Inkin' up the Dogs!

Summer Pinwheel Card

For Christmas this year, I received one of the most beautiful cards from my friend Nancy who lives in Maryland.  Nancy's card had the most beautiful pattern on it, which looked like a Star of David..... I loved the pattern on her card so much, I knew I had to figure out a way to use it on a card with my stamp clubs soon.  The pattern also reminded me of a pinwheel---so I decided with some bright and colorful paper, I could make it into a Summer Pinwheel Card!

 

To make the base for the pinwheel design, we just layered two squares together, overlapping one another so you get 8 points.  These squares were cut 2-3/4" each.  Be sure to use adhesive to stick them together before moving on to the next step.  Your two pieces put together will look like a Star of David. 

Next we used squares punched with the 1-1/4" square punch out of Designer Series Paper.  I love the colors in the "Build a Bear Workshop Pawsitively Prints II", so we used that.  It is so bright and cheery, and really reminds me of summer, which I am totally ready for right about now!!!  We used two different designs, and just alternated them on our points.  Start with the point at the top, and work your way around.  When you place the first square, go LIGHTLY with your adhesive, because you'll need to lift this first square back up at the end.  When you go to place the last square down, you will need to tuck it behind the first (original) square that you placed.  This will complete your pretty pattern!

For the last step, we added a circle punched with the 3/4" circle punch and a rhinestone brad for the center. 

 

Then we added a few more stamps to complete our card, and that was it.  It really was MUCH easier than it looks, and so very pretty! 

I want to mention that the stamp set we used here is called "So Happy For You" and it is only available for a few more days as part of Sale-a-Bration.  You can get this set FREE by placing a $50 order---but you must do so before tomorrow (Thursday March 31st).  This is a great set for your collection because it has 5 different greetings in it, as well as some fun little image stamps.  If you would like to place a Sale-a-Bration order, please contact me!

Thanks for stopping by today to check out my Summer Pinwheel Card.  I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions, please leave me a comment and I will respond back!

Happy Stamping!

Supplies:  So Happy For You stamp set; Poppy Parade, Whisper White, So Saffron card stock; Pawsitively Prints II Designer Paper; Poppy Parade, So Saffron classic ink; 1-1/4" square punch; Rhinestone Brad.

Corner Bookmark

At my March stamp clubs, we made these cute little corner bookmarks out of an envelope!

 

We used a standard A2 card envelope for this project.  We were able to get 2 bookmarks per envelope.  I have a diagram showing you how we did this:

 

The first thing you'll want to do is seal your envelope closed.  I didn't actually draw all this on the envelopes, I just did it here for demonstration purposes.  Basically, I measured 4 inches from a corner in both directions... then I used a straight edge to draw a line between those marks with a pencil.  I cut on the line and got my corner piece.  To make it a little more decorative, we scalloped the long end using the Scallop Edge Punch.

 

Once you have that done, you can decorate it how you want it.  In order to get the triangle shaped pieces for layering, I cut two squares:  3" sqaure and 2-3/4" square.  Then to make the triangles, I just cut the squares in half on the diagonal.  

It helps to add a ribbon in between the envelope and your base decorative layer.  Once your bookmarks gets placed on a page in your book, it doesn't stick up very far, so the ribbon lets you know at a glance where it's at.

 

That's it! It's a super easy project, and very cute for a wide variety of occasions.  These would be great for Mother's Day, a First Communion, and even a Birthday!

Please let me know if you have any questions about my instructions.  I hope you try a corner bookmark soon!  

Supplies Used:  Flight of the Butterfly stamp set; So Saffron, Regal Rose classic inks; Peach Parfait, Whisper White card stock; A2 white envelope, grosgrain ribbon; scallop edge punch.

 

Springtime Half Fold Card

Happy Spring!! I don't know about all of you, but living in Ohio sure gets old right around March 1st.  (actually it gets old way quicker than that, but I'm trying to be nice!)  I am SO happy that spring has arrived.  I took the dogs for a walk yesterday, and being outside is so nice.  It's still a bit chilly, but I know it won't be long and warmer days will be upon us!

For my birthday a few weeks ago, my friend Joanne sent me a beautiful card that had such a different and unique layout, and I just fell in love with it!  Here is a photo of her card:

 

I asked her if I could borrow the idea to create a stamp club card.  She said she didn't mind, so I came up with this card:

 

The front cover of the card is only "half".  I am not sure what you would call this, so I just named it a "half fold card".  Maybe Joanne can tell us if there is a formal name for this design.  Maybe I should have named it a "Joanne card".  Anyway, isn't it lovely?  I love how you can take stamps with smaller images and line them up on the front cover.  Sometimes I have a hard time using smaller stamps.  This layout works beautifully!  Here is a different view of the card, so you can see a little of both the outside and the inside:

 

The blank panel on the left allows you to sign your name and write whatever else you want to personalize the card.  Here is a full view of the inside:

 

We used the "Flight of the Butterfly" stamp set on this card, as well as "Hello Again".  I think the colors are just right for spring.  We used So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Regal Rose, and Old Olive.

I used square punches to create the small squares for the front flap of the card.  The 1-3/8" and the 1-1/4" square punches layer nicely together!  The rectangular panels on the inside are cut 1-1/2" x 4".  We used sponge daubers and Old Olive ink to accent our white squares and rectangles.  I think this sets them off nicely.

I hope you like this card and find time to give one a try.  Thanks Joanne for this wonderful idea!!! 

Supplies:  Flight of the Butterfly, Hello Again stamp sets; So Saffron, Peach Parfait and Whisper White card stock; So Saffron Designer Paper; Regal Rose, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Old Olive classic ink; sponge daubers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catching up.....and a Thank You card!!

The past couple of weeks have had their ups and downs!!

On February 24th, I turned 40 years old!!

 

I know, I know....I only look 25!! You don't have to tell me.  People tell me every day!! LOL.

For my birthday, I planned a very small dinner with a few family members and a couple of friends.  No big deal.  My husband wanted to surprise me, so being the great organizer that he is, he surprised me with a lot of surprise guests!!! It was really nice.  What was supposed to be a dinner of a few, turned into a dinner of about 20 people I think...maybe more!! 

He also surprised me by asking my friend Sherri to come and stay the weekend of my birthday.  Sherri drove all the way here from North Carolina!! She had to drive through snow and everything.  What a trooper!! Here is a pic of us soon after she surprised me at my door..I am on the left and she is on the right.  Don't mind the dogs...they are always up to something!!

 

Then on February 27th, the happiness turned to sadness when my dear Grandfather passed away.  He was 86 years old, and while it wasn't totally unexpected, it breaks my heart nonetheless.  He was a wonderful Grandpa and I will miss him dearly!

 

So I apologize I haven't been around much lately.  Things have just been really busy and I haven't had any time to stamp, until today!

I needed a few thank you cards, so I made this card:

 
 

I played around with the ribbon placement a little bit.  I never did decide if I like it better on the top or the bottom... what do you think?

The main image is stamped in Crumb Cake ink on Crumb Cake card stock.  The stamp is from "Eastern Blooms".  The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip.  I added a punched flower with a self adhesive rhinestone in the center.  The bottom of the card is accented with a strip of Wild Wasabi card stock.

It's a very simple card, but as you know, many of my cards are!! I actually got the idea for this card from a sample in the current Idea Book & Catalog.  I don't have my book in front of me, but they had a cute sample that was made in a smaller square card, and I based the layout and color ideas directly from it!! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope to be back again soon!