New England Stamper

Blog Candy Winner & Other Tidbits

I picked the blog candy winner using Random.org this afternoon and the winner is #5 - Susan!  Susan's comment read:

My favorite birthday gift would have to be money...I limit my stamp purchases to birthday and Christmas money (mostly!) and since others can't buy stamps for me, I love having "free" money to spend without guilt or regret.

Congratulations Susan - I'll get that candy in the mail!

Shimmerz is offering blog candy for National Scrapbooking Day this week.  Head over to their blog and find out how you can win.  Also, don't forget to check out this week's Crafty Creations Challenge, which is to make something sweet and yummy.

Over at Gingersnap Creations this week, Sharon issued a great color challenge and I wrote a quick piece about watercolor backgrounds.  Here's one of the cards that I made for that post:

For my local stamping friends, it's Open Studio this Friday, May 1 from 9am to 3pm.  Please let me know if you plan to attend.

I'll be back on Saturday with a Sweet & Simple scrapbooking project....

Sheetload of Cards

If you haven't checked out Sheetload of Cards before, I really recommend it.  I have to admit that I haven't had time to use one of their monthly sketches for a while, but when I saw the March layout, I knew I had to make the time. 

Sheetload of Cards is a monthly e-zine that provides a sketch, cutting directions and tonnes of awesome samples to inspire you.  Here's a link to the March issue that I used here and the April issue.

I decided to make four projects with this sketch in four different styles. 

The first is a fun, child's birthday card (and it's also for today's Crafty Creation's challenge too!) using the SU set Crazy for Cupcakes.  This measures a whopping 6" x 6" and for the horizontal line on the card, I fringed a piece of card stock to mimic birthday party decorations.

The second is a feminine shabby chic card using some great pre-cut and folded acetate cards from Short Cuts.  Instead of using two triangles of card stock or paper, I divided one piece with some stitching for a cleaner, softer look.

Card number three is a totally different style - modern I guess.  This is a new Papertrey Ink set called Scattered Showers that I received for my birthday last week and I know I'm going to love using it.  This card measures 5.5" x 5.5".

And last but not least, why limit yourself to cards?  I made my sweet little girl a mini memo board for her room.  The base is a 6.5" x 6.5" piece of very sturdy chipboard.  I mounted a 6" x 6" cork tile onto the base and a triangle of sheet metal covered with patterned paper on the left side of the tile.

I hope you like all these projects - why not swing by the Sheetload blog and try one of their sketches.  Or subscribe to their feed so that you're notified when May's issue is released.

Supplies:

Card One: (all supplies SU unless noted)

• Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes (SU)
• Paper: So Saffron, Ballet Blue & Very Vanilla c/stock, d/paper Chasing Butterflies Collection (Daisy D's)
• Ink: Black Stazon, SU markers, Real Red
• Accessories: Bold Brights Brads
• Tools: Circle punches

Card Two: (all supplies SU unless noted)

• Stamps: Trendy Trees

• Paper: Clear Cards (Short Cuts), Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette textured c/stock, d/paper Bella Birds
• Ink: Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Button Latte, embroidery floss (DMC)
• Tools: Big Shot, Flower Layers #3 die, sewing machine, word window punch

Card Three: (all supplies Papertrey Ink unless noted)

• Stamps: Scattered Showers
• Paper: Stampers Select white, Raspberry Fizz & Dark Chocolate c/stock, Bitty Dot Basics d/paper
• Ink: Memento brown, Raspberry Fizz Hybrid ink
• Accessories: Vintage button collection, Raspberry Fizz 1/2" satin ribbon
• Tools: Paper piercing guide, scallop edge punch (SU)

Card Four: (all supplies SU unless noted)

• Stamps: Boho Backgrounds
• Paper: Whisper white & Pumpkin Pie c/stock, d/paper Sweet Always
• Ink: Pumpkin Pie
• Accessories: Button Latte, Flower Fusion, Pig Tails ribbon originals, rose red narrow grosgrain ribbon, clips (Making Memories)
• Tools: Big Shot, Billboard Strip Die

Window Box Card

I made a double challenge card this afternoon for today's Splitcoast Clean & Simple challenge and Gingersnap Creations Garden Challenge. The CAS challenge was to use little bits of ribbon on your card.  If you are stumped for ideas on how to use small pieces of ribbon, I wrote a blog post last month called 10 Ways to Use Ribbon Scraps. 

The images and sentiment are all A Muse.  I cut out the window with a craft knife and replaced it with a piece of transparency that had been run through my Big Shot with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.  The little blue bird was jazzed up with a little December Sky Blingz.  Here's a closer look:

Don't forget to enter to win the blog candy in the post below!

Supplies:

• Stamps: A Muse Art Stamps
• Card stock: A Muse note card, Neenah white c/stock, Pretty in Pink textured c/stock, acetate
• Ink: Black Memento, Copic Markers, Bashful Blue, December Sky Blingz
  
• Accessories: SU brad, sheer A Muse ribbon
• Tools: Big Shot, Swiss Dots embossing folder
  

Sweet & Simple Blog Candy

No Sweet & Simple card today folks because it's my birthday and I'm taking the day off.  But I've got some blog candy for you instead.  The Stampin' Up! level II set, Echoes of Kindness and an assortment of ribbon and Basic Grey buttons. 

Leave me a comment stating what your ideal birthday gift would be and I'll draw a name randomly on Wednesday, April 29 at noon.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Club Member Cards

I'm happy to share with you some cards made by my talented stamp club members last month.

This delicious number was made by Pam.

The next two beauties are from Rhonda.

These two colorful creations were made by Sue.

Kerry made this elegant card.

Loretta made this card and the beautiful hand-crocheted flower.

How much fun is Liz's pirate invitation!

Maria's lucky mom will receive this on Mothers Day.

And finally, Dawn made this sparkling gem:

 

Thanks to my stamping friends for making these gorgeous creations. 

Happy stamping!

Hello Monkey

The Clean and Simple (CAS) challenge on Splitcoast today is to create a card inspired by children's bedding in the JC Penney catalog.  I was inspired by a range called Bobby Jack and made this card for my daughter.  I used the Clean & Simple Stamping sketch #38 for the layout. 

The monkey image is from an Angel Company set, but unfortunately I don't know the name of it.  He's colored with Prisma pencils and gamasol.  The sentiment is an SU rub-on from the Chit Chat range.

And there are only two days left to win 3 pots of Shimmerz Paints.... Head over to Crafty Creations and leave a link to your project containing any kind of sparkle and you'll be entered into the drawing to win some fabulous Shimmerz.  Thanks to Stacey at Shimmerz for donating this prize.

Have a wonderful day!

Watercoloring

Here's a quick gift and gift card I whipped up last week for a friend.  My fellow Gingersnap Creator, Sharon, has produced several wonderful blog posts this week about water coloring.  If you're interested in improving your water coloring technique, I highly recommend that you check them out.

The watering can, seed packets and plant markers came from the Target $1 spot - got to love that!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Great Impressions

• Paper: Old Olive & water color paper

• Ink: SU markers (Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Ballet Blue, Close to Cocoa), Timber Brown Stazon

• Accessories: SU eyelets, twine

• Tools: Spellbinders Dies Labels One, Cropadile, Aquapainters

Sweet & Simple Saturday: Baby Wipe Card

This is one of the cards we'll be making at stamp club this month.  So if there are any club members reading and you don't want to see one of the projects in advance, avert your eyes!

I made a 3" x 5.5" panel using the baby wipe technique with Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette and Certainly Celery reinkers.  Once the panel was dry, I stamped the sentiment with black Stazon and punched out a 2" x 2" square.  It's very simple, but I like how it turned out.  And it's a design that can be easily mass produced.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies (all SU):

• Stamps: Elegant Thank You

• Paper: Whisper White & Bashful Blue c/stock, SU notecards

• Ink: Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette & Certainly Celery reinkers, Black Stazon

• Accessories: Bashful Blue narrow grosgrain ribbon

• Tools: Marvy punch, baby wipes

Quick & Easy Frame

Here's a quick and easy gift idea for either Mothers' Day or Fathers' Day.  It literally took me 15 minutes because that's all the time I had today to stamp- boo hoo!  And I should probably have called it quick, easy and cheap because the frame came in a pack of 3 for $1 from Ikea.

Aside from the Ikea frame, all the product is Stampin' Up!  I wrapped the frame in the patterned paper so that I didn't have to cut it into fiddly strips.  It's secured on the back with a liberal amount of sticky strip tape.  The scalloped Baja Breeze edge is just four pieces of c/stock cut to size and punched with the scallop edge punch. The buttons and ribbon hide where the strips of c/stock join because that ain't too pretty.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Supplies (all SU)

• Stamps: One of a Kind

• Paper: Bella Rose d/p, Baja Breeze & Whisper White c/stock

• Ink: Riding Hood Red, Ruby Red marker

• Accessories: Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, Button Bouquet, crochet thread

• Tools: Scallop oval punch, large oval punch, scallop edge punch

Some Challenge Cards

My first card was made for Gingersnaps Poetry challenge and today's Splitcoast color challenge.  I don't have any stamps with poetry on them, but I do have plenty of quotes and sayings.  I chose this Hero Arts acrylic set  which I bought several months ago and haven't used until today - oops!

The large flower is made from Mulberry paper and painted with Bubblegum Shimmerz.  The patterned paper is Stampin' Up!'s Bella Birds and the velvet brads from Creative Imaginations.  The stitching around the edge is faux stitching made with a paper piercing guide and brown marker.

Look how sparkly this flower is!

The second card was made for yesterday's CAS (clean and simple) challenge, which was to make a monochromatic card.  I love this stamp set, Thoughts and Prayers, but frankly, this card is verging on the boring if you ask me.  I made it for my dad whose not feeling well, but I think I might need to jazz it up a bit before I send it to him.

I posted a gardening challenge on Gingersnaps this morning - we'd love to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies card one:

• Stamps: Treasure the Moments (Hero Arts)
• Paper: Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron and Very Vanilla c/stock; Bella Birds designer paper
• Ink: Chocolate Chip ink & marker, Bubblegum Shimmerz
  
• Accessories: narrow choc chip grosgrain ribbon (SU), velvet brads (Creative Imaginations), embossed mulberry daisies (Petaloo)

Supplies card two:

• Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers
  
• Paper: Very Vanilla & Chocolate Chip
• Ink: Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Chocolate brads (American Crafts), brown twill tape (Martha Stewart)