Inkie Fingers meets Oh So Eclectic

I had lots of fun yesterday playing with one of the new stamp sets.  I got Oh So Eclectic when I went to Virginia Beach for SU's On Stage.  I wasn't too thrilled about it at first.  But, oh how I have changed my mind!  This stamp set creates a wonderful soft watercolor look with no effort on your part.  It is a two-step stamp so you can use the images by themselves or layer them to get a different look.  And the added bonus is the framelits that you can get if you purchase this set as a bundle.  There are 13 dies in the set.  These dies have a unique feature - the flower pieces nestle together to create the two layered look.  So you can use just one flower image or use the two together!  

Here's one of the cards I made yesterday using a technique that I will tell you about.

So what do you think?  Love it like I do???  The background paper uses SU's new glossy paper.  It's been so long since I played with glossy paper, I had to think back to some old techniques.  Here's what I did.  (note:  you might want to wear gloves - see my fingers below!)  Cut a piece of glossy paper in half (4 1/4" x 5 1/2")  Spray one of the pieces of glossy paper with a spritzer filled with alcohol - get it pretty wet.  Next pick two reinkers - I used Lemon Lime Twist and Bermuda Bay and drop several drops onto the glossy paper.  Next I picked up the paper and let the ink run all over the paper.  Then take the second piece of glossy paper and put it on top.  You can give it a twist or just pull it straight up.  Now you should have two background pieces of paper to use!  2 for 1 - I like that! Let it dry and then use it to make a beautiful card!

See my inkie fingers -

I also did a piece using Melon Mambo and Dapper Denim (I picked up the wrong ink refill -  thought I was using Flirty Flamingo ink instead of Denim.)  So I'm not so crazy about it.  But wanted to show you this cool imprint on the paper.  When I realized what I had done, I grabbed a paper towel and lay-ed it over the paper to blot up some of the ink - see the impression of the paper towel - it's texturized! The colors get muted as it dries.

The Berry Burst flower on the card was stamped with VersaMark  on watercolor paper and embossed with gold embossing powder.  Then I "smooshed" some ink in the lid of the Berry Burst and painted the flower with my Aqua Pen letting the color run out to the edges.

Eclectic, what does that mean? According to the dictionary…

ec·lec·ticəˈklektikadjectivederiving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
synonyms: wide-ranging, broad-based, extensive, comprehensive, encyclopedic

Stampin’ Up! loves the idea of broad and diverse range of sources that they used the ‘Oh So Eclectic’ stamp set on the cover of the new annual catalog. I love the bright colors, water coloring possibilities and so much more!

Stampin’ Up! trainer, Shannon West, demonstrates many of the eclectic ways that the Oh So Eclectic Bundle can be used to create fun and interesting projects!

Here are pictures of other items included in the Oh So Eclectic Product Suite - ribbon, DSP, thinlits, card stock pack and overlays!  I'm loving the DSP although I haven't ordered it yet.  Stay tuned - I made a card using the DSP as inspiration!   

Crafting Forever

I'm back!  It's summer time and I've been super busy!  Most of today was spent getting ready for my bridge group tomorrow.  I have 12 gals coming in the morning for a day of bridge.  I made a quinoa salad (that Sonny turned his nose up on!), a watermelon and blackberry salad, and some Pumpkin Chocolate cups (a new recipe I wanted to try.) 

Yesterday Marianne and I went to Allison's Stampaganza and made a bunch of different boxes.  I have a box for every occasion now.  I'll be sharing them later.  We also did some swap cards and I got a lot of new ideas for some of the new stamps in the catalog.  I want to share my cards with you today.  

This first one was pretty labor intensive.  Luckily I only had to make 6 cards to swap - it's not one that you'd want to make a bunch of!!  I found an apron template on line and used it to make this cute card using Crafting Forever.  The labor intensive part was in cutting out the pens, paintbrushes and scissors!!  I stamped them all in black and used markers to color them.  

I used all the new in colors to make the cards.

My second card also uses Crafting Forever.  It has a surprise inside!

Do you remember making paper dolls when you were little?  I loved them!  So this took me back to my childhood.  They are attached to the inside with a glue dot under the hand of the doll on the right and the one on the left.  No adhesive in the middle.

For these cards, I used the DSP from the Color Theory stack.

More Swaps!

I'm back with a few more card swaps from Quarterly.

This is the last one that I received for the sketch swap.  It is by Phyllis Thurston and uses the wonderful stamp set, Colorful Seasons.  This is such a versatile stamp set!  You can use it for all the seasons since it has snowflakes, beach chairs, fall leaves and spring flowers!

This card is just so cute!  Beth Queen combined This Little Piggy with the Birthday Delivery set!

This card, using Eastern Medallion, is by Connie Gentry.  I love the Lemon Lime with Black!  And check out below - there is a little surprise when you open up the card.

Another great card (by Lisa Pressley) using the Birthday Delivery set.  I'm telling you, you need to order this set!!  There is the stamp set, the Birthday Friends Framelits Dies AND the Birthday Memories DSP as part of the bundle.  The framelits not only fit the stamps, but also some of the images on the designer paper!!

This card uses the Daisy Delight stamp set and was made by Gayle Presnell.

This card was made by Robyn McClanahan and uses the Daisy Delight stamp set.  I love the new Pretty Label Punch!

Sketch Swaps #2

These are the remainder of the Sketch Swap from Quarterly.  Hope you enjoy them!

This card by Carol Snow uses the Eastern Elegance and the Daisy stamp setts.  The pretty DSP is Delightful Daisy.

No name on this card but I love the Pretty Label punch she used.  The daisy is made with Vellum that she colored yellow and card stock.

This card is by my downline and travel buddy, Debbie Michael.  She put a lot of time into this card, folks!  It is a shaker card!!

Love these primary colors that Lisa Pressley used.  This Birthday Delivery set has grown on me and is now in my list of things to order.

Suites in the NEW Catalog!!

The new catalog launched today!  It is pretty awesome.  As with other catalogs, this one is divided into suites of products - each themed suite has its very own personality.  While everyone can find something that speaks to them in the variety of suites, many of will find all the suites appealing!

Here is a quick look at the suites in the catalog:








































Aren't they great?!  Have you picked a favorite yet?  Don't worry - you don't have to limit yourself to just one - you can pick from them all!  You can go to my ONLINE STORE by clicking the link above (or just click on ONLINE STORE in this sentence) and seeing all the suite themed products.

If you need a catalog, just let me know.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Swaps to Share #1

I recently attended the Quarterly get-together of the NC Demo group.  We always have so much fun! I missed attending the event with my sister, Marianne, but had another good friend along, Debbie.  It's so fun stamping with a room full of friends who all love stamping just like I do.  It is always good to get together with old friends and make new ones.  This time the hostesses made the Quarterly "old school."  We had assigned seat so we could make new friends; re-visited some projects that I haven't done in years; had snacks that we used to eat as kids - Double Bubble, Mary Janes, chocolate candies, etc.  I thought I'd share some of the swaps I received.  These swaps are based on a sketch that we were given to follow.  It's interesting how different they all are.

My swap was this one.  I embossed the daisy (Daisy Delight) with white embossing powder on the turquoise strip and stamped the daisy in turquoise ink on the white panel.  The circle with HUGS is a new framelit and it and the ribbon are Berry Burst (a new in color.)

This card is by Debra Byrd.  She used the Eastern Medallion dies and a new hostess set, Tranquil Tulips.

There was no name on this card so I can't give credit.  She used the new Daisy Delight set along with the gorgeous Delightful Daisy DSP.  (You know, I have this paper but can't bring myself to cut into it!)

Again, no name.  She used Touches of Texture stamp set and Falling in Love DSP (which is retiring.)  It is a gorgeous card!

This card was made by my sister, Marianne.  She used Colorful Seasons stamp set and the new Color Theory DSP pack.  I love this stamp set!!!

Saying Good Bye to Retiring Products - May Blog Hop

Welcome to the NC Demos Blog Hop!  Did you enjoy the projects that Tracie shared with you?  She always has great cards!  It's time to say good-bye to our favorite retiring products from the 2016-17 catalog, so our May theme is all about saying farewell before we concentrate on our new catalog which premiers on June 1.

My first share in my favorites is a card made with Gorgeous Grunge and a new stamp set, Lovely Friends.  This card literally took me about 5 minutes to make!  I think it took longer to decide on what colors to use (Pacific Point, Lemon Lime and Daffodil Delight) than to make the card! Seriously!

My next favorite stamp set that is retiring is Wetlands.  I love the sea oats and the little birds in the set.  In the card below, I stamped the birds onto a piece of card stock that I did the Marbeling Technique on using shaving cream.  We did that technique in April at my stamp club and my gals loved it!

This next card is also from Wetlands but using the goose this time.  I have not used him very much but I thought this makes a good masculine card.  There is a 2 1/2" piece of window sheet on the card and I masked off a 1 1/4" strip on the inside (that you can see through the window sheet) and sponged Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake.  (Mint Macaron is a color that I am going to sorely miss!!  I am hoping it will return in the future to our color line up.)  Next I stamped the grass in Old Olive.  I also stamped a bit of the grass on the outside of the card.

Here is the card open so you can see how I made it.  You just sandwich the window sheet between the 1/2" strip and the 2 1/2" piece of the card.  We are going to do a similar card in Stamp Club next month but I will be using the Seaside Shores fish that is carrying over to the new catalog.

Another thing I will miss is some of the DSP that we had in the retiring catalog.  I need to stop hoarding all the DSP and use it up during the year.  Don't know why I do that every year - it's not like I can't just order more if I need it!  The card below uses the stamps from Seaside Shore and the corresponding DSP, By the Shore.  I love this DSP and another great one is the paper stacks.   

When I went to my daughter's house last Christmas, I made her a collage frame to hang in her guest bathroom using the By the Shore DSP.  She lives in Hawaii so this was a perfect addition to her "beachy" bathroom!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed the projects I have shared with you.  I didn't mean to put so many on this page but I just couldn't stop!  There are a lot of favorites leaving us but also a lot of new favorites coming our way!!

I know you will enjoy the rest of the stops on the blog hop!  Just follow along below.  If you are going in order, Laurie Meier will be your next stop.

Debra Ballance-Byrd  

Tamra Davis  

Jo Anne Hewins

Michelle Irinyi 

Tracie Evans Langley

Sharon Maranich  - YOU ARE HERE

Laurie Meier

Frances Wagner 

Mother's Day Cards 2017

I can't believe I have not written on this blog all month!!  May has just been crazy for me with Mother's Day, graduations, traveling, company, stamp club and just regular life happenings!  Our friends from Texas came to visit for a week in early May.  Margaret and I were able to do some stamping and also had time to fit in a few shopping excursions while the guys went to South Carolina with a group for target shooting for a few days.  They returned on a Thursday and on Friday we attended my nephew's graduation party.  Wouldn't you know it - it was nice and warm all week but on Friday it was downright cold and the party was outside!  We all had our jackets and sweaters on plus they had a fire going in the back yard so that made it fun for everyone.  Margaret and Graham were able to have their first smore!!  On Saturday, Sonny dropped me and our friends off at the Charlotte airport.  They were catching a plane back to Dallas and I was on my way to New Orleans to meet Ashley.  She had a conference there the week before and took a few days of leave for some "girl time."  We had a great time exploring parts of the city we had never been before.  Plus we took a cooking class at New Orleans School of Cooking that was wonderful!  We learned to make gumbo, shrimp and grits, pralines and bananas foster with crepes!  It was a short trip - we both headed back home on Tuesday.  The day after I returned home, Sonny went back to Myrtle Beach with a group of guys for 5 days of golfing.  While he was gone, I drove to Haw River State Park with my downline for the NC Quarterly.  We ran into some terrible weather driving down there Friday - heavy rain and hail - and on our return trip Saturday - it was road construction that had us at a dead stop for about 45 minutes!  I could hardly get out of bed on Sunday because my back was killing me.  I'm sure it was from being tensed up from the drive and sitting all day on Saturday.  In the midst of all this, I am worried about my mom and a health issue of mine.  Mom is having difficulty getting her breath and the dr. thinks it is congestive heart failure.  She is going to see a cardiologist hopefully tomorrow or Friday.  I had some blood work done last week and my liver count was elevated.  So I was a little worried.  Yesterday I saw my doctor and had more blood work done and everything is back to normal now so I didn't really need to worry!

These are the cards I made for Mothers Day.

This one was made for my mom.  This set is retiring and I have not used it enough!!!

For this card, I used the a mask to sponge Pool Party on the white cardstock.  I also used Gorgeous Grunge (a favorite that is also retiring - boo hoo) to lightly stamp the background.  The flower stamp set is a new one in the 2017-18 catalog, Daisy Delight.  I think you will be seeing a lot of this set!

For this card, I paired the old with the new.  The old is Swirly Scribbles and Thoughtful Banners with it's matching punch (both are carrying over to the new catalog).  The new is the Oh So Eclectic stamp set and the new in-color ink colors - Powder Pink and my favorite, Lemon Lime Twist.  I sponged the half doily.

This card uses the Daisy Delight stamp set and I sprinkled a few sequins around.  The ribbon is retired.

Another card using new products!  The sentiment is from Lovely Friends and the flowers are again from Oh So Eclectic.  The DSP is a great one called Color Theory.  I can't wait for you to be able to order this pack of paper.  It features six designs in four colors - Berry Burst (new In Color & the one I used above), Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Dapper Denim.  The designs include pages that look like a paint chip, some pages of color gradients, and some with a crackle appearance (which I used.)  They come in a 6"x6" pad - 4 each of the 12 double sided designs.  The card above also uses another new in color, Tranquil Tide.