JustRite Note Cards

Today I have a set of six note cards to share with you. It's always nice to have extra cards, you never know when you might want to send someone a little note. The stamp set that I used is Harmony Classic Circle Stamper III Stamp Ensemble 3-1/4'' from JustRite Stampers. I think this is one of my favorite JustRite stamp sets! I love the butterfly and the sentiments are very pretty.Before I tell you about the cards I would like to show you a couple of pictures of some of the stamps in the set. Here is a picture of the three stamps I used. As you can see in the picture I have trimmed away the extra rubber around the butterfly image. It is perfectly fine to do this! When you remove the extra rubber then you are less likely to end up with unwanted ink marks.In this next picture you can see where I trimmed off all of the extra rubber from the other two stamps. Removing the extra rubber also makes your stamps more versatile, like on the stamp that says, Just Because, you now have three stamps instead of one. If you would like to find out more about trimming and conditioning your JustRite stamps Sharon Johnson has a wonderful tutorial on SCS, click HERE to learn more about it.To make the base for each card I took a piece of the Light Outdoorsy Olive cardstock from WorldWin and using the Wizard from Spellbinders and a CB Folder, Leafy Branch I embossed three pieces of 5-1/4'' x 4'' cardstock. Then I took a brayer and inked it up really good with Vintage Photo Distress Ink from Ranger and brayered over each piece. Here is a before and after picture with the ink. As you can see in the picture adding the ink really makes the embossing pop. After inking the paper I traced around all of the embossing with a glitter pen.Then I cut each piece in half and added a piece of DP from Cosmo Cricket. By doing this I was able to make enough mats for six cards. I stamped each border and center of the JustRite stamps twice with Chestnut Roan ink on different colors of WorldWin CS and then using the Wizard and the Nestabilities Classic Circle Lg S4-114 and Petite Scallop Circles Lg S4-115 die templates from Spellbinders I made the diecuts. I also inked some of the diecuts using Vintage Photo ink. Once I had all of the diecuts made then I mixed, matched and layered them. I added a little shimmer to each piece using a glitter pen and I also added ribbon, gold brads and some rhinestones.
Here's some close up pictures of the cards.
Supplies
Stamps-JustRite Stampers-Harmony Classic Circle Stamper III Stamp Ensemble 3-1/4'', Wooden Stamper 3-1/4''
Paper-WorldWin Cardstock-Light, Dark & Deep Coffee Brown, Light, Medium, Dark & Deep Outdoorsy Olive---Cryogen White---Cosmo Cricket-Fleuriste Flora Bella
Ink-Ranger-Distress Ink Vintage Photo---ColorBox-Chestnut Roan
Other-Spellbinders-Classic Circles Lg S4-114, Petite Scallop Circles Lg S4-115, Wizard---Brayer---CB Folder---Joann's-Ribbon-Brown, Celery, Ivory Lace, Gold Brads, Rhinestones---Beacon-Gem Tac Adhesive---Sakura-Gelly Roll Clear Star Glitter Pen

Don't forget to check out the wonderful Gallery on the JustRite Stampers website and the JustRite Blog for all of your paper crafting inspiration! Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you are having a Wonderful Weekend!

Smiles!
Heidi

Amethyst Wishes

Here is a card I made this past weekend using a tent topper style. I really like the different shapes these cards can have and they still fit inside a standard envelope. For the topper part I used two scalloped ovals that I cut out using the Wizard and Spellbinders Nestabilities-Large Classic Scalloped Ovals. But if you don't own the Wizard or the Nestabilities you could also use large punches, templates, shape cutters or cut out different shapes using your paper cutter.

On the smaller oval I stamped the flower image using black stazon ink, embossed the sentiment using versa mark and gold EP, then I used my watercolor crayons for the watercolor. You might notice some darker flecks in the watercolor, I wanted to give it a little more depth so I had my watercolor paper very wet while I was working on it, flipped it over and blotted on a clean piece of paper several times while working on it. Doing this will give it the fleck marks.

For the background piece I used a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and ran it through the Wizard. Then I lightly rubbed versa mark in over the entire piece and dusted it with perfect pearls.

For an embellishment I added a prima flower, a jewelry finding for some bling and a touch of stickles for the glitter.

Click to enlarge~
Here is a Tip* Instead of spending a ton on some new bling let your Girlfriends, Mom and Grandma know that you would love to recycle their jewelry, hit the thrift stores, estate sales, yard sales or the clearance sales and look for jewelry that you can take apart and use for some fun bling! You will be amazed at all the great finds and all the money you can save!! The little touch of bling on my card came from a necklace that my Mom had. Thanks Mom!! ;)

Supplies~

Paper~SU-Whisper White, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Watercolor
Stamps~SU-Oh So Lovely (hostess), Hugs & Wishes
Ink~SU-Versa Mark, Black Stazon
Other~SU-Watercolor Crayons (Bright & Bold), Gold EP, Aqua Painter, 1/8 in Circle Punch, Spellbinders-Wizard Die Cutting and Embossing Machine, Large Classic Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Ranger-Perfect Pearls, Stickles-Diamond, Cuttlebug-Embossing Folder, Prima, My Stash-Metallic Gold Pen, White Sheer Ribbon & Jewelry Finding.

I think winter is here!! It has been so cold and snowing most of the day here. I had to cancel my stamping class tonight do to all of the blowing snow. :( Stay warm and if you are in some nice sunny or tropical place--lucky you--enjoy!! *wink* Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Smiles!
Heidi

Angel Baby

This is one of my all time favorite stamps! I know it's not a newer one but I have used it on so many cards & for so many different occasions. The image of the Angel Baby just gives me a sense of peace and innocences. Sometimes with photography it can be so hard to capture the shimmering details. I keep playing around with the lighting trying to get the perfect picture and I think this one shows detail but also the softness of the colors. The Scalloped Oval is made using the Nestabilities Die Cuts from Spellbinders. I used watercolor paper for the embossed oval. The angel image is stamped using black stazon ink. To achieve the soft coloring I started out by picking three pastel colors of ink, Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink & Bashful Blue. I lightly misted the watercolor paper with water, inked up a sponge with barely banana and blotted off most of the ink. *If you were painting something and used this technique it would be known as a dry brush.* Then starting in the center of the image I very lightly began to work in a small circular motion with the sponge. With each color I kept working the ink out to the edge of the oval. I also kept misting my paper which makes it easier to blend the inks. Once this was done I wanted to add a soft shimmer so I came in and highlighted different areas with twinkling H2O's. To finish off the oval I edged the scallops with a gold metallic pen, punched holes & wove the ribbon through. Also to add some shimmer to the background paper I lightly rubbed a versa mark ink pad over the embossed paper (Cuttlebug) and added some pearlex.

Supplies~
Paper~SU-Very Vanilla, Barely Banana, Watercolor Paper
Stamps~Stampendous
Ink~SU-Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink, Bashful Blue, Stazon-Black, Versa Mark
Other~Spellbinders-Nestabilities (large scalloped oval), Twinkling H2O's-Iridescent Gold, Iridescent Blue, SU-1/8" Circle Punch, 3/16"Corner Rounder Punch, Cuttlebug-Embossing Folder, Pearlex, My Stash-Ribbon, Popdots & Gold Metallic Pen

I hope you are having a wonderful first half to your week & thanks so much for stopping by!
Smiles!
Heidi

Birthday Cards

This past weekend two of my Great Aunts celebrated their birthdays. One of my Aunts turned 80 years old & I have to say she looks wonderful!! On Sunday all of our family got together to celebrate her birthday. It was nice that so many from our family were able to come!!

Here are the cards that I made for both Aunts.
For the background on this card I used a piece of white card stock & embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Then I rubbed versa mark ink over the entire piece & dabbed chalk on top of the embossed parts to color. To add a little sparkle I outlined everything using different colors of stickles. The butterfly was made using the Wizard & the Spellbinders butterfly dies. I also used the butterfly die as a stencil and added some ink to the wings. Also for a touch of sparkle I used stickles & some crystals.

Supplies~
Paper~SU-Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Almost Amethyst
Stamps~SU-Sentiment (retired)
Ink~Versa Mark, Elegant Eggplant
Other~SU-Chalks, Crystal Effects, Gold Cord (retired), Oval Punch, Ranger-Stickles, Cuttlebug-Embossing Folder, Spellbinders-Wizard, Butterfly Die, My Stash-Ribbon, Crystals

I have to say I haven't really used SU Groovy Guava very much but I really like how it turned out on this card!! I really love the color combo & it works perfectly with the SU Brocade Background paper.

Supplies~
Paper~SU-Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, DSP-Brocade Background
Stamps~SU-Baroque Motifs, Hero Arts-Sentiment
Ink~SU-Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Versa Mark
Other~SU-Gold EP, Scalloped Punch, 1/8" Circle Punch, Ranger-Stickles, My Stash-Ribbon & AB Crystal

I hope you had a Marvelous Monday and a great start to a new week!
Thanks for stopping by!
Smiles!
Heidi

Christmas Card Club for October

I have been having so much fun with the ladies this year for our Christmas Card Club! I feel so blessed to have such a fun & wonderful group of ladies for classes! I can't believe November will the last month of the Christmas Card Club--the time has went by so fast.

Ok so let's get to the cards!
Here is the 1st one. This is a really quick & easy card. Supplies~
Paper~All SU-Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Vellum
Stamps~All SU-Baroque Motifs, Snow (wheel), Punch Pals (tiny snowflake on the circle punch.)
Ink~All SU-Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue
Other~SU-1/2 Circle Punch, Snow Blossom Punch, Crystal Effects,
Jo Ann's-Ribbon, Rhinestones, Ranger-Stickles

Here is the second card. I figured we should do a more tradition Christmas card. So far we hadn't done any in red & green.Supplies~
Paper~All SU-Glorious Green, Whisper White & Real Red
Stamps~All SU-Punch Pals, Big on Christmas
Inks~All SU-Basic Black, Glorious Green
Other~SU-Chalks, Jo Ann's-Ribbon, Ranger-Stickles

and the last card...
This one was the favorite for the night!! I LOVE this stamp set & it looks so good with the embossed paper & the scalloped oval!!Supplies~
Paper~All SU-Very Vanilla, Night of Navy
Stamps~All SU-Sleigh Bells Ring
Ink~All SU-Night of Navy
Other~SU-2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamond Glitter, 1/8" Circle Punch, Spellbinders-Large Scalloped Oval, Cuttlebug-Embossing Folder

Thanks so much for stopping by & I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!
Smiles!
Heidi

The Weekend & October Stamping Classes

Hello! Did everyone have a fantastic weekend? I sure hope so!! We had a really nice weekend. On Saturday we went out of town to do some shopping & have some fun. We went shopping for Halloween costumes for the boys & they both picked out something they really really like! Then we went to the mall and made our way through several stores. After the mall everyone was getting hungry so we went to Olive Garden & enjoyed a wonderful meal. I can't remember what mine was called but it was soooo yummy!! It was a dish of angel hair pasta with mozzarella, fresh tomatoes & basil in a light cream sauce topped with grilled shrimp. Is your mouth watering? LOL!! Like I said Yummy!! After the Olive Garden we made a stop at Michael's. The boys weren't too thrilled--what can I say they are all boy! But they were both really good and I was able to pick up a few things while we were there.

On Sunday we went to church & then out to eat with my Mom & Dad. Our afternoon was kind of laid back, nice & relaxing. Sunday night we went bowling. I haven't been bowling since before I started having all the problems with my arm so I had to bowl with my right arm. It took a little while to get the hang of that--I'm sure it was a sight! LOL! At first I felt like no matter what I did I didn't have any control over the ball. But as the night went on it seemed to get a little better. The boys seem to really enjoy bowling especially Evan, he gets so excited!! My Mom & Dad even came out to the bowling ally for awhile & my Dad came out and bowled with us for one of the games.

I can't believe we are nearing the end of October & soon it will be Halloween!! I just hope that the weather will still be nice at the end of the month!! You just never know in MN!!

I wanted to share with you the cards that we made this month in class. This first card is a fun Halloween card with a twist on the fold. The stamp set that was used for this card is SU Autumn Apparitions, which can be found in the SU Holiday Mini Catalog.The second card is a Reflection card. The Tutorial for this technique can be found Here. I think this was the favorite card for the night!! I know it is one of my favorites!! The stamp sets that were used for this card are SU Wanted & So Many Sayings. This is the first time for inking up the Wanted stamp set & I love it!! I already have several ideas sketched out in my book!!
For the last card a CTMH stamp set was used, Victorian Snowflake. I really love this stamp set, it has such a lacey look.
Thanks so much for stopping by & I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you!!
Smiles!
Heidi

~Love Much~

Just a quick post to share a wedding card with you. I made this card today & really like the outcome! Yesterday I received my package from Prickley Pear so I thought I would try out some of my new stamps--gotta love fresh rubbah!! I made the background paper with one of the larger stamps. I think it almost looks like printed paper. For the cake I cut out three rectangles using Fiskars Shape Cutters. Then I used the Textile Embossing Folder from the Cuttlebug & ran it through the Wizard. I thought this would give it the appearance of frosting. I also rubbed a Versamark ink pad over each piece & then added some pearlex. I still wanted to give it a little bling so I punched out several tiny flowers, adhered them & added a pearl bead to every other flower.

Supplies~
Paper~SU-Whisper White, Very Vanilla, The Luxury Stack-Pearlized PP
Stamps~Prickley Pear-All Stamps
Ink~SU-White Craft Ink, Pale Plum, Versamark, Distress Ink-Antique Linen
Other~SU-Gold EP, Lg. Oval Punch, Crystal Effects, Pearlex, Fiskars-Shape Cutters, EK Success-Flower Punches, Cuttlebug-Embossing Folders, Wizard, My Stash-Ribbon & Pearls

I hope you all had a Wonderful Wednesday & just think the week is already half way over!! Thanks for stopping by!
Smiles!
Heidi

Wonderful Weekend

Hello!! I know it's been a few days since my last post! I hope you all had a great weekend! How many of you were able to take a little time for yourself & enjoy World Card Making Day? I hope each of you were able to do something fun over the weekend & enjoy some creative time!!

We had a pretty busy weekend around here. On Saturday I had a Stampin' Up! Open House with make-n-takes to celebrate WCMD. I really enjoyed the day & it's always fun to be able to visit with the ladies! I want to say Thank You So Much to all of the wonderful ladies that came on Saturday!! Later that evening I went to a Surprise Birthday Party! One of the ladies (Miriam) that comes to my stamping classes had her 60th Birthday on Saturday & her Daughter had a surprise party for her! It was a really nice party with family & friends & really yummy food!

When I came home I had my own surprise!! I received an email from Liz at CHF (Cornish Heritage Farms) letting me know I had won a 'mini treasure' from the Worldwide Treasure Hunt!! I won the Summer Fun stamp set!! I can't wait to play with it!! I already have a few ideas sketched out-LOL-so I will be ready!! You should hop on over to CHF and check out the new line of stamps by Kim Hughes!! She has some really fun designs!! I have to say the Treasure Hunt was so much fun!! Along the way you had to look for CLUE WORDS & throughout the journey the Treasure Hunt took me to some wonderful sites with some amazing design work!! I thought it was a great way to celebrate a new stamp line.

On Sunday after church we spent the day at the Big Island Rendezvous & Festival. It's a great way to spend the day with family and find out what life was like 150 years ago! They have entertainment, merchants, & lots of yummy food!! I will post more about that tomorrow...

Here are a couple of cards that I made this last week. They were for customer orders but they were also for my friend Miriam (Surprise BD Party). I love how both of them turned out!! I didn't realize it until I was going to do this post but I forgot to take pictures of the card I made for her from myself! LOL!
Supplies~
Paper~SU-Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Stamps~SU-Flourish, Lace (both retired), Hero Arts-Lady, A Stamp In The Hand-Script, Anna Griffin-Sentiment
Ink~SU-Elegant Eggplant, Versamark, Black Stazon
Tools~SU-Distress Tool, (Punches) Ticket Corner, Circle 1/8, 1-1/4, 1-3/8, Heat Tool, Sponge
Other~Pearlex, Twinkling H2O's-Royal Orchid, Iridescent Gold, Stickles-Diamond, Brenda Walton-Adhesive Rhinestones, My Stash-Black Velvet Ribbon, Gold Ribbon, Chipboard & Pop DotsSupplies~
Paper~SU-Regal Rose & Very Vanilla, The Luxury Stack-Printed Paper
Stamps~SU-Cherish, Me & Carrie Lou-Dress
Ink~SU-Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, River Rock, Rose Red, Versamark
Tools~SU-Distress Tool, 1/8 in. Circle Punch, Lg. Oval Punch, Spritz Tool, Aqua Painter, Fiskars Embossing Corner Punch, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Wizard, Heat Tool, Sponge
Other~Gold & Pearl Pearlex, SU-Gold EP, Brads, Ranger-Crackle Accents, Joann's-Pearls, My Stash-Ribbon, Lace, Pop Dots

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you have a Marvelous Monday!!
Smiles!
Heidi

Goggle-eyed Halloween

I have been having so much fun playing with the new SU Haunting Halloween stamp set!! I Love Halloween!! This set is so cute & I just couldn't resist putting the goggle eyes on the little frog! Isn't he cute? I used SU pastels (chalks) to color in all of the images. Then to give them a little bling I added touches of shimmer with Gelly Roll Glitter pens, SU Dazzling Diamond Glitter & Souffle pens. I also used (SU) Crystal Effects along with three different colors of SU dye ink to create a green glaze for the bubbles brewing in the pot. The background pieces was made using the Cuttlebug Spots & Dots Embossing Folder & the Wizard die cut and embossing machine.
Paper~SU-Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Green Galore, Basic Black, Lovely Lilac
Ink~SU-Black Stazon
Stamps~SU-Haunting Halloween
Other~SU-Scallop Punch, Crystal Effects, (Refill Ink) Green Galore, Certainly Celery, Yo Yo Yellow, 1/8 Circle Punch, Ticket Corner Punch, Sakura-Gelly Roll Pens, Souffle Pens, My Stash-Gems, Black Ribbon, Goggle-eyes

Just a side note--we had a wonderful time this weekend!! Eric & I went to the MN Renaissance Festival & had a total blast!!! I wanted to share some pictures with you but I am having some issues with the computer--it won't let do what I want it to!! lol! I will try and get them posted asap but in the meantime if you are interested in seeing some pictures from the MNRF website HERE is a link to the MN Renaissance Festival and once you click on the link look to the right side--it will say click here to view the 2007 Brochure--if you click that you can see some pictures from the festival. Hope to be able to share this with you soon!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend & a great start to a new week!!
Smiles~
Heidi

Vintage Style Box

Do you ever design something and you get so excited about the outcome, because you know it is turning out even better than the vision you had in your head or your sketch? Well for me this was one of those times!! *wink* I am in love with this little gift box!! Plus--BIG BONUS--it is soooo easy to make!! The box itself is made using 2-8-1/2 x 11 sheets of CS. I will try and get the instructions posted for it really soon, but for now I just had to post a few pictures.

I started out with Very Vanilla CS and used three colors of ink--Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa and River Rock to achieve the look I wanted. For the bottom piece I randomly stippled using Chocolate Chip and River Rock inks. Then I stamped 2 different Flourishes & Swirls (Autumn Leaves-Rhonna Farrer) . One was done with Close to Cocoa and for the other one I used River Rock. After that I used the Spritz Tool from SU along with a Close to Cocoa marker. Once the piece was put together I use the Chocolate Chip ink pad along all of the edges to distress it. For the Top piece I folded the sides in and then ran it through the Wizard using the Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder. Then I did all of the same steps as above except for the stamping. I also made a slider for the box using Chocolate Chip CS and Brocade Background (SU- Designer Series Paper). Then I embellished it with a piece of green velvet ribbon, petals from a hydrangea with a button in the center and some swarovski crystals & ivory pearls.

Side view~Top of the box~
Front of box~I hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by & hope you have a great week!!

Cards from the July Class

Yes I know I'm running just a tad bit late with this. *wink* I wanted to post this before we left for vacation but just didn't have enough time.

These are the cards that we did in the July class. For those of you that might not know it I teach stamping classes in my home a couple of times a month. I have a really great group of ladies and they make doing the classes so much fun!!

This is the first card that we made. The CS is SU and the printed paper is from my stash (sorry not sure of the company, nothing is printed on the back). The stamps are from SU, Baroque Motifs and Warm Words. The sentiment on the inside is also SU but it's a retired one. I love this card! At first I thought OMGosh it is going to take forever to make this card but once you get your pieces cut it all goes together very quickly.

This is the front.
Inside of the first flapInside of the card.
This is the second card we made. This is one of my favorite techniques for doing a background. It's kind of messy but so worth it!! I just love the distressed look and I love to play around with different color combos too.
All of the CS is SU. The large background stamp is from Hampton Art Stamps. The word stamps are from Clear Stamps.
This is the last card that we made and it is sooooooo easy, but they all loved it!! It doesn't show up very well in the picture but the embossed paper has pearlex on it. It gives it such a pretty shimmer. The embossed paper was done using a Cuttlebug embossing folder and running it through the Wizard. The CS is all SU. The stamp is SU , Baroque Motifs. Here is another card, this is one that we made at my SU Open House for the New Catty. Another Baroque Motifs card *wink*--can you tell I love this set!!! It is so easy to work with! This is what I would call a stamper friendly stamp set. It's a set that would be wonderful no matter what level you are at with stamping, even for someone who is just beginning.

One of the ladies that came to the open house brought a friend with her and she had done a little bit of stamping but it had been several years ago and she just couldn't believe how easy it was to make this card!!
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy the cards and have a great start to a new week!!

A Perfect Blend and Some Blog Candy!

The Wizard and the Cuttlebug, I don't think you could ask for a better match! They blend together so wonderfully! The best part is, the Wizard is the only tool I need to get the job done!! I personally think that is one of the best selling points about the Wizard, you can use almost any die, embossing plate or folder and brass templates that is out on the market in this one machine!! How Great is that!? I don't know too many people who can afford to go buy a die cutting machine every time the newest one hits the shelves.

Here are a couple of cards that a friend of mine ordered. She wanted to have some really special Thank You cards for her daughters teacher and school nurse. I used the Wizard and the Cuttlebug together on both of these cards.

On this 1st card the flowers are done with the Wizard. I love that die! It is called Flower Creations and it is so fun to work with. The die has six flowers and three flower centers. So many possibilities! The white embossed paper behind the picture was done using the Textile Embossing Folder by Cuttlebug. The embossing looks like lace. To create this card I pulled all of my inspiration from the picture. The flowers to match the little girls dress and the embossed piece to match the lace in the wedding dress. I also added just a touch of pale yellow for the bouquet of tulips.On this 2nd card I pulled all of my inspiration from the colors in the picture. I used the Wizard Butterflies die and matching Impressabilities Butterflies stamp set to make the double butterfly. The die has two butterfly shapes and there are four butterfly stamps in the set. The paper with the embossed flowers was done with the Cuttlebug. I used the Stylized Flowers embossing folder. Can you believe that started out as just white paper!!

So what do you think? Is it the perfect blend? Let me know what you think and you just might win some Blog Candy! Post a comment on here and I will put your name in a drawing, post on your blog telling your friends about the blog candy and I will add your name five more times!! If you make a post on your blog let me know so I can check it out and then I will add your name five more times. The Blog Candy will be a box filled with Wizard die cuts (flowers, butterflies and bugs, tags, cameos and broach, ladies fashion buckles) and from the Cuttlebug several pieces of embossed card stock. I am also going to put in some ribbon and some fun embellishments. I will keep the drawing open until Sunday July 1st and then I will draw a Lucky Winner and announce it Monday July 2nd. Thanks for posting! Have fun and Good Luck!!

WOW!! Thank you so very much for all of the great comments!! I just wanted to add one more note--If you post a comment and you don't have a blog or if you don't want to post your email that is understandable but please check back on Monday July 2nd for the winner. I just don't want someone to win and then not be able to get a hold of them. Thanks so much!!
Smiles~
Heidi