Anniversaries Are Just Birdy!

Three blog posts in 3 days!  Look at me, I'm a bloggin' beast!  Glad I finally got on board (sorry took me so long Mel).

These cards were such a delight to make.  I have several close friends whose 4th wedding anniversaries are fast-approaching so I made a few versions of the same card.  The Two-Step Bird punch made it just so simple!  In an effort to use up some of my old/retired paper, I used this color scheme.  But, feel free to play off of these colors with new ink & paper.

TIP: Don't have Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (because it's retired)???  No worries!  If you're lucky, like I am, your fabulous demonstrator will give you some of her old catalogs and you can cut the DSP right out of there!  Or you can just use the catalog you have since you're only ripping out 7 pages.  Each of the section title pages in the 2009-2010 catalog (Holidays, Occasions, Growing Up, etc.) starts with a new DSP.  I simply ripped out these pages and filed them in my DSP organizer.  (You can also get paper from each of these sets: Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin', Kaleidoscope DSP, Tall Tales DSP, Hostess Bundle Lovely Flowers DSP, Autumn Traditions DSP, & The Write Stuff DSP).  Each sheet can decorate up to 3 full card fronts.  Voila, FREE DSP!  :o)

Happy Stamping!
~Kiran

Stamp Sets: Whimsical Words (SAB '10), Congratulations (SAB '09)
Ink: Basic Black, Pink Passion (retired)
Paper: Razzleberry Lemonade, Sahara Sand, Summer Sun (retired), Pink Passion (retired)
Extras: Two-Step Bird punch, Full Heart Punch, Designer Label Punch, Stamp-a-majig

Brayering Fun

I visited my aunt and upline last weekend, so I could pick up some new tricks and tips.  Just look at what she showed me!  I'll admit, I'd read about similar cards, but couldn't quite picture it.  Once I saw one in person, however, I just had to make it--the look is so striking.  My bonus for you is that it's EASY!

What do you need?  Well, the two essentials are a brayer and an embossing folder (which also means that the Big Shot is a must).  After that, things are much easier if you have a large ink pad--it's better for brayering--and paper, but that's all.

Choose your color, and ink up the brayer.  Then roll the ink directly onto your embossing folder (the side that has the impressions).  The ink will end up covering the folder, but not the impressions...so there are holes in the coverage.  Perfect!  Put your cardstock (a piece of 4x5.25 whisper white above) into the embossing folder, and then roll it through your Big Shot.  That's all you have to do for the main piece, then decide how you want to mount it (above, I put it on another piece of whisper white, cut to 4.125x5.325 and then onto a melon mambo card base).

Ribbon, embellishments, etc are entirely up to you.  Have fun!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Whimsical Words (SAB)
Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo
Ink: Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip
Extras: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, Brayer, Wide Oval Punch, Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon