got coffee grounds?

Hey there blog friends!  How goes your week so far? Hope it's shaping up to be a good one.  Well, today, I've got an interesting post using coffee grounds to create a background.  Yes, coffee grounds!  First, let me show you what the finished card looks like:

This is one of my swap card for this month's vintage themed card. I created the coffee colored DSP at the bottom of the card using this fun little technique.  I didn't come up with this all on my own, though - I have to say I saw a background created this way last month at the WooHoo Stamping event by the talented Corie Urey.  It really is a great technique for creating a vintage look!  Another cool thing is, the paper that I used has these white tone-on- tone patterns already on it, so all you have to do to bring out the pattern is to add some color.  These are the Presto Patterned Papers from the Stampin'Up! Summer Mini catalog.  Prettty nifty, huh?  Well I've got a little mini tutorial to show you the basic steps of creating this coffee grounds background using this new DSP!  All you need are some coffee grounds, your Presto Paper DSP,  a paper towel, and some newspaper (to protect your work surface - this can get a little messy!)

Here are the steps:

1.  Cover your work surface with newspaper {or some covering}, then lay your Presto Paper DSP on top.  Next, take your coffee grounds and pour it directly on your paper.  At this point, it looks like an abstract splatter on the paper!

2.  Using a paper towel, spread the coffee grounds over the paper, making sure you cover your entire Presto Paper DSP "canvas."  You'll want to slightly "rub in" the grounds to add some density of color onto the paper.

3.  Wipe off the coffee grounds from the DSP and discard that layer of newspaper.  Place the DSP on a clean layer of newspaper and allow to dry.

Viola!  You've created your coffee grounds background paper!  As you can see, the Presto pattern reveals itself once you add color to the DSP.  Other techniques you can use to bring the pattern out are brayering over the paper, or sponging overtop of the paper.  You can let your imagination go and create unique ways to use this fun DSP!

Have fun trying this technique out.  It's pretty fun.  Once the paper dries, the edges of the paper will have a slight curl to it, but it will lay flat on your project once you use adhesive.  I prefer using the Tombo glue adhesive to make sure that it firmly adheres to your base cardstock.

Hope you liked this technique.  Thanks for visiting today! 

{Mother's Day} SWAP parade

Hi there!  How was your weekend? Hope you had a good one.  I had a fantastic weekend!  We went down to San Diego for a quick weekend trip to celebrate one of my good friend's birthdays and just got back today.  It was so nice to catch up, hang out, and celebrate!  We don't get to see our friends as often as we'd like because with everyone's busy schedules, it's hard to carve out the time to travel - even if it's just a few hours away!  But what's great about good friends is that you realize no matter the distance, your friendship never skips a beat.  That's what I've come away with, and it's a wonderful feeling. 

For today's post, I thought I'd share the Mother's Day Cards I received from my swap group for our April swaps.  Lots of great ideas here!  I think you'll enjoy them as much as I did receiving them!  Here we go:

First up, we have Carole'Anne, who is a super talented stamper from Canada.  I love this color combo, and what an cool technique she did!  This card is just gorgeous.

Then we have Krista, from the Netherlands, who's got an awesome clean and crisp style!

Our next creatively talented stamper is Lee, who made this pretty and happy card using the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set.  I love how she made her lovely bow:

This next card by Liane  has gorgeous detailed hydrangeas that literally pop off the page!:

Now how amazing is this card by Sandi MacIver!  Love how she used the lattice background.  Very delicate and beautiful card!

And last, but definitely not least, we have a lovely and sweet card by Sharon.  I love the soft colors of this card!

Now, wasn't that card parade fun?!!! Aren't these stampers amazing?  Hope you got some great Mother's Day ideas from these!  I know I did. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

Thanks for coming by!

PPA Flower Challenge

If you're wondering, I didn't draw this on a chalkboard :)....So, for my SWAP Team swaps this month, one of our cards had to use the Black Magic Technique.  Have you seen that?  It's when you stamp a solid image in white craft ink on black cardstock.  Then, you add color by using watercolor pencils or watercolor crayons {which is what I opted to use}.  I also decided to use the Awash With Flowers stamp set, too.  And, coincidently, it went with this week's Pals Paper Arts challenge to use FLOWERS! As for the black magic technique, I was pretty pleased with the outcome, considering it was my first attempt!  Here's a look at the full picture:

What do you think?  You've definitely gotta try this if you haven't already.  The effect reminds me of a canvas painting.  Here's the recipe for you: 

{Awash with Black Magic}

All supplies Stampin'Up!

*Stamp Sets: Awash with Flowers, With All My Heart

*Inks: Melon Mambo Classic Pad, Whisper White Craft Pad

*Cardstock: Going Gray and Basic Black textured cardstock, Whisper White and Melon Mambo carstock

*Accessories: Scallop Square Clear Bigz die, Scallop Oval and Large Oval punch; Taken with Teal, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink and Pretty In PinkWatercolor crayons, Linen Thread

Hope you like it! Have a great day!

my March {SWAP} cards

Hi there blog peeps! How are you guys doing this week? I'm glad it's Thursday. Time really does seem to go by fast these days! Today I've got a couple cards to share with you - they are the 2 cards I created for my March SWAP team swaps. Here the are: This first card showcases the Emboss Resist technique, where you heat emboss your images, then go back and sponge or brayer ink over the image. The embossed images "resist" the ink, which results in a pretty cool effect. Here, I used the Upsy Daisy stamp set for my flowers. I used the Whisper White craft pad and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then, I went back over it by sponging Melon Mambo Classic Ink over the image. Viola! That's Emboss Resist.
My second card was a quick and easy card that requires minimal stamping! Just the tag is stamped. It's a 3"x6" card, which fits perfectly in the SU! Small Open-End envelopes. I also used a lot of goodies from the Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration catalog. I used the Sweat Pea Designer Series Paper stack as my focal image, then I added more detail by using the Pinking Hearts and Scallop Trim border punches. Finally, I topped it off with the yummy satin ribbon in Old Olive and added a "Happy Birthday" tag. Here are the recipe's for you.

{Upsy Daisy Easter Card}
*Stamp Sets: Upsy Daisy, A Good Egg
*Cardstock: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal,
*Ink: Whisper White Craft Pad, Melon Mambo Classic Pad
*Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die, Modern Label Punch, Melon Mambo polka dot ribbon, Sherbet button, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Pretties kit half pearl, Finial Press embossing folder, Linen Thread

{Sweet Pea Birthday}
*Stamp Set: Vintage Labels {Sale-a-bration set!}
*Cardstock: Taken With Teal, Whisper White, Old Olive, Sweet Pea DSP
*Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Taken With Teal
*Accessories: Pinking Hearts and Scallop Trim border punches, Small Oval punch, 1/8" circle punch, Linen Thread, Old Olive Satin Ribbon

Hope you like these! Thanks for stopping by today :) Toodles for now.

Swaps from Sandi McIver

Hi all! Happy Friday. These weeks have been flying by for me, it seems! New job, busy schedule, and all kinds of things to adjust to, but I'll get there. Today I've got one more guest stamper from my Swap Team to share with you. It's Sandi MacIver and she made a couple of gorgeous swaps for our February exchange. Here they are: How stunning is this card?! I love the bold Yellow and Black color scheme that Sandi used with the Vintage Vogue stamps!
Here, Sandi used the Good Neighbors stamp set and Whimsical Words from the Sale-a-bration catalog. Just too cute!

Thanks for stopping by today! Stay tuned for March's Final Freebie Friday giveaway, which I will be posting soon! By for now :)

Swap Shares {day2}

I've got some more shares for you guys today! Our creative inspiration comes from Sharon Field and Carole'Anne Sluchinski. These ladies have created some more awesome swaps from the Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration catalogs. Look at how fun these cards are: Carol's cards incorporate lots of great elements! The top card uses the Pinking Hearts border punch and the With All My Heart stamp set from the Occasions Mini. The bottom card uses the Gardens from the Heart stamp set and the Beautiful Wings embosslit, and the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, all of which are also from the Occasions Mini.
Sharon's top card showcases the Shades of Spring DSP and the Gardens from the Heart stamp set from the Mini. The adorable cake in her bottom card is from the Happy Momentsand Whimsical Words Sale-a-bration sets. I love the ribbon detail on the cake card - so sweet!

Hope you enjoyed these swaps. Make sure to pop over their blogs and take a look at all their awesome papercraft creations. I think you'll enjoy browsing through their blogs! Have a great day!

Swap Team Shares

Hi all! Happy March! Wow - isn't this year flying? It doesn't seem possible that it's already March! Well, I've got something special for you guys this week. All week, I'm going to feature the February swaps I received from Team group I'm participating in. All the gals are FABULOUS stampers and papercrafters! Today, I'm sharing cards from Krista Driessen and Lee Conrey. Our February theme was focused on using stamp sets and accessories from the Occasions Mini and Sale-a-bration catalogs. I got some great ideas from these ladies, so I wanted to share them all with you too! Here are Krista's cards: She used the Vintage Vogue stamp set from the Occasions Mini and created an adorable scallop circle card. The square card she made uses the Happy Moments Sale-a-bration stamp set. I love her use of the scallop trim border punch with a scallop circle on the card, too. Below are Lee Conrey's cards:
I love the scallop trim border punch frame Lee created in her top card. Love the polka dot embossing folder she used in the background too! For her "dear Father card, Lee used the Finial Press embossing folder in the background - too cute. The stamp sets Lee used are also the Happy Moments for the flowers, and the Whimsical Words and Vintage Label sets for her second card.

Hope you enjoyed these swap cards from my featured Guest Stampers! You should definitely check out their blogs, too. Lots of great inspiration!