Purse Card Tote and cards...

This was the make & take I brought to our demo meeting last weekend. It uses the Big Shot, Flower, Daisy #2 die, Thank You Kindly stamp set and Eyelet Border Punch.

Kim and I are offering a similar class at the Heirloom Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival May 16 in Puyallup. You can sign up for it at http://www.heirloompro.com/.

The purse base is a 4" x 8" piece of Chocolate Chip card stock, scored at 1" all the way around. Then two pieces of 6" x 10" Sweet Always dsp was adhered to the base with sticky strip. A couple Chocolate Chip strips, measuring 11" x 1 3/4" were punched with the Eyelet Border Punch and wrapped over the top of the Sweet Always paper. The strips overlap so you can line up the eyelets nicely.

I used Whisper White, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie card stock for the daisies. The purse got a Pumpkin Pie corduroy brad in the center while the 5 cards each had a jumbo brad. All of the flowers were adhered with dimensionals.

For the purse straps, I punched one Horizontal Slot punch through one side only of a Round Tab Punch. I adhered the 5/8" Regal Rose grosgrain (about 11-12" for each side) inside the round tab before adhering the entire tab to the side of the purse. Then I added brads for a decorator look.

The cards all use Sweet Always designer paper and the Thank You Kindly stamp set.

The inspiration for this project came from something I saw in Hawaii during the demo share, only her purse was smaller and used notecards. I wanted full-size cards with envelopes because I think it makes a great gift!

Sweet smelling Daisies die...

Kim made this pretty Kiwi Kiss flower card for her swap.

It uses the Big Shot Daisies die, Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons (see how the smaller button's legs go through the 2-hole button?), and striped Kiwi Kiss ribbon.

Don't forget to round some corners if you're in a straight-edge rut! It adds a little touch of elegance to projects.

Manhattan Flower template...

Angie brought this swap to our downline get-together. It uses the Manhattan Flower embossing template and the All Holidays stamp set.

Vellum was used in the template, then run through the Big Shot. Then Angie added water and color on the back before adhering this layer to the card stock.

The sentiment was stamped on Whisper White, and then the corners were rounded.

Friends 24-7 reverse sponging...

Heather came up with this swap. She sponged around the hearts, utilizing the negative space, and stamped the "Here for You" from the Friends 24-7 stamp set in Rose Red in the bottom corner.

When I saw this with the Kraft frame and all, it struck me that adding a photo of a loved one would look great.

Curvy Verses with star punches...

Frankie brought this card as a make & take to our downline meeting last weekend.

This 3" x 6" white card was put through the Big Shot with a Texturz plate before anything else was added.
The bottom piece was put through the little dots Texturz plate, then sanded so the dots stand out (a cool technique).

The sentiment comes from Curvy Verses. Both sizes of star punches were used for these stars, which were adhered with dimensionals.

Box #2 tote...

Isn't this little tote cute?

Michelle, one of my downline, provided this as a make & take project at our meeting Saturday. We ran through one piece of designer paper two times (each half). We cut off the top flaps where the lid would normally close.

Put each box together, keeping the lid open. Adhere the back of the boxes to each other and punch the handle with the Word Window punch.

There are so many possibilities with this little tote for upcoming holidays - seeds and bulbs maybe for Mother's Day, fishing lures for Father's Day, a gift card and much more.

Have fun with it. Please share your ideas in photos with me and I'll post them here.

Scallop circle dress card...

This Big Shot card was a make & take at our group's downline meeting today - and it was a hit!

The dress is actually the largest scallop circle die with the sides cut out. One of the cut-outs is then used as a petticoat at the bottom of the dress. The waistband is a square fire rhinestone brad on a few inches of pink taffeta ribbon. I saw a similar card on Patty Bennett's blog.

This Pink Pirouette card was run through a Texturz background. Then we applied some Riding Hood Red ink (to go with the Bella Rose dress) to highlight some of the raised areas.

Golden Oldies...

The Occasions Mini has a wonderful stamp set called Golden Oldies in it. There are three stamps with really fun sayings like, "I still have a full deck. I just shuffle slower."

This Whisper White card uses a strip of patterned paper from the Level 3 hostess bundle Hand Drawn. There's a strip of Baja Breeze that's been punched using the Eyelet Border Punch, and some fabulous designer ribbon.

The woman and sentiment were stamped in Basic Gray and colored in using ink pads and an aqua painter. The sentiment is layered on a Riding Hood Red oval scallop punched out with that punch (also in the mini).

Great Friend...

Who wouldn't like to receive a card with the sentiment, "You're a friend who makes the good times great?"

This Great Friends stamp set is from the Occasions Mini Catalog. The Basic Gray outline was stamped on Whisper White first, then I used a stamp-a-ma-jig to get the words lined up just so in Baja Breeze ink.

The card is Baja Breeze card stock with striped Baja Breeze grosgrain knotted at the top. And the strip of designer paper is from the Urban Garden pack. This was a stamp-a-stack card.

Garden Greetings crayon resist technique...

Here is Kim's take on the crayon resist technique using the stamp set Garden Greetings.

The card is Cameo Coral card stock with Chocolate Chip as the layer. The patterned paper is from the Pink Flamingo designer series paper (watch May 1 for a terrific special on specialty paper like this!).

Scene in a Garden...

I love how simple this Bashful Blue card is with the Close to Cocoa Top Note and Scallop Square Punch.

This was one of my stamp-a-stack cards. We stamped the bird and bird house from Scene in a Garden in Basic Brown and used markers to color them in on Very Vanilla card stock. They were punched out with the 1 1/4" square punch and layered on a Bashful Blue scalloped square.

That's blue taffeta ribbon, and the sentiment is from Really Retro.

Wagon Full of Fun glittery flower...

Here's another card from a recent stamp-a-stack event I had. It uses the flower from Wagon Full of Fun stamped in Basic Brown, colored with watercolor crayons and an aqua painter and some fabulous purple glitter in the middle.

This Close to Cocoa card has an Almost Amethyst layer on top. I used the scallop edge punch on the bottom and knotted some striped Pumpkin Pie grosgrain (look at the Color Coach!) under the top two layers.

The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations, which is a great all-around greeting set. It's been punched using the Wide Oval Punch.

Forest Friends...

This card is one we're making today at my stamp-a-stack. It uses the Forest Friends stamp set, as well as Curvy Verses.

It's a Whisper White card with a 3" x 4" piece of Good Morning Sunshine designer paper (same as below). I knotted 1/4" Old Olive grosgrain around the front, then made the bunny medallion with Close to Cocoa ink and the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, layered on a scallop circle.

Wagon Full of Fun...

This Old Olive card features some Good Morning Sunshine designer paper matted on Brilliant Blue card stock, as well as the cupcake from Wagon Full of Fun, featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog.

I used watercolor crayons and an aqua painter to color in the cupcake, then added 2-way glue to the frosting, along with Dazzling Diamonds glitter for that little birthday sparkle.

A mini silver library clip with a knot of 1/4" Old Olive grosgrain completes the card.

God's Beauty crayon resist technique...

Crayon resist is one of those techniques that is so easy and can be so striking, as I feel it is on this Tempting Turquoise card, made using the Level 1 hostess set God's Beauty, along with Oval All from the Occasions Mini.

Using glossy white card stock, I stamped the butterflies in Basic Black ink. You need to let it dry a bit (or I flip over the card stock on my grid paper and blot any excess ink).

I used a white crayon to highlight areas I wanted to keep white, then used sponge daubers to swirl on Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal and Certainly Celery - colors straight off the Color Coach.

After you cover the entire piece of glossy card stock, you take a tissue or paper towel and wipe off the crayon.

Under the Stars Big Buckle card...

This Under the Stars card was a lot of fun to make. I would imagine any kid (big or little) would love to get this gruff-looking bear in the mail.

This is a Big Buckle card, called that for the way the Real Red card stock is inserted through the Word Window punch hole in the front.

The Kraft card is 5 1/2" x 7" and scored at 4 1/4". I stamped the front and back ('cause it was fun!) with Chocolate Chip ink. I stamped the bear in Chocolate Chip and burnished him with Creamy Caramel. Burnishing is basically using a sponge/sponge dauber you've inked using a pad and rubbing it around on an image.

I used Kiwi Kiss card stock inside (4" x 5 1/4"). I only stamped images on the right side that shows when the front flap is closed, though there is a greeting under the flap.

The Real Red belt is adhered under the Kiwi Kiss card stock. It simply slides into the hole. The left corners are rounded on the red layer, as well as the Very Vanilla layer.

I hope you'll try making this type of card!

Just Beachy baby wipe technique...

This fun card uses the Baby Wipe Technique. You simply select 2-3 re-inkers (here I chose Pacific Point, Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie) and squirt some ink on a folded up wipe.

Using glossy white card stock, you drag the baby wipe repeatedly across to get the desired effect. Let it dry and stamp your images on top in Basic Gray ink.

Then finish your card! The "sun fun" comes from Life's a Breeze.

Oh, and there's another way to use this Baby Wipe Technique: Drop the colors of re-inkers next to each other on the baby wipe "pad" and, using a bold stamp, use the wipe as an ink pad, inking the stamp and then stamping it on your card stock.

Back to work with Big Shot Daisies card...

This adorable Whisper White card uses some of that lovely white organza ribbon I love so much, along with my new Flower, Daisies #2 die for the Big Shot.

The Big Shot is so easy to use, my kids (ages 8 and 10) ran through pieces of white card stock and diecut all three layers of this flower at one time for me.

A corduroy Pumpkin Pie brad holds the flowers together, and they're adhered to the Tangerine Tango layer with dimensionals.

The print at the bottom is from the Walk in the Park dsp in the Occasions Mini, as well as the sentiment.

Spectacular card contest entries...

Here are the entries for the Spring Spectacular card contest. If you were a participant, please email me (ericandterry@comcast.net) with your top 3 choices. They will receive Stampin' Up! product as prizes.

A special note: The owl card consists of three different photos to understand what kind of card it is.