Thursday 31 May 2012

Lego, anyone?

I have a history with Lego. We have this love/hate thing going on. I'm wondering how much to share as it gets complicated. I'll condense. Let's just say, my oldest brother, Dean (whom I made the panda bear card for) LOVES Lego. He's always loved Lego. From my earliest recollections as a toddler, I remember him playing with Lego and I would come and destroy. That's what I was. The destroyer. I soon earned the nickname "bad baby" which I carry to this day. Sigh.

I was elated when I saw some uber cute Lego card creations!! I'm thinking in a few years I'll have a hayday and throw Mason a LEGO themed birthday party with Lego invites, cupcakes, cakes, etc! It'll be great.

For now, here's a card I made for Mason's little buddy, Elijah who just turned 3. It was a pretty quick card and I should've added a little more to it but I was already a month late (a MONTH people) and they were coming over in 30 minutes so this is what I finished with. It's still Legoesque, but could be made a lot better. (Like with anything made of Lego, is it really ever complete? You can always build more somewhere or elaborate).

 I used DSP from Just Add Cake (which retires TONIGHT). Colours are Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait. I'm going to miss these colours. I wasn't crazy about them to begin with, but now it feels as if I'm losing a close friend. More sighing incurs.

I sponged each circle and popped them up on dimensionals. I also sponged the edges of the squares. The base is Sahara Sand (it might be Crumb Cake). I can't remember. That bottom right corner is just SCREAMING for a sentiment!!!! It's too late now. Elijah was more excited about the Firetruck DVD anyways.

Hope you like it!

Tamara

Wednesday 30 May 2012

Do you yodel?

I must admit, I'm a bit of a yodeler. Didn't see that one comin' did ya? A closet yodeler mind you, but yodeling none the less. HOWEVER, it's for a good cause. When Mason was about 8 weeks old, one of the only ways I could get a smile out of him was to yodel. I just have to look at Lucia and she smiles, but Mason's always been more work ;)

IF I wanted to, I could attach music or video to this page. That would be fun, as long as it wasn't me yodeling....


What do you think? I think you would yodel too if you were rewarded with this precious smile!

Have a great day!

Tamara
 

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Spring Memories

It's so good to remember. Anyone with kids knows that they grow so fast. It's all too true as I've been looking back at photos and videos of my kids. The photos on this page were from almost two years ago. Mason was still a baby and now he talks ALL DAY! I remember wondering what his voice would sound like. I couldn't wait for him to start verbal communication so I would have a better understanding of what he wanted or what he was looking at. 

This morning he came up to my room, turned the light on, came right over to my face and said, "Time to wake up, Mom!". My little boy is growing up!

Here's today's MDS page. I hope you like it. I fell in love with this layout and the colours.  This was one of Mason's first times really exploring in the grass. He picked up a single blade and studied it between his fingers for quite some time.

I hope wherever you are and whatever you're doing today you are able to take a minute to remember a special time from the past. Memories are good for your heart.

I love to read your comments and do my best to respond to each one. If you have questions about which MDS downloads I've used or how to do any technique, just leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer.

Enjoy your day!

Tamara

Monday 28 May 2012

Right side up and something FUN!

I feel bad about posting sideways photos so here's take 2. I took these pics on the way to the wedding. We were driving so if the background looks like a Toyota Sienna dashboard, that's what it is!






AND, I had mentioned I went to a girls night a week or so ago! I made each of the ladies a card and a matching surprise that I sewed! I don't sew very often but these were so cute I couldn't resist. I made one for my upline for Christmas and another as a secret Santa gift. I first saw them on Heather Summers' blog and then just googled it for a tutorial. I LOVE THEM! So cute AND I finally made myself one too! I used it for the first time the other day!! OH! You're wondering what it is, aren't you? Here you go: (Get ready for a TON of photos!)
 COFFEE COZIES! Aren't they the coolest thing you've ever seen?!?!?!
 I tucked in a little giftcard from Starbucks so they could put their new cozy to good use!
I made 4 all together. 3 were similar to the one above (but with different coloured buttons) and then the pink one is for me.
 Here it is put to use!
 Hope you enjoyed today's jam packed post!!

Tamara

Thursday 24 May 2012

Love & Laughter

*So, I've been trying to post this for 2 days but every time I upload the photos, they're SIDEWAYS! Ugh! I keep deleting and uploading and it's just not working. Hope you don't get a crick in your next from looking at it sideways!!*

 Here's my two favorite colours again! I CASE'd this card from Mary Fish but I changed the colours to suit the wedding. Here's the card: 
Go here to see the original

 The only thing I'm not happy with on this card is the bow. I was trying something new and I think it's the last time I'll try it. At least with this type of ribbon anyways.
I love the little touches of pearls here and there. That cute little flower is from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack (a must have!)


I'm putting in an order tomorrow so if any of you locals would like something, let me know! Only a few more days until a ton of stamp sets are gone forever! If you aren't local but would like to order from me, just visit my online store and have your products shipped right to your door! It feels like Christmas!!


Anyways, hope you like today's card that took me 2 days to post!!


Tamara

Sunday 20 May 2012

Super quick!

Sorry, I don't have much to share today! I need to get crackin' on uploading some photos. I'm back from my girls weekend. We had a great time sitting in the sun by the poolside overlooking our gorgeous lake! I am so blessed to live in such a beautiful part of BC.

Here's a card my upline, Desiree created using the Summer Smooches Suite: 
 

 These supplies will be back June 1st when the NEW catalogue is officially released!! (Except the fabric brads. They're gone forever! Sold Out super fast!)

Hope you're enjoying your LONG weekend!

Tamara

Saturday 19 May 2012

Party Time!

I hope you don't mind another MDS page from me today! I have photos of cards on my camera but haven't downloaded them to my PC yet. I'm SO excited! 3 of my girlfriend's from elementary school are coming up this weekend! They should be here within 2 hours! Yippee! My husband graciously released me from Mommydom for the night so I get to spend the night at a local resort right on the lake with three of my best buds!!! I'll have to show you what I made for them once I get it all together. (That's one of the 165 things left to do in the next 2 hours!) It's super cute!

Something else that's cute.....a little baby sized sombrero on my Mason's noggin'! I LOVE these pictures and thought that using a photo as my own customized 12x12 background paper would be perfect! This is a layout from Heather Summer's (of course). 

Enjoy your Saturday!

Tamara

Friday 18 May 2012

Late Friday Posting..

Today sure got away from me! I had planned to share an MDS page today but just couldn't get it together to post it. Both kids are in bed now and I've got a moment to think.

Here's the page for today:
 This page is, of course, CASE'd from the MDS Made Simple class that I took with Heather Summers. I made a few changes (not many at all) to make it my own. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this On the Go kit!! It's perfect for my little mover!

Remember that Stampin' Up! offers a FREE 30 day trial of MDS so if you haven't used it before, give it a try! Feel free to ask me any questions via comment or email as well! I'll do my best to answer them all.

Hope you like today's page and my l'il cutie! Hard to believe he is 34 months today (almost 3 years old :( 

Have a great LONG weekend!

Tamara

Thursday 17 May 2012

Father's Day C&S

Father's Day is just around the corner. Here's a Clean & Simple card for you!
  I CASE'd this card from Julie Davison (I LOVE her blog!!) but did make a few of my own changes. My hubby is not pro-ribbon so I switched the ribbon for some linen thread to give it a natural fibers kind of feel. I also changed the sentiment (because I wanted it to be for Father's Day). It's from Teeny Tiny Wishes. This is a GREAT quick masculine card! To ink the oak tree, I used an Early Espresso marker for the trunk and then inked the leafy parts with an Always Artichoke ink pad. I then "tap danced" the EE marker on the leafy's to accent some branches.

The tree is stamped and then punches with the 2.5" circle punch (must have). I then popped it up on some dimensionals to lift an otherwise flat card. 

I liked it so much I did another one using a different FD sentiment. This one's from Delightful Dozen (which is stickin' around :) 



Thanks Julie for letting me share your card! It was a big hit at my Stamper's Dozen!!


Enjoy!

Tamara

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Punch Art Two-lips!

Inspired by Julie Nephew
Did I trick ya with the "two-lips" title? 

Isn't this beautiful? Would you guess that the tulips are made using the Bird Punch? They are! And that vase? The ornament punch with the bottom lopped off! The flower stem is actually the branch from the Bird Punch too. You can do SO MANY AMAZING things with punches.

Here's the supply list as there's a bunch of random bits in here:

Card base:Soft Suede, then Blushing Bride Paper Stack DSP, then Elegant Soiree DSP(retired), then the vase is made using Mocha Morning Specialty Paper, and the tulips are Melon Mambo and So Saffron with Pear Pizzazz stems. 

All pieces are sponged and the vase, flowers, and sentiment are all popped up on dimensionals. I added those 3 pearls in the upper left hand corner 'cuz it needed a little sumpin' sumpin' (aka something something).

The original card I took inspiration from had used the Top Note Bigz Die but I really LOVE the look with the Labels Framelit. This card took on a very vintage feel once I sponged it. I think I could add some Victorian Crochet Trim and Vintage Trinkets to "up" the vintageyness of it all!

Hope you like it!

Tamara

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Inspired by Pinterest..

I think I stamp with a pretty great group of ladies! My team is the best. We share EVERYTHING (ideas, stamps, yes, even chocolate!)! My pal and downline, Lorna, let me use her layout (that she had seen on Pinterest and tweaked it) for our May Team Meeting for one of our make-and-take projects. I think you already know my infatuation with the Summer Smooches products (if not, I LOVE THEM) so here's the creation:
 LOVE IT?!?!? I hope so ;)

Card base is Island Indigo and to really make it pop, the second layer is none other than Lucky Limeaid. What will I do next year when these colours are gone? Don't think about it. They have another year+ left!!

I punched out four squares using the postage stamp punch. Each square received it's own bling. (The DSP is Summer Smooches btw). The first has a Rich Razzleberry button with a snippet of baker's twine through to finish the look. The second has a butterfly embossed using the Beautiful Wings embosslit (a must have), the third has a bow of baker's twine, and the fourth has two silver mini brads. 

The sentiment is from Word Play but you could use ANY sentiment on this versatile card. I think I'm going to make a hundred of these I love them so much! Thanks for sharing Lorna!!!

Thanks for stopping in today!

Tamara

Monday 14 May 2012

Here's lookin' at ewe, kid..

Do you ever laugh at your own jokes? I do. Sometimes I think I'm funny but really, I'm not. Then it's just plain awkward.  Know something that's not awkward? A cute, fluffy little sheep!

Have a looksee:
 I *wish* I could take credit for this adorable card but I can't. My upline (and best teacher ever) Desiree Spenst gets the honour! I CASE'd this from her punch class and used it at my own. Needless to say it was a big hit! The sheep is made of the large scallop circle punch, the small scallop circle, the owl punch (for the sheeps head, eyes, nose), the Itty Bitty Punch Pack (for his poof between his ears), and the Word Window (for legs). Other punches used were the 3/4" circle for the sun, the Boho Blooms for the flowers, and another of the Itty Bitty punches for flowers.


I cut the grass freehand (gasp!) and then sponged it. The sky is Whisper White card stock sponged with Bashful Blue and masking using the large scallop circle. The sun and parts of the sheep are on dimensionals. LOVE IT! Not sure who the lucky recipient of this card will be. It may have to stay in my "On Display" card stack.


This is super fun! Take some time to try some punch art! Don't have what you need? Head over to my online store and have your products shipped right to your door!!


Take care,

Tamara

Sunday 13 May 2012

Mason's Poster

Just a super quick update on Mason's Angry Bird poster that I'm going to create and then frame for his room. I haven't made much progress but it's starting to take shape. I still have A LOT to do. He wants to help but it's so much faster if he doesn't! I created a red bird and a pig  and then let him play with them while I worked on the grass and slingshot. It was fun hearing him play. "I'm an Angry Bird and I'm going to squish you!" or "AAh! You're not my daddy!" (Not really sure what that has to do with angry birds but he said that in role play).


I'll keep you posted!

Tamara

Saturday 12 May 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

I know Mother's Day is tomorrow but I thought I'd post this card today so that if you were still needing to create something, this might help!

CASE'd from Charlene Monroe
 Isn't it lovely? This was the 4th card for the recent All Occasion Stamper's Dozen class. The most difficult part of this card is tying the bow! Honestly. That is one slippery ribbon!

I did a couple variations. The one above uses the Organza Ribbon in Lucky Limeade (from Sale-a-bration - sorry it's not available anymore). I had 4 spools of this ribbon and wanted to put it to use so this was the perfect opportunity. I love how it's a pop of colour (That looks MUCH MUCH better in person. Here it's kind of yucky.)

Here's one using the coordinating Calypso Coral ribbon:
 I also had the sentiment card stock up higher for a different look. The sentinement is from Delightful Dozen. I used Calypso Coral and Confetti (retiring) card stock. I ran a sheet of Calypso Coral through the Big Shot with the Manhattan Flower Embossing folder. Then I sponged overtop of the raised image with coordinating Calypso Coral Ink. I love how Stampin' Up's products coordinate! It's so simple!

If you have any questions, leave me a comment. I LOVE your comments!! 

Give your mom a hug (or a virtual hug) tomorrow!!
 

Tamara

Friday 11 May 2012

Yum! It's a Cake!

We are going to a wedding tomorrow! Yippee! I love weddings. They help me think back to my special day (almost 5 years ago) and remember the butterflies and excitement of getting ready and standing up there with your husband-to-be. I usually get a little teary eyed and extra cuddly towards my hubby. This will be a good weekend because we've been a little testy with each other lately. I think we need a holiday but it's difficult to get away with a toddler and a still nursing baby. 

Anyways, onward! Here's the card:

CASE'd from Kari Eklund
 I am absolutely in LOVE with this set: Love & Laughter. It was in the Occasions Mini catalogue but has been carried over so it's still available AND it made it in the new catalogue! Double yay! I borrowed this set from my one of my downline, Janet.  She graciously lent it to me with a request that we use it for our All Occasion Stamper's Dozen class. So we did! I precut some of the pieces as there is quite a bit of Big Shotting involved. (I precut the side of the Very Vanilla Panel with the Adorning Edgelit and the Basic Black Labels Framelit).  The cake is SO cute. It has all kinds of wedding words in it. Here's a close up:
  Isn't it cute? Those little flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Bits punch pack (a must have).  I finished it off with the embossed edge using the Adorning Accents Embossing folder, some pearls for those little posies, and some elegant black satin ribbon (which sadly is retiring!)

If you have any questions about today's card, please leave me a comment!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Tamara

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Summa Smooch!

Don't you just love the crispness of Whisper White & Pool Party? YUM! Reminds me of a beach cottage. I need me one of those. I can hear that Mason is waking up from nap and he.is.GRUMPY! 

This is the SNEAK PEEK for tonight's All Occasion Stamper's Dozen. I couldn't get the photo to upload on Facebook so I thought I'd put it on the blog instead. I CASE'd this card from Jill Hilliard (see Jill's card here)but instead of scoring using the Simply Scored and Diagonal plate, I used the Big Shot and Polka Dot Embossing Folder. (It needs to be a little faster since class attendees will be making 3 of these, along with 9 other cards-to be shared after tonight's class!)

I am loving Summer Smooches. It'll be available in the catalogue coming out June 1st. I'm SO excited, I made my pre-order last night so it'll be here next week with all kinds of juicy new stuff! I'll be busy in my stamp room  bedroom at my table creating things to show you!! Very exciting!!!!

I used Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade Classic Ink to stamp these cute tulipesque images. They're topped off with 3 basic rhinestones. This is another super quick (and easy) creation! CASE away my friends!

Tamara

Saturday 5 May 2012

My Little Helper

It was my father-in-law's birthday on Wednesday, so my 2 (almost 3) year old son, Mason (pictured above), helped me make a card. He wanted to make an Angry Bird card.  My father-in-law doesn't really have a clue who or what Angry Birds are so the card itself was more for Mason's enjoyment. Mason did all the punching for me :)

Here's what we came up with:
CASE'd from Maria Cameron
 Fun, huh? The only sad part was that Mason was really upset that he had to leave the card with Papa John. I'll have to make him a poster featuring ALL the Angry Birds! It would be a fun accent for his room. I'll let you know how that comes along...

Take Care,

Tamara

Friday 4 May 2012

Clean, Simple, Elegant

Not much to say really! This has been a GREAT card! For all of you who chose Fresh Vintage for one of your Sale-a-bration freebies, feel free to CASE away. I saw this exact card by Dawn Olchefske. (I use a lot of her ideas) and since it was so simple, I didn't change anything. 

Here it is:
 Whisper White card stock, extra large oval punch, designer frames embossing folder, some black StazOn ink and the Fresh Vintage and Thank you Kindly stamp sets. Throw in some dimensionals and call it done-zo! (I actually think the sample I saw of Dawn's used Sincere Salutations - both sets are retiring though so be sure to nab them before May 31st and they're gone forever!)

Enjoy! This is a 10 minute or less card! Give it a try :)

Tamara

Thursday 3 May 2012

Squash Fold Card

I realized that I have a BUNCH of projects I haven't shared with you. The SHAME! Time to get crackin'. 

So, this is a Squash fold card or an Amazing Fold Card. Whichever you prefer. I like the sound of Squash and I like the squashing action that needs to occur in order to create this squashtastic card. (Let's see how many times I can use the word "squash" in this post shall we?)

We'll start at the end. Here's the finished project:
 Yes, this is from Easter. And no, I didn't give it to anyone. In fact, (here's my sob story of the day) I made 9 similar to this (just 3x3 cards - don't get to emotional) to give to my hubby's aunts and uncles at our Easter dinner. I spent a whole nap time on Easter Sunday working to get them done. I brought them to dinner and FORGOT TO HAND THEM OUT. So, they're in a little ziploc bag on my work table and I will give.them.out.next.year. (If I remember). Who are they to know that this stamp is *gasp* retired (or retiring I should say)?!?!?!

Are you crying? I didn't think so. Moving on....back to the squash fold.

Here's step 1:
You start with a square piece of card stock. I used 4 x4. You can use any size but I wouldn't recommend going smaller than about 3x3 otherwise it gets pretty tiny. I was going to make a gnome joke but I won't.

Fold your card stock in half both ways. Just wait, the squash is coming soon...
Then fold corner to corner. You will have completed 3 folds of the squash fold card.



Next, you SQUASH it! (I bet you didn't see that one coming, eh?) It's kind of like those Chinese fortunes we used to make in Elementary school. You may have to manipulate it a bit, but just play around with it and eventually it'll just squash.


This part's important: Make sure your squash card opens at the bottom right. I'll show you why.

Otherwise, your insides will be upside down. 

There you have it! A Squash Fold or Amazing Fold card. Which name do you like better? Have you squashed anything lately (I'm teaching my son to kill red ants. Not black, just red ones.  They're mean.) OH- if you're wondering how the Calypso Coral card stock ended up being green, I used re-inkers. JUST KIDDING! I started out using Calypso Coral and then changed my mind and went with Pear Pizzazz. It just seemed like a better colour for a He Is Risen card.


16. That's how many times the word "Squash" is in this post (including variations like "squashtastic"). 

Have a great day!

If you're wondering why I'm so crazy lately, it's because I'm writing these posts late at night when I won't be interrupted a hundred times. I also have to make my own fun since a TON of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators (including my awesome upline Desiree) are in Florida at Walt DisneyWorld for the 2012 incentive trip! I'm hoping to earn a trip one of these days! But until, then I write about squash.



Tamara



Wednesday 2 May 2012

Punch Happy

I've now done two Technique Nights featuring Stampin' Up's great punches! This class is always a hit! I love being able to show some extraordinary ways to use aside from the usual humdrum way. I can't take credit for the idea of this card. I first saw it last year and my then sideline, Ann, made it:

 It's a butterfly using the Blossom Petal Punch (not to be confused with the Blossom Punch)! Clever isn't it? The petals are stamped with the coordinating Petals-a-Plenty stamp set and then punched out in Pear Pizzazz and again in Concord Crush. The "body" of the butterfly is also stamped and punched accordingly in Concord Crush. A piece of hemp twine or Linen thread and you've just created antennae. The butterfly itself is "floating" off the page after I curled the edges of all the wings using a bone folder and then popped it up on Dimensionals. The Scallop border punch adds a nice touch behind a piece of Blushing Bride Designer Series Paper. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Petite Pairs (which you'll be glad to know made the cut into the next Annual Catalogue!)


Here's a closer look:

 I added some Dazzling Details to the body for a li'l shimma. (That's shimmer for those of you who didn't follow that sentence well.) 

Speaking of the Annual Catalogue....did you know that it's being released to us demo's on May 7th! AND you can get one FREE from me and I'll even have it mailed right to your door! Any order of $50 or more between May 1 - 15 will earn you a FREE new catalogue and a little somethin' somethin' from me too! I've seen the sneak peek of this catalogue and there are some real fine products!! I'm hoping to get my hands on them as soon as possible.  As soon as I'm allowed to get that catalogue into your hot little hands, I WILL! You can bet it'll be chock full of amazing ideas and samples (A-MAZ-ZING - extra emphasis on the ZING) and great new products! With a retiring list this big, there will have to be a TON of new products to drool over! So, stock up on what you must have from the retiring lists and I'll get that brand spankin' new catalogue to you pronto!

To order, go to my handy dandy online store.

Hope you like today's creation! Be sure to check back tomorrow!!

Tamara

Tuesday 1 May 2012

It's a....

BOY!! A very good friend of mine had a baby BOY recently and so I created a card just for him! I saw this layout in the back of our Stampin' Success magazine (a demonstrator-only magazine - one more reason to sign up as a demo!!). There were two samples using the same layout but with totally different styles. I whipped this card up in no time. As I've said in the past, the layout is sometimes the toughest part so when someone else comes up with it (like CASE'ing a layout or a sketch challenge layout) the rest usually falls together pretty quick!

Here's the card and then I'll show you some details up close and personal:
 I love how it flows together. AND it's a manly-type card but still has some girly things going on too! (Like the bow and a scalloped border edge.)

 Here's that edge up close- I love how it overhangs off the edge of the card. SO - note to self: Create your card base just a little slimmer than the norm. Otherwise, it won't fit in the envelope no matter how hard you try. I have just realized that my card will not fit the envelope. I haven't even tried yet, I just know.  I'm smart like that. 

Here's another "in yo face" shot:
 The CLIPS! Can you beileve they're retiring!?!? I don't use them often, but when I use them, I LOVE THEM! The linen thread is also a highlight for me. It's become somewhat of a staple in my crafting now. In case you can't tell, each tag has the thread wrapped around it separately.  

Also, the letters are chipboard and I inked them with a Craft Stampin' Spot in Pacific Point. ALL the craft pads will be discontinued except for Basic Black and Whisper White. I'd stock up on the spots if I were you. It's nice to have those little guys kickin' around for things like this! I just swiped the letter over the ink pad surface. I love how it turned out sorta streaky like that. Super cool.

Anyways, I'm ahead of the game today! I wrote this post last night so it's all ready in the morning....now I just have to remember to post it! AHA!

Have a great Tuesday!

Tamara