Valentine's Easel Card

Looks like an innocuous card, right? Then, like Bumblebee, it transforms...

into a slightly different card. Heh.
I made this easel card using the tutorial over at SplitCoast Stampers. The Easel Card has been popular lately, so I tried this one. I used the dimensions at the end to make a regular 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" card. I used Sticky Strip to adhere the front to the base, just to be sure it would hold tight. Like yesterday's post, I didn't use any specific Valentine's day stamps. The sentiment is from the Stampin' Up! set Puns From the Past, which is definitely one of my favorite sets. Because it's so classy and vintage, there's a stamp for almost any occasion, and all of them can be used for "masculine" cards. I also used the Vintage Vogue border stamp and the retired single Flowers in Silhouette. I think I oversponged the Real Red ink on the bottom but overall I'm happy with this card.

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Puns From the Past, Flowers in Silhouette (retired)
Other Supplies: Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

A New Post?

I always find it trite when people start their blog posts with "I haven't posted in a while..." but, well, I haven't posted in a while. And any photography skills I may have had are completely out the window. So my goal is to post more, and get better at the photography thing.

I find it hard to make Valentine's Day cards because, well, I only need one. And I don't want to buy multiple Valentine's Day stamps because I don't make too many cards. But here is a card that is very Valentine-y without any Valentine stamps at all!



This card uses the Sending Love specialty paper from the Occasions Mini (catalog available now through April 30). Pink is not my thing, and neither is glitter, but this paper is beautiful in person! (There is also a set of stamps, a punch, and epoxy brads that match the paper.) I stamped the leafy vine flourish from Vintage Vogue with Pretty in Pink ink all over a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock to make the five vanilla circles. The You is stamped in Chocolate Chip from the Thank You Kindly set. The Thank You Kindly set is available as a Sale-A-Bration set this year, and it is definitely a great choice because thank you cards are needed all year. I don't have the ticket corner punch so I used one petal of my Scallop Circle punch to take off each corner of the Very Vanilla rectangle. I freehanded the L,O,V, and E with my markers.

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Sending Love Specialty
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Vintage Vogue
Punches: Scallop Circle, three SU! circle punches

Stampin' Up! Retiring Stamps January 4, 2010

If any of these stamps are on your wish list, get them before they are retired at the beginning of January!

Also, don't forget that Stampin' Up! recommends that you place any Christmas orders before December 15.

From the SU! website:
The following stamp sets will be discontinued on January 4, 2010.

Item Number	Stamp Set
113407	Back Woods
114492	Beautiful Baby
114486	Birthday Wish
113200	Branch Out
114496	Celebrations
113732	Central Park
113206	Classic Sketches
113226	Classy & Fabulous
114498	Flowers in Silhouette
113405	Font of You
113216	For the Bride
114494	Forever
109425	Friend by Definition
114488	Fun Flowers
113716	Garden Greetings
114490	Glad Friends
111580	Grand Soiree
113242	Hit the Road
113710	Lexicon of Leaves
113236	Man's Best Friend
114423	Ocean Commotion
113728	Playful Petals
109276	Polka Dot
111544	Putt Putt
113240	Quilt Quips
113754	Really Retro
113403	Sip by Sip
113726	Sweet Stems
113250	That's Funny
113688	Wonderful Watercolors
114028	Para la novia
114032	Acuarelas Maravillosas

Contest Winner

Between tweeters and customers, I ended up with eight entries in my stamp giveaway! Fiancee drew the name for me and it was:

Rose!

I will be delivering your stamps to you soon!

If you are not Rose, please be watching as I will have some more candy before the end of the year!

Only a Few Days Left for August Promotions!

Stampin' Up! has several August promotions you can take advantage of, but not for much longer.

Spend $35 in stamps from the Growing Up section of the Idea Book & Catalog and get a free pack of Playground, Sherbet, or Button Latte buttons (a $7.95 value)! (Don't have the IB&C yet? Email me and I will send you a copy!) The growth chart will be sticking around through September.

Get a mini Starter kit for $85! This is great for hobby demos who want to make a small investment to get the discount, Stampin' Up! customers who already have a lot of goodies, or anyone who wants to hit the ground running with a new business. $85 is a small price to pay for what could be the investment of a lifetime! For more information, check out this web page or email me! You can sign up through my website - just click on the above link and click "join now" in the left-hand column. My password is cherryonion. The regular starter kit is available still for $199, and you get a bonus of this year's In-Color cardstock and inkpads.

I have two slots left in my brad share - let me know ASAP if you are interested.

Also my entry jar for the PDP stamps is pretty empty - you just might get lucky! Post before August 31!

Grateful for You

My cards tend to be very simple, and simplicity lends itself to a more masculine card. In retrospect, it is perhaps a little too simple, but I think the colors really go together well. I used Not Quite Navy as my card base - it is really a much more interesting color in person than it is in the catalog. (If you click on the picture above, you will get a much larger photo and you will get an idea of what I mean.) I used Basic Black classic ink to stamp this image from Puns from the Past onto Kraft cardstock and backed that with Really Rust DSP from the Level 1 Hostess set. The silver skittles are from my stash - they are a much gray-er silver in person. I think it would really look good to use some silver brads here, maybe grunged a little with black ink.

Just My Type

I made this card to showcase my first attempt at coloring with Prismas. An excellent SCSer sent me some wonderful images from The Greeting Farm, including this image of "Annika." Everything else is by Stampin' Up! I am such a huge fan of the SU! paper snips. I was having a difficult time cutting out stamped images, and it was really frustrating me because so many of the projects in the IB&C feature cut-out images that look fantastic. The paper snips are very sharp and easy to use despite their short length.
The ingredients:
"Just My Type" from Puns from the Past (111676), In-Color Markers (116329) in Melon Mambo & Bermuda Bay
Melon Mambo (115320), Kraft (102125), Bermuda Bay (115317) cardstock
Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Mat Pack (105826), Paper Snips (103579),
Eyelet punch (113692), Word Window punch (105090), Modern Label punch (116630)