Simple Get Well Card

Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I worked on a couple of "Get Well" cards this weekend featuring the bee from the "Farm Fever" stamp set. Unfortunately the scanner doesn't seem to pick up the glitter on his wings, which was my favorite part.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Farm Fever, Simply Sent
Ink: Basic Black, Versamark
Paper: Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White and DS Spring Flowers
Other: Summer Sun Stampin' Write Marker, Dazzling Diamonds

I Won!!

I am so excited! I have been visiting lots of blogs as of late, looking for inspiration and ideas. I have also learned a new term, "blog candy." (I really do need to put together a glossary for the beginning stamper so they aren't as lost as I have been on these blogs. lol) Anyway, blog candy is a gift from the host of a particular site. Some of them give away product, some give away things they have made. They do this to thank the visitors who visit their site. How wonderful is that? You visit a site for inspiration and ideas, and get rewarded for doing so. Amazing! So, I was visiting such a site, diane (cookiestamper on SCS) has a wonderful blog located at papercookies. Such an inspiration she is. She has such amazing style in her cards. She was giving away some blog candy, or "cookie crumbs" as she puts it, and all you needed to do was leave her a comment. Well I did, and found out this morning that I won the cookie crumbs! The most exciting part is that they are pieces from sets I do not have, and she actually did the stamping and the cutting for me. I can't wait to get them and use them on some new card creations. I highly recommend visiting her site, especially if you are looking for a GREAT tip on how to deal with keeping small pieces of paper in position while you are trying to punch them. Thank you again diane!

A Sketch Challenge For A Card?

Have you ever participated in a sketch challenge? I didn't really understand what they were until recently. Since then, I've seen them on several different blogs. One of my very favorite blogs to visit is that of Beate Johns. fresh & fun. She is such an amazing talent. If you haven't been to her site before, I HIGHLY recommend that you stop by. Beate recently posted the attached as a sketch challenge. You don't have to use the same colors, but the challenge is to create a card with that layout. I was initially a bit nervous about this undertaking, but found that in the end it was quite challenging for me, but a lot of fun. I have also since noted several bloggers have shared that the weekly challenges they participate in truly help them to become more creative with their own cards. SCS (Splitcoaststampers) not only weekly sketch challenges, but weekly color challenges as well. I will try and post my first completed sketch challenge later in the week, and just maybe…….I'll get brave and go for the color challenge next week. Here's hoping you are able to make some time for stamping in your day.

Stamp Camp Is The Best!

I just love going to Stamp Camp. It's the highlight of my month. I can't wait to see what new ideas and products Heather has in store for us. She is so creative! I also find that she challenges me in some of her projects because of the designs of the cards or the colors she chooses. I sometimes find myself being very safe in my color choices, but am working to breakout from that.

At last night's camp we did 3 cards that ventured away from the "traditional" size card with the traditional fold. This one I really enjoyed. We folded the paper in half to make the card, then folded the top of the card back. We then adhered a piece of the two-sided designer paper to each part of the card front that was showing. We then stamped the Winston Churchill quote onto some white paper adhering it to brown backing with enough room at the bottom to add a splash of ribbon color to the card. After adding a few flowers created by the SU flower punch and dotting their middles with a white gel pen, we added the adhesive tape to stick it to the top part of the card, and there you have it. A beautiful card with a unique fold, AND, there is still plenty of room inside to write whatever you'd like. It was a really quick card to make and I'm looking forward to coming up with some new ways to utilize this card fold with other sets and colors. Thanks Heather!!

Emboss Resist

This card was a bit time consuming to make, but well worth it when I see the finished product. I was inspired by a card I saw in the Splitcoast gallery a while back. I'm still looking for the card so I can give proper credit.

I started with a piece of Whispering White Cardstock and stamped the Lexicon of Love "Friend" stamp across it in the Basic Black ink until the background filled. I then took the Paint Prints stamp and the Versamark ink and stamped a few of flowers. I sprinkled on the clear embossing powder and heat them until they were set. Next came the Creamy Caramel ink which I applied all over the front of the card with a brayer. I'm still not totally competent with a brayer, so it took a bit of work for it to be even. I once again stamped a few more flowers with the Versamark, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and set with the embossing gun. Then I covered the entire card with Close To Cocoa ink using the brayer. After it was evenly covered, I took a tissue to make sure and get all the extra ink off the embossed flowers, which in turn made them pop to the eye. I couldn't quite figure out how to finish the card off, so I set it down for a day or two. I finally decided it was time to take out the twill tape and chip board and attempt something new. I sponged the chip board piece with Creamy Caramel several times. It seemed as if the chip board would just suck up the color. But then I noticed a kind of suede look to it which I really liked. So I once again took the Lexicon of Love stamp and inked only the large Friend and stamped it on the Twill Tape. I attached the chip board with some brads from the SU Hodgepodge Hardware.

One of the things I really love about the way the browns worked together is that although it has flowers on it, it has a masculine feel as well. I love versatile cards!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Lexicon of Love, Paint Prints
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel, Close To Cocoa
Paper: Whispering White
Other: Brayer, Twill Tape, Chipboard, Hodgepodge Hardware, Sponge, Clear Embossing Powder

Where Do I Begin

Once you decide you want to start stamping, it can often be overwhelming when deciding what products you must have verses the products you initially need. Thankfully there are all kinds of resources out there to help the new stamper. One resource I highly recommend is Stampin' Up (http://www.stampinup.com/). They offer a variety of kits entitled Simply Sent (they are located on pages 12-14 of the 2007 Fall-Winter catalog). The kits are all slightly different, but all include cards and envelopes for 10-12 cards, pre-cut paper, mini ink pads, a stamp set, glue dots, various embellishments, and a book of step-by-step directions to create two different looks for your card. I ordered the Simply Sent Good Things kit from their Spring Mini Catalog earlier this year and had a blast with it. After making the initial dozen cards, I was left with the three stampin, spots which still have plenty of use in them, and the stamp set itself. I recently saw an idea from one of their older catalogs and decided to modify it by using the Good Things Stamping set. I also used some spring colors. As you can see, it's a very simple and quick card to make. In the most recent Stampin' Up Catalog I referred to earlier, they have included some new sets with some great embellishments like the zig zag ribbon and Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter. I think it really allows the new (and the seasoned) stamper to try new products, see what they like AND once they've finished those cards, inspire some creativity to find some new ways to use the stamp set. If you get a chance to try them out, let me know what you think.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Simply Sent Good Things
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Whispering White
Other: Almost Amethyst Ribbon, Mellow Moss and Apricot Appeal Stampin' Write Markers

Weekend Fun

My friend Cheryl came over to the house this weekend so we could put all our supplies to work and make some cards. We had a great time. She had decided she really wanted to make a card with a giraffe on it for a friend, so we combined our products. I contributed my "In The Wild" set from SU, and she chose the paper and ink colors, as well as some ribbon options we would use for the card. We then went to work. As we were going along, we decided the greens were too plain, so we added some texture by using the "Canvas Background" stamp and the leaf stamp from the "A Greeting For All Reasons" along with Versamark ink on the large green background paper. I think it really added a nice touch. The ribbon ended up being a bit tricky because it was a bit wide and hard to tie. I tried to re-work it a few different ways before deciding to bend the ribbon in half and adding a piece from the SU Hodge Podge kit. I think our cards turned out great, and I'm looking forward to other card possibilities with this particular set.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: In The Wild, Canvas Background Stamp, A Greeting For All Reasons
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Carmel and Versamark
Paper: Always Artichoke, So Saffron and Mellow MossOther: Brads and ribbon from the craft store; Hodgpodge from SU

Masculine Cards

I have often found myself struggling with creating cards with a more masculine feel to them. It is so easy to reach for all the different flower stamps and pastels and create something beautiful and pleasing to the female eye. A friend pointed out that guys like receiving cards too and I was being somewhat discriminatory in thinking that they didn't appreciate them as much as females. Although this was all said in friendly banter, I stopped to think about the comment and realized it was true. I decided to make a concerted effort to regularly make cards that didn't include flowers and could be used as masculine cards.

I am attaching a card I made for a male . I think it is actually my favorite of all the cards I have created. One reason is that it was so fun to make. As I was trying to decide which way to go, all these ideas started coming into my head which resulted in my using two of my favorite techniques, bleaching and embossing. It sounds really complicated, but the difficulty level on the card was actually easy to moderate.

I learned the bleaching technique at a Stamp Camp I attended (thanks Heather). We took a stamp, sprayed it with bleach, stamped it on colored paper and waited for it to dry. As it is dried the paper color changed to reveal a slightly distorted version of the stamp, and a really unique look. I LOVED it!! As I was trying to decide how to prepare the background of my masculine card, I decided to bleach to French Script background stamp onto the More Mustard paper. In the photo it is not as easily defined as it is in person, though you can still notice the somewhat weathered look it created. I felt it still needed a bit of color so I stamped off the Print Pattern background stamp with basic black. I then moved on to the Musical Manuscript stamp. I first stamped it in the basic black on the So Saffron paper. I then took a dauber and lightly stamped around the edges in Creamy Carmel. Then comes the fun part, the embossing. Since I wanted it to have a "cracked glass" look to it, it was going to require layering of the embossing powder. After applying the Versamark to the entire piece of paper, I covered it with the clear embossing powder and heated it. I then applied two more layers of embossing before placing the paper in the freezer. If you leave it there just a minute or two, when you take it out, it is nice and crisp. Start bending it and the cracks appear. I just love the look of that. I finished it off by rubbing some Creamy Carmel on the top to make a cracks stand out a bit more before adhering to the black paper to frame it. I was very pleased with the end result. Sometimes we just don't realize how creative we can be until someone presents us with a challenge.

What is CASEing??

I initially came across this term when I started scrapbooking. I was told it meant "Copy and Share Everything." I thought this to be a great concept because some people have an amazing knack for creativity, while others of us need a nudge in the idea department. I quite often found some wonderful page ideas that I took the lead from and then tweaked to make it my own. I would often stand back amazed at what I could do, and thankful that there are so many creative minds out there willing to share their ideas.

Since I started stamping, I have again come across the term "CASEing" and in various definitions saw it described as "Copy and Steal Everything." (That doesn't sound nearly as nice or user friendly.) I often visit Splitcoaststampers (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/). If you haven't been their previously, I highly recommend the site. They offer great ideas, tutorials, and many forums to connect with other stampers. I recall reading about CASEing in one of those forums and found that it is a pretty hot topic. Many people have their own feelings about this and whether or not it is right. I personally do a lot of CASEing. Sometimes I'll take an idea and change up the colors or the stamps. Sometimes I'll run with an idea and it will end up being a completely different and unique card. I enjoy becoming inspired by others and am thankful for their creative minds. However, if you see a card here that was inspired by another, you will also see me give credit to that person. I appreciate the time and thoughts they have put into their creations, and want to respect and acknowledge their ideas in doing so. I am happy to share ideas for others to use, so feel free to look and CASE away at anything I've done that you enjoy.

Welcome to Whimsical Notations

I LOVE stamping and sharing this fun and creative hobby with other people. My goal is to create a site that offers tips and ideas to the beginner, as well as the experienced stamper. This is my first attempt at a blog and I consider it a work in progress. As I continue to learn and create new projects, I will post additional tips and tutorials. Feel free to make Whimsical Notations a regular blog stop.