Celebrate Today Graduation Card

Our neighbor's grandson trims his grandparent's hedge and always does our side, too!  I used the vellum insert from his graduation invitation to personalize the balloon on a card for him. 

The school colors are gold and green -- the new 2015 - 2017 In Color Cucumber Crush green! 






Card Dimensions:
Crushed Curry = 5 /1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".
Cucumber Crush =  5 1/4" x 4", scrap for balloon.
Whisper White = 5" x 3 3/4", scrap for flags.

With the Balloon Framelits, I die cut a scrap of Cucumber Crush card stock and the vellum insert from the invitation.  Vellum is difficult to adhere without the adhesion showing through.  Stampin' Up!'s Crystal Effects (on page 156 of the 2015 Annual Catalog) works better than anything else I have tried.  Tip:  It is best to place the Crystal Effects in the most inconspicuous area.  Can you find it on my card?  Determine where you want your balloon and then stamp a streamer.  I used the retiring gold Metallic Encore Ink. I would have used Gold Sequin Trim on page 158 of the 2015 Annual Catalog if I had had it!  Adhere the balloon to the Whisper White card stock.

The Celebrate Today flags are carefully inked with Cucumber Crush and Mettalic Gold Encore inks.  Die cut them with the Big Shot.  I used a basic gray Stampin' Write Marker to draw the string. Adhere to the Whisper White card stock.  Tip:  Use liquid glue sparingly onto the "string" and tops of flags to allow the flag bottoms to look as if they are blowing in the wind.

The sentiment is from the B.Y.O.P. set and is stamped with Cucumber Crush ink.  Additional B.Y.O.P. sentiments worked well with the enclosed gift card for the inside.

Lightly sponge the edges of the Whisper White card stock with Crushed Curry ink. 

Adhere the three card stocks together. Whisper White onto Cucumber Crush, both onto Crushed Curry.

A few gold sequin stars left from the holidays added a bit of bling!  I hope the bling is not too much for a guy!  Leave me a comment and let me know if you would use the bling for a guy.

Change the colors for your school and you will have a card for your graduate.

Here is a list of the supplies I used:

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Sprinkles of Life - Ronald MacDonald House Charities Stamp Set

A cone with chocolate and strawberry ice cream!  Yum-m-m.

The Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding card stocks are retiring. Time is short to get a supply of the retiring 2014-2015 In-Colors.  If you love them as much as I do, click here now.


The new 2005-2016 In-Colors. Watermelon Wonder and Mint Macaron will substitute nicely.   They will be available on June 2, 2015.


Card dimensions and directions remain the same whether you use my choice of colors or chose your own.


 
Card base = 5 1/2 " x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4"
Chocolate Chip card stock oval cut with 3rd from smallest Stampin' Up! Ovals Collection Framelit.
Whisper White card stock oval cut with the 2nd from smallest Stampin' Up! Ovals Collection Framelit.
Top ice cream = Strawberry Slush ink and card stock.  Punch with Tree Builder Punch.
Bottom ice cream= Chocolate Chip ink and card stock.  Punch with Tree Builder Punch.
Cone = Soft Suede ink and card stock.  Cone must be fussy cut.

Soft Suede background dots are dauber sponged over dots from the Dots and Stripes Decorative Masks.

Stamp the pieces and adhere using Stampin' Dimensionals.  Tip:  I gently rounded the cone using a pencil side in the palm of my hand so that the edges would touch the card base.  Adhere the ovals to each other and the card base.

Soft Suede stripes behind the sentiment are from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set.

Sentiment is stamped with Strawberry Slush ink.

Tie a bow of Strawberry Slush Thick Baker's Twine.  Tip:  Punch half a hole using the 1/16 inch hand held punch top and bottom of the card edge to hold the twine in place. 

I am going to try this same card design using different flavors of ice cream.  What flavors will you chose?

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Sheltering Tree Friendship Swing

You already know I love stamp sets that are versatile.  Well, here is another one!  Sheltering Tree stamp set has "a tree for all seasons" with a swing, leaves and a rake, bicycle, flowers - even snow!  One hint, the bicycle frame is a separate stamp so that you can make your bicycle any color you want.  But, don't forget it when you stamp your design!  The "splotch" works well as ground, grass or sky.  You can probably find even more uses for the pieces.

I love a bargain!  So I want to share them with you.  I want to use the Large Scallop Edgelit and the Essentials paper piercing template while they are on sale at Stampin' Up!.

The Crisp Cantaloup Thick Baker's Twine and In Color Stampin' Write Markers are on sale, too.   Hurry before these items are no longer available.  They retire on June 2, 2015.  There are many retiring items discounted now.  See all of them here.

Dimensions are:

Marina Mist card stock base = 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".

Whisper White card Stock for design = 5 1/4" x 3 7/8" and inside = 5 1/4" x 4".

With Marina Mist card stock oriented landscape and opened flat, align the Large Scallop Edgelit near the right edge of the card stock.  Use the Big Shot and cut the right front edge of the Marina Mist card stock.  Align the Essential paper piercing template and pierce along the scalloped edge.  With the Big Shot, cut the right edge of the smaller piece of Whisper White card stock with the same edgelit.  Align the same template and pierce the edge of the Whisper White card stock..   

With the scalloped edge to the right, stamp the tree trunk with Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad in the middle of the scalloped Whisper White card stock.  Stamp the leaves with Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad ink.  Ink the leaves with  Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pad; then using a Mossy Meadow Stampin' Write Marker, over mark about 10% of the leaves in a scattered fashion.  Huff on the stamped leaves to reactive the ink and stamp the leaves slightly offset from the already stamped leaves.  Double stamping gives the leaves more depth.

Stamp the swing on a bottom branch.  I used Soft Suede Stampin' Write Marker for the rope and Early Espresso marker for the seat of the swing.

Stamp the sky with Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad ink on the "splotch" stamp.  Stamp off without adding more ink slightly higher but so that they overlap.  Clean the "splotch" and stamp under the tree with Pear Pizzazz ink and then Old Olive ink.  Overlap the "grass" colors.

If desired, stamp a greeting under the tree with any of the ink pads mentioned above.

To adhere the stamped card stock to the Marina Mist card base, you should have about as much space showing to the left and right of the piercing on the scalloped area of the Marina Mist card base.  Glue into place.

Tie a length of Crisp Cantaloupe twine around the left edge of the card.  TIP:  To stabilize your twine, use a 1/16th inch hand held punch, make a groove top and bottom of the card front 1/4 inch in from the left fold.  Position the punch to only cut half of the circle.

Stamp a greeting onto the larger piece of  Whisper White card stock with Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad.  Adhere to the inside of the card.

Below are the Stampin' Up! products I used.  Several are on sale until June 2. 2015 or until supplies are gone.  See here.

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It's a Cupcake Kind of Day!

Who doesn't like a smiling cherry atop a cupcake?  I just can not let go of the 2013- 2015 In Colors!  Here is a birthday card using Soft Suede "chocolate" cake bases with Pistachio Pudding, Daffodil Delight and Strawberry Slush frosting. 

Use the Cupcake Party stamp set and stamp scraps of Whisper White card stock with Soft Suede ink for the cake bottoms.  Use other scraps to stamp the "pistachio pudding, lemon (daffodil delight) and strawberry slush frosting".  Punch them out using the Cupcake Builder punch on page 223 of the 2014-15 annual catalog.  (Or page 187 of the 2015 -16 catalog.)  TIP:  Use small scraps and a sticky note to hold the stamped pieces in place to avoid wasting card stock on cut outs you do not want to use.

Card stock dimensions are:
Daffodil Delight card base is 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" , scored at 4 1/4" .
Calypso Coral is 2 1/2 " x 4 1/2 ".  The edge is punched with a retired punch.  Any edge punch would look nice.
Coastal Cabana is 2" x 4 1/4".
Whisper White is 1 7/8" x 4 1/8".

Adhere the cupcake bottoms to the Whisper White card stock.  Use Stampin' Dimensionals to raise the "frosting" above the cake bottom.  Add a cherry or HB flag on top!

Sale-A-Bration Best Day Ever Designer Series Paper, 1" x 5 1/2",  is adhered across the bottom of the Daffodil Delight card stock with a banner cut greeting raised with Stampin' Dimensionals on the right side. 

 Although it is a fun birthday card, you could leave off the HB flag and use it for any occasion.  Leave me a comment telling for what occasion you used this card.  Thanks for stopping by.

Here are the supplies I used to make "It's a Cupcake Kind of Day" card.

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Blooming with Kindness

I am always sad when Stampin' Up! retires a stamp set that I find very versatile, like Blooming with Kindness.  But, the good news is that there are new stamp sets with great versatility in the 2015 - 2016 catalog which will be available on June 2, 2015!  Yeah!!  Before Blooming with Kindness retires, I wanted to share two cards with you.  If you like this stamp set, too, you can purchase it until June 2, 2015.  The clear set is sold at regular price, but the wood mount stamp set is discounted to $17.21 now.  You can purchase it at a discount here.  Oh, you prefer clear sets?   See the clear set here.

These two cards use the same design but different techniques.

The flower on the birthday card to the right is stamped onto Perfect Plum card stock with Whisper White Craft ink, immediately sprinkled with white embossing powder, then heated to set. 

The above sympathy card is stamped with Perfect Plum ink onto Whisper White card stock. 
 

The remainder of the cards are done alike.  The overlaid card stock, Pink Pirouette on the sympathy card and Whisper White on the birthday card, are made with the Big Shot using the 3 inch die from the Circles Collection on page 231 of the annual catalog.  Then they are dry embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots folder on page 226 of the annual catalog.

I will use the sympathy card to demonstrate the remainder of the steps to complete either card.

 Position the overlay card stock atop the card base.  Hold one side with fingers and thumb spread to hold the entire length of the card in position.  Gently slip the Stamp-a-ma-jig 's stamped mylar sheet under the overlay and position it inside the cutout circle.

Carefully remove the overlay card stock and set it aside.  Position the Stamp-a-ma-jig at the edge of the stamped mylar sheet, remove mylar and stamp the flower onto the front of the card base.







The greetings are stamped on a scrap of Whisper White card stock.  The Perfect Plum taffeta ribbon was in my stash.  You can pleat with any soft ribbon.

Cut a length of Sticky Strip found on page 204 in the annual catalog.  If you do not have Sticky Strip, hurry, it is retiring on June 2, 2015.   Secure one end of the ribbon to the back of the overlay card stock.  TIP:  Leave the protective red plastic on the end of the sticky strip that will wrap to the back at the end to prevent it from sticking to your work surface.  Begin to pleat the ribbon by pushing it onto the tape.  Continue to pleat until you reach where you wish to adhere the greeting.   Secure the edge on the back of the card stock.  If you wish to use a piece of a doily, abut the top edge of the doily to the ribbon and adhere before adding the greeting. Adhere greeting to ribbon.

Align completed overlay onto stamped Whisper White card base.





 
Here are the items used to make these cards.  Many of them are already in your craft space!  To purchase any items, click here.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Good grief, Charlie Brown, I forgot to tell you about the Stamp-a-ma-jig!  Love this handy little gadget!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Fun visit with family on Cape Cod

Hubby and I just spent a wonderful week visiting his sister on Cape Cod.  Loved all the spring flowers that were popping up.  It is always such a treat here in California to buy cut daffodils in tight buds to watch them open the next day.  It was a real treat to see them blooming in the ground.

 Look at these flowers!

We had a great time on Janice's birthday.  She chose to have lunch with her cousins at Patriot Park in Foxboro, MA to celebrate her day.  We were thrilled because that meant we could visit with the family while we were there, too.

I guess some of the patrons at Davios Restaurant are not as strong as others.  We all had a good laugh about the sign on the restaurant door.  The food was delicious, and we ate it with passion!  It was great to share the afternoon with Sara, Nancy and Peter and catch up on what they have been doing!

I am not much of a sports enthusiast, would rather craft; but, I was impressed at the largeness of a professional sports venue.  Not to offend any of you football fans who cheer for another team, but.......... I just had to take a picture while we were there!  Can you believe how high some of those seats are above the action?

Gillette Stadium, Home of the New England Patriots

Our visit was way too short.  We are back in California now, hangin' with Wesley, our dog, and back to everyday life.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time...................