End of the Week Technique # 55 Quilting with Diagonal Score Plate

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope your week is starting off fabulously and that you had a great weekend! I had this planned for last night, but I finished up too late. I've already got at least 2 items planned for this week. :) I'm still trying to figure out my time-management in order to get back to my 5 days/week posting. I really appreciate all of you for hanging in with me during this transition! Hugs to you all!!!!

Here's last week's End of the Week Technique, I hope you like it-

Quilted Card

I love the effect I got with this technique, almost like those quilted purses that so many of us would love to have. I used one of my new favorite colors, Midnight Muse, as the base. It's a one -layer card that is anything but simple. :) Hey April, Lookie! One Layer!!! Lol!

After making the quilted design with my Simply Scored Diagonal Plate I added Midnight use ink using the Direct to Paper technique. Here's a closer view-

Quilted Card featuring Direct to Paper Technique

You can see the variations in color that were obtained by using this technique. I lightly rubbed the ink pad directly onto the c/s (hence the name). This was the first time I had tried this technique and I have to say it is definitely Technique Driven. It took me two cards and 5 sides of paper to get it to where I was halfway happy. The trick, I think, is to lightly touch the paper and to not have any noticeable "start & stop" areas

I'm not quite sure that either of the techniques used on today's cards are really good techniques for someone as OCD as I am, especially the D-to-P. But, at least I tried them. You can try them and see how they work for you.

After my ink had dried I used the smallest pearls in our pack and applied them one at a time to the overlapping areas. My daughter said "You're Nuts!" I'm not sure she was too off on that one. :)

Here's the inside-

Inside of Card featuring
Blooming with Kindness set

Both the sentiment and image are from the same set, Blooming with Kindness. The floral image is also now available as a single stamp. I love the font used for the sentiments. It's so elegant.

Here's a close-up of the flower-

I inked my stamp first with Baja Breeze. To get the two-toned effect I used the Rock-n-Roll technique and rolled the edges of the stamp in Midnight Muse. Next, I took my Midnight Muse Stampin Write Marker and tapped the color randomly onto the center of the stamp. I used my Blender Pen to remove the color from the stem and used my Wild Wasabi Marker to color it in. I think this technique gives such a pretty effect. What do you think?

So for today's technique it's pretty easy (mostly). Here's what you'll need- Cardstock in the color of your choice, Simply Scored with the Diagonal Plate and color to add if desired. Sorry no pictures for this one. It's pretty self explanatory.

Here's what you'll do- Using your Simply Scored Tool with the Diagonal Plate score at your desired interval. I chose every inch. Once you've covered your c/s turn it 1/4 turn and score again. That's all. Easy-Peasy. Just make sure to hold your c/s securely so it doesn't move and make sure to be firm with your stylus so it doesn't jump the track on you. That happened to me a couple of times. I have to say the card looked pretty good just with the embossing. However if you want to step it up a notch add some color either by D-to-P or by sponging the color on. It will really make the embossed lines stand out even more. If you want to be really over the top, go ahead and add some embellishments too. It's your card, why not? Make it fab!

That's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope to see you back here soon. I can't wait to show you what I've been working on. If you liked today's card or have questions I hope you'll take a moment to leave me message below. I love hearing from you and read all of your comments, and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my boo for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

Pin It

End of the Week Technique # 43- Framing with Scoring / A Celebration & A Give-Away

Pin It
*Update- Give-Away will be open until Midnight August 23, 2012.*

Hey y'all.Happy Thursday! Just one more day until the weekend. Woo-Hoo! Today is a special day. My little blog turns one today. :) Hard to believe it all started with this post. Oh, and this was my first posted card. You Rocked my World back then and you still do!  :)

It's been an Amazing year. My goal was to post 2-3 times/week and there have been times, even during school, where I posted up to 6 times/week. Today's post is my 235th. That's just so hard for me to imagine. I've virtually-met lots of new "blog-pals" from all over the world. Most in the stamping community, but some in other areas as well. I love seeing all of the cool places people find me from. We once had an exchange student from Russia with us for a year, he still says I'm  his American Mom (Hi Anton!) so I think it's kind of cool that my second biggest audience source (behind the U.S) is Russia. Spasibo Russia! They are followed closely by Canada (actually they often flip-flop) where I  have family that I haven't seen in many years, so I don't think they're the ones contributing to my numbers. :) Then my many friends in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and then Brazil rounds out my top 10. A big Thanks to all of you! Just seeing that you have visited makes me smile more often than you can imagine and when you take the time to leave a comment, it really does make my day.

If you have a blog, do you ever wonder if people actually read what you've written or do they just look at the pictures and then go on about their day? I wonder that all the time. I know I write more than a lot of people, but I always hope that it gives just a little glimpse of who I am in a way that my cards/projects might not. Sometimes I get a comment that the person just laughs whenever they read my blog. That makes me so happy. As a celebration of my 1 year blogging I am doing a little give away. Hopefully if you've read this far, you'll read on to see what it is. But for now, how about today's card?

Here it is-

Birthday Card featuring
Circle Circus and Perfectly-Penned Stamp Sets

Hey look April, a one-layer card. Hahahaha! Those are so hard for me to do and I really love how this one turned out.

Here's what you need for today's End of the Week Technique- Scoring Tool (I used my Simply Scored Tool), post-it type notes for the mask, and an stamped image (I used a sentiment)

Here's how you do it-

1- Start by stamping your image or  sentiment onto a post-it note for size. 

2- Then cut your post-it note with a paper-cutter so it will be straight. I cut two pieces of  post-it notes at one time with my they'd be the same size, leaving equal borders around my stamped sentiment. (I think it was 3/4' wide)

3- Next stamp your image/sentiment where you would like it to be "framed" on your card. I stamped mine in the center of my Whisper White card base.

4- Covered your stamped image with the post it notes to form an mask. 

5- Using your scoring tool, lightly score around the mask to give a faint impression of the outline. 

6- Flip your c/s over. You will be able to see where you lightly scored on the front. The simply  re-scored over these lines, from the back, and your score lines will be raised up on the front. *Tip* use the larger end of the stylus for your scoring otherwise you could score to hard and tear your c/s. 

7- Embellish as desired.

8- Smile when you see your finished card and smile even more when you think of the joy it will bring to it's recipient.

Before I scored my card I masked my sentiment and randomly (still so hard to do that) stamped images from my Circle Circus set  all over the front in lots of fun colors. I used Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry. I love how bright and cheery this is. It just makes me smile. I hope it's making you smile too! I wanted my sentiment and scoring to stand out a little more so I added a little Two-Way Glue Pen and let Tink have a little fun too.

Here's a close-up -

I think the masking turned out pretty good, Just the one Tangerine Tango area to the right side that's not "perfect". But considering it was only my second time to do masking....I'll not get too OCD about it. I hadn't even taken my "masking" techniques class when I tried this card. Yea Shan!

Here's the inside-

Inside of Happy Birthday Card featuring
Circle Circus and Perfectly Penned

I did a little more stamping than I usually do here, but I just couldn't help myself. Besides there's still the whole top half of the inside to right a message. Tink went wild here, but isn't it sparkly and pretty?

Now for the fun part. If you're still with me here, it's time for a little Celebration for us both. I wish I had "Real" Blog Candy to give you, like product but, sadly, I don't. Here's what I would like to do though.I'm going to give away 5 of your favorite cards just for stopping by and Celebrating with me today.

Here's all you need to do- Leave me a comment telling me which of my cards/projects is your favorite. Pretty easy. If you're one of the first 3 to leave me a comment telling me your favorite card/project, you get that card/project. How simple is that? Additionally, if you're not one of the first 3, I hope you'll still leave me a comment. If I get more than three (which hasn't happened yet except for challenge entries) I will send an extra card/project (your favorite) to one of those who were kind enough to leave me a comment.

I'm really trying hard to build up my business and to increase my page views and followers as well. If you leave me a comment saying that you are following me (even if you're not a new follower) and let me know how, RSS feed, e-mail, G+, Facebook, or Pinterest I will give an additional card to those that let me know they are following me. So that's a total of 5 of your favorite cards/projects just for stopping by and saying hi to me as I celebrate this special occasion. Don't forget to tell me which card/project is your favorite,even if you're just telling me that you're following me. I want to make sure you get the card/project you like best.

*Update* The follow me buttons for Google+ and Pinterest on on my sidebar. I don't have one yet for FaceBook. You can follow me on FB at Shans Design Studio or Shannon Angel. I know that sometimes my Follow Me buttons don't show up due to certain firewalls so My Google + pages are Shans Design Studio and Shannon Angel and Pinterest is Shannon Angel.

Since I know not everyone gets to check their e-mails and reader feeds on a daily basis, this give-away will be open until Midnight August 23, 2012.

I will send the cards/projects anywhere in the world that you manage to find me from and not just the Continental U.S. :) Cards will come in a protective clear envelope and will have an envelope with it so you can send it whenever you want.

That's all I have for you today. I hope you liked today's card and I hope it inspires you to have fun and try something new today whether it's today's technique or something else. I love hearing from you so I really do hope if you liked today's card or have a question that you'll take a moment and leave me a comment. I read all of them and they really do make my day. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world and to celebrate my special day with me. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

Pin It

End of the Week Technique #34 -Side Step Card / Graduation Card #2 For My Girl A

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Friday! It's overcast here in the DMV and we're expecting some strong storms to sweep through today. I hope it's warm and sunny wherever you are! Do you have plans for the weekend? I'm going to the Big Crawfish Festival tomorrow, so maybe I'll be able to do something Digital with that for next week. Do you like Crawfish? I Love them and wait till you see the amount of them and how they cook everything. Unbelievable!!! As much as I love crawfish (and the free beer that comes with it) in spirit I'll be in Colorado. A sweet, fun, young lady that I know will be graduating from High School and I'm so excited for her! I was trying to come up with a card for her and ended up with two and couldn't decide which one I liked best.What to do? I sent her both of course! Why not, it's not every day you graduate from High School. I showed you the first one earlier this week.

Here's the second one-

Side Step Graduation Card with Extra Card

Obviously her school colors are red and white. I wonder if she was curious why her dad was asking? This is actually two cards. Most of the card samples I saw didn't really have anywhere to write a note, well at least no-where private, so I decided to add a small matching card to this one. 

Here's the original card design-

Side Step Graduation Card

I love this sentiment and thought it would be great for a graduation card. To add a little "something extra" to this I stamped the sentiment in Black Staz-On and then heat embossed it. I then inked the little arrow with my Real Red marker and Versamark, heat embossed it as well and then hand-cut it & popped it up for a little extra dimension. I just love the glossy look of it and how this portion turned out. I stamped it at the top of the c/s leaving room for a small picture if she wanted to put one with the card. The hats were fun & so easy to make. I punched out 1" squares and then cut cardstock into little fringes and attached them to the squares with mini-brads. I covered the mini-brads with Staz-On so they'd match the hats. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. I punched it with my Word Window Punch and then matted it with a piece punched with my Modern Label Punch. Both the sentiment and the hats were all popped up with dimensionals.

Here's the matching card-

Very simple. I used a card base of Real Red and then added the other layers to create a gowned effect (at least I hope she thinks it looks like one) and then popped those layers up. You know I like to add a little something extra to the inside of my cards to make them pretty too. I added another cap & tassel to the inside, but wrote my note before I attached everything so no picture for you. :( Sorry. I have Horrible nurse writing and didn't want to risk attaching everything to the inside and then messing up the writing and end up making the whole card over again. LOL!

Before I give you the instructions for this technique I just want to give my girl a shoutout, just in case she checks this out-

Way to go Alex!!!!! SO excited for you. Enjoy your special day and everything that comes with it. You deserve it. I forgot to put in a coupon for Noms with your other card, so here's my I.O.U. for treats next time you're in town. Or, if you decide you need some before then, let me know and I'll "Food-Ex" them to you. I've got some new recipes I think you'll like. Congratulations!!!!! 

So here's what you need to make this style card- Cardstock, Paper Cutter, Scoring Tool ( I used my Simply Scored), Bone folder and stamps/DSP as desired for decoration

1- Cardstock cut at 5 1/2 x 81/2.

2- Score at 4 1/4 all the way across the c/s, This is your center fold.

3- On the short edge position your c/s at the 3 1/2 mark and cut from 1 1/4" to 6 1/4" this is all you need to cut. This will give you a 2" wide section to decorate. 

3- On the long edge score in to the cut line on the following marks- 1 1/4, 2 1/4, 3 1/4, 6 1/4. 

4- Fold at 4 1/4 and use your Bone Folder to make the fold crisp.

5- Fold on the other score lines starting up from the bottom and then use your bone folder to again make sure the lines are crisp.

6- Decorate the panels however you would like. The only limit is your imagination.

7-Smile when you see your finished card and think about the smile it will hopefully bring to it's recipients face.

I put off making one of these cards for the longest time, because I was afraid it was going to be difficult. It was definitely not hard and I will be making more of these for sure!

I hope you liked today's project and I hope it inspires you to make something new and different for someone special that you know. I really hope A enjoys her cards, although I have a sneaking suspicion she'll be more excited by the I.O.U. for noms. LOL! I love feeding that girl, cause she always enjoys my snacks. She's even been known to share a little. (And I do mean "a little!) What a girl! :)

If you liked today's project, feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

I hope you have a beautiful, sunny, and dry weekend with plenty of time for Family, Friends and of course time for creativity. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storm to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

Pin It

A Sneak Peek for Tomorrow / SFF #052512 / My Challenge #23

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Thursday. Question-Why do 4 day weeks seem to fly by when 5 day weeks drag? Doesn't make sense.

Well, today is the last day of our current catalog and the new one goes live tomorrow at noon. Are you excited? Having seen the catalog, I can tell you I'm sooo stoked! I've already got a huge wishlist. There are a few things I'm sorry to see go, but the new catalog is so Amazing & I can hardly wait for you to see it. If you don't have a demonstrator and need one, I'd love to send you a catalog. :)

I got this new stamp set a few weeks ago and have just been so entranced by the ease of Betsy's Blossoms I didn't get to play with it much. I inked it up this weekend and I have to say I love it too! I thought I'd pair it up with a challenge and get my Clean and Simple card of the week thrown in at the same time. My stampin buddy April, laughed at me the other day and said "Shan, you just can't make a one layer card can you?" It would appear not. I wanted to do a one layer with this one but I think it would have been to stark, so I think I may have to simply resign myself to two layers. :)

As I said yesterday, I'm not always the brightest bulb in the pack and for the love of me I can't remember the name of this new set...something like Forever with You, kinda-sorta-maybe? Augh! I'll have to get back to you on that since I can't look it up in the catalog on line like I normally would. *SMH*

I used this sketch over at Sketch Frenzy Fridays for my inspiration-

Thanks Robbie Rubala for a great sketch. (Which I obviously didn't look too closely at before finishing up since there are 4 lines in the corner instead of 3. Sorry!) I thought this would be a great time to get out my Simply Scored tool and I thought this stamped image would be perfect with this sketch.

I started with a base of Midnight Muse, my favorite of the new colors and quite possibly destined to be one of my new all time favorites. Such a rich, velvety color. I wasn't sure we needed another dark blue, but it's Fabulous! Over that is layered a single piece of Whisper White. I used my Simply Scored with the Diagonal Plate to make the score lines. It doesn't show up well on the picture, but in real life it's just a nice subtle accent. I inked up my stamp by coloring the image with my New In-Colors Markers in Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Pink. This panel is popped up with dimensionals and I was done.

Here's a closer look at my stamped image-

I love this image, the sentiment, the font everything. I can't wait to play around with it even more!

So, normally I would have an inside to show you too, but not today. Initially I wasn't sure what I wanted to put on the inside and then I just ran out of time, but believe me when I say I'll make it as pretty as the outside. :)

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you liked the card and I hope it inspires you to make something for that special person who makes everywhere seem like home. If you liked today's card, feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you! If you liked it and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put the buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome as well! :)

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for this week's End of the Week Technique. Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Faux Tile - Sympathy Card / End of the Week Technique # 28

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Friday! I hope you're having a great end of the week. I know I am and that I'm looking forward to this weekend! It's been a looooong week!

I have an all new End of the Week Technique for you today. It's #28. I can hardly believe I'm on #28 already, WOW!

This week's technique is Faux Tile. I did this card a few weeks back and now it seems like I'm seeing this type of card everywhere. We even did one last night at the stampcamp @ the firehouse. :) It's Super Quick and Easy and you can do it a couple of different ways.

Here's today's card-

Faux Tile card with Fresh Vintage & Petite Pairs stamp sets

I used Riding Hood Red for my base and then did my technique on a piece of Whisper White c/s.

Here's what you're going to need- A scoring tool, (I used my Simply Scored Tool with it's Diagonal Score Plate. I love both of these tools!) and a stamp set, solid images work best.

1- Decide how large you want your "tiles" to be - This is totally up to you. I think these were about 1 3/4". The card we made last night was 1". For ease of instructions we'll go with 1".

2- Score every 1" and then turn your card 1/4 turn and score again using the same measurement.

3- Decide which side of your card you want to show. I used the de-bossed side because I wanted the appearance of "grout-lines" just like a real section of tile. The other side creates a beautiful focal point as well. I'll post one of those cards soon too.

4- Next stamp your image and embellish as you desire. I used 3 of the stamps from the Fresh Vintage collection. I hope you were able to get this set during Sale-A-Bration. It' s so pretty!

5- I didn't do it on this card, but I have since seen cards where they shaded either side of the "grout-lines" for shadowing and dimension. I really like that look as well, but I have to say I really like the clean look of this sample too.

6- Sit back and enjoy how pretty your card is and think about the smile it will bring to it's recipients face. See I told you- Super Quick and Easy. The hardest part is deciding on your color scheme and stamp set.

I sponged the edges of my card with Riding Hood Red Classic Ink and knotted a length of ribbon, in the same color, around the Whisper White piece. For my sentiment I used one of the Petite Pairs sentiments on a piece of Whisper White c/s that I punched out with my Large Oval Punch, and mounted it on a piece of Riding Hood Red c/s punched with my Scalloped Oval Punch. This was mounted over my ribbon with two Stampin Dimensionals. I finished the front of my card with some tiny pearls as an accent and then mounted it to my card base with some dimensionals.

Here's the inside-

I kept it simple here- the rest of the sentiment from the front and 2 of the floral elements from the front all stamped in Riding Hood Red. I stamped off once with the larger stamped image to add some visual interest. A little sponging around the edges and my card was done.

I don't know about you, but I find sympathy cards hard to come up with. I didn't plan on this being a sympathy card, but once I was done I just felt like the card was soothing and so pretty but not "frou-frou" and I thought it might work well for that. What do you think? Are they difficult cards for you as well?

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to try something new today. As always I would love to see what you create with this technique.

If you liked today's card, please feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you. Also, feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've placed buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and followers are always welcome too. :)

I hope you to see you right back here next week. I wish you an Amazing weekend filled with Family, Friends and plenty of creative time.

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

Pin It

A Little Smooch, A Challenge, and A Lot of Love - Monday Makeover Challenge/Personal Challenge #16

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! Hope you all are having a great week. Sorry I missed yesterday, but my daughter's not feeling well and I didn't get home from the hospital until 4:30 am so I slept most of the day. Lol! That's what happens when you're up for 23 hours straight!

Well, for today's card I have a challenge card for you. Now that my buddy Jason's back in Yuma, it's time for me to resume my Personal Challenge cards. For those of you that are new here, I challenged myself at the beginning of the year to do a challenge a week as a way to stretch my creative boundaries. I have to say it's been a lot of fun! I did a few in advance for when he was here, but now it's back to a regular schedule.

This week's card is for Paper-Crafters Library's Monday Makeover Challenge. It's a work from your stash challenge to do your take on a previously done card from their archives.

Here's my challenge card-

Flip-Up card with Summer Smooches DSP and Flowers

When I saw the sketch I knew just what I wanted to do. Love when that happens! Do you just love that DSP? I do! It's only available as a preview this month. After that you'll have to wait until June to get your hands on it. I turned my card on the side from the original card, added the central panel of DSP and added a pull-tab instead of the ribbon. The other change is I made it a flip-card instead of a regular style card.

Here's the challenge inspiration card-

My biggest inspiration for this card is my daughter J. She's going through a rough time right now and I wanted to make something for her that was bright and cheerful and would remind her just how much I love her, unconditionally.

I started with a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 base piece of Whisper White c/s. When I saw the inspiration piece, the folded ribbons on the edge reminded me of a pull tab and I thought "Why not have the center section lift up to reveal a message hidden underneath?" So that's what I set out to create. This was the first time I've tried something like this and to be honest, I don't think I've seen any others out there like it. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out but I have to say it works Great!

I used a much smaller piece of DSP than in the inspiration piece and I used it to anchor my focal piece. I used a 3/4" piece of DSP from our Summer Smooches Collection to go across the top. I then took my central piece of DSP from the same and using my Simply Scored Tool I scored it at 3/4", then reinforced that with my bone folder to make the fold crisp. Then I was able to lay it over my anchor piece and it created a flap. I checked it and guess what? It worked!!!! You know what I did then right? Yep- *Happy Dance*

Next came the flowers. Since I didn't plan on putting my sentiment on the center panel, that left more room for flowers. I decided to make 4 and to layer them with all the bright, fun colors in the DSP. I didn't have the die to make the flowers Andrea used so I followed the challenge and worked from my stash. The two smaller flowers are from my BoHo Blossoms Punch, the reminded me of her smaller flower. They were the easiest. I just had to choose the colors I wanted.

For the upper flower I used my Fancy Flower Punch and stamped out 3 different flowers. Then for those of you that know me, I did something very out of the box... I misted the flowers and then crumpled them up. I know shocker right! (Boy the Scaredy Cat in me was working overtime on this card!) I wanted something a little unexpected and for my daughter to see I was trying something that was hard for me, since she's trying something hard right now too. Not nearly the same, but she'll appreciate the symbolism. I rotated the layers so you cold see all the colors and then used Tombow to hold all the layers together. For the bottom flower, I used my Scalloped Circle Punches and instead of crumpling them I used my paper-snips to make individual petals. I used more Tombow to hold the layers together here too (and all the small flowers as well). Instead of brads or jewels for the center I chose to use colored buttons. These are from Stampin Up's Brights collection. J had just been looking at them on Monday night and had told me how much she liked them. I thought they would be the perfect addition to her flowers. :) I adhered them with Mini-Glue Dots and then adhered all the flowers with dimensionals for a little added touch.

Since the ribbons reminded me of a pull tab, that just what I added to the bottom. I used my Rounded Label Punch to create one. Since it's double sided it also eliminated the need to cover up any raw edges on the inside of the card. Score! I then added the sentiment from Teen Tiny Wishes, secured it with more Tombow and the front of my card was done.

Now you know how I like the inside of my cards to have a little something extra besides just the sentiment, since there was no inside, just the space under the flap, that's where it went. I was limited in space, but had just enough room to put the image and sentiment I wanted.

Here's the inside-

I used two stamps from the Sprinkled Expressions set I got for free during Sale-A-Bration. It's not available anymore, so I hope you were able to get your set. It had just the right sentiment. Sometimes we forget to tell those people that are important to us, that we love them just the way they are. I guess we just assume they know how we feel. I added a little bling with my Two-Way Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds and my card was done.

I don't know about you, but I often wonder how many attempts it takes other crafters to get their projects just right and ready to show. I was so excited that this only took one attempt! Especially since it was a new concept for me.

Want to know a secret? I went upstairs, took my pictures and then sat down to write my note to my daughter. I knew it was going to have to be short, so I made it short and sweet and then closed my flap...
I'm sure you can guess what came next. Yep! you could totally see my note at the bottom of the flap. SMH. Back to the drawing board! It was already after 11 at this point, but I went back down to the craft room and set about fixing it. Since my flap was secured to the bottom piece and I wasn't about to re-do the whole card I cut a new base piece to fit just below my DSP piece. I re-stamped the image and the sentiment and secured it over the original base piece and if you didn't know about the boo-boo you probably wouldn't even notice it.

Well, that's my card for today. I hope it inspires you to try something new today, whether it's a new card style like this one or a challenge.

I hope you liked today's card, but I really hope my daughter likes it. I hope you'll take the time today to remind someone you love, just how special they are to you, "just the way they are".

If you liked today's card, please feel free to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you. You can also +1 or Pin it. I've put buttons on my sidebar for your convenience. Friends and followers are also welcome. :)

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for my End of the Week Technique. It's one I haven't tried before.

Till next time-

Remember- Life isn't about Waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

Pin It

End of the Week Technique # 16 - Framelet Valentine Candy Holder

Pin It
Hey y'all. Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a good day. It's cold here in the DMV with flurries forecast for later today but for now the sun is shining.

I have to confess that this is not the EWT I had in mind for you today. I know... you heard that last week too. Truth is I had planned to do lots of stamping and crafting yesterday to get ready for this weekend, (like I said I was going to do in yesterday's post) and then a little miracle happened. Right as I was finishing that post and about to hit "publish" my Oh-So-Handsome Boyfriend, who I took the day off from work to be with (don't worry I got it covered early, all legit like) and who had a last minute schedule change at 5:55 yesterday morning and wasn't going to be able to get off work, was able to get off work! SCORE!!!!! He lives nearby but his work schedule is soooo crazy (we're talking 6 days/week 12-14 hour days) that our time together is at a premium, so I have to say, there was not a lot of design - creativity happening in my household after I hit publish yesterday.

That being said, the project I have for you is super cute, super easy and can be adapted to anytime of the year, not just Valentines Day. I was inspired to make a Valentine's Day Treat holder after going to a Stampcamp this weekend and using the "Pillowbox" Die and the Big Shot to make one. Since I didn't have that die, I needed to find another option. I could have used the TopNote and made one like THIS from Halloween, but I wanted to try something else. So I got out my thinking cap, looked around and what do you know, I found the inspiration I needed right in front of me on my table. It was on the cover of the new Occasions-Mini. I changed it a little, theirs is simply rolled (so I'm thinking it's probably not a treat holder) and mine is scored with the Simply Scored Tool. Do you have yours yet? I'm telling you it is a must have! I don't even fold cardstock for card bases anymore without scoring them on that first. It just makes the fold so much nicer.

Here's today's project-

Cute right? Wouldn't you love to find this on your desk at work, or on your pillow at home? It's so easy even your crafting-challenged significant others could do this or could help your little ones do it to give you a nice surprise. If they can crank the handle of the Big Shot, Score cardstock, Punch a hole, Tie a knot/bow they're home free. They get bonus points if they can stamp the image and punch it out! (:

I used DSP from my Brights pack and the largest Framelet and simply ran it through the Big Shot. So simple.  Next, I laid this on my Simply Scored Tool with the "points" in a channel. I then counted over 1/2 inch or 4 "channels" on either side and scored, and then reinforced those scores. Then, using my Crop-A-Dile I punched a hole through both sides at the top and took a length of about 12 inches of Pretty in Pink ribbon (although you could realistically get away with less) wrapped it around the outside and through the holes.

Here's what it looks like open-

As you can see 4 Kisses or Mini- Reese's Cups fit nicely, or 3 "Nuggets" You can use a little Snail to hold them in.

Once they were in, I tied my Pretty in Pink ribbon in a simple knot and flagged the ends. I stamped 2 of the images from the P.S. I Love You set in Real Red and Pretty in Pink on Whisper White and then punched it out using my Small Scalloped Circle Punch. A quick hole punched to the top and I tied some Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine through that and around the knotted ribbon and easy as that my sweet treat is ready to bring a smile to someones face.

So what do you think? Will you be "accidentally" forwarding this link to someone you love so they can make  you something sweet for VD instead of buying something for you? I don't know about you, but I would rather get this, or something similar, that someone took the time to make for me than something from one of the big stores.

I hope you liked today's Quick and Easy EWT and I hope it inspires you to try something new and to remember that just because you don't have "exactly what someone else used" doesn't mean that you can't still make something your own. Just Try! If you liked today's project, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

If you need supplies to make today's project or one similar to it you can shop at my ONLINE STORE 24/7.
Today's Recipe-
Cardstock- Real Red Pattern Paper Brights Stack
Ink- Real Red and Pretty in Pink Stampin Write Markers
Ribbons- Pretty in Pink Grosgrain, Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine
Big Shot- Labels Framelets
Stamps- P.S. I Love You
Accesories- Crop-A-Dile, SNAIL


It's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Till next time-

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #5 A G3 (Ghostly Trio) Halloween Purse

Pin It
Hey y'all! Hope everyone is warm and dry and working their way towards the weekend. Here in the DMV we are warm but wait... you guessed it def. not dry and if the good old weatherman is to be believed, that Big Bad Four letter word is on it's way! No, I don't mean more Rain, and yes I know it's a four letter word too, (I'm from the south we're used to rain, but it's warm rain and the sun shines there before, and after and sometimes even during the rain!) I'm talking , cue the doomy music (dum - dum - dadum.... SNOW!!!!! But, until then, maybe today's project will warm your heart and make you smile. It makes me smile every time I look at it!

First though, did you see yesterday's post and my cute little fellas? If not, I hope you'll take a moment and give it a quick look. It was the first time I had entered a challenge and it was for Carrie Gaskin's Ka-Pow Creative Challenge and I was so scared because her stuff is sooo Amazing! Let me just tell you, Carrie Gaskin liked my card and my little guys! I couldn't believe it! She left me a comment and everything. How excited was I? It was like my birthday and Christmas had come early. Seriously! Sooo Cool! Hopefully you like them too because they are appearing today on the project that actually came first and inspired yesterday's challenge card.

So, the End of the Week Techniques aren't always going to be a stamping technique. They might be a new or differentt way to fold a card or a craft technique that is either new to me or one that I'm either not really proficient at, haven't used in a while or want to highlight for someone that might be a beginning stamper, like the use of blender pens with Pastels.

Today's technique is making a cute little purse out of a 6 x 6 piece of DSP. Once again I CASEd France Martin . She really does have the cutest stuff! One thing I love about being a Stampin' Up demonstrator is everyone wants you to succeed, and they don't mind sharing ideas with each other. How cool is that?!? I just say "Thank goodness I don't have to come up with all these ideas on my own!". She has a video showing how to make these. You can see it HERE. I suggest watching the video as you make your purse.
On Full Screen.
A couple of times.
Just a thought.
Ask me Why I think that. (tee-hee-hee)

Ready to see my little purse? Drum Roll Puh-lease.......

How Stinking Cute is this? Ooooooh! I just wish I had a Big Girl One to carry around! If you saw yesterday's post, you know Tink got ahold of my 3 little fellas and the medallion their sitting on, and I really think I'm going to have to let her have free rein to blast these 3 as well. But even without Tink's help how precious!

I made a few changes to my purse from the video. My straps are just a tad bit wider, find what works for you. I didn't have a large oval punch for the flap so I cut a rectangle with my paper cutter. I don't have the measurements with me, but I think it was about 2 1/2- 3" long x 1" wide. Here again, make it your own. I also didn't have a scalloped oval so I went with my trusty ol' scallop circle and punched out a piece of Basic Black cardstock. See the grey on the edge? It's not grey at all. It's Whisper White Craft ink. You know what? I've had that thing since I stamped the first time over 4 years ago and it's like brand new. Our products ROCK! I drug the edge of my punched circle across the edge of my pad and it gave that effect. It also makes it look like I have a grey scallop circle with a black circle layer, bonus!

Now for my 3G's- No I'm not talking ATT or Verizon, lol, I'm talking my seriously cute Ghostly Trio, that I came up with. They are so easy. I used my small oval punch and Whisper White cardstock and punched 3 ovals and using the small scallop circle punch, snipped the bottom of the ovals and there you go, instant Ghost Shapes just like the ones on the DSP. I then lightly sponged my little dudes with some Basic Grey for dimension and used my Real Red Stampin' Writer to make their eyes. I used Tombow adhesive to secure them. (Couldn't have them floating away) Seriously, I would say they couldn't get any cuter except I know what's gonna happen once Tink gets ahold of them tonight!

Now you might ask, "Shan, how in the world did you get that little-itty-bitty oval into the scallop punch in just the right spot to punch it?" Well I'm glad you asked! How often do you have strips of paper left over, maybe a couple of inches long, a couple of inches wide, and you think to yourself - "This is not big enough to use on a card or for a punch, I'll just toss it."?
NOOOOOOOOOO! Don't Toss It!!!!!!!
Take that strip and use it as an extender strip. Just take a little tiny dab of SNAIL and put it on the end of one of those strips and then stick the top edge of your oval to this and just slide it right down into your punch, position it where you want and punch away. Doesn't get any easier than this.

Tip- This works especially well for our builder punches like the Cupcake Punch, Stocking Punch etc. I love those punches but I always hated the waste of trying to punch one thing, especially at the bottom, and having to punch everything else out. This way you just cut your cardstock to the size you need, or if it's already stamped your stamped image, stick it to your extender strip, slide it into position, punch and all you've punched is your intended piece and the strip you would have thrown away to start with. Fabulous! Try it next time you use one of these punches. You'll thank me, I just know it.

Here's the inside-

As you can see, plenty big to hold some chocolatey, peanut buttery loving or other forms of goodness.

Tip #2 When you do this project with pattern paper like my 3G's before you score, gently roll the edges up to see how your pattern will end up. Ask me how I know!
The DSP's used in the video didn't have a right or wrong pattern to them so I didn't think about this and the first purse I made was cute but my little dudes were flying across the bag instead of sitting up looking at me. So the second time around, I had to stop and think as I re-watched the video to see which way I needed to have my DSP placed on the Simply Scored so my little guys would be sitting instead of flying. Like I said, still cute, and most of the time this will not be an issue for you, but just something to be aware, just in case.

Well, that's it for this edition of End of the Week Technique. Did you learn something new? I hope so! I know I did. I also know this is going to be something that I use throughout the year for cute little go to gifts. Seriously, I took a 6 x 6 piece of DSP and some scraps and I ended up with this piece of cuteness. You betcha I'm gonna be doing this again. As always, if you try this, send me a pic or a link, I'd love to see it!

If you need supplies to make this project or projects like this one, come shop with me. You can do it 24/7. It's easy, you don't have to get dressed up, no make-up is required, heck you don't even have to get out of your PJ's and best of all....you don't have to pay those outrageous prices at the pump. Just click HERE.

Also don't forget, only 4 days left to get your FREE Big Shot or $100 dollars in FREE merchandise. It's easy to do and Absolutely NO STRINGS Attached. Join my Stampin Up team and enjoy all the benefits of team membership plus your FREE Big Shot or FREE $100 Dollars in Merchandise but only through the end of this month.

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan

Pin It

Mondays were made for Chocolate

Pin It

Hey everyone! It's a rainy Monday here in the Nation's capitol (again!). You'd think we lived in Washington state and not Washington, D.C. Now though, we've added cold to the rain. We woke up to the 40's here this morning, I have to say I can find no conceivable reason why it should be this cold the first weekend in October! It's a Monday for sure. :(
You might be tempted to ask what can make a cold and rainy Monday better? Well, in my book there's one thing that makes everything better, even cold rainy Mondays. If you guessed Chocolate, you would be sooo very right!

I got to spend a lot of creative time this weekend in the upstairs studio (otherwise known as my kitchen, at the table). :) I got a chance to make some Chocolate, that I wouldn't even feel remotely bad about enjoying. I saw this last week when I was surfing the net looking for inspiration and I knew I needed to try and make something similar. Here's my guilt free Chocolate...

Doesn't it look yummy? I used my Simply Scored to make the chocolate pieces and to score the wrapper and the liner. I swear that was the best $30.00 I've spent in a long time. I think I've used it at least once a week since I got it. So much easier than my paper-cutter! I used a stamp set I got last year for free during a booking blitz, called Eat Chocolate. I was so bummed they didn't make that a regular catalog item. I used my Stampin' Write markers to color in the stamps before I stamped them. I used Tombow adhesive to secure the wrapper and liner around the bar and then secured the flaps with a Mini Glue-Dot. The small Scalloped Circle punch made the bite marks. How cute is this? It makes me smile just looking at it, and NO calories, well that makes me just about Giddy!

For the inside of the card, I used two more stamps from that same set. By coloring it in with my markers I was not only able to pick my colors, I was able to get just the part of the stamp I wanted for the inside of my card.

Isn't that little Bon-Bon cute? I used my Two-way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to add a little sparkle to it and there you have it.... a card that made even my Cold Rainy Monday a little happier. I hope it makes your day a little brighter as well, regardless of where you live or what the weather's like outside.

Now just in case my card hasn't given you enough of a chocolate fix, why not head over to Cookiesandcups.com. I LOVE this Blog and  Shelly is Amazing! I got my Whoppers Brownie recipe on her site and today she gives another fabulous Chocolate recipe to chase away the gloom. Chubby-Hubby Bars...Oh Yes, I am going to be making these soon for the Chocoholics in my life, and by that I mean me + one. Here's a picture, but trust me on this, go to the site, but have a napkin ready, you're gonna DROOL!




Well, I hope you enjoyed my card and the link to the Amazing Noms! If you liked it, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

Remember you can shop HERE, 24/7 to get started making your own Guilt-Free Smile Makers.

Till next time,
Be Safe,
Shan Pin It