FREE TUTORIAL THURSDAY!

Add your creativity to a pre-made bag and learn the secret to

make the versatile embellishment shown on the left:

Visit the Hero Arts blog and watch the video today!

Click HERE to view.


....and I had a chance to use this tutorial and some K&Co. DSP
to make this version today:

Side Step Halloween Dresser Card

Here's a card that will be sure to give your friends the WOW! factor when they open up your Halloween card! I used Jackie Topa's side step dresser card idea to make this Halloween version. (Her fantastic video tutorial can be seen HERE.)

INSIDE THE CARD:

I used Stampin' Up's Itty Bitty Backgrounds for the tiny background black dots on the sayings, their Vanilla Shimmer Smooch mist to give this card an ethereal look, Martha Stewart's bat punch with two mini gems for the eyes, the SU Curly Label punch and the SU Scallop punch for the decorative edges on the front of the card (but you can improvise with any punches you already have.) The inside saying was done on my computer.

BLOG CANDY WINNER

To celebrate reaching over 20,000 hits since I started this new blog in April, I'm so happy to report that Terry O. of Sunnyvale, CA is the blog candy winner in a random drawing - #129 out of 143 subscribers and blog followers! Terry --- I'll be contacting you ASAP to get all of the loot to you!...and MANY thanks to all of you for stopping by my new blog!

Class this Sunday!

Learn how to make THREE projects using an envelope at my class this Sunday! The project shown above also makes a great CD/DVD storage sleeve. See the how-to demo and get exact measurements to make your own! View class topics and registration information in the left column. Hope to see you there!

Masculine Birthday Card

Have you ever made a card and then had a hard time giving it away? That happens to me quite often, so I usually make more than one of the same card while I've got everything out....but this card was a one-of-a-kind and I never got around to making another one....so, it's been in my blank card box for ages because I could never give it away....until now! My brother-in-law's birthday was last week and enough time had passed by so I could finally part with it! 

I masked each rectangle with Post-It Notes at the top and bottom and used the same stamp for all 3 images --- changing the direction of the stamp on each rectangle. It's actually a quick and easy technique --- I don't know why I didn't make two!


Stamp Set: Close to Nature from Stampin' Up

Thank You Cards

I was surfing on the net and came across the lovely card below by Becky TE and stopped everything to try a version of her beautiful card. I needed a thank you card and this turned out to be such a wonderful source of inspiration --- Thank you, Becky! The red and green version would also make a great Christmas thank you card --- Oh, wouldn't it be great to be THAT organized and get them done ahead of time?! (No...I'm not THAT organized!)


BTW - See those teeny tiny gems in the center of the flowers above? In my upcoming Sunday, September 19th class at Scrapbook Island (408.978.8900), I'll be showing a clever way to place those mini gems with precision and without them sticking to your fingers instead of the paper! (Click each photo to see a close up, then click on the back arrow)


Thank you stamps from THE STAMPS OF LIFE, border punch from MARTHA STEWART, leaf and flower punch: STAMPIN' UP!

My Favorite Things

This panda bear and the "LOVE" black frame were made with one of my all-time favorite Cricut cartridges called Pagoda. I LOVE panda bears and if you look closely, you'll see a panda head in the "O" of "Hom" in my watermark! I cut a small piece of green cardstock to make a piece of bamboo for the panda's mouth and added opaque white ink (by Uniball) for the eyes. The inside of this card and the envelope are shown below. The stamp set I used is called Asian Influences by INKADINKADOO.

Anniversary Card for a Special Couple

It's my wonderful in-laws' anniversary, and when I saw this cute Asian couple over on Patti's blog, I knew they would love a card like this! They are always so happy every time I make a card for them, and I hope this card will make them smile from ear-to-ear! Patti is one clever paper crafter, and you will love seeing her giraffe made out of punches ---- just click HERE to go to her punches blog post to find the recipe for this Asian couple and the giraffe.
Background Paper: Sizzix Square Lattice Exclusively for Stampin' Up
Nesties: Labels 3, Small Scallop Ovals, Small Classic Ovals
Punches: Three for You flower punch and Label Punch (SU), 1/2", 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches