In other news...

I did it...I signed up for my first craft fair. It is sponsored through work and I think it's just the right size to start off with. It's March 25th, so I don't have much time to get a stash established. I really debated this one because of the timing and the holiday's people would be interested in, but I decided to take the plunge. I've come up with a few categories that I would like to concentrate on this time out:

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Thank yous
• Congratulations - wedding, baby, misc.
• Sympathies
• Mother's Day
• Father's Day
  

Two of my closest friends (who happen to be male coworkers) and I were discussing ideas over lunch and since my work is dominated my men, they really liked my idea of a package of cards with a selection for the year....sort of a emergency card kit if you will.

I have these grand plans that will I will expand to invitations and scrapbooking kits, along with Christmas and Holiday cards, but I'm trying to stay grounded and not get overwhelmed. Hopefully you'll see a lot of cards being posted because that will mean progress is being made.

Let me know if you think of any additional ideas that I can concentrate on now.

Masculine Valentine's Day Card

Finally, a craft post! ;)

In order to help my stamping and cardmaking output, I've started to become more involved with Split Coast Stampers (SCS). It's a great resource for tools and techniques and I can't wait to see what I can come up with.

To start increasing my output, I attended my first SCS swap ever. I have done a few small ones (10 at the most), but 30 people really made it exciting. It was definitely a blast despite the long trip home because of the snow. However, my arm did ache at the end of the night, so I'm going to have to work on my stamina. I had free rein on theme and color, so I wanted to do a more masculine Valentine's Day card. I was inspired by a card with a grey, red, white, and light pink color palette and wanted to use an item from the new mini catalog.


I used the new I {Love} Love Jumbo Wheel and Well Scripted for the sentiments. It was my first time using the new clear mount stamps and I think I'm hooked. The new Stampin' Up clear mounts stamps still provide the crispness that rubber provides while giving you the mobility and flexibility of clear mount stamps.


I ran the wheel over the Bravo Burgundy and then used the Full Heart Punch to punch out heart off the side and bottom of the cardstock. I used the remnant of the cardstock and reconstructed the initial square. I used the gel pen and a straight edge to make a nice frame. I punched a Small Heart from the Blush Blossom and attached with a dimensional for some depth. Some ladies at the swap took a glitter pen and added some sparkle to the small heart and it looked really nice.


All supplies Stampin' Up!® unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: I {Love} Love Jumbo Wheel, Well Scripted
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Grey, Bravo Burgundy, Textured Blush Blossom
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Basic Black Classic (Jumbo Ink Cartridge)
Accessories: Full Heart Punch, Small Heart Punch, Gel Pen (craft store), Dimensionals