Watercolored Frosty Friends

Isn't this the sweetest stamp? There's just something super cute and adorable about those snow men. They've got cute little hats, scarves and what about the birds? For this reason, I decided to do a class using this stamp. Best of all, your class fee includes the stamp :) It's a watercoloring technique class. Check out the first card that I've designed for the class on November 24th:

My inspiration for this card came from this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. We had a fantastic, simple sketch to work with and other than the greeting, I stayed pretty true to the sketch. 

Tips & Tricks:
*How awesome is the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper? So many gorgeous patterns all stitched together!
*To change up the look of your favorite punches, use a smaller sentiment and only half (or less) of the punch! That's what I did here with the Designer Label Punch.
*When watercoloring, it's much easier to blend your colors when using our Watercolor Paper. It's 140 lbs cold-pressed high quality watercolor paper.

I'm glad I'm back in the blogging world and see I have a few more followers! Welcome! But I'm still going to keep my posts short & sweet. Hope you've enjoyed this card. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring our your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Frosty Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Watercolor Paper, Snow Festival DSP
Ink: Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 5/8" Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals  

A Few Christmas Cards

I've taken a little Internet break. It was a much needed break. I've been on Facebook, though not as much, and I've still been in my stampin' room. I've been doing some birthday cards, I made some Hallowe'en projects and now I've been working on cards for my next Crazy 4 Christmas card class next Friday November 16th.

Snow Swirled was one of my first Stampin' Up! Christmas sets and it's still my favorite! There's just something so magical about this tree. For my class, I think I'll add in a bit of Champagne Glimmer Paper.

The Snow Festival DSP in the Holiday Mini is so pretty! Vibrant colors, fun prints. And do you like the silver Merry Christmas? I used the Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker.

We will be making these two cards and two others! Hope you can make it - it's a steal at $30 or FREE with a $50 order.

'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Dancing, Eaten Gingerbread Men

I'll be honest. I wasn't too fond of the Scentsational Season when I first saw it. I got it in wood-mount because it seemed so childlike and my 6-year-old daughter said she'd like to stamp with it (and she has :) ). But then I saw a few cards made with this set that I thought were cute and I've had fun with it. Funny how that happens ;)

I saw a super cute card somewhere, can't remember where now, but it had the gingerbread men in the stamp set tumbling all over the place. Using that card and the Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge as my starting point, I came up with this:

I have this cookie cutter that has gingerbread men with body parts cut off - arm, leg, head. So I thought that would be a fun way to make this card a bit unique :) I used the 1-1/4" Scallop Circle Punch to create the bite marks.

Tips & Tricks:
*Have you tried the new Coredinations Card Stock? It has a natural core so when you sand it down the core shows through. I love the look with lacy and intricate embossing folders. Makes it look antiqued!

*Even though you can't smell through the computer, imagine a lovely gingerbread smell coming from my gingerbread men. I embossed them with the Sugar & Spice Embossing Powder. I love how the embossing powder gives them that 'gingerbread-y' look.

*As much as I love my punches, sometimes I like to just stamp on a scrap piece of card stock and 'flag' it. To ensure perfectly centered notches, snip your cardstock right down the middle and then snip diagonally to the middle point. Voila, perfectly formed flag.
*To add a bit more vintage feel, I sponged my greeting with Soft Suede and peeled apart the very Vanilla card stock. I used my Bone Folder to tease the card stock and then simply pulled apart the layers.

I can't wait to send this car away for Christmas. And I can't wait to play around with this stamp set a bit more. :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Scentsational Season, More Merry Messages
Card Stock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Be of Good Cheer DSP, Early Espresso Core-dinations
Ink: Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Stampin' Sponges, Big Shot, Holiday Collection Framelits, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Sanding Block, Stampin' Dimensionals

Freshly Made Anniversary with Evergreen

It's Sunday, and I really should be posting my Sunday Stamps card but I really wanted to participate in the Freshly Made Sketches Anniversary Challenge so I'm mixing things up this week. I also wanted to show off my fave new Christmas stamp set! I just got the Evergreen stamp set last week, love the UPS Brown Truck. ;) It is soooo pretty! I love the words to Silent Night on one of the stamps ~ so pretty! And doesn't Silent Night represent so well what Christmas is all about :)

For this One Year Anniversary Challenge, we could select the sketch we liked best. I kind of did it backwards though, I looked for a sketch I loved that would work with my Evergreen tree. The sketch from Week #40 worked perfectly. I changed it up a bit (because you know, that's what I do ;) ) but it's pretty close.


Tips & Tricks:

*Instead of using a different card stock color or a DSP on the bottom layer, I embossed my Pool Party card stock with the Delicate Designs Embossing Folder. It can look lacy, but works pretty well as snowflakes, too!
*I didn't really want to put my tree in an oval, so I stuck with my trusty rectangle :)
*Did you know SU! was the first stamp company to do 'two-step stamping'? I love this simple technique! I first stamped the solid tree in Pool Party and then the words to Silent Night in Basic Grey. This stamp set is very easy to line up, no need for a 'perfect fit'.
*Aren't Basic Grey and Pool Party lovely colors for a Christmas card? Cool, but I think they work great with the tree!

I especially enjoyed creating this card because we will be making it at my monthly Crazy 4 Christmas Card in October! I can't wait to stamp some Christmas cards with some wonderful ladies soon! I still have a few spots, so be sure to sign up soon.

'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Evergreen
Card Stock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Basic Gray
Ink: Pool Party, Basic Gray
Accessories: 1/4" Basic Grey Ribbon, Adhesive Jewels - Rhinestones, Big Shot, Delicate Designs Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals

A Truly Joyous Celebration

Friday was a super exciting evening in this new household! I had 25 women (and one boy who came with mom) fill my new stampin' studio and my basement. As my husband said, it was a good test for the house and having a party! My kids were super excited to answer the door for everyone and they certainly made fantastic hosts!

I was super excited to show the studio off to everyone and everyone had a great time! Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take pictures :( I was planning on it, but was excited with everything that it slipped my mind. We had three make-and-takes, one of which I used the sketch from this week's Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge.

I haven't taken pictures of the other two make-and-takes yet. Still struggling with photographing my cards and other crafts in my new space. But I've ordered a small light tent so my photo issue should be resolved soon :)

Tips & Tricks:

*Did you know you can do the marker-to-stamp technique with our new Silver & Gold Satmpin' Dazzle Marker? Color the stamp with the marker just like you would with any other colored Stampin' Write Marker and stamp! Voila, I've got a silver reindeer with minimal fuss.
*I love the flagged elements on this week's Try Stampin' On Tuesday's sketch. I know many people use a Square Punch to do their flagging but I much prefer to free-hand them.
*I love how festive and diverse the Snow Festival DSP is. So many different patterns in the package but they work so nicely together! And how gorgeous are Cherry Cobbler and Baja Breeze together?
*Are you loving the 3-1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon in the Holiday Mini Catalogue? I wasn't sure how to use it on a card because it's pretty thick. So I folded it over a couple of times, tied a little Baker's Twine ribbon on it, and I had a unique ribbon with lots of dimension.

I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed themselves last Friday. And I really love this sketch, I'll have to use it again! 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Joyous Celebration, Tiny Tags
Paper: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Snow Festival DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: 3-1/2" Cherry Cobbler Scalloped Tulle Ribbon, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Wide Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Big Shot, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker

A Simple Ornament Keepsakes Card

This week, Sunday Stamps brings you a most fantastic sketch. Just a really great sketch. By Yours Truly - lol! I'm your hostess for the Sunday Stamps Challenge this week! I've been playing with sketches for a while and being part of this design team has forced me to put pen to paper. For this challenge, I came up with this sketch:

I had just gotten the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set and was wanting to play with it. It coordinates perfectly with the Candlelight Christmas DSP and so I came up with this card:

Tips & Tricks:

*How gorgeous are the designs on the ornaments and on the DSP. So vintage but with a modern twist. This DSP coordinates with Early Espresso, Real Red, Very Vanilla and Lucky Limeade. Love it!

*The Ornament Keepsakes stamp set coordinates with the Holiday Framelits. I love how the Framelits let us have perfectly cut out shapes!

*I was so sad when they retired the Many Merry Messages stamp set last year. But I should've known that SU! had something up their sleeve: the More Merry Messages stamp set. It has lovely greetings perfect for all Christmas cards! I love the font of the 'Merry Christmas' greeting.

*Sometimes I find the 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon seems too wide. This is where I bring in the 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon. It fits perfectly on this card without taking it over.

I hope you like my sketch and you'll join us at Sunday Stamps this week. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, More Merry Messages

Paper: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Candlelight Christmas

Ink: Real Red

Accessories: 1/8" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, Big Shot, Holiday Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals

An Ornament Keepsake Card

I know what you're thinking... another hot day and another Christmas card, lol! It's HOT hot hot, here in Ottawa, with no end in sight, and I've got to stay cool somehow ;) I'm also soooo excited by the 2012 Holiday Mini that I can't help but show off all the fab items in it. Best of all, the Mini is now live so you can shop from it!

I've used the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set on a previous card, but I had yet to use the coordinating Ornament Framelits. Not because I don't like them - I LOVE them! I just hadn't had the chance. Until today :) Best of all, SU! has bundled a bunch of the products in the Mini, so you can get both the stamp set and Framelits at a discounted price! WOOHOO!

And don't you love how the Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP has the same intricate patterns as the Ornament Keepsakes stamps as well as the Lacy Brocade embossing folder?  Doesn't get much better than that with coordinating products. Admittedly, matchy-matchy can be a bit tacky, but SU! makes it work ;)

Tips & Tricks:

*As much as I love punches and how they coordinate with a lot of SU!'s images, Framelits are even better. I can cut out eight different images with the Ornament Framelits for only $32.95! Love. It.
*I'm still stunned by how fantastic the new Firm Foam Ink Pads are. I know, they're old news, but come on... how gorgeous and crisp is those lines are on the ornaments.
*Somehow 'christmas cheer' (from the Sweet Essentials set) and these vintage ornaments work really well together. :) No punch is big enough to fit the sentiment and I thought the banner looked good. I free-handed the banner with my Paper Snips.
*I absolutely love the Large Pearls but I have a hard time finding images big enough to for them. But this large ornament... perfect!

Hope the thoughts of Christmas cooled down those who are in the midst of this heat wave. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

 


Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Ornament Keepsakes, Sweet Essentials
Ink: Real Red, Early Espresso
Paper: Real Red, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Big Shot, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Ornament Framelits, Large Pearl, Basic Jewels - Pearls

A Fun Sketch for Birthday and Christmas

This is going to be a double post. Try Stampin' on a Tuesday had a fantastic sketch for us this week and when I saw it, I saw two types of cards. A birthday card using Papaya Collage and a Christmas card using Christmas Lodge.

I also made sure to use some super fun DSP's: Fan Fair for the birthday card and Candlelight Christmas for the Christmas card. The Fan Fair DSP coordinates well with the Postage Due stamp set, but I love it with Papaya Collage, too. It has a nice, vintage feel to it and I love the colors.

I really love the rose in that stamp set. It's so pretty, classic and vintage-looking. I thought it looked fantastic in the frame and I especially love the layered roses. What do you think of the button? It's one of the new Natural Buttons. I threaded a bit of Hemp Twine through it to complete the look.

I was inspired to do another Christmas card by the Friday Mashup. The challenge this week was to create a Christmas card and/or decorate the inside of the card. I did both. I chose the Candlelight Christmas DSP (a sneak peek from the Holiday Mini) and I love how it has a sparkly feel to it. A shimmer, just like candlelight. I also finally used my favorite Christmas stamp set this year - Christmas Lodge.

I just love how classic this stamp set is. For this card, something was missing on the 'banner' pieces of DSP. So I added a few Adhesive Pearls at the bottom of them. I love how easy they are to use. This DSP works perfectly with the Christmas Lodge set, too. Classic Christmas. I used my Paper Snips to free-hand the notches in my DSP.

I decorated the inside of my card with the same DSP that I used on the inside of my card. Then I used some of the stamps I hadn't used on the front of the card to make sure the person who received the card knew I wanted them to have a Merry Christmas. :)

I hope you like my two-in one card. I think I'll have to use this sketch a few more times. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Christmas with Delightful Dozen

I know I know, another 34C day in Ottawa and I'm posting about Christmas! Maybe that's why this heat wave has no end in sight? I'm tempting fate... but I had to get one more card ready for my Christmas in July Class on Thursday. I'm totally excited to eat some cookies, stamp some Christmas cards and listen to Christmas music ~ a stampin' friend is bring her Michael Buble Christmas album :)

One of the main reasons I bought the Delightful Dozen stamp set was for the Christmas stamp. It's so elegant, it's gorgeous. It stands out and really is an image in of itself. So when I saw that The Paper Players Challenge this week was to use a word stamp as the focal point/main image on a card, it seemed like this card was meant to be!

The sketch is my own. I've been working on my own sketches for a little project I'm planning for the fall... don't want to release details yet, but stay tuned, it will be exciting! I also used the strip of circles stamp from the new Chock Full of Cheer stamp set which coordinates perfectly with the gorgeous Be of Good Cheer DSP. Who would've thought that Gumball Green would look so great with Cherry Cobbler? I'm not usually a big fan of bright green, but I do love this one!

Tips & Tricks:

*I really wanted the greeting to stand out so the layer which it is stamped on is quite big.
*When I put my card together, it looked good. But, something was missing. I added a few Basic Jewels - Rhinestones to the stamped ornaments and suddenly the card was 'fixed' ;) Still love those jewels!
*Because I don't have to 'smoosh' my stamps into the new Firm Foam Stampin' Pads to get good ink coverage, I rarely have to worry about having 'rock' lines on my cards. Look at how crisp the images come out!

Hopefully this card doesn't set us up for an even longer heat wave. I think my hydro bill is going to be the highest ever this summer... better get stampin' to pay it! ;) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Christmas and Hallowe'en - in July!

As Eastern Ontario roasts in this crazy heat wave, I've been playing with my new Holiday Mini Products. There are tonnes of awesome stamp sets as well as brand new accessories in this Mini. What's more, SU! has included more Framelits, Piercing Templates and Big Shot Dies. Awesome ~ it's like they're reading my mind ;)

So first we'll do Christmas. This card uses the new Ornament Keepsakes stamp set. I did use the 1-3/4" Circle Punch but for the ornament, but the Holiday Ornaments Framelits have been made to perfectly coordinate with all the ornaments. I say it all the time, but I love all the product coordination :)

I'm loving the Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP. It has gorgeous colors (Real Red, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Lucky Limeade and others) as well as classic patterns. I was so excited to break into it and use it on this card! On Thursday July 19th, I'm doing my Christmas in July Class and I'm very excited for the ladies to do this card!

The second card I have for you today is a Hallowe'en card! The minute I saw the Googly Ghouls stamp set in the Mini, it screamed 'The kids will love it!' and 'What an awesome scrapbooking stamp set!'. What child doesn't love 'googly eyes'. Heck, *I* love googly eyes! The stamp set has images of a mummy, Frankenstein, a witch and two others. I did use the Retro Sketches #19 Challenge from last week for my card below.

Do you like the DSP? It's the new Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP. It will be perfect for scrapbooking too! Love the colors ~ Tangerine Tango, Basic Grey and More Mustard. And what about the ribbon? It's satin, it's striped and it's gorgeous! I'm still trying to figure out a way to work it into my Christmas cards. I really wish SU! did this ribbon in a Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler or something else Christmas-y. But I'll find a way to make it work.

Hope you've enjoyed these little sneak peaks. Like I said before, how can you *not* like the googly eyes??? lol! Stay tuned for more info on my scrapbooking class. There's also a sweet Hallowe'en treat kit in the Mini that coordinates with this stamp set... Lots of project ideas floating around in my head ;)

'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

More Christmas in June with the Star Tree

Yeah, I know. It's June. It's hot out. We're swimming in pools and sunbathing at beaches. We should not be thinking about Christmas... but I am! I love the idea of making a few Christmas cards *before* the season starts. That way when I'm knee-deep in the Christmas rush, I already have some cards made :) That's what the Merry Monday Challenge is all about! This challenge comes out every Monday so I'm sliding in at the last moment! (But... what's new, right? ;) )

I used the new single stamp Star Tree for my card. And do you like the embossing at the bottom? I did that instead of the ribbon. I used the new Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder for this. There are two edge embossing folders in the package. One of them has this snowflake-looking design. I think it's supposed to be more of a doily, but when I saw it I immediately thought CHRISTMAS! lol!

Tips & Tricks:

*I did a simplified easel for this card. I cut a piece of 4-1/2" x 5-1/2" Pool Party card stock and folded it in half lengthwise making a 4-1/2" x 2-3/4" card base. Then I attached the 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Island Indigo card stock.
*I love all the little stars on the tree. I used my Two-Way Glue Pen to put some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter on all of them to give it that Christmas-y twinkle!
*I know I've used the Labels Framelits a lot lately, but how could I *not* use them on this card? The tree fits perfectly!
*I really love this color combo for Christmas. I know it's not traditional but I find the Pool Party is quite 'icy' blue and the Island Indigo gives a great contrast. I know the names of the colors don't sound Christmas-y either but you have to admit, it works!

If you love this card and want to get a head start on your Christmas cards, come to my Christmas in July! Class on July 19th. Promises to be lots of fun, using ALL NEW stamps and there was some talk of Christmas music ;) I hope to see you at this class... 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Chock-Full of Cheer... In May

Well, I am finally, *finally*, feeling pretty much normal, and back to my old stampin' spirit! With the new catalogue preorder I also ordered the Chock-Full of Cheer stamp set as well as the *gorgeous* Be of Good Cheer DSP. There's a super fun challenge called the Merry Monday Challenge. It's Christmas, all year round! How fun :) The idea is that if you do the challenge week after week, you have 52 cards at Christmas :)

So I have a Christmas card for you today! And yes, I know it's May. The fun sketch I used is to the left. The card I created is below.

Tips & Tricks:

*Do you love the DSP? That's the Be of Good Cheer DSP in the new cattie. It uses Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and the new In Color Gumball Green in it. Love. It.
*Love the way I can use our punches with the Chock-Full of Cheer stamp set and make an easy two-colored ornament.
*See that ribbon? What do you think? It's the new In Color Ribbon. It's going to be available in all 5 new In Colors. It's Satin. It's stitched and easy to work with. It's YUMMY! Stay tuned for a Ribbon Share - 2 yards of each for only $15!
*I absolutely love the Rhinestone Jewels - they're just enough to bling up a card for very little cost. Gotta love saving those pennies!
*I may not be a green lover, but I'm really lovin' Gumball Green and used it to stamp the greeting on the same colored card stock. Tone-on-tone stamping is a great way to include a greeting without taking over the card.

Merry Early Christmas ~ 'til next time keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Christmas in February?

I recently had a hostess who wanted to do a private scrapbooking class with her scrappin' friends. Not only a scrapbooking class, but a Christmas scrapbooking class. In February :) How fun! I have tonnes of Christmas photos so a few extra pages to scrap them could come in handy!

I had never met this lovely lady and her friends so I inquired a bit about their style. She told me that they were quite varied in style, and easy to please, but she wanted to WOW them! Well now ~ how do I wow them? And what materials should I use? I wanted to use a DSP that wasn't strictly Christmas but that still looked festive. I've seen the Mocha Morning DSP used with Cherry Cobbler and with the metallic colors in the DSP, I thought it was perfect for Christmas. Turns out I was right :)

I love the Soft Suede with Cherry Cobbler as well. I sponged the wreath from Welcome Christmas with Soft Suede as well as the 'Memories' flag. I free-handed the DSP flags behind the photos with my Paper Snips although you can use any square punch as well. Since these ladies weren't familiar with SU! and our fantastic products, I wanted them to see how we have coordinating stamp sets and punches. No stamp set and punch show this off better than Delightful Decorations and the Ornament Punch

Tips & Tricks:

*Love the way I weaved the DSP? It's very easy ~ just follow the tutorial at this link.
*As much as I like doing bows, especially cheater bows, sometimes a simple knot ~ such as the one I made on the first page ~ is enough and doesn't take away from the rest of the lovely page elements.
*On the second page, the photo mat is 6-1/2" x 9". This way I can either fit a larger photo (such as a 5x7) or I can split the mat in two and put in two 4x6 photos. 
*I know my Scalloped Square mats don't seem to be very practical ~ photos are usually 4x6. But I always have so many photos that have 'dead space' that can easily be cropped off. I love using this Big Shot die to make mats for photos that can be cropped to 4x4 or 3-3/4" x 3-3/4".

If you're loving these pages, come make them! I'm doing my Fast & Fabulous Class as a scrapbooking class this month on Wednesday February 29th @ 7:30! Hope to see you there... 'til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!