Wednesday, February 29, 2012

cQc#126: Thanks with Outlined Occasions





















I saw a really cool technique while looking through the March issue of Stampin' Success. You take craft paint and apply a coat over a piece of cardstock. Then you emboss the cardstock and sand off some of the paint to show the cardstock underneath. When I saw this I knew I had to try it.

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Outlined Occasions

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie
Stampin' Up! Early Espresso
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight
Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade


The Tools

Stampin' Up! Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

MOJO230: Snowflake Flower





















I made this card for the MOJO Monday #230 sketch. I was wanting to make some type of flower that I had never made before. I also wanted a flat flower so that I could mail the card. I looked through my supplies and saw my snowflakes dies. I thought that if I layered them that it would make for a unique flower. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It almost looks like a dandelion.

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Inspired by Nature
Stampin' Up! Awash with Flowers
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie
Stampin' Up! Early Espresso
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Fire Rhinestone Brads
Stampin' Up! Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Boho Blossoms Punch
Stampin' Up! Little Leaves Sizzlits Die
Stampin' Up! Snowflakes Set #2 Sizzlits Die

Stampin' Up! Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Stampin' Up! Adorning Accents Edgelits Die

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Paper Players #84: Stars for Dad





















This is the card I made for the Paper Players #84 sketch. I made this card for my dad. It's tough for me making masculine cards. I tend to use lots of butterflys and flowers. I figured stars would make a good masculine card.

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Seeing Stars
Stampin' Up! Sprinkled Expressions
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Tempting Turquoise
Stampin' Up! Real Red
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Real Red Designer Button
Stampin' Up! Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Modern Label Punch
Stampin' Up! Designer Label Punch

Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folders
Stampin' Up! Billboard Sizzlits Decorative Strip Dies

Card Patterns #154: Thank You For Your Friendship





















This was the card I created for Card Patterns #154 sketch. I used the Curly Label Punch to create the bottom border.

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Island Indigo
Stampin' Up! Calypso Coral
Stampin' Up! Pool Party

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! Pool Party Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Curly Label Punch
Stampin' Up! Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Just Us Girls #125: Fast & Fabulous Frame





















This weeks Just Us Girls Challenge #125 was a 3D challenge that had to use ribbon, flowers and buttons. I decided to do an altered picture frame. The framed image is a CASE from Michelle Zindorf (found here) stamped with Stampin' Up! Fast & Fabulous stamp set. It is matted with ribbon. The flowers are made from tissue paper and the centers are buttons. How fun!

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Fast & Fabulous
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue
Stampin' Up! Marina Mist
Stampin' Up! Not Quite Navy

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Designer Buttons (Subtles)
Stampin' Up! 5/8" Grosgrain Marina Mist Ribbon
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle Bigz Die
Stampin' Up! Scallop #2 Bigz Die

Friday, February 24, 2012

colourQ125: Curly Cute Happy Birthday





















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Curly Cute
Stampin' Up! Create a Cupcake
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Basic Grey
Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade
Stampin' Up! Calypso Coral
Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Stampin' Up! Whisper White Embossing Powder
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Cupcake Builder Punch
Stampin' Up! 1-1/4" Square Punch
Stampin' Up! Scallop Edge Border Punch

Mojo229: Friend to Friend




















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Teeny Tiny Wishes
The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red
Stampin' Up! Blushing Bride

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! Everyday Enchantment Brad
Stampin' Up! 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon
Stampin' Up! Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon
Stampin' Up! Mini Library Clip
The Tools
Stampin' Up! Boho Blossoms Punch
Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Dies
Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folders
Stampin' Up! Modern Label Punch
Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch

Thanks for Watching Over Me





















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Rue Des Fleurs
Stampin' Up! Fith Avenue Floral 

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Riding Hood Red
Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! Designer Buttons (Regals)

Thanks for the Support





















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Rue Des Fleurs

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Island Indigo
Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Twitterpated Designer Series Paper
Stampin’ Up! 2011 – 2013 Island Indigo Designer Series Paper

The Tools
Stampin' Up! 1-3/4” Circle Punch
Stampin' Up! 2-3/8” Scallop Circle
Stampin' Up! Edgelits Dies
Stampin’ Up! Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folders

Freshly Made Sketch #23: Dream Garden





















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Dream Garden 

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Basic Black
Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue
Stampin' Up! Marina Mist
Stampin' Up! Not Quite Navy

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Designer Buttons (Regals)
Stampin’ Up! Designer Buttons (Subtles)
Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue Designer Series Paper

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Whisper White Embossing Powder
Stampin' Up! Heat Tool
Stampin' Up! 1-1/4" Square Punch


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Birthday Card, Picture Frame, Cake...Oh My


This week was my friend's birthday. I really wanted to make her something special. She always makes these wonderful cakes for everyone's birthday. So, I thought it was only right that she had a beautiful cake for her birthday. My mission this week was to create a card, cake and gift that all coordinated.


















Card "Ingredients"

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Printed Petals
Stampin' Up! Upsy Daisy

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Garden Green
Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi
Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery
Stampin' Up! Wisteria Wonder
Stampin' Up! Elegant Eggplant

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Rhinestone Brads

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folders
Stampin' Up! Decorative Label Punch
Stampin' Up! Labels Framelits
Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle #2
Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack
Stampin' Up! Tasteful Trim Bigs XL Die

Frame "Ingredients"

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Elements of Style
Stampin' Up! Kindness Matters
Stampin' Up! Eastern Blossoms
Stampin' Up! Pocket Silhouettes
Stampin' Up! With All My Heart

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Garden Green
Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi
Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Clear Embossing Powder
Stampin' Up! Heat Tool
Stampin' Up! Sponge Daubers

Cake "Ingredients"

I also documented the entire process of making the cake. It was quite a process. The first step was making the fondant. I made both purple and green fondant.
















Next, I made all the flowers for the cake. They need to sit and dry so it's best to make them a few days ahead of time. I made both hydrangeas and roses.
















The next step was making the buttercream frosting and the royal frosting.

Got all my ingredients together for the buttercream


It takes a lot of buttercream to put this cake together.
 
Then I got all my ingredients together for royal frosting


I use royal frosting to attached the flowers

















I bake the cakes after making the fondant, flowers and then the frosting. Yes, I use cake mixes. I've tried making cakes from scratch before and I just don't find them any better compared to a cake mix. So, I save time and use boxed cake mixes.

Got everything ready to make my cakes

















After getting all the layers of the cakes baked, I then leveled each layer. Each tier has three layers.

Wow, that's a lot of cake

















Once the cakes are leveled and cooled, I then frost the cakes.


















The fondant can then be rolled and applied to the cake.






I let the cakes set up overnight before stacking them. This allows the buttercream and the fondant to firm up which makes the cakes easier to handle.




I use straws for support.


I think stacking is the most nerve wracking.

















Once I got the cakes stacked, I tinted the remaining buttercream a light purple. I used the light purple buttercream to add trim around the cake.


















I finally got to the really fun part -- decorating. I added the roses to the top of the cake and then started putting the hydrangeas around the cake.

















After 15 hours of work, I had the finished cake!















While it was a lot of work, it was totally worth every minute. My friend loved the card, cake and frame.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

MOJO227: Love, Be Mine

The Stamps
Stampin' Up! I {heart} Hearts
Stampin' Up! Outlined Occasions

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Real Red
Stampin' Up! Pink Pirouette
Stampin' Up! Basic Black

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Rhinestone Brad
Stampin' Up! Real Red 3/4" Grosgrain Polka Dot Ribbon
Stampin' Up! Fleurettes

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folders
Stampin' Up! Decorative Label Punch
Stampin' Up! White Embossing Powder
Spellbinders Nestabilities (Hearts)

My First Cake using Fondant



I have always wanted to make a cake covered in fondant, but I've always been nervous to try. I have a great friend that always makes these wonderful and beautiful cakes for birthdays. Her birthday is right around the corner. I wanted to make a cake for her. I did a feasibility study this weekend to see if I could in fact make a cake using fondant. I'm pretty pround of my first attemp.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

CC360: Glittered Hello
















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Swirls & Curls Verses
Stampin' Up! Circle Circus

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Island Indigo
Stampin' Up! Pool Party

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Rhinestone Brad
Stampin' Up! Whisper White 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Martha Stewart Glitter

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Circle Punch
Stampin' Up! Scalloped Circle Punch

Happiest Birthday with Apothecary Art
















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Apothecary Art

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight
Stampin' Up! Lucky Limeade
Stampin' Up! Island Indigo

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper
Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 In Colors Designer Series Paper

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Adorning Accents Edgelit Die
Stampin' Up! Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folder
Stampin' Up! Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die
Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack

MOJO226: Butterfly Hello
















The Stamps
Stampin' Up! Swirls & Curls Verses
Stampin' Up! Fifth Avenue Floral

The Colors
Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Daffodil Delight
Stampin' Up! Pacific Point
Stampin' Up! Wild Wasabi

The Embellishments
Stampin' Up! Rhinestone Brad
Stampin' Up! Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Stampin' Up! Brights Brads
Stampin' Up! Beyond the Garden Designer Series Paper

The Tools
Stampin' Up! Elegant Lines Embossing Folders
Stampin' Up! Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die
Stampin' Up! Perfect Pennants Bigz Die
Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack