Serene Spring

The stamp set I'm showing you today, Serene Spring, is one of the hostess sets in the new Ideabook & Catalog.

This is the first card I made with the set. I stamped the image on Very Vanilla. I'm not very good at coloring on VV card stock. I used my inks and my blender pens to do it. But what I think turned out just the way I want it is background. I wanted the background to look like a wall behind the image. So I used a technique called the Grid Technique to make a faux tile background. I used my bone folder and my Fiskars cutter to emboss lines on a sheet of Very Vanilla. I then used my brayer to cover the card stock in close to Cocoa and if I remember right, Baja Breeze. I don't have the card here to look at, I sent it as a Monday Mailer to Wanda.

I really wasn't sure what to do with this one. I wanted the focus to be on the image but I didn't want it to be just the image on a white background....but now I think I should have done just that, I should have kept the background just plain white and not added those layers or brayered the card base. Oh, well, I'll keep that in mind next time. I stamped the image on watercolor paper and colored it in with my inks and my blender pens.

Here's another easy faux tile. The image is stamped on watercolor paper and colored with inks and blender pens. I used the new scallop border punch for the scalloped edge.

Here is another image stamped on Very Vanilla and colored with blender pens.

I'm keeping this post short because I'm not feeling all that good, got some kind of stomach virus I think. But I want to show you a birthday card I received last week from my NCSUdemos group and the Monday Mailer I got from Dacia last week.

I don't know much about this card except for the stamp. *lol* I like the pattern paper, I'm pretty sure it's a retired one. the stamp is from our last SAB and it was stamped and heat embossed, then punched out with our scallop circle punch. Pretty card don't you think?

Here is the Monday Mailer I got from Dacia. Looks like she may have used the Heartfelt thanks stamp set. She was going for the faux silk and it turned out great! I think she picked a wonderful color combination too. Very pretty!

Next weekend I'm going to show you a new stamp set called It's a Stretch.

Until then....TFL

Thank you

I decided to show off the nice cards I've got in the mail recently. The first card is a birthday card I received from my Upline. She used a retired designer paper, Fall Flowers. I have to admit that I don't know the stampset she used.

This is so neat. I'm going to try this idea, my DH gave me an idea of how to make a Christmas card similar to this one.

This card here is the first Monday Mailer I got this month. Dacia made it for me. We are supposed to make cards using FAUX anything and she did Faux stitching. She used two of the new In-Colors, Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango. And the stamp set is Pick a Petal. I think her pattern turned out great!

This card here was the last Monday Mailer for July. We had to use Bold Brights on our cards. Carol made this card for me. She used the Embrace Life stamp set and the main color is Orchid Opulence. She stamped the image on Shimmery White card stock. It's so pretty.

Here's a card I got from Laura. She used the Tart and Tangy stamp set and Summer Picnic Designer paper. You can find directions on how to make this card HERE.
I've been meaning to try this fold myself, don't know if I'll be able to make a card as nice as Laura's though.

This card was made by Sharon, we swapped stamp sets a couple of weeks ago and she made me this beautiful birthday card using the set she got from me, Older and Wiser. Isn't the turtle cute!?! I love the way she folded the DP too.

Ann asked me to show the sketch I used from Take Ten. It's on page 26 in Take Ten Jun/Jul/Aug 2008 (Stampers' Sampler Take Ten). The cover is green. The sample on pg. 26 is made by Jen del Muro.

Well, I'm not showing you any of my cards today. That doesn't mean I haven't been busy stamping *lol*. Next weekend I'll show you Serene Spring. I've got the cards ready but you'll have to wait.

I finally got the new catalog this past Friday and I've looked through it about a hundred times. I love all the color combos they have in it and there are "a few" stamp sets I NEED. But I'm not going to get them all at the same time. I've already started thinking about Christmas cards so I'll get a couple of those, the ones I have retired this weekend (just my luck!). And did you know that SU is going to start selling Sizzix products? Yep, it's true! And I really like their dies! But you can't order those until September.

Here are some interesting links you might want to take a look at!

$99 starter kit promotion

Fall-Winter Sampler Promotion

Never before seen promotion

Well, I'm off to decide what to put in my first order from the new catty!

Until next weekend....

TFL

Peaceful Wishes

I'm sorry to write this post so late. I had to take an extra shift at work yesterday. I have to say that taking a job in a store just before Tax Free Weekend is not something I recommend. It was crazy all weekend. And I worked today too so tonight I've been finishing up on the cards I wanted to make for this post. And then when I tried to upload my pictures I kept getting error messages. I hope the images show OK, I had to upload them to a gallery first and then load them to my blog.

I did decide to change stamp sets for this post. I just wanted a chance to use this Christmas set before it retires :0

The first card I made earlier this summer. The base is Always Artichoke. Then we have Bravo Burgundy, River Rock DP, Always Artichoke again and I stamped the image in Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy on watercolor paper. I used sponge daubers to distress the image with Bravo Burgundy ink and River Rock ink. the ribbon is Bravo Burgundy.

The colors in this card are Old Olive, Ruby red and Chocolate Chip. The image is stamped on Naturals White. I used my markers instead of the inkpads. I used my new scallop edge punch for the scallop edge and I didn't have a ribbon in the right color red so I used a scrap paper instead (Ruby Red).

This card I made for a "Monday Mailer" thing I've joined in my NCSUdemos club. We were supposed to do FAUX anything on this months cards. This is the first card this month and I did faux linnen (sp?) on the three background panels. I couldn't find my sanding blocks so I had to use sandpaper and I don't think it turned out as good as if I had used the blocks. I used En Francais on the three panels and sponged Always Artichoke onto it before using the sandpaper.

The card base is Bravo Burgundy, then the three panels, then Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy again and the image and sentiment. The image and sentiment are stamped on Very Vanilla. I did put a ribbon in the top left corner after I took the picture of the card. And I used Crystal effects on the berries!

This card is pretty simple but I like it. I used Soft Sky, Baja Breeze and Pacific Point. I don't feel like I need to say much about it.

This one is pretty simple too. the colors are Always Artichoke, Real Red, River Rock and Chocolate Chip. I managed to "cut" the sentiment in half by using my real red marker.

I was going to show you a couple of cards I received last week from fellow demos, but it'll have to wait until Blogger accepts the images straight from my computer.

I do want to tell you that I've got a SU website now. I just got it yesterday so I haven't worked on it much, but soon you'll be able to order from my website if you like :)

The link is http://huldap.stampinup.net/

TFL

Prehistoric Pals

I have been wanting this stampset since I first saw it, but never got around to ordering it. Well, I managed to swap one of my hostess sets for it so I'm happy :)

This one is pretty simpla. I used the Chocolate Chip inkpad for stamping and the card stock is River Rock, Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip. The ribbon is Chocolate Chip too. Designer Paper is River Rock. I am so going to miss River Rock and Soft Sky :(

I guess I can say this is a very masculine card. Basic Black and card stock that will be available in the new catty (Tangerine Tango). I used Kiwi Kiss (green), Riding Hood Red and Pacific Point (blue) ink (new in-colors). I used my spiral punch to make the Tangerine Tango look like a film strip. And my white Signo pen for faux stitching.

Never make card when hubby and kids are around you! I was working on this card and having to deal with my hubby and DS at the same time....and the card turned out crooked in all directions it seems like. The card base is Soft Sky, then Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango (stamped with Print Pattern background), Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky. I stamped the tree trunks on the Soft Sky card stock. The ground is River Rock scrap piece that I tore a little bit to make it look like sand. The dinosaur and the palm leaves were stamped on Whisper White and cut out

This is actually the first card I made with this set and the new in-colors. The card base is Basic Black, then Baja Breeze and Kiwi kiss cardstock. Basick Black again and Whisper White....! I had started using my brayer to make the Kiwi Kiss ground and the Baja Breeze sky when I thought of using the card stock to make the same effect on the first layer. The dinosaurs are stamped on Whisper white and cut out.

I am excited about the new in-colors but I wish I could keep River Rock and Soft Sky from the current in-colors. The only color from the new in-colors that I don't like all that much is Tangerine Tango....but I still managed to use some of it for this post :)

I'm thinking of showing you a new hostess set (from the catty we'll get in August), Serenity Spring, next weekend. We'll see if I stick to that or change my mind ;) I've got my first day at work on Monday and if I have a busy week I might change to something that doesn't require much coloring ;)

TFL

Sock Monkey

I got my preview order from the new catty this week. I got a couple of stamp sets and all the new in-colors. And of course I had to give the new stuff a try.
I decided to start with the Sock Monkey stamp set. I love sock monkeys. My DH has one from when he was little and my DS got one for Christmas last year.

This is the first card I made with this set. I stamped the monkey on Whisper White and Kraft card stock and the paper pieced the poor thing. I had to check on DS's monkey to see if I was getting the parts right. I sponged the background with Baja Breeze. The card stock colors are Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette and Kraft of course. I used a new scallop border punch to punch the red scallops.


I had a person in mind when I made this card. We've got a few birthdays coming up next month. I decided to see how the in-colors match with colors from other families. I picked Taken with Teal because that's the birthday girl's favorite color. The other colors are Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango and Sahara Sand. I like how it turned out! I also used a scrap piece from the Bali Breeze Designer Paper.

This is also a birthday card for August. I wanted to try to make a rectangle with the scallop border punch. It was my first try so of course I made a small mistake but managed to hide it. The monkey is stamped on watercolor paper and then colored in with close to cocoa and Riding Hood red. the card base is Naturals White. And again I used the new in-colors. The sentiment stamp is from a retired set named Party Punch. I sponged it with Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red.

Here's the last one I made. I thought I'd get a chance to make one more today, but that didn't happen. The colors are Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose and Whisper White. Pretty Simple. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet. I used Crystal Effects on the monkey and the heart.

Next weekend I'm going to show you Prehistoric Pals. It's in the current catalog, just new to me. I swapped a hostess set for it ;)

TFL

Soft Sky, Blue Bayou and Certainly Celery

I like looking at the Color Combo challenges over on Splitcoaststampers and earlier this week I was checking out some of the color combos and decided to give this one a try. My cards are pretty simple this week but I used all of my favorite stamp sets :)

Lets start with this Lovely as a tree card. I stamped the image on Whisper White with Blue Bayou and then used sponge daubers to "color in" the image. The image is on dimensionals. The background is the retiring Soft Sky designer paper.

This one is almost too simple. The stamps are from the Nursery Necessities stamp set. I used a scrap piece from the Soft Sky DP. Doesn't need much explaining. I think adding a ribbon or brads would make this card cuter. I just didn't have the right colors to do it.

Another simple one. I stamped the gator from Wild about you on Whisper White and cut it out. Adhered it to Soft Sky and added Crystal Effects. I got the designer paper from my upline. She got it before I became a demo. I used a white signo pen for the centers of the flowers. Used the word punch to punch out the sentiment.

I really like making the dress cards and I wanted to see how this color combo would work on a dress card. I think it turned out OK. I didn't use iridescent ice or dazzling diamonds but I'm satisfied. It's not too complicated. The stamp set is Baroque Motifs.

This one here is my absolute favorite. I bought a Take Ten magazine a couple of weeks ago and I saw the sketch there. I wanted to give it a try and I've made 4 different cards so far, using this sketch. I'm thinking of sending one of the cards in to see if it'll get published.
The stamp set is Embrace Life. I used Crystal Effects on the big soft sky flower and the smaller flowers too. I brayered soft sky ink onto soft sky card stock to get a different background. I think that worked out good.

I am hoping that I'll get my preview order from the new catty before my next post so I can try out some new stamps and new colors.

For those of you not familiar with my blog and reading it for the first time, I only blog once a week, usually on a Saturday or a Sunday. That gives me the whole week to come up with projects and make a few samples.
If you'd like me to add you blog to my list post a link to it in the comments. And tell me if it's SU only or not. By SU only I mean no Cuttlebug or DP/stamps from other companies than Stampin'Up. It's ok if it's not SU only, I'll just list it separately ;)

TFL

Fruit stand

The Fruit Stand is a small stampset, only 3 stamps. I really like all three images. I haven't done many cards with this set though. So it's about time to get some cards done!!!


I stamped the image on Whisper White using my Jet Black Stazon. I then used my blenderpens and inkpads to color in the image. The grapes are Perfect Plum and the leaves are Mellow Moss and Old Olive. The designer paper is from Bali Breeze, I stamped on it with the Print Pattern background stap (retiring). The cardbase is Old Olive and I also used Perfect Plum cardstock. I added Crystal Effects to the grapes.


This image is also stamped on Whisper White with my Jet Black Stazon. And again I used my blenderpens and inkpads for coloring. The colors are Real Red, Mellow Moss and Bashful Blue. I covered a part of the Mellow Moss card stock with torn copy paper before I used my Print Pattern stamp for the background. the image is on dimensionals.

This one I'm not too happy with. I seriously need more background stamps or something. Maybe a couple of brads would have done the trick. The image was done the same way as the two cards above. I used Mellow moss, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Apricot Appeal and Groovy Guava. The ribbon is Mellow Moss. DP is Old olive.


These were fun to make. I stamped the images on Lavender Lace cardstock with my Versamark. I then used my black embossing powder and embossed the images using my heating tool. And then I used an old blenderpen and bleach to change the colors of the images. It was very interesting and it took me a while to pick out which color I should try this on. I like it. So the colors are, Whisper White, Lavender Lace and Basic Black. These would be easy to make in sets if you want to make a box with notecards or "thank you" cards.

I have not yet decided what I want to show you next weekend, I'm running out of stampsets to show you. I might have to start all over again with the stamp sets I've already used until I get my preorder from the new catty.
Have a nice week and check back in next weekend :)

TFL

ETA: I forgot that I was tagged by Laura over at Stamp Happy with Laura.
The "rules" of the game: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. Ten years ago - I was having fun in Bergen, Norway. I was working there as an Au-Pair for an awesome family. That fall I started studying at the University of Education in Reykjavik.

Five things in today's do list:
1. Finish a couple of cards
2. Fill out job applications
3. Turn the applications in
4. Send in a SU order
5. Blog!!!

Snacks I enjoy: Popcorn and Coke
Things I would do if I was a millionaire: Buy a house. Visit with my family in Iceland every year. Open a preschool maybe or a small craft store.
Places I have lived - Grindavik, Reykjavik, Hveragerði, Drangsnes (all in Iceland), Bergen (Norway), Härnösand (Sweden), Asheville and Fairview (NC, USA).

;)
If you have a blog consider yourself tagged by me!!!
;)