Another of the new techniques I have tried this week! This just might be my favorite one yet! Look at the pattern on that paper - I made it! All you do is crumple up a piece of wax paper, flatten it again, iron over it onto a piece of glossy cardstock - then brayer over the cardstock with a dye based ink pad (in this case, Cranberry Crisp). Rub over that with a dry cotton ball and there you have it! The paper is so pretty all by itself, all I did was add the words from my God's Blessings set, also stamped in Cranberry. I matted it a couple times, added 3 brads - easily spaced and straight because of the Crafter's Tool Kit paper piercing guide. Then tie on a piece of Vanilla wide organdy ribbon & put it all on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock cut to the card size you like!

For step-by-step instructions see: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/waxpaperresist.php

Can you tell my honey has been away for a few days? I've been crafting like crazy!! This is a little 3x3 card, so cute. Perfect to put with a baby gift. I'll have to make one in blue for a little shower I've got this week! I cut thin strips of Whisper White and glued them down along the left and top, punched a circle from Pixie Pink with my 1/2 inch circle punch and put it behind my button. Tied a little string through the holes, and then adhered it with a glue dot. They are super-sticky and great for this type of thing. I stamped the square with a flower (can't really see the flower) in Versa Mark, and stamped the sentiment from God's Blessings set over it in Regal Rose. I love that look of stamping words in a darker ink over a lighter image. Easy breezy!

Same layout and stamp sets as the card I just posted. Just changed the color and the images a little. The card is from Sahara Sand cardstock. The Background Basics includes the stars that are stamped in VersaMark on the Not Quite Navy cardstock. I used Navy & Pumpkin Pie for coloring in the mouse's clothes and brought it together by using those two cardstocks too. In real life, the bow is the same color as the Navy cardstock. Funny how things change 'on film'. These cards are great to have around, fast to make and cute as can be. I really like this set!

Another card from our girls night on Wednesday. I really enjoyed playing with their stamps. This set is called Nice & Easy and I know where it got it's name now...it makes a quick and easy card! The background is from the Background Basics set and is stamped in Chocolate Chip. I used Barely Banana cardstock and put the ribbon through holes made with the double rectangle punch. I 'colored' in the image with my blender pens - yes, I use them on almost EVERY card!

I had a my small group ladies over for a night of stamping fun, and made a few simple cards with the stamps they brought. The flowers are from Nice & Easy Notes. I colored them in with my blender pen and pastels, stamped the sentiment from God's Blessings in black, used a double rectangle punch and added the white organdy ribbon for flair! The card is our Confetti White paper, which I really like! It adds just enough background that you don't really have to do anything to it. The papers are Old Olive & Cameo Coral. Love that combo!

I'm not quite as crazy about this one, but I feel like it's masculine, and I don't make a whole lot of those! I used the same technique below, Frosted Filters. I stamped Happy Birthday on the coffee filter after it was dry and glued down. Then I used another of my wheels - Great Outdoors - in Chocolate Chip. I matted the images in Always Artichoke, More Mustard, & Old Olive. I feel like this card needs something else, but can't quite place it...maybe I'll add another embellishment later.

This is the second new technique (called Frosted Filters) I tried yesterday. See that textured, colorful paper? It's a coffee filter! Put some drops of a dye based ink refill in a plate, spray with water, then put your coffee filter on top. Squeeze out the excess water, dry with your embossing heat gun, and cut to size. That's it! I will warn you, your hands will be dyed - you should have seen mine - and it hasn't completely come off yet! I also really wanted to use my wheels some, so I stamped Wings & Things in ChocolateChip ink, colored it in with Regal Rose & Chocolate, added some dazzling diamonds glitter to the two dragonflies & layered the papers on. I wasn't so sure about this last night, but when I looked at it again, I love the look of that coffee filter! And it was fun getting my hands dirty!

For more information on this technique see:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/frostedfilters.php

I decided to challenge myself to try a few new techniques. This was the first one. I've done this before, but was disappointed with the results. This time, I loved it! The technique is masking. You put a piece of thin paper with a shape punched out over your cardstock. Then I just put my More Mustard ink pad over the space a few times to fill in the rectangle. I got out my Burst Into Bloom flowers and stamped them in Chocolate Chip. Pull away the scrap paper and this is what you get! I will defnitely do this again! I stamped the sentiment in chocolate chip and layered papers behind my image. That's it! Fast, simple, and I really enjoyed it! Try it, I think you'll love it too!

What a wonderful verse! I just got this set, and I love it! I was inspired to make a window card from seeing the ones on the Splitcoast site. This is what I came up with. I used my square 1 3/8" punch to cut out the window from Gable Green Cardstock, then distressed the edges. I punched the Regal Rose square with my 1 1/4" punch and cut a black piece slightly larger to create a little border. Then I stamped the flower from In Full Bloom, colored it with a Blender Pen and Pastels, and adhered it with a Pop-Up Glue Dot. I stamped the flowers from the same set above and below the sentiment (stamped in Regal Rose) and colored them the same way. This card is very bright and fun, though the colors don't quite 'pop' on the screen like they do in real life. I added the black grosgrain ribbon for a little more texture & contrast.

This is my favorite card of the ones I have made with our new set Polka Dots and Paisley. Every stamp on this card comes from that set. I love the Bashful Blue and Black combination!

I created the featured paisley by stamping one in blue and one in black. Then I cut out the inside of the black paisley and attached it to the blue one with a Pop Dot, so it's got some dimension. I've colored the paisleys in the background with my Blender Pen and Bashful Blue ink. Tie on the ribbon - it adds so much to a card!

I was trying to make some simple Easter cards for a workshop I'll be doing on Saturday. This is one that I came up with.

The juggling rabbit is from a very popular hostess set called Tags So Much. I colored in his eggs with colored pencils & matted him in Pretty In Pink. I've used a paper-pierching tool with a template (both in the Crafter's Tool Kit) to get evenly spaced and straight "holes" along the bottom edge of the torn Sage Shadow paper. Tied around a bit of 3/8 inch white organdy ribbon & stamped 'happy' from the Polka Dots & Paisley set with VersaMark. Viola! So simple!

I've also started working on some Easter cards. This is my favorite one yet. I used a layout from a sample in the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog (pg 83), but changed the colors and the stamps. I covered the Pixie Pink paper in a Beyond the Basics butterfly background, and put a little black butterfly on the Orchid Opulence paper to tie it all together. The basket is stamped in black, and though this picture doesn't show it too well, I've cut out the basket/eggs and popped it up with a pop-up glue dot. That's 1/2 inch white organdy ribbon tied through 2 punched holes on the left side.

I was so excited about this simple card! It's three of the hearts from a retired set (Good Times) stamped together, and the stem from the Flowers for a Friend set. I added in the 'good luck' from Good Times set too. The cross hatch background is stamped in Always Artichoke & I didn't have a darker green so I covered Artichoke paper in Versa Mark over & over again to get the darkest green paper. I love the layout with the papers all overlapping in different places & thought the little antique brads added just the right touch! I'd love to hear what you think.....

I have some teenagers coming over this weekend to make Valentines at my home and I came up with this simple & girly card for them to make.

I have used my Whimsical Alphabet Lower stamps. The flower is from the numbers set that matches the alphabet. Paper and inks used on this one are Cranberry Crisp & Regal Rose. I added a little silver brad to center of the "o" flower, and I tied the silver string around the top and knotted it. I hope they will enjoy making it and that their girlfriends will "love" it! Adding a little silver sparkle that makes it especially feminine.

I got this idea today from Anna741 on splitcoaststampers.com. It is a notecard. It does not open. You're supposed to write straight on the white part. Hers was cuter than mine is! I love this website and find great ideas here all the time! If you've not been there, check it out!

I stamped the card from the Flowers For a Friend hostess set. I actually only used one stamp set on this whole card! I then used a blender pen and chalks to add color to the flowers. I thought it was simple & elegant. Maybe it will inspire you as it did me!