simple dreams

New Nestabilities Have Arrived

This post is just a partial repeat of the post on the Classroom - it is here to notify those that aren't regulars over on the Classroom that the new dies are in and if you see them on our store then they are ready to ship. If you click on a link and find the message that no product is found, that means that we are currently out of stock of that particular item. Please contact us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com with any questions you may have.

I am happy to tell you that many of the new dies are available now in our store. For the best selection be certain to shop early! Following is a list of the new dies and a direct link to each item:

• Nestability Dies - Circle, Pinked Large and Small (Please note that for a fit similar to what you are familiar with when layering the Scallops and Basic Circles it is just the opposite for the Pinked Circles. I hope to post a picture later today to show you what I mean being a picture is worth a thousand words and I know that you don't want to read through a thousand words and still not get what it is that I'm trying to say - LOL!)
• Nestability Dies - Labels One
• Nestability Dies - Labels Two
• Nestability Dies - Labels, Small (The large are not here and I'm not certain when the expected ship date is for these. Unfortunately the packaging on the small dies was done incorrectly. We are doing our best to "fix" the problem by putting homemade labels on the sets. The packaging is for the Large Labels and is a purple color, but these Small Labels will work the same - it is only the size that is different. Please be aware of this when they arrive so that you don't order the small ones when the large ones are available.)
• Nestability Dies - Rectangles, Curved Mega
• Nested Bird, Butterfly and Flower
• Border Dies Large - Daisy, Rose, Wisteria, and Illumination
• Border Dies Small - Daisy, Rose, Deckle and Scallop
• Other Dies - Cupcakes, Decorative Frames, Sunflower Garden, Sunflower Set One and Sunflower Set Two

We also have brought in additional Magnetic Storage Folders to help you keep your dies organized and together. You can see this post for pictures showing how these folders work.

We will do our best to get your orders out to you in a timely fashion. We have tried our best to list all sizes with each item and are happy to answer any questions you may have. We thank you so much for your support!

Clearly Inspired

I am not certain where I saw a clear card with a layout similar to this - I should have written it down being I just can't remember, but I loved how the clear card was set off with a strip of cardstock all the way up the front and down the back side. This is such a great concept and immediately it was stored in my mind in that special spot of inspirational ideas to try.

Finding the right acetate is sometimes tricky and I have been looking for something that would be suitable. Wouldn't you know it - I already have it in my collection - LOL! This 10 mil plastic acetate works fabulously to make a nice, sturdy clear card. The most important part is to score the top (I really like the Scor It for this part being it needs a sturdy score to fold properly) then I bend it and lay a piece of scrap paper over it and using my Teflon Bone Folder I make certain to get a nice smooth fold in the plastic.

 

The new Urban Prairie collection from Basic Grey is made up of colors that are absolutely delicious. I was completely surprised that this was part of their summer/fall collection being it feels so springy to me. I needed to add some color to my day today so I grabbed this pad of papers. The stripe that is included in this collection is one of my faves and so I decided that less is more in some cases, especially being I want to hoard that stripe - LOL! So I cut a strip and layered it on top of a piece of Granny Smith cardstock.

All that was left to do was to stamp the butterfly from Kim's new Little Gal set (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this set Kim! I have a house full of girlie girls all the time Ü), add a couple of Hero Arts Spring collection flowers, a few gemstones and my project was complete! Yippie, I now have another card ready and waiting for that "stash" I am starting for those occasions that slip by me when I'm not prepared. This could work for so many different occasions - birthday, thank you, or just because. 

 

All that is left to do is add a piece of white cardstock on the inside and write or stamp an appropriate greeting! 

Tea Time Thank You Note

 

If I had the opportunity to take a poll and ask how many cards each of you send to friends I know for a fact that I would be shamefully outnumbered. I absolutely love to create for others, but it seems that even when I do have a recipient in mind it takes me a VERY long time to address the envelope and just pop it in the mail.

Susan Tierney-Cockburn not only is a wonderful friend, gifted flower and card maker, but is also a prize winning pastry chef, trained at a culinary school in New York. Now she didn't tell me that she is prize winning - we just determined here in our office that she is!!! OMGoodness but she makes THE most delightful treats and bestows them upon us here at work. We are so blessed to have her for a friend, but then to top it off with all these delightful yummies! Well, I just wanted her to know how much we appreciate her thoughtfulness. So I set out to create a thank you note.

Then it hit me - I wanted to make it a little something special. So I took components from an invitation to tea that I had created for Paper Crafts Ladies Only magazine. When they return the pieces to me I typically just leave them in the little ziplock bag and they get buried in a box someplace - not this time Ü

I had used the Lockhart teapot stamp and doodled a design on it using colors from my original papers, so it was important to find products that would coordinate. With some very careful "pulling apart" of the original project, and finding some new papers and cardstock, I turned it into a little "pocket style" card. The card is simply a piece of Granny Smith cardstock with Mocha Chica paper adhered to the top edge. The ribbon is actually Basic Grey's elastic band ribbon turned into a little "garter" of sorts - it holds the pocket together. The little tag in the pocket has our little note and signatures, and the packet of tea is one of my favorite blends, Orange Tazo - yum!

It was so much fun to have all the girls sign this thank you and pop it in to the mail - it felt good even though it was a good week or two late.

Please share some of your secrets to just getting things done in a timely manner. When life is so busy that it seems to be throwing a wrench into your manners, how do you figure out a way to just do the right thing? I would love to hear your suggestions!

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend!

Christmas Tree Dazzles with New VersaMark Dazzle

Finally, one of my favorite things from Summer CHA has now arrived in our store!!!

 

Yes, the VersaMark Dazzle grabbe my attention full force when I saw some of the projects that were created using it at CHA this summer. I knew then that this product would bring something new to our projects, especially those holiday projects that we like to shimmer and shine so much.

I have used the VersaMark Dazzle, Champagne on two parts of this project. The first was definitely easier to capture with the camera, but I'm not so certain I captured it in a good way - LOL!

 

I began by stamping my image on Neenah Solar White cardstock and then colored it with Prismacolor Color Pencils. I could have easily used Copics as well. I do not believe that this ink will affect the Copics in a negative way, but I did not have the time to experiment with that today and wanted to be certain that I created a project that would then "work" for this blog post.

I selected the Della Robbia tree because I have always felt that this tree could use a little gold shimmer to it, being Della Robbia fruits are often gilded. After completing the color I simply applied the Dazzle pad directly to the paper. WOWIE - do you see that shimmer?!? It really doesn't glare like that in real life, but with the flash and overhead lights trying to get the shimmer to show up - well... It really did Ü

The second way that I applied the VersaMark Champagne Dazzle was to the Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock. I began by applying Tea Dye Distress ink to the Scrapblock. I then used my small brayer and added the Dazzle ink over top the Tea Dye before stamping. The effect is VERY subtle - I was hoping that it would shimmer and shine a little more, but it only gives a hint of sparkle when applied this way.

 

I have shared another angle of the focal point that also catches the background in hopes that you can get a better idea as to the final outcome of this project. As you can see in the second photo the Champagne color does alter your white color tone ever so slightly, adding a soft gold.

I have yet to experiment with the Tsukineko Dazzle Frost pad. So watch for more information to come - hopefully tomorrow or the next day. I must warn you that we only received a small portion of our order in today and so they will probably zoom out of the store, so if you are thinking that you would like one in time for making holiday cards you may want to snap one up ASAP. I'm not certain when more inventory will be arriving or when we will be getting the Reinkers, but at least it's a start Ü

Other Supplies Used: Memory Box Frost Paper, Memory Box Amaranth Note Cards, Chocolate Pearls

World Card Making Day... Join us for some Fun Challenges and Goodies

I have been working on some fun projects and challenges to share wtih you on World Card Making Day (WCMD), as well as leading up to it Ü Posted below is a sneak peek of one of the creations I made to get your creative juices flowing for the challenge I will post on Friday.

So pull out your stamps, paper and ink, and get ready to have some fun! You will not want to miss visiting the CLASSroom regularly over the next few days being this is where we will be hosting our challenges and drawings. Yes, you heard me correctly. We will be giving away some fun things to get you energized and in the mood to get started in your card making frenzy! SO stay tuned for some fun and goodies Ü