Swap Cards

Catching up on posting a few cards I did for our monthly swaps.

This first one was from July; the theme was to use at least one of the new in-colors (I chose Midnight Muse) and at least one Big Shot item (I chose the Beautiful Wings Embosslit).  The butterfly on the front of the card was punched from the stamped large flower in the Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.  It was somewhat of an accidental find.  Shortly after getting this stamp set, I was stamping the flower for a different project and accidentally smudged part of the outer image of the flower.  And since I don't like wasting anything, I grabbed the Elegant Butterfly punch and punched it out of the stamped image.  I loved how it looked so I incorporated it into this card.

 Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Sets: Betsy's Blossoms, Sweet Essentials;  Patterned Paper:  Comfort Cafe DSP;

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla;  Ink: Rich Razzleberry;
Sizzix:  Beautiful Wings Embosslit;   Punches: Elegant Butterfly, Scallop Trim Border;  
Ribbon:   Very Vanilla 5/8" Satin Ribbon (retired), Hemp Twine (retired);
Other:   Big Shot, Pop Dots (Recollections), Glue Dots, Scotch ATG.

For this month, the theme was simply "Halloween".  I absolutely love Halloween so I was happy to sign up for this swap.  I kept it very simple and combined stamps from 3 different sets.  And, I also wound up using Cajun Craze instead of a more obvious choice of Pumpkin Pie or Tangerine Tango.  I like the deeper orange/red color for this card and paired it with Basic Black & Soft Suede.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Sets: Toxic Treats, Seasonal Sayings, Border Banter;  

Cardstock: Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Soft Suede;   Ink: Basic Black;
Sizzix:  Chevron Embossing Folder;   Ribbon:  Basic Black 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon;
Other:   Big Shot, Pop Dots (Recollections), Scotch ATG.

Now I'm anxious to get some Halloween decorating started!  I hope the weather where you are is starting to feel very crisp and Autumnal like it is here! 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by.

Colleen.

Bridal Shower Place Cards & Favors & Other Various Craftiness

This is a really, really long post so you may want to grab a snack & beverage if you choose to continue.  :0)

Back in March, I was out with my sisters at our "Third Thursday Dinner" (which ironically rarely ever occurs on the Third Thursday, lol) and one of my sisters was filling us in on a upcoming bridal shower for (try to follow along)... her husband's daughter's husband's sister.  :)  To make this a little easier, the bride's name is Rebecca.  Amanda (my sister's step-daughter) is the Matron-of-Honor and is organizing the shower along with Rebecca's mom.  These are some of the loveliest families I'll ever know.  Anyway....  my sister mentioned that they were having an 'afternoon tea' for the shower at a beautiful restaurant in Philly in May.  Before she even finished the sentence, I blurted out "Oh, do they need place cards!?!"  My mind immediately went to SU's Tea Shoppe Stamp Set that I had just used on a card in this post.

And there began a really fun adventure with my niece (Amanda) to help her with not only the place cards but also the shower favors.  At the time, Amanda lived in Florida, I'm in Pennsylvania, the mother-of-the-bride (MOTB) is in Connecticut, and the wedding is in Rhode Island (which did wind up factoring into it).  So, we needed a lot of coordination via technology!  I mocked up some samples for place cards & favors, sent photos, discussed options and then set to work.  While going through the plan for the shower, she also asked me to make some tags that would be attached to the centerpieces (teapots) that would be given to the moms & grandmoms after the shower was over.  While we were talking one night, Amanda asked my opinion on what to do with a photo that the MOTB wanted to display at the shower.  It's an adorable photo of Rebecca when she was a child wearing her mom's wedding veil (which she will be wearing at her wedding this Summer).  So, I offered to make a shadow box similar to what I had done for Amanda's shower gift shown in this post.  During the course of all of this, my niece asked me to go to the shower to photograph it for them.  I was more than happy to do this for them as well.  So we had some things to do:  1) place cards,  2) favors,  3) centerpiece tags,  4) shadow box,  5) photography.   Oh how I love big projects like this!

The setting for the shower was probably the most beautiful one I've ever been to.  It was a gorgeous Spring day and everything pulled together perfectly.  The "tea" was held inside with an adjacent outdoor porch area where guests could roam....

 

First up were the place cards.  We got about 90% of the process done on a Sunday afternoon in April when Amanda was in town.  My sister, Amanda & I stamped, cut & assembled for several hours.  Amanda finished them all off about a week before the shower once she knew the seating arrangements.  I used 4 different embossing folders to emboss the place cards themselves.  And we used 4 different colors (Wisteria Wonder, Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink and Baja Breeze) to stamp the tea cups.  The table numbers were on the inside of the place cards.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp Sets: Tea Shoppe;  

Cardstock: Whisper White;  

Ink: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink, Wisteria Wonder; 
Sizzix Embossing Folders:  Elegant Bouquet, Elegant Lines, Finial Press (retired), Vintage Wallpaper; 

  Punches: Modern Label;  
Font:   Mary Helen (found on the internet) for name labels;
Other:   Big Shot, Xacto knife, Pop Dots (Recollections), Glue Dots, Scotch ATG.

To tie in the fact that the wedding will be in Rhode Island, the bridesmaids contacting a Tea Company in the same town as the wedding and order tea bags for the favors.  They needed a way to package them so I suggested putting them into pillow boxes.  Unfortunately, I discovered well into the process that the SU! Pillow Box die is very tiny and wasn't going to work from this.  But, it was too far down the process to change the plan.  So, I hand cut & scored 50 pillow boxes.  I also created a belly band to wrap around them to keep with the theme.  I made use of the MDS version of the stamp set to print the teacups on white cardstock rather than trying to stamp them all.  This was a huge time saver!  I sent them all off to Amanda for her to assemble, stuff & wrap.  And she displayed them so nicely in this birdcage for the guests to take one as they were leaving.  Voila! (I've pixelated the names & dates on these for the family's privacy.)

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

MDS Stamp Sets: Tea Shoppe;  

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White;   Punches: Pinking Heart Border;

Font: Mary Helen (found on the internet) for name & date belly bands;
Other:   MDS, EK Success 1-2-3D Paper Crafting System, Glue Dots, Scotch ATG.

Next up... the centerpieces.  The MOTB bought 8 teapots (each one was different) for the centerpieces.  One of the bridesmaids made all of the floral arrangements for them... they were STUNNING and the perfect touch for all of the tables.  At the end of the day, they were given to the bride, the moms, the grandmoms, etc. to take home as a keepsake.  Amanda wanted a tag of some kind hanging from each handle with the bride & grooms names and the wedding date.  She completely left this up to me to do; she didn't see them until I arrived at the shower that day.  Each one was different; I wanted to mix it up because that's what I envision a tea party to be... a mixture of all different teacups in all different patterns & colors.  So, I created 8 different coordinating tags keeping pink as the main color knowing that the flowers were all pink & the teapots were all white. 

A here are a few of the teapots (didn't the bridesmaid do an amazing job with the floral arranging?  I'm still in awe of her talent!  I believe it was her first attempt!)...

And these are all of the tags I made to attach to each teapot (again... the specifics are pixelated for privacy).

Products used (products are from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Whisper White (used as the base for each tag); 
Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Market Street; 

Ink: Basic Gray;   Sizzix Dies:   Labels Collection Framelit, Ovals;

Sizzix Embossing Folders:  Fancy & Floral (Tim Holtz), Designer Frames;
Punches: Pinking Hearts Border, Scallop Edge Border, Scallop Trim Border, Extra Large Oval, Cherry Blossom Border (Martha Stewart), Double Loop Border (Martha Stewart), Cornice Edge Border (Martha Stewart), Iron Gate Border (Martha Stewart), Crop-A-Dile (We R Memory Keepers);
Embellishments:  Pearl Basic Jewels, Pearls Borders (Recollections), Flowers (Recollections); 
Ribbon:  Whisper White Taffeta, Crochet Trim;  
Font:   Albemarle Swash (found on the internet) for name & date labels; 
Other:   Big Shot, Sanding Block (Tim Holtz), Sponge Daubers, Glue Dots, Scotch ATG.

Whew!  Still hanging in there with me?  Just one more thing... the photo of Rebecca when she was little.  Again.. they left this completely in my hands.  I was given a very "70s" photo with all kinds of conflicting colors & background so I knew I had to convert it to black & white to start.  They had no idea what year it was so there wasn't anything I could do with any journaling (and really, it wasn't my place to do so anyhow).  So... I just got busy and did the best I could...

Products used (products are from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Very Vanilla; 
Patterned Paper:  My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two and Lost & Found Market Street; 

Ink: Crumb Cake; 
Punches: Monarch Butterfly (Martha Stewart), 3-in-1 Classic Butterfly (Martha Stewart), Butterfly Edge Border (Martha Stewart), 1¼" Square;
Embellishments:  Pearl Basic Jewels, Flowers (Recollections); 
Ribbon:  Whisper White Taffeta, Crochet Trim;  
Other:   Sponge Daubers, Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

 And some close-ups of the details....

If you stuck with me this long... thank you!  This was such a fun thing to do with my niece for her sister-in-law.  Such a beautiful family... I was very honored to lend a hand.  Now all that's left is to finish editing the 384 photos I took {gasp!} & get them sent off to everyone.  I'm quite behind in doing all of that! 

Thanks for stopping in!

Colleen

Cheers (way to go) - Color Challenge (CCMC195)

I've been a long-time admirer of Mary Brown's work and have contemplated off & on to join in on the challenges she & Connie Babbert post each week.  No time like the present, eh?

This week was a color challenge (CCMC195)... Poppy Parade, So Saffron & Basic Gray.  The samples were inspiring so I decided to dive right in. Ta da!

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Delightful Dozen; Cardstock: Basic Gray, So Saffron;

Patterned Paper:  Poppy Parade DSP Stack;

Inks: Basic Gray;  Punches: Scallop Trim;  

  Ribbon: Basic Gray Satin, White Baker's Twine;  

Sizzix:  Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder;  

Embellishments:  Everyday Enchantment Brads;  

Other: Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

  

I likely would have never paired these colors so I'm glad I did it. Hopefully I'll find the time to keep doing some of these challenges.  

Thanks for taking a peek!

Colleen

And even more Buffet cards... (the last installment!)

Tired of the Buffet cards yet?  I hope not!  I have a few more to go....


I've been anxious to use the Hello Doily stamp on a card for awhile now.  It embosses really beautifully.  I decided to do it in white on Melon Mambo for a good contrast.  Very simple card that could be used for a bunch of different occasions. 

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Hello Doily, Fresh Vintage (a Sale-A-Bration set); Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White;

Inks: Versamark, Melon Mambo;  Punches: Postage Stamp, Scallop Trim;  

  Ribbon: Whisper White 3/8" Taffeta, Melon Mambo Pom Pom Trim (retired); 
Other: White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

Next, I offered a Valentine's Day Card with a Gift Card Holder.  I've made a few cards with the gift card holder and really like them. 

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: P.S. I Love You; Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Riding Hood Red;
Patterned Paper:  Love Letters DSP (retired); 

Inks: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red;  Punches: Lace Ribbon Border, Word Window;  
Sizzix:  Hearts Collection Framelits;

  Ribbon: Riding Hood Red 3/8" Taffeta (retired); 
Other: Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

Lastly (yea... this is the end of the card buffet cards... finally!), I saw this card that Leigha Rock made (which she adapted from a card made by Sue Bayliss; but I can't find it on her blog to link it).  I offered this card in either blue or pink for the buffet.  To color the images, I used SU! Markers for some and a Blender Pen & Ink Pads for others.  I ♥ my Blender Pen!!

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets: Baby Bundle; Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose, Whisper White;

Inks: Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder;  
Punches: Itty Bitty Shapes, Curly Label, Designer Label Large (retired);  

Embellishments:  Metallic Brads, Basic Pearls;
Other: Pop Dots (American Crafts), Scotch ATG.

So that wraps up the February Card Buffet samples.  I'm looking forward to the March class.  I've started narrowing down what cards will carry over and what new ones will be added.  I have a feeling I'll have more than 10 cards as options!  :0)

Thanks for stopping by!

Colleen

SU! Club - March '11

I have a lot of catching up to do with my cards & layouts.  Sadly, February was a really bad month personally and my drive to continue with my Sister Cards suffered as a result.  I do have some that I sent that I didn't post so I do have some catching up to do.  And I need to get back on track.  But in the meantime, here are some pages we did in SU! Club in March.  We had to skip May because of scheduling problems so I'll be back to post July's projects (I can't show them yet since some use new product we can't reveal 'til July 1st).  

The hostess in March requested a 2-page layout so that's what we did.  I coordinated them enough that they could be used as a 2-pager but they can also be used as two 1-pagers (as I did).  Both of these were based on layouts I saw in an SU! Demo publication.  Unfortunately, the first one is not credited in the publication nor on the website (that drives me crazy!).  The 2nd one is based upon a page done by either Sharie Burris, Merianne Marble (I like that name... sounds festive) or neither.  It's very odd the way they credit projects (or actually, how they don't credit projects).  Anyway.... 

This one is of Bridget & me taken on Memorial Day 2010.  Every time we're together & one of us has our camera (yea... as if there would be a time when one of us didn't have our camera), we have our picture taken together.  Without fail.  I'm hoping some day to put them all in one mini-album for her.  This is one of my favorites we've ever taken.

 Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Punch: Scallop Trim Border;  Stamp set: Bliss; 
Sizzix Dies:  Top Note Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit;  

Texturz Plate: Backgrounds 1;  Ribbon: Old Olive Striped Grosgrain
Inks: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, White Uniball Signo Gel Pen; 

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Very Vanilla;  
Other: Big Shot, Pop Dots, Scotch ATG, staples.

This one is from my niece, Amanda's Bridal Shower in 2009.  I've not done the journaling yet (shocking, I know).  It scanned a little wonky because all of the cardstock blocks are popped & the scanner doesn't like that.

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Punch: Scallop Trim Border, Heart to Heart;  Stamp set:  En Francais;

Sizzix Dies:  Butterfly Wings Embosslit; Embossing Folder:  Square Lattice;  

Ribbon: Very Vanilla Satin;  Inks: Baja Breeze;  

 Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Very Vanilla;  

Designer Series Paper:  Baja Breeze;  Other: Big Shot, Pop Dots, Scotch ATG.

On an SU! Club unrelated note...

If you look closely at the bottom left photo on the bridal shower page, Amanda's holding one of the gifts I have her.  It's a layout I framed in a shadow box for her & Greg.  That layout is below.  The photo was taken at their engagement party. 

Products used :

Patterned Paper:  Crate Paper; Cardstock: Bazzill;  Punch: Fiskars Threading Water;

Embellishments:  Prima (flowers), Making Memories (pins & alpha stickers), Kaiser (pearls);  
Font:  I can't find it.  oops; Ribbon: unknown; Other: Scotch ATG.

SU! Club - January '11

YAY!  My first official SU! club is behind me.  I was WAY stressed out.  Pure silliness because these girls are my friends.  But I'm afraid they won't tell me if they don't like something so I keep telling them to let me know when they don't like something.  (I'm counting on you, Stephanie!)  It's one thing to teach a class at the store to people who chose to take the class; it's another thing to have people blindly show up at your house and trust that you'll make something they'll not throw out when they get home. 

So... we made 3 cards and a little gift box.  And we ate & laughed & gossiped.  Here's what we made (the pictures aren't very good; I had to take them at night and therefore, they're not that great)...

Card #1 is our butterfly card with both dry & wet embossing...

Close-up of the butterflies:

   Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Embossing Folder: Elegant Lines;  Stamp sets: Butterfly Prints;

Punch: Butterfly Extra Large;  Embossing ink pad: Versafine;  

Embossing powder: white;  Inks: Pretty in Pink, Sahara Sand; 

Cardstock (I think these are the colors!): Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, 
Bashful Blue and White (Bazzill);  Other: Big Shot, pop dots.

Card #2 is our valentine card...

Close-up of the scallop:

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp set: Valentine Defined; Punches: Scallop Trim Corner, Scallop Trim Border, 

Scallop Circle (1 3/4"  ) Extra Large, Heart to Heart Extra Large;  

Embossing powder: clear;  Ink (I think!): Rose Red;  

Cardstock (I think!): Rose Red, Whisper White,  White (Bazzill)

Ribbon: Whisper White Taffeta;  Other: pop dots.

Card #3 is our Bird Card (and my favorite from this batch)...

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Embossing Folder: Elegant Lines;  Stamp sets: Clearly for You;

Inks: Old Olive, Marina Mist; Cardstock (I think!): Marina Mist and 

French Vanilla (Bazzill);  Ribbon: Old Olive Satin; Other: Big Shot

Gift Box.... this was fun to put together.  I got the idea from a bunch of brilliant Demonstrators who think outside the box (ha! get it?) with the SU! big shot dies that are available.  This one uses 4 envelopes daisy-chained together to make a box.  So clever.  

Close-up of the label on top:

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Patterned Paper: Designer Series Paper Pad In Colors (Poppy Parade);

Ink: Crumb Cake; Cardstock : Kraft (Bazzill);  Punches: Decorative Label, 

Heart to Heart Extra Large; Ribbon: Whisper White Taffeta; 

Bigz Die: Scallop Envelope;  Other: Big Shot

And then I made this little gift for Stephanie, our first hostess.  

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp set: Valentine Defined, Tiny Tags; Punches: Jewelry Tag Medium;  

Embossing powder: clear;  Embossing Pen:  Versafine;  

Ink (I think!): Rose Red;  Marker: Brown Slick Writer

Cardstock: White (Bazzill);  Ribbon: unknown;  Other: frame from Michaels.

Whew!  Next Club (in March) will be a 2-page layout requested by the next hostess.   I already have it planned in my head & have to get a few things ordered to make it happen.  Looking forward to it!  

For the next sister card, I used the Bird Card from above but removed the "for you" from the front.  I added a quote by Henry Van Dyke inside "Use the talents you possess - for the woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except for the best." 

Products used (everything is from SU! unless otherwise noted):

Embossing Folder: Elegant Lines;  Stamp sets: Clearly for You;

Inks: Old Olive, Marina Mist;  Cardstock (I think!): Marina Mist and 

French Vanilla (Bazzill);  Ribbon: Old Olive Satin; 

Font: Black Jack;  Other: Big Shot

All righty... that finishes up the projects that are good enough/finished enough to print!  :0)  Thanks for swinging by.