CAS Challenge + Sneak Peek

This week's Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast is an inspiration challenge, using the Candy Crate's Retro Candy Store to tickle one's designing fancy. As soon as I saw the challenge, I knew I wanted to use my brand spankin' new sneak peek set - Sweet Scoops. This set will be available in a future catalog, but I was itching to break it out. I even found something called Yum Yum Marshmallow Cones in the Retro Candy Store. How fun!

I had lots of fun layering all of my scoops and you may notice that they are a little lopsided - that is one purpose! LOL! Have you ever eaten a triple-dipped cone and had it stay in pristine condition? Didn't think so. :) I also added a little Dazzling Diamonds to each of my scoops, just to give it that little somethin' somethin'. Love it!

I hope your week is off to a good start. I'm hoping mine begins improving quickly! My kids seem to have had some kind of relapse and both were complaining of not feeling good yesterday. Plus we supposedly have a snow storm headed our way? Lovely! Good stamping weather, huh? Hope to see you back here soon - 'bye for now!

Stamps: Sweet Scoops; Dot, Dot, Dot
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel
Accessories: Hugs Love Notes, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Sherbet and Playground designer buttons, Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon

Beautiful Wings

I'm back today with a card from last Saturday's stamp-a-stack. I love how quick and easy this card is to make, using the pre-cut Hugs Love Notes. They are so sweet!

I also used my new Beautiful Wings Embosslit to create my butterflies - the texture on these beauties is fabulous! I stamped a quick background using the damask stamp from the Friends 24-7 set, added my ribbon, stamped my sentiment with the Whimsical Words SAB set and added my butterflies with a couple of mini glue dots. Gotta love it!

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Whimsical Words
Paper: Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Hugs Love Notes, Big Shot, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Crop-a-Dile

I {heart} Hearts Easel Card

Today's project is an easel card, which is a fun way for the card recipient to display his or her card all by itself. You can find a wonderful tutorial, complete with measurements on Splitcoast. We made this card at last week's Valentine's Day stamp camp.

This card uses the I {heart} Hearts and Well Scripted sets from the Occasions Mini catalog. I combined Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry for a fun Valentine's Day color combo. Here is a view from the side:

The button holding the "easel" part of the card in place is clear, backed with a pieced of Razzleberry Lemonade dsp, which coordinates with the dsp on the top portion of the card. I love the bright, happy feel of this card! And don't forget - from now until February 28, when you purchase the I {heart} Hearts set, $2 will go to American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Visit my demo web site to find out more.

Thanks for stopping by today - things may be kind of quiet around here this week. I have one sick kiddo and another who seems to be coming down with the same thing. Sigh. Anyone else ready for spring? :) I'll post any projects that I complete, but it may take me longer than usual. Bye for now!

Stamps: I {heart} Hearts, Well Scripted
Paper: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Razzleberry Lemonade dsp
Ink: Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Clear Buttons, 3/4" circle punch, Melon Mambo polka-dot grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Trim border punch, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

January Mom & Me Stamping

These are the projects we made at this month's Mom & Me class. We hold this class on the 3rd Friday evening and Saturday morning of the month. Rachel Durtschi prepared our projects for this month's class. Aren't they fun? Here are the cards we made:
This fabulous little notebook was our 3-D item - the girls especially liked the notebook. This project was originally designed by Debbie Naylor.

I hope you have a great weekend planned. Stay warm - it's REALLY cold outside (at least here in Wisconsin). Bye for now!

CAS51 - Designer Paper

This week's Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast is using designer paper and I decided to combine it with a past Fall to Layout from the Clean & Simple blog, which works perfectly with multiple dsp patterns.

I pulled out my Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack and paged through the sheets (there are A LOT to choose from) and picked three patterns that I really liked together. The card pretty much made itself from there! I've had a stash of Jumbo Grommets sitting in my embellishment drawer for some time, so I was happy to put one to use on this card. The sentiment comes from the Trendy Trees set, which I stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and added a little paper-piercing for good measure. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Trendy Trees
Paper: Taken with Teal, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Stack
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, Designer Hardware - Jumbo Grommets, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Two Tags Treat Holder

Today's project is a cute little treat holder made with the Two Tags die. We made these at my last MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and the ladies loved them! We all decided to keep a couple in our purse to share with someone who needed a little pick-me-up - you never know when a little chocolate will brighten someone's day!

These are super quick and easy to put together. I cut the tag with my Two Tags die and Big Shot and then added another score line to make the flat bottom of the treat holder. I ran the tag through an embossing folder (Perfect Polka Dot or Finial Press) and added a few small embellishments. This first treat holder has a few pieces of Sweet Pea Stitched Felt and some Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon to pull it all together.

This treat holder has a few more details. I used the I {heart} Hearts set and a sweet lil' button to fancy it up a smidge. Isn't it lovely?

I filled these treat holders with Valentine's themed mini M&M's packages, but you could also use "fun size" candy bars like Hershey's or Kit Kat. These would make perfect little Valentine's Day treats to pass out at school or work. And remember - from now until February 28, 2010, $2 from every purchase of the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set will be donated to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Visit my demo web site to find out more.

Stamps: I {heart} Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Melon Mambo, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Two Tags die, Sherbet Buttons, Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Word Window punch

Bright and Cheerful Birthday

Today's birthday card is a combination of a couple of fun techniques and some bright, cheery colors. What a pretty and elegant way to brighten some one's special day!

I tried out a couple of new techniques on this card (new to me, anyway!). First, I tried Blank Embossing on my Whisper White cardstock with my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and my Big Shot - that's how I got the open oval space in the middle where I sponged ink and stamped my sentiment. If you're not familiar with this technique, click here for a wonderful tutorial by Patty Bennett.

The second new technique I tried is making a flower with the Eyelet Border punch and my crimper. I saw this demonstrated at Leadership and I was blown away by the finished embellishment. I cut a 1" x 12" strip of designer paper (from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack) - cardstock can also be used - trimmed the entire length of the dsp with my Eyelet Border punch and ran it through my crimper several times. Next, I punched a 1 3/8" circle out of scrap cardstock and applied several pieces of Sticky Strip over the surface of the circle, trying to cover as much area as possible. After removing the backing on the Sticky Strip, I carefully wound my strip of dsp around the circle, working from the outside edge to the inner portion of the circle. I embellished my flower with a couplt more circles of dsp (also from the Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack) and a Summer Sun corduroy brad. I love the end result!

Stamps: Well Scripted
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White, Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper Pack
Ink: Summer Sun
Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Eyelet Border punch, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Summer Sun Corduroy Buttons, Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool