Burgundy Thank You Card

I hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.  I did a little coupon shopping at both AC Moore and Michaels today.  I'm looking forward to playing with some new goodies after dinner!  For now, I'm sharing a card I made last week.   It's a fairly simple, yet elegant thank you card.
I punched the envelope flap with a circle punch to make this nice little detail on the envelope back.

I really love the colors in this card- it's designer paper.  It reminds me of the walls I handpainted in our billiard room.
I may or may not post tomorrow, I'm not sure.  I have some company coming to watch the big game (Go Steelers!) and they are staying overnight.  Enjoy the game (or your extra stamping time!) and I'll see you Monday.  

Funky Flowers Card

I was playing last night and made this card and it's one of those ones that I'm not sure if I really like it.  Do you ever have those?  I'm sharing it anyway because I do kinda like it but I kinda don't at the same time.  Ya know what I mean?
I have red business size envelopes that I wanted to use, so that's where I started.  It's a red tall card, but it can go side to side and it's kind of neat that way too.  
I also challenged myself to use BOTH my cricut and my cuttlebug, which I managed to do.  Overall, I like the idea...  but the bold red, black & green might be what's making it seem like too much to me.  
I bet it would be much better with more subdued spring colors.  What do you think?

3D Flower Pot Thanks

Today I'm sharing one of the oldest cards in my stash- that's right the OLDEST.  I made this card so many years ago that I don't even know the year.  My guess would be circa 1994.  I've kept it around mostly because I doesn't fit in an envelope!  {grin}
It was early in my stamping journey and it's not the greatest card but I'm sharing it because I still love the idea of it.  
As you can see, this card is very three dimensional.  I found these little flower pots in the craft store and it's cut in half so it works on the front of the card.  I colored the unfinished wood with a marker and glued it to the card front.
Then I stuffed a little bit of spanish moss into the pot to look like dirt.  I stamped and cut out all the little flowers and leaves and layered them into the "arrangement" using tiny pieces of foam tape.
I still think it's kind of cool.  I should try a new one of these.  I'm sure I could do a much better job of it now- 15 years later!  I hope you like the idea.  If you do make one of your own, let me know and I'll link to it from here.  It would be cool to see other versions of this idea.

Thanks for stopping by!

Set of Thank You Cards

Today I'm sharing a set of 3 matching thank you cards.  They are the same layout and card designs as this one.  I still haven't figured out who I "stole" the idea from, but I love it.
It starts with a square card and then you add that rectangle to the top of it and it fits in an regular envie and mails with regular postage.
I made a set of 3 of these because I'm trying to figure out if it's more rewarding for me to make more than one of a particular design.  I think I like doing that.  Of course even though they are the same, they are all embellished differently and that is the really fun part.
So how about you?  Do you make more than one card at a time?  Do you find it more rewarding?  I'm curious... please leave a comment if you would.
And thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll visit again.

One Sheet Wonder- 8 matching cards

EDIT: I've been asked what stamp set this is... it is Polka Dots & Posies by Stampin Up

If you've never done a One Sheet Wonder, you should really try it.  Especially if you have lost your muse and need to spark your creative juices.  I just read of a stamping friend in rut and I'm posting this to share and inspire.  

It's easy to do!  Just use a few colors of ink and some coordinating stamps to stamp up a full sheet of cardstock.  You are essentially creating your very own designer paper.  Now cut it up into different sizes of squares, rectangles and even triangles.  
Now you are ready to start making some simple cards and see how many you can get from your one sheet of designer paper.  I made the set in these photos and gave them all as a gift.  I made eight cards and got my muse back!
Now go find your muse!  I'm off to do the same...

Beautiful Snow

I know that the hype this week has been CHA out in California but I spent the past few days in NYC at a different trade show- The New York International Gift Fair.  It's the place where buyers go to buy merchandise for their stores so all the new, hot items are there on display- everything from home decor to gifts to accessories and so much more.  That trip was for my other passion- my business.  We'll talk more about that another time but just in case you were wondering, that's where I've been for the past 3 days.

I'm back now.... back to snow!  We're expecting a storm tonight so it's the perfect time to show you this snowflake notecard.  This is done with an old Peddlers Pack stamp and a technique called Acetate & Tissue.  Click here for instructions on how to do it (thanks to splitcoaststampers techniques).  It's pretty easy to do and the end result is stunning.  I added lots of glitter to this one to make it really sparkle.

Before I go, I feel the need to say a final farewell to a faithful old tool that has outlived it's supply of refills.  This is an OLD ATG gun that I've been using for at least 12-15 years.  I stockpiled refills for it and even though they stopped making refills several years ago, I just used up the last one.  I'm so sad.  

Now I have to get myself a new gun to replace this perfectly good old one because it's useless without refills.  So RIP old ATG gun.  I will miss you.  

Designer Paper Addiction

I've recently become a big fan of designer paper.  I never really cared for it until recently.  I think in mind it felt like cheating.  I've been papercrafting a long time and years ago it was more fashionable to make your own backgrounds.  Then came the first designer papers, which were really simple, usually just one color (remember the first SU DPs?), and didn't appeal to me much.  I've watched the designer papers transform into these amazing rich, luxurious textures and patterns and now finally, I'm hooked.

And what comes with getting hooked on something "new" in this hobby?  Being broke!  Just kidding.  I have self control, really.  Maybe not.  I've been adding to my beautiful luxurious designer paper collection every chance I get.  If I'm near a big box craft store with a coupon, there's a pretty good chance I'm coming home with a whole book of this wonderful stuff!  

I probably have more than I could ever use in a lifetime already but it doesn't seem to be enough.  There's always another pattern or color combo that just simply must have.  

And I've noticed that I'm stamping much less.  Most of my creations these days involve stamping a sentiment, and sometimes not even that much.  I need to start using my neglected stamp collection again!

SU Marker Storage Idea

Modifying a Stampin' Up marker case into a display holder for your work desk (scroll down for more pictures):

I am always looking for new and different ideas for storing art supplies in my studio.  One of the goals in storing and organizing is to make sure supplies are easily accessible.  I've come up with a great storage solution for my SU Markers by modifying the original case they came in.  

Now let me start by telling you that I bought my set of markers from SU a very long time ago, so they are the old style.  And they came in the case way back then.  I don't know if the case has changed with the new style markers but I thought this tip was worth sharing anyway.

Inside the box of markers, there are clear acrylic pieces that make it so each marker has it's own little "hole" in which to live.   I took those out of the box- it's several pieces that once they are confined in the box, stay together nicely.  When you remove them from the box, the come apart into several pieces.  This is very easily remedied by just wrapping some clear packing tape around the outside to hold them together.  

At this point, you can just set the nice acrylic holder on your desk and it looks very nice.  I wanted mine to tip forward so I could have easy access to all the colors.  What I did was use two triangle pieces of foam.  This foam is the kind that you can heat with your heat gun and press into a texture and use that as a stamp.  Remember that stuff?  I actually found a big bucket of it in the toy department years ago that was being sold as bathtub blocks.  I bought it and both my son and I had new toys!  (My son is in the military now... it was a long time ago!)

Once I found my two pieces of triangle foam, I attached them to the front of the acrylic holder with ATG tape.  This allows the holder to tip forward as pictured.

To finish it up, I created a chart on white cardstock that fits nicely on the front of the foam.  This hides the foam pieces and gives me a visual of the marker colors and guides me to where they are located in the holder.

I know that the common wisdom is to store markers flat so they don't dry out, but I've had my markers this way for years and years and they are holding up great.  I don't use them a lot, but when I do, they still work perfectly.

I wonder if the new SU marker packaging allows you to do this?  Or maybe you can find an empty case on ebay?

Thanks so much

This is a thank you card that I made after seeing a similar design on another blog.  I apologize that I don't remember who's blog it was to give them credit for the layout.  If it was YOU or you know who it was, please let me know and I'll make sure credit is given.  I subscribe to so many blogs that when I try to go back and find something, it's nearly impossible.  Please forgive me.

The card is basically a square card as a base with a rectangle added to the top to make it fit into a regular envelope.   A very clever idea... and it saves postage that way.

The colors of the card are inspired my art studio.  My studio has basically white walls- the only white in the whole house!  I am not a fan of white walls (or ceilings) but I wanted lots of  brightness and light in there.  I painted all of the cabinetry a nice "river rock" beige color and I have been looking for just the right color combo to add to the room to make it pop.  It's been a year, and just a couple of weeks ago I settled on green and blue.  It's kind of a basil green and a calm medium blue.  Now I know what I'm looking for and am more likely to find bargain storage ideas in just the right color!

The good thing about adding color to a neutral room like that is if (or when) I get tired of it, I can easily change it.  I'm surprised I didn't go with a deep red that I was leaning toward but the blue and green in some of the designers papers I have really caught me.  Maybe one of these days I'll post some pictures of my studio.  

For a Special Baby

My second ever Cuttlebug card is a baby card for our nephew's family who just had their third child last week.  I can't wait to meet the new little one, but for now, I'll have to settle for sending them an extra special card.

I've been bitten by the BUG!

As the new owner of brand new Cuttlebug, the creativity is just overflowing here!  It's a nice feeling- it's been a while and it's long overdue.  I thought I'd share my first card made with my new wonderful little machine.  I bought several embossing folders today on my little bargain shopping spree and the funny thing is that I wasn't crazy about this one but it's the first one I used.  Go figure!

All the excitement of the new toys has even inspired me to finally start working with this blog that I set up back in May.  There are so many blogs out there that's hard to find a name that isn't taken.  But I found one, and It's All Good.