January 21, 2013

Cross My Heart Fun Flower Card

If you read my posts in your email, you may have noticed this afternoon that first picture of my For the Birds Thank You card was different than most of the rest. Well, I don’t know how it happened put I accidently selected the wrong photo when I wrote it up, but it’s been corrected now. I didn’t want you to lose any sleep over it! Haha.

The adorable butterflies in the card above are from the Stampin’ Up! Cross My Heart stamp set from the new Spring catalog. That little butterfly stamp is the reason I bought that set! I fell in love.

The flower is the star of the show here. I cut two sets of flowers from the Tea for Two Designer Series Paper, Big Shot Die-cutting Machine and the Fun Flower Bigz Die. I then spritzed them with water, crumbled, stacked and assembled with a brad in the middle to hold it all together. After putting it all together I sprayed it with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. Can you see the shine?

A little Linen Thread bow through the button and then I glued it to the top of the brad with Crystal Effects. With all the water and the shimmer, a glue dot was just not going to cut it, but Crystal Effects is like super glue.

The button on the flower is from the Sale-A-Bration Sycamore Street ribbon and button pack, which will be available FREE with a qualifying order tomorrow! The button is actually Tangerine Tango, and the paper and ink are actually Calypso Coral, so they are not the same color, but in person they blend and look great together. However, in the pictures, not so much. Darn.

ONLY 1 MORE DAY UNTIL SALE-A-BRATION!! Get Excited!!! Click here for the complete list of SAB products! Choose one free item for every $50 in product purchased!

VIEW VALENTINE SPECIALS! Offers end TODAY! Jan. 21st.

CHECK OUT THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SPRING CATALOG! I think you’ll love the beautiful colors, images and ideas in the brand new Spring catalog.

Enjoy, Julie

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Cross My Heart wood-mount #126580 clear-mount #126582

Ink: Calypso Coral #126983

Paper: Tea for Two Designer Series Paper #129311, Lucky Limeade #122926, Very Vanilla #101650

Extras: Sycamore Street Button & Ribbon Pack #130812 (FREE with SAB order), Big Shot Die-cutting Machine #113439, Fun Flowers Bigz Die #121812, Vanilla Smooch #118772, Scallop Trim Border Punch #118402, Natural Trim Ribbon #129287, Linen Thread #104199

January 21, 2013

For the Birds Thank You Card

TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY! THE START OF SALE-A-BRATION 2013!

In the meantime, here’s a simple thank you card created with the Stampin’ Up! For the Birds stamp set. I started with a card base of Natural White cardstock.

I stamped the birds with black StazOn in and watercolored them with the aquapainter and various ink refills. As usual, I didn’t try for perfection which I think is what makes watercoloring so charming! Can you see the Crystal Effects added to the heart?

The bird tag was punched out with the Decorative Label Punch and lifted off the card with dimensionals. It’s easy to pierce the paper to perfection with the Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Tool and Mat. The thank you is from the Embellished Events stamp set.

Paper scoring is super quick and easy with the Simply Scored Scoring Tool. I added the Marina Mist cardstock panel after adding the punched scallop border, the scoring and the paper piercing.

The ribbon is tied from the Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon. This months newsletter included tips to tie the perfect bow! Be sure and subscribe today to get your copy.

Originally when I made his card I placed the bow in the middle but I decided later I didn’t like it there. Because I had created a separate bow and adhered it with a glue dot, I just gently eased if off and moved it where I wanted it. I’m so much happier with the bow on the left! What do you think?

GET EXCITED! SALE-A-BRATION BEGINS TOMORROW! Check back tomorrow for all the particulars!

Enjoy, Julie

Card Recipe:

Stamps: For the Birds wood-mount #126405 clear-mount #126407, Embellished Events wood-mount #126495 clear-mount #126497

Ink: Black Staz-On #101406

Paper: Marina Mist cardstock #119682, Natural White cardstock#102316

Extras: Simply Scored Scoring Tool #122334, Essentials Paper Piercing Mat #126187, Decorative Label Punch #120907, Scallop Edge Border Punch #119882, Daffodil Delight Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon #126872, Crystal Effects #101055, Aqua Painter #103954

January 19, 2013

Personally! – Keeping Healthy Food Simple

Earlier this year I was inspired by the post Five Life Lessons I Learned in 2012 from Kristi at Addicted 2 Decorating . In her posts she occasionally shares a glimpse of her personal life including her husband’s health issues and their effort for a healthier lifestyle.

My family has made major changes over the past year toward a healthier lifestyle, but I was determined to do better in 2013! But I realized if I was going to make this a reality I had to keep my food simple. I just was not going to make a gourmet meal every night! Anyone else feel the same way?

So here’s a couple of VERY simple meals I’ve had this week and a couple of tips.

Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions on a Veggie Burger with Steamed Spinach

The veggie burger is store bought. Simple. Read your labels. They are not all made the same. This vegetable burger ingredient label reads like the description of a salad!! The spinach is fresh and steamed in the microwave for about 1 minute. That’s it.

I sauteed fresh mushrooms and onions in vegetable broth, no oil, no butter. I added garlic and to keep things simple, I use the pre-minced garlic. Did you know mushrooms and onions have great cancer-fighting nutrients?

The bun is a multigrain sandwich round lightly toasted in the oven. I did put a little vegan mayonaise on it for added flavor and moisture. And I definitely should have added some yummy sliced tomatoes to this. I also added mustard for a little kick. I could have left of the veg mayo for sure.

It took about 20 minutes to get this meal on the table for my family.

And the good old standby Peanut Butter & Jelly with an Apple.

Again not all breads, peanut butters and jellys are made the same, so read your labels! This is a great meal at home and especially when you are going to be out. I had one day this week were I was out running errands all day from 9:30 to 5:30 and I packed this lunch to take on the road with me.

I have a what I think is an unusual way of slicing my apples. I had a friend from Washington State, home of the apple, that makes fun of me for cutting them this way. She says I’m wasting too much apple, but it takes me seconds.

I slice off the sides. Yes, to me an apple has four sides. 🙂 And then slice each side as thin or thick as I want. I don’t like biting into apples so this is my quick solution.

I hope your are having wonderful success with your January goals!

Valentine and Six Other Stampin’ Up! Specials – Check them out now!

Enjoy, Julie

January 18, 2013

Valentine and Six Other Stampin’ Up! Specials

THESE FUN VALENTINE OFFERS END ON MONDAY, January 21st, so act quickly. Click on the pictures above to order yours today.

MORE SUPER FUN, TRENDY SINGLE STAMPS AVAILABLE. Click the picture above to see all your options.

STAMPIN’ UP! IS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SUCCESS IN 2013 (and I’m celebrating 10 years with SU!) – As part of our 25-year anniversary celebration, we’re bringing back some of our favorite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 12 sets, which will release-one set per month-during 2013. And here’s the first: Best of Birthdays!

Are you wondering what else is new? Click the picture above and find out!

Great Stampin’ Up! product still available on the clearance rack. You might find just what you’re looking for and at a discount!

GET EXCITED!!! STAMPIN’ UPS! BEST SPECIAL OF THE YEAR, SALE-A-BRATION, IS STARTING TUESDAY! January 22nd. Earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product with every $50 in merchandise you order.

Tip: If the brochure comes up rotated on your screen Click View > Rotate View > Clockwise. Then zoom in and out with the + and – signs at the top of the reader.

Enjoy! Julie

January 17, 2013

Hearts a Flutter Peek-a-boo Valentine

It has been a busy, full, worthwhile day and getting ready for another similar day tomorrow, which means I have lots of pictures of this Hearts a Flutter Peek-a-boo Valentine for you but not a lot of time to right up specifics. So I’ll give you a few highlights, a link to the stamps and framelits bundle and a request that you please leave a comment if you have any questions about this card!! And as I promised yesterday, next week I’ll have video tutorials on some of the projects that I’ve featured over the past couple of weeks.

So here’s your pictures:

I embossed the smaller hearts and the sentiment with Pool Party embossing powder. The arrow was hand trimmed after stamping. The button is a Sale-A-bration freebie! (Get Excited! 5 more days!)

Can you see I stamped (and embossed) on the More Amore Designer Series paper?

Here’s the peek-a-boo part!

And the inside – A little heart with plenty of room for writing a love note!

A sneak peek at the new Sale-A-Bration Vine Street embossing folder!

Another close up view.

ONLY 5 MORE DAYS UNTIL SALE-A-BRATION!! Get Excited!!! Click here for the complete list of SAB products! Choose one free item for every $50 in product purchased!

VIEW VALENTINE SPECIALS! Offers end Jan. 21st.

CHECK OUT THE BEAUTIFUL NEW SPRING CATALOG! I think you’ll love the beautiful colors, images and ideas in the brand new Spring catalog.

Enjoy, Julie

Hearts a Flutter wood-mount bundle

Hearts a Flutter clear-mount bundle