6x6 "LOVE YOU" PAGE

When I was making the cuts for the last "love you" project, this was actually the first one that I made. It was too large to use on my card, so I decided to use it on a 6x6 scrapbook page! I still need to find the perfect picture for it (and I have one in mind), but I need to find it. SU products used to create this page are Close to Cocoa, Purely Pomegranate, and Whisper White card stock, Stampin' Dimensionals, Berry Bliss designer paper, Boho Blossoms punch, and the 5-Petal Flower punch.

ETA: The finished product . . . I found the "perfect" photo of Renee and Malena, so I guess I'll have to give this page to Renee. ;-)

CUT & WELDED

I had a little fun playing with the Cricut this evening. I recently purchased the DesignStudio software for the machine so I could hook it up to the computer, but I haven't read all the ways to use this software. This card is proof positive that reading instructions is, sometimes, optional. ;-) Come to think of it, I haven't even read the manual that came with the machine yet! Bad girl, I know! Anyway, I wanted to try "welding" letters, which is the software's way of allowing you to create attached letters/phrases. The letters and two white hearts in the "love you" phrase are all joined (welded) together, which is awesome! It's much easier to adhere the whole kit and kaboodle without having to work with the letters individually. The floral image is from the "One of a Kind" stamp set, and I used Stampin' Dimensionals on all of the cut layers on this card. That gorgeous paper, of course, is from the "Berry Bliss" designer series paper collection.

A BOX IS A BOX, RIGHT?

Why is it that boxes are so intriguing to stampers? Whenever I see one, my mind always begins to wonder . . . how hard is it to make, what would I use it for, how should I decorate it, etc. This box is quite an odd size, mainly because I (unknowingly at the time) didn't exactly follow the instructions, but a box is still a box, right? What made this box a ton of fun is that I used Rub-Ons to decorate it. The floral vine along the bottom and the "happy day" on the lid are rub-ons from one of the Sale-A-Bration products that will be available Feb. 1 - March 17 from Stampin' Up! There are four sheets of rub-ons in the pack, they all have the same images, but each sheet is a different color . . . black, white, Chocolate Chip, and Old Olive. With any $50+ order during the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) period, you can choose one of the SAB products. Other SU products used to make this box include the Scallop punch, Horizontal Slot punch, Circle punches, Soft Sky Double-Stitched Grosgrain ribbon, "Big Pieces" and "Little Pieces" stamp sets, Vintage eyelets, and 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon (to cover up a little scoring boo-boo). Even with it's minor imperfections, this box is still a box.

A LIGHT UNTO MY PATH

Just wanted to share my first creation with this new stamp set, "A Light Unto my Path." I colored the lighthouse image with Metallic Pencils, and put some Crystal Effects on top of the "water." The two background stamps that I used were "Sanded" and "Weathered."

PENNY SPINNER CARD

I've never attempted to upload a video to my blog without Chadrick's help, so I hope this attempt works. If so, you'll be able to see the Penny Spinner Card in action. This card was created with the Big Pieces and Little Pieces stamp sets and that awesome new Berry Bliss designer paper! Assorted punches and Stampin' Dimensionals were also used to create this project.

GLITTER, GLITTER EVERYWHERE!

I've been playing with glitter and LOVE that stuff! I'm having to learn as I go, but I can tell you a few things:

1) It's best to NOT pour the glitter onto your project (unless it's a huge project) because when you go to pour the leftover glitter back into the container, you end up losing (wasting) some of it because of its static tendency. I like to use a Q-tip (for lack of a better solution, yet undiscovered) to just drop a small amount of glitter where I want it and then just "sweep" it around onto the adhesive. Always remember: a little bit of glitter goes a looooonnnnnggggg way!

2) Which adhesive to use? Well, I've used mini glue dots for small glittered circles, and you want to be sure you don't handle the dot too much or it will lose its tackiness. SU's new Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive works wonderfully! You can also sprinkle glitter onto Crystal Effects (you might can even stir it into the CE and brush it wherever you want it), and 2-Way Glue is always good. Sticky Strip is yet another option. Speaking of Sticky Strip, I will show you two projects I did using SU's brand new "Sticky Cut Letters." If you can imagine two 12x12 sheets of Sticky Strip that have been die cut with letters, numbers, and a couple of shapes, then you can imagine what the Sticky Cut Letters product is all about. They're awesome because all you do is choose the one you want, apply it to your project, peel off the red liner, and glitter, glitter, glitter!

3) Glittered projects are HARD to photograph, but that sparkly stuff REALLY takes a project to a new, exciting level!

In the photo above, I used the "Nursery Necessities" stamp set, and glittered the edge of the moon with Light Blue glitter from the "Fine Cosmo" stack. The punched star was also glittered, but I used Dazzling Diamonds and 2-Way Glue for that. BTW, the moon was adhered to the project with Stampin' Dimensionals, and the sailboat was outlined with a Going Gray marker.

The heart on this card came from the "Sticky Cut Letters," and I decided to try something different by using two colors (Orchid and Celery) from the "Fine Cosmo Glitter" stack. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! The sentiment is from the level 1 hostess set, "For a Friend" and the heart in the center of the flower was glittered with Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive. This card also features Rhinestone Brads (Ice, square) and "From the Garden" (level 1 hostess set). I used a brayer to ink that huge floral background image and then placed the portions of the card that I wanted stamped directly onto the stamp.

The "b" on this card is another one of the "Sticky Cut Letters" that I glittered. I used the Turquoise glitter from the "Fine Cosmo" stack, and it is a BEAUTIFUL blue!!!! I can't say that I love this card, but I do love the "b".

So . . . if you learned anything from this post, it's that you can add glitter to your stampin' supplies, and you have choices of how to use it! As I make other discoveries or hear of other uses, I will be sure to pass them along. BTW, the ribbons used on this card are Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain and Kraft Taffeta, but the Kraft color is an almost exact match to Sahara Sand.

ADDED MORE COUNTRY TUNES

Since I started this blog, my mother has told me a couple of times that "there's music on there that you're too old to listen to" or "I couldn't concentrate to read your blog because of that wild music." Apparently, the "wild" songs are the ones that always come up when she's here, but I haven't been able to turn her onto them. So . . . I spent some time this evening adding more country songs. As I searched for them, one would lead to another, and I found some older ones that I remembered hearing when I was at the age to like today's wild music. One of the songs I found, though, was one I'd never heard before . . . Tracy Lawrence's "If I Don't Make It Back." Whew! That one will give chills--if not tears! What struck a chord with me is that my neighbor is currently serving in Iraq, and his wife's name is Amy. It's a nice song so, if you're not going to be here long enough to wait for that tune to play, just scroll down to find and select it. Another great one that I had never heard before is Brad Paisley's "Letter to Me." Lord, have mercy! Who among us wouldn't agree with that one?

CARD STOCK COLORS THAT MATCH DESIGNER PAPER

I thought this information might be useful to you! While these are matching colors, you may find additional color coordinates for the designer paper in the following collections.

Azure: Very Vanilla, Brilliant Blue

Bali Breeze: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Old Olive, Rose Red, Taken with Teal

Berry Bliss: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate

Cutie Pie: Bashful Blue, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron, Whisper White

East Coast Prep: Real Red, Whisper White, More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise

Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Whisper White

Ginger Blossom: Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla

Jersey Shore: Brilliant Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Le Jardin: River Rock, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Very Vanilla

Notebook: Soft Sky, Kraft, Very Vanilla

Olive Press: Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Porcelain Prints: Blue Bayou, River Rock, Wild Wasabi

Spring Break: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Whisper White

Spring Fling: Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, So Saffron, Certainly Celery

Spring Silhouettes: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla

Western Sky: Ruby Red, Soft Sky, River Rock, Blue Bayou, Whisper White

THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS AS THEY SEEM

While winding down this evening, I found a neat project to try . . . a stack of "letters" where the top envelope opens (like a lid) to reveal a cut-out portion through the other envelopes to reveal a hidden box. Of course, I had to drag out some supplies and see if I could create my own secret box. I began by inserting thin cardboard in the envelopes, sealed them, and then used a Sizzix die to cut the crescent tag shape in each envelope. Since a stack of letters/mail is hardly ever neatly lined up, I altered the placement of the die on the envelopes and then stacked them so that the crescent tag cuts--not the envelopes--were neatly lined up to form the box! The top envelope was decorated to mimic a real one with postage. I typed the 41¢ portion in Word, printed it, used a Cuttlebug die to cut the postage pieces, and then stamped them collage-style. I decided my envelope needed to look distressed, so I sponged some Creamy Caramel ink on it. To create the coffee cup stain, I poured some of Fadi's leftover coffee in a saucer, sat the bottom of a cup in the saucer, and then sat the cup on the corner of the envelope. Voila! A real coffee cup stain! ETA: The box has three beaded bracelets in it.

SU IN THE NEWS

The Co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!, Shelli Gardner, donated 85 cabins on a 7-day cruise to Bermuda to a select 85 Utah National Guard members. How awesome! You can read all about it at http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=2502054.