Preview-Utah Diva's MDS Monday Challenge Birthday Cards or Piece of Cake- My Challenge #12

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Hey y'all. Quick little post-

These cards are actually for my mother's birthday which will be my Monday post. It will also be my MDS Monday post. I'm posting it early so I can get it in on the Utah Divah's MDS Monday Challenge for Birthday Cards or Cards using the Piece of Cake CD that you can get free during Sale-A-Bration.

My Mom lives out of state and I waited just a little too long to be able to get her card in  her hands on her birthday and she said all she wanted was for me to make her a card and put it on my blog for everyone to see. I decided since I waited to long I would to her one better and make her two. I hope she likes them. Be sure to check my blog on Monday to see both full cards- the insides are done as well.

Entry #1

Entry #2

 Hope you liked this quick little preview. :)

Till next time-
Remember- Life is not about Waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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End of the Week Technique #21 - Emboss Resist

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! You're probably thinking, Monday and End of the Week Technique? Well I totally flaked last Thursday night and forgot to take a picture of this card, so I wasn't able to do my EWT last week and then didn't get to post it over the weekend either so here we are with an EWT at the Beginning of the week instead. SMH :( I'm still going to try and get a new EWT posted for this week as well.

Today's technique is one I've seen done plenty of times and have just never done at home. It also uses a stamp set I've been wanting to get since it first came out almost a year ago. I was lucky enough to get to use it a couple of weeks back when my upline Robin Merriman offered an "Open Stamp" in her studio. Thanks Robin! In fact This is a popular technique with this stamp set. I've seen it done countless times before, by countless stampers and it still strikes me as sooo beautiful, I had to do it as well.

Here's today's card-

I am sooo having a moment right now, and can't even remember the name of this stamp set that I love so much. I blame it on all the steroids I've been taking for my pneumonia. They make my brain so muddled!

This is a really simple technique but gives such a WOW result. I used my All-Time Favorite color, Island Indigo as a base. First you stamp your image with VersaMark, I stamped mine on a Whisper White background. Next you apply your Embossing Powder, I used White Embossing Powder, to your VersaMarked image and heat set it with your Heat Tool. I absolutely love Heat Embossing! It's so magical to watch your image appear. After heat embossing the image, you simply sponge over it with the color or colors of your choice, I stuck with Island Indigo. You can use Sponges or Daubers, I used the daubers here, but have used sponges in stampcamps before. It just depends on the look you're after and your preference. Experiment and see which one you like the best. Once your done layering your color over your image, you simply take a napkin and rub over your embossed image. Any ink that may be on it will simply buff right off, leaving your image to stand out clearly from your colored background. See- I told you, really simple!

I sponged the edges of my cardstock with Island Indigo and then stamped one of the sentiments from the set in Island Indigo as well and the front of my card was done.

Here's the inside-

I kept it very simple here. Since I used the sentiment "Hello" on the outside I didn't put a sentiment here. I left it blank so there would be more room to write.

I stamped a small image from the Everyday Elegance stamp set in the bottom corner and added a little bling to it. It felt so good to do that! It's kind of one of my signature looks and for some reason lately, I haven't had a  lot of cards where I used it. I thought the little butterfly was a nice addition, since it tied in with the flower theme from the front of the card. It's also fun to use because I got it for FREE with a $50.00 purchase. It's one of our Exclusive Sale-A-Bration items. You can get your Free items by placing an order in my ONLINE STORE.


That's all I have for you today. Seriously- two posts is enough don't you think? :) I'll be back tomorrow with another new card. ( Pictures are already taken (:  )

I hope you liked today's card and that it inspires you to try something new today. If it does, I would love to see what you create!

If you liked today's card, 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. :)

Till next time-

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

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

A Fun, Quick and Easy Celebrate-ion Card - TST Challenge 54 /My Challenge #9

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Hey y'all. Happy Thursday. Just one more day till the weekend begins. :) I hope you're all having an Amazing week. I'm still sick but at least I feel like I'm slowly getting over this pneumonia. At least I have had the energy to design and stamp.

I've already done my "challenge" for the week, but I saw this sketch challenge over at Try Stamping on Tuesday, and knew I wanted to do it too. It was another one of those sketches that I just looked at and knew exactly what I wanted to do. Love when that happens, especially since it happens so rarely, for me at any rate.

Here's my take on the sketch-

And here's the TST sketch-

What do you think? I sketched it at work and went home and was able to recreate my plan so quickly and easily. Apparently though I sketched it too quickly, because I realized later that I missed the extra border under the lower strip and that the lower strip was supposed to go all the way across. Hopefully the design team over at TST won't mind too much.

I started with a base of Peach Parfait, the same as yesterday. Hard to believe I haven't used that color much and then made two very different cards with it, for two different challenges, in one day. Next I layered a Whisper White panel that I ran through my Big Shot with my Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. Two strips of DSP from Just Add Cake (love that pack!), add some bright color to the front. 

For my flower I punched out pieces of Peach Parfait and So Saffron with my Large Scalloped Circle Punch. I tried something new with these pieces and, using my paper snips, made cuts in between each of the scallops and then raised every other one to make it look like individual petals. I layered the two colors on top of each other, so that you could see both colors and secured them with a brad from the Sale-A-Bration Ribbon and Brad pack. The flower was adhered with two dimensionals, for a little more elevation.

The sentiment is from Sprinkled Expressions, another Sale-A-Bration set and I used my Word Window Punch and Modern Label Punch  and some more dimensionals to make it stand out.

Here's the inside-

The sentiment is from the same Sprinkled Expressions set. I colored it in with my Stampin Write Markers in Peach Parfait, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, and Wild Wasabi. A strip of DSP carries on the design theme from the front. It's hard to tell from my picture (sorry about that) but the DSP is up from the bottom a little so that there is still some Whisper White c/s showing.

Like I said, Quick and Easy but I think it's so fun too! 

I hope you liked today's card and I hope it inspires you to create something today, maybe for a challenge, maybe a new technique... Remember the goal of this blog is to Just Try.

I hope to see yo back here tomorrow for my End of the Week Technique. It's one I've been wanting to try for a while now.

Till next time-

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

Be Safe,

Shan

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An Enchanting Window (Challenge #8)/ Stamping 411- SSC-243 /My Challenge #8

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Hey y'all. Happy Humpday and Happy Ash Wednesday to those of you that celebrate today as well. I am prepared for the long season ahead.... I gave up my usuals (chocolate and cussing), thank goodness I still have my stamping to keep me happy and sane! (:

I have a new challenge card for you today. Yesterday, when I was looking through my feeds I actually found two sketches I liked and knew just where I wanted to go with them. So rare for me. Of course last time I did that, I scrolled down and found out someone on the design team had my same great idea and I then had to search for a new sketch. Yesterday though, I sketched out my ideas, looked at what the DT and others had posted and was good to go. I sat down at my table and made both cards. Start to finish, they came together quickly and just how I had planned them. I had to do a little happy dance. Don't you just love when that happens. So today you get card one and then tomorrow will be card two.

Here's today's card-

And here's the Stamping 411 Sketch-

What do you think? I kept pretty true to the sketch. This card is so different from my normal style and I'm so excited by how it turned out! I love the DSP from Everyday Enchantment, but I've had a hard time using this particular color/pattern combination. Not sure why. However, my upline Robin Merriman created a project this weekend for our team meeting using this combo and I guess it was still fresh in my mind.

When I first saw the sketch, the image in the background reminded me of this DSP, and I knew I wanted to use DSP, instead of just a background image. The DSP also has little butterflies on it, so in addition to the butterfly on the sketch, which I know can technically be any shape, I took my inspiration for my focal point from the DSP as well.

I used a base of Peach Parfait and made a tent style card, which is also something I don't normally do, but I think it works here. I love the color peach, but somehow I have not used this a lot. It will be gone soon though, so if it's one of your fav's stock up now. Next I layered my DSP with a piece of Pool Party that I used my Scalloped Border Punch on. I have to say my OCD kicked in just a little on this layer. This DSP has a vintage feel to it and all the 12 x 12 pages have darkened edges. Of course when you cut it though, if you cut from an edge, that can leave some edges antiqued and some not. Now you know good and well I can't have that unevenness on my card, right? Right! I knew you'd get it. So I got out my faithful CrumbCake Classic ink pad and sponge and evened the edges on my DSP so they all matched. Of course, once you sponge one elelment, you're pretty much committed to sponging them all, so my Pool Party addition got a little CrumbCake luv too. (:

I used my 1 3/4 inch Circle punch to punch out the window. Then on a scrap piece of Peach Parfait c/s I used my 1 3/4 Circle Punch and then centered it inside my Large Scalloped Circle Punch to punch out my Scalloped Frame. First time I've done that and I have to say I really like the effect. Now, you know I couldn't risk not having those circle line up, so I laid my DSP down on my card base and lightly traced the outline with a pencil and then used that as my guide to punch the window out of my base layer. This way I  knew everything would line up just right. I then took a small piece of Lace trim and laid it over the front of my DSP, and wrapped it through the edge of my punched window. Both ends were secured under the DSP with just a small amount of SNAIL adhesive. I then Tombowed my Scalloped Circle frame over the lace ribbon and the punched window to secure it. Add a little lace bow secured with a Mini-Glue Dot and the front of my card was completed.

Here's the inside-

I used two of the butterflies from my Beautiful Wings Embosslet for the inside of my card. I used Peach Parfait and Very Vanilla. I lightly sponged the edges to give them a little dimension and used Mini-Glue dots so secure them to each other and the Very Vanilla c/s I used inside of my card. I sponged the Very Vanilla all around the edges as well to carry that design theme from the front of the card. My bottom butterfly's wings are curved up just a little . Any more than this and they catch on the edges of the window. I was able to give the center butterfly a little more dimension and elevation without any impingement. I didn't add a sentiment, because I wanted to be able to have this on hand for any occasion, and I think it will be able to fit just about any need I might come up with.

What do you think? I'm so glad Stamping 411 gave us such an Amazing sketch to work with this week. I hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to try something new the next time you sit down to create, maybe a new sketch challenge, color combination or maybe even just using a punch in a different way. Remember the goal of this blog is to Just Try!

I hope to see you back here tomorrow. Don't forget I've got another challenge card ready and waiting to go. :)

If you like today's card, please feel free to leave  me a comment, I would love to hear what you think. Also, friends and followers are always welcome.

Till next time-

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

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #19 - Pocket Cards

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*Edit* Here's how sick I've been- I didn't even realize this didn't post yesterday. It was sitting in Blogger as a draft. *SMH* Darn Pneumonia!

Hey y'all. Happy Humpday! I hope you're having a great day and that you feeling good about making it through half of the work week. We are preparing for the white stuff here *shudder*, luckily our area shouldn't get too much, but still.... ):

I'm posting this week's EWT a little early because I'm still sick as a dawg! I think it's probably back to the doctor for me tonight after work. Going on 2+ weeks now and still wheezing & coughing even with the antibiotics and oral and inhaled steroids, Boo-Hiss! I can't even sleep without narcotic cough syrup, No-Bueno! Heck, even the studio assistants don't want to cuddle because of all the coughing.

At any-rate, I was able to finish this last night but not able to get any other cards done yesterday, so you guys get the EWT a little early. Hopefully, I will be able to get in a little stamping tonight and have something else to show you tomorrow.

My goal for my weekly EWT's is to do new techniques or one's that I either haven't done in a while or don't feel all that comfortable with. This is the first time I have ever made a pocket card on my own, so I'm very excited to show it today. Do you do pocket cards often? They really don't have any more layers than most cards we normally make, and some (depending on whether or not you cover the pocket) may even have less.

Here's today's card-

I used a base of Poppy Parade (Love this color, so sad it's retiring soon). I cut a 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock lengthwise at 4 1/4. I scored it at 5 1/2 for the bottom. Sorry, I can't remember the top score, you can adjust it to suit your needs. I love this card but looking back now, would probably have scored it another 1/4 inch down so the  score line hit the point of my Framelet.

I used my Corner Rounder Punch to round all the edges. I took a piece of DSP from our Everyday Enchantment DSP pack, that you can get for FREE with a $50.00 purchase, and ran it through my Big Shot with my Lattice Embossing Folder to give it some texture. I just love the look it gives this particular paper. I adhered it to my card base with Tombow. I scored and folded over the top edge, trimming off the excess with my paper trimmer and then secured the flap to my DSP with Tombow. I used a sponge and sponged all my edges with Poppy Parade.

I used Sticky Strip on the inside edges as close as possible to the outside edges to secure the pocket, so it would stay closed. Sticky Strip is really your best bet here. Tombow or SNAIL will not guarantee your pocket will stay securely closed.

For my Hinged Cover I used my Label Framelets. I think this is the first time I've used my Label Framelets on a card here. I've used them for projects but not cards. That somehow makes me sad! The Poppy Parade Framelet uses the next to the largest Framelet and the Very Vanilla one is the next smallest.

I have to admit I initially tried to stamp my heart image without my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, but had two issues.
1- Of course it wasn't centered perfectly enough.
2- My pad wasn't juicy enough for me to be able to emboss directly from the pad without using the VersaMark so I had to use the old stand-by and "flip the paper over"

This ended up making me much happier anyway. :)  I inked up my heart image from P.S. I Love You in  Poppy Parade centered it with my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and stamped away. Do you have this set yet? It is a MUST Have! It's great for not only Valentines, but just giving little love notes throughout the year. I then stamped over it with Versamark, applied my Heat and Stick Powder and then my Clear Embossing Powder. I then outlined this entire image with my Two-Way Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds . It really makes the image PoP! I then sponged all the edges with Poppy Parade, and once again rimmed the edge with my Two-Way Pen and added Dazzling Diamonds. I applied dimensionals to the Very Vanilla layer before attaching it to the Poppy Parade layer.

I used my Mat-Pack and Piercing Tool to get the hole for Vintage Brad. I also wanted to make sure that when the framelet was swung over the card it didn't catch so I wanted to elevate it some. I stuck two dimensionals together and left the tabs on the outside edges that would be against my cardstock. I pierced a hole through the center of these as well and put my brad through my Framelets, through the dimensionals, through the base-cardstock to the back of the card-base. It lets my Framelet cover swing up out of the way easily without catching on my note-card below.

See, It swings up and you get a sneak peak of the sweet card inside, just waiting for you to write your love note on.

I used a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock for the note-card. I sponged both sides of the note-card in Poppy Parade, so it would be pretty just in case there was writing on both sides of the card.

Both the sentiment and the cupid image are from the P.S. I Love You set. I told you, Fabulous! I used Poppy Parade for both and for the cupid image I stamped off twice before stamping the image on my cardstock. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch my hole at the top of my card and used Calypso Coral Bakers Twine for the  loop. Even though it's not the same color, it still coordinates beautifully!

Now, you know I couldn't leave that brad just hanging out on the back of my card, right? Oh, heck no!
Here's what I did-

I stamped this image from the same set in Poppy Parade and punched it out using my 1 1/4 Circle Punch, sponged the edges and applied Tombow to just the outer edges.This allowed me to cover up the brad "legs" but still allows the brad to rotate under the cover. :)

So what do you think? This was so quick and easy and I can't believe I haven't made them before. The Big Shot and our new Framelets really made it extra easy too. You could also make this without the framelet and add embellishments to the fold over flap and have an absolutely beautiful, fabulous card that's ready to give and more than happy to be received.

Today's card recipe-
Cardstock- Poppy parade, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment DSP
Ink-Poppy Parade, VersaMark
Stamps- P.S. I Love You
Big Shot- Labels Framelet, Lattice Embossing Folder
Punches- Corner Rounder Punch, 1 1/4 Circle Punch
Accessories- Calypso Coral Bakers Twine, Vintage Brads, Clear Block C, Heat Tool, Powder Trays, Heat and Stick Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Two-Way Glue Pen, Tombow, Sponges

If you need supplies to recreate today's card or to make cards of your own, you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope I have inspired you to try something new, if not Pocket Cards then something else. I know you'll be seeing more of these from me in the future. As always, if you decide to try your hand at these I would love to see what you make.

If you liked today's card, 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. :)
Till next time-

Remember- Life is not about Waiting for the storm to pass, It's about learning to Dance in the Rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Celebrate - Confetti Overload - OWH Challenge # 107 /My Challenge #6

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday. I hope you're having a great day today. The sun is shining and we're enjoying almost spring-like weather here in the DMV. Of course they say the cold and flurries are coming tomorrow but I will enjoy it for as long as I can.

I have a challenge card for you today. You know one of my resolves for the year was to do a challenge a week, right? Well sometimes just getting your card, much less a challenge card to come out like you want it can be like pulling teeth, (Remember that one? HA!, It was an OWH challenge too. (:  ) and sometimes you see a sketch and know exactly what you want to do, Stamp set, DSP, Ribbon, everything. Ok, not everything. Everything they showed. I still had to figure out the inside, because you know I always do something special on the inside, but the outside, that they showed, I knew exactly, and I did not waver one bit.

L.O.V.E. I.T. When That Happens. 

Especially since it happens so infrequently, to me at least. Does it happen for you very often?

Wanna see? Here you go-

I started with a base of Pool Party, so cool and refreshing. I added a layer of striped DSP from Everyday Enchantment from our Sale-A-Bration. Have you gotten yours for FREE yet? It's Amazing and absolutely FREE with only $50.00 in purchases. Since it had some "antiquing" (why does that just not look right? SMH) around 2 of the edges I took my Crumb Cake Classic Ink Pad and a sponge and sponged around all the edges to even them all out. (You know my OCD could not allow me to just have it "antiqued" on two of the four edges, right? Oh, heck no!)  I then adhered this to the base with Tombow.

For my focal point I took a piece of Very Vanilla and stamped my sentiment from the stamp set  Outlined Occasions , another Sale-A-Bration set, in Basic Black and colored in with my Stampin Write Markers in Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, and Pool Party. I then sponged the edges with my Crumb Cake.

Isn't that sweet, sheer, ribbon pretty and just the little touch this card needed? Good job on this sketch OWH! This ribbon is also from our Sale-A-Bration and it's simply wrapped around and tied in a simple bow, nothing fancy. I then popped the whole thing up with dimensionals, sponged the edges of the card base with Crumb Cake as well and the front was done. So simple yet so cute! It just makes me smile, how about you?

Here's the sketch. You can see I stuck right to it-

I really do appreciate that they give us the measurements. They have no idea how much it help my OCD!

The inside's what took so long.  You know I believe the inside should be just as pretty or at least as interesting as the outside so I decided since it was a "Celebration" I wanted to bring the confetti from the outside of the card to the inside of the card.

I got so excited laying down confetti, I forgot there was going to have to be space to write, so I had to do that old stand-by, yeah you know what we say in stamping.... "It's OK, There's always the other side!". So I flipped the cardstock over and started laying down confetti again but this time I stamped off twice every time before stamping on my cardstock so the colors would be muted.

Believe it or not, this is the stamped off twice version. I decided to go back and highlight a few random pieces of confetti. I used the stamp from the front of the card and using my Stampin' Write Markers colored in the confetti and the dotted lines and then randomly (I know random, I hate that word) stamped it repeatedly over the card around the sentiment which I stamped in Basic Black Classic Ink. It's from the  Outlined Occasions stamp set as well.

In real life, it's actually light enough to write on, or the note could be written on the Pool Party card stock above this section. I really like how this turned out. I Tombowed this to the card base and my card was done. This would be a great card of mine to send to OWH because it's festive and bright and totally me and has absolutely NO Glitter! I hope it would make someone smile on their special day. What do you think?

Have you played with the folks over at OWH yet? You should check them out. They are an AMAZING organization helping out not only our Hero's but their families as well. Why don't you head on over there and check them out, but not till you're done here, kay? Kay.

Well, That's all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed today's card. I hope it inspired you to create something new or maybe to play along with this sketch, or another sketch this week. If you liked today's card, 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. :)

Today's card recipe-
Cardstock- Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Everyday Enchantment
Ink- Basic Black, Crumb Cake Classic Ink Pads, Basic Black, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral Stampin' Write Markers
Stamps- Outlined Occasions
Ribbon- Lucky Limeade Sheer Organza
Accessories- Tombow, Dimensionals, Sponges

If you need supplies to recreate today's card or to create your own cards you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7.

Remember $50.00 in purchases gets you FREE SALE-A-Bration product now through the end of March.

You can also get a FREE 30 day trial of our Amazing My Digital Studio. Go to my ONLINE STORE for more information.

If you liked today's card, I hope you'll consider leaving a comment for me, that's how I grow. Friends and followers are always welcome as well.

I hope to see you back here soon.

Till next time-

Remember- Life is not about Waiting for the storm to pass- It's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan


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A Sweet Card for Valentines Day or Anytime

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Hey y'all. I hope today finds you feeling well or at least better than it finds me. I will hopefully be in possession of some antibiotics in about 5 hours and feeling much better in the next 24. My cold has turned into a sinus infection and my teeth and jaws hurt sooo bad I can't even begin to tell you. :'(

On a happier note I have a card today for you that just makes me smile and I'm sure it's going to make you smile too. (At least I hope it does) It's one we did this weekend at my stampcamp and the girls loved it! It was one of their favorite cards this weekend. It's one of my original ideas and can I just say that when I finally finished it I definitely did a happy dance. This was the first time I had done this design with the 3 panels and the layers, so you know it took me forever to get the measurements just right, right? But once they were done, Wow! I was so stoked! I had originally planned on doing this in Pool Party but didn't have enough for Saturday and I'm so glad it worked out that way.

Here's today's card-

Sorry about the lighting. I didn't get a chance to use the good light last night since I crawled into bed at 7:30. Isn't it precious! I have to tell you, I wasn't too sure about this stamp set when I first saw it, but I am really starting to love it and the coordinating DSP is simply fabulous. I used Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, and Sweet Shop DSP and layered them as a base for my fabulous focal point. I also used our beautiful White Organza ribbon and Lucky Limeade Ribbon (a Sale-A-Bration Exclusive) to anchor the bottom of the card (isn't it nice how it fits just perfectly in the center of the organza ribbon?) I tied a little triple bow to finish it off and adhered it to the card with a Mini-Glue Dot.

I used my Stampin Write Markers to color in my stamp for my large focal point. I used Lucky Limeade for everything except the following, Crumb Cake for the cupcake base, Real Red for the heart and the cherry and Garden Green for the stem. I used Dazzling Diamonds and my Two-Way Glue Pen for the cherry and the heart but for the frosting I used our new Vanilla Scented Embossing Powder and Dazzling Diamonds mixed together in a 1:1 ratio. I used my VersaMark Pen and colored in the area and then embossed the area with my Heat and Stick powder and then again with my Vanilla/Diamonds mixture. As you can see in the picture above it gave a nice effect. I wish you could have smelled my kitchen. It was like baking custard without the calories, or the mess!

Here's a closeup-

Don't you just want to take a bite out of it?

I went with the "You're So Sweet" stamp to show the versatility of this set, and I didn't even use my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, a big leap of faith for me. (:

Here's the inside-

Sorry about the paperclip at the top. Like I said earlier, I didn't get to do these pictures at home so it was either the paperclip or my fat fingers. I figured the paperclip was more attractive. I used the chocolate covered strawberry from P.S. I Love You (which I have to say is fast becoming one of my all time favorite seasonal sets) colored it with my Stampin Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Garden Green and added some Dazzling Diamonds to the top of the Strawberry to give it a "Sugared" look. If you look back at the first picture you can see that the DSP has chocolate covered strawberries on it. That's one of the reasons I chose this image, v.s. say a cupcake or a cherry. I purposefully left the sentiment blank, since this was for my camp and I wanted them to be able to envision it as not only a Valentine's day card but a card for a friend, or even for that special someone, just not on VD.

Well, that's all I have for you today. What do you think? I hope you like it & I hope it inspires you to try a new design layout of your own.

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. :)

I hope to see you back here soon.

Till next time-

Remember- Life is not about waiting out the storm, It's about learning to Dance in the rain,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

MDS Monday - Sale-A-Bration- A Q&E Note of Thanks

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope y'all had a great weekend. I know I sure did. In spite of what is, I'm sure turning into a sinus infection, my StampCamp girls were Amazing! They had a blast and did such beautiful cards. 2 of them were new to stamping and were just pros at it and I know they we will be coming back for more. Look for pictures later in the week.

Today I have a Q&E, a Quick and Easy, MDS Monday card for you. This came together so quick yesterday I can't even tell you. I think I spent about 15 minutes on it and it was done. I was actually inspired by a card I saw on someones blog when I was surfing and now I can't find it. If you know who's card it is (or if it's yours) or if I can find it again I will edit to give credit here.

This is just a really simple design that you can use in MDS or with your regular cardstock to use up scraps. The original card I saw used our "notecard" set and this would make a great class. It would also be a great beginner class or get to know you class.

Here's today's card-

A simple Whisper White notecard with Pool Party punched out with the Scalloped Square Punch. On top of that I layered 3 squares of Everyday Enchantment DSP from Sale-A-Bration DSP which you can get Free with a $50.00 purchase now through the end of March. I stamped my sentiment in Pool Party as well. Clean, Elegant, Simple.

Here's the inside-

Sorry, It's kind of hard to tell where the card starts and my background begins. ):  I left the inside blank since it's a notecard, so there was plenty of room for the sender to write their message. I used another strip of the Everyday Enchantment DSP to lay across the bottom of my notecard and the cute little butterfly is actually not a stamp but a "punch" that I just decreased the size on. It matches the butterfly in the DSP on the front and just below it. Isn't it cool how we can do that?

Wouldn't you love to get this card from someone? I know I would and that's always the standard I set for myself in whether or not I think a card of mine is "up-to-snuff" or not.

Do you have your MDS yet? How would you like a Free 1 month trial of Stampin Up's My Digital Studio FREE of Charge with NO Strings Attached? Yes, I said NO Strings Attached! Stay tuned for more information.

Well, that's all I have for today. I hope you liked this weeks MDS Monday offering. I know I enjoyed coming up with it, even sick! I'll be back tomorrow with a new card for you. I hope to see you back then.

If you need to purchase supplies to make this card or cards of your own, you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24-7.

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. :)

Till next time-

Remember- Life is not about waiting out the storm, it's about learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

MDS Monday (Yes I know It's Really Tuesday) Sale-A-Bration Is Here!

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Hey y'all. Happy Tuesday! I hope you're having an Amazing day.

As promised I have this weeks MDS Monday card for you today and because Sale-A-Bration officially kicks off today, I thought it would be appropriate to make it using Exclusive Sale-A-Bration MDS Content. I got this MDS CD for free last month during the pre-order and you can get it for FREE now through the end of March with any order of $50.

Here's this week's MDS card-

I used the colors from Sale-A-Brations Exclusive DSP Everday Enchantment for my color palate and went with Baja Breeze and Lucky Limeade and Not Quite Navy. I love the way I was able to layer the DSP over the punch and to add a punched out center to the central stamp in a different color and "bring it forward" so it appears as if it's "popped up". I also love being able to change all the sizes to suit my desires for that particular card.

Stampin Up has started making their stamped images much larger so they don't "pixelate" when you increase them. In fact they are so large now that I actually called customer service to report it as a problem and that's when I was told they had changed the format, so we would have to decrease the size instead of increasing the size so the pixelation wouldn't be an issue. Pretty cool once you get used t o the idea.

And of course, because you know, I like to give you a complete card and I think the inside should be just as nice as the outside... Here's the inside-

I stuck with the same color palate here and added some Very Vanilla here for the writing area. I took the image of the bird from the front and added it in Not Quite Navy and changed the opacity, for a "water-mark" type of effect. It's a little heavier than that, but any lighter and it just looked too "grey". Plus, I think it picks up on the heavier "vintagy" areas on the edges of the DSP. Overall, I'm very happy with the way this card turned out and I did design elements on this card that I had not done with other cards and it still came together very quickly.

So what do you think? I hope you like it, and I hope it inspires you to try something new with your MDS or with your regular cardmaking materials. 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. :)

Now's the perfect time with Sale-A-Bration getting started. I would love to tell you more about it, if you don't currently have a demonstrator of your own. Remember for every $50 pre-tax you get your choice of  1 item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. It's really that simple! If you hold a workshop or stampcamp and your sales reach $150 you get a Free re-usable tote, and $25 in free merchandise. For $400 in sales you get the tote, $60 in merchandise and an Exclusive Sale-A-Bration Hostess Bundle (Stamp Set, DSP, Ribbon and Brad Pack) and the benefits just go up with your sales.

Have you ever thought of trying Stampin Up? If you join my team now you get your starter kit for $125. That's $50 off. The best part is it's totally customizable. You get to pick the sets you like! And, for every month you're active, you get either a free pack of DSP ($10.95 value) or a free Digital download (any value) and you can switch back and forth between DSP and Digital. You can choose to be a hobby demonstrator or a business demonstrator or if you find that Stampin Up is not for you, No Worries! You still have an Amazing Value  in stamping supplies that is sure to last you for some time. There's NO commitment required! Just give it a try.

Well, that's all I have for today!

I hope to see you here again soon.

Till next time-

Remember - Life isn't about waiting out the storm, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Sale-A-Bration Swaps - A CASE of Myself

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope you're having a good day. Mine started off with the remnants of an "ice storm" that was passing through so I got to sleep in a few extra hours. Of course that meant I had to drive to work, because there was no one to slug in with and that's costing me a $20.00 garage fee so, thinking back on it, it might have been cheaper to get up early and drive slowly in and take the bus (EEEEWWWW!!!!) Oh well! You live and you learn. It's been years since I had to commute. Hopefully this winter won't see too much more of this.

Did you see football yesterday? Oh, sooo good! The Pats are going to the Super Bowl! One more week of that kind of post and then you get a few months of football-free posts. I'm sure you are so excited.

Well, I know today is supposed to be MDS-Monday, but due to the unbelievably hectic weekend I had, MDS did not get done yesterday. In fact as I was getting ready to head out to my team meeting yesterday I realized I had the "stamp" portion of my swaps facing the wrong direction and had to take them down and re-do them. Luckily, I was able to do so without damaging the cards. *WHEW*

I'll get a MDS done tonight and have it ready for you guys tomorrow. I also realized that even though I did cards last week for my stampcamp (that didn't hold because of a snow and ice storm that came through on Friday night, *UGH! I hate winter!) I forgot to take pictures and upload them so that's why you're getting this CASE so soon after the original. Sorry.

Lucky for me my stampcamp didn't hold because the storm coming through brought with it a horrible migraine! The kind that makes everything smell horrible and everything sound super loud. I had to work at the Olive Garden Friday night with it. Ever try working around all those smells with a migraine? Yeah, not pleasant at all. And then one of the girls next to me put lotion on from BBW. Bless her heart I made her go to the bathroom and wash  scrub her hands. I felt like such a meanie. ): However, I got to go home and crawl in the bed and felt better the next day and was able to go dress shopping for our Firehouse Installation banquet, where I wore this-

It was a good night!

So Sunday morning I got up and finished these for our team swaps.  The theme was Sale-A-Bration. Here's the card-

Oops! It looks like I didn't get it quite centered in my rush to get out of the house.

Here's the original that I did for 2 challenges over at OWH-

When I first did this card, I really wanted to use the new Edgelets but there just wasn't room, because I had to have the space at the bottom for the brads. This time I was able to use the Edgelet and I am so happy that it followed the curve just like I knew it would! I also knotted the ribbon under the card & turned the stamps so they were facing down towards the curve of the card.

On the inside I stamped a second image after stamping one of the front images and added a little touch of bling to it.

If I were to do this card again though, I think I would do a Very Vanilla layer here and then stamp this image. I didn't stamp a sentiment so it could be given later as any type of an occasion card. I did have to put this image a little towards the center edge because of the curved edge and next time I might even put it in the upper corner.

When I originally did the outside of the cards, I put the "stamps" facing down" the front of the card instead of towards the curved edge, similar to the original card. Like this-

I think this is also a beautiful look, but since I had stamped the "Flower stamp" image on the inside facing the  curved edge, that's what necessitated the change in the outside placement. In the future though, I think either way works.

Well. that's all I have for you today. I hope you like my newly updated card. I hope it inspires you to look at something you have done in the past, (even something you really liked) and see if you can update it, even a little. 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. :)


As always, I would love to see what you come up with.

Don't forget, tomorrow starts Sale-A-Bration. I can't wait to share it with you. How would you love Free Stampin Up supplies and Exclusive merchandise? I can help you get just that!

I hope to see you back here tomorrow.

Till then-

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

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

The Countdown is On

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Hey y'all.

No project today. I went home last night and spent 5 hours cutting cardstock and ribbon and finishing designing cards for tomorrow's Stampcamp to the point that I worked through dinner and was so tired I mis-counted, so now I have an original card set ready to go for my next camp. I was too tired to do the last one that needed the embossing so I'll do it tonight when I get home from job #2. ):  Swaps for Sunday's meeting will have to get worked on then too and Sunday morning. Luckily there's only 4 of them and I know what I'm doing & it's a CASE of me, so it shouldn't be too hard.

So, bed at 1 last night, 2 jobs today, Stampcamp tomorrow, Firehouse installation tomorrow night, finish swaps Sunday morning and team meeting Sunday afternoon... not too busy, what do you think?

The good news is that by Sunday I'll have 4 cards for next week and will just have to try and squeeze in my MDS Sunday night. YEA!

Don't forget the countdown is on  to Sale-A-Bration! It's here on January 24th and let me just tell you now... Be prepared to be WOW'ed! I'm sure you have seen all the amazing cards and projects everyone has been doing with the exclusive stamp sets and DSP that you can get for FREE, yes I said FREE. SU is also offering some Amazing product from it's everyday line in the Idea Book & Catalog including Embossing Folders, Stamp Sets, Design Decor Elements and more and it's all presented in one catalog this year with pictures.

Remember with every $50.00 you purchase you get a free Sale-A-Bration item of your choice. If you Host during SAB and have sales of just $150.00 you get $25.00 & a free re-usable SU shopping tote as well. With sales of $400 you would get the tote, a SAB bundle with 3 of the SAB pieces (Stamp set, DSP, Ribbon & Brad pack) $65 in Free merchandise and 1 half off item and that's not even counting if you had planned on purchasing anything!

It gets even better! I know you're thinking  "No Way!" WAY!!!! If you join my team during SAB the cost of your kit is decreased from $175 to $125 a $50 savings. (You could put that towards MDS- a wise move during your initial purchase) Not only that but every month for your first year you will get one pack of DSP or a Digital Download for FREE! WOW! What a way to increase your DSP especially once the new catalog comes out. So cool.

Ok- so that's all I have for you today. I still haven't done a new challenge for this week. I actually did 2 over at OWH but I used an old card, so I guess technically it counts in that it will help bring traffic by, but I still want to try and get a card done. I just don't know that it's going to get done with the time constraints that I have for the rest of the weekend. We'll see what I can figure out. I don't want to throw something together just to say I did it.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend and manage to get more rest in that it looks like I'm gonna get. I hope you have plenty of time for family and friends and of course for designing and crafting.

Till next time-

Remember life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Sometimes It's Like Pulling Teeth... OWH #103 -My #2

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Hey y'all. How are you today? We're trying to stay warm and dry here in the DMV because the rain is supposed to be coming later today and they say the white stuff may be coming back tomorrow. Sheesh! You'd think it was January or something, for realls! But I have a card for you today that is bright and cheery and spring-time all the way.

In keeping with my "resolve" to "try" and do a challenge a week I found this one over at Operation Write Home.

Have you been to their site yet? They send cards to military members for them to send back home to their families. How amazing is that?!? They will also send our beautiful cards to our Heros. (Why does that not look right?) Do you love this concept? I LOVE it! So, I love the sketch, and have been working on a lot of Valentine's day cards but felt like it would be too obvious, so I decided to try something else. I saw a card yesterday that I really liked, done in the new Sweetshop DSP and it sparked my creativity for this card. I kinda knew what I wanted but I went back and forth, back and forth trying to decide. Which paper do I want to use, which stamp set, what embellishments will I use? (Are you thinking, really? Shan and embellishments?) Back and Forth, Back and Forth. Even after I narrowed down the DSP series, I still had to narrow down the actual paper I was going to use. I guess that's the problem with having so many amazing DSP's. (: Finally, I was able to pick one. But let me tell you, I bet I still spent a good 30 minutes deciding the paper and embellishments for this card. (In case you haven't been following me long, I don't usually use embellishments. (Rhinestones-that's just bling, pearls-same thing) I rarely use ribbons and I think this is post 70 something and it's the 2nd post with a brad. Prepping for this card was "Like pulling teeth!" Have you ever heard that expression? Thank goodness they did the layout for me!

I took a few liberties with the sketch, something I rarely do. If you know me, and have followed me at all you know I'm a pretty stick to it kinda girl, right down to the dimensions of the layers and the shapes they have on it. In fact there was a time, way back when, that if a sketch had a heart on it, and I didn't have a heart, well I wouldn't be doing that sketch. But, I digress... Ready for my card? Here it is-

I don't know about you but this just makes me smile.

This is Sale-A-Bration to the MAX! Are you SOOO Excited for it? I can't wait for you to see the catalog! I started with a base of Pool Party and layered it with Everyday Enchantment DSP.

Instead of the 2 - .75 x 5.5 layers they have listed on the sketch I opted to triple wrap the sheer Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeaide ribbons, criss-crossing the layers and knotting them. I originally had longer ends but it looked a little fussy. I may go back later and add bows but I think it may be too much, I think just the simple knot works. HMMMM- here's a thought too, I may try this card again without the brads using our new edgelet to frame the curve of the stamps and turn then so they face downward. What do you think?

Instead of the banner across the middle I opted once again to rebel. (I wonder if it had anything to do with the drink I was drinking as I was designing? Hmmmm? No I'm going to simply go with Design Dictate) Instead of the banner I chose to use three of the decorative brads from the Everyday Elegance Brad Pack. I used my mat Pack and Piercing tool to space and punch the holes and then place the brads. I trimmed the edge of the brad closest to the edge so it wouldn't show.

I colored the postage stamp image from Fresh Vintage with my Blender Pens and Classic Ink Pads in Pool Party, Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeaide and then stamped the image on Very Vanilla c/s. I used my Postage Stamp Punch to punch the image out and then matted it with a square of Pool Party that I punched out with my Square Punch. I adhered these with Dimensionals and this is the only part of the sketch that I stuck to. (:




Here's the inside-

A simple greeting from another Sale-A-Bration set (wouldn't you know I looked at the name last night so I wouldn't forget it and I forgot it again) I think it's Elementary Elegance. The font is so beautiful! I simply huffed on the stamp from the front and stamped on the bottom corner for a little something extra. If you send cards to OWH, they can't have any glitter on them. ): If this were going to someone here, then I would definitely let Tink have her way with that little corner.

Well, that's all I have for today. What do you think? I have to figure out something for this weeks EWT, it's coming up quick! I've also got Stampcamp coming up next week. I hope you liked today's card and I hope it encourages you to step out of your box and do something you don't often do, whether that's using an embellishment like ribbons or brads or entering a challenge. Just Try. 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. :)

If you need supplies to recreate this card or others like it you can shop at my online store 24/7

Card Supplies-
Card stock- Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Every Day Enchantment DSP
Ink-Classic Ink Pads- Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeaide
Stampsets -Sale-A-Bration- Fresh Vintage, Elemetary Elegance
Punches- Postage Stamp, Square
Sale-A-Bration Ribbon and Brad Pack
Accesories- Mat Pack, Piercing Tool, Blender Pens, Dimensionals, Glue Stick. Clear Block - C

I hope to see you back later this week for my End of the Week Technique.
Till Next Time-

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

Some Flutter-By's, Some Sale-A-Bration and Some Huh?

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Hey y'all. I hope your Tuesday is going good! Here in the DMV it's at least starting out better than Monday ended, in that the white stuff is gone! I could not believe it when I looked out my office window and saw those Big Fat Fluffy Globs falling from the sky. Let me tell you I was NOT Amused! No Sir-Ree!
But, today's another day and the sun's shining so we won't talk about the four letter stuff anymore than we have too, kay?

Sadly, (for me, y'all are probably doing the happy dance) College Football ended last night. I have to say, I was actually a little bored with the game. I unpacked my new SU goodies and worked on today's card during the game. It was nowhere near as good as the previous game, earlier this year. Now, THAT was a game. #1 LSU and #2 ALA were meeting to determine the National Championship and it should have been a Battle Royale. Only, someone forgot to tell LSU to show up to their own stadium. They never even got on the board, in the first ever shutout in a bowl game. *shaking my head* Oh well, you now have 7 months free of college reports and only one more month of NFL to endure. (: *tear*

 So, while I was enduring the bowl game hoping that LSU would at least save face and get on the board(WOW, Never thought I'd hear myself say that!) (I was by the way cheering for ALA.) I decided to make today's card.

Now you know lately, my MOJO's been there- I've either seen a sketch and known exactly what I've wanted to do and had it come out either just like that or pretty darn close or had an idea in my head and been able to get it out on paper just like that, so I've been feeling pretty good. Yeah..... Well, I ordered these supplies December 31, and have been planning cards and I new this first card I wanted to make. I had the color combo, the stamp set, the layout everything and you know what happened at the end of last night? Actually, I bet you guessed wrong. I still used the same color combo, and the same stamp set, even the same layout and yet the whole card ended up different. Yeah- Blew my mind too!

Here's a *TIP -#1- If you plan on layering and using punches make sure your punch will be able to reach both layers from the bottom.

*Tip-#2- You can't punch a layer from the top folded edge of a card, it doesn't work! Ask me how I know! ):

So after cutting cardstock and layers and then edgelets on both and stamping, I discovered I would have to rework my plan a little. So I decided to play with my new Sizzlets, which I believe is the first time I had ever used them before. I have to say, I think I'm gonna be a huge fan.

Here's my re-worked, finished product-

It's really loaded with new product. (Told you I was bored!) I started with a base of Concord Crush and I used our new Edgelets to get that beautiful decorative edge, so sharp! I layered that with Wisteria Wonder which I also edged with our Edgelet, but I also ran it through the Big Shot again with our Decorative Embossing Folder to give that Raised Embossed Edge that follows the curve. How gorgeous is that?

The stamp in the center is new and is only available during Sale-A-Bration and I'm totally having a moment right now and can't remember the name. (AUGH!) In my original idea I was going to punch the center out with the Curly Label Punch and have the sentiment be seen through to the inside of the card. I could do the Wisteria Wonder layer off the card but couldn't then get the Concord Crush layer. I guess if I had an exacto knife I could have made it work, but alas, no knife to be found. Maybe that needs to be on my wish list. So, I had to re-work my plan because it was getting late and I had my beautiful card base I already cut and "Edglet-tized" (Yes, it is a word in Shan-landia! Why? Because I made it so. Why can it not be? Why yes, it is a Fabulous word and you can use it.)

What to do now?....Think, Think, Think.....Oh Bother...Come on now you know you're saying it with me in your best Pooh-Bear voice. Ah, Yes! Why not try my new Sizzlets? So I did. and as you can see above, I think they worked out amazingly. Of course, granted, probably a card best suited for hand delivery and not trusting to USPS. I'll have to check them out at home tonight to see how well they flatten out and spring back. I simply folded them in half, put a thin edge of Tombow along the crease and stuck them to the card base. I also layered them inside each other in the same manner. For the biggest ones I used a Mini-Glue Dot that I rolled up into an oval and placed down the spine and stuck it down with that. My baby girl used to call Butterflys, Flutter-by's. I've been wanting to get the Sizzix Die but have been trying to watch my money, you know - who hasn't- and thought I would try these since they are so economical, and I have to say I am really very impressed! (Although once again, I don't know why I am surprised by the quality of anything I have received from SU)

Here's a close up of the Flutter-by's- they all have different embossing and you can then turn each one over for a different look.

Here's the inside-

Isn't the script on the sentiment beautiful? It's from the same stamp set and so is the little butterfly. Did you notice that you can see the little butterfly peaking out from under the edge of the front flap in the first picture? Yep. It wasn't planned that way. I had already stamped him on this piece of cardstock and then mounted it when I discovered that. Nice touch though? Serendipitous.

I also took one of the little Sizzlet butterflies and added it to this little stamped fella to give him some dimension as well. you know I like the insides of my cards to have something a little special and since this one doesn't have any "bling" I thought this might be a nice little extra touch.

Well, that's all I have for today. I hope you liked my little card and I hope it reminds you the next time things aren't going the way you planned them, to just keep pushing on through- You never know what beauty might await you in the end. 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. :)

If you need supplies to make this card or cards like it you can shop 24-7 in my ONLINE STORE.

Today's Supplies
Cardstock- Concord Crush, Wisteria Winder
Ink- Concord Crush
Big Shot- Edgelet, Edgelet Embossing Folder,  Hearts Sizzlets

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End Of the Week Technique 14 - Hinge Cards

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Hey y'all. Really quick post here. I should be cleaning house and getting ready for the Good Lord only knows what I will need to be getting ready in 3 hours but since I may not have time to post much later, let me give this to you now.

I was trolling the Internet the other day and saw this cute idea for a card and decided to give it a try. Not sure where I saw it, I think it might have been Dawn Olchefsky, if anyone knows let me know so I can give credit.

Here it is-

Isn't it cute? Everything on it is Sale-A-Bration except the base c/s of Calypso Coral and the punched strip across the center.

One of the nice things about this card, besides coming together really quick is that you only need one piece for the base instead of a folded piece, so if your trying to conserve cardstock or you're looking for a cute swap card this is a great one to use.

The bottom DSP is Everyday Elegance from Sale-A-Bration and I Tombowed it to my base. (You know how I love my Tombow. No-one's getting one of my cards and going to show it to someone and have it separate. No sir-ree!)

For the upper layer I took a strip of Calypso Coral and punched it with my Scalloped Ribbon Border Punch and adhered it to a piece of Very Vanilla c/s that I had rounded the upper edges using my corner rounder punch on. I used my Two-Way Glue Pen on the back of my punched piece so no adhesive would show through. I then laid it down next to the DSP and using my Mat Pack and Piercing Tool pierced a hole and made it wide enough to put one of our new brads from our Everyday Elegance Brad and Ribbon Pack from Sale-A-Bration. Isn't it cute?

Then using a strip of the striped DSP I made a little "present" and topped it with a bow from our free sheer Lucky Limeaide and Calypso Coral ribbon that's also coming up in Sale-A-Bration. Are you getting excited about it, yet? You don't have to wait too much longer, just a few weeks more.

Wanna see how the card works?

See... How Cute is that?

TA-DA!

Easy-Peasy!

Now, I know your thinking, but Shan, there's a brad sticking out the back! I got you! I trimmed the edges of the brad, stamped an imaged from Fresh Vintage, cut it out and adhered it over the brad, covering it up, see.

So, I hope you liked today's EWT. I really did! It's quick, easy, great for swaps, sure to please those that receive and easy on the wallet (always nice). I know it's definitely one, I'll be coming back to. 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. :)

Well, I'm off to eat lunch, do some laundry, clean house and then off to the doctors, hopefully for some good news.

Till next time-

Be Safe,

Shan

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Love You Just The Way You Are!

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Hey y'all.
So here's the post I've been meaning to post all week. I am hopefully still sound asleep in bed, but as my mind has been all wrapped up the last few days I truly doubt that is happening. Hopefully, I at least got to sleep in at least a little though.

When I saw this sentiment in the Sale-A-Bration set Sprinkled Expressions I knew I had to have it! I love the sentiment "You make my whole face smile" but I would have purchased $50.00 in merchandise just for this one sentiment to stamp cards for my sweet daughter.
It says "Love you just the way you are" and I do. I hope she reads this post soon. She recently moved to Tennessee and I miss her like Crazy! Actually, I kinda hope she doesn't read this, because this will be going in the mail to her and it would be nice to have it be a surprise.

Wanna see it?

This is how it started

I used a base of Poppy Parade, love that color! So sad this is the last year it's an in color. ): *tear* I then took a layer of Everyday Enchantment DSP (a Sale-A-Bration bonus) and used one of my new heart framelets to cut out the heart in the center. Love how easy they are to use and of course now I have a beautiful heart that I can use in another project. Bonus! I inked up the heart image from the Sprinkled Expressions Stamp set with Poppy Parade and stamped it on a scrap piece of Very Vanilla c/s and adhered that to the back of the DSP. I then popped this up with dimensionals on the Poppy Parade base and the front was done. So quick and easy.

On to the inside-

I stamped the central image again in the lower inner corner after stamping off 3 times to get a much lighter image. I stamped the sentiment full color.

*Tip* Wanna know a secret? All 3 sentiments in this set have sentiments and curvy symbols either hearts, stars or flowers. I got this set in clear mount and cut the stamps separating the sentiments from the symbols so I could stamp them with the symbols as I did above or I could stamp just the sentiment as I did in my other card here. This keeps you from having to mask the stamp. You can also do this when you mount your wood stamps or when you transfer your wood mount to cling mount.

So, I thought that I was done, but I just felt like it needed a little something else, so I went to my old stand by and you know what I did right? Yep! I called on my old friend Tink. Here's what she did-

Unfortunately, I could not get an angle where my Stoopid BB would pick up the true shine that was coming off of this card. It just looks sugared here, but trust me, it was just the extra touch that was needed.

Well, I hope you like it, and I hope you think it was worth the wait. But more importantly, I hope my sweet, darling, baby, girl who "I Love Just The Way She Is" loves it!

If you liked today's card, 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. :)

I am still, despite everything, going to try and get a EWT done for this week and ready to post either late today or tomorrow and as soon as I know something health wise I will be sure to post it.

If I don't get to post over the weekend, I hope you all have a great weekend with lots of time to spend with friends and family and of course lots of time for stamping and designing.

Till next time-

Be Safe,
Shan

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