By The Tide birthday

 

The days of going to the beach and looking for seashells or fishing are coming to an end, as fall seems to be here already, but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy all of the trappings of the beach with a hand-stamped card. This one uses the By The Tide stamp set.

This Very Vanilla card features the coral stamped in Crumb Cake ink on the front. The three images have been stamped in Always Artichoke on vanilla, then punched out using a 1-1/4" square punch, and layered on a 1-3/8" square of artichoke card stock. The squares are popped up using dimensionals, and a sentiment from Teeny, Tiny Wishes finishes the card. I CASE'd this card idea from http://starlightstamper.com.

Dinner last night was a seasoned chicken breast wrapped in two pieces of bacon and a wedge of cabbage roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. It was delicious! My family liked it so much I'm adding it to our repertoire of dinners. Just thought I'd share if you're always looking for new or different things to make (I am!).

Lego birthday card

 

I have a fondness for Legos, as did my boy when he was younger. I still have buckets full of them.

The best thing about this Boys Will Be Boys birthday card is it uses one ink - Garden Green - and just a circle of Very Vanilla card stock. The circles are sponged and adhered to the card front with dimensionals. Simple and cute. The sentiment is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes.

 

I love the random critters we get in our backyard. Even though our dog is out there quite a bit, we have squirrels, opposums (a baby walked through last night), morning doves and a wide range of other birds. My hubby and kids built this bird feeder. The squirrels launch themselves from the fence or poplar trees about 4-5 feet away. This morning, a squirrel popped his head out of a hole that was widened by other squirrels. Needless to say, no birds nest in there!

 

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Cheerful Critters just for you

 

With the Cheerful Critters and Teeny, Tiny Wishes stamp sets, you could have so many possibilities for quick and easy cards.

 

Sending Easter cards may not be big on some people's list, but it's cute to send bunnies with birthday and get well wishes, among others.

For Dad the Traveler

 

This ship brings forth great memories of cruises my hubby and I have taken - several as Stampin' Up! incentive trips that I earned, and the very first one we took as an adventure to Alaska in 2007.

So I figured this Traveler card will be perfect for my hubby. I layered a piece of paper from the Moonlight dsp stack (item 133701, $6.95), on a Whisper White card. The ship from Traveler (item 134513, $19.95 clear; item 134510, $27.95) is stamped in Lost Lagoon (a new In Color) and layered on the same color card stock, then adhered to the front of the card with dimensionals and a banner punched out of Hello Honey card stock.

If you'd like to order any of these products, please visit my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. Thanks!

Father's Day cards

 

At my recent 20-card class, the women made several man cards. With the Teeny, Tiny Wishes stamp set, they could choose the greeting of their choice. Above, I used the Baby, We've Grown stamp set with Sweater designer paper and Natural Composition paper, and the Scalloped Tag Topper punch for the tag.

 

I used a Basic Black marker to ink up two of the three owls that make up a single stamp, then used an aqua painter and ink pad to color the owls.

 

This is the epitome of a quick card - a couple strips of designer paper and a Gumball Green stamped greeting punched out of Whisper White with the Word Window punch and layered on a Modern Label-punched piece of Gumball Green card stock.



Mixed Bunch Mother's Day card

 

A bright flower for mom won't wilt or need water if it's on a card.

 

I started with a Strawberry Slush card, and added 1" strips of Quattrefancy designer paper on the front, cutting them like banners. The Mixed Bunch flower was stamped in Daffodil Delight, punched out and topped with another stamp inked in Strawberry Slush, punched with the 3/4" circle punch, and adhered with a dimensional.

 

The greeting is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. Inside, another greeting says "Happy Mother's Day." I wish all of my friends and family a wonderful day!

Sharing some bright yellow flowers from Flower Shop

 

When you buy the Flower Shop stamp set, which offers the same shape and size of flower in six different patterns, you can buy the coordinating Pansy Punch and make flowers till your hands ache. Of course, it helps if you line them up correctly - ha ha ha. Not like mine.

 

For this Daffodil Delight card, I used the Scallops embossing folder in the Occasions Catalog, as well as one of my favorite items - the Angled Tag Topper Punch (item 133323, $22.95). This card could be used for everything from Get Well and Thinking of You to a sympathy or birthday card - especially when you have the Teeny, Tiny Wishes stamp set, which is ALL greetings.

 

I'll be happy to get stamping after working on corporate taxes for a couple of days and meeting with our accountants. My right brain needs some one-on-one time while my left brain relaxes. Ahhhh... time to get inky.

 

Be sure to come back tomorrow. I'll have another card for the 'Tis the Season challenge blog! Please join us... you've got a couple of weeks to create something and add it to the challenge.

Sharing the luck with middle school staff for St. Patrick's Day

 

I have volunteered to create items showing my kids' middle school staff appreciation once a month from January thru June. This month, I almost bit off more than I could chew! I saw this adorable card stock shamrock and knew that's what I wanted to make. Did I mention I need 85 items each month?

 

 

I can smile now. I finally finished these cuties tonight. I spent a couple of hours cutting card stock, scoring and adhering the insides a couple of days ago. Today, I spent several more hours forming the shamrock and adding the stamped tag with Lucky Limeade baker's twine. I used card stock colors Always Artichoke and Lucky Limeade, as well as a sentiment from Teeny, Tiny Wishes stamped in Lucky Limeade and punched using the Modern Label punch. I CASE'd this treat from Brenda Quintana, and used her tutorial here.

If you'd like to order the items used to make this treat, Clearance Rack items, single stamps, or anything from the Spring or annual catalogs, please visit my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net. You'll still get a FREE item for every $50 you order from the Sale-a-Bration brochure (thru March 22).

A card for a friend

Sometimes you want to let a friend know you're there when she's going through a rough time, or just to let her know you appreciate her friendship. For occasions like these, I think this sentiment - from Teeny, Tiny Wishes - works. I pulled the colors for this card from the Sycamore Street dsp - a free Sale-a-Bration item if you order $50+ - and added a little Honeycomb embossing for a recent class. To step it up a little, some gals ran the butterfly through a dry embossing folder too. It really adds!

To order any of the items here, along with any promotion or anything in the annual catalog or Spring Catalog (both in the right column), or digital downloads, please visit my Online Store at http://TheRubberRoom.stampinup.net. Thanks!

Stamps: Teeny, Tiny Wishes;
Ink: Basic Black;
Paper: Whisper White, Sycamore Street dsp, Summer Starfruit, Rich Razzleberry, and Pool Party card stocks;
Accessories: Postage Punch, Modern Label punch, Designer Brads, Basic Pearls, Honeycomb embossing folder, dimensionals.

Little Friends birthday card in Island Indigo

I like the card on page 53 of the Stampin' Up! catalog, but wanted to use my Little Friends stamp set. I used the Tasteful Trim die with a strip of Pumpkin Pie card stock for the big scallop, then a 1/4" strip of Certainly Celery, a bow of Island Indigo twine and the adorable puppy pulling at the little girl's ribbon. Cute and simple.

Furry Folk Easter card with Big Top Birthday dsp

This Furry Folk card is one I used for my 10-card class. It starts with an embossed Tempting Turquoise card and a 1-1/2" strip of Big Top Birthday dsp. I think the animals in this stamp set are so funny-looking and cute. I had to use the bunny for an Easter card. The sentiment is from Teeny, Tiny wishes. I've got a lunch date today, so I'm looking forward to that. Hope you have a great day!

Owl turned turkey for Thanksgiving favor

I think the owl punch is fabulous! You can use it to make an owl (of course!), a penguin, ghost, and now a turkey. I'm sure I missed a few other things this terrific punch can do... but we'll explore that at a later date. This adorable favor uses the Two Tags die for the Big Shot. I ran it through the Square Lattice embossing folder before adding 1-1/4" wide Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon with a knot of natural hemp around it. It's just big enough to hold a treat - in this case, a fun size Hershey's chocolate bar. Also, instead of stamping "Happy Thanksgiving" as you see here, you could easily write a person's name and use this for a placecard. The turkey's tailfeathers are two flowers punches from the 5-petal flower punch. The beak and snood (the red thing that hangs down on a turkey) was made with Pumpkin Pie and Real Red card stock punched from the little heart on the owl punch. I CASE'd this favor from another blogger.

Tri-fold French Foliage card for a Happy Thanksgiving

My club members made this tri-fold card using Spice Cake dsp, Early Espresso quilted ribbon, and French Foliage stamps. The most important tip for this card is to only punch through one layer of paper at a time with the 1-3/8" square punch.

When you open the top flap, you see two leaves and more dsp.

Then there's room for your message when the card is open all of the way. The sentiment used here is from Grateful Greetings.

Measurements:

• 5-1/2" x 10-1/2" card stock body (score at 3-1/2" and 7-1/8")
• 5-1/2" x 2" (cut 2) pieces of designer series paper
• 5-1/2" x 2-1/4" (cut 2) pieces of card stock
• 13" ribbon
• Scrap paper to stamp and punch with 1-1/4" square punch

Stamps: French Foliage, Grateful Greetings, Teeny Tiny Wishes;

Ink: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Most Mustard, Old Olive;

Paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Early Espresso card stocks, Spice Cake dsp

Accessories: 1-3/8" square punch, 1-1/4" square punch, Early Espresso quilted ribbon, Modern Label Punch, dimensionals, Word Window Punch.

Notecard Pouch and 4 notecards with mini envelopes

I've got a booth at the Kitsap Arts & Crafts Festival July 29-31 in Kingston, so I've been making a variety of items with the help of my friend and neighbor, Beth. She had many packages of a past Sale-a-Bration dsp called Delicate Dots that she wanted to use, so she ran the paper through the Big Shot on the Daisy die while I made many pouches. I'll be creating a free tutorial for the pouch this week, so come back later!

Here's a photo of the finished two-pocket pouch. I used a horizontal slot punch for the ribbon handles. Each pocket holds two notecards with two mini envelopes.

I stamped "just for you" from Teeny, Tiny Wishes on all of the notecards, because I figured then they could be used for any occasion. Hope you like it!

Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate with Love & Care

I changed the colors from a card created by Tiffany Bauer, and used the new Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate with Daffodil Delight Craft ink, along with the Love and Care hostess set in the Summer Mini (with Real Red and Old Olive colors). I ran scraps of Real Red card stock through the Big Shot on the Tasteful Trim die to get the big scallop border, then added a Teeny, Tiny Wishes sentiment with White Baker's Twine and a few pearls. I added "flower dust" with the Color Spritzer. It's a fun tool, if you haven't used it for awhile.

Sail Away into the sunset

I love the beautiful colors of this card. Seeing a sunset from a sailboat is a wonderful way to live. I've experienced it once and it was beautiful!

For this Sail Away card, CASE'd from Heidi Baks, I used Natural Ivory card stock with Night of Navy and Nautical Expedition dsp layered on top. The entire stamp was stamped once on a Natural Ivory layer, then again for just the sails on Whisper White card stock. I stamped the boat a third time on Not Quite Navy card stock that I ripped, sponged and used a white gel pen to highlight the waves.

For the sun, I punched a circle in a scrap and sponged Daffodil Delight. Then, using the circle I'd punched out, I tacked it down on top of the sun to sponge around it with Tangerine Tango and more Daffodil Delight.

Stamps: Sail Away, Teeny, Tiny Wishes;

Ink: Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango;

Paper: Whisper White, Naturals Ivory, Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy, Nautical Expedition dsp;

Accessories: White gel pen, Modern Label Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, dimensionals, sponge daubers.

Watercolored Every Moment for sketch challenge...

I finally found time to make a card for the Paper Players. I've been wanting to join these gals for quite awhile. Lesley came up with a really nice sketch for the challenge this week. I started with a Crumb Cake card and Every Moment stamp set, along with First Edition and Paisley Petals dsp. I used an aqua painter and ink pads to color the flower and butterfly. You can see the sketch below. Click here to see what everybody else created.

Stamps: Every Moment, Teeny Tiny Wishes;

Ink: Poppy Parade, Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake;

Paper: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Paisley Petals dsp, First Edition dsp;

Accessories: Antique brad, scallop trim border punch, aqua painter, dimensionals, Curly Label Punch.

A Good Egg Easter card with Four Frames...

Happy Easter to you and your family! I love the chick in the egg from A Good Egg stamp set. I paper-pieced his shell with Play Date dsp, which is also on the front of the card. I stamped the bottom of the chick on the polka-dot frame from Four Frames and then stamped him on Whisper White card stock, colored and cut him out. He's adhered over his legs with dimensionals. The sentiment is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. It was punched out with the Word Window Punch and then I added a Tempting Turquoise glimmer brad.

The Four Frames stamp set will be in the big new catalog coming out July 1, but you can purchase it this month! Click on the flyer at the top right of my blog under Spring is Blossoming.

Enjoy your day!

Prepping for a 10-card class for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday...

It's been several weeks since I've participated in Julia's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) event at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/, and alot has happened in the meantime. I've had loads of events - including weekly 10-card classes that keep me hoppin', spring break for my kids, and starting a new challenge blog with a friend called A La Card Monkey. You'll definitely want to visit and participate because I'm giving away a BIG BUNDLE OF STAMPIN' UP! GOODIES - not only to the Nature Theme challenge winner, but to a lucky FOLLOWER, as well. Isn't the badge I made cute?

Now for the cards I'm working on prepping:

Stampin' Up!'s Easter Blossoms stamp set with Greenhouse Gala dsp, Early Espresso ink, and Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz card stocks. The circle is a 3" die for the Big Shot.

New Paisley Petals dsp with Four Frames and Fabulous Phrases stamp sets, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Cherry Cobbler and Baja Breeze card stocks with an Itty Bitty Punch flower, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, and rhinestones.

I CASE'd this card from Penny at http://penguinstamper.blogspot.com/. It's all Very Vanilla (including the 5/8" satin ribbon), with Basic Brown eggs from Nature Walk and a sentiment from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. I used an aqua painter and Baja Breeze pad to add the color to the eggs. The layer under the eggs was run through the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder in the Big Shot.

Plant Hope is the beautiful stamp set used on this card. I CASE'd - and simplified - an idea from Andrea Walford. The Woodgrain background stamp was inked in Crumb Cake and stamped on the Crumb Cake card front. The Early Espresso card stock layer was punched using the spiral punch, and the dsp is Woodland Walk. The sentiment is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes.

The final card for class is this Very Vanilla card with a strip of Springtime Vintage dsp, Rose Red and Old Olive inks, with the sentiment, teacup and saucer from Timeless Treasures. I CASE'd and changed it a bit from http://ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/.

Now your reward for reading through this long post? A chance to win a BIG BUNDLE OF STAMPIN' UP! GOODIES from A La Card Monkey's inaugural challenge. So enter a card and put the monkey link on your own blog. Good luck!!!

Here is the List of Stuff:

• Garden Whimsy 8pc stamp set
• Goody-Goody Gumdrops 19pc set
• Picnic Parade 15 pc set
• Stampin' Fun for Everyone 7pc set
• Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon 5/8"
• Fresh Favorites 1 Buttons
• Baja Breeze Corduroy button brads
• Chocolate Chip Library Clips 1/2"
• Sweet Pea stitched felt flowers
• Welcome Neighbor DSP pad
• Baja Breeze 8-1/2 X 11 Card Stock
• On board Blossoms chipboard

The bunny and basket are not included. Post this goody basket on your blog with a link to A La Card Monkey and tell all of your friends what great stuff I'm giving away! You'll get a chance at a second goody basket when you add yourself as a Follower (a photo of that basket will be posted Wednesday).

Aviary Elegant Soiree birthday card...

My club members loved this Aviary card this month.

I'd love to take full credit for it, but I CASE'd it from here.

This card features Elegant Soiree dsp, Early Espresso and Baja Breeze colors, along with Crumb Cake.

The "happy birthday" is from Teeny, Tiny Wishes.

Stamps: Aviary (116956 wood, 120462 clear), Teeny, Tiny Wishes (115370);
Ink: Baja Breeze pad (111833), Early Espresso pad (119670), Crumb Cake (121030);
Paper: Very Vanilla (101650), Early Espresso (119686), Baja Breeze (111352), Elegant Soiree dsp (117163);
Accessories: Basic Pearls Jewels (119247), 5/8" Early Espresso Satin Ribbon (119753), Word Window Large Punch (119857), Modern Label Extra-Large Punch (119849).