A Bash of a Card

As mentioned yesterday, I have fallen for the Balloon Bash stamp set in the Occasions catalog.  The stamp is photopolymer (137144, $25.95) so you can place it where you want it and lends itself to birthday cards for any gender and any age.

Today's card was another sample that came out of the Creative Convention Online training that I recently participated in.  It was a make-n-take designed by Ronda Wade and Maggie Patterson.  I love how quick the card is and the color combo too.  Who wouldn't love to get one of the in the mail, eh?  I really like the popped up banner on the card and also the addition of the candles at the bottom.  The designer series paper (DSP) is from our Sale-a-Bration brochure - Best Year Ever!

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Best Year Ever DSP, Smoky Slate, Whisper White
• Stamp Set: Balloon Bash
• Ink: Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral
• Accessories: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals, Scissors, and Adhesive.

It's Sale-a-Bration time.  For every $50 you spend in merchandise, you can get a free item from the Sale-a-Bration brochure.  This promotion lasts until March 31st so work on your wishlist and check out the exclusive merchandise here.

Interested in hosting a workshop?  During Sale-a-Bration, when you host a $250 party, you get $25 free in merchandise.  That means you get $65 FREE in hostess benefits!

Ever thought that maybe becoming a demonstrator might be a good fit for you?  During Sale-a-Bration, you can sign up for $99 and get $125 in free merchandise.  You also get to either pick a kit from the Occasions catalog or any two Sale-a-Bration products for free.  If you are interested in learning more, let me know!

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

Celebrating in Circles



Have you ever seen a stamp set and thought "Not for me" only to see a sample that makes you buy $100 worth of product to make it?  This is one of those cards for me.  The Balloon Bash stamp set from the Occasions catalog did not speak to me when I pre-ordered.  I didn't instantly have ideas and I try to use that as my guide to keep me from going overboard.

 

Then I participated in the Creative Convention Online with Ronda Wade and Maggie Patterson.  This was a set that obviously spoke to them and they used it for one of their make-n-take packages.  Once I started playing with it, I couldn't stop.  I have taught several of their cards for my workshops and it's gaining fans like crazy.  It's even made me like the color Crushed Curry! 

 

The only change I had from their card was that I colored the brads with the Coastal Cabana Blendabilities Marker. 

 



Sorry for the shadow - until recently, Spring days have been at a minimum and I'm still working on my picture taking of samples outside!

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Pool Party, and Best Year Ever DSP
• Ink: Crushed Curry
• Stamp Set: Balloon Bash
• Accessories: Big Shot & Cutting Mats, Magnetic Platform, Basic Rhinestones, Coastal Cabana Blendabilities Marker, Circles Framelits, Scissors, Dimensionals, and Adhesive

It makes for great gender neutral cards, which is great since we have an obscene amount of February birthdays to celebrate this month!  Come back tomorrow to see my favorite card with this set!

 

It's Sale-a-Bration time.  For every $50 you spend in merchandise, you can get a free item from the Sale-a-Bration brochure.  This promotion lasts until March 31st so work on your wishlist and check out the exclusive merchandise here.

 

Interested in hosting a workshop?  During Sale-a-Bration, when you host a $250 party, you get $25 free in merchandise.  That means you get $65 FREE in hostess benefits!

 

Ever thought that maybe becoming a demonstrator might be a good fit for you?  During Sale-a-Bration, you can sign up for $99 and get $125 in free merchandise.  You also get to either pick a kit from the Occasions catalog or any two Sale-a-Bration products for free.  If you are interested in learning more, let me know!

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy

Classic Gratitude

Do you know what never goes out of style?  Gratitude. 

The easier it is to communicate, the less some seem to communicate their thanks for those around them and the things they do.  I'm as guilty as anyone else.  I always have good intentions but sometimes the expression of those ideas gets lost in my daily shuffle.

Recently, a few friends helped me run a test party online to see if it was a good addition to my business.  I was hoping for a way to communicate to my friends and customers when I'm either out of town or if my kids were sick (which they seem to be all the time now!)  These friends lent me an hour of their time to help me fine tune my "script" for my live event.  Their input was priceless.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  In keeping with my balance resolution, I feel I need to give something up that really is a crutch, an indulgence, and a waste.  While I cannot give up coffee, I can give up Starbucks for six weeks to increase my health and increase my pocket book.  Since I pass one several times a week, this is a good check for me.  However, my friends aren't giving that up (hopefully) so I decided to give them gift cards for helping me out.

I really liked playing with product for these.  The heart pieces are the washi tape that comes with the So You Mini Book kit in the Occasions catalog.  The Happy Hearts embossing folder add a nice touch and I finally got to use my Perfect Blend stamp set.  You could easily substitute out a message for the coffee cup and have a great wedding or anniversary or birthday card!

The card is a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 card that is scored 3/4" at the bottom.  The left scored area is cut off and the right is folded up and stapled.  The gift card slides in there, though it could be on the other side and leave more room for sentiment.  I included a piece of cardstock in my card with my message so they could reuse the card if they needed one!

 

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake
• Stamp Set: Perfect Blend
• Ink: Crumb Cake
• Accessories: Big Shot & Cutting Mats, Happy Hearts TIEF, Gold Baker's Twine, Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, So You Mini Book kit (washi tape), Adhesive, dimensionals, and scissors

 

Have a craftastic day,

Stacy

FMS #167 - My Anchor, My Friend

Today's project was inspired by the great layout posted on Freshly Made Sketches. 

I always find that making masculine cards is difficult for me.  I recently discovered that my husband has kept every card I've given him in our time together.  How sweet is that?  :)  When I look through those cards, it seems that I determine a masculine card based on the absence of bling and ribbon.  But that doesn't have to be the case and today's card reinforces that!

This layout helped me to use my more masculine supplies from my Occasions catalog pre-order to what I think is a great result and to change the bow/bling component!  I think these products are going to be very fun to play with!

To "man" up the bling, I colored the rhinestone with the Smoky Slate Blendabilities.  It's in the top of the anchor to look like a bolt.  I like that it deepens the gray color - it's actually quite beautiful.  The anchor is also colored with these markers and the rope.  I then took my chalk marker and colored on top of the Smoky Slate on the every other rope strip to give it a contrasting look.  I LOVE IT!

Instead of ribbon, I used our ever versatile Baker's twine.  The designer paper is from the Adventure Bounds DSP stack - I know that the "rope" piece is actually more like a sweater but I think it still works.  The other piece has water on the back but it was a little too bright for the subdued tones of this card.

 

Supplies:

• Cardstock/DSP: Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Adventure Bound DSP Stack, Basic Gray
• Stamp Sets: Guy Greetings, Gorgeous Grunge
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Smoky Slate
• Accessories: Basic Black Baker's Twine, Big Shot and Cutting Mats, Starburst Framelits, 2" Circle Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Smoky Slate Blendabilities, Dauber, Chalk Marker, Dimensionals, Scissors, and Adhesive

While my husband is my anchor and brightens my world, it is winter outside and I find that grays are working their way into all my work as of late.  Good thing I have to make some baby cards this week and will be posting those tomorrow!

Have a craftastic day,
Stacy