Bubble Queen is my mom's favorite stamp set...so needless to say it gets a lot of use...we're talking stained wood blocks here. The following card is one she made to send to my aunt in San Francisco, whose favorite color is red...and even though the girl in the picture was meant to be her, I'm positive I've never seen my aunt wear blue eyeshadow. I suppose that was my mom's artistic license...you know, change the eyeshadow color to protect the innocent...or something like that!

The curve around the bottom of the card was achieved by tracing the curve on a dinner plate and then cutting along the pencil line. The card flips up to open (after the ribbon is untied), and I think this is a cool twist on the 'standard size fold down the middle' card we often end up using. It still fits in a regular envie, it's just that you cut the 8 1/2 x 11 paper on the 4 1/4 instead of the 5 1/2 like usual. The colors involved are: Sahara Sand (way to go Mom...I know this isn't your favorite color), Real Red, and Whisper White. The ribbon is Stampin' Up! red gingham. We own almost every gingham color...love that stuff! The other accessory that Mom used is a square Real Red button with some silver cord tied through the holes. Take a close look at the bubbles, too. She used Crystal Effects on the bubbles to give them a glossy/wet look...then dusted them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. They're very shimmery in person! The colored in parts were done with an Aquapainter and the Watercolor Wonder Crayons.

Don't forget, even if you don't own this set you can use this design with a similar sized stamp that you do own! Perhaps you have Favorite Teddy Bear...you could stamp and color in the bear...use a different saying (Happy Birthday, maybe)...and you have a child's birthday card! Anytime I see a sample that I love, that uses a stamp set I don't have, I tend to try and find a stamp set that I do have that would work with the same layout or colors. Experiment with things that take you out of your comfort zone (especially color-wise if you find yourself constantly reaching for the same colors over and over)...you never know what fantastic creation you'll come up with!