Happy Father's Day!

This is the perfect card to send to my dad, because I really think he's the best!  Of course I also think that my husband is an amazing father, but since he's not my dad, I'm not giving him this card :)  Seriously, though, I am incredibly thankful for my dad.  He has set such an example of love and commitment, especially in circumstances where most people wouldn't have.  He's always been so proud of his kids, and wasn't afraid to let us or anyone else know it (he's screamed "That's my kid!!!!!" from the sidelines on more than one occasion!)  Growing up, my friends always used to tell me how cool my dad was.  I don't know about cool, but he was, and still is, pretty great.

On to the card...another super-simple one, and this time, it features one of the new In Colors, Midnight Muse.  I crumpled up that piece of card stock, smoothed it out, and adhered it to the front of my card, after I sponged the edges of the base with a bit of soft suede ink.  I carried the distressed look to the piece of soft suede, which was the recipient of the scissors distressing method I used on the card in the last post.  The hardest part of this card was cutting out the ties!

Stamps:  Best Dad Ever

Ink:  Midnight Muse, River Rock, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pads, VersaMark

Paper:  Naturals White, Midnight Muse, and Soft Suede card stock

Accessories:  linen thread, sponge, clear embossing powder and heat tool (it's hard to see, but the River Rock tie has been embossed)

Faux Suede

Another faux technique!  Faux suede is even easier than faux silk...just crumple up some cards stock as much as you can.  The more you crumple, the better, as you want to break down the paper fibers as much as possible.  Once you've done lots of crumpling, your card stock should feel much softer than it did when you started.  If not, keep crumpling!  Once it's soft and sort of leathery feeling, you can pull apart the layers of the card stock, so that you have two pieces.  The "inside" part will feel (and look) kind of fuzzy, which gives it the look of suede.  For this card, I cut one strip of card stock, then used both pieces after I pulled them apart.  See that roughed up edge on the piece the flowers are stamped on?  I did that by simply running the edge of a pair of scissors along the card stock until I was happy with the look.

For the flowers, I stamped them with Whisper White Craft Ink, then tapped over the image with More Mustard and Cajun Craze pastels.  Sadly, those have retired, but for those of you lucky enough to own them, give this technique a try.  It's especially stunning on Whisper White or Basic Black card stock.

Stamps:  Just Believe

Ink:  Whisper White Craft Ink

Paper:  Cajun Craze, Chocolate Chip, and More Mustard card stock

Accessories:  Stampin' Pastels, sponge daubers, linen thread

Faux Silk

This card is one we made in club a few months ago, and it features a technique called faux silk.  It's so soft and pretty, but couldn't be easier.  Simply stamp on the back of a piece of tissue paper, crumple it up, then smooth it out, and mount it to a piece of Whisper White card stock.  That's it!  Another easy technique that adds the look of texture to the base of this card is to simply stamp onto the card stock with the ink pad.  Now, this isn't going to give quite the same look with the new firm foam pads, but if you have the old felt pads, it definitely adds a little something to a card.  So there you go, two super easy techniques to try on your next card!

Stamps:  Just Believe

Ink:  Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink Pad, Always Artichoke and Elegant Eggplant Markers

Paper:  white tissue paper, Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake card stock

Accessories:  Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon

Another Birthday

Today my first born turns 10.  It doesn't seem possible that I've been a mom for a decade, but I have loved every day with this sweet, precious gift.  She's an amazing kid, and we just feel so blessed to get to be her parents.

I realize this card probably has more retired product on it than new, but I wanted to show it off anyway.  It's easy to swap out DSP and ribbon with current stuff, or anything that you have in your stash!

Goody, Goody...Gumballs

I know, it's supposed to be gumdrops, but there are so many gumballs on this card, that I couldn't resist.  The green, of course, is Gumball Green, my very favorite of the new In Colors.  Remember how I said that Brights make me happy?  This card has lots of them, but on the Crumb Cake background, they aren't overwhelming.  This was such a simple card to make...just punch out lots of circles, do a little water coloring, and that's pretty much it! Isn't the gumball machine from the Every Little Bit set so cute?  I don't make use of that set enough!

Stamps:  Every Little Bit, Pennant Parade 

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, and Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink Pads, Staz-On Black

Paper:  Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, and Crumb Cake card stock

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Aquapainter

Happy Card

So yeah, have you noticed there's a lot more stamping going on here than stitching?  I can't even get into the room where my sewing machine is right now.  It's become the room where everything gets stashed, including lots of yard sale stuff.  Hopefully I'll be sewing again soon.  In the mean time, I'm having lots of fun playing with my goodies from new catalog.

I know I've been stamping in Brights a lot lately, but they just make me happy!  I'm so glad that there are so many bright new DSP choices...Brights = happy (to me, at least!) and that's what I need right now.  And since my favorite color is blue, this is definitely a happy card for me!

Stamps:  Bright Blossoms, Best Dad Ever (sentiment)

Ink:  Pacific Point, Old Olive, VersaMark

Paper:  Pacific Point, Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Whisper White card stock, Summer Smooches DSP

Accessories:  White embossing powder, Old Olive taffeta ribbon, Brights Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Labels Collection Framelits, Paper Piercer

New Catalog!

It's here!  Today is the first day to order from the 2012-2013 catalog!  There are so many great new things in it, like Betsy's Blooms, the stamp set I used on this card.  The base of this one is made with Gumball Green, one of the new In Colors.  It's a great match with Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise.