Gebe's Birthday

Today is my mom's birthday.  I have called her Gebe since I was a kid.  I don't know where it came from or what it means, but it's just what I call her (hence the title of the post).  Anyway, I still don't have many stamp sets here in Florida (I really need to do something about that), so Gebe got a butterfly birthday card.  I stamped the butterfly from Garden Whimsy in Ruby Red on Whisper White and layered it on a piece of Chocolate Chip.  I then stamped my Ruby Red card on the bottom half with Polka Dot in Ruby Red.  I adhered the butterfly to the card and tied a bit of Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon around the card.  I didn't bring any sentiment stamp sets and the only birthday one I have is snappy birthday from Crab & Co., so I just hand wrote a message inside. 

Happy Birthday, Michele!!!

Today is my best friend, Michele's birthday, so I sent her this cute card.  It's the same old Crab & Co., but this time he's prepared for a birthday.  No Santa hat here.  I did stamp him and the presents  with Jet Black StazOn using a mask like I did with my Christmas cards, but this time I colored the presents in using my Real Red and Tempting Turquoise ink pads and blender pens.  I also stamped the cake in a shell and colored it in with my Creamy Caramel and Tempting Turquoise ink pads and blender pens.  I layered the crab on a piece of Basic Black.  I then took a larger piece of Tempting Turquoise and used my Spiral Punch down both sides.  I threaded a piece of Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon through two slots and tied it in a knot.  I then adhered my crab layers on top of the Tempting Turquoise.  I stamped my Real Red card base with my Polka Dot background in Real Red and adhered the Tempting Turquoise layer on top.  In the inside I stamped the sentiment "snappy birthday" in Jet Black StazOn.  I hope this card makes it to her on time!!!

Merry Christmas!

So I figured I should send you all Christmas wishes with one more crab!  I sure am going to miss this guy, since Crab & Co. is being retired. I won't bore you with all the details on this one as it's pretty much the same as all the rest.  I do want to mention, though, that I love using the Spiral Punch down the side of a layer and tying a ribbon around it.  I think it looks cute.  Anyway, from ours to yours, Merry Christmas!

Love You Much Promotion!!!

Today is the start of the Love You Much Bundle Promotion! Get a head start on your Valentine's cards with this great bundle. You get the Love You Much stamp set, Candy Lane Designer Series Paper, and Heart to Heart punch for $41.48. That's 20% off the list price of $51.85!! The promotion runs through Jan. 31st, but don't wait that long or you won't have time to get your Valentine's made! Click on the picture to the right for more information.

My Temporary Workspace

So we're in sunny Miami, FL right now for hubby's job. I love it here. It's 80 degrees almost every day!!! There's no snow!!!! There are a few downsides, though. Number one is I don't have internet access like I'm used to. We have to pack up the laptops and go down to the lobby and sign in for the public space. Then we have to wait upstairs outside the public space for someone to let us in. Now this isn't really a big deal, except I was kind of counting on the internet for recipes and directions. So we really have to plan ahead. Another draw back is the table space (or lack thereof). We have a small breakfast table and a coffee table. The breakfast table has a bunch of grooves in it, which doesn't make it conducive for stamping, so I'm forced to use the coffee table. There's not much space on the coffee table, but at least it's a flat surface. I either stack up the pillows and sit on the floor (until my feet fall asleep) or I still on the footstool and work (until my back starts to hurt from leaning over).

Also I was limited on what I could bring, so I have very few stamp sets here. I'm dying!!!!! I finished my Christmas cards and I've done some scrapbooking, but I'm desperate for different stamps! I just think of all those wonderful sets that I left at home and it breaks my heart!!! My hubby asked me if I stamped today and my reply was "No! I wasn't inspired by my stamps today." How sad is that? And the biggest bummer is that the new catalog is coming out next month and I can't get any stamps because we aren't receiving mail here. That also means that my new catalog isn't coming to me here!!!!!!!! Oh, the humanity!!!!! We're actually supposed to be out of this condo and moving on the 10th of January, but we're thinking of staying here. And I'm thinking of heading over to the UPS store to get me a mailing address!!!!

Play Ball

I found these great pictures of my nephew's tee ball game and realized they had never been scrapbooked! So, I took my retired Have a Ball stamp set and got to work. I started with a Brilliant Blue 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock. I layered my pictures on Real Red cardstock and rearranged them a million times until I decided on the layout I wanted. I stamped the baseball image in Brilliant Blue on my page and adhered the pictures. I then stamped my title in Brilliant Blue on Whisper White using Big Deal Alphabet. I stamped the bat and glove in Close to Cocoa and the baseball in Real Red. I layered my title on a piece of Close to Cocoa that I had punched with the Spiral Punch. I then took a piece of retired On Board Chipboard (sorry don't know which set it's from) and adhered some retired Real Red Prints DSP. I standed the edges and the hole and threaded some hemp twine through it. I looped my twine over the edge of my Spiral Punched edge and adhered the chipboard to the page. I then stamped the month using Rough Edges Alphabet in Close to Cocoa and wrote the date using my Real Red marker and punched it out with my 3/4" Circle punch. I then layered in on a Brilliant Blue 1" circle and adhered it to the chipboard.

Lastly I stamped my picture captions using Brilliant Blue and Real Red with Rough Edges Alphabet and punched them out. I layered them all on a larger circle of Close to Cocoa. But before adhering "Jared" I adhered a Yo-Yo Yellow Large Star behind the circles.

BTW, Faith is eating high school pizza!! Does anyone else remember (and secretly love) the rectangular pizza you used to get in school??????

At the Park

I brought very few stamps and supplies with me to Florida since I had to pack things such as clothes and there was limited room in the car. I did print a bunch of pictures before leaving, though, and I tried to bring stamp sets to coordinate with the pictures I was going to scrapbook. For these pictures of my niece and her cousin at the park I chose Inspired by Nature. The girls were wearing pink and green so I used those as my colors for the page. Now this page may look kind of similar to Joanna's birthay card because I liked the way the flowers looked I had to repeat it. So I started with a Certainly Celery 12 x 12 page and I stamped the grass image from Inspired by Nature along the bottom in Certainly Celery. I then layered my two small pictures on Rose Red and my two larger pictures on Old Olive. I played around with the layout on this one for a long time until I finally settled on this one. I decided to overlap one of my larger pictures on my title. So for the title I took a piece of Whisper White and stamped my title in Chocolate Chip using Contempo Alphabet. I then stamped the flower from Inspired by Nature after coloring it with my Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, and Old Olive markers. I layered my title on a piece of Chocolate Chip and adhered it to my page. I then adhered my pictures, but not before adhering a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/4" grosgrain ribbon behind one of the pictures. I took a small piece of Whisper White and added my little bit of journaling and adhered it between the pictures. The bottom corner was looking a little plain so I stamped another flower on a scrap of Whisper White and punched it out with my 1 1/4" Circle punch. I layered in on a Certainly Celery 1 3/8" Circle and then on a Chocolate Chip Scallop Circle. I adhered it to the page and stamped "live with passion" in Chocolate Chip.

I turned out exactly like I wanted it to.

Joanna's Birthday

I wanted to share with you the card I made for Joanna's birthday. Her birthday was on Monday, but I couldn't share it then because I wasn't sure if it would make it on time. I don't know how long it takes a card to get from Miami, FL to Ohio.

I started with an Old Olive card and I stamped the grass image from Inspired by Nature on it in Old Olive. Then I inked up my flower image by coloring it with my Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, and Old Olive markers and stamped it onto a piece of Whisper White. I then mounted it on a piece of Real Red. I punched a hole in my card behind where I was going to attach my flower image and threaded a piece of Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon through it. I adhered the flower layer and tied the ribbon in a knot.

I know it isn't a "birthday" card, but I'm limited to what stamp sets I have on hand down here in Miami and I know she likes this stamp set, so there you go.

Sketch Challenge Christmas Card IV

And here is my last Christmas card using a sketch challenge from SCS. Again, I opted for the clam instead of the crab. I stamped him on Whisper White in Jet Black StazOn with a Santa hat using a mask and then stamped some shells on either side, also using a mask. I then colored them in using my Creamy Caramel and Real Red markers. I then layered my clam on a piece of Basic Black. I added a Creamy Caramel layer to the bottom of my Always Artichoke card and a Real Red layer to the upper part of my card. Before adhering the Real Red cardstock I added a piece of Always Artichoke 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (using the ribbon saving method). But before adhering the ribbon I stamped my sentiment in Always Artichoke on Whisper White and punched it out with my Large Oval Punch. I punched two holes in either side with my Crop-a-dile and threaded the ribbon through it. And to finish the card I adhered my Santa clam layers to it.

And I think that's the end of the Christmas card marathon!

Sketch Challenge Christmas Card III

For sketch challenge 200 I opted for a Christmas clam instead of the usual crab. So, on a scrap of Whisper White I stamped some shells using a mask, a present, and a clam with a Santa hat. I then punched them all out with my 1 1/4" Square punch. I colored them in with my Creamy Caramel and Real Red markers. I then punched out 3 Scallop Squares from a scrap of Basic Black and adhered my three colored images to them. I took a Real Red card and added some Always Artichoke Patterns Designer Series Paper to it. I wrapped a piece of Always Artichoke 1/4" grosgrain ribbon around the top of the Patterns paper and tied it off in a knot. I then added my 3 stamped images down the side of my card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I hope you're enjoying the marathon of Christmas cards. I think I only have one more for you.

Sketch Challenge Christmas Card II

This card follows sketch challenge 199 on SCS. As always I started with my piece of Whisper White and stamped my crab (with Santa hat) and shells using a mask. I colored them in with my Real Red and Creamy Caramel markers. I layered a piece of Creamy Caramel underneath the Whisper White piece. I then layered a piece of Real Red underneath. I adhered the 3 layers on to an Always Artichoke card. I then stamped my sentiment on a scrap of Whisper White in Always Artichoke and punched it out with my 1" Circle Punch. I then layered in on a piece of Basic Black that was punched out with my 1 1/4" Circle Punch. And to finish it off I adhered my sentiment with a Stampin' Dimensional.

Sketch Challenge Christmas Card

Here's another one of my crabby Christmas cards. Since almost all of my cards are different I was starting to get in a slump with coming up with new layouts, so I hit up the challenges over at Splitcoast Stampers. This is sketch challenge 197. I started with a piece of Whisper White and stamped my crab, the clam, and the shell. I added the Santa hat and presents using a mask. I colored them in with my Real Red, Old Olive, and Creamy Caramel markers. The clam was colored in with a few layers of Versamarker. I punched a piece of Real Red with my slit punch and slid my piece of Whisper White down. I then stamped my sentiment in Jet Black StazOn. I also added a silver brad. I then took a piece of Basic Black and punched it with the slit punch and slid my Real Red piece in. I punched a hole in it using my Crop-a-dile and threaded a piece of Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon through it. And finally I adhered my 3 layers to an Old Olive card base.

Stampin' Up! Retired List and Lots of Savings!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, so just a quick post to let you know that the retired list is up and you can get 10% off all retiring stamp sets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can find the list here. I will add it to my sidebar later, as my computer is currently being fixed.

Also from now until Dec. 23 all orders over $70 will receive free shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So call or email me with your orders!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or place you order online at heatherhawkins.stampinup.net.

Thanksgiving, a little late

Since we were moving to Florida Sunday after Thanksgiving my husband’s family decided to come visit us for the holiday. I decided to dress up the table a bit with some place cards. I used a piece of More Mustard for the base of each place card and added a layer of Autumn Vine DSP to each place card. I then took a strip of Whisper White and stamped the tree from Season of Friendship in Chocolate Chip and the leaves in More Mustard and Sage Shadow. I then stamped each person’s name in Ruby Red. I adhered them to a piece of Chocolate Chip, then adhered them to the DSP. I then set them at each person’s place at the table.

Punched Penguins

I saw the cutest gift card holders while perusing the SCS gallery, which you can see here. It was so cute I immediately headed down to the stamping studio to make my own version. I don't have all the punches she used so I had to recreate my penguin with a few less punches.

For the penguin:
The body is a Large Oval punched with Basic Black. I then layered a Small Oval in Whisper White. I added two Small Ovals in Basic Black behind the body for the wings. For the feet I cut the ends of a piece of Apricot Appeal that had been punched with the Word Window punch. The head is a 1" Basic Black circle attached to the body. I then took an Old Olive 1" circle and cut it in half. I used a shortened Word Window in Real Red to make the brim of the hat and a 1/2" circle for the ball on top of the hat. I adhered the hat to the penguin's head. I also used a shortened Word Window in Real Red for the scarf and took the scrap from the shortened Word Window to use as the hanging down part of the scarf. I added the scarf over where the head and body meet. I used a small Star punched from Apricot Appeal and cut of one of the points to use as the beak. Lastly I punched two 1/2" circles for the eyes and colored the pupils with my Basic Black Journaler.

For the tags:
The base is a 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" piece of Real Red. I then took a piece of 4 1/4" x 3" piece of Whisper White and punched a tab with my 1" circle. I adhered the Whisper White piece to the Real Red piece on 3 sides. (It helps to have a gift card on hand so you know where to adhere) I added a strip of Real Red Patterns DSP across the bottom of the Whisper White and adhered my punched penguin. I added a folded over 1" Basic Black circle to the top and punched a hole in it with my Crop-a-dile. I then threaded some Silver Elastic Cord through it, which I'm going to use to adhere the tag to some presents. (on one of the tags I attempted to "tag" the corners without the needed punch and they turned out lopsided, so I didn't do it on the second one)

Jingle Shells

Here is another Christmas card. This one, however, does not feature the cute little crab. I just took a small strip of Whisper White and stamped some shells across it using a mask. I also sneaked in a present and colored them in with my Creamy Caramel, Real Red, and Old Olive markers. I layered it on a piece of Real Red cardstock and distressed the edges. I stamped my Creamy Caramel card with the Canvas BG stamp and distressed the bottom of the card. I used some glue dots to adhere the hemp twine behind my shells and using a silver brad attached the image to my card. I then stamped my sentiment in the bottom corner using Jet Black StazOn. Beachy, huh?