Well Here we are

This week my husband and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. It was quite an interesting few days. All our plans to make this an "event" didn't really come together, BUT, we did enjoy being with each other, talking and dreaming of the next 30....and isn't that whats it's all about. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband.I love you.  To the next 30 years my dear!

ONE MORE CARD and I'M DONE

This last card turned out to be my favorite for this month. I started out with Daffodil Delight cs, rolled with the In Stitches roller in Basic Black ink. On the Whisper White cs, I place a piece of tissue that has been stamped with the Pattern Pieces stamp in Melon Mambo, wrinkle up the tissue, smooth it out and then glue it down. All the sewing elements on the card are from the Sew Suite stamp set. The buttons are punched out of 4 colors-Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Tempting Turquoise, using the Sweet Buttons embosslit run through the Big Shot. On the thread spool I used the Balsa Wood found in the Idea Book & Catalog. Notice it has a "real"  needle through it with thread. The tape measure is Very Vanilla seam binding inked with Daffodil Delight, stamped with the tape measure in Basic Black ink . I didn't have a sentiment for the card that I wanted, so I came up with one. Did it in my MDS(My Digital Studio)           Used my    1 3/4x  7/8  large oval punch as a template to get the wording the right size. Printed it on Whisper White cardstock. Large scallop oval punch in Melon Mambo. Used WaterColor crayons  and a blender pen for the sewing machine.So there are the cards for the APRIL HOSTESS CLUB. 

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MONTH

For my club members, I always try to have a new technique for them to try. This months technique is called "Burned Batik". I love the resources available on SplitcoastStampers. I started with Marina Mist cardstock as the card. Layered with a piece of Whisper White cs. Stamp the images from the Nature Walk stamp set in VersaMark. Then embossed with clear embossing powder. Rather than stopping when the powder is melted, you continue on till the powder melts into the paper. Be careful not to get too close with your heat gun as it will scorch the paper. If you hold the cardstock up to the light, you will be able to see the images coming through on the other side. Have your ink refills ready, drop a few drops of 3 colors on a plastic mat or lid. Mist your paper with water, dab your 1st sponge in the 1st ink color. Gently dab on misted cardstock. Do this with the other 2 colors.  I used Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake ink refills. You will probably have to mist it a few more times during the process. Now don't be discouraged how it is looking, the finished product will surprise you(in a good way). I do a little darker ink around the embossed images to let the ink seep in. Use your heat gun to dry the paper. Turn it over on the wrong side for it to curl back out the right way. I finished it with 2 pieces of the Botanical Gazette DSP, Pear Pizzaz seam binding threaded through a Vanilla flower slider. The sentiment stamped with Early Espresso ink on Crumb Cake cs is from the Heard from the Heart stamp set. The tutorial for this card is found on www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/burned_batik  They recommend using a bold line stamp in their tutorial, but I tried it with the fine line stamp set. Some fine line stamps would probably lose their image definition when being heated. Something to experiment with. Have fun. 

More cards for April

This card was done with Paisley Designer Series Paper thats available this month. Cherry Cobbler is the cardstock I used for the card. Then the  Paisley DSP. On top of that is Tangerine Tango cut out of the Top Note die cut. Used the Sweet Stems sizzlet on the same DSP. Gathered Cherry Cobbler seam binding highlighted with pearls. The sentiment is from the Word Play stamp set. A quick and simple card.

APRIL'S HOSTESS CLASS

Had so much fun this month with the stamp class. With this being the last month of the Occasions Mini Catalog, I had so much I wanted to share with them, but had to cut it down to 5 projects. :) The 1st card is done with the Blossom Punch and the Build a Blossom stamp set( at the request of one of the club members). I used Pear Pizzaz, Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi and Whisper White cardstock.. I ran the Baja Breeze thru the bigshot with the Perfect Polka Dot impressions folder. I curled up the petals and put them together with glue dots. After it was assembled, I painted some Shimmer White on the petals and dotted the middle. I also used Crystal Effects on the center dots after it dried. The word is from the stamp set: Perfect Punches, which has the coordinating punch.  The scalloped paper is from the In Color paper pack, using the Eyelet border punch.

For the next card, which were really 4 little envelopes, I  took advantage of the special with the Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper that will be in the new 2011/2012 Stampin Up Catalog. We just got a sneak peak, along with a stamp set, Four Frames, which coordinates with the Decorative Label punch. I wanted to have them use all four stamps, so what better way than to do 4 cute little gift cards. Used several  colors that are in the Paisley paper. The die cut was the scallop envelope. Tied it up with Pear Pizzaz seam binding. Check back later for the rest of the class.

A fun Saturday with some great girls!

A few weeks ago I invited the girls from church to come over and craft. I had recently found a great website of two women(who I found out recently are in Utah) who have a weekly webisode.  www.diydish.com has lots of fun projects to do. Several of them are re-using things you already have on hand. I thought it would be fun to try the necklaces with the girls. Here is the link for this project: http://www.thediydish.com/2010/05/episode-10-hardware-store-meets-chic-jewelry-design/. Once they got the hang of it, they were off creating several different styles. This is one of my favorite things to do is to help someone realize how creative they really are. Once they got all the necklaces done, it was into the kitchen to "craft" their own mini pizza's. Granted, my son was a little bit apprehensive about having several girls in the house, but from the picture, I am sure he and his friend "adjusted". So, lets get to the pics shall we. 

Got some catching up to do.

So, I have been busy crafting and stamping. Realized I was falling behind on my blogging. So today will be a blogger blitz! My first pic is an apron I made for a dear friend's birthday...in March. Yes, I know. This is one of my favorite apron patterns. I have several different apron patterns, but have just made this style at the moment. I was very pleased how it turned out. I used my sizzix die cut machine to die cut the flowers for the pocket. Attached it with a safety pin so it can come off for washing. So here it is.