Stamps, Paper, Glitter!

Stamper's Club Treats

We had our monthly stamper's club meeting last night, and here are the treats I made for the girls this month...they seemed to really like them (and wish they hadn't thrown away all of their button and brad containers!!)...I got the idea at LeAnne's blog, and I was so excited to make these for the girls! I filled them with conversation hearts...did you know that the classic candies have different flavors in them now??? As I was making them, fighting every urge to eat a bunch of them, I wondered why they smelled so strongly of a cotton candy? scent....come to find out they have blue raspberry, lemon and sour apple in the bag now! Weird. I think I like the originals better.

Basically you just cover a Stampin' Up! button/brad container (keep in mind that some of the brad containers have divided sections inside, that might be good for an assortment of little treats). I found that one of the circles from the Circles #2 die for the Big Shot fits perfectly so that made them much easier! The Crop-a-Dile makes punching the holes for the straps a snap! Then I just used the 3 hearts punch, and I added some rhinestone brads (removed from the brad and just the rhinestone was stuck to the heart with mini glue dots). 

Thanks for stopping by!

Abundant Hope Saturday Sketch Challenge 137

I loved this week's sketch over at Stamping411, a nice easy, straightforward sketch that you can do anything with!

I was in the mood for some watercoloring, so I created a mask to stamp my lilies with. If you've never tried masking, it is a way to make your stamped images overlap without actually overlapping the ink. You will stamp your image on a scrap paper (I like to use post-it notes), then cut it out and hold it over the first stamped image while you're stamping the next image and so on. Does that make sense?

I used Barely Banana, Summer Sun, Old Olive and Always Artichoke ink with my Aquapainter, on Shimmery White card stock. I stamped my flowers and sentiment in Black StazOn.

I hear some of my stamping friends are buried in snow this weekend...we're not but it is still bitterly cold here, which lends itself well to staying in and stamping. I've got everything ready for my stamper's club night tomorrow...heading back to the treadmill for my second session of the day. For those of you I've chatted with about my Weight Watchers progress, I'm down 20 pounds in 5 weeks! I'm not sure how much more I want to lose...I guess I'll find out when I get there! Thanks for asking :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Create with Connie & Julie - Color Challenge

Happy Saturday stampers! First of all, I have to shout out a big woot-woot to Robin for being the winner of the challenge at Create with Connie & Julie! Way to go Robin, your project was just awesome!! Our second place winner was Sandra with another fabulous project...and an honorable mention goes to Jeannine, she had another great project! It was just so hard to choose! All of the projects this week rocked!!! Did you know that you can win fabulous prizes for playing along with the weekly challenges? That's right!

It's time for another challenge over at Create with Connie & Julie, and this week's challenge is to use Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Old Olive & Crushed Curry. This one was a little tricky for me, since normally I go for the softer, paler colors...but I ended up pretty pleased with my project, it's very perky and makes me think of warmer weather for sure!!

I created a "sandwich" of Melon Mambo card stock, a piece of the backing from a package of designer paper, then the Welcome Neighbor designer paper all adhered together, then I ran it through the Big Shot using the Scallop Circle die, leaving out 6 of the scallops at the bottom of the die to make my little purse flat on the bottom.

Next I created a box (CS 5x7", and on the 7" side score in 3" on both sides, then on the 5" side score in 1" on both sides), and I adhered that in-between my two scallop circles. Using the Daisies #2 die, I cut daisies in Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Crushed Curry, two of each size, then I added an Old Olive button on top (with a little strip of Melon Mambo CS through the center). Melon Mambo Polka-Dot grosgrain ribbon and two Circle Designer Brads finish it off.

Be sure and check out what the other design team members have created this week!

Connie Babbert

Julie Dinn

Mary Brown

Monika Davis

Looking forward to seeing your creations this week!

Always Valentine

I made today's card for my mom...not to send to her, but for her to send out. She loved THIS card when she made it at my stamper's club meeting last year, she even bought the stamp set knowing that she wanted to use it for Valentine's for the grandchildren this year. So when she came over to visit this week we talked about how we could change it to be a better fit for a Valentine's card...and this is what I came up with. I figured I should probably stick to the original design, since that's what she wanted:)

Hope you have a great weekend!

Stamping Goodies

Today I wanted to share with you a "goody bag" I made for a dear friend and downline today. It's the kind of goody bag I hope she'll love, not filled with candy, but filled with a few new stamping goodies! She hasn't been able to stamp in a while, you know how life just flies by sometimes, filled with errands, work, children and husbands to take care of...I don't even think she's got anything from the new mini catalog! Sooo, when I heard she is going to be making some time to stamp tomorrow morning, I packed up a few stamping treats and left this little bag at her door. I included a package of 6x6" sheets of every new dsp from the mini catalog (she looooves dsp...she's the person I give all of my retired dsp to!), the Scallop Trim Border Punch, and the Whimsical Words stamp set.

I'm sure you've seen bags like this before, you just create a box and then wrap it with designer paper...I just measured the items I'd be placing in the bag and made my box accordingly. The finished bag is about 6-1/2" wide and 6" high. The card stock for my box started at 6x9-1/2" and I scored in at 1-1/2" on all sides. My dsp sheets (2 of them) are 6 x 10-1/2". To form the border at the bottom I used 2 pieces of card stock each measuring 1-1/2 x 10-1/2".  If you need any more info, just shoot me an email and I'll try to help!

Thanks for stopping by!

Two Challenges in One

Today's card is for two challenges, the Stamping 411 sketch challenge, and also this week's challenge at Late Night Stampers is a butterfly challenge, so there ya go! I don't know what it is about butterflies, but I always feel the need to use the Cottage Wall dsp for that! I wanted to have my butterflies growing, and fluttering until they became the biggest and "best" butterfly (best meaning including glitter!)

I'm not sure if you can see in the picture (click on the image to enlarge if you'd like a closer view), but I used a Texture Plate on the Whisper White card stock to mimic the swirly pattern in the dsp. I also used Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon, Ice Rhinestone Brads, and the Scallop Trim Border Punch to finish off this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

February Make-n-Take Kit

Wow, can you believe tomorrow is February 1st? The time is just flying by!! Yay, quicker we'll get to Spring! My monthly Make-n-Take kit is ready, and if you're one of my current subscribers, your kit will be mailed out tomorrow!

Wouldn't you like to have a package of pre-cut supplies and accessories to make 8 cards delivered right to your door? Then my monthly make-n-take kit is perfect for you!

You will receive:

• All of the pre-cut card stock and ribbon for each card (8 cards total)
• 8 whisper white envelopes
• an emailed instructional pdf with a picture of this card to make assembly a snap!
• *ink and stamp sets not included

I used the Happy Moments SAB set on my sample, but you can substitute any stamp that will fit in a 1-5/8" square and make lots of different cards out of this one kit! Plus you can even flip over the designer paper to the other side, or change the orientation of the card and have lots of different options! 

You can subscribe to my service two ways, one is monthly for $12.95 a month, plus $4.80 shipping...or two is a 3 month subscription at a discounted price of only $11.95 a month, plus $4.80 shipping each month. When you subscribe to my service, your supplies will be mailed out within one week of your order.

One month subscription:

Three month subscription:

Create with Connie & Julie Challenge - Kids Gift Packaging

It's that time of the week again, time for a challenge at Create with Connie & Julie! I especially loved this week's challenge of creating Kids Gift Packaging. My entry is a mobile for a baby, and the top of the mobile is actually the top of the box you would present the gift in. I hope you like it!

Exclusive for subscribers to Create with Connie & Julie, I've written a step-by-step tutorial for this mobile/box, which is available on the Create site...if you haven't signed up yet, you can still do so! You'll still have access to everything we've done so far, with tutorials, plus everything yet to come!

Did I mention that there are actually 3 tutorials for the projects shown on the Create with Connie & Julie site today?!?!? They are all awesome and you will not want to miss out!!!

Supplies:

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Well Scripted

Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Perfect Plum, Pretty in Pink, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron

Card Stock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Perfect Plum, Pretty in Pink, Bermuda Bay, So Saffron, Whisper White, Bashful Blue Patterns Designer Series Paper

Accessories: Curly Label Punch, Movers & Shapers Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Bashful Blue Satin Ribbon, Whisper White Organza Ribbon, Button Latte Designer Buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals. Non-SU! - Fishing Line

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team Members created this week on Create with Connie and Julie!

Connie Babbert

Julie Dinn

Mary Brown

Monika Davis

Thanks for stopping by! Looking forward to seeing what you create this week!

Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge

I'm so happy to have been able to squeeze in a little bit of stamping today! I'll tell you, it's been crazy busy around here, it seems like every day is just non-stop lately! I'm sure you can relate!! Our Stampin' Up! Caribbean Cruise is coming up in April, so last night we finally went to apply for our passports (the whole family had to go since we need them for the boys too, so we needed to go on a night that Daddy was home before the town hall closed!)...and of course we discovered that Jeff's and my birth certificates were not usable for a passport application (silly reasons, but hey what can we do?)...SO, today after work I got to drive around fetching new ones for us both! Nick has baseball tonight for a couple of hours, I already got in my hour of treadmill for the day, and I had a whole hour and a half free! Of course I wasn't going to "waste" that time cleaning and doing laundry haha!! 

I went for the Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge today, a pretty straight forward layout, so I wanted to add a little pop...I cut out some of the flowers from the Shades of Spring dsp and rolled the edges. I added a couple of buttons, a decorative edge, some ribbon and that's all folks!

Hope you have a fabulous night! Btw, for all of you that emailed asking about my WW progress...I'm down 15 pounds and it was 3 weeks ago on Monday that I started. Thanks for asking!

Sweet Sunday and Inspiration Challenges

Two challenges at once this time...hey I'm getting strapped for time here so I have to get as many challenges in as I can lol! I wanted to give the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge a shot again this week, and the inspiration challenge over at Late Night Stampers was anything Vintage, so I decided to combine them. I'm pretty happy with this card, although I'm wondering if it's a bit excessive on the blue...who knows...maybe I'll wake up tomorrow morning and like it more, sometimes that happens to me :)

I used Bella Bleu dsp, and the Vintage Vogue and Well Scripted stamp sets. I stamped some extra flowers on Very Vanilla card stock and cut them out to pop up. Added some distressing with Soft Suede ink and a stampin' sponge, and I also added some Soft Suede to my Kraft Taffeta Ribbon because I wanted a darker tone. Some Not Quite Navy buttons, Linen Thread and Silver Brads finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge

Woohoo! I am feeling on the ball this morning...I've actually done the Stamping411 Saturday Sketch Challenge on Saturday!! Boy I hope the rest of the weekend goes along this well! It's sunny here, but still very cold, and I'm itching for some nice warm spring weather...so I thought I'd convert that feeling to my card.

Stamps: Peace Within, Well Scripted

Paper: Shimmery White, Real Red, Brocade Blue, Pink Flamingo dsp

Ink: Black StazOn, Creamy Caramel, Soft Suede, Real Red, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Lavender Lace, Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue

Accessories: Real Red Satin Ribbon, Rhinestone Brads, Polka Dot Texture Plate, Ovals die for the Big Shot

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a great weekend!

Create with Connie & Julie - Sketch Challenge

Happy Saturday! That means it's time for another challenge at Create with Connie & Julie, yippee! I love challenges, and I hope you'll join in on the fun!! Congrats to our winners last week, Sue & Lori! Did you know that the winners each week receive fabulous prizes???? Oh yes!!

This week's challenge is a sketch:

Supplies:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip

Card Stock: Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sweet Pea Designer Paper Stack

Accessories: Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brads, 1" Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Stamping Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team Members created this week on Create with Connie and Julie!

Connie Babbert

Julie Dinn

Mary Brown

Monika Davis

I can't wait to see what you come up with this week! Thanks for stopping by!

Now THAT'S a Challenge!

*click on the image for a better view*

For me anyway! OMG I have to tell you, I really was a little scared to even attempt a challenge like this...if you've been checking out my blog for ANY amount of time, you know that I LOVE layers, and LOTS of 'em!! Someone suggested I join in on a new challenge by Stampin' Royalty, which I've been meaning to do for the last 2 weeks...of course tonight I was thinking, 'why oh why did I pick this week to join in???'

So first, I made what I can probably call my ugliest card ever, which shall remain unseen!!! I thought for sure all was lost and there was no way I was going to be able to pull this one off...but, the boys are off ice skating with Daddy tonight and I'm home all by myself, so I thought I'd do a little watercoloring...aaaaahhhhh, life is good :) (my back hunched over my stamped table while I did the coloring, not so good, but that's another story...I do have 4 WW points leftover today, maybe a glass of wine is in order ;)

Not much to tell about this card, since there are no layers! Hmmm...ran my card through  the Big Shot with the Polka-Dot texture folder with the center blocked so it wouldn't be textured, stamped my image (from the set Peace Within) in Black StazOn, on Shimmery White paper, colored with an Aquapainter and some classic ink...done!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping 411 Sketch Challnege

Okay, I know I said I wouldn't be back today, but I just HAD to sneak in a little stamping after taking Nick to baseball...a whole clean stamp table, I couldn't just leave it like that! One of my favorite sketch challenges every week is Stamping411 and I didn't want the week to go by without having played along! I already know I've got to cover for someone at work tomorrow, which means another late day...hopefully I'll get to fit some stamping in :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Creativity at Work?

OMG take a look at my stamp room...what a mess! Just thought I'd show you the disaster I need to clean up before I can stamp something to show you again. I've been working on several projects, mostly for Create with Connie & Julie, and a few other things I've got in the works, but nothing I can actually show you yet.

Gotta hit the treadmill before I take Nick to baseball, so I'll be back tomorrow!

Sweet Sunday and Inspiration Challenges

I'm participating in two challenges at once this time...I do my best work when following a sketch challenge, and the inspiration challenge for Late Night Stampers was just too good to pass up this week!

I've got a killer sinus headache today...two Sudafed and 3 Advil have not even touched this one...so I felt like my best "medicine" would be to sit quietly in my stamp room all by myself coloring and cutting, and though my headache isn't even close to gone, I do feel much better :)

I loved the Sweet Sunday sketch challenge this week, so I knew for sure I'd be following along with that for my layout...then what to stamp? This beauty of a photo caught my eye while reading my email this morning and I loved the "spring-y" feel of the colors, so the wheels started turning...

I'm hooked on the new daffodil image in the Abundant Hope stamp set, but I wanted more than just the usual one cluster of flowers in the center of the card...here's where all of the coloring and cutting took over...I stamped the daffodils three times on Shimmery White CS with Black StazOn ink and started watercoloring away...then cut them all out and even cut and rearranged a couple of the flowers and stems and adhered it to one piece of Shimmery White for my focal image. I only adhered the very center of the stem bunches so the flowers could pop off the card. The colors I used to watercolor were Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink and Rose Red, along with Certainly Celery for my stems.

I used half-pearls from the Pretties Kit to mimic the balls around the layers of the cake, and some Very Vanilla satin ribbon with my version of a pretty bow, since I'm so bow-challenged!

I've got lots more to work on today, and luckily we have no school tomorrow too, so I'll be busy stamping for Create with Connie & Julie, some more challenges, oh yeah and I guess I should clean the house and plan my meals for the week now that I'm on Weight Watchers (loving it by the way, down 10 pounds in 2 weeks)...of course 4 miles a day on the treadmill should be helping too...gee, wonder why I'm feeling wiped out????

Hope you enjoy your day, however you spend it! Thanks for stopping by!

Create with Connie & Julie - Color Challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! You know what that means...it's time for another challenge over at Create with Connie & Julie! First of all, a BIG Congrats to the winners of last week's challenge, Lisa & Jessica!! This week's challenge is a Color Challenge, using Real Red, Pretty in Pink, and Chocolate Chip. If you're a subscriber you can even win fabulous prizes!

For my challenge entry I designed a cute little box that will hold two Ghirardelli chocolate squares, and of course I could not stop at just one, so I had to make a few. These will make great treats for friends, classmates, teachers, well really anyone that loves chocolate...is there anyone that doesn't love chocolate?

If you are a subscriber to Create with Connie & Julie, I've written a step-by-step tutorial with photos for you to easily recreate these boxes on your own, and it is available on the Create site! If you haven't signed up yet, you can hop over there now, sign up and still have access to all of the great projects and tutorials shown so far, plus what's yet to come!!

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: I {heart} Hearts, With All My Heart, Vintage Labels

Ink: Real Red, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip

Card Stock: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Epoxy Brads, Corduroy Buttons (Real Red), Real Red Satin Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Sending Love Designer Series Paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team Members created this week on Create with Connie and Julie!

Connie Babbert

Julie Dinn

Mary Brown

Monika Davis

Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait to see what you come up with this week!

Sketch Challenge

Yikes, I worked and had a dentist appointment today, so I thought I wouldn't be able to fit in my daily quota of stamping...but luckily I found a quick sketch to try out so I've got my fix for the day! (yeah right, like I'm done stamping now!!)...heading up to the treadmill for a while, then back to stamping for me...oh yeah, I'm guessing the boys want dinner too ;) This one is from CPS, I tried their sketch out last week and it was a great one for a quick card, so I figured I'd give it a shot again this week...

I used the Sending Love dsp, along with the Well Scripted stamp set, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Real Red Satin Ribbon, and some of those adorable new Epoxy brads, love those!! CS colors are Very Vanilla and Real Red...easy peasy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday

Today I thought I'd give the Mojo Monday sketch a shot, and I'm loving this daffodil stamp from the new Abundant Hope stamp set...it can be so soft and pretty and let me tell you, we're longing for some Spring here in the Northeast and it's still quite a ways off! So, I'll just have to resort to thinking about flowers and warmer weather as I watercolor!

I used Shimmery White card stock for this card. Normally I would use Watercolor Paper, but Watercolor Paper is more "vanilla-y" than I'd like sometimes. The Shimmery White can be a good choice if you're watercoloring too, especially if you don't go too heavy on the water.

The dsp is from the Shades of Spring pack in the Occasions Mini. I also used Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon, the Scallop Trim Border Punch (Sale-a-Bration reward item), Wide Oval Punch, and the 1/2" Circle Punch (to punch the corners of the main image. I got the little gems by bending open the prongs of my Rhinestone brads and pulling out the centers, then just applying them with mini glue dots. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge

Well hello again...geesh my 3rd post today! Today's been quite a productive day, and I probably get another hour or so of stamping because the boys are downstairs "lifting" with Daddy. I've already gotten my workout for the day in so I'm free to stamp!

We have been making some changes around here, NOT a New Year's resolution though, because I hear that literally everyone that makes a New Year's resolution has quit by February 17th! You know... I'm turning 40 next month, and I'm having a bit of an OMG moment about it, and have decided that it's finally time to get fit, healthy and thin!!  I'm actually enjoying my workouts, and it makes feel SO deserving of the time I spend standing at my stamp table! 

So back to the project at hand...this card is based on the sketch at one of my favorite challenge sites, Stamping411. I used the new Abundant Hope stamp set, along with Well Scripted for this one. I stamped the lilies in StazOn, on watercolor paper and used my Aquapainter to watercolor them. I also used Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, the Finial Press Embossing Folder for the Big Shot, Fire Square Rhinestone Brads, and the Ticket Corner and Wide Oval Punches on this card. The Card Stock colors are Barely Banana, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla.

Thanks for stopping by!

January Make-n-Take Kit

Wouldn't you like to have a package of pre-cut supplies and accessories to make 8 cards delivered right to your door? Then my monthly make-n-take kit is perfect for you!

You will receive:

• All of the pre-cut card stock and ribbon for each card (8 cards total)
• 8 whisper white envelopes
• an emailed instructional pdf with a picture of this card to make assembly a snap!
• *ink and stamp sets not included

I used the Well Scripted set on my sample, but there are lots of other sentiment sets you could substitute, plus you can even flip over the designer paper to the other side, or change the orientation of the card and have lots of different options! 

You can subscribe to my service two ways, one is monthly for $12.95 a month, plus $4.80 shipping...or two is a 3 month subscription at a discounted price of only $11.95 a month, plus $4.80 shipping each month. When you subscribe to my service, your supplies will be mailed out within one week of your order.

One month subscription:

Three month subscription:

Stamper's Club Card

Good morning! Crazy day yesterday, so sorry I didn't get a chance to post! Why is it that Mondays usually (always) turn into non-stop days??? Must be the "catch up" day for the week after a relaxing weekend...anyway, the girls came over for stamper's club last night and what a great time that was...I just love when they come over (thanks girls!!)...and here's one of the cards they made. Super-simple, and you could just change out the designer paper and sentiment and you've got a whole new card every time!

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Priceless, Wonderful Favorites

Ink: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry

Card Stock: Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Cottage Wall dsp

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Polka-Dot Ribbon, Latte Designer Buttons, Scallop Border Punch, Polka-Dot Embossing Folder, Mini Glue Dots (to hold the ribbon folded like that so you can see dots on both pieces), 2-way Glue Pen, DD Glitter

I'm hoping to participate in a couple of challenges when I get home from work today, so maybe I'll be back later.Thanks for stopping by!

Occasions Mini Product Shares

Would you love to get everything in the Occasions Mini but that would bust the budget??? If so, then my product shares are perfect for you...you can get an assortment of the ribbons, papers, embellishments, or have it all at a fraction of the cost!!

I will be collecting orders for one week (through Monday, January 18th), place the order from SU! and ship out all of the shares by Friday, January 22nd! 

Designer Paper Share

You will receive 36 6x6" sheets of designer paper, this is a real bargain!! There will be 6 sheets of the Sending My Love pre-glittered dsp, 6 sheets of the Shades of Spring dsp, and 24 sheets of the Sweet Pea dsp!

$12 including shipping!

Satin Ribbon Share

You will receive 3 yds of each of the 9 colors shown above!

$21 including shipping!

Embellishments Share

You will receive 4 of each color of Epoxy Brads (12 total), 6 of each color of Corduroy Buttons (12 total), 10 Sending Love Notes (5 Hugs & 5 Kisses), 5 Small Square Glassine Envelopes, and 5 Rectangle Glassine Envelopes.

$17.50 including shipping!

Have it all! You'll receive one share of everything shown above for the only $45 including shipping!

Choose which shares you'd like to purchase:

Designer Paper Share $12.00 Satin Ribbon Share $21.00 Embellishments Share $17.50 Have It All! - Best Value $45.00