By the Seashore Masculine Birthday

We have a friend who loves the ocean and fishing. It's his birthday this week and I was wondering what to make for him. Hubby asked for a fish card (I love it when he suggests something, and I will be buying a fish stamp before too long now), but I hadn't got round to buying a fish stamp yet, then I saw a wonderful card made by demonstrator Karren Johnson from New Zealand and I thought, 'That's It!' and got to work.

Here's my take on Karren's card:

 

It's all made with shades of brown and a tiny hint of Blush Blossom and So Saffron for the inside of the shells. I used Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede cardstock and inks. The Happy Birthday stamp came from a retired set whose name escapes my mind right now, but I did emboss the words in black. And I used a retired designer series paper pack fro the hand cit banner along the bottom of the main image, and sponged each one of the pennants. The background stamp set I used was also a retired set. And I sponged a background fro my popped up, fussy cut shells with Crumb Cake and a torn piece of paper.

I hope our friend likes the card :) I sure did. Thanks for the idea, Karren!

Ronald McDonald House Charity Stamp Set

Did you know Stampin' Up! sponsors Ronald McDonald House here in Australia and all over the world? They do! One way they do it is to create a special stamp set where a certain amount of its purchase price goes to Ronald McDonald House. I love to contribute to causes like this in any way I can, so found the little video they made about the stamp set and the charity for you to see.

It's a bonus that the stamp set is a cute one, too!



You can order your own Tag It stamp set by shopping at SusanSalutations and ordering Tag It with the code 130300 for wood mount and 130303 for clear mount.

More Wildflowers

Wildflower Meadows is such a gorgeous stamp and the matching embossing folder takes cards to the next level for me. I know there is so much more I can do with this set, and need lots of happy crafty time to play with it and see what else it can do. Tonight I coloured the image with my Stampin' Write markers and then gave it a a light mist of water. It's so pretty! I also cut out the little hummingbird and popped him up over his original flat image. Doesn't his mix of colours make him look sweet? I gave him a tiny bit of shine with some shimmer paint mixed with rubbing alcohol. I sponged around the first layer with Pumpkin Pie and around the card base in Crumb Cake.

 There are pearls in the middle of all the open flowers.

For this card I used Wisteria Wonder, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi and Crumb Cake inks. The designer series paper is from a Color Collection Designer Series Paper Pack in Pumpkin Pie.

You can't see it very well in the photo but the background card is stamped with Flowering Flourishes in Crumb Cake. The flourishes  continue onto the back of the card too.

Inside I embossed my sentiment (from God's Blessings) in white embossing powder:

This card turned out to be one of those special ones.

Now I need to make some more for some very special people in my life. My friends are such a blessing to me. I can make their flowers in all their favourite colours! Yeah!

I hope none of them have seen this card now! Lol!

I have a card for Craft Class tomorrow that will use just a  piece of the Wildflower Meadow stamped image, so stay tuned to see that soon.

Big Shot Magnetic Platform!

I don't know about you but when it comes to cutting stamped images out with a die on my Big Shot, I need to Post-It note it in place before I cut. Otherwise I wind up with perfectly cut OFF CENTRE die cuts!! Then I have to start all over again with a new stamped image and fresh paper. Not fun. I mean, stamping IS fun and maybe I should just look at it that way? Hmm. I tried, but I really wished for a better solution.

Well, guess what is next on my Wish List? Stampin' Up! has a solution to my problem called the Magnetic Platform!! It does the job like no Post-It note can :)

Here's a little video showing the plate in action:

If you are like me and want one of these platforms, you can Shop Now. Come to think of it, you can shop anytime you like, really. My shop is open 24/7. The platform is on page 184 of the new catalogue, item no 130658, and the cost is $69.95.

Let me know how it works for you if you get one.

Meanwhile, happy stampin'

PS: Thank you Vicki for helping me see the two errors on this post :) I must have had my mind on too many things this morning! Lol!

New Stampin' Up! Catalogue is Out!

Wow! The new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue has been launched! It is chick full of new products, wonderful ideas, new colours and tools and embellishments, ribbons, you name it! I love to browse through mine to find papercraft ideas.

 

You can order your very own copy (item no 133261) by going to the Shop at SusanSalutations today. Let me know when you order one and I can send you some extra information about the items in the catty. 

"Scuse me now. I'm off to play with a new stamp sets and coordinating punch I got on one of my pre-orders :) Will show you what I made tomorrow.

Happy crafting!