bodner034

As a member of a Victoria based demonstrator group, I was supposed to participate in a blog hop this Saturday. Unfortunately I missed the deadline as I had to travel to Vancouver. As an afterthought, I decided to post my organizational tip now and will link to the other members' blogs. I love sponging. I find it adds dimension to layers or punched pieces. In the first card displayed below, I sponged around the punched flowers; on the second card I punched out a greeting and sponged around the edges and mounted it with dimensionals. Often when layering pieces onto the card base, I sponge around the edges of the layer in order to add definition. I will do the same on pattered paper as well. Sponged flowers Sponged greeting Since I do quite a bit of sponging I keep the sponges organized in plastic bead boxes. I created labels with the names of the inks in the Stampin' Up! family. Keeping the sponges in a box helps to keep them moist and often there is no need to bring out the stam...

I have been having fun making cards with the Swirly Bird stamp set and coordinating framelits. I initially purchased the bundle because of the little bird and nest. But the circular stamps and framelits reminded me of a particular flower called Ranunculus - are you familiar with it? Notice how the petals are tightly wound around the center of the flower.  I wasn't sure what the other images could be used for but I knew I'd see some ideas on Pinterest and sure enough, I saw sailboats and kites. Such a versatile set for summer. Here are a few of the cards I have made. And then, on a recent browsing trip to Pinterest I saw a cute snowman card made with the same set so I decided to make one of my own. I'm already envisioning an Easter card - a bunny sitting in a next with her eggs?? To see how I made this card, check out my video on my YouTube Channel. I have posted it here for your convenience and if you enjoy it, please give it a thumbs up - thanks!

I wasn't going to get it! But then, upon browsing Pinterest, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of cards that have been made for different occasions. What am I talking about? Thoughtful Branches, item #144328. It's available as a bundle for $66.50 which seems expensive but you get 23 stamps and 9 dies in the set. And the best justification for spending that amount is that this bundle can be used year round. I saw cards for spring, summer, fall and Christmas. I could have sent you to Pinterest but I made some of my own cards to share with you. Here are a couple I made after taking a couple of photos of my hydrangeas. My next door neighbour has an apple tree, so I made this one: Since fall is just around the corner, I used the colours Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry and Old Olive for this card: Oh and then there is Christmas: If you are interested in picking up this set I will be placing an order at the end of the month.