jumping into Fall

Boy, the Fall weather is right on time, isn't it? There was quite a chill in the air this morning at the bus stop! It made me want to stamp a quick Fall card... so I did.   :} 
Of course I was limited to the meager supplies I've managed to unpack so far. But I think my card turned out pretty nice... 

After putting together the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, it quickly made friends with some Summer Starfruit, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, and Wild Wasabi ink. Before adhering the Very Vanilla layer, I wrapped a teeny bit of Witches' Brew Washi Tape around the right side, and added Wild Wasabi pieces from the Chevron Border punch on the left side. 

Then I quickly assembled my Magnificent Maple stamp (yeah, yeah, yeah). I first inked the entire leaf with a Summer Starfruit marker. Then I added spots of color with Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi markers. After coloring the edges with a Chocolate Chip marker, I spritzed the rubber with a little water before stamping.  *cheesy grin*  I like the "artsy" look of this!  :} 
Of course now I want to go nuts and stamp every project idea I've been thinking about all summer, but I know I need to pace myself, or I'll end up with an even bigger disaster than I have now! I'll be a good girl and clean up the mess from this morning. (sigh) Cross your fingers for me to sneak in a little stamping time on Wednesday!

Teacher Appreciation Week - Thursday

A week of teacher appreciation gifts was a great idea... right up until I saw Tuesday's and Wednesday's gifts in Aaron's backpack! Aaagh! I emailed his teacher so she could ask him if he has anything in his bag to turn in. Silly little boy...

Sometimes a gift card is the perfect gift. I do worry that it doesn't seem very personal... that's where the "delivery system" takes center stage. Once a gift card is wrapped up in pretty packaging, it becomes fabulous!
Using a 4 x 12" piece of card stock, I designed a pretty gift card holder. Since my gift card is for that yummy coffee shop we all know and love, I thought the BIG mug in the Tea Shoppe stamp set would be perfect. I put the holder together so that it looks like the card is sitting in the mug.   :} 
I used a 22" piece of Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon to tie the gift card holder closed. Since I didn't want the ribbon to fall off once the holder was open, I adhered a 4-1/4" square of Chocolate Chip card stock to the back. 
If I were personally hand-delivering these gift cards, I would have stopped there. But since they were being delivered by two little boys, I enclosed them in Clear Envelopes for a little extra safe keeping.   :}  

And now... a few more pages from Aaron's animal alphabet book- 

the return of Soft Sky

It will be a few days before I get my goodies from the "new Cattie pre-order," but I'm too darn excited about some of the colors that are retuning. Sooooo, I got into my vault (aka "paper-crafting stuff I'm hoarding"). I pulled some Soft Sky card stock, retired ribbon, and retired DSP from my vault, and paired them with this week's Mojo Monday sketch to create this pretty card- 

I might be getting a little obsessed with the Papillon Potpourri stamp set, but it's so pretty, and has punches that coordinate! Technically it's Groovy Guava in that retired DSP, but I think it works nicely with Calypso Coral on this card. I'm so happy Calypso Coral is moving into our "core" colors!

To add a subtle look of four "boxes," I added score lines an inch apart on the Whisper White card stock.   **Tip: Before adhering punched butterflies (or flowers) to your project, curl the edges up slightly to add more interest. 

So how do you start playing with these fun new colors like Soft Sky if you don't have a vault of retired goodies??? All you need is a good color combination! Here's what Soft Sky looks like when paired with Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi- 

Love this color combo!! I see a lot of "boy" cards in my crafting future using these colors. 
FYI - those Pumpkin Pie brads are on the "chopping block." The retiring accessories are available only while supplies last, so be sure to shop now before all the good stuff is gone!   ;) 

Sitting on a cornflake... coo coo ca choo

Soooooo, today's card... it would be easier to say "don't ask," but I know someone will... 
This all started because Aaron brought home the most adorable project ever.  He made it at school while working on the letter Ww. As a Mom, I instantly thought, "this is a keeper for the scrapbook!" As a former kindergarten teacher I instantly thought "I have to save this in my letter Ww file." As a paper-crafter, I instantly thought "punch art!" Good grief!! 
But, seriously... who do you send a punch-art-Walrus card to??? I wanted to make this little guy so much I started to think of all sorts of stupid things (have a walrussy birthday???). Which led to thinking "I am crazy. Wait, wait wait... I am the Walrus... I have an 'I am' stamp (from last year's Convention)... yes! I will send this to my friend who is a Beatles fan." Although I'm pretty sure she's not a huge fan of this particular song - talk about "out there."

So there you have it... the reason for why you would make a punch art walrus other than for a ZOO scrapbook page. Yup, I am about as crazy as the song.   :}

It did turn out super cute though! I used an Oval Framelit to create the curved top of his head. I just ran the Chocolate Chip card stock about a third of the way through the Big Shot so it only trimmed the one end. A smaller Oval Framelit made the "snout?" out of River Rock card stock. I Spritzed the oval with a Chocolate Chip Marker and sponged the edges with River Rock ink. 

I used the Owl Builder punch to create the eyes, and the Small Oval punch to make the nose. For the tusks, I used the Petite Pennants punch to punch out two Very Vanilla triangles, and trimmed up each long side to make them thinner. 

Want to see the project that inspired all this silliness?

Adorable, right???  :}

Come to think of it, perhaps today's post was just "destined to be." After all, I did substitute teach today. ***Shout-out to Harristown Elementary as one of the nicest school buildings to sub in!  Aaaaand, the only stamp on today's card is from a Convention stamp set, and I registered for Convention 2013 today. Maybe, just maybe, I'm not so crazy after all... coo coo ca choo!

a simple card sketch - four ways!

Sometimes I like to give the creative side of my brain a little kick... either to get things started or to get my creativity to move in a different direction. I like to read paper crafting magazines, look through the photo gallery in Stampin' Up!'s online forum for demonstrators, and browse blogs. Earlier this week, a card sketch on the Clean & Simple blog caught my eye. I liked it so much, that I made quite a variety of projects using the same sketch. Today I'm sharing three cards and a  gift tag, all inspired by the sketch.   :} 

stamp sets: Circle Circus, A Word For You

stamp sets: Pleasant Poppies, Friendly Phrases

stamp set: Curly Cute          Embossing Folder: Lacy Brocade

stamp sets: Merry Minis, Tiny Tags 

Creating the scalloped-edge rectangle was super easy! Using the Scallop Squares Duo Bigz Die, I simply die-cut two of each square. For the card fronts, I adhered the larger squares together with five scallops overlapping. For the tag, the smaller squares are adhered together with three scallops overlapping. 

Speaking of die-cutting, have you ever wished you could see all of Stampin' Up!'s products for the Big Shot in one place??? Your wish has been granted!  :}  

Big Shot PDF      http://bit.ly/BigShotUS

Don't have the Big Shot (yet) but want to create those beautiful embossed textures (like on the thank-you card) with the Embossing Folders??? Another wish granted!! The Texture Boutique Embossing Machine is here! 

whew... That turned out to be quite a long post! Thanks for sticking around to the end.  Now go stamp!!  ;}

a simple card sketch + a few reminders

What a beautiful day! I can't wait to run around outside with my boys. But first, I gotta share some creative stuff  :}

I found a neat blog with some great card sketches. They're not fussy, and therefore, easy to recreate! The clean and simple card sketch 192 caught my eye, so I had to whip up a card.

To keep things simple, I started with a 3-1/2"x5" pre-cut, pre-scored Note Card (love these things!). I added a 3"x4-1/2" layer of Calypso Coral card stock (using Dimensionals).

Before I added the Whisper White layer, I used the Simply Scored to score two lines an 1/8" apart. The Calypso Coral DSP is die cut with the Big Shot using the new Apothecary Accents Framelits. I did end up adding three embellishments, but they're super simple. The Calypso Coral Baker's Twine is tied around the cupcake wrapper before adhering it to the card with a Dimensional. I used a 2-Way Glue Pen to add Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter® over the "frosting." And a Whisper White brad adds a very subtle detail.

Before I sign off, I have two reminders... 

After you open your My Digital Studio program, click on "Help," and then click on "Check for Updates."

And last but not least, click here for details on how you can win some BLOG CANDY.

Thanks for stopping by... Have a wonderful day!!!  :} 

 

Kraft Gift Box

Today I'm sharing the third project from my "Three in 3D" class...

Isn't it pretty??? I started with the Kraft Gift Box (124106  $2.95 for a set of 4) and added a piece of Designer Series Paper to each side. (The DSP layers measure 3"x2") Then I wrapped a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon around the box with the seam in front. A faux bow covers the seam and adds a super cute touch.

I wanted something really pretty to decorate the top of the gift box, and I was inspired by a flower that was on a card from the talented Mary Fish. I used the Build A Blossom stamp set to stamp 16 medium-sized petals and 8 small petals in Peach Parfait ink onto the same color card stock. Each petal is punched out using the Blossom Petals Builder punch. To add a realistic touch, I curled the edges of the petals against the side of the Paper-Piercing Tool. Each "layer" of the flower is adhered to a punched circle, starting with the bottom "layer" and building up. I used a lot of adhesive, which needs a good amount of drying time.
To create the flower center, I die cut two pieces of Chocolate Chip card stock using the Daisies #2 Bigz die and my Big Shot. A Dimensional holds the flower onto the box lid.

The next time you're placing an order, be sure to add at least one set of Kraft Gift boxes. They're great to have on hand to wrap up cute little gifts for co-workers, friends, and teachers.

more projects...

Oh my goodness, my camera's memory card is full of projects I haven't shared yet. I can't believe how quickly things pile up when you get busy! Since I know you are still recovering from yesterday's loooong post, I'll just share a couple of things today ;)

I made simple "thank-you" cards for my oldest son's birthday. I really like this color combination: Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz, and Chocolate Chip. The sentiment from the Thank You Kindly stamp set is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink onto the Pear Pizzazz DSP. I will definitely miss this stamp set when it retires at the end of this month!!

Lots of retiring goodies on this card, too. I will miss the Blushing Bride and Concord Crush, but at least I will have five new colors to play with! The sentiment is from the retiring Sweetly Said stamp set, and the three doily shapes are from the retiring Doily Triple Layer punch.

How about some things that are still available on the Carryover List? If you haven't already added these to your supplies, you can still order the Blossom punch and the Twitterpated DSP - yay!! And while you're ordering, you have to add these 3-1/2x5" Notecards! They're great for making quick and easy cards... pre-cut, pre-scored, and envelopes included!!  (107311   $5.95 for 20)

Here's the rest of the Carryover List:

Ok, so three projects and a list... that's still a "couple of things," right??  ;)  If you have a question or need to stock up on your stampin' goodies, you can always reach me from my Stampin' Up! website. Have a fabulous day!!  :}

Happy Groundhog Day!

Every time Groundhog Day rolls around I get that old Sonny and Cher song stuck in my head for a few weeks (thanks to the Bill Murray movie). "I got you, babe..." Even though it is very cloudy here today, I'm sure the groundhog saw his shadow. I mean, we've hardly even had winter yet, so I'm sure we'll spend the next six weeks making up for it!   ;}
Anywho, today is my friend Nikki's birthday. I made her the cutest little card, that is in the mail, but will arrive a wee bit late. But, I'm sure she'll forgive me when she sees how adorable it is.

This card was totally inspired by my years of teaching Kindergarten! I decided to use Crumb Cake to make my punch-art groundhog. Then I used the Color Coach to choose the Bashful Blue and Real Red.
I tore strips of Chocolate Chip card stock to make the "ground," and the groundhog is attached to a small craft stick. Here's a view of him popping up:

I stamped the sentiment (from Elementary Elegance) in Soft Suede ink, which is the ink I used to sponge the punched pieces. I can't wait 'til Nikki opens her card!

Have a super fun Groundhog Day!!   :}

Xander's birthday card

Good morning! I'm off to a busy start this morning... car is back from the mechanic (just an oil change needed). The van is another story... looks like I'm buying an alternator today  :(  I just finished making the birthday card for one of Aaron's best friends, Xander, who is having his 5th birthday party this morning. Aaron is soooooo excited to attend!

Stamp set: I Dig You.  Card stock: Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, and textured Chocolate Chip.  Ink: Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Chocolate Chip.  Accessories: Pear Pizzazz 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon and 5/16" Jumbo Brad.  Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags Bigz Die, Crimper.

I needed the tag to be a little shorter, so after die-cutting it, I cut it in half and just adhered it together at the right length to fit behind my focal point.

To get the frayed ribbon fibers, start with a length of 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon, and trim along one side:

Then, holding the uncut white edge in one hand, use your other hand to pull out the long fibers from the weaving. It's a good idea to be ready to place the fibers where you want them right away, as they can quickly get messy  :}

Well, I'm off to the party! Have a great weekend!!

Hello, friend

Today's card uses the new stamp set My Friend, which is in the "Elements" section of the new Idea Book & Catalog. This was the Make & Take at my Catalog Party in July.

I love this color combination: Pool Party, Lucky Limeade, and Chocolate Chip. The little details on this card include a medium Rhinestone (119246 $4.95 for 150), 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon in Chocolate Chip (124142 $7.95 for 10 yards), and a Lucky Limeade butterfly cut and dry embossed using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit (118138 $11.95) and my Big Shot.
It's the perfect card to send to a friend I haven't seen in a while, just to let her know I'm thinking about her :)
I'll be you can you think of a few friends who would like to get a card from you. Happy stamping!

Chocolate Chip

What's not to love about Chocolate Chip??? It's such a great color, and it has 'chocolate' in its name!

This simple 3x3 card uses the "Dynamic Duo" colors: Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake... yum! ;)
I stamped 'thank you' (from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set) in VersaMark ink, and heat embossed using clear embossing powder. 'What's that awesome punched piece??!!' you ask??? Well, it's two punched pieces actually... from the Doily Triple Layer punch (122465 $23.95). This punch is in the Summer Mini Catalog, which starts May 1st. I have to tell you, that one of the best perks of being a demonstrator is not having to wait to order awesome goodies. :)


The "Creative Combination" colors are Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, and Pretty in Pink. I used the Apple Blossoms Hostess stamp set on this card. The sentiment is punched out with the 2"x1-3/8" Oval punch. Then I punched a piece of Pretty in Pink card stock with the Modern Label punch and cut that piece in half to layer behind the oval.


I really like how this card turned out using the "Sweet Set" colors: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, and Always Artichoke. I used the Extreme Elements stamp set to create the background images. The Extreme Skateboard image is stamped in VersaMark ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I used a Chocolate Chip marker to ink 'happy' (from Teeny Tiny Wishes), stamped, cleaned, and then used the marker to ink 'birthday'. The sentiment is then punched out with the 1" Circle punch, and tied on with Hemp Twine. To finish off the card, I gave it one more layer of color with a Chocolate Chip marker and the Color Spritzer Tool.