Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Field Flowers

Today's card is the last card I planned for my fall stamp a stack.  Nope it's not a fall card, but I was kind of fall'd out by the time I got to the fifth card! lol  So I went back to one of my favorite things...flowers.  


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Field Flowers, Hello, Doily & En Francais
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  River Rock, Sahara Sand, 
Always Artichoke & Rich Razzleberry
Ribbon:  3/8" Seam Binding in Always Artichoke
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Jewels:  Basic Pearls

Monday, November 12, 2012

French Foliage Lansing Regional Card Swap Winner!!!

Today's card is extra special in a few different ways for me, so I'm afraid this post is going to be a LOT longer than normal, so just hold tight and read fast! lol  Saturday I went to Lansing for a Stampin' Up! Regional...my first time ever to any Stampin' Up! event.  My upline Glenda had sent out an email to her downline the Red Hot Stampers saying to get the true regional experience we should participate in the swaps.  I really didn't know if I wanted to so I kind of put it off...but if I did do it I wanted to do something that was simple and quick to make, yet looked elegant.  Well on Friday at 12:30 just after lunch I decided I wanted to do them since it was going to be the card the Red Hots did in a shoe box swap the night before the regional and I really liked it. :)  I asked my daughter to help me and we got BUSY (btw I had two hours to make about 30!)  Well, the poor girl found out I was very particular and finicky! lol  But she helped anyway ($$$ is always a good incentive!).  So how did the swap go?  Just fine...after one of my fellow Red Hots dragged me out there to get my butt busy swapping! lol  I managed to swap all my cards and get a lot of nice ones in return - which I'm sure I'll be posting in the coming weeks. :)  Anyway I found out we could put one of our swaps in a basket and Shelli would pick out a few of her favorite swaps from the day.  For those of you who don't know who Shelli is, she is the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!  Well, I had actually traded all of my swaps.  However I had a few extra cards left over from our shoe box swap and had decided to make them up after were were done making each others cards.  Glad I did because I traded one of them, but still had one left over and decided to enter it.  After having a long, but fun day Shelli concluded it by showing the cards she had picked as her favorite swaps. Lo and behold, mine was the first one that she held up and flashed on the screen!!!  Oh  my word!!!  I actually have NO idea what she said after I saw the picture of my card, but there was a lot of racket going on at the Red Hot's table!!  I found out I had to go to the front to get my gift right from Shelli!  Yikes!  I don't know how I made it up there with all those ladies watching, but at least she didn't make me go on the stage...whew!  I probably would have tripped going up the steps! lol  Well, as great of an honor as that was for me, the story doesn't end there...  As I was walking back to my seat Shelli showed the second card she had picked out and I had to turn and check it out...  The second card she had picked was made by a fellow Red Hot Stamper too!!  How awesome is that!!!  Two of us from the same table out of 800+ ladies (not sure on the number of swaps entered though).  Believe it or not, quiet Sara actually let out a yell and cheer because I was so excited for her too! lol  (I hope to show a picture of the two of us with our cards and will add it when I can).  I'm sure I'll never have another experience like this if I ever go to another regional, so it's a day I will always treasure. :)  So thankful for my upline Glenda who made it so easy for all of us to be able to go, and for the group of ladies she has brought together through Stampin' Up!  

Thanks for taking the time to read this special post!  And now here is the pile of swaps and a close up of my card....




Here is my fellow Red Hot Stamper who also won!!  Congrats Belinda!


...and a pic of her card up close.


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  French Foliage
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, 
Always Artichoke & Crumb Cake
Punches:  1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Square
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist








Sunday, November 11, 2012

Snowflake Soiree

It's Sunday so that means it's time for another Red Hot Stampers' sketch challenge.  Today I used a new stamp set (new to me!) that I won at the Lansing Regional!!  Yes, I thought I would get out of standing and waving my arms and clapping when I made it through all the prize patrols...except the last one!  I think everyone at my table would be so excited when it was prize patrol time, and I would groan just a little. lol  I don't mind winning, but something about being in the spotlight just isn't for me!  If I thought that was bad I had the biggest surprise of all at the very end of the day.  You'll have to check out my blog tomorrow to find out what that surprise was. :)  Remember to check out the other Red Hot Stampers cards here.




Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Snowflake Soiree & Blooming with Kindness
Card Stock:  Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Pool Party & Island Indigo
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Jewels:  Classic Pearls
Sponges

Monday, November 5, 2012

Little Green Tractor

Today's card is definitely not the norm of what I make, but it was my nephew's first birthday.  I had to make something special for him!  I know one of his brothers loves tractors, so I thought maybe he would too.  I did a little researching on punch art to find a tractor, pulled out my punches and got busy.  As a matter of fact I was in such a hurry to get it done and take a pic before I left for his party that I totally forgot to put on the steering wheel!  I found the pieces sitting on my craft table later on. lol


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Card Stock:  Garden Green, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black & Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Garden Green, Daffodil Delight & Basic Black
Stampin' Write Marker:  Basic Black
Embossing Folder:  Chevron
Punches:  1 3/4" Circle Scallop, 1" Circle, 1/2" Circle, Extra-Lg. Tag,
Word Window, Heart to Hear (retired), Trio Flower (retired)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

RHSSC61

It's Sunday and time for another Red Hot Stampers' sketch challenge.  This week I used the set Everything Eleanor and used colors from the color challenge blog Color Me Beautiful.  I wanted the card to be simple, yet elegant.  I just wish I could have caught the shimmer on the card, but it just wasn't cooperating this time! lol  Check out the other cards at The Red Hot Stampers here.






Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Everything Eleanor & Curly Cute
Card Stock:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso & Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, 
River Rock, Early Espresso & Basic Gray
Stampin' Write Marker:  River Rock
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Friday, November 2, 2012

Warmest Wishes

Last month at our Red Hot Stampers' meeting we were challenged by our upline Glenda to make a card using a couple of different techniques that she showed us.  I don't remember what they all were, but I do remember the one I used to make this card.  It was to take the brown packing paper that comes with your Stampin' Up! order and cut out the leaves using the Bigz Autumn Accents Die.  Next scrunch it up, slap it with the ink pad (only the old pads, doesn't work with the new ones) and there you have it...some pretty cool looking leaves with color.  Oh, I ended up spritzing them with shimmer paint too.  I also sponged mine a little because I must not have whacked it hard enough with the ink pad. lol   My friend and fellow demonstrator Christi also made some cards using the same or similar technique.  She made a bunch of cards and a tag.  Wow did she ever go over the top with her cards!  You can check them out on her blog here.  


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Blooming with Kindness
Card Stock:  Early Espresso & Very Vanilla
Packing Paper
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Cherry Cobbler, Tangerine Tango
Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight & Early Espresso
Embossing Folder:  Chevron
Bigz Die:  Autumn Accents
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist


Thursday, November 1, 2012

French Foliage

I'm finally getting back to posting another card after missing a couple of days.  Of course I went to the challenges I follow to come up with today's card.  I used the colors from Color Me Beautiful and the sketch from Less is More.







Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Perfectly Penned & French Foliage
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake,
Raspberry Ripple, Chocolate Chip & Summer Starfruit
VersaMark
Stampin' Emboss Power:  White
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Simply Scored
Sponges

Monday, October 29, 2012

Stampin' Up! Stamp Sets 15% off!

Remember today is the day to get your stamp sets 15% off from Stampin' Up!  I've been seeing this posted ALL over the place...must mean it's a pretty big deal.  That's because it is!!  Here is all the info...

All stamps in the two current catalogs including 
- Background stamps
- Personalized name stamps
- Cookie press stamps
- Single-image stamps - This is new!  Some stamp sets are broken up so you can buy just one stamp instead of the whole set!  Remember to read all the details on fliers as these are clear stamps and you will need a block to use these. (all images listed below.  Just click on the links to see which individual stamps are for sale)
Word Play - click here; Perfectly Penned - click here; Seasonal Sayings - click here; Assortment 1 - click here; Assortment 2 - click here 

This DOES NOT include 
- Hostess sets
- Bundled stamp sets
- Digital stamp brush sets


***Also in October you can get a FREE Festive Paper-Piercing Pack when you purchase the Ornament Keepsakes Set and Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper Click HERE for all of the details.*** 

To place an order through me click HERE.

Now on to today's card.  Last night when I was driving home I looked out my side window and saw the moon glowing in the sky with the fields and trees below.  It was absolutely beautiful, so I tried to capture some of the beauty I saw and put it on a card.  Not quite the same, but I sure enjoyed making it and do like how it looks. :)



Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Lovely as a Tree
Card Stock:  Always Artichoke, Basic Black & Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Always Artichoke, Basic Black, 
Elegant Eggplant & Basic Gray
StazOn:  Black
Embossing Folder:  Argoyle
Punch:  1" Circle
Hemp Twine (retired)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Four Seasons

Just a quick post for today's Red Hot Stampers' card...  I really got hung up on this sketch because it would go great with DSP...which I don't have!  So I tipped the card sideways and went with the four seasons' theme using the set Lovely as a Tree.  Check out what the other Red Hot Stampers made with this week's sketch here.




Remember...Stampin' Up! has a special coming up that is ONLY available on Monday, October 29.  Almost every stamp they sell will be 15% off!  There is no minimum purchase, and no limit to the number of stamps you can order.

This means all stamps in the two current catalogs including 
- Background stamps
- Personalized name stamps
- Cookie press stamps
- Single-image stamps - This is new!  Some stamp sets are broken up so you can buy just one stamp instead of the whole set!  Remember to read all the details on fliers as these are clear stamps and you will need a block to use these. (all images listed below.  Just click on the links to see which individual stamps are for sale)
Word Play - click here; Perfectly Penned - click here; Seasonal Sayings - click here; Assortment 1 - click here; Assortment 2 - click here 

This DOES NOT include 
- Hostess sets
- Bundled stamp sets
- Digital stamp brush sets



Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Field Flowers & Lovely as a Tree
Card Stock:  Marina Mist & Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Marina Mist, Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose,
Primrose Petals, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade, Cherry Cobbler,
More Mustard, Garden Green & Early Espresso
StazOn:  Black
Stampin' Write Markers:  Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose,
Primrose Petals, Old Olive, Lucky Limeade
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Sponges


Thursday, October 25, 2012

Celebrate Today

I'm actually posting this card a little early because I want to enter it in Stampin' Celebration's October challenge and there's only a few hours left! lol  I've been looking at their picture all month wondering what I could make using their colors.  Well nothing was coming to me and last night an idea came after looking at a card by Michelle Zindorf here (she makes fabulous cards by the way!!).  She talked about the technique "Direct to Paper".  Well that was a new challenge for me, so I thought I'd give it a try using some of the colors from Stampin' Celebration's challenge.  This is what I came up with...after a few attempts!  It was a little more work than I thought, but so worth it after I figured out what I was doing.   I must say that this technique is not for the neat stamper!  Sponging gets your fingers dirty enough, but trying to rub the ink across the paper was just as bad for me. lol  I hope you enjoy what I've created.  I stamped Celebrate Today on the bottom as a reminder to myself to enjoy each day...the beauty of God's creation, and family and friends to enjoy it with.




Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Evergreen & Perfectly Penned
Card Stock:  Island Indigo, Calypso Coral & Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin Pads:  So Saffron, Calypso Coral,
Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Island Indigo & Basic Grey
StazOn:  Black
Punch:  1" Circle
Essentials Paper Piercing Pack
Sponges

Pink and White Calla Lily

Just a small card for you to see today.  No challenges either! lol  I feel like I've been doing them left and right lately, but they surely do inspire me. :)  I needed a card for a bridal shower and decided to try my hand at making another calla lily because I liked how they turned out on the wedding card I made earlier this month...


Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Vintage Labels (retired sale-a-bration)
Card Stock:  Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pad:  Pretty in Pink
Embossing Folder:  Delicate Designs
Sizzlit:  Little Leaves
Ribbon:  5/8" Organza in Whisper White
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Q-tip covered with Dazzling Diamonds


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Christmas Ornaments

Today I'm actually posting something other than a card.  This week on the Friday Mashup their challenge is to make a project with a Christmas ornament, or make a project with some sparkle...or mash it up and create a Christmas project with some sparkle.  Since I just finished about ninety Christmas cards, I'm about Christmas carded out so I decided to make some ornaments instead.  I started with the Snow Flurry Bigz Die and got a little carried away with the Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  There were actually really easy to make.  Just takes a little drying time.  I tried a few different things with some of the ornaments stamps from the Ornament Keepsakes bundle too...








Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  Ornament Keepsakes
Card Stock:  Marina Mist, Baja Breeze & Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pad:  Marina Mist
Bigz Die:  Snow Flurry
Framelits Dies:  Holiday Ornaments
Crystal Effects
Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter
Jewels:  Basic Pearls & Basic Rhinestones
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist

Monday, October 22, 2012

Thank You

Two cards posted in one day...amazing!  I wanted to get it entered into one of the challenges and it's done earlier than I thought.  Yeah, I'm definitely not time oriented...I'm task oriented!  Wish I had an equal dose of both!  Today's card is a special thank you to my parents for letting us use their house up north for the weekend for a fall color tour and Christmas card stamping weekend. :)   It's wonderful to have a place to stay that doesn't cost a small fortune for the weekend!  I've kind of had the idea for this card in my mind for a bit and finally sat down and made it.  Of course I wanted fall leaves since that was one of the reasons we headed north. :)  It also happens to go with a few challenges out there...

Less is More - Week 90 - Theme AUTUMN

Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge 140 - Inked Embossing Folder

The Paper Players 118 - Frames


For my inked embossing folder I actually did the reverse of what is normally done.  I wanted my frame highlighted, so I used my Stampin' Write marker to color in the depressed part (if that's even a word!) instead of using the brayer on the raised part of the folder.  It didn't color the frame completely, but I really liked the vintage look it gave the frame so I left it like that. :)  


  
Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  French Foliage & Blooming with Kindness
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Tango Tangerine, Cherry Cobbler, 
Daffodil Delight, Old Olive & Soft Suede
Stampin' Write Marker:  Soft Suede
Embossing Folder:  Woodgrain
Twine (retired)
Neutrals Designer Buttons
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Sponges

Happy Birthday

I made today's card for my nephew's b-day which I got to him late...bummer.  I guess better late than never though.  Let me tell you teen guys are the hardest to make cards for!  I definitely went to a couple of challenges to help out with this one!  The other day I saw the Color Me Beautiful challenge (love the colors!) and the Paper Craft Crew challenge (there had to be a way to make it masculine and still follow the sketch) and tried to figure out what I could come up with for him using these two challenges.  I don't think it turned out too bad.  Just wish the reflection wasn't so dark...but once it's dark there's no going back and I wasn't starting over! lol  Normally I don't have such a dark band in between the mountains and reflection either, but I wanted to follow the sketch as closely as I could while still making it masculine.  That meant no ribbon or bows!

 



Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Vintage Labels (retired hostess) & a very old retired set (trees) from 1992!
Card Stock:  Soft Suede & River Rock
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Perfect Plum, Old Olive,
River Rock, Baja Breeze & Soft Suede
Punch:  1 1/4" Circle
Brads:  Neutrals
Sponges


Sunday, October 21, 2012

RHSSC - Thank You

Good morning...it's time to see my take the this week's Red Hot Stampers' sketch challenge.  I finally broke into my Snow Flurry Bigz Die to use for this sketch.  I did change it up a bit because I didn't want to cover up any part of the snow flake, so I put the words underneath it. :)  Don't forget to check out what the other Red Hot Stampers made using this sketch.  Check them out here.  And if you're really motivated why not give the sketch a try. :)



Thanks for looking and have a great day!  

Stamp Set:  Perfectly Penned
Card Stock:  Rich Razzleberry & Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pad:  Rich Razzleberry
Embossing Folder:  Lacy Brocrade
Bigz Die:  Snow Flurry
Jewels:  Basic Pearls & Large Pearls
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Sponges


Friday, October 19, 2012

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today's card was created especially for my dad. :)  His birthday isn't today, so that means I'm actually working ahead...amazing!  Too bad I'm behind on other peoples' cards. :(  I'll get there though...
Anyway his card was inspired by two different challenges.  The Paper Players color challenge #117 and Mojo Monday 263.  I really wanted to enter the Paper Players challenge...because to me it was a challenge!  I wanted to see if I could make something with these colors.  Once I looked at the Mojo sketch and starting writing what colors were going where it just came together...







Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  The Open Sea
Card Stock:  Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy, Cajun Craze & Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy & Cajun Craze
Embossing Folder:  Argyle
Punch:  2 1/2" Circle
Essentials Paper Piercing Pack
Sponges




Sunday, October 14, 2012

RHSSC - Thank You

Well, I've been taking a little blogging break this past week, not that I've been lazy though!  I've been doing some major cleaning in my basement...and boy does it look nice! :)  I'm using my kids' "school" desks now to store all my stamping stuff in and on.  Goodbye school books, hello stamping stuff. :)  I also left for a long weekend of a little rest and relaxation...while working on my Christmas cards.  I like to take a fall color tour around this time of year and get a big head start on my Christmas cards.  I did make my Red Hot Stampers' card up there, but I couldn't download my picture onto my blog from my phone, so this is coming out a little later than usual.  Don't forget to check out a few other cards by the Red Hot Stampers here.




Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Sets:  Everything Eleanor & Blooming with Kindness
Card Stock:  Basic Black & Very Vanilla
StazOn:  Black
Embossing Folder:  Lacy Brocade
Punches:  Scallop Oval & Large Oval
Shimmper Paint:  Champange Mist mixed with Rich 
Razzleberry ink refill and rubbing alcohol in Stampin' Spritzer

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Colorful French Foliage

It's Sunday so that means it's time for another Red Hot Stampers sketch challenge. :)  I finally bought the set French Foliage, and as soon as I saw what our challenge was I had an idea going through my head about what I could do with that set...celebrating fall. :)  I definitely didn't use the colors that are normal for fall, but instead decided to use the colors from the Color Me Beautiful challenge.  I used my sponges to apply the color to the stamps to give the color a blended look.





Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Stamp Set:  French Foliage
Card Stock:  Very Vanilla
Classic Stampin' Pads:  Basic Gray, Always Artichoke,
Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette & Regal Rose
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist






Saturday, October 6, 2012

Happy Wedding Day!

Today's card is a wedding card for a friend from church who is getting married today...so happy for her!  She said her wedding bouquet is going to have calla lilies in it, so that's what I decided to put on her wedding card (boy, I really hope she said calla lilies! lol).  I'm sure hers are all white, but I also know her wedding color is a deep purple, so I decided to make the lily white and purple...and keep the card just those two colors.  When trying to figure out how to make the calla lily I had a great time looking at all the different kinds out there.  Wow, I couldn't believe all of the different shapes, sizes and colors!  They are such beautiful flowers!  Any card isn't complete without a design, and the wonderful design for my card is from the Paper Craft Crew card sketch challenge.  Check out their blog here.




Here are a few more pics because I couldn't decide on just one. lol





Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Card Stock:  Whisper White
Classic Stampin' Pad:  Elegant Eggplant
Embossing Folder:  Lacy Brocade
Framelits:  Labels Collection
Ribbon:  5/8" Organza in Whisper White
Shimmer Paint:  Champagne Mist
Sponges, Crimper & Q-tips