Create With M.E.

Big Day~WWYS Challenge Blog Card

 

I am so happy to share a card with you that is featured on the What Will You Stamp Challenge Blog this week.  Four weeks ago this challenge blog was introduced and I decided then I would try to enter as many weeks as I could, I totally missed last week. :-\ But this week I am honored to be the guest designer for the wonderful set called Big Day!  I love this set! 

Here is the card I created for the blog.  I hope you will visit this fun blog and join in on the fun this week!

I know it seems like there is a lot going on in this card but it really came together fairly fast.  I love the Chalkboard look so let's start with the greeting embossed in white on our new Chalkboard paper. 

Then I wanted to add some pizzazz to the card with sparkle.  The front of my crumb cake base was embossed with the polka dot textured Impressions folder so I mimicked the polka dots with Dazzling Diamond Glimmer paper that I sprayed with an assortment of Bright colored Ink Refills that I combined with alcohol in my stampin' spritzers.  This was a lot of fun!  I let it dry and punched out a few 3/4" circles and "threw" them on the card as birthday confetti! 

I wanted the cake to shine through so I punched a 1 3/8" circle on the front of my card so the cake can be the star of both the front and inside of the card as shown here.

I colored my cake with Stampin' Write Markers and topped the frosting and candle flame off with a little dazzling diamonds and 2 way glue pen. It really makes it sparkle!

Add a pretty little bow with Calypso Coral Chevron Ribbon and a little touch of the Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim.  So pretty and festive.  I love how the saying outside and in states one of the best things, in my opinion, about a birthday.  Cake & Ice Cream of course! (are you listening family? My birthday is next month and last year I had to buy my own cake! tisk, tisk)

 

Did I tell you what the best part of this whole card is?  What? I didn't?  Shame on M.E. Well, come closer because you are NOT going to believe this, are you close? OK read this...the stamp set I used, Yes, Big Day that's right.  It's FREE when you order $50 in merchandise FREE! but DO NOT WAIT! Sale-A-Bration is almost over!  Less than 2 weeks and we won't have this GREAT sale until this time next year (if we are lucky). Get your Big Day set for FREE and I will also be entering your name in my Stampin'-versary Give-Away, if you missed the details check the top of this blog post.

Here is the product list I used so you can order them right up and earn your free set. Use Hostess Code: MYYEY7NY What are you waiting for?  GO! Order, Create and Inspire those in your circle. 

Enjoy!
M.E.

Product List

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953]	Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133739]
Chalkboard Paper [137786]	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad [101731]
White Stampin' Emboss Powder [109132]	Heat Tool [129053]
Stampin' Spritzer [126185]	Brights Classic Stampin' Ink Refills [131162]
3/4" Circle Punch [119873]	Calypso Coral 3/4" Chevron Ribbon [130018]
Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim [137910]	1-3/4" Circle Punch [119850]
Brights Stampin' Write Markers [131259]	2-Way Glue Pen [100425]
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751]	Big Day Clear Stamp Set [139112]

 

I'm a Little Teapot~Short & Stout

My Friend Karla accused me of singing the little teapot song when I was creating last weeks teacup project here.  I think there was a little humming going on for sure when I re-created this little teapot card by Michelle Reynolds.  I first saw her card on pinterest and knew it was a "must duplicate" for my M.E.'s 3C's class that I hold every other Friday in my kitchen.   (M.E.=Mary Ellen and 3C's=Coffee, Cookies and Cards)

Isn't it adorable?!  I love how she took this die and thought outside the box.  I just love the fun creativity.  I put together a short picture tutorial on how you can re-create this pocket card too.

Start with a piece of paper that is 5" x 10" and fold it in half. I put a piece of Blue painters tape on my Oval Accent Bigz Clear Die #127005 so you could see exactly where to place the folded side of the paper. You may have to trim the paper on the corner so it will fit in your Big Shot.  Cut as shown.

Trim one side of the bigz die as shown right before the "shoulder" of the die.  Save that piece it will make the spout.

Using your 1/2" circle punch #119869 punch a partial circle out of one side of the image as shown.

Next you need to punch out a piece of paper with the Large Oval Punch #119855 and discard the punched piece.  Then line up the Extra-Large Oval Punch #119859 over the punched out image and punch to make the handle for your tea pot.

Open up your card and glue down the pieces as shown.  Use your Medium Envelope as a guide because you want to make sure it will fit in the envelope when you have it all done. :) Then you have the choice of either putting a bead of multipurpose liquid glue along the edge and turning this into a pocket where you can add a tag or teabag to, or you can cover your handle and spout pieces with a layer of whisper white paper to make it a card that opens up where you can add a personalized message.

Add some Designer Series Paper to the front and finish with your favorite greeting.  I used the friendship stamp from the From My Heart set #132007 Wood Mount or #126557 Clear Mount.

I decided to add a 2" tag to mine punched with the Scallop Tag Topper Punch #133324

I hope you enjoy recreating this little cutie as much as I did.  If you click on each link it will take you to my store for more information on each product.

Enjoy!

M.E.

 

 

Perfect Blend~It's my cup of Joe!

The minute I saw the stamp set Perfect Blend I knew it would be at the top of my wish list.  As soon as I was able to order it I did, no questions asked.  I really love my morning cup and that's why when I received this delightful gift from my friend Kim Peck I was thrilled!  It's has taken two of my loves, coffee and paper crafting and made them work together!

Isn't that just adorable?  It's a actually a very fancy gift card holder!  That's right it was stuffed with a heavenly gift card to Starbucks! Yum, I will enjoy every cup Kim and think of you as I indulge! Thank you!!

Look at the beautiful detail on top using the Spiral Flower Originals Die #129379 which I am thrilled to announce is carried over to the new catalog coming out next month.

She could have left the Watercolor Wonder Designer Series Paper #132994 just the way it was but no, not Kim she stamped with the Flower Shop Stamps #130942 Clear or #130939 Wood that really made it all come together. 

The following week my friend Teresa Rogers made this Crisp Cantalope matching doilly for me!  Yes, I do have some very creative friends.  I am Blessed! If you love Perfect Blend as much as I do you can click here and order it now Perfect Blend #130745 Wood and #131392 Clear

Enjoy!

M.E.

 

Life In The Forest~Fox & Friend + M.E. & My Friend

I love those times when you get to collaborate with other great designers.  This is one of those projects.  Actually my friend Betsy Crider did all the designing and I colored and cut out the pieces and threw them at her and said "Make something!". She didn't disappoint.  How cute is this card?!

It is a little hard to see but I used the whitewash technique on the trees and animals.  I stamped and heat embossed with white then colored the image in with my aqua painter and some white craft ink.  Let that dry then I colored the images with classic ink and my aqua painter.  It really makes the color pop although I used subtle coloring on these images.

Order what you need to complete this card or click on the links for more details on each product:

• Life In The Forest Wood #133848 Clear #133851
• Fringe Scissors #133325
• Aqua Painters set of 2 #103954
• Whisper White Craft Ink #101731
• White Embossing Powder #109132
• Heat Tool #129053
• Crumb Cake Cardstock #120953
• Chocolate Chip Cardstock #102128
• Marina Mist Cardstock #119682

Enjoy!

M.E.

Just Sayin'~Washi Tape and Glitter

So if you read my blog (I guess you do you are right now lol) you know this last weekend we had a big Annual Stampin' Up! meeting and I had company from PA visiting.  One of the reason's my friend Betsy wanted to come out for Spring into Stamping was because she knew I was going to be hosting my M.E.'s 3C's class on Friday morning.  Coffee, Cards and Cookies.  So when I picked her up from the airport on Thursday afternoon we were chatting and I was going over my "to do" list and one of the things I still had to do was design the card for Friday morning's class.  She said "Oh, I have a great card that we just made in my club last month"  As she described it to me I thought that sounds perfect!  She told me "just know it's not my idea I totally 'stole' it from Martha Inchley from Inch of Creativity.  That is totally OKAY! That is why we have blogs.  If we weren't loving ideas online and duplicating them there would be no need to have blogs right?  So, let me show you this easily duplicatable card...

 

We had three different samples to show everyone.

And Lastly here is another one...

If you go to Martha's blog you will see a few minor changes that we made but not many.  You cut the word bubble framelit from the center of your naturals white cardstock and apply Washi Tape to the back so the sticky part is showing out.  Sprinkle it with dazzling diamonds and add the greeting over it all.  Add some washi tape on your cardstock as an accent and a few rhinestones and voila you are done.  So cute!  Thank you Martha for your idea.  Go visit her blog if you love Easter ideas.  She is loaded with them!  And Cah-Ute is putting it mildly.

Now I just have to show you me feeding my soul at M.E.'s 3C's:

Sweet Treats and Sweet Friends

Treats and Stamping go hand in hand

Friendships formed.

Delicious Treats over Tea and Coffee

And of course we STAMP!

Enjoy!

M.E.

 

For Him~Win-Win for You and Him

If I had to bet, I would say at 80% of my card classes someone says "I need a masculine card!".  I think most Stampers would say they tend to lean toward those cards with flowers, ribbons, buttons and bows. The card I am going to show you today is not only a masculine card but it's "Quick n Easy" too! Let's face it girls, most men don't really appreciate all the time and effort we can put into our creations, works of heart! They will be thrilled to get this card with a little sumpthin' sumpthin' in it too!  Money goes in their pocket, card goes in the trash :( This card not only will take you minutes to create but it's cute too!

Just a few quick tips

1. Use your Embossing Buddy before embossing it will save you from having stray powder on your black card (it shows the worst on black cardstock with white powder)
2. Turn your square punch on an angle to punch your lapel
3. Cut your slit in your "Suit Coat" with your trimmer.  Pick a point above your embossing and run your trimmer to open up a spot before attaching to the Whisper White base
4. DO NOT GLUE the area where you want your funds to slip in.

Supplies needed for this card: Click on the #numbers to get more information or to place your order.

• Whisper White Paper trimmed to 4.25" x 11"
• Basic Black Paper trimmed to 4.25 x 7"
• Stampin' Trimmer with a scoring blade #126889
• Versamark Pad #102283
• White Stampin' Emboss Powder #109132
• Heat Tool #129053
• Embossing Buddy #103083
• White Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen #105021
• 1" Square Punch #124094

This card is great not only for a Birthday but what about Graduation, Retirement, the possibilities go on and on.  What are you going to make it for?  Leave me a comment!

Enjoy!

M.E.

Bring on Spring~Basket of FUN!

I love being inspired by the artisan award winners at Stampin' Up! They are a very talented bunch of ladies! They are generous in their sharing and I look forward to what they are going to post next.  Here is my version of a box that Erica Cerwin shared.

I started with some basic stamping and die cutting.  Here are my pieces:

You will need: (Click on any link # to get more details or to order)

• 4 floral frames (#127012) pieces cut.  I used the second to largest framelit.
• I stamped and punched 4 flowers from the Mixed Bunch set #128442 Wood or #125537 Clear
• Punch flowers with the Blossom Punch #125603
• I stamped and punched 4 butterflies with the Papillon Potpourri #132058 Wood or #123759 Clear
• Punch butterflies with the Elegant Butterfly Punch #127526
• I punched 2 pennants from the Petite Pennants Builder Punch #122361
• I first sanded then fringed a 12" and a 2" strip of Coordinations paper with fringe scissors #133325

 

Put your floral frame pieces on your personal scorer/trimmer and score as shown.  What I did was made sure two side petals were lined at the 3/4" mark on my trimmer/scorer confirming by noticing the farthest petal to the left was just into the dark grey part of my scorer.  Score all 4 pieces this way, then...

Turn the flower 90° and I lay the shoulders of the adjacent petals on the scoring channel as shown in the picture and score the center petal. Flip the flower over and do it on the other side too.

Now it's time to put them together. As always, when assembling a box of any type, I recommend sticky strip to hold your box strong.  Lay the 4 pieces flat and line up the petals and adhere.  I then cut 2 squares from my box color and lay one inside and 1 under the box as a box bottom.  I think mine was 3.5" but go ahead and measure yours to be sure.  Add your grass or even just a strip of your favorite DSP (designer series paper) and pop up your butterflies with dimensionals.  Now it's time for those cute rolled centers.  Take your 2 pennants and cut them in half as shown.

Then you need to roll the beads around a toothpick or your paper piercing tool.  I do not glue mine tight.  I like them to be springy and loose but that's up to you.  I just use a little Tombow Multi Glue to attach it to my butterfly.  LOVE!

I LOVE the detail of the sanded fringed grass, the little rolled bead thorax on the butterfly.  It's all in the details and this basket will hold a lot of fun, delicious goodies too!

 

Enjoy!

M.E.

 

 

 

Weekly Deal~Time to hunker Down

Looks like we have the next Snow system getting ready to hit us hard.  I am sitting here just hoping I have time to get out and go to bowling today and rush home before it gets too horrible! It's not so much for the activity of bowling, although I like it, but more for the friendships I have made with this great group of ladies.  I really enjoy the laughter that is inevitable when we are together.

I can feel this post being rather random in it's content but my thought is that you will be able to see the real M.E. and my daily life, you know, the things you do with friends!  So it's 8:30am and I have already cleaned the kitchen after cleaning out the fridge and noticing I had 5 over ripe bananas.  So I have already baked 2 cakes this morning.  Yep TWO!  Remember I have bowling today so one is going with me.  I just can't decide, do you take the tried and true, or do you take the new to you recipe?  Leave a comment and let me know what you do?  I am guessing with Pinterest the responses may be different than they were a few years ago. One is the usual banana cake with cream cheese frosting (YUM) one is my friends mom's recipe, the bundt cake with crushed pineapple.  Again sounds yum but I have never made it so worried and I am one of those who hates to take the cake with a bite out of it!  Ha Ha.  Stay tuned to see what I decide to do.

So I have covered activity, food and now hobby.  I just had to jump over to my blog to let you know about the weekly specials with Stampin' Up! Look....

So many fantastic products at fantastic prices.  You don't even need to leave where you are right this minute.  Just click on this link to shop now.

Also it's Sale-A-Bration so earn a FREE gift for every $50 you spend.  Want to see what's available? Check it out here first:

I hope this post finds you warm, loved, and inspired.

ps.  Looks like it's the NEW to M.E. cake that is coming with me.  The other one sunk a little in the middle...it's ok my kids will eat it no matter...they eat anything! LOL

Enjoy!

 

Truly Grateful~A Gift to be Shared

Have you seen the new Envelope Punch Board that Stampin' Up! recently came out with? Are you thinking to yourself, "Do I really need another tool just to make envelopes when I already have the score board with diagonal score plate?" Well, honestly I had the same questions but the answer is unequivably YES! And let me show you why:

Not only does it make over 65 different sized envelopes you can also make boxes, file folder cards and much, so much more!  It also has a built in corner rounder.  The size is compact and the tool is well made.  The problem right now is everyone LOVES it SO much that the supplies are running low.  So before you finish this post and see the rest of the pictures go order yours now here: Envelope Punch Board.  Then come back here to finish up reading so you can use it for the project below.

Ok, now that you are back,

Here is a little video on using the new tool.

 

Now I want to share this wonderful project that I made for my beautiful Mother-In-Law who had surgery last week.  I knew she would be getting flowers and meals delivered to her and I knew she would want to have some Thank You cards ready to mail out to the kind people who thought of her during this time so I made her this little gift and took it to her in the hospital. 

This card is an easily duplicatable card using the Truly Grateful stamp set out of the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Of course don't forget to stamp your envelope for a truly coordinated look.

I made the box for these "A-2" size cards with the new Envelope Punch Board and a piece of 9 x 9 Cardstock.  Score and punch at 3.5" and 4.5" on the first side then turn the cardstock 90 degrees and using the score guide punch and score the rest of the way around your cardstock per directions on the actual tool. Tape your box with sticky strip as you would an envelope but finish it off with a belly band of your choice.  This is what I did on mine.

I hope you enjoy your Envelope Punch Board as much as I have since I received mine.  I'm here to help you with your Punch Board when you order from me online or by email. That's the difference between ordering your supplies from M.E. vs. the big box store which leaves you high and dry when it comes to ideas, samples and help.  I will do one-on-one sessions, offer classes or come bring projects to stamp with your friends in the privacy of your own home or mine.  What Craft and Hobby store offers those services? None near my house. 

Let me be of service.  Email me today!

Starburst Video Tutorial~Sunrise to Sunset

My dear friend Ramona Simpson just shared this very cool technique with me and I want to share it all with you so I made a video tutorial to show you.  I changed mine up a little from what she shared with me but I think this is one of those techniques that you can really play around with once you have the basics.  Have fun with it and please, please after you watch the video come back and let me know what you think by commenting below.

Here is a sample of the technique:

 

On all my samples I used the same combo of colors.  Pumpkin Pie #126945  Daffodil Delight #126944 Crisp Cantalope #131176  This sample uses the stamp set Serene Silhouettes Clear Mount #127324 Wood Mount #132073

Now please watch my video (if you are reading this in an email subscription please click through to my blog to see the video) and then come back to see more samples below. 

 

Here are the samples up close as shown in the video.

Lovely as a Tree  Clear mount #127793 Wood mount #128655

Feels Good Clear mount #129684 Wood mount #131916

My Iphone case

Now if you need to purchase your inks, sponges or a stamp set or two please visit my online store by clicking the link below I really appreciate serving you!

Create With M.E.'s online Stampin' Up! Store