And the Stampin' goes on...

As I said last night (err, this morning) I needed several thank-you cards. These will be going to my wonderful friends who helped me to celebrate a milestone birthday last month, my 29th one, of course. You know 29 has been the best 11 years of my life- lol! Anyway, I didn't want to make all the cards in the same design so I decided I would make 4 of the below little bird cards and 4 of another one. Well, of course, I had to play with "little lady" from Papertrey Ink. These are truly the most excellent polymer stamps that I have ever used (and I've used several very reputable brands.) They pick up and stamp off color like no other clear stamp can do, a joyful part of the creative process! Anyway, here is the card that I made with this fun "little lady." I don't know if I've seen this layout before or not (it's hard to say what inspirational tidbits stay in the back of the old noodle) but I wanted to use my new scalloped oval punch and I thought it needed to be framed up a bit. I took a piece of 5 1/4 x 4" Brocade Blue CS and ran it through the Cuttlebug with a brass template. I wanted it to have a light Swiss dotted look. Next, I cut an oval out of the center using my Coluzzle. I know a lot of folks that think the Coluzzle is difficult to use but I love this tool for cutting out all kinds of shapes. It was the first shape cutter I ever had and I keep returning to it regardless of the new releases. It's very easy to transport, shapes can be cut from anywhere on the page, and the shape selection is huge. Once you get the hang of it (it's key to make sure the blade is straight up and down while cutting,) it's actually pretty easy to use. Anyway, after cutting the oval out of the center of this Brocade Blue panel, I cut the piece down the middle and trimmed off 1/4" from each inner side. Again, I'm no Beate when it comes to explaining things but I think the finished product will, hopefully, display what I'm talking about. So here is what I accomplished last night. Just gotta hand write a personal note in each and off they go. Hope the recipients like them! Well, I have a 9-year-old who needs help with math, so I'd better run. Take care!

Lady Bug Oval card recipe

Stamps: little lady- Papertrey Ink.

Ink: Really Red, Basic Black, Versamark

Paper: Brocade Blue, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, PP- Carolee's

Supplies: Celery narrow organdy ribbon, Button- SEI, black embossing powder, embosing heat tool, scalloped oval punch, Coluzzle, Cuttlebug, Brass Template- Dreamcatcher designs