AN ACCIDENTAL SIMILARITY

This dragonfly card is one I made to send to one of my Demonstrator friends whom I swap with each week. You'll notice there isn't a lot of stamping on this card; instead, it's pretty much made up of doodles, punches, and bling. Whenever I reach for a punch, my mind just seems to relax because the "work" is being done for me. Love that! The second card is one that I made to send to my grandmother. She hasn't been feeling well since the first of the year, so I try to send a card to her from time to time. You know what a nice feeling it is when you send someone a card and then when you visit, you find the card on display in their home? Well, that's what it's like when I go to mamaw's! She doesn't just have the most recent card out where she can see it, she has a lot of my cards sitting around. Sometimes cards can take a lot of time and product, and you really don't mind that "investment" when you know that your creation will be appreciated--and kept. For mamaw's card, I used a non-SU stamp and a design that was 99.9% CASE'd. I know . . . shame on me . . . but I made someone's day a little brighter, so that makes it okay. Isn't it odd that these two cards--made for two special people at two different times--both have the same shades of color? Purely accidental!

I LEARNED A NEW TECHNIQUE!!!!!

I LOVE this technique!!! It's called Magic Pattern. I need to make another card using this technique so I can be sure that I can teach it. This card got "built" as I went along, so I didn't really know where I was going with this one! I used Watercolor Crayons and an Aqua Painter to color the fisherman, and I used Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen to give the fish some subtle, coordinating color. I purchased the stamp set, "On the Fly," a couple of months ago, but this was the first time I've used it. I really like it! It's a small set, but it seems to have everything that you need to create a project. You know how some stamp sets are just like that? Other SU products used include Photo Corners punch, Coluzzle, Stampin' Dimensionals (under the fish), Always Artichoke, Creamy Caramel (sponged w/Chocolate Chip ink), and Chocolate Chip card stock, and the "Sanded" background stamp.

SCALLOPED FLORAL SNOW BLOSSOM

What does this card need???? I wasn't sure what to do with the "flowers" I created this morning, so I put them on the white panel. It was boring, of course, so I added some "doodling." It still wasn't exciting, so I added the red photo corner. I came home this afternoon and thought it still looked boring, so I added the "make a wish" sentiment . . . and then I added the three brads. It still seems to need something, but I'm afraid whatever it needs is something that should have been done before the doodling--maybe even before the flowers were put in place. Argh!

How did I make this card? I began by punching the Snow Blossom on three pieces of card stock (Real Red, River Rock, and Soft Sky). I then centered that punched out portion in the Scallop Circle punch, and added some doodles to the flowers. I used three pieces of Xyron tape (cut to size) on the backside of the flowers, and then sprinkled them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. A mini glue dot was used to adhere the small buttons to the flower centers. Can you see how sparkly the flowers are?

I like the flowers, but the overall card design doesn't do them justice. I'll have to go back to the drawing board with this one. ;-)

STAMP-A-STACK CARDS

I totally forgot to post this last night when I wrote about World Card Making Day. In observation of World Card Making Day and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I hosted a Stamp-a-Stack on Saturday, October 6th. A portion of the event fee and orders placed on the 6th will be donated in my sister's honor to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

I designed these four cards for the SAS, and my guests got to make two of each design. Their bonus project for this fun event was getting to make their own two-pocket bag like the one that I made for their "thank you" gift.

Thanks again, ladies, for your support of this very worthy cause! I appreciate you!

"THREE FOR YOU" PUNCH BOX PROMOTION

It's not too late to order your punch box and receive FREE 3x3 note cards and envelopes from Stampin' Up! . . . AND . . . instructions for making a 3x3 Note Card Holder (shown above on the brass stand) from me. I've been enjoying the punch and stamp set and wanted to share some of my creations. One of my favorite discoveries with this punch kit is faux dotted ribbon (see the So Saffron card at the top of this post)!!!! How cool is that???

The stamps in this punch kit offer a lot of versatility, used with or without the punch, and the punched flowers are adorable! I like how they get punched with curved petal tips!

If you'd like to get this punch box AND the freebies outlined above, just let me know before month end.