With all of the snowstorms happening lately here in the US, it’s no wonder I’m starting to long for Spring.  Just last weekend, we had 6″ of snow here around Charleston, SC.  I know you’re thinking that 6″ of snow isn’t that big of a deal, but we only get snow about once every 10 years so this was a huge deal to us.  Our power was out for almost 24 hours and some people were without power for 72 hours. Anyway, just a week later and we have 70 degree temps and I’m running around in shorts.  So YES, can you say Spring fever?

Today I’m showcasing a card I created using the Flower for All Seasons stamp set.  This is actually a stepped up version of a card that I designed for Brenda to teach the ladies at the nursing home in March.

We’re starting something new here at CARDScraps – Project Sheets!  What are Project Sheets, you ask?  Well, Project Sheets are downloadable, printable instructions to create the projects we’re showing.  Not all of the projects and cards we show will have project sheets, but we’re going to try our best to give you tons of instant downloadable inspiration!

We’ve created a new section in our Resources just for our Project Sheets.  Right now, there is only one in there and it just so happens to be for this card.  You can check it out and download it using the link at the bottom of this post.

Something else I’d love for you to check out is our new video channels!  We now have our own channel at Vimeo and YouTube.  You can subscribe to our video channels on either one as we’ll be uploading to both of them in the future. 

I’m also very excited to announce that both Brenda and I are making videos now.  Brenda had been making them all by herself and I finally got my camera setup so that I could do some too.  So far I’ve added 3 new videos to our Videos section (and both video channels).  The latest one actually shows you a super fast way to make the cute bow I have on today’s card which I’ve included below.  For those of you reading via email subscription or RSS reader will need to click through to view the video.

So, I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post.  I know it’s been a little while since our last post, but as you can see, we’ve been super busy behind the scenes!  If you have any questions, just let us know.

• Download the You’re Too Kind Project Sheet
• View the video on YouTube
• View the video on Vimeo

Happy Stamping

Lianne Carper
CS partner and DTM for Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator

• Stamps:  A Flower for All Seasons, Whimsical Words
• Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Whisper White and So Saffron card stock, Shades of Spring designer paper
• Ink:  Basic Black
• Other:  Scallop Trim Border Punch, 3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch, Glue Stick, Dimensionals, Silver Brads, Stampin’ Write Markers, 5/8″ So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack

As I’d hoped for yesterday, I’m sharing the second card that we’ll be making at the Albemarle Nursing Home in Tarboro, NC on Nov. 30th.  I actually CASED this card from CherylQuilts although I didn’t use the same papers. Because this is another simple card, I’ll give you the details including the measurements today.

A quick note.  On Thanksgiving Day, my husband and I will be heading off to Brenda’s for our vacation.  We’ll be returning home on Dec. 6th – 10 whole days of playing with Brenda!  I’m sure we’ll be making lots of things while I’m there and I promise that we will take a break here and there to share some of our creations with you on the blog.

Here’s how I did it:

1. Stamp the cardinal image from the A Flower for All Seasons stamp set (#111592) using Black Stazon on a 1-3/4″ square piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  Color using the Stampin’ Write Markers.  I used Real Red, Old Olive, and Close to Cocoa.  Afterwards, I used the Blender Pen to “lift” some of the color from different areas for highlights.
2. Mount the stamped image to a 1-7/8″ square of Old Olive.
3. I used the Cricut to cut out a scalloped edge square from Real Red card stock, but you can use any die or cut a square and use the Scalloped Edge Punch on it if you’d like.
4. Attach a 3-7/8″ x 3-1/4″ piece of the striped Merry Moments designer series paper to the bottom of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Old Olive card stock.  Cut a piece of the Chocolate Chip snowflake paper to 3-7/8″ x 1-7/8″ to the top as shown.
5. Attach a 4″ x 3/4″ strip of Real Red card stock across the seam of the two designer papers.
6. Tie a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon around the bottom of the striped designer paper with the knot closer to the right hand side.
7. With Real Red ink, stamp Merry Christmas from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (#115370) onto a scrap of Very Vanilla card stock.  Using the Large Oval punch, punch out the sentiment.
8. Glue the punched sentiment to a scrap of Real Red card stock.  Use the Scallop Oval punch to punch it out.
9. Using Stampin’ Dimensionals, attach the sentiment over the ribbon on the left side.  Use a couple more Dimensionals to attach the flower image to over the Real Red card stock strip.
10. Attach the whole thing to a standard 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ card base.

I hope you enjoyed the little tutorial!  Happy Stamping!

Supplies (all Stampin’ Up! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps:  A Flower for All Seasons (shown right), Teeny Tiny Wishes 
Paper:  Real Red, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla card stock, Merry Moments designer series paper 
Ink:  Black Stazon, Real Red 
Other:  Blender Pens, Stampin’ Write Markers, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Stick, Punches, Cricut

Have you noticed my trend lately?  I’m newest “thing” is to add buttons and stitching to everything!  I’ve always loved the shabby chic look, and I think this kinda falls into that category.  The blending of different colors and patterns with a homespun feel to them. 

So, for today’s project, I made these cute little notebooks.  These are great for shopping lists, to do lists, or any other type of list you can think of.  They make fabulous little gifts and are inexpensive to make.  Michelle Wooderson makes these this size which inspired me to make some as well.  The ones I had made previously were very similar, but they used the mini notepads from Staples and they didn’t need to be cut.  I’ll have to show them to you sometime.  They aren’t as “rustic" looking as these but they are cute all the same.

You can click on the images to view them larger.

These start out with junior legal pads – the ones that are approximately 5″ x 8″ which you cut in half lengthwise.  We actually had Brenda’s local printer cut these in half for us, but most places like Staples, Kinko’s, etc. will do that for you for a relatively low fee.  They usually charge per cut, so have them cut a stack of them at once. 

Here you can see the inside of the little notebook.  This will probably give you a better idea what notebooks I’m referring to as well.  A small piece of designer series paper (dsp) is glued to the top.  Just make sure you don’t glue it to the paper otherwise you won’t be able to tear off the pages.

Here you can see a close-up of the froggy and flower image from the A Flower for All Seasons stamp set.  I used blender pens and ink pads to color in the images.  On this one, the yellow background is a little more vibrant – and it looks more vibrant in the photo than it does in real life.  It still turned out really cute, I think.

OK.  Now, for those of you who aren’t on facebook and have me linked up as a friend, I have an announcement.  I have taken the advice of a few people and got up the nerve to finally put a few of my handmade items on Etsy.  They’re up there now and we’ll possibly get an Etsy bar in our sidebar at some point on our site.  But for now, if you’d like to take a look at what I have listed so far, you can click here.  I mention it now, of course, because I have these adorable little notebooks listed on there.  Stock up now for Christmas!  I’ll be adding more as I get more made.  As I’m making some for my own personal gifts, I’m making extras to put on Etsy.

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments you’ve been posting lately!  I love reading them, so please don’t stop – keep ‘em comin! 

Supplies: (all Stampin’ Up!T unless otherwise noted)

Stamps:  A Flower for All Seasons (shown at right)
Paper:  Kraft card stock, Whisper White card stock, A Walk in the Park DSP (retired)
Ink:  Baja Breeze, Summer Sun, So Saffron, Old Olive, Going Gray, Whisper White Craft, Stazon
Accessories:  Buttons (Olive buttons from Playground button set, the rest are  from my stash), Just Twine, Scallop Border Punch, 1/16″ Hole Punch, Sponges, Glue Stick, Sticky Tape, Sewing Machine & thread

Thanks for looking and Happy Stamping!

Lianne Carper
CS partner and DTM for Brenda Cook
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator