A Catalog Case Challenge

Hi stampers!  Yesterday was November 1st which means the Creative Crew gallery over on SCS went live!  You can see all the great creations the crew came up with and play along in the challenges!  You should head over and check it out BUT before you go I'll show you one of my projects, mmmk?

For this challenge we were to case a card from the catalog AND because this month was all about fancy folds we were to choose a long card.  You've seen a few of these from me recently and really like this size!  All it takes is a 6x6 square of paper!  We were also supposed to change a couple of elements in our cards.  So, I chose a card on page 37 that used the polar party set.  I didn't have that set (but you can bet I will soon, lol) so I chose to use snow much fun.  To fit the tree stamp I had to rotate the layout like this:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Snow much fun
Paper:  watercolor, whisper white, real red, old olive, brights DSP stack
Ink:  Stazon and various for watercoloring
Accessories:  Tasteful trim die, dazzling details, brights buttons, crochet thread

I really liked the simplicity of this layout and the tone one tone with the plain CS and then the polka dots.  I didn't do any stitching like in the catalog but let my tasteful trim die take care of that!  This challenge just goes to show what a great inspiration and recourse the Idea Book & Catalog can be!  Sometimes it's hard to remember that you can make ANY card in there with ANY set you have!  It's a great place to find color combos and general layout ideas too!  Now head on over to check out the CC gallery and play along!

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

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!

Stampers Withdrawal

Hi stampers!  Sorry I haven't had much to share lately, I'm suffering from what's known as stampers withdrawal!  I've been sick/busy so I haven't got much done!  Maybe I can sneak in a little stamp therapy today.  I had planned to stamp some Thursday night but my mom and I went for a walk and grabbed some dinner since she was staying with me.  It was fun to just visit...stamping will always be there but she's not always around since she retired and moved away!  Plus we were running later than I thought we'd be and I'm not good at getting a late start when stamping!  She did help me pick out some paint colors for my new stamp studio....now I just have to make the final pick, it's SOOOO hard!  I think I have decided so I need to go buy the paint today since it's on sale!

I'm sad because I had a bunch of challenges I wanted to do this week but it's too late for most of them.  I still might use them as my inspiration though!  But, speaking of challenges, I still haven't posted any of my September Creative Crew challenges from over on Splitcoast Stampers!  One of them was a gift for my mom and I gave it to her Thursday so I guess today is a good day to share it!  I wasn't sure if she'd like it...she's kind of funny when it comes to stuff..she's a minimalist:-)  She also just really doesn't get my "crafty" stuff...she's the opposite of crafty, lol!  BUT, she loved it.  She even said she wanted to put it out on the counter in her new house which really surprised me!  She hates stuff sitting out, haha! 

 Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  From the kitchen of
Paper:  Domestic goddess DSP, baja breeze, calypso coral, so saffron, basic gray, whisper white
Ink:  Basic gray
Accessories:  Various punches, card keeper

I used one of the new card keepers from the Holiday Mini.  They come all flat and folded up so then you can cover them however you want and then assemble them.  I used the domestic goddess DSP since our challenge was to make a houseware type item or gift out of that DSP or those colors.  I also used from the kitchen of and my alphabet sizzlets to personalize the top!  I did coat it with modge podge when I was done so that it might be more durable and wipe clean since it will be used in the kitchen.  It make it look more finished I think too!