TUT THE TURTLE IS THANKFUL

Happy Monday everyone.  It's time for a new Featured Bundle of the Week and this week I am going to be sharing cards from a super cute Bundle called Playing in the Rain.  It has some cute little critters that will be stopping by each day to introduce themselves.

But first, today is an exciting day for me because I am participating in Kylie Bertucci's Monthly International Blog Highlights for the first time!  Kylie is a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator from Australia and each month she hosts a Blog Highlights event with the theme of "Thank You".  I really like the Thank You theme because expressing our gratitude to others not only makes them feel good, but it also makes the giver feel happy as well!

The top ten participants who receive the most votes are invited to participate in an International Blog Hop at the end of the month.  So, if you would take a moment and vote for my card, I would really appreciate it!  The directions on how to vote are below, but first, let's look at my card.

I've named this cute little turtle, Tut, and he's thankful today because he remembered to take his umbrella as he plays in the rain.  He's also happy that it is raining and not snowing!

Tut crawled up onto the tree trunk to keep his feet dry.  But, in all honestly, Tut likes playing in the Floating Strips puddle.

Tut's puddle is made with different strips of designer paper from the Rain and Shine designer series paper (DSP) Collection.  The strips have been adhered to a window sheet which was then die cut with a Layering Circle Die and popped up over an Old Olive scalloped die cut circle.  Thus, his puddle looks like it is floating.

The raindrops on the front of the card base were made with the Raindrops Embossing folder and then Wink of Stella was used to give them a bit of watery sparkle.

In keeping with my philosophy of no naked insides or envelopes, I decorated both with the same umbrella DSP from the Rain or Shine collection.  

If you enjoyed your visit with Tut today, I hope you will vote for us.  You can click on the button below to take you to the voting booth.  Once you arrive at the voting booth website, you will be able to see the cards from all the participants.  Look for card # 8 (That's Tut and me) and click on the little heart in the upper right-hand corner of the photo.  If the heart turns red, your vote has been counted.  You can vote for up to 5 of your favorites, but Tut and I sure hope we get your vote!

If you would like a FREE TUTORIAL for today's card, you can download a copy using this link.

A list of the Products I used is shown below.  To learn more about any product, just click on its image.

Product List

Playing In The Rain Bundle (English) [160551]	Sunny Sentiments Cling Stamp Set (English) [155034]	Peaceful Moments Cling Stamp Set (English) [151595]	Layering Circles Dies [151770]
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Window Sheets [142314]	Rain Or Shine Specialty 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [160540]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [119686]
Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100702]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Raindrops Embossing Folder [160554]
Simply Elegant Trim [155766]	Foam Adhesive Strips [141825]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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LET'S BREW UP PATRIOTISM

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!  What are you doing to celebrate our country's birthday today? 

I decided to share my patriotism today by flying a flag!

This card uses the Floating Strips technique.  The red stripes and the Night of Navy star field are adhered to a Window Sheet.  I thought it gave the impression of the flag floating in the breeze, so it seemed like a good technique for this card.  What do you think?

However, I was not about to make 50 tiny little stars!  I love my country and consider myself patriotic, but I am not crazy!  Making 50 tiny stars didn't sound like fun, so how about if you just pretend that each one of my stars represents 10 states!  

I used a die from Sentiment Silhouettes Dies to make the stars.  Seems a little weird that the dies that go with Charming Sentiments include stars, but there are a few handy little dies in that set.  If you would like more details about those dies, check it out in the Product List below.

The bundle I am featuring this week is the fun set called Brewed For You.  This bundle is a great one to have if you find it challenging to make masculine cards.  What American male wouldn't appreciate this card?  Fourth of July celebrations and beer go together like baseball and apple pie, right?   Or is that baseball and hot dogs?  Well, you can have hot dogs for Fourth of July celebrations, too!  (but I digress...)

Wouldn't you think that a stamp set called "Brewed for You" would have a "Cheers" sentiment stamp in it?  Nope, so I had to go in search of one, and I found it in the Lovely & Lasting Stamp set! Don't get me wrong, there are some very nice sentiments in the Brewed for You set, but I wanted something simple and small so that it didn't cover up too much of my pretty flag.

On the inside I just put another brewski.  

I hope you have time to relax with your favorite beverage this Fourth of July Holiday!  Enjoy your day and remember that even with all our challenges we are blessed to live in the Good Old USA!

Download a Free Tutorial for today's card here.  If you ever have questions on any of my tutorials, please reach out to me or leave a comment.  I do my best to proofread them and try to make sure they make sense, but I'm not perfect.  So, if something doesn't make sense, or seems incorrect, please ask!

See the complete product list below for details on all the products I used.

Product List

Brewed For You Bundle (English) [159093]	Lovely & Lasting Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [158646]	Sentiment Silhouettes Dies [158733]	Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [102482]	Night Of Navy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100867]
Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]	Window Sheets [142314]	Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad [147110]	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [147117]	So Saffron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154905]
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

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Meet Callie the Calico Kitty

Today I'm back with another card made with the Pampered Pets Stamp Set and Pets Dies.  

Peabody had so much fun on Monday telling you about his new house that today he wanted to introduce you to Callie, his calico kitty friend.  Callie is definitely a Pampered Pet!  

Peabody  reminded me to tell you that he really just tolerates her, and Callie wants me to make sure I tell you that she's the real boss.

Callie is a bit bossy and she decided she needed a card that is a little different and compliments her Calico colors.  She saw a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers by Melissa Stout that she liked, so in her "bossy" way, she convinced me that I needed to try it.  

The technique is called Floating Strips, and it was a new one for me.  You can see a great tutorial at the link above, but the short story is that you glue strips of different color cardstock to an acetate sheet and then adhere it to a piece of white card stock with adhesive foam strips.  It gives the appearance that the colored strips are floating.  I liked it, and because Callie was being pretty "bossy" I acquiesced and told her I would try. 

Next, Callie had to make sure that I matched the colors on the card to her, so I used this little picture of her to do my best to make a match.  Doesn't she look sweat?  It's hard to believe that she can be so bossy!

The black and white was obvious, and after studying her picture further, I decided that Cinnamon Cider was a good match for her 3rd color.  I asked her if I could use Bumblebee and Just Jade as colors to compliment her complexion and she said, "It will do, but make sure the Bumblebees don't bite!" 

Callie insisted that I add a couple of little playmates she could chase, so she choose butterflies.  So far, she hasn't caught them, but I'm sure she'll keep working on it.

She wanted me to create a watercolor painting of her so you would all know that she was the boss of this card.  So, I got out my Watercolor paper and Water Painters, and did as she asked.  I used a Classic Ink Pad with a reinker for the Cinnamon Cider, and a Watercolor Pencil for the black.  Callie made me practice a few times, but after the 3rd time, she said it was "OK" and I could quit.  She was probably just tired of listening to my grumbling, but I didn't ask any questions in case she changed her mind.

For the inside of the card, Callie said that since I was so stressed about the whole watercolor painting thing, that I better just keep it simple.  So I did.  I didn't show her the inside because I didn't want her to be upset that she was the star of a pet sympathy card.  Maybe she would be OK with that, but I wasn't going to take a chance.

I hope you liked Callie's card today.  If you would be so kind as to leave a comment below, I'll be sure to pass them on to Callie.

If you would like detailed information to make this card you can see a free tutorial here.

Below is a complete list of the products I used to make the card.

Product List

Pampered Pets Cling Stamp Set [152520]	Pets Dies [152705]	Layering Circles Dies [151770]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [159276]
Window Sheets [142314]	Cinnamon Cider 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [153078]	Bumblebee 8-1/2X11 Cardstock [153077]	Just Jade 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [153079]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121045]
Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper [149612]	Just Jade Classic Stampin' Pad [153115]	Just Jade Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [153121]	Cinnamon Cider Classic Stampin' Pad [153114]	Cinnamon Cider Classic Stampin' Ink Refill [153120]
Jet Black Stāzon Ink Pad [101406]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Watercolor Pencils [141709]	Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [147156]	Water Painters [151298]
Playful Pets Trinkets [152465]

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