Friend

I have made SO many new friends online this year in the stamping world and I know that I am truly blessed that each and everyone of them have come into my life. I know I can't send a card to ALL of them, so I made this one to display on my blog so that everyone that stops by will see it and know that I count them among my friends:
I used the stamps from the new I {heart} hearts set that will be available on January 4th, 2010 when the new Occasions Mini launches. The paper is from the "Welcome Neighbour" 6 X 6 stack that you will be able to earn with your qualifying purchase during Sale-a-Bration which also starts on January 4th and runs until March 31st, 2010.

This was the first time I tried the faux stitching and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to, but since it was my first time, I'm giving myself a pass - LOL! The lines are a bit crooked, but that just means it's hand made, right?

I used Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo to stamp the images and then hand cut them out.

What do you think?

STAMPS: I {heart} hearts
INK: Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White and Kraft Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Marker

Happy Stampin'!

Guest Blogger!

Just wanted to let you know that My Caroline is out of town and that while she is gone I'll be blogging for her. I'm going to try to post here too, but maintaining two blogs may be a bit much - LOL!

You can check out My Caroline's blog HERE.

Have a Stampin' Good Day!

Good Neighbours - Again

Here is another Good Neighbours card that I made. This one was definitely quick and easy!
I just cut out the Top Note from the Welcome Neighbour paper pack which you can earn with your Sale-a-Bration purchase.

The images were all stamped using In Colours.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Good Neighbour
INK: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Bermuda Bay and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Top Note Die and Big Shot

Happy Stampin'!

Good Neighbours

OMGosh! I am SO excited!!! Stampin' UP! has started offering clear blocks for mounting our stamps and now the stamps are available with a cling film! This does NOT mean that our stamps are going to be clear - oh no!!! You're still going to get the same wonderful red rubber that produces EXCELLENT images - you're just going to be able to see through the block and know EXACTLY where you're stamping!

Here's the first card I made using our new clear mount stamps:
The set is called Good Neighbours. I stamped the images in Old Olive, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. I used my markers to colour the tree before stamping in Old Olive and Chocolate Chip.

The little strip of paper is from the Welcome Neighbour 6 X 6 paper pack, which will be available to earn with your qualifying Sale-a-Bration purchase beginning January 5th, 2010.

I added a piece of striped Old Olive grosgrain ribbon for the finishing touch.

This is a mountable card front (4 X 5 1/4 inches) that went postal for a swap in which I'm participating. Can't WAIT to see the goodies I get back from this one!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Good Neighbour
INK: Old Olive, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry
PAPERS: Whisper White, Old Olive and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Welcome Neighbour DSP
ACCESSORIES: Markers, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas Card - Second One

Yesterday I showed you my first Christmas card and here is my second one:
My Caroline made the same card for her December Club meeting and I just had to CASE it because it was SO stunning! Of course, I had to borrow her Lovely as a Tree set in order to make the card...I think she's over it...maybe - LOL!

I stamped the trees in Old Olive on Very Vanilla with repeat stamping (I only inked up the tree image every three times). The sentiment was stamped in Old Olive as well. For the finishing touch, I added a piece of 1 1/4" Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon tied with a piece of Hemp Twine.

On the inside, I stamped the sentiment from Christmas Greeting on Very Vanilla.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Lovely as a Tree and Christmas Greetings
INKS: Old Olive
PAPERS: Very Vanilla and Old Olive
ACCESSORIES: 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and Hemp Twine

Happy Stampin'!

Christmas Card - First One

I made a few different Christmas cards this year. I wanted something with WOW for hubby to take to work. He handed these out on Monday and they were VERY well received!

Then, I started making these:
but ran out of both ribbon and Sahara Sand cardstock, so I had to come up with another design (which I'll show you tomorrow).

For this card, I stamped the tree in Soft Suede after stamping off first and I did the same with the snowflakes, stamping them in Bermuda Bay. The bird was cut from Melon Mambo using the sizzlit die from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I matted the image on Soft Suede and then on the Sahara Sand card base. For the card base, I trimmed off a little bit of the front of the card and added a piece of Bermuda Bay cardstock which I first punched using my Scallop Edge Punch.

I added the ribbon over the seam and stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo on Whisper White and then punched it out with my Wide Oval Punch and adhered it to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Season of Friendship
INKS: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand and Bermuda Bay Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Big Shot and Sizzlit

Happy Stampin'!

Challenge Tuesday

Good morning everyone! Were you up bright and early this morning? I was and by the time you read this I will be at the hospital with my DD as she undergoes open heart surgery.

My challenge for you today is two-fold. The first part of the challenge is to make a card in any OTHER size but A2 and the second part of the challenge is to give the card to someone - TODAY!

Here's my card:
My card base is Whisper White and folded to a finished size of 3 7/8 X 9 inches. The next layer up is Garden Green, followed by More Mustard.

I stamped my image on Whisper White using Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green. I then coloured it in using my Stampin' UP! markers and matted it on a piece of Really Rust Cardstock. The finishing touch was a paper pierced corner and Whisper White ribbon tied in a bow.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Autumn Harvest
INKS: Pumpkin Pie and Garden Green
PAPERS: Whisper White, Really Rust, More Mustard and Garden Green cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon and Mat Pack (to pierce corners)

Happy Stampin' and let me know if you play along!

MDS Monday

Good morning everyone! Here is a quickie MDS page as there is much to do before DD goes in for surgery tomorrow.
I just used a pre-designed template for this one and added a background paper from the Christmas Cocoa Kit and then just dragged and dropped pictures. Easy peasy! I added buttons from the Button Latte collection to the four corners.

Have an MDSin' good day!!!

Frugal Friday - Happy Holidays

Here's another "from the scrap bag" card for you today...

This one is REALLY little and is an "easel card". Claudia, on SUDSOL, challenged us all to make one last week and this the one I did. I don't think it qualifies for the challenge, because it uses a retired stamp set, but I thought I'd try my hand at it anyway...

I did plan to make another one, but we all know how that works out - LOL!

Anyway, here's the card:
The base is a leftover piece of Sahara Sand which I further trimmed down to 3 X 6 inches. It was scored at three inches and again at 1 1/2 inches to create the base for the easel. The front panel is 3 X 3 inches, also Sahara Sand.

Both pieces of DSP are from the Thoroughly Modern DSP pack which I thoroughly love (heehee!). The ribbon is taffeta and the pearls I've had for a little white. The stamped image is from a set I borrowed while I was at Diana's a couple of weeks ago. It's SU!, but I can't remember what the set is called.

What do you think:

STAMPS: Oops!
INKS: Bermuda Bay
PAPERS: Whisper White and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon and Pearls

Happy Stampin'!

My Saturday Sketch Card

Here is the card I made for my very own Saturday Sketch:
It was actually done on Saturday, but I was running out to get together with some girlfriends (who each received the card), and while I had a few minutes to post it, I didn't have time to upload and blog about it.

I stamped the image from Gifts of Christmas in Old Olive on Very Vanilla and matted the image on Real Red. The DSP is from the Christmas Jingle kit and is matted on Old Olive. The brads I've had FOREVER and have NO idea where I got them - LOL! That's the problem when you have way too much stuff!

I just love how it turned out and the friends that received it loved it too!!!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Gifts of Christmas
INKS: Old Olive
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Real Red Cardstock; Christmas Jingle DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Brads

Happy Stampin'!

Challenge Tuesday

I'm at the hospital today with my DD. She has her pre-op appointment today and next week she'll be going in for open heart surgery.

So...I have no card for you today, but I still have a challenge. Go through all the stuff you own and sort it out. I know there's some wonderful paper and other goodies in there that you bought and you can't remember why...now it just sits there...and you know you're never going to use it.

Package it all up and take to your local children's hospital. That's what I do with mine and they very much appreciate it. I'm sure your local children's hospital would appreciate it just as much.

Have a stampin' good day!

MDS Monday

Over the weekend, in between the baking and the sleepover card making craziness, I got to play with Robin in the Sudsol Chat and Challenge.

Her sketch was awesome and here is the card I made with it:
I started with a 6 X 6 card base and used Baja Breeze script paper to fill the background. The other colours I used were Pretty in Pink and Whisper White. The stamp set I chose is Friends 24-7.

What do you think?

Happy Stampin' and MDSin'!

Sketch it Saturday!

Here is today's Sketch it Saturday:
Let's see what you can come up with!

Frugal Friday - For the Bride

Eventually I'd like to post to my blog everyday...I'm getting there - really I am!

And I'd like Fridays to be my Frugal Friday - the day where I will dip into my bag of scraps and create a card using just what I find in there (embellishments don't count). Now, keep in mind that this also where I put my 1/2 sheets after I've cut a full sheet to make a card, so those count!

This is the card I made from my stash this week:
I stamped the bride from the "For the Bride" set (which unfortunately will be retiring come January 4th - SO sad!) in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White. She was then adhered to a piece of Rich Razzleberry cardstock and set aside. The long panel is a piece of Cottage Wall DSP adhered to another piece of Rich Razzleberry Cardstock. The card base is Old Olive and the next layer up is also from the Cottage Wall collection of DSP.

What do you think?

STAMPS: For the Bride
INK: Rich Razzleberry
PAPERS: Whisper White, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
ACCESSORIES: Taffeta Ribbon, Half Back Pearls and Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Season's Greetings with Scenic Season

During the Fall Hobby Show, I sold some stamps and punches at my upline's booth (I worked with her too...if you can call it that as it wasn't that busy!). Anyway...from my punch/stamp sales, I ordered the four oval punches (I know...shameful that I didn't have them before!) and the Scenic Season stamp set (at Caroline's suggestion - which I think she made mostly because she wanted to use it - LOL!)

When I was at the studio working with Caroline this past Tuesday, I took a break from my stamping work to do some stamping playing and get a start on my hubby's Christmas cards.

This card:
is a 100% shameless CASE from the lovely and talented LeAnn Greff, whose blog you should really check out because it has some AMAZING inspiration! I CASE'd her punch art turkey while I was there too, but that's a post for another day...

I pretty much did the exact same thing LeAnn did on her card: stamped in Elegant Eggplant, sponged in So Saffron, Cameo Coral and Brocade Blue (LeAnn used Bashful Blue, but I didn't have any of that). I added a little bit of glitter to the snow line for a touch of added detail.

On LeAnn's blog, she mentioned that some of her stampers left off the greeting and turned the card into a card of Sympathy. What a great idea!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Scenic Season
INKS: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Brocade Blue
PAPERS: Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant and Bashful Blue cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Happy Stampin'!

I received this wonderful award from my friend Kristina:

According to the "rules of play", I get to tell you a few fun facts about me, so here you go:

1. The only thing I've EVER wanted in life, was to be a wife and mom - I got my wish!

2. My favourite food in the whole world is lobster...I could eat it for three meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and NOT get tired of it!

3. I like snow, but not winter. I love to see the snow falling outside and know that I don't have to go out...that's when my baking goes into FULL FORCE!!! Watch out then!

4. Some of my absolutely favourite people were met online...and then in real life. I count Caroline, Janet, Janice, Karin, Stacy, Diana, Karen, Teresa and SO many others among my closest friends.

5. I get to "work" once a week with my upline...she pays me to stamp! I have the BEST job!

6. I have not one, but two, children with cardiac conditions.

7. I have been paper crafting in one form or another for at least 25 years...yeah, I'm THAT old!

Now...I get to nominate some other lucky people to receive this FAB award! Check out these blogs:

Julie, Amy, Michelle, Kristin, Paige, Jennie, Paige, Cathleen, Shell (who has apparently left me an award of her own - I'll do that one in a couple of days!) and Kirstin.

Have a GREAT stampin' day everyone!

Challenge Tuesday

This week's challenge is a colour challenge!!!

Each time I drive to my Caroline's studio to work, I go along the highway and then the Lakeshore and finally north on Woodbine. Near the corner of Lakeshore and Woodbine, there are several townhouses. The outsides are painted in various colours, but my favourite combination is the Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy and Barely Banana.

Last week, I told Caroline it would be a great colour combo and that we should incorporate into a card. She said I should try it first...smarty pants - LOL!

So...here is my card:
I used my markers to colour directly onto the rubber in order to get both Chocolate Chip and Handsome Hunter on the tree branch stamp. The bird was stamped using Not Quite Navy ink and the sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip. I added some Bravo Burgundy flowers to the tree branch and some Barely Banana ones too...but you can't really see those.

I used the Sprinkles stamp set and Not Quite Navy ink to stamp on the Not Quite Navy cardstock.

The card is 3 3/4 X 5 1/2" - a bit of an odd size, but a whole lot of fun!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Cheep Talk and Sprinkles
INK: Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Not Quite Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Barely Banana
PAPERS: Whisper White, Barely Banana, Bravo Burgundy, Not Quite Navy
ACCESSORIES: Scallop Border Punch, Markers, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

MDS Monday

My latest MDS Monday project:
I love it! I can scrapbook all kinds of stuff that I had left neglected. These are pics from 2003. My friend Cathy and I used to put on a "Merry Christmas Crop" every year. I do believe that 2003 was our last year...

I used elements from the Christmas Jingle Kit, including papers and embellishments.

What do you think?

Scrappin' Sunday!

Welcome to another edition of Scrappin' Sunday!

Today features the second part of the layout that I featured last week. It's another progressive scrapbook page...these are kind of addicting - LOL!

Here's the first part - it's 6 X 6:
I know the colours look off...I tried everything to fix them, but it just wasn't happening the way I wanted it to. The base is Very Vanilla and the next layer up is Real Red. I then used some stickers from the sticker sheet in the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit and added them to the bottom of the page.

The next step was to "progress" the page so that it was 8 1/2 X 11. Here's the result:

I added the 6 X 6 page to a Real Red 8 1/2 X 11 base to which I'd already added a strip of another sticker from the Simply Scrappin' Kit. The final touch was, again, some stickers.

The last step, was to "progress" the page into a 12 X 12 page:
This page is a 12 X 12 base of Chocolate Chip overlayed with a piece of Designer Series Paper from the kit. I added the 8 1/2 X 11 page to the left hand side and added some Chocolate Chip squares to accommodate four more photos.

Hope you have a Scrappin' Good Day!

Sketch it Saturday!

I've been crazy busy today and didn't have a whole lot of time to make a card to go with this sketch. It's a pretty simple one, but I hope you can find some inspiration in it!

I'll try to get something done with it this week, but this week is already shaping up to be nuts...so who knows? Hope you have a GREAT weekend!

Happy Stampin' and MDSin'!

Challenge Tuesday

OK, I know. Both words don't start with "T", but if you pronounce Tuesday "Chews" day instead of "Twos" day it kinda works...so let's go with that OK?

My plan is to post a new challenge every Tuesday. Now, I don't know ahead of time what the challenge will be, so we'll just have to go with the flow. It might be a challenge to use your stash...or it might be a challenge to take inspiration from a website...or it might be a challenge to visit somebody's blog and create something from a piece that inspired you there...it could be anything really! Want to play along?

My challenge for this Tuesday is to find something NEW in your stash. Something you just had to have but haven't opened yet, because you think it's too cool...or you'll run out too fast...or you just bought one sheet...something along those lines. Life is too short to start hoarding stuff and what the heck do you think you're going to do with it when you're gone? Or, worse yet...what do you think your kids are going to do with it when you're gone? I'll bet they're just going to toss it in the bin anyway...so why not make something with it and then SEND it to someone and brighten their day!

Last week at the Canadians, INK! team meeting, I was lucky enough to win a full spool of 1 1/4" Old Olive striped grosgrain ribbon. Of course, when I got it home, all I could do was stare at...I mean, it's GORGEOUS! But it's only 10 yards...what if I run out? What if I need the whole spool for a project and I use some and then I don't have enough? SERIOUSLY? I'm a demonstrator for heaven's sake! It's not like I can't get more - LOL! And if you fall in love with it, I can order some for you too! *grin*

So, here's my card:
I used my Stampin' UP! Markers to colour the rubber directly on the stamp, thereby allowing me to stamp both colours at once. I then used my sponge daubers to "colour" the background and my bird. I adhered the bird to a piece of Old Olive Cardstock and set it aside. Then I cut a piece of Cottage Wall DSP and also attached that to a piece of Old Olive Cardstock. My base card is 5 1/2 X 8 1/2" folded in half with a piece of Cottage Wall DSP as the next layer. My Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon was wrapped around the 4 X 5 1/4" piece of Cottage Wall DSP and I attached a brad from the Pretties Kit around the the ribbon and through the Cottage Wall layer before adhering my other two pieces to the front of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Asian Artistry (Level 2 Hostess Set)
INKS: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive
PAPERS: Whisper White and Old Olive Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon and Brad

Happy Stampin'!

MDS Monday

OK., my Caroline had the idea and I have been having SUCH fun in MDS, that I decided to swipe it and run with it! Good thing she loves me...she won't be too upset - LOL!

Here is the card I created using MDS:
I have to tell you...this isn't just another digital program! It can do SO much more...not the least of which is letting you mess around with all kinds of elements without wasting a single sheet of paper. Like the idea? Great! Make a real paper card out of it! Can't stand it? That's OK too! Just discard it and start over!

One of my favourite things about MDS is that all the paper, embellishments, ribbons, etc. all match SU! stuff! Can't beat that! And...if you want to print the card and make it hybrid, you can do that too! The fun thing with that possibility is that any embellishments you use are true to size - WOOT! This means that if you just add the embellishment to your project, it can be sort of a "place holder". For example, the buttons in the card above were added to the project and were not altered in any way - if I print the card face (at home) and want to add the real SU! buttons afterward, they will fit right on top of the "place holder" buttons and cover them right up! Cool, eh?

You can have MDS too and I know you'll love it! Contact me to order it!

Happy Stampin' and MDSin'!

Scrappin' Sunday

I REALLY need to get back into my scrapbooking! It's not that I don't LOVE making cards...but I have three kids and about 10 years worth of photos to deal with - YIKES!!!

So...Scrappin' Sunday it is! I figure even if I get just one page done every Sunday I'm still far more ahead of the game than I have been in the past year or so. And...now I have the added benefit of MDS to help me along and make digital pages too - WOOT!

This week, I've made an example of a "progressive" scrapbook page. A progressive page is one where you start off with a 6 X 6" page, turn it into an 8 1/2 X 11" page and finally convert that into a 12 X 12" page. This is a GREAT way to introduce someone to scrapbooking because a 6 X 6" page is MUCH less overwhelming than 12 X 12" page.

Here's my 6 X 6" page:
No pictures yet as I think I'll be using it for Christmas pics this year...I'm pretty sure that all the PJ's I've bought (everyone gets new Christmas PJ's every year) have at least some green and red in them, so we should be good to go!

Here's my 8 1/2 X 11" page:
I didn't add any extra spaces for pictures here, though you could add maybe a small square photo off to the right of the ornaments. The other thing I will do with this (once the layout is complete with pics) is add gold cord to the ornaments.

Here's my 12 X 12" page:
Notice the four squares of Chocolate Chip Cardstock down the left hand side? Those are for four more pics of Christmas. I mean...let's be realistic here...unless you've JUST started scrapbooking and have no kids, there is no way you will be able to scrapbook an entire holiday using just one picture on a page. Each album would be over 100 pages long at that rate!

I hope you'll join me for more Scrappin' Sundays as I continue to get my scrapbooking back on track!

Happy Scrappin'!

Sketch It Saturday!

I decided to try this out and see how it goes. My plan is to put up a new sketch every Saturday along with a card to go with it.

If you want to try out the sketch, I'd love it! Just post a comment and let me know that you did with a link to where your card is posted. Who knows? There may even be prizes involved!

Here's the sketch:
Here's my MDS sample:
And here's the all paper version:
For this paper version, the base is 5 1/4" square and is cut from Sahara Sand. The next layer up is Blush Blossom and the top layer is Mellow Moss. The image and sentiment are stamped in Mellow Moss on Whisper White. I used my 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out the image and then used my Circle Scissor to mat it in Blush Blossom. The pearls I used are from the Pretties Kit.

What do you think?

I'm off to work with my Caroline for the day! Hope you have yourself a fabulous day and a wonderful weekend!

Happy Stampin'!

Spring Season of Friendship

While I had my Season of Friendship set out, I decided to make a spring card using some In Colours and some Basic Colours:
The tree trunk is stamped in Soft Suede after being stamped off first. The flowers are stamped in Rich Razzleberry and most were stamped off once first, though I did leave three of them at full strength for added effect. I added some Garden Green leaves for a little contrast. No little birdie this time.

The stamped image is matted on Garden Green before being adhered to the card which is a Rich Razzleberry base with an added layer of Cottage Wall DSP. The sentiment is also stamped in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Season of Friendship
INK: Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Garden Green
PAPERS: Whisper White, Garden Green and Rich Razzleberry Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
ACCESSORIES: None

Happy Stampin'!

Winter Season of Friendship

I think this is my favourite of the cards that I created last week. I just love how everything came together.
When I pulled the piece of Sahara Sand out of my scrap bag, I noticed that it had a bit of a wrinkle in one corner, so I cut that small strip off the bottom and added a piece of Bermuda Bay which I first punched with my scallop edge punch.

I cut a piece of Thoroughly Modern DSP to use as the background and matted the main image on Soft Suede. The tree is stamped in Soft Suede and the snowflakes are stamped in Bermuda Bay (stamped off first). The bird is stamped in Melon Mambo (stamped off first).

What do you think?

STAMPS: Season of Friendship
INK: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Soft Suede and Sahara Sand Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Scallop Border Punch, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Rose Red Friend

Continuing with my Thoroughly Modern DSP theme, I made this card:
The base is Rose Red as is the Felt Fusion flower, but it didn't photograph very well and no amount of editing helped (trust me, I tried!). I used my sponge daubers to add Rose Red and Bermuda Bay ink to the Pretties Flower.

What do you think?

STAMPS: All Holidays (a very versatile set!)
INK: Rose Red, Bermuda Bay
PAPERS: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay and Rose Red Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Flowers from Pretties Kit and Felt Fusion Flowers

Happy Stampin'!

Bermuda Bay Birthday!

I LOVE how this card turned out! I've been playing with my Thoroughly Modern DSP and Bermuda Bay Cardstock - loving all the goodness that these colours produce!
I used the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set and used some Thoroughly Modern DSP to make the cup part of the cupcake. I coloured everything else in using my In Colour markers.

The main image is matted on Certainly Celery. Bermuda Bay and Certainly Celery make a great colour combination! Did you know that???

What do you think?

STAMPS: Crazy for Cupcakes
INKS: Basic Black, Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Markers

Happy Stampin'!

Simply Said

While I had the Flower Fusion felt flowers out for yesterday's card, I decided to use some of them on this card:
I stamped the background using my Sprinkles tiny background stamps (Thanks Chanda!) and then stamped the flowers from the Simply Said set on Whisper White. I matted the image on Old Olive and Rose Red and then attached the flowers with silver brads (note to self: order more silver brads!). I adhered the matted image to the front of the card and stamped a sentiment in Old Olive on Whisper White to adhere to the inside of the card.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Simply Said
INK: Pumpkin Pie
PAPERS: Whisper White, Old Olive, Rose Red and Pumpkin Pie Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Flower Fusion Felt Flowers and Silver Brads

Happy Stampin'!

A Colour Challenge

As is so often the case, I see FABULOUS ideas all over the place. That's the beauty (and sometimes the downfall) of surfing the net.

The other day, the beauty was that I found a colour challenge base on using the new In Colours and coordinating them with our current core colours. The downfall is, now that I'm ready to post, I have no recollection of where I saw it - ARGH!!! I'm pretty sure it was someone's blog (I subscribe to so many, I lose track!) If you recognize the challenge, PLEASE let me know so I can send you to the blogger in question. (Note: Before this posted - LOVE auto post - thanks to Claudia and her persistence, I have now discovered that it was a SUDSOL challenge!)

Anyway, the challenge was to use Bermuda Bay and match it with Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and other colour. I managed to use the four colours I listed and I think it turned out pretty good:
I used another stamp from Very Thankful which I stamped in Pumpkin Pie on Whisper White. It was matted on a piece of Pumpkin Pie Cardstock and then I added the flowers from our Flower Fusion Accents and Elements.

I used a piece of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, wrapped a piece of Bermuda Bay ribbon around it, adhered it to the card base and called it done. I think it turned out pretty good!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Very Thankful
INKS: Pumpkin Pie
PAPERS: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay and Pumpkin Pie Cardstock; Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
ACCESSORIES: Flower Fusion, Rhinestone Brad, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Thank You

While I had the Very Thankful set out on the table, I decided to go ahead and play with more of the stamps in the set.

These are the two cards I created using the very elegant peacock stamp:
I stamped both images on Whisper White then trimmed the cardstock and matted it on a matching piece of In Colour cardstock.

To embellish the cards, I used half-back pearls from the Pretties Kit, coordinating In Colour Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon as well as flowers and rhinestone brads (also from the Pretties Kit). The flowers were sponged using coordinating In Colour Inks.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Very Thankful
INKS: Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo
PAPERS: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Certainly Celery and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern and Razzleberry Lemonade DSP
ACCESSORIES: Various items from the Pretties Kit and In Colour Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Back into the scrap bag!!!

So it seems some of my online friends (who shall remain nameless - coughcoughladiescoughcough) get a little perturbed when I announce I'm going into my bag of scraps.

I know...it's weird...but I love them all so very much, so I just let it slide.

It seems though, that the reason they get so perturbed when I go into my scrap bag is the sheer volume of cards I produce when trying to use up scraps. Well, this time was no exception! I started on Tuesday evening and went through to Wednesday (I did sleep!) and managed to complete (are you ready?) 10 cards. I know, I know...not up to my regular standards (I think my record is 22 in one day), but what can you do? There was laundry and ironing and household stuff that needed doing and really...there are only so many hours in a day!

So, here are two cards I created for a challenge on SUDSOL:
This is BOO! I know that Halloween has come and gone, but I just fell in love with that little ghost. I am SO hoping he doesn't retire with the catalogue, because I want to keep using him!
This is Very Thankful. RMHC is Stampin' UP!'s pet charity. We as demonstrators as well as Head Office are VERY generous. It works out great for our family, because RMHC is dear to our hearts, since we have two children with cardiac conditions. We have never (yet!) had to use the facilities at RMH as we are blessed to live only 25 minutes away from our local childrens hospital. I have met lots of parents that have and they are always thrilled to receive the cards that demonstrators make so that they (the parents) can brighten their child's day.

What do you think?

STAMPS: BOO and Very Thankful
INKS: Basic Black
PAPERS: Whisper White, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Real Red Cardstock; Cast-a-Spell DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Markers

Happy Stampin'!

My Caroline...

...started out as a just my demonstrator...and one I never saw at that. I would order and she would give my order to a friend of a friend, who would give it to my friend and then it would be delivered to me.

Eventually, I started making the drive out to see Caroline...but not all the time...only when we had an appointment at Sick Kids since Caroline was all the way out on the Danforth. I'd take the kids to their appointments and then we'd do a drive by and Caroline would run down with my order. We'd exchange a few words and wouldn't see each other for a few months.

Then, I started going up to her studio (back when her studio was upstairs, near her apartment) and getting to know her a bit better. She met Jonathan (who wasn't napping after the drive for a change) and Jonathan started to get to know Caroline's studio (and where the chocolate was - LOL!).

I started making the drive out once a month to pick up my club order. Sometimes we spent a lot of time together and sometimes it was just a quick hello if we were too busy.

And then Caroline moved her studio...eventually, I became her "stamping slave" which is just our way of saying that I am blessed to work with her once a week! We've shared tears and laughter and after all these years, we've become BFFs. She is my "soul sister". We are convinced that we were separated at birth or were meant to be sisters and were simply born to different mothers. We have even been told that we look very much alike. Our mannerisms are often the same and we often think the same thing at the same time (even as far as preparing the same dinner on the same day - NOT having consulted each other!).

And so, she is MY Caroline and she is VERY special to me! I love her just as I love my (flesh and blood) sister and so I made her this card (she already has it, so if she peeks at my blog the surprise won't be ruined):
I stamped the tree from Season of Friendship in Soft Suede on a pre-cut Whisper White Top Note. The leaves were stamped using Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Ruby Red. The sentiment was stamped in Soft Suede on Whisper White and matted on Soft Suede before being adhered to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

I won't share the mushy stuff inside (I shared enough of it here - LOL!), but suffice to say that she loved it.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Season of Friendship
INKS: Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Ruby Red, Soft Suede
PAPERS: Whisper White, Dusty Durango and Garden Green Cardstock
ACCESSORIES: Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

A little more Patterned Pines

For today's card, I decided to put away the Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay and take out some more traditional colours.

This card features Garden Green and Soft Suede:

I stamped the image using Garden Green on Whisper White and matted it both on Garden Green and Sahara Sand. I added a small piece of Thoroughly Modern DSP to the left side of the card before adding the main panel to the front. Simple and elegant.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Patterned Pines
INK: Garden Green
PAPERS: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Garden Green and Soft Suede Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP

Happy Stampin'!

Some more Patterned Pines

I was having such fun making the cards yesterday that I just decided to keep going...after all, I already had the colours and paper out, so why not???

Here is today's version of Patterned Pines:

This card is a traditional A2 size (4 1/4 X 11, scored at 5 1/2) and featured the same colours as I used yesterday. This time, I stamped the entire image on Whisper White and left it intact. The image is matted on Bermuda Bay and again on a piece of Thoroughly Modern DSP before being adhered to the front of the card. The finishing touch is a Whisper White ribbon tied on the left.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Patterned Pines
INK: Bermuda Bay
PAPERS: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo Cardstock, Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

PHEW! It's been a while...

OH. MY. GOSH.

After some seriously insanely busy weeks, my life is FINALLY starting to slow down and I am getting some time to create - WOOT!

This week over on SUDSOL, the Featured Stamp Set is the Level 1 hostess set Patterned Pines, available in the Holiday Mini (but only till January 4th!) A couple weeks ago, I convinced the challenge hostess, Cathie, to select the Trendy Trees set with promises that I would do my best to complete some cards to add to that gallery. Well...life and other engagements got in the way and I wasn't able to get ANY cards done.

This week is different! I just completed a whirlwind 6 weeks with my Caroline and I have to time to stamp for fun!

These are the cards I created today:
They're not exactly traditional Christmas colours, but I was determined to work on whittling down my scrap bag. Which is your favourite?

The cards are 3 1/4 X 5 1/2". I know that's a weird size, but I didn't want the traditional size and I didn't have 12 X 12 paper in Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay in order to make the more traditional 3 X 6 size. I think this works though!

I stamped and cut out the trees in both Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay and adhered them (two with Stampin' Dimensionals) to the a 2 1/4 X 4 1/2" panel of Whisper White which I then sponged in the same colour as the trees.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Patterned Pines
INKS: Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay
PAPERS: Whisper White, Melon Mambo and Bermuda Bay Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Something happened on the way to the Chat and Challenge...

As some of you know, I host the Chat and Challenge once a month on the SUDSOL website (see link at right). Today was my day.

Last week, while helping one of the Ladies, Ink with some PSE issues she was having, I decided to try my hand at making a sketch. This is what I came up with:

Not bad for a first try, right?

So, I figured I had PLENTY of time to make up my inspiration sample to go with the sketch and have it ready by today to host the Chat and Challenge. (mistake # 1)

Uh huh...last week was SO busy, that it was last night at 11:30 p.m. as I was snuggling into hubby's arms to fall asleep that it occurred to me that I hadn't even sent out any emails to remind everyone about the Chat and Challenge. So, I jumped out of bed (mistake # 2) and sent out the email. When I got back to bed, DH was already snoring - UGH - which meant not much sleep for me.

When I got up this morning, I chose my stamp set and didn't have time to do anything with it (mistake # 3), and decided that after I got the boys down to the bus that I'd work on the card (mistake # 4), but I decided to check email instead (mistake # 5).

So...I FINALLY got the card finished about 3 seconds before Chat and Challenge started and was still editing the pics I took as I was chatting - ARGH!

So...now that I've bored you to tears with all the details, here's the card:
And here is the inside:
What do you think?

STAMPS: Asian Artistry
INKS: More Mustard, Always Artichoke
PAPERS: Whisper White, More Mustard, Really Rust, Always Artichoke
ACCESSORIES: Half back pearls from Pretties Kit, Ticket Corner Punch

Happy Stampin'!

Some more Cottage Wall

Oh how I love this Cottage Wall DSP. I just love the colours in it!

While I had my All Holidays set the other day, I decided to use it to stamp this simple card.
I stamped the image in Rich Razzleberry and the ribbon and flower are the same colour. The little pearls at the bottom are not from the Pretties Kit (horrors!), but I've ordered the kit so any card following this one will have Pretties Kit pearls on it. I used the Eyelet Border Punch on the Whisper White cardstock. The flower was cut using the Big Shot Daisies die.

What do you think?

STAMPS: All Holidays
PAPERS: Whisper White and Old Olive Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
INK: Rich Razzleberry
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Pearls, Big Shot

Happy Stampin'!

Colour Challenge

OK, so I made this for a colour challenge...but now I don't remember where I saw it. Don't you hate when that happens???

I do remember the colours were Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Going Grey (or maybe Basic Grey) and Old Olive.

I decided to use the All Holidays set I got with my Starter Kit and the Sweet Stems set that I mooched off my upline (and really should return to her).
I stamped the stems in Old Olive on Whisper White and then punched the image out using the Scallop Circle Punch. I then punched a piece of Old Olive using the Scallop Circle Punch and offset it behind the Whisper White piece. The DSP I used is from Cottage Wall (LOVE!) and the ribbon is Old Olive. My tiny nod to the grey is the {thank you} stamp at the bottom right.
I finished the inside of the card with the same Cottage Wall DSP as well as some Whisper White and a little piece of Old Olive ribbon.

What do you think?

STAMPS: All Holidays, Sweet Stems
PAPERS: Whisper White and Bashful Blue Cardstock; Cottage Wall DSP
INKS: Old Olive, Basic Grey
ACCESSORIES: Old Olive Ribbon, Punches

Happy Stampin'!

Happy Birthday Amanda!

Today is my niece's birthday. She's 11 and oh so cute! I made this card over the weekend and sent it off to her yesterday. A little late, but she should have it by the end of the week.

I used the Mojo Sketch for this week and flipped it (as usual - LOL!)

What do you think?

STAMPS: Crazy for Cupcakes
PAPERS: Whisper White, Kraft, Rose Red and Bermuda Bay Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
INK: Bermuda Bay
ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Eyelet Punch

Happy Stampin'!

SUDSOL Chat and Challenge - Again!

I had a great time chatting with everyone and had the opportunity to create this card later on in the afternoon. It uses the Level 3 Hostess Set: Kind and Caring Thoughts and Bella Bleu DSP.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Kind and Caring Thoughts
INK: Not Quite Navy
PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Kraft and Not Quite Navy Cardstock; Bella Bleu DSP
ACCESSORIES: Very Vanilla Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

SUDSOL Chat and Challenge

Last week, I had the privilege of hosting my first ever SUDSOL Chat and Challenge and I had a GREAT time! A bunch of demonstrators get together in the (virtual) classroom and chat and make cards based on a sketch.

Are you demonstrator? Are you a member of SUDSOL? If not, and you'd like to try it out, just click on the link to the right and you can try it out for two weeks FREE!!! If you like it, the price to join is VERY reasonable and the ideas you get from the wonderfully talented ladies in the group are worth EVERY penny!

Here is the sketch we used:
Here is the front of the card:
Here is the inside of the card:
This was such a fun sketch to use and a fun card to make. I'm sure I'll be using the layout over and over again!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Trendy Trees
PAPERS: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry Cardstock; Thoroughly Modern DSP
INKS: Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry
ACCESSORIES: Punches, Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!