Monday 30 April 2012

XOXO

Here's another "back in the day" photo collection of Mason. He was just a little guy here, but so full of personality! This page took me a few sittings to complete. I wanted to find the right combo of patterns. I'm pleased with the end result. 




In other news, the Mini Catalogue Carryover List was announced today! Be sure to have a look to get what you want before it's gone! A few things were omitted that will be carried over:
Simply Scored Tool
Simply Scored Diagonal Plate
Mixed Bunch Stamp Set
Apothecary Art Stamp Set




Have a great day!


Tamara

Thursday 26 April 2012

Cool Dudes!

I actually managed to finish a couple pages in MDS over the last little while! Here's a fun page that I CASE'd the layout from the MDS Made Simple Class with Heather Summers. (And did you hear? There's an MDS Made Simple Round 2 on now!! Go to Heather's blog to sign up!!)

This one took some tweaking as I don't have the "Tickets and Tags" download. I made my own tags using the tag punch. The "Cool dudes" title was from the Epic Overlays download a few weeks ago. LOVE IT! 

It's rainy and miserable here but my husband didn't work so I went to the mall ALONE. Bliss. Oh, and RW & Co. is having a sale and I scored a dress for an upcoming wedding for $25! It was a good 90 minutes!

I also managed to make 2 cards during nap time today (while the kids were sleeping - I'm not that talented that I can stamp in my sleep...yet!).

Enjoy your day!

Tamara

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Super Savings on Retiring Product!!

The lists are up! This is an exciting time of year as the Retiring Accessories are only available AS SUPPLIES LAST. In other words, order before it's all gone! Products are heavily discounted to make room for new stuff! Here's a few important links:
Retiring Stamps (wood & clear)Retiring Stamps - by Stampin' Up!
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryID=921
Discounted Retired Products Discounted Retired Products - by Stampin' Up!
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=802
   

Retiring Ink, Paper & Accessories Retiring Ink, Paper and Accessories - by Stampin' Up!
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=800
Retiring Decor Elements Retiring Definitely Decorative - by Stampin' Up!
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=754
Retiring Digital Content My Digital Studio Content Discs - by Stampin' Up!
http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryID=919
   
It's easy to place an order! Just visit my Online store HERE and click the "Shop Now" link!


Enjoy!
Tamara

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Behind the Ball


Remember the classic scene in Indiana Jones scene where he's running from the giant round rock? That's what I feel like. I'm running not even able to catch my breath. Some things have suffered as a result (like my blog).  I have been creating here and there but getting the photos done and mostly, getting the posts written up, is lacking. 


Here's a Mojo Monday challenge from last week (I think). I really enjoyed the layout and was happy with the end result. It's a fun, cheery card featuring the Summer Smooches DSP and some of my favourite colours - Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo.

Here's the sketch: 


 

Have a look-see at what I came up with:
 I paired up the Summer Smooches DSP (available until April 30th as a sneak peek and then will be in the new catalogue June 1st!!) and the Bright Blossoms Stamp set (same deal). The butterfly was a leftover from a technique night (and a previous post). I was a bit overwhelmed with the DSP at first, just because there's SO much colour and it was a bit of a sensory overload! Now I LOVE it! It's cheerful and I need cheerful. Daffodil Delight is also fast becoming my favourite all around color. I think I just love summer and sunshine and my daffodils in my garden just bloomed so that made me happy too!!


Here's a close up:
I did a bit of Big Shotting (that's a verb, you know) using the Elegant Lines embossing folder. I stamped the background of the Island Indigo panels with one of the stamps from Bright Blossoms.


The scallop circle was punched as well as the Whisper White circle. The butterfly was stamped using the baby wipe technique and the Mixed Bunch stamp set. I punched it with the Blossom Punch (Occasions Mini) and then snipped out two of the petals. Some pearls form the body and a piece of linen thread works well for antennae. He/she's popped up on some dimensionals. 


The only thing missing is a sentiment, but that can go on the inside.  I think I've mentioned before that I am not big on writing inside of cards. I just don't know what to say half the time. And I don't like my printing.  I think it looks messy. So, if I can stamp inside and use up some of thta space, PERFECT!


Anyways, I hope this extra long post makes up for my post-sufficiency as of late.


Have a great day!


Tamara

Saturday 21 April 2012

Oh Markers, How I Love Thee!

My Marvelous Markers arrived! Yippee! I'm sooo excited! They've actually been here for a while, I just haven't had a chance to play with them. But, I took a picture!

To me, these are a big ticket item. Up there with the Big Shot. Stampin' Up! gives demonstrators a 15% discount (on top of our demonstrator discount) on 1 item during their birthday month. I was torn between getting a die for the Big Shot and getting the markers.  After much deliberation and conversations with my upline and sidelines, I opted for the markers.  I'm so happy I did...even though they're still untouched BUT I have opened them now and added in my In Colour markers to the bunch. I'll have to do some rearranging of my workspace to give them a more permanent home rather than being just smack in the middle of my table.  I could really use a dedicated stamp room but since we live in a very small home, I have to suffice with sharing my stamp room with my bedroom. I know there are many other bedroom stampers out there (and probably even some closet stampers!).  That just gives me more time to "pin" ideas for my future stamping space.  I did make a trip to the coast last weekend so had a quick 90 minute run through Ikea. (90 minutes in Ikea is a lifetime to my husband but a blink to me.)  I came out with more than I can say BUT I got some of those Bygel rails that Mary Fish has in her Ultimate Stamp Space. I'm planning to mount them on the wall for my punches to be more visible. Right now they're in a clear rubbermaid bin so I can sort of see them but it's pretty noisy sorting through it at 11pm at night (and my son's bedroom is right below my area).  Maybe once I get them up I'll do a tour. It'll be the shortest tour ever! 


I've completed a few Mojo Monday's recently but keep forgetting to post them to the Mojo Monday blog! I also have a TON of photos to upload so I can have some fresh projects for this ol' blog here! Check back tomorrow sometime. I'm hoping to have some fresh cards and other stampalicious projects up!


Take Care and sorry for blabbing,

Tamara

Thursday 19 April 2012

Top Note Fancy Fold


Hello There! This is a GREAT card idea for something a little different. I first saw this on Julie Davison's blog (make sure you check her blog out because she has a TON of great ideas and lots of them are clean and simple and she post VERY regularly -unlike yours truly ;)

The butterfly and background was CASE'd from a swap I received from my upline, Desiree and I tweaked it to fit on this top note card. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of this card open, but I did of another card (included in this post, just scroll down).

 Isn't the butterfly pretty? It's stamped using the baby wipe technique and the Mixed Bunch stamp set out of the Occasions Mini. Then I just snipped off a couple petals to make the butterfly. I love how the pearls make up the body. The antennae is a piece of linen threaed folded in half and adhered to the back. I'm pretty sure that the yellow DSP is from Beyond the Garden.

Here's another one I made. This one is a bit smaller because I used the "wrong" edge of the Top Note die. (I say wrong but it turned out great. Just a smaller version so depends what you're going for I guess.)



 So when it's open, you have three panels. I just stuck a piece of DSP (Twitterpated) and a blank sheet of Whisper White inside for the writing. I still have these cards. They'd be great for any occasion.  You could even have a little pocket inside to hold a gift card. Great Idea! I might have to make one like that!

Be sure to give this a try! It's a lot easier than it looks!

Here's the Big Shot Recipe: (Leave a comment for further clarification if need be)
From the bottom up: Cutting Pad, Top Note Bigz Die, Cardstock-placed on the whole Top Note die, cutting pad -lined up on die to only cut top half. 

I'll show you a picture because I know this doesn't make sense!
 Can you see the cutting pad is just place to the top of the DSP? That's so the pressure will only cut that portion of the Top Note shape and not the rest.


That's the finished one and then I just trimmed it a bit.


If you'd like the tutorial, send me and email at tamaracasorso@gmail.com and I will email it out to you. 

Have a happy day!


Tamara

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Guest Stamper Holly!

Before I show you today's card, I have to tell you a bit about my sideline, Holly. I adore her. She has got to be one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She's one of those people you meet and feel like you've known all your life. And did I mention she makes beautiful cards? Yep, she does.

She created this card for a colour challenge our upline, Desiree put out there. The challenge was to use the Summer Smooches colours (or products) to create a card.  Here's what Holly came up with:
 Isn't it sweet? I'm a bit of a sucker for rainbows. Maybe it's because I'm an 80's girl who grew up on Rainbow Brite (remember her? Pretty awesome. She's on YouTube!!).

This just yells fun! And Holly is fun too! Thanks for letting me share your talent, Holly!

Tamara

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Tea Shoppe goes Bridal

I went to a super fun 50's themed bridal shower over Easter weekend for my cousin-in-law! The decorations, food, drinks,  and even some of the guests were dressed 50's. It's was a blast. Their wedding colours are yellow and gray (my heart melts!) with a touch of red. I went with the colour theme and used the Tea Shoppe stamp set from the Occasions Mini (which is only around until the end of this month! EEK!)

Here's my creation! (The layout is CASE'd from Heather Summers):
 Again, sorry for the poor photo quality...I took this on my way out the door to the shower.

The little bird is from Elementary Elegance (a Sale-a-bration freebie). It's the Twitterpated DSP (also from Occasions Mini) and there's those Framelits again! The "for your shower" stamp is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched out with the Modern Label punch. It's inked in Cherry Cobbler (that's the pop of red that's hard to see because I take such BAD photos!) And there's a cute piece of 1/8" Daffodil Delight Tafetta Ribbon back there. Pearls too. Don't.forget.pearls! 


Let me know what you think!

Tamara

 Just for kicks, here's a little article from Good Housekeeping May 16 1955

  • Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
  • Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
  • Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.
  • Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dust cloth over the tables.
  • During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
  • Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.
  • Be happy to see him.
  • Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.
  • Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
  • Don't greet him with complaints and problems.
  • Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
  • Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
  • Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
  • Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
  • A good wife always knows her place.

Monday 16 April 2012

Guest Stamper Sandra!

Have I ever mentioned how blessed I am? Just thinking about these beautiful handmade cards by my friends and fellow stampers (and all three of them are like mom's to me as well), has made me take stock and realize how blessed I am to have these ladies in my life!

Here's another birthday card I received from Sandra, a stamp club member and new member of my team!

Have a look:
 This was my FAVORITE stamp set from last year's catalogue. Fast & Fabulous is the name and it was a hostess set. Sadly, it retired but I get to enjoy it again since Sandra used it on her pretty card! I'm also loving the colour combo of Perfect Plum and Tempting Turquoise. The border was punched with the Scallop Trim Border Punch and some sweet Polka Dots ribbon in Chocolate Chip adds some spunk! The flowers are all popped up on Dimensionals. Beautiful! I have such talented ladies around me!

Thanks for stopping in!

Tamara

Thursday 12 April 2012

March Thank You's

I think the saying goes "In like a lion, out like a lamb". I don't know about you, but I thought March had a pride of lions throughout all of March! We have had a VERY slow start to spring. But then - poof! Spring weather and warmer temperatures have arrived! My lilac tree is budding and hopefully will bloom next week. The pear trees in our orchard have green buds as well. I'm looking forward to having our view of beautiful white flowers back again!

I guess you're not here to read about the weather though are you? No. I think not. Another reason March went out like a lion for me is because it was soooo busy! I had to literally squeeze minutes from a few days so I could get these cute 3x3 thank you cards done! I'm having a deja vu that I already shared this card but I don't see it on my list of previous posts. If it's a duplicate, I'm so sorry! If not, well, enjoy!

This is the uber cute Up in the Air hostess stamp set out of the Occasions Mini Catalogue (which means that if you want this set, we'd better have a workshop for you THIS month before it's gone April 30th!)

I stamped in Black StazOn and then coloured in the flowers with Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, and Lucky Limeaid ink pads and an aqua painter. (If you don't have an aqua painter, you really need one. I use mine a lot - can you tell from almost every blog post?!?!) I should have used a blender pen and some black ink to touch up a few spots on the birdhouse but I didn't :(

A bow of Old Olive (it's sooo close to Lucky Limeaid that it works!) is attached with a glue dot. I love doing 3x3 cards.You can use all those smaller scale stamps and they make a BIG statement!  I'm also loving Wisteria Wonder and Concord Crush together! (Heather at Plays and Papercrafting got me hooked with her post using those two colours!)

Why not try a 3x3 card today? They don't take long and they're great for a "Hi Friend" or "Thinking of You" or even a "Get Well Soon". Is there anyone you can think of who might need a little sunshine today?

Happy Crafting!

Tamara

Guest Stamper Ana Celia!

Today I'm going to showcase a beautiful card my mom-in-law made for my birthday. It uses the Joseph's Coat technique that I first learned from Jan Tink.  We did this for a technique night some months back and it was a big hit. 





This card has so many elements to it, where to start! First off, I love the colour combo of Calypso Coral and Baja Breeze! They look great together. 

The ticket corner punch adds interest to an otherwise fairly straight lines kind of card. The brads are a nice touch. Here are the framelits being used so nicely again. I love how they coordinate with the Apothecary Art stamp set.  Don't forget the lovely Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon holding everything together!

 The background technique is just stunning (and difficult to capture in a photo!). The bacground was sponged using Baja Breeze, So Saffron and Calypso coral ink. Then she stamped the floral image from Elements of Style using Versamark and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. The flowers on the framelit are coloured using ink pads and an aqua painter. 

Love this! I have such a talented and supporitive mother-in-law. (Did I mention she hosts ALL my classes at her house?) That helps so much, especially as my classes have grown from 2 people to 7 or 8 fairly consistently!

I hope you've been inspired today!

Tamara

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Playing Catch Up

Another long blog break. Without going into too much detail, life has been CRAZY. I don't think I can handle a whole lot more drama in my life right now. My dad is currently in the hospital following a round of some GI virus which ended up with him being severely dehydrated. Hoping he gets out today :) I'm going to attempt to write a bunch of posts so that each day I can just post one and still have a bit of a bank to choose from.

Here's some of what happened in March:
 This cute card is cased from Jessica Taylor's blog. It was fairly simple but still uses some fun techniques. It would be easy to gussy it up even more by adding some texture to the side or base.


The image is from Apothecary Art and I heat embossed it using black embossing powder and then coloured the image with re-inkers and an aqua painter.  Some dazzling details in the flower centers finishes off the look.  The sentiment is from Loving Thoughts and please excuse that it's crooked. I was rushing. I think my favorite part of this card is the flowers. 


They're punched in Pool Party using the Boho Blossoms punch and then I just manipulated the paper until the layers separated. They're popped up on dimensionals and a rhinestone adds a touch of sparkle.


I hope you like today's card. Here's a brief step-by-step:

Step 1: Fold your card base in half. Then fold the front half back towards the center fold. 
Place the framelit so the middle point lines up with the crease. Put a sticky note down to mark the fold and hold the framelit in place.
Step 2: Make your sandwich for the Big Shot like this:
Bottom: Multipurpose platform (all tabs)
Middle: Cutting Pad
Card base
Framelit
Top: Place cutting pad on top but line it up with the sticky note. Don't put the cutting pad over the whole framelit or it will cut the whole thing.

The science to this is that the framelit will only cut where there is enough pressure so by placing the cutting pad halfway on the framelit, it will cut where you want without doing th

 Step 3: Run it through the Big Shot and see your beautiful creation!






Step 4: Embellish as desired. I cut out another same size piece of Whisper White cardstock with the framelit to cover up the base to hide the fold line. 


Hope this helps!


Tamara