These cards are all the rage now! Pull on the flowers and your greeting goes on the tab inside. This sample was made with the stamp set "Petal Pizzazz", which required lots of cutting, but was fun nonetheless. The bird adds a cute touch, made with the Birds and Blooms die cut.
You're probably wondering what that title could possibly mean! Just sharing a card I made by request for someone who had seen my previous bra and panty card HERE. These were popular on Splitcoast about a year ago, at least that is where I first saw them. Just cut out the template on the fold of your card base, then use the template again to make the "fabric" however you want. On this card I embossed stamping from "Doodle This" which makes it look like lace on the red cardstock. This time we have the Eyelet Border punch which I used to make the lace on the top of the bra and some black grosgrain ribbon for the straps. I used one of the "Fleurettes", the new crocheted-look flowers, and a Rhinestone brad from the Pretties Kit. You could also easily use one of the Pretties flowers for your decoration.
And for the backside: Again, embossing for the lacy-look, some black grosgrain ribbon, and a little heart "tattoo"!
Have fun with this project! Lots of different ways to "style" this one!
I have to say I made this card up myself, this morning, so it can't be too hard! The card is 4×4, so cut your base cardstock 4"x8" and fold in half. Then your Whisper White layer is 3 3/4" x 3 3/4". You could do this card in whatever colors match your school or personality! After embossing the word "Congratulations" from the set "Hugs and Wishes" in gold, I just punched out some stars with our two star punches on pages 184-5 in the Idea Book & Catalog. You can punch out the little star first, then place your Large Star punch around the small punched out star and punch and get the star with the little star in the middle. Or you can layer the solid stars. Just play with it! You can even just stamp the Congratulations in black or another color rather than emboss. Have fun!
Need an easy Thank You card? Take advantage of the Stampin' Up! "Get Connected Promotion" from now until the end of April and choose this "Thank You" stamp as your free stamp when you order $40 worth of product (believe me, it's easy to do in this mini!) in the new Occasions Mini Catalog! Check the back of the Idea Book & Catalog on page 208 for the Under $10 page to choose your free stamp with this promotion!
I know, I know! We just had Easter! But are you making a few Christmas cards each month so that when December rolls around you won't feel so behind??! Just do a little bit at a time and it won't be such a big job!
Here's a very easy card, not even using a Christmas set…..the little medallion is from "Priceless". The designer paper is retired but certainly you can use another current pattern. The greeting is from "Holidays and Wishes". Try your own version! Just make five cards! You can do another design next month! Although this design is so easy, you'll probably want to make more! Have fun!
How about just a simple, sweet birthday card? This was so easy to make with the Big Shot and the Big Bold Cupcake die. Great way to use up some scraps, also, as you can use any colors you want with the die. You can even make the cupcake sprinkles and the candles with the die. This card is very simple, yet you could also jazz it up a little if you wanted to with some glitter or Crystal Effects on the sprinkles or candle flames, or some ribbon and a bow across the top. I wanted the plain cupcake bottom die cut to look like a cupcake paper so I just took a marker and lightly drew in the lines to resemble the cupcake paper. So fun to play with!
And for the inside, just a Whisper White cardstock layer against the dark Close to Cocoa card stamped with the "Happy Everything" stamp set.
If you are looking for information on the Big Shot, just click HERE.
Here is an excerpt of an article about crafting and the economy that I found interesting:
Crafting: A Silver Lining In A Tough Economy
by Laura Tiffany, Entrepreneur.com
In economic times like these, the urge to hunker down in your house, limit spending and jump off the merry-go-round of shopping, credit and consumerism can be strong. And one way for people to step outside the system, if just for a few hours a week, is crafting. Rather than being a consumer, a crafter becomes a manufacturer; the end result of a night on the couch isn’t three hours of empty Tivo space, but a scarf, toy or handmade holiday ornament that one can give away, keep or sell.
While data are still being compiled for 2008, the Craft and Hobby Association reported that in 2007, craft sales in 39 categories reached nearly $32 billion, and nearly 57 percent of U.S. households engage in crafting. Online handmade goods site Etsy.com reported $88 million in sales in 2008, a significant increase over 2007 sales of $26 million. With 1.9 million members and more than 200,000 sellers, Etsy enjoyed $9.9 million in sales in January alone.
Like most retail sectors, it’s likely that craft sales may decrease in the coming months. But all signs point to more and more people diving into this market, both as consumers of supplies and handmade gifts, and as entrepreneurs selling their own items and supplies.
At the January CHA show, spirits were high as manufacturers and retailers recognized that the economic climate creates more folks ready to put needle to fabric and stamp to paper to join a crafting revolution that’s been in the works for more than a decade.
Some of the big crafting trends present at the show, which featured more than 900 exhibitors, include:
Some companies foresee growth in this area because of parents wanting to craft with their kids. Parents can purchase a $15 kit and have a fun evening at home, rather than pay $50 to take the family to the movies. There are also ancillary customers, such as church camps and Scout troops. And of course, there’s always the need for kids’ birthday gifts, too.
Tough times tend to spur creativity. As an entrepreneur, there are few better ways to channel your creativity than in a crafts business. Whether you start to find your artistic voice or you do it to sell personalized gifts, crafting makes the most out of your creativity–as an artist and as an entrepreneur.
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It's spring and that means it is time for butterflies……or "fooflies" as our daughter used to say! Stampin' Up! offers several stamp sets with butterflies right now and they certainly are the "in" thing! This butterfly is from the stamp set "Simple Friendship" on page 92 of the Idea Book & Catalog . I got the idea for this card on SCS and it was from a sketch challenge, a diagram of a layout. I used Baja Breeze for the card base since it coordinates with the beautiful new Designer Paper in the Occasions Mini called "Walk in the Park" on page 9. I almost hated to cover up the design of the paper on the bottom layer, but I can always make another card showcasing that paper! This card is 6×6 since the person I was making it for wanted a large card that a group of people could sign (therefore you would cut your cardbase 12×6 and fold in half). The ribbon is a new one in the Idea Book & Catalog, on page 179, the Whisper White Organza Ribbon. It is so beautiful to use! But if you wanted a new ribbon from the Occasions Mini, you could use the Whisper White Satin Ribbon in there on page 17! The words stamped under the butterfly are from another butterfly set called "Flight of the Butterfly" (page 98). My butterfly is stamped and cut out and the little half pearl is from the Pretties Kit, adhered with a mini glue dot.
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There are beautiful products in the new Occasions Mini AND a special "Get Connected"offer!
From April 1-30, spend $40 on products in the Occasions Mini Catalog or host a $150 workshop and get a FREE item from the “Under $10” page in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog (p. 208).
| Item | Description | Retail Price |
| 116209 |
Note of Thanks Mini Note Kit |
$9.95 |
| 116210 |
Birthdays Count Mini Note Kit |
$9.95 |
| 114494 |
Forever single stamp |
$5.95 |
| 114492 |
Beautiful Baby single stamp |
$7.95 |
| 114486 |
Birthday Wish single stamp |
$6.95 |
| 114490 |
Glad Friends single stamp |
$5.95 |
| 114498 |
Flowers in Silhouette single stamp |
$7.95 |
| 114496 |
Celebrations single stamp |
$7.95 |
| 114484 |
Elegant Thank You single stamp |
$6.95 |
| 114552* |
Gracias single stamp |
$5.95 |
| 114488 |
Fun Flowers single stamp |
$5.95 |
*In Celebrando Creatividad, p. 28
Contact me if you want to "Get Connected"!
Last weekend was the annual Azalea Trail in Houston put on by the River Oaks Garden Club. This is one thing my husband and I have done every year that we have lived here except one! We love seeing the beautiful gardens and houses and basically seeing how the other half lives! We were excited that the four houses on the trail this year were new ones to us. There were other places on the trail as well, but we just did the four homes and gardens. One pool house was more beautiful than our house! Wow! And the azaleas were starting to bloom pretty nicely, even the ones in our own yard. Some years they have not been quite ready for the Azalea Trail. Just driving around the River Oaks area with its beautiful homes and yards was a treat in itself on such a pretty day.
So from the azaleas, I was inspired to make this card! Not sure that these flowers are azaleas, but they kind of look like them. This is the new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. I stamped, watercolored, and cut out the three "azaleas". On the background I stamped that same flower plus another one in the set and watercolored lightly to provide a background.
We have bluebonnets blooming in the backyard already so spring must be right around the corner!
If you need some stamps to make some spring flower cards, be sure to check out the online catalog at my website and click the Shop Now button! I used the Aquapainter and just refills and inkpads to color in the flowers. So easy!
While there are lots of creative Stampin' Up! demonstrators out there, you don't have to be creative yourself to be a demonstrator! This card is an example. I followed the directions in our demonstrator Stampin' Success Magazine….ask any demo….probably one of the best parts of being a demo is receiving this great magazine once a month from Stampin' Up! So many cute ideas for cards, scrapbook pages and other fun projects as well as business tips from other top demonstrators in the company. All I did on this card was change the image they used to my "A Good Egg" chick! It's not a card that opens the normal way, but rather the top half flips up (due to the mini brad on the side holding the pieces together so that they are moveable) to reveal the sentiment.
If you want more specific directions on how to make this card, just email me.
If you want to get the great Stampin' Success Magazine, just sign up on my website (to become a demo!)! The Starter Kit is even on sale! And you get a free stamp set as well!
Recruits
During Sale-A-Bration, anyone who joins as a demonstrator can choose any stamp set—a value of up to $47.95—from the current Idea Book & Catalog! Plus, new recruits get 15% off the Starter Kit—over $350 of Stampin’ Up! products and business supplies for only $169!
Here are the swaps I received from my friends in our little demo group. We all made the cute box with the scalloped flower on top, but that warrants its own post! I just have to understand better how to put the pieces together.
The card with the 3-D flowers was made with "Doodle This". The flowers are cut out and then the petals are turned under and adhered to the card. Very cute! Also, the card closes by tucking underneath the word "Joy". The very cute Valentine truck is stamped with "Loads of Love", a set I don't own but see the cutest things made with it. Of course the card itself is made with the Top Note die for the Big Shot (both, a must have!) with a Jumbo eyelet in the corner. The pink box is made from two Scalloped Envelopes made with the Big Shot. I love in the photo below how she attached a tab to the bag of candy inside! And the other little box was a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers recently….so cute! You can fit 4 Hershey Nuggets or even Ghirardelli Chocolates in it and the tab of the lid fits behind the scallop on the front rather than going inside the box. Thanks, ladies…..another fun get-together!
This morning when I turned on my computer and the Google page came up, I saw they had turned the two O's in "Google" into an "X O" for Valentine's Day. This inspired me to create this Valentine, which took less than five minutes! I used the Contempo Alphabet, the Heart to Heart Punch for just the smallest heart stuck inside the "O" and the sentiment from "A Happy Heart". The colors are Riding Hood Red and Whisper White.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
If you haven't done it yet, it is really time to get out that paper, scissors and glue and start making valentines! Valentine's Day is Saturday, Feb. 14th. Who do you know would love a handmade card from you? Think back to your childhood and how much fun it was to make valentines from construction paper and doilies! Stampin' Up! provides much better materials than those, but the idea is the same.
I was looking through some old magazines of cards and saw something that gave me this idea. I also wanted to use the new Stampin' Up! cardstock "Taste of Textiles" on page 156 of the catalog. These papers are quite different and this white one is absolutely beautiful! The picture does not do it justice. It would look beautiful on a wedding card. The other papers are Vellum with Not Quite Navy Polka Dots, Black Linen Texture, Bronze Metallic, Printed Kraft and Close to Cocoa Pin Stripe. Be sure to check them out! They are made in Italy!
To see the paper in the online catalog, just click on the link above, click the Shop Now button and then click on Paper in the left column and Specialty Paper.
I used the Heart to Heart Punch on pages 184-5 of the catalog to punch just the smallest punch. The greeting is from "Holidays and Wishes".
Yes, today is "Send a Card to a Friend Day!" Here's a card I made last night trying out my new Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. The greeting happens to be a retired hostess set from the last catalog, but it suited the purpose since it had the word "friend" in it.
I love these colors together: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. I stamped the big flower in the lower right-hand corner, then stamped it again on scrap paper to make a mask. I cut out the flower on the scrap paper and placed it over the stamped flower on my card. Then I was able to ink up my stamp again and stamp the flower off to the left, as well as a different flower above. I used my Aqua Painter to lightly watercolor the flowers with the Baja Breeze inkpad. The greeting is stamped in Chocolate Chip. The ribbon is the 1" Double-Stitched Grosgrain on page 178 of the new catalog.
So now, are you going to send a card to a friend today?
I needed a baby card so I used the brand-new Hostess set "Goody-Goody Gumdrops". It's a very cute stamp set if you are fortunate enough to have a big workshop and earn it for free. Lots of creativity potential with this set!
