Monday, June 27, 2016

Sweetest of Sweet

When I first saw the Foxy Friends set, I thought how cute it would be to make a skunk! Skunks may not be fun in real life, but they are kinda cute in pictures! I paired it with this fun sentiment from Birthday Banners which makes me love it even more. I love unexpected combinations!



These Bunch of Banners framelits are quickly becoming my most used accessory. They work with everything! You can get any sentiment to fit inside the banners if it's photopolymer. Just curve it as you stick it to the clear block. This card could easily be switched for a Thank You card, Sympathy Card, Congratulations, ANY occasion card!

I also love all the ribbon in the 2016-2017 Annual Catalog. They look great alone or layered! For the eyes on this cute little guy I used two of the tiniest pearls, and the nose is a Melon Mambo enamel shape. Oh! And I discovered a trick for the Archival Basic Black ink pad! I LOVE how thick and smooth the ink is, but don't love that it stains my stamps. WELL, for rubber stamps, ink up your stamp with the Versamark ink first and then immediately use the Archival Basic Black! Wipe it immediately after stamping and there is no staining! Do the same with photopolymer and it won't stain AS MUCH but still does a little. It's totally worth it to get that thick black image though!




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Friday, June 24, 2016

An "inside" joke

Oh I don't even know where to start with this one. First off, let me apologize for the subject matter of today's post. I'm so sorry. Let's just say, I'm totally embarrassed, but I have accepted the fact that my children think potty humor is HI-LARIOUS! So, one day, they had my phone and they ended up sending a ton of poop emoji to my sister. For whatever reason, it turned into a big joke, and she is now known as Aunt Poop. There. I've admitted it. My children ARE normal children, and they have created a loving nickname for my sister. I will now admit....

that I play along with the joke.

Here is her birthday card.

It is hilarious and she loved it. It totally made her day.




The idea of using the Sweet Cupcake set as... a joke... was inspired by a notecard made by Shannon West. This card popped into my head and I had just a few hours to turn the idea from my head into an actual card and get it in the mail once my big order arrived. Total success. She received it ON her birthday! (That never happens!) I was in a rush, but am still very pleased with how it turned out. The only thing I would change would be to stamp and cut out TWO of the images from the Marquee Messages set so the inside window looked a bit more finished.

I think she should hang it up as a work of art.

Maybe in the bathroom.

Again, I'm so sorry.


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2-1/2" Circle Punch
2-1/2" Circle Punch
[120906]
$18.00

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Simple Sympathy

I am so awkward when it comes to sympathizing with someone who is grieving, or going through a painful time. If I DO end up expressing my sympathies, I will go over my words over and over and feel worse and worse for my inadequacies. Making sympathy cards has been very difficult for me as well. The right sentiment is just so difficult to find! I think I've settled on a good one though. You can't go wrong with "Thinking of you". Am I right? I can't stick my foot in my mouth with that one. The truth is, bad things DO happen in life. To everyone! During my hard times, it helps to know someone is thinking of me, and that I'm not alone. It's like a ray of sunshine through a cloud... which brings me to my cloudy weather card for the day...


The trick to this card is to use watercolor paper and to blend several colors together with the Aqua Painter. (Do this by squeezing the closed ink pad, and when you open it, you'll have a nice puddle of ink on the lid you can use to paint with!) I LOVE how the umbrella turned out. A pop of color and happiness to an otherwise dreary day. (Hopefully, when received, this card will be that pop of happiness and hope as well!) I first painted a layer of Blushing Bride and then added Calypso Coral to the top and lines down the umbrella. 

My background was a random mixture of Marina Mist, Pool Party (which turned out really green! So weird!) and Wisteria Wonder. I wanted it to be more interesting than just a one color muddle. (Not sure if I just made up a word there or not.)

When the background dried, I used a sentiment stamp (which is PERFECT for sympathy occasions!) from the Feather Together set. Weather Together and Feather Together go perfectly together. (Go ahead and roll your eyes. I did.)

When I finished with the card, it needed a little something, but ribbon and sparkles seemed a little too in your face for a sympathy card. The metallic thread was PERFECT. It's like a little silver lining cloud behind the umbrella.



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