Occasions Mini ’10

Gratitude for River Rock

October 17, 2010 Jentimko 9 Comments

My stampers here know that River Rock became my go-to color when it was first introduced as an In Color by Stampin’ Up. It is quite a color chameleon, frankly. I love how it skews green when paired with blues and moves toward brown when paired with brown family. It is absolutely lovely with Soft Suede and the introduction of Early Espresso completed the set for me. So why haven’t I made more cards with this color??!! Can’t tell you (other than I am also in love with Cherry Cobbler and Cajun Craze and Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz……)! Imagine my joy when I saw the Pals Paper Arts inspiration picture this week. Lots of River Rock leaves, Soft Suede tree trunks, a Very Vanilla Sweater…take a look:

I also found this great sketch from Karen and her Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 89:

I found some very old DSP and knew it was just perfect. One of the leaves from Day of Gratitude got the Ilina Crouse treatment. I knew this technique would be great with lots of color combinations. Today it is River Rock, Soft Suede and Early Espresso. The tip from Pals Paper Arts is to remember layers and I added a torn layer underneath the image panel. I thought it would add balance to the frayed ends of the ribbon. Here is the final result:

I am thrilled with the masculine feel of this card and may do a birthday variation, too. Hope your weekend has been full of fun. My kids had their first leaf pile jumping of the year…one of my favorite things! Thanks for stopping in!

Stamp: Day of Gratitude; Paper: Retired DSP, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Early Espresso; Ink: River Rock, Soft Suede, Early Espresso; Accessories: Espresso Satin Ribbon, Linen Thread, Neutrals Buttons, Sticky Strip, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals

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One sketch, two cards

October 13, 2010 Jentimko 5 Comments

I found a great sketch over at Splitcoase today, SC302. I liked it so much that I actually made two cards with it! The first also uses the Color Throwdown 114 colors for this week, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip. I actually substituted Early Espresso for the Chocolate because I am low on Chocolate paper (the horror!!). I used the Play Date DSP as my starting point and added some dimension to the Poppy panel with my Big Shot and the Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates. The ribbon is from my little stash my upline gave me at Regionals. I need a birthday card for one of my nephews and I think this will do the job nicely.

The first card came together so quickly that I had time for a second before heading out to the local “Cows and Corn” for a school field trip. I had been playing around with the medallion from Day of Gratitude and the technique taught by Ilina Crouse at Regionals…Rock and Roll with a Twist and a Huff. Mine started with More Mustard and I sponged on Cajun Craze using a sponge dauber. I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder this time and some of my cool buttons. You all must know by now that I am a ribbon hoarder and this came off a package I received (Williams-Sonoma, I think). Great match for Cajun Craze! This is also for the Stampin’ Sisters in Christ challenge 60 to create a thank you card. The scripture this week is:

1 Timothy 4:4 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving…”

I still need some thank you cards so I’m glad to have another one completed. The weather here is beautiful and field trip was fantastic. There’s nothing like fall in Virginia!! Hope your day is great too. See you soon.

Card 1: Stamp: Party Hearty; Paper: Play Date DSP, Poppy Parade, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz; Ink: Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso; Accessories: Poppy Parade 1/2″ Stitched Poly Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack

Card 2: Stamp: Day of Gratitude; Paper: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Naturals Ivory; Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard; Accessories: Neutrals Designer Buttons; Dimensionals, Linen Thread, Non-SU Ribbon

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Mojo 137 – Bella Thank You

May 4, 2010 Jentimko 1 Comment

I have been doing some lobbying to prevent outsourcing of pilot jobs. Yes, even pilot jobs are at risk, if you can believe it!! The details of this are for another post but if you want to know more about the bill I am working for, it is H.R.4788 “Aviation Jobs Outsourcing Prevention Act”. In any case, I have been heading to Capitol Hill about once a week and helping with scheduling (this explains the lack of cards!). Tomorrow I am going to the office of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from FL. Back in my March posts, I told the story of my Aunt Frances and her Congressional Gold Medal. Well, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen was one of the people instrumental in getting the legislation passed to honor the WASP. While I will be in her office on other business for a while, I asked the staff if it was okay to share my thank-yous with all those who worked on the WASP ceremony. I’m not a very political person usually so this may be my one opportunity to give my appreciation. As I step outside my pilot role and into my family role, it seems appropriate to bring a few pictures with me. And of course, what is a thank you without a card??!! So, off to work I went today trying to make something appropriate. I saw the Mojo Monday sketch and decided to give it a go.

I loved the idea of the vertical piece with different papers. In my continuing effort to clean out my retiring colors, I pulled out some retired Bella Birds DSP. I mixed up the sets a bit, too. The swirl comes from the new Elements of Style (Summer Mini), the flower comes from Vintage Vogue (still available…yea!!) and the word from Baroque Motifs. I added some Chocolate corduroy buttons and the Chocolate satin ribbon as the finishing touches!

I love how the swirl turns into a stem for the Vogue flower!! This was another fun sketch and I recommend you give it a try this week. Thanks for taking a look and I look foward to your thoughts!

Stamps: Elements of Style, Vintage Vogue, Baroque Motifs; Paper: Bella Birds DSP (ret), Chocolate Chip, Whisper White; Ink: Chocolate Chip, Bordering Blue, So Saffron; Accessories: Chocolate satin ribbon, Chocolate corduroy buttons, dimensionals

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It's a Nouveau day!

March 31, 2010 Jentimko No Comments

Nouveau Chic, that is! I felt like moving away from the pinks and spring greens for something a little different. One of my dear sisters-in-law and her husband have an anniversary coming up and I need a card for them. She has beautiful taste with gray being a popular color for her decorating. Nouveau Chic was an obvious choice, don’t you think? I have to admit that when I bought this DSP, I thought I was going out of my box for colors. I quickly found out that this paper easily lends itself to beautiful cards. Watercoloring seems to be my technique of choice when I am using these colors. I pulled out my Fifth Avenue Floral set again today. Starting tomorrow, Stampin’ Up begins its Two-Step into Spring promotion and this set (along with some others) will be 20% off retail price. This set has been a favorite of mine since the day I opened it. If you don’t already have it, this price it too good to be true! Here are all the sets that have the discount:

Item	Page	Description	Discount Price
113824	94	Greenhouse Garden	$20.76
113734	98	Fifth Avenue Floral	$19.96
111578	101	Flower Fancy	$29.56
113258	112	Trendy Trees	$14.36

Now back to the card… I used the sketch from Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 274. This is another great one with loads of possibilities. I almost turned it on its side for a different look but the original sketch worked better for this particular card (maybe I’ll get another chance at it tomorrow!). The Technique Lover’s Challenge 266 at Splitcoast this week is an Inside Out challenge. In other words, decorate the inside to coordinate with the outside. I am so happy I took the extra step inside!!

And here is the inside:

I bet you are wondering about the ribbon, aren’t you??!! Well, it doesn’t take too long looking at my blog to realize that I am a ribbon addict, hoarder, collector! I love SU ribbon, I can’t stop with it! Why…because it is so easy to work with and the textures are so beautiful! Today I am working with the Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon. This one is easy!! Cut a piece about 50% longer than you need and make each end a straight cut (vs. on the angle). Unravel one end just a little until you can see the individual threads that go lengthwise through the ribbon. Find a middle thread and start to pull. The ribbon will start to smush together and you just work it down the piece until you have what you need. I attached the ends at the back with mini glue dots. On the piece inside the card, I used a couple extra glue dots to make sure such a long piece stays secure. I love the texture it provides for not very much actual effort!

I used my watercolor blender pen with Sage Shadow and Going Gray ink to color the flowers, then used the fine tip end of an Apricot Appeal marker to color the centers. The “Love” word is from Well-Scripted (still available for another month). I inked it using a Going Gray marker being careful at the connection point between “love” and “you”. The fine tip of the marker fixed the tiny break in the script.

Thank for dropping by today. I really appreciate your comments!! Off to work in the yard on a lovely day in VA!! Have a great day!

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Well-Scripted, Of the Earth (inside); Paper: Nouveau Chic DSP, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Watercolor (for flowers); Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray, Sage Shadow, Apricot Appeal; Accessories: Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon, Dimesionals, Blender Pen

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Easter lilies

March 23, 2010 Jentimko 4 Comments

I was quite a slacker last week when it comes to posting. Sorry about that! I was madly finishing cards for a Thank You card swap with Stampin’ Addicts. I’ll post that a little later so that I don’t release too much of a spoiler. In my last post I was ready to head out to the garden and that is what I did. My peas and sugar snap peas are planted, along with spinach and some early flowers. Can’t tell you how happy I am about that! Now I am prowling about the garden looking for little green sprouts (that aren’t weeds…ugh!). Such fun! My boys helped me plant some Italian parsley and basil inside so, of course, they are on sprout patrol too. I love this time of year!

My garden lilies are starting to show signs of life and they were part of the inspiration for this card. I used the Pals Paper Arts sketch challenge for the week and turned it. I also wanted to do another Easter card for the Our Creative Corner challenge to create an Easter/spring card. I have been really using this Lovely Flowers (hostess) paper a lot lately. The Rich Razzleberry really is a great Easter purple!! This uses the Fifth Avenue Floral set which will be 20% off in April as part of the Two-Step into Spring promotion.

I watercolored these lilies with Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry on the watercolor paper. Don’t forget that you can see the picture larger by clicking on it. Thanks so much for dropping by!!

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Well Scripted (Occasions mini); Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Lovely Flowers (hostess), Watercolor, Very Vanilla; Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, Old Olive; Accessories: Vanilla satin ribbon, dimensionals, blender pen

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Spring has sprung!!!

March 1, 2010 Jentimko No Comments

At least, meteorological spring and that is good enough for me!! I said it before, every spring my pastels make a comeback after languishing in the bottom of my stamp drawer. Today I saw Karen’s sketch over at The Sweetest Thing, her Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #58, and immediately saw these little flowers. Of course, the Poppin’ Pastels technique was just the thing! There isn’t too much to explain about the card and it came together pretty quickly. This is one of the design ideas I have been batting around for my Hostess Club this month. I may already have a winner! Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Of the Earth (Hostess), Boho Backgrounds (word)

Paper: Sweet Pea DSP, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Close to Cocoa (word), Versamark

Accessories: Stampin’ Pastels, Chocolate Satin Ribbon, Button Latte, Small Oval Punch, Thread

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Stampin' Addicts Birthday Blog Hop

February 20, 2010 Jentimko No Comments

Happy Birthday, Stampin’ Addicts!! I’m thrilled you stopped by for the Birthday Blog Hop!! Stampin’ Addicts is one of my favorite sites and a go-to place for tons of creative ideas! I’m stop #20 so if you have missed any, please go here to see all the links. For those coming over from Kandi’s blog, My Sweet Stampin’ Spot, weren’t you completely wowed by her fabulous “green” ideas??!! My theme for this hop is “limited supplies”. All stampers have to start somewhere and many don’t have tons of accessories (yet!). My goal was to use basic card stock, stamps, ink and only one extra item. I find that I lean on designer paper a lot for my stamping and it really sparked my creativity when I went back to basics! Don’t forget, if you click on any picture, you can see a closer view.

My first card showcases the lovely Hostess set, Of the Earth, and some of my favorite colors. The simple addition of Stampin’ Up’s new satin ribbon (Occasions Mini) really makes this card special! I’m in love with the Well Scripted word set, too. The framing effect of the Chocolate Chip card stock steps up a simple layout.

Color blocking is another wonderful way to add some “wow” to a card. I love how the Basic Black layer really makes these colors pop! I cut a second cupcake top and put it on dimensionals to add additional depth and added a Real Red corduroy button. Such an easy card to put together and I love the strong colors with this set (Party Hearty)!!

Well, I said it at the beginning, I LOVE designer series papers! Since I couldn’t use them…I created my own! And because I created my own, I was able to make a card in two colors that have sat dormant in my stash for far too long. I really love the combination of Blush Blossom and Close to Cocoa. The softness of the colors led me to the wonderful new set Vintage Vogue and the card almost made itself! I used the vine to stamp on the Blush Blossom paper and create the texture of a designer paper. I cut out the two flowers and used the Very Vanilla satin ribbon to make the center (the how-to on that center is in my post dated Jan. 20, 2010). It was still missing something and I realized this card had a shabby chic feel to it…so I did a little distressing and here it is! The layout started with a challenge from Stampin’ 411 (SSC138) which I modified slightly.

Thanks so much for stopping by! All of these cards qualify for the Pals Paper Arts challenge this week to Keep It Simple, Sweetie (KISS)! Your comments are most welcome and definitely appreciated! Now, your next stop on the hop is a visit to Linda at Olive Stamps. You’ll love her quick and simple birthday cards!

Card details:

1. Stamps: Of the Earth (Hostess), Well Scripted (Occasions Mini); Paper: Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White; Ink: Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip; Accessory: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

2. Stamp: Party Hearty; Paper: Taken with Teal, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Taken with Teal, Real Red, Crushed Curry; Accessory: Real Red Corduroy Buttons (Occasions Mini)

3. Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Well Scripted (both Occasions Mini); Paper: Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla; Ink: Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom; Accessory: Very Vanilla satin ribbon

Love is in the air!

February 11, 2010 Jentimko 12 Comments

Update: The Valentine’s card was chosen as a Goddess pick at Stampin’ Royalty and an Inkspirations winner for the week! Thanks to both for the complement!

We have been snowed in and what better to work on than Valentine’s Day cards?? Of course, the snow has really gotten in the way of my stamping. My 4 and 6 year old sons have only so much tolerance for Mommy’s projects before it is time to go sledding!! Ok, even I feel the need to go sledding. After all, if we are going to have record snows I want to take advantage of the opportunities for fun! Today, though, I really needed to finish my card for my dear husband. While I have made quite a few Valentine’s cards this year, I always feel bad if he doesn’t get his own unique card. He certainly deserves it!! I found this layout from Makeesha at Inkspirations and knew it would be perfect!

Then I used the colors from the Curtain Call Color Challenge: Act 16 which were Real Red, Very Vanilla and Kraft. I just received my new Satin Ribbon this week and finally got to use it. It is so beautiful…I might have to order it in all the colors!! The hearts are from the I {Heart} Hearts set from the Occasions Mini. Just a reminder that $2 from every one of those sets sold until Feb 28th goes to the American Red Cross in support of the Haiti earthquake victims. I really like that the Kraft on this card gives it a more masculine feel! Because this card follows a Love/Valentines theme, it also qualifies for the Stampin’ Royalty Challenge #6! Their challenges are wonderful…make sure you check out the cards their Goddesses made this week!

Card details:

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Well Scripted

Paper: Christmas Cocoa DSP (ret), Kraft, Very Vanilla

Ink: Real Red

Accessories: Jumbo Brads, Vanilla Satin Ribbon

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Earlier this week, I was supposed to work with a 2nd Grade class from my son’s school (he is in 1st Grade) to make cards for their parents. Since school is apparently cancelled until the spring thaw, the teacher came over to help me make the cards for her kids (thanks Shelly!). This project turned out so cute that I just had to post it. It is another project with the I {Heart} Hearts set and the Hugs Sending Love Notes from the mini. I am so sad that the kids didn’t get to do the project but I know the parents will love them when they finally get them. I put another Whisper White sheet on the back where the kids can sign them. Thanks for stopping by! I value your comments…have a great day!

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Well Scripted

Paper: Hugs, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Heart to Heart punch

The snow took my mojo!

February 5, 2010 Jentimko No Comments

Well, as the big storm marches up to VA, I am standing by for snow-blowing and shoveling! The impending work involved seems to be getting in the way of my stamping. And that, my friends, is simply unacceptable!! In an effort to jumpstart some creativity, I used not one but two challenges. You see, they chose my layout and my colors allowing me to focus all my energy on learning how to make this cool flower! The layout is courtesy of Diva Coffee Break Designs and it is their sketch challenge #163. I liked that this layout was a bit more clean than some of the cards I have made lately. I did alter it into a square just because it seemed to work better for me. The colors are from the Pals Paper Arts weekly challenge. PPA28 asked for cards using Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink and Basic Black. I love that the black provides relief from all that pink! Finally, I have been seeing these “puffy” flowers lately and had to try one. I used the instructions from Corie at Creations by Corie. They really are super easy…just what I needed today! I used seven layers and alternated the paper — Mambo paper from Lovely Flowers (a hostess DSP), Sweet Pea, and the center is Mambo cardstock. After I got it all together, I sponged a little Basic Gray on the edges. The paper on the card is the same as the flower. It is hard to see in the picture but the Pretty in Pink panels have a subtle design from the DSP.

I afraid I can no longer deny that the snow is coming but at least I was able to make a card with spring colors and a cool flower!! Thanks for dropping by…wish me luck with snow-a-palooza!!

Stamp: Well Scripted (Occasions mini)

Paper: Lovely Flowers DSP (Hostess), Sweet Pea DSP (Occasions mini), Melon Mambo, Basic Black

Ink: Basic Gray

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Jumbo Brad (center of flower), Paper Piercing tool

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Challenging Birthday

January 26, 2010 Jentimko No Comments

Just like the Teal challenge I did last week, this challenge from Inkspirations was out of my comfort zone a bit. The colors are So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. I have to say that I haven’t used Cameo Coral in a while! I went over to Stamping 411 and saw their sketch challenge 135 and I was ready to stamp. I pulled out my Fifth Avenue Floral set…one of my favorites. Sadly, it has been collecting a little dust with the new Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration things I have been using lately. I had a strip of the Sweet Pea paper from some other cards I used for a class that conveniently had the yellow flower on it. This is a birthday card for a dear sister-in-law. I hope she loves the card as much as our family loves her!

Stamps: Fifth Ave. Floral, Well Scripted

Paper: Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Sweet Pea DSP (Occasions Mini)

Ink: So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Watercolor Blender Pen, Dimensionals, So Saffron Ribbon (SAB 09)

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