I Feel So Blessed!

I have the best blogging buddies in the world!  Did you know that?  Truly, they bless me in so many ways.  Not only do I get to visit their blogs and receive inspiration from them and ogle their wonderful handiwork, but two of them have blessed me with awards!  :-)  I feel unworthy, but thankful at the same time.  You see, I'm just a little stamper, stamping in my own little world to make me feel good and to bless others with my handiwork by sending them handmade goodies.  I also love to share the art of papercrafting with my friends (some people call them customers) and it's a wonderful "job".

This is from my wonderful buddy Georgeann, who makes some really fun and creative cards.  I love her style and her ability to post regularly!  (something that I must admit I'm a bit jealous of! :-D )  I'm supposed to link to her, list 8 things about myself, and then pass the award along.  1.  I love to sing  2. I love Christmas and my DH calls me the Christmas Queen  3.  I have 3 sons  4.  I have been happily married for almost 19 years  5.  I made a commitment to God to follow him when I was 11 and realized that I didn't want to spend eternity without him.  6.  I love the look in a guest's eyes when they figure out that they truly are creative...it was just buried deep inside.  7.  I love the snuggle of a sleeping baby.  8.  I enjoy gazing at my boys while they're sleeping.  They look so innocent when they sleep.  And now to pass on the award to my buddies.  My friend Joanne makes the most amazingly elegant cards and I love (and envy) her style!  My blogging buddy Anne (whom I've never met, but I think she might be a really fun person IRL!) whose cards are always so amazingly colored.  She needs to teach coloring to the papercrafting world!  Chiaki, who doesn't know me, but whose blog I've been stalking for quite awhile, looking for inspiration for workshop ideas...and she never lets me down!  Thanks, blogging friends!

 And then there's this cute Libster Award that was given to me by my blogging buddy Anne!  Do you see why I feel so blessed????  And now I get to pass this along to more of my blogging buddies!  This must go to Georgeann, (Me Time), Krystal (Krystal's Cards and More), and Abi (Cornwall Crafty Stamper).

Thank you for your inspiration, stamping friends.  I love visiting your sites whenever I get the chance and I value being able to exchange ideas.

Blessings,
Julie

Apparently It Was a Bad, Bad Bug! Glad They Squashed It!!!!!

Remember this one?  Well we had some leftovers.  Yes, I was at it again, but I really like what I came up with as an alternative design!

See?  It's using my new set that I earned through Sale-A-Bration and it's called Always Elegant.  I totally love this stamp set!  And what a change it made from the original card.  And the card scrap that was used to punch out the bird was used on my butterfly embosslit.  Ok, now that I've figured out that Blogger is fixed...at least in Firefox, not in IE yet...I have some other fun things to show you in the morning.  

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Blogger is having serious issues, folks

So sorry, but I've had some serious issues with some of the changed that they've made to Blogger over the last week.  It might just cause me to get a new blog address if things can't get resolved.  Please know that I haven't forgotten about you.

Julie

Class Techies

 Last week I had the privilege of doing a class for some advanced stampers.  This was a benefit from an auction basket for our school.  I threw in a gift certificate with the wonderful things that Stampin' Up! had donated.  (And they were VERY generous!  Thank you SU!)  This first card concentrated on learning the ribbon rose and using a circle for a piercing template.  It was also fun to throw on a bunch of the freebies from SAB.  The layout for this card is from last month's Stampin' Success Magazine.  I like the whimsical feel of it.

This card had a few other techniques that I was teaching.  The first was sponging on the backside of vellum cardstock after texturing it in the Big Shot.  Isn't that color behind the roses lovely?  The rhinestone on the sentiment was colored in with a sharpie, which really isn't a technique as much as a wonderful use of your supplies.  The other technique on this card was the reinker spread.  See that lovely rose from Fifth Avenue Floral on the bottom corner?  It was so fun to see the ladies try the technique.  I think half of them thought that they had completely messed theirs up, but once dried and cut out, they were all beautiful.  And since I'm particularly fond of Shimmer White cardstock, this is one of my favorite techniques.

I think this one was my favorite.  We watercolored inside the champagne glasses with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and then covered the liquid area with Crystal Effects.  Isn't it lovely?  Oh, and then I had to show them the hot, new ruffled ribbon look.  They all thought that it was going to be hard, but were amazed that it didn't have to be perfect to look good.  We finished it off with a bit of Victoria Lace and a Bronze Safety Pin from Vintage Trinkets.  This DP is so easy to use and makes simple cards look wonderful.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station again.  I'd love to hear from you.

Blessings,
Julie

Stampin' Up! Supplies Aren't Just for Paper Crafting....

I love helping my kids with their school project, especially when it means that we can make something really special with my Stampin' Up! supplies.  Look at this cool shield!  My son Nate's class is finishing up a unit on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  To finish it up, they needed to make something and they had a list of choices.  Nate chose to make Peter's shield.  Of course my husband had to help with the design, cutting, and decoration.  He asked me if we had some cardboard that he could make the lion out of.  Well, you KNOW what's better than cardboard!  SU!  I got out my prized Red Glitter Paper, we traced the lion onto it, cut it out, and it shows wonderfully against the silver paint.  Sorry that the picture doesn't really do it justice.

You'll also notice that the crown on the shield is no ordinary crown.  Oh no!  I used Crystal Effects on it, then used my chunky glitter for a fabulous look.  The Crystal Effects really made it 3-D.  Oh, and hey, what do you think of the side view from our deck?  You'd never know that we lived in the middle of the city!  The main view looks over the valley to another hill, with the Cascade Mountains behind it.  Oh, how I love it!  There are real advantages to living on the side of a hill.  And yes, it's a big hill!

Well, thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again and indulging me in a bit of showing off my family and our fun crafting together. 

Blessings,

Julie

Making Wrapping Paper

Oh yes, I do love making my own wrapping paper.  A few years ago I bought a roll of freezer paper from Costco.  It's a bit thin, so you either have to wrap it around a few times or else you can first wrap white tissue around your gift.  I layered it a few times here...that's why you can see the lighter hearts.  The heart is from Punch Potpourri, a Level 1 Hostess Stamp Set and the branch swirl is from Sweet Summer, a Sale-A-Bration set that I happen to LOVE.  We gave this gift to the boys for Valentine's Day.  They were quite surprised that they were getting a Blu-Ray Toy Story 3 movie.  Yay!  And then it was movie night...a fun way to spend Valentine's Day.

I hope you had fun on Valentine's Day, whether it was with loved ones or serving others.

Blessings,
Julie

How Many Versions of One Card Can You Make?

How many ways can you change a card?  Well, we made this card at the last workshop, except it had "Three Little Words" at the bottom, instead of the smaller swirl.  It was a Valentine themed workshop and this was a fun card.  But how to use up the leftovers and not simply duplicate it?

On this one, I changed the heart to a butterfly and then stamped on the DP.  This seemed to make it a more whimsical card, which I like.

And then I used double the DP and made a Valentine for my honey.  He really seemed to like it and I thought it was fun to add the glittery heart.  (Loving that Glitter Paper!  Just wait until you see what else we used it for!)  The sentiment is from Always and punched out with the Modern Label Punch.  The frame behind it was cut with the Big Shot and the Frames and Labels Sizzlit.  (I sure love that set!)You probably recognize this card, too.  Well, this is what I made it into....

I really like this one!  I've used the Priceless swirl again and the bottom design is from Artistic Etchings.  Hey, look!  There's that fabulous Glitter Paper again! 

Ok, so how many different designs can you make with the same supplies?  Dare you to try!  :-) 

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie

Josh's Birthday Cupcake

We celebrated my nephew's birthday last Sunday just before the Super Bowl started.  It's hard to believe he's eight already!  I was cleaning up the scrap room (aka crap room!) and found this fun retired DP, which inspired the color scheme of the card.  I didn't want a traditional scallop edge, so I punched three scalloped ovals and glued them to the back.  My nephew loved the saying on here and on the inside, it said, "There's something special about your birthday.  Must be you."  He thought that was pretty cool, too!  Both sayings are from the new Buils-a-Cupcake stamp set.  The scalloped square is from the Two Scalloped Squares Bigz Die and the cupcake is punched with the Build-a-Cupcake punch. 

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station. 

Blessings,
Julie

p.s.  I typed this whole thing one-handed, since my sweet kitty was laying on my arm.  Just thought you might enjoy hearing about that.  :-)

Another Virtual Playdate...Wanna Play?

Yes, the three Amigas are at it again.  We couldn't find the time to get together in person, so we decided to challenge each other.  I've linked their blogs, so please go check out their cards for the challenges, too.



This was my challenge...to make a valentine without red or pink.  Extra credit given to those who didn't use a valentine stamp set.  I hope this qualifies for that.  :-)  My DH knows how much I love my hot drinks, so I'm sure this will let him know how much he means to me.  Too bad the texture on the hearts didn't come through on the photo.  Oh well.  The color scheme is from SACC80 at stampinaddicts.com and the layout is SASC82 from the same place! 



Joanne's challenge was to make a valentine candy holder...something 3-D.  Well, I decided it was time to get  out my much-neglected matchbox die.  I use the frames quite often, but not the matchbox so much.  The window was cut out with my tags sizzlit and a window sheet is inside to keep the candy from falling out.  1/8" taffeta ties it all together and the heart were punched out of the red glitter cardstock.  i LOVE that stuff!!!!!



The last challenge was Sharon's.  We were to make a card using only the neutrals family.  My original plan was to use Sahara, Black, and White, but that didn't work since I wanted to use my Love Letters DP.  I'm really happy with this card!  It's my first playdate with this stamp set (which I earned through SAB) and it was really fun to use!  The layout is SC319 from splitcoaststampers.com. 

Well, that's it for now.  I hope you've enjoyed this post.  Please play along with the Three Amigas.  Post somewhere online and show us what you've made.  We'd love to see it!

Blessings
Julie



Leftovers Are Good!

 You know, I just realized that I never showed you how my Christmas cards turned out!  Silly me!  But it did work out because now I can show you how I used the leftovers. 
This photo was taken in Hawaii, on a trip to celebrate my in-law's 50th anniversary.  My DH thought it would make a great Christmas photo and I went in to panic-mode, thinking "how on earth am I going to make a tropical photo into a Christmas card?!"  So I got out my River Rock cardstock and cut out a bunch of Top Note die cuts for the frame.  And then I got out my retired stamps from last summer's mini catalog, and started stamping them in Ruby Red and Always Artichoke.  (Yes, I was trying to use up some retired Ruby Red ink and cardstock.)  And this is how it turned out.  I like it!  But...I made 85 cards.  Do you know how many Top Note die cuts I had left???  So, what to do with them?  Well, Sale-A-Bration was coming up, so I held onto them, thinking I could probably come up with something.....

 And this is the result!  :-)  We also used the Top Note die cut for the inside, a nice way to tie in the layout.  This is a super-easy card to make and the guests at the last workshop really had a lot of fun with it.  After minimal stamping and cutting around the frame, the card came together very quickly.  And don't you just love those butterflies?  Supplies for this card are Baby Blossoms and Fresh Cuts stamp sets, Springtime Vintage DP (LOVE that paper!!!), Marina Mist, River Rock, Rose Red, Certainly Celery and Very Vanilla cardstocks and inks, Framed Tulips emb. folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslit. 

And here is the last card that we made at the workshop.  It's a Valentine of non-traditional colors.  I like that!  You've already heard me say multiple times that I'm not a pink person, so this one was right up my alley.  The great thing about this card is that, since it's non-traditional Valentine colors, it can also be a birthday or wedding card.  The design is a CASE of a card that I found online, but I can't remember where I found it!  So... if this is your card, please leave a comment here so that we can give you credit!  The embossing folder is one of my fav's (Elegant Lines) and and shows the complete pattern on the inside of the card.  Cool!!!!  And the scallop piece is the Ribbon punch.  Isn't that fun?  The supplies for this card are Punch Potpourri stamp set, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, and Regal Rose cardstock, Woodland Walk DP, Ribbon and Full Heart Punches, Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit, Elegant Lines Emb. Folder, Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose, and Pink Pirouette markers, Basic Rhinestones.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings to you,
Julie

MDS Greeting Card Hybrid Projects

 Cardmaking is so much fun with My Digital Studio!  For this card, I chose a blank page, then added a designer paper as a page layer.  After adjusting the size that I wanted it to be, I double-clicked on the designer paper so that I could choose which area of the paper to use.  This is the orchid from Summertime Splendor, one of the designer paper downloads.  Aren't those colors gorgeous?  You should see the rest of the sheet!

And yes, those are pearls that you see on the printed image.  That's another wonderful download.  I added a text box to type my message into and chose the color by using the color picker to take the darker blue from the orchid.  Yup!  It's that smart. 
These cards are called hybrids because I printed them, added some accessories and mounted them on cardstock.  I really like doing that!  And just think, you can design one area, copy and paste it multiple times on one sheet and have 4 cards ready to go in no time!  I'm definitely keeping this template on my computer.
I made these two cards for two dear friends of mine.  One lost her husband last summer and the other just lost her husband last week.  I'm hoping that these cards help ease the loneliness a little.  And that is what stamping is to me.  It's a way to touch those around me and to let them know that I care.  A handmade goodie goes a long way to someone feeling special.  I want to bless others with the work of my hands.

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station once again.  I'm going to try to get to that tutorial this week for the folds that made the tree and the snowflake.

Blessings,
Julie

Cupcake Creations...Oh Wait! It's a Popcorn Bowl!

 Ok, this is a total CASE of my blogging buddy Carrie, but I had to do it!  It was way too cute to resist.  I changed her card just a little, so that I could use my Pawsitively Prints DSP and so that it would be appropriate for a 14 year old boy, but the design is hers.  Thanks, Carrie!  See this post to view her original card. 

Create-A-Cupcake, Teeny Tiny Wishes, and Crazy for Cupcakes stamp sets, Cupcake Punch, Itty Bitty Trio Punches, Sponge, Word Window, Rounded Tab, Petal Card, and Modern Label punches, Pawsitively Prints DSP, Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise, and Daffodil Delight ink, Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Pacific Point, and Whisper White cardstock.

You can see that I made a little pocket on the inside piece that slides out.  That's for the cash that all teenagers seem to want these days.  :-)  My son wrote on the card instead of me stamping something, because I had to quit.  It was past time to start making dinner.  I don't like it when my normal Cinderella duties get in the way of my crafting, but there you have it! 

Thanks for stopping by the Stamping Station.

Blessings,
Julie