I'm a Guest Stamper for Stampin' Pretty!

As I write this post we are in the middle of a blizzard in Colorado and I know it is pretty, but...

I am a warm weather beach girl and I was inspired by this bloom from our yard last summer to make today's card.

I am also pleased to be this week's guest stamper on Stampin' Pretty, the amazing blog of my incredible upline, Mary Fish! So here is how I made my card. I first did the Bokeh technique by watercoloring Stampin' Up! inks onto watercolor paper. (I wet the watercolor paper with a paintbrush, then using my aqua painters, I grabbed ink from my ink pads and just "blotched" the different colors around until the paper was covered. After the paper dried, I sponged white ink through a mask I made by punching different sized circle punches on a sheet of acetate. Next, I stamped and embossed my Blended Bloom stamp with white ink (and clear embossing powder) on whisper white cardstock, Then I sponged Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray, Blushing Bride, Rose Red and Melon Mambo inks onto the flower with sponges, and afterwards rubbed the excess off with a tissue. This technique is called emboss resist. I made two of the same flower so I could cut and layer and curl and fuss until I had a more dimensional flower. I used Basic Gray ink to stamp the sentiment from the current Sale a Bration Best Day Ever stamp set (I love this set!). Then I sponged Basic Gray ink on my white SU organza ribbon to get a perfect match to the cardstock and ink in the center of the flower. I roughed up the edges of the watercolor paper to keep the "natural" feel of the card. Then, I added some tiny rhinestones for sparkle! Inside I stamped my daughter's birthdate (with my Alphabet Rotary Stamp) and the Best Day Ever stamp. I will give the card to her for her upcoming birthday. Everything I used here is Stampin' Up! This card makes me feel like it is at least April or May already! Thanks for taking a look! Thank you Mary, for allowing me to be your guest stamper today!

Best. Daughter. Ever.

Project Finally Finished

I finally finished my placemats and we are using them daily now. They are so much cheerier and brighter than the ones I made years and years ago...now to finish the matching napkins...maybe on spring break in 3 weeks!!!

In retrospect: Star Box

Forgive me for the tardiness of this post. The holidays were a whirlwind of activity. I had my annual cookie party in December and I needed a container for my shares. I found this little box on Pinterest in December and made a dozen of them. I scored my Stampin' Up! Real Red cardstock with my scoring board.  I used my favorite tool at the moment, the envelope punch board, to punch the top section of the box where the ribbon laces through. I embossed little stamped stars in silver, tied it closed with silver SU ribbon, and ended up making little tags to tie onto each box as well. I was able to fit a half dozen cookies in the boxes, inside clear bags. They were a hit! Thanks for looking!

Say Cheese!

That title was cheesy, I know.(wink wink) But I made my daughter a little camera album for Christmas to recap the year...and she loved it! I used my envelope punch board to cut the camera shape out of cardstock as well the pictures. I used my circle framelits to cut the silver glimmer paper lens rings and the acetate lens itself. Everything is Stampin' Up! Pretty easy, really! Thanks for taking a look!