Switching Gears

Hi stampers!  So I've been making a lot of bright, fun, summery cards lately since of course it IS summer.  Well, it WAS summer for me or at least it is until tomorrow.  Football starts tomorrow so for me, summer is over:-(  I'll be working late hours and weekends, booooo!  At least it's a bit cooler here....or at least less humid!  So, since it's now "fall" to me AND because I got my Holiday Mini pre-order last night, I have a fall inspired card to share today!

This time of year is always a conundrum for me...stamping wise anyway.  It's at this point in the year that I'm really IN to the fun and summery cards BUT I get new fall geared stuff and I have a bit of an identity crisis....what to stamp?  Summer or fall?  Or Christmas even????  So, forgive me if I waffle back and forth a bit as far as themes and color combos.  I'm not yet ready to give up the fun summer stuff (not to mention the fact that I just bought a bunch of summer type stuff, lol) but I'm excited for the holiday mini and everything fall and Christmas!  I guess I'll have to have a split personality for a while!  I want to make sure I make good use of my new catalog purchases AND my holiday purchases so I need to do a LOT of stamping!  We won't even talk about how neglected my summer mini stuff is!  I need to learn to cut back there since I get so excited about the new big catalog....

Ok, enough of my issues (lol)!  Here is a little sneek peek from the new Holiday Mini:

Stampin' Supplies (I had to go back and edit as I forgot...so sorry:-):
Stamps:  Out on a limb, teeny tiny wishes
Paper:  whisper white, rich razzleberry, lucky limeade, crumb cake
Ink:  rich razzleberry, more mustard, lucky limeade, early espresso
Accessories:  spider web embossing folder, scallop squares duo die, basic rhinestones, basic black scalloped polka dot ribbon

EEK!  Isn't it CAAA-YOOT?  The set is called "out on a limb" and I think it's my favorite set in the mini!  And yea me, I didn't get too many sets out of the Holiday mini (so far....) but I HAD to have this one!  It's so cute and fun!  As you can see from my sample and probably tell from the name, there are various Halloween images that can sit or hang on the limb!  Too cute!  I'm also loving the scalloped polka dot ribbon in black for Halloween!   This card is semi-cased from the Holiday Mini itself.  I really also love the color combo of more mustard, lucky limeade, and rich razzleberry!  And of COURSE I had to dig out the spider web embossing folder!

Ok, that's it for me, I've got to rest up for football practice tomorrow....ok, actually I need to rest up so I can get up and go for a RUN in the morning so I get that out of the way since I don't have to work until the afternoon, hehe!  I think I should start a program of no stamping if I don't work out....I need SOMETHING to motivate me:-)  Happy stamping!

Sweet Sunday!

Hi stampers, I told ya I'd be back.  I have another challenge card and it's also the first time I've played along with this one too!  I really liked the sketch at Sweet Sunday today!  I'm trying to go outside of my comfort zone sometimes lately and one is different sized cards!  I tend to make only standard A2 cards so I loved the narrow card here.  I need to make more of them!

I broke out the Little Additions set for this card...now I need someone to have a baby so I can give it to them, lol!  I found my color combo on my color coach!  It's so handy.  If you don't have one you should just click the little order 24/7 button over to the right and get one today!!!!!  :-)  So here is my "addition":

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Little additions, Sweetly said
Paper:  Whisper white, baja breeze (smooth and textured), pink pirouette, early espresso
Ink:  baja breeze, pink pirouette, early espresso
Accessories:  Pretty in pink ribbon, basic pearls, triple heart punch, dazzling details, subtles glimmer brads, tasteful trim die

Isn't is just cute?  I haven't made many cards lately that I've been pleased with so I was happy to have this one come out so well...and like I'd pictured in my head!  There really is a lot going on in a small space.  I cut out the items sitting on the shelf and then popped one up on a dimensional.  The pink heart frame has dazzling diamonds on it for some shimmer.  I also punched a heart out and adhered it over the little heart that's on the crib as the card needed another pop of pink.  The little pearl in the corner makes it stand out a bit more as well.  I also made one of those little bows with a brad in the center that I used to adhere the sentiment.

Speaking of the sentiment, isn't it cute?  It's from Sweetly Said which is a totally cute greeting set!  I got it FREE with my hostess benefits!!!!  I popped it on a little banner and that's it!

Happy stamping!

Experimenting!

Hi stampers...I'll have a couple of quick posts tonight as I've been busy with a couple of challenges today!  The first is at the Color Lab.  I recently found this challenge blog and don't know how I could have missed it, I love it!  The colors this week are really pretty!

 See, isn't it pretty?  I used it to make this purty card:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Hello, Doily, Pursuit of happiness
Paper:  Whisper white, so saffron, pool party, not quite navy
Ink:  Not quite navy
Accessories:  Basic pearls, modern label punch, punch pack, pool party ribbon

I've been wanting to do some emboss resist with the doily stamp so I dove in.  I sponged it with not quite navy ink.  I love layering the label punches this way too.  A couple of little pearls and it was done!  It's pretty mailable too!  Hope you liked it!  Happy stamping!

Text me!

Hi stampers!  I have a quick post today of a card I made last week.  I won the Sweet Floral background stamp at convention and needed to use it!  I was so excited to win it since it was a stamp I had on my original order but took it off to "save money" :-)  Usually with my luck IF I win something it would be something I already had...so, needless to say I was ecstatic to win something I wanted on the VERY FIRST NIGHT!  So I think it was about time I ink it up!

I love the First edition DSP as you well know and the theme for one of the June Dirty Dozen challenges over on SCS was to use text so that inspired me for this card.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Sweet floral, kindness matters
Paper:  River rock, soft suede, very vanilla, first edition DSP
Ink:  Soft suede, river rock
Accessories:  Modern label punch, punch pack, basic rhinestones, smooch spray, smooch ink (gold & pearlized top coat), crochet trim

It's a pretty simple card but there actually is quite a lot going on!  The background was stamped in soft suede and then I hit it with not only vanilla smooch spray but the gold and log cabin as well.  The focal image is outlined in the gold smooch ink.  That was a technique that I learned in my plus fun class at convention.  You just take the applicator and run it around the edge of your cardstock.  It's hard to see on the photo, but I also covered the little punched flower in the iridescent smooch ink.  It's called the pearlized top coat I think.   It's very pretty in real life and just adds that extra something.  Other than that I just did some sponging and distressing.

Hope you like it!  Happy stamping!

Medallion x 2

Hi stampers!  I had so much fun making my flower medallion the other day that I decided to make another one! This time for the Colour Q Challenge number 96!  I really loved the color combo again this week and of course the inspiration picture!

I WANT that comforter!!!  Isn't it a pretty combo?  I struggled yet again this week though to come up with something.  So, I thought I'd try out the medallion in another color combo but this time I'd go less vintage and more clean and simple.

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Happy Greetings
Paper:  Whisper white, tempting turquoise, basic gray, lucky limeade, subtles DSP stack
Ink:  Bashful blue, tempting turquoise, basic gray, lucky limeade (markers)
Accessories:  Polka dot embossing folder, lucky limeade ruffled ribbon, polka dot brads, punches - decorative label, large and small scallop, blossom triple layer

I haven't used many of my summer mini sets lately so I wanted to dig out Happy Greetings for this card!!  We all know I'm a sucker for words!  I liked the way this bold font went with my bold medallion.  It also worked perfectly with the four colors on this card since there were four parts to that greeting.  And I told you I have LOTS of polka dot brads in all the colors except for coral so I just had to use one here!  Making the medallion is easy, just punch out all the parts and crumple them up.  Then just pop a brad through the center!  I thought about adding some pearls or something but I stopped because sometimes less is more!!!

I love this card but it wasn't where I thought I was going in the beginning when I saw this card so I may try again with the combo...I want to try to use the BFF set with it...funny how a set that I wasn't excited about getting for free has becoming a fave....figures, right? :-)

Anyway that's all I got for now, I need to go running although I'd rather be stamping.....so happy running or stamping...whichever you decide to do, lol!

Wisteria WONDERFUL

Hi stampers!  I'm in love with one of our new colors Wisteria Wonder!  Ok, well I love all of them BUT wisteria wonder is so pretty!  I'm not a big user of purple in my stamping but this color has upped my purple usage by about 100%, lol!  I'm also not a big eggplant user but this color looks fantastic with elegant eggplant.  Just look at this fancy-schmantzy card:

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Best friends forever, you're a gem
Paper: first edition DSP, lucky limeade, elegant eggplant, wisteria wonder
Ink:  Elegant eggplant, wisteria wonder, lucky limeade
Accessories:  basic rhinestones, oval and modern label punch, wisteria wonder ribbon, antique brads, scallop circle punches, blossom triple layer punch

It's gor-jus isn't it?  Yes, I'm channeling Jan Tink and YILM!  I haven't been very excited about any of the cards I have made lately but I really love this one!  I really thought I'd have trouble with the BFF set I got at convention as it was one I had passed over in the catalog many time but I'm finding a lot of uses for it.  It's great for backgrounds and accents!

The color combo used here is actually from the color coach.  I hadn't been using it much lately and have been kid of stumped for combos, duh!  Open up the color coach Mindy!  I LOVE the bright pop of lucky limeade here! 

 The flower medallion as I like to call it was super easy to make. I should make more cards with big, fancy stuff on them.  Yes, they are a pain to mail but it's not like I actually MAIL many of the cards I make anyway, right?  LOL!  Gotta get better at that!  Anyway it was just punched out, balled up, and sponged.  Poke a hole in all of them and then put the brad through.  Then I just glued some ribbon on the back!  Stamping on the first edition paper is also one of my favorite things to do! 

I think that about does it for this card!  Time for me to go run 3 or 4 miles...or try at least.  I waited until later since it's so hot out and now I want to stamp instead, haha!  Hopefully I'll get some stamp time afterward...wish me luck on BOTH!  Happy stamping!

Debbie Downer

Hi stampers!  I've been feeling kind of down for the past few days for a number of reasons so I haven't done much stamping.  Good thing I did a lot on Saturday I guess.  So, I won't be too chatty...all of my SCS friends are probably wondering what's wrong with me:-)  But I have a cute card to share...

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps:  Button buddies, pursuit of happiness
Paper:  Whisper white, basic gray, calypso coral, lucky limeade
Ink:  Calypso coral, basic gray
Accessories:  Scallop square duo die, polka dot brads

This color combo is a little out of my comfort zone but I think I like it....and I think it's some of the colors in our berry blossom DSP which I'm not a fan of either so yay me for trying something different.  I waffled back and forth over basic black and basic gray....looks like the gray won out.  It was a bit softer.  This flower from button buddies just NEEDS to be in funky color combos though!  I also love the funky fonts in Pursuit of Happiness but you know that already, lol!  And you know I love the polka dot brads.  I'll be using them on a LOT of projects I would imagine since I had to buy three packs to just use the coral ones for my convention swap!  Lots of blues, greens, and purples left over!!!  I also hadn't used my scallop square die in a while so I pulled that out too.

Ok, back to moping around for me....maybe I'll stamp something tomorrow night....AFTER I work out that is...MUST WORK OUT!!!!  If I keep telling myself that then maybe I'll actually do it, right?????  :-)