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

A Little Pleating with Nursery Necessities

I'm really getting this out under the wire for the Friday Mashup Challenge. The challenge closes in less than 3 hours. But I'm getting this out there. I love pleating ribbon which was one part of the challenge. I also loved that the other part of their challenge was to make a baby card. I've been wanting to use the Nursery Necessities stamp set since I got it a 2 months ago. But I didn't have anyone to make a baby card for. Until now. My daughter's senior kindergarten teacher is expecting a baby in January and I'm so so excited for her! I also know she loves all my cards:

I also used this week's Freshly Made Sketch. It came at a good time for me because I *finally* found my brand new Scallop Edge Punch. I got it just before we moved and packed it away. Really well. ;) I did the same thing with my new Illuminate Watermark Ink Pad. But I found that too ;)

Tips & Tricks:

*Can't get your pleated ribbon to stay put? Especially the thicker grosgrains? Adhere a strip of Sticky Strip to your card and then pleat your ribbon. It'll keep it in place!
*The Illuminate Watermark Pad is so great. It's leaves a watermark on your card stock, but with a shimmer! I did try it on Pool Party too, but it had a much more subtle look so I opted for Island Indigo.
*My daughter's teacher is francophone so the greeting is in French. I have Teeny Tiny Wishes in both languages because Ottawa has so many bilingual and francophone residents :)

I hope my daughter's teacher loves the card. Now I've got to get ready for my big Studio Grand Opening on Friday :) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Voeux Mignons
Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo, In Color DSP
Ink: Illuminate Watermark Ink
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Word Window Punch, Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Big Shot, Polka Dot Embossing Folder

Beautiful Papillons

I'm so excited, my studio is pretty well ready for my Grand Opening on Friday! I did some stenciling on the walls today (with retired Decor Elements stencils), hung my Dasher picture (using the retired Hostess Decor Element), and set up another Expedit shelf in the corner. Looks much better than the plastic organizer I had there before :) I bought three folding tables yesterday, though I need one more. And I have chairs. So bring it on, I'm ready to stamp with you!

Today I have another Sunday Stamps post for you. Yes, I'm very aware it's Monday. But with the long week-end, I got totally confused on days. And I've barely been on the computer! We had a lovely color challenge from Tara (Can't Stamp the Rain). We were challenged to use Sahara Sand, Lucky Limeade and Wisteria Wonder. The last two were easy for me to use. But Sahara Sand? The only card stock that I have in that color is from a multi-colored package of card stock that I bought when I first joined SU! over 4-1/2 years ago! And I don't even have the ink... I much prefer Crumb Cake ;) But I love how it turned out and may have to acquire more of this color:

Tips & Tricks:

*I really had butterflies on the mind when I made this card and loved how fabulously the Papillon Potpourri stamp set paired with the Bigz Beautiful Butterflies die.
*I love the Delicate Designs Embossing Folders for borders. They do leave a little outline on the card stock where the embossing folder ends (it's only about an inch wide) so I covered it up with some 3/8" White Taffeta Ribbon.
*The Papillon Potpourri stamp set coordinates with the Elegant Butterfly Punch. Which means easy cutting, no scissors :)
*Like the greeting? It's from the Memorable Moments stamp set.

I didn't get a chance to take updated pictures of my studio, but I will tomorrow! I still need to sort out a make and take for Friday, too. Talk about cutting it close ;)

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

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Memorable Moments
Paper: Wisteria Wonder, Sahara Sand, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Ink: Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Elegant Butterfly Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Oval Punch, 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Big Shot, Bigz Beautiful Butterflies Die, Delicate Designs Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals

A Big Thank You with Betsy's Blossoms

Today I bring you the first hand stamped card made in my brand new stampin' studio :) The studio is not fully outfitted yet, I'm still missing my punch racks and am still trying to sort out storage. But I'm getting there. And very fittingly the cards I made were 'Thank You' cards for the people who helped us move. I will be ever so grateful to them because let me tell you... that move was NOT a walk in the park ;) Next time, movers! Lol!

The photo isn't the best, I know. I have yet to sort out how and where the lighting will be the best for photographing my cards. But it's better than nothing, right? I've currently got an eBay bid in for a collapsible photo tent, so cross your fingers for better photos soon!

For my card, I used this week's Freshly Made Sketches sketch. A cute and simple sketch :) I also layered two of my favorite patterns from the Patio Party DSP: the gorgeous flowers and sweet little hearts. I hope the folks who receive this card (as well as a little gift) know how much their help meant to us. For the large blossom, I stamped off before stamping my image to make the blossom a bit paler. I did add a little Basic Pearl in the bird's eye for a bit of extra dimension.

I did promise some pics of my studio. Here we go... please keep in mind that I'd still like to do a bit of stenciling on the walls, and a bit of decor. But it's functional and should be good to go soon!

Back wall. Dasher will probably hang on the right. Any tips with SU!'s Decor stencils? What type of sponges would I use?

I know that SU! doesn't do Decor Elements anymore. But I couldn't resist:

Storage unit (IKEA Expedit). Sadly, I need even more storage ;) Already.

*My* gorgeous workspace with the serene trees in the back. :)

My daughter's workspace/Big Shot table:

Ribbon storage. I got the rolling storage unit below it for only $15 at Home Depot!

Thanks for visiting and looking at my new space! If you're in the Ottawa area and would like to come to my New Studio Grand Opening Party, sign up here: http://studiograndopening.eventbrite.com/ . 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity :)

Back with Sunday Stamps

It's been much too long since I last posted. I've been super busy with this new house. Setting everything up has definitely been much more work than I or my husband ever expected! Why didn't anyone warn us??? lol! But it's all good. We're settling in and the kids are loving it. My daughter met some girls on our new street that are her age and she was pretty excited when they asked her to play scooters right away. It was everything I'd hoped for :)

Today I'm back with the Sunday Stamps Challenge. We took a two-week summer break, but now we're back with a gorgeous sketch from Hayley Kew:

I wasn't sure what direction I wanted to take this sketch in. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that the In Color Ruffled Ribbon wold look good layered. So I came up with this:

Tips & Tricks:

*I embossed the Whisper White Background with the Floral Bouquet Embossing Folder. I love how delicate the little flowers look without taking over the card.
*I felt so bad leaving Island Indigo and Pool Party out of this card ~ I had a really hard time deciding which of the five In Colors to use! But I love how this turned out. Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade and Calypso Coral look so fresh together.
*How can you not love the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and coordinating Framelits? They make creating fun greeting for your card so easy!
*Rhinestones to the rescue again! My blooms from Betsy's Blossoms looked a little plain. Something was missing. So I added some rhinestones and voila! Problem solved ;)

Hope you're still hanging in there with me with my lack of posts. As of today, my studio is functional (see my Facebook Page and don't forget to 'like' it :) ), I should be a bit more productive ;) 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Betsy's Blossoms, Itty Bitty Banners
Paper: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Calypso Coral/Wisteria Wonder/Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Adhesive Jewels - Rhinestones, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Floral Bouquet Embossing Folder, Bitty Banners Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals