Gift Card Series Part 1

I've been going through a lot of my card supplies and purging whenever possible. One of the things I found was a pile of small envelopes that measure 3 1/4" square. I don't even remember buying these! So I decided that I'd make enough cards to use up the envelopes. I pulled out four main images from The Saltbox Studio (as well as a background image)and some patterned paper and cardstock that was leftover (again, no idea where this stuff came from!) and got busy. I made two cards from each image, but not necessarily for the same purpose. I'll be sharing these with you over the next four days! The first set features the jumping sheep from the Sheep Set.



This was the one set that used a background stamp (the little stars and moon, just omitted the moon). I also poured on the fun flock. I figured a small card deserved just as much attention as a bigger card, so I might as well use texture. The thank ewe card would be perfect for a hostess gift and the little lamb card could be tucked into a lunchbox.

I'll be back with more soon. Don't forget to check out The Saltbox Studio Sampler for some excellent coloring techniques (if you have Copics, this is perfect for you!) and a contest!!!

card info: images and sentiments by The Saltbox Studio, papers from my scrap supply, ribbon from Martha Stewart, fun flock, glitter by Stampendous, buttons from my supply.

Candy Care Package

Happy Monday to everyone. I had a busy weekend, but found time to stamp while kids recovered from illness. I can't share all of what I stamped, but I did want to share this.



I found an idea sheet at Michaels the other day with a Valentine's Day Teacher favor. It was actually a cute idea, but I am not too big into the foamie shapes (you can see it here). I changed it a bit, using ribbon as a handle. The reason I like it this way, is because then it can be stored flat for use next year. It will also be easier for me to package it up this way to send to my nieces. (Does anyone recognize this as an upside down "cootie catcher" or "fortune teller" from their school days? I used to make these all the time!)



Of course, I need a card to send in the care package. Lucky for me, The Saltbox Studio has a "care package" sentiment in the Basket Celebration 1 set! I used the basket that had pumpkins in it as the base, then stamped the open heart from the Sheep set. So easy and, actually, fairly quick!



I've got some quick Valentines to share soon. My oldest daughter helped me design a couple of cards this weekend. She is gearing up for making her classmates' cards in the coming weeks. Have a great day!

card info: images and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, eyelet by American Crafts, ribbon by Martha Stewart, Spica glitter pen, Copic markers - sand, sepia, warm Gray #2, safety pin by Making Memories.

candy container: images, patterned paper and sentiment by A Muse, ribbon by Martha Stewart, cardstock from my supply, pop dot, Prismacolor markers - crimson, ballet pink, deco pink.

A Quickie

Hi stampers! This one will be quick today. I had two children get sick at the grandparents' house last night and some disheartening news about my sister yesterday, so I my thoughts are elsewhere this morning.
However, I did want to show another card featuring one of the new mice images from The Saltbox Studio. Now, I am not a fan of mice in my house (very unpleasant!) but I think this little guy, who now lives in my stamp hole, is most welcome to stay. He is just so cute hiding behind that big ball of yarn! I don't knit, but I wish I had time to learn. I do love looking at all the beautiful yarns at the craft stores. My two year old loves to touch it - "It's so soft and fluffy." If I had fun flock the right color, I'd probably have put some of it over the yarn to make it fluffy.
Don't forget to check out The Saltbox Sampler, too. There is a fun contest for you today and more card ideas. There is also some updated news on ordering from The Saltbox Studio. Then, head over to The Saltbox Studio to see lots more card samples in "The Studio."

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, white cardstock, colored cardstock by My Mind's Eye, brads by Making Memories, recycled black ribbon, colored pencils.

An Invitation to Celebrate! *sneak peek*

If you are an early blog reader, you get to see this before all of the new stamps from The Saltbox Studio are unveiled. I wanted to share a quick and easy card that is perfect for a Valentine's Day party. This little lady is holding a string of stars, so I added some little open hearts to the string, as well as a small heart to her pocket. The brad was added to give it another little hint of Valentine's Day. I just love that these images can make quick and easy cards - less than 10 minutes! Make sure to check out The Saltbox Studio later today to see all that there is for you! Let me know your favorites, too.

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and paper by A Muse, black cardstock, Spica glitter pens, Copic markers - shadow pink, crimson, warm gray #4, Prismacolor marker - deco pink, brad by Joann's.

Hooray for Naps! A Mid-day *Sneak Peek*

I managed to make a card to share this afternoon. This image is one that you may have seen already this week, but I like this one so much, especially this time of year. It is meant to be a yard banner, but I think this image stands alone so well. I used Pebbles shimmer chalks to highlight the snowman, which was stamped on a *very* pale blue paper. I combined the red into the card because I found this small scrap of ribbon and thought it was perfect for the rest of the colors in the card. I love when I clean and find treasures like that!
Tomorrow is the BIG reveal and I am so excited that you all will finally be able to see all of the images The Saltbox Studio has for you. (Yes, there are even more that you have YET TO SEE!)

card info: image and sentiment from The Saltbox Studio, papers and twinkle sticker by A Muse, ribbon by American Crafts, Copic markers - crimson, sand, honey, shimmer chalks by Pebbles, Inc., pop-dots, card base from my supply.

Another *Sneak Peek*

Tomorrow is the big day! The Saltbox Studio line of stamps will be completely unveiled for you!!! This image was on The Saltbox Studio blog the other day. It was a beautiful "shabby" card with buttons and ribbon. Here, my card features just a simple image and sentiment that could easily be sent to anyone. These images are so great, I cannot wait for you to get to see all the sets tomorrow. I am dedicating this one to my dear sister, Laura, and she knows why. I hope you have time to check out the other DT members' sneak peeks today, as well as The Saltbox Studio. Don't forget, there is a contest going on over there. But, you have to leave a comment if you want to win! Have a great Thursday!

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and paper by A Muse, Prismacolor marker - cool grey 20%, Making Memories slot punch tool.

The Saltbox Studio *sneak peek*

Another peek-a-loo for you today. This one comes from The Saltbox Studio set of basket stamps. This is so quick and easy which I love because I seem to always be short on time! This is one of my "go to" layouts for a card because simplicity is for me. Of course, if you look at the rest of The Saltbox Studio DT members' samples, you'll see how these images and cards can be so much more adorned and elaborate! That is a great quality in stamps - versatility. I hope to have time to share another card later today, but check out
The Saltbox Studio blog for more ideas AND a contest!!!! I have another card idea posted there today, too :)

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, kraft and black cardstock, paper by A Muse, ribbon by May Arts, brads form my supply, pop dots, Prismacolor markers - avocado, muted turquoise and sky blue light, Copic markers - canary yellow, sand.

Glowing SNEAK PEEK

Here is another sneak peek at on of the *new* sets from The Saltbox Studio launch for Friday. There is a set dedicated to candle images. These images are just beautiful! One of the nicest things about The Saltbox Studio designs is that they are great for coloring. If you have Copic or Prismacolor markers or if you like to use watercolor pencils, these are for you! The candles could be shaded nicely to give the illusion of shadows or a glow. I am still working on this technique, though. Don't forget to check out the other DT members' blogs (links on the right) and The Saltbox Studio blog for more sneak peeks today!

info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, cardstock from my supply, brads by Making Memories, recycled ribbon, patterned paper by My Mind's Eye, pop dots, Prismacolor markers - muted turquoise, crimson, sunburst yellow, pumpkin orange, black, sky blue light.

BIG News!

So I teased a bit on Friday about some news to share. Do you want to hear the news?


"The clear stamps are coming! The clear stamps are coming!" On Friday, a new stamp company will launch. The company is called The Saltbox Studio. The stamps produced by The Saltbox Studio are clear sets with lots of fun and classic designs. I have been asked to be a part of this design team and I am excited to be able to share some sneak peeks with you all week long. You can check out The Saltbox Studio Blog to sneak a peek-a-loo at some of these stamps, too.



I made this card to send to my cousin's family, who had a baby about a month ago. I think the sheep stamps are so cute! There are so many possibilities with these sheep, too.

Be sure to check out my fellow DT members' blogs for more sneak peeks this week!

card info: image and sentiment by The Saltbox Studio, notecard and paper by A Muse, ribbon by May Arts, chipboard frame by Making Memories, Prismacolor Markers - black, avocado, cold stone, warm grey 20%.

Winter Wonderland

I have been waiting so long to share this card! I made it back in December and thought I'd share it after we got snow. Well, it finally came! Only, I was volunteering at school yesterday and getting home on the back, hilly roads was CRAZY! There are lots of people who can drive in the snow and ice, and there are lots MORE people who *think* they can drive in the snow and ice. Which ones cause the problems? Anyway, I was a little busy yesterday, so I am posting this as my winter wonderland becomes a winter wonder-swamp!

I also wanted to tell you that I have some big news to share with you Monday, so please come back and see what it is...

card info: notecard, images, sentiment and twinkle sticker by A Muse, tiny snowflake image by Peddler's Pack, Spica glitter pen, black pen, Prismacolor marker - sky blue light, Signo silver pen.

Valentine's Day House

Last October, Melinda had a class at Angela's, where they made an A Muse Halloween house. It was so darn cute! I wanted to take the class to see how to make one of the houses, but it was on my daughter's birthday. Boo! However, there were some blank houses for sale, so I bought one and have held on to it until now. I pulled it out and decided I'd make an A Muse Valentine's Day house.



The chipboard houses are made by Doodlebug Designs and come in two different sizes. This is the smaller of the two houses. It was a lot of fun pulling out paper and stamps to create something to display. I took a few closeups of the windows, so you could see who lives here.











info: chipboard house by Doodlebug Designs, images by A Muse, brad from Joann's, Stickles, paper by The Paper Studio, pop dots, Copic - shadow pink, dark pink, baby skin pink, sand, and Spica glitter pen, Prismacolor - walnut, ballet pink and cool grey 20%, punch by Martha Stewart, stick pin.

Frosty Greetings

This is a super quick card that I semi-mass produced for my husband. He needed some notes to send to some people from work and asked me to make something that wasn't Christmas or too cutesy. This guy filled the bill very easily. I am finding it quite soothing to color with my new Copic markers. I love having the open spaces to color!

Don't forget to check out the Elzybell blog, as well as the other A Muse Design/Instructor Team blogs, for sneak peeks of the new release this week. I don't have any yet, but my, oh my, are these just cute as can be!

card info: notecard, papers, images and sentiment by A Muse, Copic markers - powder blue, sand, Prismacolor markers - pumpkin orange, sunburst yellow.

A Walk on the Wild SIde

I've had this card in my head for a long time. But, I only got around to making it a few days ago. The thought of a concert goer came from a card that Jennifer Pebbles had as an A Muse News Card of the Week a long time ago. It just made me giggle because she stamped a bra being tossed on stage at the Rock Dude's feet. So, this card follows the same idea, I just added a music fan and some pyrotechnics.

I hope to get some more time to stamp this weekend, but my littlest ones are a bit sick, so I don't know if that will happen or not. Hope you can find some time to love your rubber!

card info: notecard, images, sentiments by A Muse, black pen, Copic markers-baby skin pink, blush, maganese blue, shadow pink, crimson, powder blue, canary yellow, new leaf.

I Am A Big, Fat Liar

I said that I was done with the interactive cards, but then a certain someone, who shall remain nameless, showed off this website, and I was tempted. The interactive card siren went off in my head and I felt compelled to make one more. Now, I do have a second grade teaching experience, and we did make our own pop up fairy tale books in class, so I have done the more simple patterns seen here (the layer pop-up and the mouth pop-up), so this was a tiny bit more involved, but nowhere near the other intricate pop-up patterns. PLUS! This one was adaptable to using stamped images. Ok, so do you wanna see it?




This is the front of the card. I will be giving this one to my son on Feb. 14.



Here is the inside of the card with the very simple pop-up. I cut out the rocket so that it appeared to be shooting off the card into space.



Here is a closer look at the pop-up. I drew the lines shooting out and added small stars to those lines.

This was a very simple card to make. The only thing really to do was to change the scale of the card instruction print out (I reduced it to 85% on the copier). I hope to have another card to share soon, but, it won't be interactive fun. Really. I promise. No, really.

card info: notecards, images, alphas and sentiment by A Muse, red paper from my scarp supply, silver Signo pen, Prismacolor markers - cold stone and crimson.

Shake Your Thang!

Can you guess what kind of card I made by the title? This is by far one of the most fun (and easy) types of interactive cards. Well, according to my kids, anyway; it was their favorite. It is called a Shaker card and you can find a tutorial here.
FYI: I found the sparkly confetti in the gift wrap section of the craft store. I have seen some very pretty vellum hearts (and very cute ribbon too!) from Martha Stewart's Valentine's Day craft line at Michael's too, but only AFTER I had made this.





My six year old sat with me and helped me make another one just for her because she liked the shake-action so much. I don't know if I'll get to anymore of these interactive cards. These are really so much fun, but I am used to simple cards. We'll see...

In other news, check out the latest Guest Designer over on the A Muse News Blog. Nicole has such great cards/ideas! Check out her link on my right sidebar--->

card info: notecard, paper, image and sentiment by A Muse, chipboard shape and glitter by Making Memories, Copic markers - shadow pink and blush, Spica glitter pen, pop dots.

Card Poppin'

As I mentioned in the previous post, I made a few interactive cards in one night, just for the fun of it. This is the second one. It is called an Pop-Up Accordian card. I found the instructions here. I found this very easy to do because I had made books like this with students many years ago.



The harder part was finding three related images. I decided to go with "couples" as a theme. I usually show my husband my cards and he always and lovingly offers his feedback. He said I needed a stamp of a couple in rocking chairs (like they had grown old together, I guess).






While that would have been great, I don't have anything like that, so I just went with the couple of owls.



Hope you all have a great Monday!

card info: images and sentiments by A Muse, cardstock from my supply, ribbon by May Arts, Stickles, Copic - baby skin pink, raw silk, walnut, shadow pink and Prismacolor markers - crimson, warm grey 20% and 40% cinnamon toast, leaf green.

Nuts About Interactive Cards

Here is another card I made using Julie's suggestion of trying some interactive cards for Valentine's Day. I think this is a great idea for people to have to give to teachers. When I taught, I loved getting handmade treats from my students and a fun card was always a thrill. So I perused the SCS projects page and found a few other cards I decided to try. I had so much fun with the first one that I chose, I made three in one night. I will share one of these today, then look later in the week for the others.



This card is called a Surprise Pop Up card.



When you pull the top of the tag, it reveals a message underneath the stamped image.


Pull a little further, and the tag inside has a sentiment (mine came out gloppy because I made the mistake of stamping with my kids in the room), as well as a place to sign your name.

This one is very easy to adapt to a square card, too. I simply used the back of the card to draw pencil lines for all the cuts and scores. Instead of a ribbon pull, I used a punched out heart. Check out the link above to the instructions and give it a try. It is a lot of fun!

card info: papers, image, sentiments, twinkle sticker by A Muse, Copic markers - baby skin pink, warm grey 4, walnut, sand, new leaf, Diamond glaze (on the acorn), heart punch by Martha Stewart.

Careful - Explosion Below!

One of my resolutions for this month is going to be to try to stamp at least six days a week, whether for fun, to try a new technique or for an assignment. Last night I tried a new technique. It is a different take on a card called an Explosion Box. I have seen lots of these (my iPod came in a type of Explosion Box!) but I had never made one. This is for Valentine's Day, maybe good for a teacher, even.

I followed directions that I found on SCS (thanks, Julie!). I think I'd like to make smaller ones, though, so I'll have to try this again with different measurements. Here is a look at the "exploding" box and stamped sentiment inside:



No, that isn't product placement for Wegmans, it just happened to be the only tea I have in house right now. I think some nice tea would finish off this project nicely. Of course, changing the sentiment and image to something chocolate (or mini cupcakes!) would be cute, too.

* ETA: There have been some requests for the instructions for this box. Here is the link for the instructions *

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/explosionbox.php

info: bark and patterned paper, images and sentiment by A Muse, cardstock by Bazzill, COPIC markers - walnut and shadow pink, ribbon from my recycled supply, pearl pin by Boxer Scrapbooks, seed bead.

Did All Y'all Have Your Peas?

*Please forgive my improper english - I just love using the plural of y'all*

In the south, it is a tradition to have black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck. My husband doesn't always go for this, and neither do my kids, but this year I wanted to have my peas, ham and cornbread and let me tell you, it was GOOOOOD! I let the peas cook for the better part of the day and it smelled so much like my grandmother's house. Ah, memories! While I was eating, I envisioned this card.

I hope that you all have a wonderful 2008. I am looking forward to so many things this year and I hope to be able to share my stamping journey with anyone who wishes to join in with me.

Happy New Year!

card info:notecard, papers, image (retired) and sentiment by A Muse, brads by Making Memories, black pen, Spica glitter pen.