Woodgrain Birthday

I'm so excited for tonight!  I'll have a house full of people making birthday cards with me this evening!  I was sick last week and was so disappointed that I had to cancel the birthday card event I had planned for last Friday night.  Fortunately, everyone was so kind and understanding...and able to reschedule.  This is one of the cards we'll be making, and I think it's perfect for a masculine card.

Tips & Tricks

• It's no secret that I love Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock AND the woodgrain embossing folder, especially when they're used together.  And I do like to lightly sand the embossed card stock to really make the woodgrain pop.  It's important to GENTLY sand with the grain, rather than across it, or the card stock will tear.

• Some light distressing adds the perfect touch to this woodgrain card.  I simply sponged a bit of Crumb Cake ink around the edge of the center piece.

Supplies

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude (retired), Best Dad Ever (retired), Woodgrain
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze, and Crushed Curry Classic Ink
Paper:  Crumb Cake and Naturals Ivory card stock, Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock
Accessories:   Big Shot, Label Card Thinlit Die, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Linen Thread, Paper Snips, Sponge

Home Decor Using My Digital Studio AND Stamps!

No matter how hard I tried, I could NOT get a good picture of this project.  That probably has something to do with the fact that I was taking pictures at night instead of during the day.  But I knew that if it didn't happen last night, it wouldn't happen at all today, and I really wanted to make sure I posted this today!

This is a cool hybrid project that uses My Digital Studio AND stamps and ink.  I know I've already mentioned that I love the Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper, and sadly, it's retired.  I especially love it with the Day of Gratitude stamps.  What's a girl to do when she's out of her favorite paper?  MDS to the rescue!  I use the Autumn Spice download, and created a single scrapbook page with it.  I selected the striped paper you see here as the background for my page.  I then typed the text of Psalm 100 and centered it on the page.  I did have to take into account that my frame is an 8x10, while the page is 8-1/2 x 11.  That's nothing a little trimming can't fix.  At that point, I was done, and printed out my page onto Whisper White card stock.

Next I just went crazy stamping lots and lots of leaves in my favorite fall colors.  I resurrected More Mustard for this one, and was reminded just how much I miss that color.  I'm sorry, but as lovely as Crushed Curry is, it's no replacement for the perfect fall yellow. 

And if you're wondering if I cut all those leaves out, the answer is yes, yes I did.  And my hand still hurts.  I tied a few scraps of ribbon around the frame (TIP:  tie the ribbon loosely so there's room for the glass and backing to fit in the space!)  Then I used my sanding block to rough up the frame a bit.  It had been a hideous blue and unfortunately the only black paint I had was some high gloss spray paint.  It needed some distressing to tone down that shine!  And that was it.  It's now sitting on my piano and I love it.  It really adds some pizazz to that area of my home this Thanksgiving season.

Supplies

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude (retired) 
Ink:  Cajun Craze, More Mustard (retired...boo), Old Olive, and Soft Suede
Paper:  Whisper White and Very Vanilla Card Stock
Accessories:  PAPER SNIPS.  Ok, and some retired ribbon and the MDS download, Autumn Spice :)

My Digital Studio

I decided to mix things up a bit today and post a card I made in My Digital Studio.  I tend to prefer to make cards the old-fashioned way, with paper and stamps.  But every now and then I sit down to play with MDS.  One of the best features (at least in my opinion!) is that none of the digital downloads retire.  This card features two of my favorite products:  Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper and the Day of Gratitude stamp set.  Both of those are retired, but not in MDS!  I love that I can still play with my favorite paper, which is exactly what I did here. 

Check back later this week when I'll have a fun hybrid home decor project that uses regular stamps and card stock in addition to My Digital Studio!

Day of Gratitude Emboss Resist Card

Today is my 18th wedding anniversary, so I thought it would be fun to show the card I made for my husband.  I used the retired Day of Gratitude set, which is fitting, since I am filled with gratitude to be celebrating 18 happy years of marriage today!

I love this set, and thought it would be fun to try the emboss resist technique with it.  It turned out a bit more colorful than I was hoping...I think there are more fall colors on this card than I'm seeing on the trees this year.  I'm not sure what's going on around here, but where are all the pretty leaves?!

Tips & Tricks

• Emboss resist is such an easy technique.  Simply stamp and emboss your image.  I used VersaMark on Very Vanilla card stock and embossed with clear embossing powder.  Then dab a sponge on the ink pad of your chosen color, and kind of swirl it around on your card.  I used several colors and just randomly chose where to rub the sponge on the card.  I went back and filled in with Crumb Cake at the end, so be sure all the empty spaces were filled.

• Sponges are super inexpensive, and even more so when you cut them into fourths.  I set aside 1/4 of a sponge for each color ink, then slide them in a tiny cellophane bag labeled with the color name.  I never have to worry about accidentally using the wrong sponge in my ink pads!

Supplies

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Day of Gratitude (retired)
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, and Crumb Cake Classic Ink, VersaMark
Paper:  Soft Suede, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories:  Big Shot, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Simply Pressed Clay and Molds, Linen Thread, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Simple Thanks

OK, one last autumn card...using Day of Gratitude, again. :)  This DSP is one of my all time favorites, and I've been hoarding it for a couple of years.  I found an old Mojo Monday sketch and gave it a try.  Just a simple card, but what gets written inside is really what it's all about, right?

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude

Ink:  Early Espresso

Paper:  Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, and Whisper White card stock

Accessories:  2 1/2", 1 3/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, curly label punch, pearls

November Club Card, Part 2

I had originally planned to use the card from last week for club, but there was something about it that didn't seem quite right to me.  Plus, it had too many layers and steps to do at club.  So I took some of the elements I loved most about that card, and used them on a new card.  I'm so happy with the result!  The medallion is exactly the same, as is the button.  In addition to those pieces, I added half of one of the flowers cut using the Floral Frames Framelits behind the piece of Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock that was embossed with the Woodgrain folder (my favorite!)  A simple banner using DSP from the Orchard Harvest pack finishes it off.

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, and More Mustard Classic Ink
Paper:  Naturals White, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, and Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock
Accessories:  Sweet Buttons Embosslits, Floral Frames Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder, Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot

Day of Gratitude

So I've shown some simple cards for the past couple of days, and this one, well, doesn't fall into that category.  There's definitely a lot going on here.  But once again, I'm using the Day of Gratitude stamp set, which is one of my all time favorites.  For the image in the center, I used a variation on the rock and roll technique.  After doing the R&R, I sponged some Early Espresso ink on the edges with a sponge dauber.  It gave just enough of a contrast without getting too much dark ink on the medallion.

Oh, and have you ever wished you had a button in a certain color?  I made this one using the Sweet Buttons Embosslits, and then covered it with Crystal Effects.  It gives it a smooth shine, just like a read button.  This one is topped off with a linen thread bow.

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Early Espresso Classic Ink

Paper:  Naturals Ivory, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, and Cajun Craze card stock, Orchard Harvest DSP

Accessories:  Sweet Buttons Embosslits, Woodgrain and Square Lattice embossing folders, Scallop Edge punch, Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, Bitty Banners Framelits, Crystal Effects, Linen Thread

November Club Card Part 1

Now that club has moved to Thursday night, I'm giving a sneak peak by posting on Wednesday.  And if you're in next week's club, don't look if you don't want to know what we're making!

This is another simple card using Day of Gratitude.  I love this stamp set and I love these colors. 

The texture of the squares makes the leaves pop.  And the tone on tone of the leaves and squares is simply set against the white background.  So simple, yet so pretty!

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude

Ink:  More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, and Soft Suede Classic Ink

Paper: Naturals White, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, and Soft Suede card stock

Accessories:  Square Lattice embossing folder, Big Shot, 1 1/4" Square Punch

Fall Wreath

Here's a simple card for today.  I've seen lots of different cards using the leaves from Day of Gratitude to make a wreath, and thought I'd go ahead and do it too.  The wreath is just the right element to fill up this simple card.

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Falling Leaves (retired)

Ink:  More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, and Old Olive Classic Ink

Paper:  Soft Suede, Ivory Naturals, and Very Vanilla Card Stock

Accessories:  Crochet Trim

Candy Dish

I made this cute little candy dish on Saturday so we could have a fun way to eat our treats at the Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday.  Because fall colored M&Ms should really be housed in a cute fall-ish container.  :) I guess it's not actually a little candy dish...it's actually not little.  It's made from a full piece of 12x12 card stock, so the bottom and the sides all measure 4" square. 

Here's a view from the top.  I just tied a bunch of different ribbons around the top to make it pretty.  It was so easy to make...I was actually surprised at how quickly I was able to follow these directions and put it together. 

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude

Ink:  Old Olive, More Mustard, and Cajun Craze

Paper:  Autumn Spice DSP (retired), Cajun Craze 12x12 card stock, Early Espresso Core'dinations and Very Vanilla card stock

Accessories:  Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Crochet Trim, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, More Mustard 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

Speaking of the Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday, I'll have those cards coming up later this week.  And if you're interested in coming to our last Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack on Dec. 2, just let me know!

September Club Cards, Part 1

So apparently I need to start every Monday post with an apology!  YIKES!  I can't believe how quickly the days are going by, and before I know it, another week has passed and I've only posted once!  I thought July was always our busiest month, but I'm now starting to think it's September.  Talk about CRAZY!  I'd like to think that things will settle down a bit in the next few weeks, but I'm not sure my calendar agrees.

There's been lots of stamping this past week, though, with club on Wednesday night, and the first of our Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stacks yesterday.  Even with a small group, it was a great afternoon, and lots of fun.  Those cards will be coming later in the week, as well as a peak at the cards for the remaining two Stamp-a-Stacks.

But first, here's one of the cards we made on Wednesday night.  This one is a telescoping card.  I've been seeing lots of these lately, and wanted to give it a try.  We used Button Buddies, since that's my latest obsession.  I wanted it to be simple, since there were a lot of us making this at once.  But the simplicity is nice with this card, because of all the layers. 

I think this would be the perfect technique to use for a snowman card.  But it's only September...no talk of snow or snowmen yet!

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Day of Gratitude

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, More Mustard, and Cajun Craze Classic Ink

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Very Vanilla card stock

Accessories:  Scallop Circle Die, 3 1/2" Circle Die, 3" Circle Die, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Brights Buttons, Linen Thread, Sponge, Silver Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool and Mat