Technique of the Week: Coloring with Blender Pens

 

This card was made from products that are currently available but inspired from a project on page 55 of the new catalog (available June 2).  I used the blender pen to pick up ink color from the lid of a stamp pad and add color to the floral image.  If you gently pinch the pad before you open it some ink will be on the lid.  

Technique of the Week: Stamping Off

The floral images in the card are all "stamped off".  The card stock is Pool Party and I wanted a soft look to the background but I do not have an ink pad that color.  I used Bermuda Bay ink to stamp the floral images.  To get the softer look, ink the stamp, then stamp on a piece of scratch paper before stamping on your project.  The image on the tag was stamped off twice to get an even softer image.

Technique of the Week: You can stamp with anything!

I was admiring a card in the new Stampin' Up catalog (out June 1) and trying to think about how to make it, when my upline commented that she thought it was done with a pencil eraser. 

Viola!

This card was born.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the newest and greatest products that we forget about the simple things.  You can use anything as a stamp (as long as you do not mind the ink).  I grabbed one of my pencils (Ticonderoga of course) and made this card.  When I was done the ink did come off of the eraser.

Affordable Ideas on how to celebrate your 20th Wedding Anniversary

Today, we are celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary.  They have been the most amazing years of my life - filled with tremendous joy.  Each new day I realize how blessed I am.

Last year, as I searched for ideas for anniversary celebrations, I was disappointed by the lack of affordable ideas that I could find.  So that brings us to this post today - how we celebrated our 20th anniversary.

1.  We were married in my hometown (Racine, Wisconsin).  Racine has lots of delicious places to eat and our wedding cake came from the best bakery that we have ever been to.  If you have ever been to Racine or know anyone from Racine, then you probably know about kringle and O&H Danish Bakery.  Since we no longer live in Racine, I enlisted the help of my father and my cousin to bring us a heart shaped cake decorated like our wedding cake.  My husband is not normally a sweet eater but the night of our wedding he had three pieces of cake (he said that was because we missed the appetizers due to photos and then was talking too much to eat during supper - I think he just really liked the cake).  He was really surprised when the cake arrived.  Perhaps the best part was sharing the cake with our kids.  They love O&H because we go there for doughnuts when we are in town but they rarely have store bought cake (I love baking - but that is a post for a different day).

2.  If you are one of the two regular readers of my blog - you know that I am Stampin' Up demonstrator and one of the things I love to do is make cards.  Over this last year, I made 20 - 3"x3" cards for my husband.  I left these little love notes in his sock drawer, suitcase or computer - any place that I could leave them as a surprise for him.  These were a great way for me to remind him (and myself) about all the ways that he is special to me.

3.  The traditional gift for the 20th anniversary is china.  I ordered all of our favorite Chinese food and served it on our wedding china.  On another note, we started eating all of our meals on our wedding china about two years ago.  We registered for "everyday" china when we were getting married and one day I decided we should use it everyday.  When we want to feel special, we use my mother's desert rose china. 

4.  The modern gift for the 20th is platinum.  I researched a list of platinum albums and then checked our music collection for what we had.  We played this music while eating our anniversary supper.  I do not really enjoy music during supper but my husband does.  It took him a few songs to realize why the music was playing.

I hope these ideas help you to plan your anniversary celebration.

Technique of the Week: Cut back card front

This card brings a smile to my face - I love the colors together and the watercolor wonder paper.  To make this card cut one piece of card stock to 4 1/4" x 11.  Fold in half to make your card body.  Trim the desired width from the top of the card body.  It is hard to tell in this photo but the smile is actually stamped on the inside of the card.