Kindness

Enjoy the Little Things

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday was a very thoughtful day.  I was able to enjoy a day all to myself, which is quite rare in itself.  I had grand plans, a bit too grand, but decided to change them all around and enjoy it differently. This was one of my moments spent, a very indulgent chunk of time working ink all over this lovely card.

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I was given some new paper and brushes for my birthday, so of course I had to get to work using them.  I took this beautiful paper to the brink of maximum absorption.  Sometimes it just takes more time to get the colors just the way you want them.  If you were to smooth your hand over the top of this card you would feel the difference in texture.  The edges of course kept their very smooth surface, but the inked area is actually raised up.  Cool, right?

I did start with the embossed phrase first.  Then I worked around the edges and started in with all of the color mixing.  This copper embossing powder is so fantastic, I absolutely love the color.  It gives a much more masculine feel and goes better with my kind of color pallet ideas for sure.  So, I basically just embossed my sentiment and then went to town on the ink til I was happy.  And I am so happy, so very happy with this one.  I tend to do my best work when I am creating for someone in particular, especially when that someone is my husband.  What more can I say?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Flourishing Phrases

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This particular project went through a few different phases.  This is how it started out, all about blue.  I had the ocean on my mind and gave it a try.  I had intended on using a new embossing folder after I water colored, but to be honest, I forgot once I got all this going.

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After I painted with all of the blue inks I have I did some detail work using my gold wink of stella.  I focused on some of the watermarks and edges of color.  The look it creates is really awesome.  It is tricky to know when to stop because it is so much fun.  Mission accomplished here for sure.

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The next step was to add a special tag.  This one got a bit out of control and went to a busy style that really isn’t my own.  However, I decided to leave it and see how it balanced out with the huge butterfly addition I had in mind.  I water colored large areas of paper to provide both my tag area as well as the butterflies.  It is much easier to paint whole sheets instead of small specific die cuts.

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When this butterfly combo came along I really began to wonder just what I was up to.  I think that is because I love decorative painted backgrounds so much I rarely cover them up. They are such great all occasion cards, but I pushed forward.  I did edge the butterflies with the wink of stella, which of course you cannot see in these photos.  It is there though, and it looks so pretty.  You can see it better in the lead featured image which is much more close up.  Basic pearls, gold metallic thread with a little more patience and this project was finally finished.  It measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 plus the butterfly hanging off the edge.  A custom envelope will definitely be in order here.

Have a creative day!

Moana

I am Much More Me When I’m With You

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

What do you do with a huge pineapple stamp?  Well, just about anything you want I guess.  I loved it, but probably had more questions than answers.  This is definitely one of those answers.  I asked my daughter to pick out a stamp from my stash of new product and give me a color.  She chose light green and this stamp.  Sometimes you just need a nudge in the right direction to get moving.

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Yesterday, and well into the evening, I spent my time helping a good friend with a wedding photo shoot.  You never know how much you are needed, but judging how tired I am today, it would have been so hard for her without me.  And of course we had an absolute blast.  We work nearly seamlessly together, another plus.  I thought this would suit us nicely.

I went with light water color washing using only two colors.  I wasn’t sure how they would blend in the middle, hoping it wouldn’t make some kind of brown.  It turned out great.  I opted for minimal distressing and one single stamping.  The leaves needed a bit, so I used my aqua painter to blend them a bit, but left the pineapple pattern alone.  I stamped it again on the inside, but more in the corner for more interest.  Good stuff there!

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The tags & labels framelit set fit perfectly around the sentiment and provided the perfect place for my favorite ribbon.  A few of the new enamel dots found there way as well.  The card front and inside panels were both layered with an additional piece of pear pizzazz card stock and the front was popped up with dimensionals.  There you go!

Have a creative day!

Moana

Your Generosity and Fabulosity

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This is another one of last weekends workshop projects.  A very simple but lovely card. There are so many things that I love about it, but especially how they all work together.

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The layering design is all about showing off the designer series paper.  The embossing folder draws attention to it and the sentiment accents it.  In this pack of paper there are several two sided patterned pieces, but two sheets of gold foil designer series paper.  This pattern is one of the two and I love it!

I accented the sentiment with the layered square framelits and some of the awesome new mini striped ribbon.  It might have been a bit over sized, but it is what I wanted so I did it. A touch of echo stamping on the inside to tie it to the designer paper and I was good.  Another great project that will find its way to another fabulous person.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

We’ll Weather This Together

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A project can go through several phases, and some can be unexpected.  The original vision kind of got lost somewhere along the way, had some confusion, but ended up reasonably pleasing.  These ladybugs though, too much love there.

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My daughters have a canvas in their bedroom that inspired this little card.  I was looking at it recently and thought of the new stamp and framelit set that could help me create my own version.  I pulled some of my favorite pastel colors for the background and started the process.  The more colors I use the longer it takes me to become satisfied with how they blend and flow together.  I went through this one three different times and then once more when I added in the yellow around my little bugs.

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I water colored on a scrap piece a mix of pool party and blushing bride.  The umbrella was then cut out and hit again with more blushing bride.  The clouds and raindrops were cut from areas that just had pool party.  And yes, I did glue all of those parts down, even those little drops.  I love the dimension the thick water color paper gives to them. Before I stamped my sentiment I added a touch of wink of stella to the clouds and raindrops.  All the pieces were layered together and put in place.  And before the blog had even been finished I was able to use it to brighten someones day.  Wonderful.

Have a creative day!

Moana

Layering Love

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Summer is here and it seems like love is everywhere.  How fun is that!  I wanted to capture some of that carefree spirit that summer can bring and had a fun time giving it a try.

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I must admit, I have been enjoying my water coloring quite a bit, but it is still my favorite medium right now.  I thought I might use a die cut on this image and layer it, but I forgot about that until I started typing.  I was wondering why I left the image off center like that.  I then remembered my original plan.  Well, I am okay with how it turned out.

It began with stamping the sentiment in versamark ink and then embossing with white embossing powder.  The next step was to create some kind of heart over and around the words.  When that was done I stared at it for a while trying to decide on a background color. My oldest daughter suggested tempting turquoise since it felt like summer.  That went with my plans, so I went for it.  I kept the color the strongest in the corners and painted towards the heart.  I was trying to create a lighter area around the heart to make it look like it was floating a bit.  That worked pretty good.  Wish I could make a more balanced heart, guess that is why I love die cuts and punches so much.  They correct my work some…

In the end I was happy with the result.  I went ahead and did a touch of blending along the edge of the heart and the blue background.  This provided a bit of a border and gave some cool layering effects.  I went back around the lettering with a wink of stella brush which gave a bit of shadow, but also made the image appear almost blurred.  Interesting, but I still went with it.  I left it a single layer on the card base of watermelon wonder and there you go.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Thank You, Friend

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Did I take a few days off?  Well, not really.  My son recently got married and just last weekend we had a reception in our backyard to celebrate.  I thought I could keep things going, but I just had to get a bit more focused. Family always comes first.  Then you have the lovely friends that support and make everything come together.  I have several such friends and I couldn’t be more grateful.

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Could these two adorable friends be any more wonderful?  They come on one stamp and make the perfect pair.  I decided to put several of the new in-colors to work to show them off.  The elephant is painted in sweet sugarplum, the mouse in peekaboo peach and the ground painted in emerald envy.  The sky background needed something different, so I went with soft sky.  Yup, just what the card needed.  Nothing else was needed, no ribbon, no distressing or anything else.

I mounted the water color on a separate piece of sweet sugarplum cut to provide a narrow 1/8th inch border and then raised up on dimensionals.  This is just the type of card I would love to get, but even more, love to give.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Perfectly Wrapped Flirty Flamingo

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

It couldn’t get any easier than this little number.  Two stamps, one punch and a bit of ribbon and here you go!  It is a tiny little box, but still big enough to hold a small gift or plenty of tiny treats.  How about a yummy truffle?

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I had punched several banners to make samples bookmarks for my club ladies which left me with an odd piece of cardstock.  Instead of making another tall card, I just made two of those this week, I though I would work out a carton box instead.

The stamping was very simple, tone on tone.  This color is awesome, don’t you think?  I spaced out the stripe stamping to make kind of a pattern.  I didn’t stress out about the exactness of the spaces and it turned out great.  And of course, I had to use some of my new favorite ribbon!  What a fun project!

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Perfectly Wrapped in Sweet Sugarplum

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I am getting pretty darn excited for the new catalog to go live.  Just a couple of more days now!  This is a tiny peek into what awaits.  I usually wait to get into new product until everyone can order the new product, but I decided not this time.  I am so very excited about this particular new color.  I always enjoy the new in-colors Stampin’Up! brings out, but this one has me hook, line and sinker!

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The card itself is really super simple and in my favorite style.  Creating my own background from pretty stamps is the best.  I used several stamps from the same set, Perfectly Wrapped.  It is actually part of a kit that you can make a ton of different types of gift boxes and bags.  I think it would be so fun to play with at a workshop. One thing at a time.  This set is really going to get a lot of use.

And can I say how wonderful this new ribbon is?  In the catalog I was totally unimpressed. It looked kind of dumpy and I didn’t plan on getting it.  However, when I placed my demonstrator pre-order I gave in and am I glad I did!  It ties bows like a dream and looks so pretty.  Again, you just can’t tell from a catalog what things are like.  Too bad I don’t just have one of everything.  How can you, really now.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

“Suite” Treats

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People are placed in our lives for a reason.  It is so wonderful to realize those precious moments as they occur.  A simple, sweet thank you speaks volumes.  As does the kindness shown to me time and time again.

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In my desk scrap file I looked for something pretty to make a gift bag for a friend.  I came across this wonderful foil velum.  I scored the long sides 1″ in, on both sides.  The bottom of the bag was scored at 5 1/2″ and 6 1/2″ to give a 1″ margin all around.  Folding, adhering, and then adding a bow all went very easy.  Deciding on a phrase took a moment, but as I have often enough, I turned to the Suite Sayings set and found just what I wanted.  The stamping was done in the soon to be retired blackberry bliss, I sure will miss that color, and then punched with the 1 3/4″ circle punch.  A layer of silver foil was punched with the 2″ circle punch and then layered in place.  The tag is stuck to the bag so the ribbon can be removed easily.  That is important for getting to those treats and even re-gifting the bag.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Corner Garden Bliss

~ moanaj ~ 2 Comments

As another catalog year comes to a close I have to be brave and say goodbye to the things that I have loved so much.  This card has so much of that in it.  The stamp, and three of the colors.  A very sad farewell indeed.

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I masked a piece of water color paper and stamped the floral image in black stazon ink.  I have loved this stamp so much.  I do think it will stay with me even when it isn’t available to purchase.  The only color I wanted for the flower petals was blackberry bliss.  So, that meant some had more color than others and they all got special treatment to make them look unique but coordinated.

Before I painted the leafs and stems I applied the soft sky background.  I knew that mossy meadow would cover easily and I still wanted to allow it to blend out a bit.  It worked like a charm.  The flower centers were painted in hello honey and allowed to blend out a bit into the flower.  After the painting was done I  just stared at it wondering how I wanted to distress it.  I didn’t want splatters or spots, but didn’t want to leave it either.

I decided to use a spritzer and water.  Several sprays later I started to like what I was seeing. I did some sponging with a paper towel to lift off some color, then a neat thing happened. I took my damp, inky paper towel and sponged from the bottom to the top which brought a very light amount of blackberry bliss with it.  It looked pretty great so I went with it.  I bet I couldn’t recreate it though, but I will most certainly try.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Tap Tap Tap into Retirement

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Well, it has begun.  The retirement list has been published and I can start getting sad over some of my favorites.  This has been one of them.  I love the images, but really love the little tap tap tap tap stamp.  It is so adorable.  Some stamp sets I just keep because they make me smile, and I love to smile almost as much as making someone else smile.

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This project was created with a few techniques.  I stamped my little typewriter  in cajun craze first, then did a bunch of stamping all around the base image with almost artichoke first and then moved on to delightful dijon.

When that was done I got out my sponge and went at the edges.  I aged the entire background by swirling around and around focusing on the edges to make them darker.  I added a little extra sponging around the edge to really darken it up.  I did the same on the inside, but left the center light for easy writing.

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I stamped my front piece with cajun craze and then sponged in three different areas to keep the colors blended, but still very separate.  I fussy cut it, layered it to some more card stock, sponged that too and put it up on dimensionals.  I did a single wrap of striped cotton ribbon sticking it down with glue dots on the front and back.  The background piece was placed on another sheet of card stock with a tiny border and then layered it up again on even more dimensionals.  Love those guys, they make me so happy.

I don’t normally show the entire inside of a card, but it turned out so awesome that I had to. I thought it was nice enough it could be a card front all by itself.  Not today, but I gave an extra peek just for fun.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Helping Me Grow

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

I do love to water color, that much is more than obvious.  Since spring is everywhere I knew I had to do some flowers like the ones I see everywhere.  How about lupin?  Pretty sure I spelled that wrong, but they are the prettiest wildflower, next to the poppy of course, that are growing all around this time of year.  My husband even recognized the flower on the card, and that is saying something.

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I stamped the large floral image on my masked piece of water color paper in black stazon. The flowers were initially painted in marina mist, letting the ink run lighter as I went up the flower.  After, I added in hi-lights of wisteria wonder in the centers and across some of the petals.  The stems were done in pear pizzazz.  I did a touch more with the gold wink of stella to give it a sparkle.  That was both on the petals and the stems.  I know, it is hard to see in the photo, but it is there.

I painted the background in so saffron, allowing it to be lighter and darker just here and there.  I didn’t have a specific rule in mind, I let it happen.  I then used my aqua painter to drop clean water across the card to make water spots.  I let the drops sit there for several minutes then came back and dabbed them up with paper towels.  That removed ink and left the fun spots behind.

A simple bow across the front finished it off.  I used a piece of very vanilla for the inside.  I decided not to leave it blank and opted for a repeated image of the front.  Instead of black, I used so saffron stamped off and placed it right in the middle just like the front.  The idea is that it is light enough to be written over, kind of like a water mark.  It looks great.

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Have a creative day.

Moana

Dear Heart, Sweet Boy

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This project was all about giving myself a challenge.  I grabbed a piece of dsp, decided on three colors, picked a stamp set I hadn’t used a long time and went for it.  This was definitely not my usual style, but it felt good.

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The card itself wasn’t too complicated, just one layer for the background.  I stamped my little boys on water color paper with black stazon and opened the ink pads.  Their faces were done with a very diluted wash of pink pirouette with the hair in tip top taupe.  I wanted them to look like the same boy just doing different things.

Each boy face was accented with one color only.  For the darker areas I kept the ink fairly strong.  When I accented I diluted it a bit more and even more for the outlined areas in the background.  I left it simple because I wasn’t really going for perfection, just soft coloring. I punched their faces out with the 1 3/4″ circle punch and a background of black with the 2″ circle punch.  They were arranged on the front and layered with a bit of dimensionals.

The banner was stamped from the same set and a light wash of each color was put on its own section.  Then each end was punched with the bitty banner punch.  I also put that up on dimensionals.  I repeated the pattern of paper inside with more dsp and a smaller piece of very vanilla to write my message on.  Such a sweet card, for a very sweet boy indeed.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Watercolor Wings Just for You

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Saturday mornings are usually busy with everything under the sun and then some.  I had the opportunity to chat with my oldest daughter while she got ready for work.  We put each other on speaker phone so we could keep moving along.  This is what I did during our chat.

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With all of the excitement of Sale-a-bration products and the wonderful spring catalog, it is easy to put aside all of the great product in the annual catalog.  This set, Watercolor Wings, has been a favorite since it came out.  I hadn’t had it put to use lately and thought that was long overdue.

I stamped my ink layers onto watercolor paper this time not quite sure how it would all turn out.  The initial stamping was a bit too detailed for the effect I was going for, but I remained patient and kept going.  I moved in with the aqua painter and began blending, but still wasn’t satisfied.  Perhaps because I had stamped off to get the tones I wanted the ink didn’t want to move around too much.

I thought things were a bit stark still so I came in with pear pizzazz for my background. That really helped out a lot.  But the butterflies still weren’t what I wanted.  I got a spritzer out and put more water on.  Which led to dabbing water off, spraying again, and moving along to the heat tool and doing it all over again.  I did finally get a result I liked, but decided to bring out the wink of stella pens, both the clear and gold glitter ones, and put in finishing details.  I think it all worked out, but I wasn’t sure for a while.  Sometimes watercolors can be that way.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Beautiful Ride for My Nali Bug

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

This card has been in the planning part of my brain since the spring catalog came out.  I waited to get the set because I thought it would be one more for me than anything else.  I just might turn out to be wrong on that one, but we will see.  I made this one for my oldest daughter, Denali.  Some of my pet names for her are Nali, Bug, and the coziest is My Nali Bug.  That is just what this card is, My Nali Bug.  I shared it with her before this blog went live and she was so cute about it.  How fun is that!

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I simply stamped the car in the lower portion of my water color paper and got the ink out.  I had originally thought to write her name on the car door, but changed to the balloon last minute.  I think I could get lost in this stamp.  How many creative ways have you seen one of these cars painted in the years they have been driving on the roads?  My brain is thinking of ways to make them on this little guy too.  So much fun and never enough time.

Simple layering of my two focal colors, and this card was done.  I enhanced the layering inside the card to give it a bit more color, but that is really it.  I added some wink of stella to the windows and the silver ink areas of the car.  I touched up the rims with a white gel pen.  It wasn’t perfect, but the surface wasn’t ideal for that pen.  The texture of cold press water color paper is my favorite, so there will be some concessions here and there.  Good enough.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Hello and Bonjour!

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Can  Sale-a-bration be any more fun?  How about getting another free stamp set just so you can have it in french?  I saw another awesome demonstrator, Mary Fish, use this set with the bonjour stamp and I knew I wanted it as well.  Isn’t that just how we work?  Well, it was worth it.  I love it!

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The dsp I am using here is also from a free Sale-a-bration set.  Most of the patterns are floral, hence the wildflower fields title, but not all of them.  These simple stripes are adorable.  I thought I would create two color choices and a gift bag that could go with either one.  It worked out great.

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I thought for sure the bonjour card would be my favorite, but the birthday boy is also very adorable.  I think the party hat stamp really made it.  You can never have enough birthday cards, especially when I get to share most of them with my mother-in-law.  She is so good about remembering literally everyone’s birthdays.  And she loves sending out special ones much more than a store bought card.  Who wouldn’t?

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Pedal Pusher Through Wildflower Fields

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I was so excited for this stamp set to show up I could hardly stand it!  Last year during Sale-a-bration Stampin’Up! added some new freebies half way during the sale to perk things up. It went so well they did the same thing this time.  This little set is one of them and it is the best!  It even made my husband grin.

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There are other sentiments, but this one is my favorite.  There are several different items that could be stamped in the basket, but I chose flowers to coordinate with my background paper choice.  Talk about riding through a spring meadow, wish I really could though. Having a tandem bicycle is something my husband and I can’t wait to have.  Maybe that is why I love this set so much.

I also broke out some markers to do my coloring.  I tend to prefer my aqua painter, but it is good to use other things too.  They worked great, of course!  I did water color the basket, the bike seats, and my country road.  What a fun time I had creating this project.  Like I said, I just got it yesterday.  The rest of my box is still on the kitchen table, not gone through, not inventoried or anything.  I just dug through it, got this set out and made something right away.  The sign of a great stamp set for sure.  This could also be a workshop project I think.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

Everything Botanical

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

Well, this project started somewhere else, but the results are great.  Sometimes it is hard to see past your ‘opportunity mistakes’, I managed though.  Once I fussy cut designer series paper I am totally committed.

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The free items you can earn from Sale-a-bration are all unique, but this one caught my eye right away.  A patterned velum paper that not only coordinates, but actually outlines designer series paper, well that is amazing.  I fussed a bit matching it up, but found the exact spot.  I almost did a 6 x 6 card just so I could see the whole pattern line up.  It would have been worth it, it looked so pretty all lined up.  I moved on though.

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My opportunities came from the glue experience.  I thought I could put tiny tiny dots of glue on little flowers and it would look kind of neat, and hide the adhesive at the same time.  Well, my tiny dots were not as tiny as they needed to be.  Several fixes later, it worked out.  Basic rhinestones, a larger sentiment with tag layering, and using one of the many coordinating framelits.  Phew!

I added a touch of inside stamping with a leaf from the coordinating stamp set.  I don’t usually go for a whole suite of product.  This one is different, I loved all of it.  However, it is my favorite color pallet, floral, and it goes together so wonderfully.  I couldn’t resist it.  So I didn’t.

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Have a creative day!

Moana

 

My Heart Smiles

~ moanaj ~ Leave a comment

As my husband and daughter were heading out the door early this morning, I asked them to pick a pattern for today’s project from the Love Blossoms DSP stack.  Didn’t they choose awesome ones?

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I was initially thinking of a Valentine’s Day card, but this quickly changed into more than that.  It definitely has that vibe, but not exclusively.  I do enjoy a project that is versatile. I used new product like crazy today.  The paper of course, I hadn’t taken one piece out of the stack yet.  Such pretty patterns.  This stamp was a first too.  And wouldn’t you know it, the sentiment fit perfectly inside the extra-large oval punch.  Too perfect!  I hadn’t tried the fine tip glue pen yet, but it was perfect to stick down my tiny baby linen thread bow.  Can’t see my adhesive, can you.  Nope.  And of course, the lovely blushing bride glimmer paper.  It is so fun.  I know we can’t have glimmer paper in all of the colors, but wouldn’t that be fun?

This card was just blocked on heavy weight whisper white card stock, with the base also being heavy.  I really enjoy a white card, but the paper has to be heavy enough to hold up all the fun stuff on the front.  This paper is totally up to the task.

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Have a creative day!

Moana