Another week has flown by and here we are at Wednesday already.  And the sweet and talented Jen Brum is our sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches.  Jen makes the most wonderful cards and I love her clean style.  And her boys (big and little) are huge aviation fans.  Needless to say when I was able to meet up with her at the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum over the summer, our kids were fast friends!!  I love the friendships I get to make through this hobby of mine!!

Ok, I have a confession to make.  For those of you who were with me during my Artisan Design Team year, you saw the boxes of Stampin’ goodness and all of the incredible things I got to work with during my tenure.  The down side (the ONLY down side) is that I never felt like I got to give some of the stamps I received their due.  So with my apologies to those who prefer “current” products, I am having so much fun going back to some of the stamps that have never even seen ink.  Oh, the travesty of an unused stamp.  There is even a name for this terrible syndrome:  Never Been Used Stamp or Stuff (NBUS).  Now it is even more fun to combine the NBUS with something new like Blendabilities!!  That is what I did here.  This Santa comes from the set Color Me Christmas from last year’s Holiday Catalog and the sentiment is from Oh, Goodie.  They were meant to go together and aren’t they fun.  The paper is from the same catalog, the Season of Style DSP.  I took my Skin Tone Blendabilities and colored Santa’s face and added rosy cheeks with Melon Mambo (the lightest color).  His suit and the candy cane are colored using the Cherry Cobbler set.  Such easy coloring but so much fun!  The image and the sentiment were stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black and I tied on some leftover Black Twine from my September Paper Pumpkin and added a button.  Now is it just me or does this guy remind you of Santa in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  He is still a little bit of a skinny Santa!  Good thing he has another month for Mrs. Claus to get him to eat!

Now go and take a look at YOUR NBUS and see if adding Blendabilities will make you want to pull them right out.  And guess what??!!  NOW is the time to get Blendabilities.  Actually, December 1st is the day.  Because on December 1st (the last day of the Online Extravaganza), you can get 12 Blendabilities Assortments at at 30% discount.  That is a crazy low price.  You can see all the details plus the other sale items HERE.  You can order at my online store.  These are as supplies last so you need to get in on the deals as soon as you can!!

For those of you in the U.S., I hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday.  And to all of you who stop in to visit, I am incredibly grateful for your support and kindness.  I count you all amongst my many blessings!!

In case you missed the announcement, all twelve PDF tutorials for my Bright & Beautiful Edition are now available.  Just click HERE or on the picture to learn more!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Color Me Christmas, Oh Goodie; Paper: Whisper White, Season of Style DSP; Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Blendabilities – Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Skin Tone, Melon Mambo; Accessories:  Black Baker’s Twine, Neutrals Button, Dimensionals

Wow, has it already been a week since I posted?  I guess it is that time of year when the time seems to fly.  So that makes it even better when Freshly Made Sketches designers give us a great sketch to inspire us.  This week, the sweet and oh so amazing Cindy Hall is our hostess.  I was working most of the time since last week so I was thrilled to see a sketch that I could use quickly when I sat down to stamp yesterday.  The rest of the team has done it again!  Wow, these ladies are fabulous!

I felt like this set really called for a pretty image and as I looked at the stamps, this fellow from Beauty of the Season jumped out at me.  I really love him so much.  And….with all the cold air, it is time for me to put my bird feeder out.  I’ll be sure to be seeing his friends soon, lol!  I colored this guy with my Cherry Cobbler Blendabilities and then used a little bit of Smoky Slate for the branches.  I added a piece of the Typeset DSP which I thought was a nice complement and striking against the Cherry Cobbler card stock.  I didn’t do a perfect job of following the sketch (sorry Cindy) but this just seemed to call for a fluffy bow.  So I added one with my Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding.  The inside will use one of the fabulous sentiment from the set and I have another Christmas card done.  YAY!

I was out and about in the cold this week and will be back at it starting on Saturday through Thanksgiving.  Being on reserve (on call) I have no idea where I’ll be but I hope to see some stampers along the way!  Also, I have a fun announcement coming tomorrow for you.  Just in time for those last minute holiday cards.  And we’ll be doing our Fancy Friday early this month due to the holiday here in the U.S.  You won’t want to miss this one!  Thanks so much for stopping in today.  See you tomorrow!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Beauty of the Season; Paper:  Typeset DSP, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Blendabilities – Cherry Cobbler, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight; Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Neutrals Button, Black Twine

Well after a bit of a blitz last week, this week is a little bit quieter.  To be honest I am catching up from all the stamping events in October!  I had a great time at my Bright & Beautiful class here in the stamp room on Sunday and have started planning another class for the end of the month. Today, my friend Linda has created a clean and wonderful sketch for us at Freshly Made Sketches.  It was just what I needed since my brain was pretty fried.

You know what happens when I’m feeling creatively tired?  I go to my happy colors, stamps and ribbons.  I think we can safely call this a “Jen card”.  Fall colors are always my favorite and this new Mossy Meadow is a perfect green.  And then there is Early Espresso.  I jumped for joy when I saw this new Early Espresso Seam Binding in the catalog this year and it was on an express UPS vehicle right to my house!  I used the Kraft card stock for my base and then stamped Hardwood in Crumb Cake ink onto Naturals Ivory card stock.  The sentiment is from For All Things and the little leaves are from the Color Me Autumn DSP (just fussy cut out).  I added part of a Tea Lace Doily and some retired Natural Trim Ribbon under my shabby bow.  It pays to pull out favorites since this came together really quickly.  Oh….and did you see???

Blog Candy – Color Me Autumn DSP

It isn’t to late to get some of this great DSP for free.  Just click the link above and follow the Rafflecopter.  You can’t win if you don’t enter!!

Ok, now hurry right over and see what the rest of the team has created for you this week.  Amazing stuff as always!  And you have to go tell Linda how much you love this.  Stick around and read her posts.  LOVE her sense of humor!

This week is going to be quiet as I work on videos, tutorials and classes.  I hope to have more to share with you next week.  My boys have been home a lot over the last few days.  Yay for being mom but not very productive for getting stamping done.  Ah well….the stamping will be here….  Until next time, thanks so much for stopping in today!

Sign ups are open for Month 3 of  Stamps on the Fly Bright & Beautiful Edition.  Am I allowed to say that I think this month’s projects are my favorites?!  Click the link for details on how to join the fun!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamps:  For All Things, Hardwood; Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Kraft, Early Espresso, Color Me Autumn DSP; Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Early Espresso Seam Binding, Regals Buttons, Tea Lace Doily, Natural Trim Ribbon (ret), Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Wow!!  Take a look at what Rita has created for Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Isn’t this sketch fun?  I just love the potential of all the layers on this one!

I decided I needed to pull out some retired products for this one.  I still love the colors and patterns from the Fresh Prints DSP Pack.  I chose two of the prints for the banner and little rectangle.  Then I pulled a page from a This & That journal and stamped the sentiment from Merry Little Christmas.  I added the little star from Hodgepodge Clips and looped on a Real Red ribbon piece.  I embossed the back panel with Stylish Stripes.  I love when I get to combined old and new products!  I can always count on them coordinating and it makes me happy to make a dent in my stash of DSP.

The cool elements on this sketch has given the team all kinds of room to inspire and they haven’t let us down.  I just look in awe every week!  I just know you’ll feel the same way.

I have some more projects coming this week.  First, tomorrow is my big day to hostess for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  I cannot even wait to share my theme with you!  Then I have my Fancy Friday project for October on Friday and there will be BLOG CANDY!!!  Yep, the whole team will have blog candy for you so make sure you check back!  Until then, I hope your week is going well.  See you soon!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Merry Little Christmas; Paper:  Whisper White, Fresh Prints DSP Pack; Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Real Red; Accessories:  Big Shot, Banners Framelits, Hodgepodge Clips, Real Red Cotton Ribbon, This & That Journal

I hope you liked yesterday’s card for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenge.  I am just so excited to be able to be a sample maker for some of the amazing hostesses!  And speaking of hostesses…well we are super lucky to have the fabulous Jen Mitchell as our sketch hostess this week at Freshly Made Sketches!  Her clean design lends itself to lots of interpretations!

I seem to have stars on the brain so I immediately reached for my Bright & Beautiful stamp set for this sketch.  Now what you can’t see in this picture is that the card is made on Shimmery White Card Stock and the subtle shimmer is SOOO pretty with the gold embossing.  I stamped the star and the sentiment with Gold Encore Ink and heat embossed with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  All I had to do was add a few Rhinestones and I have a sparkly card all ready to go!  Want to keep the look all gold instead??!!  Just add gold sequins and you are there!

Now speaking of stars….did you hear about the new Holiday Supplement from Stampin’ Up?!  Well, you need to check out this Pinterest page:  Merry & Bright.  So many cute things and totally easy to make with the new kits!

See…that is why I have stars on the brain!  Now, off to see the work from the rest of the team.  Make sure you come back tomorrow since I have another card for the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges!  See you then!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Bright & Beautiful; Paper:  Shimmery White; Ink:  Gold Encore; Accessories:  Big Shot, Stars Framelits, Heat Tool, Basic Rhinestones, Dimensionals

I have to say that the design team over at Freshly Made Sketches has been on a roll for the last month.  Talk about some amazing sketches and crazy cool inspiration cards!!  No surprise, but the trend continues this week.  Amy O’Neill, the queen of fabulous color combinations, has created this one for us.  Yeah….just head to the stamp room now.

I saw the star and knew I had to just continue playing with Bright & Beautiful.  For those who participated in month 1 of my Stamps on the Fly, this card uses some of the supplies you already have!    I chose this cool metallic polka dot print from All is Calm DSP and backed it with Silver Foil.  Then I cut the sentiment with the Wonderful Wreath Framelits out of more foil.  The star was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  I added a little Rhinestone to the center which shows more in person.  The crossing layer is a piece of the new White Cotton Ribbon wrapped around more foil.  This card made me so happy and I can see it being one of my go-to personal cards this year.

After a couple of days of being gone flying, I’m glad to be back in the stamp room today.  More work to do for later in the month!!  I am, however, all ready for a blog hop that starts on Friday.  I’ll be focusing on the stamp set The Newborn King.  Can’t wait to share!  You’ll see the projects on Friday and then I’ll be back on Monday with a video tutorial for one of them plus more specifics.  I have my Frightful Wreath class tomorrow so I’m off to work on a spider today…..  Plan to see that next week!  Until then, I hope you have some stamping time.  Thanks so much for stopping in!

Sign ups are open for Month 2 of  Stamps on the Fly Bright & Beautiful Edition.  Click the link for details on how to join the fun!

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Bright & Beautiful; Paper:  All Is Calm DSP, Whisper White, Silver Foil; Ink:  Versamark; Accessories:  Big Shot, Wonderful Wreath Framelits, Stars Framelits, Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Basic Rhinestones, White Cotton Ribbon

Another week and another fabulous sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!!  Now I KNOW you will love this one from the clever and talented Karren Johnson.  She has the most fabulous flair for fun cards and this sketch is just that!

So true confession time.  I made this card in 15 minutes.  I was called by my scheduler at United on Friday and they gave me a 4 day trip coming back late last night.  Uh oh….and no card ready for this week.  Yikes!  So I used some paper that was sitting on my desk (you’ll see that card on Friday) and put this together fast!  I already know what I want to change, lol!  But….the good news is you get a nice clean card to see that focuses on this A-MAZ-ING designer paper.  Under the Tree DSP.  Just get it now.  And get an extra pack of Kraft Card Stock while you are there.  This DSP is heavier than normal which makes is perfect for tags, boxes and all kinds of other ideas that are spinning around in my head.  I took a strip of the Early Espresso Stripe and put it alongside the Kraft on a Naturals Ivory card base.  I cut a piece from the Cherry Cobbler tree print and punched it with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch and rounded the bottom corners with my Envelope Punch Board punch.  The sentiment is a Hostess Exclusive Stamp Set called Good Greetings.  And they are seriously good greetings.  It is a great time to hostess for sure!  I added the cute little gold Mini Metallic Clothespin and the tied the button with gold strands from the Gold Metallic Baker’s Twine.  What would I change??  Hmmm….I think I’ll have to post a new version in the next few days if I can get some time to put my idea to paper.

You are going to love all the work from the design team this week and I’m here to say you need to visit the gallery and look around too.  Because last week’s gallery blew us away.  You should see the angst when we can’t choose all the cards as winners!

I will be back on Friday with this month’s Fancy Friday.  And guess what?!  It is a sketch that I designed!!!  We are giving you the opportunity to play along with us so I hope you will!  Until then, have a fantastic week.  Thanks so much for stopping in.

Click HERE to purchase these wonderful Stampin’ Up products!

Stamp:  Good Greetings; Paper:  Under the Tree DSP, Kraft, Naturals Ivory; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Neutrals Buttons, Gold Metallic Baker’s Twine, Metallic Mini Clothespins, Dimensionals, Envelope Punch Board