by Susan Itell | Mar 19, 2016 | Simple Saturday, Uncategorized |
Good Morning! I hope that this card brings some sunshine to you and a smile on your face! I adore yellow and today I used both Daffodil Delight as well as So Saffron. I love both of these colors and in general, yellow is a happy color!
This stamp set, Garden in Bloom is a great double stamp set….I know that some of you might be skeptical of having a stamp set that you double stamp…but it is both fun, easy and rewarding!
This is a stamp set that is forgiving so please do not think that you need to do the masking….but sometimes masking is effective. Below in the photo you will see that I used a piece of stick it note and did a quick fussy cut. You do not need to be exact….just go for it! I like to keep my mat in the stamp set so I have it for future uses!
You can easily use this stamp set without masking…just go to town and have fun. It was great to be able to use only one stamp set today….and still get a fabulous end result ~ a great card!
The flower to the left I stamped with Daffodil Delight…and then the other (2) – I stamped in So Saffron. For the bumblebee….easy – colored him in with daffodil delight and then stitched to give him some movement and attitude!
Today I did not have a label a bunch…as it was a one stamp wonder …. is a dream when it works out like this! I totally encourage you to use up your DSP… Look and see what you have as it is a great way to use it up for jazzing up an envelope…we will be having new DSP with the new catalog coming around the corner so USE UP WHAT YOU HAVE!
As I said when I started this post…yellow makes me happy but you can see that the sky is the limit with what you can use. There are no rules so just have FUN with creating colors that you love! To me, that is what is the best about card making…letting your own personality shine through.
Another look…and then I will do a stepped up version for you….now don’t get all exited about this….I will make some super subtle changes that hopefully you will see and learn….”I can do that”!!!
Well….do you think that you could make this card? I sure hope that it made your day! I adore it as it uses minimal product but carries a BIG punch!
Time to share with you….do you remember that I shared with you that John’s Dad was not in the best of health? Well…the past weeks have not been the best and I have been trying to keep my blog going but he past away and today is his funeral. I will not be posting tomorrow but have no fear…Monday I will share with you the stepped up version.
Please keep John and his Dad in you thoughts….all of the peeps are home and we all know that it is a blessing….enjoy the day – make someone smile and I will see you on Monday!
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by Susan Itell | Mar 18, 2016 | Sale-A-Bration |
WOW – this is one amazing Stamp Set and the best thing is….it is a FREEBIE from Sale~A~Bration and you can easily see that it is a set that you will use….FOREVER! Such clean and classic stamps! The can be left plain…they can be jazzed up – the choice is yours!
We are less than 2 weeks away from Sale-a-bration coming to an end. I admit that I have not showcased this stamp set a bunch as I always knew it would be a perfect one to “fall back to” but then again I said, SILLY SUSAN….SHOW IT TO INSPIRE…so that is what I am going to do!
Yep, I stamped it up with the Black Archival Ink ~ a must have and I PROMISE….that I will be doing a post in the near future all about the black inks we have as I know that many of you have asked about….but I will say – this is my new “go to” as it stamps a perfect crisp image each and every time but it is a perfect choice for water-coloring as it is permanent!
The above and below pictures will show with you the simple coloring that I did…I really tried to go out of the color box that is in my comfort zone was to use perfect plum and rich razzleberry together and I liked the end result! For the leaves I used the pear pizzazz and old olive together to highlight the leaves! Just have fun and play with colors that you usually do not use…you just might find out that they are your new friends!
Now to some tips that I did to make this card come together! You know how I feel about a ruler and a pencil…..kinda like peanut butter and jelly – they just go together! I faintly made a line as to where I wanted the flowers to end (this just helps me to make sure that my flowers are a focal part)
I then took a piece of old olive scrap and scored several score marks all the way across and I love the texture and feel it gives. I made it a specific width so my sentiment would fit perfectly. (and YES – I do use the stamp-a-ma-jig for my sentiment for perfect placement) and OOPS…..look what happened…I did not stamp it well…
HAVE NO FEAR…A QUICK FIX IS HERE!
Don’t laugh….but as I always say….I am an honest stamper and I always like to share with you when I make a boo-boo…as we all make boo-boo’s! I used the single stamp sentiment from the Vivid Vases. This is an A+ stamp and the sentiment is perfect for so many cards and I wanted it today!
I placed a piece of tape over the vases so I did not have to worry about being so accurate in inking up the sentiment (hope that makes sense) ~ just make sure you peel it off before you stamp ir then you would really be up a creek!!!!
Now look what happened…..YUCK – it happened, Silly Susan….but have no fear, I simply took a piece of scrap white that fits that space and stamped it and then added it right in…no one will know …this is the beauty that we are able to do!!!!
Below you will see the 911 on the main products that I used and also you can click away in the scrolling store at the end of the post. Feel free to pin this to pinterest to have it as a handy tool to CASE away!
The envelope liner is from the DSP paper stacks; you know that I adore them as the guess work is completely out the window as you always know that you will have a PERFECT match! My motto….WHEN IN DOUBT – PULL THEM OUT!!!! This is why I always included these in my product shares…as I know that once you get a taste of them…you’ll see the ease and magic!
Here is the Stamp Set…so simple; yet so elegant and practical. When you have single and relatively small flowers like these…you can “group the together” to make an impact or do what I did today, a simple random pattern!
So what do you think? Is this stamp set in the Sale-a-bration collection your favorite? If not, please let me know which one is and I will be happy to put my thinking cap on and do something fun for you.
The bottom line is…SALE~A~BRATION is the best time of the year…to be re-energized after the holidays….the unveiling of a new catalog (Occasions) and then the opportunity to get free and exclusive items…WOOT-WOOT….life is super-great!
Enjoy the day and until tomorrow!
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by Susan Itell | Mar 17, 2016 | Uncategorized |
Did you think I forgot about you? NEVER…EVER!!! I am home and that journey home wiped me out! I am back and ready to share with you a fabulous post (well I think it is) It is Thursday and that means that it is time for a Pals Paper Art Challenge!
Today is a sketch Challenge and it was designed by fellow PAL, Beth Beard. If you want to see beautiful bows….you need to check out Beth’s work as I am always in total awe with her bows! You can see that I took this sketch literally and I hope you like it!
You know how I feel about single stamps and this one is no different. Single Stamps are no-brainers for me as they usually always lend themselves to many different cards! Changing up the sentiment always provides a new look and today I chose to watercolor it with a aqua painter and the end result was fun!
I think that many of us have forgotten about these sentiment die cut….it is a “keeper” and the enamel dots on the sides added that little extra pop that gives it a punch….but the REAL PUNCH is the water-coloring…..let’s get to this!!!
This was SUPER easy and the end result….beautiful! I simply took the aqua painter and used pool party….then I went back and added another brush of pool party in certain areas to intensify the color! Super easy….super doable…super fun and YOU CAN DO IT!
Confessions of an honest stamper – You can see the yellow highlights in the flower…well I had the so saffron on the aqua painter and thought I had cleaned it off on the paper towel but obviously it wasn’t so I rolled with it and added more yellow to other petals and I LOVED IT!!! You see…making lemonade was easy!
The dashes with the white gel pen is a perfect accent….something that I do all the time….because it works – it you find something that works…I say ROLL WITH IT! The other thing that I think we all do is to use stampin’ dimensionals (aka Stampin’ Vitamins)….another simple yet effective touch to clean and simple cards!
If you follow my blog (and I hope that you do) ~ you know that I like to use our coaster board when adding height to sentiments – I did not have it with my so I just cut out several of the sentiments and “green glued” them together…..presto!!!
Below you will get the LOW DOWN on the products…I just was super happy with how the flower turned out. Water-coloring is a technique that is so rewarding but many of you are scared of trying….just give it a whirl – you will be proud of yourself.
One thing that I was not able to do while away was making videos…I will be back on the video train next week and I will do a water-coloring one as I think that if you see me do it…you will see and say – I CAN DO IT…and yep – you can!
This card says it all…“thanks” for popping in today but I hope that you will hop over to the Pals Paper Art site and see the beauties on the runway! I always find it fun to see how others interpret a sketch….and I hope that you find some time and try it yourself!
Enjoy the day….I hope that you can find some “me time” and get inky and I also hope that you consider water-coloring. Remember, no rules ~ just have fun! We are on the final countdown for the FREEBIES from Sale-a-bration…..
Tomorrows card will make you say…..hmmmmm – I need that stamp set! Enjoy the day, it feels great to be posting.
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by Susan Itell | Mar 14, 2016 | Uncategorized |
Good Monday morning and whew……yesterday was a super fun day but it was an exhausting day….I guess that goes with the territory as it is time to hit the road…and it will be a long trek ahead but I will have my 2 main men with me….Milo and Stanley!
I deeply appreciate your patience with my blog while I have been away but I tried my best to keep it going. It was a juggling act trying to fit posts in with the other responsibilities I had but I managed to do it and many of you have asked me how I did it.
Here are some pictures that will show you how I “set up shop” and the house that we rented actually worked out great! When I was able to play with paper and ink, it was nice and bright area….which I adored every bit of sunshine I could get!
I naturally had LARGER EYES on what I wanted to accomplish and truly play for myself….but that’s ok …three will always be time! I really kept it to the basics as those are what we need to have to make fun projects!
Below is the work area….every thing was at my finger tips….I tried to label you the highlights but one that I want to point out that I adore…..very inexpensive plastic baskets that you can get at a dollar store….I like them because they will stack if you want but I like to have one with my dimensionals, one with my snails, one with glue dots etc…..to me, it keeps the things we reach for neat and tidy.
Time to slide over to the kitchen area….because this was a rental there really was not much at all in the kitchen cabinets and that worked perfectly for me. I was able to hide all of my goodies but still have them handy for my needs!
I am a huge believer that it is so important to take great card of our precious products….the stamp pads should lay flat and at home I have a Stamp-n Storage Wall Mount holder but the drawer worked just fine! I kept them in the color families for me to find what I needed quickly!
It was super easy for me to just grab and go when I left home of all of my dies and embossing folders. I love my caddys from Stamp-n-Stoage and the Big Shot sat on a kitchen counter….a perfect height!
PAPER….this is probably the one thing that is a super key element to our needs. For my White and Very Vanilla…..I had a caddy that held all of my pre-cut bases and mats….I blog about this last Tuesday and it truly was a game changer for me when I started to do this!
All of my DSP is in a holder that sits on my shelf so that was super easy….grab and go!
The solid pieces….that was a bit harder as I had limited space so I decided to just purchase packs of paper and it was PERFECT! When I get home I will fill in the solid sheets to my others and then file my scraps!
Picture taking…this seems to always be a “hot topic talk” with those that blog but here you go….below you will see my fancy high tech area that I took my pictures…Sometimes a girl just has to do what we have to do….and this worked great for me!
That it my friends….my eyes are super heavy and I have a long day ahead. I thought that you would enjoy the last 2 pictures….Milo truly loved being a Horse Show dog and was perfect in every way. He ADORES Hannah and he would jump in the back of the truck and sit on Hannah’s saddle…..too darn cute!
Here is a picture of Stanley LOVIN’ life as after he competes and comes back from getting a bath etc….he gets to stand in ice boots for 30-45 minutes….horses love it as it comforts their legs after working so hard. He is a wonderful young horse and it has been a fun journey to be able to see Hannah work with him to bring him to where he is now.
I love my boys and can’t wait to see my other boys in a couple of days!!!! Hey Caleb…..Eddie is doing GREAT – the minute I get home I will take a picture of him…
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