One Layer Card

While making giveaways for my open house last night it occurred to me that I could use my butterfly die cuts as masks and stencils. Later on I was searching around splitcoaststampers for a challenge that I was interested in doing and came across the Color Combination Challenge 222 which is to create a one layer card using only white CS and any color inks.  Then it hit me!  I could create 'layers' of color without layers of CS.

1)  Create masks out of lightweight paper.  And position as you want with a tiny bit of repositional glue.

2)  Brayer the face of the card and remove the masks.

3) Create the stencils from the reverse image of the die cut using card stock and sponge in the stencil.  I guess you could use markers or watercolor crayons.  I'll have to try that next time or if you give it a go please email me your creation.  

It would be wonderful to get some useful tips on using my brayer properly. There are so many different techniques it's hard to become proficient at all of them.

Thanks for looking and have a fantastic weekend.

New Inspiration

I know I've been on a bit of a blue, red, green, and orange colour kick lately so I promise that tomorrow I will have something to show in different colours.  I've been busy getting ready for my first workshop/open house and I haven't had much time to come up with anything new.  And after a week of thinking up things for SU products only (because that's what marketing encourages demonstrators to do), I've come to the conclusion that it is best to create with what inspires us. Inspiration comes from the soul and it shows through our creations.  I guess what it all comes down to is that I didn't become a demonstrator to sell but to inspire and be excited by the artistry of others that I meet.

Anyhow, I look forward to showing you pieces of my soul here and there as I learn new things about my craft and about myself.  Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you are all having a marvelous summer.

Dress-up Card

I made this card last summer when the onesie card by Lauren Meader was really popular. The template was used to create a little girls dress for a 1st birthday card. 

Recipe:

• Scallop circle, 1 3/8" circle punch
• Summer Picnic DP
• Real Red, Olive Green CS
• Lily white Bazzill CS
• Old Olive & Real Red markers
• Tart and Tangy stamp set
• Fiskars scallop edge scissors.
• Perfect Day SU rub-ons
• Lauren's Tutorial 

Looking back now, it would have been great to add some glitter on the strawberry for sugar or brown ink for chocolate.  

Flower Picking

This was my effort at the Flower Pot Pocket card found on Splitcoaststampers I don't have a flower die quite yet so I decided to use up some of my SU Die Cut Blooms which are cut from Real Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, and Bashful Blue textured card stock and come in a variety of sizes and shapes.  I also used:

• Summer Picnic designer paper,
• Bashful Blue 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
• Scallop Circle Punch
• 5-Petal Punch
• Scallop Edge Punch
• 1" and 3/4" circle punches
• Bashful Blue button
• So Many Scallop and Little Flowers stamp set

The blue and orange flowers were also sponged on the edges to give it some added depth and texture to make them stand out a little bit more.  I wasn't able to get the card to fit into an A2 envelop without squishing the flowers ridiculously close together so next time I would think about using smaller blooms.  The card looked intimidating to make but after I finished I realized how easy it really was.

You're Invited

These are the invites that I made for friends, family and neighbours for my first open house workshop. I wanted to stray from a generic or simple invite because these people are important in my personal life.  The individual invites are my little way of saying "Your presence would be a source of encouragement and support." 

This workshop is really important to me because I see it as my practice run.  It gives me a good idea how long a workshop will be, what I need to add, what I need to loose, and hopefully I'll get some constructive criticism or positive feedback from those that I trust the most.  The goals of this open house are to HAVE FUN, let my guests know about Stampin' Up!, and hope that they would pass my name on to anyone they know who may appreciate the product and expertise that I can offer.

What am I doing???!!!

Okay so my  Stampin' Up!®  starter kit arrived on Friday and this weekend I'm feeling just a little overwhelmed with everything.  What was I thinking? No really...what was I thinking??? Running a household is a full time job in itself, where am I going to find the time to plan workshops, demo those workshops, keep up a blog, and still have time to create!!  I see the things my friend Maureen is creating on her blog and I'm wishing I had time to create such beautiful cards.  I'm hoping this is only temporary, that somehow I'll find a way to make it all work.  There is a lot to learn in the first months of demonstrator-ship. I'm trying to think of it like I've promoted myself to management.  I have all these little day-to-day tasks to do but with any spare time I've got to get the bigger projects rolling.  Meanwhile I'll be up until midnight every night to get it done.  At least my two year old is finally starting to sleep through the night.

It may all be a little overwhelming but the really cool thing about becoming an SU demonstrator is that I'm getting out of my comfort zone and putting myself out there. It's a scary place to be but it's also exciting and empowering to know what I'm capable of besides house cleaning and taking care of kids.