Friday, December 4, 2015

Winter Holiday Punch Art Tag Set!

Today I'm posting the second project from Craft Project Central.  These cute holiday punch art tags were created by Yapha Mason and you can find the tutorial for them at Craft Project Central.  Just a reminder that I am giving away one FREE monthly subscription for the month of December to Craft Project Central.  That's 10 tutorials for free!  I will give you all the details mid December.  :)


Punch art is a fun way to create images that you may not have stamps for, as well a great way to get extra mileage out of your punches. In this project we will create punch art images for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve. Each of these images is part of a cute tag, and all of the tags fit nicely in a decorative box. Includes a matching card for gift giving. These fun punch art designs are great for a club or a class, or just a fun winter afternoon of crafting.




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Thanks for looking and have a great day!
Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Thinking of You at Christmas

So how are your Christmas cards coming?  I hope better than mine are since I really have no idea if I have enough or not! lol  I'm just trying to figure out when I'm going to get the time to sit down and get them all ready to mail out!  I guess I'll manage since I always do.  I'm just glad I'm a part of the design team at 'Tis the Season since I know I have a good chunk ready to go...whew!  Speaking of 'Tis the Season we are having our last challenge of the year and it's inspiration challenge #56!  I love how this card turned out, but I sure can tell you I won't being doing this one three more times!  What was I thinking?!?!


I love this picture and I was inspired by the gold, red and green as you can tell by my card.  Make sure you head over to 'Tis the Season HERE to see how the other designers were inspired by this photo.  If you get a chance we'd love to have you play along too.




Even though my card is a CAS card it wasn't simple to make.  Actually it wasn't difficult, it was just time consuming!!  I used Stampin' Ups! Delicate Ornaments Thinlits Dies and cut one out of Whisper White, another out of Cherry Cobbler and the last one out of Garden Green.  I then used VersaMark and stamped it all over the Whisper White ornament, covered it with gold embossing powder and of course used the heat gun on it.  Then I cut out a solid ornament in Whisper White with that same shape, covered the whole piece with Stampin' Glue Stick and put the gold ornament over the top of the white solid ornament.  The next part is what took SO long!  I popped out the pieces of the red and green ornament and put them into the gold ornament and they would stick because of the glue stick on the solid white ornament piece underneath.  I started from the middle and worked my way out deciding as I went along what color I would put in next.  I did NOT punch all the little pieces out of the red and green ornaments right away, but instead took the ones I needed for the color I was working on.  That means I only popped out between two and four at a time.  Have fun figuring out that puzzle if you pop them all out at once! lol  


Thanks for looking and have a great day!
Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Tweezers!

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

2016 Calendar/ Keepsake Book Gift Set!

Today I'm posting something a little different than the norm.  I was asked to be a guest designer for Craft Project Central for December and I said, "Yes!".  That means throughout the month of December I'll be posting a lot of creative projects!  Did I make them all?  No way!  I'm not that talented! lol  However the team at Craft Project Central did and I will be posting each of their projects as well as mine throughout the month.  My project will be featured mid-month so you'll have to make sure you come back for that. :)  I'm also allowed to give away one FREE monthly subscription for the month of December.  You will get 10 tutorials for free!  What you will need to do is leave a comment on Craft Project Central when I post my tutorial.  I'd love to have you comment on my blog too, but to get a chance for the free 10 tutorials you'll need to comment on CPC once my project goes live.  Easy enough right?!




Are you looking for a thoughtful gift for a special person this Christmas or for an upcoming birthday? This 2016 Calendar/ Keepsake Book Gift Set is a wonderful choice! This calendar will not only look beautiful sitting on a desk or counter, but it will also turn into a keepsake book at the end of the year. There is space to write down goals for the New Year, record special memories and each month has a place for a treasured photo. The calendar and custom pen fit nicely inside the gorgeous gift box that doubles as storage when the year is done. And don’t forget to add the matching card! This lovely card is the perfect way to let your recipient know that you are thinking of them.

This wonderful Book Gift Set was created by Julie Warnick and you can find the tutorial for it at Craft Project Central.


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I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Wonderland

Just a quick post for you today to show you the birthday card I made for my son.  He's 22 today!  I think the older I get the faster time goes!  Anyone else feel that way?  


Since I already had the stamp set Wonderland out on my craft table I decided I'd use it again.  I looked through a few sketches and decided to play along with one that I haven't done in quite a while...Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I have to admit I didn't follow the sketch exactly, but kind of did the gist of it. :)



Yup it's a pretty dark card, but I just love the way the blues look against the dark background so I'm sticking with it. :)


Thanks for looking and have a great day!
Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Liquid Frisket (to make it look like a snowy or starry sky)
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Friday, November 27, 2015

Beautiful Butterfly

I have a second card to share with you today!  Two in one day is amazing since I'm lucky to do two a week! lol  Anyway it was my niece's birthday yesterday on Thanksgiving so I definitely had to have a card for her.  I also made her a chocolate cake along with the pumpkin, French apple and pecan pies that I made...yummy!  Making the cake was extra work, but definitely worth it to see the smile on her face. :)  Since I made her card yesterday morning just before heading to lunch I had to have a little help.  I checked out the sketch challenges I follow and decided to use Freshly Made Sketches challenge #214 and Color Me... #99.  I think the two challenges helped make a beautiful card.  I loved it even more because lately most of my cards have been  fall, winter or Christmas so to get a bit of spring and summer back was nice. :)


I love Freshly Made Sketches CAS sketch this week!  This card was so easy to whip up using it. 


Love, love, love these colors together!  If I have time I just might  need to do a little brayering with them.  I do have to make a bunch of thank yous for orders so maybe... :)



Thanks for looking and have  a great day!
Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:


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Birthday Wonderland

Earlier this week I posted a Christmas card that I had made.  Well I started with this scene first, but it was just too big for the sketch I had to use.  Plus I wasn't too sure about some of the lines on it because I had to go back and get some areas wet again.  I cut the right side of the watercolor paper off since I didn't like what I had there.  I ended up with this card and I'm pretty happy with it and hope my brother-in-law is too since it's for his birthday. :)


The trees bled a little more than I had hoped, but it wasn't bad enough that I wasn't willing to use it.  I keep telling myself not to be too picky and to remember that when I watercolor it does bleed and blend a little and to just go with it!


Thanks for looking and have a great day!
Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!

Supplies used on this card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Updated Picture Tutorial of Watercolor Wonderland

Since 'Tis the Season is running for three weeks because of Thanksgiving I created another card to go with our sketch.  My other card was pretty clean and simple.  This card is clean but was not quite as simple!  


I've really enjoyed seeing other creative ladies post card after card of beautiful water colored scenes, so I've been trying my hand at it off and on lately.  Since I'm a Stampin' Up! girl I've had to learn to make things work using their inks.  I'm ok with that, but I have a feeling if I ever try water coloring with water color paint or other stamping products it's going to be a lot different! 


Head over to 'Tis the Season HERE to check out all the fun Christmas cards created with this sketch.  If you get a chance we'd love to see what you create!  Plus it's not too long and you'll need to be sending out your Christmas cards...yikes!!


I think this card makes a good masculine Christmas card and I already have someone in mind that I'll be sending it too. :)


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Sara

I would love to be your demonstrator! If you like what you see and want to order anything just click 
on any of the products that I've listed at the bottom of my blog or click on the "Shop Now" tab at the top of my blog. Any of them will take you directly to my website! If you have questions feel free to contact me. Just click "Contact Me" at the top of my blog . If you're thinking of becoming a demonstrator click "Join My Team". I'd love to have you join me!


Updated Picture Tutorial


I made three samples this time around as I was trying to make this tutorial.  I took picture of two of them and you'll see all three at the end (but not on finished cards).


I started with a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper cut to size and taped the edges of the piece to a folded piece of paper towel.  I use tape to give the picture a  framed look, but don't always use it.  I think it's best to use painter's tape, but I didn't have any on hand so I used masking tape.


I used a sticky note cute to shape on my first sample to start my first hill.  Sorry it's so blurry!  None of the pics turned out of thise! :(  I used my aqua painter and wet the top panel. I wanted it pretty wet so the ink would flow easily.




I started with Pool Party, then added Night of Navy while it was still wet.  You can see that I pulled off the panel at this point while it was still wet.  I don't know why, but if you do that do it carefully if you want to keep your clean line.


This is the second sample I made.  I didn't use a sticky note panel, but instead just wet where I wanted to put my sky.  The shape is similar to my first panel.  


I started with Pool Party and took a picture before I added in more color. :)  This shows you how wet my watercolor paper is!



While the Pool Party was still wet I added Night of Navy.  I dabbed it in and let it spread on its own.  I added more Night of Navy as I needed to make it a little darker.

I waited for both of my samples to dry completely (or I might have used my heat tool to dry it faster!).  Once it's dry put your sticky note back on so you can start stamping your trees. You can see just a little gap between the sky and sticky note.  I did this because just that little extra layer of paper makes it so you can't stamp right on the edge because it bumps up a little.  It makes sense once you try it if you don't know what I mean! ;)  I used the trees from the set Wonderland and inked them with Old Olive and Mossy Meadow classic stampin' pads.  Sometimes when I stamped I used both colors on the stamp at one time and sometimes I just used one or the other color.  Once the stamp was inked I spritzed it a couple of times with water.  I wanted the trees to bleed a little once I stamped them (I wanted them to look like they were watercolored even though they were stamped!).  



I reinked the pad, spritzed it and stamped again until I had the amount of trees I wanted.



This is my second sample.  Even though I didn't have a sticky note when I did the sky I did cut one to fit my shape before I stamped my trees.  Notice I don't have the space like I did on the first one and the tree farthest to the left doesn't go all the way down...it's floating! lol  That's what I was trying to explain earlier about leaving a bit of a gap.



Back to the first sample.  I didn't take pics of the steps on this one, but as you can see I added a lot of color.  I started with Pool Party and added in a touch of Night of Navy.  You can see that I added a bit more Night of Navy under the trees while the paper was still pretty wet because it bled downward. The second sample below shows the steps a little more.  Just keep in mind each picture you paint is going to be unique!



You can block off the bottom (I did in the first sample, just didn't show it).  In the second sample you can see where it's wet because it's shiny, but I didn't block it off.



I started with Pool Party again.  As you can see I applied more color at the bottom of the hill. And of course it doesn't look like I have a pic of when I added in some Night of Navy.  Just add it in wherever you'd like.  For the most part I let it do it's own thing.



Sample number one again...Once your watercolor paper is completely dry it's time to add in some more trees.  It's basically a repeat of everything we've done so far.  Cover up the bottom with a sticky note, ink up your stamp, spritz it with water and stamp it on your card (I have another floating tree down there! lol)  Do this until you have enough trees or you're sick of doing it. ;)



Same sample as above, but I've added a little more blue to the sky.  I really like how my original card has a big difference in the sky.  I wanted to add that same look to the rest of my samples.  They sure did turn out differently!  You can see that I hit the top of most of my trees and they started to bleed when I tried it.  Don't let that bother you...it is supposed to have that watercolored look, plus it makes it unique.  
You can also see that I've wet the bottom of the card so I can add my last little hill.  And of course I've already blended Pool Party and Night of Navy on the paper.

Back to the second sample.  If you remember from earlier you see that I've only added Pool Party on the hill.  Now you can see that I've added in Night of Navy too.  I needed the floating tree to get back on the ground too so I used Night of Navy to help me with that. Right now the whole painting doesn't look very nice, but with the trees added on it will be just fine. :)  You can see I've added a sticky not once again before I added the trees.  I had to cut a little notch in this one because my water bled a little out of my original lines, but I went with it.



I've added my trees and the little tree fits perfectly into the notch. :)  And once again I forgot to take a picture, but I went ahead and wet the bottom part, then added Pool Party and Night of Navy.  
Once your painting is completely dry you can carefully peel of the masking tape...remember carefully! :)

Here are all three samples that I made.  The bottom two are the ones I showed my steps with and the top one is the final one I made.  I love that they're each unique and yet similar. :)  



One little trick I do to make them flat again if they warp is to run them through my big shot using an embossing folder.  Instead of putting it inside like I normally do, I put it under the embossing folder between the two plates.  Works like a charm every time! :)  I hope you enjoyed my picture tutorial!  If you have any questions just let me know and I'll try to answer them if I can. :)

Sara

Supplies used on this card:


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