All that glitters for the grad!!

Hi All!!

We had a graduation party this weekend.  I always try to make the graduation card to match the colors of their school.  This party was for a girl that went to my Alma Mater.  Of course....she graduated almost 20 years later than I.....OH MY!!!!  20 YEARS?!?!??!?  Well...let's move on!

Here is what I did for her:

Our school mascot is a rocket - but I didn't want to incorporate that for a girl...LOL!!
Our colors were red/gray and white.
I combined the retiring with the returning here :)
The card base is retiring going gray.  The main panel is whisper white embossed through the big shot with the square lattice folder that is in the summer mini.  If you don't have this folder yet.....it is a definite must!!  i {luv} it!  I matted it onto a piece of returning riding hood red and then on a piece of basic gray.

I made a small pennant using a current punch....can you guess which one it is???  I will be back at the end of the week with the answer.....leave me a comment and see if you get it right.  Here is a hint:  I used the punch and then trimmed with scissors and that is it!

After I made the pennant shape, I stamped it with riding hood red ink using the medallion stamp in the Artistic Etchings set.  I adhered each one of them down with a stampin' dimensional.  I then put a clear rhinestone brad at the "hinge" of each pennant.  The 2010 was cut with my big shot and the timeless type junior alphabet.  I then blinged them up with versamark ink and iridescent ice embossing powder.  A little bit of two way glue pen and the numbers are in place.  :)

I'm not sure if you can see the sparkle here....but the numbers and brads really add some sparkle:

The sentiment is from teeny tiny wishes.  I punched it with the modern label punch.  It was layered with a large oval punch of basic gray that I pierced with the paper piercer and then layered it with a scallop oval punch of riding hood red that was accented with the white gel pen.

What I did next was really cute....I wish I had gotten a picture of it!  I put the card in a clear envelope and the used mini glue dots to adhere it to a solid red gift bag.  It looked so cute, if I can say so myself!  lol!!

1 week left for an UNBELIEVABLE deal!

Hey all!

I didn't fall off the face of the earth....might have felt better if I did!  Sorry I haven't posted in a while....I have been down and out with some kind of cold sickness this week.  But, I feel better today other than the lingering sore throat to the extreme!  what is up with that?!?!??!

Anyway - there is only one week left to take advantage of the AWESOME Stampin' Up!  starter kit deal!
Here is what is included - minus the amazing amount of business supplies.

The items in this kit are substitutable for something of the equal or less value.  How is that for diversity??  Stampin' Up! really knows how to take care of us!  This is over $124 value in stamping supplies for only $99!!!  The business supplies are a bonus :)

CONTACT ME right away to get your starter kit on the way.

I WON!!!! I WON!!!!!!

Now to pick a FREE stamp set!!!!

Every month, Shelly - CEO and co founder of Stampin' Up! - has a creative challenge on her blog, SoShelli.  Last month, the challenge was Wedding Wishes.  So, I submitted these:

Remeber these little babies???  Here is my original post about them.
Well......I was selected as one of the winners of her challenge!!!!!
Off to pick out a FREE stamp set.....did I mention FREE!??!?!?!?!?!

Camping by Starlight

Can you believe I have had Loads of Fun since it came out over a year ago.....and I haven't inked it up until today?!?!?!?!?  I absolutley loved the camper image.  I thought it would make perfect cards for my Dad, he has a beautiful motor home and like to camp when he gets a chance.  So, I took today's mojo moday sketch to make him a father's day card.  Here is the sketch:

Looks like a great sketch, huh?  I'm sure I will come back to this one again and again.

Wanna see what I did with it??

First....I want to say I am sorry about the yellowish picture......I couldn't get it right today, for some reason.

I did add two elements on the bottom left hand corner - I hope I am not banned for life for that!  lol!!  They are a modern label punch cut in half accented with silver brads. 

The card base is bashful blue. The designer series paper is from Travel Journal.  I absolutely love that map image!!  It is matted with night of navy.  The sentiment is from teeny tiny wishes.  I stamped it with garden green ink and adhered it down like a banner.  The elements on the left hand side are strips of night of navy card stock accented with silver brads.

The main image is from Loads of Love.  I stamped it with black staz on ink onto watercolor paper.  I colored, with a blender pen,  the camper image with classic reinkers: bashful blue, night of navy, marina mist, so saffron, basic grey and silver shimmer paint.  I then placed a mask of the camper over it and spongeds the night sky with night of navy and the ground with garden green.  The stars in the sky were added with a white gel pen.  I then matted it with a torn layer of bashful blue and a layer of night of navy.

Did you really think I forgot about the inside???

Now, really....did you think I forgot???

Well....how did I do?

A caterpillar takes flight

Our life cycle could be compared to that of a butterfly.....we start here on earth as tiny beings - just like the butterfly starts as a larva.  Then it developes into a caterpillar - making it's way through the world.  A cacoon is death to a caterpillar until it is released as a beautiful butterfly....which soars and flies about beautifully....just as we are called upon from the Lord - setting us free from this material world into a world of forever beauty and peace.  Sorry to get so deep here today...but this was my thought process I had when making this card today.

I have really been trying to get my act together and get things more organized - not my orgainzed mess that only I can understand....but one that someone else might be able to navigate through....lol!!  And when sorting through my card stash that I keep from all of my sample cards, I realized I have a very limited supply of sympathy cards and baby cards.  So when I sat down today to make a card, I wanted to get my stash built up a little - maye it is time for a card stamp camp.......

The card base is soft suede - I am sooo glad this color made it into our core colors!!!!  The distressed layer is more mustard that had been stamped with one of the images in Watercolor Trio.  I {luv} this set!!!  I then balled it all up and wrinkled it up and then tore some of the edges off.

My main image panel is confetti cream that had been stamped with two of the images in Watercolor Trio in soft suede (that was stamped off first) and pumpkin pie.  I don't know if you can see it or not in the picture.....but I used the two way glue pen and dazzling diamonds in small areas of the pumpkin pie images....I did not cover them completely, that's for sure...I just wanted a touch of bling!  the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.....WHAT!?!?!?!?  You don't have that set yet???  Are you serious???  It is my A.B.S.O.L.U.T.E. go to set for sentiments!!!!

Now my butterfly......

I stamped the single stamp,  All a Flutter, in versamark ink onto shimmer white card stock and embossed is with my heat tool with black embossing powder.  I then used the color flow technique to color it in with pumpkin pie and soft suede classic inks.  I think it sure is pretty....if I may say so myself.....lol!  I bent it around my fingers to give it some movement and then I adhered it with mini glue dots on the body and then stampin dimensionals under the wings. 

Did you think I forgot the inside???

The sentiment here s from Close as a Memory.  It is retiring this month.....I completely love the sentiments in this set - don't let it retire before adding it to your collection, it is timeless!

If you would like to leave me some lovin' here, I would appreciate it.

Oh how I will miss.....

Embrace Life!!

I have a few favorite to show you from the vault today.  Some of the card stock colors and accessories have been retired already - but this stamp set deserves a fond farewell......

Oh how sad it will be to see this set retire........

My Monday Mojo was inspired by my vacation.....

While I was on a Disney shuttle bus going - who remembers where???? - but what I do remember was a beautiful pinkish/purplish sunset.  I wasn't in a position to take any pictures of it....I was in a bus driven by a road racer....lol!!  Not to mention the Disney balloon stickers on the outside of the windows :)  So needless to say, I have been dying to get this sunset on paper for a few weeks now.  So today was the perfect time to "git 'r done!"  Oh my....sorry, I don't know where that came from!!  LOL!!!!

Here is the Mojo Monday sketch for the week:

Here is what I did with it:

I hope that I am not banned from Mojo Monday sketch challenges since I made my focal image larger than I was supposed to :)
pretty. huh?  not to toot my own horn :)

We'll start with the base and work forward, shall we??
The base is rich razzleberry.  I stamped the "birthday wishes" sentiment from wow flowers ( retiring June 30th) in basic black.  The next panel up is soft suede embossed with the square lattice embossing folder and the big shot.  I then lightly sponged all over with basic black.  There is a torn layre peeking out from the bottom only.  The next set of layer up started with pretty in pink.  I stamped rich razzleberry and regal rose flowers all over in a  random pattern.  I then took the palm branch leaf and stamped all over in pretty in pink.  I then sponged all of the edges with soft suede and then basic black.  I matted the entire panel with basic black.
Now for the main image panel.  I must warn you.....don't even try to case it if you don't want to get inky!!  I fingers were a mess - I had to keep wiping them off.  lol!  It started as a piece of confetti white card stock.  I punched a 1 1/4 inch circle out of a piece of scrap paper and applied it to my card stock with dotto adhesive.  {luv} that stuff - totally removeable!!  I then tore a piece of scrap paper and applied it over the entire sky leaving only the ground exposed.  I sponged it with soft suede.  I then removed that scrap paper, leaving only my circle on. ok.....ready for this????
sponged along the horizon with pretty in pink....and sponged some more :)
then sponged some regal rose into the pretty in pink to blend the sky
the sponged with perfect plum down into the sunset.
the came the rich razzleberry sponging.....sponge and sponge some more until i was happy with the blending.....
ok....not that I am hapy with that....I took so saffron and sponged into the horizon line.  I pulled off the circle and the white was TOO STARK!!  So, I sponged lightly with so safforn to tone it down a bit.

I then stamped the palm trees and leave branch in the foreground with basic black.  Did you notice the palm trees are bent in two different directions????  NO??  Well....take a look again:

Now do you see it??  Well....with clear mount rubber stamps, you can manipulate htem a bit and change direction of things.  Another thing I love about my clear mount stamps - Thanks Stampin' Up!!

To finish that panel off, I sponged around the outside with soft suede and then basic black.  Then, it had to be matted with basic black, right??  hehe!!  The ribbon treatment is 5/8th inch regal rose grosgrain ribbon with soft suede polka dot (turned over) adhered over it.  They are held to my main image panel with balck brads form the vintage collection.
I replaced the circle image in the sketch wth some flowers that I stamped tone on tone and then sponged the edges with basic black.  Then I gave them some black brad flower centers before adhereing them down.  Did you notice the dimension of the flowers????

Come on poeple!!!!  Don't be afraid to bend that card stock!!!!  Flowers aren't flat in nature.....right??
Well.....what do youthink?

I'm back........

I hope you missed me as much I missed all of you!  I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged any eye candy for you!!  I am so sorry.....  The month of May was very busy for our family - my little one was busy with her end of preschool activities, dance lessons and soccer two nights a week.....put that on top of us getting ready for an 8 day vacation in Walt Disney World and the usual day to day life around here....needless to say, I didn't get very much creative time....booohooo!!!

Well....the perfect excuse to get into my groove last night was a thany you card for our travel aent.  She did our online check ins for our flight when we were away since we would not have internet access at that time.  I really appreciated her doing that fo rus on top of all the help she was to us before we left with questions and requests. ( I am a pretty thorough traveler...lol!)  So I just had to pul out Sentimental Journey!!

Well??  you like??  I like the finished product.  (nothing like patting myself on the back, huh?  hehe!!)  The base is kraft (soon to be crumb cake)  I stamped a background with sahara sand ink with the word "journey" and the suitcase.  The dsp is travel journal.  The rest is pretty self explanitory, I think.  The blue is night of navy and the orange is pumpkin pie.

I would really like to know what you think - I could use some "welcome back" love ;)