davebrethauer

You are so wise!!

 

Hello friends!!

I hope this post finds you well.  Its Halloween weekend and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my best friend and maybe do a little stamping too.  I did catch "Mr. Mousey" on Thursday in the wee hours and may he R.I.P.  He's in my trash can right now and will soon be hauled away.  Bye bye little one.  I hope none of your relatives pay me a visit!!  I know gross hah but at least he is no longer lounging around in my living room. 

I wish you a safe and spooktacular weekend friends.  Today's card was designed for my middle sister's Dec. birthday.  I am very fond of the Dewfrost paper collection and I love the stamps.  They were all new until today!!  Be good now and thanks so much for stopping by.  I'd love to hear what you have planned for the weekend.  I'm finally going to get some new glasses so I can see better while stamping!!  Dang they will cut into my stamping budget but its due time as I constantly struggle to see and its SO important to take care of your eyes.  See you next month.  Tami  :D'  

 

Card Supplies:

Paper-Dewfrost

Notecard-Vanilla Bean

Stamps-Owl Branch (F1287), CL141 Night Before (Calendar), You Are So Wise (B944), Happy Birthday Script (B828), Make A Wish (B831)

Pearls-Frost Blue

Inks-Colorbox Chalks Creamy Brown, Dark Brown; Versafine Vintage Sepia; Memento Brown (Copics)

American Crafts-Rick Rack

Copics-BG10, E00, E33, E35, E41, E50, E51, Y06, Y13, Y38

Spica Glitter Pen-Buttermilk

Saukura Glaze Pen-Clear

Quickie Glue Pen

Dimensional Dots, Double Stick Tape, 3M Tacky Adhesive Glue

Other Paper-Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 80# Cover

Card Directions:

Cut Dewfrost paper to 4 x 5.25" and edge with creamy brown ink.  Stamp owls on light blue Dewfrost paper, again on another paper scrap from collection (for paper piecing scarves), and third time on a white scrap (Memento brown ink for Copic coloring).  Edge the first light blue paper with creamy brown and adhere to a larger brown polka dot layer (Dewfrost).  Cut out owls (cut off left side of scarves) and color with Copic markers.  Paper piece scarf.  I colored in each scraf with blue Copic BG10.  Glue pieces to main owl image as shown.  Stamp calendar twice on blue Dewfrost scraps in Versafine brown ink.  Cut out calendar and cut out number 2 from second image (my sister's birthday is Dec. 2).  Edge calendar with creamy brown and layer calendar to a vanilla bean paper scrap.  Glue down blue rick rack to background paper. Attach dimensional dots to back of calendar.  Adhere all card pieces to Dewfrost paper as shown and attach to a vanilla bean notecard.  On the inside I stamped both birthday sentiments and stamped you are so wise on a blue Dewfrost scrap and layered the sentiment to a brown scrap (vanilla bean).  Use clear glaze pen on eyes, nose, and pinecones.  Add buttermilk glitter accents.  Adhere frost blue pearls to three corners on main image and one on each side of December.    

Another picture showing sentiment:

 

My sister is very smart and again she's a December child.  We are very close and I'm the oldest daughter in our family of three sisters.  Sami and I are also know as "Pitter and Patter" respectively so I love the owl stamp for several reasons.  It is very symbolic to me.  I hope I have not bored you.   Thanks again if you have read this all the way.  

Paper Garden

Warm weather, a store stuffed full of paper crafting supplies and a visit with the lovable and talented Stephanie Nishikawa - all these elements came together for a wonderful visit to The Paper Garden in Sacramento, California.

Located in a beautiful boutique shopping center, The Paper Garden is spilling over with stamps, papers, accessories and gifts perched on custom shelving, paper racks and shabby chic cupboards in pastel shades. Stephanie stocks tons of rubber stamps on clever shelves that display a sample card near the stamp used on each project. The idea cards are lined up 3 or 4 deep near each stamp - which could give hours of inspiration for devoted paper crafters. There are literally hundreds of card ideas posted in each section. 

Oh, and do you need some paper? Well, Stephanie has racks of specialty cardstock, notecards and envelopes for all occasions - she offers a full service or do-it-yourself wedding invitation service at the store. You can have her design an invitation and print/cut everything yourself - or she will design, print cut and customize an invitation for you, so that all you have to do is add an address and send it! Sending 20? No problem! Sending 1000? No problem!!

Stephanie stocks cool gifts and fun things too - she has a keen sense for buying terrific stuff and it's just great eye-candy to walk through this store. One of the customers who took my class regularly drives over from the Bay area because "there's no store like Stephanie's store!".

Of course, Stephanie's son Miles was on hand to "be my helper" (in between naps). I haven't seen him in a year - and he has really grown. Miles and I bonded and I wanted to bring him back with me! I'll just have to visit more often so that I can make sure he doesn't forget me!

Be sure and load up on the Japanese specialty papers while you're there - and check out the pre-made card and envelope packs (for beautiful stationery gifts!).

Spiceberry Cheer

 

Welcome!! I hope your week is off to a good start.  It’s been a little soggy around here the last couple of days. I was lucky to be able to get a photograph of my card outside this week in between rain showers & without the wind blowing it away. I’m hoping to take advantage of the gloomy weather & get some of my holiday gift crafting started this week & maybe do some baking.

 

I have not shared a card in a while using the Spiceberry papers, so I’m sharing a little Spiceberry cheer with you this week. J

 

 

 

To make this card, you will need a Dill note card, Cranberry card stock & Spiceberry paper. I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate & Moonlight White ink. I used stamps from the clear sets Twelve Days & Snowy Eve. The next couple of photos show you measurements of paper pieces & supplies used.

 

 

  
 

Start with Dill note card. Adhere larger piece of Spiceberry paper to left hand side leaving a thin border. Stamp the reindeer image on smaller piece of Spiceberry paper in Pearlescent Chocolate ink & edge with green ink. Adhere this to the right side of your Cranberry piece leaving a thin border on right side. Stamp three snowflakes in the empty space on the left side of your Cranberry piece & adhere Christmas jewels to the center of your snowflakes. Wrap ribbon (I used a thin red grosgrain) around the right hand side of your dill note card. To finish the card, adhere snowflake/reindeer piece to the card.

 

Thank you for visiting my post today……you always make my day!!

Busy, Busy Bee

After teaching 5 classes and attending a VIP Customer Appreciation party at Ink About It in Westford, MA Thursday through Saturday, I flew back Saturday night in time to get my kids from a tennis function that ended as my plane was landing in Seattle. To say things are busy is an understatement! We filled Sunday with homework and a trip to the nursery to get onions and garlic to plant for winter, and then stopped by a specialty Chrysanthemum show - there were Chrysanthemums in sizes I'd never seen before (some were 6 inches across!). While I do plan on getting caught up on all of my current projects, including video of my visit to The Paper Garden, I wanted to share a fun happening with you. Stephanie's store (The Paper Garden in Sacramento, CA) had an article written about it in the Sacramento Bee and there are some great photos in the article too - click here to see the article. Notice that the photos are of Stephanie (meticulously straightening her perfect store), a Memory Box card display, and my snowman stamp on top of what I think is an A Muse stamp - the stamp companies of Seattle were well represented!

My trip to Westford was wonderful as always - Linda and Lori always take such good care of me when I'm in town and East Coast food is delicious. The trip was a bit of a blur, but it ended with a Lobster Roll (or was it a Crab Roll) - on toasted Brioche with Celery mayonnaise - and I am still savoring it! I will blog in greater detail about the trip in a few posts. 

In other news, our friends at the Stamp Addict in Southern California have been doing some fun things with our stamps and I wanted you to check it out. One of their instructors, Julia Quinsey, provided this project and instructions - and the card is great!

 

And here is the inside...

 

Memory Box Pop-up card

 

Supplies: D1278 Bird Tree

                 CL141 Night Before

                Spiceberry 6X6 paper set   

                Ink- Black Marvy Matchable

                Merry Christmas - Hero Arts Clear Set

                Hero Arts- Star gem, clear gems

                Mark Richards - gold nail head

                Red Sakura gelly roll

                Tan, Green, Ivory card stock

 

Tan card: 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"

Tan card: 8 1/4" x 5 1/4"

Fold smaller card in half and cut in 3/4" at the center to form a pop-up mechanism.  Put smaller card inside bigger card and tape together.

Stamp border on card.

Tape on green layer: 4 3/4" x 3 1/2"

Tape on ivory layer: 4 1/2" x 3 1/4"

Use paper from Spiceberry set: Tree with writing : 3" x 2 3/8"

Calendar: stamp and cut out

Christmas ornament: stamp and punch out with 1 1/4" circle punch.

Attach green bow with Sticky dot

Add gold nail head (Mark Richards)

Add tiny star on tree(Hero Arts)

Add clear stick-on gem on calendar (Memory Box)

Add red dots on end of curly Q's with glaze pen

 

Inside: Attach 3" green circle with foam tape and memory box "Bird tree" Stamped in black(and cut out in Ivory paper) with red glaze pen berries and green leaves, stamp Merry Christmas inside.

Poinsettia Silhouette

Hi there friends-

Today I'd like to share an elegant holiday card and certainly one for a special person!!  Hee hee.  For those of you that don't really know me, ribbon is my thing.  I hate to admit it but the bow and scanning/cropping the card took the longest.  I absolutely love the new poinsettia silhouette stamp.  What are the holidays without a pot of poinsettias dressed in a foil wrap with a pretty bow??  Anyway I've been super busy these past few days stamping, teaching, and prepping for my annual Halloween stamping party on Saturday night.  I can hardly wait to see my friends.  We are having a potluck dinner (yumo) followed by a "crafty" white elephant dice game.  I have Halloween party favors for my guests and some nice prizes.  We are making five spooktacular projects and always have a good time stamping, eating, and gabbing the night away!!  You can be sure there will be lots of Memory Box stamps and paper at the party.  Its quite chilly in MN and I'm sad to report I have a mouse in the house.  I am totally freaked out by this and have screamed twice really loud when *it* ran by me.  I will just die if I see a mouse upstairs.  Come Sunday I will be taking care of some serious mouse/house business.  I know this sounds silly but I keep thinking the mouse is going to get in my bed.  Enough about me.  I hope you have had a great week and you will get in some stamping, scrapbooking or crafting this weekend.  Every time I post another card I get excited as I have quite the "Memory Box stash" since I've been guest blogging (May).  Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a very pleasant weekend.  Wish I had a nice digital camera like all my friends.  Did you hear that Santa??  I've been a good girl this year!!  See you next Friday with another card and a mouse report.  Tami  :D'  

 

Card Supplies:

Poinsettia Silhouette (E1282)

Peace, Love and Joy (B1114)

Soiree 24 Karat Notecard, Begonia Notecard (for layering)

Ink Pads-Color Box Pink, Lime, Olive Pastel Chalk; Brilliance Galaxy Gold 

Spica Glitter Pen-Buttermilk

Pearls-Daffodil, Baby Pink

May Arts Ribbon 13" (JB16)

Other Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Natural White 80# Cover, Green Bazzil to match ribbon

Other Supplies:  Scotch Tape, Mini Glue Dot, Adhesive, Finger Sponge (Gold Ink Edging)

Card Measurements: 

Natural White-3 5/8" x 4 7/8"

Begonia Pink Layer- 3 3/4" x 5"

Green Bazzil Layer-4" x 5 1/4"

Natural White Card Liner (Inside)-4" x 5 1/4'

Card Directions:

Scotch tape the two flowers on the Poinsettia Silhouette stamp.  This is called "omit stamping".  Ink leaves and stems mixing lime and olive pastel chalk inks.  Lift off tape and discard.  Carefully ink up poinsettia flowers using pink pastel and stamp out image on natural white paper.  Remember "practice makes perfect"!!  Edge sides of natural white paper with gold ink.  Layer main image to begonia paper and then to green paper.  Stamp sentiment in pink ink.  Wrap ribbon around all three layers and tie a bow.  Secure middle of bow to card using a mini glue dot under the bow's center.  Adhere layered poinsettia image to Soiree 24 Karat notecard.  Place a daffodil pearl in the middle of each flower and add butttermilk glitter pen accents near center of each flower.  Adhere a baby pink pearl in each corner as shown and add liner to inside of card.  

Tami Notes:

I love the buttermilk glitter pen and use it all the time (my favorite color next to the clear glitter pen).  I also love love love baby chalk inks and use them as tools and for distressing/edging.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Whew....I can't wait to get my new Poppy designer paper and yes, I have more Memory Box and Poppy stamps on my wish list!!  One can never have too much rubber right?  : )   

Build A Tree 'Branch'

 

Hey guys…welcome! Thanks for stopping by today. I am posting a bit later than usual so you could enjoy Dave’s post.

 

Do you every have one of those cards that doesn’t play out on paper quite like you were envisioning it in your head? That is sort of what happened with this card. Looking back on my design, I think simply adjusting my layout may have made a difference for me. I figure it’s OK to have that happen though, since it gives me a springboard for another card.

 

My idea was to use the Build a Tree (D1273) stamp as a branch/limb for the Scalloped Owl (C1293) to perch and having a large moon in the background. The more I play with the Scalloped Owl, the more I enjoy working with this image.....a great one to add to your collection.

 

 

I thought it would be fun to add some wood grain texture to the Build a Tree stamp. I did this by stamping the image in Ancient Page Chocolate ink & stamping a wood grain background stamp onto the inked image before I stamped it onto my card stock. I hope the picture below may give you a better visual of what I’m talking about. 

 

After stamping the “branch/limb” onto my Sweet Corn circle, I felt like I needed to add some dimension, so I stamped the limb again onto Sweet Corn card stock & carefully trimmed the image out, this time leaving a thin border around it. I did the same with the owl after I colored it with colored pencils. I sponged ColorBox Yellow Ochre chalk ink around the border of the circle & added some Art Institute yellow ultra fine glitter. I adhered the branch & owl onto the circle using dimensional foam adhesive. I added some of the Halloween Jewel stickers to the eyes of the owl. I hope the photo below gives you a better view of the dimension.

 

 

I adhered the Twilight paper onto the Jack o Lantern card stock & adhered that piece to the Licorice note card. Next, I adhered the “moon”, again using dimensional foam adhesive. I finished the card off by adding some more Halloween Jewel stickers to the Twilight paper. I've included a photo with the measurements of the paper pieces for you.

 

I hope you will stop back for another visit next Tuesday!! J

Holiday Presentation

I spent Friday and Saturday last week hosting the Impress Annual Holiday Idea show - an hour long presentation of holiday card, photo card, envelope, project and gift giving ideas. I spoke in front of groups of 30, and gave 3 presentations - featuring over 100 ideas that the owners of Impress designed - all packed with inspirational ideas and projects. The store is so good at assembling products, books and classes - there just isn't a way for you to leave without feeling like doing at least one or two of the projects!

 

Our new release was just set out around the store (that's Fancy the Fawn on the display) - along with tons of other fun things. Attendees got a packet of goodies including a salted caramel recipe that was ridiculously good.

 

When I used to work at Impress, I remember all of the excitement involved in just being at the store when the Idea shows were happening - and now that I am lucky enough to host the show, I can say it's more exciting than ever! How many stores dazzle you with ideas for a full hour? (really, there were so many ideas I ran out of time to show them all!)

 

I'll have a video of the event done soon - I am prepping for classes in Boston (Westford, MA actually at Ink About It) today and tomorrow. I leave Wednesday for a few days - then return Saturday, looking forward to a day off Sunday, and then get caught up on Monday. Hopefully next week I'll have some beautiful new videos for you to watch!

Spooky Halloween Greetings!!

 

Good day friends-

How are you?  The weather in MN has not been the greatest this week. We've had snow, rain, wind, and cold weather.  So much for fall.  For today's card I decided to go with a spooky Halloween theme using Memory Box paper scraps and lots of jewels.  I hope it gives you an idea of what to do with paper scraps.  If you are like me you have a lot.  Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend.  Thanks for stopping by. Tami :D' 

 
Card Supplies:

Notecard-Jack o Lantern, Ghord & Licorice paper scraps

Designer Paper-Twilight and a few other scraps

Stamps-Tiny Jack o Lantern (AA338), Orb Spider (B1131), Sweet Halloween (B1142), Advent Calendar (CL143), Web Crawler (E1270)

Inks-Color Box Chalks (Charcoal & Blush Rose), Versafine Onyx Black

Jewels-Canary, Halloween

Martha Stewart Punches-Bat, Flower (behind moon), Scalloped Circle (moon), Witch

Spica Glitter Pens-Buttermilk, Pitch Black

Ribbon-American Crafts

Sakura Clear Glaze Pen

Card Directions:

Cut 5 rectangles 1 5/8" x 1 7/8" using paper from the Twilight collection. The lower right hand one with Orb Spider is from a 12 x 12" sheet.  Edge papers with charcoal ink.  Punch out Martha Stewart images.  Decorate a Jack o Lantern notecard with punched images,  stamps, and jewels.  Paper piece large Orb Spider (black body), tiny Jack o Lantern (scrap of Gourd paper), and the number 3 (from Advent Calendar clear set).  Add glitter accents with Spica pens.  Use a clear glaze pen on the large spider's body to make it shiny and dimensional.  Place two black jewels on the Web Crawler's  tiny spider (one for the head and a larger one for the body).  

Have any questions?  Let me know and I will answer them in the comment section.  See you next week with another card.  Its time to start thinking Christmas.  Yikes...ice, snow, and colder weather.

A Stamp For All

Fresh projects - simple to complex - cardmaking and scrapbook making. These are the things that come to mind with A Stamp For All in Spokane, WA. I flew in for a day of workshops and was happy to see new faces (and familiar ones also) at this great store on the north side of Spokane.

Dawn owns this fun store, which originally started in half of it's original space but quickly outgrew itself. She knocked down a wall and expanded the store - and it's roomy and full of light. Die cuts, stamps, embellishments, ribbon and paper - lots to please the crafter who needs some inspiration. I was particularly interested in the albums that were hanging on display around the store (check out the cowboy boot book in the video). Geriann picked me up from the airport and provided some delicious homemade cookies and treats for the attendees. I felt well taken care of all day - and ytou will too, the staffis friendly and helpful.

In the eastern Washington area? Stop by this store and say hi! Oh, and there's a bonus! Right across the street is a store that has a little dog that hangs out on the roof (yes, the roof!) - we all watched it during class, walking back and forth across the roof and then back into an upstairs window!

A Little Something Different....

 

…..to share with you this week. I recently had the pleasure of playing hostess to a Memory Box / Poppy stamps ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap. If you have ever participated in an ATC swap, you know how much fun they are. Typically, then are 10 swappers per group. You are able to make ten ATC’s (sized 2 ½ x 3 ½ inches) out of one sheet of 8 ½ x 11 card stock. I had 10 amazing & talented ladies sign up for the swap, so we ended up with a group of 11 swappers, including myself. The theme of this swap was to use any Memory Box or Poppy Stamps image, with no other vendor restrictions. I have participated in many ATC swaps in the past, but this was my first time playing hostess. It was a very fun experience! I think you will agree, all of these ladies created a fabulous little masterpiece! 

Here is a group shot of the ATC’s.

 

 

Now for the close-ups!

 

You can click on any of the photos for a larger view.

 

Everyone was so creative.

 

 

 

Lots of fun details! 

 
 

You have to love those penguins!

 

 

 

Below is my little bundle of ATC's I made for the swap before I sent them off.

 

 

Thanks for visiting today & enjoy your day!