CRAFTDOC

I spent part of the afternoon stamping with my friend Patti.  She made some Easter basket cards.  I got my swaps done for our meeting on Saturday.  I just loved the cards I made earlier with the Au Chocolate designer paper, so I made 10 more!

These are the 4 projects that we are making on Saturday.  I made up a one-sheet wonder diagram so we could get all 4 projects out of one sheet of dp, with a few scraps to spare for extra basket cards.  Some of these are shown earlier in my blog.  I had a little trouble with the directions for the neverending tag card, so it is a little ragged.  But now I have it figured out.  The tag peeking out of the little envelope is actually the same height as the card!  It pulls out from a slit in the false front of the card.  This project was shown in the last edition of the demonstrator ON STAGE magazine, and the instructions are on-line at the demonstrator website.  I may have to do this project for a class too.

I used a nice and easy layout from a recent magazine for this card.  The background is dry embossed with my cuttlebug.  Stamp sets are a Tree for all Seasons and By Design.  Hodgepodge hardware and ribbon add dimension. 

I wasn’t sure if I would like this designer paper - but I found it a joy to work with!  This is the card I made for the French challenge for Virtual Stamp Night.

I used the spiral and tab punches and the Carte Postale stamp set.  The frayed ribbon technique is really fun - just cut off the selvage of one side of a piece of ribbon and pull the strands away from the other side.  Here are a few more cards that I made this week.  I will use one as my swap card for the Erie Area Demonstrator meeting Saturday at my house.  And something tells me that an Au Chocolat class would be really fun. What do you think?

Here are a couple more projects that I completed for the SCS Virtual Stamp Night.  The first is a “room with a view” card.  It folds up for mailing.  The second card uses the faux postage technique.    There’s only a few days left to get this stamp set and designer paper special from Stampin’ Up!    You can see all my VSN creations with details in my SCS gallery here .   I had fun with these challenges.  I didn’t complete them all due to a lack of stamina combined with Times Warner’s decision to switch our internet over from Adelphia during a Saturday evening!  So visit the Splitcoaststampers gallery to see more projects by our talented stamping friends.

Last night I completed the first 2 challenges of the SCS Virtual Stamp Night.  We had 45 minutes to complete each project.  My first card uses the Emboss Resist Technique.  The second is a free standing pop-up card (instructions here ).  I used the Eat Cake stamp set and the Au Chocolate designer paper.  This card was fun and easier than it looks - perfect for a future class project!  More details about the cards are in my Splitcoaststampers gallery here .  The challenges continue today - so stay tuned for more projects - or better yet visit here for details on how to participate!  VSNforum

Here is my version of the Triangle Trifold card by Beate, which is all the rage this month on Splitcoaststampers.  Her tutorial is here .  For my card I used the Petals and Paisleys designer paper, So Saffron CS, and the Big Blooms stamp set.  I added some paper piercing to the bare white corners of the front panel, which was just what it needed!  Now I see that I must also add a turquoise circle to the middle of the flower, to match the turquoise ribbon.  Then maybe it will be finished!

Well, spring has sprung.  My crocuses are in bloom and the mound of snow at the center of the cul-de-sac is almost gone.  We visited Rita’s on the first day of spring (in the rain) to get our free Italian ices.  I continue my Big Blooms saga with a coaster album.  The Petals and Paisley paper and photos were easily attached to the coasters with the SU Anywhere Glue Stick.  A book ring, grosgrain ribbon and another quick, easy project.  The smile saying is from the hostess set Reason to Smile.  I found these funny animal photos and they were a perfect match!  One of my husband’s hobbies is photography (isn’t he good)!  As a family, we enjoy nature and zoo outings, so I have lots of animal photos.  In fact here’s a fun album page I submitted to Stampin’ Up! 

They say here in Erie, if you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes.  Well that’s a slight exaggeration - it’s more like a few hours or a day.  Last week we had a warm, sunny day of 71.  The next day we had torrents of rain and local flooding.   The snow from February was almost gone - except for the large piles left by the plows.  The next day it was snowing a bit.  The next day it was snowing some more and I shoveled the driveway 3 times.  The next day I had to use the snow blower.  Today, it was snowy, windy and cold all morning and this afternoon freezing rain.  I did get 2 stamp club orders delivered before I gave up for the day.  I’d rather stay home and think of spring.  I’m enjoying the Big Blooms set that I got FREE from Stampin’ Up!  I love all the perks we get as demonstrators, maybe that’s why I’m still hooked after 8 year!  The first card uses some Cuttlebug contraband - it works nicely with the SU stamps and oval punch leaves.   The next card makes the small 3 flower stamp into a 5 flower border stamped in Rose Red.  I used the 1/2 inch punch to add the insides of another set stamped in More Mustard.  Warm regards stamped in white craft ink and some paper piercing add a bit to this simple card.  The third card shows how you can layer the pieces of this set using the SU circle punches.  The inside pieces are mounted with Stampin’ Dimensionals.  A few SU colored brads and more paper piercing add even more dimension.

I used another one of my Target buckets for a centerpiece.  I love how you can layer the Big Blooms stamp set.  I had these twigs saved from a previous project (I’m such a pack rat!)

We woke up to a couple inches of snow today, but I’m still thinking spring!  Here are 2 more spring projects - Peeps in a Jar and Peeps in a Pail (or Easter bunny s’mores).  The recipe is here

I had a hard time not burying the bunnies.  Maybe it would have worked better using a wide mouthed jar.  I also had a hard time putting the strip of designer paper around the bottom of the pail.  It’s so much easier when you don’t have curved surfaces to work with.  Other than that, this was a quick and easy project (my favorite kind - can’t you tell by now?)   SU products used:  Polka Dots and Paisley stamp set, Petals and Paisleys Designer Paper, Ticket corner Punch, grosgrain ribbon, So Saffron Ink.  The pail from Target already had the ribbon on the sides.