Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SCS

Since it's Wednesday today, that means it's Sketch Challenge day at SplitCoast Stampers. Today's sketch looked fun and easy, so I thought I'd give it a try!

My Caroline let me borrow her "Sew Suite" set which will be available beginning next week in the Occasions Mini. I swiped her "Sweet Stitches" DSP too with the promise of creating some samples for the Studio. I hope she likes what I've come up with so far!

For today's card, I stamped the bobbin and pin cushion on Whisper White Cardstock using Basic Grey Ink (it's waterproof) and used ink squished into the lid of the ink pad and my Aqua Painters to colour in the images. The little pin cushion is hiding behind the spool of thread thanks to the masking technique.

I punched my image out using my large scallop circle punch and it was adhered to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

My card base is a piece of 5 1/2 X 8 1/2" piece of Melon Mambo scored and folded at 4 1/4". The next layer up is a piece of 4 X 5 1/4" piece of Whisper White. The patterned paper is from the same sheet, I just cut and flipped it over. Have I mentioned that I LOVE the fact that our DSP is double sided???

The little ruler from the "Sew Suite" set was stamped in Melon Mambo Ink on Whisper White Cardstock. It actually goes to a 12" measure (but is only about 6" long), but I cut it at 9 1/2" to make it fit the card.

A length of Pretty in Pink 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon hides the seam between the two pieces of DSP.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Sew Suite

PAPERS: Whisper White and Melon Mambo Cardstock; Sweet Stiches DSP

INK: Basic Grey, Melon Mambo

ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

ATC Tuesday - Curtain Call Colour Challenge # 62

So, Stacey's Curtain Call popped into my inbox yesterday and I tried my hardest to make a card, but all I came up with was this ATC:

I already had the image stamped on Whisper White with Staz-On, so I went ahead and coloured it using my Watercolour Crayons. I know, I know...but I don't own the stamp set (it was borrowed and returned), so I couldn't re-stamp it on watercolour paper...that's why it looks a little worn in the middle of the dress. Of course, the little worn part just adds to the vintage look of the ATC (at least that's what I keep telling myself - LOL!)

My little lady is coloured using Baja Breeze (dress, bow and socks), Daffodil Delight (hair) and Pretty in Pink (heart). She is matted on Baja Breeze and Early Espresso and then added to a 2 1/2 X 3 1/2" piece of Pear Pizzazz around which I tied the bow and added a button tied with linen thread.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Greeting Card Kids

INK: Staz-On

PAPERS: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz

ACCESSORIES: Ribbon, Button, Linen Thread

Happy Stampin'!

20 - Minute Monday on a Friday - Belated Teacher Gifts

This fabulous idea popped into my inbox a few weeks ago courtesy of a fellow Stampin' UP! demonstrator.

Since we were away at Disney before the Christmas break, DS's teacher will be receiving these when the kids return to school in the New Year:

Fabulous, no?

The card bases are Very Vanilla Cardstock and I cut layers of the same to 4 X 5 1/4 inches before running them through the Big Shot using the Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder. I wrapped a piece of Always Artichoke Seam Binding (which is carrying over to the Occasions Mini - YAY!) around the embossed layer before attaching it to the front of the card.

The letters were stamped using the Lovely Letters Alphabet and Always Artichoke Ink. I punched them out using my Scallop Circle Punch and adhered them to the front of the using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Easy Peasy! Eight cards in under 1/2 hour! What do you think?

STAMPS: Lovely Letters Alphabet

INK: Always Artichoke

PAPERS: Very Vanilla

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Embossing Folder, Seam Binding, Stampin' Dimensionals, Punch

Happy Stampin'!

I'm BACK!!!

Did you miss me??? I've been enjoying some Disney Goodness with my family and my BFF (and her family too), but we're all back now...so it's back to business as usual!

Today, I'm sharing an MDS Disney layout that I completed in just about 10 minutes. I just LOVE the pre-designed templates!

I used the Jolly Holiday DSP and selected a pre-designed template for a 6 X 6 card and turned it into a scrapbook page.

For the first time since we've been going to Disney (and we go nearly every year), we took advantage of the Disney Dining Plan - how could we not? It was FREE!!!

You wouldn't think that one sit down meal, one quick service meal and one snack per day is enough food, but let me tell you! It sure is!!! By the time we left yesterday morning, we just barely eked out using the last of our snack credits - we bought Mickey Mouse shaped Rice Krispie treats.

The top two pictures are from our first night at Disney where we enjoyed the most AMAZING dinner at Boatright's Dining Hall in our resort (Port Orleans Riverside). The main course was to die for, but the cake was even more so!!! And did you see that tiny little Mickey Mouse head? Yep! There were Mickey sprinkles on the plate - too stinkin' cute!

The bottom left picture is a mini Mickey waffle from our amazing breakfast at the Crystal Palace inside the Magic Kingdom. This was my Caroline's first time inside the Magic Kingdom and Crystal Palace...to say she was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

The bottom right picture is from our dinner at Chef Mickey's inside the Contemporary Resort. Yep! That's Mickey shaped ravioli you see there...and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Well, this is sure to be the first of many posts about our FABULOUS trip! I do hope you'll come along on the journey.

Have a Scrappin' Good Day!

3-D Thursday...on a TUESDAY???

I was planning on putting up an ATC today, but time crunches being what they are... well... that didn't happen!!!

Today we are headed down to the Hospital for Sick Children for some appointments and since it's nearly Christmas, I decided to take some treats down for the special people in our lives at the hospital.

This is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Box repurposed to hold Rocky Road Bars - YUMMY!!!

I stamped the image from Tags til' Christmas (which is available in the Holiday Mini, but only till December 31st) in Real Red on Whisper White Cardstock. I punched it out using the 1" punch my secret sister gave me (if you're reading, thanks Deb!!!) and then matted it on Pink Pirouette, which I hand cut. The final layer is a punched piece of Whisper White which was punched using the Scallop Square Punch.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Tags til' Christmas

INK: Real Red

PAPERS: Whisper White and Pink Pirouette Cardstock; Candy Cane Christmas DSP

ACCESSORIES: Scallop Square Punch

Happy Stampin'!

Watercolor Wonder Crayons Now Available!

I love using my Watercolour Wonder Crayons and now you can too!!! The new colour kit as well as the full colour selection are now available for purchase!

Contact me today and I'll be happy to order them for you! Or...you can shop online anytime! Just visit my store!

Have you signed up for my newsletter? If not, be sure to do it ASAP! I'll be offering a special ONLY available to my newsletter subscribers. You don't want to miss out!!

Sunny Sunday Sketch - Week 22

Time for another Sunny Sunday Sketch! How was your week? Busy? Are you ready for Christmas yet???

Today's sketch and card ought to help you at least get your Christmas cards out the door!

I was working with My Caroline on Friday and she was prepping for her Stamper's Club. She had this card out and I just fell in love with it:

I liked it so much, I made it in three different colours! Caroline's was done in Not Quite Navy, like the one on the far right, but I like it in Riding Hood Red and Old Olive too.

I stamped Dasher to match the Cardstock on Very Vanilla and then matted him on the same colour cardstock as I used for the base. The Very Vanilla Card Layer was run through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and my BIG SHOT.

I wrapped my 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon around the Very Vanilla Cardstock layer before attaching it to the front of the card. I added a little bling by wrapping a length of Silver Tinsel Trim around the ribbon to cinch it. I love it because it's WIRED!!! That means, no knots and it stays put EXACTLY where you want it. The Silver Tinsel Trim is only available in the Holiday Mini until December 31st, so if you want it, don't forget to place your order before then.

Did you know that Dasher is available as a SINGLE stamp? For $10.95 CAD (+tax & shipping), it's one of the best deals in the catalog! Contact me today and I'll tell you how you can get him for FREE!!!

What do you think?

STAMPS: Dasher

INK: Old Olive, Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red

PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Old Olive and Riding Hood Red Cardstock

ACCESSORIES: Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Tinsel Trim

Happy Stampin'!

CAS - Cute Christmas

You'll have to forgive the quality of the shot, but it was taken at *stupid o'clock* in the dark with a flash. I have a busy day today, but I didn't want to leave you without a little inspiration!!!

I stamped the three ornaments from "A Cute Christmas" in Old Olive Ink, trying to aim for the top half/centre of the card. Then I used Real Red Ink to stamp the Merry Christmas sentiment from the Christmas Greeting stamp set.

A quick little Real Red Grosgrain knot and we're good to go!

See? Simple CAN be stunning!

What do you think?

STAMPS: A Cute Christmas, Christmas Greeting

INK: Old Olive, Real Red

PAPERS: Whisper White Cardstock

ACCESSORIES: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon

Happy Stampin'!

Just a Quick Little Note

These are some of the teachers gifts for this year. I've seen this idea on Becky's blog a few times but just never got around to doing it...then I saw it again on another blog I follow (my apologies! I can't remember which one!) and decided that Christmas was the PERFECT time to try my hand at it!

These are what's known as "card fronts". When Stampin' UP! demonstrators swap ideas at various events, the format is usually "card fronts". This means that an entire card isn't designed, just what the front of the card would look like if it WAS a whole card. Make sense?

I love these for quick little notes, when you don't need a whole card. So, I thought some of the teachers would like them too!

What do you think?

STAMPS: NONE!

INK: NONE!

PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Cardstock; Jolly Holiday DSP

ACCESSORIES: Holly and Jolly Rub-Ons

Happy Stampin'!

Season's Greetings with the Holiday Lineup!

I almost fell off my chair when my Caroline said she was ordering this set. She says the elves kinda creep her out, so she never uses it...I think she ordered it just so I could borrow it - LOL!

When I saw a similar card by Renee Van Stralen, I just KNEW I had to CASE it! I even copied her colour scheme...sad, I know! Not her colour scheme! The fact that I copied it! I couldn't help it...I fell in love with her whole card.

I did have to use a different DSP because I was out of the one she used on her card. Now, I'm hoarding my Candy Cane Christmas DSP because it's SOLD OUT! In fact, I owe my Caroline a pack (it's on its way), but I just might buy it off her so I can keep using it! We'll see...

So, I stamped my image in Basic Black Ink on Whisper White Cardstock and coloured it in using my Stampin' UP! markers.

The image panel was matted on Old Olive Cardstock that I first punched using the Pinking Hearts Border Punch. I used Stampin' Dimensionals to mount the image panel on the front of the card.

My sentiment was stamped in Marina Mist using the Season's Greetings image from Curly Cute.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Holiday Lineup, Curly Cute

INK: Basic Black

PAPERS: Whisper White, Marina Mist and Old Olive Cardstock; Candy Cane Christmas DSP

ACCESSORIES: Border Punch, Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

It's December 1st...do you know WHERE your Christmas cards are?

Mine are sitting next to me ready to be dropped into the mailbox. This is a first I tell you...a FIRST!!! As long as I've been sending out Christmas cards (19 years I figure, since that's how long I've been married), they have never, EVER, NOT ONCE been ready to go on the first of December. As a matter of fact, on more occasions than I'd care to count, they have been New Year's cards. Sad but true!

However, since my cards are ready to go, I thought I'd help YOU out with some ideas. What do you think?

Here's my first card for you:

It's based on the Sketch at SplitCoast Stampers this week.

I stamped my image from Holiday Lineup using Basic Black Ink and coloured it in using my Stampin' UP! Markers. Another challenge this week called for non-traditional Christmas colours, so I used these colours for that.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Holiday Lineup, Punch Pals

INK: Basic Black

PAPERS: Whisper White, Pacific Point and Early Espresso Cardstock; Celebrations DSP

ACCESSORIES: Stampin' UP! Markers, Punch, Big Shot, Movers and Shapers Die, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper nearly sold out!!!

Stampin' Up! announced yesterday that the supply of the Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper is dwindling and they expect to run out sometime next week. If you NEED this Designer Series Paper from theHoliday Mini Catalog order it ASAP!!! They WILL NOT be able to order more so when it's gone, it's gone!!

You can order it through my ONLINE STORE or contact me and I'll order it for you to pick up from me. Either way, DON'T DELAY!!!

It's a CAS kinda day...

So, last night I was out with some girlfriends and today I'm half blind (allergic reaction, one eye swollen almost completely shut), but since I still wanted to create (I know...it's an illness!), I figured I'd better go with CAS (that's Clean and Simple, if you're new to card making). It's a great way for beginning stampers to get started as they don't get completely overwhelmed with fancy designs. I didn't need to be overwhelmed with fancy designs today, so I made this:

I started with a piece of Cherry Cobbler that was 4 1/4 X 11" and scored at 5 1/2". I added a layer of Very Vanilla and a piece of Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper. If you love this paper as much as I do (I've already finished 2 packages of it!), you'll want to get it soon as it will no longer be available after December 31st. And, if you order right quick (before November 30th) and it's part of an order that's $200 or more, you'll get free shipping right to your door!!!

I tied a piece of 1/2" Chantilly Crochet Trim around the card and added a button tied with linen thread. Have you seen the Frank's Hot Sauce ad where the little old lady says, "I put that **** on everything!". Well...that seems to be me with linen thread lately. I never had it and then when I finally got my hands on some...well...I go through it like water! It seems to consistently add just the right finishing touch.

I stamped my sentiment using my "go to" set for sentiments, Teeny Tiny Wishes in Always Artichoke. I punched it out using the Word Window Punch and attached it to a piece of Always Artichoke punched using the Modern Label Punch. It was adhered to the front of the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Teeny Tiny Wishes

INK: Always Artichoke

PAPERS: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke Cardstock; Deck the Halls DSP

ACCESSORIES: 1/2" Chantilly Crochet Trim, Botton, Linen Thread, Punches

Happy Stampin'!

ATC Tuesday - Santa Ho Ho!

When Lauren (my DD) was little, she used to call Santa, "Santa Ho Ho" - SO CUTE!!!

So, today, you get Santa Ho Ho - LOL!

This image is from the Jolly Old St. Nick set in the Holiday Mini. I love this set! I'm a "child of the 80's" so it reminds me of images of Santa from my childhood.

I stamped Santa Ho Ho on Watercolour Paper using Staz-On ink and then used my Aqua Painters and watercolour crayons and ink to colour him in. I cute him out and mounted him on Baja Breeze using Stampin' Dimensionals.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Jolly Old St. Nick

INK: Staz-On Black

PAPERS: Watercolour Paper, Baja Breeze Cardstock

ACCESSORIES: Aqua Painters, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!

This week in the US, my American friends will be celebrating Thanksgiving. Because everyone is SO busy, many of the demonstrators don't have time to do workshops or hold classes. Stampin' UP! makes it up to everyone by holding an ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

These deals are ONLY available for online orders so you can take advantage of them right from your own home and shop in your jammies. How cool is that?

You can see all the amazing deals in the flyer here and then head on over here to get started with all your shopping!!!

And don't forget - you get FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $200! And, if you spend over $200, you'll also qualify for hostess benefits (a free stamp set and $20 of FREE product!)

This is too good to miss!

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Sunny Sunday Sketch - Week 21

Time for another Sunny Sunday Sketch - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Christmas is my absolute favourite time of year so when DD asked me to design a class for some of her friends to make Christmas Cards, I was THRILLED!!!

Here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

This is just one of the cards the girls will be making next week. I decided on two 3 X 3 note cards, two 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 cards and one 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 card that is OTT (over the top). My hope is that they will take these cards home and show them to their moms and that then their moms will want to book classes too! How fun would that be?

That being said, if you're a youth leader in the GTA and want me to come to one of your meetings to make cards, I'd be THRILLED!!! The class is only $10 for 5 cards and would make great gifts.

The sketch was made using MDS which you can get as part of the digital starter kit during the AMAZING promotion Stampin' UP! is having. You can get the complete starter kit (either standard or digital) for only $107.50! That's half price! AND...no shipping, handling or taxes! What a FABULOUS deal! BUT, you only have until November 30th. Contact me ASAP if you'd like more details!

To make the card, I used a piece of Always Artichoke cut to 3 X 6" and scored at 3". The next layer is a piece from the fabulous Deck the Halls DSP which is available in the Holiday Mini Catalog, but only till December 31st! To add some texture, I ran the Whisper White Cardstock through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Embossing Folder.

I stamped the image from Jolly Bingo Bits in Cherry Cobbler and added a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds, because...really...what teenage girl DOESN'T like glitter?

What do you think?

STAMPS: Jolly Bingo Bits

INK: Cherry Cobbler

PAPERS: Whisper White and Always Artichoke Cardstock; Deck the Halls DSP

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Impressions Folder, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin' Dimensionals

Happy Stampin'!

ONLY 12 DAYS LEFT! DON'T MISS OUT!!!

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Can't wait to work with you!

Today's the day...you can now order your very own customizable Stampin' Up! Starter Kit for only $107.50 Cdn, with NO SHIPPING or HANDLING costs or TAX! Choose either the standard starter kit or the digital starter kit. Either way, you can't go wrong!

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Happy Stampin'!

ATC Tuesday - Morning Cup

It's another ATC! WOOT! I just LOVE these things...especially when I can do them using our watercolour paper. Remember...you can get two ATC out of one piece of watercolour paper - BONUS!!!

Today's ATC features my new FAVOURITE set (I think I change fave sets every week - LOL!) - MORNING CUP!

I stamped it on a piece of watercolour paper using my STAZ-ON ink. Have I mentioned that I love, love, LOVE our clear mount stamps? WHY do I love them so much? Because I can stamp several stamps at once, lining them up right on the block. For this one, I chose the coffee pot, the coffee mug and the sentiment and was able to stamp them all at once. FUN!

I used my watercolour crayons and ink smooshed into the lid of my Basic Grey Ink Pad to colour my image.

What do you think?

STAMPS: Morning Cup

INK: Basic Grey

PAPERS: Watercolour Paper; Tempting Turquoise and Poppy Parade Cardstock

ACCESSORIES: Clear Acrylic Block, Poppy Parade Marker, Aqua Painters

Happy Stampin'!