For Your Shower

Hello! :)
Yesterday was my son's last day of pre-k! Where does the time go? It seems like he was just a little baby and now he's a big kindergarten boy!
Today's card actually is for a baby! I used the cute Animal Stories
set by Stampin Up. I used this set on another card I made HERE. It is another baby card, but this is a great stamp set for kid's projects as well!
I also used the brand new Triple Layer Doily Punch from the Summer Mini Catalog! I LOVE this punch and it's sister Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch! They are both so much fun to use and add a little wow to your cards!
I've shared the supplies and directions for making this sweet card below!

Supplies:
- 5x6.5 Card Base is Soft Suede or Kraft
- 3 Pieces of Shimmery White Cardstock 1.75x3.75
- Scrap Pieces of Shimmery White, Regal Rose, and So Saffron
- .5x6 Strip of So Saffron
- .75x6 Strip of Regal Rose Punched with the Eyelet Border Punch
- White Ribbon
- Ink Pads in So Saffron, Regal Rose, and Soft Suede
- Animal Stories Stamp Set
- Teeny Tiny Wishes Stamp Set
- Fine Flourish Stamp
- Stamp-a-ma-Jig
- Doily Triple Layer Punch
- Modern Label Punch
- (Optional) Movers and Shapers Die, Big Shot, and Punch Windows

Directions:
1. Adhere your strip of Regal Rose onto the bottom of your card base.
2. Take your strip of So Saffron and stamp it with the Fine Flourish stamp in So Saffron. Adhere above the strip of Regal Rose.
3. Take the three pieces of Shimmery White cardstock and use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig to stamp your three animals onto the bottom of the cardstock.
4. Adhere to the card as shown in the photo above.
5. Punch your So Saffron and Regal Rose with the left setting on the Doily Punch. Punch your So Saffron, Regal Rose, and Soft Suede with the right setting on the Doily Punch.
6. Cut all of the punched doilies in half. Adhere the Regal Rose and So Saffron pieces together.
7. Adhere the doily pieces to the Shimmery White cardstock as shown in the photo above.
8. Stamp your sentiment onto Shimmery White cardstock and punch out with the Modern Label punch. Ink the Fine Flourish stamp with So Saffron and stamp the edges of the punched sentiment. (If you click on the photo above you can see it enlarged)
9. Run a scrap piece of Regal Rose through the Big Shot using the Modern Label die in the Movers and Shapers window. Adhere behind the punched sentiment. Adhere to card with foam adhesive squares.
10. Tie the white ribbon across the bottom of the card between the strips of So Saffron and Regal Rose.

Well I hope you like today's card! The colors can be altered for a boy! Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy, and Soft Suede would be so handsome!
As always if you have any questions about this card please send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
Thanks for stopping by!

1 Stamp Set...2 Cards

Hello all! :)
Next month Stampin Up will release the brand new 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog! While I am SO excited to see what new products they come out with, I am a little sad to see certain stamp sets go! Especially the fun hostess sets! Get 'em while you can!
Silhouette Sentiments is one of my favorite hostess sets. It's a very simple set that has great sentiments. I used it on a card HERE and I have used it on two different wedding cards that I'm sharing today!
When I think of making a wedding card I always think of light and simple. I shared another simple wedding card HERE. Today's cards use the Silhouette Sentiments set to make a pretty scene.

For this first card I made a window in my card base using the Curly Label punch. I simply punched once, lined up the outer curves, and punched again. I then took a pencil and lightly traced the window onto the inside of my card base. I then stamped my scene within the penciled lines.
For the sentiment I used the "For the Newlyweds" stamp from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. This stamp set is one of the best stamp sets I own. There are 24 sentiments in this set and every one of them fit in the Modern Label Punch.
I also used the Curly Label punch to punch the ends of the pink strips of cardstock on either side of my sentiment.

For the second card I simply stamp my scene onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock, cut it out, and rounded the edges.
For the sentiment I used the same stamp and used the Modern Label punch that I mentioned above!
In case you are wondering how I backed the Modern Label punch with the Wild Wasabi, I simply took a scrap piece and ran it through my Movers and Shapers Die for the Big Shot. The Punch Windows Set that go with this die are all slightly larger versions of punches. I LOVE this because I LOVE to layer! (In case you haven't noticed haha)
Another fun technique I used on both of these cards was to adhere my cardstock to my card base BEFORE I emboss. That way several of the layers are embossed along with the card base. Fun!
I hope you enjoyed these cards! I didn't post directions, but if you have any questions don't hesitate to send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com. I would be happy to answer your questions!
Have a terrific Tuesday!

Don't Judge a Stamp Set...

I've always agreed with the phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I have read many books that were wonderful but had terrible covers! After this week I'm convinced this phrase applies to stamp sets as well as books! Although I'm not quite sure how you would alter it. "Don't judge a stamp by it's black and white image in a catalog?" Haha! I hate to admit that this hostess set in the new Summer Mini wasn't my favorite stamp set in the catalog. When I got it a couple of weeks ago I wasn't that thrilled about it but I was in a Poppy Parade kind of mode. I had just been at the Gap and bought a shirt that exact color, painted my toes that color, and I was dying to use it in my papercrafting. I guess you could say Love and Care came at the right time. I started playing around with it and came up with the card above. I LOVED it and I knew my girls at Stamper's Night Out would too!
I had so much fun making that card that I just starting stamping different color combinations. Then I thought WOW! I could make Brodey's teacher a set of cards for Teacher Appreciation week!

I took several different sentiments from the Sincere Salutations set and stamped them with Basic Gray. (Basic Gray goes with any color combo) I took the smaller flower stamp and stamped around the sentiment with So Saffron ink. Then I punched the sentiments out with the Decorative Label Punch. I also adhered double sided foam adhesive squares to the backs of the sentiments. I left the backing on the adhesive so that she can add the sentiment she needs to whatever card she chooses.
So Saffron is a beautiful shade of yellow that has many beautiful color combos in the Color Coach. I ended up stamping 6 different card with 6 different sentiments. Listed below are the color combos I used for the cards starting with the card in the upper left of the photo.

Regal Rose - Early Espresso - So Saffron
Tangerine Tango - Pacific Point - So Saffron
Melon Mambo - Tempting Turquoise - So Saffron
Cajun Craze - Always Artichoke - So Saffron
Perfect Plum - Wild Wasabi - So Saffron
Poppy Parade - Baja Breeze - So Saffron

Once the cards were stamped I put the sentiments in a baggie and tied them all together with a pretty ribbon! I let Brodey stamp her a card with the same stamp set and he really enjoyed doing it!
This stamp set is a Hostess Set that is available for a limited time in the Summer Mini Catalog. If you would like more info on how to get this set please send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!
I hope you enjoyed today's post! Tomorrow I will share a Father's Day card using the new Open Sea stamp set and Nautical Expedition Paper!

Shadow Stamping

Hi all!! I hope your week has been fab!
Today I'm sharing a card that is a variation of a card we will be creating in my February Stamper's Night Out class!
My students will get to learn this FUN shadow technique in person, but I'm going to give you the quick How To today. I will be sharing my class card and a more detailed How To after my classes.
For this card I used the Thanks for Caring and Nature Walk stamp sets. I also used the Botanical Gazette Designer Series Paper.

The ink pad colors I used are:
Floral Stamp (Old Olive)
Birdcage (So Saffron for background and Early Espresso for the outline)
Butterfly (Pumpkin Pie)
Sentiment (Marina Mist)

Now the technique is the same for all of the stamped images on the card, but to make it short I'm only going to tell you how to do the birdcage image.

Birdcage Image:
1. Ink your stamp with So Saffron and stamp onto watercolor paper
2. Use your blender pen and go over the image with it so that it blurs the lines. You are just creating a shadow and this does NOT have to be perfect. The messier it is the better!
3. Ink the same stamp with the Early Espresso ink and use your Stamp-a-ma-Jig to line up the image and stamp right over the blurred image.

That's it! That's how I created these beautiful images!
For the images that are one color, I simply stamped off on a scrap piece of paper before stamping the first image. Then I just blurred it with my blender pen as in the steps above and stamped the second time with the same color!
I hope you have fun with this technique! If you have ANY questions please don't hesitate to send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

Heartfelt Thanks!

Howdy folks!
Today I wanted to do a super quick card using the Sweetheart stamp set!
This set was created to use with the Heart Treat Cups, but there are so many other ways to use this super cute set!
One of my favorite customers purchased this set recently to make little Valentine's cards with the Treat Cups. I wanted to show an easy alternative way to use this stamp set year round and without the treat cups!
I simply stamped the scalloped heart three times in Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, and Baja Breeze.
I used the Heart Punch (which is also perfect size for the Treat Cups) and punched three hearts. I dry embossed the three hearts with the Elegant Lines embossing folder. I adhered the punched hearts to the center of the stamped hearts with foams adhesive squares.
I then punched a strip of red cardstock with the Scalloped Border Punch and added it to my card.
I stamped my sentiment and punched it out with my Small Oval Punch and adhered it to a scalloped oval I punched with my Scalloped Oval Punch.
I LOVE the little birdie stamp so I stamped him on top of my sentiment and embellished with two cute little flowers I stamped with the Punch Potpourri set and punched out with the coordinating Boho Blossoms Punch.
This card took no time to put together! You can shop for any of these items 24/7 on my website OR you can come to a Stamper's Night Out to create fun cards just like this one!

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email at aprilmassad@yahoo.com!

Well I hope you enjoyed this card and have had a fabulous Friday!