Inspire Me

Have you done your laundry?

Now that seems like a strange question, doesn't it?

I want to tell you a secret about me. First of all I don't do the laundry in my house my DH does, how spoiled am I? But I'm the one that goes through the laundry picking out the dryer sheets and saving them. So for this project you can use any stamp you own and a used dryer sheet. And this is what you get:

I started with the Winter Wonderland stamp from I Brake For Stampsand stamped that with black Staz-On onto Stampers Select white cardstock.

I used Staz-On so that I could color my image with my Marvy markers and be sure that the colors wouldn't bleed. In this case I put some lt blue and yellow into the sky, dark green on two of the trees and added a grey roof to the left. Here is what the original stamp looks like:

This stamp would be beautiful stamped all on it's own and in just about any color.

Here's how this works:

1. Stamp your image
2. Color as desired
3. Run your image through your Xyron sticker maker, face down. Basically you want the front of your image to have an even layer of sticky all over it. You could also use red sticky tape in the large size or adhesive spray.
4. Take your used dryer sheet* and lay it over the top of your image.
5. Trim excess dryer sheet off the image
6. Cover the top of your dryer sheet image with clear or white micro-glitter. (There's my bling) (this would be fun using different colors of glitter also, like a pale blue or gold)
7. Rub the glitter into the dryer sheet with your fingers. Rub aggressively to work the glitter into all the crevices.
8. If you feel that you have a lot of "fuzzies" from the dryer sheet, then this is the time to gently pull them off. Or leave them for effect, it's all up to you.
9. Tap off excess and finish card as desired. This is also a great technique for any scrapbook page. I just wouldn't use it over a photo (I'm not sure how acid free the sheets are) But over any other part of your page would be fun!

*Just a small tip that I have discovered doing this. It works much better the thinner your dryer sheet is. So I take a sanding black and really scuff them up to thin them out a little. You don't want big rips and tears in them, just to have them look thin and slightly shredded. This way the glitter really works into your image.

In this case, my card has the appearance of looking at this scene through a snowy winter night (Which is very typical here in Maine). The glitter gives the appearance of freshly fallen snow. And just think how intrigued your receivers will be when they get this amazing card. Believe me it will take them a while to figure out what you did. Here's a close-up:

I also ran the Winter Wonderland saying through my Xyron machine and added glitter to that also. To finish the card, I sure this won't surprise you, I used Stardream metallic cardstock from Cut cardstock in Emerald, Opal & Lapis. The rust cardstock is from Kaiser Crafts.

This technique would also be fun on a Halloween project. I would love to see you try this and show me what you have done. You can also see more examples of Dryer Sheet cards on Split Coast Stampers.

So get going, grab those used dryer sheets and save them! LOL!

See you all tomorrow!

Cheryl

 

3-D Butterflies

I want to share with you a quick and simple card that I think is just beautiful, 3-D images:

This butterfly has 4 layers, each layer if raised in-between with foam dots. What I love about these 3-D images is that all you have to do is pop them out of their sheet. How easy is that? This is what the entire sheet looks like:

It's just so simple. If you can count to 4 then you can do this! Simply punch out #1, punch out #2 and layer it directly on top of #1 using foam dots to raise that layer, then repeat with the next two layers.

You can use whatever thickness of foam dot you like to make your image as dimensional as desired.

To finish this card I matted it on to a piece of Stardream Metallic Fuse Fairway from Cut Cardstock. After running my card through a Cuttlebug embossing folder (Stardream Metallic Onyx) I added a strip of Stardream Chiara Metallic Coral along the edge and a thin piece of Black satin ribbon.

To add Bling (Can't forget the Bling) I used Kaiser Crafts pearls in Lush in the center of each flower, a few on the embossed portions of the card and one on the bow.

My Sentiment comes from a whole collection of Love sayings from I Brake For Stamps.

Here is what a side view of my card looks like - so you can see the dimension:

Beautiful, isn't it? Also here are what the other three pieces look like that you still have from the original sheet. So you could make up to 4 different projects and combine them with any paper or stamps that you already own.

Remember I had done one of these 3-D cards for a baby shower and I had to hand cut each layer. As far as time and end results I like these pop-out ones even better! Time efficiency it works for my busy days!

And a semi-side view of the three pieces.

These sheets come in a variety of designs and work so well with what you already own for paper, inks & Stamps. And at only $2.50 per sheet you can't go wrong!

To see the rest of the sheets simply click on the New Products Photo Album in the left column. That will show you what I am currently carrying in stock.

 

Balloon Festival

Every year in my area the two connecting cities sponsor a Hot Air Balloon Festival. It's usually pretty amazing to see the balloons and especially the character balloons. For us it started Friday night around 6:00 pm when about a dozen of the balloons came right up over the roof top of our house. Sometimes I think we have the best view in the city. I would like to share some of those amazing photo's with you.

Coming up over the top of the neighbors house. Sometimes It appeared that they were so close they might hit.

Coming right up over the roof line of our house. These guys were so close they actually talked to us and waved. The boys just loved that!

The boys getting a birds eye view of all the balloons as they soared higher & Higher.

A view from our backyard. They were coming from all directions. I couldn't snap the photos fast enough.

The the next morning at 5:00 a.m. we all went to the launching field to watch the balloons take off by 6. Unfortunately the weather did n't cooperate enough for the balloons to take off until 8:00, but they all inflated. So here are some of the specialty balloons.

The Panda. This balloon was huge! I was only a few feet away from this cutie!

This is Oggy the Dragon. He was so huge that I couldn't get all of him in my camera. Here he is in phase 1 of being blown up. So I had to take photos of him in parts.

And here he is from the back, pretty cute patutie, wouldn't you say? I was about 50 feet from him.

Then when it appeared as though the balloons weren't going to take off, two of the balloons started giving Tether rides. So I thought, "what the heck, let's give it a shot" What I really meant was that my DH and the boys could give it a shot. I mean really who would have been the photographer? So here my three guys going up. I only got one shot and then the camera died. Isn't that always the way? 

 It was a great morning and I could share so many other photos with you.

If you ever have a chance to go to one of these events it truly is amazing. And the Balloonists are the nicest people! They all have these trading cards that they hand out to the kids. It's just so darn cute!

Oh, one more story. This is just so darn precious! There was this very elderly man walking around the launching area. I noticed him struggling on the un-even ground. So I started keeping an eye on him as he approached each balloon, asked a series of questions and just got the happiest look on his face. After each balloonist that he met with his smile grew and grew. Well don't you know that when they started to give tether rides he was one of the first. He had to be picked up to even get into the balloon, but when he was going up he squealed, like a little kid. He raised his cane in the air with both hands and just shook it, as if he had just won the gold medal! It was the most touching thing I ever saw. Not a person in the crowd wasn't smiling with him and when he landed the roar of clapping was amazing. After that his smile was worth a million $$. I wish I had taken a photo of him, but I was worried that might seem rude. But I can tell you this, he made my day! It goes to prove you're never to old or too young to try new things in life!

So that's it for weekend news. I hope you're weekend was just as amazing and beautiful!

Merry Christmas Piercing

I have always loved the look of pierced paper. But I truly don't have the patience to do Peragamo. Although I certainly do respect the individuals that do that beautiful work.

I love piercing since it makes beautiful Scrapbook pages along with easy cards. For today's sample I finished a card, but in the next few days I hope to show you how well this will work on a page also. Ornare, the company that makes the piercing templates and other items also makes these incredible kits. So I thought I would try one. It came with four card fronts, cardstock & envelopes.

Here are the four designs:

Click on the picture to see a close up. Each piece has a beautiful photo and on the reverse side is the template for piercing. They look like this:

The darker frame line is there so that if you would like to follow the outline of the pierced template you can just trim it with scissor. This is what one of the card fronts looks like. Once your card is finished you never see the black template only the awesome pattern you pierced on the front.

Here is the card I finished:

Of course I couldn't just follow the directions I had to change it up a bit. So using my Oval nestabilities I die cut out the center picture. Then created an Scalloped oval mat for it. Once I cut out my photo that obviously leaves a hole but the larger scalloped mat covers the hole right back up.

IRL there is a lot of shimmer on this card. Using my Marvy Twinklettes, I highlighted the veins of the Holly and parts of the pine cones. I also added extra dimension to the lantern in the same way, by following the lines with glitter markers. I added a touch of yellow stickles to the flame and Opal liquid Pearls to the white berries in the bows.

It has been matted on Stardream Metallic Anthracite from Cut Cardstock and a simple sheer knot of red added to the side.

I stamped Merry Christmas (My Sentiments Exactly - P715) and embossed it in China Red EP from PK Glitz.

It's actually quite elegant and the piercing went along very quickly. I was actually able to take it outside to sit under the canopy and watch the boys play.

What I really like about this kit is that it retails for only $5 and no special tools are necessary. Yes you can buy the piercing tool and mat but if you're not sure how much you'll like this I also suggest a long needle with the top wrapped in a rubber band to help with a grip and the backside of a soft mouse-pad.

This is also a great way to recycle old Christmas Cards. By simply buying a piercing template you can create great frames, then cut out the focal picture from an old card, bling it up a bit and then put it all together. How's that for reducing, reusing and recycling? And still wowing the receiver?

I'll be back with more samples. Oh, and of course wouldn't this look incredible with a touch of Flower Soft???

Flower Soft In-Stock

Have you seen some of the new products from Flower Soft? Beautiful, simply Beautiful. And the best part of it all is that I have it in stock and ready to ship to your front door. To see of of their products just go to Flower Soft. But let me highlight some of the new Christmas things:

Well I could just post pictures forever, but go take a look yourself. And if you have any questions just let me know. Also be sure to check their Stockists (their way of saying local retailers) to see if anyone in your area is now carrying it.

And if no one in your area is carrying it then drop me a line and we'll get you some to play with. Back soon with some awesome cards.

 

TA-TA

Cheryl

Olympic Gold

Sorry, no post today. I got so caught up in watching the Olympics yesterday that I never got to actually finishing any of the projects I had for you.

I mean really how can you not watch and admire these people? They dedicate their entire lives to this one event. And what about Michael Phelps, the swimmer - holy cow!

And the Men's gymnastics team, the women's gymnastics team, the women's volleyball team, the very young synchronized swimmers, the equestrian people. My hat's off to all of them. Congratulations for all your hard work and dedication - We love you!

I'm such a cry baby sometimes, I've never cried so much as when I'm watching the Olympics. It's just so moving. My DH just chuckles at me and hands me the tissues. He says he never cries over a football game. Men, gotta love them but sometimes they are truly just out on Mars, :)

So anyhow, that's my little soapbox speech for today and I will be back tomorrow.

In the meantime, take care and have a great day!

Bald & Bleary Eyed

Funny Title, huh? I needed to make a birthday card for a friend of mine that is turning the big "40". Since he's a guy I tried to keep it simple but I couldn't resist using this saying from Hambo Stamps:

Isn't that saying just a little mean? Actually it's perfect!

Now I hope that you're looking at how it appears to be slightly cricked. And your saying Cheryl, Come on can't you see it's slightly off? Bugs ya, doesn't it? Guess what I did it on purpose, just slightly off - just enough to make him wonder. I do tell him on the inside that I did that to him though, so I'm not totally heartless. I can be a little mean (In a slightly off weird kind of way) when it comes to my friends. Believe me they have all messed with me at one time or another. What are friend's for?

But you just have to check out Hambo, they have some of the best sayings I ever seen!

If you do check them out, let me know what your favorite saying is. I love the one that has three bags of flour and then the saying goes, "Don't say I never sent you flours"  Too funny.

My Supplies:

• Saying from Hambo Stamps
• Paper, Summer Sun & Blue bayou from SU
• Vellum, American Traditional Designs
• Yellow & Red Stickles
• Misc. Red brads
• Nestabilities oval & scalloped oval
• Offray Ribbon 

Have a great day!

Christmas Medallions

Well I've been a crazy person these past few days. Working on a ton of Design Team projects. So today I would like to share some amazing medallion that my Mom made. All three of these medallions are from I Brake for Stamps. Just tell Della where you saw these, it'll put a smile on her face. Okay onto the medallions

This medallion is stamped on patterned paper and accented with Stickles, and Kaiser rhinestones.

We'll call this medallion 1

This green medallion is backed on Cardstock from Cut Cardstock. Again the medallion is accented with Stickles and Kaiser Rhinestones. Can you tell we come from the same cloth? Yup, that would be the cloth made of Bling, :) That has to be my Grandmother's, her Mom, fault. My Memere (French for Grandmother)loved the bling! Remember, Mom??

Medallion 1 done in different colors

This medallion features Stickles, Geo Shapes from Stampendous and puffed hearts from K&Co. It has been embossed in Black.

This is medallion style 2

More wonderful bling using medallion 2

I think that this purple one may be my favorite. It also features Medallion 1

Medallion 2

And finally a beautiful medallion featuring style # 3.

Do you see all the endless possibilities with just these three stamps?! And my Mom tells me that these took her no time to do at all. She said she picked her paper, stamped, embossed, cut and blinged.

Can't you see these hanging on a tree, a gift within a Christmas Card, just add a cord to hang it.

Thanks Mom, for doing such awesome work!

You may think that these medallions look familiar, I had used them in a tile project some time ago. Stamping On Tiles

So let me remind you again where to get these awesome tiles, I Brake for Stamps. While you're there take a moment and look at all the other wonderful stamps Della has.

Have a great day!

Happy Holidays

You all know how much I love Cut Cardstock's paper. Between the color selection, the quality and the total shimmering bling of it, well it's just amazing. So what could have been better than a sketch contest put on by them highlighting their paper?! So here is my card and all the deets:

 We had to follow a sketch that is on their blog site  and then post it to our blog or another site. I have also posted this on SplitCoast Stampers.

Here is a list of the colors that I used:

Pre-Folded card in Stardream Metallic Antique Gold

Half Circle and star in Malmero Perle Yellow

Tree stamped on Dali Dore White and matted on Stardream Metallic Emerald. The faux ribbon is a combination of the Emerald layered with a smaller strip of the antique Gold. IRL this card just shimmers. I wish I could find a way to capture the beauty of this paper.

The Tree is from The Stamp Barn - Scribble Tree. I stamped it with ColorBox Evergreen pigment ink and embossed it with Ranger Clear EP. Inside the little openings I placed various colors of Dot Sparklers from Stampendous. Now you could do so many other things with these openings in this scribble tree, like use your Twinkling H2O's or color them in with your Twinklettes or use glitter - It's all up to you. I colored the star with a yellow Twinklette and the added Diamond Glaze over the top and placed one more Dot Sparkler in the center. I wanted to make it appear as if it was twinkling.

The Happy Holidays stamp is from My Sentiments Exactly, Holiday Titles. And finally the Happy New Year is from Fiskars.

You're right that the star hangs over the edge of the card. I did that on purpose, so that when the receiver gets the card it is designed to sit on the edge of a shelf or counter or it could be hung also. It would look like this on a mantle:

Cool, Huh? Always make sure your card stands out. Have you started your Christmas cards yet? I'd love to know when you start, and how many you plan on making.

What would you all think of a Christmas Card Swap? Let me know and we'll get it together.

Have a great day!

Fairytale

Sometimes in our everyday routines life hands you a fairytale. I just finished this little project as a surprise for a friend of mine. I used the same purse template that I had used yesterday.

This is the front side of the little purse album. There are several pages, I'll show you each one. Notice how cute these girls are and this was just one of their normal everyday play-times.

Inside Cover

Pages 1 & 2 - This is their dog Sunny. I've been her babysitter almost every weekend this summer. It's great having a dog, but not owning it. And she's so well behaved.

Pages 3 & 4

My friend is a little funny sometimes. One day she decided to paint hearts on her walkway that lead to her house. Never knowing that it would suit this play day so well.

Pages 5 & 6

Page 7 and the inside of the back cover.

I turned the photo black & white then with my pastels I colored in their pink dresses.

And lastly, just the sweetest damn picture I've ever seen! I love my boys but they would never dress in little gowns and kiss each other. Instead they might burp or wrestle or run around making loud noises. Ah, but alas I do love them so.

So I hope my friend likes this. It's for her birthday.

Now for the supplies I used, there were so many:

• Purse template from Deja Views
• Diva & Leopard papers from The Scrapbook Diva
• Polished Stone papers from Murdock's
• Lots of corner punches, Jolee's embellishments, Some Quickutz, and probably lots of other things that I've missed.

I probably should leave a notebook by my station when I work on this stuff then It would be easy to remember. But if you could see my workspace right now - I can't even see the surface! Doesn't the saying go that the messier the cook the better the food? I think we can translate that to our stamping and scrapping also, don't you.