Tote n' Notes

Here 'tis - the complete Tote n' Notes project (well, this plus 4 more cards -- 8 notecards total).



Supplies for this project:

• Summer Days Simply Scrappin' Kit


• Die-Cut Blooms


• Jumbo Eyelets


• Striped Grosgrain Ribbon


• Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons

I was all set to teach this project in my May class but now there will be a slight variation. The change is actually in the class location. Turns out, my street is being re-paved the week after Memorial Day Weekend which means nobody can get in or out -- makes getting to class at The Stamp Garage a bit difficult. So, I'll be putting together custom kits (with a special suprise) for everyone who'd like a 'virtual' class. So, that means my remote friends can make the class project, too!

One friend of mine already commented that this would make a great gift for teachers. I was thinking it'd be a fun gift for brides, too (different colors, papers and you have a tote with 8 'thank you' notes for the newlywed).

Cheers!

Welcome to May!

Ah, finally getting back to some stamping ... getting ready for my May stamp class. I thought it would be fun to make mini tote bags and 8 note cards to go inside. We made totes & notes at the stamp group meeting I went to a couple weeks ago so thought I'd share the project with my stamp friends. It's amazing what you can do with a single sheet of designer paper and a sheet of textured cardstock! Here's a pic o' my 3x3 notes in progress ...



I'll post more complete pics of the totes & notes soon!

Spring Greetings ...

Almost feels like spring has moved directly into summer around here -- the warm weather inspired me to use a couple of my favorite SU! Spring Mini catalog sets -- 'Tart & Tangy' and 'One Smart Cookie' for my swap cards. (I'll be swapping cards at a stamp meeting next weekend) ...

I used 4" x 8" Whisper White (folded to make a 4" x 4" card and a 2 1/2" x 4" piece of Only Orange textured cardstock ... plus, a small piece of Green Galore.

The larger orange slice is from 'Tart & Tangy' and attached to a circle of Green Galore cardstock using a white eyelet. I also used The small orange from the 'One Smart Cookie' set. I used the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches. No cutting! The whole thing is attached to the card front using a couple Stampin' dimensionals to give a lil' bit of depth.

The 'Orange You Cute' greeting is stamped in Green Galore and punched out using the Word Window punch. No need to try aligning the tiny text - just stamp first and then punch it out.


Alignment Tip: To keep the little oranges straight, I used a tool I haven't used in awhile -- the Stampin' Around Wheel Guide. This guide is a great tool when you want to stamp multiple images in a line (just keep the bottom of your stamp block touching the guide as you stamp each image). To keep the spacing even, I aligned the left edge of my stamp block with the right edge of the previous 'orange' as I worked my way across.

I think I'm going to make sets of cards using different colors/fruit combinations from the same stamp sets ... hmmm ... I think I feel a blog giveaway coming up!

Thank You!

Wow - March was a blur. Business trips, conferences, a music vacation ... plus a big birthday party thanks to husband, friends and family. It was perfect - no stress; just hanging out with friends on a beautiful spring day - lots of good food and great music. So, my first jump back into stamping after many weeks away - Thank You Notes!


The husband did an amazing job getting the yard ready, lining up BBQ, arranging for tables & chairs for 40+ ... while my friends took over as the party planners (cake, decorations, music, invites). Mom supplied old photos which showed up as part of the party decor. I opted to use one of the photos featured at the party on the thank you notes (a pic of me & my dog, Toby). The colors are inspired by the paper flowers from the party - a great match to Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion and Only Orange. The stamped image is from the 'Fabulous Flowers' set (I also stamped 'Thank You' from the 'Much Appreciated' set on the inside) ...

Time to start writing notes and addressing envelopes ... really can't thank everyone enough for the amazing day.


Flying to Washington next week for Artfest ... should be a great way to get back into the creative swing of things.

Biz Trips and Conferences ...

No posting for a bit ... I was in London last week on a business trip and then flew directly to Austin for some conferences. Hoping to get a bit of stamp time when I'm home next week ... stay tuned.

Tagged!

Marie at The Stamp Lounge tagged me ... now it's time for me to answer a few questions and tag someone else!

1. Stamping Style: Hmm, not sure I have just one. I tend to like clean & simple lines and sometimes opt to focus on a single image ... but then I'll get into an 'altered' mood and start roughing things up and layering quite a bit. I guess on the blog, I've tended to post some of the projects that fall more into the 'quick stamping' category since I assume everyone is time-crunched like me.

2. Inspiration: Almost any magazine can spark a layout or color idea, I love checking out graphic design mags, and, of course, other stampers creativity ... color inspiration comes from everywhere ... sometimes just seeing a couple paper scraps on my studio table or ink colors from different projects blended on my grid paper.

3. Color: I tend to go for stronger colors ... black, white with hot pinks, reds & oranges ... seems I've done several hot pink & orange combos. Recently I've been doing more with chocolate brown and also love 'retro' color combinations. I just saw an artists work that uses teal and rust - going to have to try that.

4. Workspace: I have a 2-car garage that is now my studio. The back corner has lots of work surface area, cabinets all around and craftsmen tool chests under the work surfaces ... still feel like I could some more organizational help but it's a start! The front of the garage has a long table from Ikea that can seat 10 - perfet for classes - or just when I need to spread out for a sewing project or some other activity.

5. Perfect: Sleep in, yoga, chill with a magazine and a cup of coffee (or sometimes tea), time with friends, time to create, time to spend with the husband, time to explore, laughing, lots of music, more sleep.

6. First Job: Guessing the first job would be at A&W - it was short-lived as I quickly found a job at a bookstore but there business wasn't doing too well so I ended up working the rest of the summer at Yum-Yum donuts. As a student, starting work at 6am puts a major cramp in your summer activities ... and I didn't eat donuts for years after that -- surrounded by fried sugar and with a 'donuts anytime' policy, they were no longer appealing. I still opt for an english muffin, bagel or toast over donuts ...

7. Wildest Dream: I wanted to be a rock star when I was a kid ... now, I dream of doing voice-over work while Grady makes creative works for hire giving us plenty of money and time to do other things for ourselves.

8. Ink: Love the Stampin' Up! ink - can't go wrong with the easy color matching and the quality is great. I tend to use more classic (dye-based) ink - but also like working with craft (pigment-based) ink for custom embossing colors. Craft ink is also great to use like paint on small projects, too. Staz-On is perfect for watercolor and other special techinques. Versmark - can't go wrong for a clear embossing ink. I also like Tim Holtz distress inks and Adirondak alcohol inks for some aging and altering things.

9. Family: Originally from California - Mom's still in the area and lives in the same town as my in-laws so easy to see everyone at the holidays. Father in Idaho. Brothers in Idaho and NY. Brother- & sister-in-law & nieces live just a few minutes away from us in San Jose so we get to see them quite a bit - others from bro-in-laws & family are in Napa, Austin and Volcano (Hawaii) ...

10. Biggest Challenge: Time. Relaxation. Pacing. Working a full-time corporate gig doesn't always leave much time or headspace for creativity ... I have to remember to also leave time to just chill out and do nothing - sometimes that's when the creative ideas show up.

Now ... to tag some more folks ...

Heather at Witty Title Here

Dawn at Treasure Oiler Designz

Rabbit Moon ...

A friend of mine sent me some clown heads for a future art project I want to do (I'm surprised how difficult it has been to find clowns). To thank her, I made this card. She loves bunnies ... has several of her own and helps with bunny rescue.


Stamps: I used a stamp set called "Rabbit Moon" from Taiwan that I found at a local stamp store.

Inks: I like the pen brush stroke illustration style used for these images. Colors are Ruby Red, So Saffron and Creamy Carmel.I stamped off the So Saffron to lighten the sun a bit.

Paper: I used a pre-cut/scored notecard from Stampin' Up! and layered with Night of Navy and Whisper White textured cardstock. Last touch ... a small piece of decorative Japanese paper.

Need to get this card in the mail ...