Lots of Thoughts soldier...

This card with The Free & The Brave stamp set and the free (with $50 purchase) Sale-a-Bration set Lots of Thoughts uses Wild Wasabi card stock and ribbon, along with East Coast Prep designer paper, Apricot Appeal and Bashful Blue card stock.

This is the thank-you card my son gave out for his birthday gifts. Whoo hoo!

Trivia: Approximately how many active duty personnel are there?

Answer: About 1.3 million. (Source: http://usmilitary.about.com/library/games/bltriv1-5.htm)

If you're in the military, THANK YOU so much for all that you do. We appreciate it!

Sticky letters...

Here's a great reason to buy the starter kit and be a demo right now for only $159 + tax: You get to order things like sticky letters in "bulk," or multiples. This letter "h" is just such a beast. I used Crystal Iris chunky glitter (coming up in the Occasions Mini Collection on March 1) and pushed it into the stickiness with my finger. Piece of cake!

And I love punches, so I had to use the My Way, Key Tag, and Star punches to accent this card. The card also uses some Berry Bliss designer paper, Regal Rose wide grosgrain (and card stock), fire circle rhinestone brads and dimensionals.

The sentiment is from the Define Your Life stamp set.

When you purchase sticky cuts letters in the catalog (page 186, $8.95), you get the entire lower case alphabet, along with numbers, flowers, brackets, a heart and a star!

In the Stars...

Yet another Occasions Mini Collection stamp set, In the Stars is extremely versatile.

This 6" x 6" brag book page uses Wild Wasabi card stock and double-stitched ribbon, Ruby Red card stock, pad and marker, More Mustard pad, marker and brads, and Soft Sky card stock.

The stars are popped up with dimensionals so it'll be easy to slip a photo onto this page. I think this page would work for a birthday, graduation, or just an everyday photo.

Phrases for a Friend...

Here's another peek at a word stamp set in the Occasions Mini Collection, which starts March 1, called Phrases for a Friend.

The card is 3" x 6" and is one-quarter of a 12" x 12" sheet of Apricot Appeal card stock. The striped bashful blue grosgrain wraps around the front and is knotted.

I used a glue stick to adhere bashful blue card stock to a chipboard star and sanded the edges with a sanding block. Then I used a bone folder to add a star rub-on on top of that. And then punched a brocade blue star with the small star punch on top after placing a black brad through the center of it.
The star is adhered to the front of the card with dimensionals. And the other two black brads just add a little symmetry.

Hope you like it!

Just Celebrate...

Who can resist the "whoo! hoo!" of an owl? I couldn't when I saw this set in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog (you can order from it March 1). I think it's perfect for members of my stamping group as kudos for jobs well done.

This card is Chocolate Chip with some Old Olive and Fall Flowers designer paper (both sides of the same sheet). It also uses vintage brads, the photo corner punch, wide chocolate grosgrain and a Stampin' Dimensional. The owl was inked up with More Mustard, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip markers.

I'm ready to celebrate... who's with me?

Lots of Thoughts...

I love the sheer simplicity of a card like this. It's easy to whip up a card for a birthday, thank you or any other occasion, for that matter.

And best of all, with Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration event going on thru March 17, you can earn FREE stamps to give you more words and images, or just add to your collection.

When I mounted the Happy Hellos stamp, there were three phrases below it. I only mounted the first one and then mounted the rest of the label and two sayings on the side of the wood block. It really makes quick work out of making a card like this.

Here's the tape:

Stem Sayings stamp set: $20.95

Ginger Blossoms paper: 9.95 (12 sheets of double-sided 12" x 12")

River Rock card stock: 5.50 (24 sheets of 8 1/2" x 11")

Classic Ruby Red ink pad: 5.25

Double-stitched ribbon: 8.95 (15 yards)

-----------------------------------------------------
Subtotal (before tax & shipping): $50.60

FREE: Lots of Thoughts SAB stamp set shown here

Best of all, you'll have enough supplies to make at least 48 cards. (Scallop and 1 3/8" punches aren't included, though you could order those, plus adhesive and envelopes to earn a second Sale-A-Bration item!)

Contact me today if you'd like to order! Thanks!

Friendship Blooms...

Louise has been a stampin' maniac! She loves her new Sale-A-Bration sets. Here, she stamped a Summer Sun card with More Mustard flourishes and the greeting with Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive markers.

The big flower is stamped in Tempting Turquoise and cut out, with a smaller Old Olive flower and three Earth Element brads (More Mustard) in the middle.

The Old Olive layer is stamped with Canvas in Old Olive, along with the leaves. And the card is finished with a Tempting Turquoise grosgrain bow. Why? Because your friendship makes me HAPPY.

Loads of Love...

This Close to Cocoa woman is so happy driving her Real Red truck loaded down with hearts because she loves her man (Louise's story).

The Close to Cocoa card is stamped with the Plaid background in the same color ink. A Real Red strip is loaded with ribbon - red and caramel ginghams, white grosgrain colored Chocolate Chip with a marker, red grosgrain and white taffeta.

The truck was cut out with paper snips and a hobby blade. The wheels and bumpers were colored with the silver metallic pencil and Pure Color black pencil.

Happy Heart Day elephant...

This Soft Sky card was stamped with the same color ink on the Polka Dot background stamp by Louise.

She stamped the elephant from Happy Heart Day in Basic Gray on the Soft Sky designer paper (polka dots again) and cut it out. Then stamped the entire image on Whisper White and colored in the hearts with a Real Red marker. There's Crystal Effects on the hearts for a 3d, lacquered look. Very pretty!

5-Petal Punch...

Louise's card uses the 5-petal flower punch with Berry Bliss paper, Boho Blossoms punch, pink gingham, Soft Subtles brads and a Pretties flower (smashed into the Purely Pomegranate pad to color it).

A 2-way glue pen dabbed in the middle of the flowers holds the rose pink Fine Cosmo glitter.

The card itself is Close to Cocoa, and the One of a Kind stamp is inked in Purely Pomegranate and stamped on Pretty in Pink card stock.

Spring Song...

It feels good to go back to something we all get in our Starter Kit (on sale now for $159 + sales tax; look at the right column for more details) - the Stampin' Pastels. You get the basic 48 colors plus some neutrals. You can use the applicators in the container, Q-tips or blender pens (also in the kit) to apply color to your stamped images. Here, I used Q-tips.

The only ink pad used is Basic Brown. The background is the Floral stamp. You can select these in your kit too!

In addition to the photo corner punch and key tag punch, I used the Crafter's Tool Kit to pierce the holes in the corner as well as for the brads. And the little felt olive flower comes from Flower Fusion.

And though the layered image looks crooked, it's not. It warped while being rotated slightly.

Big Always Valentine's Day card...

Nothin' says lovin' like a big Valentine. This card measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and Stampin' Up! sells envelopes for this size!

The designer paper comes from the Berry Blaze pack, and the ink colors are Purely Pomegranate and Chocolate Chip. There's a build-a-brad in the middle heart, jumbo eyelets (set with a crop-a-dile), and some double-stitched Purely Pomegranate ribbon.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Free & the Brave love note...

Guys love valentines too. At least my 3rd-grade son does. So once again I pulled out his favorite stamp set. He's quite pleased with the results and can't wait to hand these out on Thursday.

Punches are the greatest thing when making quick cards. This one uses the star, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, and the scallop punch. The designer paper is from Western Sky, and the eagle's beak was colored in using a More Mustard ink pad and aqua painter.

Pretties Valentine's Day card...

This is one of those cards that's hard to appreciate because it didn't scan well. There's lots of sparkle on the Pretties flower, which was colored with Regal Rose crayon and an aqua painter, then splashed with dazzling diamonds glitter.

The middle of the flower come from the Boho Blossoms punch, with a big half pearl from the Pretties kit.

The designer paper is from the Rose Red pack, along with some 5/8" wide Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon.

Sealed with a Kiss...

This is what my daughter is taking to school to give her classmates for Valentine's Day.

It uses Sealed with a Kiss, the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, scallop punch, Berry Blaze designer paper, Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranate ink and card stock. There's even a Vintage brad stuck in for good measure.

I'd love to see what you and your kids are giving out for Valentine's, so please share!

Western Sky...

With this designer paper and the decorative circle from Wanted, it's easy to make a nice, clean card suitable for your favorite guy.

The circle was stamped in Blue Bayou and punched with the scallop punch, then a crop-a-dile was used to make a 3/8" hole for the jumbo eyelet.

Finally, the definition of "you" (Define Your Life) was added in River Rock ink to coordinate with the Western Sky designer paper and the embellishment on a simple white card.

Just B...

Just B is one of those stamp sets that say so much! The dots in and around the Taken with Teal "B" are covered with Dazzling Diamonds glitter to give the card some bling.

The Three for You punch was used for the little Soft Sky flowers, with a 1/4" circle punch for the insides. And the background is the Friend by Definition stamp.

The Free & the Brave...

Take a boy who loves to wear camoflauge day and night from head to toe and you have my son. His 9th birthday is coming up and he wants an Army party - just a bunch of boys whoopin' it up around the house, chasing each other and playing soldier. So when Stampin' Up! came out with The Free & the Brave stamp set in the Spring-Summer Collection, I knew exactly what I'd be using to make his invitations. This is the card I came up with.

The colors are Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip, with plenty of sponging, jumbo eyelets and retired chocolate grosgrain ribbon. I used the star punch and a Vintage brad to complete the look. I'm happy to report that my son loves it....

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Bali Breeze is a breath of fresh air! Just a strip adds a lot of great color. This card is Groovy Guava with a bit of Old Olive and Taken with Teal.

The bird was colored using an aqua painter and some ink in the lid of the ink pad (put in the closed lid with your thumbs to deposit some ink there).

Yet another fun card from Louise....

Older & Wiser turtle...

Love turtles! And belated birthday cards? Who couldn't use those. Though we make lots of cards all the time, many of those are sent out late!

Anyway, this adorable turtle and words are from the Level 3 hostess set Older & Wiser. I love that Louise used brads to color a few of the spots on the shell instead of actually coloring them in. Cute

The background is Polka Dots stamped in VersaMark. The ribbon is some of the new Real Red striped grosgrain.

Wanted with stars...

I love this card's colors. Louise did good.

The red layer is actually some Western Sky paper, on top of distressed and sponged Creamy Caramel, layered on the Not Quite Navy card.

The jumbo eyelets hold the satin chocolate ribbon, and the stars are stamped and punched out with hodgepodge hardware brads in the center and dimensionals underneath.

Older & Wiser...

Louise made up this card for a recent birthday card stamp-a-stack. It uses the Level 3 hostess set Older & Wiser, along with Berry Blaze designer paper, Pretty in Pink and Close to Cocoa card stock, and Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon.

This is basically a Love Note (3" x 3") stuck on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of card stock. It's great for keeping your message brief and using small pieces of designer paper! Hope you like it....