Running With Scissors...

Double Adorable

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the warm "welcome back" on my previous post.  You give me a happy heart, and that is a wonderful gift!

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A coworker asked if I’d make a couple of baby cards for her – one for a boy and one for a girl.  I held out my arm for twisting.  Truthfully, I’m thrilled to be able to use my new Popcorn the Bear Bundle of Joy and Little Cutie sets again.  I have since made another card with these sets, as well, and I’m happy to be able to move them from the “new stamps” basket and onto the shelves with the rest of my stamps.  It feels like an accomplishment.  I have lots more uninked stamps in the basket and I plan to make no further purchases until I’ve satisfied myself with them.  We’ll see how that goes.  I know… I’m a weak person when it comes to stamps.

So, here’s the baby boy card using the Bundle of Joy set:

He’s watercolored on 90# hot press watercolor paper with these Tombow Markers:

Ribbon, buttons, lace, and designer paper from my stash made him cute and baby-frilly.  The sentiment is stamped in one of the JustRite custom dies by Spellbinders.

The next one is for the baby girl.  Bet you could tell, couldn’t you.  I used the Little Cutie set for this:

It’s colored up all soft and sweet with these Tombows:

More ribbon and lace from my collection – the ribbon is Offray and the lace is from my sewing stash.  I have yards and yards of lace of all kinds, most of which came from a fabric store, as do many of my ribbons.  I added Kaiser flat-backed pearls and a flower for embellishment.  I removed the flower’s center and replaced it with a button tied with linen thread.  The papers used on this card are Stampin’ Up! Pink Pirouette, including the Prints designer paper (a couple of years old).

Spellbinders dies used are as follows:

• Standard Circles Small
• Standard Circles Large
• Picot Edge Circles S4-345

Alright, then… it’s good to be back in the swing of things.  I hope you enjoyed these cards.  See you soon!

Popcorn the Bear’s Bundle of Joy

Hi, everyone!  Starting off the week with a baby card I made with a recently purchased Popcorn the Bear stamp set called Bundle of Joy.  I came upon it at my local scrapbook store, but I did a Google search for you and turned up oodles of Popcorn the Bear sets on Amazon.  Dang, they’re cute!  You can see the set I used today right here.

I always have my eye out for baby stamps and, call me old fashioned, but I lean toward the sweet, soft, precious images for babies.  Think fleece and flannel, puffy quilts with satin binding, silky heads, a diapered bottom that fits in your hand, and everywhere the scent of baby powder.  This set fills the bill when it comes to sweet, soft, and precious. 

I made this card for a coworker’s baby shower.  They’re having a boy so I used boy colors but still cute and cuddly.  The image is watercolored with Tombow Markers on 90 lb hot press watercolor paper.  Stitching, buttons, and ribbon with a circle tag finish it off quickly.

For the folks who like to know these things, I’ve photographed the markers I used for watercoloring:

That’s it for me today!  I didn’t do as much stamping as I’d hoped this weekend because it was beautiful gardening weather and I was a little wiped out when I came in for the evening.  Sometimes I just want to sit and take it easy with a good book, you know?  I will have more stamping to share this week, though.  Hope to see you then!  Take care!

Stamps:  Popcorn the Bear Bundle of Joy  Paper:  Bashful Blue, 90 lb hot press watercolor, DCWV(?) designer paper (collection unknown)  Ink:  Palette Umber, Tombow Markers as shown above  Accessories:  Taffeta ribbon, buttons, 1 1/4” circle punch

Flourishes Friday

Hello!  I’m back with a baby card for Flourishes Friday.  They’re not only one of my favorite kinds of cards to create, but they’re one of my most frequently used cards.  I’ll no sooner make one, even if it’s just for fun, than it finds a recipient.  You’d think everyone I know was having babies.  Well, not quite, but I do have a lot of younger friends and coworkers, and the friends closer to my age are having grandbabies, or they know someone having a baby or grandbaby and would like a card for them.  So you see how it goes… always a need for a baby card, and that’s perfectly fine by me!

This was a make ahead card which I had a hankerin’ to do in blue for a baby boy.  I used Flourishes’ Baby Love set.  I stamped the Teddy bear, masked it and stamped the rocking chair behind it.  The image is watercolored on 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.  I sponged banana ink around the image panel edges, and blue ink around the other layers, then finished them off with stitching.

There’s a nice variety of images in use by the rest of the team today, so treat yourself to a little look around:

Barbara Anders

Christine Okken

Cindy Lawrence

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

Stacy Morgan

Be sure to stop in at the Newsletter for a little something Barbara has prepared for you, as well.

Thank you for visiting with me today.  Have a wonderful weekend, and a happy 4th of July celebration for my American friends!

Stamps:  Baby Love  Paper:  Bordering Blue textured, 140 lb hot press watercolor paper, designer paper of forgotten origin  Ink:  Palette Noir, Close to Cocoa (for lettering), various markers for watercoloring  Accessories:  Satin ribbon, button, linen thread

Jungle Babies

My next door neighbors are expecting their first baby in September, and the baby shower is this weekend.  The ultrasound says they’re having a girl and, after seeing the mountain of adorable baby girl outfits the family has gifted them already, I sure hope the ultrasound is correct.  Baby shopping is so much fun, it’s easy to get carried away.  Same with the cards.  I love making them and someone always needs a baby card.  Happy me!

Today I used a set called Circus Circus by Our Craft Lounge.  I purchased it at my local scrapbook store, but you can also find it here.  I masked the lion and stamped the giraffe behind it, then stamped the hippo separately, cut it out and popped it up in the foreground.  Coloring was done with Copic markers.

Papers are from the DCWV Animal Crackers Matstack.  Hope you enjoy!  Have a wonderful day!

Stamps:  OCL Circus Circus  Paper:  Flourishes Classic White, DCWV Animal Crackers designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Pixie Pink, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Copic markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, silk flower, brad, 1/2” circle punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Rock-A-Bye Bye Baby

I’ve said this before – I enjoy creating baby cards.  Not only does the look of them appeal to me, but they celebrate such a joyous occasion.  What a wonderful reason to stamp a card!  Seldom have I come across a set of baby stamps which captures my heart quite as thoroughly as this Rock-A-Bye set from Flourishes.  I was a little surprised when I saw it on the retirement list (sob).  It is now on sale for 65% off the original price, as are all of Flourishes’ retiring sets.

Which brings me around to the reason for today’s post – in the coming days the Flourishes Team will be paying our last respects to those sets we have known and loved and will soon no longer be available.  Choosing the set I’d be sharing today was an easy decision for me.

My favorite cards with Rock-A-Bye have been paper pieced.  In the past I’ve done them up for baby girl and baby boy, so today I thought I’d round that out with the card above, which is meant to be gender neutral.  I paper pieced the moon face and the baby blanket with a mix of baby papers from my scrap drawer, but colored the remainder of the image with Copics.  As it happens, my next door neighbors are expecting in September…

The following cards were created when my friend’s two daughters delivered their babies on the same day.  Double delight for a doting grandma!  First, a baby girl:

And this one for a baby boy:

It’s hard to beat a 65% mark down.  All retiring sets and other items can be found on the sale page in the Flourishes store.

I’m sharing this day of fond farewells with a few of the other girls as they, also, pay homage to some of their past favorites:

Cindy Lawrence

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

In case you missed it yesterday, Barbara and Danielle shared some very inspiring cards which made me fall in love all over again, and you can check the Newsletter to see what’s coming up next.

How about something new and luscious in the store?  Check out the brand new Copics collections.  With names like Dogwood, Raspberry, Black Cherry, Copper, Lenten Rose, and more, these sets incorporate Copic's newest colors.  Oh, how I love color, and these are simply mouthwatering!

Thank you so much for your time today.  Wishing you all a beautiful weekend!

Sweet and Precious

I’m finally getting around to sharing these two baby cards I recently finished.  I declare, they’re two of the cutest baby stamps ever!

I colored with Copics and used DCWV Nana’s Nursery Baby Boy and Baby Girl designer papers, accordingly.  I used the same layout for each card to make it quick and easy after I’d colored the images.  First, the baby boy:

Do you want to pinch those cheeks and pat that little bottom?  Awwwwwwww!  Both of these stamps are from Lili of the Valley.  The boy and girl can both be found on this page, but do browse while you’re there.  Such cute stuff!  I fell in love when I saw Danielle’s card here, and she was kind enough to send me a few stamped images.  I can’t wait to color up the rest of them.  All in good time!  Thank you, Danielle!

Here’s the precious little girl:

Sugar ‘n spice and everything nice.  I love her!  I hope you enjoy these cards.  Have a sweet day!

Stamps:  Lili of the Valley Baby Boy and Baby Girl  Paper:  Classic White, DCWV Nana’s Nursery Baby Boy and Baby Girl designer paper  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, linen thread, Oh My Words accents by Doodlebug Design, Spellbinders Square, Circle and Blossom Nestabilities,  Scotch brand foam mounting tape

What Else Can You Do With a Seed Packet Set?

How about a baby card?  Although this Seeds of Friendship set shines brightest with flower and fruit images, I challenged myself to try it out with some of Flourishes’ other stamps.  Looking at the collection of phrases in the set, I thought I might pair it with Baby Love.

I feel my color choices are a little wonky here, but (here comes the excuse) several of my Copics need to be refilled and I haven’t had time to do that yet.  I had a time trying to make do.  A friend in need snatched the card up immediately, though, so the colors must not have seemed too off to her.

Amazing how difficult it was to find designer paper in my stash to coordinate with these colors.  I finally settled on something retired from Stampin’ Up!, and stamped the card base with Flourishes’ Basketweave stamp, which I think is retired.  You'd think I’d know, wouldn’t you?  I hoped it would help to bring everything together if I colored the ribbon to match.  That was fun and, oh, so easy!  Would you believe it’s the first time I’ve colored my ribbon with Copics?  Worked like a charm!  It did make the ribbon a little stiff, but still quite workable.

On the Newsletter today, you will find a wonderful post by Christine where she does what she does so well – make a perfectly good card even better!  She has a guest, too.  You really should check it out.

Take a peek at these designer's’ blogs for more Flourishes cards, too:

Danielle Kennedy

Dawn Burnworth

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  Take care!

Stamps:  Seeds of Friendship, Baby Love  Paper:  Vanilla textured, Classic Ivory, retired Stampin’ Up! designer paper, Pale Plum  Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, edge punch, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Baby Love

Happy first Monday in March!  My friends and I need quite a few cards this month so I haven't chosen any particular stamps on which to focus.  Gosh, I'll be making birthday cards, wedding cards, spring, Easter...  lots of stamping going on!  First up is a baby card.

A friend asked if I would make a pink and brown baby card for her.  Well, of course, I'd be happy to!  Baby cards are among my very favorites!  I used these smaller images from Flourishes' Baby Love set and some Stampin' Up! designer paper which was released last year for Valentines.  I forget what this collection is called, but its soft hues are perfect for baby cards.  The pink textured cardstock is Bazzill, and the images are colored with Copics on Classic White cardstock.  I hope you enjoy!  Thank you for dropping in today!
 

Stamps:  Baby Love  Paper:  Pink Bazzill textured, Flourishes Classic White, retired SU! designer paper  Ink:  Memento Rich Cocoa, Copics for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, Kaiser pearls, Spellbinders Classic and Scalloped Circles Nestabilities and Double Ended Tags, Martha Stewart edge punch