Warm Wishes

Yep, another Kliban Cat!! Such a realistic scene (well, before we got the flat-panel monitor of course)......hence the photo-corners. A little bit of coloring and applying more of that great Liquid Glass and a quick couple of punches from Martha and POOF - you're done!! Kept it fairly monochromatic because I just see this as more of a "guy" card.

Stamps - American Art Stamps (Kliban Cat); Hero Arts (sentiment)

Textured CS - CTMH

Memento Ink

Copics

Liquid Glass - CTMH

Cheers Punch - Martha Stewart

Photo Corner Punch - EK Success

Corner Rounder Punch

Teeth On The Side

Card Front

Inside Sentiment

Close-up on the Chompers

I'm a quirky stamps kinda gal - not the truly weird stuff, but quirky (yes, there IS a difference). This set from Gina K. has been in my collection for nearly 2 years and this is the first time that I've set ink to any of the stamps. There were several valid reasons (and a couple that were pretty lame) as to why I hadn't used them before......but such is life and life is certainly too short to dwell over dorky stuff like "why haven't I used this stamp before this moment??". I had a terrific reason to FINALLY use this set - Abel's b-day......and I think it's nearly time to start insulting him on that very special day. Since his chompers are firmly attached, this really is no insult - just a little funny Ha-Ha!! I covered the teeth in Liquid Glass to give them that glossy "denture" look - I like it!!!

Stamps - Gina K.

Ink - Memento

Copics

Stardream CS

Liquid Glass - CTMH

Rock Star

Sometimes you find something and you simply cannot wait to USE it. That's what's happened to me with this cupcake punch (yesssss, another one from Martha - 40% off coupon at Michaels). Already had the party-hatted cupcake stamped, colored and cut out (actually, I did all of that some time last year and kinda sorta forgot about them.....). And while I contemplated whether or not to get up out of bed on Sunday morning the vision of the finished card popped into head and I all but tripped over myself getting to my stamp room (yes, still in P.J.s and really crazy hair!!) to get the cards done.

The scene is a cupcake concert and the party-hatted cupcake is the "star" and the Martha cupcake punches are his fans.........can't you hear the high-pitched screaming???

Cardbase - Memory Box
Cardstock for the cupcake border - CTMH
Stamps - Taylored Expressions, Paper Trey Ink & Memory Box
B&T - ??? Really old stuff!!
Inks - Memento & Colorbox Chalk Inks
Copics and Stickles
Cupcake Border Punch - Martha Stewart
Star Punch - Mavy

Road To Success

Card Front

Sentiment Inside

Over the weekend I was a VERY busy stamper. We have a new card "release" coming up (March 1st), so the pressure is on. Mostly, we make b-day cards but we do try to have a good variety available for our customers so that means sometimes I have to crack the whip and start getting bossy - telling Heidi what to make and when. For the March 1st release we need b-day cards (we'll have 20 new designs); Thinking Of You; Thank You; Get Well; Congrats/Good Luck; and Sympathy cards. We still have plenty of Wedding, Baby, Retirement and Encouragement-types of cards. I'm hoping our customers will be impressed with the new card designs and they'll be eager to buy, Buy, BUY!!!

So here's one of my new designs.....this fits the "Congrats" requirement. I thought something kind of goofy and fun would be good. There's really subtle sponging on the front of the card (the clouds and along the "road"). I'm happy with it - I hope a potential customer is too!!

Stamps, inks, textured CS, cloud template & mini brads - CTMH

Other stamps - A Muse (the "road" border)

Other Inks - Colorbox Chalk Inks & Memento

QuicKutz die cuts

Silver Gel Pen & Copics (Slate for the tires)

Beauty with Bella

I knew I liked the "Bella" paper packet when it first came out but the more I work with it the MORE I like it - funny how that happens!! This card design is from CTMH's "Wishes" (card confidence program).....I find that circles are my favorite shape so I tend to select card designs that are heavy with circles - guess that must mean I'm "well-rounded" (....sigh.....a bit TOO well-rounded in fact!!). This is a REALLY simple and fast card to make (I made 4 of them lickety-split) and it's always good to find a card design that can be dashed out in minutes!!

Stamps, Cardstock, B&T paper, ribbon & Olive ink - CTMH
Other inks - PTI, Memento
Copics & Stickles
Marvy & EK Success Punches
QuicKutz Die cut

Bee Mine

Close-up of the 2 bees.................awwwww how sweeeeeeet...........

Had the 2 bees stamps for a few years now......and the "Bee Mine" trail....hmmmm - had that one for a long while too. Stamped the panel with the bees and the grass & mini-hearts and then there it sat on my desk for nearly a month - just staring at me.......mocking me with their cuteness - DARING me to DO something with them. And of course, everything I tried wasn't quite right. See that B&T paper I used for the background in the first photo?? Well, I was thinking of using some of it to layer under the stamped panel - but hmmmmm, that didn't look good. Then I thought that a Martha punch would be a nice asset, but again - nope. So fine then, I was even willing to dip into my precious Basic Grey paper...but even when I pulled out my stash (excluding the Christmas and Halloween stuff), I couldn't find something that was just right........sigh.

Then I tossed the panels down on my desk and heaved a heavy sigh - and then noticed.........there's a bit of purple in there - in some of those little hearts.......hey........isn't there a berry-colored cardbase somewhere? And after some digging around I found it (boysenberry) and then it hit me - I don't need no stinkin' B&T paper - I have a swirly embossing folder (looks kind of like a bee buzzing pattern don't you think???).

I'm happy with the results!!

Cardbase - Memory Box

Stamps - 2 Bees (Penny Black); Grass (Rubber Soul); Bee Mine (Savvy); mini hearts (Hero Arts)

Inks - Memento, Colorbox Chalk Inks

Copics, Spicas and Stickles

Ribbon - A Muse

Cuttle Bug Embossing folder (swirls)

Loving U

Ok for some reason when I looked at this, it looks to me like the ribbon is like a Ninja headband - am I weird or WHAT?? I'm so bummed........ALL of the CS is Stardream......it's so pretty, so rich-looking and elegant and dang it if doesn't look all flat and washed out in these photos. The cardbase color is platinum, it's warmer than the silver and since the hearts are punched out in a warm rich red, I think the platinum is a perfect fit.





I loved this QuicKutz font (Eliza-mini) when I first laid eyes on it (oh it's been 8 or 9 years ago) . Originally it came out in a larger size (because they were designed for scrapbooking) - and I was devastated (yes, devastated) because I loved the font but it was much too large to use on my cards..........so I just pined away with longing and desire and obviously the die-cut gods smiled upon me (perhaps even mocked me) and brought "Eliza" out in a smaller, more manageable (and more affordable) size. I like to think it was done just for me but I realize there must have been a couple of other card-makers out there in the same boat.

I think the style of the Eliza font is absolutely perfect for this card - it's for Chef Bo-Bo Head (not too foo-foo, but still just a smidgeon lovey-dovey).



All Cardstock-Stardream

QuicKutz "Eliza-mini" die-cut font

Marvy Heart Punches

Heart Stamp (on envelope) - yikes, I have no clue - it's an oldie but goodie!

Black Organza Ribbon

Love Coupons

Ok, AFTER the card was done, I realized that the "xoxo"s were stamped in pastel colors...... baby colors..........but too bad, I think I can still get away with it. I've been wanting to use this mini-envelope punch for the LONGEST time - I got it last summer when Julie Ebersole was teaching during AMAP. We did a card that used this punch and it was just so darn cute - I had to make a mad-dash to get one of the few remaining punches left and there it sat on my shelf for....well, for quite a long while. But hey, I've used it and and since this card is for Creepella, all she'll be interested in is.....

The HUG Coupons!!! The girl is a hugger - a selective hugger but a hugger none-the-less!!!

Stamps - CTMH & Hero Arts

Inks - Memento

Ribbon - A Muse

Mini-Envelope Punch - Marvy

Mini Heart - QuicKutz

Stickles

Scrap CS

Cherish The LOVE...

Another 4-bar card but did you see my latest acquisition?? I've been wanting a heart border punch and I figured that Martha would have SOMETHING and since I had a 40% off coupon in my clutches...... well since the planets had aligned oh-so graciously it would have just been plain rude to ignore - right??? This punch also has a matching corner punch but I'm finding I'm not all that wild about the corner punches.....I kinda just like the borders being punched (and it's a trifle bit cheaper getting one punch versus the set).

..............ooooh - aaaaaaaah, it's oh-so shimmmmmmery.................take a closer look........

Pale pink & silver Stardream CS hearts are the perfect background for the shiny little "cherish" charm. Since I'm going with a very definite pink theme - I used a pink rhinestone brad to secure the charm to the layered hearts and then I popped out the hearts with some foam tape and the card was done - viola!!

I put a strip of pale pink Stardream CS under the punched border area - it accents the border punched hearts and it ties in with the smaller pale pink heart punched from the same Stardream CS.

Cardbase - Papertrey Ink

Stardream CS (Silver & Pale Pink)

Ink - Memento

Marvy Heart Punches

Martha Stewart Heart border punch

Heart stamp (on envelope) - CTMH

"Cherish" charm - CTMH
Rhinestone brad - Reflections (Michaels)

Love Blooms

CS, B&T, Stamps - CTMH
Inks - Memento, Versamark, Colorbox
White Detail Embossing power - CTMH
Fence Border punch - Martha Stewart
Stickles

I think I pulled it off....................did I???? Take another look...........well?????

The fence border punch is really from Martha's Halloween collection (doesn't it look eeeeerie???). Nah, I didn't think so either. It just adds a nice little touch. Another simple card, I think the most time-consuming part was the sponging - I find I can get into a weird sponging-groove and then I've OVER-sponged. I have to chant to myself that sponging is supposed to be SUBTLE...........less is more...........helllllllloooooOOOOOO!!!

Haven't embossed in ages (do you remember when you embossed EVERYTHING???? Yikes!!), almost needed another couple of hands to get it together on the first couple of cards but then it was like riding a bike - I remembered what I was doing and how to do it. These cards are the little 4-bar size............namely because I have TONS of 4-bar envelopes and I really am trying to use up what I have......sigh......

Oh, I've been oh-so busy doing some stitching........lately I've been working on "Winter Hill" and another little black cat design. I seem to do most of my stitching during lunch breaks at work so I'm not getting much done. We have a 3-day weekend coming up, I plan on setting aside a few hours to stitching and maybe I'll listend to HP's "Half-Blood Prince", I've only watched it a couple of times since Christmas....................oh man, it sound like fun - I can hardly wait for the weekEND!!!

Love Postage

Cardbase - Papertrey Ink
Stamps - "love" postage stamp (Michaels $1.00 bin); xox on envelop (CTMH)
Inks - Memento
Copics
Heart Embellishment - Either Michaels or Target $1.00
B&T - Ooooh, so old, I have NO idea
Fiskars Postage-edges scissors

Love, Love, Love............whew I'm pooped. Got all of my V-day cards done, both to sell and send and then of course I had to make a few singles to send to Creepella (she LOVES getting mail). So I'm about lovey-dovey, kissy-kissy, heart-schmarted out. I think I'll do a little self-detox and make some b-day cards!!

This card is way easy EXCEPT for cutting out the "postage" stamp portion. Throw some handy-dandy B&T paper down (see, it ends up that I DID need the envelopes with hearts because HELLO, I just picked up that cute love "postage" stamp the other day!!) and basically, you're finished.

Bahhhhh.......I'm crying right now - I just walked in on "Intervention".....I've never seen the show before - OMG, this is heart-breaking!! I'm not a fan of reality TV so I try to steer clear of stuff like this but Creepella and Bob were watching "Hoarders" earlier - oh yikes.........I gotta go.............

Beware of Slivers...

Stamps - Hero Arts & CTMH (alpha & sentiment)
B&T Paper - Basic Grey's Indian Summer
Inks - Memento & Colorbox chalk inks
Marvy Scalloped Heart punch

True Confessions: I got the "Wood" you be mine idea from something in a Better Homes & Garden magazine. It was the only thing that I found interesting in the magazine, but heck - I love this card!! I had already decided that I'd made this card for Sean and Curt (my 2 teenage guy card recipients), so I knew it wouldn't be all frilly, but slapping the heart on the front just wasn't cutting it.......something else was needed.................a bit of color but NO ribbon (and the twine and hemp was way too neutral)........so I started flipping through paper because paper can solve nearly ANY problem. And was I right or was I right? Of course that meant that I had to dig into and CUT some of my coveted Basic Grey stash (whew, thank goodness there are 2 sheets of each pattern!!). I love what it did for the card.............hope those two pesky boys do too!!

How I made the heart: I used my Hero Art's wood grain circle stamp (originally purchased because I saw "water"), stamped it with brown ink on cream CS, punched out a heart and then sponged the punched heart with both light and dark brown chalk inks. I like it!

Pink or Red?

B&T paper - Target's $1 bin

Stamps - American Art Stamps (Kliban cat) & Penny Black (sentiment)

Quikutz Heart die cuts

Inks - Memento

Copics

Stickles

Ribbon - A Muse

Heart Brad - Making Memories

I know that I say that I love this or that a lot............guess I must love a lot of things because I do absolutely LOVE these Kliban Cats stamps. These cards are oh-so speedy to make because the cat only has a bit of coloring.....fill in the hearts and apply Stickles, do a bit of paper layering and you're done. The stumper on this card........how to arrange the ribbon with the heart die cuts!! By adding the brad, it gives a bit more texture and popping up the heart/ribbon doo-dad with some foam tape gives it its own "spotlight".

The B&T paper is such a deal.........$1.00 for 8 sheets of 12x12 paper. I think I like the red B&T version better, but the pink is pretty chirpy too....hmmmmm, now I'm confusing myself!!

WARNING: I'll most likely be dragging out more of my Kliban Cats.....I have a good-sized collection of them and a lot of that is due to the kindness of Carol (The Stamper's Corner). About 10 years ago, she offered to order any of the Kliban Cats that I wanted (you had to order at least 2 stamps of each design and I don't think she had a lot of demand for these guys at the time), she gave me a very generous discount and she personally delivered them to me at work (I was working long hours and she just knew it would kill me to have to wait until the weekend to go and get them). I've been lucky to establish some close relationships with some of this city's stamping "power-houses" I'm grateful for all they've done for me........I know that I am one lucky stamper!!

Bag O' Hearts

Stamps - "xoxo"/Hero Arts, background/Ink Antics
Inks - Memento & Colorbox chalk inks
Kraft CS - CTMH
QuiKutz die cuts hearts
Marvy Heart Punch
Fiskars Pinking scissors
Scrap CS for hearts (A Muse, Stardream and others)

I used to have a large bag stamp (CTMH), very country-ish.....but man, I used it all of the time. I'd fill it with all sorts of things. I think I like the kraft CS bag much better (simpler and easier)..........and adding the pinking edge is pretty cool. I love the various heart die cuts too, makes for an interesting collection - perfect for Valentine's Day..........or any day that you want to send a little love!!

Light or Dark?

Cardbases - Memory Box

Viney Heart Blossom B&T - Bo-Bunny

Citrus Green B&T - CTMH

Stamps - Cat's Pajamas

Inks - Memento

Copics

Ribbon - A Muse

Nestabilities (Label 1??)

Corner Rounder

Gem Brad - Recollections (Michaels)

The Bo-Bunny paper is new, it was just so sweet-looking....Heidi and I couldn't resist. We each got one sheet. It's funny how your stamp-spending changes. We used to purchase 3 to 5 sheets of the same B&T paper....we used to make a TON of cards to sell. Anymore we don't need nearly the amount of cards (sadly sales are still just limping along) so obviously we don't need the amount of B&T paper either. It works out well though, we both have had to scale back our stamping budgets SEVERELY over the last 3 years...........we still get new B&T designs, we just don't need reams of it.

So now that I'm only purchasing one sheet of B&T paper, I am VERY careful with its use. It seemed silly to have any more of the Bo-Bunny paper (it's basically a vertical vine/blossom pattern), I knew I wanted to do a couple of layers for the dog and I needed enough room for a bit of ribbon. It's always good to have a rough layout idea for your card, less paper waste that way.

I made 4 cards all totaled - 2 with the light pink cardbase, 2 with the dark. My preference leans more with the dark pink - how about you??