Thursday, October 31, 2013

Thursday STARS Challenge

Happy Halloween!!  Today's challenge is a photo challenge.  The photo has such an autumn feel.  I was inspired by the colors and the acorns for my card today.

I created the acorns by using the Chalk Talk Framelits.  I just cut them down to the size that looked right for the card.  This was my first time using Soft Sky.  It is a fun blue color. 

 
Check out my fellow STARS' projects as well:
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Truly Grateful, Four You
Paper:  Soft Sky, Sweater Weather, Crumb Cake
Ink:  Soft Sky, Early Espresso
Other:  Labels Collection Framelits, Chalk Talk Framelits

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Truly Grateful Turkeys

It is the last weekend of October already.  Where has the month gone?  I am sharing the final project in my October Truly Grateful Project Series. For today's project I found a little inspiration on Pinterest.  This project was designed by fellow Stampin' Up demonstrator Kirsteen Gill.  I am again using the Gift Bow Bigz L die from Stampin' Up.  I love this little turkey.  I think he would be great at the "kid's table" of your holiday dinner - marking a special spot for each child.
 

 

For the colorful feathers, I used the largest stamp in the Truly Grateful stamp set.  I stamped both the bow tail and the small bow loop using matching ink.  These are then adhered to the largest circle in the Circle Collection Framelits Die cut in half.  The next layer of Early Espresso "feathers" is adhered to the 2nd largest Circle Framelit from the same collection.  For the turkey body, I left one plain and then thought it looked too flat.  So, I had to step it up a bit with the second turkey.  I used the Chevron Embossing folder on his body and wings.  I think it adds so much dimesion and interest.  I used the 1" X 8" Cellophane Bag from Stampin' Up for the legs.  They are filled with a special treat for your little guests.
 


I hope you have enjoyed these projects and will use some of these ideas for the upcoming holidays.  Thanks again for stopping by.

All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Truly Grateful
Paper:  Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry
Ink:  Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze
Other:  1" x 8" Cellophane Bag, Google Eyes (non-SU), Gift Bow Bigz L Die, Modern Label Punch, Circle Collection Framelits Die, Sticky Strip, Chevron TIEF

Friday, October 25, 2013

Lovely Circles

For today's cards I am combining two fabulous challenges.  Tuesday Morning Sketches #221 & ColourQ #211

 


These colors really seemed to work for me, even though the cards don't have any Halloween images.  I love the way the sketch and color inspiration photo incorporate circles.  For this card set, I used the various sentiments in the Lacy and Lovely stamp set.  I stamped the various circle images in each color and layered them over the corresponding cardstock.  The card base is Smoky Slate.
 
 

All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Lacy & Lovely
Paper:  Smoky Slate, Old Olive, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive, Calypso Coral, Smoky Slate, Jet Black StazOn
Other:  Basic Jewel Rhinestones, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch,

Thursday, October 24, 2013

STARS Thursday Challenge

It's that time of the week again. Time for another DOstamper STARS Thursday challenge.  This week is a sketch challenge.
The layout was fun to work with.  I combined the Six-Sided Sampler stamp set with Gorgeous Grunge.  Don't see the grunge?   It is actually the cross-hatch pattern on the Pool Party cardstock.  I layered a couple punches with the sentiment and added a little bling.  My clean and simple card is done.
 


 
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Six-Sided Sampler, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Smoky Slate, Night of Navy, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink:  Calypso Coral, Pool Party
Other:  Hexagon Punch, Modern Label Punch, Large Oval Punch, Basic Jewel Rhinestones, Perfect Polka Dots TIEF


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Stampin' Up Anniversary Celebration


We're celebrating Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary all year long, but during the week of the actual date (October 25th to be exact) we thought we should pump up the party even more. So what better way than a sale on the very products that started it all: stamps, of course!

Dates:  October 22-28, 2013
Offer:  Get 25 percent off 25 stamp sets.
Humongous List of Stamps on Sale:  All the info is in my Online Store

Check out this fabulous deal from Stampin' Up.  What's better than a party where YOU get the gifts!!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Autumn Sampler

Today I am featuring a home décor project.  This Autumn Sampler features many different images and punches from Stampin' Up.  I chose the colors based on Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper. 



Here is the unframed sampler: 

Each of the 9 squares has a finished size of 2 1/4".  Many of the squares have elements that are 3-dimensional, such as the rosette, the pumpkin and the butterfly.  To really showcase these, the layout is framed in a shadow box.

Hope you give this type of project a try.

All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Truly Grateful, Gorgeous Grunge, Lovely as a Tree, Papillon Potpourri, Label Love, Pennant Builder
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango, Sweater Weather DSP
Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango,
Punches:  Owl Builder, 1" Circle, Elegant Butterfly, Artisan Label, Bird, Decorative Label
Other:  Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Naturals Designer Buttons
Miscellaneous:  8 x10 Shadow Box, Michaels

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Truly Grateful Pumpkins

This is the third project in my October Truly Grateful Project Series.

For today’s project I have created some fun pumpkins. They are created using the Gift Bow Bigz L Die from Stampin' Up. They are sitting on a small table in my family room with a candle and some other fall decorations and they look great. These would also mix well in a Thanksgiving tablescape.






Check out this tutorial for my pumpkins. 


Stamp: Truly Grateful
Paper: Pumpkin Pie (Large), Cajun Craze (Medium), Tangerine Tango (Small), Always Artichoke (Leaves), Chocolate Chip (Stem)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Tangerine Tango, Always Artichoke
Embellishments: Linen Thread, 1 ¼” Burlap Ribbon, Naturals Designer Buttons, Gift Bow Bigz L Die
Circle Punches/Framelits: Various
Other: Hot Glue gun and Hot Glue

Thursday, October 17, 2013

DOstamper Stars Challenge

I tried a new challenge today.  My upline is Dawn Olchefske and I am a member of her group - DOstamper Stars. 
I recently got some new stamps from Stampin’ Up and really wanted to play with them.  For this card, I combined the Gorgeous Grunge and Hello Lovely stamp sets.  The Gorgeous Grunge set allowed me to use the colors in a fun way.  I love the sentiments from Hello Lovely. 




Check out my fellow STARS:

Thanks for stopping by today.

All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Whisper White
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe, Daffodil Delight
Other:  Stampin’ Dimensionals

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Truly Grateful Gift Tag

Welcome back to my October Truly Grateful Project Series.  For my next project, I am featuring a Gift Tag.  This could be used on a wine bottle that you are bringing to a holiday party or just to add more interest to your Thanksgiving tablescape.
 

 
 
 
This project can be created easily and adds a lot of impact.
 
Thanks for stopping by.  Next week we will be stepping things up a bit with the addition of the Gift Bow Bigz L Die - but there won't be any bows.
 
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Truly Grateful
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip
Other:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Chevron Embossing Folder, Naturals Designer Buttons

Friday, October 11, 2013

Metallic Motorcycles

Today I am featuring one of the fabulous cards that is included this month in my Stamp Set of the Month.


I absolutely love the way the motorcycles look with Silver Emboss Powder on Basic Black cardstock.  This would be a perfect masculine birthday card. 

 
If you place an order of $40 (before sales tax and shipping) on my online store by October 25, 2013, I will send you the kit to make this card and 2 others.  This includes all the cardstock cut to size.  You just need to add the Rev Up the Fun stamp set, (130520 Wood Mount, 130523 Clear Mount) ink and silver emboss powder to create these cards.
 
Stamp:  Rev Up the Fun
Paper:  Real Red, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink:  Versamark, Basic Black
Other:  Chevron Embossing Folder, Silver Embossing Powder
 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Cajun Fishing

I had a lot of fun with the OWH World Card Making Blog Hop.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left messages on my blog. All of the cards were great and the best part is that the heroes will have some fabulous cards to send home to their loved ones.

I am using the OWH Card Sketch #193 for my card today.  For the color I found some inspiration on Dynamic Duos.  At first Cajun Craze and Island Indigo seemed like a stretch for me, but then I found a way to combine them that made sense to me.

 
I used the stamp set By the Tide.  I stamped the coral/seaweed with Cajun Craze ink at full strength at the bottom of the Very Vanilla card layer then stamped off twice to create the background.  I stamped the fish in Island Indigo twice (stamped off once).  I added a Cajun Craze and Island Indigo layer behind the stamping and then attached the whole thing to a Crumb Cake card base.
 

Thanks for stopping by.
 
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: By the Tide, A Dozen Thoughts
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Island Indigo
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Island Indigo, Early Espresso
Other:  Regal Candy Dots, Island Indigo Baker's Twine

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Truly Grateful Fall Project Series

As a special series in October, I will be focusing on one stamp set and showing a variety of ways to combine the stamps with limited supplies to create cards and home décor items.

The stamp set used in these projects is Truly Grateful which is featured in the current Stampin' Up Holiday Catalog.

Since yesterday was World Card Making Day, my first project is a card.  This really showcases my stamping style.  I like to use all the stamps in a set to get the most of my sets.  I stamped the round tree layer on Crumb Cake to create my background paper.  The acorns were stamped on a strip of Crushed Curry.  The sentiment was stamped on the second largest Chalk Talk Framelit that was actually cut twice to create this "custom" shape.  Linen Thread was wrapped around the Burlap Ribbon and tied with a button.  The Chocolate Chip tag was embossed using the Chevron Embossing Folder.
 
 
  
Hope you enjoy this project.  Check back next Sunday for my next project.
 
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Truly Grateful
Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Early Espresso
Other:  Chalk Talk Framelits, Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Chevron Embossing Folder, Naturals Designer Buttons

Saturday, October 5, 2013

WCMD Bloghop



It is World Card Making Day!!  What a great day to make cards.  Of course if you need a little inspiration to get started, OWH is hosting a Blog Hop today.  Check out this link to see more great cards.  Here is the sketch that I selected for today:  OWH Sketch 145


I started out making one thank you card, but then I couldn't stop.  The colors in the designer series paper I selected just inspired me to try other combinations.  The layout is fairly simple, but I just love the way they turned out.  I can't pick a favorite - they are all bright and colorful.  Let me know which color you like the best in the comments below.

 
 

Thanks for visiting my blog.  I hope you feel inspired to create some cards for OWH today.

All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Five-Way Flower, Regarding Dahlias
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Whisper White, Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black
Other:  2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Basic Jewel Rhinestones

Friday, October 4, 2013

Polka Dot Thank You

When I saw the sketch at Retro Sketches this week I knew exactly what I was going to make.  Then life got in the way and here it is Friday night, but I did it.  I made my card.  Here is the sketch.


I had the idea to create a tri-fold card using the triangular side as one of the folded elements.  I turned the card vertically.  I used the arrow paper clip to hold the flap closed until the recipient opens the card to find a message inside.

 
 
It turned out just like I hoped.  Hope you enjoy this card.  Thanks for visiting.
 
All items Stampin' Up unless noted

Stamp: Four You, Polka Dot Pieces
Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP 
Ink:  Black Stazon Ink, Real Red
Other:  Hung Up Cute Clips

Pop & Place Holiday Gift Tags

Stampin’ Up introduced a new product today that I think would be fabulous for anyone.

Pop & Place Holiday Gift Tags
What a perfect way to dress up your holiday (or any time) packages!  The Pop & Place Holiday Gift Tags come in a booklet of 70+ tags in five designs.  These tags coordinate with the Season of Style products in the 2013 holiday catalog.
Combine this with the Christmas Tagables Photopolymer Stamp Set and you will be set for the gift giving season.

There are several options when buying these products. The tags and stamp set can be purchased individually.  Or you can combine items and save some money as a bundle.
Check out my online store for this product. It is available to order from October 4, 2013 to December 31, 2013. You can order online with me 24/7.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

October Stamp Set of the Month

I have selected a fabulous stamp set for October - Rev Up the Fun.  This set again features sentiments and images making it a GO TO stamp set for masculine cards.  We all have those men and boys in our life who need birthday cards.  I think you could even use these cards for teens.


Here are the featured cards for this stamp set.


If you place an order of $40 (before sales tax and shipping) on my online store by October 25, 2013, I will send you the kit to make all these fabulous cards.  This includes all the cardstock cut to size.  You just need to add the Rev Up the Fun stamp set, (130520 Wood Mount, 130523 Clear Mount) ink and silver emboss powder to create these cards.

Everyone who orders by October 25, 2013 is entered for a chance to win FREE Stampin' Up product.  Enter the Hostess Code 47S4YQNC when you place your order.

Check out the details of my Stamp Set of the Month program.