Quoth the raven

Happy Halloween stampers!  I have a super spooky project to share today but I have a "horror story" first.  This is the first year that I can remember that I have NOT dressed up for Halloween or gone to a party!  The shock, the horror!!!!!  If you know me then you know I LOVE Halloween, it rates right up there with Christmas for me!  It's super fun to decorate and super fun to come up with costumes and be someone you aren't for a day or two!  We usually go to my BFF's boyfriend's for a party and he goes all out, I think he likes H-ween as much as me!  But this year my hubby got sick:-(  We made it about an hour away from home but he was feeling worse and worse.  He wanted to keep going but I said there was no sense in him being miserable.  I wouldn't have had fun anyway knowing he was sick.  So, after driving for over 2 hours we ended up back at home:-(  I guess we can always wear our costumes next year.  Anyway, so sad!!! I didn't dress up at work either because everyone else was lame (hahaha) and didn't want to.  Oh well, maybe I'll just show up in costume some random day, lol!

See, wasn't that a terrible Halloween story????  Now, onto the spooky project!  I had been wanting to make my own crow from the mini catalog for a while.  I got the crow about a month ago (and it quite freaked my hubby out when I left it out on the counter one night...scared him the next morning, lol) but never got around to making him.  Hubby couldn't imgagine what I was going to do with such a weird thing but really liked how it turned out!  So, this past week I finally got him done!  Isn't he super spooky?  Just look:

Sorry for the bad/blurry pic.  It's the best I could do with the light early this morning.  I used one of the decor elements blocks and covered it with DSP.  After I put him all together (he is hot glued onto the block) I sprayed him and the block with spray adhesive and sprinkled dazzling diamonds over it.  Now, I goofed a bit and he's got one super sparkly spot but that's ok.  The spray adhesive and glitter technique does take some practice.  I also think  I should have used a different box out in the garage to spray him and catch the glitter but I couldn't find another one.  At least I know for next time:-) 

I hope everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!

Happy stamping!

"Eek"ing out a few more

Hi stampers!  I've managed to "eek" out a few more Halloween cards:-)  This one is a case from one in the mini catalog using one of my favorite sets, out on a limb.  I did NOT use this set enough.  I'm crossing my fingers to see it back in the big catalog come June...BUT I do that for about any set, lol!

Stampin' Supplies: 
Stamps:  Out on a limb, wicked cool
Paper:  Whisper white, Textured lucky limeade, rich razzleberry, more mustard
Ink:  Staz on, basic black, lucky limeade, more mustard, rich razzleberry
Accessories:  Circle punch, oval punch, mini brads, lucky limeade ruffled ribbon, dotted scallop border punch

I kept it pretty true to the catalog.  I used all lucky limeade though instead of some old olive.  I also used the plain oval punch and not the scalloped one because I like it better.  Gotta run, time to get ready for a Halloween party!!!  I'm snow white this year:-)

Happy stamping!

Color blind

Hi stampers!  Well, I've been able to cram a few more Halloween cards in!  Today I have one I made for the Colour Q challenge this week.  I really liked the colors and this is another one I need to file away for future use!

For some reason I just loved this combo.  I think it's sort of spooky but sort of soft too and would be great for Halloween or fall in general!  I still can't believe that I need to get my Halloween cards out in the mail within the next day or two, I'm still ready to make more!!!!!  So, here's what may be the last one of the season:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Spooky bingo bits, Bingo, teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  Whisper white, peach parfait, so saffron, basic black, brights DSP stack
Ink:  Basic black, pumpkin pie, peach parfait, so saffron, daffodil delight
Accessories:  basic black and daffodil delight striped grosgrain ribbon, spider web embossing folder

Now, why the title to this post?  Well, if you look carefully you will see that instead of using peach parfait DSP like I thought I was doing, it's actually pumpkin pie.  UGH!  I hope the design team can forgive my temporary bought of color blindness:-)  I hate when I do that!  The colors are close anyway and I didn't notice it until I'd glued it down of course, lol! 

It's also hard to see but I have a layer of so saffron just under the ribbon that I embossed with the spider web then sponged lightly.  I really like the look of the shabby cut ribbons too!  Now, the question is will I be back with more Halloween cards AND get the ones I have sent out, lol!

Happy stamping!

Creepy Candles

Hi stampers!  I cannot BELIEVE there is less than a week before Halloween!  Where does the time go????  I'm sad as I didn't make all the cards I wanted to for Halloween and time's getting short to make them let alone get them sent out, yikes!  I just may have to make a few after Halloween is over...like that will happen, lol!  I've also been short on time AND mojo lately.  I hate being in a slump. 

So what is everyone going to be for Halloween?  I'm going to be Snow White this year.  I really didn't see anything else I liked at the Halloween store.  My hubby made his costume and it's pretty cool.  I'll have to post pictures after our party on Saturday!

So here is today's card, it's probably one of the last Halloween one's that will get posted, we'll see:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Wicked cool
Paper:  Basic black, peach parfait, lucky limeade, whisper white, rich razzleberry
Ink: Rich razzleberry, peach parfait, basic black, lucky limeade
Accessories:  Lucky limeade ruffled ribbon, circle punch, clearlit die, spider web embossing folder, silver smooch spritz

I wanted to do a simple card with some bright colors and this is what I came up with.  LOTS of sponging!  That's it for today, back to looking for my mojo!

Happy stamping!

Fall Favor

Hi stampers!  Happy Tuesday....that means it's time for another challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  And sorry for being MIA this weekend but I was down at my mom's on my first weekend off in what seems like forever helping her celebrate her birthday!  We were able to spend a lot of quality time together and get some things for her new house although it seems like there never is enough time for everything!  I was excited to go down there since I thought the leaves would be really pretty about now.  Sadly, I was disappointed as they are really pretty here but not so much at her place.  Funny how 80 some miles can make such a difference!  I was hoping to see some pretty colors like in this week's inspiration photo:

Isn't that a pretty tablescape?  I sure do wish I had seen all those colors in the woods at the farm but I pretty much just saw brown.  Oh well, maybe next year.  So, my project for this week is a cute little favor I can use for Thanksgiving dinner.  Aside from cutting the leaves, it went together pretty fast.

 Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Gently falling, falling leaves
Paper:  crumb cake, very vanilla, soft suede
Ink:  more mustard, cajun craze, soft suede
Accessories:  Circle punches, linen thread, more mustard dotted scalloped ribbon

 I took my inspiration from the gold and rust tones in the picture.  I really loved them.  This favor came together quickly with the pillow box die and it fits three hershey miniatures perfectly....although no one will get the dark chocolate ones in their favor as they disappear in my office;-)  Now, click on over to HSS and see what the other DT members have to show you and play along!

Happy stamping!

Busy busy

Hi stampers!  Not much stamping going on around here lately!  Lots of stuff going on here so I'll have to pull out a card I have saved up.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Gently falling, grateful greetings
Paper:  More mustard, soft suede, pool party, very vanilla, first edition DSP, spice cake DSP
Ink:  Pear pizzazz, soft suede, more mustard
Accessories:  Modern label punch, circle die, hounds tooth emobssing folder, pool party ruffled ribbon

Well that's it for me!  I'll try to come back soon but it's my mom's birthday this weekend so we may be busy busy still:-)

Happy stamping!

BIG deal

Hi stampers, I thought I shared the current October promotion with you all earlier in the month but it was another post that didn't (darn complicated auto-post)!  And I didn't realize it until now!  Anyway, SU has a BIG, like HUGE deal right now!  For the rest of October, if you purchase the starter kit you can get a big shot FREE!!!!!  Say what?????  Already have a big shot?  Well, you can get $100 worth of FREE merchandise (of your choosing) instead!  Heck, if I could I'd resign and sign up again for a deal like that, lol! Or maybe my dog can become a demo, lol!  I kid, I kid!!!!  Seriously though it is one heck of a deal.  If you'd like more information or to chat about signing up don't hesitate to contact me!

You just can't lose with this deal!!!!

Just look at some of the cool stuff you can make with your big shot:

 And more!!!  Contact me today!!!!

Crayons....not just for kids!

Hi stampers, time for a new challenge at  Hand Stamped Sentiments.

This week we are all about coloring!  The challenge is to use one of the following three coloring or stamping techniques:
Shaving cream
Crayons
Pastels

Pick one, two or all three and show us what you got!  Here is what I came up with:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Gently falling, teeny tiny wishes, netting
Paper:  More mustard, very vanilla, soft suede, spice cake DSP
Ink:  more mustard, soft suede
Accessories:  Watercolor wonder crayons (more mustard and soft suede), linen embossing folder, word window punch, distressing essentials kit

For my card I chose to use my watercolor wonder crayons.  I think I've only used them ONCE since I updated my colors!  Shameful!  One of my favorite techniques to use with the crayons is coloring directly onto my stamps.  It works best with solid stamps and not outline ones so I colored in the leaf from gently falling with more mustard (you need to color a lot and for a while to get good coverage) and then I went over the edges with the soft suede crayon.  You then lightly mist your stamp with either water or stampin mist and then stamp onto watercolor paper.  I also stamped the outline of the leaf when it was dry.  This stamp didn't turn out as well as I had hoped with this technique and colors but it was still pretty and gave a nice and soft watercolored look!

I also used my tea stain ink from the distressing kit (and FYI we now carry ink refills for these so no need to hoard them like yours truly) on the edges of my cardstock and over the embossed panel.  Be careful with soft suede ink though.  I wasn't being careful and you can see where the tea stain ink made some of the red come out of the suede...oh well, it just adds to the vintage charm right?  :-)  See, no mistakes in stamping!
Now, click on over to the HSS site and see what the rest of the amazing design team has come up with and play along with us!

Happy stamping!

PS:  I edited the post this morning as the challenge image was wonky and blurry and things seemed out of order, strange!  Also I should have mentioned that I DID want to try the shaving cream technique but I sort of have an aversion to the stuff.  I really dislike the way it smells and it can give me a headache, I'm sensitive to certain smells and we don't even have any in the house since the hubby uses gel....don't like the way that smells either...he has to use special towels, lol!

I'm baaaack

Hi stampers!  You're supposed to be reading the title of this post like that little girl in the scary movie (was it poltergeist, I don't watch scary movies so I'm not sure but I know the line, lol) who says "their baaaaaack".  I told you I'd be back with another post this evening.  I've really had a hard time getting into "stamp mode" in the evenings after work lately.  I've either been working or not feeling well on the nights I actually have off.  So, when the weekend comes I'm just cranking out cards and challenges like crazy, haha!  I'm hoping things even out once football is over on Friday.  Basketball and wrestling are much more balanced schedules for me...and they are inside...out of the cold, hehe!

Anyway, here is a card I created for the CWCC color challenge this week.  Now, I don't use much bravo burgundy (my ink pad was even hard to open....I'm guessing it's only been used a few times in the five or so years I've had it, lol) but I really liked this color combo!  As soon as I saw the combo I also knew I wanted to break out the timeless portrait stamp set that I had just gotten!  I love when I get to ink up stamps within the first week I get them...otherwise they may sit for *cough, cough* a while....:-)  Speaking of, I also used the parlor prints background stamp for the first time....it's been on my desk since my previous order, see what I mean?

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Timeless portrait, parlor prints, You're a gem
Paper:  River rock, baja breeze, bravo burgundy
Ink:  Bravo burgundy, river rock
Accessories:  Scalloped dotted border punch, antique brads, baja breeze seam binding ribbon

I wanted to keep it simple because I think this stamp set was made for simple!  And this color combo is a keeper!  I think it makes really nice, warm, rich cards for the winter months!  And that's why I love challenges!  They make me use colors and combos that I would never put together on my own! 

Happy stamping!

Spooky candles

Hi stampers!  Quick post today as I need to be getting to work!  I wanted to share my card for Freshly Made Sketches this week!  I did quite a few challenges over the weekend so now I'm in a rush to get them posted:-)  So, I may be back with another later tonight!  But anyway, here is the card for the FMS challenge:

I'll try to come back and edit the supplies but I'm in a rush right now!  This is the second time I've used this color combo at FMS though:-)  I'm really liking it now and finally have the pick your poison DSP.  To make it extra spooky I embossed the candelabra in black EP and then colored in the candles with my white gel pen and the candle holder with silver smooch ink.  It doesn't show well in the picture but it looks really cool! 

Ok, gotta run!  Happy stamping!

Kapowey!

Hi stampers!  I'm plugging away at some challenges today!  I'm going to try to get as many cards made before I have to go teach aerobics at 1!  The first one I made today is for the Ka-Pow Creative Challenge over on Carrie Gaskin's blog.  I'm loving her challenges and this one was no exception!  I loved the bright combo of daffodil delight, wisteria wonder, pumpkin pie and whisper white!

I made a card similar to one I swapped at convention but with a few added details.  I thought these colors would look so fun with the flower from button buddies!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Button buddies, pursuit of happiness, distressed dots
Paper:  Whisper white, wisteria wonder, daffodil delight, pumpkin pie
Ink:  Wisteria wonder, daffodil delight, pumpkin pie
Accessories:  Dotted scallop border punch, in-color polka dot brads

This time, I cut out one of the flowers and popped it up on dimensionals and I added a small punched border. I used the distressed dots background stamp on the card base as an afterthought but you can't see it very well as I didn't leave a large border.  Oh well!   It's a nice sunny card and a nice change of pace from all the fall and Christmas cards I've been making!  Thanks again for another great challenge!

Happy stamping!

Stamperday

Hi stampers!  I'm calling today Stamperday instead of Saturday:-)  I've had little time to stamp this week with not feeling well and or work!  So, I finally got to sit down to my desk after dinner with the in laws tonight!  I have a lot of challenges I want to play with this weekend!  The first one is one I have just been itching to work on!!!

As soon as I saw this:

over at  Colour Q I just knew I wanted to make something candy corn!  Don't these colors just scream candy corn????  Now, I don't actually like to eat it (I'll take some chocolate though thankyouverymuch) but I think it's cute and festive!  I did have to look it up to see what order the colors went in though, haha.  I also double dipped a bit and combined this color challenge with the sketch challenge at Inkspirations:

I don't usually combine challenges BUT I'm short on time this weekend since I had to work and take a nap today:-)  So here is my combo candy corn card....say that five times fast!

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps:  Spooky bingo bits, teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  Whisper white, basic black, basic gray, tangerine tango, crushed curry (retired), brights DSP stack
Ink:  Tangerine tango, basic black
Accessories:  Circle punches, 3" circle die, pennant punch

I was so excited to use the pennant punch to make my candy corn!  All I did was adhere three strips of CS to a sheet of copy paper and then punch them out!  Looking back, I totally should have hit them with some versamark and iridescent ice embossing powder to really make them sparkle! Oh well, too late now since it's done and almost 10pm haha.  I was also happy to pull out my Spooky bingo bits set!  It was also a good thing I had some crushed curry laying around (fyi it's textured cardstock).  I do wish I had added some sparkle. 

And now back to the chocolate...my DH cleaned up the yard today and is making a fire out back.  I sure wish we had some chocolate and smore's fixin's!  They sure would be good on a chilly fall night!  But I sure don't want to go to the store this late....and in my PJ's:-)  Happy stamping!

Clean and simple Christmas

Hi stampers!  Quick post here!  Football is winding down as we speak but I still have three games over the weekend from Thurs to Sat.  I have a very simple card for you today.  The idea for this card came from Pintrest, my new addiction!  It was actually inspired by a non-SU card but it's so easy to re-create things you see with SU!  And I think I'm liking the old olive and poppy parade combo for Christmas.  It's traditional yet modern! 

Hope you like it and if you're not on Pintrest, don't do it!!!  Stay away,  hehe:-)

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Creative elements, Merry & Bright
Paper:  Old olive, whisper white
Ink:  Old olive, basic gray
Accessories:  In-color glimmer brads (poppy parade)

Happy stamping!

Go big or go home

Hi stampers!  I have another October Creative Crew challenge to share with you.  Now, the theme for this challenge was "all that glitters".  Well, we all know I love me some bling! 

Speaking of bling, I have a funny/cute story I just have to share.  A few weeks ago at work it was very sunny out so I decided I should put some more sunblock on before I turned into a lobster...I like to take off my wedding ring when I put sunblock on because it's yicky.  So, a couple of my injured football players were standing near me so I took off my ring and asked one of them to hold it.  Now, mind you I love my ring!  It's very nice, hubby did good but it's not crazy big or anything, it's just right for my hand!  Well the kid looked at it and said, "Dang, your husband must really love you".  And if that wasn't funny enough, the other kid chimed in with, "No man, SHE must really love him."  LOL!  I couldn't stop laughing, kids (they were 16, so yeah, still kids even if they think they are grown, haha) can be so funny!  Anyway....

So, where was I?  Oh yes, I love me some bling.  So, for this card I decided to go big or go home and really pile on the sparkle!  WARNING:  you may need sunglasses to look directly at the following picture:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Pennant Parade, Letter it
Ink:  Old olive, real red, daffodil delight
Paper:  Whisper white, real red, old olive, brights DSP stack, silver glimmer
Accessories:  Shaker frames, circle punches, mini brads, brights glimmer brads, real red grosgrain ribbon, window sheets, scallop squares duo die, mica flakes

I warned you:-)  I really wanted the glimmer paper to "shine" so I left a lot of it bare.  I knew I wanted to do a shaker card with the new mica flakes and shaker frames too.  That combo makes it super easy!  And I couldn't stop there, I had to add the glimmer brad too!  And want to know a little secret?  I though about adding MORE glitz, I just wasn't sure what more to use, lol!  One more subtle detail that I added was the M from letter it.  One of my favorite things to do right now is use the Letter It set with a word.  I stamped off my real red M once and then stamped merry in full strength ink over it.  Here's a bit more detail:

That's it for today.  Hope I didn't blind you too bad:-)  Head on over to Splitcoast to check out more from the Creative Crew!

Happy stamping!

Rosette Wreath - Video Tutorial

Hi stampers!  I told you I'd be back with a video tutorial for my fabric rosettes that I used on my creative crew wreath.

So here it is.  I hope you enjoy and make a wreath or two of your own!  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me!  You can also purchase your designer fabric by clicking on the shop 24/7 button to the right!


Happy stamping....or rosetting:-)

Think Pink

Hi stampers!  It's time for another Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge!  And since it's October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, the theme for this week is THINK PINK!

My project was inspired by another project I made for Breast Cancer awareness over on Splitcoast.  For the Hope You Can Cling To challenge I made a card with a big pink paper lollie.  So, I took the lollie idea and thought it would make a great pin or broach.  So, I made this pin to wear at work for our Real Men Wear Pink football game.

The back circle was cut out from the perfect pennants die and I used dazzling diamonds over the edges of the lollie for some bling.

Now, head on over and see what the rest of the design team has to show you and then play along and think pink!

Happy stamping (even though there isn't any stamping in my project, haha)!

Rosette Wreath

Hi stampers! I don't have a stamping project today......BUT I have something just as fun!  Over on Splitcoast Stampers I'm part of the Creative Crew design team.  Each month we are given four new challenges and one of those for October was to make a holiday themed gift from SU products.  Well, given my aforementioned addiction to Pintrest, I found a wreath with fabric rosettes that was just the cutest thing ever!  I immediately had to make my own using our SU exclusive fabric!  So given that I'm totally addicted to our spice cake collection, that was the fabric I chose.  It made a gorgeous fall wreath!

The rosettes are really easy to make but they do take a little bit of time.  I worked on them here and there as time allowed.  They are good project to do when sitting and waiting somewhere, watching tv or in the car!  Really all it takes is some fabric glue,  folding, twisting, and rolling...NO SEWING!  :-)  You don't even have to cut the fabric, I just tore it, hehe!  To adhere them to my wreath I simply hot glued them on.

I'll have a video tutorial later this week on how to make the flowers.  Make sure to come back and check it out!

Happy stamping!

Spooky shoes

Hi stampers!  So, you all know I love stamps but I also love shoes!  I have a serious stamp AND shoe problem.  Stamps have taken over my studio and shoes have taken over my closet:-)  Nevermind I have a new pair of boots on the way here this week....darned pintrest....I never would have gotten them had I not seen them on pintrest....but that's another story alltogether!  Anyway, why all the shoe talk?  Well it's because of this card:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Wicked cool
Paper:  Whisper white, basic black, old olive, concord crush, brights DSP stack
Ink:  Basic black, markers (concord crush, old olive, pumpkin pie)
Accessories:  2.5" circle punch, striped & spider web embossing folders, silver smooch spray

See, spooky shoes:-)  I just love the little witch boots in wicked cool and I love the socks too:-)  I used an old Colour Q challenge and inspiration for the colors on this card.  I love how old olive, pumpkin pie, basic black and concord crush work for Halloween.  I went for a lot of texture too with the stripes and spider web embossing folders.

Well, that's it for today!  Football season is quickly winding down here so hopefully I should have more stamp time soon!  I can't believe that it's going on mid-October already!  I need to get crackin' on more Halloween cards!  I finally drug all my h-ween decorations up from the basement today too, it's looking super spooky  around here now!

Happy stamping!

Pool party for baby

Hi stampers!  I'm back today with the baby card I said I'd show you.  This is the other card I designed with the Create With Connie & Mary color challenge last week.  Like I said, the colors initially made me think "baby boy" card but I wanted to do something a little different.  Once that was out of my system I sat down and put this together:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Ain't Love Grand, distressed dots, pennant parade
Paper:  Whisper white, crumb cake, basic black, pool party
Ink:  Stazon & various for watercoloring
Accessories:  Pool party ruffled ribbon, bitty buttons, crochet thread, jewelry tag punch, 2.5" circle punch, 3" sizzix die, scallop circles sizzix die

And there's those dots again!  Hehe!  Not sure if you can see it but I tied a bitty button onto the ribbon where the tag is.  Now I just need someone I know to have a baby boy, hahaha!

Happy stamping!

Fresh & spooky

Hi stampers!  I have a cute Halloween card for you today!  I finally got in the mood to make a Halloween card, yay!  :-)  I guess I have the ladies over at Freshly Made Sketches since I made this card for their challenge this week.  I didn't get a chance to play last week so I was more than ready to get to work this week.  The Out on a Limb set just begs to be used in a sketch like this!

For the colors, I took my inspiration from the Pick Your Poison DSP that I don't have...but it's on it way:-)  I was late to jump on the bandwagon with that one but I finally warmed up to it!  So I figured I'd just use the colors since I don't have the DSP yet.  I really like the combo of basic black, very vanilla, pumpkin pie, and peach parfait! I'm really going to miss peach parfait when it retires!  Now, Out on a Limb is more cutesy than spooky so I was a bit worried that the card wouldn't turn out too well but I think it came together with just the right amount of cute and spook!  What do you think?

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Out on a limb, teeny tiny wishes, Halloween hang-ups (wheel)
Paper:  Basic black (classic and craft), very vanilla, pumpkin pie, peach parfait, brights DSP
Ink:  Basic black, pumpkin pie, peach parfait
Accessories:  2.5" circle punch, basic black taffeta ribbon, Iridescent ice embossing powder

I cut the little owls out and popped them up on dimensionals.  I was going to only do one owl but I thought he looked lonely:-)  The bats were stamped with craft ink and them embossed with II EP to make them a little more special.  There is a lot of black with the tree branch and clouds so I wanted the bats to stand out a little.  I used the Halloween hang-ups wheel on the background but it's mostly covered up.

That wheel is super cute though!  And don't let the wheels intimidate you, it's easy to use them with a regular ink pad and the wheel guide.  Now, this wheel is a tad bit tricky just in it's design...since it's got those little dots it doesn't roll as smooth as some of the all over design ones BUT with a bit of practice you get the "hang" of it;-)  The trick is to push down really well and go slow!

I wanted to add a glimmer brad or something but I'm trying to make more mailable cards so I didn't want any sticky-up parts here.  I hope you liked it as much as I do, I feel I've been in a bit of a slump lately and don't have many ideas so it's super fun and rewarding when I come up with something that I like!

Happy stamping!

Craft Central

Hi stampers!  I found a new challenge blog!  Not sure how I hadn't ever seen this one since it seems to be hosted by the creator of another challenge blog that I like but I think it's fairly new.  It's called Craft Project Central and you can check out the challenge by clicking on the name!

I'm always on the lookout for good sketches as that is the part I tend to struggle the most with on a card.  As you know, my style is fairly clean and simple so this sketch was perfect!  It's very much like a card that I cased for my Fall Frenzy class as well.  This time though, I took a Christmas approach.   For some reason I'm in a Christmas card kind of mood the past few days.  My head says I should focus on Halloween first then fall/Thanksgiving due to the date (and I'm way behind on Halloween cards this year) but my heart is all about Christmas colors this week!

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps:  Welcome Christmas, distressed dots, tiny tags

Paper: crumb cake, whisper white, cherry cobbler, in color DSP stack

Ink:  Cherry cobbler, versamark

Accessories:  Pewter EP, cherry cobbler dotted scalloped ribbon, border punch

I also went for a sort of bold color scheme too.  I paired lucky limeade with cherry cobbler!  Not super traditional but it works, especially with some crumb cake and clean whisper white.  It's a bit vintage and a but clean.  Anyway, here I go with the distressed dots again and I added the striped DSP panel to counter the dots.  I like all the textures going on!  The sentiment was embossed with our new pewter EP.  It looks funny in the picture with my lighting but it's very pretty!

This was a fun sketch to play along with!  Happy stamping!

HHS #87

Hi stampers!  Time for the next Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge.  This week we have a color challenge for you!  And boy did I find this one challenging!  I had been thinking about what to do for a few days with this color combo:

I had thought of doing a masculine card since this seems like a good combo for that but I'm on a fall theme, especially since the leaves are really starting to turn here!  So, I grabbed my button buddies set and came up with this:

How cute is that little pumpkin?????  Add a little doodling and viola!  Although I struggled I think I may take another stab at this combo with that manly card I had planned!  Now, head on over and check out the rest of the design team and play along with us!

Happy stamping!

Framed Flower

Hi stampers!  I have a project for you today that I've been working on for MONTHS!  Once you see it you'll go, "um, it's so simple, how could it have taken you months to make?"  Well, I got the idea at convention in the product park and came home and made my flower.  Then began the hunt for the right frame.  I could NOT find a frame that I liked anywhere!  But, this weekend at Target I finally found a frame that I liked!  So, without further ado, here is my framed flower:

Isn't it fresh and pretty???  It's actually much prettier in person since it's glittery!  After I cut out my flowers and adhered them together and added my rhinestones and brad I LIGHTLY sprayed the whole thing with spray adhesive and sprinkled some dazzling diamonds on again, very lightly.  I actually wish I had added some more but I didn't want to over-do it.  I'm going to be bedazzling lots of other things this way now, it was so easy and looks great!  I think this is how Shelli makes a lot of things sparkly!  There were a lot of things like this at convention!  You can see the flower a bit better here.

Stampin' Supplies:
Paper:  Pocketful of posies
Accessories:  Fun flowers die, antique brads, basic rhinestones, pear pizzazz ribbon, dazzling diamonds, spray adhesive, frame

Some pear pizzazz "leaves" and it's all done! I just attached it to the glass in the frame with some glue dots!  It's going to look great in my new, bigger stamp studio that I'm going to get....more on that later!

Happy stamping!

WCMD

Hi stampers!  What the heck does WCMD mean?  Well October first is WORLD CARD MAKING DAY!!!!  It might be my favorite day of the year!  Ok, ok....well maybe after Christmas and Halloween, hehe.  And I can't believe I have the day off!  I did have to teach aerobics at the Y this morning but that's my "fun" job and it's great to get paid to work out and get my exercise out of the way for the day!  Got the groceries out of the way too because I'm declaring this world card making WEEKEND, tee-hee!  So, I can stamp all I want!  So, here is my card to share today so I can get down to business:-)

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Warmest of wishes, falling leaves
Paper:  Very vanilla, more mustard, pear pizzazz, soft suede
Ink:  Soft suede and soft suede, more mustard, pear pizzazz markers
Accessories:  Modern label punch, scallop circle punch, stripes embossing folder, linen thread, spice cake buttons, brads

Ohhhh!  Isn't it it cute?  My idea was to use the stripes embossing folder to look like a door or a wall.  I sponged it a bit too so it would have some depth.   It looked a bit bare so I added the big spice cake button to the middle.  I just love this little wreath!  You can ONLY get it by hostessing a workshop or placing a qualifying order so book or place yours with me today!!!  Now go stamp some cards to celebrate today's "holiday" :-)