Here is a really cute stamp set from Stampin' Up! called

 "No Peeking"! 

Here is the card I made with this set at Maria's stamp event in November...

Very sweet isn't it?  And I like the style of the greeting - so I think a child would LOVE a card like this!

But after searching the internet, I could see that crafters are having a field day with this stamp set - there were so many great projects out there - whew! Fabby stuff!

Here's a few that grabbed me from talented Stampin' Up Demos like

 Andi Potler and Sandi MacIver's tags to Connie Tumm's and Carrie's {Carrie Stamps} cards!  

Click on their names to visit their respective blogs!

...tags galore!!! Excellent!

...just awwww! 

...great for twins!

... love the colours and layout!

This is what I luv-luv to see with a stamp set - real versatility and imaginative possibilities! 

Stampin' Up! No Peeking Stamp Set

wood mount #126290 $29.95 CDN

clear mount # 126292 $21.95 CDN

Now GO craft!  

*

  

Good Morning!!!

I've something special to share today.....take a look at this handprinted greeting....and you will notice that it reads 'birday' and this is the funny part because when my daughter meant to write birthday and realized the goof up, she groaned because there was 10 mins. before she needed the card - of course!  But when I dashed to gather something to correct it, my brilliant daughter said "well, it does go with the card!"  And I stopped in my tracks because she was soooo right!  Yeah - a happy mistake!   Whooo-hooot!

...and here is why the greeting matches.....are they not adorable!!!!

TWINS!   And TWIN BIRTHDAYS no less!

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR A CLOSE VIEW

How'd She Do That?  

• Begin by punching a 1/2 oval section off the side of cardstock with the Large Oval punch. 
• Follow w/ the Scallop Oval punch positioned above the mini-bite you made using the Large Oval, and punch creating a lightly curved 'scallop slice'.  Make this as deep and wide as you like! [Trim later]
• Repeat to create as many scallop 'layers' - 2 or 3 for a tutu!  More for wedding dresses!  
• Then, layer the slices and attach to the Owl's vest piece. 
• Trim the scallop layers to meet the curves of the dress or owl. 
•  Trim vest top to create a bib. [optional]
• Embellish - have FUN!

* TECHNIQUE TIP - when you are working on plain cardstock - add interest by chalking the background 

as was done here with the pink-ish rectangle behind the owls.  This helps for your focal piece or accent

to 'pop' and is especially helpful when using minimal numbers of colours ! *

I too have been in an owly mood lately - you will see another project soon which features my OWL BUILDER PUNCH - the builder punches are awesome because you can do sooooo many "other" projects with them!  The stamping community always comes up with brilliant ideas, so if you can't think of one, chances are someone already has!  So invest in one!   And Stampin' Up!'s OWL BUILDER PUNCH is a great one to start with......ok, moving on!

Pink for little girls.....border punches, birthday stamps, and colouring done with inks and pastels!  A little bling....well, you can see from the pics how cute this card is - not to hoot our own horn too loudly, but hope this inspires YOU to acquire the punch and make some awesome fun!

include yourself inside the card...!!! 

I think the reason I LOVE LOVE LOVE this punch is because of the number or ways you can play "dress-up" with the owls!  I mean, c'mon - you have to love being able to customize your owl or owls like here today with little girl sundresses AND sunglasses!!   Yeah?  And its so fun!  That is the scary part - we could sit all day and create dressed up owls!

A happy set! 

And if you have TWINS in your family, this card is one of many you could make.......!


Cheers!
Taylor

SUPPLIES USED FOR THIS PROJECT

Stampin' Up!

Punches = Owl Builder 118074, Bird Builder (wings) 117191, 1" Circle 119868, Large Oval 119855, Scallop Oval 119856, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle 119854;

Stamps = Sock Monkey Accessories (retired) for balloons.  

*...its my AUNT's CARD and she turned 98 on NEW YEARS! 

Yeah Aunty! 

I have to remember that she's a New Year's baby - I wonder if  they made 

a fuss about that those days, it was 1914 and in a very small settlement - so it could of

went either way: no, too practical to be celebrating a New Year baby or yes, they 

would of celebrated the fact a baby came along on a specially-marked occasion! 

But no matter, she was a new baby and that was special for sure!!! 

She is also the last of her generation in the family. Another significant fact. And there is not

much accounting for genes apparently, as her siblings lived to all different ages from mid-60's right 

on up!  Although if you consider lifestyle, that again is confusing as one of the strictest of a cautionary life

amongst them passed on to heaven first. There is hope for me after all, lol! 

A Personal Consideration - Cards for the Very Elderly

This raises a serious question for me now. How best to communicate with a long-distant and 

very elderly relative whose been placed in a nursing home???

  Its one of those 'ahh' moments that requires some reflection.

 I want my Aunt to keep receiving our well-intended expressions of  affection

 so she has a reminder that we love her. But what if she no longer recognizes the reason behind the cards? 

Or will the cards continue to remind her of who we are?  

 I know she knows who I am when we chat, but of course she has those temporary moments when her thought process goes through a loop. In fact, I can tell when its time to stop talking when she starts to repeat the conversation. 

It almost makes me cry, I think at those times how sweet she is. 

But its hard to swallow because its proof you can't deny that your loved one is experiencing a serious loss. Not a devastating one, but its serious none the less. 

As she is now in a nursing home, yes, I do know one thing, she had to go at the age of 97, if you can believe it - she lasted on her own so long, I am so proud of her!  I know I worried about her though, and relatives near to her recognized the time came and we can only hope she is comfortable. She lives in another province - too far away from us, so I can only gauge her feelings on the matter from our telephone conversations. But she seems really fine, talks well and except for the mild memory loss, she appears to be one heck of a strong Prairie Lady!!!! 

SO  concerning the point I am making - do I continue to send her cards?  I've decided to send her card 'care of '  the Administrator and asking that someone present and read it to her and from there I will find out if she is cognizant for understanding the card and then I can determine how to keep on sending her cards - or not!  It may be best to adjust to ' only telephone calls '. 

Also, I know as busy as staff are and personal space is always limited from what my last Aunt told me , so I don't want them to worry about cluttering up her room....but I do so hope she can enjoy a few cards yet!  Fingers crossed! 

The Card Featured Here uses Supplies from Stampin' Up!:

DS Paper, "Everyday Enchantment " {green scalloped border} - NEW {Sale-a-bration}

Scalloped Edge created with EDGELIT DIES - " Adoring Accents " - NEW {Occasions Mini}

Stamps - florals created with stamps from sets ' Fabulous Florets and Fifth Ave ' and leaf / heart from ' Best Friends Forever '  {main catalogue}

chalks, pearls, cardstock ={Peach Parfait/Whisper White}, paper piercer. *

Crafternoons everyone,

I have a lovely little card to share - and in light of our recent sad news, it reminds me of how precious a hug can be between friends. But this can also reflect a hug shared between sisters or cousins - its a sweet set.

Here is a method of making a card where you 'highlight' areas to pop out from the card in an interesting way! You merely stamp the image twice - first straight onto the main card, and again on a light-coloured cardstock which you will cut and layer parts onto the main image. Make sense - I sure hope so!  Read below how I did!....

First I stamped the design using the "main stamp" of the two sweet girls straight onto my cardstock - the colour I chose was to use Early Espresso Ink stamped onto Tangerine Tango cardstock.  It would be fine to leave it at that - but let's "highlight" some areas!!

Next, I repeat stamp using the same stamp - but onto Whisper White cardstock and using the same ink.

Now I chose a few elements to 'cut out' of the Whisper White stamped image - I used my Craft Scissors so it was not very difficult to make those tight cuts.  This can be a project for when you just want some quiet time - perfect to do those little "extra" steps!  The cut out parts to be highlighted onto the main image - can be glued using our 2-Way Glue Pen (makes a breeze out of gluing small areas!) 
Also - to make the basket really " pop " out  - I used one of our appropriately-named STAMPIN' DIMENSIONALS [small hexagonal foam dots - adheres on both sides for convenience]!


As you may know, STAMPIN' UP! is well known for their co-ordinating products to achieve a polished look - so I have embellished this card with some cute swiss dot ribbon - as you can see, the colours blend perfectly!

Now I am excited to add another fav stamp - the Friends stamp from our VINTAGE VOGUE STAMP SET!  This is one of our more popular stamp sets!!!
I punched it out and layered it on to a scrap piece of paper - then ' tore ' around the edge leaving a slight border - then the "ACCENT "  is attached to the right upper corner over top of 2 lengths of ribbon. Use strong adhesive tape {see Tacky Strip tape in our catalogue - it's strong!}

So there you are....stamp - stamp - cut - layer - stamp - cut/tear - layer .......same steps over and over to yield great- looking results!

COLOURING your rubber-stamped images.
I don't profess to be a masterful colour-ist!  How I do it is fairly sloppy - LOL!  I will take a soft colour such as our SO SAFFRON MARKER and literally swish it over the inside edges of the images, using the broad end of the marker. I also use a darker/co-ordinating marker to do the same on the inside/outside edges.  In this way - I create a sense of coloring and emphasizes the folky look of this. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TERRIBLY NEAT.                                 CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO SEE CLOSE UPS

One more thing!  Creat a  " flirty border " by simply doodling along the outside edges - adding breaks here and there in no particular fashion....this helps to create a light feeling in keeping with the sketch-y style!

Well - I like it!  Hope you do too! hugs from moi!


 If you would like to create this - contact me and I will gladly help you to acquire everything you need!  If you would rather host a party - I can also gladly DEMONSTRATE this project!!! 

 And don't forget to hug someone today!!!!