This Little Piggy Hiding in the Barn

Hello there!

I just had a chance to break out my Barn Door Stamp Set along with its coordinating Sliding Door Framelits set. I knew I wanted to pair it with This Little Piggy. I mean, seriously, the two were made for each other. After making one, I decided I wanted to use it at my June TNT (Tips N Techniques) class, but I knew that the piggy one was going to be a bit too time consuming, so I came up with a slightly simpler version.

The card with the red bow is my Little Piggy one. Although you can't see it well in the photo, I scored lines across the background piece to mimic a barn. I wasn't sure if the lines should go vertical or horizontal. I looked up photos online and found that some barns are built one way, and some the other. I realize what I really should have done was make this in red instead of Crumb Cake. Definitely would have looked more like a barn then. I also water colored a bit of shading on the door.

On the second card, I didn't score the background or watercolor the door. Just a simple matter of stamping and die cutting. I even decided to stamp the door handle rather than using the die cut one. Love that you have options and they both look great.

I watched a video that Stampin' Up! put out showcasing this set and how to assemble your cards. In it they recommend you use washers for the sliding mechanism. I remember when doing spinner cards, washers or pennies were recommended as you needed the weight to help the spinner spin, but after making my piggy card with pennies. I found that the card seemed a bit too heavy and knew it would definitely cost more to send, so I tried using 3/4 inch circles of cardstock. Worked like a charm. My other tip would be to make sure that whatever you use doesn't stick out farther than your door when you stick them to the dimensionals.  Otherwise they will show when you slide the door back and forth.

Here's what my doors open up to:

Cute little water colored piggy...

and a simple sentiment.

And inside the cards:

A little more water coloring on the piggy one along with an extra layer of cardstock.

Well, now I think I need to go make a red one. Maybe with a little kitty hiding in the barn. Hmm. So many options. :o)

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Hostess Code Bonus: Please use this month's Hostess Code when you place an order. It will allow me to pick up some goodies to share with you when I send out your Thank You gift at the end of the month. (If you check the "Do No Contact" button when you order, I cannot legally contact you in any way, which means I cannot send you a Thank You gift or any extra goodies. :o(  )

Mail A Card Monday--Graduation Cards

Hello there!

It's Mail A Card Monday again. I have to confess that I don't actually have any cards in my mail box today. My daughter does, but I don't. I did however, hand out quite a few graduation cards this weekend or rather, my hubby did. My Handsome Hubby is a high school teacher which means lots of invites to Open Houses. The end of the year snuck up on me, so I spent Mother's Day afternoon creating a variety of graduation cards for him to hand out. Here's what I came up with.

Hard to tell in these photos, but the school colors are purple and white. It was a cloudy day when I took these photos, and they look black and white to me. I used Elegant Eggplant for all of the stamping on these cards. I think next year I will have to use the new Gorgeous Grape color.

The first card I designed was simply a bunch of purple and gold balloons with a "Congratulations" banner across them.

I used both the Gold Foil and Gold Glimmer paper for the balloons. The strings were just hand drawn on. Some of the cards I did a better job of drawing the strings than others. The "Congratulations" came from the Petal Palette set and it just perfectly fit inside the banner from the Number of Years set.

Speaking of the Number of Years set. I used it for the next card along with the matching dies. So sad to see this set retire. I don't see myself getting rid of them as I do most of my retiring stuff, as they are perfect to use for both graduation and birthday cards.

You may also notice a new set on here. This is the new Pick a Pennant set that I received at OnStage a few weeks ago. To achieve the lighter purple color on the banner, I just stamped off once on scrap paper and then stamped onto the card front. I used the Stamparatus to stamp the "Congrats" on there. I lined up all the letters where I wanted them and then it was just a matter of stamping once for each card front I did. So easy!

The next card is my favorite. I made a shaker card using the Gold Glitter Flakes from the Occasions Catalog.

A few balloons and a "Congratulations" banner and this card was done. Whew! I made 4 of each of these designs for him, and he just informed me he has 1 left and several more open houses to attend next weekend. Guess I know what I'll be doing in the craft room tonight. :o)

So, while I didn't get anything in the mail box today, I did send out quite a few cards over the weekend. I think that counts. :o) How about you? What's in your mail box this week?

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Hostess Code Bonus: Please use this month's Hostess Code when you place an order. It will allow me to pick up some goodies to share with you when I send out your Thank You gift at the end of the month. (If you check the "Do No Contact" button when you order, I cannot legally contact you in any way, which means I cannot send you a Thank You gift or any extra goodies. :o(  )

Garden In Bloom Anniversary Cards

Hello there! This past week I finished up my birthday and anniversary cards for May. For the anniversary cards I wanted to use one of my retiring sets that I just hadn't used very much. I also used the retiring Marina Mist color for my cardstock and flowers. 

This is one of those sets that's not only very pretty, but it's pretty easy to use. It's a 2-Step set, with a hand sketched, watercolor kind of look to it. This means that the stamp that colors in the image doesn't perfectly line up with the outline, which makes stamping pretty easy since you don't have to be precise. 

Since I was making multiples of this card, I used my Stamparatus. Having the removable/flip-able plates made this go pretty quick. I was able to have the outline on one plate, the blue image on another plate, and the green on the back of that one. I did have to rearrange the stamps a couple of times on the plates as I used the flowers and leaves multiple times on each card front. I stamped all the card fronts with the flower in one spot, moved the flowers and then stamped all the card fronts again. I had to do this multiple times, but it was still much easier than making sure all my flowers were lined up each time. 

Not much time left to get this stamp set. I think it's a pretty versatile set as you can even do some more masculine themed cards by using the bumble bee in the set rather than the flowers. How about you? What set do you love that can be used for both feminine and masculine cards?

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Hostess Code Bonus: Please use this month's Hostess Code when you place an order. It will allow me to pick up some goodies to share with you when I send out your Thank You gift at the end of the month. (If you check the "Do No Contact" button when you order, I cannot legally contact you in any way, which means I cannot send you a Thank You gift or any extra goodies. :o(  )

June's Suite Sampler Craft Kit

Hello there!

I am so excited to share with you June's Suite Sampler Craft Kit. For those who don't know, this is a specially curated box of crafting goodies based off of one of Stampin' Up!'s suites. It's a sampling of the suite along with some other goodies added to round out your crafting possibilities.

This month's kit is based on the new Rooted in Nature Suite coming out in 2018/2019 Annual catalog. You guys, this kit is so gorgeous, and so versatile!

It's also perfect for Father's Day, which in the US is celebrated on June 17th this year. I am posting this now so you have plenty of time to let me know that you want the kit. I will place the order for the products June 1st (when the products will come available). I will post them out to you as quickly as I can so that, hopefully, you will have time to make something awesome to give for Father's Day. I already have a couple of projects planned and will post them over the next couple of weeks along with instructions so you can make them to.

So, what's in June's kit?

Isn't this paper gorgeous!?!

All of this, and actually, a little more. There are a couple of things missing from this picture. For $20 ($25 with shipping) you get:
     *1/2 pack Nature's Poem DSP (6 x 12)
     *2 sheets each Blackberry Bliss, Tranquil Tide, Soft Suede, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral cardstock
     *4 sheets Whisper White
     *10 Whisper White envelopes
     *8 Leaves Trinkets (2 each of 4 designs)
     *1 yd Blackberry Bliss Twine
     *1 yd Crumb Cake Twine
     *1 yd Grapefruit Grove Twine
     *1 yd Mint Macaron Twine
     * 1 sheet Watercolor Paper
     *2 Kraft Pillow Boxes (shown in very top photo)
     *6 True Gentlemen Buttons (2 each of 3 designs) (not shown)
     *BONUS: 11 each gold and silver pearls (not shown)

If you were to buy all of these products in their original packaging it would cost over $105! You get a sampling of them for just $20! Plus, you get some project ideas from me so you can put your kit to use right away.

As usual, there are some optional extras that you can add with no additional shipping charges, and they will also get you a few extra goodies from me.

Optional Extras:
     *Pinewood Planks 3D Dynamic Impressions Embossing Folder (not shown)  $10
     *Rooted in Nature Stamp Set $55 wood mount/$42 clear mount
     *Nature's Roots Framelits Dies $39
     *Rooted In Nature Bundle (includes stamp set and Framelits) $84.50 wood mount/$72.75 clear mount

BONUS: If you add on any of Optional Extras, I will add 1 yard of our Burlap Ribbon, and any 2 products will get you an entire package of Corrugated Elements. (The Rooted in Nature Bundle counts as 2 items.)

I'm so excited to share this Suite Sampling with you. I can't wait to post the projects I've made. :-)

RESERVE YOUR KIT

The deadline to reserve your kit is May 31. Remember that you need to email me to reserve your Suite Samplings Craft Kit. I will send you an invoice and payment will be to me in advance of the order being placed and sent out.  

Shipping Notes: If you live local to me and would like to pick up your kit, your total price is $20. If you are not local to me I will send the Suite Samplings Craft kit and any Optional Extras in a Priority Flat Rate padded envelope. Your total price will be $25. 

This is only available in the United States. You need to email me to order. You cannot order this kit through my online Stampin' Up! store as this is a kit that I have specially curated for you. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello there, and Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there. I don't usually blog on Sunday, but, as usual, I am a bit behind on my crafting. I actually spent today and yesterday making Mother's Day cards. I was going to make a couple of Mother's Day cards for my mom, mother-in-law, daughter and daughter-in-law, but then I realized I needed to make a few more.

I realized I know quite a few amazing moms, most of which will be thoroughly enjoying today and getting spoiled by loved ones, but there are a few out there that this might be a pretty tough day for them. Maybe someone whose lost a child, or has a wayward child, maybe she's a widow, or in a nursing home with no one coming to visit. So, I decided to make several more cards and send them out to women I know that may need a little pick-me-up today. (Yes, they will be late, but I'm sure they'll love them just the same.)

I used the new Love What You Do stamp set that is offered right now as a pre-order in some pretty amazing bundles for this card, along with the Large Letters Framelits and the Celebrate You Thinlits. (SOO glad those dies didn't retire after Sale-a-Bration!)

I used all three of the watercolor stamps in the set to achieve the Blushing Bride background by simply stamping them randomly in the corner. The flowers were water colored in with Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry, which I have to admit, is a color I don't use very often. My daughter and I were undecided as to which of those two colors to use for the letters and card base, and eventually settled on the Rich Razzleberry. I thought about using some of the pearls from the bundle, but I really like it just as it is.

I really do like how this came out, and hope it can help cheer up some pretty amazing women in my life.

How about you? Know any amazing women in your life? I challenge you this week to drop them a letter, or better yet, give them a call. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Hostess Code Bonus: Please use this month's Hostess Code when you place an order. It will allow me to pick up some goodies to share with you when I send out your Thank You gift at the end of the month. (If you check the "Do No Contact" button when you order, I cannot legally contact you in any way, which means I cannot send you a Thank You gift or any extra goodies. :o(  )

Cozy Cottage Home Decor Piece

Hello there! How are you on this fine spring day? Our snow is finally melted, and much to my delight, the tulips are coming up! Spring is so fun here. It seems like every time we go outside there's something new growing. Of course a lot of those are weeds, but we'll overlook that for now. They're green. 

I've been working on this piece for a little while. I had the idea back in February and started working on it then. I got the layout planned, finished the stamping and the water coloring in just a couple of days. Unfortunately, life got in the way after that and it sat unfinished on the corner of my desk for several weeks. It is finally done and currently hanging in my craft studio, but I think it may find a permanent home in our living/dining room pretty soon. 

Considering how many different sets and products I used on this sampler, I was surprised to see that only 4 or them were retiring. I will list below all the sets that I've used along with the paper and other supplies. The Cozy Cottage set is a Hostess set, so it will be retiring along with the Friendship's Sweetest Thoughts stamp set, In the Trees stamp set and the Island Indigo cardstock and inks. Of all the colors retiring, I think I'm going to miss that one the most since it closely matches the color scheme in my living/dining area.

This is in a 12 x 12 frame.  All of the coloring was done by squishing my closed pad so that the lid of the pad touched the pad itself and left an ink puddle there. I then used an Aqua Painter to lift the color from the lid and used it as I would watercolor to paint in the design. If you're interested in the measurements of each of the blocks, let me know in the comments and I will measure them out and edit this post with them. I have listed below the various sets and supplies that I used on it.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!

Hostess Code Bonus: Please use this month's Hostess Code when you place an order. It will allow me to pick up some goodies to share with you when I send out your Thank You gift at the end of the month. (If you check the "Do No Contact" button when you order, I cannot legally contact you in any way, which means I cannot send you a Thank You gift or any extra goodies. :o(  )