Mojo AGAIN!

I've got some more mojo going today! I used Mojo 72 for this card. I altered it a little because my stamp choices ended up not allowing me to complete the card as it was intended. Thankfully, the world of stamping has NO RULES! I love that I can start out intending to copy a card or sketch, but end up with something totally different than I started with!



This card turned out a little busier than I intended, but once all is said and done, I really like this card!

Stamp Set: Eastern Blooms
Colors: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Pink Pirouette, Sweet Always DSP
Accessories: Flower Fusion & Flower Fusion Too Felt Flowers, Silver Brads, Scallop Edge Punch

Happy Stamping!

Mojo 71

Not surprisingly, I pulled out my Texturz Plates again! I went back in the Mojo Monday sketches a few weeks to find a sketch for this card. I also went with a KWerner Color Inspiration for the colors on this card. I love it when my card is basically laid out for me with a sketch and the colors!



I used the SU! exclusive Small Dots Texturz plate for my card's background. I wanted the dots to line up in my background, so I went ahead and cut my background pieces and adhered them together with a scrap of card stock on the back before I ran it through the Big Shot. I think it worked out quite well!



Stamp Sets: Petal Pizazz, Wow Flowers
Colors: More Mustard, So Saffron, Old Olive, Taken with Teal

Happy Stamping!

Birthday Celebrations

I know I've mentioned this before, but I always give out birthday cards to my fitness center employees. I always have trouble making cards for my male employees, so I got out some retired Designer Series Paper that at least looked a little boy-ish :-)



The card came together really fast, and I enjoyed making it. It was a simple design, and DSP always makes card-making really easy!

Stamp Set: Fun & Fast Notes, Upsy Daisy
Colors: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, So Saffron, Bashful Blue

Happy Stamping!

Black & White

I have a wonderful friend who is going through a bit of a hard time, and I really wanted to send her a nice little encouraging note. I saw this card on Dannie Graves' blog. I really liked her card, so I decided to make a similar card for my friend.



I stamped the black swirls in Basic Black craft ink and embossed them with Crystal Clear embossing powder. I also stamped and embossed the swirl image on the inside of the card. I didn't take a picture of the inside, though, because I had already written on the inside when I remembered I had not taken a picture :-)

I hope my friend enjoyed the card! There is nothing better than receiving a hand-made card with a note from the heart on the inside. Send someone a card today!

Stamp Set: Baroque Motifs
Colors: Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Flower Fusion Too, Silver Brads, Baja Breeze double striped grosgrain ribbon

Happy Stamping!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today, as I enjoy being showered with chocolate, flowers, and love from my valentine, I wonder why guys ever go along with this holiday. Today I received chocolates, a huge bouquet of flowers, and some cookies that I was begging for when we went to the store last week :-) And what did he get in return? Yep, you guessed it! A card. What else are you supposed to give a guy for Valentine's Day? Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE hand-made cards (obviously...why else would I be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?), but I felt bad as he bought me gifts, took me out to dinner, paid for a movie...and I handed him a card. Oh well! I guess it's just a good day to be a girl! :-)

Speaking of my made-with-love card that I gave to my wonderful hubby...



This is what I spent several hours working on this afternoon. Yes, several hours. As you can see from the picture, the "Love you much" stamp on the front of the card is embossed with silver embossing powder and then colored in with a red marker. For the record, I HATE red. No, wait. I like the color red, but I hate all the havoc it wreaks in my life. It bleeds in the washing machine turning things pink, so I have to do extra loads of laundry just to protect the rest of my clothes. When stamping, it NEVER dries (I might as well be using craft ink!), plus it always ends up on my hands, face, clothes...you know. Like glitter! Anyway, the "Love you much" part on the front of this card I made four...that's right...four different times. The last time, I stamped it, embossed it, put it on the card, then colored it in hoping that I could somehow avoid smearing the red ink. I swear I never touched the red ink, but little red fingerprints kept creating themselves out of nowhere! After I took this picture of the front of my card, I simply opened it to take a picture of the inside:



However, when I closed the card back up, a little red fingerprint had fabricated itself onto my white card stock...grrr. I guess life isn't perfect, so neither is my valentine's card this year. Oh well. Coloring in those letters for the fifth time today was NOT going to happen :-)

*whew* Enough with my ranting over red ink. I actually really like this card, but for some reason I don't think the picture does it justice. It looks really neat in real life, but the picture makes it look a little boring. I got the idea for my card from my mom's upline, Annette, on her blog.

Since Ben's favorite colors are red and silver, I decided to make his card in those colors instead of using the ever-popular red, pink, and brown. Also, since I LOVE my new Texturz Plates, I just had to use them again! To get a little more dimension on the right side of my card, I ran the card stock through my Big Shot using the Swirl plate from the Backgrounds #1 Texturz Plates set. It just didn't have the dramatic look I was hoping for, so I took my brayer and inked the Texturz Plate with Riding Hood Red ink. When I ran my cardstock through on the inked plate, it gave me this:



I LOVE it! Yay! Exactly what I wanted! I hope Ben enjoys his Valentine's Day as much I have :-)

Stamp Set: Love You Much
Colors: Riding Hood Red, Brushed Silver, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Backgrounds #1 Texturz Plates, silver embossing powder, silver stretchy cord, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon

Happy Stamping!

Texturz Plates

...I LOVE THEM! I got my new Stampin' Up! Texturz Plates a few days ago, and I cannot stop playing with them! I love creating these fun backgrounds that have dimension, PLUS they are so easy to use! The Texturz Plates work with the Big Shot to dry emboss patters onto your paper. There are a thousand different things you can do with embossed paper (see page 202-203 in the new catalog for ideas).

I went with the most common use for these Texturz Plates and made a textured background for my card. For the first card I made with my new Texturz Plates, I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch.



Here's the card I made:



I just wanted something simple to get me back in the swing of stamping (since I've taken a few weeks off). Since the Best Wishes & More stamp set is one of my new favorites, I decided to pull it off the shelf and get to work! This card came easily, and it was nice to make just a quick simple card. This Texturz plate worked great as it added a little something to my card. Here is a close up picture of the background:



This is the "Weave" plate from the Texture Plates Kit #4 (p. 203). Amazingly, these Texturz Plates come in sets of 3 double-sided plates (so 6 different textures) for only $9.95!! What a steal! If you've been thinking about the Big Shot and whether it would be a beneficial tool to add to your stamping supplies, I have to say that with the addition of these Texturz Plates, this tool is a must-have! Click "Shop Now" in the right-hand side bar to order yours today!

Stamp Set: Best Wishes & More
Colors: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Texture Plates Kit #4, Flower Fusion Too felt flowers, and silver brads

Happy Stamping!

Sale-A-Bration!

It's here! And I'm a little late in announcing it... *sheepish smile*

Sale-a-Bration is Stampin' Up!'s annual FREE STAMP event! For every $50 in merchandise you purchase, you'll get to choose one free stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration catalog. Click "Shop Now" on the right-hand sidebar to place your order and receive FREE stamps today!

Not only can you receive FREE Sale-a-Bration stamp sets, but you also have the chance to receive ANY stamp set in the Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog for FREE! If you choose to join the Stampin' Up! family and become a demonstrator from now until March 31st, you will enjoy 15% off the starter kit as well as free shipping on your starter kit (see pg. 14 of the catalog--you'll receive $335 worth of products for only $169!), 30% off your entire first order, 20% off every other order while you're a demonstrator, AND a free stamp set of your choice (up to $47.95 value)!

Contact me today to join the Stampin' Up! family
so you can love what you do and share what you love!