Spicy sandy soup

The INKlings (you can look at the door but you can't come in...read here for membership) had a cybercrop night last Thursday, which I begged out of due to impending virushood. But, since there's no real due date, I hobbled to the bandwagon and crawled on. Boy was I glad that this bandwagon moves slowly. *play violin*

Based on Kwerner Design Color Inspiration #6 and Beverly Todd's Card Map (bottom right on the linked page), I was happily translating the colour scheme into a spicy pumpkin soup recipe until I reached Sahara Sand. Blergh! Best left for something non-edible...
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Pumpkin Pie
So Saffron
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Artfully Asian set
So Many Sayings set

Paper:
Pumpkin Pie CS
Sahara Sand CS
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Wild Wasabi CS

Accessories:
Mat Pack
Rich Regals Brads
Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched

This card probably has more Wasabi than Ms Kwerner had originally outlined but I like things spicy! Helps clear the nose too...

Speaking of pumpkin soup recipes, you may want to try out Jane's - she recently posted a comment, which always makes me feel like sharing.

There's always a catch...

I was just sitting on the train platform with my loved ones doing what I imagine most people do on the platform, which is waiting for the train...when along came a trio of cute little children. Wide-eyed, fidgety, runny-nosed but endearing, nonetheless, they were accompanied by their harried mother, who would throw apologetic glances at us whenever one of them made their presence felt. Of course, one can't help but engage with them with an intermittent smile, funny face or gentle touch on a baby hand or foot. How sweet a way to pass the time!

A few days later, I found out what the catch was ... a cold! Yes, I caught more than just the train that day - I caught a cold and have now incubated that little something passed from the kiddies to me. Here's a card I made in honour of the experience:
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Purely Pomegranate
Stamps:
Boho Backgrounds set
So Many Sayings set
Paper:
Prints DSP Sampler
Very Vanilla CS
Accessories:
Mat Pack
Scallop Punch
Stampin' Dimensionals
Very Vanilla Grosgrain

This is a surprisingly tricky card to make, due to the precision required in cutting the rectangles of patterned paper such that the continuity of the swirls is preserved. Reaching for a tissue every 20 seconds increases the difficulty rating by a notch. A really good guillotine is a must. If all fails, embellish the joins!

For those of you interested in trying the Prints DSP Sampler, we are already mid-way through May...so please remember to put your orders in before the promotion ends.

UPDATE: 19 May 2008

Check out Marcia's lovely palette 'o prints interpretation. I love the layered middle which reminds me of the waistband on a Japanese kimono.

Greeting tag - you're it!

I know a few mothers who would really like to make cards to give on special events but ... well, with feeding the baby, being attentive to kiddies hyper-powered on renewable energy (can't someone harness that energy into something that they could sell to the rest of us?), picking up after hubby, and, on top of all of that, some are holding down stressful jobs - making cards must seem like a luxury. So, being the pragmatic problem solvers that they are, some of them have subscribed to the notion that a gift tag is all that is needed. A snazzy tag with a pithy greeting accompanied by the identity of the gift-giver and it is done! And I suspect that the really great aspect for these mothers is that there is so little room on the tag that no-one can seriously expect them to write much on it. Zero composition time! Hmmm...I wonder if I can come up with a blog on a tag...
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black
Groovy Guava
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Canvas background
Greetings Galore set

Cardstock:
Groovy Guava
Whisper White
Wild Wasabi

Accessories:
Apple Green Grosgrain
Silver Brad
Watercolor Crayons in Bold Brights
Watercolor Pencils
White Gel Pen


Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black
Soft Sky
VersaMark

Stamps:
Canvas background
Greetings Galore set

Cardstock:
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Soft Sky
Whisper White

Accessories:
Gold Brad
Taupe Grosgrain
Watercolor Pencils




Again, Cuttlebug to the rescue for the tag blank (Tag Alongs) and the cute photo corner was cut using a Quickutz die.

Hubby's first kissCASE

I'm very excited to announce this blog's first guest surprise crafter! He is a guest surprise crafter, as opposed to the surprise guest crafter I had intimated previously, because I'm really surprised that he's crafting. Of course, he is none other than my beloved hubby. As he commented on the Mum and PoPs post, he tried CASEing that card and his mum was understandably thrilled with the result. Without further ado:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Groovy Guava
VersaMark

Stamps:
Bud Basics set
Occasional Greetings set

Paper:
Groovy Guava cardstock
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Tempting Turquoise cardstock
Whisper White cardstock

Accessories:
Scallop punch
White Grosgrain ribbon




Hubby also likes my Cuttlebug and he used it with a Stylized Flowers embossing folder and a Quickutz Flower Arrangements die. Lovely, isn't it? Well done, sweetie!

Now the thing I really want to know is this: he made his first card ever for his mother - should I be:
a. worried,
b. jealous,
c. insecure, or
d. all of the above.

The following card is one that I made for my wonderful long-suffering aunt, who has to put up with hubby and me on a daily basis. Thank goodness she has bingo to keep her sane!
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Groovy Guava
Stamp Sets:
Friendship Blooms
Occasional Greetings
Paper:
Groovy Guava CS
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Whisper White CS
Accessories:
Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon

A Fiskars Elegant Fountain Embossing Border Punch was responsible for the pretty border.

No photo op on the mother of all occasions

Happy Mother's Day, Mum! *kiss kiss hug* And Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there. May it be a carefree day filled with relaxation, appreciation for what you do and who you are, and lots of love!

I was hoping to post a couple of Mother's Day cards today but hubby ran off with the camera to visit his mum and family. OK...I have to admit that when I took pictures of one of the cards, I didn't download them before handing the camera to him BUT it's still all his fault! *pout* Hmmmm...typing this out makes it all rather obvious that I'm the one to blame...*sigh* Sorry hubby!

Have a joyful day, everyone! And you can expect a couple of cards on the blog tomorrow - one from a surprise guest crafter...

Mounting: a challenge

One of the selling points of Stampin' Up! stamps is that you get to mount them however you wish. In the majority of cases, this means that you either stick the rubber in the middle of the wooden block or flush with a side/corner (the latter is a must for Stamp-A-Ma-Jig hold outs unless they really don't care where the image lands - in which case I say "Don't tell me! I don't want to know!" *fingers in ears and eyes tightly shut*). If you purchase one of the stamps sets that includes one wooden block per combined image and sentiment such as Fun & Fast Notes and Greetings Galore, you can separate the sentiment from the image and mount the sentiment on the top side of the block (for Stamp-A-Ma-Jiggers). This makes it really easy to ink and stamp a background just using the image or to use the sentiment only.

And then came the Level 1 Hostess Set So Many Sayings. 34 lines, three blocks...one huge headache. Call me lazy, but I much prefer to ink with a pad in the same way that I stamp - move hand over target and apply downward pressure. That's easy! The thought of using markers or carefully inking a section in the block of tightly spaced lines just did not appeal to me. So, I formulated a set of rules:
1. Group sayings into categories such as love, friends, kiddies, thanks, and holidays on to the one wooden block where possible.
2. Put the lines most likely to be used separately at the top or bottom of the wooden block for easy inking. This included most of the motifs for me as well as birthday wishes.
3. For lines that will be used together, centre horizontally and even out the vertical spacing. Stamp the block of lines to check.
4. Maximise the space between unrelated groups of sayings to make inking easier.
5. Make sure that nothing gets in the way of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.
6. Why on earth would "a little something" not be with "from me to you"?

The resulting mounting configuration:
As you can see from the picture, the lines mounted on the side of the wooden block are mounted upside down. The reason for this is that I want to see the labels the right way up when using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I like to press the longer part of the wooden block against the longest wall of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for greater stability.

Is that making a mounting out of a molehill, or what? For some smart thinking, check out how Alana mounted hers. Please post your creative mounting configurations (er, for stamps only)...or just post a comment to say Hi!

Mums and PoPs

My five sampler pads of Palette O' Prints arrived recently. Yay! After hoarding the customary three, I have some left over to actually use. Double yay! And I thought what better way of putting the PoP to work than to make a Mother's Day card. Oh! Mum, this card isn't for you...well, um, maybe...Don't look!

Whilst there's not much stamping this time, I did use the Mother's Day sentiment from the Occasional Greetings set which was borrowed from the very gracious Michelle Dyson with the Purely Pomegranate ink courtesy of my talented upline Jayne. Since I had no Rose Red ribbon, I sponged some ink on to white grosgrain ribbon, used my heat tool to set the ink and repeated the two steps to increase the quality and intensity of the colour. The heart set into the scalloped Designer Series Paper (DSP) was die cut through Quickutz. A Diamonds in the Rough embossing folder also came in handy.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Purely Pomegranate
Rose Red

Stamps:
Occasional Greetings set

Paper:
Rose Red cardstock
Rose Red Prints DSP
Whisper White cardstock

Accessories:
Scallop punch
Sponge daubers
Stampin' Dimensionals
White Grosgrain ribbon

Overcoming the tendency to hoard pretty paper

I don't know about you but I have an awful time using scrapbooking supplies. I mean, how ironic is it, that some of the most beautiful paper available to humankind is for "scrapping"?! OK...it is just a terminology thing...after all, what we scrap we are meant to keep. *boggle*

Anyway, I have a gorgeous collection of Basic Grey paper in storage because I know that I'll never use it - not because I don't want to, but because I can't bring myself to cut the paper up and not have the potential of using it for something else more worthy. I took to buying three sheets of everything, in all available colour combinations, so that the option of doing a two page colour co-ordinated layout and having a little extra for embellishments was always there. I now have a mountain of scrapping material ready for that momentous life changing event that requires two-and-a-half pieces of patterned paper that I have luckily already bought...the only problem is that I don't know which patterned paper that is and, so, I have to keep all of it unused and in pristine condition...just in case.

Thank goodness I've now discovered the freedom that comes with making my own patterned paper. I never have to worry about hoarding three copies of everything since I can make extra whenever the need arises. And, if it turns out that I need more for a matching tag, altered pencil tin and covered gift box...no problem! I'll whip out my stamps, ink, daubers and what-not and ... voilà! ... a perfect quantity of matching patterned paper. Needless to say, hubby must be ecstatic that he's no longer crowded out of the house by encroaching hordes of pretty paper. From now on, it will be just the odd incursion, since who can stop buying the stuff altogether?

This is the final post for my blog declared Patterned Paper Week. Funnily enough, it coincides with National Scrapbooking Day in the US (March 3) and it just so happens that my project for my last homemade piece of patterned cardstock is to cover a mini scrap journal.
Additional Stampin' Supplies
Stamps:
Greetings Galore set
Ink and Cardstock:
Ballet Blue
Accessories:
Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware
Bluebird Grosgrain ribbon
Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon
Crop-A-Dile
Moss Gingham Check ribbon
Red Gingham Check ribbon
Taupe Grosgrain ribbon
Very Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon

Happy National Scrapbooking Day to those readers popping in from the US!

Update 2:58pm
It seems that it was National Scrapbooking Day in Canada too! So, belated wishes to Canadian readers. Perhaps it should be called North American Scrapbooking Day instead OR, even better, International Scrapbooking Day, in which case all of us can join in. Oh, scrap that! Every day should be a card-making and scrapbooking day...