It's All in the Punch!

I'll just start off with...I'm so excited about this post! Not to toot my own horn, but I simply love how today's card turned out. Since I'm obviously all backwards with posting a Father's Day card BEFORE Mother's Day, I figured I should make all right in the world and post a Mother's Day card. I saw examples of this style card on several Stampin' Up Demo sites, so I will not sit back and take credit for the idea, but I did make it with my own two hands!

Stampin' Up Supplies you will need include: Ornament Punch, 2-Step Bird Punch, Scalloped Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, coordinating card stock, ink, white gel pen, smooch spritz (available in the SU! Summer Mini Catalog)

I'll go ahead and show you the finished project first...



Ain't she somethin'? (had to get my Okie accent in a bit)

Ok, so on to my mini-tutorial of events in creating said card....

Using yellow card stock, punch out the bird wing on the 2-step bird punch a zillion times...or between 17-20 times...whichever you prefer.

Take 2 or 3 wing pieces and glue together to look like tulip buds. I used SU! glue dots to attach mine. Sponge contrasting ink at the bottom of the buds and a little up the sides of the flowers. I used Pink Pirouette which is an In Color coming back in the July SU! Catalog. I used the large oval punch to create the stems by punching out just a portion of the oval to create a natural curve to the stems. You could also use the 2-step bird punch leaves but I wanted my stems to have a bit more "meat" to them. Attached to the back of each bud with another glue dot.

The vase was so crazy simple. Using the ornament punch, line up your decorative paper, leaving off the bottom part of the punch, and punch out a cute little vase. I also sponged some complimentary color to the paper to give the vase more depth. Attach the vase to your card leaving an opening at the top for your flowers.

Next, arrange your flowers in the vase as you like and attach to your background paper using glue dots.

Other notes of interest....the background whisper white card stock has vanilla shimmer Smooch Spritz on it. The picture doesn't do the spray justice....I love love love how it made a pearlized look to the paper. The item will be available May 1st and is in the Summer Mini Catalog.

I also made another tulip and attached it with my sentiment to the inside of the card. Its all in the details, right?

Tonight I'll be making a couple more cards for baby showers and more birthdays...so stayed tuned. :-)

Happy Stampin!

Father's Day

Yes, I know its a bit early for Father's Day, but I was just too excited to share this card. I followed the tutorial on Tiearra Burbee's blog. (I don't know Tiearra but am totally in debt to her for this cute, cute technique.

I was extremely happy with the way my card turned out. I always look at the finished product and start thinking of ways to make it even better though. In this case, I think a solid card stock behind the shirt would help it pop a bit more against the background paper.

I crimped the light green strip of paper only to find it made the paper too short for the space. So, I had to flatten it out a bit, but there is still some cool texture to it.

The corduroy buttons are from the clearance rack at Stampin' Up's website. If you haven't looked through the site in a while, definitely look through the clearance section. There are some fabulous deals!!

Bonus fact is the button color is Pacific Point, which is a previous retired In Color, but thanks to the COLOR RENOVATION, will be back in the July 2010 catalog!

If you would like to place an order, simply click here.

Happy Stampin!!

Products Used:
SU! Pacific Point Card Stock (Coming back soon!!)
SU! Decorative Paper (Retired)
SU! Green Card Stock (can't remember which color though...sorry)
SU! Brads from Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware (#111325)
SU! Pacific Point Corduroy Buttons (#114341)
SU! Well Scripted Stamps (#117072)

Fond Farewell...

NOOO...don't get the wrong idea, I'm not leaving....

Jamie informed me that having a visual of retiring colors can be helpful. So here is a .pdf file & a picture that shows all the colors that are retiring.

As you can see, there are many colors we will be sending off to the big retirement home in the sky (or whereever it is that Stampin' Up Colors go) so don't miss out on your chance to have their beauties in your collection.

Click here if you would like to place an order!!

Happy Stampin!

Yes I made a card :)

Julie will be so proud that I am actually blogging. Sorry to be a slacker, there just doesn't seem to be alot of time in the day for my addiction of card making. It's Sunday and I am making time to make a couple friend cards.

I love the hostess set "Out of the Box", so cute! I just ordered the ribbon off the clearance rack, it's the "Fairy Tale Ribbon". The three hearts are from the "Heart to Heart" punch. I love just starting and seeing where it ends up. The ink pads that were used are both from the new incolors: melon mambo and soft suede. The paper was also from the clearance rack and it's part of the "Rasberry Tart Designer Series".

Hopefully I will post again sooner than the last time.

Exciting News!

So, no new project to post from me today....but I do have exciting news! A couple things actually. I already mentioned it on my personal blog but forgot to get the word on this blog too!

I've joined forces with Stampin' Up and signed up to be a demonstrator. So exciting!! What a fantastic way to share my ideas and craftiness!! (well, at least I think so) I have visions of fun card making parties, workshops, tutorials...the options are endless. Stampin' Up has such great products. Besides paper crafting, they also have ventured into the areas of jewelry, home decor, and digital scrapbooking. The whole digital scrapbooking stuff is one area that I haven't ventured yet, but I'm excited to try!!

With this announcement, comes another. Its the COLOR RENOVATION! Stampin' Up announced that with the new catalog (release day JULY 1!!), will come new color families. Some colors are being retired, some are staying, some are brand new, and some previously retired In Colors are returning. So with that change, it is PRIME time to stock up on some of your favorite colors that are going to the retirement home. Don't be sad, they will be happy and comfortable...promise!

Here is a listing of the retiring colors.

Soft Subtles:
Pale Plum, Blush Blossom, Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Mellow Moss, Sage Shadow, Almost Amethyst, Lavender Lace

Bold Brights:
Glorious Green, Green Galore, Gable Green, YoYo Yellow, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Orchid Opulence, Lovely Lilac, Brilliant Blue

Earth Elements:
Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun

Rich Regals:
Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Taken with Teal, Handsome Hunter

Looking through these colors, I realize there are a few I MUST get before they retire. My list of NEEDS (not wants....I think I really NEED these!!) include:

Almost Amethyst (Item# 101723)- such a lovely shade of purple/lavender. It is a pale color and will be gorgeous on any spring card or pretty Easter scrapbooking page.

Blush Blossom (Item #102609) - perfect color for a peachy skin tone. I have the watercolor marker, but I think the ink cartridge would be a good investment for times I'm making mass quantity of cards.

Brilliant Blue (Item #100691) - a truer blue than any other ink in the family. I think it will come in handy.

Summer Sun (Item #100537) - there is just something about this yellow that makes me happy. Its just so sunny and cheerful!

Taken with Teal (Item #103257) - I'm in love with this blue-green color. Its like something from under the sea.

I'm definitely putting these pretty babies on my shopping list for the next few months. Plus the re-inkers....just to make sure I don't run out of their beautiful shades!

If you would like to place an order, feel free to check out my site http://www.julienephew.stampinup.net/ or email me at julienephew@gmail.com!

HAPPY STAMPIN!!