Crazy for Cupcakes AND ....

... MY NEW WATERMARK! I am soooooo excited because I just (literally in the last few minutes!) figured out, all by my lonesome, how to insert my beautiful new watermark onto my project pics in GIMP. GIMP is free software that can do A TON of things I have no clue about - lol, but I use it for photo editing, and NOW for watermark inserting!! Can we say HAPPY DANCE, Happy Dance, happy dance...

Okay - so the card (heehee). I love the look of cupcakes, well, really anything small like that - babies are my favorite! :) I ordered the Crazy for Cupcakes set when it was on sale last year and am finally getting around to using it. Part of my 2009 Papercrafting Resolutions don't ya know?
I also used the SU! Bigz Top Note Die for the first time - very cool! Did you know that a lot of the Sizzix dies, including many of the Stampin' Up! exclusives are not only able to be used in the Big Shot, but the Big Kick, the Cuttlebug and other machines too? How cool is that? don't have any of these fun tools yet? contact me to order your Big Shot Starter Kit today, or check it out online via the Shop Now button on my SU! site.

Here's a second design with the same layout but changed up positioning and colors. For both cards, I water-colored with the Blender Pen and Classic Ink Pads on the cupcake papers, the stand and the candle. The edges of the Top Note and Curly Label Punch ( they are so cute together!) are both sponged with Classic Ink. I used a Quickie Glue Pen to outline the cupcake frosting and Top Note, to fill in the candle flame and to make polka dots on the balloons to hold the Iridescent Ice Glitter. I used a mask on the tone-on-tone balloons, then a Stampin' Dimensional to pop up the center balloon. Add a coordinating 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon bow on a Mini Glue Dot and VOILA - two pretty cards! I lined the inside of each card with a layer of the same color as the outside, then stamped the large cupcake image in the Crazy for Cupcakes set tone-on-tone with the wording from the set in the darker color used.

Tip: Isn't the 'half' a punch cute? Stamp close to the edge of your card stock, then flip your punch over and line up the stamped image/wording where you want it, then punch it out. This is usually much easier than trying to stamp in alignment on a very small, already punched piece.

Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Cardstock: Confetti White, Rose Red, Barely Banana, Tempting Turquoise & Gable Green
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, rose Red, Barely Banaa, So Saffron, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green & YoYo Yellow
Accessories: Bigz Top Note Die, Curly Label Punch, Iridescent Ice Glitter, Rose Red & Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots & Stampin' Sponge
ENJOY!