No Stamp Wednesday!

I made this card without using ink. Actually, my stamp cleaners are all REALLY dirty and need to be cleaned, so...I also wanted to use some of the fun stuff from the Occasions Mini Collection. They've extended the date for this collection be sure to notice at right. The sentiment is a rub-on, the big flower and the blue circle are die-cuts, and the cute paper at the bottom, is from the Summer Picnic DS Paper set. This card was really quick and easy. Here's the recipe:

Stamps: NONE!
Ink: NONE!
Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, DS Paper Summer Picnic
Accessories: Rub-Ons A Perfect Day, Die-cut Blooms, Real Red Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Scalloped Circle punch, Real Red Brad.

Enjoy your day.

Kids Design the darndest things...

When I asked my daughter, Flora, to help design a card for her Aunt Sandy, she knew immediately what to do. This design is all her idea, I just implemented it. Her original idea was for an "Earth Day" card, but it easily was changed to a "Birthday" card. Sometime soon I'm going to have her make that Earth Day card to share. Thanks Flora! Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Voila!
Ink: Basic Black, Ruby Red (marker), Lovely Lilac, Real Red, Summer Sun (marker)
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, Western Sky DS Paper
Accessories: Blender Pen, Die-cut Blooms, 1/2" circle punch, 1-3/8" square punch, Fire Rhinestone Brads, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, narrow white grosgrain ribbon.

Layout Week 1

May is officially National Scrapbooking Month. Every Monday I will post the weekly "layout" that will be featured at my "Stamp and Scrap" days. (For dates, see the events at the right.) There will be not only scrapbook pages (the picture left is a 6x6 double page

spread,) but cards to make as well. This particular layout was inspired by a sidewalk chalk pattern my daughter made for shooting baskets at our basketball hoop. I thought it would make a good card or page layout, so here it is.

Stamp Sets: Celebrate Life (6x6 page), Heartfelt Thanks, All Holidays (card), Live Your Dream (6x6 page)
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Apricot Appeal, Orchid Opulence
Paper: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Apricot Appeal, Orchid Opulence
Accessories: 3/4" square punch (card), Apricot grosgrain ribbon (card)

All star Dad

Time to give Father's Day equal time. Here's a star-studded card that also works as a masculine birthday card. I've been seeing a lot of these punched out stars-within-stars lately and I think they're really versatile. You'll see them again during May in one of the weekly "Stamp and Scrap" layouts. Check the schedule to see if you can make one of the dates. Have a great weekend. See you Monday.

Stamps: All Holidays, Classic Stars Jumbo wheel
Ink: Ruby Red Jumbo Ink Cartridge, Stampin' Write Markers Ruby Red and Not Quite Navy
Paper: More Mustard, Whisper White, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Large Star Punch, Small Star Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Texture, texture

While we were in California, my brother and sister-in-law took me to this really wonderful paper store called Hiromi Paper International (see link at left) located in the art center at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. It's a store filled with wonderful hand-crafted papers from all over the world. I couldn't resist this Mokuba series paper it looks like pressed fibers in many colors. If you're looking for your "learn something new" moment today, check out the Hiromi Paper site and read "About Washi." for a fascinating look at Japanese paper making. Meanwhile, here's the recipe for the card:
Stamps: Embrace Life (flower), Stem Silhouettes (sentiment)
Ink: Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard, Real Red
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant, Mokuba Series Purple/Red from Hiromi Paper
Accessories: Blender Pens, Eggplant grosgrain ribbon

A gift idea

As May approaches, there are lots of times I need a small gift for someone. There are birthdays, Mother's Day, Teacher Appreciation week, and countless others. Here's a cute Jelly Bean Jar. I bought the jar at Ikea. The star on the jar is a rub-on (yes, they work on glass) and the tag is chipboard (see close-up picture.) I'll try to post one gift idea a week. Here's the recipe:

Stamp set: In the Stars
Ink: Real Red
Paper: Confetti White, Real Red, Designer Series (DS) Paper Summer Picnic
Accessories: Large Star Punch, Small Star Punch, On-Board Simon Upper (chipboard star), Rub-on's Anchored, Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Black Gingham Ribbon, Crop-a-dile to punch that hole in the chipboard

More Purple...

I guess I have a color theme going right now. Here's this lovely lighthouse in eggplant. The panel to the left is done using the "Polished Stone" technique (I hope it comes through on the post.) This is a card I designed for my Sassy 7 ladies for tonight's meeting featuring "sentiments." (Thanks Melissa for keeping me organized!) I could've added some ribbon, but I wanted the technique to take center stage. Enjoy.

Stamp Sets: A Light Unto My Path, All Holidays
Ink: Elegant Eggplant (pad & reinker), Lavender Lace (reinker), Lovely Lilac (pad and reinker), Encore silver (reinker)
Paper: Whisper White, Glossy White, Elegant Eggplant and Lovely Lilac
Accessories: 1/16" corner rounder punch, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol

Monday, Monday...

It's rainy, it's Monday, and it's purple. For some reason, bleaching and this set spoke to me. I apologize for the picture quality issues. I'm still working on it. Click on the picture and the view is a bit clearer. I think the background still needs work, but all in all I like the layout. Enjoy your day.

Stamp Set: One of a Kind
Paper: Whisper White, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Versamark, Lavender Lace, Basic Black
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Circle punches (1-1/4, and 1-3/8), Label Punch, Boho Flower Punch, Black Embossing Powder, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Silver Ribbon holder from the Occasions Mini, a rhinestone brad (I think from the Pretties Kit), Q-tips and Bleach.

Friday at last...

Happy Friday! Here's a card we're doing in my Stamp Clubs this month. It uses a color combo I've been enjoying and a fun set from the Occasions Mini Collection. Hope you have a fantastic weekend. I'll be painting my son's bedroom. See you next week.

Stamps: Friendly Flowers, Enjoy Every Moment (that circle of dots), All Holidays
Inks: Groovy Guava and Ruby Red
Paper: Ruby Red, Groovy Guava and Confetti White
Accessories: Coluzzle Circle cutter, Earth Elements Brads, Groovy Guava Double-Stitched Ribbon, Boho Blossoms punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Scallop Circle punch (for the edge of the greeting layer)

It's in the Bag!

There have been a lot of stamping posts about being "inspired" in strange places. This gift bag, given to me by a friend (thanks, Cyndi!), immediately brought to mind the Stampin' Up!® Jumbo Roller Wheel "Daisy Dash" and the felt Flower Fusion (see p. 177 of the catalog, link at right of page, I hope). To get the 2 colors on the roller wheel, use a light colored jumbo ink cartridge (I used Bashful Blue) in your handle and ink the roller up really well. Remove wheel (careful not to smudge!) and remove cartridge and replace wheel in handle. Take a darker marker (I used Brilliant Blue) and color just the flowers or other element you want to highlight, turning the wheel around as you go. Now you're ready to roll the wheel on your card stock. Here's the card I came up with. Enjoy your day!

Stamp Sets: Enjoy Every Moment, Daisy Dash Jumbo Wheel (on special as a bundle until the end of April!)
Inks: Bashful Blue (Jumbo Ink Cartridge),Brilliant Blue (pad and marker), Rose Red, and Gable Green
Paper: Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, and Rose Red card stock
Accessories: Bashful Blue Die-cut Blooms (from Occasions Mini), Flower Fusion felt flowers, Bold Bright brads, sponge (for the edges of the biggest flower)

Curiosity and the Cat

Welcome to Paper Curiosities where I hope to keep you updated on all the ideas flowing from my stamping/crafting space. Enjoy the projects, be inspired, share your thoughts, and feed your curiosity. But, in spite of the old adage, be reassured, no cats were harmed in the creating of this post...

It's an old sample, but I needed a cat. I still have to figure out how to place the copyrights directly on the picture without exceeding my size limit. Next post will be correct, I promise.

Stamped Images © Stampin' Up!® Card Design by emilyspaperworld

Stamp Set: Cool Cat (an oldie that I can't part with yet)

Ink: Basic Black, Green Galore
Paper: Green Galore, Yo Yo Yellow and Whisper White
Accessories: Sticky Strip with those old Bold Brights Beads