Another Valentine

One reason I love jumbo wheels is that it's so easy to make a background with them.  This card uses the I {Love} Love jumbo wheel, the tree from Valentine Defined and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, all inked in Rich Razzleberry.  Card stock is Whisper White and Melon Mambo.

Valentines using the I {Love} Love wheel

 I've got two Valentines for you today, both using the the I {Love} Love jumbo wheel.  Both are Whisper White and Real Red.

The first card also uses 1/4" grosgrain ribbon and Holiday Best, a hostess set from last year.  Holiday Best is great because it has a stamp for four different holidays.  And, I happen to have extra available for sale or as a choice when I offer the chance to win a free hostess set.  Keep your eyes peeled because I do that often.  Or, contact me and I'll sell you a set -- no waiting, no leaving it to chance.

The second card also uses a stamp from Love You Much (the three hearts, which are punched out using the heart to heart punch) and one from Valentine Defined.  I also used the Full Heart punch and

dry embossed it with polka dots (they don't show up too well here, but they look cute in person) from the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates.

The bottom of the wheel design isn't that curved in real life.  Guessing it has something to do with my photography :)  Kind of like why sometimes the layers look crooked in the photo when they are straight on the card.

Eat Chocolate (Tempting Turquoise)

I'm going to take a break from Valentine's Day cards and share a card I made using Eat Chocolate, another new set from the Occasions mini catalog.  This set is so cute.  I love all the little sayings and really, it's hard to go wrong with chocolate.

After reading the To Do List, you open the card and it says, "At least you'll get one thing done today."

I'll be back tomorrow with more Valentine's Day cards, but you'll see more using this set in the coming days, too.  Can't wait?  Come to my Open House on Jan. 22nd and see all these samples and more in person.  Plus, you can make your own card using yet another new set from the Occasions mini catalog.

Valentine Defined Baby Card

This card uses the heart tree from the set Valentine Defined.  The cute little baby image is from Love Bug, a hostess set from last year and the sentiment is from Whimsical Words, a set I got for free last year during Sale-a-bration.

Speaking of Sale-a-bration, it starts on January 25th.  For every $50 purchase (before shipping and tax), you can earn a free item (choose from stamp sets, designer series paper, and more).  Contact me or come to my Open House on Jan. 22 for more details.

Even though Love Bug is no longer available, you could use stamps from other sets -- maybe the carriage from Fun and Fast Notes (and use the words under it in place of Small Wonder).  Although I don't post much from Fun and Fast Notes (looking at the Category list it looks like never, but that doesn't seem right), I use it a lot.  It covers many events and you can mix and match the words with the images to get even more variety.

The DSP is retired, but it's very, very similar to one of the patterns in the Soft Subtles Designer Series Paper Stack.  What a great value that is:  40 sheets of high quality, double sided designer series paper for $19.95

Valentine Defined (with Very Vintage Wheel)

Today's card uses the Very Vintage jumbo wheel inked in Bashful Blue for the background.  The circles are from the Circles 2 die for the Big Shot.  The biggest circle is 2 1/2" so you could use the new extra large punch for that.  The images on the Whisper White circle are from Valentine Defined (ink colors:  Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink and Real Red).  I used the Scallop Edge punch on the Pretty in Pink cardstock and the Word Window and the Modern Label punches around the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

As with yesterday's card, and many other cards, this does not have to be limited to a Valentine's Day card.  Neither does the Valentine Defined set need to be limited.  Check back tomorrow for a baby card using an image from this set (and some other sets).

Same Card, Different Sentiments (Valentine Defined - Crumb Cake)

Today I'm going to show you a little something different.  Often I say that you can use the same card for many occassions just by switching the sentiment.  But sometimes that's hard to visualize, so today I'm going to show you the same card three different ways.

The first card has no extra sentiment on the front.  Use it for a notecard, add the occassion sentiment on the inside, or put it on the front when you decide what to use the card for.  The second two use a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, which you know I love.  Change it out and it goes from a Valentine's card to an Anniversary card.  You could also make it a birthday card.  You get the idea.

Did you notice the difference between the first card and the second two (besides the added sentiment)?  The first was scanned and the second two were photographed.  I'm thinking I like the photos better, even if they do take a little more work.

Valentine Defined (Bashful Blue base)

Another card done with Valentine Defined, from the new Occasions mini catalog.  The base of the card is Bashful Blue.  The ink is Rose Red and Regal Rose.

I've updated my Classes page -- be sure to check it out.  I'm having an Open House on Jan. 22.  I'd love it if you could come!  Let me know and I'll send you directions.

Valentine Defined (Melon Mambo)

This card, made with the set Valentine Defined from the new Occasions Mini Catalog, is made with Melon Mambo.  Since the base of the card is Whisper White, it's kind of hard to see the edge of the card itself, but if you look closely you can make it out.

This image was scanned rather than photographed.  I'm still trying to decide if I like using scanned images.

Valentine Defined (Rose Red)

Hi Stampers!

I've just started working with the set Valentine Defined.  Very cute!  Lots of possibilities.  I'll be posting a series of cards made with this set.  Enjoy!

Sue Root, your Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator

You know I've mentioned before that my photography doesn't always do the cards justice, so I tried scanning this one (and the ones you'll see in the next several posts).

There are no lighting and shadow problems and the image is fairly straight, but the colors seem even further off than in the photos.  This card was done in Rose Red.

What do you think -- are the photopraphs better or the scanned images?  Leave a comment and let me know.  Thanks!



Happy New Year!!

Wishing you all a very wonderful 2011!!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Jolly Bingo Bits

This set is full of cute little images.  This is a standard 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and look how many fit on it.  And this isn't even all of the images!

I've used this set tons this season.  I just haven't had time to post everything I've made.

One Layer Rejoicing in Christmas

Here's a one layer card using Rejoicing in Christmas.  I think this set lends itself to simple layouts, which lets the Holy family be the focus.  The image is watercolored.

I don't usually make one layer cards, but it's good to make one once in awhile just to show that it can be done.

Bells and Boughs and Waffle Paper

Here's another card using  Waffle Paper and Bells and Boughs.  This time I watercolored the image.

Next time, I think I'll actually add another layer instead of just inking around the edges.  But then again, maybe not...

Back to Bells and Boughs

I posted several cards awhile ago using the set Bells and Boughs.  Here's another one:

To see the others click on the label Bells and Boughs under this post (or from the list on the left).

Let it Snow!

This is a Big Shot card!  The snowflakes and the letters both were cut using my favorite tool.  The card was sprayed with a shimmer mist spray (shimmer mist paint and rubbing alcohol mixed in a spray bottle).  The shimmer mist really does shimmer in the light.  It was just hard for me to capture it with the camera.  It adds a nice bit of sparkle to a card.

Snowmen card

Love the Northern Flurry embossing folder and the Northern Frost decorative strip (for the Big Shot)!  They combine to give lots of texture to the card.

The snowmen are from Jolly Bingo Bits and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I was thinking this card would be great to use for my Christmas thank yous.  But you could use any of a number of sentiments on this card (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Thinking of You, etc.).

Christmas Class

On Sat., Nov. 13, I will be offering a Christmas Class (see the classes page for details).  I am so excited about these projects!  I love the set Rejoicing in Christmas.  We will be make this card using that set:

Inside the card says:

Rejoicing in the joy of the Christ Child's birth and wishing you a Christmas filled with the love and peace of our Savior.

This card is simple, yet looks very nice.  The picture here does not give it justice (in my opinion).  This is one of my favorite Christmas cards that I've made this year.

We also will be making a gift card holder that is fast and easy to make, yet looks very impressive:

And we'll make an assortment of tags using Tags til Christmas:

The to and from is on the back of the ornament tag.

I hope you'll be able to join me Saturday!  Contact me to register.

Snowman card

 The Northern Flurry embossing folder is so cool!  Check out those giant, raised snowflakes.  The snowman in the bottom corner is from Jolliest Time of the Year.  I used shimmer paint on the snowflakes and the snowman to give them a little pizzazz (it's there, even though it's kind of hard to see in the picture).

CASE-ing myself

I CASED myself on this card.  I made a similar card last year and wanted to update it with current products.  This time, I made it monchromatic for a different look.

The colors are Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla.  The vase is the ornament punch with the bottom cut off.  I used the Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack in Brights and the Autumn Days stamp set.

Note:  CASE stands for Copy and Share Everything (or sometimes Copy and Steal Everything).  Those of us who post our designs online or teach you how to make them in classes want you to use the ideas for inspiration.  When I CASE from someone else, I try to give credit to the person I originally got the idea from (though sometimes I don't do good documentation and I have to give a generic credit).