A Very Special Thank You

Have you ever had the opportunity to meet someone who has unknowingly inspired you in some way? Recently I had the opportunity to meet someone who has touched my life in many ways over the years, and continues to be an inspiration. Long story short - this card is for that person!

I needed a Thank You card, and found this perfect sketch on Stampin Addicts. I used the Thank You from this year's Sale-A-Bration Set Outlined Occasions to create this card. I have always thought shades of Green and Purple look great together!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you find something that inspires you!

Snow Much Christmas

Okay I admit it's a bit of an early start for Christmas Cards, bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifut I joined a challenge on Stampin' Addicts: Christmas/Hanukkah 2012 Challenge and needed to make a few holiday cards before the end of the month. I used this week's Stamping 411 Sketch as a jumping off point and came up with this:
I think holiday cards are so much fun when they are "out of the box" or done in not so traditional colors. This card uses Snow Much Fun stamp set along with my SAB Everyday Enchantment DSP, and my favorite In Colors - Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, and Pool Party!

Thanks for stopping by today to see what's new!

It's Time for A Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop!

Thank you for stopping by for the Stampin' Addicts Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop. If you have been following this blog from the beginning you have arrived from Sharon's Blog Created By You where she was showcasing one of my most favorite stamp sets ever - Kindness Matters. Did you see her incredible Mixed Media Canvas? I have GOT to try that! I am super excited that I can finally share the projects I have been working on for this blog hop! Today I am showcasing the Designer Frames Embossing Folders. When I first laid eyes on these babies my mind's eye started picturing all kinds of things I could make with them and they were a "must have"!Up first is this card was made using some of my favorite accessories. The Window Panes fit just perfectly inside this rectangle frame. The Lucky Limeade Ribbon from the Everyday Enchantment Ribbon and Brad Pack is divine, and the Basic Pearls added just the right finishing touch.
Of course no Gift Set is complete without a box to go with it! These Kraft Gift Boxes are sized to fit small gifts and treats. I used the rectangle frame to create a matching tag with a layered center I stamped using the Elementary Elegance Stamp Set that coordinates perfectly with Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper, both can only be found in your Sale-A-Bration Catalog. I think this little box is my favorite out of all these projects I'm sharing today! Here's a close-up of the top:
My final project is this set of Valentine Tags. I sure enjoyed coming up with some fun ways to embellish these frames and they will eventually be attached to some sweet Valentine Treats! I used a lot of Occasions Mini Catalog goodies to decorate this set of tags - Wysteria Wonder and Blushing Bride In Color Baker's Twine, More Embossing Folders, PS I Love You Stamps and Candy Conversation Heart A la Carte, and my favorite new spray Blushing Bride Smooch Spritz, and Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details.


Thanks for stopping by My Magical Inkery Tour. I hope you enjoyed my projects. The next stop on the hop is Shelly's Blog: Miss Mad Stamper. You are going to love the projects she made with the Elementary Elegance Stamp Set!

Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop Starts Tomorrow!

Come back tomorrow and see the projects I've created using the Designer Frames Textured Embossing Folders - one of Stampin' Up!'s Sale-A-Bration Items! I can't wait to share them with you, and I really can't wait to see all the other creations my friends over at Stampin' Addicts have created

Mission Re-Organization

I decided last week to give up my stamp room for my son to use as storage space- it was getting cold in there anyway - and decided to try and hide my business away in the rest of my house. I started by weeding out my old and retired stamps. A couple of very nice people walked away with some amazing deals! Then I moved my newly organized stamps into a new home:


And put my desk into an empty corner of our dining room. The ink pads on top are easy enough to tuck into a closet if we decide we need the dining room for a party or get together. Unless of course we are stamping, which takes place at the table behind it! Anyway here is where all my magic happens!


Onto storage for other stuff. I think I did pretty good here. (Please ignore any cobwebs you might spy) There are stamping supplies stored on every shelf and in each basket, bucket and repurposed drawer. In the small photo storage boxes I have ribbons sorted by color, markers, watercolor pencils, smooch, pearls and crystals, reinkers, etc. All neatly organized and easy to find - for me - not so easy for curious grandchildren....well on second thought at least they are easy to put on top! There are two of these, one on each side of our front window:


The only drawback about living in an old house is teeny and unheated rooms!
I'm thinking of using another deep antique picnic basket I have for my Big Shot, and I still need a paper solution....but I'm working on that. Its nice to be able to work on projects and still interact with my family...the heat is a nice feature too. Anyway, I guess you can see why I haven't posted any new projects in the past week or so!

another Valentine....

Here is the last prepared sample I have from my Designer Cut Card Pack, I guess I'll be making more tomorrow, and I'm glad I saved a few because today I saw a totally cool technique I am going to try on one of those cards! Can't wait - but until then, here's one to hold you over. Enjoy!

Another Designer Cut Card

Seriously, for as long as I've been a SU Demonstrator, I have never bought a package of pre-made cards of any kind, but when I saw this set in the Occasions Mini, my imagination started running with all the things I could do with these! On this card, I began by using my new heart shaped Framelits dies to cut out the gorgeous laser cut heart from the center of the card (there are 4 in this package!) and layered it onto a Real Red heart cut from the same die. Then I layered both onto a larger heart cut from the same die set out of Real Red Glimmer Paper - again this stuff is awesome - no messy glitter in your hair, on your clothes, all over the floor - well you get the picture! Next I pleated some Silver Waffle Paper, another fun thing to work with, around the back of my heart and stuck it onto the extra piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock that I had left over from the card I just pulled apart (I am a Queen of Scrap!)

Speaking of the scraps from this card, I also used the remainder of my card to run through the Big Shot again with the Hearts folder from the Adorning Accents Textured Embossing Folders, and the banner from my Petal Cone Die, which was stamped with a greeting from the new PS I Love You Stamp Set! Lastly I used a few scraps of First Edition Specialty Paper. This stuff is great on any project, and a little goes a long way, I bought a package of it almost a year ago and I think I still have half of it left after using it almost weekly on various projects!

Here's a close-up of that adorable laser cut heart for you:



Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great week!

Designer Cuts

One of my favorite picks from the 2012 Occasions Mini is the Designer Cuts Cards and Envelopes Set. I really liked the simplicity of the card pictured in the catalog, so I had to make one for myself!

I started by layering a sheet of Real Red behind the heart cut out. Then I stamped the greeting from PS I Love You, threaded a piece of Calypso Coral Baker's Twine through a Twitterpated Button and stuck it onto the heart with a Mini Glue Dot. I finished by giving the whole card a generous spritz of Blushing Bride Smooch. I am really appreciating how the products and colors from these collections really blend and coordinate with each other.

Stop by again this week to see how many different looks you can get with this package of cards!

Thoughts and Kindness

Sympathy cards are never an easy thing to send, but I know the people receiving them appreciate the thought. The Beau Chateau Side Notes are useful for any card you might need, including sympathy, birthdays, thank yous and much more. I like the layers they add to a card or project, and they coordinate with so many stamp sets.

For this card I began by running some Baja Breeze through my Big Shot with the Vintage Wall Paper Embossing Folder, then stamped a combination of images from Thoughts and Prayers and Kindness Matters Stamp Sets on the Post Card from the Side Notes Collection in Baja Breeze and Soft Suede Classic Inks.

The butterflies were cut with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die from Very Vanilla Card Stock and Smooched with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz that I customized with a few drops of Mambo Melon and Pink Pirouette Classic Ink Refills. Did you know that you could color your Smooch with that stuff? That's right - I also have some in Lucky Limeade and Baja Breeze!

I then embellished the post card with some Basic Pearls, Quilted Satin Ribbon (retired) and an antique brad. I adhered all the layers together and ended up with this sweet card. I only wish I hadn't needed a sympathy card that day.

Thanks for stopping by today!

New Dies!

Well I did it! I finally escaped to my cave and broke out some new dies to make this card. Isn't the edge of this card fabulous? The new Edgelit Dies and coordinating Embossing Folders really give cards and boxes a great edge.


I paired up a Crumb Cake card base with some Everyday Enchantment DSP and the coordinating Ribbon and Brads Pack. Both are exclusive Sale-A-Bration items from this year's SaleABration Catalog and will be available beginning January 24th. The doily was cut from a sheet of flirtation DSP, and eeven the sweet flower in the center was cut out of the Everyday Enchangment paper, proving once again that you can make great cards without breaking out the ink...of course I would never make a habit out of that!

Thank You Medallion

This is a goodie I made using stamp sets from the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog. The main image was stamped using the Blossom from Friends Never Fade. I used my Stampin' Write Markers in Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Lucky Limeade to get the multi colored image from one stamp. I find this works best when I condition my bold stamps by lightly sanding the image with a sanding block. This only needs to be done once and then your stamp is good to go. For whatever reason it helps the ink to stick better. Any white or lighter spots can then be blended with the marker, a blending pen or a small watercolor brush.

Next I embossed the image with a designer frame from the Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Set. This folder is transparent, so it makes it super easy to center your pre-stamped image on the inside, then I cut it out and layered it over some DSP from the 2011 Holiday Mini (now retired)that I cut into a banner.

I stamped "Thanks" in the lower right hand corner of my Lucky Limeade CS with one of the phrases from the Kindness Matters Stamp Set, also in the IBC - and soon to be offered as one of the FREE Stamp Sets in the upcoming Sale-A-Bration Catalog! I finished the card front off with a line of Basic Pearls under the phrase and layered it onto a 4 1/4" x 8 1/2" piece of Naturals Ivory scored and folded in half.

A fun trick you can do with your envelopes is to seal your A-5 Envelope closed and trim off the end in order to turn it into a 4 7/8 x 4 7/8 square. Then using a 4 7/8 x 3 1/4 scrap of coordinating DSP scored 1/2" from the end, you can create a coordinating flap for your card, making the perfect sized envelope to fit a 4 1/4" square card. Just round off the corners and you're done. Easy-Peasy!



For more cards using this sketch check out this Stamping 411 Challenge!

Special Notes

I made this A2 Cardbox to hold a set of notecards. After making this box, I created two layers using Pool Party and Very Vanilla with my Delicate Doilies Stamp Set. Then I used my distressing kit to give them an aged and vintage look. The butterflies were cut out using chipboard and Newsprint DSP, then embellished with Glass Glitter in Champagne and Baja Breeze. The punched flowers were created with the Scalloped Circle Punch, and the Five Petal Punch. The 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon was colored with my sponge dauber and Island Indigo Ink Pad, then the whole project was assembled and spritzed with Silver Smooch.

I wanted to keep the notecards plain - they are more of a card front than a note card, but I am considering working on them some more, adding stamps and a few layers in order to jazz them up a little!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Birthday!

Tonight we are celebrating one more birthday in our family. Rick will be....well lets just say he's getting old enough that birthdays are starting to hit hard! Last night I had a brilliant idea - nothing like waiting til the last minute, huh? - to invite his sisters and their families over for a surprise celebration. hopefully they will arrive here just before he gets home - teehee - I think even Emma kept this one a surprise!

Anyway this is the card I made for him. It didn't turn out quite like I expected but I had no time to go back and fix it up, you know with needing to clean up the house after a week of mad stamping, and cooking a dinner for 15 on a day's notice. All I can say is thank goodness for oblivious husbands who walk by dining room tables in the dark, not noticing the three bowls of dip. And thank goodness too for cold New England nights and old houses with unheated pantrys! hehe

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

One More Sneak Peek!

This card uses a Sweet Sunday Sketch from waaay back in November. Sometimes I enjoy taking other people's designs and making them my own and this was one such card. I used the Sweet Shop DSP from the upcoming Occasions Mini - available starting January 4th and the coordinating Jelly Bean Brads also from the Occasions Mini! I love this paper, the white polka dots are dry embossed and the other pages have some of my current favorite colors. I am even liking Pool Party once again!

Thanks for stopping by today. Stay warm I hear its about to get really cold outside!

A Trillion Gazillion Thank-You's!

Is that a real number? According to Emma it sure is and this year I need that many Thank You cards when I return to school on Tuesday! I couldn't think of a better way to use my scraps and left overs from this year's Holiday Mini-Catalog. I am always sad to see some of the items in these mini's retire. I will miss the Holly Berry Designer Series Paper and the Stocking Punch the most. This was a fabulous grouping of items.

However I am also looking ahead to a great Occasion's Mini Catalog - ready to go "live" on Wednesday! As you might have noticed from my previous posts this week, I have been trying out some of those new items and stamps. I love the new dies, and the Sweet Shop Product Suite is hands down my new favorite - I might even order the coordinating sticker sheets!

Anyway - that's my post for today. Best Wishes to everyone for a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Printer's Tray Club

Join me this year in a series of classes to decorate your favorite Printer's Tray or Shadow Box. This first class will take place on Saturday February 4th @ 1:00 and will feature a Valentine's Theme. I am planning for Easter, Patriotic, Fall and Holiday classes to follow. This design leaves plenty of room for you to customize with your favorite photos or mementos. All materials are included in the class fee. Contact me for more information.