Surprises in the Mail

Some of the best things about cardmaking are the feelings of excitement when something comes in the mail! It's so great (and increasingly rare) to go to the mailbox and find something other than junk mail, catalogs, and bills. Cardmakers usually send the surprises to their friends and family, but sometimes we get to receive surprises in the mailbox, too.

My recent surprise was an issue of the brand new The Stamper's Sampler Summer 2013 issue which hits newsstands on June 1st. This issue has three of my recent cards inside! Two of them shared the same color scheme, and I used pieces of the same single sheet of brown & blue spritzed cardstock in their designs.

This card features stamps from Unity Stamp Company. The spritzes used are Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels and Denim Adirondack Color Wash Dye Spray from Ranger. I wish the sparkly background showed up better, but it's nearly impossible to get fine details like that to show up in print.

The sentiment on this card really speaks to me. I can almost hear U2 singing it as I read along. If there were an album of my life, that song would certainly be on it.

Happy Stamping! And I hope you receive a happy surprise soon!

Bike Challenge - Week 20

TGIF!  This week's Cuttin & Stampin Challenge is Use a Bike.   It's perfect timing for a card like this one, too, since my husband just got himself a bike last weekend.  He's been through so many surgeries, and we think it'll be a perfect way for him to get out and get a little bit of exercise.

This card features a new technique for me:  stamping over an area painted with acrylic paint.   Here it is:

The stamps on this card are from Hero Arts, and the papers are from My Mind's Eye.  I added a little bit of bling on the flowers and the polka-dot strip to dress things up.  Rounded corners add some visual interest.

We'd love for you to participate in our challenge -- and you've still got all weekend to work on it.  This challenge ends on May 27th. Click here to enter your creation.

Happy Stamping!

Friday - Friends - Five

It's Friends with Flair Friday at Unity Stamp Co. today.   It's also their FIVE YEAR anniversary this week.  Congratulations to Angela & her whole team!  In celebration, I'll share a "celebrate" card made with one of their fun {itty bitty} stamps.

This particular stamp appeals to me -- probably because I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and our home decor had nautical themes.  There were shells in the living room, a fish sculpture in the den and even a ceramic octopus on driftwood in the hallway.   (Said fish sculpture made it to landlocked Idaho and now hangs in the kitchen.)

I'm a big fan of the plaid paper used on this card.  It's from the Lost & Found 2 collection by My Mind's Eye.  I'm always in search of a good plaid.

In other fun news this week, I had a card published in the new 400 More Ideas for Handmade Cards from The Stampers' Sampler.    If you'd like a peek, check out this post from August.  It's the one with the adorable ice cream cone.

Happy Stamping!