Birthday cards

So, I hate to admit this in public, but I am a procrastinator!  I have great intentions, and even get things done most of the time, but when it comes to keeping up I get overwhelmed!  So birthday cards are my downfall.  I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for Pete's sake, I make tons of cards, right?  YES I do, but mailing them is hard for me for some reason.  So, in order to keep up with all the family birthdays (and there are almost 100 of them!) I send digital cards instead.

I post them to Facebook usually, but I email them also.  It is simple; I make one card design each year in  My Digital Studio, and then send that to EVERYONE for their birthday!  They love it, I look awesome! WIN- WIN!  Here are the past few years samples I sent.

This one I adjusted a template and personalized a bit for my taste.  

This one was also a template - I just changed the colors.  This shows you don't even have to be terribly creative to make this awesome program work for you!

These two were fabulous!  Last year I just made the same design and changed the monochromatic color.  The simple design of these two makes them stunning.  

Gift card holder or slider card.  I copied this card from Julie Davidson a wonderful demonstrator.  She has a great tutorial video on YouTube.  I will share that tomorrow!  You can use this for a fun birthday card or any other event you need a gift for. 

The stamp set I used is called Chalk Talk and it has matching framelits that cut out the designs with precision.  If you want simple cards that look stunning - you need to get them!

A day late -- but better than never!

As promised, here is the finished project for the birthday cards.  They are super simple to make using the Positively Chevron background stamp.

The addition of one simple strip of cardstock or even ribbon makes the card finished.  With the help of the easily punched out sentiment from Best of Birthdays, the card is completed in just a matter of minutes!

Blue Ribbon Day

I guess since I actually stamped today you could call it a BLUE RIBBON day,  These were pieces parts from other projects.  I had a goal to put some of the partially done cards together into actual cards.  How many of you have half done projects?  GET 'EM DONE!  That is one of my goals this year - to keep up with projects and get partially done ones finished and don't have any more partials.!  (Sounds like a Boy Scout Merit Badge fiasco!)

The set was Blue Ribbon.  The colors on the top card were Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo.  The second set were Regal Rose and Perfect Plum and Pumpkin Pie and Lucky Limeade. 

wholy calendar!

So, it is September!  How did THAT happen?  I am still stuck months behind in almost everything; including blogging!  I am so sorry!  Life has happened and I have not moved along with it, except to drag my feet each day and land in bed to start all over again trying to hang on!

No excuses- but let me post some creations since you are starved!  These three projects were made at my Christmas Camp last month.

Birthday Stationary set - using Create A cupcake stamp set, Summer Smooches DSP,  Island Indigo, Real Red, Daffodil Delight and Lucky Limeade

sparkly key fob - uses the Daisy die and sparkly fun foam

Holiday Ornament - uses the new set Ornament Keepsakes and the matching Holiday framelets.  Real Red and Lucky Limeade.

Double take of a Double take!

Or is it double, double, take?  I am not sure.  I liked the idea that the club ladies could choose their own individual touch to the card that I did another one at the hostess club that they could do just that.  This card was a CASE from Mary Fish - a fellow Tucson demonstrator.

Stampin' UP!  has great ways to support their demonstrators and there are other means out there in our highly technological world to get support.  Mary is also a transplant to Tucson and hooked up with our Southwest Stampers group.  It is always nice to get together with other demos, but in a pinch, I have to admit I turn to my cyber demos on SUDSOL.  I had the privilege of being stop #4 on their blog hop yesterday!

Back to the card.  I used the stamp set Easy Events so the ladies could choose from 8 different celebrations!  They all turned out fantastic.  I told the ladies that they could make these as gifts and stamp a bunch of different sentiments to let the recipient choose what event they needed.

The first is the CASE from Mary, the second is my additional version for a birthday.

Stamps: Easy Events

Colors: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper, 1 3/8" square punch, 1 1/4" square punch, 1" square punch, Heart to  Heart punch, Blossom Bouquet triple layer punch, Scallop Square die

It's a Wrap - swap style

I participated in an all demo swap with stamps from the new Idea Book & Catalog.  I kept this card from blog-world until now to share with you.  I fell in love with this set right away and saw great potential with it.  You can use it to wrap around mini candy bars but I was swapping cards so I had to make it a card - This is what I came up with.

 

Stamps: It's a Wrap Occasions

Colors: Whisper White, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Island Indigo

Accessories: Polka Dot impressions folder, Scallop Trim border punch, Cupcake builder punch, Dazzling Diamonds

After I got the first card done, I decided it wasn't as hard as I thought, so I created another one!

Stamps: It's a Wrap Occasions, Baby Bundle

Colors: So Saffron, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Scallop Oval die, Finial Press impressions folder

SUDSOL - Chat and Challenge

I had the opportunity to participate in the SUDSOL Chat and Challenge last week.  SUDSOL is the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator sharing spot. The acronym is Simply Unique Demonstrators Sharing OnLine.  It is like your favorite friend - warm, comfortable, and a great place to go for help or advice.  I do not live close to my upline so I go to SUDSOL for help.  Each week they host a Chat and Challenge and post a sketch or color combination or some other challenge.  Last week it was a sketch.  I got to participate for the first time in a LONG time and I was so excited!

Here is the sketch they provided -

And my take - take #1 - I used the new DSP from the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog - SPICE CAKE.  I love it!  The stamp set was Happiest Birthday Wishes.  The set is exclusive for hostesses. I stamped it three times and punched out with the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle, the 1 3/8" circle and the 1" circle punches.  I added a simple bow with the new Ruffled Ribbon in Pool Party and VOILA!

I will share the 2nd card I completed during the 1 hour time limit for the Chat and Challenge tomorrow.  

Pinwheels!

When I was a kid, I loved pinwheels!  They always made me smile and feel carefree.  The pinwheel seems to be the latest thing - so I showed the Hostess Club gals how to make them showcasing Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series Paper.

The paper is Big Top Birthday and has a fun color pallet - Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise.  The pinwheel was simple, and with a little embossing on the bottom with the Stripe Impressions Folder for the Big Shot and a punched border with the Scallop border punch you have a fun card!

Another SWEET card

This card was one that the gals made at the August Hostess Club.  It was super fun to make and with the magic of Crystal Effects was spectacular!  It always amazes me to see how ONE or TWO small things make such a fabulous effect on a card.

The colors were bright and happy - Tangerine Tango, Concord Grape, and Daffodil Delight.  The stamp set was Sweets for the Sweet.  I added some poly stitched ribbon on the punched border to add some pizzazz.  The Crystal Effects give such a nice shiny feel to the lollipop bags, you almost want to eat them!

I saw this card idea on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator board - Stampin' Connection.  You gotta love your fellow demos!!!!

WOAH! time flies!

So, I realized today that I sort of fell off the face of the earth!  I apologize to you followers!  I am going to try harder to stay updated.  In any case - here is a fun card for a kiddos birthday.  Or even a big kid too!


It uses the stamp set Something Sweet.  This set is very versatile and can even use the Sweet Treat Cups.  I will create a card with that in a few days so you can see how cool those are!  The colors used are Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Real Red, and Daffodil Delight.  I accented with the Perfect Polka Dot impressions folder and Scallop Trim Border punch.  The whole card was quite simple to put together.

Grunge swap card

I made this card for a swap and loved the design!  It was really simple and came together very quickly.
The stamp sets I used were Extreme Elements and Grunge Rock – they are great sets for masculine or teen cards. The colors were Wild Wasabi and Marina Mist – accented with Early Espresso.  I used the new Postal Stamp punch and backed the punches pieces with coordinating squares.  The 3/8” grosgrain ribbon added a great finishing touch to the card.

June Club cards -farewell to the retired

Monochromatic cards are so easy to achieve and stunning to see!  I used retiring DSP - Bella Blue- for the color pallet - Pacific Point.  The focal point came from the set Engraved Greetings.  simple and stunning.  This card was found on a blog and all i did was change out the colors and DSP.

A Little Behind

Ok - so make that a LOT behind - May was so ridiculously busy I am finally starting to dig out from the mess!  So, I will start with May's Stampin' Up! Stamp club.  We had a great time at Tracy's house making some wonderful cards with NEW items from the Summer Mini catalog.

The first card was a simple one - it wasn't with new product, but fast!  It used Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set (love that set!)  The colors are Tempting Turquoise and Peach Parfait.  The sentiment is from the set On Your Birthday.

The second card we made was also simple - a little bling wedding card using the set Word Play.  We punched out a square with the Ribbon Border Punch out of Marina Mist CS and ran a white ribbon around the card and added a little 'bling' with a rhinestone jewel!  VIOLA!  

Fancy Folds class - gate fold card

This was the easiest fold to make.  I needed a couple of birthday cards for some teenage nephews, so here it was.  I went to my favorite sets for teen boys - Extreme Elements and Grunge Rock; add a little Extreme Skater and you have a wonderfully cool card!  Some kids would even call it SICK!

The colors were cool for a guy - quite grungy... Basic Gray, Marina Mist and Basic Black.  I added a little silver embossing on the 'real' medal to hold it all closed.

Fancy Folds class - joy fold

Now after a brief commercial break for some other items, I am returning to the regularly scheduled programming of the Fancy Folds class from March.  this card is called a Joy Fold - this is another fold that is around all over the place.  I turned it to be a vertical card instead of a horizontal one.

The colors I used are Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green.  The DSP is a retired one from last years Summer Mini - Travel Journal.  I adore the Bugs and Kisses set so it made the cut for a fun masculine card.  I finished the card off with some Pumpkin Pie Satin Ribbon.

Technique card for march club - SWIPED!

had the ladies learn the Baby Wipe Swipe technique.  I wanted a fun masculine card and chose the colors Elegant Eggplant, Garden Green and Pumpkin Pie.The sets I used wereLook Who's Turning and a Sale-a-Bration set that you can earn for FREE - Punch Bunch.  I had to use this little owl - he is just so cute!

I always love showing how you can make your own patterned paper or backgrounds with stamps or other simple things. 

I was super excited when I realized that I could use this card for a bunch of birthdays in my family this year!  It is fun to use this set to spotlight the age of the receiver, and I seriously searched my birthday list to see if I had any 12 year olds, 23 year olds, 34 year olds... etc  I was THRILLED to see that I have a set of nieces and nephew who are turning 34!!!!  Guess what card THEY are getting?!

birthday cards in MDS

Ok, so I got busy and didn't get you the last few posts about My Digital Studio.  However, today's MDS tip is one that is a great time saver!  I don't know if you are like me and end up forgetting birthdays until the DAY!  I am so bad at that!  Well, with My Digital Studio you don't have to look like a heel for forgetting - all you need is an email and your digital designed paper project!

Here is an example that I have been emailing or posting to facebook  lately. I used a template that comes with the software and tweaked id a bit to make it my own.  The origional had a different sentiment and I changed one of the flowers.  It took me just a few minutes to change it up to personalize it for my friends!

Just one more reason why YOU need a copy of My Digital Studio.  CONTACT me to get yours today!

My Digital Studio day 2

Today's card is a fun birthday card or invite.  I used a bright color pallet of Daffodil Delight, Concord Crush and a touch of Poppy Parade.  You could easily recreate this card using paper and stamps.  I am planning on doing just that thing with this card. I like to see the card before I cut paper so I pulled out my computer and opened up My Digital Studio to create a digital card.  Now that I have tweaked it how I like it, I can re-do it with paper and stamps!  I am not out my precious resources to a failed project.... My Digital Studio saves the day!

The stamp set that I used for the background is Circle Circus (still my GO TO fav!) and I also added the sentiment stamp from Party Hearty.

Watch for tomorrow's My Digital Studio tip that I share with a sample by my best friend Sara.  Her sister announced her marriage and Sara offered to make her invites.  Stay tuned to that story TOMORROW!

January Club

We had a great get together at Sara's on Saturday.  I have really missed everyone as we took a month off in December.  We made some great birthday cards and Valentines too.

The first one was our technique card.  I taught them the Marbled Background technique.  It was so fun to see everyone rocking and rolling their marbles.  At least no one LOST them!  I think many of these will be circulating around for Valentines Day!

This card started with a Basic Black card base and then I used Riding Hood Red for the ink.  The stamp in from the Occaisions Mini Catalog.  It is Be My Valentine.  The ladies wet embossed it and stamped a second image in Riding Hood Red to layer the banner on top.  The ribbon is my new fav - 3/8" taffeta!  It is gorgeous and even though it isn't an exact match to the paper, it is the right hue and very easy to work with.

The second card was a birthday card using another Occaisions Mini Catalog set - Create a Cupcake.  It also used the coordinating punch Build a Cupcake.  I LOVE it when Stampin' Up! has a matching stamp set and punch!  It makes me happy -

The colors are Blushing Bride and Early Espresso; definately a great combo.  The sentiment comes from another Occaisions Mini set called Bring on the Cake.  Definately a MUST have for Birthday sentiments, it comes with 13 great sayings to add to both inside and outside of birthday cards and gift cards too. 

I will share the other 2 cards tomorrow..  but you will LOVE them!