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

Button Buddies

Please excuse the horrible photography!  I was in a rush and thought it would be better to post something rather than wait for a good picture.  It's hard getting back into the routine of school, and we aren't even doing every subject yet!  But this year is all about making my 5th grader far more independent, so hopefully my days won't seem quite as busy once she's doing more of her work on her own.  At least I hope that's the case.  I'm probably fooling myself.

Anyway, this is a little 4"x4" card that uses the set Button Buddies.  I've had my eye on this set since it came out last year, and while I always thought it was cute, I just couldn't seem to bring myself to buy it.  But I finally caved in, and I'm having lots of fun playing with this set.  You can expect to see lots of cards featuring this set.  It's very cute, and I like how our buttons coordinate with each image.

This one is probably my least favorite of them all, but I thought it would look great with the Summer Smooches DSP.  Well, that and the fact that I only have Brights Buttons in my drawer right now, and I wanted the paper and buttons to coordinate! :)  The buttons add a little extra to the card, and often that's all it takes to take the card from nice to wow.

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Itty Bitty Banners

Ink:  Island Indigo and Lucky Limeade Classic ink

Paper:  Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, and Whisper White card stock, Summer Smooches DSP

Accessories:  Chevron embossing folder, Labels Collection Framelits, Bitty Banners Framelits, Brights Buttons, Linen Thread, sponge

An Apple for the Teacher

I FINALLY have a new card to share!  Better late than never, right?  Today is the first day of school for a lot of people, including us.  So in honor of the first day, I thought an apple card would be appropriate.

Not surprisingly, I used the Woodgrain embossing folder on this...I can't get enough of this folder, especially now that I have some of the Core'dinations card stock in Early Espresso.  I LOVE how this looks after lightly sanding the top layer.  In addition to the rest of my new staples, Orchard Harvest DSP and the Perfectly Preserved stamp set, I got out the Two Tags Die for my Big Shot.  The longer tag pairs so nicely with the scallop circle punch.

Our first day went reasonably well.  I love homeschooling my kids, but there are days when the drama is just. too. much.  We had a bit of that, but I've been preparing my 5th grader that this was a big year for her, and yes, the work would be harder.  I think that helped.  Hopefully it just gets better from here!

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved

Ink:  Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Early Espresso, and Lucky Limeade markers

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

Accessories:  Two Tags Bigz Die, Big Shot, Scallop Circle punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, Bitty Banners Framelits, Woodgrain embossing folder

Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stacks

It's time for our annual Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stacks!  My friend Kelly and I will be holding three separate events this year...come to one, two, or all three of them!

Here are the details:
Dates: Sundays - September 16, October 7, and November 11.
Time: 1-5 pm
Cost: $30 per event
Cards: You'll make 20 cards at each event, 5 each of 4 styles (want to make more? Just let me know which designs...cost is $15/additional set of 10 cards)
Location: Kelly's house in Harleysville

Please RSVP 2 weeks prior to each event so that we know if you are coming.  Advance payment is required to reserve your spot.  RSVP to: a_l_stoudt@yahoo.com or 610-287-0573.

I'll be posting sneak peaks of my cards soon!  I've actually had a hard time narrowing it down...there are so many great Christmas stamp sets in the Holiday Catalog that I've been making tons of cards.  If only I would post some of them. :)  Soon, I promise!

Tri-Fold Thanks

Happy Wednesday!  I just wanted to quickly show you this CASE of one of Shelli Gardner's cards.  I changed up the colors a bit, and the layering is just slightly different (I like Shelli's better, but I was too lazy to go back and change my card!), but other than that, it's pretty much exactly the same!  I just thought it was a really cool twist on a tri-fold card.

Stamps:  Friendship Preserves, Timber wheel

Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake markers

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Very Vanilla card stock

Accessories:  Always Artichoke seam binding ribbon, Window Frames Framelits, Paper Piercing Tool and Piercing Pack, Square Lattice embossing folder

August Club Card

This was one of our cards for club this month.  It used my very favorite, the Woodgrain embossing folder.  I wish I had used the new Core'dinations card stock with it, but unfortunately, I didn't originally buy it in Early Espresso.  But after making this card, I took care of that!  It will be here on Thursday. :)

The flowers and jar are from Perfectly Preserved.  Everything is stamped right onto the piece of Very Vanilla.  We took a piece of Window Sheets and cut it out using the Cannery Framelits.  We didn't do any stamping on that piece, although if you wanted to, StazOn is the way to go.  The ribbon and sentiment hide the adhesive, and I think it turned out to be so cute!

Our other card this month was a repeat of a SAS card from earlier this summer.  Here's a look at that one.

Stamps:  Perfectly Preserved

Ink:  More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, and Raspberry Ripple Classic Ink

Paper: Orchard Harvest DSP, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Raspberry Ripple, and Very Vanilla card stock

Accessories:  Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, Cannery Framelits set, Window Sheets, small oval punch, Woodgrain embossing folder