Saturday's Sketch Share!

Happy Saturday! Welcome to another sketch share between Debbie and I . I think this one came out pretty cute. Let's get right to it! I will show you my card, Debbie's card, and the sketch we both used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card



I think Debbie interpreted the card as most would, that the two smaller circles would be accents of the main image.  But, did you notice that I went a different route?  I put the main images in the two smaller circles and a sentiment in the large one.  This just shows you two totally different looks!  Love them both!

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for another creation.  Yes, on Sunday, as I am on a roll now!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Life is One Grand Sweet Song!

Hello!  I have  been out in my shack doing some fun creating this week.  The only problem is that I haven't stopped each day to show you each card.  So, now it is Friday, the week is almost over, and I am just now sitting down to do the first post for you.  But, on a good note, I have enough creations completed that you will get one post every day until the end of the month!  That will be 11 posts in a row!  That is, if I can write that many!  Let's talk about the first one, today's card.  A friend of mine that I have known since 9th grade (oh about 37 years or so!) saw some of the ideas on Pinterest where they created a Piano card.  She asked me if I could make her one for a friend's birthday.  I said sure, I bet I could come up with something.  And this is the result!  I love how it came out.  I hope she loves it too!   Before I show you my card, let me give you the couple of Pinterest links so you can see my inspiration and where my pattern came from.  First, I printed off the template of the card base from this blog here.  I enlarged on my computer the template for the base only.  All the other pieces she used to make her piano 3-D and I knew I just wanted mine to be a card instead.  O.k. then I also got some inspiration from this blog post here.  The first one is from Norway and the second one?  The whole post is in another language, but it doesn't matter because I am all about the visual!  Now, let me show you my creation ... enjoy!

And the inside look when it is open:

I want to talk about the making of the piano keys ... I saw another idea on pinterest here where they used the Stampin' Up Word punch to make the keys.  I followed their lead but  I cut each one straight instead of leaving them rounded as they did, so that it would look more realistic.  This area is definitely not perfect, but then again, it is handmade, right?  I looked on the computer to try to find some kind of "piano sentiment" for the card.  The "Life is One Grand Sweet Song" is a quote from Ronald Reagan and I thought it would be perfect for the card, so I printed it out!  I added a white cardstock  panel on the left inside so that my friend can add her message.  My friend told me she would be giving the card and not sending it, so I knew I could jazz up the front with some 3-D flowers.  I think it came out pretty good, and I am pretty darn proud of it!  Thoughts?  I would so love for you to comment!

Recipe:

Paper - Music paper by Bo Bunny Et Cetera line, Flower, leaves and swirl by My Minds Eye Lost & Found 2: 6 x 6 pad called Blush, Cardstock Black, White, Pink
Tools - My Favorite Things Prima Donna Petals, Mini Rolled Roses, & Fancy Flourish Die-namics, Spellbinders Classic Circles, Lacey Circles, Stampin' Up Word Punch
Other - Pearls

See you tomorrow for the Saturday sketch share.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S.  On another note, will you please send prayers to my good friend Virginia?  Her husband passed away yesterday from complications of prostate cancer.  She and Bill had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  A love like theirs is rare to find and she and her family need prayers from wherever they may come.  I am sending a card today that is on my list to show you next week.  Thanks!

Saturday's Sketch Share!

Hello! As promised, I am back today with the sketch share. Wait until you see how cute all three of them came out, as this is the week that Donna is participating! Woo Hoo! Let's do it! I will show you my card, Donna's card, Debbie's card and the sketch we all used. Enjoy!



My Card

Donna's Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

A couple of quick notes about the cards:  First, I got that bird stamp at the Grapevine convention in January and I have been waiting for the perfect springtime opportunity to ink it up.  I was at Donna's house when she gave me this week's card and she showed me the set of stamps that the monkey came from and one of the sentiments in the set I got her to stamp out and put inside my card.  It reads "You Rocket"!  I love those puny sentiments!  And what a great Texas themed card Debbie created this week!  This really is a good go to sketch for the times when you have a smaller image and you worry about it getting it lost on a big card.  Will have to remember this one! 

Well, I am off to the Cornbread Festival.  And that is one of the advantages of living out in the country, as all the small towns have these fun festivals.  In this one there is a 5K (which I missed ... on purpose), a Tomahawk throwing competition, a hat contest, a pet contest, cornbread cook-off,  a corn-eating contest, a corn relay, and some vendors.

I have several cards I want to make so hopefully, I will get out to my shack and create something so that I can show you some cards next week!  Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

A Story about Nice People!

Hello again!  On the post I just did about my class share, I forgot to tell you a story about the brads I used on the double twisted easel card.  I took the copper brads from my stash but, unfortunately, I knew I would not have enough for all the class kits.  I knew that when I had my store, we ordered all our brads from Creative Impressions.  So, off I went to see if I could do a retail order with them online.  Yes!  Hooray!  They are still in business.  I did my order (also including ribbon they sell, that I love, but don't need!) and in the comments section I did a blurb about who I was, what store I had, etc. Well, this afternoon, I get a call from them!  They liked that I told them who I was and, of course, remembered me.  We talked about the relationships that are formed when you are in business.  And that is so true, just like I am friends on Facebook with several stamp store owners and lots of ex-customers.  Somewhere in the conversation, she informed me that they would be sending out my order for free.  And that is so nice, that I wanted to share this story with you.  We all need to be reminded that there are STILL nice people in this world.  And they are the ones we should do business with.  So, go check out their site and see if they have something you might just need!   Here is the link to Creative Impressions.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

April Class Share!

Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. This week, I have been out in my stamp shack working on my class samples for my next class. My class is only two weeks away and so I am a little behind getting the samples done, but I think it will be o.k. and will surely get sign ups anyway. My classes challenge me to find different types of cards that I can teach and this month is no exception. I am doing another of the honeypop cards from Inky Antics this time with an adorable little duck, perfect for a springtime card. You know I live in Texas, and springtime is a very short time! The second card is the challenge one and it is called a Double Twisted Easel card. I wanted to use both the cowboy and cowgirl stamps from My Favorite Things, so I went to looking for ideas on how I could incorporate both of the images into one card, and this is what I came up with. I love it! It is definitely going to be a hit! After I did the first two cards, each with two images that would have to be colored, I knew that the third card had better be simple. So, I went with simple and made a similar version to something I showed you on this blog post here. O.k. enough talking, let me show you my cards. Enjoy!

First up is the Honeycomb Pop-up card ...

I have taught several of these honeycomb pop-up cards, but they are enjoyed so much, I just can't resist!

Next ...

Isn't it great? This is how it stands when it is open. I changed the measurements that I found because I wanted to make sure it would fit in an envelope without having to find or make a special sized one. It fits perfectly into a #10 business size. The only disadvantage is that if you were sending it in the mail, the recipient would have to figure out how to make it stand up. It is probably a better idea to hand deliver. I have some close-ups for you next. And, a pic showing how it would fit in the envy.

Yes, a little paper piecing was added just for fun! I originally thought about paper piecing her skirt but I decided to keep it simple and just do her vest and headband so it would match the cowboy.

And, here is the third one ...



Here are the class details, just in case you are local and are interested.  If so, call the store to sign up.  972-923-3151.

Pop, Twist, and Cut - Wed. April 25th 11:00 a.m. and Sat. April 28th 2:30 p.m. $25

Come make three unique and creative cards. You will be making a honeycomb pop-up card with a spring theme, including a refresher course on the out of the box technique, a double twisted easel card featuring both the cowboy and cowgirl stamps from My Favorite Things, and lastly, a pretty Mother's day card with the die cut butterfly and stamp set from Hero Arts. Please bring adhesive, small pop-up dots, an X by Xyron (if you have one), a glue stick, detailed scissors, and your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored pencils, etc.) All other supplies provided.

That is it for me.  In the middle of getting these cards done, I also got the Saturday sketch share card done, so I know I will be back on Saturday for that.  I know my blog has suffered with all the classes but I still love to stamp and I am so glad you stick by me and let me show you what I do create!  I am hoping this weekend to have time to do some stamping just for fun, but we'll see how it goes.  See you Saturday!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

Hello! I am back today with another share and since both Debbie and I made Easter cards, and tomorrow is Easter, this is our wish for all of you ... Happy Easter! So, let's get right to it! I will show you my card, Debbie's card, and the sketch we both used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

And a close -up of my little bunny.  I love the added whiskers using linen thread from The Cat's Pajamas, and I also added a little white fluff from Stampendous on her tail.  I don't usually give you extra pics on the share days, but this bunny was so special, I just had to!  I am sad to say that I didn't get a bunch of Easter cards made to send, so I hope you enjoy this one ... virtual style!  I hope everyone has a blessed Easter! 

Happy Stamping!
Tina

A Card & Some Pics!

Hello!  It is already the 6th of April and I am just now popping in with my first April post.  And that is what happens when life gets in the way of me making cards, and me doing blog posts!  Last week, was so crazy between all the class kit preps and the make it take it event that I participated in last Saturday at The Crafty Scrapper.  But, I do have a couple of pics from that day to share with you later in this post.  Also, I am sharing a pic of a "space" that I am renting in a gift shop/coffee shop to try to sell some of my handmade cards.  I spent some time early this week, pricing the cards to get them ready to sell.  I have priced them at $3, $4, and $5.  I have no idea if any will sell, but the "space" I rented is only costing me $15 a month to find out!  Just had to do it.  Now, before I show you that pic, let me talk about the card I have to show you.  A couple of weeks ago, a woman from my church asked me if I could make her a card to be given to a gentlemen that would be turning 90.  I said of course, not realizing that I would need to make it before last Sunday's service, in the mist of my crazy last week.  When I got home Saturday evening from the all day make it take it event, I just couldn't do it.  But, on Sunday morning, with an hour before church, I did it!  Boy, I think I must have some help from above, as I never come up with an idea, and finish any card within an hour!  Especially a man's card, but I did it!  I think I need to made more of these to have on hand, as I love how it came out!  Let me show you... enjoy!

What do you think?  A great masculine card?  To me, they are the hardest to make.  Now, for my hubby, I can get away with cute animals or whatever, but for a general masculine type card, they are hard to come up with ideas.  On pinterest, I have seen several cards with these strips of pattern paper and so I decided to just get that part going and see where the creativity took me.  I love the added cake and stars.  You?  Oh, on the inside, which I didn't take a pic of, I added a stamp that says "Celebrate, You deserve it"!  I originally thought I would find a birthday for a 90 year old sentiment on the computer and print it onto cardstock, but with an hour, well, I just had to find a stamp that would work!

Recipe:
Paper - My Minds Eye Stella & Rose Hattie 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock Dark Brown, Cream
Stamps - Cake by Verve Birthday set, Sentiment by Hero Arts
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils
Tools - Spellbinders Stars Circle (first time to use!), My Favorite Things Stacking Stars Die-namics
Other - Pearls

Now, on to the pics I have to show you.  First, are the ones taken at The Crafty Scrapper last Saturday.

During my MITI ... me with my mouth open ... Typical!!

My table I set up by my MITI to showcase my classes

Not my MITI, but I thought it was a good one to show the store.

Next, is the pic of the space I am renting to try to sell my cards ...

So, just in case, they do sell, I need to get on the ball and make some cards!  For sure, I need ones that are specifically for birthday, mother's day, etc.  The great thing about this, is for every card I make to try to sell, you get the benefit of seeing it first, here on my blog!  Woo Hoo!  I also wanted to have time this week, to make my Easter cards.  Well, that just didn't happen because between this little time taker, a funeral on Monday, and, cleaning house for Easter, I just didn't get them done.  I am a little disappointed about it, but I am trying not to fret about it either.  After all, do I get Easter cards in the mail from anyone else?  No.  It is just that I have always done them, and it's hard for me to break old habits.  But, for you ... I will have one!  Make sure you tune in tomorrow for Saturday's Sketch share to see an Easter card from me!

See you tomorrow!
Happy Stamping!
Tina