Spring Flowers

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it snowing AGAIN this morning!  In an effort to make spring arrive earlier (even if it only happens inside) I made this cute little flower arrangement for the wall by my front door.  It was super easy, because I used my Big Shot and the Flower Folds die for most of the work.  I wound some Certainly Celery ribbon around a few bamboo skewers for the stems, and just inserted them through the ribbon loop on the back that was created when I tied the knots in the center of the flowers.  The grass is made from the Shades of Spring Designer Series Paper and Certainly Celery card stock.  I just cut some strips and ran them through my crimper.  So easy!  And don't miss the butterfly...I LOVE the new embosslit in the Occasions Mini catalog!

Forest Friends

 

Card Stock~Soft Suede, Kraft, Whisper White; Ink~Sahara Sand Classic Ink, Soft Suede Classic Ink and Stampin' Write Marker, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker; Stamps~Forest Friends, A Little Birthday Cheer; Accessories~Dusty Durango Polka Dot ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

I distressed the edges with a pair of scissors, and tore the edge of the whisper white piece.  I also dabbed the edges of the white with Sahara Sand ink.  I like how the trees in the back came out...I didn't want them to be bold like the one on top, and because I stamped after I crumpled the paper, they turned out just as I had hoped.

Circle Circus

 

One more card for Sunday.  I like this one, but probably just because these are my favorite colors for cards.

Card Stock~Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Dusty Durango, and Whisper White; Ink~Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, and Dusty Durango; Stamps~Circle Circus, Vintage Labels; Accessories~Linen Thread, 1 3/8", 1 1/4", and 1" circle punches, Stampin' Dimensionals

Still Available!

Stampin' Up! gave us some good news today...the following products from the Holiday Mini catalog will continue to be available AND will appear in the new Idea Book & Catalog (which comes out this summer.)

Item #	Description	Price
116794	Ornament punch	$15.95
116806	Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116854	Frost White Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116807	Platinum Shimmer Paint	$5.95
116829	Décor Elements Blocks	$9.95
116824	Stampin' Up! Textured Impressions Folder Petals-A-Plenty	$7.95
116821	Stampin' Up! Holiday Windows Magnetic Movers & Shapers	$29.95
116819	Stampin' Up! Table Setting Bigz XL die	$42.95
116820	Stampin' Up! Embosslits Merry die	$11.95
116823	Stampin' Up! Sizzlits Merry Details die	$5.50
116822	Stampin' Up! O Christmas Tree Pop-Up Bigz XL die	$42.95
118140	Stampin' Up! Tree Decorations Sizzlits die	$5.50
118108	My Digital Studio	$79.95
116519	Charming stamp set	$19.95

Scallop Circle Card

Here's another one we'll be making at the Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday.

 

I cut out the card and strips of card stock with the Scallop Circle die and my Big Shot.  The animals are colored with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter.  I am well aware that the white part with the animals looks awful!  I dabbed some Sahara Sand ink around the white part, but it went terribly wrong :)  The truth of the matter is that I put the entire card together and the white seemed too stark, and I realized that I should have dabbed a little bit of Sahara Sand ink around the edges.  I tried to do that, but it definitely should have happened before adhering the white to the card.  And I just didn't have time to make another one.

The stamp set is Picnic Parade, a hostess set in the Occasions Mini catalog.  I decided to get the clear mount set rather than the wood set.  I still love the wood mount stamps best, but I definitely like the clear mount ones a lot more than I thought I would.  It's nice to be able to see exactly where I'm stamping the images.  If you'd like to try them out, give me a call...I'm happy to have you come over and play with my stamps before you buy.

Butterfly Birthday

Once again, it's been almost a month since I posted.  So much for keeping this blog up to date.  This is a card we'll be making at the Stamp-a-Stack that my friend Kelly and I are having on February 21.  There's still time to sign up, so if you're interested in making 12 birthday cards, just let me know!  You can also click here for more information.  Almost all of the products used for this card are from the SAB or Occasions Mini Catalog.  Click on the picture to the right to download the catalogs.

Wedding Card

Yesterday was my niece's wedding.  She was the flower girl at our wedding and it's a little hard to believe that she's now married.  I decided to use a few of the things in that box that came on Thursday to make a wedding card and matching envelope for Rachel and Peter.

I used leftover DSP from last year's mini catalog to make the envelope, then tied some kraft taffeta ribbon about it.  The card was folded into three sections, then tied on the outside with more of the same ribbon.  I forgot to take a picture of it, but the inside flap of the card had a scalloped edge, which I did using the new Scallop Trim Border punch (that I got for free...it's a SAB selection!)  For the front of the card, I used confetti white card stock and ran it through my Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet impressions folder.  I used a sponge dauber to dab Stampin' Pastels on the raised flowers to make them pop a bit.  The colors are Ruby Red, Cameo Coral and Old Olive.  The little label at the top is from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware.  I stamped the little flowers inside with my new clear-mount set called Tiny Tags (in the Occasions Mini catalog.)  I used VersaMark to stamp the flowers and "Mr. & Mrs." then used the same color pastels as I had used on the flowers.

I was pretty happy with the way it turned out, especially since I waited until the day before to make it!

Look What Came Today...

A great big box full of fun new toys!  And right there in the middle are two of Stampin' Up!'s new clear mount stamp sets.   I'm not sure how much time I'll have to play with this stuff in the next few days, but I'll try to get some samples posted as soon as I can!

It's Sale-a-Bration Time!

It's that time of year again...Sale-a-Bration!  For every $50 you spend, you'll earn a free product from the SAB brochure (click on the SAB button on my sidebar to view the brochure!)  There is great stuff this year....stamps, of course, but also Designer Series Paper and a punch!  And this year, there's a new option...instead of product from the SAB brochure, you can also choose select stamp sets from the Idea Book & Catalog.  And, if you host a workshop totally $300 or more, you'll earn an extra SAB product!

And not only does Sale-a-Bration begin today, but the customer ordering period for the Occasions Mini Catalog also starts today!  There is so much good stuff in there that you can easily earn lots of SAB products with an order just from the mini catalog! (Trust me, I'm having a hard time keeping my own wish list under control!)

Call me to place and order or schedule a workshop!

Advent Calendar

I know, it's after Christmas, but I wanted to show you all a unique Advent calendar that I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  Each year we exchange handmade gifts with one another, and as soon as I saw this, I knew it was what I wanted to make for her.  I CASEd it from Tracie Hudson at this site.  But of course, I had to put my own spin on it.

I chose some leftover Christmas paper from last year, then used Ruby Red for the drawers.  There are 24 drawers, but they don't contain the candy that you would imagine (although I would highly recommend adding chocolate!)  Inside each drawer is a little card containing a passage of scripture to read.  I chose Bible verses that followed the Jesse Tree our family did this year.  So each day next December, my lovely SIL will read a different passage that traces the lineage of Jesus all the way from Jesse.

This was a very fun gift to make, and not nearly as complicated as I first thought it would be.  The drawers are all made with the Matchbox die and my Big Shot.  Everything was stuck together using Sticky Strip.  That stuff is great, although I did use quite a bit of it on this project.  Hopefully my SIL enjoys this gift as much as I'm hoping she does!

The Last of the Loser Projects

It's ridiculous that I've neglected this poor blog for two months, but even worse that I STILL haven't posted all of my non-award winning projects.  So, this is it...the last two cards.  It may have been a long wait, but I did save the best for last.  I honestly can't decide which I like better.

The first one is a diorama card.  I actually won a contest last year making a similar card, and the folks at SU! told me they love diorama cards.  I figured that this would be a good bet :)  It's kind of hard to see, but I dry embossed the top layer, then stamped the middle layer with a stamp that matched the embossing plate.  The pearls are from the Pretties Kit.  I love this card.  How did I not win this contest!? :)

And I love this one, too.  If these colors don't scream April, then I don't know what would.  This card is just so me.  That's a coke can that I dry embossed, then pierced holes into with my paper piercing tool.  I attached some buttons from Button Latte with the Linen Thread.  I used the same thread to wrap around the large flower piece below.  I meticulously colored each of those flowers by using the Stampin' Write markers right on the rubber of the stamp.  I'm sad that this card is somewhere in Utah instead of here in my possession.  These two were hard to part with.  

 

Now, my lack of artistry may very well have been the reason that I didn't win this contest.  But I found out today that there is a very good chance that I was disqualified based on some silly rule that I thought I had clarified with the powers that be.  So I think I'll just tell myself that THAT was the reason I didn't get a pile of cash and a $500 SU! shopping spree.  I'm not entering this year.  Preparing for this contest took a lot out of me, and when I wasn't even named as a finalist, I was pretty disappointed.  Stamping for other people has taken some of the fun out of stamping for me, so I decided not to enter this year.  But maybe I'll give it another try again next year.