Monday, November 30, 2009

CAS43 - Holiday Thanks

This is my last week on the Clean and Simple Design Team for Splitcoast (sniff, sniff). I have thoroughly enjoyed playing along with the challenges each week and I appreciate everyone's lovely comments SO much! I am looking forward to playing along with the new challenges in the weeks to come and I can't wait to see what the next DT comes up with.

This week's card is a make-over from a previous CAS challenge. You can view my original card here. I thought it would be fun to make my card over into a holiday thank you.

I love the Real Red and Whisper White color combo - it is so crisp! And that bow makes the card look like a pretty little package, just waiting to be opened. I'm also digging the white ink around the edges of the card - it creates a soft, snowy feel, complimenting the flocking on the Christmas Cocoa Specialty dsp.

Thanks for stopping by today - I'll be back soon with another project to share. I have been adding some new items to my Etsy shop - please visit my store and check out all of my goodies for sale. Bye for now!

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa Specialty dsp
Ink: Basic Black, Whisper White craft
Accessories: Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Friday, November 27, 2009

Top Note Pencil Holders

I hope all of you in the States had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday - I know that my family did! We had the big turkey dinner at our house and I had a great time visiting with family and eating WAY too much food (including my fabulous pumpkin cheesecake, which was my favorite part of the meal).

Today I thought I would share a cute little project made with the Top Note die. I made these pencil holders with my kids for them to pass out at school as a little Thanksgiving treat.

Enavi wanted something kind of girlie (she is a pink and purple lover), so we made the Orchid Opulence holders for her class, along with the sparkly heart pencils. Jevin, however, wanted to make something a little more traditional for the Thanksgiving holiday. We used the Gobble, Gobble stamp from the Holiday mini catalog and I used the "thumping" technique to color the turkey's feathers.

My kids said all of their friends enjoyed their special treats and they had lots of fun making them.

Have a great day and good luck finding all of those Black Friday deals. Don't forget that Stampin' Up! is also offering some wonderful deals in their on-line extravaganza. Check out my demo web-site for more info or to place your order!

Stamps: Gobble, Gobble, Holiday Blitz, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Orchid Opulence, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun, Ruby Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Blossom Party die, 1 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Jumbo Brad, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Rich Razzleberry polka-dot grosgrain ribbon

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanks a Bunch (of Snowmen)

Today's project is a gift box full of little thank you notes, using the Simple Seasonal Thanks snowman stamp from the Holiday mini. I made this for a wonderful friend of mine who has two little ones at home. I knew that she could use some ready-made thank you's to use after the holidays

I made 8 of these cute little snowman notes and I threw in some peppermints for a little treat. Here's a picture of the box all put together, ready for delivery.

I'm off to begin my Thanksgiving preparations - pumpkin cheesecake, here I come. Have a great day!

Stamps: Simple Seasonal Thanks, Patterned Pines
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red marker, Bashful Blue Marker, Pumpkin Pie Marker
Accessories: glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Real Red double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads, acetate box

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Vintage Ornament Christmas Card

I have to admit that I started out with the idea of making a "clean and simple" Christmas card, inspired by an ornament I saw at an on-line Christmas store. The card, however, morphed into something a *tiny* bit more than simple - LOL! Anyway, I do like the end result and I absolutely love the Old Olive ink and gold embossing together.

I used my Vintage Ornament I Decor Elements stencil set to create the ornament and flourish. To create the ornament, I used a sponge dauber to sponge on Classic Old Olive ink to create the ornament. Next, I laid the flourish stencil over the top of the ornament stencil and sponged on the Encore Gold craft ink. The gold ink didn't really "pop" like I wanted it to, so I decided to emboss it with gold embossing powder (I was a little worried about my gold ep sticking to the sponged ornament, but had no trouble). That really made the ornament shine like something you would actually want to hang on your tree!

I finished the card off with some piercing, distressing and sponging. I've been giving my "Peace, Love, Joy" stamp from All Holidays a real workout lately, but there's just something about that font that is perfect for elegant Christmas cards. This card definitely went in a different direction than I originally intended, but I like the "shabby" elegance of the finished product. That's all for today - 'bye for now!

Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Merry Moments dsp
Ink: Old Olive, Encore Gold craft ink, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Vintage Ornaments I Decor Elements Stencils, sponge daubers, gold ep, heat gun, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, gold elastic cord

Monday, November 23, 2009

Holiday Extravaganza!


Kick off your holiday shopping with a bang! Stampin' Up! is offering some AMAZING deals (up to 50% off) on LOTS of products, several of which are bundled together to offer you even more savings. You can view the complete list of items on sale by clicking here. Visit my demo web site to learn more or place an order!

CAS42 - Snowflake Window

This week's Clean and Simple challenge on Splitcoast is a technique challenge: sponging. I've wanted to make a card with an oval "window" for some time, and I thought this challenge was the perfect opportunity!

Well, I can't seem to stop making Christmas cards right now, so I decided to pull out my Serene Snowflakes set and created a snowflake window. To make the window, I cut a template out of a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of scrap cardstock using my oval Coluzzle and layered it over the top of my card front. I used a sponge to swipe Whisper White craft ink around the inside of the oval and stamped the snowflakes before removing the template. Next, I stamped the sentiment (from All Holidays) with Soft Suede ink and added some paper-piercing around the oval. I used some Whisper White satin ribbon and Button Latte designer buttons to finish off the card. The buttons were a last-minute touch and I really like how they complete the card.

I hope you like this week's CAS card. If you'd like to play along, you can find out more information on the CAS challenge forum. Have a great Monday!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes, All Holidays
Paper: Kraft
Ink: Whisper White craft ink, Soft Suede
Accessories: Coluzzle (oval), Whisper White satin ribbon, Button Latte designer buttons, hemp twine, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Friday, November 20, 2009

Peaceful Holiday Dove

I just received the Movers & Shapers die for my Big Shot and I wanted to try it out with the coordinating SU! Holiday Windows dies. I chose the dove die cut for this card.

After I cut out the dove, I stamped it with my French Filigree background stamp in VersaMark ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. To make the holly sprig, I used the Little Leaves Sizzlit and used only the top sprig of leaves. I punched out three 1/8" holes out of Real Red scrap using my Crop-A-Dile. I made the berries super shiny with a dab of Crystal Effects.

To complete the card, I added some Merry Moments dsp to the bottom 1/3 of the card and shaded the edges with some Whisper White craft ink. Next, I tied on some Whisper White satin ribbon with a Playground Designer Button and gold elastic thread. I added the sentiment (from the Peace, Love, Joy stamp in All Holidays), punched with my Large Oval punch and added shading around the edges of oval with Garden Green ink. I topped it all off with a little paper-piercing - what do you think? I'm really happy with the way the whole card turned out! :) I have to admit that it was a bit putzy, so it wouldn't make a good mass-produced Christmas card, but would make a special card for someone.

Stamps: French Filigree, All Holidays
Paper: Whisper White, Garden Green, Real Red, Merry Moments dsp
Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black,Garden Green, Whisper White craft ink,
Accessories: Mover & Shapers die, Holiday Windows dies, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Big Shot, Crop-A-Dile, Crystal Effects, Whisper White satin ribbon, Playground Designer Button, Irisdescent Ice ep, heat tool, gold elastic cord, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Thoroughly Modern Note Pads

Here's a quick little project using the Thoroughly Modern File Folders (pg. 169, IBC). I was playing around with them, trying to come up with a way to use all of the junior legal pads that I had cut in half at Office Depot a couple of weeks ago. This makes a fast and economical gift - you can create 4 note pad holders out of one file folder!

The note pad sits inside and the top folds over. Here you can see what the inside looks like:

As you can see in the first picture, I embellished one note pad with a pretty snowflake tag (from Patterned Pines) and the other note pad has a matching pen. I presented this project at a recent stampin' birthday party and the girls LOVED it! I also gave them the option of adding a magnetic strip to the back, just in case they wanted to hang it up in their locker (how cool is that?). We will be making this project at my upcoming Small Gift Stamp Camp, and I will post instructions after that.

Thanks for stopping by today! :)

Stamps: Patterned Pines
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Thoroughly Modern dsp, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede
Accessories: Thoroughly Modern File Folders, Sticky Strip, Scallop Edge punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop punch, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Bermuda Bay Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Rose Red Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

CAS Design Team Sketch Challenge #2

I'm home with a sick little girl today, but I did manage to find time to finish up this card I started yesterday. I based this card on the 2nd sketch challenge for the latest search for CAS design team members. The sketch is based on a card by Susan Raihala.

I really like this color combo - Bashful Blue , Dusty Durango and Whisper White. It's crisp and masculine - perfect for a guy's birthday card. This layout could work with so many shapes and images - I may have to give it a whirl with one of my other stamp sets.

Hopefully Enavi will be feeling better tomorrow, but it's kind of nice to have a day at home. :) See you soon!

Stamps: On Your Birthday
Paper: Bashful Blue (textured and regular cs), Dusty Durango, Whisper White
Ink: Bashful Blue
Accessories: Star punch, Large Star punch, silver brads, 5/16" Naturals Jumbo Brads

Monday, November 16, 2009

CAS41 - Petals with Pizazz

This week's Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoast is an inspiration challenge, using the Vera Bradley collection of handbags and colorful prints to get your creative juices flowing.

For my card, I chose the Laptop Portfolio in Mod Floral Pink for my inspiration piece. I thought my Petal Pizazz stamp set fit this challenge perfectly and I used several of the colors found in the fabric to stamp my background. I used Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive, and Taken with Teal - not colors I would have put together on my own, but I really like the bright, cheery look they have. I added a sentiment from Hope Happens, which I punched out with my Large Oval punch and layered onto a Melon Mambo Scallop Oval. I felt like it still needed a little something to make the card special, so I used a Playground Designer Button (in Old Olive). I also added a Clear Rhinestone Brad to the button, threading the prongs of the brad through the holes in the button and trimming off the ends so that I could fold them over on the back of the button. (Be careful when trimming the ends of the brad - I used a wire cutter and the metal was VERY sharp. I barely touched my finger to the edge and I got a small cut on my finger.) I finished the card off with some Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon.

We're slowly getting back into the swing of Monday. Both Jevin and Enavi have colds - nothing serious, but enough to make everyone crabby. :) I'm planning on being back tomorrow with another project to share. Bye for now!

Stamps: Petal Pizazz, Hope Happens
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Ink: Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Basic Black
Accessories: Large Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, Playground Designer Button, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon

Friday, November 13, 2009

CAS Design Team Challenge #1

I'm playing along with the challenges for the newest call for CAS design team members for the winter 09/10 season. My card is for one of the sketch challenges, based on this card by lateblossom (aka the fabulous Susan Raihala).

This card seriously took less than 10 minutes to put together! It probably would have taken me less than 5 minutes, but I decided that each of my little buttons needed a cute little knot. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess! :) This was a great way to use up some of my retired buttons that have been crying out to be used - they are just too pretty to sit in my button drawer. If you are interested in playing along with the DT challenges, check out this thread on Splitcoast.

Have a great weekend - see you back here on Sunday for the newest CAS challenge. Bye for now!

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Button Bouquet (retired), white crochet thread, mini glue dots, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Some Love to Keep You Warm

This is one of my favorite cards from last Saturday's Stamp-a-Stack. This little penguin is just too stinkin' cute!

I was inspired by a card I saw on Splitcoast by Sherri Barron using the same set. I really liked her layout and I knew that I wanted to use some of my Holiday Lounge designer paper. I added the snowflake background (using my Simple Snowflake stamp - only $7.95!) and I used my Jumbo Snowflake punch and Small Oval punch to tie it all together. I also liked how Sherri used a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter on her iceberg, so I added that detail as well. Mr. Penguin is cut out and mounted with a Dimensional, as is his lil' hat. Adorable, eh? :)

Stamps: Cold & Cuddly, Simple Snowflake
Paper: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge dsp
Ink: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Small Oval punch, Jumbo Snowflake punch, Dazzling Diamonds

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A Card for Norm

Last Saturday's Stamp-a-Stack was all about occasions - we made cards for just about any kind of event in life you would need a card for. I thought this card would make a fun anniversary card or even a masculine birthday card (or just a "I think you're great!" card). I kind of chuckled to myself as I put this card together - the plaid dsp (from the Pawsitively Prints pack of designer paper in the Holiday Mini) reminded me of something Norm Abram might wear (if you watch This Old House on PBS, you will know exactly what I mean).

This is a pretty quick card to put together. I stamped the background and main image using my Totally Tool set. I colored the tape measure using my Ballet Blue and Pumpkin Pie markers and added the Brilliant Blue brad for a little "pop" of extra color. I layered the tape measure panel onto a piece of Brilliant Blue cs and stapled a small piece of Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon in the upper left corner. I placed this over my strip of designer paper and adhered it to the card using Dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back tomorrow with another card from my Stamp-a-Stack. Bye for now! :)

Stamps: Totally Tool
Paper: Ballet Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Pawsitively Prints dsp
Ink: Ballet Blue, Black Staz-On, Ballet Blue and Pumpkin Pie markers
Accessories: Brilliant Blue brad, Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, Cutter Kit

Monday, November 9, 2009

CAS40 - Golden Celebration

I have one more card for this week's CAS challenge - use white + one other color. For this card, I used gold.

We made this card at Saturday's Stamp-a-Stack. I though it would make a lovely wedding or anniversary card, or even a very elegant birthday card. I used the Bride Specialty Paper (pg. 158 in the SU! IBC) to create the little present (I got the idea for this from a card I saw on Splitcoast by tashers). I backed the present on some Brushed Gold cardstock and added the sentiment, punched out with the Modern Label punch. I also added a little bit of paper-piercing at the corners of the gold square because I felt like it needed a little something.

I hope your week is off to a great start! I have a busy week ahead, but lots of fun cards to share with you. See you back soon!

Stamps: Fundamental Phrases
Paper: Whisper White, Brushed Gold, Bride Specialty Paper
Ink: Encore Gold
Accessories: Modern Label punch, gold brads, gold elastic cord, Mat Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Corner Rounder punch

Sunday, November 8, 2009

CAS40 - Black Tie Christmas

I love making Christmas cards with non-traditional colors, and when I sat down to make a card for this week's CAS challenge, I thought it would be fun to do just that. The challenge? Use white + one other color on a card. For this card, I chose black as my additional color and this it what I came up with:

I stamped the main snowflake image (from Serene Snowflakes in the SU! Holiday Mini) in Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock. After the ink was dry, I used my VersaMark ink pad to cover the entire panel with ink and then I embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder, which gives the snowflake an incredible sparkle. The picture really doesn't do it justice!

I took another picture, trying to capture the loveliness:

I used my Basic Black marker and my "Peace, Love, Joy" stamp from All Holidays for the sentiment. I inked up just the "Peace" part of the stamp and used my Stamp-a-ma-Jig to for placement. Want to play along? Hop on over to the CAS challenge forum and check it out!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes, All Holidays
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, VersaMark
Accessories: Iridescent Ice ep, heat gun, Basic Black wide grosgrain ribbon

A Gentle Reminder...

I love sharing my ideas and designs with all of you and I really enjoy the wonderful comments from all of my faithful blog visitors. I'm so glad that so many of you have found inspiration here, and many of you have asked me if you can use my designs in your workshops and classes, which is fabulous. I do ask, however, that you refrain from using my designs and photos for commercial use, publication and/or contest submissions.

It has been brought to my attention that there are some people out there who have been using my designs and photography for their personal gain (incredible tacky, I know). I don't really want to do into detail on where I found MY photos of MY work because I don't want this person to get any more traffic in her on-line store. It takes a lot of time for me to put together my creations and even more time to photograph, edit, upload and share instructions here on my blog and on Splitcoast. I realize that this post does not apply to the vast majority of you, but I appreciate your support!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Playing with Shimmer Paint

Have you tried out the new Shimmer Paint in the SU! Holiday Mini? It is so much fun to play with! I wanted to demonstrate how fabulous and versatile the Shimmer Paints are at a recent workshop, so I demo'd this card, which I case'd from my upline Karla Anders. This technique, which I will describe in more detail below, comes from Debbie Naylor, another SU! demo.

To create this card, I mixed 1 oz. of rubbing alcohol, 1/2 t. of Frost White Shimmer Paint and about 15 drops of Not Quite Navy reinker in a travel-size spray mister. I created a stencil using my Snowflake #2 die with my Big Shot, laid the stencil over my cardstock inside a shoebox, and sprayed it with the Shimmer Paint mixture. Keep in mind, less is more with this technique - if you spray too much, the paper will become over-saturated and your image will become blurry. The end result is just beautiful and oh-so-shimmery!

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Paper: Naturals White, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Frost White Shimmer Paint, Snowflakes #2 die, Big Shot, Clear Rhinestone Brads, travel-size spray mister

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Time for a Little Mojo Madness...

It's been ages since I've played along with the Mojo Monday sketches, and I really liked this week's layout, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It's also a contest week, so you know that means LOTS of entries. It's always fun to see all of the creative designs other crafters come up with. To see this week's sketch, click here.

When I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to do something with my Butterfly punch for the accent piece, and I built my card from there.

I used some of the my Thoroughly Modern designer paper, along with Soft Suede and Whisper White cardstock. The butterfly is punched out of vellum and I sponged the edges of it to make it "pop." I created a 3-D butterfly by punching out two butterflies and layering one on top of the other.

I also added some white Jumbo Brads and a white button from the Button Latte designer button assortment. I had a lot of fun putting this card together!

Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, vellum, Thoroughly Modern dsp
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: 5/16" Jumbo Brads, Button Latte designer buttons, Butterfly punch, Scallop Edge punch, Mat pack, Paper-Piercing Tool

Monday, November 2, 2009

CAS39 - Sketch Challenge

I really enjoy sketch challenges, and this week's CAS challenge is no different. The sketch comes from a card by 1busymomof2.

I'm in Christmas mode right now, and I wanted to make something using the Holiday Lounge designer paper. This paper coordinates really well with the Delightful Decorations set and I love the non-traditional Christmas colors in this designer paper. For this card, I combined Soft Suede, Ruby Red and Whisper White for a crisp, modern feel. Hop on over to the CAS challenge forum to check out the other DT samples and play along!

Stamps: Delightful Decorations
Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge dsp
Ink: Soft Suede, Ruby Red
Accessories: Ornament punch, Vintage Brads, gold elastic cord, Soft Suede Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon