Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Pillow Box Treat Bucket

This project was last Wednesday's tutorial on Splitcoast. The tutorial author, Lynn Putt, made an adorable lil' pumpkin out of this bucket, but I decided to go Christmas! It's never too early to think about Christmas gifts, right?

This was actually pretty quick to put together and it's nice and roomy - you can fit almost a whole bag of Hershey Nuggets inside (yum!). There would have been more in this picture, but I had to sample some and make sure they were edible. ;) You can view the entire tutorial here.

Stamps: Delightful Decorations
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments dsp
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box die, Ornament punch, 3/4" circle punch, Jumbo Brads, Gold Elastic Cord, Horizontal Slot punch

Monday, September 28, 2009

Build-A-Bear Buddy

Here's a cute little card using some of my Build-A-Bear goodies from the Holiday Mini. He's so cute - I love that baseball cap! I've named this lil' guy "Buddy." :)

This is a Tent Topper card I put together on Friday night while stamping with my Creative Consortium friends. I do love our monthly stamping events - there's nothing like getting together with good friends to chat, laugh and create. Here's a little tip when working with the Build-A-Bear dies - shading makes a BIG difference in making them come to life. I used a sponge with some ink from my ink pad to add definition around Buddy's body and his shirt. I can't believe how much more animated he looks after adding a touch of ink! I hope that your week is off to a good start - I'll be back tomorrow with another fun project to share. See you then!

Stamps: Beary Nice Wishes
Paper: Ballet Blue, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Pawsitively Prints dsp
Ink: Ballet Blue, Close to Cocoa (for shading)
Accessories: Big Shot, SU! Bear die, SU! Beary Essentials die, SU! Beary Girl Sizzlit, Scallop Circle #2 die, Circle Scissors Plus, silver brads, 1/4" circle punch, Brocade Blue wide grosgrain ribbon, Bold Bright Buttons (retired)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

CAS Color Challenge

This week's Clean & Simple Challenge on Splitcoast is a color challenge: shades of pink, green, blue, and white or vanilla. If you decide to play along, you also have the option of throwing brown into the mix. Now, I must admit that this is not my usual color palette, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. And...it didn't help that when I sat down to stamp on Friday night, I made cards for next week's challenge by mistake. Good thing I checked my challenge list this morning! LOL!

Anyway, when I realized that I needed to make a quick card today with the colors listed above, my first thoughts centered around Soft Subtles - Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue - but I decided to do something a little daring and step out of my color comfort zone - that's what a challenge is all about, right? :)

I have to say that I REALLY like this card! I think the bold, bright colors work really well together...and it's just fun to look at. I combined Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink and Tempting Turquoise - crazy, I know, but it works! I was inspired by a card I saw in the current SU! Idea Book & Catalog using the same set (Holiday Blitz) but featuring different stamps (see pg. 44 of the catalog to see the original card). The hardest part about putting this card together was getting all of those hearts lined up just right - my Stamp-a-ma-jig (SAMJ) got a nice lil' workout. I especially like the ribbon with the button accent - SO cute! Hop on over to the Clean & Simple challenge forum to check out the other design team samples and play along.

Stamps: Holiday Blitz, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Crop-A-Dile, SAMJ, Melon Mambo Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Sherbet Designer Buttons, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Mother/Daughter Stamping is Back!

After a brief summer hiatus, our mother/daughter stamping class is back! We had a great turnout for our first class of the fall and here are the projects we made.

And here you can get a close-up peek at each of our projects. It was my turn to prep for the class, and I decided to focus on items from the Holiday Mini. This card used the super-cute Halloween set Twick or Tweet and the Night & Day Specialty Paper.

I love the googly-eyes on the skeleton - they make me laugh! The card below (made with the Sweet Centers set and Sweet Treat Cups) was a combination of two cards I saw on Splitcoast. The layout comes from dostamping and the yummy color combo comes from lbrown. Thanks for your inspiration, ladies! :)

I came up with this little bag of goodies (made with the SU! Fancy Favor die) to show off some of the new Build-A-Bear stamps - we used Seal of Pawthenticity. We filled the bag with Tootsie Rolls - yum!

That's all for today - I'm off to continue cleaning out the toy room. It was getting pretty scary in there, but I think one can actually walk more than two steps into the room and *maybe* even find a specific toy to play with. How long will it stay this way? I give it approximately 2 hours, if I'm lucky! LOL! Have a great day!

Monday, September 21, 2009

CAS 33 Take 2

This week's CAS challenge is a sketch, based on this card by cookiebaker. I love the crisp, clean lines of her card - there are so many possibilities. That being said, I couldn't make just one card! Visit my previous post to view the other card I created for this week's challenge.

I think I will call this card "Preppy Birthday." LOL! Don't you love that So Saffron/Ballet Blue argyle print? It's from the Pawsitively Prints designer series paper from the Holiday Mini. I also used a touch of the same dsp under the Clear Button in the corner. This card was quick and easy to put together and would be appropriate for just about anybody.
Stamps: On Your Birthday
Paper: So Saffron, Ballet Blue, Whisper White Pawsitively Prints dsp
Ink: Ballet Blue
Accessories: Clear Button, 3/4" circle punch, white string, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

I guess I was on a birthday kick! For this card, I stamped the balloon image from Beary Best Friends twice and colored them with my Gable Green and Tempting Turquoise markers. I added a Jumbo Brad along with some ribbon and decided to glam up the balloons just a bit, by adding Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds. Wouldn't this make an adorable kid's birthday card?
Stamps: Beary Best Friends, On Your Birthday, Polka Dot background stamp
Paper: Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Black Staz-On, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green
Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, Jumbo Brad, Crop-A-Dile, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Black & White gingham ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Clean & Simple #33 - Sketch Challenge

Well, it's Sunday night, so you know what that means! Time for another Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast. I am having so much fun as a CAS design team member! I love knowing the weekly challenge ahead of time - I get to think on it all week and I get so many ideas floating around in my head that sometimes it's hard to pick. This week's challenge is a sketch, based on this card by cookiebaker. I actually found it quite challenging to work with this sketch, not because I don't LOVE this layout, but because I liked cookiebaker's original card SO MUCH that I had a hard time not recreating the exact same thing (or pretty darn close). Anyway, I actually made three different cards, all based on this same sketch and this one is my favorite.

Love that Basic Black, Whisper White and Melon Mambo color combo! I'll share the rest of my cards tomorrow. G'night!

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Night & Day Specialty dsp
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Daisies #2 die, Button Latte button, black hemp twine, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Friday, September 18, 2009

Patty Monsters


Aren't these little monsters too stinkin' CUTE?! I saw these on Splitcoast and knew that I had to make some. The original post is from OhMyInkyFingers. I loved these so much, that I decided to make them at my last stamp-a-stack - everyone LOVED them! I really like the green and purple monsters, but decided that there needed to be a pink, girlie monster, too! To attach that little bow, I added a tiny drop of Crystal Effects to the monsters head. Want to make some of your own for Halloween treats? You can view my instruction sheet here!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Lattice Votive Candle Holder Dimensions

As promised, here are the dimensions and instructions for the Lattice Votive Candle Holder. If you make one, please leave a comment with a link to your creation - I'd love to see what you come up with! :)

Basic Black Cardstock
9 3/4" x 2 1/2" (for bottom and sides)
(2) 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" (for Lattice)
Vellum
(2) 3 3/4" x 4 1/4"

1. With the larger Basic Black cardstock positioned vertically along your scoring tool, score at 3 1/4" and 6 1/2". This will create the bottom and sides of the candle holder.

2. Score vellum at 1/2" on 3 sides.

3. Using Big Shot and Lattice die, cut Lattice from 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" pieces of Basic Black cardstock. Using 2-Way Glue Pen, apply glue to the back of the Lattice and adhere to the middle of the unscored section of vellum.

4. With the Lattice side up, place Sticky Strip on the three 1/2" tabs. Adhere tabs to bottom and sides of Basic Black cardstock.

5. Finish the holder with ribbon and embellishments.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Eek! You're Sweet!

Eek! I love this card, which was made by my downline, Stacey Campbell. She made this as her trade for our demo meeting in Janesville last Saturday. She even won the card competition (no surprise there!)

Stacey used the Sweet Centers set from the Holiday Mini catalog to make this super cute and fun Halloween card. To create that spooky look to her image, she used the Soot Stamping technique.

I also love how Stacey tore the hole to display the "Eek!" She used her paper-piercing tool to perforate her paper before she tore the hole - genius!

I hope you enjoy Stacey's card as much as I did. Leave her a little comment to let her know how much you liked it. :)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Cheers to the Newlyweds

It's time for another Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast! This week's challenge is wedding cards, which is perfect because we have a couple of weddings coming up in the next couple of months. This is one of those cards that I dreamed up in my head long before I put ink to paper. I love it when those cards actually turn out like I envisioned - that doesn't happen very often! LOL!

I decided to go with lots of shimmer on this card. I started with some Shimmery White cardstock, which I used for my card base and for my main image. I embossed the champagne glasses (from the Cheers to You set) with gold embossing powder and added some Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds. I layered this onto a Brushed Gold circle and placed a square of Christmas Cocoa Specialty dsp onto the card base. I created a frame around the dsp with some piercing and added the sentiment (from Fundamental Phrases) and embossed it with more gold ep.

Here's a close-up shot of the glasses - I love that sparkle!

That's it for tonight - I hope you had a great weekend! I'll be back tomorrow with another card to share.

Stamps: Cheers to You, Fundamental Phrases
Paper: Shimmery White, Brushed Gold, Christmas Cocoa Specialty dsp
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Gold embossing powder, heat gun, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, 1 3/4" circle punch, Coluzzle

Friday, September 11, 2009

Ways to Use It: Red

I thought I would play along with the Ways to Use It challenge on Splitcoast: Revved Up for Red.

I kept this card VERY simple... and here I go, using my Holiday Best hostess set again. I love how clean and crisp this card turned out. And quick! This would be a great Christmas card to mass produce. :)

Tomorrow I get to spend the day in Janesville at our quarterly demo meeting. I always look forward to our meetings - we talk shop, make wonderful projects and swap cards. What's not to like? I'm especially excited to attend this meeting as a little treat to myself after the past week and all of the ups and downs of sick kiddos. Thankfully, everyone is on the mend! Now, I am praying that I don't get sick. ;) Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Holiday Best
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Corner Rounder punch, Pretties Kit, Wide Oval punch

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Halloween Elegance

I made this card using the colors in this week's color challenge on Splitcoast - Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Basic Black. These colors make a great combination for Halloween cards. I also threw a little Pumpkin Pie into the mix.

I used my Holiday Best hostess set to put this card together - very quick and easy! I colored the image with my Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie markers. I punched it out using my Wide Oval punch and added it to my card base, which I made with Elegant Eggplant textured cardstock. I added some paper-piercing and a bit o' ribbon and called it done!

I was able to put this all together while my kids were resting on the couch yesterday. Thankfully, Jevin is feeling better and back at school, but Enavi is missing her first day of preschool because she's still running a fever and has a nasty cough. Yuck! It's only September! I have a feeling this will be a LONG winter.

Stamps: Holiday Best
Paper: Elegant Eggplant textured cs, Whisper White
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie markers
Accessories: Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Vintage Brads, Basic Black grosgrain ribbon

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

FTL #58

I made this card for this week's Fall to Layout from the Clean & Simple Stamping blog. You can view the original sketch here. I modified the sketch a bit, using my Top Note die instead of the large scallops at the bottom of the main panel. I really like the way this turned out - it's bright, cheerful and fun!

Things have a been a little crazy at our house this week. Both of my kiddos are sick with colds, so today has been a day of rest (at least for the kids). I really hope they are feeling better tomorrow!

Stamps: Starring You
Paper: Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay
Accessories: Large Star punch, Star punch, Top Note die, Big Shot, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Bermuda Bay Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Star Designer Brads, Dimensionals

Monday, September 7, 2009

Popped Twick or Tweet

Here is another card I made for this week's CAS challenge on Splitcoast. Visit this post for more info on the challenge and a link with more challenge ideas from the new CAS design team.

For this card, I popped up the punched squares and I colored and cut out an extra lil' chickadee and popped it up.

A detail shot of the all the popping goodness: :)

I love this card - it just make me happy!

Stamps: Twick or Tweet
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Groom Specialty Paper
Ink: Black Staz-On, Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Crushed Curry Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch, Dimensionals

CAS Challenge: Pop It Up!

Happy Labor Day! Here is my first card for this week's CAS challenge is Splitcoast - Pop It Up! If you would like to play along, visit this thread to find out more and see the rest of the design team's examples.

This is the first card I made for the challenge. I popped up the Pumpkin Pie butterfly with a Dimensional. I think this may be my new favorite color combo - Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, and Pumpkin Pie.

I used my 1" circle punch to "cut out" my little butterfly. I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like using my scissors. LOL! I added some Dazzling Diamonds to the lil' guy, just to add a little interest. ;)

Be sure to check out my other card I made for this challenge! Click here to view Popped Twick or Tweet.

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Best Wishes and More
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Bermuda Bay Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, 1" circle punch, Dimensionals, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds

Friday, September 4, 2009

Beary Cute Gift Set

I wanted to make my daughter a little something special. This was Jevin's first week of Kindergarten, so there's been a lot of attention directed at him, and I want Enavi to know just how "beary" special she is to me. :)

I made the bag using SU!'s Fancy Favor die - a quick and easy little giftie! I made the 3"x3" gift card and tag with the new Build-A-Bear Workshop set in the Holiday Mini - Beary Best Friends. I paper-pieced the dress with the same paper I used to make the bag, also part of the BABW goodies. These are such fun prints! The name of the dsp is Pawsitively Prints.

If you know Enavi, you know that she loves anything sparkly. In fact, we just went shoe shopping for her this week and and picked out sparkly shoes. Every time we walk outside she says, "Do you see how my shoes sparkle in the sunlight?" LOL! Anyway, I needed to add a little glitz to this girlie bear, so I added a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to her mary janes. Cute, huh? The inside of the card says "I [heart] you Beary Much!", which is from the coordinating BABW set of phrases, called Beary Nice Wishes.

I hope your Labor Day weekend is off to a great start. I'll be back on Sunday with my first card for the CAS design time. See you then!

Stamps: Beary Best Friends, Beary Nice Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Pawsitively Prints
Ink: Black Staz-On, Pretty in Pink, Brocade Blue, Creamy Coral, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Favor die, Metal Edge Tags, 1 3/8" circle punch, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Dazzling Diamonds, 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Slot Punch

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

CAS Fall Design Team!

I am SO excited! I get to be a part of the Clean & Simple design team on Splitcoast - wahoo! I've been grinning since I found out on Monday evening. Thanks again for everyone's well wishes and words of encouragement. I'll be posting my first CAS DT card this Sunday.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new project to share!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Lattice Votive Candle Holder

I've been playing around with my SU! Lattice die, and lookee what I came up with!

I thought it would be fun to make a votive candle holder using the Lattice die, some vellum and cardstock to complete the box. I think the possibilities with this are endless - think of all of the color combos! Wouldn't this make a cool Halloween or Christmas decoration? :) Can you tell I'm a *little* excited?!!

Here's a picture of what this little beauty looks like when the candle is lit:


I removed the bow, to show what a pretty effect the Lattice die gives the candle holder. I love how you can see the light shine through the front and the back.


I'll try and get a tutorial put together, or at least the dimensions, to make assembly a little easier for you!

Stamps: None
Paper: Basic Black, vellum
Ink: None
Accessories: SU! Lattice Bigz Die, Big Shot, 1 1/4" Basic Black striped grosgrain ribbon, Pretties Kit