Big Shot Projects

Here is what we made for our first Big Shot club meeting, focusing on "the basics".

The cute little notebook on the left will be used to store / display all the different die cuts we use in class. And I had tons of Big Shot samples on display.

There are so many things you can make with the Big Shot, much more than we have time to make in class. Come on over and check them out up close!

As a preview of what is to come - for club meeting #2, we will play with texture and embosslits. Meeting #3 will focus on die-cutting materials other than cardstock (did you know there are more than 50 alternate materials that can be cut with the Big Shot?). And meeting #4 will be advanced projects, such as a 3-D project and more difficult 'alternate materials' techniques. Interested? Come join us!

Keep Your Shirt On

Well, that's what I am telling my daughter right now. She wants to dress in her winter Piglet sleeper in this nice warm weather. Why does pickiness with clothes start as such an early age?

Few things I have been working on recently -

Here is a birthday card I made over the weekend for my (grand?) niece, using the Wagon Full of Fun set from the Occasions mini. The duck is so cute, and you can load your wagon with various items like Easter eggs, a flower pot, or a heart.

And here is a cool fancy fold called a 'squash card'. I made a simpler version of this for my Monthly 1 Swap. The card uses the Rustic Rooster hostess set, and the rooster is embossed and bleached. The So Saffron background is make with the Big Shot Texturz Background #1, and then lightly sponged to highlight the texture.
Edit 5/28/09: I actually made this card for one of the previous mini VSNs, and it was just picked for the High Roller honor gallery. I was picked out of all the wonderful submissions! WooHoo!! The High Roller gallery is here, if you are interested.

This was a first attempt at playing with the Scene from a Garden set (Occasions mini). There are a lot of elements in this one - textured and sponged So Saffron, embossing and bleaching for the table, watercoloring, Crystal Effects on the cut-out pieces, Color Spritzer Tool on the main image (used with a marker), edge distressing. You can click on the picture to see it up close. Watercolor paper would have worked better here - Whisper White cardstock leaves the images washed out. This is a great watercolor set!

And I can finally post the card I made for Mother's Day. My mom owns a cabin in Canada, so this is perfect for her. This uses Inspired by Nature grass, Lovely as a Tree, and Pines (retired) sets. The moon is made by creating a mask with a circle punch and then sponging around it. This was a fun one-of-a-kind!

All the recipe details for these guys can be found in my SCS gallery. Thanks for stopping by!

Results from Viva Las Vegas

So last weekend I participated in Viva Las Vegas Virtual Stamp Night. Then I spent the entire week trying to catch up from stamping for so many hours instead of doing other chores. Hmmmm! Anyway, I thought I would post some of my favorites. All the details and all submissions can be found in SCS gallery. Thanks for looking!

A layout challenge: I love this vintage stamp set, and the Urban Oasis paper goes well with it.

Specific # of layers, ink, embellishments challenge: I don't usually make traditional birthday cake (or cupcake) cards, but this turned out super cute.

Picture inspiration challenge (the pic was a blue wedding cake): An elegant wedding card for the challenge by my shoebox swap buddy Diane Hughes.

Color challenge: And this one won me some stamps from "My Favorite Things"! Super cool to win stamps - now hubby didn't question (so much) why I was spending so much time stamping for no occasion. It is for learning, of course! Research, I call it!! :)

And how about a picture of some Memorial Day weekend relaxing on the Hudson River?

Back Home

It's been a bit since I posted. I was away in Denver for my niece's graduation (Congratulations, Johanna!!). Virtual Stamp Night (VSN) on SplitCoastStampers is this Friday 7-10pm and Saturday 12-10pm. I plan to participate. Hope to see you there!!!

When I got the 'Inspired by Nature' stamp set, I had to sit down and play with it. I haven't been able to squeeze a card into club (maybe soon?), so I will share my eye candy with you. All the materials details are on my SCS gallery. Thanks for looking!

This is a CASE of the SU! 2008 Fall-Winter catalog.

We learned how to make setting suns with a circle punch template at the SU! Virginia Regionals. The grassy hill is made with post-it notes and a brayer. I love the looks you can make with this set!

This is a cool technique too - called Moonlighting by JanTInk (her link on the blogroll in the right margin). I used the aquapainter to color the edges of the moon in Bashful Blue.

CASE of Pam Wood on SCS.

CASE of Valeria71 on SCS.

Swaps for the Syracuse SCS Get-Together

Here's what I came up with for the swaps. My ATC swap:

I am in this vintaging and antiquing phase right now, so this set works perfectly.

Hmmm, somehow I didn't photograph all my swaps. I have to go do it... hold on... [jeopardy clock is ticking] ... now I have to download and edit them ... [more jeopardy clock] ...

Ok, here's my demo quality swap, a version of a card we did at the 5th Avenue Floral class.

The Kiwi Kiss and Not Quite Navy really looks great together. This card uses lots of fab elements - the corduroy buttons you just have to touch, the organza ribbon is so classy, and this card uses a new thing for me - textured Whisper White cardstock. Really nice and creamy to work with! The half circle punch out lets the Not Quite Navy vellum peek through - a new item in the Taste of Textiles cardstock pack.

My 6x6 technique page - Cracked Glass:

If you click on the image, you can see the Thomas Kinkaid picture up close with the 'cracked glass' over it. Again... more vintage flavor.

And my 3D swap contribution:

This is a version of the 3D box called the Boxy Bag created by TexasJodyLynn. I can't wait to see everyone else's swaps! Thanks for looking!