YOU BELONG AMONG THE WILDFLOWERS

You belong somewhere you feel free...............Yes, I'm a Tom Petty fan.  I may even be dating myself a little with that song, huh?  Okay, so I noticed my card is having a little "wardrobe malfunction" in this picture.  Looks like I need to adhere the layers on the right side of the card a little better.  Okay, how many of you clicked on the picture to get a better look?  (Smile.)  Shoot fire!  I never noticed that until now.  Note to self:  fix it before it goes in the mail.

This card has a wallop of things going on.  Pearls, die cuts, piercing, paper piecing, watercoloring, sponging........You get the picture.  You should have seen the mess on my desk after making this one.

This is going to be a short post for me today.  I'm heading off to work and them to chemo education with Dad.  If you have any questions about the card, give me a shout.  Thanks for peeking in on me today!

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!

WATERCOLOR DAISIES

October is a big birthday month in my family.  My aunt, cousin, my father and I all celebrate October birthdays.  My father and I celebrate our birthdays a day apart.  My father actually had the courage to ask my mother to wait a few more hours so I could be born on his birthday.  (Smile.)  I can only imagine the conversation that transpired after that remark : )  Of course, neither she nor I waited.

I'm not sure what the name of this technique is called.  I saw the technique at the Cincinnati Stampin' Up! Regional last year.  I used markers to color in the image and then doused my stamp with a good dose of water from a spray bottle.  This gives the image a muted, water colored look.  If you happen to be looking for a tutorial on how to make a nice bow, you have to check out this video tutorial by Ann Schach.  It is an awesome tutorial and it really works. 

ETA:  My image was stamped on Whisper White card stock.  The "wet" stamp did not buckle my paper.  I haven't tried this technique on Watercolor Paper, but I'm sure it would work nicely.

WHOOOO'S HAVING A BIRTHDAY

I created this card for my cousin, Brent.  It will be a little late getting to him, but it's the thought that counts.  Right?

 I saw this cute idea for a shadow box card on Dawn Griffith's blog and knew that I wanted to try it.  I love her video tutorials.  She makes it so easy for the visual crafter like me.

I really like how my card came together.  Look at that sweet little owl.  This was actually the first time I'd used my Two-Step Owl Punch.  Why I waited so long to use it I'll never know. He reminds of the owl on the Tootsie Roll Pop commercial.  You know the one.  "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?"  I know I'm corny.  Believe me when I say I get it honest.  I also really like Stampin' Up!'s Woodgrain stamp.  Doesn't my card look like the actual grain on a tree?  To create the moon I used the 2 1/2 inch circle punch and also the branch from the Two-Step Bird punch to create the tree branch.  Over all, I was pretty happy with the results of this card.  Looking back I think I would have moved my buttons up a little to hide the edge of my "Happy Birthday" banner.  Looks like I need to pay a little more attention to details.  

I hope your week is sailing along smoothly.  I can't complain too much as I enjoyed a three day weekend with fantastic weather.  Thanks for taking time out of your day to peek in on me.  It really does mean so much to me.

LOOK WHOOOOO'S TURNING................

I made this card for my older brother, Greg.  Unfortunately, it will have to be a belated birthday card since it won't reach him until after his birthday.  Even though my brother will be turning............."44", I thought he might like this whimsical little owl.  I sure hope it brings a smile to his face.  I've seen cards using this punch owl on several blogs.  Most recently, I saw it on Julie's blog - Thoughts that Stick.  I'm not sure why, but I decided I had to try it too!  It came together very easily and was a "hoot" to make as well.

Today's card was inspired by Mercy Kerin's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #55 (MTSC55) and Crazy for Challenge's Challenge #19 (C4C19).  Here's a picture of Mercy's sketch challenge.  You can see I didn't follow it exactly.    My circle and owl just looked better offset.  I have really enjoyed breaking out my new goodies from Stampin' Up!'s new Occassions Mini catalog.  I haven't stamped in forever and it really was good for my soul : )  If you haven't checked out the new Occasions Mini or the Sale-A-Bration brochure, you can do so by clicking on the picture of them located on the upper left-hand side of my blog. 

Well, that's it for me today.  Thanks for peeking in on me.  I'm off to stamp some more and finally play with my new Stampin' Up! clear mount stamps and blocks.

Supplies:  Stamps - Look Who's Turning; Paper - SU!'s Sweet Pea DSP, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Kraft, Whisper White, Basic Black; Ink - Chocolate Chip, SU!'s Chocolate Chip Marker; Accessories - Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, Buttons Latte, Playground Designer Buttons, White Signo Pen, Sponge Dauber, Circle Scissor Plus; Punches - 1 3/4" Circle, 3/4" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Large Oval,

1 1/4" Square, Round Tab, Heart to Heart, Scallop Circle

*All products Stampin' Up! unless noted*

The Big 7 - "OH!"

This is the card I gave my father-in-law for his big "70th" birthday! He used to tease me and say I was his "favorite" daughter-in-law. Of course that's when he only had ONE daughter-in-law. That's okay. I always tell him he's the best father-in-law I've ever had. (Maybe it's because he's the ONLY father-in-law I've ever had!) I have to admit he is a great father-in-law though!

I stamped the chef on several pieces of card stock and patterned paper and "paper pieced" them together for all the different colors and patterns. The cake is colored in with markers, watercolor pencils and a blender pen. Of course, this card is inspired by the Mojo Monday Sketches. It just happens to be Sketch Week 93.

Thanks for stopping by and peeking in on me today!

Supplies: Stamps - Voila, Sincere Salutations; Paper - Very Vanilla Old Olive, Riding Hood Red (retired), So Saffron, Good Morning Sunshine DSP (retired), Patterns Pack I (retired), Washington Apple DSP (retired); Ink - Staz On Jet Black, SU Markers - Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, So Saffron, Read Red, Summer Sun, Watercolor Pencil; Accessories - 1/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Earth Elements Brads, Riding Hood Red Striped Ribbon (retired), Blender Pen

SWEETEST DAY EVER

Here's a card from a Birthday Bash Card Making Class that I held earlier this year. I just love this cupcake stamp. Once again I have used Dazzling Diamonds glitter to make the icing stand out. I hope you all have a great Saturday!

Just a reminder, Stampin' Up!'s Last Chance list,(formerly the "Retired List"), comes out on June 1st so be sure to check back with me to check out the list of these retiring goodies.

Supplies: Stamps - SU's Crazy for Cupcakes; Card Stock - So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Washington Apple DSP; Ink - Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue Marker, Pumpkin Pie Marker, Really Red Marker, Summer Sun Marker; Accessories - Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Dimensionals, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ELLEN

This is an all Stampin' Up! card. You'll probably see a lot of SU only cards as I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. LOL!

I just love chocolate brown with pink. Actually, I love chocolate brown with just about any color. Some people like pink, some like purple - me, well, I'm a chocolate brown kind of girl!

I created this card for my dear sister-in-law's, Ellen's, 35th birthday. She'll be traveling to Florida with us later this summer. Last summer she traveled to South Carolina with us to the beach. My son, Jo Jo, said that was one of his best vacations ever. So, I included our flight itinerary inside the card as a surprise!

So, what do you think? I'd love to hear a comment on my first real post.

Supplies: Stamps - SU!'s Party Hearty, Short & Sweet; Cardstock - Regal Rose, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Sweet Alway DP; Ink- Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose; Accessories - Circle Scissor Plus, 3/4" circle punch, wide oval punch, large oval punch, regal rose ribbon, rhinestone from the Pretties Kit

You can view these Stampin' Up! products and more on my Stampin' Up! website at www.loriburkitt.stampinup.net.