Getting the groove on...

I've been a bit out of the loop this last little while and haven't been working on much beyond getting my own Christmas cards made (I have a rather extensive list of people that I send cards to every year), so I don't have anything non-Christmas-y to share today. I'll save you the holiday overload and share those cards with you in December.

I will say I've also been working like a madwoman on Sesame Street Punch Pals invitations, which you may remember from my original post several months ago. I had 4 people order sets in a short period of time, which ended up totaling 65 invitations! That's a lot of little pieces to put together and I had quite an assembly line going there for a few weeks. One of my customers decided she wanted favors to match, and chose glass jars with the same characters on the top with fish food inside (they are giving each guest a "Dorothy" goldfish as a gift), so I've been working on those favors this week; I'll post pictures next week after they are completed.

We went to New York City today for a day trip to meet my niece, for the first time (what a cutie!); here's a photo her mom snapped a week or so ago.


The funny thing is that she looks just like my husband as an infant! (Those Greek genes are very strong, which is interesting, given that her mother is half Japanese!) We had a nice day, despite drizzle and rain and my son behaved himself nicely all day long, which was a blessing. As any parent of a toddler knows, that is a big deal.

Enough prattling for now; apologies for no interesting craft posts. Hopefully I'll get my non-Christmas stamping groove on again this week.

I need more texture!

I was going through cardstock scaps the other day and found a card-front sized piece of chocolate chip card stock that I had dry-embossed using a borrowed Perfect Details Texturz plates and a borrowed Big Shot this summer and never used on anything. I set it aside, thinking I needed to save it for something good.

I ran across this nice layout on Heather Yates' blog (hers uses snowflakes), but I was sick of making Christmas cards, so I decided to make a generic card instead. As I was pondering color schemes, stamps and such, I found that cardstock piece again, and suddenly I realized I had "something good" to use it on! I know this is a muted kind of card with an unusual color combination, but I think it reminds me of early winter, when all the trees are brown, those misty mornings when it is cold and gray.

Supplies:
Kraft, chocolate chip, bordering blue, whisper white cs
pocket silhouettes stamp set
chocolate chip ink
scallop circle, 1 3/8" circle punch
kraft taffeta ribbon
perfect details texturz plate/big shot
dimensionals

Vellum vase

Another CASE from splitcoast using itty bitty buds and the ornament punch to make a vase. I had some vellum paper (not cardstock) from a craft store lying around begging to be used, so I used that and stamped the stem directly on it. This was a card where one might say (if one is being kind) that it was "an opportunity for embellishment." I made a few idiotic stamping mistakes that I covered with gold brads (when there are no layers, it is more difficult to cover your mistakes). I ended up putting a white panel on the back of the front of the card a) to cover the backs of the gold brads and b) to stiffen the front a little since it had gotten heavy with the brads. Still, I like the idea and will probably attempt another version at some point. I especially love using the ornament punch as a vase. I'm always looking for good ideas for punch pals!

Supplies:
Whisper white, cameo coral cs
itty bitty buds, define your life stamps
bravo burgundy, always artichoke, cameo coral, so saffron markers
gold brads
vellum paper
so saffron grosgrain ribbon
generic burgundy ribbon
scallop edge punch

Doodling

This is another CASE from splitcoast using itty bitty buds--I was on a kick to make several cards using this set. I LOVE this card. The doodling took a while, but I really like the result. I also had a hand at dying a ribbon to match using my markers, which I think turned out well--I just used my cameo coral marker on white grosgrain and voila, cameo coral grosgrain! Brilliant.

Supplies:
Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Whisper White cs
Basic Black ink, cameo coral marker
itty bitty buds, hugs and wishes stamp sets (both retired)
Pewter brad
white 5/8" grosgrain ribbon
wide oval punch, oval template
black pilot gel pen for doodles

Thinking of you with Itty Bitty Buds

This is a CASE of a splitcoast card that I liked. All I changed was the sentiment to make it Thinking of You rather than Happy Mother's Day. I know it is a little off-season for such a spring-like card, but here's wishing you May flowers in November.

Supplies:

Kraft, Certainly Celery, Confetti cream, pumpkin pie cs
itty bitty buds, thoughts and prayers stamp set
certainly celery, bashful blue, pumpkin pie markers, chocolate chip ink
dimensionals
certainly celery twill ribbon

Bermuda Bay mini-note

I copied this card from zipperc98 on splitcoast stampers and copied it almost verbatim. I thought it was a cute way to use to the window sheets in the Night and Day DSP bundle. I love that paper--I will be sad when it retires after this mini catalog. It is so elegant and versatile. I'm not sure why the color is off on the photo, possibly because of the window sheet, but the white is white, not vanilla. It's 3x3 and I think would be a great gift tag.

Supplies:
Bermuda Bay, Whisper White, Basic Black
Teeny Tiny Wishes, Pocket Silhouettes stamps
Basic black ink
Modern label punch, slot punch
black grosgrain ribbon

Thanks a Latte Tri-Shutterfold card

I've been wanting to try one of these for a while, and also wanting to use my Sip By Sip stamp, which admittedly hasn't been inked up much. I found a version that used both on splitcoast, by Lisa Bingham. Hers was meant as a gift card holder, which I liked, but forgot to add the crucial flap to the edge to make it work that way. Oh well. I changed a few other things, but kept her basic idea. Now I just need someone special to send it to! Here's my card: