The baby is now 4 months old, and it is May. This month's layout celebrates all the beauty of May. The world and the forest are coming back to life!
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Saturday, February 4, 2023
Friday, February 3, 2023
A VALENTINE KITTY
Today I used the 3rd kitty cat from the Love Cats Stamp Set. This one is sprawled out on a windowsill, a shelf, or the back of the couch -- wherever your imagination wants to put him. I named him Smoky.
When my neighbor Coco comes for a visit, she likes to lay on the back of my couch right next to where I am working.
She can be a chatty little thing, particularly if she isn't getting the attention she wants.
This position doesn't look all that comfortable, but for some reason, she likes it. It looks like doing those Plank exercises to me!
But I digress. Back to the card.
The left side of the card uses a long-lost technique that I have revived. I call it Faux Painting with Plastic Wrap. I had actually used this technique to paint the walls of my guest bath many years ago. If you are wondering how I made it, watch this video and you will see just how easy it is.
I also experimented with using the technique on the flap of my envelope, and it worked very well. Just be sure to slip a piece of scrap paper under the flap before you start. To keep the Valentine theme going, I also stamped a few little hearts from Country Bouquet on the envelope flap. You can see them as the envelope peeks out behind the card.
My kitty, Smoky, today was stamped using the Colored Embossing Technique. I could have simply stamped him directly with Smokey Slate ink, but this is an easy technique to give him a little shine and it seems to enrich his color a bit. To use the colored embossing technique, follow these simple steps:
- Ink your stamp with VersaMark and then ink it with the color of your choice. Be sure to ink in this order!
- Stamp the image on your cardstock.
- Heat Emboss the image with clear embossing powder.
The VersaMark that you have on put on your stamp BEFORE adding the colored ink will cause the embossing powder to stick to the image so you can heat emboss it.
Before adhering Smoky to the Pool Party cardstock mat, I fussy cut around his legs so it looks like he is hanging over the edge of "something".
To decorate the inside of the card I stamped the Valentine sentiment from the Country Bouquet Stamp Set in Real Red ink and then added hearts in Real Red and Pool Party from the Country Bouquet Stamp Set. This was matted to Pool Party cardstock and then to the inside of the card base.
A FREE tutorial for today's card is available for download at this link.
All Products used are listed below.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
LET'S HANG OUT
Today I have another of the cute kitties from Love Cats that wants to say Hi to you. Her name is Snow! Yes, it's because she is snowy-white.
She has a pretty red heart for you and wants you to know that she loves hanging out with you.
This card is made with the Ink Blowing Technique that I shared last month on my Connect to Create You Tube Channel. If you missed that video, you can still watch the replay.
This technique makes a whimsical background for cards like this one. There aren't many things that can be more whimsical than kittens, right? So I figured this was the perfect background. Besides, it is fun to do!
The colors I used for the ink blowing were Starry Sky, Parakeet Party and Orchid Oasis, 3/5 of the 2022 - 2023 In-Colors. In-colors are always designed so that they coordinate with each other, so I figured if I chose colors all from the 23-23 collection, I would be good.
Since Snow was heat embossed with White Embossing Powder, I needed to have her and her clothesline on a dark background. I chose Orchid Oasis rather than the Starry Sky because it seemed to add a little more light to the card.
To add a little more sparkle to the card, Snow suggested that I wrap her card with one of each of the Metallic In-color Ribbons that matched her card. She got busy with her claws and decided to fray the ends of the ribbon.
The sentiment die cut is from the retired Splendid Stems Dies. I wanted to minimize the amount of the Ink Blown Background that I covered. This die fits the sentiment well while maximizing the amount of background you could see. If you do not have this die, no worries, you could always use a circle die that you have and then cut it in half.
I encourage my stamping friends to use what they have. I know that makes me a terrible salesperson, but I believe we should use those products we purchased because we loved them!
After trimming my completed Ink Blowing Technique Sheet, I trimmed it to size, and had a narrow strip leftover, so I used that to decorate the inside of the card. No naked insides!
You can also see that I used the Ink Blowing Technique to decorate the flap of my envelope. Just be sure you cover the parts of the envelope where you don't want ink.
If you would like a tutorial for today's card, please use this link to download a FREE copy.
A list of the products I used can be found at the end of this post.
There are many items to choose from. You can click on the photo of the brochure on the right side of this blog to see them all! Most can be selected with a $50 merchandise order. There are a couple that require a $100 order, but they are all awesome!
Product List The Host Item, Scenic Garden Stamp Set, will be given to all those who either host a party and reach $300 in orders or place an individual order of $300. This is in addition to the Sale-A-Bration items you will receive with each $50 order.
If you have any questions, let me know. You can use this link to place your order.
And don't forget, if you have a wish list over $99, your best deal is to sign up to be a demonstrator. There are three different options to choose from.
1) You can choose $175 of products for $99.
2) You can choose $175 of products for $129 and also receive a Boho Blue Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine. With this option, you get a Mini for $30.
3) You can choose $175 of products for $129 and also receive a White Mini Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine. With this option, you get a Mini for $30.
Once you join, you will receive a 20% discount on additional purchases.
You can use this link to join.
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