Virtual Florist: Happy Mother's Day!!

Good morning, and Happy Mother's Day! I am feeling MUCH better! (of course, now Paul is starting to feel bad so I will be taking care of him and the boys today...)Wanted to share some photos I snapped at Natural Gardener a few weeks ago(the place with the unattended sign) and how I turned them into a quick gift set last night. (All my Mother's Day gifts will be late this year, good thing moms understand when that happens!!)

I've never taken any courses on photography, but I'll share some tips I've picked up from reading and others along the way on how to capture a good nature shot. Look for brilliant colors, interesting textures, and then get really, really close! (I didn't do any editing on the photos below but to add a watermark, it was a glorious day and the colors needed no help from me! Any "blemishes", dead leaves, etc I leave as they are, that's nature, part of the beauty!)

I don't know what the above flower is, but I like it!! Pink and oh so frilly :) I was excited to get the cactus behind it and those two cool "architectural" buds...

Does anyone know what this is?? I call it "Pretty and Prickly" It was serendipitous I found it again, because I saw them for the first time last month when i went to Lake Austin Day Spa for my birthday, and they completely charmed me(but I didn't have my camera). I just love the delicate color and petals(like a fairy skirt) surrounded by all those spiky leaves! Now that I have a photo I'll track it down online and identify when I have time(or feel free to get on that for me if YOU have time! ;) But I put my money on my Mom finding it first :) EDITED TO ADD: Wendy says it's Love in the Mist"! Thank you, Wendy! (Mom must be busy having brunch or something ;)
This earth tone glazed pots and trailing flowers remind me of the "Monet & the Mediterranean" exhibit I went to so many years ago. Maybe I'll try to paint it at some point(I am not a painter!) Try to get odd numbers to groupings (here 3 pots) and try to compose them so your eye moves in a triangle to take in all the things you want the person to see. You can crop with your camera, or with editing software later, I like to do it as I shoot, but sometimes I will tighten it up just a bit later. Having things go off the edges makes it more interesting(the flowers at the bottom)
I love irises, my favorite flower. They have a garden there with varieties and colors that would blow your mind! (I'll share some of those pics another time) This one I had seen before, but I share it because of the little ladybug I spied at the bottom, out on a big ladybug adventure...

Here are some poppies and...can't remember what! one of those "blue" flowers, help me out(not fluffy enough to be larkspur...!) Anyway, this red and blue together was the bomb!
And here's one poppy close up. (If you read my blog, you know I adore all things red.) I love all the great diagonals in the blowing grass. So are you inspired yet to go out and try to take some of your own?? or at least get out your favorite floral stamps?

Now for the gift, no stamping today! I printed them all out 2x3 size (wallet size), a nice proportion for A2 cards(you'll get 9 on your photo paper 8 1/2 x 11 sheet) Next I chose one color from the photo to mat each. Here SU! Basic Black, Regal Rose, Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac and Ballet Blue)

I took my PT white CS and embossed each with a large Nestabilities rectangle, it was the perfect proportion for the matted 2x3. I adhered each photo with a few dimensionals in the center. IMHO, they turned out looking like the cards Central Market wants 8 bucks apiece for!

Last I put them in my clear box from Papertrey with some white envelopes (which I buy in bulk from an office store near here). I am thrilled with the result and hope the recipients are, too :)

Okay, off to spend some time with the family, back later to share some stuff about my mom an pics of my kids :)

My Nestabilities TIP: Call me crazy, but aren't the ingredients of the "sandwich stack" for the Cuttlebug the same upside down or right side up when embossing?? I still went in the same order, but instead of having to flip my paper and put everything on top of it, I just put the big A plate on the bottom as usual and did everything in the reverse order so that my cardstock was face up, topped by my die and then the B plate so I could see it was still exactly where I wanted it. KWIM? And, actually found I got a better embossed image doing it this way. (Feel free to write to me and let me know if I'm risking cracking a B plate or something, until them I'm goin' for it!)

Love (and Blog Candy) is All you Need

Have you seen Carolyn's set Dr. Feelgood?! I crack up every time I see this stamp! But I also really like all the little images that go with it like the champages glasses,hearts and greetings (if you want to make the card without "the housecall"!) I was so glad I finally had some time alone to play with the doctor yesterday, heh heh! This is the first card I made with it, and I wanted to incorporate the bandaid idea I had for Papertrey's guest stamper contest by using one of their label stamps to make a bandaid (Am I the only one who looks at the label stamps and thinks"bandaid"?!) I just think it's perfect with this set. I stamped the labels from Papertrey's Holiday Treats randomly for my background, going off the edges, and stamped out two more to cut out. The new heart rain dots from Gina K's store (you can find those too at the link above) fit perfectly in the round window. (I'm SO glad ordered these! You can bet you'll be seeing some in the spring colors are my cards and projects VERY soon!) I put one bandaid on the lower corner with dimensionals, and wrapped the second around the top corner. I think this helps with the illusion that they are real bandaids (since you stick them on things), and this way they look like they are securing my focal point to the card. I added the "hey baby" from "Just So hippy" to the clipboard which is also mounted on dimensionals. It may be hard to see in the pic, but I wanted the little clip on the board to be dimensional as well, so I stamped out a second clipboard, cut out the clip, and attached it with a rolled up mini glue dot(dimensionals are too big, but rolling the glue dot worked and gives it the thickness of a dimensional). I bent it forward a little, and it really looks like a clip holding the paper on!



Be sure to check back for more doctor visits soon! ;) Check back TOMORROW to enter to win BLOG CANDY!

PS I have a project to post I am SO excited about, but finishing it depends on the arrival of a few new Palette Ink Pads, crossing my fingers they come tomorrow(post already came today, no such luck, wahhh)!! They ARE in the mail, though, so it should be by the weekend at the latest, can't wait to share! :) (hmmm, what could I be planning with those ink pads ...?)

VOTE FOR BARB!!! (and a Love Post)

Special Post: Barb Schram got TWO honorable mentions for her projects in Nichole Heady's Guest Star Stamper contest this month! And, for the first time, Nichole is giving her readers/fans the chance to vote on their favorite Honorable mention project and the winner receives a free stamp set! Barb is so terrifically talented, I really think she deserves to win! She's done such amazing things with Papertrey's products, receiving an honorable mention the very first month, she entered, WINNING the contest the very next, and this month the only stamper to have two projects in the running! So check out the projects on the link above and leave a comment there (not here, that won't count towards the contest) about your favorite! (those airplanes, I LOVE 'em!!! 2nd favorite is her key ;) (I'd post a pic here, but don't know if that's allowed?... Just go look!)

Here's a Valentine project for today, using those little Target dollar spot mailboxes you've probably seen a lot of by now(and unbelievably they still have a bunch left weeks after I bought this one, (at least at the one near me))! I wanted to keep the mailbox simple since I am the lone woman in a house full of men, and I restrained my self from "froufing" it up too much on the outside with floral DP! After Valentine's day is over, we'll be left with a white mailbox with red stripes, and I think the boys here can handle having that by the front door year round for leaving each other little messages (or maybe at the foot of their bed in the morning with something special to find inside when they wake up...) Wouldn't' that be fun?

It was so easy to just wrap the grosgrain using glue dots(for this I just opened up the glue dot roll, smashed the whole length of ribbon on it and peeled off and stuck, no need to figure out how far apart to space them stick, individually, it went really fast!) The little Valentine monkey and hippo cards are made with the largest dies from the Nestabilites Classic and Scallop Rectangle sets(both large) Perfect size for this little box! ( The giraffe is just a hair too tall for these, but I stamped part of him on the inside of the lid, in the next day or two I will post a card of how he fits using these dies in case you're wondering) The "Love you stamp on the flag uses the smallest dies from these two sets. I stamped my little "pierced" heart onto some tissue paper to give the project a little more pizazz. The images are colored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter.

Loving Your Labels!

If you stamp, I'm sure you know Papertrey and Nichole's incredible "Avery label" stamps for wrapping Hershey's Nuggets. (If you don't know them yet, go check 'em out, I'll be here when you get back!) I don't have her new Limitless Label set(yet!) but I have her Spooky Sweets and Holiday Treats, which both contain some bold label stamps in different patterns. If you know me at all, you know I love to mix my sets when stamping, so I was so thrilled when my Just So Hippy stamps arrived to find how nicely both the small images and small greetings from my set fit in the label's circular"window"!(which means they also fit in the 1/2" and 3/4" punch-woo hoo!) For this project I used the polka dotted stamp from Holiday Treats, works well for any occasion, not just the winter holidays. All four greetings in my set are different from hers, so this gives you even more variety when you have both! And I think the line art images here are a fun way to change up the bold images when you are going for a different look, or are wanting to decorate nuggets to match a card or packaging you've made using "the hippys".

You can find these patterns for nuggets boxes and sleeves here in any size you need, they are very quick and easy to make. Enjoy! Valentine's Day is only one month away, check back here for a different project and inspiration every day until then! :)

Materials used: Gina K. Designs Just So Hippy, Papertrey Holiday Treats, SU! Polka Dots and Petals DP, Pretty in Pink and Real Red Pads and markers, 5/8 Red grosgrain, Palette Noir pad, avery label sheet, 1/2" circle punch, terrifically tacky tape, Herhsey's nuggets.

LOVE-AIDS!

Here's a project I made for Gina K's gallery, it's an Altoid tin filled with stamped band-aids! (When I was on the Dirty Dozen eons ago, I made some altered Altoid tins for the gallery, but don't go look, I made them before the days of watercolor crayons, aquapainters, etc! My first efforts don't look so cute to me now, but I found it interesting that I was the first to post one!)


Little kids love band aids, as you parents know, they don't even have to be injured to want one. Now those printed store-bought band-aids are very pricey(3 bucks for 20, OUCH!) so I've been stamping on my kids band-aids for awhile now(by just telling them to go pick a stamp!), but I got really inspired by a sneak peek of Carolyn's Dr. Feelgood before the release and had the idea to create some Love-aids with my new set! The little sayings "love you", "get well" and the hearts from Just So Hippy Set are just perfect, fit any size band aid. They are stamped with Palette Noir ink, not Staz On so you don't have stinky fumes and it doesn't require any heat set, dried instantly(someone asked on SCS if this would be safe for kids, the answer is : Um, I think?? I did open one up and the ink does not seep through to the padding or adhesive side so it won't be touching their skin. So, my kids will be using them!* ;) I colored the hearts with a red Sharpie and added the little white highlight dot with my trusty white Signo gel pen. The decoration process went very quickly.
My prescription on the back reads*:

RX: Apply to any cut, scrape, boo boo, owie or bruised ego with gentle pressure, as loving thoughts and well wishes are absorbed through the skin.


I thought these would be really sweet not only for kids, but as gifts for your grown-up girlfriends to keep in their purses! Who wouldn't want a cute bandaid instead of a plain one to cover their hangnail? Or as a sugar-free Valentine's Day or Get Well present?And the "bruised ego": I actually had a friend in mind when I made these that is really going through a lot, I thought these were loving reminders to take care of herself and love heals. I was also thinking of a beautiful children's book called "The Kissing Hand", in which a mother raccoon plants a kiss on her son's hand as he heads for school for the first time so he'll remember she's thinking of him. Wouldn't a child love these Love-aids for anytime? It's like a little bit of magic... :)


Gina K. Designs announced today she will be selling tins like these on her site for $1.50 each! They are smooth and silver, so they are quite pretty without having to cover all the sides. I used Mono multi for the top and bottom, and smoothed with my fingers. I wound a piece of Terrifically tacky tape around the lid's edge for my ribbon. The bottom strip for the side is a 12 inch strip of paper, 1/2 inch wide. GREAT TIP(IMHO): an 11 inch sheet of printer paper was not long enough, so I looked through my 12x12, and used a strip from a very ugly one sided-sheet of designer paper!! So there's a good use for any patterns you're just not really "feeling" in those paper slabs, don't hang on to them taking up space in your crate, flip it over for white 12x12!!

I will add a few more pics and specifics of covering the tin and making the border with Papertrey's Faux Ribbon in tomorrow's post...

* I've actually stamped directly on both my and my boys' skin with the Palette inks like tattoos, and we've had no rashes or third limbs grow so far! (but if we do, I will come back and edit this post!) ;)

**Feel free to cut and paste for your own personal use :)

Random Stuff!

As promised, here is a card I pulled from my basket I call "Pumpkin Bloom"that I feel is a good example of tying all the elements of on a card together. This uses Papertrey's Spooky Sweets (pumpkin and "curly queue"(sp?) images) and Faux Ribbon("stem" and sentiment). Nichole gave this card an Honorable Mention in her September Gueststar Stamper contest, for it's out of the box idea, but I think there are a few other things about it that made it successful.

I began with my color scheme: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Mellow Moss, a really soothing color combo I like to use a lot. After creating the focal point, I needed to make my greeting. Using the large and small oval punch to make the Perfect Plum window for the tag, I created a "petal" which ties into my focal point. The vertical Mellow Moss strip for the border echoes the stem. Finally, the tied moss grosgrain attached to the tag, echoes the leaf. Had I used a round tag, a horizontal border, etc I don't think it would have had the same impact. Adding punched flower or other embellishments would take away from Nichole's beautiful image.

So what do you think? Do all these things make a unified card, or did I just get lucky?? LOL! Maybe try it the next time you get stuck in the middle of a creation and you know it needs something else but don't know what. Look at the colors, patterns, shapes in your focal point for clues, and hopefully you'll find the answer you need...using this approach as I've gained more experience has led me to creating better cards, and a much faster completion time, which is a GREAT bonus! Let me know how it goes!

I've seen lots of options for organizing ribbon: store bought containers, shoeboxes, rain gutters, curtain rods, ...I am the only one who uses a loaf pan and a tinker toy rod? Anyone? This cheap little solution holds up to 18 spools of SU! grosgrain, whaddya think?? (of course you have to take them all out when you need to some make banana bread, but I just recommend going and buying an extra to leave in the kitchen LOL!

Actually my 5 year old just noticed this other day(after probably about a year of it being on the shelf) and told me very solemnly: "You did not ask permission, Mama" (for the tinker toy). I think my response was something along the lines of "Tough! You left it on the floor! And I paid for them anyway!" but said in the kindest possible way, of course! Oh, don't feel sorry for him, he just got a million things for Christmas and I've gotta keep my desk clean!! ;)

Have great day!! Go stamp something! ;)