Wondering of Wisteria

I don’t think I ever used the word Wisteria in my life but alas this is one of the new colors that you can look forward to with the new 2011-2012 idea book and catalog in a few short days – Wisteria Wonder is a new In Color that will be added to the purples! You can bet, I’ll be on the look out for “Wisteria” when I play Words with Friends!

I was doing some research on my new Herb Expressions stamp set.  Did you know that Thyme, Basil and Rosemary, in addition to the familiar purple of Lavender, all have purple flowers? Each is rather distinct in its own purple color, but I do believe that the current Stampin’ Up! color pallet will cover all the necessary purples to color in those gorgeous herbs! 

This square card 4.25 x 4.25 card uses the Mojo 197 sketch.  I turned the main panel and this is one of those times that I actually stamped the greeting on the inside. It reads “Thanks for blessing my life with you.” This set has perfect greetings for each of the herbs.

The edges of the main panel are sponged deeply with more mustard, soft suede and early espresso.  I love the richness of the mustard in addition to the browns.  I masked the words from the basil image so that I could stamp them separately to fit the sketch.  The lined image was watercolored with the aquapainter…quick and easy using ink from the lid of the ink.  Of course, I added a little cut out of one of the basil leaves…I thought it was the perfect little touch.

Stamps:  Herb Expressions
Papers:   Wisteria Wonder (New 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog), Very Vanilla, First Edition DSP
Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Early Esspresso, Wild Wasabi, Concord Crush
Accessories:   Dimensionals, Linen Thread 
Tools: 1-3/8" x 5/8" Oval Punch (Last Chance List-Sold Out), Paper Snips, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Aquapainter 
Techniques Used:  Sponging, Tearing, Masking

Many of the items on the Last Chance list are selling out…get your stamps and accessories while they are still available. Last Chance items are available through June 30, 2011.

Thank you for taking the time to visit!  Enjoy!

 

 

I am sure you figured out that I am not much of a plant person…I want to be…I just kill most of them.  This is a photo of my second Texas kill. I killed the yellow rose that sat in here when we first moved in. I think it may have lasted two weeks.  This one only lasted about a week. I thought I had finally mastered the plant thing but, I guess I need more practice.  My husband bought me two new plants for my birthday last week.  Any bets?  

A Little Sunshine

Saying goodbye to Tart and Tangy

A little bit of sunshine is what any person that is feeling under the weather needs!  This card is a response to just that…a sweet little get well card!  Tart and Tangy is a cute little set that is perfect on its own or just plain fun when paired up with an unexpected set, like Morning Cup.

It’s been some time since I made a pocket card but one thing lead to another and this “extra little something” pocket card came to be.  The orange slice became my background for the “card front”.  I used a vellum strip to create the pocket with no worries of adhesive showing through!  I just created a larger strip and folded it behind the large Whisper White panel and voila…no glue marks!  Do you ever amaze yourself and wonder why you hadn’t thought of that before?

This little pocket card holds an extra surprise, orange-tangerine tea, the perfect accompaniment to the orange and tea cup stamps! The tea bag is held inside a glassine envelope to keep it fresh…for how long I do not know! *smile* I would suggest placing the tea bag in when you know you are going to give the card!  The strawberry,cherry or apple would also be perfect stamps if you have those flavors of tea available!

Stamps:  Tart and Tangy(2011 Last Chance), Morning Cup, Sincere Salutations
Papers:   Whisper White, Night of Navy, Peach Parfait, Vellum
Ink:  Peach Parfait, Night of Navy
Accessories:   Dimensionals, Glassine Envelope 
Tools: Eyelet Border Punch, 1-1/4” Circle Punch
Techniques Used: Pocket Card

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy!

A Great Friend in Matchbox Messages

The Same But Different

So do you wake up in the morning and ponder what am I going to wear today?  I am guessing on most days, if you are anything like me, you are on autopilot and you pick out the next item of clothing you can find that is clean without thinking too much about it.  With Noah being out of school, the summer just does that to me.  Everyone will still know me whether I'm wearing the pink ruffled top or the white striped shirt because I’m still the same just different today, right? 

I took that concept into my card making.  I’ve said many times that you can take any stamp set and create about a million plus different cards with it. So, I started by selecting two different sets, Matchbox Messages and A Great Friend to create my cards with today.  I also was inspired by two challenges to help get my brain a pondering.  My first card was inspired by the Simply Less is More One Layer Challenge.  The Matchbox Messages set has two wonderful frames that fit the challenge perfectly.  I chose the vined frame as I love that it is not perfect.  I used reverse masking to place the images inside with a bit of Crumb Cake ink distressing. 

For this second card, I selected this superior example of a card and cased it to make it my own.  I love the bright colors she used, but I think I do better when I stick to some neutrals with a touch of color.  I know you noticed that the main panels are the same but different.  As I am a big fan of gift sets, I think it would be great to create an array of these same but different cards to give as a set.  What do you think?

Stamps:  Matchbox Messages, A Great Friend
Papers:   Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Jet Black Stazon
Accessories:   Dimensionals
Tools: Sheet of Copy Paper, Sponge, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch, Old Olive and Basic Black Stampin’ Write Markers, Paper Snips
Techniques Used: Reverse Masking, Sponging

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

Friends 24-7

Goodbye to a Favorite

The revealing of the Last Chance list for the Stampin’ Up! year brings both anxiousness and joy!  The fun sets that are to be retired may bring us sadness but we may also feel excitement as new sets are to be discovered in the next month! I hope to share with you over the month some of my favorites that will be retired this month.  You’ll have until the end of the month to purchase these sets before they are no longer available. 

This card uses the Mojo 194 Sketch to show off the beauty of the Friends 24-7 stamp set which I have paired with the background set, En Francais. 

I love the softness of these colors together and of course, all the sponging!  Creating the 4 panels was a fun way to create a background panel.  If you’ve never tried it…you’ll want to! I don’t recall ever sponging on top of crimped paper before…I really like that effect too!  I hope you enjoy it too! Remember to click on any photo to get a bigger version!

Stamps:  Friends 24-7, En Francais 
Papers:   Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette 
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette 
Accessories:   Linen Thread, Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Dimensionals, mini glue dots 
Tools: 1-3/4” Circle Punch, 1” Circle Punch, Crimper, sponge, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit
Techniques Used: Stamped Ribbon, Sponging

Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy!