Trendy Trees SAB...

This Bashful Blue card features some striped Delicate Dots designer paper (free Sale-a-Bration item you may select with $50 purchase), Certainly Celery ribbon (another SAB freebie), and the Trendy Trees stamp set.

I stamped the tree trunk and "thinking of you" in Chocolate Chip ink, then the foliage stamp in Certainly Celery.

The tree was punched with the small tag punch and layered on a larger Certainly Celery one, with a big white brad at the top. The layers are adhered to the card front with dimensionals.

Polka Dot Punches...

There are many terrific cards you can make with free Sale-a-Bration items - like this Certainly Celery ribbon, Delicate Dots paper, and Polka Dot Punches stamp set.

This is another of Kim's stamp-a-stack cards. It's got a Whisper White card body with some Delicate Dots designer paper on front, punched with the ticket corner punch.

The celery ribbon knots around the front of the card. The Polka Dot Punches image is punched out with a 1 1/4" circle layered on a 1 3/8" Certainly Celery circle on top of a scallop circle punched out of more Delicate Dots paper. A rhinestone brad is the crowning glory.

The sentiment is from the stamp set On Your Birthday.

Card games...

Kim's customers made this cute "Queen of Everything" card with the Card Games stamp set at a recent stamp-a-stack.

It's a Real Red card with a strip of Jackpot designer series paper and 1/4" black grosgrain.

So Tweet...

Last but not least, this notebook was covered with Good Morning Sunshine paper and decorated with the little leaf and scallop dies for the Big Shot, along with So Tweet chipboard and the chubby little bird from Cheep Talk.

It was the last project from the Birdies Stamp Camp a couple of weeks ago.

Kim came up with this combo, including the three kinds of ribbon used along the spiral binding.

Yummy...

When Kim showed me this card, I loved it! I'm a sucker for the new textured, cover-weight card stock from which she punched this heart. This paper is called Parisian Breeze Specialty.

And don't you love mini library clips? Cute, cute, cute.

The heart is layered on more specialty paper and punched with the ticket corner punch. The card itself is Baja Breeze, with the flourish from the Sale-a-Bration set, Yummy, stamped in Sahara Sand.

Finally, the sentiment is from the stamp set Heard from the Heart.

Goody-Goody Gumdrops...

The Level 3 hostess set Goody-Goody Gumdrops is such a wonderful addition to any stamp collection because it has a variety of word and image stamps.

This Pixie Pink card has Gable Green card stock at the bottom with a strip of Basic Black across the middle that's been punched with the eyelet border punch (love it!). I added the white faux stitching and dots to make the card brighter.

The cherry is a separate stamp from the sundae. Everything was stamped in Basic Gray and then colored in with an aqua painter and ink pads.

Ice cream anyone?

Garden Greetings...

Garden Greetings is a great stamp set, with many potential uses (thank you cards, birthday, get well, friend).

Here, I used a Whisper White card with a 4" square piece of Delicate Dots (the free Sale-a-Bration paper you can get for free). I used the ticket corner punch on all four corners.

The flower is stamped in Ballet Blue, then stamped off for the lighter layers (the big flower and the small one. I punched a hole through all the flowers, which were stuck to each other with dimensionals, then added a small filigree flower and silver brad and adhered it to the card front with more dimensionals.

The ribbon is the new white organza - it's soft and gorgeous.

Have a wonderful day!

Brayered Cheep Talk...

This is one of our club cards this month. It uses a Versamark pad and brayer to create a technique called Versamark Resist.

The top piece is glossy card stock. First, we stamped it with the flower from Cheep Talk in Versamark ink, then brayered over it with Pacific Point ink.

The bottom piece is Whisper White cardstock. We stamped a phrase from On Your Birthday in Pacific Point ink, then added a strip of ribbon across the middle.

We used the Pacific Point ink pad with Chocolate Chip and Only Orange markers for the little bird, then punched it out with the 1 1/4" circle punch, layered in on the 1 3/8" circle and then the scallop circle. The medallion is stuck on with dimensionals.

Polka Dot Punches...

We're just about midway into Stampin' Up!'s Sale-a-Bration (SAB) Event, where you can earn free stuff with every $50 you order! I love it.

This card uses a free SAB stamp set called Polka Dot Punches, as well as free SAB ribbon, and free designer paper called Delicate Dots.

I added a sentiment from God's Blessings in Basic Gray ink, and also used the 5-petal flower and scallop circle punches (which coordinate perfectly with the stamp set) on the So Saffron card.

Hoppy for You...

Boys (and men) love things that move. That's why this was card 4 of my Man Card Class this week.

The frog is stamped in Kiwi Kiss, sponged, and punched out with the oval punch. I added an oval behind it to strengthen it. I attached one dimensional in the middle, then a penny, then another dimensional and a second penny to make this a Penny Spinner card.

The track for the pennies is made using the Word Window punch. You can make it as long as you'd like.

The card body is Taken With Teal. The Hoppy for You images are stamped Kiwi Kiss (lily pad with cattails) and Basic Gray (sentiment and flies). I used a Uni-bal white gel pen to color in the flies' wings, and a Chocolate Chip watercolor crayon with an aqua painter for the tops of the cattails.

Inspired by Nature...

This Creamy Caramel man card is warm and serene.

I used the Itty Bitty splatter stamp to add texture in the same color ink at the bottom of the card. Then there's a strip of Good Morning Sunshine designer paper, with a birthday sentiment from On Your Birthday punched out with the Key Tag punch.

The grass is from Inspired by Nature stamp set, with Chocolate Chip pieces punched using the horizontal slot punch and adhered with 2-way glue. It's layered on Chocolate Chip and then Mellow Moss card stocks.

I CASEd this card, though it's changed up a bit.

Wonderful Favorites...

If you want a great stamp set like Wonderful Favorites for FREE (a $40.95 value), just purchase the Stampin' Up! starter kit ($169 thru March 31 for $355 in product) at my website here and use Terry Blais for the recruiter password.

You'll get to select a variety of stamp sets, ink pads and card stock family colors. You'll also save at least 20% on all of your future orders!

Wonderful Favorites has words like mother, father, sister, brother, in-law, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. This one word set is all you'll need when you make cards for your friends and family members!

The other stamp set used for this 3" x 6" card is called Nature Silhouettes. After stamping the buck and foliage in Basic Black ink on Whisper White card stock, I temporarily stuck a 1" punched circle over the buck's head and sponged around it with Baja Breeze ink. When you peel away the circle, it looks like the picture above.

The card itself is textured Baja Breeze with a torn piece of Not Quite Navy in front of it. The idea for this card came directly from the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog 2009, an invaluable source for stamping ideas that you'll receive free in your starter kit or free with an online order of any size!

Thoughts & Prayers...

This tree stamp matches the decor element I put on my studio wall! It's from the stamp set Thoughts & Prayers, and this card is one of four we made at my Man Card Class.

The card is Kiwi Kiss with a 2" strip of Taste of Textiles paper stamped with "happy birthday" from the All Holidays set.

The tree is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink on Kraft card stock, which is sponged on the edges in the same color.

I love Stampin' Up!'s jumbo eyelets! I think they add a manly touch.

Birdies Stamp Camp...

Kim and I have held a couple of stamp camps featuring the Good Friend stamp set and several of the projects we made when we went to the Stampin' Up! Leadership Conference in Orlando last month.

This first item is actually a card tote. It's laying flat so you can see the strips of Good Morning Sunshine designer paper on the sides. When it's put together, you punch 3/16" holes in the sides using a Crop-a-dile and add a length of Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain.

The birds, flowers and leafy branch are all from the On Board So Tweet pack. We covered all of the parts either with designer paper, card stock or ink (the flowers). It's so stinkin' cute in person!

We also decorated a jumbo paper clip (pictured), an RSVP pen, and a notepad.

Good Friend square cards...

This first card is one I came up with so everyone would have four cards to put in their card totes. It's quick and easy - just adhere the Good Morning Sunshine designer paper and a knot of ribbon, and stamp the greeting.

The owl card uses So Tweet chipboard, which is so much fun to play with. We simply traced and cut out the owl shape, used a Chocolate Chip marker for the heart-shaped eyes, and a Rose Red Craft pad to color the heart.

The white of the owl's eyes are 3/4" circles punched out of Whisper White card stock. And the beak is covered with some Tangerine Tango card stock.

In each So Tweet package, you get 8 pieces of the owl, hearts, small and large birds with parts (eyes, legs, wings, tailfeathers), pears/gourds, branches, etc.

Good Friend stamp camp, part 2...

Here are two Whisper White square cards that we made at Leadership Conference in Orlando last month, and at the stamp camp Wednesday.

Each uses a strip of Good Morning Sunshine designer paper and Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain.

All of the stamps are from the Good Friend stamp set.

Thoughts & Prayers decor element...

When I first saw this tree, I had to have it! It's gorgeous.

I bought the largest decor element for my studio wall, shown here. My tip: Refrigerate any decor element first. It helps a lot. This tree came on a couple of sheets with branches labeled 1 thru 6. I recommend having a friend help with the actual application. I was able to get the branches and leaves onto the sticky side of the paper, but when it came to lining the image up with another part, another set of hands came in handy!

If you haven't seriously looked at what Stampin' Up! offers in its decor element line, look at the online catalog. There are great looks for any home, kid's room, laundry room or for a gift! Stick the decor element to a tile, tray, mirror, or plaque for a homemade piece of art.

A Happy Heart twist favor...

Take a 6" square of your favorite designer paper, stamp it (here with the Happy Heart stamp set) and put some sticky strip on one end to make a toilet paper-looking roll.

Add a little adhesive at the bottom and pinch the roll together there, then roll it about 5 clicks through a paper crimper.

The stamp set has a perfect tag for the occasion, which we stamped in Basic Brown and colored a bit with a Regal Rose marker.

We put a bit of candy inside and pinched together the top the opposite way we did the bottom, crimping it (this time without adhesive so the recipient can enjoy the treat inside without ripping the container apart!), and punching a hole through the tag and top of the container to add a square rhinestone brad.

As a final touch, we added a knot of 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain around the middle.

Trivia: St. Valentine is not only the patron saint of love. He has many other duties. He is also the patron saint of bee keepers, and greeting card manufacturers. He also wards off fainting and epilepsy, and protects travelers and happy marriages. (Source: http://triviapark.com/quizzes/valentine/quick.html)

Hugs & Kisses...

The Sizzix Box #2 die is awesome for making quick and easy, cute little boxes like this one. This is one of the favors we made at my Moms and Me Kid's Valentine Workshop last weekend.

The box is Regal Rose with matching grosgrain ribbon. We used a retired wheel in a Regal Rose ink pad to cover the box with the Hugs & Kisses pattern.

The front medallion comes from the Love You Much stamp set. We punched it out with the scallop circle punch and layered it on another Regal Rose scallop, then stuck it on with dimensionals.

Inside is some white, pink and red confetti with some treats.

Hand Drawn Bundle...

I needed swaps for a demonstrator meeting, so I grabbed my Level 3 hostess Hand Drawn Bundle and got to work.

I love the designer paper! Look how cute this stuff is. And the rub-ons? Get outta here. They're adorable. I was happy to see so many words included.

These cards have a Certainly Celery body with Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain as the only embellishment. No stamping.

I used the scallop circle punch on some of the swaps, as well as the Uni-bal white gel pen, and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Comfort Food...

Puns always remind me of being a kid. This 3" x 3" love note is for my Mom & Me Kids' Valentine Workshop this afternoon. It uses the Level 1 hostess set Comfort Food, which you can get for free with any $150 order (plus right now you'll get 3 free gifts from the Sale-a-Bration Mini Catalog too).

This So Saffron card uses a strip of Not Quite Navy dsp, red gingham and two circle punches - the 1 3/8" and the 1 3/4". I used markers to color in the image.

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday!

Can you feel I Love You Much?

There are many versatile ways to use the Love You Much stamp set and show your love, as Kim shows with these cards.

They all use punches - tag corner, slit, 3-heart. They all use ribbon - black gingham, red taffeta, and 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain. They also all use Riding Hood Red card stock and ink pad (with a blender pen).

Hopefully these will inspire you to sit down and make your own cards so you can share the love with others in your life!

The Free & The Brave...

My son is a patriotic kid. He loves his soldiers and he loves his camo. For his birthday this month, he asked that The Free & The Brave stamp set be used with camo colors for his birthday invites. The party? Nerf guns, of course.

The card is fairly simple. It uses Creamy Caramel card stock for the card base, which was sponged with Always Artichoke and Close to Cocoa. The stars are stamped in Always Artichoke. I punched one star out of More Mustard, sponged it and added one gold brad with a mini glue dot.

The soldier/flag is stamped in Basic Brown. There's More Mustard and Close to Cocoa around the image, with some Always Artichoke sponged on the soldier. The edges of that layer, and the AA layer behind it are both distressed with the cutter kit.

Always...

The colors on this card are striking. They are Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel.

Louise (aka Kim) stamped this card, adding sparkles (2-way glue with Dazzling Diamonds glitter) on the berries to the right, a knot of 1/4" Chocolate Chip ribbon, and layered ticket corner punched corners.

Trendy Trees...

When I saw the stamp set Trendy Trees in the new catalog, I had to have it!

The trunk was stamped in Close to Cocoa and the top of the tree is Kiwi Kiss, which coordinates with the Good Morning Sunshine designer paper here, the striped Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain, and the textured Kiwi Kiss card stock.

The Very Vanilla layer under the tree is punched with the Curly Label punch. If you don't own that yet you should!

Sweet Slumber & Darling Dots...

Here's a great example of a card using FREE stamps! The cupcake is from the Level 1 hostess set Darling Dots, and the words come from another Level 1 hostess set called Sweet Little Sentiments.

You can get one of these stamp sets when you order $150, and you'll also receive 3 items from the Sale-a-Bration Mini Catalog absolutely FREE.

The card is So Saffron. I really like it with this Sweet Slumber speciality dsp, which is cover-weight card stock - very nice! I pulled the other colors for the card out of the stripes - Baja Breeze and Riding Hood Red.

I used a marker for the bottom of the cupcake and the cherry and stem and stamped it on Whisper White, then cleaned the stamp and inked it with Baja Breeze on a scrap piece of card stock. I cut the Baja Breeze frosting and attached it with a dimensional after punching out the marker-inked image with a 1 1/4" circle punch.

This was a stamp-a-stack card Sunday.

Corduroy buttons & a little Petal Pizzazz...

If you want to brighten your day, play with corduroy buttons and Tangerine Tango!

I stamped the largest flower from the Petal Pizzazz stamp set on the back of some polka-dotted Tangerine Tango designer paper,cut it out and adhered a Chocolate Chip corduroy button to the middle with mini glue dots.

The flower and some striped Tangerine Tango grosgrain ribbon were added to a layer of Chocolate Chip card stock, which was then adhered to a So Saffron card, with a little paper piercing below.

The sentiment is from the All Holidays stamp set. This was one of my stamp-a-stack cards.

Trendy Trees & Love You Much swaps...

Here are a couple of swaps from our last group meeting. I believe the Love You Much card was stamped by Frankie White, while Becky Elfert made the Trendy Trees card.

Trendy Trees is one of my new, favorite sets in the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog 2009.

Our group - American Ink - meets on a monthly basis to share business and stamping ideas, stamp make & takes that volunteers bring, and enjoy some refreshments. It's always fun!