Hoppy Things

I made this card for my husband's best friend's graduation with a double master's. (Yeah, he probably deserved more.) But this card can also be used for a variety of occasions. At first I was a little ashamed that the top frog got cut off, but now I like it because it looks like he's so happy he's jumping off the page. This would be an easy card to CASE (link back to me, please) with any of the stamps in the SAB Very Punny.

Stamp Sets: Very Punny, Polka Dots & Paisley

Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue

Inks: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Green Galore

Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, White Gel Pen

Techniques: Faux Stitching

More Happy Things

Okay, okay, the monkey made an appearance sooner than I intended. But I just had to mix the stamp sets because they share the same line art style (bold and smooth). A "Happy Things" card is so versatile: for graduation, for birthdays, for anniversaries, or even for new parents.

Stamp Sets: Polka Dots & Paisley, Monkey Business

Cardstock: Ballet Blue, Gable Green, Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Green Galore

Inks: Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Ballet Blue

Accessories: Round Tab Punch

Techniques: Stampin' Off (the vines), Inked Edges (pixie pink rectangle)

Happy Things

I decided to challenge myself today to find a fun way to use Orchid Opulence. Please trust me when I say that the colors are bright and vivid—this photo doesn't really do them justice. For a different look, one could easily stamp paisleys instead on the bottom half, or even the polka dots. I think this is a fabulous way to show off the Round Tab Punch with this stamp set. After all, who doesn't love "Happy Things"?

Stamp Sets: Polka Dots & Paisley

Cardstock: Orchid Opulence, Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White

Inks: Orchid Opulence, Pixie Pink, Green Galore

Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Dimensionals

Techniques: Stamping off used on each flower image (on white cardstock), and 2-Step Stampin' outline image is stamped in same color (full strength).

Monkeying A*Round

Okay, I realize I need some self control. I will try to use other stamp sets besides the Monkeys in the cards that I post in the next little while. I entered this one in the April "Round & Round We Go" SU! contest. (I'm just hoping to get published on Stamper's Showcase.)

To be quite honest, it was a PAIN to get those vines stamped in a perfect circle. It must have taken a good dozen tries. (Of course, the most perfect image was my first try when I was stamping on scrap computer paper!! I ended up using my sliding glass door as a light table to practice stamping the vines in a circle on white cardstock.)

I love this card because of the pearl-ex mixed with clear embossing powder—on both the vines and "thanks a bunch." It gives a green shimmer under the light. (Note: you only need to add small amount of pearl-ex to clear EP, perhaps a 9:1 ratio. Otherwise, the EP won't stick to the versamark.) Also, I had way too much fun making the grass skirt; although, it was tedious and rebellious at times. And the finishing touch with the monkey hands holding up the thanks image was a necessity. Those little hands are just so darn cute!

Stamp Set: Monkey Business

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery

Inks: Versamark, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Linen thread, pearl-ex, clear EP, eyelets, celery grosgrain ribbon, 1/8" hole punch

P.S. I'm sure this could transform into a cute double slider with some work.

Friendship Flowers

This will be brief. Stamp sets: Friendship Flowers and Heartfelt Thanks. I used real red, regal rose, green galore, yoyo yellow and whisper white cardstock. I used yoyo yellow, regal rose, green galore, and real red classic inks, and white craft ink. I am going to make another version of this card using flowers in the background that match the focal image. The flower uses the rock 'n roll technique, and has a green galore button tied with linen thread. Very easy card.

It's Monkey Time!

I must apologize for the brief hiatus. I've been doing some freelance work, so I had no time for stamping. But tonight everyone went to bed early... so I made four cards using the Monkey Business stamp set. I'm running low on paper, so I'm using colors that may not be the most popular of combinations. The cards really do look much nicer in person—my blasted camera can't take pictures of cards without totally blurring and washing them out. (Unfortunately for my blog, we'd rather spend the money on home improvements than a camera. Some day though.)

The first two cards are different versions of each other. I used barely banana, chocolate chip, certainly celery, and always artichoke cardstock. If you take a close look at the vine leaves, you'll notice that they were stamped in certainly celery and outlined with a garden green marker. It helps create a focal vine. I then placed the white and celery layers on the barely banana, and finished stamping the vines in certainly celery (so that they line up when I assemble the card). The second card has more random vines. I think I prefer the first. I also outlined the bananas using the same marker. It's hard to stamp bananas in yellow and be able to see the fine detail. I really distressed and tore the edges of the "thanks a bunch" sign to make it look more worn—like something you'd see on a walking path in a national park.

The second card had the bananas rocked 'n rolled in certainly celery. I stamped the monkey's arms in chocolate chip to give the impression of lots of clapping hands. (In my haste, I was sloppy in stamping the hands, so some look quite amputated. Try not to balk at my animal cruelty.) I guess one could also stamp a pineapple or heart in between the hands, too. The bow on the "thanks a bunch" sign was very tedious. I would not recommend such a tiny bow for a m&t. Now that I think about it, I should have used tweezers!

The third monkey card uses chocolate chip, whisper white, cool carribean, and gable green. Again, I stamped the monkey's hands around the edge of the focal image to create the impression that there's lots of love for the receiver. My favorite part of the card is the "love ya bunches!" contrast image. I stamped the whisper white craft ink on the chocolate chip cardstock, and then placed the whisper white square over the top. One could also use a square punch and adhere the contrast image on the inside of the card. I finished this card off with a line of faux stitching. Although these color combos aren't breathtaking, each card has a very useable template for CASEing. Feel free to do so.

The last monkey card uses fun colors, and isn't too feminine. I used ballet blue, gable green, glorious green (holy cow!—that's one of the only cards where I've been able to use this color successfully), pink passion, and whisper white cardstock; I used versamark, brilliant blue, green galore, and chocolate chip classic inks. I stamped the vines in a circular fashion to give emphasis to the monkey. Then I stamped the heart in Versamark, cut around the image, and hung it on some linen thread. I tied knots in the end and frayed them, too. I only stamped one heart on the background next to the "love ya bunches" image. It's pretty late tonight, otherwise I'd be working on making a cute little linen "grass skirt" for the monkey—all frayed and such. Can't you see that little critter doing the hula? I have seen other stampers use the bananas to create a hula skirt for the monkey, but I'm thinking this linen thread has a lot to offer for this jungle look.

By the way, don't be shy about leaving comments. I'd love to hear from you.