my stamped panel!)

When it comes to trying new stamping techniques, I'm not very adventurous. I'm sure the judges on American Idol would say, "Maureen, you've played it safe again this week". (Heehee, yes, I admit, I love American Idol!) I've been stamping for over 6 years and it's time that I step outside my comfort zone. So, I'm challenging myself, starting TODAY...one new technique a week!! I really think this challenge will help me grow as a stamper.
My "best wishes" card uses the Faux Silk technique. It was quite simple and didn't take a whole lot more time or effort than putting together a regular card. Here's how...

What you need:
tissue paper
glue stick
Staz-on ink
marker
Stamp
Cardstock (trimmed to the size you want for your card)

Instructions:
1. Cut a piece of tissue paper, a bit bigger than your cardstock.
2. Stamp image on tissue paper. Then color it in if necessary and crumple into a ball.
3. Cover cardstock with glue using your glue stick.
4. Flatten tissue paper and adhere to your cardstock, smoothing it as you put it on.
5. Trim edges of tissue paper.

Easy-peasy! Why don't you give it a try? If you do, post a link to your creation in my comments, I'd love to see it!

All supplies SU!
Stamps: Easter Blossoms, Fabulous Phrases
Ink: Stazon Black, Pretty in Pink marker

Paper: Pink Pirouette, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Oval, Oval Scallop & Dotted Ribbon Scallop Punch, Basic Rhinestones and Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon

To purchase these or other SU! products, shop at my online store.

Mother's Day

It's hump-day already. I can't believe it!!
Do you know what else is almost here? Mother's Day! Where does the time go? Before we know it the end of the school year will be here. Wow, time certainly does fly!

Before the products from Spring Mini retire, I'm trying to use them as much as possible! This tree image from Valentine Defined is one of my favorites from this set. It is versatile enough that you don't only have to use it for Valentines! I gave the tree a bit of a Spring/Summer look by first stamping the image in Old Olive, then removing the ink from the truck with a blender pen. Then I colored directly on the trunk (on the actual stamp) with a Chocolate Chip marker and huffed on the ink before stamping the image on Very Vanilla cardstock. To add a little more color and interest I used three butterflies adorned with pearls to the end of each branch. I love the look :)

I used the SCS SC330 for inspiration for my card today.

Thanks for stopping by!

All supplies SU!
Stamp: Valentine Defined, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip Marker
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Play Date & Elegant Soiree dsp
Accessories: Beautiful Wings, Basic Pearls, Modern Label Punch, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon

To purchase these or other SU! products, visit my online store.

CAS Classroom

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As a member of CAS Classroom, you will receive exclusive CAS strategies, techniques and sketches delivered to you monthly! Each and every Stampin’ Up! Catalog delivered right to your door, for free and more.

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Artist's Rule of Three

I hope you had a fabulous weekend & a Happy Easter, if you celebrate! We sure did :) Want to hear something strange? My kids did not eat one piece of candy from their Easter baskets! NOTHING!! My hubby and I usually wind up eating any candy that is laying around the house, so we went with minimal candy and instead got some other stuff we knew they'd like...like Pokemon cards! Pokemon, BIG hit! Candy, not so much! What can I say, we have weird kids.

The SCS CAS Challenge is Live! This weeks challenge is to use the Artist's Rule of Three. Anything can come in groups of three: images, panels, embellishments. Using the Rule of Three creates a more balanced card. I chose the 3 chair images from Have a Seat. I also used 3 panels! I went with a neutral color palette making this card perfect for a male.

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All supplies SU!
Stamps: Have a Seat, Three Little Words
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Elegant Soiree dsp
Accessories: Mat pack, paper piercer, linen thread, library clip, sponges, Oval & Oval Scallop Punch

To purchase these or other SU! supplies, visit my store and shop 24/7!

Hope!

Happy Saturday! I'm here to share with you The Outlawz CAS Challenge, it's a sketch this week. We usually post on Sunday, however, with the holiday tomorrow we thought it would be best to get it up early!! It's is a rainy, cold, dreary day here...a perfect day to spend in the stamping room!! I'm hoping to get there today, after going to see "Hop" & dieing eggs :)

I used "Strength & Hope" a stamp set in the upcoming Summer Mini Catalog. $2 from the sale of this set will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I paired it with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits and some Springtime Vintage dsp, which is only available until the end of the month. If you haven't gotten it yet, you will want to stock up soon!

I hope you have a Happy Easter!!!

Stamp: Strength & Hope
Ink: Old Olive, Crumb Cake
Paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Bold Brights & Springtime Vintage dsp
Accessories: Linen Thread, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 circle punches, Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Sponge Daubers

To purchase these or other SU! products, visit my online Stampin' Store.

Family Time Friday

Hello crafty friends! It's been a while since I actually posted a Family Time Friday entry. Admittedly, my Picture-A-Day project came to stand still toward the end of March and I am just getting ready to start at it again! Today I have a picture of each of my children to share. My boys recently had their Spring Music Concerts. Here they are all dressed up and ready to go.

Conner

Ethan

And, my littlest, but oldest baby...Izzy!
(I can't leave her out!)

I hope you are having a great day! See you soon :)

Paper Crafts Publication

I'm excited to share a card today that was published in the May/June Issue of Paper Crafts.
It was featured here on Paper Crafts Connection.

Thanks for coming by!!

Easter Place Cards

Have you noticed? Three consecutive days of posting. I think it's a record!!!

Sadly, the Spring Mini Catalog is quickly coming to an end :( There are many sets & embellies that I am going to miss. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that many of them return in the new catalog in July!!! For my card today, I used the egg images from Easter Blossoms. I stamped them in Daffodil Delight, trimmed them with my paper snips and then distressed them, along with my doily & card base with Crumb Cake ink. I adhered one egg directly to the doily & the other is popped up on a dimensional! I originally had this card sized at the standard A2, but then cut the bottom half off to make a square base. Each Easter I make a BIG breakfast. It is our one and only big breakfast we have a year; muffins, bagels, eggs, fruit, pancakes, bacon...everything and anything I can put out!!! It leaves us stuffed for half the day :) After I finished my card, I thought it would make a really nice place card for our Easter breakfast. We all have "assigned" seats, but I thought it will make a nice presentation! I'm going to make three more, all in different spring colors.

My card today is also for the My Time to Craft Challenge, Easter Cards!

Stamp: Easter Blossoms
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake
Paper: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Basic Pearls, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Sponge Daubers

To purchase these or other SU! products, visit my online store!

Inspired by...me?

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We did!!

Monday mornings mean SCS CAS Challenge and this weeks challenge is a sketch inspired by one of my cards :) I have to admit, it feels a bit strange to make a card inspired by myself! But, at the same time, it's pretty cool too!!!

This is the inspiration card:

I kept the layout the same, but changed up the color palette & used some Love Letter dsp on the bottom of my card base. I also replaced the button with a rosette and ribbon with some linen thread. I love that with just a few changes, a card can take on a whole new look & feel!

Thanks for stopping by!

All supplies SU!
Stamp: Just Believe
Ink: Crumb Cake, Basic Black
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Love Letter dsp
Accessories: Linen Thread, Dotted Ribbon Scallop Punch, Rosettes, Basic Pearls, Modern Label Punch & Corner Rounder

Want to order these or other SU! products, visit my online store!

Think Spring!

I'm trying very hard to "Think Spring" here. Although I'm freezing, I'm remaining hopeful that Spring will arrive sooner than later!
Today's CAS Challenge at The Outlawz is to make a Spring card. I used Nature Walk and tried my hand at collage stamping again! I feel like I overdid my last attempt with too much stamping. So this time, I kept the stamping minimal and added more pops of color. This card was inspired by the Spring Mini Catalog, pgs 26 & 27, which is where I got the idea of the punched flowers I have on the left side of my card. Aren't they cute :)
Come on over and join us at The Outlawz, where new challenges are posted every single day. I hope to see you there!

All supplies SU!
Stamp: Nature Walk
Ink: Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler (marker)
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP
Accessories: Bitty Punch Pack, Basic Pearls, Old Olive Taffeta Ribbon

To purchase these or other SU! supplies, click here!

CASE Study

As I was doing some blog hopping this morning, I came across the newest CASE Study challenge and knew I had to play along. While the entire inspiration piece spoke to me, I was especially drawn to the colors and vintage feel! I don't know that Vintage is my strongest style, but I certainly enjoy it!

I started by trimming a piece of First Edition dsp and tearing the right corner. I then cut my Basic Black panel and adhere it to the dsp and tore that as well. For just an extra pop of color, I took a small scrap of Real Red dsp, tore it and adhered it so that it's ever so slightly peeking out! Next I stamped my image from "Have a Seat" and punched a heart out of Glimmer Paper. I finished it all off by sponging on all layers with crumb cake ink, to give it a bit of an aged look. Of course, I also added some pretty taffeta ribbon and an antique brad that was inspired by the challenge.

I hope you liked my card today! Thanks for stopping by :)

All supplies SU! unless noted
Stamps: Have a Seat, sentiment, non-SU!
Ink: Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP, Glimmer Paper
Accessories: Sponge Daubers, Antique Brads, 2 step Owl Punch (for the heart), Basic Black Taffeta Ribbon

To purchase these or other SU! products, visit my online store.

Monochromatic Cards

I am happy to report that today I finally dusted off my stamps and completed almost 3 cards, woohoo!!! It felt really good to get inky again :) However, I haven't gotten to photographing them just yet. Luckily, while I was looking through iphoto tonight, I found this card that I never posted here.
I love the subtle look of a monochromatic card. By choosing shades of the same color and pairing them with white or vanilla, you can easily achieve a beautiful look! I did some background stamping using the Growing Green stamp set and punched the sentiment from Just Believe using the Decorative Label Punch. I finished it off with a bow and a pearl embellished butterfly.

I hope you are having a fabulous week! Thanks for visiting :)

CAS Inspiration

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't been doing a whole lot of stamping lately. We've had a rough couple of weeks over here with illnesses!!! Luckily I do most of my DT assignments pretty far in advance, so I have been able to post here. My mojo is at about zero and I was stressing big time over this weeks SCS CAS Challenge, which I had not done ahead of time!!!

The inspiration was baby bibs, really cute, colorful ones. As much as I loved the inspiration, I stood staring at my desk and supplies yesterday for over 2 hours!!! There was stuff everywhere, papers, supplies, inks and I just couldn't get anything to work!! Ethan offered to help me, what a sweetie, unfortunately his ideas didn't really work out for me :) So...I put it away and spent some time looking at my favorite blogs and I was inspired!!!! Once I had an idea this card just flowed for me. Boy, getting to the idea was torture though!

What do you do when you are pressed for time with no mojo? Help, LOL

All supplies SU!
Stamp: Because I Care
Ink: Certainly Celery
Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Bold Brights PP Pack
Accessories: Beautiful Wings, Basic Pearls, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Oval & Modern Label Punches

To order these or other SU! products, visit my online store.

Tart & Tangy Thanks!

Hello! Here's a cute little card, perfect for teacher's appreciation or end of the year gifts.

I made this using The Outlawz CAS Challenge: A recipe- At least 2 punches (I used quite a few more :), the color blue & 1 plain sheet of cardstock.

I'd love it if you joined us!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Tart & Tangy, For All You do
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Bold Bright pp
Accessories: 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches, Dotted Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Linen Thread

To purchase these or other SU! Supplies, visit my online store 24/7!

Stampin' Up! Promotions

Sorry I've been so MIA lately. I hope to be back to regular posting soon!!! Until then, check out these fabulous promotions!!!


Promotion details: Spring is Blossoming with Sneak Peek products from the upcoming 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog. Your customers can get these brand-new products in one of two ways:

* Spend $20* on any Stampin' Up! products and become eligible to purchase both the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper.
* Host a $350* workshop and get the Four Frames Set and Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper for FREE!

*Net sales before tax and shipping

Four Frames

Petals Paisley dsp

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While supplies last, you will be able to purchase special "grab bags" in the Online Store. These grab bags will come in three sizes: the $5, the $10, and the $15 grab bag. Each bag will contain a variety of discontinued products that could include a combination of any of the following: ribbons, Accents & Elements, chipboard, Designer Series Papers, and Simply Sent kit components. Grab bags will not contain stamp sets or tools.

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CAS Easter Smiles

I can't believe it's Monday already! Is it me, or did the weekend fly by?

Today's card is for the SCS CAS Color Challenge: White, Aqua & Soft Yellow. These colors just felt Easter-y to me!!! I used the adorable eggs and sentiment from the Easter Blossoms set. I kept the layout REALLY simple, but was able to add some interest by using the Background 1 Texturz Plate and Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder.

I hope you are having a great start to your week!

Stamps: Easter Blossoms
Ink: So Saffron & Baja Breeze
Paper: So Saffron, Baja Breeze & Whisper White
Accessories: Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder, Dotted Ribbon, Oval & Oval Scallop punches, Basic Rhinestones

Playing with Color

The Outlawz CAS Challenge today is a Color Challenge: Light Pink, Dark Pink and Green. I immediately thought flowers. I started by stamping flowers from Eastern Blooms in Pretty in Pink & Regal Rose Ink and trimming them out. Next, I made leaves using my 1 1/4 inch circle punch. I punched the circles and then put them back into the punch and punched again, to make a leaf. I stamped the leaves using a stamp from Strength & Hope. To make the flowers bouquet pop, I used a varying number of dimensionals.

I hope you are having a great weekend. It looks like we are going to have another sunny day :)

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Just Believe, Strength & Hope (Available May 1st)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Square Lattice Folder, 1 1/4 Circle & Modern Label punches, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Pearls

To order these or other SU! products, visit my online store here.