Summer Starts Here

Howdy!

Welcome to July's Blog Party with Waltzingmouse Stamps. This month's theme is the great outdoors. I love spending time outside and am lucky to have the chance to do a lot of outside work with my job (except when its 95 degrees and I start to show the symptoms of dehydration - oops!) but my favorite outside time is spent at the ocean.

The lovely palm tree image is from the My Island set. I stamped the distressed rectangle image twice sideways to create a resting place for my palm trees. I added some coordinating patterned paper to my card, using a - wait for it - paper crimper on the vertical piece. I had to dust it off first, but I think I'll be using it again. Do you have one buried in your stash, too?  I added some acrylic paint to my crimps to tone the color down a bit and fit in with the wonderful weathered look to these images.

If you would like to play along with our Blog Party this month, you have until 1:30 pm EST tomorrow (July 18th) to link up your project. We'd love to see you!

Anya

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Recipe:
STAMPS: My Island - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9 Design Studio
PATTERNED PAPER: This & That - Echo Park Paper Company
INK: Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke - Stampin' Up!; Frayed Burlap Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Snow Cap Acrylic Paint Dabber - Ranger Industries; Sewing Machine - Janome; Paper Crimper

Birthday Wishes

I find it hard to believe that it is Monday again already.

On Saturday, we took a drive west to Ohio to visit The Wilds. The Wilds is a 10,000 acre reclaimed strip mine that is now a conservation facility that maintains over 30 rare and endangered species from around the world. Because of the nature of the facility, they are able to keep these animals in a very close to natural habitat and are making amazing advancements for the species. Our plans for the day included the Wild Zipline Safari and the Sunset Tour. I will share pictures soon, but we had a fantastic day. It was also a late day, and Sunday ended up being less-than-productive as a result.

I did fit time in to make my card for this week's Play Date Cafe color challenge, though!

I love, love, love this combination!

Was feeling in a Wplus9 mood. I reached for one of my all-time favorite sets, Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions for the birds and the leaves. The fancy frame (love the unique shape) is from the Fresh Picked set. I love the berries and sentiments in the set, but I would not have been above getting it just for that frame.

I also tried out the Chevron Impression Plate, trimming the impressed cardstock down for my card front. I loved it, and I hope we see more of these from Wplus9 soon!

Well, I am going to run - I hope your day is fabulous! Don't forget about the Waltzingmouse Blog Party tomorrow, festivities start at 1:30 EST on the WMS Blog.

Anya

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Recipe
STAMPS: Fresh Picked, Very Vintage Greetings, Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions - Wplus9 Design Studio
CARDSTOCK: Pool Party - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, So Saffron - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Label Layers 5 Die, Chevron Impression Plate - Wplus9

It's a Good Day

Happy Sunday, my friends. I wanted to pop in here today to share a card made with this week's Waltzingmouse card sketch.

This week's sketch was inspired by the always-fabulous Sandie Dunne.

Here is what I made, turning this sketch into a square card.

Playing with my Pinwheels set the other day encouraged me to set some time aside to use it more. I started this card by choosing the colors I wanted to work with. I knew that I wanted to use patterned paper for the rectangle on the left of the sketch, so I picked my colors from that. Then I used the small outline and solid pinwheel to create a background design. Just fun to make.

We would love to have you play along with this week's challenge. Visit the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge Blog to load up your project and see all the fabulous inspiration from the Mischief Makers.

I also wanted to remind you that the WMS Blog Party for July will be on Tuesday, July 17th. This month's theme is the great outdoors, and you can find all the details on the WMS Blog. Hope to see you there - have a great day!

Anya

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Recipe
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Baja Breeze - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
PATTERNED PAPER: So Happy Together - Echo Park Paper Company
INK: Slate - Amuse|Studio; Ruby Red, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky - Stampin' Up!; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Playground Designer Buttons, Linen Twine - Stampin' Up!; Sewing Machine - Janome

Summertime Blog Hop

Happy Friday!

Today the CardMaker Blog Team is joining the fabulous ladies from Really Reasonable Ribbon for a summertime blog hop!

You should have arrived here from Linda's blog. The CardMaker Blog is the start of the hop if you're just stopping in. After me, your next stop is Judy.

Bonnie from RRR sent us the July Ribbon Club Assortment to use for today's hop. It is a beautiful combination of green and yellow ribbons, and you have a chance to win one just by leaving a comment!

Here is what I created..

How's that for summery?

I always struggle with ribbon - I feel like I can't tie a bow to save my life, so I wanted to try and use the ribbon a little differently. For this card, I cut some different length strips of the green ribbons and stitched them across the top of my card. I added a big juicy strawberry and a coordinating sentiment (from Big Berries - Strawberry) to the card front.

I made a second card, this time using some of the yellow ribbons.

I lined two of the ribbons up and stitched them to my card front. See, I can do this ribbon thing! ;) I combined them with images from my Playful Pinwheels set. Don't you love them?

Thanks for sticking with me - be sure to visit Judy, the next stop along the hop!

Anya

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Recipe
Thanks Berry Much
STAMPS: Big Berries - Strawberry - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Kraft, Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Poppy Parade, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: July Ribbon Club Assortment - Really Reasonable Ribbon; Houndstooth Embossing Folder - Provocraft


Go For a Spin
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Wisteria Wonder, Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder, Groovy Guava, Crumb Cake - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: July Ribbon Club Assortment - Really Reasonable Ribbon; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Sewing Machine - Janome

Fish More

Hi there!

I've been waiting to share today's projects with you for a while. A few weeks ago my brother celebrated his 30th birthday. I used the new Fish More set from Wplus9 for his card and a little framed gift. I adored the fishing vest card that Dawn made during the last release, and when she offered it as a free electronic cut file, I knew right away I wanted to give it a try.

I thought that Dawn's version of this vest was perfect. The little label on the inside of the vest, the tag on the pocket - it was fantastic. I carried these elements through to my design and love how it turned out.

I cut the fishing vest from True Thyme cardstock, then stamped the vest and the pockets with the Weave Backgrounder in True Thyme ink. It just adds a little bit of texture and resembles fabric.  I inked the edges of everything with Distress Ink before assembling. As you can see, I left some space in the upper left pocket so I could tuck some cash in there.

The tag for the inside was cut using the Label Layers 4 Die. I used markers from Stampin' Up! to selectively color portions of the sentiment.

The other thing I made using this set was a framed piece of art.

I started with an 8 x 10 dark brown wooden frame and cut a sheet of Oatmeal cardstock to fit the inside. Then I die cut a boat load of the different fish lures also out of Oatmeal cardstock (I just want to interject that this is my *most favorite* cardstock. I LOVE IT. I struggle to not use it on everything I make).

I used Stampin' Write markers again to color the lures in. I just colored directly on the stamp, huffed on it, and stamped it on my cardstock. If you are looking for a perfectly stamped image, this might not be the method for you. But since I wanted my lures to look a little old and worn, this technique worked out perfectly.

I laid all the stamped fish lures out on the sheet of cardstock and arranged them how I wanted them - I tried to distribute shapes and colors throughout the design. Then I stamped all the hooks on the lures before adhering them down with dimensional foam tape. The stamped strip of text through the middle helps to break things up and even out the spacing of the design.

Here's my brother, putting the 'work less, fish more' adage into practice. When he's not actually fishing, he's making his own muskie lures. He really has a talent for choosing colors and airbrushing the designs (my parents distributed their creative genes well!).

Thanks for stopping in today, I hope you have a good one!

Anya

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Recipe:
Work Less, Fish More Vest Card
STAMPS: Fish More - Wplus9 Design Studio; Weave Backgrounder - Cornish Heritage Farms
CARDSTOCK: True Thyme - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: True Thyme, Early Espresso - Stampin' Up!; Walnut Stain Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Fishing Vest Cut File, Fish More Die, Label Layers 4 Die - Wplus9; Silhouette Cameo - Silhouette America; Pewter Brads


Eat. Sleep. Fish. Framed Art
STAMPS: Fish More - Wplus9 Design Studio
CARDSTOCK: Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Early Espresso, Earth Elements & Rich Regals Stampin' Write Markers - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Fish More Die - Wplus9; 8x10 Wooden Frame - JoAnn Fabrics Stores

CardMaker Blog Team Hop

Hi there!

Today is blog hop day for the CardMaker Magazine Blog Team. Our theme for today is 'Summer Dreams' and we are sharing projects inspired by the ice cream truck.

When I was a kid, our neighborhood ice cream truck used to come around 8:00. It had a bell that it rang as it went around (not like the ones now that have really annoying songs). So my Mom had me convinced that this was the bedtime bell. When I heard it, it was time for bed. That worked on me for years, and I had no idea I was missing out on the ice cream truck!

Here is the card I made for today's hop:

I used the Silhouette Design Software to create a popsicle shaped card, then using my Cameo, cut it out of Regal Rose cardstock. I stamped the front of the card with the small houndstooth pattern from Heirloom Patterns in white ink. A houndstooth patterned popsicle sounds just fabulously delicious! ;)

The sentiment is from the Fresh Picked set from Wplus9 and has a coordinating sentiment inside.

When designing the shape for the front of the card, I also included a scaled down version to line the inside. I searched high and low for one stinkin' popsicle stick I could use for the card, but came up empty handed. An emery board sufficed as a stand-in!

I'm so glad you've stopped by today, please make sure you hop on over to visit the other Blog Team members! I can't wait to check out what these outstanding ladies have come up with!

Kimberly Crawford

Carolyn King

Colleen Schaan

Anya Schrier - You are here!

Trudy Sjolander

Michelle Woerner

Have a great day!

Anya

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Recipe:
STAMPS: Heirloom Patterns - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Fresh Picked - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Regal Rose - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
INK: Regal Rose, Whisper White - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter - Stampin' Up!; Pink Sorbet Twine - The Twinery; Silhouette Cameo & Designer Edition Software - Silhouette America; Emery board

Spread Happiness

Hiya!

Thank you all for your enthusiasm for the new Cloud9 Blog. I'm looking forward to having you join us for the hop.

Today, I wanted to share a little something with some of the new Waltzingmouse sets that will be available mid-July (they are available for pre-order now, and even count towards your free shipping!!).

I used the new Jar Fillers - Jam Packed set for my card. This adorable little set coordinates with the jar from Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, so if you have this set already you are in business. BUT Claire, the sweetheart that she is, has also made the jar available in a single stamp if you don't have it in your arsenal already.

I started by stamping the outline of the ruffled jar lid. Then I stamped it again onto a post it note and cut it out to create a mask. I adhered the mask to my original stamped image and then stamped the jar and followed up with the jar filler. When I removed the mask, and had a perfectly filled little jam jar. Then I stamped the solid ruffled jar lid to fill that in. I love all these outline and coordinating solid images - nothing makes my stampy heart happier than adding colors and fills to solid images.

The label and sentiment were stamped separately, cut out and adhered to my jar. I believe that electronic cut files will be available for these images as well. So tell me, what do you think of these cut files? Do you like having them, are they easy to use - are you having any troubles? Your feedback matters, and please make sure to let us know your thoughts!

I cut my little cutie jar out and layered it onto a Labels 18 die cut that was stamped with the medium sized gingham from Gingham & Co.  A perfectly delicious combination, if you ask me!

I layered this onto a piece of cardstock that I trimmed with pinking shears and then stitched. Then that was layered onto a piece of red gingham stamped cardstock. Lots of layers for me, but I love the homespun, comfy feeling I get!

I finished it off with a button tied with a little twine. LOVE it!

I hope there are more filler sets for these jars, because I think they are the cutest. The sentiments are a little punny and I think it just makes this set all the more versatile!

Glad to see you, I hope you're having a great day!

Anya

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Recipe
STAMPS: Jar Fillers - Jam Packed set, Candy Jar Christmas Fillers, Gingham & Co. - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Kraft, Oatmeal - Wplus9 Design Studio
INK: Ruby Red, So Saffron, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink, Coffee Archival Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Labels 18 - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Linen Twine - Stampin' Up!; Sewing Machine - Janome; Pinking Shears - Fiskars; Green Button; Lace

On Cloud 9

Hello, hello!

So you may have heard about the new Cloud9 Blog that the fantastic Suzanne Dahlberg has started. It is a place to share Wplus9 creations on a regular basis, built around the idea of a monthly challenge and blog hop. I was excited to hear about it starting, but when Suzanne emailed me to ask if I would like to be a part of the Cloud 9 Inspiration Team, I was totally surprised and didn't hesitate to say yes!

And better yet, today is our first blog hop!  Here is how it works: the challenge will be posted on the Cloud9 Blog on the 6th and the hop will go live at 10 am on the 9th. It will remain open for 3 days so you have plenty of time to play along. A random winner will be chosen to receive a prize (these are Wplus9 prizes, chickies - right from the sweetheart Ms. Dawn Woleslagle herself!) AND if that wasn't enough, a Guest Designer will be chosen to join the Inspiration Team the following month. So you have no reason to not play along!

This month, our challenge is to create a project using this inspiration photo:

Don't you just love the idea of an inspiration challenge? You could use the colors, the layout, the elements in the photo - really, it is all up to you!

Here is the card that I created.

I chose a few colors from the photo that I wanted to work with as well as the idea of a floral pattern. I used the flowers and leaves from Folk Art Florals to create my base pattern. I also liked the ruffled bit at the bottom with the draped garland and thought I would recreate that with some pleated crepe paper and a scalloped punch.

The sentiment was stamped onto a scalloped rectangle cut using the Label Layers 4 Die and tucked under the red cardstock.

So there you have it!  My take on the inspiration photo - there are so many different ways you could go with this! I am looking forward to you joining us for the Cloud9 Blog Hop and can't wait to see what you create. Head over to the Cloud9 Blog to link up your creation, see the projects created by the rest of the Inspiration Team, and to find out more details about the prizes and the Guest Designer gig.  Enjoy!

Have a great day!

Anya

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Recipe
STAMPS: Folk Art Florals, Mother's Day Bouquet - Wplus9 Design Studio
CARDSTOCK: Oatmeal - Wplus9 Design Studio; Real Red, Groovy Guava - Stampin' Up!
INK: Real Red, Groovy Guava, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi, Cool Caribbean - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Label Layers 4 Die - Wplus9 Design Studio; Diamond Lace Edger Punch - EK Success; Rustic Cream Button Twine, Melon Berry Button - Papertrey Ink

Spinning Pinwheel Tutorial

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you are well on your way to having a wonderful day celebrating the red, white, and blue!  I am popping in to share a quick little tutorial about how I made my spinning pinwheel card that I shared during the WMS July release.

I am sure there are a lot of different ways out there to do this, but I was able to pull this together quickly with supplies I had on hand.

Here is what you will need:

Your stamped and cut out pinwheel with a hole punched in the center, a brad, an eyelet (I only had these jumbo ones from Stampin' Up!) and your base piece of cardstock. This will just about be your last step, so make sure you've done all the stamping and embellishing you would like to do. On my base piece, I used a negative die cut and some white ink to add some clouds. Use a hole punch to punch a hole where you want your pinwheel to go.

Insert the brad through the hole in your pinwheel. Then, on the backside, add the eyelet. All the eyelet does is create some space between your card base so the pinwheel can turn. I would imagine a bead or some other kind of spacer would work just as well, too.

Then put the brad through the hole you punched in your cardstock base. Bend the ends back and that's it! See how the eyelet creates space between the pinwheel and the cardstock?

I added my cardstock layer to a card base and then added the finishing details. Then its ready for a spin!

A totally cute idea for birthday or baby, too! I hope you'll give it a try! I would love to see your creation if you do.  Make sure to comment or send me an email if you have any questions. 

I hope you have a fantastic day and look forward to seeing you soon!

Anya

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Recipe
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen, Tea Dye Distress Ink - Ranger IndustrieS
OTHER: Pinwheel Electronic Cut File - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Grass Electronic Cut File - Silhouette America; Silver Brad; Eyelet; Wooden Dowel

WMS July Release Blog Waltz

Hi there! Today is release day for Waltzingmouse Stamps. Four new sets are being released this month, and they are all available for purchase now in the Waltzingmouse web store!

Today we are sharing samples from a new set I designed called Playful Pinwheels - my most recent addition to Green Room Designs!

You should have arrived here from Laurie's blog. Claire's blog is the start of the waltz, so head back to her if you're just popping in, she has a list of all the Design Team members participating. Tosh will be your next stop after this one.

As usual, Blog Waltz prizes are up for grabs! One winner will be randomly chosen from the comments left on one of the Design Team blogs, so let us know what you think of the new release! You have until the end of the day Wednesday, July 4 to leave your comments. Winners will be announced on the WMS Blog on the 6th.

Ok, now that those details are out of the way - let me introduce you to Playful Pinwheels!

Playful Pinwheels is the perfect summertime set, it contains a large pinwheel outlines and lots of fillers so you can color it however you like. In the above card, I used just the solid fillers to color my pinwheels. I included separate images for the topside and underside of the pinwheel so you really can customize it to your little heart's desire!

I combined these pinwheels (cut with the coordinating cut file) with the jar image from Candy Jar Christmas Fillers. Don't you just love the colors? It is just so HAPPY!

This next card, which is just perfect for the 4th of July, combines some of the patterned fillers. AND - it spins! I'll show you how I did it later this week.

And the sentiments are so fun, they will carry you far past summertime, I promise!

There is also a selection of small pinwheels in the set - one is a line image for your coloring pleasure, and the others are all 'pre-made' patterned pinwheels. For this card, I used the small solid design to create some patterned paper. I wanted to give something neutral a shot, so I stamped the image onto Kraft cardstock in white ink.

This card features the small patterned pinwheels - I created this card for this week's Play Date Cafe Color Challenge.  As mentioned before, there are electronic cut files for both the large and small pinwheel (with sticks or without :), but I just good old-fashioned fussy cut these babies.  Easy peasy, so don't fret if you don't have an electronic cutter!

SO what do you think? I can't wait to hear your thoughts - this set is so much fun to play with, just love to create so many different colors and styles of pinwheels. I, for one, can't wait to see what the rest of the DT has come up with!

Tosh is your next stop! Enjoy the rest of the waltz! The rest of the details and supply list are forthcoming!

Anya

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Recipe
Sunny Side Up Card
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels, Candy Jar Christmas Fillers - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Barely Banana - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Barely Banana, Cool Caribbean, Tempting Turquoise, Kiwi Kiss, Blush Blossom, Groovy Guava, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Pinwheel Electronic Cut File - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Washi tape; Button


Celebrate Card
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels- Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Oatmeal - Wplus9
INK: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen, Tea Dye Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Pinwheel Electronic Cut File - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Grass Electronic Cut File - Silhouette America; Silver Brad; Eyelet; Wooden
Dowel


You're So Kind Card
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Melon Berry, Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; Kraft - Wplus9
INK: Whisper White, Early Espresso - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: Cantaloupe Twine - The Twinery; Fruit Punch Stickles - Ranger Industries; Kraft Button - Papertrey Ink


Life is Good Card
STAMPS: Playful Pinwheels, Chicken Wire - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Oatmeal - Wplus9; Pink Pirouette - Stampin' Up!
PATTERNED PAPER: So Happy Together - Echo Park Paper Co.
INK: Pretty in Pink, Apricot Appeal, Wisteria Wonder, Cherry Cobbler - Stampin' Up!; Soft Stone - Papertrey Ink; Onyx Black Versafine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Pink Rhinestones - Simon Says Stamp; Standard Circles, Big Scalloped Circles Nestabilities - Spellbinders Paper Arts