In the midst of working with the re-inker spread technique, I discovered watercolor with re-inkers. While this may not be new to you , it was to me and I created this card from my first successful play. I liked the effect I got from using  the black embossing powder on the bashful blue cs .I then watercolored the petals with bashful blue re-inker for a subtle effect . I did a second one on Whisper white cardstock which I left white. My Base cardstock was whisper white with a mat of basic black that was only on the top 3/4th of the front. I then placed  the bashful blue cardstock with the floral sprays and the message on top and tied a narrow basic black ribbon around the card over the end of the back mat grounding it. I then placed my cut out lilies(?) on the card with dimensionals.  Do let me know what you think.

Recipe: Stamp sets- Fifth Ave Floral, Friends 24-7, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Ink- Basic Black; Cardstock- Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Versa mark, Whisper White; Other- Black SU Embossing Powder, embossing buddy, Black 1/4in  grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ dimensionals.

Well, I promised you during the royal blog tour a view of the inside of the post it note holder and just realized it was still sitting in the to be posted file. So this post will be a view of the Animal Stories items I made for the tour and didn’t have room to show. First up is the inside of the post it note holder. While I like the effect—it uses a full sheet of dsp to create the pocket this way as you need to fussy cut the pocket section to get the partridge fully on the pocket panel.  Next, I  have a small corner bookmark made from a 4 by 4 piece of DSP, scored in the center in both direction and then one quarter cut away. You then fold the ‘flaps’ in toward each other and glue down. When I did that I noticed one section had a partridge in a corner so I cut a tree from a scrap of the same paper , glued it next to the partridge and embellished the fruit with Crystal Effects to give it a little punch. For the next project, I just had to use my Matchbox die. Just love that die! I used Dusty Durango cardstock for my box bottom and my Modern Label Punch to cut out the tag which stamped with the Teeny Tiny Messages in Rich Razzleberry ink. I then sponged the edges with the same ink. Then a quick bow made of old olive 1/4 in. grosgrain ribbon and my Tall tales treats are ready for delivery.  I finished off my Animal Stories/ Tall Tales collection with 2 greeting cards.

This card uses a cross of tall tales DSP  and Melon Mambo cardstock to frame our cute giraffe. And I used the double corduroy buttons in chocolate chip and summer sun to accent and balance the card front. I left off a message on purpose because though I see this as baby – it could be birthday or get well or used for a variety of occasions- Just say it inside.

My second card and the final piece of this set uses one of my favorite critters in the Animal Stories set, the elephant. And only  in a fantasy world of dreams and children are elephants pink- so of course I had to use Melon Mambo for the elephant with Crystal Effects on top for a lacquered look. I used Rich Razzleberry , Crushed Curry and Whisper White cardstock to complement the Razzleberry Lemonade DSP background and send a joyful message to a friend. Wouldn’t these bright colors just cheer you day?!

I have been so busy this past 2 weeks. Convention was a blast, and then my daughter and I arrived at her home and I have been spending time with her before going home to Bellingham this weekend. We have been dealing with baby stuff and scrapbooking our first Stampin’ Up  Convention experience. I will be scanning my scrapbook pages after I get home.

First, let me show you the suitcase I made her to carry her swaps in at convention.  I used the Santa stamp image from the new Christmas Punch hostess set to decorate the outside and used the alpine ribbon from last Christmas’s catty for the straps as that was a favorite of hers. She was able to put all her swaps inside.

Here is another view of the suitcase. I used retired in colors for this suitcase. Stamp set: Christmas Punches, Cardstock & ink: Riding Hood Red, Other: Natural twine, Alpine Ribbon, Crystal Effects.

Now for the fun news, on Monday after our return from SLC, I was invited to go with Jennifer and Scott to  her ultrasound appt that would tell her the sex of our first grandchild. Boy, has technology changed! It was awesome to get the first definitive view of my new grandson! We still don’t know what they will name him, but the boy is very active and we are all excited and eager to welcome him. He may even join us for Christmas. I am so enjoying my time with Jennifer and Scott as they prepare for this new addition.

  This one is a card I did earlier this year with all new colors and stamp set. I used the new hostess set Kind and Caring Thoughts, our new Melon Mambo dotted ribbon and Rich Razzleberry for the lace mat. My inks for this kittle gem are Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and Green Galore.

This card is part of a series of 3, I did trying variations on a theme. For this one I used Kraft cs, Dusty Durango cs and Tall Tales DSP, Dusty Durango ink and a Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon.

This variant is the same with the exception that I changed the ink color to Mellow Moss. Very different look … not sure which I prefer.

The final card in this series, I chose chocolate chip cs for my base and embossed it with our texturz backgrounds #1. I used Soft Sued to stamp the image on the Dusty Durango finished with the mellow moss ribbon and was done.

Just a quick update on Convention and how great Day One has been. Today we had opening session all morning- it was a blast and Jennifer even won a prize – 2  new Build-A-Bear stamp set to be released on Sept 1 in the Holiday Mini. Then during lunch we were able to go to Memento Mall and each buy a Stampin’ UP Build-a-Bear. After lunch we had make-n-takes. 8 cool new projects. then business classes until 5:15. Then it was dinner with the Swanky Stampers , our upline. and back to the hotel to unwind. Well time to call it a night and get ready for a fun day tomorrow.

For my next swap sample, I started with a nine patch using Tea Party DSP. This shows both sides of one page with  a narrow border of Pretty in Pink around each square. I placed a whisper white square in the center with a bunny from the Cute and Cuddly stamp set. I turned the nine patch on point and trimmed the squares on the right and left sides to triangles. With a textured background made from the texturz dotted plate using Garden Green cs this card front is now finished!!

We are now at convention. My daughter and downline, Jennifer and I are off to a great start.

    My Secret Sister gave me this too cool set and I just had to use it for some of my convention swaps. I had a little fun making the same card with minor changes in each one. When it’s Art no two are the same , right? I used Chocolate Chip cs as my base , then layered a rectangle of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, and topped that with my chocolate birthday cake on whisper white cs. To finish the front I stamped the birthday sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set, punched it out with the large oval punched and layered it on a scallop oval punched out of Dusty Durango. For my first one I kept the Dusty Durango plain fr a more masculine take but on the others I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to  the scallop oval.It certainly changes the look. As I write I am at the airport on my way to Convention. I am so excited!! More samples and news from Convention tomorrow.

I am so happy to share my swap card for the WOW card front swap with the ladies attending the 3rd Annual Convention Stamp Camp put on by Joanne Tofte and Karen Pichura. This card uses the Game Night stamp set; the Large star punch, the Modern Label punch; Jackpot DSP;Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock; Melon Mambo Classic ink and Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Now on to the fun stuff- the swaps with everybody.  As I age, I have discovered that I bore easily, so to compensate while creating swaps, I did several small groups of different designs. This first group I decided to use up a lot of my Jackpot DSP and challenged myself to work in back and white with just a touch of color. (I like colors – so black and white is hard) Here is the first card front . I used a sketch from VC Designs Challenge blog. Interesting sketch I may play with this one again later. Recipe: Game Night stamp set; Jackpot DSP; Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock; Basic Black Classic ink , Versamark ink, gold embossing powder and snail.

#2 in my Black & White series is from another sketch from the web (source unknown). I did take the 2 squares in the middle and offset them a little both from each other and from the background — just because it felt right. This one I tried to keep crisp and clean with just the touch of color on the bird.  Recipe: Peace Within stamp set; Jackpot DSP; Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock; Basic Black Classic ink , Stampin’ Write Markers, Water Brush and snail.

#3 in my Black & White series is from the same sketch as the previous one I just used a different stamp from the Peace Within Stamp set.  I made the cat match my sister-in-law, Sarah’s favorite kitty.  Recipe: Peace Within stamp set; Jackpot DSP; Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock; Basic Black Classic ink , Stampin’ Write Markers, Water Brush and snail.

The final card front in this series is just black and white. Living in a place where many folks visit the casinos and gamble for recreation and the dream of winning big, I found this sentiment in the Peace within stamp set especially appropriate. For me to win big at anything but love would indeed be a miracle.  But then with love and family that all gets along what more do you need?!  Recipe: Peace Within stamp set; Jackpot DSP; Whisper White and Basic Black cardstock; Basic Black Classic ink , and snail.

I arrived in hot and sunny Portland at my daughters yesterday. We fly out of Portland together for our first Stampin’ up! convention. We spent several hours last night working on swaps and having fun. For the next few posts I will be sharing some of my swaps. 

Aren’t the In Colors yummy! I am in a 3D swap and we needed to make 6 of the item. So I made these little suitcases ; one per color. I put a little chocolate in each one to sweeten the gift. The suitcase outsides  were stamped with versamark using the Circus Circles stamp set. I quickly discovered that versamark shows up much better on some colors than others. All look good in person but some are lighter than another. 

Here is another view of these delightful cases.  I found the pattern from Mirkwood Designs for the suitcase itself, then started making tweaks. I used SU natural hemp twine to make the handle. with the Add of our Crystal effects, I turned two pieces of twine into a flat handle, a little messy but I liked the effect. I also enjoyed the look of the new In Color ribbon that I used for the straps.

Welcome to a small view of the many ways which you can use the Animal Stories Stamp Set. During this blog tour I will be showing you some samples I have done using this fun new stamp set.

In this first sample, I have used the owl in Soft Suede in Crushed Curry cardstock, and the Elephant in going gray on Whisper white. I had fun using the Razzleberry DSp on a Kraft base and mats of Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo. Yummy colors! To make the Good stand out i added a last minute application of dazzling diamonds Glitter.

Sample number 2 was an exploration into the Tall Tales dsp and the Movers and Shapers die. Don’t cha just love that purple elephant peeking out of the star. And when you open up the card you find …

…. a spot for your personal message. This card ought to cheer up any sick soul.

For my final sample of the blog tour I will show you a notebook for keeping tabs on those important details