Happy September

Happy September all! Can you believe how fast the summer went by? Here in Florida it's still nice and warm (just the way I like it) but I know that cooler weather is just around the corner.
I'm still working on using my stamps from the new catalog. Honest I didn't buy that many, but I also came home with four new sets. This first card is made using the Flores Suaves that is only found in the Spanish Catalog. I think it's a beautiful set.
First I stamped the flower image using Chocolate Chip and colored the flower using Regal Rose and Old Olive. Then cut the image out. I layered Vellum on top of Whisper White card stock stamped with the verse from the set. I also sponged the edges of the white. Then used dimensionals to adhere the flower to the Vellum. I used Zip Dry to adhere it all to the Regal Rose card stock. If you have never tried Zip Dry, I totally recommend it. A huge bonus, besides being re-positional is that it dries clear. So you can use it with Vellum! The verse is from Warm Words and is stamped with Chocolate Chip. The card base is Chocolate Chip. Attach a ribbon and voila!

The next card uses the Dreams du Jour set. I have been wanting to try out the faux metal look and this stamp just screamed do me! It really is quite easy and the results are fantastic.
I stamped the largest image with versamark onto silver metallic card stock, dusted it with silver embossing powder and heated it up. Love the magic. After cutting the corners with the Ticket Punch, I layered it with Black card stock and attached silver brads. The back drop papers for the square are from the Bella Rose Designer Paper. I also used the new Scallop punch from Stampin' Up!


I hope you have a fabulous day!


Michelle Bowley

Another Inspired by Nature

WOW ~ this is my favorite, for today anyway.
I'm amazed as to how this came out. It is gorgeous!
I stamped the grass background using Mellow Moss then put vellum on top to soften the image. The flowers were colored using markers and the aqua painter. What a cool effect it made! I used dimensionals behind the flowers to give it even more pop.


I hope you love this card as much as I do.
Thanks for visiting,


Michelle Bowley

What is this called??

What a cool photo this turned out to be. It looks like the card is floating. I don't know what this type of card is called, so if you do, let me know so I can give it the correct title. It was very easy and I plan on sharing this with my card club this week. I used most of the new Stampin' Up! In colors, the stamp-a-ma-jig, markers and my new scor-pal. The stamp set is one of the sets I received at the convention, called Flight of the Butterfly. I also used the crimper on the cards belly band.


Directions:
Score an 11 inch x 4 1/4 inch strip at 1 3/8 intervals (or 3 1/2 cm) down the length of the card stock. Fold strip into an accordion shape with the front fold facing up. The four diamond backgrounds are graduated by 1/4 the largest starting as a 3 inch square, 2 3/4, 2 1/2, then 2. The white card stock is cut into 2 inch, 2 1/4, 2 3/4 and 3 inch squares. Using the stamp-a-ma-jig, place the butterflies in the center of the white squares. Adhere the squares together then adhere to the front of the folds. I made a belly band but you could easily use a ribbon to keep the card closed.
Have fun!



Michelle Bowley

Aidan's birthday

I have a few cards to post so to start off, here is the birthday card I made my nephew, Aidan. The card is made using the criss cross template that you can find here. I used Brilliant Blue for the base and More Mustard for the contrast. I don't particularly like the More Mustard color (blech) but it does look very nice with the blue. I also use some of the retired More Mustard designer paper. The stamp set is from the Fun and Fast Notes set. This set is my most used of all the SU stamps I have. I also used the 1/4 inch Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon, a clip from Hodgepodge, Dazzling Diamonds (of course DD! even a boy's card needs some glitter), Crystal Effects and I used the blender pen with markers to color in the cake.


I made a money envelope for the inside. I'm sure he will love that even more than the card! But I'm betting his Mom will like the card as much as I do.
I hope you enjoy it as well,



Michelle Bowley

Box in a Bag Band Wagon

Well, here is my box in a bag. Since everyone else is doing one, I needed to do one too. I am such a follower! And yes, they are very easy to make and come out so dang cute! On this one, I wanted to try out all the different flower punches. I added some white gel pen and gave them a bit of dimension. I think the whole thing came out wonderful and will be doing these with my gals at my next stamp camp.


Have a fabulous day!


Michelle Bowley

The Butterflies Are Free

Today's card was made with the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set. I've seen quite a few Monarch and Yellow Swallowtail butterflies in my yard this year. What beautiful 'bugs'
I really do like this stamp set because of the endless (well ok maybe not endless) ways you can make the butterflies using the stamp-a-ma-jig. I went to Staples today to get some acetate so I could make each stamp set their own little template. But wouldn't you know, I get there and I forget what I was there for. grrrr I did pick up some ink for my printer so it wasn't a completely wasted trip.
I hope you enjoy your day and thanks for checking in on me,



Michelle Bowley

Inspired by Nature

My first creation using the Inspired by Nature stamp set. Of course not counting the gift bag we made at convention. This card is totally not my usual style, as my husband let me know. Well then I'll just have to add some glitter! And here you go. Much better.


This card uses textured Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze card stock as the matting. I then stamped the flower using Kiwi Kiss and the sentiment is of course Baja Breeze. I cut out the right side of the design and mounted the flowers with dimensionals. I also dyed some ribbon using the Baja Breeze. And must not forget the dazzling diamonds! I hope you like it.



Michelle Bowley

New sets and a dentist

Here is a new set that I came home from convention with. Eastern Elegance. I combined it with the Bella Rose papers, ticket punch, scallop punch brads, white gel pen and ribbon. and voila...a lovely card. But of course it didn't just throw itself together. There was some cutting and adhering going on in the background.Well, not a new set, but a set that I am continully drawn to. I saw this card done somewhere and I thought I had kept the gals name. If it's you I cased, let me know so I can put a link to your site. This card got some faux stitching which I found very easy to do. I colored in the ribbon slide using a sharpie. I noticed it was the wrong color pink, but at that point it was too late. I hope you like it anyway.
This cutie pie card was cased from a card that was on display at the SU convention. I love this set and was lucky enough to win it at the Late Night Stampers pre-Convention party YAY!
The main design was embossed with white then pounced with lovely lilac, the same was done with the smaller medalion. The last flower was also white embossed but then colored in with LL and a half pearl in the center makes it very pretty. The purple background was created using the barouque motifs wheel.
On a personal note, I spent 2 hours with my mouth open at the dentist office, again. I have a temporty crown in just waiting for my permanent one. Then you know what goes and happens?
I break another tooth. This time on the top but on the same side. So I guess I'll be chewing on my right side for awhile. 2 hours...crazy! Another thing that was bothering me. Why doesn't anyone tell me what they are doing iin my mouth. All I get is, 'open and relax your tongue'. Have you ever been able to relax your tongue when someone has five unknown objects in your mouth and you know one of them is spinning and it's gonna take a huge gouge out of your tongue...there ain't gonna be no relaxing in my mouth! To celebrate living through the 2 hour toture, I ate two bowls of chocolate pudding with whipped cream..mmmmm gooood!



Michelle Bowley

Fabulous Flowers

Dare to be Fabulous!
Here is the card from the pre-convention class that I taught. Everyone was wowed by the beautiful flowers that they learned how to do. I recieved an email from one of the ladies that she was very impressed that the flowers survived the air trip to Canada. They are very sturdy.

The flowers are made with all Stampin Up products, plus my secret ingrediant that you have right in your home! I am taking orders for the directions to make the 'fabulous flowers' Only $5 for the e-mail directions or I can mail you a personal card, as shown above, along with the directions for $10. Pop off an email and let me know which version you would like at michellebowley@gmail.com PayPal accepted :-)
Be sure to click the pictures for a much closer look.

Here are pictures of my contest entry using the flower technique.

I hope you love the flowers!

Michelle Bowley

convention

How's this for an in your face picture? This was during the closing ceremonies at the Stampin' Up! convention. I think there were about 5,000 of us enjoying the ceremony.


Of course before we got to the closing ceremonies we had the pre-convention events. Here's just one of the many zany times we had. This was taken at the Girls Just Want to Have Fun party. The 'models' in their jammies and other partay attire here are Vicki, Susan, Vivian, Me and Janice.

I was able to meet Shelli. Wow is she photogenic!


I brought the topiary I had made using my fabulous flowers technique. She loved it and wanted to know how I made it. Of course I told her it used my secret ingrediant.
My next post will contain information on how you can learn how to make the flowers.

Enjoy your day,

Fabulous Flowers

How about another tease. Here is a close up of one of the flowers that I will be teaching how to make at a pre-convention class. This flower uses only Stampin' Up! products (well with one other little something that everyone has in their house). Once convention is over, I'll be taking orders for the directions. And you're going to say..."d'uh, why didn't I think of that!" In the past two months I have made over 1,000 of these little puppies. I'm thinking I may offer packets that can be used during your workshops for a full card using the flowers. Let me know what you think of my idea. It's not written in stone yet, so give me some feedback.
thanks heaps!

Business Cards

Here are some of my business cards that I designed. I Love how they came out. I printed them on Whisper White and mounted them with Real Red. I used the flower stamp from Together Forever. We had a little stamp camp last week and I made everyone their own cards.
And of course if you have business cards you will need something to hold the cards. So we made these little card holders. They are so fun to make, I don't know why I need three holders...maybe to match my outfits. :-)


You can find a great tutorial on how to make these holders here.
Have a great day!

Hanging with the girls

I've been busy getting ready for convention, as I'm sure alot of you are as well. My upline Vivian and side line Susan and I got together for some pre-convention stamping. Here are a couple of my cards for swapping.
This first card uses the stamp set Priceless and the sentiment from Short and Sweet. The colors are Perfect Plum, Barely Banana and of course Whisper White.


This card uses the background stamp Polka Dot, the set Together Forever and it's matching wheel, Forever Flowers. The sentiment is from Warm Words. I added purple cosmo glitter, which of course you can't see, but it's there.

Here we are ~ Susan, Vivian and I sitting on the side of the pool at Vivian's new home.

I hope you are enjoying your day,

Fabulous Brayer

I dusted off my brayer again and tried something a little different from my other tries. This time I brayered the card stock first using Barely Banana, Rose Red and Brocade Blue. I then stamped the large flower from the Fabulous Flowers set with versamark and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Once it was cooled I outlined each petal with the sharp end of my Stampin Up black marker. I layered the card using Cameo Coral, Black and Brilliant Blue. Also adding the ticket punch to some of the layers. I used Brocade Blue ribbon attached with Brilliant Blue brads, used dimensionals to pop up the main image. The sentiment is from the Fresh Cuts stamp set.

Recipe:
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Fresh Cuts
Paper: Whisper White, Cameo Coral, Brilliant Blue, Black
Ink: Black, Rose Red, Banana Yellow, Brocade Blue
Accessories: 5/8" Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Bold Bright Brads, Ticket Punch & Dimensionals, Brayer, Versamark, Clear Embossing Powder

Thanks for popping in,

Oreo Personality Test

I came across this neat personality test on Iline's site. It fit me perfectly, how wierd is that! Take the test (it's quick and painless ) and see if how you eat an oreo tells a bit about you.

You eat the oreo ~

1. The whole thing all at once.
2. One bite at a time
3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite afterwards.
4. In little feverous nibbles.
5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee...).
6. Twisted apart, the inside, then the cookie.
7. Twisted apart, the inside, and toss the cookie.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.
10. I don't have a favorite way because I don't like Oreos.

READ the results:

Your Personality:
1. The whole thing: This means you consume life with abandon, you are fun to be with, exciting, carefree with some hint of recklessness. You are totally irresponsible. No one should trust you with their children.
2. One bite at a time: You are lucky to be one of the 5.4 billion other people who eat their Oreos this very same way. Just like them, you lack imagination, but that's okay, not to worry, you're normal.
3. Slow and Methodical: You follow the rules. You're very tidy and orderly. You're very meticulous in every detail with every thing you do to the point of being anal retentive and irritating to others. Stay out of the fast lane if you're only going to go the speed limit.
4. Feverous Nibbles: Your boss likes you because you get your work done quickly. You always have a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Mental breakdowns and suicides run in your family. Valium and Ritalin would do you good.
5. Dunked: Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones. You are in total denial about the shambles you call a life. You have a propensity towards narcotic addiction.
6. Twisted apart, the inside, and then the cookie: You have a highly curious nature. You take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so you destroy all the evidence of your activities. You deny your involvement when things go wrong. You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior.
7. Twisted apart, the inside, and then toss the cookie: You are good at business and take risk that pay off. You take what you want and throw the rest away. You are greedy, selfish, mean, and lack feelings for others. You should be ashamed of yourself. But that's ok, you don't care, you got yours.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside: You enjoy pain.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them: Stay away from small furry animals and seek professional medical help - immediately.
10. I don't have a favorite way, I don't like Oreo cookies: You probably come from a rich family, and like to wear nice things, and go to up-scale restaurants. You are particular and fussy about the things you buy, own, and wear. Things have to be just right. You like to be pampered. You are a priss.

Fresh Cuts Shazam!

I just found a new Photoshop trick on a gal's sight that has Photoshop Fridays. Cool! So I took her challenge today to add some 'Shazam' to a picture. I decided to try it on my last picture that I uploaded so we can all see the difference. What do you think? Does it make a better picture? I think it does. If you'd like the directions to add 'Shazam' to your photos go visit Jessica and let me see what you can do with your pictures.


Today has been an interesting day. First I had to call my dentist because my temporary crown broke last night. They said to come in right after lunch. Yup. So instead of shortening the long drawn out process they made another crown for me to wear until I come back next week to do more drilling and then another temporary. I'm sure there are many other stories about teeth and crowns. Let's hear them...post a note for us.


Someone, who will remain nameless, mentioned to me that circles were going to be very big this year. Well here's my first step into the circle room. I used the Fresh Cuts stamp set. Stamped it on WW cards stock. Colored in the plants and used crystal effects on the brown. I sponged around the sides and even some of the middle, of course that would be after the crystal effects had dried. Or I may have even done it before I put the Crystal Effects on the card. Who knows...my night time drugs are starting to kick in...woohoo. Here's my recipe before I fall asleep at the computer.

Recipe:
Stamp Set: Fresh Cuts
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana, Regal Rose
Paper: the same as ink
Extras: SU ribbon, white gel pen


Thanks for looking,

Another Try

I decided I didn't care for the card that I shared yesterday. There was just something that didn't click for me. Well I turned the card over and loved it. I also took some of the Ballet Blue away, I thought it was a little too strong for the subtle color changes. Let me know which card you like better.


Stamps: Fabulous Flowers
Ink: Rose Red, Barely Banana. Ballet Blue
Paper: Always Artichoke, Ballet Blue, Barely Banana, Real Red
Ribbon: Always Artichoke
Other: White embossing powder


This card uses the Fresh Cuts stamp set. I saw a similar layout somewhere out in web world and promptly lost the page. So from my feeble memory, I put this card together.


Stamps: Fresh Cuts
Ink: Black, Bashful Blue
Paper: Black, Bashful Blue, River Rock, Designer
Riboon: White, Bashful Blue
Other: Black embossing powder, Half Pearls


Thanks for looking,

Another Brayer attempt

I'm still learning how to use the brayer. I'd love some comments on what's right and whats wrong with this card.First I embossed the flower from Fabulous Flowers using white embossing powder. I then brayered a piece of Whisper White card stock using Regal Rose, Barely Banana and Ballet Blue. My Barely Banana is starting to look like Old Barely Banana, it's so dirty. I then outlined the petals with an Elegant Eggplant marker. I embelished with the Elegant Eggplant ribbon. Then used Elegant Eggplant, Creamy Caramel, Ballet Blue and Real Red to mount the card.
Let me know your thoughts,

Hello again blog world

Hello again blog world. I'm back from my forced vacation from crafting. My hand has no broken bones, thankfully, just a nice sprain. At least with a sprain, I can take the annoying brace off. Now back to business ~
This is a card using the new Fresh Cuts stamp set. I used the sponge quite a bit on the main image and used crystal effects on the vine and the brown elements.


I'm still working with the brayer. It's fun to use, but boy it sure hurts my poor wrist.

Thanks for stopping by,

Blog Candy

Blog candy alert! http://karenscreation.blogspot.com/