April Club Cards

I haven't had time to share my Stamp Club cards for this month.  We met last week and made these cards.  I had designed the cards before the Retiring List came out and I was trying to predict which stamps were retiring.  I guessed correctly on some of them.

This first one uses Blooms for You which is retiring.  It is a single stamp.  Other stamp sets used were:  Hardwood Background Stamp; Tin of Cards; Papillion Potpourri; and Something to Say (retiring).  I used Early Espresso on everything except the middle of the flower which is Soft Sky.

The only things retiring on this card is the DSP - both the Botanical and the Color Me Irresistible which is a resist paper that I sponged with Mint Macaron.  Thank goodness this stamp and die set will carry over.

I will be sad to see The Open Sea leave.  It was such a great set for masculine cards.  I did my first - successful - Reflection Technique on this card.  I stamped the water on the bottom with Pool Party using one of the stamps from Timeless Textures.  Don't overlook this stamp set - it is a good one for lots of different backgrounds.  Next I stamped the ship in Early Espresso on the card AND on a piece of acrylic transparency.  I turned the transparency over, line it up with the ship and rubbed the ink onto the card.  Easy, peasy!!  The sun is from Kinda Eclectic stamped and embossed in white.  I sponged Soft Sky on the top.

This card was a fun one to make.  I stamped the flower from Watercolor Words with Versamark and used Clear powder to heat emboss them.  Next I spritzed the card with water or you can just use your Aqua Brush to brush on clear water.  Make sure you are using either Watercolor Paper OR Shimmery White Paper.  I used the Shimmery White.  After the paper is damp, brush on three different colors from top to bottom letting each one blend into the next.  I used:  Calypso Coral, Pink Pirouette and Rich Razzleberry on the pink one and Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky and Tempting Turquoise for the blue one.  I am sad to see the Corner Punch leaving us but that is the only retiring item on these cards (oh - also the thick twine.)

My postings may be a little sporadic for the next week (aren't they always???)  I am "leaving on a jet plane" tomorrow for Texas - my final trip for a few years.  I am taking my Mom to spend a little time with Ashley before she moves to Hawaii.  I have been doing really good on Weight Watchers but don't think I will be counting points next week as I enjoy Mexican, BBQ, and steaks at Josephines!!

Bags for the Beach and for Baby

I had a very productive weekend in my stamp room.  I am trying to figure out what to do in Stamp Club this week but I have too many choices!  So, I keep playing around with different sets and techniques.  I need to make a decision!!

We got some good news this weekend that our family will be growing next year.  My nephew and his wife, Katrina, are expecting their second child in February.  They already have a precious little boy.  I'm hoping for a little girl but we'll have to wait a few weeks before they know the sex.  I made this little baby bag card to send to them to congratulate them.  I found the pattern on-line (Pinterest probably).  I think we will be making a similar bag in club this week too!

I also think I was in a pastel mood this weekend.  Seems most of the cards I made were with pastel colors which is unusual for me.  I usually go for the Brights and Regals.  But I love the new in colors and the way they seem to go together. 

This little bag opens on the side.  The little closure is punched with the Ticket Punch and has a bit of Velcro to keep it closed.  The mosaic background piece is from the DSP packet, Quadrefancy Specialty.  It is a clear window sheet with the quadrefoil design in white.  The sentiment is from That's the Ticket.  I used a few pearls and my white gel pen to dress it up.

On the inside, I punched 4 little hearts to cover up where the straps were glued down.








Here is another bag I made.  This time I used the DSP from a Christmas pack!  This DSP is in the Holiday catalog - Winter Frost (pg 29).  So, you can use winter DSP for a summer bag, can't you!?!  I really like this paper.  This time for the bag closure I used the Oval Punch.  The sentiment is from Oval All that I just realized is retired!  Oops - I had it on the wrong shelf.  The little flower is from Secret Garden - hard to tell but it is stamped in Pool Party and I used the dauber and Island Indigo for the edges.  Instead of a pearl on the closure, I used one of the Candy Dots (I love these things!)

 And how about a beach bag tote?  Again, this DSP is from a Christmas stack.  This time the DSP is Season of Style (pg 22 of Holiday mini).  I am a polka dot gal and love this Soft Suede polka dot bag with the pretty Blushing Bride card stock.  I stamped and heat embossed the anchor from Open Sea and added a little bit of twine to it.  The flowers are punched using the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (but you could also use the Boho Blossom flower.)  Again I used the Candy Dots for the closure and for the center of the flowers. 

So what did you do this weekend?  Productive or just lazing around?  Both are fine with me!!  Oops gotta run - Sammie wants to play straws.  (I throw her straw down the stairs and she runs down and fetches it just like a dog!)

Cork Stamping

Hope you had a good weekend.  I did.  We had friends spend the night with us on Friday night from Texas.  Margaret and Graham were in town returning their grandson to his parents.  They've been babysitting him for over a month!  Unfortunately, they did not get to stay very long.  They got to our house after 4 pm Friday and left around 9 am Saturday.  But we had a nice short visit.  We were going to go out on the boat and have dinner at a lake restaurant but the weather was kind of "iffy" and we were afraid to take the chance.  Turns out, we could have though.  Anyway, we went to Horsefeathers Restaurant instead - Sherrills Ford local little honkey tonk.  The food was good and the beer was cold.
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Saturday morning Sonny and I went out on the boat and had breakfast at The Grill Cafe on the lake.  After that, we found a quiet cove and chilled.  It was pretty hot though.  I stayed in the water most of the time. 
When we came home, I got to play with my new goodies that had arrived on Friday!! 

Sunday we went out on the lake again but this time, we waited until aboout 4 pm to avoid the hottest part of the day.  It wasn't quite so hot and the humidity was not as bad as yesterday.  The past few times we have been out on the lake, we have seen the coolest boat.  It's bright yellow or gold and has black detailing and a black canopy.  We've got to believe the people who own it are big Steeler fans! 

Here is a card I made last week.  I stamped the nautical image on a piece of cork in Night of Navy.  The stamp set is from The Open Sea.  I cut the anchor out and adhered it to the cork with glue.  I cut the cork and the Newsprint DSP with a nestability.  The Night of Navy cardstock is alson embossed with the new Fan embossing folder.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all those great fathers out there!  I am lucky to have a great father living in my house.  He has been a great father to both of our children - daughter, Ashley and son, Jeffrey.  I was blessed to have two fathers in my life.  I grew up with my step-father, Lee Burke, who was a great father to all us kids.  I later got to know my birth father, Bill Edwards.  Unfortunately, neither of them are alive today.  But I know they still look down on me and watch over me and my kids.

Here are the two Father's Day cards I made this week.  The first one I made for my son who has 4 children that keep him busy.  I am sure he is a great father to all of them. I used The Open Sea for the card and the retired Nautical DSP.

 This is the card I made for Sonny.  I got up this morning and fixed him a good breakfast and had the card ready at his seat at the table.  I think we will be going out later on the boat now that I feel better.  Yesterday I had a bit of Vertigo.  I get that every so often but don't think I have been bothered by it in several years.  I took a pill which made me sleepy all day so I didn't get a lot accomplished yesterday!  Luckily, I remembered I had this "Old Guys Rule" DSP stashed away in time to use it for this card!  He has a tee like this that Ashley gave him so the card is only fitting!

Here's a sweet poem I saw on the internet and thought it was so appropriate for today.

THE LITTLE CHAP WHO FOLLOWS ME

 A careful man I ought to be,
A little fellow follows me,
I do not dare to go astray
For fear he'll go the self same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,
Whate'er he sees me do, he tries;
Like me, he says, he's going to be,
The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,
Believes in every word of mine
The base in me he must not see,
The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go,
Through summer's fun and winter's snow,
In building for the years to be
The little chap who follows me!

Telescoping Open Sea

I'm a little late with this card technique.  I think this was a featured technique on Splitcoast Stampers about six months ago.  I never made one of them but decided it was a good technique for this nautical card. It was a lot easier than I thought.   I made this card for my nephew for his birthday .... a little bit late, but hey, better late than never!

The colors I used are Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White along with a retired Nautical DSP.  I'm so glad this stamp set was included in the new SU catalog.  It is so great for male cards.  Here are the directions to make a telescoping card if you are so inclined.

We had a busy weekend.  Friday night we enjoyed dinner at Prickley Pear in Mooresville to celebrate our friend, Bob's birthday.  He and Sharon were visiting Marianne for the weekend for graduation.  Saturday we attended the Mooresville High School graduation ceremonies and watched my nephew, Harrison graduate.  Where have the years gone?  He will be going to Central Piedmont in the fall.  After the ceremony, Marianne had a party for him at mom's club house.  It was fun.  Today, Sonny and I went out on the boat.  It was my first time on the boat all season!

Derek, Harrison, me & Sonny

Catching up with July Monday Mailers

I made two Monday Mailer cards for Laurie before I left for convention.  One I mailed when I left and the other one I left instructions for Sonny to mail (and he did!).  I didn't want to post them and spoil her surprise before I left.  I've finally have a few minutes and can post them now.  I've been trying to get my desk cleaned up this morning from the mess that I left it in when I went to Salt Lake City!  Think I can see the top now.

Remember our theme this month is to use colors that you don't usually use.  For some reason, one of those colors for me is River Rock.  I like the color and used it all the time back when it was an In Color.  But for some reason, I tend to grab the Crumb Cake instead of River Rock.  For this card, I used the new Postage Punch to punch out squares of the nautical DSP in the summer catalog and arranged them on the background of the River Rock cardstock. Then I ran the whole thing through the Big Shot and embossed it. (what would I do without this machine?)  I wrapped the Bakers Twine around it - tying it in a Sailor's Knot.  (I just googled Sailers Knot and found a tutorial for it.)  Then I adhered the whole thing to the Early Espresso card.  I used different circle punches to punch out the stamped world image and the compass image from the Open Sea set.  I also punched out circles in Cherry Cobbler and Marina Mist.

I'm really going to miss this stamp set!

Here are a few other colors I don't use much - More Mustard, Tangerine Tango and Cajun Craze.  The card base is Tangerine Tango; the next layer is Basic Gray that I distressed the edges; the next layer is More Mustard and I sponged it with Tangerine and Mustard.  The ribbon is SU's Vanilla ribbon that I dyed using a dauber and an ink pad.  I used the Fun Flowers Bigz Die to make a flower out of Cajun Craze and Newsprint DSP.  I used the Little Leaves die for my Basic Gray leaves and the Beautiful Butterflies Die for the More Mustard butterfly.  The sentiment is on a strip of Vanilla cardstock.  I hand cut the end BUT ...  I learned a neat trick  at convention.  Use your square punch to make this cut!

Hope you have enjoyed these cards and learned a little something today!  I aim to please!!

Monday is my Mom's 83rd birthday and since my sister is going to the beach again next week and it is Restaurant Week this week, we took her out to dinner last night.  We went to the Epic Chophouse.  It was very good.  I can't remember being that stuffed when I left a restaurant and I even brought half my steak home!  My only complaint about the restaurant is that it is a little loud.  But maybe during the week it wouldn't be so bad.  It is the type of restaurant that you would go to for a special occasion as it is a little pricey.  Sonny doesn't like to share meals but that is what I would suggest next time!

Let's Get Nautical!

I've been having fun today making cards with my new stuff!!  It arrived on Friday and it just seems one thing or the other kept getting in my way to create.  This morning I drove to town and got my hair cut and when I returned, I was ready!!

I'm loving the Nautical Expedition paper and had a hard time cutting into it!!  But as a friend told me today, I can always buy another pack!!  I need to keep that in mind.  I also received the Beyond the Garden DSP yesterday and ooh, la, la!!  It is gorgeous.

 This card uses The Open Sea stamp set and a small piece of the Nautical Expedition DSP!!

Supplies:

• Paper:   Naturals White, Night Of Navy, Nautical Exp. DSP
• Ink:   Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler
• Stamps:  Word Play, The Open Sea
• Punches:   Circle Punches - 1" and 1 1/4"
• Accessories:  twine, Bakers Twine, Big Shot with Two Tags Die, Blue Eyelet, Red Brads, sponge daubers

These cards are the same except for the sentiment and the button and brad at the top.I stamped the sails onto white card stock and cut them out and stamped the red boat onto a piece of Cherry Cobbler and cut it out.  I raised them up with dimensionals.

Supplies:

• Paper:   Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake
• Ink:   Espresso
• Stamps:  Sail Away; Sanded Background stamp, Teeny Tiny Wishes
• Accessories:  Button, Twine, Distressing Tool, Large Grommet; Baker's Twine

Guess you notice the strong resemblance of the Sail Away cards with my Monday Mailer from Becky????  She inspired me.  These will be offered to my stamp club gals on Thursday.