by Susan Itell | Sep 25, 2016 | 3-D Projects, Christmas, Step it up Sunday! |
Well, Maurice the Mouse (below you will learn how he was named) is back in the house today and I think he is SUPER-DE-DUPER CUTE! I have not made a card like this in a while and I knew that this would be the perfect way to STEP HIM UP!
I loved the comments yesterday about naming him…and I read what Chris came up with and I asked John….who does this mouse look like? – He said. “I don’t know – it’s a mouse”…then when I said – no…..give him a human name…he said, “Maurice” as he has an expression of sophistication! (I am not sure about this but…what-ever!)
There are 2 things that I like about this card…
- It is interactive/3-D, which gives and instant WOW and it is super easy to make… 🙂
- It fits in a regular envelope with no extra postage! 😀
Here is a link to a previous card that I made like this – it has all of the detailed scoop for you on the cuts and scores etc….but below I will do a super quick highlight!
- The front and back of the card are the same size 4 1/4″ X 5 1/2″ (you need 2 of them)
- For today’s card I cut the DSP to the above size and adhered it to one of the above white pieces.
- Score both at 1/2″, 1″, 4 1/2″ and 5″ Fold and score. (Use the side image of the card to make sure that you are folding in the right direction)
- Take the DSP and using the largest Square Framelit, run it through Mr. Big Shot – below you will see how one sheet of paper will do the whole card and then you will have the extra square for another card!
- Add Maurice (naturally he has been water-colored)….I actually stamped him on a bunch of 3 1/2″ squares as I have been out of town and “just in case” I messed up….I had backups! If I were to do it again, I would just cut the paper to the inside piece size)
- To the back of the fun card, a simple scrap of 1 1/2″ X 3 3/8″ piece of white card stock made the perfect pocket to add a note!
I hope that you can see that this really is a card that is very, VERY doable but definitely has a WOW. It is just the BEST that it could stand on someones desk, a night stand…a mantel. Every time I make this card style, I get rave reviews as it is a smile maker! (here is a TIP – if you have someone that is in a home or hospital, it is an instant PICK-ME-UP! to them….)
I am super happy that you all liked the water coloring yesterday. I have great results using the thick white card stock. I know that we have water color paper and if you are more comfortable with that – then go for it. Being the “type A” that I am…I like the “white’s” to match up so this is the main reason that I use it.
I could have really gone to town in making him super elaborate but with being out of town…I took the basic bases and then the ink pads! Let’s chat about the ink pads.
Because I do have all of our ink pads, I use them when I water color…..I like to squeeze the top to make the ink go on the top of the ink pad and then work from there as a palette…BUT – you can easily use a marker and scribble on a acrylic block to take the ink off and color away! The third way that you could water color is to add a drop of an ink refill on a acrylic block and go to town!
One of the best tips that I can give to you when you make a card like this is to use a super strong adhesive to adhered the 2 together. I used tear & tape as the width is perfect and the “hold it gives” is the best!
So…thoughts???Do you like??? To me it is the best of many worlds …
- It is different because of the shape…
- The water-coloring element makes it special…
- The pocket in the back let’s you write a message…
- You can be super flexible with the DSP you can use…a simple change with the DSP can change the entire feel of the card and naturally change the colors that you water color….presto – another masterpiece!
I hope that this 2 day post has made you smile….I know that you all enjoy them but honestly….I think to myself – can I keep coming up with them? I honestly just start with the Saturday card…finish it and then look at it to see how a different technique could work – it is as easy as that and I admit, when I am finished…..I am glad that I stretched myself to make changes!
I invite you to try to do something like this…it is a great way to learn different ways to develop a style. When you really break this down, it still is true to my style, clean and simple. At a glance…it looks hard but break it down…it is NOT….just like water coloring…..did you try it yesterday?
Please remember that we are in the last week of the month which means this is the last week to be able to win the BIG BOX of all of the Stampin’ Up! Markers (someone is going to be happy) 🙂 from me with an order of $75.00+. You can click here to see the offering…my personal way of thanking you for a great stampin’ up! year. (it ends for us on Sept. 30th)
HIT THAT PAW PRINT and have fun – shop away!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 24, 2016 | Christmas, Uncategorized, Watercoloring |
Good Saturday morning…today – (and tomorrow) we can say with excitement….
There is a MOUSE in the house!!!
Isn’t is amazing the scare you get when you see a “real mouse” scoot across a room. Trust me, it has happened to me and probably to you! I just think that this is one of the sweetest stamp sets. I invite you to take a good and hard look at the precious expressions on their faces! ADORABLE…
I bet that I can also look into my “Stampers Crystal Ball” and see that there are many of you that BREEZED right past this stamp set because the FEAR happened…
The fear of “I can’t watercolor”
Trust me….been there – done that and by all means I am not a pro at this but I will say that I have come to figure out some tips and tricks that make the whole darn process both rewarding and fun!
Let’s get into this card and I do hope that you will pop back tomorrow to see what is up my sleeve…I think that there will be some smiles!
Many people ask me….why don’t you use blender pens? Ready for the answer….
“I really do not know why I don’t”
I know that I need to give them a try as I know that there a ton of you out there that have amazing success so….I WILL try – when that “TIME” thing allows. I guess I feel like I have good success with the Aqua Painter so I guess you could say, I am a bit stuck as it is comfortable for me.
Years ago I was very mesmerized by the Aqua Painter – WHY? I was just amazed at how this simple “thing” with a brush on the end could produce amazing end results. I was super excited to give it a whirl and guess what – I DIDN’T LIKE IT….what???? – It did not work for me in MY eyes…my project and results were terrible. At this time, this is what I did with my Aqua Painter…
I used it to seal envelopes for a fundraiser/mailer!
Enjoy the photos that I have for you and I hope that these tips will help you.
- Practice, Practice….PRACTICE – This is the single best tip that I can give you. I invite you to think of it in this way. I simply cannot tell you how many times I threw up my hands and said, I CAN’T DO THIS….the truth is YOU CAN with practice 🙂
- Make sure you use an appropriate ink…I use out Black Archival Ink and since we have come out with this ink – this is what I use all the time when stampin’ with Black.
- Before you tackle a masterpiece, start small and work to a bigger project. Try something that is doable…so you can get that INSTANT SUCCESS.
- Do not put too much water in your Aqua Painter. I find that as you get determined to use this “thing” – you get squeeze happy ~ blob out water….and then there go those hands! (flying up in the air) 👿
- Have a piece of a paper towel ready to dap off excess and clean off your brush to pick up another color.
- When you do your practicing….play with the way you hold the aqua painter in your hand with different pressures…it takes time but once you get the feel, it is like riding a bike – you’ve GOT IT!
- If you go out of the black stamped image line – WHO CARES!?!? It is work of art and trust me, no one will ever say…what an ugly card!
See you tomorrow…you are going to smile (I think & hope) 🙂
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by Susan Itell | Sep 22, 2016 | Christmas, PPA Challenges |
Good Morning! I am doing the happy dance as I think that this is one super cute card! I will say, it does not do it justice in the photos so once again, I wish we were all together to ooh and ahh over this fun and festive card.
Today is a color PPA challenge and what a fun palette we have to work with! Peggy Noe came up with this color combination and if you are not familiar with Peggy, you need to as she is one super stamper!
Here is the “JOLLY” bundle and you have to admit….it is super whimsical and fun! Darn, there just never seems to be enough time to stamp all that we want to but you bet that I will be playing with this super fun set a bunch more – heck – it is still September…….and it was almost 90 degrees today!
Do you remember earlier this week I shared with you a card that used the 1″ punch? Click here to see it and guess what – when I checked last night…it is still on the clearance rack…WOOT-WOOT and it truly makes it so much easier to go punch,punch,punch and have the exact same size each and every time! I built the FUN squares of color on a piece of paper and than ran it through the Big Shot!
Look below….do you own this framelit? I bet that many of you do not as I truly think it is overlooked in the catalog. I will say that I have used this a BUNCH and it is one that has great shapes for sentiments and also the larger ones are great for an image like I did today! (It is one of those secret weapons that I like to refer to)
Now this below picture is one that we can do a bunch of chatting about the in’s and out’s of this festive card! I really….really did not want to use flowers with this color palette so OUT OF THE BOX I went!
- The base is an A-2 vertical card in whisper white.
- The Emerald Envy rectangle is 2″ X 4 3/4″ and then run through the Big Shot with the Sparkle Embossing Folder (love the texture it gives)
- The 1″ square pieces were built on a piece of white paper 4 wide and 5 high and then ran through the Big Shot with the above framelit
- The Moose…the dear Moose….pretty straight forward with this – so darn cute! I added a little wink of stella to the end of the hat and the brim 🙂
- A quick chat about the FUN on the squares….HOW???? – easy, I stamped the dear little images that are in this stamp set with Versa Mark – I love the effect!
Now we still have some more chatting to do…..let’s look at these precious little mice – adorable……right? I just love their expressions on their little faces! I used the sentiment for our card today – you WILL be seeing these guys…..a bunch! I just stamp the sentiment on a scrap and then used my scissors to make a banner cut!
I know that this below picture looks like “one hot mess” but hopefully it will be helpful for you! He is just the cutest and it will be fun to dress him up! Today he is ready for Peggy’s challenge!
Enjoy the day…..here is a clip from our local newspaper about the dear sweet boy that we all have been praying for….what a great young man, what a great family….this week he has had a wee set back of fatigue…..all in all – it is a miracle that this was caught and he is sooooo blessed.
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by Susan Itell | Sep 15, 2016 | Christmas |
Hippity – hoppity…..it is Thursday and wow – wasn’t it a great blog hop yesterday!?!? If you have not had a chance to HOP…I highly suggest that you do so, lots of great ideas ~ here was my post. Today we have a sketch challenge to work with and I was feeling “sweet” with my interpretation of Beth Beards great sketch!
This is one of those “keepers” as I like to refer to it…and I would copy this sketch for future card! I took one look at this sketch and PRESTO – I knew exactly waht I wanted to do!
My main goal for this card was to use ribbon…why?????? Easy = whenever I hear Beth Beards name…I smile as she makes the most amazing bows that I have ever seen, they always seem perfect, soft and they just work! My ribbon today is PLAIN JANE….but I will say I love it!
I wanted to give you a tip on how I did it so it stays nice and flat. If you follow my blog, you already know that I enjoy using fun foam at times to lift up larger parts of a cards and today I cut a thin strip (about 1/2″ wide) and adhered it with fast fuse. It worked great, still soft like a ribbon but it has a statement. If you are not a fan of Fast Fuse (you should really give it a try), I would use tear and tape – you need a strong adhesive to make it lay flat! (hope that this makes sense)
Does this below stamp set just scream Christmas!?!?! I think that the font is just fabulous. I hope that we have more sentiments in the future in this font – it is fun and easy to read! The sky is the limit for this set. It will make super tags…and I already have another card that you will be seeing with the little shapes!
Another tip….as it is practically impossible for you to see but I “CUT THE SQUARE OUT” before I ran it through the Big Shot with the Sparkle Embossing Folder. In person, it looks super as it is all very flat and then the ribbon just lays nice and flat!
The sentiment was heat embossed with white, always gives a clean and crisp look and did you notice….I used my discontinued friends, the white marker. I just could not resist as I think it adds the perfect compliment to the whole card!
Here is your picture for the future! Save it – Pin It….just keep it for future reference! I hope that this “sweet card” can get you starting to think about the holidays! YIKES, yesterday it was over 90 and today we are to be in the 70’s….crazy!!!!
As I have said many times, I find it hard to get in the Holiday Card making mode when it is sooooooo hot….but then I know what happens – THAT CALENDAR!!!
I also confess…I had fun in the clearance rack…..(sometimes a stamper has to do what a stamper needs to do)….BUY GOODIES!!!! I know that many of you were on the same shopping spree that I was on and I thank you for your support!
I am super excited for today as I get to bring Stanley (Hannah’s horse) back to our house! He was leased out for the summer and now he deserves to come home and let me spoil him!!!! Oscar will be happy to have a friend and I can hardly wait to see the 2 of them turned out together tonight in the field (a beautiful and peaceful sight that makes my heart pitter -patter)
Until tomorrow!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 7, 2016 | Christmas |
I admit, from the moment I saw the sample (that you will see late in the post) in the Annual Catalog I knew that I wanted to CASE this card! I thought it was just super simple and the way that the stamps fall into place of a tree – BRILLIANT!
I have a bunch of pictures for you and I hope that you agree that this is a fun card! I think that the simplicity of it lends itself to a card style that just about anyone would love. I am actually thinking that this would be a great card for Hannah to make….as it is super simple and I think that she would love it!
Below you will see the picture that I was talking about from the Annual Catalog….super sweet but as you can see, I changed it up a wee bit to make it with “my touches” I will say, I think that this below card is super simple and super stunning with all of the great “white space”
I am so happy that I “hit that button” and bought this stamp set, Better Together! I have already used it a bunch and I am just itchin’ to use that Birthday Hat next – this is a keeper of all keepers!
The size of this card is a 4 1/4″ square card (you know that this is one of my favorite sizes) and then I cut the DSP from the Warmth & Cheer DSP Stack the exact same size. I do not do this much but I should….I really like the way it looks and then the thin mat of red adds the “just right” amount of POP!
I made my own custom envelope with the Envelope Punch Board but one think about the 4 1/4″ card size….you could actually put it in one of our regular envelopes and it would not cost you any additional postage…BUT – you know me, I think that a custom envelope and the extra postage is worth it and I think the lucky person that is receiving it will be thrilled with an “odd size” card! (It is funny – I know that I get excited when I see a different shape)
Here is your 411 – Directory Assistance Card….Well – thoughts? I think that this is a great stamp and just think of how simple! I will say that I did use the Stamp-a-ma-jig as I wanted it to stamp up “just right” and then the little tree trunk – super simple!
Enjoy the day – it is HUMP DAY already, I am so confused with the Holiday….I will have “Wing-IT Wednesday” back next week….I honestly thought that it was Tuesday!!!!! (Silly Susan)! I have a treat for you tomorrow….I participated in a card swap using products from the Holiday Catalog….If I can not enable you….perhaps some of the card beauties will!
Thanks for popping in, make it a great day – and share some kindness!
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by Susan Itell | Sep 2, 2016 | Christmas, Uncategorized |
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Well…how do you all like the new catalog? I swear, I still flip through it and find something else…we are just crazed stampers that LOVE IT when there are new kids on the block! I just giggle when I think if that as to me, it is GREAT that we still as adults get excited for new toys!
This is the card that I will send to you when you place an order with me of 35+. I was happy with the end result and I all say, this is one fabulous bundle and I totally would get the bundle as both the stamp and the framelits are true blues….plus you will save 10%
Earlier this week I had a call from a team member asking questions about the pine-cones and how they were to work with etc. My answer, I did not know as I have not played with them. I knew that I needed to do something about that as I adore her and she was thinking about making 100+ cards!
Here was my take and I hope that she likes it. This bundle is a simple “DREAM MACHINE” to work with as you can use the pine stamp…and then layer over the actual die cut pine so you would not have to cut so many pieces of the pine (I hope that makes sense) 🙄
If you look at the photos, you can see that I did stamp some of the pines….one color is Always Artichoke and the next one is Old Olive. (Did I surprise you with this color combination) I happen to really like Always Artichoke for the holidays (I think I am on an island as I know many of you are not a fan but I hope that this card will show you that it is a great color.)
The different framelits that are in the bundle are so versatile. You can use the easily to tuck in many projects that we do. I have a confession…when I went to grab a scrap of crumb cake…I must have picked up Sahara Sand and I did not realize it until I photographed it…..it still worked but I think I will do the ones for you in Crumb Cake
I will send you a PDF of this after I mail the cards but here is a tip that I do need to share (you know me, I love tips and tricks to help) I put a piece of Tear n Tape in the middle of the card (over top of the stamped pines) and then simple pressed down the loose pine!
Glue dots work great to do the “tuck in’s” for the other pieces….just play around and have fun!
Here is your project details….pin away as this is a great card to CASE, please email me if you need help with it, I will be glad to!
One more peak and then a reminder…
Go to the top of my blog and click on the PAW PRINTS REWARDS TAB...this is where all of the incentive offerings will be each month. I am trying to get you used to using the blog to your advantage to stay on top of the opportunities that you have!
Thoughts??? How do you like it? To me, it screams a traditional Christmas! Another thing that really, really makes my heart pitter patter…
Simple Joys (darn, I love both of those words) 🙂
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