Elegant Birthday

Hello again! I have a birthday card to share with you today. It was made for a family friend who celebrated her birthday over the weekend. The first one was made using a new technique that I found on Kelly Acheson's blog. It uses the satin ribbon to make a flower. The link to her tutorial is here. I was happy with it and thought it turned out well for a first attempt.

I sprayed the front of this card with homemade shimmer spray and added lots of rhinestones to give it lots of bling. The sentiment came from the new stamp set in the Occasions mini catalog called "Bring on the Cake".

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bring on the Cake

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Basic Gray, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Accessoris: Big Shot, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Wide Oval punch, Scallop Trim border punch, Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon, shimmer spray, heat tool

Techniques: Ribbon Flower

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

~Marla

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Technique Club Cards

Hello! Friday evening was the first meeting of my technique hostess club. We had a great time and did some fun techniques (and our hostess earned a level 2 hostess set, a Sale-a-Bration set, and $40 in free merchandise). Below are the cards that we made. The first one is a Valentine's Day card that we made for our hubbies. It uses the inset (or inlaid) embossing technique, which I originally learned about from Lyssa Zwolanek's blog here. It is a really simple but fun technique and it really gives a cool effect. To make the main image, we punched out some hearts and attached them to the Basic Black cardstock using Tombow multi adhesive. Once the glue was dry, we ran the cardstock through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice embossing folder. The pressure of the folder makes the punched images look like they are part of the paper. Cool, huh?

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Full of Life (for the "Love" sentiment)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler marker
Paper: Basic Gray, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Tombow Multi Adhesive, Owl punch, Small Heart punch, Large Heart punch, Small Oval punch, Large Oval punch, Scalloped Oval punch, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder
Techniques: Inset Embossing, Marker to Stamp


This is the second card that we made. I CASE'd this card from Crystal Lenssen's blog here. It showcases the Rock n Roll technique. It is another simple technique that gives a nice "wow" effect. It definitely gives the stamped image a nice level of dimension. All you do is ink your solid stamp using a light-colored ink and then roll the edges of the stamp in a darker-colored ink. The flowers on this card were stamped using this technique. I think it makes the flowers look very pretty. I also really like this color combination (pear pizzazz, perfect plum, baja breeze). What do you think?

Supplies Used:

Stamps: For All You Do

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Perfect Plum, Baja Breeze

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Perfect Plum, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Scalloped Border punch, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Pear Pizzazz poly-stitched ribbon, dimensionals, glue dots

Techniques: Rock n Roll

Thanks for stopping by today! Stop back by soon- I have a few other cards that I will be posting in the next few days.

~Marla

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Sugar and Spice... Twice!

Hello! Thanks for taking a minute to stop by my blog today. I have this super cute (and easy) baby card to share with you today. A good friend of mine had twin girls a few weeks ago and I made this card for her. On the inside, I wrote "Twice" to make it work for the twin girls.

I found the tutorial for this card a while ago on Lauren Meader's blog. It is such a quick and easy way to make a baby card. All you need is cardstock, two punches, a ruler, some scissors and a baby-themed stamp.

See the second comment below for a link to the photo tutorial by Lauren Meaders.

Have a great week! If you get snow, be safe!

~Marla

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Everything Nice

Paper: Regal Rose, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo

Accessories: 1 3/8" circle punch, Scalloped Circle punch, scissors, ruler

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It's a Great Time to Be a Hostess (and a Customer)!

If you have ever considered hosting a Stampin' Up workshop, now is a great time to get one scheduled! Stampin' Up's annual Sale-a-Bration sale begins on January 25th and continues until March 31st. During Sale-a-Bration, customers receive a FREE exclusive item from our special Sale-a-Bration catalog or any set from the regular catalog valued at $14.95 or less for FREE for every $50 they order. Hostesses receive a FREE Sale-a-Bration item for every $300 in workshop sales! This is in addition to our regular hostess benefits including at least $15 in free products and at least one FREE hostess set. Hostesses will also receive a free gift from me at their workshop! If you have limited space or just don't want to clean your house, you are welcome to hold your workshop in my craft room. Please send me an email (reedmarla@comcast.net), call me, or leave a comment below if you are interested in scheduling a workshop. My schedule is filling up- don't wait! I hope to hear from you soon!

~Marla Pin It

Because I Care Thank You Card

Hello! I hope that you are all staying warm and enjoying the winter weather! It is VERY cold here, but we haven't had much snow, so we aren't snowed in (which I am very happy about)!

I made this card this afternoon for a friend who requested a collection of thank you cards. I absolutely love this stamp set. It is called, "Because I Care" and it is a level one hostess set. It is my favorite of all our great level one hostess sets because it is so pretty and versatile. This image is great for lots of different types of cards.

I decided to try something a little different for this card. I have seen several cards online where people made a background by inking up the clear blocks that are used with our clear mount stamps and stamping with the block itself. I had never tried this technique... until today! I made the rectangle in the background by inking up Clear Block E with Crumb Cake ink and stamping it onto my Very Vanilla cardstock. I think it gives a very nice effect. What do you think?

To stamp the hydrangea image, I colored directly on the stamp with my markers- Cherry Cobbler for the flower and Pear Pizzazz for the stem and leaves. I stamped the flower again and popped it up with dimensionals. I finished the card by adding a knotted piece of Early Espresso satin ribbon and the "thank you" sentiment from the set "Thank You Kindly". I was really pleased with the way this card turned out, and I hope that you like it too!

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope to have more cards to post soon!

~Marla

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Because I Care (hostess), Thank You Kindly

Ink: Cherry Cobbler (pad and marker), Pear Pizzazz marker, Crumb Cake pad

Paper: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Clear Block E, Early Espresso satin ribbon, dimensionals

Technique: Stamping with Clear Blocks

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Just Buzzin' By...

I saw a card very similar to this one (made by Brenda Dean) on Splitcoast today and decided to try making my own version. I have to admit that when I first saw this set, it really didn't appeal to me very much. However, my friend ordered it and left it at my house, and I have to admit, it has definitely grown on me. I think those little bees are just too cute! This is another CAS (Clean and Simple) card because there really isn't much stamping on the front and the design is un-complicated. CAS cards are great if you are limited on time or supplies. They usually go together very quickly and it isn't necessary to have everything in the catalog to make them! I couldn't get a good picture of the inside of the card, but I stamped the "have a honey of a day" sentiment from this set at the top and the honey pot from this set in the bottom right corner. The inside is almost as cute as the front! Hope you liked this one and that you are having a honey of a day!

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Just Buzzin' By
Ink: Black Staz On, markers- Daffodil Delight, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds (on the bee's wings), 1/8" Daffodil Delight ribbon

Thanks for stopping by and make sure you scroll down and take a look at my last two Christmas cards designs. I posted them right before I posted this card and I don't want you to miss them (even though you've probably already taken down your Christmas tree!)

~Marla Pin It

Better Late Than Never?

Well, here it is January 5th and I am just now posting my last two Christmas cards, but like the title of this post says- better late than never, right? I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and that the new year will bring you much happiness!

Here is the second of my Christmas cards. I CASE'd this one from Heidi Baks. I saw a similar card on her blog and LOVED it so I had to make my own version. I was really happy with the way they turned out! What do you think of this one?


Supplies Used:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas, Come to Bethlehem (sentiment)
Paper: Soft Suede CS, Cherry Cobbler CS, Whisper White CS, Deck the Halls DSP
Ink: Soft Suede, Marina Mist
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Cherry Cobbler seam binding
Techniques: Masking, Sponging

Here is the third card design that I sent out this year. It is a CASE of a card made by Ilina Crouse. I added the glitter window technique to make the snowflake extra sparkly. These are definitely CAS (Clean and Simple) cards which means that the design is very clean and there is a lot of white remaining on the card. The first picture shows a close up and the second is the entire card front. Even though I don't often do CAS cards, I really like this one and they went together very quickly and easily. This card is done in Concord Crush, but I also did them in Cherry Cobbler and Not Quite Navy and they were all very pretty. I loved all the shimmer on this card. I used the shimmer spray on the card front to give the whole card a little sparkle!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Four the Holidays

Paper: Concord Crush CS, Whisper White CS

Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Snowflake punch, Rhinestones, Dazzling Diamonds, packing tape (non-SU), shimmer spray

Techniques: Glitter Window

Sorry that I didn't get these posted before Christmas, but better late than never- right? right?

~Marla

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