More baby cards

Ok, I am having way too much fun with "A New Little Someone". That darn rabbit is just so much fun to watercolor! Plus, I just found out that one of my friends is pregnant, so of course I need more baby cards.

Stamps: A New Little Someone, Riveting, Flannel Plaid
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Basic Black

Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, Blender Pens, White narrow organdy ribbon, circle punches

Stamps: A New Little Someone, Happy Everything
Paper: Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, markers, blender pen, hole punch, celery narrow organdy ribbon

Baby Card

My cousin is expecting her first child this summer, and the baby shower is in a few weeks. I wanted to make her something special and love how this angled card turned out. Any writing will go on the inside of the Lavender Lace card base so that she can use the front in a baby scrapbook if she so chooses. I think "A New Little Someone" is just the cutest baby set, and I am sad to see it retiring come June 30th.



Stamps: A New Little Someone, In My Thoughts
Paper: Lavender Lace
Ink: Mellow Moss, Basic Black
Accessories: Moss gingham ribbon, watercolor crayons, aquapainter, mellow moss and lavender lace markers, dimensionals

Watercolored card for Dad

I always have the hardest time coming up with ideas for cards for the men in my life. So I was pretty happy with the results I got when I whipped out my watercolor crayons to make a card for my dad.

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Wildlife Reserve, Flannel Plaid, Warmest Regards
Paper & Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, Aquapainters, dimensionals

For the moose, I stamped the image in Choc Chip ink, and then colored it in with my watercolor crayons, using the aquapainter to blend colors. I made the grass by touching my barely wet aquapainter to the tip of the crayon to pick up the color, and then tapped it onto the paper. For the trees, I used the watercolor crayons to color directly onto the stamp, and then misted it with water before stamping onto paper that had also been lightly misted with water. I then used the crayons and my aquapainter to add more color for the leaves and grass. I love that when you are using the watercolor crayons and an aquapainter, you can layer on more color as needed to get the results you want. I made the sky in both images by repeatedly picking up a little bit of color from my Bordering Blue crayon and swirling it around on the paper. It helps to have a good amount of water on the aquapainter tip for this step as it helps the color to blend more evenly.

* Favorite watercoloring tip: have a paper towel handy to blot up any excess water and to wipe the tip of the aquapainter between color changes.

Ready to peel off that rubber?

From your wheels, silly! (Get your mind out of the gutter! Really!) I love my wheels, but find myself wishing that some of them were mounted on wood blocks to make it easier to only ink up part of the image. So what's a girl to do? Turn her wheels into stamps of course!



I used an exacto knife to cut the seam line on the wheel, and then very carefully peeled the rubber off of the wheel base. Flip the rubber over, and smear Aleene's Tack It Over & Over glue on the flat side. Once it dries, it will give you a nice tacky surface that will stick to your wood block with ease. And just like the name implies, this glue from Aleene's will allow you to peel the rubber back off the wood if you so desire, so you can use the same block for more than one wheel. If you would like to permanently mount your wheel to the block, then use rubber cement, or use some EZ-Mount foam if you want a more cushy backing like on a regular stamp.


You can find the wood blocks pictured above at Soc's Blocks. I ordered a 2 1/4 by 7 inch block for my jumbo wheels, and a 1 1/4 by 7 inch block for my regular wheels. You can also order extra smaller blocks for those pesky word sets where you want to break the phrases up. Just measure your rubber to figure out what sizes to order. I did this with the "In My Thoughts" set and turned it into an 11 piece set instead of an 8 piece set. I like it much better that way!

Ready to drool?

Then take a sneak peak at some of the items in the
new Fall/Winter Collection from Stampin' Up! Here's a link to new Fall/Winter Preview Catalog. Prepare yourselves, there are some drool worthy new stamp sets and accessories! Unfortunately, the items in this Preview brochure are not available for purchase until July 1, 2007. But hey, it gives you a jump start on your wish list for the new catalog. :)

New Colors!!!

Here it is! What you've all been waiting for! A sneak peak at the new In Colors that will be released July 1st! Aren't they gorgeous? I can't wait to get my hands on them!



You'll notice there are 7 colors. Why seven you ask? Weren't there only 6 colors for 2007? Right you are! Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Bayou Blue, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, and Groovy Guava are the new 2008 In Colors. Basic Gray will be a permanent addition to the SU Neutral color family.

You'll be able to order these luscious new colors come July 1st. I think they are going to be great colors for summer projects. I can't wait to order them so I can start playing!

Don't forget that the 6 current In Colors will no longer be available after June 30th, so make sure to get your orders in for any reinkers or paper you will need. I know I am stocking up on my favorites!

Stumped on what colors look good together? Look no further!

I found a great online resource that will help you pick the perfect colors for your next project! You select a SU! color from the list and it will give you a whole ton of color combinations to choose from. And they all look wonderful with the original color you selected. It even has the In Colors! How cool is that?

Here is the link:

http://www.scraptitude.com/colorcombo/

For your convenience, I also have it listed in my Stampin Links on the side bar. Enjoy!

My current favorite is Chocolate Chip, Pretty In Pink, and Cool Caribbean. What's yours?

Welcome!

Thank you for checking out my blog! I'm still getting the hang of it, so bear with me!

In future postings, I plan to share stamping ideas and techniques - whatever happens to inspire me at the moment. I hope some of these ideas will inspire you as you work on your own stamping projects!