by Susan Itell | Aug 22, 2016 | Step it up Sunday! |
Happy New Week…Happy Monday! I know that my schedule has been all over the place but I think that this is a super fun card and hands down, my pick is today’s! Please do not get me wrong as I adore the simplicity and super “quickness” of yesterday’s card…but today, the pillows are the icing on the cake!
I have a ca-zillion pictures for you and I am sure that they will be a huge help to you! One thing that I hope that you “dust off the shelf” is the Aqua Painter. Not only is a a great tool, there are lots of fun stamp sets in the Holiday Catalog that lends itself to the Aqua Painter. It is not scary…it is fun…just grab a piece of paper towel, squeeze the ink pads to transfer ink to the lid and GO HAVE FUN! Here is the image of the stamp set!
The inspiration on the “how to” for making the pillows is from the fun and super talented Lydia Fiedler – you can CLICK HERE and see a great video she did with the paper tole technique. Lydia has such an amazing eye for color and detail and I thank her for making me jump off the board and try – it is soooo fun and easy!
Here you go….enjoy the pictures – let me know how you like it……I adore pillows, I think this is a “female” thing – John used to always tease me with the ampunt of pillows we have on our bed! I adore these pillows on the card!
This 1st picture…I stamped the pillows 3 x’s in case I messed up! It is funny, the easiest one (the circle one) took me 3 tries to get the look I liked! The adding of the Sahara Sand around the pillows before I snipped them out made it easy not to be so precise and then a quick swipe of the Sahara Sand marker makes the finishing touch “spot on”
Now I ask you….isn’t this super sweet! Please do not worry about being “perfect” about coloring the pillows – truth be told, WHAT IS PERFECT? – That is something that I think none of us know so JUST DO IT! I do not know about you…but I would LOVE to hop on this swing and take life in!
Below you can see the gentle “puffiness” of the pillows, just enough to make a subtle yet effective statement. I did the same with the swing today ~ just used Sahara Sand and then for the bench pad I just used Blushing Bride.
In the line up at the end of the post you will see the line up of colors that I used. I added the Mint Macaron today to add a third color of POP!
One look of this beauty before I get to the thing that you really like, the dimensions! Please feel free leave a comment and share what your thoughts are about doing this “pillow thing” – I must admit, I was proud of myself and I can see that I will do this technique in the future…..with balloons would be super fun!
Here you go…super easy. As always, email me if you need additional help.
- Crumb Cake Base, 5 1/2″ X 4 1/4″
- White stamped piece, 3 3/4″ X 4″
- The Blushing Bride, 4″ X 4″
- The Mint Macaron is 4 1/8″ X 4 1/8″
- The DSP is 1 1/2″X4 1/4″ (2 of these)
by Susan Itell | Aug 21, 2016 | Uncategorized |
WOW ~ I have you all messed up and I admit, I am messed up with our schedule as well. Well…yesterday did not work out as I planned and I need to be out of town all day….but even thought it was not in the “PLANS” for the day…..it worked out and all is good!
I admit, I purchased this set because of the simple peacefulness it has….wow – sitting on a porch sounds right up my alley. We all seem to go and go and go and go……sitting, taking it all in sounds great! Personally, Johns parents had a swing on their porch and it was a special time to sit, rock and talk! Sounds great….right?
Today I am sharing with you a super simple version and then tomorrow I am going to give you the STEPPED UP VERSION with the dimensions and then you can get a glimpse of both, and then you decide – which works for you? Doesn’t this have wonderful sentiments? I think that they would be great to use with other stamps as well.
I can see a “sun” with the “you always make me smile”….or a beach themed stamp with the “just sitting here thinking of you” – this is where I encourage you to look at what you have and make it work! 🙂
The Designer Series Paper is the super beautiful Blooms & Bliss….so beautiful, so unique! I know that this has been a favorite of many and you can see why, the details yet softness makes this a keeper!
I did use an Aqua Painter to do a super quick swipe – swipe of the colors of Sahara Sand and Rich Razzleberry….this was super fast and super effective to give depth. If you were to use the markers, I think that it would have been too stark…this is a super softness and it helps bring out the inner Picasso in you (I know that you have it as I believe in YOU!)
Here is your quick “low down ~ 411” of the card! Please give me the chance tomorrow to let you see how changing it up a bit makes a difference. Some lie the stepped up…some do not – and guess what – that is TOTALLY FINE…..variety is the spice of life….right?
We are under the 10 day hour glass has turned for the limited edition Thoughtful Branches – I think we all have seen many, many great cards made with this! I know that I am happy that I have it and I will derived lots of great projects now and in the future!
by Susan Itell | Aug 20, 2016 | 3-D Projects, Birthday, Uncategorized |
I have a fun post for you today! (well…I hope that you think that it is fun) I know that many of you think that 3’D’s are not for you but I invite you to think out of the box and think of all of the different ways that you can use this sweet bundle!
I have a bunch of pictures for you and I hope that they can help you see that this is a great product. I personally think that it is a bit impractical to put popcorn in (ha-ha) but it sure is perfect to tuck in a gift card, some candy and the best thing, a smile of happiness!
I can remember that I was always fearful of 3-d’s as I thought that this was something that simply, wasn’t for me….but I admit, once I started to play with them I realized many ways that I could use them and make lots of smiles!
I think that we forget about our square envelopes that fit a 3″ X 3″ card….this is a super sweet size and very practical for enclosures. We all have so many stamps that would work great with this size of a sweet card, I encourage you to look at your stash and then go or it!
I used the stamp set from the bundle and it was super easy as it is a photopolymer stamp and I used the stamp -a-ma-jig and the grid paper to space the “happy birthday 1/2” down with the grid paper! (WOW – I still have my original pad of grid paper….5 years ago!!!!)
There are so many ways that you can decorate or “fru-fru” these little gems! I took a scrap of the DSP and ran it through Mr. Big Shot and adhered it to (2) of the sides….bakers twine…and the stamp from the other bundle, Badges & Banners is a true blue…a simple true blue!!!
To me, this is one of the perks about this bundle. I think that many of us think that the 3-D’s use up sooooooo much paper. Here you can see that you can make a popcorn treat with just 1/2 of a sheet of our card stock – I say WOOT-WOOT!!!!
Here is the “low down, the 411” to today’s post! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions! I was super happy with the end result and I know that the recipient will love it! I admit, it will have (2) movie tickets in it, I just did not have them for the picture but isn’t this a great gift!
Peep Will returned safe and sound, I am still “pinching myself” the fun that we had together! Even though he was not as “THRILLED” as I was about “crafting together“, it was sooooo worth it to cook together and just hear his ideas about life, his career and his dreams! To me, it doesn’t get any better than that!
Enjoy the day!
by Susan Itell | Aug 19, 2016 | Christmas, Fun & Cute! |
Happy Friday! I have a classic one to help get your engines rolling with the new goodies from the Holiday Catalog…the minute I saw this stamp set, YEP – it was on my pre-order to Randall Lane as I love EVERYTHING about it! This IS a “Susan” stamp!
Please read to the end of the post because I will have a “funny” for you about my day with Will on Wednesday…as you are reading this, I probably have already been to Baltimore taking him to take a Big Bird back to Boston. We have had an OVER THE TOP week together as it has been the BEST to spend time, spoil him, talking, sharing, cooking together…..it is great to see your PEEPS grow up to be BIG PEEPS!
Because this is such a great layout, I am going to share with you the dimensions as this is one that I would CASE! I love everything about it and the AMAZING plaids that are in this paper stack are simply classic and gorgeous!
I know that many of you might not think that this color combination is a tradition Christmas one…but trust me, it is super rich and yummy. Poor Delightful Dijon, it hardly gets any attention but I encourage you to give it a try as it does compliment and gives balance and depth to projects!
Remember, with these paper stacks you get (4) sheets of each design so once you see the way that I cut the paper, you would be able to (16) card from each paper design. Even though it is just a POP of the DSP, it is enough to make an effect!
Here you go, I know you enjoy when I take the time to share measurements!
- The Card base is Basic Black in the Vertical Mode, 4 1/2″ X 5 1/2″
- The White Pieces (2) are 4″ X 5 1/4″ ~ one goes on the inside of the card
- The white Sentiment piece is 4″ X 2 1/2″ stamped in Garden Green
- The Delightful Dijon is 4″ X 3″ and then scored on each end 1 notch in
- The DSP is from Warmth & Cheer (LOVE IT) 1 1/2″ X 5 1/4
- The Dijon Stars are from the Jolly Friends and randomly stamped!The envelope fun was a 1/4″ piece of Garden Green and another fun piece from the same DSP Stack cut at 2″ wide
I hope that you can see that this is a super simple card layout, (remember ~ I call them FORMULAS as they will never let you down) Just change up the stamp sets….change the paper and no one will ever know that you have made this layout before!
The other reason I adore this stamp set is that there are great sentiments to stamp on the inside of the card! Below you will see how I add the trio of stars on the sides of this fun sentiment. This is something that we all want, more inside sentiments and I was doing this happy dance with this offering!
Now to a funny for you and I apologize in advance that this might be too long but here you go! I shared earlier this week that I was super excited to be with Will, my oldest peep that is a Montessori Teacher for 6 – 9 year old in my craft area and go to town because the way I looked at it is…
A teacher + Little Kiddies = a perfect opportunity to play with crafts!?!?
Well, I was a bit deflated. 🙁 Don’t get me wrong we had a blast together but I will put it out to you straight…
The last thing he wanted to do was “play crafts with Mom”
At first I was sad, but then I was over it BUT one thing HE DID want to chat about was adhesives….YES – you heard me right – ADHESIVES….I thought that I would fall off my chair. He actually wanted to know what worked and what didn’t because he goes through a ton of adhesives with preparing with lesson plans….the moral of the story – he has robbed his Mom’s stash and that made me happy!!! 🙂
Do you know what DID MAKE HIM EXCITED?!?!? He loved all of the spools from the thick bakers twine, the rings left over from Washi Tape, my organization cubes…little containers that I held buttons etc….THAT MADE HIM HAPPY and he wiped me out – he said that he could use them with the kids…..
Sorry for the rant…the end result is I had a great week and was a blessing to have him home. I feel like my mojo has been a bit off and I am looking forward to some “me time” tomorrow as John has an all day Boy Scout training (yep, he is a bit old to be a Scout ut he is the best in helping and giving his time)
I know that Christmas is far, far away but then it will be there before you know it and this is one card that I would mark for the future. Enjoy the day, make someone smile, and share some simple kindness! 🙂
by Susan Itell | Aug 18, 2016 | Uncategorized |
Here is a super sweet and easy card that would “fit the bill” for so many people! We all can use a “Just a Note” card in our stash to say hello to a friend! There is just something about these fox that are too cute for words!
Thursdays are Pals Paper Art Days and today we have a great sketch from PAL Amy Lazzell. I admit, when I first saw it I scratched my head as I know one thing that I do with these sketches…I take them too literally and I just need to roll with it! (sounds funny right???? I preach to you to just do it) 🙂
Thanks to the DSP already having the dear little critters on it – all I needed to do was a quick cut with my trimmer and I was good to go. You know me, I need to make sure that it was balanced so I used (6) of them and then a quick mat in Basic Gray to make them pop! This paper bundle has many great prints like this that really make whipping up a card in a jif – SUPER EASY!
Because the card was “rather plain” I felt that it needed a little something more SO….
When in doubt – pull an embossing folder out!
That’s my motto and I am going to stick by it! It is amazing how a quick and simple touch of an embossing folder makes such a difference! I also think that there are certain colors that also lends themselves to making a WOW – and this color, Flirty Flamingo is one that POPS!
Are you scratching your head with where this sentiment came from? For some reason I missed this GEM OF A STAMP SET in the annual catalog but no worries now, it has a home on Randall Lane forever! This is filed with super sentiments but also I adore the little stamps ~ perfect accents!
Remember when I said that I was scratching my head when I was trying to come up with a card today!?!? Well if you look at the sketch you will see the 3 elements….my 3 elements….are the… in “Just a note…” Seemed to be a perfect touch for me as we all know I have a bit of an obsession of these 3 friends!
I did heat embossed it with the white embossing power! I knew that it would POP against the richness of this Basic Gray. Remember, get in the habit of using an embossing buddy to help eliminate static and also turn your heat tool on and let it get good and hot before you take it to your project!
You all know that I am head over heels over the DSP Paper Stacks…..they are another one that I say…
When in doubt – pull the DSP Stacks out!
You must admit, this is a super easy card but it still is super cute. Letting the DSP do the work for you makes it a breeze. Just think of how many cards you could make from a sheet of DSP….you could also leave the sentiment blank and then when you need a card – just find the appropriate sentiment!
Enjoy the day, please pop over and see what the other design team members came up with and then give it a whirl – Even if you do not want to share it on the internet, why not try the sketch at home. I highly encourage you that trying challenges are a HUGE HELP to help develop a style….I know many of you – you make amazing works of art!
Thanks for popping in…..see you tomorrow!!!
