A Hunters 50th Birthday

So I have this terrific guy who LOVES to hunt, fish, ect...and he just celebrated his 50th birthday and so I had to make a fitting card just for him.  Now I did kind of case this look off of "Karilou" and just used similar things that I had.  I really liked the look of her card as you can tell, it looks kind of like a target.  Which of course is used a lot around here.  I stuck with pretty much the same color scheme other than instead of using just vellum I used a piece of Smokey Slate behind the vellum to help it stand out.  This makes a great guy card, if he is a hunter of course! 

PAPER: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Smokey Slate, Basic Black, Vellum

STAMPS: From the Herd (retired)

INKS: Versa Mark
ACCESSORIES: Wood Grain Embossing Folder (retired), Swirly Scribbles Thinlits (retired), Forest Stag (from Poppy), Big Shot, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool

Everything from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

 

Valentine Gnomes

Here are the Valentine cards I sent out to the family for Valentines this year.  I CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) this layout from the mini catalog.  

I just changed a few things such as the layout, I went with landscape instead of portrait and used some old DPS.  (Still trying to use up my stash LOL...) 

 I do have to be honest though, I was not the biggest fan of the Gnomes at first, but THEY GREW ON ME!!!  I am so glad that I got the one from the mini with the dies and then this set.  I do hope they get some more.  They are super cute and there are a ton of ways to use them so come back and visit often!

STAMPS: Friendly Gnomes

PAPER: Daffodil Delight, Basic White, Print Poetry DSP (if anyone remembers those packs)

INKS: Tuxedo Black Memento, Pacific Point

ACCESSORIES: Watercolor Pencils & Blending Brush

 

VA Love

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day.  I know the posts this week are a tad late for Valentine's Day, but I've had a busy week!  Not only Valentine Week, but I was also preparing for my bfs 50th birthday party and my son was able to come down also and it was his 28th birthday (their b-days are 3 days apart. It ended up being a double birthday bash!!!

For work we are encouraged to work volunteer hours throughout the year.   Well, it just so happens that one of the choices is to make cards for the VA in our area.  Since I love stamping and making cards this was a no brainer!  I make and send 20 of them for almost every signup they have.  It's a lot of fun for me and, like my email name says, I love to stamp to make someone smile!!!

This year I did the simple Heart Drop card using an OLD background stamp that is still one of my favorites.  I paired it with a newer but retired last years Sale-a-bration stamp saying.

STAMPS: Soft Swirls, Counting Sheep (last years Sale-a-bration set)

PAPER: Real Red, Basic White

INKS: Versa Mark, Real Red

ACCESSORIES: Heart Punch

 

Dainty Flowers

Ok, so I didn't buy this paper I earned it for FREE!!!  It's SALE-a-bration time for Stampin' Up! which means for every $50 spent you get to pick a free item from the SALE-a-bration catalog.  There's stamp sets and paper which all coordinates with items in the Mini Catalog and the Yearly Catalog.  So now is a great time to check things out if you are curious.

I'm not the BIGGEST flower fan when it comes to DSP, but this paper was pretty AND the flip side is more softer and not all flowers.  That is one of the things with Stampin' Up!, is that all their paper is printed on both sides!!!  Sometimes it is hard to choose.  This paper is 12 X 12 and I was able to cut it down to make these cards.  This is just half of a sheet for all 4 cards!!!

One of the great things with these cards is that you can use any saying you want so you have any type of card that you need right at your fingertips!!!

These cards I made to give to my mom as she loves to mail cards to her grandkids and friends.  I even get one mailed to me!!! LOL

 

So Much Love

 

Loving this card that I CASED from the mini catalog with a few alterations.  Like the DSP in the background.  I couldn't tell how old that paper is...all I know is that is from the Candy Lane collection.  Yes, I am a paper hoarder and I still have some paper from 2002.  I do try to use it up, but it so pretty and what if I need it for a special card???  Like this!!!  I am trying not to buy too much paper right now so that I will use what I have.  I forgot when I packed up to move how much paper I had.  I got rid of a bunch of it, but it seems like I still have a lot left.  Now that I am back to making cards, I will hopefully start using it up more.  

I made this card using the Love For You stamp set and dies.  This set has so many sentiments that I know I will use for a long time to come.  Secretly I hope this makes it into the yearly catalog...fingers crossed.

A little peek...

 

Though the title was fitting for this little gnome peeking out of the tree trunk.   This card features the Kindest Gnomes (that just retired last week, but don't let that get you down as there is a new one available) along with the Gnomes Die set, and the Tree Rings Die and Embossing Folder.  CASE'd this idea from Rachel Tessman and added the inside tree rings and the little berries and leaves to top mine off.

It's been a while...

 Well, life has had a few surprises over the past few years and I took a break from stamping for a while, but...I am back!  May be a hit and miss as I get back into the groove of things again, but I will try my best to start posting on a regular bases.  Not sure what that will be to start off with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, but this is a start.  Never mind what it took to get back into this blog to restart posting again, it's been a journey in itself!  LOL  

Wait till you see all the cool stamp sets that have come out along with new techniques!!!  I can't tell you how much I've missed playing with paper and ink!  I do have to relearn how to upload pictures on here again, but hopefully it won't take long to figure out...should be like riding a bike right?  Let's hope so...

Check back in soon to see what I've been working on for my own personal fun time and my new classes that are starting up later this month...