I know I've said it before, but I do really like creating custom cards for clients.  I usually get contacted before a special event with a, "I was wondering if you could do a card for...."  I then ask a few questions about the event and recipient and see what that sparks in my brain.

A friend recently asked me to make 2 cards for her.  One is to commemorate her son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor.  We talked about what he likes the most in his scouting experiences (camping and hiking), favorite colors (light purple) and other activities.  Here's what that sparked:

This uses the retired Always An Adventure stamp set and Outdoor Adventures Framelits, but makes a perfect scene for this Eagle Scout!  His mom mentioned that his "animal name" is Redhawk, so I added a bird from High Tide in Cajun Craze to signify that.

For her father's card we talked about his interests.  She said he loved to travel and is a wine connoisseur.  I decided to use current stamp sets and Framelits, but pulled out the retired Bravo Burgundy color for ink, card stock and ribbon.

The background is stamped with the Post Script stamp on Very Vanilla.  The rest of the images are from Tuscan Vineyard.  I stamped the vineyard image on Watercolor paper with Archival Basic Gray and then watercolored it with an AquaPainter and a variety of inks.  The Circles and Ovals Layering Framelits coordinate perfectly with the images.  I added another one to the inside of the card, along with a sentiment from Cool Treats:

Happy customer + (hopefully) happy recipients = happy paper crafter!

Every so often I do an entire class with a single stamp set or suite.  This month is one of those times, and we'll be focused the Delightful Daisy Suite (Annual Catalog pp. 126-127).  With so many great sets available why focus on just one?  Take a look:

Class fee is $20 or $5 with advance purchase of the Daisy Delight Bundle (#145361, $31.50 + tax & shipping - order directly or contact me to place your order.)  

In-Person: Friday, September 29
9:30 - noon in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
6:30 - 9:00 pm in Nancy's Craft Room in Scottsdale
West Valley class will be scheduled if there is demand.

RSVP and place your order no later than Sunday, September 25, to ensure you receive your bundle in time for class.
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In-The-Mail Option
Purchase the Daisy Delight Bundle (#145361, $31.50 + tax & shipping - order directly or contact me to place your order.) and for $5 I will send you all the materials you need to make the class projects.  Bundle must be purchased during the month of September to be able to purchase the class materials.

Have you noticed the Mini Pizza Boxes in the Holiday Catalog on page 44?  They are 3.5" square and a nice, heavy weight.  They also have a food-safe coating on the inside if you choose to use it for gifting some goodies.

Last week I had a friend contact me because she needed a gift for the winner of a tennis tournament.  She was hoping I had some kind of notepad that would be appropriate.  I didn't have anything in my stash, and while I had a few days to put something together my schedule was already pretty full, so I was hoping not to have to fit in a run to a store for this project.  I proposed that I transform one of the Mini Pizza Boxes into a box of square scratch/note paper, and my friend agreed.  

She told me that she really likes the images in the This Little Piggy stamp set, and that her team colors are pink and light gray.  So I went to work and this is the result:

To color the Mini Pizza Box I took one of the Stampin' Spritzers and put 20 drops of Powder Pink re-inker in it, then filled it up with rubbing alcohol.  I put the unfolded box into an empty SU! shipping box (of course) and spritzed the colored alcohol all over.  Once it dried it was kind of mottled, so I refilled my spritzer with the same formula and did a second coat...perfect!  You can see a little bit of mottling, but it's not really noticeable on the assembled box.

Then I made the image panel by masking the sentiment on the stamp with a Post-It Note while inking, and then stamping the piggy in Memento Tuxedo Black on a 3" square of Whisper White.  I added the clouds in Soft Sky, and colored in the grass with Wild Wasabi.  Then I stamped the piggy again on Powder Pink card stock and fussy cut it out.  I highlighted the snout and inside of the ears with my Powder Pink Stampin' Write Marker.  It was glued directly on the top of the piggy stamped on the Whisper White.  I gave my client a choice in sentiments...sharp eyes will see that she chose one that is beneath a different pig image.  I just masked the pig with a Post-It while inking the sentiment, then stamped beneath the pig on my panel.  It's mounted to a Smoky Slate 3.25" square, then flat onto the Mini Pizza Box.

Then I cut a stack of printer paper into 3.25" squares and filled the box.  For presentation the box was slipped into a 4" x 6" cellophane bag and tied with Powder Pink ribbon.

I don't usually show you all of the cards days ahead of my monthly class, but I've finalized the line-up and pretty excited about it.  A variety of styles and techniques will give you 5 great cards for your stash.  Choose your session and click on the link to sign up!