Still Stamping

Who Can Resist Watercolor?

Bad pun, I know.  The technique I've used on today's card is a resist technique with Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  When I saw Sandi MacIver's dragonfly card, I had to know how she did it.  I had to make some changes (as usual) to suit the materials and stamps I have instead of the ones she used on the original.  But I am very happy with the results, and I hope you'll love it, too.

I took lots of pictures of this card, because there are many very pretty areas on the focal image I wanted to show off.  Pictures speak louder than words, right?  So without further ado, here are the others.

Card Stock Colors: Taken With Teal, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum. 

 
  
 

Click on any image to see it full-size.

Come back and see me really soon!

Carol Taggart
 

Make Your Own Flower Embellishments

If you're like me, you have an abundance of flower rubber stamps in your collection.  I also have accumulated many Sizzix dies for making flowers, flower punches, flower brads and buttons, silk flowers (from the Pretties Kit) and now felt flowers (from the new Sweet Peas embellishments).

We all seem to like flowers,in our homes, in our gardens, and on our greeting cards.  I find I can use a single floral design for a large variety of occasions, so when I find a design I really like, I'll make several of them and add the greetings as I need them.  A greeting stamp set like Well Scripted or Whimsical Words with several greetings in similar sizes is just perfect for this kind of "stamp 'em when you need 'em" finishing.

I found the design for this card on Julie Buhler's blog and knew it would be a good one to have on hand.  I changed it up a bit and came up with these two versions:

 

Notice how the "tone" of the card changes by changing the background color.  I'll need more work on my tissue paper flowers, because they didn't look as nice as Julie's did.  So I decided to just use the split-cardstock distressed flowers instead.  The centers are felt from the Stitched Felt Sweet Peas embellishments set in the Occasions Mini Catalog. 

See you next time...   Carol Taggart

A Vintage Valentine for My Husband

I struggle with finding just the right masculine feel to cards for my husband, father and son, especially on "mushy" occasions like Valentine's Day.  So when I saw this card last month on Robin Merriman's blog, I saved it in my files.  As you can see, I made some changes to the front, using my new Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslit (a new Stampin' Up! exclusive, page 15 of the Occasions Mini Catalog) in addition to the Full Heart Punch. 

I always try to make my DH's cards interesting inside, too.  So I did the old stand-by - the magic box pop-up on the center fold.  It's so easy to do, and it adds just that extra pop that an otherwise plain card needed.

 
The vintage touch was added with a sponge and Chocolate Chip ink liberally applied on edges and surfaces.  I also scrunched up the hearts and then smoothed them down to add another vintage touch.

Colors:  Naturals Ivory, Real Red, Kraft card stock; Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Real Red ink.

Embossing folder: Finial Press.  Punch: Full Heart  Embosslit: Scalloped Heart of Hearts

Ribbon:  Kraft taffeta ribbon

The greeting inside is also Stampin' Up!, but from a retired stamp set.

Hope you like it ---  Carol Taggart  
 

Happy Valentine's Day

Today I want to share another little Valentine's Day treat.  This one, like yesterday's project, holds chocolates.

 

But this is a Big Shot project, made with the Stampin' Up! exclusive Top Note die.  A folded piece of Pretty in Pink card stock (placed with the fold just inside the bottom cutting edge and then scored 1" on either side of the fold line) makes this clever little tent.  And it is the perfect size for the bottom of the Matchbox Die (another Stampin' Up! exclusive die for the Sizzix Big Shot). 

The matchbox inside is the exact size needed for four Hershey's nuggets.

The front of my little treat is decorated for Valentine's Day with hearts - the large one is from Sending Love DSP and punched out with the Full Heart punch; the smaller ones are stamped with the new I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and punched out with the Heart to Heart punch.  There's also a Chocolate Chip accent punched with the Scallop Circle Punch.

All three punches are in the current Idea Book & Catalog.  The Designer Series Paper "Sending Love" and the "I {Heart} Hearts" stamp set are from the Occasions Mini Catalog.  And by purchasing the stamp set before Feb. 28, 2010,  you will also be helping the earthquake victims in Haiti.  Stampin' Up! is making a donation from the sale of each set of I {Heart} Hearts to the relief effort.

You can order any or all of the items used on this project by clicking on the "Shop Now" button at the right.

I hope you're enjoying this day with someone you love!  See you next time,

Carol Taggart

A Valentine's Day Tree

I'm sure you're familiar with the Stampin' Up! XL Bigz O Christmas Tree die, designed by the talented Karen Buriston for Sizzix.  She had taken that tree to new heights, inspiring creative stampers and paper crafters all over the world to see what they could come up with, too.

Kathy Thompson, one of my very talented customers and stamping friends, decided to try her hand at the heart-covered Valentine's Day version of the pop-up tree card.  She's being featured today on Karen Burniston's blog.  I also wanted to show you Kathy's creation.  I haven't seen it in person yet, but she promised to bring it to our Stamper's Six Club meeting on Monday, so I'll get to admire it up close.  Thank you for allowing me to share this, Kathy!

Believe it or not, this tree folds flat inside a greeting card and pops up into place when the card is opened.  What a lucky person it will be who receives this very special Valentine.
 

Valentine's Day Sweet Treats

Last weekend I whipped up this batch of Valentine's Day treats for co-workers and members of my Stamper's Six club.  School was closed all week due to the snow storm, though, so my fellow teachers are going to be receiving theirs next Wednesday when classes resume.

Each wrapper takes just a 3"x8" piece of DSP - in this case, Sending Love.  I also embellished each with scraps of Very Vanilla, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink card stock, stamped with the circular image from Love You Much, punched out with the scalloped circle punch, and topped with a tiny punched heart.  A slot is punched with the Word Window punch which allows a Ghiarardelli chocolate to be inserted.  A little bit of narrow satin ribbon finishes them off and ties them closed.

 

Quick to make, fun to receive, these little cuties are a winner!  I'll be sure to make these again.

Happy Valentine's Day to YOU!

Hugs, Carol Taggart

A Whimsical Bird House.... Wishing for an Early Spring!

Wishing for an early Spring...

After the two consecutive huge snow storms here in southern PA, I am not alone in wishing that winter were over.  Thinking ahead to Spring inspired me to try my hand at making one of the adorable mini bird houses.  It's a Big Shot and punches project - no stamping at all.  Everything I used is Stampin' Up!, of course.

My color inspiration came from the Designer Series Paper (on the trim on the roof) from Sunny Day Simply Scrappin' Kit:  Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Pink Passion, Pumpkin Pie.

The Stampin' Up! Sizzix Bigz die is the Mini Milk Carton.  Punches:  1" circle, Trio Flower, Scallop Trim border (free during SAB), and the Extra Large Two-Step Bird (in the Occasions Mini Catalog).  The birdhouse is also textured with one of the Texturz plates and the Big Shot.

Stampin' Up! - Sewin' Up!

By now you not only have seen dozens of these cute "Rag Quilt Bags" on blogs and websites, but you've probably made a couple yourself.  I made mine back in early December and am just now getting around to showing it to you.  What makes mine a bit unique is the way I attached the flower embellishment.

The squares were cut in no time at all, using the Big Shot and Stampin' Up!'s Scallop Square Bigz die, and the flower uses the Flower Folds Bigz XL die.  I used the same fabrics for both the bag and the flower, and the inside of the bag is all cut from a single print rather than lots of different ones.  Because I wanted to use the flower sometimes but not all the time, I had to figure out a way to attach it without sewing it.  I certainly could have used a pin backing, but I love the button I used on the closure and wanted that to be the center of the flower.  So... I cut a slit in the flower through all layers, wide enough to slip over the button.  The next time I'll try to make a buttonhole - it might be a challenge because there are so many layers.

There's plenty of room at the top to reach into the bag to get out my phone or my wallet without having to actually remove the flower and open the closure strap, too, so it is very convenient.

This is so easy that even beginning sewers can turn out a fabulous project.  Give it a try --- you'll be hooked.