CASING THE OPEN SEA WITH A TWIST

I found the neatest card in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery by n2scrappin and was just itching to case it.  You can view her original card here.  I knew from the moment I saw it that I wanted to put my own "spin" on it so I decided to make this a tilt card of sorts.  I found directions for making this type of card in the resource section of Splitcoast Stampers.  Instead of just making the wheel tilt, I cut my hole a little bigger than the directions so the wheel could turn completely around to mimic the wheel of a real ship.

I used The Open Sea stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalog along with the sentiment from the Bring on the Cake stamp set.  I paired my image with the matching Nautical Expedition Designer Series Paper also in the mini catalog.  (You just have to love matching designer series paper and matching stamp sets.  It takes the guess work out every time!)

I know it's hard to tell from the picture to the left, but if you look really hard you can tell that the wheel turns.  Notice how my stamped image is off center?  I won't even tell you how long it took me to complete this card.  Let's just say that it took far more time than it should have.  It's been way too long since I've stamped and I am extremely rusty.  Despite the length of time it took to create this card I can honestly say I'm very pleased with it.  I intend to give it to my father-in-law for his upcoming birthday.  Let's hope he likes it!

Thanks for peeking in on me today and for being patient with me during my extremely long absence.  I do have more stamping creations to share with you so please stay tuned!

MOTHER MAY I

One of the great advantages of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator is receiving the monthly publication of "Stampin' Success" in the mail.  This publication is full of business tips and techniques to help demonstrators grow their business.  I found this card in one of the Stampin' Success magazines and tried it for myself. 

 If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see a shimmery glow to the stamped panel of the card.  This technique is called "faux mother of pearl".  All you need is plastic wrap and some Stampin' Up! Frost White Shimmer Paint.  You simply place a small amount of the shimmer paint on a foam plate, wad up the plastic wrap and dab it in the shimmer paint.  Next you pounce the plastic wrap on your cardstock, let it dry and them stamp your image with Staz-on ink.  This technique adds a little elegance to your project.  Go ahead and try it today.  It's very easy to do and it'll make you say, "Wow!  Now that's pretty!"

Thanks for peeking in on me today.

FAST & FABULOUS FAUX SILK

I saw this technique on the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator's website and decided to try it for myself.  I can't believe how easy it is to create this beautiful, soft effect.  The added texture over your stamped image just makes you want to reach out and touch it.  Every time I go into a store I can't help but reach out and touch the textures of the fabric and run my fingers over the fine details of jewelry.  I'm sure I drive the salespeople crazy but I can't help myself.  Do you do that too?

This is one of the cards the ladies in my Technique Lover's class created this past week.  I think the vintage look of this card was voted one of their favorites : ) It makes me happy to hear my customers say, "Oh, this is definitely my favorite project."  KWIM?

Here's a close up look at the distressed edges.  It kind of reminds me of vintage lace.  There's virtually little work to achieving this look.  Just take a 1" piece of cardstock and punch one side with Stampin' Up!'s eyelet border punch, run your cardstock through the crimper back and forth and use your bone folder to smooth out the crimping.  Don't run your bone folder over the crimped edge too much.  You'll still want to see some of the crimped detail.  (Using your bone folder will help break down the fibers in the cardstock.)  Next, use your fingernails to rough up the edges and after a short while the fibers in the cardstock will separate giving it a distressed look.

Thanks for peeking in on me today.  I really do enjoy when you stop by to visit me and your lovely comments put me over the moon happy!  Be sure to check back later this week.  I have a card to show you using the lastest Mojo Monday sketch challenge!

BUH-BYE WINTER

This is going to be the last "winter" project I post until later this year.  I'm am so "over" the winter season.  It seems a little strange to post this card when in reality we're experiencing 60 degree weather here in Ohio.  Oh, and guess who is loving it?  Me, of course.  Don't be jealous.  This is Ohio and the weather is subject to change at any given drop of a hat.  No complaining here though.  I'll take the beautiful weather even if it's only for a little while.  I think it gives a person the hope that spring is just around the corner.

I CASed this card from Michele Zindorf.  You can view her original card here.  You just have to love this brayer technique.  It looks so difficult to achieve, but with a little patience, a brayer and a post-it note or two, you can create a beautiful landscape in virtually no time.

3-D ORANGE CRUSH CUP CARD

Don't you just love this idea?  It reminds me of a big old cup of Orange Crush!   I saw Leann Greff's card and was immediately inspired.  Do you want to know a secret?  The cup on this card is amazingly simple to make!  All you need to do is trace a disposable cup on vellum, cut it to size, score the edges at 1/4" and add sticky strip.  Just use a sponge dauber and some ink to color the inside of the cup and you're done!  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!  Dawn Griffith has a wonderful video tutuorial on making a cup card.  You can view her video here. 

Thanks for peeking in on me today!

BUTTERFLIES EASEL REVISITED

You may remember the butterfly easel card I made here.  My card today isn't that much different than my earlier version.  I just changed the colors and size of the card making it to fit in a standard card envelope. 

This is another card we made at my Fancy Folds card class last week.  I think this was almost everyone's favorite card to make.  Personally, it's my favorite Fancy Folds class card too.  Stay tuned!  I have one more card to show you from last week's class.  We made a "cup card".  It's such an easy card to make.  All you need is a plastic disposable cup, printer paper, a pencil and some vellum.  Easy peasy!

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but it is in the upper 90's in southern Ohio.  No relief in sight until Friday!  Ugh!  So, please stay cool, stay hydrated and stay INSIDE!  Thanks for peeking in on me today!

YOU GOTTA HAVE FRIENDS

When I was assembling this card the lyrics "Well, you gotta have friiiiieeenndds" kept going through my mind.  Don't ask me why, I have no idea.  Many times while I'm making my cards I'm singing songs that remind me of the particular card I'm creating at the time.  I know what you're thinking.  "No wonder this crazy lady's blog is called Stamping with LULU! She's a real wacko."  Actually my husband and son gave me that nickname years ago.  Only my son couldn't pronounce his "L's" at the time and he called me WuuWuu.  Fast forward some ten years plus and they still call me Lulu.  I have no idea why, but the name has stuck.  I don't actually mind.  I just pretend it's a term of endearment instead of the fact that they think I'm nuts.

Okay, enough history and craziness.  Let's get on with the card.  Don't you just love this patterned paper?  It's from the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book and is called Greenhouse Gala.  Of course I was instantly drawn to the paper collection.  The collection contains my favorite color combination - blue, green and chocolate.  This card is another joy fold card.  It's a card that we created in my Fancy Folds class on Thursday night.  Once again, I have CASEd another more talented artist.  The card front was inspired by this card by Mary Fish.  I just changed the colors and stamp set up a bit.

Thanks for peeking in on me today!  You're visits mean a lot to me.  Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July weekend my American friends.  I hope to spend it by my father's pool and entertaining my family. 

JOY-OUS DAY

Remember all those wedding favors I made last month?  Well, the wedding has finally come and gone.  It was a beautiful wedding and the bride was absolutely stunning!  This is the card I made for the lovely newlyweds.  It's a joy fold card.  You can find the instructions to make this type of card here.  The middle section of the card opens up to reveal the sentiment.  The large glittery flower is holding it shut.  Want to see what it looks like opened?

This is a super easy card to make.  So go ahead and make one.  You'll be pleasantly pleased with the results!  Not to mention the recipient will think you're one smart little cookie as well.

I'm going to keep it short tonight.  I need to get ready for a Fancy Folds class I'm holding later this week.  I can't wait to get together with this great group of ladies!

Have a great week and thanks for peeking in on me!