More Competition for me…

As if my daughter wasn't challenging me enough in the stamping arena…along comes my four year old son!

He had a birthday party to attend this past weekend for a friend from preschool.  I asked him to "go make his friend a card" which typically entails drawing a few squiggles on a piece of copy paper, calling it a roller coaster, and tossing it in with the gift.  Well to my shock he says "I want to make one like you do."  So I, of course, told him he could pick some stamps and ink and stamp away (on said copy paper).  Again, this was not what he had in mind.  "No mommy, a real card like you make."  Well okay!

So, he did all the stamping.  I did the sponging.  He put the adhesive on and the dimensionals and placed everything just so on his card.  He chose the color button (I threaded it, he decided which side of the button was going to show), I had my hand over his to help him with the punches, and then I stamped the sentiment inside.  I think I need to worry about two of my children taking over my stamping suite now!  What do you think?

So that is his above… and my "inspiration" card below for him.  (Ya, he's not a big football fan!)

And just because I can… here's his cute little signature.  I love his "R"!

Supplies used:

Happiest Birthday Wishes stamp set
Soft Suede ink and cardstock
Pool Party card stock and Designer paper (Attic Boutique from the current Occasions mini) – Notice how stamping some "dirty spots" all over the doilies can take it from girlie to boyish!
Spiral punch
Buttons
White baker's twine

September Club Cards

So, here are the cards my Technique Card Club members created this month. 

I put my favorite card in front.  It uses the Always Thankful stamp set currently in the Holiday Mini catalog.  I made this card using a fun fold, slightly different than a traditional card.  And I love those tiny little silver brads!  So fun.  One of the best things of the card, in my opinion is the color combination.  The base is Soft Suede and the designer series paper is the new Peach Parfait.  Those were the colors I was going to stick with but once I had it together I really felt like it needed another color, and surprisingly that color was Cherry Cobbler!  Doesn't sound like a good combination but in the end it really worked!  A great autumn thank you card.

Other stamp sets we used were Patterned Party, French Script, Just Believe and Thank You Kindly.  The techniques we did were the fun fold, multiple colors on a single stamp, water coloring with blender pen, using the stamp a ma jig and layering images. 

My club members seemed to like them and hopefully you find some inspiration in them too!

Drew is turning 4!!

Four is really hard for me.  Four to me, means my child is not so little anymore.  Not a toddler.  Definitely in preschool.  No more cute baby fat. 

But I'm not going to let the number four spoil his birthday party!  For six months now Drew has been requesting a baseball party.  When he gets dressed in the morning he wants to wear either a baseball shirt (any shirt with a baseball on it will do) or Lightning McQueen.  LOL  He has a baseball piggy bank.  He enjoys wearing his Red Sox hat.  You get the idea.

So a baseball party it shall be!

Here's the invitation front:

Here's when you open it up:

Surprise!  It's not a traditional opening card.  It has a little twist to it and shows another baseball through the peek a boo window.

Funny story about where I found this design.  So last month I go to Convention all the way in Salt Lake City, enjoy the entire thing but didn't walk away with that one "wow" project this time until… the airplane ride home!  The first leg of the flight probably was half filled with demonstrators and everyone was sharing their swaps with everyone else.  There was a fabulous Christmas Card that had this design and the best thing was the demonstrator included instructions!  So, a few clicks on my iPhone and I had the pictures and directions!  Woohoo!  And I knew this was my "wow" and this would be Drew's invite.

There are a few stamp sets used here…Just Baseball (retired), Homerun, Extreme Elements, Lots of Thoughts (retired), and Simple Serif Alphabet and Numbers (retired).

The colors used are Not Quite Navy, Real Red, Crumb Cake, and the bats and dirt on the baseballs are Soft Suede.

And I'm on a Shimmery White card stock kick right now.  The baseballs and the hat (notice the "D" for Drew?) are stamped on Shimmery White and I just love the way the Shimmery White CS takes the ink.  Love it.

Now to plan the games and snacks for the party…

Pennants are Everywhere!

If you haven't noticed, pennants are the "in" thing right now.  So, following suit I came up with this card (with some inspiration from others of course!)…

The Supplies…

Stamp Set: Pennant Parade
Card Stock and Ink Colors: Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party
Big Shot: Perfect Polka dots and Vintage Wall paper embossing folders
New Pennant Punch!!!

and more that I think you can figure out… but don't hesitate to contact me with any questions about this card or anything Stampin' Up!

May’s Technique Club Projects

Here are the projects the girls made last night in club.  They all feature new items in the current Summer Mini.  My new favorite stamp set, The Open Sea, along with the fun Elegant Bouquet punch.  The little tote is perfect for holding a gift card, small candies/treats, or Ghirardelli squares like I gave each club member!