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FMS7 – Spiced up butterfly

FMS7 – Spiced up butterfly published on 18 Comments on FMS7 – Spiced up butterfly

It is time for the Wednesday sketch challenge from Freshly Made Sketches!  Yea!!  The team has another fun one for you!

Just look at all the possibilities with this one!!  Take note that the circle can really be any shape.

I knew that I wanted that shape to be a butterfly but needed something for the little trio.  I took inspiration from Heidi Baks over at RunningwScissorsStamper….her rolled flowers are always amazing.  They aren’t even as hard as I envisioned.  I started with a 1″ Circle Punch and followed the instructions here.  Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombo) was the adhesive to hold them together.  For my scalloped edges in the sketch I used Victoria Crochet Trim along the rectangular panel.  Basic Pearls were the last addition for the flower centers and the body of the butterfly (made with the Beautiful Butterflies Die).

Just wait until you see what the rest of the design team has made with this sketch.  Wow!  We are joined this week by guest designer Sandra Azzopardi and her card is amazing!

I’ll be back on Friday with a project I created for my Hostess Club.  Hint:  It is a little outside my normal design “box”.  Until then, have a great week!

Stamp:  None; Paper:  Spice Cake DSP, Early Espresso, Pool Party; Ink:  None; Accessories:  Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Die, 1″ Circle Punch, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, Victoria Crochet Trim, Basic Pearls, Crystal Effects (to hold on butterfly), Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Dimensionals

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Treats (and no tricks!)

Treats (and no tricks!) published on 7 Comments on Treats (and no tricks!)

This week at SUO Challenges – SUOC30 we want to see how you create your treats!  Show us the packaging, the cards with surprises or anything else that includes a treat!  We can’t wait to see all the creative things you make!

One of the things that first drew me to Stampin’ Up was the ease with which you could make cute things.  Everything matches, products are meant to go together and it simply works!  That is how I feel about the new 1″x8″ Cellophane Bags from the Holiday Mini.  They are meant to make your life easier…and they succeed!  They are the perfect size for pencils, small candies and Pixy Stix!  I chose the Pixy Stix option since these can be so messy when given out individually.  Using the pumpkin from Button Buddies (another item meant to make cute, fast projects) I stamped two different versions.  I used a Basic Black base for the boys and a Rich Razzleberry base for the girls.  The nice Pixy Stix people are kind enough to make candy in Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry to coordinate!!!

I am one of the room moms for my youngest son’s class and these will be for their class party.  I know that many of you, like me, have a hard time spending hours on things that will be destroyed in a matter of seconds by little ones.  Well, these were done in a flash and are still cute enough to feel like a special treat!  Once I sealed the Pixy Stix in the bags with the self-sealing strip, I attached the bag to the back of the Scallop Circle with a little bit of Sticky Strip.  Cross one project off of the to-do list!!

I was a little late on one of my Creative Crew projects so this is my fourth for the month of October – Holiday Focus (create a holiday decoration or gift).

I hope that you have fun with this challenge.  Make sure you go check out the fabulous ideas from the rest of the design team!  There are lots of time-saving (and spectacular) projects!   See you again tomorrow with the next card for Freshly Made Sketches!

Stamp:  Button Buddies; Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry; Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive; Accessories:  1″x8″ Cellophane Bags, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ Circle Punches, Sticky Strip

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You can be a Big Shot, too!

You can be a Big Shot, too! published on No Comments on You can be a Big Shot, too!

I am a little late on announcing this (and I am sure many of you already know) but Stampin’ Up is offering an amazing opportunity during the month of October.  If you sign up to be a demonstrator, you get a FREE Big Shot (or $100 worth of SU products).  Wow!  What an amazing special!  The Big Shot is a go-to tool for making your crafting easier and faster than ever.

Just to tempt you further, the talented stampers over at Stampin’ Addicts have put together a Big Shot Blog Hop to show you how to use our many fabulous Big Shot items.  One warning…these people are terrific enablers and you will find things you cannot resist!!  After seeing their work, if you want to sign up for the promotion and become a demonstrator yourself, I will be happy to answer any questions and get you on your way to your free Big Shot!

Click on any of these links to see the Blog Hop projects:

  1. Designer Frames – The Stampin’ Bunny
  2. Leaves #2 – Rubber Redneck
  3. Fancy Favor Die – Sarah’s Ink Spot
  4. Matchbox Die – Rubber Stamping & Cardmaking with Yapha
  5. Box #2 – Add Ink and Stamp
  6. Petite Pocket Die – InkPaperStamps
  7. Bitty Box and Envelope Die – Created by You
  8. Perfect Pennants – Stampin’ with Paula
  9. Blossom Box – Kitty Stamp
  10. Candy Wrapper Die – Stamping Addiction
  11. Milk Carton Die – Lily’s Ink Pad
  12. Petal Cone Die – Heartfelt Inkspiration
  13. Beautiful Butterflies – Miss Mad Stamper
  14. Two Tags Die – Stamp A Little Longer
  15. Buttons #5 Die – Tinkerin’ In Ink
  16. Holiday Stocking Die – Heart’s Delight Cards
  17. Stocking Accents Die – Escape2Stamp
  18. Peek-a-boo Frames Die – Stitchin’ n Stampin’ on Paper

Click in anywhere and then you can hop around the loop.  I hope they have inspired you to become a Big Shot too!

I’m back to stamping today after a bit of a break and should have lots of fun things to post next week.  Can’t wait to see you then!  Thanks for the many comforting words for my family about my kitty.  Your thoughts have been very helpful and I feel so blessed for your kindness.

 

 

Freshly Made Sketches #6

Freshly Made Sketches #6 published on 19 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #6

It is Wednesday and you know what that means?  Another Freshly Made Sketches Challenge is up for you!  This is another one of those sketches that you will use over and over again!

I decided to create this fun birthday card (made for one of my oldest son’s friends).  I am completely in love with the balloons in Patterned Party and the fit perfectly into this sketch!  I chose the colors because of the gift bag for his present and then promptly forgot to take the picture of the card with the bag.  Oh well!  You’ll have to trust me that it was an awesome match!  My trusty Brights Designer Paper Pack provided the DSP (in Real Red and Pacific Point) and I used Lucky Limeade as the accent color.  The sentiment is from Up, Up and Away.

Just wait until you see the rest of the cards created by the design team!  You will be so inspired to go use this sketch!  So glad you could drop in today.  Hope you have a great rest of your week!

Stamps:  Patterned Party, Up, Up and Away; Paper:  Brights Designer Paper Pack, Basic Black, Whisper White, Lucky Limeade; Ink:  Real Red, Pacific Point, Lucky Limeade, Basic Gray; Accessories:  1 1/4″ and 1 3/8″ Circle Punches, Real Red Wide Grosgrain (retired), Neutrals Buttons, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, Black Thread

Goodbye to a friend

Goodbye to a friend published on 19 Comments on Goodbye to a friend

Last April, during the SUO Challenge 16, I showed you some pictures of my dear old kitty and my boys.  A week ago today, I had to say goodbye to my old friend of over 19 years.  As you can imagine, it has been a hard week for the family.  My creativity has been a bit out of focus and I hope you can understand.  My posts for the next couple of weeks may be a bit sporadic.  Fortunately, I had done a flurry of activity before this happened and will be showing you some of those projects.

My sweet Pito’s time had come and I am thankful I was there with my friend until the end.  I miss the old fellow terribly but I am thankful for the many years that I was his person.  I look to the day I meet him again at the Rainbow Bridge.

Freshly Made Sketches #5

Freshly Made Sketches #5 published on 23 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #5

Look at my cool new badge!!  Yes, I have been asked to design for the new challenge, Freshly Made Sketches for the next 6 months along with the super talented Cindy Hall.  How great is that??!!  Their sketches have already been fantastic and I am really in love with the design philosophy…clean, but not necessarily simple.  I have felt that is my design style for a while and can’t believe how fortunate I am to be in the company of such a great design team!

Take a look at the great sketch we have for you this week!  I love the simplicity with lots of room to make that “any shape” panel something special.

I chose to leave it as a circle but used my Perfect Pennants Die to create an interesting border.  I seem to be fully and completely in my seasonal color changeover and Always Artichoke seems to be one of my go-to colors this fall.  I used the Paisly Petals DSP as my inspiration and cut two of the leaves out of the DSP for the focal image.  Aren’t they pretty??  I threaded some Very Vanilla 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon through my Early Espresso button and cinched up a bow made with Alway Artichoke Seam Binding.  The sentiment is from the hostess set Precious Butterflies.

I hope you are having a fantastic week so far!  Make sure you go see the beautiful cards that the rest of the team has made…and then show us your fantastic creation too!  Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope to see you again soon!

Stamp:  Precious Butterflies; Paper:  Paisley Petals DSP, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Pennant Die, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Very Vanilla 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Dimensionals

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SUOC29 – Leaves everywhere

SUOC29 – Leaves everywhere published on 7 Comments on SUOC29 – Leaves everywhere

Over at SUO Challenges, we are challenging you to show us your leaves!  So many of Stampin’ Up’s stamps have beautiful leaves in them and we are making them the focus.  The hardest part for me was choosing WHICH of my sets to use!  I have so many that are some of my all time favorites!  In fact if you look at my cards for the last two SUO Challenges, they contained leaves.

For today I chose the hostess set Faith in Nature.  This set was was so high on my wish list when the catalog came out that it inspired me to become my own hostess!  *smile*  I used this really cool pattern from Well Worn DSP as the background and I thought the Square Lattice embossed Cajun Craze panel was a great match-up.  For the image, I inked the leaf in Versamark then inked with my Early Espresso Ink Pad.  After stamping, I embossed it with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder.  This allows for easy watercoloring and provides a beautiful texture to the image.  Sadly, the photograph just doesn’t translate the subtle shine.  I added a little Victoria Crochet Trim and cinched a bow using an Antique Brad (it has leaves on it too!).

I can’t wait to see all the Stampin’ Up leaves falling on your cards!  You have about 10 days so there is plenty of time to join us!  Don’t forget to go see the beautiful cards the rest of the design team created…amazing work!  I’ll be back tomorrow with my first project for a new adventure!  Can’t wait to share!

Stamp:  Faith in Nature (Hostess); Paper:  Well Worn DSP, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Versamark;  Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Victoria Crochet Trim, Antique Brad, Blender Pen

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Creative Elements Christmas – OWH

Creative Elements Christmas – OWH published on 10 Comments on Creative Elements Christmas – OWH

As promised I’m here to tell you more about my card for the OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop.

One of the most important rules of cards for Operation Write Home is the no glitter rule.  There can be no sparkle that has a chance of flaking off since this can be a terrible safety risk to our heroes.  I opted to take on a subtle color palette and have a little shimmer from the beautiful Seam Binding.  The first thing I stamped was the flower using Cherry Cobbler ink.  When stamped in this color it takes on a poinsetta feel to me.  I stamped it twice and cut out one layer to give some dimension.  Next I took my new Designer Frames Embossing Folder and embossed Watercolor Paper with my Big Shot.  I tore the around the oval and then rolled up the edges with my thumbs.  The Watercolor Paper is so heavy that it hold the curls nicely!  I stamped the flourish onto Crumb Cake paper using Soft Suede ink and colored in the leaves and flowers with a Crumb Cake Stampin’ Write marker.  I debated the sentiment for a while but finally settled on this one from the retired Star-Studded Season.  I have a bit of a Christmas sentiment “collection” and have kept this set for all the wonderful phrases!  It seems particularly perfect for our heroes and their families!  I punched out the sentiment with the Extra-Large Oval Punch, sponged it with Soft Suede ink and popped it up on a Dimensional.  Finally, I got to the bow.  I made a double bow using the “potato masher technique” shown in this tutorial.  I love these bows made with the Seam Binding.  I added a little Beau Chateau DSP at the upper corner and across the card to mimic the dots in the Designer Frames oval.  The ribbon  tails were attached with strategically placed Mini Glue dots and then I frayed the ends a bit.

I hope this answers all your questions about the card.  If there is something I didn’t cover, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help.  I will be back tomorrow with the next SUO Challenge and it is yet another great one!!  Thanks so much for stopping in today.  See you again soon!

Stamps:  Creative Elements, Star-Studded Season (retired); Paper:  Beau Chateau DSP, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Watercolor, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Big Shot, Designer Frames EF, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

 

Spice Cake for Thanksgiving

Spice Cake for Thanksgiving published on 10 Comments on Spice Cake for Thanksgiving

Did you enjoy the Operation Write Home Blog Hop yesterday??!!  Amazing cards!!  If you missed it, just go back to yesterday’s post and the  link is there!

Yesterday was also the launch day for the Creative Crew’s October Challenges at Splitcoaststampers.  My card today is for the DSP/Color Focus Challenge of the month – use any holiday themed designer series paper.  I combined it with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #4.

This is another great one and it was perfect for the challenge!

I chose to make the tag an oval  and I love how the big panel let the DSP do the work.  In this case, I used Spice Cake DSP and I am still in love with it!  I thought it would be perfect with the leaves from Day of Gratitude!  I created the tag by threading a small piece of More Mustard card stock through the button.  Then I created nesting loops of the thin slices of card stock, securing them together with Mini Glue Dots.  I got the idea to do this from my clever stamping friend Cindy at Heart’s Delight Cards and incorporated it here.  I treated the other button the same way and attached it to a piece of Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon for symmetry.

The cool weather in VA this weekend has it feeling like Thanksgiving so this seems perfect!  I hope your weekend has been good.  As promised, I’ll be back tomorrow with more details about my OWH Christmas card.  Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon!

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Teeny Tiny Wishes; Paper:  Spice Cake DSP, More Mustard, Pool Party, Early Espresso; Ink:  More Mustard, Early Espresso; Accessories:  Neutrals Buttons, Big Shot, Ovals Die, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

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OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop published on 49 Comments on OWH World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop!!  I am thrilled you have stopped in today.  If you don’t know them already, Operation Write Home has sent over a million cards to our heroes overseas.  Yes, over a MILLION cards!  Wow!  These cards are available to the heroes so they can write home to their loved ones.  We all know that there is nothing like a hand-made card and one made for the heroes shows how much we care about them.  All the details about the organization are available on their website as are the rules about the cards (ie, no glitter, A-2 size, etc).

Many of my readers already know that I served in the Air Force for 10 years as a pilot.  My husband was also Active Duty Air Force and still serves in the West Virginia Air National Guard as a C-5 pilot.  One of my husband’s favorite parts of his job is bringing critical supplies to the front line troops.  I feel like I can help a little by shipping some morale to those heroes via Operation Write Home.  The burden on the military family is great and communication home is critical.  Cards from loved ones are truly priceless and I am proud to be able to contribute in a small way.

I will be back on Monday with some more specifics on this card since I know you have lots more cards to go see!  Make sure you click on the banner at the top of the post to get to the whole hop.  Thanks for stopping in today.  As you celebrate World Cardmaking Day, make sure you create a few for the heroes!

Stamps:  Creative Elements, Star-Studded Season (retired); Paper:  Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Beau Chateau DSP; Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Big Shot, Designer Frames Embossing Folder, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

All products are Stampin’ Up!

 

 

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