Jan 24 2014

Rustic and Elegant Weddings!

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

The Wedding Trend for awhile now has been Rustic and Elegant. It seems everyone is doing the burlap, doily, lace, pearls, mason jars, barn theme! Here are a couple samples of cards that I have recently done to help out a friend with her daughter’s wedding!!!

Here are a few of the items that were made! The cards above were the Thank You cards for the Bride to send out to all of the guests after the wedding! They were quick and simple and kept the theme of the wedding going! And speaking of cards, I created these adorable ring binders for the Bride to keep all of the cards she received together! The one has the last name initial on it and the other one has the initials of the Bride and Groom! I kept the doily, lace, pearl theme with these items too!

This is the actual Wedding Invitation (well half of it to keep the privacy of the Bride and Groom). The wording was on the right and on the left was this fabulous white doily using the Hello Doily Stamp! It was stamped and then embossed in Whisper White which gave it a fabulous raised texture! This piece of Crumb Cake was also layered on a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock but I didn’t get a picture of the final piece.

This adorable tag was used at the Bridal Shower on the little tea cups that everyone got as a favor for coming! Again I kept with the theme and used the Victoria Crochet Trim for a rustic look!

And last but not least, this is the wedding card that I made! Again I used the Hello Doily Stamp and embossed it. Then I took a sponge dauber (love them) and added a little Chocolate Chip ink around the doily. I really loved how it turned out!

If you are getting married or planning a party and need some help with the invitations, party favors, or more, reach out to me and I can assist you with your crafty side or I can create the item for you! Email me for more information or comment below! Check out more samples here and here!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 23 2014

The Ombre Look!!!

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

It was probably less than a year ago when I heard about the Ombre look (I never said I was a fashionista or super knowledgeable about current trends). 🙂 BUT since then I have seen it literally everywhere…..cakes, hair, clothing, decorations, and so much more! I have loved the look with my cards too!!! It is so beautiful and the gradual colors are amazing! You can check out another Ombre Card here!

This card is so beyond simple I almost felt the need to add something more to it but then I thought no, simple it good! I have punched Night of Navy, Marina Mist, and Soft Sky one inch squares. You could just use your paper cutter to create the one inch squares too! The greeting is from the Feels Good Stamp Set and I used my markers to ink it up so I could use more than one color! This is a great use of those left over scraps that you have laying around too! Try out an Ombre look and send me you masterpiece! I would love to see what you come up with!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 22 2014

Decorated Mason Jars!!!!

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Mason Jars are so cute to me and what is even better is how useful they are!!! I have done lots of decorated mason jars for various gift ideas like adding layered cookie mixes, adding actual cookies or candy, adding a few gift items like nail polish and a nail kit, and so many more fabulous ideas! Another great idea is to use them at parties. You can create a layered dessert in them, add some of the items listed above as a party favor or use for the drinks at the party! The possibilities are endless!

How cute are these? I have decorated the one on the far left with a Tea Lace Paper Doily and then a punched circle piece of cardstock! The middle one is decorated with punched circles of cardstock on the lid and layered on the side with Ruffled Ribbon around the edge! Super adorable! The one on the right is the same Ruffled Ribbon tied around the jar and into a bow and some punched circles for the lid! You could add any type of greeting on the side to match you Bridal Shower, Wedding, Birthday or Gift theme! Greetings such as Thank you for coming, Happy Birthday, Enjoy your treats, and so many more! You can check out some of my other decorated mason jars here!

Happy Stampin’

Laura

Jan 21 2014

Technique Tuesday – Watercoloring!

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!!! That means I have a fabulous Technique to share with you! This week I’m going to show you some watercoloring techniques! There are so many different ways to watercolor and tools to use like regular cardstock and Watercolor Paper, Blender Pens and Aqua Painters, reinkers and markers, and so much more!

Supplies Needed: Watercolor Paper, Markers, Stazon Ink and Water in a Spritzer or any kind of spray bottle

This is for the card pictured above! First you will stamp your image with Stazon onto your Watercolor Paper! I love using flowers for watercoloring partially because I LOVE flower stamps and partially because they are so much fun to watercolor! You will need to use Stazon Ink because this ink is permanent and will not bleed when you spritz it with water! After it is stamped, I took my Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie markers and colors the flower in. Once you have colored the entire flower, you will spritz it with water generously and tilt the piece of paper so that the colors run to the edge and bleed all over. This will then need to sit aside till it dries before assembling your card!

Here is another Watercolored Card! This card uses our Naturals Composition Designer Series Paper – most amazing paper ever because it comes pre-embossed!!!! There are 2 sheets of the following: music notes, damask, flowers (pictures above), notebook lines with a flower image in the corner, woodgrain, and filigree. It is so much fun to color with this paper! For this card, I used my Aqua Painter (filled with water) and picked up color from a reinker drop and then painted on this card. The embossing helps to keep the water contained in the image. I have also done a similar card but used just markers on the paper and it came out just as beautiful! Using the markers gives it a darker, bolder color which I LOVE because I love bold colors. I know there are people out there who like a lighter color and a more watercolor look though! 🙂

I hope you try out watercoloring. You don’t have to be an artist to do watercoloring….trust me I am not an artist and I have a lack of patience for the drying process but I can still do it so you can too!!! Check out other watercolor project here! Try it out and let me know how it goes in the comments below!!!

Happy Watercolorin’!

~Laura

Jan 20 2014

More My Digital Studio and my 2013 Scrapbook!!!!

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

So I thought I would share a few more pages of my 2013 Scrapbook that I am creating in My Digital Studio! You can see the pages that I have shared before here and here!!!

My Scrapbook pages are more about the pictures than the embellishments partially because I am a camera freak and take millions of photos for even the simplest occasions and partially because that is what is most important to me in my scrapbook! The page above uses one of my favorite features – the corner rounder! I love rounded corners on my pictures. I added in some brads and some journaling and I was done!!!

Now this page has a few more embellishments but that’s not what I see at first glance! I see my adorable nephew with amazing little blonde curls! Eeee So Precious!?! As you can see I rounded the corners of these photos as well and added some journalling. On this page, I added color to the work Family so it would POP and a few flowers from one of the Simply Scrappin’ Kits!!!

Okay finally a page I didn’t round the corners so you all don’t think I’m crazy 😉 (although I’m pretty sure I am) This page is pretty simple as well with just a few pictures and some journaling! I do have some pages with more embellishments and layers but those aren’t all complete yet! I tend to make my pages and leave room for journaling but move on to the next page. Then I go back and do all of my journaling and final touches later. I sat down one evening and did August – November in one evening while watching TV too! And the best part was at the end of the evening all I had to do was hit save and close my laptop. Digital Scrapbooking is much easier and a lot less messy than traditional scrapbooking! And there are always new downloads available every Tuesday!!! I hope you enjoyed these pages and keep on the lookout for more because I am hoping to have this album complete soon so I will be sharing more pictures! If you want to try out My Digital Studio (MDS), you can for FREE for 30 days! It is a great chance to check it out before deciding if it is for you! Click here to start your trial!

Jan 17 2014

Apothecary Art!!!

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I love the color purple and this card turned out AMAZING!!!! I used the Apothecary Art Stamp Set and matching Labels Collection Framelits! I love how these matching framelits cut out the image so perfectly! And then the Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder makes the background look so amazing and elegant! It gives the card texture and depth too! As for the flowers in the stamped image (use Stazon ink when coloring images so it doesn’t bleed), I used Blender Pens and reinker to color the flowers! I love this way of coloring because you can start off light and work your way darker! When using markers, you get a dark ink saturation with the first stroke of the marker but with the blender pens, you are picking up the color and adding it in. I hope you enjoyed this card and try out your Blender Pens!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 16 2014

More Wedding Invitations!!!

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

I have said it before and I’ll say it again….I LOVE WEDDINGS! They are just so amazing – the love, family time, the day every girl dreams of, and so much more! I love it and I love that even though my wedding day is over I can still be apart of so many weddings by helping brides!

This is a wedding invitation that I have recently finished! I love all of the textures and layers in this one! So elegant with the lattice and white on white look! This is a square invitation so it does require more postage but it just wouldn’t be the same if it was rectangle! The picture on the left is the inside of the invitation. The colors are flip-flopped though. The invitation is Tempting Turquoise and the pocket on the bottom is Calypso Coral. The pocket held the Reception Information and RSVP card and envelope! I added some texture to the pocket with the same embossing folder that I used on the front – Perfect Polka Dot (my favorite). You can see the Save The Dates from this wedding here.

If you are getting married or planning any other type of party and need invitations, menu cards, party favors, or any other item, let me know! I would love to help you create the greatest party ever! I can make the items for you or help you with everything you need so you can use your crafty side!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 15 2014

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Today is my Mom’s Birthday and in celebration I thought I would do a little post about her!!!!!

This card is perfect for her and while it isn’t the exact card I sent her on her Birthday, her’s did have the little lizard on it! She really likes little lizards. And you might think that this card looks a little like a kid’s card but that is perfectly fine! My Mom is the biggest kid I know! She really knows how to have fun and play! She is an amazing Grandma for that too! Roller coasters, concerts, swimming, games and so much more are some of the fun and crazy things we have all enjoyed together!

My Mom isn’t a hardcore stamper like me but she does enjoy stamping! Every year we get together and create her Christmas Cards which I love doing! You can check that out here! When I get to share what I love with someone I love, it is even more special to me! 🙂 My mom has had a few stamp classes at her house before too which is always so much fun and lots of laughs! I am planning one for next month already and I can’t wait! January was out of the question because she is in Hawaii while the rest of us are “enjoying” this fabulous winter weather we have been getting. Boo (sarcasm)! I can’t wait to celebrate my Mom’s Birthday this weekend with her! Leave a comment below and I will share all your Birthday wishes with my Mom!!!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 14 2014

Technique Tuesday – Lollipop Card!!!

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Happy Tuesday!!!! That means I have a fabulous Technique to share with you! This is a great way to use up some scrap pieces of cardstock that you have laying around and it is SUPER CUTE!

I love this card because of the bright colors and the fun that a lollipop brings!!! And this card is super simple…..besides the spacing of the lollipop circles which took me 3 times to finally get it right! 🙂

Supplies Needs: Crumb Cake Cardstock for card base, White Chalk Marker, scraps of white and various colors of cardstock, 1 inch Circle Punch, & Ribbon

I punched 11 different colors of cardstock with my 1 inch Circle Punch. You could do all shades of one color or lots of different colors! Then I took a 2 inch Circle Punched Piece (you could use any piece of scrap paper), find the center and then start attaching your circles. I held a pencil at the center point and made sure all of my circles touched that pencil point, this way I was sure I was going in a circle. I did have some troubles with my spacing which will vary depending on how many circles you use and all so I don’t have a spacing amount to share with you. I will say that when you start putting the circles down, don’t use a ton of adhesive in case you need to re-position. At the end which attaching it to my card, I added lots of dimensionals for extra adhesive and to POP it up! I added a little knot of ribbon around the lollipop stick (which is just cardstock). You could use a dowel rod but that will make it hard to mail. For the border, I used my Chalk Marker to add dash marks! I love how this adds a cute border without adding layers!!!! I hope you enjoyed this card and try it out! Be on the lookout for more great cards that use up your leftover scraps!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura

Jan 13 2014

I LOVE MONKEYS!!!!

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Laura's Stamp Pad

Have I ever mentioned before how I LOVE monkeys! Sock Monkeys are my favorite and I have at least 8 that I can think of off hand right now! They are just soooo cute! I’m not the only one here, right? Okay so maybe I am!

So I had someone reach out to me to make their daughter’s 1st Birthday invitations and when I asked for the theme she sent me a photo of the plates that are going to be used! THERE ARE MONKEYS ON THERE! I knew right then and there, this is my dream job! Here are 2 samples that I came up with! What do you think? I used punches for the little monkey faces – circles, ovals, hearts, and flowers! I do think that the one of the left needs bigger hands and maybe Chocolate Chip hands, rather than Crumb Cake! I’m so excited to be able to help someone create an amazing Birthday for their child and at the same time I am loving what I am doing!!! If you need invitations for your next Birthday, Anniversary, or Wedding, feel free to reach out to me!

Happy Stampin’

~Laura