Quickie Card

Hello everyone,

It's been a really busy couple of days so I'm posting a very simple birthday card that I made a couple of months back. My sister had asked for some male cards and this is one of the ones that I came up with. I find it's simplicity really appealling.


The paper is DCWV Retro Prints with some Stampin' Up scrap Chocolate Chip and Summer Sun (I think). The ribbon is from the dollar store and the hardware is We R Memory Keepers. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up's It's Your Birthday.

I think this is a very effective male birthday card. It was certainly very quick and easy. I hope you enjoy it and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Glamour Dusted

Hello everyone,

I truly think that when making cards, there is no such thing as too much glitter so when I saw this demonstration at the Creativ Festival, I couldn't resist. This will be another technique that you'll probably get sick of because I love it so much I suspect I'll use it a ton.

The background is Stampin' Up Soft Sky that was textured with Sizzix Stampin' Up Flourish. The ribbon is Sopp Ribbons of Distinction from White Rose. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Warm Words which I embossed with Stampendous Detail Gold. To make the ornaments I first smeared watercolor pencil crayon on watercolor paper which I then spritzed with water until the colors ran. A tip that Heather (Heather's Stamping Haven - http://www.heathersstampin.com/) shared was to always start with the lighter color moving to the darkest color. Once the paper dried completely I covered it with Grafix Double Tack mounting film which I really burnished into the colored paper. I then removed the second backing paper layer and covered the sticky side with DecoArt Glamour Dust. After shaking off the excess, I burnished it well using the backing paper. I then used Peel-Off's Xmas Balls outline stickers which I cut out with scissors.

I'm still amazed by this result and I love, love, love, love it! I'm anxious to try the effect with proper watercolor markers (in the mail) because I think the final look will be much more vibrant. There are endless possibilities and I can't wait to explore them!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Lost Challenges

Hello everyone,

I'm a former researcher and have been working on-line for a good fifteen years. I now love to surf stamping and card-making sites and probably look at hundreds of blogs each week. I also have some favourite sites that I visit regularly. I often subscribe to those blogs with which I am especially enamoured so updates get sent directly to my email. When I find cards that are particularly appealing I save them to an ideas file. I also bookmark sites that I know I'd like to visit again. Interesting tutorials and helpful reference pages are also bookmarked. When I come across a challenge that looks particularly interesting, I bookmark it and will also mail it to myself so I can easily cross-reference it to I SPI. All this being said, sometime I forget to follow good research principles and come across really interesting things that I can't ever find again. Because I look at so many sites and blogs the chances of finding challenges again are pretty slim. When I try re-researching, I usually just end up finding other very neat things. I would promise that it won't happen again, but that just wouldn't be realistic and frankly sometimes it's fun to get lost on the World Wide Web.

Anyway, there were two challenges over the past week or two that really appealed to me but I can't, for the life of me, find them again. One of the challenges was to use text (not a sentiment) as a design element. The other challenge was to make a card for a child. If anyone has come across either of these challenges, please email them to me and put me out of my misery. Needless to say, I've decided to make the cards anyway. Instead of making a card for each challenge though, I'm going to combine the challenges and make a girl's card and a boy's card.

For the girl's card I used Making Memories Cheeky Collection - Abby paper and scrap Stampin' Up Whisper White and Lovely Lilac. I used the Spellbinders Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities. The ribbon is from the dollar store. The stars are Lovely Lilac punched with the small star punch. The sentiment is Stampin' Up For A Friend. I highlighted here and there with some Star Dust Stickles.


The background paper for the boy's card is DCWV Birthday Stack. The ribbon is Dashes, Dots and Checks. The stars were punched with my Stampin' Up large and small star punches. The sentiment is Stampin' Up It's Your Birthday.

I like these cards and think they are pretty suitable kid cards. The challenges were fun even if I can't link them. I'll have a couple more kid cards tomorrow because I had fun once I got going and couldn't stop at two.

I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Copper Fleur de Lis II

Hello everyone,

I've another copper card for you today. I really liked yesterday's card as a first effort, but I think this is another beauty.

I used the leftover Spellbinders Fleur de Lis pendant pieces from yesterday's card. It was cut in copper that was 'smooched' in cranberry, denim and clover Adirondack alcohol ink. The background paper is Stampin' Up Perfect Plum that was textured with Sizzix Stampin' Up Pattern 1 which was then highlighted with Shimmerz Blingz Pixie Dust. The ribbon, which I'm not sure I even needed, is Offray Lovely Gold.

I truly love this card and I hope the colours show well in the photo. It is pretty striking and I want to thank Heather's Stamping Haven (http://www.heathersstamping.com) for sharing this technique at the Creative Festival.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Copper Fleur de Lis

Hello everyone,

I've a couple of really neat cards to share over the next couple of days. I've used techniques that I learned while at the Creativ Festival in Toronto a couple of weeks ago. They turned out pretty well for first efforts. The creative possibilities as I explore these techniques are really exciting.

The base of the card is Bazzill Textures. The corners are punched with a Fiskars Lace punch. The copper is punched with the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis pendant after it was 'smooched' with Adirondack alcohol ink in cranberry, denim and clover. I'm thrilled with the results! The center medallion is also the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis pendant in a tissue paper. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Oval all in Elegant Eggplant.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Clean & Simple Christmas

Hello everyone,

Today's card is a challenge card from Clean & Simple Stamping (http://cleanandsimplestamping.blogspot.com/). I really love this blog as it shows how effective these types of cards can be.

This card really is clean and simple but as the background paper is rather busy, it looks more complicated than it really is. The background paper is atd Snow Day. All remaining paper is leftover bits from Stampin' Up, Michaels, Bazzill Textures and a batch of paper I got through EBay. The ribbon is Ribbon Bowtique from Michaels. The snowflakes are Spellbinders Shapabilities Snow Flakes 1 in white Bazzill Textures and a very light-weight paper with fine gold threads embedded. I accented the snowflakes with a titch of Golden Rod Stickles. The sentiments is Stampin' Up Warm Words (a favourite).

I'm quite pleased with this card and I can't wait to try more Clean & Simple challenges. I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More Holly

Hello everyone,

Just a quick post today, I've a ton to do so I suspect I won't have time to put a card together later. This card was my first attempt at the Favourite Things challenge. I didn't like how it was coming together so I put it aside and started fresh with something else. Now that I've gone back and finished it, I'm quite pleased with the results.

The paper is atd Holiday Cheer and I've highlighted some of the holly with Shimmerz Evergreen. The ribbon is from Fabricland and was bought ages ago. The squares are punched out of QuickKutz QuickStripz Tropical. The punch is one that I found at the Creativ Festival and is absolutely horrible to use. I needed to break out the screwdriver to get the paper out. I love the result but what a pain! I don't know the brand of the punch, it has no markings on it but it is very large and is pink and pale green. I highlighted the cutouts with Close to My Heart Liquid Glass and green Stickles. The sentiment is Rubber Soul's Wordsworth and is embossed with Close to My Heart Vineyard Berry. It is stamped on Stampin' Up and Michael's leftovers. The holly leaves in the corners are Inkadinkado Warm Holiday Wishes.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Favourite Things

Hello everyone,

I have a really fun challenge card today. It is from the Daring Cardmakers blog(http://daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/). This blog was a new find for me but it looks like a real winner. The challenge was to use between five and ten of your favourite things in a card - I actually had to scale back! Ten of my favourite things in this card: Christmas, holly, ovals, the ribbon, the paper, embossing - heat and dry, gold, Shimmerz and Stickles. Oh and the card itself is representative of a gift and who doesn't love a gift!

The background paper is atd Holiday Cheer. All other paper is leftover Stampin' Up and Michaels. The ribbon is Ribbon Bowtique from Michaels. The sentiment is Penny Black's Banner of Joy, which I picked up so I could participate in the Penny Black Saturday Challenge (http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com). I embossed the sentiment with Stampendous Tinsel Green. I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities to cut out the ovals which were textured with the Sizzix Holly and Berries plate and highlighted with Shimmerz Pixie Dust Blingz. The bottom oval is attached to the card but the other two ovals are attached with only the brad, making it more like a gift tag. I highlighted the berries on the background paper with Xmas Red Stickles. I also used a Close To My Heart Twinkle Brad.

I love everything about this card! I hope you enjoy it as well and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

One Card Two Challenges

Hello everyone,

I got seduced by challenges again today so I'm posting another two challenge card. The first challenge comes from No Time To Stamp? Stamp Simply challenge in which everything about the card had to be square-shaped. (http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/10/22/stamp-simply-110-feeling-square). The second challenge comes from 365 Cards (http://365cards.blogspot.com) and had to include something paisley - a shape I just love.

I really like how this card turned out. I used atd Snow Day paper along with some Stampin' Up scraps of Real Red and Whisper White. The holly stamp is Stampendous! Holiday Quad Cube embossed with Close To My Heart olive embossing powder. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Lots of Thoughts embossed in Stampendous! Red Tinsel. The ribbon is from the dollar store and the hardware is a find from HomeSense. I also used Xmas Red and Diamond Stickles to highlight a few dots here and there.

I hope you enjoy the card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Two For One

Hello everyone,

It's been a busy day but I couldn't end my day without doing up a card. I was in the mood for a challenge so I went surfing and found two challenges that really appealed to me. One from Three Clovers Design (http://threecloversdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/10/3-clover-thursday-challenge-36.html), a sketch challenge, and one from Winter Wonderland (http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com/), a stocking challenge. I found both of these challenges through an amazing blog called Stampin' When I Can (http://stampinwhenican.blogspot.com/). Allison's list is mind-boggling so if you're inclined to undertake a challenge (or two, or three), check out Stampin' When I Can Challenges List.

The background paper is atd Under the Tree (how could I not use this paper!) and the remaining paper is a mix of Stampin' Up and old Michael's stock. The ribbon is Ribbon Bowtique Craft Narrows from Michaels. The tree brad is likely from Multicrafts, but I'm not certain as the packaging is long gone. The two red bits are leftovers from one of my daughter's crafts. All the stamps are Stampin' Up - Holiday Tag Team (one of my first sets), Warm Words and Snow Flurries. I coloured the stocking with Sakura 3-D ink Glaze pens and am pleased with the results.

I really like this card and both the challenges, sketch and stockings, were great. Using one card to complete two challenges was fun.

I hope you enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Fixies

Hello everyone,

Tonight's post is all about fixing cards when things go wrong. We've all heard about flipping a piece over when you're not happy with the stamp but what about when other things go wrong or the card just isn't working the way you want. Well, I've a couple of suggestions.

My first fixie is one of the sympathy cards I did last week. I think I was in too much of a hurry to get a small stash done before we went out of town. If you recall the post I thought the card was possibly too plain and it was. I've spruced it up a bit with more flowers and a couple of branches. I think it works much better now. Take a look at the before and after photos.



My next fixie is all about being too tired to craft. The first photo below is last night's card, after I'd finished posting on my blog. I was cleaning up my desk and as I was closing the ink pad, it fell out of my hand and right on to the nicely finished card (top right corner). I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to. I realized that the only way to fix the card was to add a watermark to cover the smear. I've taken the Rich Razzleberry and the Circle Circus stamps and just added to the background. It is not a perfect fix because of the overlap onto the card base but it is not so bad I can't live with it.

Some times the best fix you can have is to just live with it. I think most of the time we're hardest on ourselves because most people just see the overall beauty of the card they are being given.

I'm positive there are more fixies out there so leave a comment if you've got a 'no-fail' fix of your own you'd like to share.

I hope you enjoy tonight's post and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Challenge Card

Hello everyone,
The extra day off today was absolutely worth it as my husband and I managed to get the garden put to bed for the winter. What a job! It also means that I'm too tired be totally original so I decided to this week's A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge. Still, this card is my second attempt and I had to do a couple of the elements more than once.

This card is all about Stampin' Up's Rich Razzleberry. I love that color! I used the Circle Circus on Whisper White card stock. The sentiment is Short and Sweet. The background pieces are Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper cut with a Spellbinder Nestabilities label. I highlighted dots with Star Dust Sticklers.

I hope you enjoy the card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Everything Offset

Hello everyone,

We're home from Southern Ontario and I'm rather happy I had made a few cards in advance because I'm totally bagged. Not only exhausted, but I can't really see my desk between the stuff I found at the Creativ Festival and the parcel from Scrappin' Great Deals that was waiting for me when I got home. I can't wait to get crafting!

This is another card that I put together relatively easily because I had, months ago, cut out all the pieces but hadn't put them together. The background is from my old Michael's paper stash. The gold paper was from a batch of paper that I purchased on EBay. It is textured with Sizzix Holly and Berries. The poinsettia stamp is Stampendous Holiday Quad Cube on Stampin' Up Whisper White embossed with Stampendous Detail Gold. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Snowflake Spot also embossed in Stampendous Detail Gold. The ribbon is Dollarama. I attached each element straight (relatively) but offset. I suspect there is a proper term for it, I just like how it turned out.

I hope you enjoy the card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

PS - I finally figured out how to get the subscription gadget up and running so I hope you'll take the time to sign up and get automatic email updates. Please let me know if you've any problems and I'll do my best to help.

Last Sympathy Card - Promise

Hello everyone,


I've got the last of my sympathy cards for you tonight. If I need to use all of these over the next little while I'm going to be heartbroken with loss.

Before getting on with the card, I've just got to fill you in on the Creativ Festival that I went to in Toronto today. It was an adventure just getting there - car, bus and train - but I had a great time. There was so much to see and do. I learned some great techniques using alcohol ink and copper paper and another using markers, water color paper, double tack film, glamour dust and outline stickers. I can't wait to try them and show off the results. Both techniques were at Heather's Stamping Haven (http://www.heathersstamping.com/) booth which ironically, is based in Ottawa. Thank goodness I still got to use my bonus card. At the Old Tyme Country Crafts booth (http://www.oldetymecountrycrafts.com/) I came across a cool technique using super sticky double sided tape (possibly Scor-Pal) and glitter. I'm not sure if it was a certain kind of glitter but I can't wait to try it with my glitter at home to see what happens. I came across tons of neat stamps including the Local King Rubber Stamp company (http://www.localkingrubberstamp.com/) which had some incredibly realistic animal stamps. I picked up a starter kit at a great deal so you can expect a few panda bear cards down the road. Notwithstanding all the papercrafts, there was sewing, needlework, knitting and beading. I was in awe over all the exceptionally creative people.

Anyway on to the last of my sympathy cards.



This time I used Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus paper and Stampin' Up Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Whisper White paper. The Textured Trios ribbon is from Michael's. I used a new Bosskut Die - Wild Flower Cutouts. The stamp is Stampin' Up Warmest Regards. I used both the modern and curly label punches. The brad is from Multicrafts.

I'm not certain about this card. I think is is maybe a little too plain and simple. I will possibly live with it for a while before I decide if I should add to it. If it changes, I'll update. If you've any suggestions, please leave me a comment.

I hope you enjoy the post and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Another Simple Sympathy

Hello everyone,

I just have to tell you about today's adventure. I'm in southern Ontario having a belated Thanksgiving with my sisters and thought I'd take advantage to scope out some of the area's paper/stamping shops. Now I am not unfamiliar with the region, but I do need to follow a map (no GPS for me) to get from point A to point B without getting lost. Anyway I digress, I found a couple of places, The Memory Keeper (http://www.discountscrapbooksupplies.com/) and Angela's Papercrafts (http://www.creativepapercrafts.com/) which were but two that I had on my list. Both were great stores and of course, I found a couple of things I couldn't live without but, both had huge holes where product should have been yet wasn't. I found out the missing product was at booths at the CreativFestival (http://www.creativfestival.ca/) in Toronto. I had not heard of this festival but have discovered it is something right up my ally - filled with card making, stamping, sewing, needlework, beading and so much more. I've decided to make a day trip to Toronto tomorrow. I think I'll stop at the bank first. I'll let you know what I find.

Notwithstanding my shopping (or lack thereof) today, I do have another sympathy card for you.

This is another simple card. I used more Mind's Eye Magnolia paper and a bit of Stampin' Up Whisper White and Chocolate Chip. The bottom ribbon is from Dollarama and the upper is Offray. The stamps are both Stampin' Up, Medallion and Warmest Regards. I used just a wee bit of Diamond Stickles on the medallion. I find that stamp utterly striking so I suspect you'll see it quite often if you follow I SPI.

Early to bed for me as I'm catching the 8:30 GO bus/train in the morning. I hope you've enjoyed this post and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Hello everyone,

Just another quick entry tonight. It was a long day of travelling. Over the weekend I'll be uploading some cards I made over the past couple of days as I couldn't bring my card making gear with me. I'm putting together a stash of sympathy cards in the hopes I won't have to use one any time soon.

For this card I used Mind's Eye Magnolia paper along with some Michael's Dots, Dashes, Checks ribbon. The images are both Stampin' Up, Pocket Silhouettes and Warmest Regards. I used Stampin' Up Whisper White and Chocolate Chip and a Spellbinders Nestabilites label for the image. I punched the sentiment with the modern label punch, which I really use a lot.

This is a very simple, sympathy card and I think it all came together rather well.

I hope you come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

With Sympathy

Hi everyone,

Just a quick card today as we're heading out for the weekend and I need to get it together.

The father-in-law of a friend passed away this week and I used my last 'sympathy' stash card so I figured I should put a couple together. I find you generally need 'sympathy' cards unexpectedly so I always like to have a couple already prepared.

This card was really easy to put together as I had already had most of the elements set aside. Everything is Stampin' Up except the ribbon (Offray) and the texture plate (Sizzix). The card base is Taken With Teal and the other elements are Basic Black and Whisper White. The flower is Kind & Caring Thoughts which was punched vertically with the wide oval punch, a look I really like. The sentiment is Warmest Regards. I think this works just fine as a 'sympathy' card.

I hope you enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Challenges Galore

Hello everyone,

I had a hard time concentrating at the office today because I discovered a whole raft of new blogs and challenges that just got my creative juices flowing. I also spent some time at Splitcoaststampers exploring a bunch of different techniques. I managed to combine all this surfing into this week's challenge #73 from A Spoon Full of Sugar.

I just love how this card turned out. The printed paper is all My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus. The blue paper is from Fiskars and the rest of the paper is from Stampin' Up. The stamp is also Stampin' Up, Live Like You Mean It. The ribbon is all really old White Rose stock. The brads are from Multicrafts. The technique is Splitcoaststampers Wet Watercolor Crayons and I think it worked rather well. I also used Spellbinders Nestabilities.

I hope you enjoy the card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

An Irresistible Challenge

Hi everyone,

I had time to do a bit of surfing over the past couple of days and came across some new, interesting and inspiring blogs. One of the blogs is Flourishes Newsletter which has a Tuesday Challenge that I just couldn't resist. It was actually a four-card challenge, something I had never seen before. You do as many of the cards as you wanted.

My cards didn't turn out as close to the sketch as I would have liked because I don't have the really large circle (it's in the mail) so I supplemented the look with some ribbon. Everything in the cards, except the white ribbon (Michael's) is Stampin' Up. This sketch just cried out for more of the Cottage Wall designer paper so I indulged. I just love the Rich Razzleberry In Colour. I also used one of my very favourite stamp sets, Stampin' Up's Pocket Silhouettes. Of course, what's a card without a bit of Diamond Stickles to add just a titch of sparkle.

I knew once I started with challenges I would just love them! I hope you enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Thanksgiving Eh!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In honor of the holiday I've made two cards, one English and one en français. I used two sketch challenges as inspiration, the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (SSSC39) and the Crazy 4 Challenges Sketch (C4C6).

All the paper for this card is Stampin' Up Cottage Wall. I love this designer series paper so much, I'm going to order a second package. I used Fiskar's Shapes 1 for the large oval and my wide oval punch for the sentiment. The ribbon is another Dollarama find. I accented all over the place with diamond Stickles. This sketch was fun and I'm quite pleased with how the card turned out.

The paper for the Merci card is all Stampin Up - More Mustard, Old Olive, Perfect Plum, Bravo Burgundy and Whisper White. I used the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles and Nested Maple Leaves. I textured with Sizzix Bead String and accented some of the dots with diamond Stickles. The stamps sets are both Stampin' Up, Lovely as a Tree and Merci. The ribbon is from the bulk bin at Michaels.

I hope you enjoy the cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

And Sometimes It Just Works

Hi everyone,

I love, love, love this card. This photo doesn't do this card justice and I took a half dozen photos before choosing this one.

The paper on this card is all Stampin' Up - Cottage Wall (gorgeous) and Pale Plum. I used the Spellbinder Lattice Pendant. The ribbon is from Offray, Cosette with Gold. The background is textured with Stampin' Up Pattern 1. I highlighted both the pendant and the background with with Shimmerz Pixie Dust.

This is one of those cards that just kept coming together as I went along. I love it when it works that way.

I hope you enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Something Old, New and Blue

Hi everyone,

It was all about trying something new today. I just love the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Pendant especially when combined with Shimmerz Blingz!

The background paper is atd Snow Day. The background ribbon is recycled and the blue ribbon is a Dollarama find. The dark blue paper is old stock from Michael's which I embossed with a bit of Stampendous Pearlustre sapphire. The light blue paper is from Bazzill Textures and the center medallion is Stampin' Up Whisper White. I used the Renaissance Hearts Pendant and dusted them with Shimmerz Blingz Gold Glimmer which, thought difficult to see online, is quite nice in real life.

I decided against a sentiment as a couple of colleagues (Diane and Ginette) suggested that cards can be more versatile without sentiments. It will be interesting to see what happens.

I love this card and look forward to experimenting with more pendants and Shimmerz.

I hope you enjoy and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Fancy Flamingo

Hello everyone,

I had a request from a friend for a Birthday card that was going to an elderly woman in Florida and right off the flamingo (uh bat), I thought of the Stampin' Up Pink Flamingo paper I had bought for my daughter's Birthday party. As it is being mailed to the US, I was careful not to make the card any more bulky than necessary. It is definitely a card that has taken me out of my comfort zone so I hope she likes it.

Everything in this card is Stampin Up except the ribbon which was a dollar store find. The background is all from the Itty Bitty Buds set in Tempting Turquoise. The sentiment is from the It's Your Birthday set also in Tempting Turquoise. I used the Bigz Top Note die with my Big Shot to cut out the flamingo paper and background. I also accented with Diamond Stickles which somehow really makes it work.

I hope you enjoy the card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Never Too Much Christmas

Hi everyone,

I know, I know, when Christmas begins before Halloween is over things are going too far. The truth for me though, is that I really, really like to make Christmas cards. You can go over the top with a Christmas card and it's OK. You can do the fancy ribbon and extra bling and it's OK. You can emboss to your heart's content and it's OK. Here are my latest two Christmas Cards.

The background paper is atd Under the Tree. All other paper is Stampin' Up. The ribbon is Dollarama Craft Metallic. The tree is Penny Black Xmas Constellation which is embossed with Close To My Heart Silver Pearl. The Merry Christmas stamp is from the new Stampin' Up Delightful Decorations. I love the look of this tree stamp and coveted it from the moment I first laid eyes upon it, but I find it somewhat difficult to use. It is offset and leaves a blank spot in the upper right corner that is rather strange. I've tried trimming it but it just looks funny. I guess I'll just have to keep playing with it ... what a tough job that will be.

The background paper for this card is atd Holiday Cheer. I love the paper but find with just two colors it can be challenging. The green paper is from Michael's but was bought so long ago, I have know idea of the brand. The white paper is Stampin' Up as are both stamps. The ornament stamp is out of the Delightful Decorations set. These are beautiful stamps and with the coordinating punch, a very effective combo. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up The Snowflake Spot set and was punched with the scallop oval. I also used my Stampin' Up scallop border punch which, for me, is becoming a staple tool. I broke out my newly acquired Spellbinders Scallop Octagon Nestability. I love the Spellbinders dies. They are really easy to use with my Big Shot and are so very versatile. I used the Sizzix Snowflakes texture plate on the octagons and am pleased with the result. The Xmas Red Stickles provided a little extra pop. Finally, the ribbon is from Michaels - no name out of the bargain bin.

I hope you enjoy the cards and come SPI again soon.

Gisèle

I SPI First Sketch Challenge

Hi everyone,

I did my first sketch challenge tonight. I decided to try the Sweet Sunday Sketch (SSSC38) from Karen Giron's The Sweetest Thing blog (http://www.kgiron.blogspot.com/). I am always inspired by what I find on her blog. I decided to make a Christmas card because I seem to be able to more easily come up with Christmas ideas. Now I just have to see if I can link it properly. Ah technology!

The background is atd Snow Day paper. The green rectangle and the octagons are Stampin' Up. I also used a small white strip of Bazzill Textures. The ribbon is Offray Woven Ribbon. The stamp is Inkadinkado Warm Holiday Wishes which I embossed using Close To My Heart Olive embossing powder. I used the Sizzix Holly and Berries texture plate after first spritzing the paper with rubbing alcohol. That trick sure makes the impression pop. I also broke out my brand spanking new Spellbinder Octagon Nestabilities.

I really like how this card turned out and I'm pretty sure this will be the first of many sketch challenges.

Enjoy and come SPI again soon!

Gisèle

Getting It Together!

Good morning folks,

I've been moving like a Tasmanian devil this morning to get this posted before going to work. It took a bit but I figured out how to import photos from my camera to the new laptop. It probably wasn't the most efficient way but it will do for this post.

These are the two cards I made last night. Both were requested by office colleagues.

This is a 'Plum' card. I used the Stampin' Up Medallion stamp which I find absolutely striking but it is a very large stamp and I need practise using it. I also used some Offray ribbon that has a bit of gold in it. What makes this card though, is the Diamond Stickles. I was introduced to Stickles by Sue from Close To My Heart (www.suelawrence.myctmh.com) and my good friend Michelle. Thanks ladies! This product is fantastic! It is very simple to use and adds just enough sparkle to make cards pop!

This is a guy card. The paper is all Stampin' Up as is the Happy Birthday sentiment. The owl, branch and woohoo! are Close To My Heart (CTMH) stamps. I also used the new CTMH cocoa embossing powder - AWESOME! The numbers are from a kids stamp kit and I've no idea what the name is as the packaging is long, long gone. The brads are from the Dollar Store. I think this really works.

Enjoy and come back again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Monday!

Hi everyone,

It wasn't too manic a day today. I manage to do up a couple of requested cards, a masculine 40th and a feminine good bye card. Absolute polar opposites which was interesting. I'll be posting them as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera. Obviously have to organize myself better. I still have not finished this weekends laundry and I think I have Stamper's Club night tomorrow. Oh well!

This is another favourite card. It is so cheerful. It is all Stampin' Up except for the brads (Dollar Store) and the ribbon (Offray Nice & Narrow).

Enjoy and come back again soon.

Gisèle

Happy Sunday folks.

It's been a busy day so I have not managed to get everything done that I intended but that is par for my course. I did get a baby card done (no photo though - I forgot) this morning, or was it afternoon. I use the Stampin' Up Look Here Bigz XL die because the baby gift included a gift card. I borrowed the die from my Stampin' Up Demonstrator (thank you Deb stampingdebduval@travel-net.com) and I definitely am going to get one for myself. I love giving gift cards and this is just chock full of possibilities.

I had hoped to participate in a challenge today but I've never done one before and there just wasn't enough time to figure it out. I thought instead, I would just post another favourite card. Except for the Spellbinder and Sugar 'n Spice ribbon, everything is Stampin' Up and leftover scraps at that. I love pink and chocolate together and the ribbon has just a titch of sparkle, which every card needs. This card is part of the stash I have made to sell at the office as part of our United Way campaign. They all go on sale tomorrow. Cross your fingers that the cards do well. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I SPI you again soon.

Gisèle

Happy World Card Making Day!

Welcome to I Stamp, Paper, Ink - a.k.a. I SPI!

I am hoping that today will be an auspices day for me to start blogging about something I love to do - make cards. If I could make cards all day, every day, I would be one very happy lady. What a pipe dream! As much as I love card making, I also love to see what's happening in the card making world so I tend to do a lot of surfing, looking for different artists, tips, techniques, shops and of course, cards. I'm certainly not to proud to case and I hope you'll do the same. I also hope you'll share your own card making experiences with me.

I am a beginner blogger, so please bear with me as I figure it all out. I also love to write, which makes blogging something that I hope will come rather naturally. Advance warning to everyone though, I have writing and grammar errors that I just can't seem to fix, so I apologize in advance for comma, semi-colon and "however" mistakes. I consider myself a novice card maker looking to perfect her craft. The first public display of my cards was on my Facebook page and that was pretty well-received (thanks girls). It certainly helped build my confidence enough to share my work with the World Wide Web. I'll likely never consider myself an expert but I love to learn and I love to create so I figure this blogging venture could be just the thing.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of card making, paper crafting and stamping blogs out there so it's hard to do something unique and this blog won't be all that unique except that it's about my card crafting, which, when all is said and done, is or will try to be, one of a kind. It is also a chance to share the tidbits and treasures that I find while surfing the web. There is some pretty cool stuff, blogs and shops out there. Besides, I'd hate to think all that surfing time is wasted time.

While I would love to post everyday, that probably isn't going to happen thanks to work and family responsibilities. I will however do my best. I've planned out different themes for each day of the week but the best laid plans ... we'll have to see how it goes.

Today is actually a day full of firsts for me. My first true blog post. My first card swap. I met some great new card makers and received some beautiful Christmas cards. Many thanks to Carol Ann for the invitation. It was lovely and I had a great time!

WCMD Swap Cards

I also met a new supplier today, Rosa, over at The Paper Passion (http://www.thepaperpassion.com/). Thank you for the Spellbinder dies. I hope this is the start of a long and fruitful relationship.

Finally, I thought I'd share a couple of favourite cards. Hopefully many, many more of these to come!

I hope you've enjoyed this first I SPI post and I hope you'll come back again!

Thanks! Gisèle