A Basket of Mums

I went digging in the archives for this one. :)  Actually, it's never been posted here, just on my official Stampin' Up! website.  Back when I originally made this, I entered this project in a contest on Shelli Gardner's blog, and was honored to have been selected as a winner!  And since it is one of my all time favorites, I decided to post it here. 


Fall is my favorite time of year and I've been having so much fun playing with all the gorgeous new colors Stampin' Up! introduced this year.  Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler and More Mustard are the perfect fall colors.  I wanted to come up with something that was unusual, but very fall-like.  I was inspired by the gigantic mum that is planted by my front door.  I haven't ever seen anyone make mums, so I was on my own to come up with a way to do it (although surely someone has figured this out before me!)  I'm so pleased with the way the flowers turned out!

To make the mums, I punched three petals with the Boho Blossoms punch for each flower.  I then used the faux suede technique to end up with six layers.  I popped a brad through all six layers, then fluffed up each layer around the brad.  It's that simple!

 I used the Baskets and Blooms die and my Big Shot to cut out the basket, as well as the Jewelry Tag punch for the little tags.  I love that punch!  To get the word "Blessings" on the tag, I used a Stampin' Write marker to color the single word from one of the stamps in the Falling Leaves set.  After stamping the word, I punched out the tag.

I hope you enjoyed this blast from the past.  This is one of my favorite fall decorations, and I really need to get it out this weekend!  Who am I kidding...I need to ask my husband to go to the attic and get the big box of decorations down for me. :)

Side Step Card

This is a card I made last year, and even though the DSP is retired, it was too beautiful a card not to show.  I hope that doesn't sound arrogant...I was just really, really pleased with how this card turned out.  I love the Gently Falling stamp set.  I pretty much love any set that has leaves in it, but this one is unlike any other leaf set I own (and I own a lot of them!)  After stamping the leaves, I used some shimmer paint on them, and a really cool thing happened.  I wasn't expecting it, but the leaves sort of curled up on the edges.  That might normally upset me, but on this card, it adds a more realistic look to the leaves, and they are just beautiful.  I sponged the edges of all the paper, including the Crumb Cake card stock that's behind the DSP.  In fact, I did such a thorough job of sponging the edges that you can't even tell the Crumb Cake is there!

This isn't the greatest shot, but I wanted to show you what the inside looks like.  When making a card like this, there is a lot of space on the side that you can't really use to write on, because of all the score lines.  Well, I guess you could, but I would find that kind of annoying! :)  So I stamped three leaves long that side to fill the space and added the sentiment.

Stamps:  Gently Falling, Four Frames

Ink:  Soft Suede, More Mustard, Old Olive, Baja Breeze

Paper:  Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Baja Breeze card stock

Accessories:  Decorative Label Punch, Linen Thread, Pearls, Frost White Shimmer Paint, sponge, sponge dauber 

SAS Christmas Ornaments

I've had fun playing with the Ornament Keepsakes set from the Holiday catalog.  I'm not really a vintage kind of girl, but I know it's a very popular look right now, and I've slowly been forcing myself to move out of my comfort zone and make some vintage cards.  I was really happy with how this card came out, especially since it combines my normal preference of bold images with a vintage-y look.

I loved how this card turned out!  The ribbon, the shimmer paint, the Core'dinations card stock, the pearls...all so pretty.  I especially loved the little tags.  But it was kind of a lot, especially for a Stamp-a-Stack.  It's one thing to make one of these, but to have several people making five?  I knew it would end up taking all afternoon just to do this one card.  So I sat down and tried to rework it, and I ended up loving the new card even more!  Many of the elements are the same, such as the shimmer paint that's covering the ornament and most of the card surface.  The ribbon and linen thread are still there, just altered a bit.  And I love the addition of a bigger piece of Crumb Cake card stock.

Stamps:  Ornament Keepsakes, Christmas Greetings (retired)

Ink: VersaMark, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, and Crumb Cake card stock

Accessories:  Linen Thread, Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon, sponge, Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Pearls, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Big Shot, Champagne Mist shimmer paint, sponge dauber

Stamp-a-Stack Christmas Card

This is one of the cards we made at our Stamp-a-Stack on Sunday.  Stampin' Up!'s glimmer paper and colored embossing powder make such a bold statement on this card.  It's such a fun card, and goes together so quickly because of all the punches that are used for the circles.

Stamps:  Scentsational Season, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  VersaMark, Cherry Cobbler Classic ink pad

Paper: Naturals White, Whisper White, and Gumball Green card stock, Red and Silver Glimmer paper, Be of Good Cheer DSP

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, 2 1/2" Circle punch, 3/4" Circle punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Rhinestones, Holiday Framelits Collection, Gumball Green embossing powder, heat tool

September Club Cards, Part 2

This month was all about non-traditional sized cards, so this one is a square card.  It was a simple as can be, with banners making up most of the layers.  The circles were easy to create with punches, and the little apple and stem from Perfectly Preserved are precisely cut with the Cannery Framelits.  This card also features two different types of woodgrain:  the green circle was stamped with the Timber wheel, and the Early Espresso banner was run through the Big Shot with the Woodgrain embossing folder.  The woodgrain pops out because I lightly sanded the Core'dinations card stock.  I love this stuff with this embossing folder!  They are perfect together!

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Timber wheel

Ink:  Raspberry Ripple and Early Espresso markers, Lucky Limeade Classic ink pad

Paper:  Naturals Ivory, More Mustard, and Lucky Limeade card stock, Orchard Harvest DSP, Early Espresso Core'dinations card stock

Accessories:  2 3/8' scallop circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, Cannery Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder, paper-piercing tool and mat

September Club Cards, Part 1

So apparently I need to start every Monday post with an apology!  YIKES!  I can't believe how quickly the days are going by, and before I know it, another week has passed and I've only posted once!  I thought July was always our busiest month, but I'm now starting to think it's September.  Talk about CRAZY!  I'd like to think that things will settle down a bit in the next few weeks, but I'm not sure my calendar agrees.

There's been lots of stamping this past week, though, with club on Wednesday night, and the first of our Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stacks yesterday.  Even with a small group, it was a great afternoon, and lots of fun.  Those cards will be coming later in the week, as well as a peak at the cards for the remaining two Stamp-a-Stacks.

But first, here's one of the cards we made on Wednesday night.  This one is a telescoping card.  I've been seeing lots of these lately, and wanted to give it a try.  We used Button Buddies, since that's my latest obsession.  I wanted it to be simple, since there were a lot of us making this at once.  But the simplicity is nice with this card, because of all the layers. 

I think this would be the perfect technique to use for a snowman card.  But it's only September...no talk of snow or snowmen yet!

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Day of Gratitude

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, More Mustard, and Cajun Craze Classic Ink

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Very Vanilla card stock

Accessories:  Scallop Circle Die, 3 1/2" Circle Die, 3" Circle Die, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Brights Buttons, Linen Thread, Sponge, Silver Brads, Paper-Piercing Tool and Mat

Simple Snail

I feel like apologies are needed for so many reasons...I meant to post this on Friday, but we were scurrying around packing to leave to go to my cousin's wedding.  We were two hours into the trip when I realized that I hadn't posted it.  That was also around the time when my daughter announced that she had not packed shoes to wear to the wedding.  I got to make a trip to the mall on Saturday morning to find some sandals for her.  The good news about that was that we did find a pair, and they were 50% off the clearance price! Hooray for good deals!  And, I should add, the wedding was lovely.  He was the last of all my cousins to get married, and I'm so happy for them! 

My other apology is for the photography.  There is a really cool element on this card, and the poor photography really doesn't show it off.  This little snail is from the Button Buddies set.  I love how each image works well alone, but looks even better with a button on top.  But what do you do if you don't have the right colored button?  This was the question I was asking myself, because there are no Tangerine Tango buttons.  The simple solution is Crystal Effects.  I simply stamped onto a piece of Tangerine Tango, punched out the shell part of the snail using the 3/4" circle punch, then used Crystal Effects on top.  The CE takes awhile to dry, so be sure to do that first, and be prepared to set it aside for a while and go fold some laundry.  Or, if you are lucky enough not to have clothes waiting in your dryer, you can just make more cards while you wait. :)

While it might be tempting to do the Crystal Effects first, but it's important to do that after punching.  Once dry, the CE will make it difficult, if not impossible to fit the card stock into the punch.  Also, don't run your dry CE through your Big Shot unless you want it to be flattened.  Just ask me how I know. :)

Stamps: Button Buddies

Ink:  Tangerine Tango Classic Ink

Paper:  Floral District DSP, Naturals White, Tangerine Tango, and Lucky Limeade card stock

Accessories:  Labels Framelits Collection, Paper Piercing Tool, Pack and Mat, Lucky Limeade Ruffled Ribbon, Stripes Embossing Folder, Big Shot

More Button Buddies

This card is sort of a cross between summer and fall.  I love mums, which is what this flower reminds me of, but the bright sunny colors are more summer-like.  And a cross between summer and fall is exactly what it's been like around here lately.  It's been cloudy, but hot.  School has started, so it feels like fall, yet the extreme humidity tells me that it's still summer. 

This was a quick card to pull together, using DSP from both the Polka Dot Parade and Floral District collections.  The Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight work so well together, and the white embossing powder on the happy birthday tag pops off of the yellow.  For some reason, the seam binding ribbon is a little more see-through in the picture than in real life, but ruffling up the ribbon would certainly take care of that.  It's fun to look at finished cards and think about ways to change up one of two elements...it will often result in a completely different look.  You can make simple changes to the same basic layout and end up with a completely different card.  Try it sometime!

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Itty Bitty Banners

Ink:  Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink, VersaMark

Paper:  Naturals White card stock, Floral District and Polka Dot Parade DSP

Accessories:  Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon, Pumpkin Pie 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (retired...1/8" taffeta ribbon or even a strip of cardstock make great substitutions!), Scallop Circle punch, Brights Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Bitty Banners Framelits, Big Shot, heat tool, White embossing powder

It's Back to Spool Time!

While the kids are heading back to school, Stampin' Up! is going back to 'spool'! For the month of September, get a FREE package of 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon (an $8.95 value) for every $40 you spend!  And the best part is, there's no limit! 

Choose from the following ribbons:

Item	Description	Retail Value
126848	Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126847	Midnight Muse 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126844	Primrose Petals 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126845	Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95
126846	Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon	$ 8.95