Wednesday Stamping Queens Challenge

It's time for another sketch from the Stamping Queens.  As usual, I did my card using My Digital Studio.  It's so easy to do a sketch with MDS.

Here's the sketch we were to follow:

And here is my card:

For this card, I started with a card template and just changed things up .... quite a bit!  Here is the MDS template that I used:

I divided the red paper in half and matted it in white.  I added a Designer paper to the card.  I deleted the stamp "for you" and the white grid on the orange piece.  I removed the frog and put the stamp from Apothecary Art.  I added Digital Tape with a stamp overlay.  It's easy to redo a template but sometimes it's just as easy to start from scratch!

Check out the cards from the rest of the Queens HERE.
 

Did you notice the "I've Been Published" on my side post?  Well, I was approached by Papers and Pixels  (an onlinecrafting  magazine) last August to write an article or a tutorial for them.  With us being in Texas in August and again in December, I put it off until after the first of the year to give me time to come up with something.  I decided to do a calendar tutorial using My Digital Studio.  The magazine covers a wide range of crafting projects - digital, paper crafting, scrapbooking, etc.  Subscription rates are very reasonable at $12.00 per year, or $1.50 per issue.  The back editions, September 2010 through August 2011, are available for free, and you can purchase the September 2011 through January 2012 editions individually for only $1.50 each. Here’s the link to subscribe to Papers and Pixels Online Magazine: http://www.papersandpixels.com/forum/showthread.php?t=890   My article appears on page 97 if you decide to purchase a copy. 

Here are a few of the cards we are making this month during the February Club.



This card is a Wow and so easy.  It uses Mixed Bunch and the Blossom Punch from the Occasions Mini catalog.

This is another easy one.  It uses the Twitterpated DSP along with the Stripes Embossing Folder which you can get for FREE during Saleabration.  The colors are Blush Blossom and Island Indigo.

And here's another great one.  This uses several items from the Occasions catalog -  the Apothecary stamp,the Framelits Labels Die and the Adorning Accents Edgelits Die.  (The ribbon is retired.)

Hope you have a great week!

Snow??

This has been a very mild winter .... so far!  Today it was dreary and cold all day - a good day to stay inside and be creative!  Around 5 pm there were reports from friends and family in Mooresville that it was snowing.  It's funny how excited people will get over a few flakes of white stuff!  I went outside and saw a tiny bit of snow - mostly it was sleet and rain.  But, as the South tends to get excited and nervous about snow, schools in our county have already announced a delay in the morning!!  I really can't believe it but I'm sure the school kids are excited to be able to sleep in a bit.

I spent the afternoon doing a little rearranging of my stamps.  I have always kept them in alphabetical order but I decided today to mix them up.  I arranged them on my shelves by categories.  I have my retired stamps separate from the current ones.  I sorted them into Sentiments, Floral, Holidays, Occasions, Animals, Backgrounds, Kids, Vintage, Love, Nautical and Love.  I don't have as many current stamps so their categories are:  Mini Catty, Sentiments, Nature, Floral, Elements, and Occasions.  We'll see how this works out.  Now I need to work on my stamp catalog.  I try to stamp each set when I get it and put it into a notebook.  I have been a slacker with this project for about 6 months so I need to get caught up.  Right now, my notebook is in alpha order but I think I may change it also.  I also keep a notebook of sentiments by category but it is very much out of date.  Another project for another rainy day.

Last Wednesday I went to the Reynalda House in Winston Salem (I blogged about this earlier this week).  I took a few pictures of the orchids in the greenhouse.  They were beautiful.  Enjoy!

This is a lemon plant - see the lemon hanging on it!

This is a huge Rabbits Foot Fern.  I have one of these but not nearly so big.  The roots came out of the pot and were all over the table that it is sitting on!

Some of the roots that were spreading everywhere.

Happy Birthday Debra.  Today would have been my sister, Debra's 55th birthday.  She died 5 years ago from breast cancer and I miss her every day.

Drier Sheets

I had my Stamping Club last Thursday and was busy preparing for it.  My Tuesday group meets this week.  Those dates threw me off!  My clubs meet on the 3rd Tuesday & 3rd Thursday.  Well, this month (and next), the 3rd Thursday comes before the 3rd Tuesday!  We did two cards together and then I had optional cards for them to choose from.

I taught the Drier Sheet Technique and they loved it!  Half of the group did the card using Lovely As A Tree and the other half did the card using Easy Events.

• Using White Craft Ink, stamp a small leaf background all over Night of Navy card.  Set aside to DRY!
• Using Labels Die and the Big Shot, cut out Labels in Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy and the SU Adhesive Sheets.
• Stamp birds from Easy Events onto white card stock and color with markers.
• Using Labels Die, cut out the white bird label.
• Adhere SU Adhesive Sheet  on TOP of the stamped image.
• Peel off the top protective sheet & adhere a USED drier sheet on top.  Trim the edges. 
•  Pour glitter on top of the drier sheet using your fingers to rub it in.
• Stamp sentiment on white scrap and punch out with Oval Punch.  Adhere red rhinestone.

This card uses the same technique.  The colors I used are River Rock and Night of Navy.

 I realized today that I never posted my Stamping Queens Sketch on Wednesday.  It's funny - I wrote a post with the intention of posting the card.  I was watching TV at the time and I guess I got distracted because I now see that I posted one of the cards for Stamp Club!!  See - I tell you, I'm losing it!!  


I used My Digital Studio to create this card.  But, you could make it without MDS.  It uses the DSP and one of the stamps from Saleabration, Everyday Enchantment and  Fresh Vintage.  I used Calypso Coral card stock for the base.

 Here is another card using Fresh Vintage.  This is a very simple card to make:

It is a white on white card.  I used my Corner Rounder Punch on the top layer.  The flower is stamped in Cherry Cobbler.  The trim on the bottom is stamped and embossed in Gold.  A great sympathy card or you could change the colors and ribbon and make it bright and colorful for a birthday or other occasion.

 I

Day Trip

I took a day trip today with some ladies from Newcomers to Winston Salem.  We toured the Reynolda House which was built in 1917 as the home of Katherine and R J Reynolds, the founder of R J Reynolds Tobacco Company.  The property originally consisted of over 1,000+ acres but is now a little over 100 acres having donated a large portion in the late 1940s to Wake Forest University to move from their location in eastern NC to Winston Salem.  In the late 60s, the home and outbuildings were opened to the public as an institution dedicated to arts and education.  It is renowed for its extensive American art work.  Today we heard a presentation about Audobon's work and saw several of his pieces.  We also wandered around in the Historic Village that houses very expensive shops!  I went in a couple of dress shops and everything I saw was in 3 figures!!  Too rich for my blood!

Here is one of the cards that will be an option for my stamp clubbers this month.  Simple but great!

• Cardstock is Rose Red with a white card stock layer.
• Emboss white layer across the middle with the Adorning Accents Textured Embossing Folder (mini catalog, pg 7) and the Big Shot
• Wrap Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon around white cardstock and adhere to card.
• Stamp “Remember When” from Word Play stamp set on bottom right of card.
• On a scrap of Wisteria Wonder cardstock, stamp the heart w/girl & boy on bike (Take It To Heart set) in White Craft Ink. Cover with white embossing powder and heat emboss.
• Use Hearts Framelits Die to cut out the embossed heart and adhere to card front with dimensionals.

Like a Pinata!

 The human mind is kind of like a piñata.  When it breaks open, there's a lot of surprises inside.  Once you understand that, you see that losing your mind can be a peak experience.   I fully intended to post a card on my blog last night.  But, I haven't broken open the pinata I guess and I forgot!

We went to the hockey game (Charlotte Checkers) in downtown Charlotte last night with friends.   It was fun even if they did lose.  We had dinner first at a small little NY deli bar/restaurant that Sonny had gone to about 3 years ago and has been looking for it ever since.  (He hasn't cracked open the pinata either!)  It was a neat little place right on the corner of 5th and Tryon so I don't know why we didn't see it before.  I'm sure we've walked by it plenty of times.  Oh well - we know where it is now.   

When we got back home, I watched what remained of the Grammy's.  I hate that I missed the Beach Boys come back performance.  I was a HUGE Beach Boys fan when I was in high school.  I thought L.L. Cool J did a good job of hosting the event.   The death of Whitney Houston the day before definitely put a pallor on the awards show but Jennifer Hudson's ode to her, singing "I Will Always Love You" was fantastic.  Whitney had such a gift.  It is too bad that her demons got the best of her.   I thought the performer, Nicki Minaj, was insane doing whatever it was she was doing (can't call it singing) with an exorcism performance.    What a freak!  I loved seeing Glen Campbell perform although I hardly recognized him.  He is a true legend and it is so sad that he is suffering from Alzheimers.  Campbell was another of my favorites 'back in the day."  The audience gave him a standing ovation .... EXCEPT for two gals who were caught on camera tweeting on their phones.  It's sad that you can't put your phone down for 5 minutes.  So rude!  And then there was Sir Paul!  Love him!  Sorry I missed his earlier performance but was glad that he performed a medley at the closing of the show.  He did a few songs on the piano which I loved and then took up the guitar and and was joined by Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen and a member of the Foo Fighters (not sure his name).  He may be 69 years old but he still has IT!  I guess the real star of the night was Adele who walked away with it all practically.  Her speech at the end for Album of the Year was so funny!  I didn't realize she had such a Cockney accent - she acknowledged her mom by saying "Mom, the girl did good" and spoke of a "rubbish relationship" that was her inspiration for the album.  And then amidst the tears, she acknowledged that her nose was running and said "I've got a bit of snot" in that marvelous accent!  That was priceless.  It reminded me of the English waitress who told me something was a "bit of a shit" last year when we were in Nottingham.


OK - I do have a card to share after all that!  It is a vintage-y card using a great DSP - Well Worn and no stamping!

The supplies I used are all SU - no stamps but a lot of accessories!


Cardstock:  Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Well Worn DSP
Accessories:  lace ribbon, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Blossom Petals Builder (for leaves), Heart to Heart Punch, Color Spritzer Tool, Soft Suede & Cajun Craze marker, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Big Shot


I pleated the Well Worn DSP by scoring a strip every 1/2" and folding it.  I ran tape all along the back of it to adhere it to the card.  

Here is a close of the flower.

I punched out a Scallop Circle (Cajun Craze) for the bottom layer; the next 3 layers are punched with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.  The top layer (from Well Worn DSP is punched with the Heart to Heart punch (4 hearts) with a pearl on top.  They are all layered with dimensionals.  The leaves are punched out with the Blossom Petals Builder punch.    I used the Color Spritzer on the Vanilla rectangle with the Cajun marker to splatter.


Hope you have a great Tuesday and a wonderful Valentines!

You're Just My Type

 It's been a while since I did any card challenges (other than the weekly Queen's sketches that I do).  So, I decided today to do one of my old stand-by challenges, Mojo Monday Challenge.  I know, I know .... it's not Monday!!  But I had until today (Sunday) to submit my card for their challenge.   I used a stamp set that at first did not appeal to me from the Occasions Mini.  I looked at it and said "nah - don't like it."  But, I have seen so many cute cards using this set and the more I looked at it, the better I like it.  Plus, typing is my "thing" - one thing I always knew I was good at.  I got good grades in typing in school (unlike Biology!!) and I've always been pretty fast with my typing.  My first real job after college was as a typist for Western Electric Corporation in Greensboro using (I think) an electric typewriter!  A big jump from the manual typewriters we used in school.  I quickly worked my way up (in about 3 months) to secretary for the department head and on up from there where I supervised and proof-read the work of the typists in my department.  When I worked for the school system in Texas, my job was Data Entry Secretary - this time on a computer instead of the IBM Selectric Typewriter that I had used at Western Electric.  We've come a long way, baby!!

I used a mixture of supplies for this card.

• Cardstock:  SU Vanilla, Bashful Blue, Soft Suede, Basic Black and First Edition DSP; Lasting Impressions Swim Dock and Elementary Notebook
• Accessories:  Brown Pearls (unknown source); SU Scalloped Envelope Die, Soft Suede Dotted Grosgrain Ribbon
• Stamp:  SU You're My Type

Stampin' Up News:

Stampin' Up! announced last month that starting this year, they have eliminated the Summer Mini Catalog.  The future Holiday and Spring Minis will be bigger and last longer (5 months vs. 4).  The annual catalo with new In Colors, stamps, designer series paper will starta month earlier (June 1, 2012) and the Holiday Mini will start a month earlier as well (August 1, 2012  - better timing for Halloween and fall projects).  The simplified schedule should be easier for everyone.

In addition, the Simply Adorned and Décor Elements lines will be discontinued when the 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalog retires.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  THE CURRENT IDEA BOOK AND CATALOG WILL EXPIRE ON MAY 31, 2012 NOT JUNE 30, 2012.  Details regarding the retiring stamp and accessories timing will be released at a future date.

Spice Cake Flower from Sale-a-Bration

How do you like my blog background and banner?  Just proves how much I love the DSP from the Sale-a-Bration catalog, Everyday Enchantment.   I used My Digital Studio to make both of them.

There are so many creative ways to make flowers.  For this card, I made the flower like the one that is in the Sale-a-Bration catalog on page 11.  I found a tutorial for the flower on Jackie Topia's blog.  You have to do a little sewing, but it is worth it for this great flower! 



I used fabric from Spice Cake.  It coordinates with the More Mustard, Pool Party and Soft Suede cardstock. 

Now I want to get the Flirtatious fabric from the Sale-a-Bration catalog - FREE - and make a Melon Mambo flower!! 

Hope you are having a good weekend. It was really cold here today.  I don't think it got out of the 30s and the wind went right through you.  I don't think tomorrow is going to be much warmer either.  But afterall, it is February!  Sonny and I went to the movies today to see Man On A Ledge.  It was pretty good - very suspenseful.  We had started out to see Safe House but we got the time wrong and arrived too late.  So, guess we'll try next week to see it.  Tomorrow we are going to see the Charlotte Checkers (hockey team) play in downtown Charlotte.  This will be our first hockey game of the season this year.

Mixed Bunch

I've been playing with the Mixed Bunch stamp and punch from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  I told myself I didn't need another flower stamp not to mention another punch.  Well, famous last words!!  I really love this set.   Look at the card below - you don't see a stamped flower, do you?  Well, I used the stamp and punch to make the butterfly!!

I used a technique called Reverse Stamping to make the butterfly. I stamped the flower on white cardstock using White Pigment ink. Then I put white embossing powder on the image and used my heat gun to melt the powder. Next I used sponge daubers with Baja Blue ink and Artichoke ink on the image. Then I used my scissors to cut away a couple of the petals to make the butterfly shape.

Other supplies used for this card are:

• Beyond the Garden DSP
• Chocolate Chip & Baja Blue cardstock
• Seam Binding Ribbon
• Stampin' Up Dimensionals

I had several of my club members over this afternoon for a tutorial on My Digital Studio.  I just hope I didn't overwhelm them!  I have found the best way to learn MDS is to play with it.  I have had the program for a couple of years and I am still learning.  Stampin' Up has a great website that has samples, video and a forum for questions and answers that is a great help.

Queen Sketch Challenge

My card for the Queen's Sketch Challenge this week uses a set that I have had for several years but is still a great "go to" set especially for masculine cards.  It is the Loads of Love set and the matching Accessories set.  I love to watercolor the pick-up truck and it can be used for so many different occasions - Christmas, birthday, Easter, Valentine, etc.  I love sets that are versatile and can be used for more than one purpose.

I watercolored the truck and the Valentines and used the Designer Labels Dies to cut it out.  I also used the Labels Die for the Real Red label.