How do I say Happy Birthday to my brother?

With a Steelers card and a Stamp of Approval sneak peek of course!  

My little brother has been a Steelers fan his whole life.  I can remember way back when I was just an artsy teen, painting football helmets on his bedroom wall.  I had no interest in football, I was just happy to be painting....anything.  One whole awesome wall of helmets with all of the team logos.  Now THAT was a fun project that I have no pictures of, LOL!  But he was such a sweet little boy.

Back in 2008 I made him a Steelers helmet cake for his Superbowl birthday party because........

This year I decided to try my hand at a Steelers card.  Theme cards are always fun for me so when I saw the the awesome Harleen stencil that comes in the new Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection my Steelers wheels started turning.  I used Zig Kuretake real brush watercolor markers to stencil on this colorful Harleen pattern for the background.  Then I used some Versamark and clear embossing powder to double stencil some clear diamonds and to add shine over the top of the colored diamonds.

I also used Versamark to stamp a helmet pattern on the stitched rectangle.  There are some great sneak peeks on this card for the new Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection.  Look closely, can you find them??

For this card I used the following supplies:
Stamps: Label Maker Sentiments and All Star (My Favorite Things)

Ink: onyx black (Versafine), clear watermark (Versamark)
Paper: Fog & Sunshine cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 110 lb (Neenah)
Accessories: Stitched Jumbo Fishtail Banner and Blueprints #15 dies (My Favorite Things), Stitched Mats: Circle dies (Lil' Inker Designs), stencil (Winnie & Walter/SOA Young at Heart collection), dies(Casual Fridays/SOA Young at Heart collection), dies(Sugar Pea Designs/SOA Young at Heart collection), Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush Markers; yellow, light gray, persian blue, carmine red. 1/2" circle punch (EK Success), dimensional tape (3M).

The new Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection is slated to go on sale February 3rd.  Make sure you get on the list for email notification --->HERE<---.  These boxes sell out quick so with this email you'll get a heads up on when the sale starts.  I don't want you to miss out on this fantastic box of goodies!

Be sure to check in with Catherine Pooler this weekend for three days of sneak peeks from the StampNation Dream Team and some awesome guest designers.  She also has some cards and videos up right now that showcase some of the Young at Heart Collection so head on over to her blog --->HERE<--- for some more SOA fun!.  I'll be back here on Saturday and Sunday with some sneak peeks too!  I'm so excited, this collection is just so much fun.  You're going to LOVE it!!

Speaking of LOVE.......I love you Jamie.  Happy Birthday lil' brother!  Steelers still rule!!  ;)

Stenciling up a storm over at StampNation!

January has just been an amazing month of inspiration and creativity over at StampNation.  I've been having so much fun with the new Technique Toolbox Creative Stenciling classes. Almost every day Catherine Pooler and her Dream Team have been posting videos and projects that have just been so inspiring.  I had honestly never realized how versatile stencils could be in my card making.  I'm totally enamored with them now.  I have learned everything from making my own backgrounds, glitter paper, how to emboss with a stencil and even how to make my own stencils.  It's just amazing how much you can do with a little five or six dollar stencil.  No more patterned paper for me.  I'll make my own, thank you very much!  ;)

Check out this beautiful background I made using a butterfly stencil and a little texture paste, distress ink and glitter.  What I'm most impressed with is how clean the lines are, even on the tiniest butterflies.  They really pop on this clean and simple card.  

And shhhhhhh........there's a sneak peek on this card from the new Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection too.  Can you guess what it is??  Are you on the notification list yet?  If not, stop on over and put your name on the list so you can be one of the first in line for this awesome collection of stamps and dies. It's due to be released the first week in February so check back because I'll be posting some sneak peaks.  You're gonna LOVE it!!

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Stamp of Approval Young at Heart Collection

Ink:  coral crush (My Favorite Things), ripe persimmon (Ranger Distress Ink), onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah Exact)

Accessories:  transparent texture paste matte (Ranger), crystal fine glitter (Martha Stewart), Butterflies stencil (CC Designs), fun foam, b&w bakers twine (unknown)

If you're not a member of StampNation yet, this would be a great time to stop over and check out this awesome FREE stenciling class.  It's a great community of cardmakers and we'd love to have you join us in the fun.  Just follow this StampNation link for all the details.  See you there!!

Diamond Shaker Watercolor

For today's card I pulled out my distress markers for some watercolor "smooshing".  This is my favorite way to watercolor.  I seem to get the best affects when I use a clear cellophane sheet (some old packaging that my stamps come in).  I just scribble right onto the cellophane, spray a little water onto some watercolor paper and then flip the cellophane over onto the wet paper.  After "smooshing" it around for a bit I slowly raise the cellophane to reveal a beautiful blend of water and ink.  After it dries I sprinkle a few droplets of water and dab them up with a paper towel to create some lighter spots for depth.  And if you look real close you can see the subtle stenciling I did over the top with some sparkly glitz embossing powder and a new stencil from the next Stamp of Approval Collection.

For the shaker element I diecut the top layer from silver foil cardstock.  Then I cut four more diamonds from white cardstock.  I trimmed all of the inside area out of each white layer, just leaving the frame around the edge.  As you can see in the photo, I glued and stacked each white frame then added a layer of transparency film and finally the silver diecut on top.  I placed the beads and sequins in the area where I wanted the diamond then I just glued the diamond over them, adhering it right to the card front.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps: Strictly Sentiments (WPlus9), Striped Background (My Favorite Things)

Ink: onyx black (Versafine), clear watermark (Versamark), abandoned coral, worn lipstick, tattered rose (Ranger Distress markers)

Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah), white 140 lb watercolor (Canson), silver foil cardstock (Bazzill)

Accessories:  Girl's Best Friend Diamond die (Lil' Inker Designs), Harleen stencil (Winnie & Walter/Stamp of Approval Young at Heart collection), glitz embossing powder (Recollections), clear embossing powder (WOW), transparency sheet, clear sequins, clear beads, silver ribbon (unknown)

It's day #4 of the free stenciling classes going on over at StampNation.   Members are having a blast making and posting photos of their cards using the awesome stenciling techniques that they're learning.  Today Maureen Merritt is teaching us how to make our own stencils.  How awesome is that??  You still have plenty of time to catch these classes and participate for some awesome prizes.  Click on the photo below and it will take you over to the StampNation info page so you can learn how to get signed up today.  Then you can jump right in and play!   

Birthday Balloons - One to grow on.

I made this cute little card for my niece's little boy Kayden who turned 3.  I just love these adorable little balloon stamps.  They are easy to color with my Zig real brush markers and I can see them making their way onto quite a few of my kid cards in the future.  I made my own stencil for the clouds using a border stamp and blending technique with distress ink. I thought the big number 3 was a great way to personalize this card for Kayden.  It may have made a little more sense to use three balloons instead of four but we all need one to grow on right?  ;)

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Best Birthday (Clearly Besotted), Diagonal Stripes Backround (My Favorite Things)

Ink:  salty ocean (Ranger Distress), onyx black (Versafine), clear watermark (Versamark)

Paper:  black cardstock (Simon Says Stamp), white 110 lb (Neenah)

Accessories:  Best Birthday dies (Clearly Besotted), Big Numbers dies (My Favorite Things), Border Builder dies (Lil' Inker Designs), fine white embossing powder (WOW), Zig Kuratake Real Brush markers.

StampNation is on day three of their awesome Creative Stenciling class that's free to all members.  Today I'm playing along as Catherine Pooler shows us more great techniques for stamping over stenciling.  Here's a little sneak peek of what's happening in class today.  Come on over and join in the fun.  All you have to do is sign up to be a member and you're in! For more information just follow this link --->HERE<---- or click on the picture below and it will take you right over to learn more about StampNation.  Hope to see you there!

Sweet Candy Shaker

Today I'm just playing with some eye candy and some Hero Art's pretty pink Bubblegum shadow ink.  I just love stripes in this color!  I used My Favorite Things Candy Jar die to make a shaker card so I could fill it up with some sparkly "sugar".

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:  Candy Jar Companion set and Pinstripe Background (My Favorite Things).

Ink:  Bubblegum (Hero Arts Shadow Ink), onyx black (Versafine), clear embossing (Versamark)

Paper:  140lb white cardstock (Neenah), silver foil cardstock (unknown)

Accessories:  Candy Jars, Blueprints #15 dies (My Favoirite Things),  a sneak peek die (SOA/Young at Heart Collection), Baked With Love dies (Sizzix), clear embossing powder (wow), transparency film (Office Max), haze blue real brush marker  (Zig/Kuretake), bakers twine, sequins, beads (unknown).

The new free stenciling classes are underway over at StampNation and WOW!!  Talk about major inspiration!  Today Maureen Merritt is teaching us some awesome techniques on how to use those stencils for her famous clean and simple cards. It's so much fun, I've been making cards all day!!   Hurry and join StampNation today so you can play along too.  Just follow this link --->HERE<--- or click on the photo below for all the information you'll need to get started today!!

Special delivery and a free Creative Stenciling class.

It's not very often I get a chance to make a baby card so I was super excited to make one for my cousin Tiffany's baby shower over the weekend. I just recently ran across some wonderful stamp sets by Clearly Besotted that have really sweet, simple sentiments so of course I added them to my collection.  Now....I just need some more babies!

I used a striped border stamp to create the background on this card.  I wanted to keep it clean and simple with soft colors.  To add a little baby cuteness I used WPlus9's Unforgettable elephant stamps and how awesome that it fits perfectly in that little box die by Mama Elephant?!!

I added some dimension with some fun foam on the back of the stitched circle and a little 3M dimensional adhesive to lift the elephants head. To ground the box a little I scribbled a light gray Zig watercolor brush before adhering it.

For this card I used the following supplies from:

Stamps:  Special Delivery (Clearly Besotted), Unforgettable (WPlus9), Striped Background (My Favorite Things)

Ink:  Berrylicious Hybrid (My Favorite Things), onyx black (Versafine)

Paper:  white 140 lb cardstock (Neenah), kraft cardstock (unknkown)

Accessories: 1st Place Award Ribbon die (My Favorite Things), All Prettied Up die (Mama Elephant), Stitched Mats: Circles die (Lil' Inker Designs), distress markers (Ranger/Tim Holtz), light gray marker (Zig Kuretake Real Brush), clear sequins (unknown)

Just a reminder, today the new Creative Stenciling classes are starting up over at StampNation to celebrate our 5th birthday!!  These classes are FREE to all members!!   Woohoo!  Happy Birthday!!!  

Catherine Pooler and her team will be posting new videos every day for the next couple weeks, teaching some amazing techniques on how to use those stencils we all have in our stash. You can watch, learn, create and share your creations.  They also have some fun sponsors and prizes lined up!  If you're not a member yet you better hurry and get in on the birthday bash fun.  Just head on over to StampNation and sign up today!!  Seriously, you don't want to miss this!

Hope to see you there!!

  

This Year in Cards: Top 10 of 2015

After a long December hiatus, I hit the craft room  running this week.  There are tons of fun things happening over at StampNation this month of January as we're preparing for a big birthday celebration. StampNation is turning 5 years old on the 11th and that's cause to partay!!!    If you're not a member yet, this would be the perfect time to join in. This birthday bash is going to be exciting, challenging, motivating and just the inspiration a cardmaker needs to bounce back from all the Christmas card hubbub. I'll be posting some sneak peeks soon so be sure to check back.  You can also click -->HERE<-- for more information on what StampNation has to offer.  

I'm also excited to announce that Catherine Pooler and the design team are hard at work preparing for the big reveal of the 3rd Stamp of Approval box that is slated for release the last week in January.  Make sure you're on the list for email notification, so you can be one of the first to know when it's up for sale.  There are limited quantities and I wouldn't want you to miss out.  Click -->HERE<-- to find out how to get your name on the mailing list!

Now, as promised, here are my Top 10 cards of 2015.  This wasn't easy as I made almost 250 cards last year.  So instead of the impossible task of choosing my favorite cards, I decided to choose my top 10 favorite techniques used on my cards in 2015.  Here we go....

1.  Painting with water colors.

2. Layered diecut scenes.

3.  Watercoloring with Distress Ink.

4.  Using positive and negative diecuts.

5.  Using Distress markers to color images.

6.  Loading up with diecut flowers.

7.  Bokeh and altering stamped images. (2 for 1 on this card!)

8.  Shaker cards, shaker cards and MORE shaker cards!!!

9.  Distress inks over embossed images.

10.  Stenciling and using Kuretake real brush watercolors. (another bonus!)

There you go!  10 cards with a couple extra techniques thrown in for fun.  ;)  Happy new year everyone!  May 2016 be joyous, prosperous and your most creative year ever!!!

Saying goodbye to my friend....2015.

Hi everyone!  My bad!  I hope you don't mind that I took about a month off from my blog in order to focus on family and the holidays.  Well, I made it through and am finally getting back to some sense of normalcy.  Although, shhhhhh..... I must admit, my Christmas tree is still up and shining bright.  The thought of taking it down just makes me really sad.  I really enjoyed having it around this year and I think I'm going to miss it twinkling next to my desk while I'm working.

Now, even though I haven't said goodbye to my Christmas tree yet, I think it's time to quit procrastinating and say goodbye to this wonderful year

2015

  A year of fun and great memories.  New adventures and new opportunities.  New aspirations and new conquests.

My best friend in the whole world got married in May:

The love of my life took me soaring to new heights:

I turned the big 5-0in August and actually survived:

Shortly after that BIG day, I started my journey to better health by losing 40 lbs....and my husband set up this awesome home gym for me.

My BFF flew up on her broom for a visit in October!!  We got to see each other 2 times in one year....what a treat!!

October also brought me my first design team gig.  It was such an honor and dream of mine to be asked by Catherine Pooler, to guest design and then ultimately chosen to join the Dream Team over at StampNation.  I couldn't have dreamed of a more awesome and talented bunch of ladies to work with.  Check them out -->HERE<--  Along with being top notch designers for StampNation, they also have some fun blogs to follow. 

December brought a whirlwind of Holiday Magic at StampNation and in my kitchen.

Well that about wraps it up for me.  Time to take down that tree and get ready for a fun new year.  Thanks for letting me share 2015 with you and I hope you'll stick around for some more awesome cards and crafting fun in the coming year.  My next blog post will be a special This Year in Cards: Top 10.

Happy New Year!!

More Holiday Magic snowflakes and a chance to win the Next Stamp of Approval box!

Hello everyone.  I'm still plugging away on Christmas cards and I wanted to share a couple more that I made with the the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic Collection.  I just can't get enough of those awesome snowflake dies and stamp sets. 

For this first one I embossed the red cardstock with white embossing powder using CAS-ual Fridays Bring on the Snowflakes stamp set.  I used the coordinating Funky Flakes dies in red for the bottom half of the card.  There's that fabulous candy cane border again from Winnie & Walter's Scenery: Holiday Trimmings stamp set.  That is still my absolute favorite stamp in that collection.  I finished off this card with a sentiment from CAS-ual Friday's Snowy Sayings stamp set and a few clear sequins scattered randomly.  Seriously, check out the detail in these snowflakes!!

This next snowflake card is featuring some layered Funky Flakes dies in white and silver sparkle cardstock.  The background was made using a border stamp from the Snowy Sayings stamp set along with the sentiment from the same set.

I have had so much fun with this Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection that I'm just chompin' at the bit to get my hands on that next box in January.  This time the fabulous Catherine Pooler is offering up a way to win one before they even go on sale.  Don't miss out on this awesome opportunity!

 Just click on the above photo and head on over to Catherine Pooler's blog  to check out the details on how you can enter for your chance to win the next Stamp of Approval box!  Good luck!  And Happy Holidays!

Traditional Colors for Christmas

Hi everyone. I'm posting a few cards today that I made showcasing the beauty of red and green.   I admit, when I make my Christmas cards I very rarely stray from traditional colors.  I love red and green and I think when they're mixed with more neutral colors like black, white or beige they really stand out on a card.  

For this card I started with the Stitched Woodgrain Cover Up die from Lil' Inker Designs. It makes a beautiful background in Simon Says Stamp's  Khaki cardstock.  I stenciled the tags using white Gesso medium and Sizzix Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencil. The sentiment is Cas-ual Friday's Snowy Sayings from the Stamp of Approval's Holiday Magic Collection.   I topped it off with my favorite WPlus9 reindeer from the Stag Trio die set.

Here's a close up.  Doesn't the red and green look gorgeous with the natural colored twine and background?

For this card I used the red and green against a white background with a bit of a gold accent with the bow.  I love this Sizzix Tattered floral die using Simon Says Stamp Schoolhouse Red cardstock and some border stamps from CAS-ual Fridays and Stamp of Approval's Holiday Magic Collection.  The Quilted Stitched Cover up die is from Lil' Inker Designs.

And just because you use traditional colors doesn't mean you can't add a little whimsy to your cards.  I thought this card turned out cute using My Favorite Things Christmas Tree Cutout die.  I accented it with some gold string and gold foil cardstock.  For the background I used Lil' Inker's Stitched Mats: Rectangles and Border Builders die sets.

Well this is the week I mail out all of my cards to friends and family.  I didn't make any duplicates this year which was a first for me. I was able to come up with 50 different card designs and  I owe it all to Stamp Nation.  They really pulled out all the stops over there with their CASE-ing Christmas class in November and their December challenges.  There was just so much wonderful inspiration at Stamp Nation and it really inspired me to try some new designs and techniques.  If you're not a member yet I encourage you to stop over and sign up today.  I can promise 2016 will be loaded with more inspiring projects from Catherine Pooler and the Dream Team.

Have a great day everyone!

Quick!! A chance to win Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic!!

How exciting is this?  Catherine Pooler has an extra box of Holiday Magic she's going to give away to one lucky winner over at her blog.  Just head on over and leave her a comment for your chance to win but you have to act fast.  She's picking a lucky winner tomorrow, Friday, December 4th.  Here's your chance to win a Christmas present for you!

Good luck!!