Birthday Bird on a Branch

I suppose this could be a birthday card for either a man or a woman, it might be a bit too girly for a man, though.

To get the top note mat to look like it was matted, I trimmed the faux stitched border so the white background was just a smidge smaller than the Melon Mambo in the back.

You can't really see because of the lighting, but the white background is distressed with yellow around the top note die. 

A Sweet Sentiment

I was so excited to get the Sweet Scoops in my most recent order!

Birdie Thanks

A thank you card with the sentiment on the bird's wing with the background embossed with the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder.

Awash Wishes

This card was created with the Awash with Flowers Stamp set. It is a versatile card that will suit different purposes with "Best Wishes" being the sentiment.

Impressionist Stamping Technique

Here is an interesting technique I stumbled upon the other day. It's called Impressionist stamping. To get this effect, spray water directly on your watercolor paper. Ink your stamp using your Stampin' Write Markers. When you stamp on the wet paper, the ink is going to spread, so expect this to happen. Once the paper is completely dry, re-ink the same stamp with the same colors and re-stamp on the image, this will give it a crisper image of the same one that was done previously.

Friends

I decided to bring out my Manhattan Flower embossing folder and use it for a change. Colors used on this Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, and Crushed Curry. Stamp set is from the Vintage Vogue.

LoveBirds

This card was CASED a while back. I wish I could remember who I got the idea from so they could get credit for it.  This would make a great Wedding Congratulations card, too.

Smooched Fathers Day Card

The title should actually be OVER smooched Fathers Day card. A little bit definitely goes a long way! I have been using the vanilla smooch spritz, but it's really light & iredescent compared to the Log Cabin Smooch Spritz. Other than the over smooch, I don't think it would be a bad masculine Fathers Day card.

Stamp Set: Wildlife Refuge & Well Scripted

Faith for Sissy

This is a birthday card I made for my daughter's 19th Birthday. Even though it's a Birthday card, it says Faith on the front. I embossed with iradescent & glitter-mixed powder.

Flighty Thanks

This is my first attempt at emboss resist. Basically you take your Versamark or any embossing ink, stamp your image or sentiment, apply & heat your clear or iradescent embossing powder, and then sponge all over the cardstock. Once you are done with this, you can take a clean dry cloth or paper towell & rub the area that is embossed and the ink should come off just the areas that was embossed. I didn't want to do it too heavy in case it didn't turn out. I got just about the look I was aiming for.

Look! Another purdy bow!

CASE -able

Here is a card that was inspired by another card I saw online. I'm not sure where I found it now. The card has no sentiments on it, so i'll be able to use it spur of the moment if there is an out of the ordinary need to give someone a card. *shrug*.

A Stamp-a-ma-jig was used for perfectly stampin the flower and Linen Thread was used to tie the button to the half circle cardstock.

Thanks for looking! Happy Stampin'!

Watercolor Butterflies

These butterflies are from a Martha Stewart stamp set I found at my local Wal-Mart. The line art in them makes it nice for watercoloring and blending colors. The corner punch and the punched shape behind the scalloped oval were found at my local JoAnn's. Lookit the purdy bow!

Aged Birthday Card

Here is a birthday card that has a bit of an aged / distressed vintage look to it. Stamp set used: my new Elements of Style stamp set. Gold embossing powder was used for the embossing.

Cute as a Bug

I used fun flock to give the caterpillar a fuzzy appearance. Stamp set used: Cute as a Bug. Nothing else extraordinary was done to make this card. Thank you for checking it out!

Happy Stampin'

~§hawnie

Sketch Frenzy Friday

For quite a while I have wanted to contribute to different sketch challenges that are going on in various websites, but one I was drawn to for whatever reason was one that came on an email from Brenda Hopefully you can get to her website by clicking on her name. (fingers crossed). Anyway, after her version of the sketch, I was drawn to view the other submissions and was drawn. I was compelled to create my own version of the sketch. Even though Brenda's email invited everyone to participate, I'm still new to this & not really sure how to do it.  The top image is the sketch, the second image is my version of the sketch.


The thing I do know, however, is making cards. And this is what I did. Comments are always welcome & happy stampin'!

~§hawnie

Live with Passion

This is one of the more simple cards I have done. I'm glad to see it turned out decent. :)

Techniques & Tips

Top Note Trinket Gift Boxes

I made some adorable gift boxes for a few friends who have been supportive of my Demonstratorship with Stampin' Up!  Though I am not in it for the money, the discount is what I have been focusing on, I am still having workshops that are in a classroom/type environment.  The workshops keep me motivated to keep my mind active and they challenge me to keep coming up with new and exciting projects.

I especially enjoy seeing the look on people's faces when they and not very confident in the first place and they start to see their project come together.  One younger girl, a new mom who attended a workshop a few weeks ago just beemed with pride when she finished a Mothers Day card that she was going to give to her mother in law.  "I made this!" she kept saying.  She definitely looked forward to giving the card to her mother in law for Mothers Day.

So, not only am I sharing my knowledge but I am also helping to increase self esteem.  Another guest at the workshop was a long-time friend of mine and my Stampin' Up! upline mentor.  Along with creating a new project, she also shared her knowledge and wisdom with the group which was very valuable.

My best friend, who always attends these functions to support me but rarely participates actually put together a complete project on her own!  She generally floats around and assists the other ladies with their projects, which is a valuable contribution, but I was very impressed to see that she was actually puting together her own project!  I am most certainly not going to expect it of her all the time, but the times she does this gives me an added sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Oh my goodness!  Back to the Thank You Treat boxes!  lol

Rosebud Thank You Trinket Box

 

The petals from this one was created with my Extra Large 2-Step Bird Punch, which was released in the Stampin' Up! Spring Occasions Mini Catalog.  I got the idea for the rose buds from a creative crafter named Lynette.  Her blog is located at:  http://nzlyn.blogspot.com/2010/04/rosebud-tutorial.html if you could stop by her blog and take a look, you'll find that she's quite creative.  I just had to give her credit for giving me the idea to create rose buds like this.

Thanks So Much Handmade Paper Flower Gift Box 

 This one was created with the same box design, however, the paper flower took a bit more detail than the above rose buds.  After stamping a definition sentiment on the cut out flower shapes, I distressed, cut, and added glue and twisted and fussed over it some more.  The flower took a lot of time and patience to make, but was certainly worth the effort.  

Here are some additional shots of the trinket boxes for you to view:
As you can see in this trinket box, I cut a lot of filler and added some tiny butterfly shaped note cards so the person I am giving this to can keep on giving.  :)  She's just that kind of person.

An Interesting Mothers Day

Though the title is listed as "A Lonely Mothers Day", I want to make very clear that as a Mother, I had the best of Mothers Days'. My kids got me a dozen roses, a balloon, and a beautiful card.  They would have gotten cake, too but we still have a half sheet left from Dylan's 2nd Birthday party yesterday.

As for my Mother, my reason for being lonely, it has been several months since I have spoken to my Mother.  She is living with my sister and has made the choice not to have any contact with me apparently because i have not heard from her since Christmas (and that was just because I tricked her.  She thought it was one of the kids wanting to talk to her) so technically it's been longer than Christmas 09 since we have talked.

I'm not sure what i have done to upset her, other than being born and surviving my childhood and staying alive... anyway, I'm ranting again.

I created a Mothers Day card for her and have been contemplating on giving it to her because i was sure if Tonya got it, she would just tear it up and throw it away without even letting Mom see it.  But then I got an idea.  I gave the card to my adopted brother and asked him to give the cards to my mom directly.

Though she hasn't been much of a mother (it's not that my standards are unreasonable or anything) I still felt that she deserved some type of a momento to thank her for giving me life, whether she regrets it now or not.

And this one was created for a very special woman that has been in my life for over 17 years now.  My wonderful Mother in Law, Donna.  She has always broken the mold when it comes to the Mother in Law stereo-type.  She has always gone above and beyond in being there for me.  She has done things that she didn't have to, but she did them anyway because she loves me like a daughter.


Here are also some other Mothers Day cards that I really put my heart into this year.  Luckily I have found two wonderful women who are willing to accept me as their daughter and are willing to see past my flaws (as a true mother should)

My first adopted mother:  CJ and my second adopted mother Vie.

This one was for Vie.

This one was for CJ.

Now that I have pointed out the wonderful women in my life, I am not so sad any more.  Sure, the one who gave birth to me and shouldn't have a choice to love me doesn't know me, but the ones who do have a choice have chosen to love me as their daughter and for that I feel truly blessed!

Please Be Patient

I'm faking as I go along, so please be patient and don't expect a miracle too soon.  The best things come to those who wait, right?!  :)