Need Some Inspiration?

This Thanksgiving card was done by one of Gina K. Designs' illustrators - Theresa Momber. Isn't it lovely?! (For details, click HERE.) Every now and then I need to see some new ideas, cards and layouts to jump start my creative juices, and this card was the cure I needed! (For this clever card, the stems were stamped within the oval, then the flowers and leaves were stamped and colored on another sheet of paper, then cut out and adhered so they extended beyond the oval - LOVE that idea!) I discovered this card and MANY other beautiful cards at stamptv.com -- once you are on their hope page, you can scroll down, watch the latest how-to video, then scroll down further and watch a mega slide show of card ideas! Instead of the slide show, I like to use the "View All" link in the lower right corner to see the cards all at once...then, I click on the cards I want to view at a larger image, right mouse click, and select "Save image as" to save the pictures to a card idea file on my computer where they're ready for me the next time I have Creativity Block!

http://stamptv.ning.com/photo/photo/list

Shopping at Its BEST!

FYI: I am participating in the following sale at Cranberry Hill to clear out many new and gently used items in my craft room * Come and visit to get some AWESOME bargains! Here is the information if you would like to sell items or attend:

Used Stamp Sale starts Sept 12th through September 30th. Remember, we are accepting "stamp and scrapbook related" items this time, as well as stamps. The sale begins Sat Sept 12 and runs through Sept 30th. There is no charge to participate. Stamp on Over will take 5% of sales if you are paid in a store gift certificate and 25% if you want cash. You must decide on payment choice when YOU SIGN UP. We have lots of participants and are looking forward to another GREAT SALE! Please call the store for a vender number if you want to participate:

Cranberry Hill Mercantile

STAMP ON OVER

1014 West El Camino Real

(Cross Street is South Mary Avenue)

Sunnyvale, CA 94087

(408) 736-9151

Click HERE for Store Hours

Paint Chip Card

Here's an idea you might try for a quick and easy card. Start with a paint chip, cut or punch out some leaves, use that bottle of flowers you had to have (guilty times 5!), some eyelets, skinny ribbon, and a 3-D word embellishment. This leaf punch is from Martha Stewart. I'm afraid Martha is leading me down the "MUST HAVE IT" path of no return when it comes to punches! I have a cute little Halloween bat card to show you soon using her bat punch. Oh - please help me!!!

Here's a sneak peak of the witches shoes we'll be making in my September 27th Memories Live On class. My favorite time of the year is quickly approaching --- September, October, November and December are my favorite months of the year!

It seems as though my design style these days has become quick and simple - so little time and not enough hours in the day to stamp and make cards! I've discovered Heather Pulvirenti's blog and I'm she will inspire you - just like she did for me! Check out her blog here. Below her blue flower card is one of my latest takes on her idea - try it for yourself! Just stamp your image and saying, then mark your four corners with a pencil dot and use a ruler/straight edge to connect the dots with a black micron pen. The pearls and gems hide any imperfections where the lines connect in the corners and add a nice dimension.

Anniversary Card

My wonderful in-laws are having their 60th wedding anniversary soon, and I found this card to case on a terrific blog by Jen Sannes called Simple and Sincere --- one of my new favorite blogs to visit! You can view her original card here and view her tutorial on how to make the fish hooks here -- I must admit, though, it took me quick awhile to pull this card together, but I hope they'll enjoy it....and here's how I cut out the fins for the fish. I cut out one, then used that cutout as a template to trace the rest of the fins:


BTW - The circles are 1 3/8" each and the scallops are made with Stampin' Up's scallop punch. I printed out the words I needed and used SU's word window punch. I secured the red heart with a small glue dot folded in half. To make this card, use the scallop punch first, then the circle punch over the scalloped edge. I made the first ones a bit too short, so I had to redo them, but I discovered that I could layer them to give an added dimension to the fish bodies. Love those happy little accidents that turn out to be happy little opportunities! Jen's card would also make a cute wedding card, too.