Woohoo!!

I feel like a little kid today... I'm so excited to share my projects with you! So excited that almost skipped making coffee so I could start my blog post... almost. 
I found a really neat blog the other day, and since they're hosting a challenge, I thought I'd play along. This week's challenge on the Cupcake Craft Challenges blog is to use the color Kraft.  Teehee, that's like challenging me to breathe!!
Did you know that the color Crumb Cake used to be named Kraft? It's been a while since the latest color revamp, so I forget sometimes... but it's handy to know in case you're ever in a knock-down, drag-out battle of Trivial Pursuit -- the Paper Crafting Edition.  ;} 
You might not give the color Crumb Cake (Kraft) all that much thought. I mean, who gets excited about shades of brown? (well, besides me) But Crumb Cake is the perfect neutral... the perfect "base" for tons of projects. It can be simply the "glue" that brings the colors in your project together, or a main player in vintage and masculine projects. 
On today's project, the Crumb Cake card stock was the base that I started with, and built all of my elements around. 

Ok, stop staring at the wine and focus on the tag.  ;}   Hubby made the wine, and I made the gift tag so I could thank a friend.

I started with a 3" wide strip of Crumb Cake card stock, scored a fold line at the top, and used the 1-3/8" Circle Punch to make a hole so that the tag could just slip onto the neck of the bottle. 
Then I used sticky notes to mask the bottom and the left side before I stamped the Woodgrain Background stamp in Early Espresso ink. I pressed lightly for that soft, partially stamped image. I removed the sticky notes and spritzed the Crumb Cake card stock with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz®.  A strip of Orchard Harvest DSP and embossed Raspberry Ripple card stock complete the "base" of the tag. (click here to see how to create the embossed diagonal stripes) 

The leaves are die-cut from Very Vanilla card stock (Autumn Accents Bigz Die) and stamped (Wonderfall stamp set) in Cajun Craze, Lucky Limeade, and Raspberry Ripple ink. I made the medallion out of another pattern in the Orchard Harvest DSP, scoring the 12" strip every 1/4". I had to add the apple (Perfectly Preserved), since this is a bottle of apple wine... hubby made this with apples from a local (for us at the time) orchard in Kenosha, WI. A Vintage Faceted Button and some Linen Thread are just the most gorgeous finishing touches! To make the doubled up Linen Thread bow (hmm... that's a "Kraft" color, too) simply fold a length in half and thread both pieces through the button holes at the same time.

Now, I know you're lovin' this project and you're ready to grab your Crumb Cake card stock... but WAIT, there's MORE! 
How about a freebie on my Facebook Page AND a video tutorial??!!  Woohoo!!! 

You're Welcome  ;}  Thanks for dropping by today. Luv ya!

gotta love the Mojo...

...Mojo Monday that is! Every week they put up a great sketch, and this week's sketch really caught my eye. I played around with several cards, and here's the one I liked best: 

The leaves I used for the circular area on the sketch are a little large, so I omitted the sentiment banner to keep it from looking too "busy." 

To create the leaves, I simply die cut Very Vanilla card stock using the Autumn Accents Bigz die through the Big Shot. Then I inked (More Mustard, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade) three leaves from the Wonderfall stamp set, and did a little maneuver that's like stamping upside down. All you have to do is ink the stamp, and then lay it on it's back/ block with the rubber facing up. Align your die-cut leaf over the inked stamp, and press down. I like to use a spare block to press evenly.
Can you believe that I didn't use any ribbon or even buttons on this card??? Crazy! But I really liked how the leaves looked so crisp and stood out, so the only "embellishment" I added was some paper piercing around the edge of the Lucky Limeade layer.

Well, I'm off to tackle some more stamping projects... I actually had a dream last night that I was making cards! How silly. Let's see how it influences today's creativity! :}

a little fun for Election Day

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure sure my phone and my mailbox, and therefore my recycling bin, are extremely happy that the campaign season is reaching it's end. In addition to going out and voting for real, I thought it would be interesting to have a little voting fun of my own. 
I made two Fall cards, which both use the same Autumn Accents die-cut leaves and the Wonderfall stamp set. 

For this first card, I used a layer of Orchard Harvest DSP for the background. After stamping the leaves, I crumbled them and sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink. While it looks like the Vanilla Seam Binding is tied around the stem, the simple knot is adhered with a Mini Glue Dot.

For the second card, I lightly stamped the background with the Netting Background stamp, pressing gently and randomly for a partially stamped image. The leaves are adhered with Dimensionals, and a bow of Linen Thread tied around a stem adds the perfect finishing touch.

So I'm curious..... which card do you like better? If you'd like to play along and have a little fun this Election Day, head on over to my Facebook page and VOTE for your favorite!  Have fun and "vote responsibly."  ;} 

sometimes, you just need vellum

Every once in a while, the vellum on my shelf begs to come out and play. Apparently, that was the case today!  :}

After spritzing the Crumb Cake card stock with the Soft Suede marker, I added a strip of Vellum card stock (dry embossed in the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder). 

A scrap of DSP, a bit of Cotton ribbon, die-cut leaves, a button and a brad add all the yummy details that this card needs. Isn't this a perfect Fall card??! 
I hope you're loving the Wonderfall stamp set as much as I am, because I have more examples to share this week - yay!!
And as if that wasn't exciting enough... 

It's going to be a great week, isn't it?!  :}

Happy 1st day of Fall!

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.  ~Albert Camus 

stamp set: Itty Bitty Banners

ink: Early Espresso, VersaMark

card stock: Raspberry Ripple, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Very Vanilla

DSP: Orchard Harvest

Naturals Designer Button, Linen Thread

Bitty Banners Framelits, Autumn Accents Bigz Die

Stampin' Emboss® Powder: Gold 

Autumn... the year's last, loveliest smile. 
~William Cullen Bryant