It's Monday!

Well folks, it's Monday again! And I know it's been a while, but I do have a technique for you! About 7 months ago I saw a card in PaperCrafts magazine done by Nichole Heady using the Twisted Kissing technique. I just had to try it! If you have been a reader for a while now of my blog, you may remember this card that I did using that technique. Well, I decided that it would be a fun technique to share with you this week.

So, here goes, for this technique you will need:

A bold, solid stamp (I used the solid petal from SU's Pick a Petal)

A dot style stamp (I used itty bitty backgrounds, also from SU)

Card stock

Ink

Embellishments (if you choose)

Sentiment stamp (if you choose)

So, here's what I did, first I cut my Whisper white CS in half to make an 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 piece of CS. Then I scored down the middle to get my finished card base of 5 1/2x 4 1/4. I inked up the center of the flower using Certainly Celery ink and stamp that onto my card. Then I inked up my solid petal stamp using Brocade Blue ink. Then I turned it rubber side up on the table. (Here's where the twisted part comes in) Then I took my dot stamp and touched it (kiss it) to the petal twisting it. (Do this randomly to give it a better pattern.) Then I stamped the petal onto the CS. I repeated the petal process several times. Then I stamped my sentiment in black at the top and there you have it! How easy is that! Twisted Kissing! Give it a try, you'll like it!

I do remember!

See... I do remember how to stamp and I haven't forgotten I have a blog! LOL Here are a couple of projects I have been working on:

This first one is for a birthday swap I am in. It's for the August birthday girl. I used blue printer paper because blue is her favorite color. I don't know the maker. My MIL got the papers for me for my birthday this last year. She got me a bunch of papers, and I do mean a bunch! Yay! Anyhow, I thought these papers would be perfect. I use modge podge to adhere my papers onto my tins and then I use sticky strip to adhere the ribbon the edges. I also used sticky strip to attach the letters and the flowers and brad. I also made her a matching card. I sent this out a little later then I would have liked because I have had a lot going on here, hence the belated saying on the card. Although I didn't forget about her, but this is the only belated saying I have. LOL I forgot to take a picture of the side of the tin, it has double sticthed ribbon around the ends (same ribbon as on the card) and it has a different paper on the sides. I hope she likes it! I filled it with a hodge podge of goodies.

I also have been stamping for a swap at my SU uplines house yesterday. I actually spaced having to do swaps (good thing it was only a 5 person swap) but I whiped these up in about 30 minutes yesterday morning. I used the Year After Year set from the current SU catty, I used Wild Wasabi for the card base with Always Artichoke, So Saffron, and Rose Red as additional colors and then of course Whisper white as my neutral. I also used the Print Pattern BG stamp and Holidays and wishes for the sentiment. the ink I used is Staz-On black (works better with watercoloring) and versamark. I used white grosgrain as an embellishment and the ticket corner punch just for fun. I watercolored the tree using watercolor wonder crayons and an aquapainter (all products for this card were SU)

The last one I have for you today is for the LSC (limited supply challenge) on SCS. The challenge was a multi part challenge. The first part was to use an old set that hasnt' seen ink in a while. I don't remember when I used the Friendship Grows set last so I dusted that one off for this challenge. The second part was to pick an old Sketch and use that. So I chose SC12 cause DD is 12. Next was to chose and old Color Combo challenge. Since DH and I have been married for 6 years now I chose CC06. (Rose Red and Chocolate Chip). The next part of the challenge was to use 1-2 embellishments that you have hoarded. I bought the vanilla grograin a while back and have never used it. I have just never had the right project to use it on, so I broke it out for this one. I colored the pot of flowers using the watercolor wonder crayons.
So there you have it, my latest projects. I just got back from physical therapy and my back and shoulder are killing me so I will be putting ice on it today. But if it is feeling better later I will stamp some more. I have another swap that I need to get done as well as the Sept. Birthday girls things that I want to whip together. Plus Monday's technique. So I will be a busy little bee and will have more fun stuff for you soon!

For a Friend

I know, I know, I didn't do a technique yesterday. But on the up side I did get my house completely unpacked! I have a little bit of cleaning to do as well as I need to get some more organizers for my stamp closet. Which is why I didn't do the technique I was going to do yesterday. There is an important part to it that I can't find because I can't unpack that box till I have the new organizer.



I did however sit down and stamp today. We had a meeting for our family support group for my husbands company. I am a co-leader for the group and my old co-leader has stepped down. (I have a new co-leader now who is awesome.) Anyhow, I wanted to do a card for my old co-leader and buy her some flowers or something (as a thank you) and I thought it would be nice if the ladies who always attend the meetings could sign the card. So I made the card to take to the meeting tonight. Here it is:

I used the Year After Year (YAY), and Holidays and Wishes (HW) sets from Stampin Up. I also used the Tempting Turquoise (TT), Green Galore (GG), Pink Passion (PP) and Whisper White (WW) Cardstock (CS). First I took my flower stamp from that YAY set and I stamped it using Staz-On Black onto WW CS. Then I used my watercolor pencils and colored parts of the flowers. Then I blended it all using the aquapainter. (I got the turquiose color on the leaves and stems using two different colors and blending.) Then I used the ticket corner punch in the top corners and layered it onto my PP and GG cardstocks. I added turquiose ribbon (non-SU) to the middle of the two colored and mounted everything onto my TT base. Then I stamped the sentiment From The Heart from the HW set in the bottom corner using the Staz On ink. Quick, easy card. It took me about 3 minutes. I hope she likes it!

Black Background

Scrapjanny's weekend challenge on ASB this last weekend was to do a card using black as your background color. I immediately thought of a technique my friend Jenn showed me a year or so ago called the chalkboard technique. I couldn't quite remember how to do it during my late night stamping session of making this card so I improvised. I promise, this card looks waaay better in person. Not so dusty.

(All Supplies Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted)

The first thing I did was take my Basic Black cardstock and stamped it using In Full Bloom. I bought IFB three years ago because I loved what the ladies on SCS were doing with it. I thought, I can do that! So I bought it and have since used it 4 times including this card. I just can't get it to work for me. That'll teach me to give in to enableing huh? Nah! lol

Anyhow, I stamped the images randomly using Craft White ink. Just before the ink was completely dry (cause I'm inpatient) I took my daubers and applied Stampin Pastel chalkes to the images. I did this in a swirling motion because it covered faster (I said I was inpatient didn't I?). Then I realized that by doing this it made way too much dustiness (is that a word?) on the black so I promptly got out a swiffer cloth and dusted the excess chalk. Not like you can tell from the photo but trust me, it doesn't show this much IRL and it was waaay worse before I dusted it. Anywho, then I added some yummy green grosgrain ribbon with pink polka dots to the card. I think I got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby but who knows. LOL Then I stamped From The Heart from the Holidays and Wishes set using White ink on the BB cardstock and mounted it on Pink Passion CS. Added that to the card and decided to mount the whole card to a pink passion base.

*Off topic Alert* LOL This card is a total departure for me because I hate, and I do mean hate, as in loathe the color pink. I think that comes from being a red head when I was little. When I was younger it was a bad thing for red heads to wear pink. Ecspecially bright pink. *sigh* I hated pink so much that when my DD was a baby she very little pink in her wardrobe and what she did have was certainly not bought be me. I have gotten over some of my hatred of pink. I used to hate it times 5. Now it's just times 2, so I've gotten better. Maybe someday it will just be a dislike. LOL O.k. I know, totally off topic. What can I say, I had an energy spurt that lasted a few hours and unpacked more and cleaned and organized my kitchen last night to include scrubbing scuff marks off the floor with my friend the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (Love that product!) So it sent my back into spasms so I had to take my pain meds which are still in my system and making me loopy. So that's my excuse. LOL As if I needed another one huh? O.k. I'll stop for now.

I promised a few posts ago another contest to celebrate 100 posts on my blog. And now here I am 106 posts and no contest. I haven't forgotten. I have been working out the finer details. I will post about that within the next day or two. So stay tuned. For now, it's time to go baby shopping with my very good friend who is expecting in a few months! YAY!!

Circle Journal

So some of my friends and I are doing a circle journal. We each got to choose what we wanted our journal to be on. We send it to the next person on the list and that person adds to the journal using the theme and when done they will send it to the next person. This goes on until it gets back to the original person. Clear as mud? lol


So for mine, I chose the theme Recipes of Friendship. Corny huh? The book will be a collection of recipes from my friends. I went to a friends house today and I sat down (after finishing the swaps for my swap group) and I made the cover for my book. I started the sign-in pages and such for the book but messed up so I have to do those again. But when I get those done I will post pictures. But for now, here is my book:

(All Supplies from Stampin Up!)

For this I used the 5x5 On Board Journal and I covered it using paper from the Always Artichoke collection. I chose the polka dots and stripes. I used the spiral punch to punch the holes for the spiral coils on the side. I used adhesive to attached the paper to the journal and then I added some white grosgrain ribbon in the center to tie the two patterns together. Then I stamped the chef from Voila onto Whisper White CS using Staz-On Black ink. I like to use Staz-On when I watercolor because it doesn't run. If I use other kinds the water will make the black ink smear. Then I added the spagetti bowl from Voila To Go from the new catty. I watercolored it all using the watercolor crayons, perfect plum for the chefs top and hat, Basic Gray for the pants, Going Gray for the tray, Always Artichoke for the scarf and bowl, and then Blush Blossom for the pasta and Really Rust for the meatballs. I watercolored it all using the aquapainter. Then mounted that to Perfect Plum cardstock and mounted that at an angle to my book to add visual appeal to my image.

I used to only use the blender pens or most recently a watercolor brush when I would watercolor. I hated the aquapainter when I first used it at a workshop because I had a hard time controlling the water flow. Then I got a kit (I think it was one of the simply sent kits) that came with an aquapainter and can I just tell you, I LOVE the aquapainter. I haven't used my watercolor brush or my blender pens in ages! It took a few trys to get the hang of it, LOL but now I love love love it!

Anyhow, I will be adding ribbon in Purple, Artichoke, and White to the spirals but that will come when the book is complete with all the pages.

I'd like to thank Belinda for letting me use her spiral punch and such. Now I have to buy that too. LOL I didn't think I would want it but now I do. *wink*

Anyhow, I also stamped something else late last night but it's upstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it right now. ROFL! So I will be posting that tomorrow (actually since it's 1a.m. that would be in the morning).

Unpacking is going o.k. I have only done a little bit. Not nearly as much as I was hoping but oh well. My sweet friend Jenn is lending me her DD this Saturday to help me get more done. Anyhow, that's it for now. Night all!

A week off...

I have a great technique planned for these week but right now I am still trying to get the last of my house unpacked. So I have decided to take this week off from the technique. But next week I will have a great one for you! I promise. It is one that someone has recently asked me for directions on. *wink* I'm going to try to fit in a little stamping this next week so that my blog isn't completely empty though. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Today was....

Today, Friday, August 3rd marked my 6th anniversary of being married to my DH. It was a fairly good day all things considered. DH and I got to chat online from 11 last night till 1 this morning. I woke up this morning wanting to cry and then Dh called me! We talked for 20 minutes. (commander gave him a free call for the occassion) *grin* I decided to go out and get some dinner rather then making it. On our honeymoon DH and I went to his favorite restuarant. Chili's and we got it to go. So I went to Chili's tonight and got it to go. *wink* I also watched a movie called Where The Heart Is. It was the first movie DH and I ever watched together. *sigh* All and all, it was a good day. It's hard to beleive it's been 6 years though. *wink*

Take 2?

So I called my upline and friend last night and asked her for her opinion. There was something about the card I did yesterday that I just didn't like and I couldn't place it. So I said, Belinda, help!!!! LOL She said that I should try turning the card horizontal, keep the layout but make the patterned paper smaller. So I took her suggestions and added one of my own. I decided to add the canvas BG stamp on the top yellow part using versamark to just give it a little extra and not make it so blank. Here is my finished product. I think I am pretty happy with this. Now I just need to make 19 of these babies for the swap! LOL

I used Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery Pattern Paper, Sweet Thing stamp set, Hugs and Wishes Stamp Set, Staz On Black ink, Cameo Coral marker, Certainly Celery marker, Bashful Blue Marker, Photo Corner Punch, White Grosgrain ribbon, Canvas BG Stamp, Versamark. (all supplies from Stampin Up!)

Swap?

I was asked a few weeks back to be a part of a swap group. I am very nervous because these ladies are all amazing stampers. So I have been trying to come up with a card. Here is my first try. What do you think?

I used Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery Pattern Paper, Sweet Thing stamp set, Hugs and Wishes Stamp Set, Staz On Black ink, Cameo Coral marker, Certainly Celery marker, Bashful Blue Marker, Photo Corner Punch, White Grosgrain ribbon.