Mother's Love Notecard Gift Sets

I had way, way, way too much fun making these!

I wanted to make a cute note card set for my mom, sister, and sister-in-law for Mother's Day. I needed something quick and simple and this is what I came up with!

I used Whisper White cardstock to make the card bases, then stamped all the flowers with Tuxedo Black Momento Ink. I colored the flowers with our now retired Blendabilities. To make the butterflies, I punched them out of our Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, then colored them with the Blendabilities to match.

I made each of them six notecards in a rainbow of colors -- Pink Pirouette, Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, and Wisteria Wonder. The black ikat patterned paper came from our Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack and I used our Whisper White Baker's Twine to add a little bow!

Of course, the sets needed some matching envelopes, right?! :)

To finish up the note card sets, I made one more card to use to give the gift using Calypso Coral and Basic Black Baker's Twine (instead of Whisper White). I put the note cards into a clear gift box and wrapped it with some ribbon.

 

And a little sentiment on the inside...

A close-up of the packaged set....

And all three sets are ready to go! :)

Hope my mom and sisters love these! :)

Now go on over to check out all the other awesome cards this week from the What Will You Stamp? design team!!

As always, I hope you enjoyed my project this week and thanks for stopping by... I'll see you next time!

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Recipe: Sizzling Flounder

Photo credit.

Recipe : Sizzling Flounder

Cookbook/Source : America's Best Recipes Comfort Food or you can find it online here!

Notes : We substituted tilapia for flounder and I ditched the 1/2 cup of butter by using only 2 tablespoons (any more would have been crazy). My mom gave me this cookbook for Christmas and so far both recipes we've tried from it have been really good!

Review : What a great way to cook fish! It's flaky, tasty and the perfect balance of flavors. Brian tried a bite and was able to immediately name all the ingredients -- nothing competes, it all blends together well. This will definitely become a go-to recipe for white-fleshed fish in our house!

Recipe: Pretzel-Crusted Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce

Photo credit.

Recipe : Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Cheddar Mustard Sauce

Cookbook/Source : Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook) or you can find it online here or here!

Notes : I love my Rachael Ray cookbooks and dig through them frequently! This one stood out to me because it sounded really tasty and fairly easy. I substituted the pretzels with unsalted pretzels (we don't eat a lot of salt in our house and rarely add it to anything) and I substituted ingredients for what I had on hand (dried thyme for fresh, shredded mozzarella for shredded cheddar) and didn't serve with pickles/onions/lemons (totally unnecessary!).

Review : WOW. Just wow. This was so awesome I just have to save it here in the form of a post and share it with everyone. I served it with browned butter mashed potatoes, cheddar biscuits and creamed corn. It was phenomenal! We both loved it. Who would have thought that crushed pretzels would be the perfect breading for chicken?! This is definitely going into the recipe box and will be used again. I highly recommend trying it! ;)

365 Cards: You Make Me Happy

Another Monday means another What Will You Stamp? design team card! :)

I love that cloud stamp.... it's my favorite and I thought it would go great with the happy sun and bird stamp in this adorable set!  Did you know you can get this stamp set for free if you host a qualifying party... yep, this is a FREE stamp set! Pretty awesome right?! :)

Add my favorite heart punch with some Red Glimmer Paper and it's perfect! I finished off the inside with the Rotary Stamp (to make my own sentiment!) and some more punched hearts. The cute little birdie was colored in using our Blendabilities (my they rest in peace... )

I can't wait to surprise my husband with this card at some point! Now go on over to check out all the other awesome cards this week from the What Will You Stamp? design team!!

As always, thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next time!

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365 Cards: Watercolor Thank You Butterfly

A whole week of cards this week... can you believe it?! I kind of can't! :)  This is the last of the three cards I will be teaching soon for the workshop my bunco girls, Sheila and Kelly, are hosting next week!

This card is another CASE... I wanted to recreate this gorgeous card that I fell in love with!  I made a few changes, the most fun being the use of the Crystal Effects over the butterfly! It's so awesome in person! I also used watercolor paper and the Aqua Painter to make the base of the butterfly since our Blendabilities have been discontinued.

It's so pretty in person! I love the Butterfly Framelits -- they are finally back in stock too! Better hurry and grab them if you want them.

I said it before but I will say it again... if you are local and want an invite, just let me know! :)

Isn't it pretty?!

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365 Cards: Dad No One Can Fill Your Shoes!

Back again today with the second of the three cards I'm teaching at a workshop next week for my friends Kelly and Sheila! We all play bunco together and I'm excited to teach a class they are hosting next week! :)

Originally I intended to CASE this card, but not much is left of the original design at this point! I just love that card and I think it's safe to say I was heavily inspired by it here.

And I finished it off on the inside with a sentiment:

What's so awesome about this stamp set is you can totally customize this design to whatever you need for the men in your life -- Dad, Uncle, Grandpa, Brother, Son -- and either Father's Day or their birthday! Perfect! And if you come to the event next week, you can do just that! :) So let me know if you are in the area and want to come join us!

Happy Thursday... I'll be back tomorrow with the third and final card for this class!

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365 Cards: #happybirthday Donut

This is the first of three cards I'll be teaching at an upcoming workshop two of my bunco friends will be hosting (hi Kelly and Sheila!)... I wanted the cards to be useful, fun, and easy to make!

I was inspired by this card and CASE-d it! The donut is simply a die cut circle with a smaller circle in the inside to punch out the center -- you cut out two, one of each color (your donut and your frosting). On the frosting circle, you cut a few wavy edges with your scissors to make it look more realistic. How fun is that!

If you are local and would like to join the fun, just let me know and I'll get you on the invite list!

Doesn't it look good enough to eat?! ;)

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365 Cards: Congratulations From the Herd... Etch-a-Sketch style!

So a few weeks ago was the last day of one of my teammates at work. She's left us to go to another job. We had a fun little breakfast buffet her last day with us to celebrate her new job with her.... donuts, muffins, bagels, pastries, juice, fruit... it was so tasty. Naturally, the occasion also called for a card... so, of course, I made one!

I've been seeing lots of cute etch-a-sketch style cards lately and thought I would take a crack at making my own. It was so much fun and you should definitely try it!

There are several youtube videos out there that you can watch. I made mine by following the instructions of this video.

On the inside of the card, I put a 5.25" x 4" piece of whisper white cardstock on the top half of the card, with the corners rounded.

Then I added whisper white cardstock that I had cut to 5.25" by 9.5", scored at 4" and 7", then accordion folded and punched with a corner rounding punch.

Gave plenty of room for everyone to sign the card! Of course, it needed a matching envelope so I put one together to go with it. :)

Lots of fun to make an etch-a-sketch style card and I think I will be making another again really soon! :)

Have you tried to make an etch-a-sketch card yet?

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365 Cards: Congratulations From the Garden

Happy Monday! Back again today with a What Will You Stamp? design team card! :)

Back in January, when I went to Leadership Conference, Shelli Gartner (owner of Stampin' Up!) demonstrated the cutest baby card that used the Little Bumblebee stamp with the antennae and wings cut off. As she was showing us the card, I knew I wanted to make one -- how cute right?! I thought it would match well with this stamp set, particularly the "Grown with Love" sentiment. So I made that the background by repeating the stamp and adding a heart stamp!  

That white twine is my favorite... I'm hoping they carry that soft twine into the new Annual Catalog coming in June! And I chose neutral colors... I'm sure there will be someone I need to give a baby gift to in the upcoming months... always seems like there is!

Now go on over to check out all the other awesome cards this week from the What Will You Stamp? design team!!

Thanks for stopping by today... have a great Monday!

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Cyanotype-Inspired Watercolor Notecard Tutorial

Note: Yesterday I posted this fun card for a Stamp Out Autism blog hop... something happened with this scheduled post and nothing posted....not even the video. Darn technology! Of course I was out with my husband last night on date night, so fixing it this morning... enjoy! :)

I love cyanotype! I thought it would be fun to recreate it with watercolor and one of my favorite stamp sets... And I wanted to share a little tutorial with you so you can create your own cyanotype-inspired watercolor notecards!

Today's tutorial contains both written instructions with measurements and a short video so you can watch how I made the card! Take a look below and be sure to share a link with me if you make your own, I'd love to see your cards! :)



Instructions:

1. Cut: From Crumb Cake cardstock, cut one 5.5" x 8.5" card base (score at 4.25"). From watercolor paper cut one 5" x 3.75" piece. From Night of Navy cardstock, cut one 5.125" x 3.875" piece (this piece is 1/16" larger on both edges than the watercolor paper piece -- just go one line up on your trimmer!). 
2. Heat Emboss: Take an embossing buddy and run it across the entire front of the piece of watercolor paper to remove static. Using Versamark ink, stamp the flower image centered in the top area of the paper, then stamp the "just because" sentiment along the bottom. Cover stamped images with White Embossing Powder, remove excess powder, then use Heat Tool to heat & set the embossing powder
3. Watercolor: Tape down the watercolor paper to a scrap piece of cardboard using either washi tape or painters tape. Using Night of Navy reinker, drop a 2 drops of Night of Navy ink into an empty tray (you can use the lid of your Night of Navy ink pad too!). Take your Aqua Painter and squeeze 2-3 drops of water in your 2 drops of Night of Navy ink, then stir with the tip of the Aqua Painter to mix. Watercolor the paper in layers -- you'll want to make a square, then fill it in. Dry in-between to add dimension and depth -- two to three layers of watercoloring will get you a really deep, rich color. In the video above, you'll see that I only did one layer, but you can do two or three! You'll also want to go a little lighter in the center on the ink. Tip for drying -- to speed up the process, use your Heat Tool! 
4. Stamp: In Night of Navy ink, stamp the ink drops from the Gorgeous grunge set in the upper left area you watercolored, then re-ink the stamp and stamp it again just above the end of the word "because".  Also in Night of Navy ink, stamp the little ink spatter from the same set all over the watercolored area. Once done stamping, you can wipe any ink off the embossed area with a tissue or paper towel, if needed. 
5. Assemble: Glue the watercolor paper to the Night of Navy cardstock mat using SNAIL. Then wrap the watercolored piece with Whisper White Bakers Twine, tie a bow over the stem of the flower, and trim the ends of the twine after tying the bow. Using Stampin Dimensionals, glue the watercolored image with twine to the Crumb Cake card base. 

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Stamp Out Autism Blog Hop

Hello everyone and welcome to the Stamp Out Autism Blog Hop! Thank you for visiting today. Brian King's blog may have sent you my way-- thanks Brian!

I am participating in a blog hop this weekend (and another next weekend!) to help raise awareness and funds for those affected by autism. I was asked to join in a huge fundraising effort led by my good friend & fabulously talented upline Lee Conrey... and couldn't be more happy to do so!

Autism touches so many lives and I'm sure everyone can think of someone they know who is on the spectrum. We are all sharing some facts about Autism along with our cards, so take some time to visit everyone along the hop -- learn something new and get some great crafty inspiration too.

To learn more even about Autism, please visit the official page of Autism Speaks and I hope you will also consider making a donation today to the Autism Society!

Now I am so excited to share my card for today's hop!! It's a cyanotype-inspired watercolor card, perfect for sending someone some happy mail.

What's a cyanotype you might ask? It is a photographic process that was created by a woman named Anna Atkins, who is commonly regarded as the first female photographer! I love the look of cyanotype and thought it would be fun to recreate with one of our many flower stamps and some watercoloring. :)

I had so much fun making this card! So much fun that I have posted a quick little tutorial on how to create this card if you are interested in making one of your own.

Now onward with the hop.... Be sure to participate in the blog hop by visiting Laura Milligan's blog next! You can click either button to go forward or backward so you catch all the fantastic cards being shared.

Thanks for stopping by!

365 Cards: When I Need A Friend, You're There.

Happy Monday! Back again today with a What Will You Stamp? design team card! :)

I had fun layering this card. I don't usually fill this much white space, but I just love how it turned out! The Postcard background stamp and Gorgeous Grunge stamp set pair really nicely with this set, don't you agree?!

Another quick and beautiful card, all ready for me to send! Now go on over to check out all the other awesome cards this week from the What Will You Stamp? design team!!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great week!

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365 Cards: Flower Patch For You

Happy Saturday, happy almost Easter, and welcome to another JAX Starz Blog Hop! This month we decided to challenge each other to make something with flowers to inspire you!

You may just be starting the blog hop or may have come from Susan Best's blog.  You can follow the full blog hop lineup below to move along from blog to blog, so you can see all of the new projects.

For this month's theme challenge I had the worst time choosing which flower stamp set I wanted to use. I must have changed my mind at least ten times! #stamphoarderproblems ;) Anyway, I finally decided to use my Flower Patch stamps! This is a fun set to play with -- infinite possibilities of combinations you could use to make pretty flowers!

Notice that fun pattern on my embossed polka dots and wonder how to do it? Well I first saw it done on this card by Sarah Sagert and it stumped me... what?! how?! I just couldn't figure it out! Well, I finally broke down and emailed Sarah to ask her! She was so sweet and helpful -- told me that she used her 3/4" punch to create a mask, then stamped it with her Six-Sided Sampler stamps using the mask. GENIUS! I followed the exact same technique, just with a different ink color. Thanks Sarah!! :)

I also used this sketch from the Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog! I saw it and thought it would be perfect for what I was thinking of making for today's card! :)

Some Stampin' Tips:

• Test Stamp Your Flowers. I found it easiest to use these stamps by just putting all the ones I thought I wanted to use on blocks, then playing with them using copier paper. I found the color combos I liked and the stamp combos I liked really quickly without wasting my precious cardstock in the process! :) 
• Coordinating Framelits. Stampin' Up! always does a great job providing coordinating products and this stamp set/framelit combo is no exception! To use, I figured out about halfway through, it's actually easier to die cut your piece first, then stamp it (this is backwards of my normal process)... it allows you greater accuracy, particularly on the smaller pieces like the centers of the flowers! 
• Layer the Same Color to Get Depth. I used Crumb Cake as my base, embossed a mat using the Large Polka Dots, then stamped with Crumb Cake on the circles using a mask (see above), then added a strip to anchor the linen thread, and finished it off by adding my sentiment stamped with an edge of Crumb Cake on a Crumb Cake die cut banner. All that detail and depth, but still looks pretty clean and simple in the end because I used the same color repeatedly! Have you ever tried doing similar layering of the same color? :)

Alright, that's all I have today..... the next stop is Cari Verschueren on this month's Jax Starz Blog Hop! Thanks for visiting and I'll see you next time!

Full Jax Starz Blog Hop Line-Up:

Amanda Sevall -- you are here!
Cari Verschueren
Rose Ann Marr
Susan Best

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