Happy Heart Day!

Boy, did I get a good surprise this afternoon when I got home from work! Let me start the story from the beginning so you can fully appreciate it.


Last night, when I was getting ready to go to bed I noticed a small bud vase on the table by the door (already filled with water) I picked it up and walked over to my husband and said "what is this for?" He just smiled told me I would find out. Well, this morning there was a single, long stem rose in it. I was happy with that, kissed him good-bye and left for work.

When I got home this afternoon, the vase had grown, and there were a dozen roses in it! What a sweet guy and a good surprise! He really is a sweet guy.


Today's Project - Sneak Peak!



I got my Occasions Mini catalog pre-order the other day. One of the sets I ordered was "For Father" Here is my first card with the set:

I got the inspiriation for the colors from a co-worker's sweater the other day. When I say the colors together I knew that I wanted to make this card.

I used blender pens and classic ink pads to color the picture. It is a technique that I have really enjoyed lately, so I thought I would share it with you.

What you want to do is take a closed Stampin' Up! Classic Ink pad and squeeze it right in the middle. You will feel the 2 sided pushing together. When you open up the case the bottom side will look like this:

You can now use your blender pen to pick up the color. Here are a few tips for blender pens and coloring:

• You can use the same tip with several different colors, just scribble on a scrap piece of paper until all the ink is out of the pen.
• There are many way to shade, my favorite way is to use the same color, but add or remove ink as needed. To remove the ink I just pick a clear spot on my lid and rub the blender pen on it until some, but not all of the ink is gone
• When you are coloring your picture, visualize where the sun or other light source is in your picture. The color will be lighter on the side where the light is hitting the picture, and darker on the side that is away from the light. You can see this in the apples on the picture above.
• Don't worry about cleaning the lid of your ink pad. You can just close it and store as usual. The ink on the lid will be there for next time you want to do some coloring with it.
• You can also try this technique with the Aqua Painters or a small watercolor paint brush and a small amount of water. Depending on how wet you get the ink on the lid, you may want to use a paper towel to blot up the excess water before closing the lid.