Artistic Etchings - Bargello Technique

This card was created by my good friend Louise. I asked Louise if i could share this card with you all (yes back when the DSP was current--oops!) and she said OF COURSE!! --

This technique is called Bargello and it was featured in one of our Stampin Sucess magazines a while back and i haven't tried it out yet!! I will for sure have to try it out in the coming months for a future stamp club project.

I love how Louise worked the Bargello technique into this card!! She's done a great job keeping the card simple which shows off the technique very well. The log cabin Smooch Spritz in the background really adds to the card!!

If you've incorporated the Bargello technique into one of your cards i'd love to see it!! : )



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Artistic Etching (W118517, C120573)
Card Stock: Basic Black (121045), Very Vanilla (101650)
Ink: Basic Black (101179)
Accessories and More: Log Cabin Smooch Spritz (119921), Round Tab Punch (119864), Newsprint DSP (Retired)

Hope you like... : )

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4 You - Simple Case

I cased this card from a Stampin Success Magazine a while back. I popped up the 4 and the heart to give the card some dimension.



I used the H Clear Block and the letters "Y,O, and U" from Sweet Shoppe Clear Mount set. I lined the letters up on the H block and stamped right beside the 4. I then simply placed a strip of rhinestones underneath the "YOU".. : )



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: A to Z (115711), Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Upper (W118722, C120582),
Card Stock: Crumb Cake (120953), Old Olive Textured (121077), Pink Piroustte (121075)
Ink: Crumb Cake (121030), Chocolate Chip (100908)
Accessories and More: Big Shot (113439), Alphabet Simple Numbers (115968), Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (119256), Basic Rhinestones Jewels (119246), Paper-Piercing Tool (to pick up the jewels and adhere to cardstock), Clear Block H (118490), Stampin' Up Dimensionals (104430), Small Heart Punch (117193)

Hope you like... : )

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It's the Little Things

I cased this card from my stampin friend Diane. I just love her swap cards. So simple but eye catching. I really missed visiting you at convention this year Di!! I hope you had a great time! I'm sure you missed me doing my swaps at general session and getting glitter all over you and the chairs (teheeee) : )



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: You're a Gem (W122268, C122270)
Card Stock: Baja Breeze (111352), So Saffron (105118), Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730), Cajun Craze (119684)
Ink: Early Espresso (119670)
Accessories and More: Big Shot (113439), Elegant Lines Embossing Folder (119277), Scallop Rectangle Clearlits die (118872), Beautiful Wings Embosslits die (118138), Cutter Kit (106958-Distresser), Stampin Dimensionals (104430), Snail Adhesive (104332)

Hope you like... : )

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Artistic Etching - Thinking of You...

This card was pretty simple to create. The only trick was extending the cardstock for the greeting. I slipped a small piece of card stock (3/8"x1-3/4") in the Jewelry tag punch to extend it. Then i stamped the greeting. I really wanted to use a bit of the cork sheets. I think it added a nice touch!! : )



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Artistic Etching (W118517 C120573), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)
Card Stock: Basic Black (121045), Very Vanilla (101650)
Ink: Basic Black (101179)
Accessories and More: Big Shot (113439), Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die (120893), Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder (119976), Cork Sheets (119819), First Edition DSP (121878), Jewelry Tag Punch (117190), Vintage Trinkets (118764), Stampin Sponges (101610), Stampin Dimensionals (104430), Snail Adhesive (104332), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755)

Hope you like... : )

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or click here to email me your order!

Happy Birthday Schweeeeeeetie...

Well it's my blog buddy's birthday today!!... and I'm sure she's struttin' her heels somewhere on her 22 hour drive to Manitoba! -- Happy Birthday Leigha! -- BIG Hugs! and BIG BIG kisses from Alyssa!!



This cards for you girl!!

I've been wanting to create a pinwheel card for some time now and when i saw this card i was inspired to give it a try!


The bigger pinwheel was a 2" x 2" square and the smaller one was 1" 3/8" x 1-3/8" square (i used the square punch for the smaller pinwheel).


Let's celebrate Leigha's Birthday with some Blog Candy!!?? What do you think..?? Let's give away presents on such a GREAT day! Who's up for a wee partay!! --Alyssa says she is... "mommy are we going to finn's to have cake?"...bawaahaa...to cute...!


I hope you'll all help me wish Leigha a very Happy Birthday by leaving a comment on this post! We will draw the winner in 2 weeks (sorry we are both away from our computers, me having limited access and her having very limited access..-- maybe NO ACCESS....eeeeeeks.. not sure how she's handling that!! bawaaaaaaaaha!! she may be able to get some dial up access here and there but for the most part we are both cut off from the Internet world for 2 weeks!!)-- we'll draw the winner September 3rd!

Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Curly Cute (W117014, C120510)
Card Stock: Very Vanilla (101650), Crumb Cake (120953), Textured Baja Breeze (121075), Textured Pear Pizzazz, Peach Parfait and Blushing Bride (124386).
Ink: Early Espresso (119670)
Accessories and More: Big Shot (113439), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (117335), Just Add Cake DSP (124339), Early Espresso/White Bakers Twine (123124), Scallop Edge Border (119882), Silver Mini Brads (122941), 1-3/8" Square Punch (119877), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Stampin Dimensionals (104430), Snail adhesive (104332), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), Stamping Sponges (101610)

Hope you like... : )

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or click here to email me your order!

This is Alyssa singing Happy Birfday (Happy birfday to you, Happy Birfday to you.. Happy Birffffffffffffffday to wwweeea....Happy Birfday to you..!!-- now is it cake time.. ; )

Bold Blossom with Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch

This card was created by a wonderful friend, co worker and downline. I love coming to work each week to see and share our creations!! I love getting together at lunch with Meredith and Susan to view our SU catty and card samples on stampin connection!! Even if Susan talks about how WONDERFUL leigha is and how talented she is..!!---HELLO.....WHAT ABOUT ME..?? bawaaaaaaaaaaaaaha!! (teehhe....i already know how much susan loves me --i'm just teasing susan!! we laugh about it all the time!!.. i always tell her i want to be leigha when i grow up! she's so unbeleivably talented..!!) ; )

I just love ...love ..............LOVE Meredith's style and i'm sorry the photos don't do this card justice!! It's super gorgeous in person. ---I'm so sorry the photos are poor. I took the photos at work with the intention of casing the card at a later date and then posting it but haven't gotten around to doing so. The card looks long in the photo but it's a regular size card. Again, BAD PHOTOGRAPHER...--bad photos!! I wanted to show at least one more card with the bold blossom set before the summer mini ends!! If you've had your eye on this set make sure you grab it before August 31st. Check out page 7 of the Summer Mini. It is a super cute set and matches the blossom bouquet triple layer punch so well.

Meredith has a GREAT eye for colours and i love the colours she used for this card. She did a great job working in my least favorite colour, Melon Mambo! I loved what she did with the ribbon. You can't see it well but the ribbon is looped and then tucked under the card on the right hand side and again it looks awesome in person. Thanks for letting me share your card Meredith!! --maybe you can bring it into work again and i'll take better photos...cuz you know me.. --will i get around to re creating it before xmas...bawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaha! Meredith knows i'm already creating xmas cards... bye bye summer hello winter...lol.. : )

I have a couple more fabulous creations up on my display wall that Meredith has created and if she agrees to let me share them with you i'll post them soon! --cross your fingers she lets me post them...!! (i promise to take better photos)...i would hate for you to miss out on some of her FABULOUS creations! : ) : )

Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Bold Blossom (Summer Mini - W123232, C122232),
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Daffodil Delight (119683), Tangerine Tango (111349), Crumb Cake (120953), Melon Mambo (115320), Old Olive (100702)
Ink: Old Olive (102277), Tangerine Tango (111834), Daffodil Delight (119667), Melon Mambo (115656).
Accessories and More: Scallop Oval Punch (119856), Large Oval Punch (119855), Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch (122464), 1" Circle Punch (119868), 3/4" Circle Punch (119873), Big Shot (113439) Elegant Bouquet Embossing folder (115964), Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (Retired).

Hope you like... : )

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or click here to email me your order!

Have a Wicked Birthday!

Happy Birthday Finn!! Sorry your card wasn't with your cool present! --i'm pretty sure Finn is NOT reading this blog post and being 4 he probably did not realize his birthday card was missing from the gift bag!! LOL ; )

Alyssa has been super excited about Finn's Birthday for the last 2 months!! It's all she's been talking about --(besides her own birthday party which is coming up in September) When i asked her what kind of card we should make him she said spider-man! She loves dressing up and playing super heroes when she sees Finn. She looks forward to putting on scary masks, swinging swords, fighting, giggling and of course snacking all day!! what could be more FUN!

Ok so back to the missing card.... After we neatly wrapped (gift bag and tissue paper) his gift she unwrapped it not once..not twice.. not even three times.. i seriously lost count on how many times i asked her to put back the gifts!! She kept taking the gifts out and lining them up and talking to them. So when we arrived at Finn's there was NO tissue paper in the bag and the card was missing. When i got home i asked her where the card was. She wouldn't tell me. One thing that cracks me up about Ms. Alyssa is whenever we are at a party and someone opens a handmade card from us she gets all possessive. She tells them that it's "mommy's card" and tries to take it back?? As i was making the spider-man card she kept picking up spider-man and playing with it. When she saw the card in the gift bag she took it out and put it back in the craft room. --- Nobody is actually allowed to keep the cards we give them...LOL!!



Since this card is a bit of work to piece together i thought i'd share how i created it.



You'll need to punch out the following pieces:

Head - Real Red Textured Card Stock (RR) Extra Large Oval (Ex. Lrg Oval). Insert the narrow end of the Ex. Lrg Oval piece through the circle opening of the 1-3/8" circle punch to snip off just a bit of the Ex. Lrg Oval piece. This will narrow the bottom of the Ex. Lrg Oval piece to shape the head.
Eyes - Whisper White Word Window, snipped diagonally
Eyes - Basic Black 1-3/8"x5/8" Oval, snipped diagonally
Body - (RR) - Full Heart with Ex. Lrg Oval for shoulders
Arms (RR) - Large Oval, 1-3/8"x5/8" Oval
Hands - (RR) Modern Label, trimmed to shape.
Legs - Pacific Point Textured Large Oval and 1-3/8"x5/8" Oval
Boot - Full Heart trimmed--basically you could free hand the boots as i cut most of it to shape it.


I embossed the punched out pieces with the spider web embossing folder. I also sponged the embossed lines with basic black. (you may not see this very well in the photos. i couldn't get a really good shot of the black sponging--sorry)

To piece spidey together i used 2 way glue pen:

Adhere oval body to full heart body
Adhere lower leg to upper leg*
Adhere boot to lower leg*
Adhere upper arm to oval body*
Adhere hand to lower arm*
Adhere eyes to head
Adhere head to body with dimensional

(*both sides)

I used the spider stamp from the new halloween set "Out on a Limb" which is in the upcoming Holiday Mini. I just adore this set!! --super cute! I coloured the middle spider with a basic black marker and stamped it on a scrap piece of real red cardstock. I then punched out the spider with the 1/2" circle and popped it up with a dimensional! I also dyed the white bakers twine with gray reinker.



I embossed the Basic Black card stock with the spider web embossing folder. I then sponged the lines with white craft ink.



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Wicked Cool (W118738, C120600), Out on a Limb (Holiday Mini P. 12 - W123822, C123824), On Your Birthday (111664)
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Basic Black (121045), Basic Gray (121044), Real Red and Pacific Point Textured (121077)
Ink: Basic Black (101179), White Craft Ink (101731)
Accessories and More: White Bakers Twine (124262), Basic Gray Reinker (109121), Mini Brads (122941), Basic Black Marker( 100082), Basic Gray Marker (120966), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), 1/2" Circle punch (119869), Decorative Label Punch (120907), 1-3/4" Circle Punch (119850), 1-3/8" Circle Punch (119860), Jewelry Tag Punch (117190), Modern Label Punch (119849), Extra Large Oval Punch (119859), 1-3/8"x5/8" Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch (119855), Word Window Punch (119857), Big Shot (113439), Spider Web Embossing Folder (120889), Sponge (101610), Cutter Kit (106958-distresser), Snail Adhesive (104332), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), Stampin Dimensionals (104430)

Hope you like... : )

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or click here to email me your order!

Finn's 4th Birthday

Well, another really, really, busy birthday weekend.  My son, Finn turned 4!  Where has the time gone?  I know that is such a cliche, but there are no words to describe how it feels as a parent to see your baby get so big!  He asked for a Despicable Me party.

Everyone is our house is artistic and/or crafty, so we all pitched in and we had a blast putting one together for him.  My daughter, Emma and I are the crafty ones.  We put our crafty heads together, and along with a couple of ideas from emiliehandmade.com, we took care of all the decorations, games, party favors, and treats. 

Minion Bowling (made from 2L pop bottles and spray paint)

Food and water bowls for everyone (just like in the movie)

An alien (printed on printer and pasted to foam core) for everyone to shoot at with our "Squid Launcher" guns (dollar store ping pong poppers)

Well, as I'm sure you know in the movie, they are trying to steal the moon.  So we made a paper mache moon pinata out of a dollar store beach ball and newpapers, water and flour.  We did this on the front lawn, so everyone could pitch in and get MESSY!  We had a BLAST.  Once it was dry, we deflated the beach ball and removed it, then we filled it with candy and toys.  Then we added a little more newspaper and flour/water to close up the hole we had left.  Once it was dry, we painted it with grey craft paint.  Once that was done, we handed it over to my husband, Keith, who is the artist in the house.  He added the finishing touches.  The banner in the background is printed onto Whisper White cardstock and punched out with the 2-1/2" Circle Punch.  I punched them with the 1/16" Handheld Punch and threaded them onto White Bakers Twine. 

I made banners for the straws by using My Digital Studio (MDS) and printing them onto Whisper White Cardstock.  Then I used the banner piece from the Petal Cone Bigz L Die to cut them out. 

Minion Cupcakes

And lastly, the annual chalk drawing.  Every year, my husband, Keith heads out and does a giant chalk drawing out on the road for the kids for their birthdays.  Usually the neighbourhood kids love to come out and watch him do it.  It's too bad that the picture really doesn't show you the scale of the drawing.  It is about 5 or 6 feet tall!  It's a labor of love, and once it rains, it's gone!

I know that there wasn't tons of papercrafting ideas in this post, but as you know, I LOVE crafts of all sorts, and enjoy finding new ways to use my Stampin' Up! tools and supplies in crazy, hybird ways.  Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our weekend.

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Bold Blossom

This card came together fairly quickly. So quickly i can't remember where i saw one similar. I pretty much copied the layout but switched up the colours including the DSP, added texture in the background and added some pearls. Whoever created the original design, thank you for the wonderful design and inspiration.. : )

You can find Bold Blossom stamp set on page 7 of the Summer Mini Catalogue. This stamp set will be gone after August 31st so hurry and order your set today!! This set goes really well with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch on page 6 of the summer mini and page 211 of the 2011/2012 Idea Book and Catalogue!! I'm shocked the stamp set didn't carry over into the new catty.. : (



Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: Bold Blossom (Summer Mini - W123232, C122232), Wonderfully Worn Background (118533)
Card Stock: White (100730), So Saffron (105118), Peach Parfait (119794), Subtles Collection 12x12 Textured (Baja Breeze 121075)
Ink: Basic Black (101179), So Saffron (105213), Peach Parfait (119783)
Accessories and More: Just Add Cake DSP (124339), Basic Pearls (119247), Cutter Kit (106958-distresser), Paper Snips (103579), Bitty Buttons (118761), Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (118309), Snail Adhesive (104332), Stampin Dimensionals (104430)

Hope you like... : )

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or click here to email me your order!

Sweet Berries {Tutorial}

This month at club, one of the projects that we created was this super sweet berry box, and 3-D strawberry favor holder (perfect for a Hershey's Kiss or other treat :)), along with matching 3"x3" card and envelope.

We used the Full Heart Punch. Polka Dot Embossing Folder and 5-Petal Punch to create the strawberry on the little 3"x3" card. The card fits perfectly into the Mini Envelopes which we stamped with the Baroque Motifs stamp set. The Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine and Dotted Scallop Ribbon Boarder Punch finish the card off perfectly. We stamped the inside of the card with the sentiment "Hope your day is the sweetest day ever" from the Crazy for Cupcakes set

To create the strawberries, we used flowers cut out from the Flower Folds Bigz XL die. We embossed them with the Polka Dot Embossing Folder, and then scored them across the petals with a Bone Folder so that the score marks come to a point in the center. Then we cut off two and bit of the petals and most of the third, but we left a little flap(see pic below). Then we punched each of the five remaining petals with the 1/16" Handheld Punch, centered and about 1/4" from the outer edge. We folded along the score lines we created, and glued everything together with the little tab we created. Lastly, we used Linen Thread (threaded in, out, in out), pulled everything together, topped with sepals created with the 5-Petal Punch, and tied the Linen Thread into a bow.

To create this project you will need:

Stamp Sets: Tiny Tags

Card Stock: Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake Textured

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories and More: Big Shot, Flower Folds Bigz XL Die, Floral Fusion Sizzlit Die, Little Leaves Sizzlit Die, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, 5-Petal Punch, Full Heart Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine, Linen Thread, Pearls Jewels, Stampin' Pastels,

The little blossom flowers are part of a beautiful four part paper flower tutorial available here.

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Have a sweet day!

Getting back into the swing of things..

ok....so i'm still cracking up over the last post!

oh Leigha you're sooooooooo cute..bawaaaaaaaaaaah! You really do know how to cheer up a gal!-- i can just see you running around the house with your glitter heels and your big smile!! -- calmly doing all your Mrs. Clever duties!! -- you ROCK girl!

Yes i may of had a "losing it moment" and only Leigha could really understand why i was "losing it" but it didn't last long and i got over it real fast! --no outer body experience was had so i resumed to my daily routine pretty quickly!! tehee.. : )

I'm enjoying the summer activities so much i've hardly stamped this summer!! --hey there is nothing wrong with playing "potato" (cute way alyssa says playdough) outside with the little ones while the sun is shinning and the other kids are playing in the pool!!

Until last weekend i hadn't even touched a stamp since the end of June!! --I KNOW HORRIBLE!!-- was having serious "mommy me time" withdrawals ---but seriously how could i resist my cutie patootie when she looks at me with her totally cool "morning time" glasses on and says let's go play mom...


--for those of you who know my daughter you know it's hard to resist her cuteness and OF COURSE i'll hang out with her any chance i get!! : )

Leigha brought over some GREAT projects for us to create last Saturday!! Thank you Leigha for getting me back into "STAMP" mode!! All of us girls had such a great time stamping, chatting and mostly laughing-- ohhhh we laughed soooooo much and so hard!! I've been having super fun with the kids the last few weeks but come on.......hanging out with the girls and stamping was a notch above for sure!!

-- Leigha...what do you think of my berries? be honest.....don't hold back....!!
(hopefully she will post her card as it's so much prettier then mine....me can't watercolour...boohoo...my berries exploded and my bird well there are no words that can discribe that poor little bird!!....i guess i'll have to keep practicing..)

ooooooooooooohhhh always fun times ..we never hold anything back when we get together.. bwaaaaaaaaaaha : )

So after a fun weekend with the girls i was super motivated to get things rolling for the fall. I have new clubs starting in September and with the new catty in full swing i'm having a blast creating fresh new projects with all the new colours, new ribbons, new accessories, new stamps, well all the products Stampin Up has to offer!! Louise and i got together Friday and Saturday this past week so i had double the crafting time!! woohooooooo!! We created a bunch of fresh new projects and now i have to decide what projects i'm going to use for my stamp club get togethers starting in September. So until i can decide what cards are going to be for club and what cards i can show you now, you'll just have to wait a little bit longer to see what i've been up to!! aaawwww so mean i know!! ... but don't worry i won't let you down-- i have plenty of oldie but goodies to show you in the mean time. I've been going through all my photos and wow there are so many cards i just haven't had the chance to show you yet. Some of my favorites will be revealed this month!! Here is just one of the many favorites of 2010/2011:


I created this card awhile back and i'm pretty certain i cased it from Seeing Ink Spots blog. (thank you for the inspiration)!!

Quick Tip: Pull a thread or two from the middle of your ribbon to help bunch it up!


Products used for this project:
Stamp Sets: En Francais Background (109521), Elizabeth (117120); You're a Gem (W122268, C122270)
Card Stock: Whisper White (100730), Basic Black (121045), Crumb Cake (120953)
Ink: Basic Black (101179), Sahara Sand (105208)
Accessories and More: Basic Black Striped Grosgrain (115615), Hemp Twine (100982), Scallop Circle Punch (119854), 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch (118874), Boho Blossom Punch (119858), Scallop Oval (119856), Large Oval (119855), Antique Brads (117273), Cutter Kit (106958-distresser), Snail Adhesive (104332), Sticky Strip (104294), Stampin Dimensionals (104430)

Hope you like... : )

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ON-LINE 24/7, CLICK HERE

or click here to email me your order!