Monogram Notecard Sets

I get lots of "orders" for custom gifts and cards from my family. My mom recently bought a set of 10 monogram notecards for a coworker.

 

The recipient liked them so much, she ordered 3 sets of 5 notecards for birthday gifts! I love changing things up and experimenting with different patterns and color combos. 

 

Please contact me via email or phone (at the top of my blog) if YOU would like to order something like this!

FYI - The DSP & ribbon listed below are only available to purchase through 6/2/15, while supplies last!

Stamps: Jayne's Type Alphabet
Ink: Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Calypso Coral, Tangelo Twist
Paper: Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes, Moonlight DSP Stack, SAB Best Year Ever DSP, Birthday Bash Specialty DSP, Blackberry Bliss CS, Hello Honey CS, Basic Gray CS, Smoky Slate CS, Crushed Curry CS, Coastal Cabana CS, Bermuda Bay CS, Whisper White CS
Tools: 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch
Accessories: 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Tangelo Twist), SAB Best Year Ever Ribbon (Calypso Coral)

italics = retired product

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

What Color is This Dress?

 

The latest social media craze inspired me to create a couple of fun, silly cards. If you haven't yet seen "the dress," click the photo below for an interesting article on the subject.

So, which colors do YOU see? ;) I saw the original (middle) photo as white and gold. My informal research found that men are more likely than women to see the original photo as blue & black. The brain is an amazingly interesting organ!
 

 

 

I found the sequin trim to be difficult to control, so I ended up adhering individual gold sequins with glue dots. The striped gold vellum served as the perfect starting point for the dress. I used SNAIL adhesive behind the gold stripes to adhere to the white dress underneath, with no visible adhesive!

Paper: Whisper White CS, Early Espresso CS, Brushed Gold CS, Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum
Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Filigree Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot
Accessories: Gold Sequin Trim, Glue Dots, Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

 

The lace was a nightmare to adhere onto the back of the dress. I ended up cutting out two blue dresses and sandwiching the lace ends between them. Hopefully it won't unravel!

Paper: Pacific Point CS, Basic Black CS, Basic Gray CS
Tools: Dress Up Framelits, Filigree Frame Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot
Accessories: Raven 1/2" Lace Trim, Fast Fuse Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

More Snow Festival Cards

Here are a couple more Christmas cards using the (retired) Snow Festival Designer Series Paper. One sheet in particular is so cool - it is divided up into sixteen 3" square panels. Cut them all apart, and you have a focal point for sixteen different cards! This cute little owl is one of them. I'm entering this card into the SU-Only Challenge - Favorite Sentiment. I just love the font on this "merry"!

This next card was completely random - I wanted to do something with the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set, and punch things out. Then I realized: including Rudolph, Santa has 9 reindeer. So this cutie was created!

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Merry 
Paper: Snow Festival DSP, Cherry Cobbler CS, Gumball Green CS, Whisper White CS, Soft Suede Textured CS (but could use the current Core'dinations paper to achieve the same look) 
Colors: Soft Suede Ink, Cherry Cobbler Marker, Gumball Green Marker, Basic Black Marker (for the reindeer noses)
Tools: 1" Circle Punch, Paper-Piercer (for brad), Big Shot, Envelope Liners Framelits
Accessories: Googly Eyes, Real Red brad, Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

Manly Christmas Cards

While I was playing along with 'Tis the Season challenge #3, I came up with lots of other Christmas card ideas that didn't follow the sketch. Here are two that my friend thinks are "manly." I'm entering these into Great Impressions' November Challenge - Christmas (GISMC11), Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Keep it Clean and Simple, and the Penny Black Challenge - Anything Goes. On this first one, I love how Dasher fits perfectly inside one of the window frames. Although it's hard to see in the pictures, I paper-pierced around the edge of the brown layer.

I used the Window Frame Framelits on this next card as well, but added a little bit of a different twist. Instead of layering two frames, I layered one frame over a square. It gives it a different, funky look. Again, I used the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack to paper-pierce along the outside of the red window frame. I took a close-up, so you can see it on this card.

Stamps: Dasher, Perfect Presentation 
Paper: Merry Moments DSP, Real Red CS, Garden Green CS, Chocolate Chip CS, Very Vanilla CS
Colors: Chocolate Chip Ink/Marker, Garden Green Marker
Tools: Big Shot, Window Frame Framelits, Festive Paper-Piercing Pack, Paper-Piercer, Paper-Piercing Mat, Paper Snips (to cut out Christmas tree), Envelope Punch Board
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

Patchwork Cards

I've had the idea for these cards for a long time. (I may have seen it on a blog or on Pinterest, but I definitely don't know where it originally came from.) Last time I was a demonstrator (4+ years ago), I used to always get a Designer Series Paper sampler with each new catalog. (Another demonstrator would put this together.) This consists of a 2.5x3.5-inch piece of DSP in every single pattern available. It is super fun to be able to see all the paper in person, as they ALWAYS look better than in the catalog. However, with all of the retirements over the years, I now have about a 4-inch tall stack of these little DSP rectangles.

So, when I fall into a stamping lull, I try to pull these out and figure out what to make with them. (This type of card is one of my favorite layouts, and lends itself well to using these rectangles up, because you can get four 1-1/4" punches out of each piece.) The current Simon Monday Challenge was just the push I needed to make this card idea a reality! This week, the challenge is "Patchwork". I'm also entering this card into the Loves Rubber Stamps Blog Challenge #77 (LRSBC77) - the challenge is anything goes.

My mom is always asking me for more "all-occasion" cards. She likes blank cards, with no sentiments, because you can really use them for anything: thank you, sympathy, thinking of you, etc. So that's the idea with these cards. To make them, just punch out 12 squares (1-1/4") from ~6 different patterns of DSP in a pack. Arrange them in a pleasing pattern. Then, using a glue stick, adhere them to a piece of cardstock or scrap paper. (You could also use SNAIL or another adhesive. Cardstock is better than computer paper because the DSP is pretty thin, and you don't want your Top Note to be flimsy.) Run through the Big Shot to create the Top Note shape, wrap some ribbon around it, and voila!

 

I wanted to use the 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, so I chose DSP that matched the colors I have. I also tried something different with half of the cards. After I ran it through the Big Shot to get the Top Note shape, I ran it through the Big Shot again in one of the embossing folders! I REALLY like these better. Don't you think it makes them look like an actual quilt??

The only disappointing part about these cards is that I don't have any DSP pieces large enough to make envelopes or even envelope liners! Boooo. :(


Paper: Berry Bliss DSP, Urban Garden DSP, Raspberry Tart DSP, Bella Birds DSP, Purely Pomegranate CS, Brocade Blue CS, Close to Cocoa CS, Rose Red CS, Crumb Cake CS 
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, 1-1/4" Square Punch
Accessories: 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (Basic Gray, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White), Glue Dots (to hold the ribbon in place) 

italics = retired product

Eastern Butterfly Elegance

Mojo Monday time! I snuck last night's card into the Mojo Monday website with minutes to spare! But that means this morning brings a brand new sketch challenge. On the last Monday of the month, they offer a circle and square card layout (MOJO317). Since I don't yet have the Circle Framelits, I decided to do a smaller card and use circle punches for the focal points of the card.

Every year I participate in a DSP product share with my upline, Julie Davison. It is open to customers and demonstrators, and is a great way to get a little bit of everything (whether it is new DSP, ribbon, buttons, other accessories, etc) without spending a fortune. With the DSP share, I got a 6x6-inch piece of each sheet of DSP offered in the current Annual Catalog.

SO... since I have a lot of 6x6 sheets of DSP laying around... I decided to use my Envelope Punch Board in reverse! There are two sizes of cards that you can use a 6x6 sheet of paper for to make an envelope (see the little pink arrows above). So I decided to go with the 3-1/2" square card.

I used the Eastern Elegance DSP for my envelope, accent pieces, and color scheme. Here is what I came up with!

Do you ever get a stamping idea into your head, and it just won't go away until you create it? I'd been envisioning making a little double-layer butterfly like this one all weekend. When I saw the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and butterfly punches sitting on my desk, I knew I could finally use them for this project!

This card is too small to mail, but hopefully I can find a use for it at some point! Perhaps as a little note to accompany a bottle of wine when I go over to a friend's house for a casual night in. :)


Stamps: Papillon Potpourri

Paper: Eastern Elegance DSP, Smoky Slate CS, Coastal Cabana CS, Crushed Curry Textured CS (but could use the current Core'dinations paper to achieve the same look), Whisper White CS

Colors: Crushed Curry Ink

Tools: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Envelope Punch Board

Accessories: Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product