Special Delivery~

For a little girl and a little boy. I made two of these note card sets (set of 8) to give as gifts to 2 friends of mine: one is having a girl, the other a grandson. Idea for note card from my stamping buddy, Michelle Wooderson.

Cards are single layer note cards and do not open. A more relaxed way to send a thank you note. The onesie is paper pieced, heart is colored in with a marker, and glossy accents applied to heart. Back flap of envelope is stamped with the onesie to coordinate with the note card.

In addition to the cute travel set being released by Kim Hughes over at Cornish Heritage Farms next week, there is also a wonderful baby set called Baby Love being released. The onesie is just one of the many adorable images in this set. The sentiment on the tote is also part of this set. The thank you comes from Making the Grade, a new set featured this month.

Totes are the ones that were featured in PaperCrafts March 2006 issue and everywhere else some time ago.

Tomorrow I'm heading to that fantabulous store I mentioned back a bit ago and taking a fun afternoon class. I can't wait to just play with someone else doing all the prep work! YAY!
See you tomorrow Michelle!

V.~

Stamps: Baby Love by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms
Making the Grade by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia by Tsukineko
Paper: Classic Crest Natural White by Neenah
Prismatics Baby Pink Light, Intense Kiwi, Baby Blue Light, Papaya Puree Medium, Suede Brown Dark, Kiwi Light and Twilight Medium (not shown) by Prism
Patterned Paper: Pink, Blue, and Green (not shown) Kitchen Collection by A Muse
Tools: Cuttlebug by Provo Craft
Nestabilities Scalloped Square Die by Spellbinders
Precision Scissors by Cutter Bee
Accessories: Copic Marker RV13 Tender Pink
Glossy Accents by Ranger
Dimensional Foam

Scrapblocks™

Mary asked about the availability of the Scrapblocks™ as she couldn't find them on the CHF website yet. Mary, while the time is flying by, it's not June 5th yet, and that is when these wonderful stamps will be available. Sorry for not posting that in my original post.

Paradise Found Passport~

So I think I've mentioned before that I sometimes come up with stamping ideas when I am walking my pooch....that was the case with the project. I was walking Riley this morning and was noodling what to make with the new set Kim Hughes set, Paradise Found, that is being released next week by Cornish Heritage Farms. As was I walking along I thought it would be fun to make a passport sized mini album. I knew that it would need a journaling format somehow incorporated into the design if it was going to serve as a journal or mini scrapbook. I immediately thought of the brand spankin' new CHF Scrapblocks™, an ingenious 6" x 6" backgrounder. Designed for scrapbookers but certainly applicable to any paper crafter, it is especially useful with cards that are larger than your standard A2 card. Anyway, I was able to ink all the way across these internal pages with one imprint on each side (there are 3 full sheets, stamped on both sides, creating 6 pages) using the Vintage Ledger Scrapblock™.

So for the passport itself, I pulled out Jay's passport (I sadly don't have one yet) and measured it. While I kept the base measurements the same as the passport, I created the cover a bit differently. Years and years ago (Nov 2004) Julie posted something called an Itty Bitty Book over on SCS. This is an adaptation of that book but made larger. You can find the original thread with directions on how to make the original book here.

So, since Julie saved me from writing all the book directions, I'll just post the recipe for this project. *grin*

The base of the passport is made from Prismatics Suede Brown Light. After cutting, scoring and prefolding, I nipped the corners with a corner rounder. I cut a piece of this wonderful Making Memories patterned paper to the size of the cover and nipped the outside corners to match the cover. After adhering the patterned paper, and a Kiwi contrasting strip to the front, I punched the holes as directed in Julie's pattern.

The focal image is stamped with 2 images from Paradise Found; the airplane and the palm trees are stamped in ColorBox Fluid Chalk Tangerine and Lime Pastel respectively. The sun is found in another fun, but older set by Kim Hughes called Summer Fun and is stamped in Yellow Citrus Fluid Chalk ink. A little distressing with ink and a distressing tool, a Suede Brown dark mat and a ribbon tab complete the image. The finished image is adhered to the cover with dimensional foam.

The Travel Safe ticket is created by using the reverse side of the patterned paper and cutting it into a rectangle and partially nipping the corners with a hole punch to create the ticket corners.
The sentiment from Paradise Found is stamped directly onto the paper using Versafine Vintage Sepia.

For the inside pages, the Vintage Ledger Scrapblock™ is stamped in Adirondack Earthtones Latte onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White. A few images and sentiments have been randomly stamped on the pages and the corners have been rounded. After completing the stamped part of the pages they were stapled into the book as instructed in Julie's pattern.

Finished, folded size is 4 7/8" x 3 3/8"

I just *LOVE* when a project comes out exactly how it was envisioned!

V.~

Supplies:
Stamps: Paradise Found, Summer Fun by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms, Vintage Ledger Scrapblock ™, Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia, ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink Tangerine, Lime Pastel, Aquamarine, Rouge, Yellow Citrus, Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Prismatics Suede Brown Dark and Light, Intense Kiwi, Patterned Paper: Tropical by Making Memories, Accessories: Orange striped ribbon by May Arts, Green stitched ribbon by A Muse, Corner rounder, Hole punch, Distressing tool, Scor-Pal, Dimensional foam

Make A Wish~

Can you believe it? I stamped. And I stamped with SU! product! This is for the Featured Stamper Challenge that Bethie puts on over at SCS. I haven't played in a FS challenge in month, maybe more.

Anyway, I chose this card: Friends are Flowers
and changed everything but the layout.

Well, I suppose I need to get out front and help plant the ground cover we bought today to plant between the flagstone pavers on our front walk. It's a tedious job and tough on the knees and back, but Jay keeps calling me....

Quickly, the supplies are:
Stamps: SU! Sweet Shapes, A Little Birthday Cheer
Ink: SU! Regal Rose, Marigold Morning, Memento Black
Paper: Neenah Solar White, SU! Basic Black
Accessories: Black Glaze Pen by Sakura, White Inksentials Gel Pen by Ranger, Dotted sheer ribbon by May Arts, Black mini brads from StarlitStudio, Distressing gizmo by Making Memories, Dimensionals

ETA: I'm back, ground cover is planted, excess dirt is swept up, and the plants are watered. I hope they establish themselves and take root. We've been through several other types of ground cover between the pavers over the years and they haven't been all that successful. A neighbor on the next block must have been having an afternoon party and we listened to a live band playing great music (70's and 80's) while we planted. It made the planting more fun, that is for sure!

Okay, a couple deets:
I created my own patterned paper with SU!'s Sweet Shapes using the block image and flower images. Regal Rose and Marigold Morning were stamped off before applying to the paper. A few flowers were stamped full strength. For the main image panel the butterflies were stamped in the same colors as the panel and outlined in black ink. The wings were given polka dots with a black Glaze pen and a white gel pen. A few spatters were added in Apricot Appeal using the InkWorx Air Tool. The finished image panel is raised up on dimensional foam.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

V.~

Dessert anyone?

I think NOT! It's been super busy this week and my stamps are collecting dust right now! I hope to play over the long (forecast: stormy and wet) weekend. Anyway, I saw this the other day on a link on Yahoo's home page and about fell over. I've never have had one, but I can't believe they sell this (and sleep at night).

The Unhealthiest Drink in America
Baskin Robbin’s Large Heath Bar Shake (32 oz)
2,310 calories
266 g sugar
108 g fat (64 g saturated)

Let's look at America's Worst Drink in numbers:

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.
66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.
11: The number of Heath Bars you would have to eat to equal the number of calories found in one Baskin Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake.
8-12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.
240: The number of minutes you’d need to spend on a treadmill burning it off, running at a moderate pace.

Aye Carumba!
V.~

Clearly Thankful~

Today's CHF Blog Challenge is a Transparent Challenge. We were to use CHF Clear Card Sheets in a project. These aren't your ordinary transparency sheets, they are very rigid, yet cut, fold, and punch wonderfully. Of course you can stamp on them too! If you've ordered any CHF unmounted stamps recently, it's the same product that is part of the packaging; the sheet you can store your stamps on once you've trimmed them.

I decided on a tag for the challenge. I free form cut the tag shape with asymetrical cuts for the tag top. I just like the unexpected nature of having the tag shape being different. Once I cut the Clear Card Sheet with my paper trimmer, I stamped it with CHF's Pretty Pattern Backgrounder using an Aqua Adirondack Paint Dabber. After stamping the backgrounder, I edged the tag in a Lettuce Paint Dabber and set it aside to dry.

In the meantime, I created the focal image for the tag. The palm tree from Kim Hughes Summer Fun is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black onto Prism Intense Kiwi and cut out. Prism Intense Azalea and Frosted Teal join Kiwi to complete the color palette. Thank you from Making the Grade is also stamped in Versafine Onyx Black onto a Neenah Solar White scrap and layered onto Prism Black. The focal image is adhered to the color layers with dimensional foam. A bit of A Muse striped ribbon and distressing round out the tag. The completed layers and image are adhered to the tag with dimensional foam, a teal strip on the reverse side hides the dimensional evidence and creates a place to address your tag.

To finish this project, I hole punched the tag and tied it to a straw bag with aqua ribbon (unknown source). I will use this gift bag and tag for an end of year gift for Brett's teacher. I'm not sure what will fill the bag, but something summer related is for sure!

Finished tag is 4.5: x 3"

Be sure to visit the other CHF Design Team blogs to see what they have created using Clear Card Sheets. You will find links to their blogs on the right side bar, under CHF Design Team.

Have a Marvelous Monday!

V.~

Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Pattern Backgrounder, Summer Fun, Making the Grade © Cornish Heritage Farms 2008, Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Aqua and Lettuce Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Paper: Prismatics Intense Kiwi, Intense Azalea, Frosted Teal, Black, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Accessories: Clear Card Sheet (CHF), Striped Grosgrain by A Muse, Aqua grosgrain (unknown), Distressing tool by Making Memories, Hole punch by Fiskars, Dimensional Foam

Have you seen this?

Hysterical!

and so true! Thanks Tammy for posting a link on your blog!

Always & Forever~

Inside: The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

Seems like it has been a while since the last Thomas Kinkade release but it's finally here and this image is being released on Friday, May 16th. Hometown Pride, and the coordinating sentiment, Land of the Free are available at Cornish Heritage Farms.

Small town America is captured so elegantly in the image. I can imagine wide streets with tree canopies extending all the way across the street, sipping sweet tea on the porch watching the 4th of July parade from the comfort of a nice comfy chair. While I can imagine it, it's nothing like the residential area I live in or grew up in.....but I can sure see myself there.

This image was colored in with chalks and highlighted with Souffle pens and a white gel pen. I finally found the technique that works for me when it comes coloring in these images. It's surprisingly quick and easy. Tip: use flat paintbrushes, in assorted sizes, to apply the chalks. It's much more precise than some of the tools that come packaged with chalks. I sealed the chalks with a matte sealer to prevent smudging when it was finished.

When I work with these images I like to keep the card base simple so the image is truly the focal point and isn't competing with patterns or an abundance of embellishments; here a simple striped ribbon (May Arts) and silver brads are the only embellishment. I kept the Prism paper (Baby Blue Light) unadorned. The image is matted on Blush Red Dark in keeping with the patriotic theme. The Always & Forever sentiment is part of Mona Lisa Moments Script Essentials by CHF.

ETA: I uploaded a second picture that shows the supplies used to stamp and color this image in.

ETA again: A few asked questions in their comments, so I will try and answer them here.
The image was stamped in the Versafine ink and let dry. The chalks were used to color in the image, referring to the stamp decal for the colors. After the chalks were applied, the white gel pen (Ranger Inksentials) and Souffle pens were used to add highlights and opaque color. It is not colored in as one would do popping pastels, it's more as if I was painting, but using the chalk medium and applying it dry. Clean the brushes between color applications by wiping on a dry paper towel. As far as time goes, the image itself was done in less than 30 minutes.

V.~

Thank You

I've deleted the 2 previous posts. I was not seeking a pity party, my emotions are raw from an unrelated incident, not even stamping related, and just should have kept my mouth shut.

I apologize.

Hello, Friend~

CHF Designer Style Blog Challenge. CASE something from another CHF DT member's gallery. I chose Kristine and this card: Seed of Friendship.
I changed up a few things but the original card can be seen in my version.

Stamps: Friend Centers by Mona Lisa Moments for CHF Ink: Olive Pastel by ColorBox Fluid Chalk Paper: Butter Cream Prismatic by Prism Patterned Paper: Times Nouveau by Graphic 45
Baby to Bride by Graphic 45 Accessories: Antique mini brads, Prima flowers, Piercing template and tool, Distressing tool

V.~

The Shoe Boutique~

Stamps: The Shoe Boutique by Rummage Bin for Cornish Heritage Farms, Broad Stripes Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black by Tsukineko, Lime Pastel ColorBox Fluid Chalk Ink by Clearsnap Paper: Natural Smooth, Twilight Dark, Black Prismatic by Prism Patterned Paper: Sophia Harlequin from 5th Avenue by Making Memories Tools: Cuttlebug by Provo Craft, Nestabilities Petite Scallop Circle and Circle Dies by Spellbinders


Stamps: The Shoe Boutique by Rummage Bin for Cornish Heritage Farms, Script Essentials by Mona Lisa Moments for Cornish Heritage Farms Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia by Tsukineko Paper: Natural Smooth, Nautical Blue Light by Prism Patterned Paper: Jack from Animal Crackers by Making Memories Accessories:
Ribbon by Michaels Arts and Crafts, Buttons by My Mind's Eye, Brown mini brads, Distressing tool by Making Memories, Dimensional foam


The Shoe Boutique by Rummage Bin for Cornish Heritage Farms .
Release date, Tuesday May 13th.

V.~

Anniversary Wishes....

To the perfect pair ;)

Pear is a single image from The Landing Pad set which will be released tomorrow by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms. The stamped image is a little inchie, I haven't done too many of these, but thought that this would be a fun way to highlight the pears. The pear was masked and stamped again in order to get the 2 pears together, now that I look at it, the one behind should have been stamped a wee bit higher to create the illusion of it sitting behind the first pear - oh well, that's the way it will stay! After stamping, they were colored in with Copic Markers
( YG11, YG63, Y11, W1) and Glossy Accents were applied. The inchie is mounted on a brown scalloped square ( Nestabilitie die) with dimensional foam.

The rest of the card is easy peasy - A Muse Kitchen Collection patterned paper is adhered to the Neenah Classic Crest Natural White base, a length of ribbon from Michaels is added, the sentiment from Mona Lisa's Classic Essential Espressions is stamped in the same ink as the pears, and finally the image is adhered with dimensional foam.

A side note, I discovered a terrific blog some time ago when I was blog hopping. It's not craft or stamp related at all....now I know some of you might not go there because of that, which would be a sad thing. Her writing style is so fun, her recipes to die for, and it's a great place to get lost if you have the time, be prepared to be there a while and laugh out loud!

The Pioneer Woman

V.~

Boys will be Boys~

My writing brain isn't engaging this morning, even after 2 cups of coffee! The stamping part of my brain seems to be doing fine as I started this card just before 8 am, stopped and took the kids to school, and returned home to finish. Poor Riley is looking at me with her sad eyes, patiently waiting for her morning walk.

This image is called Boys will be Boys Collage by The Rummage Bin for Cornish Heritage Farms. It's an upcoming release and a brother image to the Sweet One Collage that was released in March.

I stamped the image twice, once in Rich Cocoa Momento ink by Tsukineko onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White and once again in Sea Breeze Versamagic ink by Tsukineko. After trimming the cocoa stamped image down to size, I cut the Sea Breeze image out with precision scissors, sponged the edges, and attached it to the cocoa layer with dimensional foam. The sentiment is from Script Essentials, a fantastic word set by Mona Lisa Moments.

The rest of this 5 1/2" square card is comprised of A Muse Kitchen Collection patterned paper, aqua mini brads, pumpkin and aqua striped ribbon, distressing, and sponging. I thought the clean, dot pattern of the A Muse paper was a fun contrast to the rustic feel of the image.

V.~

We Grow Great~

Here's another card I made the same time I put together the teacher appreciation set from a previous post. The images are pulled from 2 new sets by Kim Hughes for CHF - Making the Grade and The Landing Pad. Both sets avail this Friday. The Landing Pad is a fun set that you will want to use with all your bird stamps, it's chock full of limbs, leaves, fruits, a bird bath, a few fun sentiments, and more. The caterpillar and small leaf image are from The Landing Pad, the leaf line from Making the Grade, and the sentiment from a wonderful set called Motivational Centers by Mona Lisa Moments for CHF.

When these sets hit my stamp area, I was drawn to the leaf line and the caterpillar immediately. I thought of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and the way the caterpillar ate his way through the entire book on his way to becoming a beautiful butterfly. So taking my inspiration from that, I created this card and thought that the sentiment was a perfect fit.

The leaf images are all paper pieced with various colors of Prismatics papers: Tawny Dark, Intense Orange, Spring Willow Medium, Wizard Dark, Blush Red Dark, and Sunflower Dark. After trimming the pieced images, I punched a hole into each leaf with a 1/8" hand held punch and then adhered the leaf images to the card base with dimensional foam. The caterpillar and small leaf are pieced as well. The base of the card is created with Prismatics Iced Teal and Spring Willow Medium. White ribbon from Michaels is tied where the two card stocks meet.
The only ink used for this card is Versafine Vintage Sepia.

Dream great!

V.~

Today's FUN field trip~

Diane and Michelle
Fun display at the rear of the store, look at all those little drawers!

Display that faces the front window

LOVE this black display cabinet!

Cute little tablescape display

Ahh, a new stamp/scrap store, something desperately needed in San Diego! There are a few around, but not very many given the size of San Diego. Sure we have our share of Michaels and JoAnn's, but they just don't have the same feel as a small, well loved store, you know? When I read on Julie's blog that there was a new store opening in San Diego, I bookmarked the page and went down as soon as I had the time.

Paper Tales, located in the Pt. Loma/Sports Arena area of San Diego, is a wonderful, boutique style stamp store. They had me the minute I walked in with the celery walls, a comfy couch, a table for the kiddos to draw while you shop, wonderful and organized displays, and lots of heavy weight, beautiful patterned papers! A Muse stamps are their primary stamp line, I've never seen so many A Muse images in one place! If you are an A Muse addict this is your one stop shop. In addition, there are many other stamping/scrapping supplies. I'm a hands on kinda gal, and to be able to touch and see the beautiful products is a big bonus for me. Online is convenient as one can order in pjs and unwashed hair LOL, but to touch...well, I'm a touchy feely kind of crafter. So to have a place, somewhat locally for me, where I can touch and feel and that is candy for the eyes is just fabulous. I walked out with a few new supplies and more patterned papers....a girl can never have too many sheets, can she? My only wish, that Paper Tales was closer to me!

And Michelle the owner, nice and as friendly as can be! Thanks Julie for the heads up! I wish you could have been there too!

So if you live in, or are visiting, the San Diego area, please visit Michelle and Paper Tales. Be sure to say hello from me!

V.~

Making the Grade Thanks Set~

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post - a whirlwind of a week left me with little time to stamp and post. Last Friday, after much thought, I held my final Stamp Nite. After 5 years it was time to let it go. It was a very hard decision, but is going hand in hand with my SU! demonstratorship which is limping along on right now. Saturday was Morgan's 15th teen party here with 25+ teens hanging out for the evening. And just when I thought I might rest on Sunday, we were invited to see the Red Bull Air Races down on the waterfront. I've wanted to see them since last year when I missed them, so I was quite eager to attend this year. They are AMAZING!

Anyway, I stamped yesterday, finally. Kim Hughes has a fun teacher/school set coming out on Friday, May 9th over at Cornish Heritage Farms, called Making the Grade. It's full of fun images, perfect for teachers, kids cards and school related scrapbook pages and more. I paired up the pencil and thank you sentiment from the set with the Lined Paper Backgrounder and made a set of four matching cards to give to a teacher friend of mine.

It's pretty basic stamping, so I'll just list the supplies used:

Stamps:
Making the Grade by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms
Lined Paper Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms

Ink:
Espresso Adirondack by Ranger
Aqua Adirondack by Ranger

Paper:
Classic Crest Solar White by Neenah
Prismatics Baby Blue Medium by Prism
Prismatics Suede Brown by Prism

Patterned Paper:
Limbo by American Crafts

Tools:
Cuttlebug by Provo Craft
Nestabilities Scalloped Square Die by Spellbinders

Accessories:
Copic Markers:E53, Y15, R22
Signo Silver Gel Pen by Uniball
Ribbon by Michaels
Yellow mini brads
Clear box by Clear Bags

V.~