Made by *B*

Each month my Wednesday night club ladies and I do a swap. Last month our theme was “By the Book”-to choose a layout from the SU! catalog and use that as a base for our cards.

The cards were wonderful (as they always are) and the funny thing is my best friend Anna and I must *really* think alike!

Here is a card I did for a swap with Jami:

 It is based on the layout from page 100 for Branch Out. It uses Baja Breeze as the base, and Parisian Breeze designer paper.

Here is Anna’s card:

 Anna used Tangerine Tango as her base accented with retired Cool Caribbean.

I love that we used the same set and layout and by playing with the color scheme we ended up with very different “feeling” cards.

Don’t forget your catalog is chock full of inspiration-I am looking for another layout for next month’s challenge-what is YOUR favorite layout from the SU! catalog?

What a happy card-and made with scraps! I was not sure if I should have trimmed the main layer since it would not totally”layer” on the Lilac, but I decided I liked that it was not too perfectly matted, and it allowed me to add in the ribbon along the bottom.

Colors used were: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac,  Pink Passion, and Real Red. The background circles were cut out with my 1 1/4″ circle punch and I layered small stars and red brads on them. The only stamping was “party hearty” from the st by that name.

Have a great day!

Valentine’ Day is *just* around the corner. This is a card I made but it was designed by one of my downline (Tina T.) and brought to our shoebox swap last month.

*whoops-it was 1st designed by Dawn O. Check out her wonderful blog :

http://www.dostamping.typepad.com/

It uses the Love You Much Bundle to create this sweet little patchwork! The base is Red Riding Hood and then layered in Pink Pirouette and Whisper White. The sweet scallop was stamped in Red Riding Hood and Pink Pirouette, and we punched out the center of the Pink Pirouette for easy layering.

 Hapy Early Heart’s Day!

For today’s color challenge (CC203) I used Baja Breeze, Garden Green, and Pacific Point and one of my new favorite sets-Fifth Avenue Floral. Since I used the large rose on the last floral card I made I opted to use one of the smaller flowers and the saying ( You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough.)

The sketch came from “Our Creative Corner” and I liked the idea of layering a saying over the bottom corner image. I am trying to be more outside of my typical phrase placement & layering of papers/images. The card itself is a 4 1/4″ square card layered with naturals white. The vertical strips are Garden Green stamped in Pacific Point with the same flower that is highlighted. The center is Parisian Breeze DSP that I textured in my Big Shot and lightly brayered in Pacific Point to get the texture more visible on that thick dsp.

I added a touch of ribbon along the bottom in Pacific Point and just a wee bit of shading around the saying in Pacific Point as well.

We are having a snowy day here but I need to go to the Social Security office with both kids on tow. Ugh! Hope your day is fun and relaxing!

Todays’ Ways to Use It challenge on SCS was to take patterned paper and change or embellish it in some way. I opted to use retired Au Chocolat paper as the main panel. The paper came in patterns of vanilla and chocolate. I brayered over it with Regal Rose to change the shade completely. Then I used my SU white gel pen to add dots to the pattern.

The vertical stripe was Bella Rose paper. I used Crystal Effects and red SU glitter to add little dots of sparkle to some of the centers of the flowers-just a hint of bling! The phrase itself is from te SU! set Full of Life-I stamped it in Ruby Red and used a choclotae chip marker to add some emphasis to the word “happy. I realized I needed something else so I lightly stamped the blossoms from Embrace Life around the phrase itself in Regal Rose.

The edges were cut using the ticket corner punch, and then they were layered onto Choc. Chip and then Red Riding Hood paper.

QTFM: save your patterned paper! Like many of teh cards I have been making lately, this one was made using leftovers from other projects. I have a box on my desk with file folders for each color family, and also patterned papers. When I have extras I tuck them in there and am trying to always use those 1st rather than always cutting into a new piece.

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is here and it is awesome. ESPECIALLY for folks like me (and many of you) who love to get new papers and embellishments!!

To see it go to my SU! site http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/brittastamps/

and click on “Shop Now”

 If you want to get a hardcopy, please e-mail me directly at brittastamps@yahoo.com

 The other exciting news is that Sale-A-Bration is JUST around the corner! My February usually gets booked up quickly, so contact me at the above e-mail addres to book your show!

Both of these cards were made in the time it takes Stephanie to sing the “Bing Bang” song on LazyTown (for those of you with preschoolers you will understand!)

Today’s challenge was to make “non-cheesy” Valentine’s. They were to be “postcard” styled (no fold) and minimal layers or deatil work-something that you could recreate for a childrens’ Valentine’s cards. I was so happy to come up with these 2 and I think Cam and I will be making these for his classmates this long weekend!

The 1st one is for the boys in his class and made using the set “Bugs and Kisses.” I use this set A LOT for kids cards and projects, and this little pillbug is my favorite! I stamped him 3 times in Real Red, and then stamped 3 “X’s for the kisses. I added creepy crawly candy I had in my stamp room for the candy touch (because kids LOVE cards with candy!)

The next card is for the girls in Cam’s class. I used the 3 heart punch from the Love You Much bundle to create the hearts and then daubered around the punched out edges. I used packing tape and Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the punch, and added a bit of red grosgrain along the side. The candy on this card ia Peppermint Patty with a scallop punch on top.

QTFM: These cards a smaller size than traditional cardfronts. The white layer is cut 3 1/4″ x 4″, and the red layer is 3 /12″ x 4 1/4″. I can get 6 of these layers from an 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet of cardstock!

I got the Stitched Exotics set as part of the SU! specia and got the “It’s Beautiful” jumbo wheel for free. This cardis super fast and easy using only 2 main colors and lots of sponging!

The base in naturals ivory cardstock and I rolled it with coral along the bottom. The main panel is chocolate chip and guava layered cardstock and I stamped the small dotted leaf oer the guava leaf in white to give it just a peek of texture (you have to look closely for that one!). I added chocolate chip satin ribbon since the card used a lot of flat finish. I have some satin ribbon from the winter mini, but there is also choc. chip satin ribbon in the Theatre multi-pack of ribbon if you need to get some for your use now.

The sentiment is popped up and heavily sponged for added depth. Thanks for looking!

 *I had some probs with my camera but I should be back in action now!*

This was the masculine card for my B-day palooza event. So easy! I stamped the Print Pattern BG stamp along the edge in Navy, and the chef is stamped onto Naturals White. I spotlighted the cake and colored in with markers.

 Bon Appetite!

We had a wonderful Easter Weekend. We were able to celebrate Saturday at my sister’s house and Sunday here at our house. All yummy food  and happy kids-woohoo!

This little card was made for my hostess club swaps since this month’s theme was embossing or resist techniques.

The background panel started as glossy cardstock, and the eggs from “A Good Egg” were stamped in versamark and embossed in clear. Then I stamped the egg decorations in Versamark into the eggs, and used daubers to add the colors. Finally the whole piece was brayered over in Apricot Appeal. Center image has a raised embossed shell to add a touch of sparkle.

Hope you and yours had a happy intro to Spring!