Hello stampers and happy Tuesday to you. I love vintage, so the vintage feel of the tropical oasis suite really appealed to me, especially the vintage station wagon on the patterned paper. Of course I wanted to use as many of these great images as possible without sabotaging too many of them. I think I came up with quite a good solution without having to fussy cut too many of them. Let’s take a look!

Vintage Station Wagon

I used one of the dies from the So Sentimental bundle to cut out nice shapes that could be the focal point of a card. Each of the frames has a vintage station wagon in it. They face different ways so that will affect where you place your palm trees, but it is fun making each card a little differently.  A picture is worth a thousand words so I took one for you.

So you can see that I got five full images, two partial images and a few fussy cut station wagons as well. Now let’s look at it on a card.

Vintage Station Wagon Card

This was the first card I made but there was something about it I just didn’t like. I decided that the braided burlap trim under the bush was just too stiff looking. It felt like it was just put there as filler, so I took it off. I then deconstructed the ribbon and put the loose pieces there instead and that was the look I was after. Yay!!

Truth be told, the card above is not mine, I decided to use Caroline Seward’s card as an example because she stepped it up a notch by making her bush two dimensional. The bush is actually the pineapple top with the bottom cut off. She added the bottom part as an extra layer and I think it looks fantastic. Everyone at coffee and a card class loved making these cards.

During the class Jean Saunders remarked that the label shaped frame actually looks recessed from the card because of the sponging around the edges with the saddle brown StazOn. What a great effect! If you want to see the other cards we made with the Tropical Oasis suite you can check out yesterday’s blog post here.

Colouring on Stamps

Using your markers to colour on stamps is a great way to make your image more beautiful. Just use the broad tip of your marker angled sideways. Do a little healthy huffing after you are done colouring to remoisten the ink before stamping. (that means to simply blow some hot, moist air on it!)

The Next Tutorial

I have enjoyed working with this suite so much that I think it will be the subject of my next tutorial. If you love making cards but hate trying to figure out all the measurements and the techniques involved, these tutorials are perfect for you. They will jump start your own creativity and build your confidence to create beautiful things. Tutorials help you get the most out of your stamping supplies. After you have made ten cards with a product suite you really have your groove on. You can also use the card styles or the techniques to work with other stamp sets. The cost of a tutorial is the same as the cost of an in person class but with a lot more information. I highly recommend them. You can access all of my tutorials at the top of the blog.

Monthly Free Tutorial

Did you know that I belong to an amazing group called the Demo Design Dream Team? Every month we collaborate on a 16 project tutorial which is NOT for sale. Instead we give it away to our team members and to customers who order $50. (that is the Canadian equivalent) If you have ordered from me and I have inadvertently forgotten to send you this free tutorial, please remind me!!

Happy Mail for Gerard

I finally decided to make it Facebook official that I am in in a relationship with Gerard. This isn’t news to you my faithful followers, but it sure did prompt a storm of well wishes that really touched my heart. He is coming to visit me on March 29 and I thought it would be wonderful to surprise him with happy mail. I am offering a draw for a free masculine stamp set of your choice from the mini catalog if you send a card for him. Your card will also be featured on my blog. This was such a fun thing to do when I was in Holland that I thought we could do it again on this side of the ocean. Here is the address if you want to participate:  Gerard van der Sar c/o Jackie Bultje 81 Delaware Ave, Chatham, Ontario N7L 2W3.

Some More Vintage Feels

I’m feeling a little nostalgic today with all these vintage cards and that super cute station wagon so I thought I would share a link to a great web page and also this photo. I hope it brings a smile to your face and also some happy memories. We can all use some “warm and fuzzies” once in a while. Thanks for dropping by and have a super day!!

Saleabration Urgency

We are almost two thirds of the way through saleabration and I thought I should exercise due diligence and let you know that some free saleabration items are now running out. If there is something you have your eye on that you would really like for free, be sure to get it before it’s gone. I really hate high pressure sales, so this is not what this is, it is just a gentle reminder that some nice things don’t last. He who hesitates sometimes misses out. The kerchief card kit and the metallic baker’s twine and sequins are both gone now. Now this really is the end of my blog post!

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