Tips & Tricks Tuesdays

I'm starting a new feature on my blog called "Tips & Tricks Tuesdays." I've been a Stampin' Up! demonstrator almost seven years, and I've picked up a lot of tips and tricks along the way. Some are things I learned from other demonstrators, others are things I've learned through trial and error, and some are from my experience as a sewer and quilter.

Today's trick is one I learned from a trimmings shop owner in Nice, France! It's an interesting story. I had flown into Nice for a 10 day trip to France. It was a tour for quilters, so we visited quilt shows, textile museums and fabric stores. I was looking for some ribbon to add to a hat and stopped in a small trimmings shop. I selected my ribbon and took it to the counter. The owner cut my length of ribbon and took out a Bic lighter. She proceeded to light it and pass it over the end of my satin ribbon. I'm sure I looked shocked! She smiled and sweetly said, "This will melt the edges of the ribbon and keep it from fraying."

Here's a picture of some ribbon before and after:


You can see that the fibers melt and seal the edges! Be careful not to burn the ribbon. It is very similar to using a heat gun for embossing.

And here's a card where I used this technique. With 6 raw edges of ribbon, it really made a difference when I sealed the edges.


Isn't this sweet? This was really easy to make, although some of it is what I call "fussy work."

Stamps: Baby Bundle (Onesie on the hanger), Petite Pairs
Paper: Twitterpated DSP, Whisper White, Blushing Bride
Ink: Black Staz-on
Accessories: Owl punch (the vest makes the dress), Scallop Oval and Large Oval punches, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, markers and pleated satin ribbon in Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizzazz

Well, I hope you learned something new today! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you next Tuesday for more tips & tricks!

Blessings,
Barbara

Happy Birthday!

February is a big birthday month at our house! All together, with immediate and extended family and friends, we celebrate five birthdays, including mine at the end of the month. I'm a little excited this year since I'm a Leap Year baby and I will be celebrating my "Sweet Sixteen!" And today's card celebrates birthdays!

After two weeks off, it's good to be back with my team working on a DIVA sketch challenge card. This week's sketch, DSC176, was a dream to work with! Thanks, Tammy!

And here is my card.


It should be obvious that I based my color combination on the fabulous SAB paper, Everyday Enchantment. I'll sure be sad to see this retire at the end of March! Get it while you can! It is actually free with a $50 order while Sale-A-Bration is on.

Stamps: Little Friends
Papers: Watercolor paper, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Everyday Enchantment DSP
Accessories: Big Shot, Tasteful Trim die, Stampin' Dimensionals, aquapainter, Signo gel pen

To watercolor the image, I pulled out all of the markers that coordinate with the DSP: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Peach Parfait, Calypso Coral, Poppy Parade, and Soft Suede. I used them to color and shade and then I used my aquapainter to blend the colors. I popped up the top balloon and highlighted them all with a gel pen.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend! I know I will! It is our annual trek to Lancaster, Pennsylvania with my husband's family. We enjoy each other's company, eat way too much, work on puzzles, unwind and relax. Oh, did I mention outlet shopping? :-)

Blessings,
Barbara

Just Because

Happy Saturday, everyone! Even though I am retired, I still look forward to the weekends. It's just a slower pace and time to connect with family. And a Sunday afternoon nap helps recharge my batteries for the next week! :-)

Here is the sketch for the week, DIVASC173. You can check here on the DIVA blog to see everyone who participated this week. Tammy has provided us with wonderful sketches this month, hasn't she?

Looking at the sketch, I decided I would flip through my catalog and look for a long image to use in place of the flower. So much for that idea! When I stumbled across "Notably Ornate" I knew where I wanted to go with this. I flipped the sketch on to its side and added a lot of texture. I love cards that are done in neutrals, and this fits the bill.

I used a minimal amount of supplies on this card!
Ink: Soft Suede
Paper: Very Vanilla and Soft Suede
Stamps: Notably Ornate
Accessories: Pearls, Big Shot, Houndstooth and Vintage Wallpaper embossing folders, sponge daubers, Word Window and Modern Label punches, Versamark pen

All right, now it's true confessions time! This is the first time I have inked this set, and I bought it as soon as it came out. I have it in both clear mount and wood mount, since I earned the wood mount as a prize at Convention 2010 for a necklace I designed using our Simply Adorned line. Speaking of Simply Adorned, it will be discontinued at the end of May 2012, so if there is anything you want to order from the line, get it while you can!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a terrific weekend!

Blessings,
Barbara

Short and Sweet

I am preparing this ahead of time since I will be in San Antonio for Stampin Up!'s Leadership this week. Here is the sketch for the week, DIVASC172. You can check here on the DIVA blog to see everyone who participated this week.


I stayed with the spirit of the sketch, but see that little square next to the sentiment? I traded it for a great big heart! I really wanted to play with some of my new stamps.

Here's the card. I will post details next week when I am back from my trip.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! If you are reading this on Saturday, I am at the San Antonio Regional event stampin' with my fellow Diva, Ruthie!

Blessings,
Barbara

S.W.A.K.

Happy Saturday! It's time for another DIVA sketch challenge card. Here's the sketch, DIVASC171:

And here's my card:
I found a color challenge that I wrote down but I can't figure out which challenge it was! The colors were Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, and Real Red. Those are the colors I used to emboss the hearts with the new Fashionable Hearts embosslit die. The card base is Whisper White and was scored 1/8" from edge edge with the new Simply Scored tool. The Valentine Greetings (Grateful Greetings stamp set) was stamped in Jet black Staz-On, and Pink Pirouette was used for the S.W.A.K. Clean and simple is usually not my style, but I love how this card turned out.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope your weekend is wonderful!

Blessings,
Barbara

Tickled Pink!

I was so honored to see that the card I submitted for the Create with Connie and Mary color challenge, CCMC183, was chosen as one of the top three cards submitted!



Here's my card:


I'm thrilled, to say the least! As you can see, I am proudly displaying my badge!

Blessings,
Barbara

Bordering on Romance

Happy New Year, a little late! I hope that all of you have had a good start to 2012! Last weekend I participated in the DIVA sketch challenge and was able to upload my card to the DIVA blog, but I could not get into my blogger account to do a post here. (My son finally helped me figure out the problem.) This week's card combines two challenges, DIVASC170, which looks like this,


and the Create with Connie and Mary color challenge, CCMC183.



Here's my card:

Here are the supplies I used.
Paper: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Twitterpated DSP
Stamps: Bordering on Romance
Ink: Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Black Staz-On
Accessories: Adorning Accents Edgelits Die, Blushing Bride 3/8" pleated satin ribbon, Stampin' dimensionals, aquapainters

I stamped and colored several of the main flower image so that I could cut some extra leaves and flowers to layer and pop up to give added dimension to the card. I really like how it turned out.

I'm in love with so many of the items in the Occasions mini catalog! I guess you can tell from the number of new products I used. If you have a minute, I'd love to hear what you think of my card. I read all of your comments, and it they really mean a lot to me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Barbara