Good Neighbor Thank You

I found another sketch this weekend that intrigued me. Even now, after doing one, I think I may NEED to do another! Gretchen Barron over at Inspiration in Action is VERY talented and puts a sketch up each weekend. Here is my creation for this weekends sketch.

I thought this would be a good one for some of the DSP that I have hanging around. I settled on the Welcoming Neighbor pack that is FREE right now during SAB, and combined it with the coordinating set Good Neighbors. I love these little houses! And the colors are VERY bright!! Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry & Pumpkin Pie. I just layered my ribbon under that diagonal focal piece instead of tying it through like Gretchen did. That's what makes me think I might need to do another! It really looks fun that way now that I look at her samples again. Click over and take a peek!

Garden From the Heart

Up early today, figured I might as well do a little stamping! I will regret staying up by this afternoon, but I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep after having been up for over an hour getting Ryan off to his Robotics meet.

Anyway, here is the card I did this morning for the Stamping 411 Saturday Sketch Challenge .

I've been wanting to try this new set from the Occasions Mini, Garden from the Heart. I'm also in the mood for Spring so I chose some lighter colors. Card base is Certainly celery. I used the new Perfect Polka Dots Impressions folder in the Big Shot for the background and sponged the edge lightly with Regal Rose. A Regal Rose grosgrain ribbon is attached around the center with Filigree brads on the edge. I used Certainly Celery brads in the center instead of the silver ones. The hat image was stamped with Black Stazon in the center of another piece of Whisper White. I colored with my markers in Regal Rose, Almost Amethyst & Certainly Celery. I stamped the glove & shovel image on a scrap piece of Whisper White, colored and cut it out. Its attached on the lower corner with a dimensional. The saying is from the SAB set, Whimsical Words and was stamped in Regal Rose, punched with the large oval punch & layered onto a Certainly Celery scallop punch.

Now, off to the rest of the day, which I hope includes MORE stamping!

Abundant Hope Birthday

A new sketch to play along with weekly! The new "Demo Connection" spot, sort of like Facebook but for SU! demos only is hosting a weekly sketch challenge. Here is the Stampin' Connection Sketch Challenge one:

Play along if you would like! I love a sketch to get me rolling when ideas aren't coming.

I did modify it just a tad. I added ribbon to the bottom of the center section, then I couldn't add the sentiment where it was, I had to move it up. Colors are Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink & Whisper White. I again used a Texturz plate in the Big Shot for the background. On the indented side (? debossed) of the Whisper White cardstock I brayered over with Pretty in Pink ink, enhancing the weave pattern. The main image was stamped in Basic Black ink (Stazon would have been better!). I colored in with my markers in Pretty in Pink and Mellow Moss. I'm no coloring expert by any means, but I generally try to go over it once fairly even toned without leaving lines. Then I come back to the areas I want darker and go over them again. You can also remove a little ink with a blender pen. Just don't go back and forth too much or the cardstock with get fuzzy.

Enjoy! Contact me with any questions. Off to bed for me, have a VERY early morning getting my Robotics team member on the bus.

Revised Vintage Friend

First up tonight is my revised card from last night. I knew it wasn't quite right, but I was so tired I couldn't see straight or think how to fix it. But tonight, I started over, making a few modifications and like this result MUCH better!

Basics are the same. Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy & Very Vanilla. I changed the ribbon to the Soft Suede. The Solid Suede layer is now gone and I went to a layered look. I had to shift it down because of the ribbon. I couldn't get the ribbon to go straight across! And I also used a small corduroy button instead of the larger one. Click the card to enlarge it so you can see all the details. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Vintage Friend CCJC3

Finally, I've gotten a challenge finished that I started either Saturday or Sunday. I think Sunday. Anyway, it's been a non stamping week for me. I hate it when that happens! Hopefully I can work more into my weekend!

Anyway, this week Create with Connie & Julie gave us a sketch challenge. Here it is if you'd like to play along.

Leave a comment and a link if you do-I'd love to see it!

Below is my creation. I had the idea in my head all week, but I'm not sure if it came out quite right. ??

I went back to the color combination I loved before with this set: Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy & Very Vanilla. The part I don't like is the Soft Suede layer behind the flower, but not sure what would have worked there. Oh well!

The background was done by using Very Vanilla cardstock in the Big Shot with a Texturz plate from the Backgrounds 1 set. After putting through the Big Shot, I ran my brayer over it with Soft Suede ink. Note: I brayered over the indented side, NOT the raised side. I also sponged the edges with Soft Suede ink. Next layer is the F friends image, stamped in Not Quite Navy on Very Vanilla. I stamped another F and cut out to layer over for dimension. I did the vine image stamped off once with Soft Suede and the small flower in Not Quite Navy. Sponged lightly with Soft Suede to soften the Very Vanilla. I tied a Kraft Taffeta ribbon around the right side of this layer. Over that I layered a Soft Suede piece that had been stamped with the vine image in Very Vanilla. Lastly, I added the flower accent. I stamped the Vintage Flower twice, once in Soft Suede, once in Not Quite Navy and cut them out. I attached them together with a Kraft corduroy button sponged with Not Quite Navy ink.

Happy Friday all! I'm hoping for a quiet day at work, the Boss is out of town. :) Back soon-I hope! Good Luck also to the Crete Robotics team who are competing this weekend in Omaha. My Freshman son is on one of the teams.

UPDATE: Click HERE to see the revised version of this card. I like the way it came out better than the original. :) Much more rested tonight so thinking clearly. Fri 1/29/10 10:18 pm

Gotta Love it!!

This is a "warning label" that Stampin' Up! has added to the largest shipping boxes right now for Sale-A-Bration! Don't ya love it????


Way cool. All of you NEED to book a workshop during SAB so that you can receive these GREAT boxes!!! Contact me TODAY to book your workshop!!

For All You Do Birthday

I'm trying to keep up with my resolution to mail birthday cards this year. So far, so good! I was playing the other night and came up with this one. No sketch, no challenge, just playing and working in new things.

Card base is Elegant Eggplant and I used the new Perfect Polka Dots Impressions Folder in the Big Shot. Click the photo above to enlarge if you can't see that detail. Then, I trimmed down the right edge of the card and used the new Scallop Trim Border punch. Ask me how you can earn this fabulous punch and other things FREE right now during Sale-A-Bration!! I added additional layers of punched edges in So Saffron & Always Artichoke. For the main image, I stamped the butterfly first in the center of a Whisper White piece of cardstock. Then I masked the image with another piece of paper and stamped the dots over the butterfly in Always Artichoke. I stamped the small flower from the set in Saffron around the edges and sponged lightly with Elegant Eggplant before layering onto Always Artichoke. A So Saffron Striped grosgrain ribbon was tied in the middle and attached with mini glue dots. Lastly, the 'happy birthday' from Well Scripted was stamped in Always Artichoke on Whisper White and punched with the Wide Oval punch. Again, small So Saffron flowers around the edge and sponging with Elegant Eggplant. Attached with dimensionals.

Enjoying a quite morning home alone this am. Have many projects on the to do list though so better get hopping!! Have a great week all!

Follow Your Heart

Here is card 3 from club last weekend. It was fun for me because it was very different than everything I've been doing lately! It still has a heart, but very different colors and message!

It uses the Good Neighbors Sale-A-Bration (SAB) set, and the Welcome Neighbor SAB DSP. SAB=FREE for you!! One item free with each $50 purchase. Don't miss your chance to own these great limited time only items!

Card base is Bermuda Bay. A heart print from the DSP was attached at the bottom, after punching with the new Scallop Trim Border punch. Also currently a SAB item. It will make the regular catalog, the other SAB items will not. The top of the Bermuda Bay was stamped randomly with the cloud image. The center layer was made by scalloping both edges of a piece of Old Olive Cardstock. Allow a quarter inch for each punched edge. For instance, in this case I cut the Olive 2-1/2" wide. The Whisper White is 2". They layer together perfectly after using the punch. The tree and house images were stamped to the far left, the heart layered on the far right. The heart is made using the heart from the Punch Windows die set, the new Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslit Die, and the Full Heart punch. The words, "follow your heart-it knows the way" from another SAB set-Whimsical Words. Oh, and Crushed Curry Ribbon around the bottom edge of the Whisper White layer. Email me if you need more specific measurements or directions!!

You can view the Sale-A-Bration Mini catalog here, and the Occasions Mini here. The current catalogs are also always linked in my sidebar. If you're reading this somewhere other than the actual blog (in a reader, on Facebook, etc) click over to the blog and link away! To SHOP NOW, click here and then the SHOP NOW button upper right. Make sure you register if you haven't previously, and choose ME (Jennifer Weide) as your demonstrator. Thank you!!

Hoping to go stamp some tonight before I crash and burn! and looking forward to lunch tomorrow with my club girls. Stamping friends are the best kind!!

Mambo Love Hearts

Here is card 2 from club yesterday. I got the I {Love} Love wheel recently to coordinate with the I {Heart} Hearts set, so I put the two together to make this quick card!

Card base is Melon Mambo, background layer is Whisper White. We used the wheel once across the top and bottom. Next we layered a strip of Whisper White onto a strip of Melon Mambo and tied a Melon Mambo ribbon in a know around the center. We stamped the large dotted heart, the set of 3 hearts, and the small heart on a second strip of white. We cut out the large heart, punched the 3 hearts with the coordinating Heart to Heart punch, and the small heart with the new Small Heart punch. The 3 hearts were attached to the large heart, the middle one with a dimensional. The large heart & small hearts were also applied with dimensionals for effect.

Quick and simple! Melon Mambo is perfect for this set and Valentine's day! Enjoy, back soon!

Vintage Friend

Today was club with my girls and we had a blast as usual! Lots of fun and good times all round!! We did get some cards made too! This was inspired by a swap I received and a request from the hostess to do embossing. I hadn't done emboss resist for a while, so I decided to give it a whirl. Love how it came out, and all the girls did too!

Colors are Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy & Vanilla. To start, with the background Vanilla & front main image vanilla, we embossed the images with clear embossing powder. On the background, I did about 4 big flowers, & 3-4 small flowers all randomly placed. Next we grabbed the vine like image and the Soft Suede ink and filled in around the flowers. You can get ink on the flowers at this point, and rub it off with a Kleenex. I did some of the vines full strength, and some stamped off once. After removing any Soft Suede ink, I then grabbed a sponge and the Not Quite Navy ink. Sponge over the embossed images until you have the desired amount of color/coverage. Then, grab the Kleenex again and rub off excess Not Quite Navy. Finally, grab another sponge and the Soft Suede ink. Sponge around the edges, and in any background areas that you would like, I pretty much filled all mine in-not intensely, but lightly.

Layer together with the Soft Suede dotted grosgrain (dots down). Very vintage! and image the other possible color combinations!! Enjoy!!

With All My Heart Friend

Sorry for the few day lapse! I was afraid that would happen this week, being our first full week for quite a while!! Here is a quick card I used to get the mojo going this afternoon. I don't like to do things overly complex, who has the time?? This may resemble several of the Valentine cards I've done the last few weeks, because I started with the same DSP-Sending Love. The challenge this week from Connie & Julie is to use Real Red, Chocolate Chip & Pretty in Pink. The paper is those colors so it was a logical place to start. But, I didn't want to go valentine!

Stamp set used is With All My Heart from the Occasions Mini. Card base is Chocolate Chip, layer of Real Red, and the background small flower print from the Sending Love paper pack. For the main image, a background of Real Red & Very Vanilla (edged with Pretty in Pink). The Extra Large Fancy Flower punch in Chocolate Chip is layered under my stacked elements. I stamped all 3 flower images from the set, one in each color. Cut around the edges and attach together with a Chocolate Chip Sending Love Epoxy Brad. The cut flowers are attached with mini glue dots to the punched flower, and the whole things is attached to the Vanilla with a jumbo glue dot. Attached over the new Pretty in Pink Satin ribbon. Finally, friend from the set was stamped on Vanilla in Chocolate Chip, punched with the large oval, sponged with Pretty in Pink and layered on a Real Red scallop punch.

Now, off to create club cards for tomorrow!

Guess What?? MORE Valentines!

I'm not sure I've EVER done so many Valentines in one year! But, Mr. Brown was NOT my friend Monday and my order didn't arrive. So, I was "stuck" creating a swap with the same old same old from the Occasions Mini! I found a sketch though for inspiration, from the Sweetest Thing blog. Here is the sketch:

and here is what I did with it:



Card base is Real Red with a background Very Vanilla layer. Bottom edge is the Sending Love DSP. Lot so Hearts! The largest are cut with the Punch Wiindow heart and the Big Shot. Next size is the Full Heart punch. The friend heart (from I {Heart} Hearts was stamped with Pretty in Pink craft ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice EP. IRL it matched the DSP sparkly print very well!! The 'with all my heart' from the With All My Heart set was stamped in Real Red on Vanilla and punched with the Modern label punch. It's layered on the coordinating die, also from the Punch Windows set. The NEW thing here (to me) is the Red Satin ribbon. TOO fun!!! We have LOTS of satin ribbon in the Occasions Mini!!

Better call it a day. Reality is hitting hard this week after too many Holidays & Snow days!!!

Another Valentine

Hopefully you aren't getting tired of seeing Valentine stuff here! But, my order with more Occasions Mini stuff was snowed out last week, so I didn't have new things for the weekend. It should be here today though!! This one is for the Saturday Sketch at Stamping 411.

Card base is Real Red, 2nd layer of Pretty in Pink and background print from the Sending Love Specialty DSP. Not sure if you can see it, but this pattern sparkles! A Real Red grosgrain ribbon was attached around the DSP. The large heart from I {Heart} Hearts was stamped 3 times on Very Vanilla in Pretty in Pink. Love the clear blocks for getting images where you want! Next I stamped the heart flower from With All My Heart in Real Red on Vanilla and cut it out. A Pretty in Pink Sending Love brad is through the center and attached with a jumbo glue dot. The Happy Valentine's Day from Teeny Tiny Wishes is stamped in Real Red on the Bottom. The heart accent on the side done using the Punch Windows Big Shot die for the Real Red and the Full Heart punch for the DSP. Another brad, this on Real Red Sending Love.

Enjoy! and have a wonderful week. I'm off and running on a busy Monday, looking forward to a regular week-no Holidays, no snow. And warm temps all week. 30's probably isn't warm to some of you, but it's a heat wave for us!!

Happy Valentines Friend!!

I intended to be here much earlier today with this, but I had a busy day elsewhere and didn't take time to play until now! I did clean up my stamp room this morning though, and got quite a few other things done around the house. Even made a grocery run-my first time out since Wednesday. And may I say-WOW! What big drifts we have!! We've not seen snow like this since moving to the country 6 years ago! The forecast is looking up though and we should see some melting going on this week!

OK, to the stamping! I created this card for the weekly challenge on Create with Connie & Julie. If you're looking for inspiration, check them out!! I am the proud winner of a subscription and am looking forward to lots of ideas and inspiration!!

The card base is Pretty in Pink, and is cut with the Movers & Shapers die with the Heart from the Punch windows set in the center so that the card opens on the side. See page 201 in the IB&C if you aren't familiar with the Movers & Shapers system. I also cut through the Whisper White layer. It was a little tricky to get the Pink & White the same to layer together nicely, but I cut the Pink before I thought about layering. My suggestion would be to cut the white & pink at the same time, and then trim down the white to layer on the pink. As you can see below on the inside of the card, the heart in the center is inside the card. You see through the top layer. The Whisper White was stamped with hearts in Chocolate Chip & Pink. I love these clear mount sets for lining up images!! Look how well the pink heart is set inside the dotted Chocolate one-with a stamp-a-ma-jig! The Pretty in Pink Striped Grosgrain was tied around the White layer, and a new Sending Love brad, also in Pretty in Pink was added through the ribbon. The saying is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and is stamped in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White and punched with the Modern Label punch. The Chocolate Chip layer was also cut with the Punch Window die.

Enjoy friends and I hope you are all having a good weekend! Back, soon!!

Note: click the picture to enlarge the picture to see the detail better! Pretty in Pink is very light and doesn't always show up well, and my scanner didn't do a very good job!! Thanks all!

Party Hearty Cupcake Birthday

These cards were made with a SUDSOL sketch for a couple friends with birthdays this week. I really like how they came out. Actually, I need to go make another one. Hmm, what color should it be??

This one is Bermuda Bay & Chocolate Chip. Card base is Bermuda Bay, with a Chocolate Chip layer under the Whisper White layer. Both were Scallop Edge punched. The dots are from the classic set, Itty Bitty Backgrounds and were stamped randomly in Bermuda Bay. The cupcakes were colored with markers in Chocolate Chip & Bermuda Bay. The 3 cupcakes are layered onto a Chocolate Chip strip. The "you take the cake" was stamped in Chocolate Chip right under the cupcakes, and above the Bermuda Bay ribbon. Isn't it cool how well our colors go together?? No guess work here!!!

Same layout, different color. Melon Mambo is the featured color on this one.

We finally saw a snow plow late afternoon Friday, so we are free to venture out today. I'll be heading after groceries for sure!! The temps were super cold overnight but should be heading up over the next few days. YEAH-it's about time! Maybe the kids can actually go back to school this week and I can work a regular week! Keep stamping all, be back soon!!

Love You Much Friend

A simple card today, again for a sketch challenge. This one by the Blog, Lord Have Mercy. (Sorry, I can't link you there because of my Demo agreement restrictions). but, here is Mercy's sketch:

and here is what I did:

Card base is Rose Red. Background is Whisper White with hearts from the Love You Much set stamped in Rose Red. Edges are sponged with Rose Red. Next to the wide Rose Red ribbon is a narrow strip of white CS, punched with the new Pinking Hearts Border punch from the Occasions Mini. The main image heart (also from Love You Much) was stamped in Rose Red on Whisper White and cut out. Attached to a Rose Red piece with dimensionals. And, last effect was Dazzling Diamonds glitter added to the heart edge & flower center/dots. Simple.

Still snowed in here, hoping you are all staying warm!! Brutal cold here for the next two nights and the winds have been horrible. Hoping this is the last winter storm for a while and that the temps rise! 15 and 20 below is just horrible!!

Razzleberry Butterfly Hi!

Well, I got a card done, but not sure if I love it! Oh well, you have to try things to know if you're going to like them or not! The layout here is from the Diva Coffee Break Design Sketch. I find a sketch is a great way to get creative ideas flowing-it gives you starting point when you're struggling. I still struggled tonight-it's TOO COLD!!!!

Card base is Rich Razzleberry. I was also working towards a SUDSOL challenge to use Rich Razzleberry. Love the color so that wasn't a problem!! The White background was wheeled with the Whimsy Jumbo wheel in Razzleberry. The Butterflies are from the new Beautiful Wings Embosslit in the Occasions Mini. They have an embossed pattern on them, to which I applied two-way glue & Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The Hi embosslit was also used on the smaller panel. Ribbon is the finishing touch.

Enjoy! Stay warm and well all! Hoping for a break in the weather SOON!!!!!!!!!

Bloomin' Beautiful!!

Another case, but LOVE how this one came out! I believe a similar card was shared on my demo list, SUDSOL awhile back. This is very simple, but absolutely beautiful!

Bloomin' Beautiful is the set the flower is from. I'm always tempted to use purple of some sort for this flower, but wow-it really pops in red! Real Red to be exact! Card base is Real Red. The white layer is Whisper White, and cut 1/2" smaller than the card front. I then cut the Basic Black layer 1/8" larger than the Whisper White. Generally, I use 1/4" layers, but I wanted a very small black around the white. The White was embossed with the Finial Press Embossing folder with the oval craft frame, leaving the center plain. The flower was stamped in Black Stazon and colored full strength with Real Red & Glorious Green markers. Note from experience: Be very careful not to smudge the ink! The Whisper White has smooth coating on it, and it takes that ink a little bit to dry completely. I added a Real Red grosgrain ribbon with a Silver ribbon slide from the Hodgepodge Hardware kit for the finishing touch.

Enjoy! Hopefully I can keep this posting streak going, looks like we may have another snow day tomorrow. School is closed already based on the forecast, but we'll see what morning brings before I decide if I'm going in or not.

Sweet Pea Tres Chic

I combined a few different elements on this card to use some new things. We had a sale recently on some Big Shot items, so this Tag die is now in my possession! It's called the Two Tags die and looks to be fun!!

Card base is Chocolate Chip. Background layer is Pretty in Pink stamped with the Tres Chic background in Rose Red. I used the Ticket Corner punch on the corners and sponged the edges lightly with Chocolate Chip. The tag is cut from Very Vanilla and also sponged with Chocolate Chip. The felt accents are from the new Sweet Pea set in the Occasions Mini catalog. It's a great set! The accents are all attached with glue dots. The centers are separate from the flowers so you can mix and match to your liking! Fun Fun!

Sale-A-Bration & The Occasions Mini start TODAY!!! Links are in my sidebars to each catalog if yours hasn't yet arrived in the mail. I would love to do a workshop for you and your friends! Contact me to find a date that works!!

Razzleberry Tulip

This card is a case of one I saw on the Demo side of the Stampin' Up! site and last night I was finally able to give it my spin!

The card base is Rich Razzleberry Textured cardstock. I like to use that on occasion when it will show more than just a basic outside layer. The set used was Flores Suaves which is in the Spanish version of the SU! Catalog. The set is available to anyone, just not featured in the regular IB&C. The TopNote was cut from Naturals Ivory cardstock. It has a very light background all over it done by using the script, butterfly & bee images and Creamy Caramel ink. Stamp each image off once, then onto the cardstock. Full strength was just too dark-I tried it first that way! Sponge the edges lightly too with Creamy Caramel. Next, on another piece of Naturals Ivory, stamp the tulip image with Stazon Jet Black Ink. Color with markers: Rich Razzleberry for the flower, and Always Artichoke for the stem. The markers are fairly dark, but I didn't think a blender pen & ink would be dark enough. To lighten in areas, use a blender pen and remove a little ink. Cut the tulip out and attach with dimensionals (on the flower & leaf). Tie a Kraft Taffeta ribbon around the bottom. Lastly, add a saying stamped in Rich Razzleberry & punched with the Large Oval, layered on a Razzleberry Scallop Oval. Lots of sayings would work on this, as would a number of different colors! Give it a shot!!

New Catalogs!

NEW things coming at Stampin' UP!! January 5 begins the Occasions Mini Catalog as well as the annual Sale-a-Bration festivities!!

For those of you who may be new to SU!, we have one big Idea Book & Catalog per year, and two mini catalogs. The Holiday Mini comes out in the fall, and is just finishing up it's sales period January 4. Click HERE if you'd like to take a look at it. The Occasions Mini is the Spring one that begins Tuesday. It's full of GREAT new things!! Click the catalog below to view the pdf version.

Take some time to study it! Notice that we now have Clear Mount stamps! Most new sets will give you the option of Wood or Clear. Also a new design of punches and some GREAT new punches!! New DSP, brads, buttons, etc!

And it's time for Sale-a-Bration! For those of you who may not know what that is, it's an annual "sale" that SU! has to benefit customers, hostesses and new recruits. Click the box below to view the pdf version of the brochure.

Notice the offerings this year: 4 stamp sets (either Wood or Clear mount), a Designer Series Paper Pad, & a new Scallop Trim Border punch. The stamp sets and DSP are limited time only, but the punch will make it into the next catalog. What a deal to be able to earn it free! And in addition to the 6 SAB offerings, SU! has also extended the "FREE" option to many stamp sets from the regular Idea Book & Catalog that are valued at $15.95 or less. So, if the SAB options don't appeal to you, or you've earned all that you need, you can turn to the other options in the catalog. See the last page of the brochure for the Free options.

OK, the basic SAB offerings for:

Customers: One FREE SAB item for each $50 purchase.

Hostesses: One FREE SAB item for each $300 in workshop sales.

New Demonstrators: ANY SET out of the Idea Book & Catalog or Occasions Mini FREE when you sign up. Valued up to $47.95.

What GREAT deals! and notice the dates on the SAB sale: Through March 31! WOW! That's a month longer than we've ever had this before-plenty of time to earn all these great products! Contact me today if you're in the SE Nebraska/NE Kansas areas and would like to book a workshop-it's the perfect time!!

The links to the catalogs along with some other specials are in my sidebar. The Occasions Mini is on the left side, just above the regular catalog. The SAB is on the right with other special items.

Contact me if you have any questions!!

I {Heart} Hearts

Love how this came out!! I've been wanting to play with the set for a while, and the Stamping 411 Sketch challenge today was PERFECT!

Card base is Melon Mambo. Actually, all the color on here is Melon Mambo, but the scan is a bit off. IRL, the color of the ribbon, ink & cardstock ALL match perfectly! The background Whisper White layer is textured with the Perfect Details Texturz plate. The hearts were all stamped on Whisper White with Melon Mambo & cut out. The 3 on one were punched using the Heart to Heart punch, the image lines up perfectly! Some of the hearts were attached with dimensionals. Cool?

This set is in the Occasions Mini and is available in a Clear Mounted or Wood Mounted set. I've gotten a few of the Unmounteds and I'm learning to like them. The Occasions Mini sales period starts Tuesday! Lots of new things coming!!

Belated Christmas Wishes

This is the Christmas card we sent this year to family and friends. Sorry to share this so far after the fact, I had intended to get it done much earlier. But, we were running late getting these in the mail, and I didn't take time to scan one before mailing them ALL! And I'm never excited to make another after having made 115 to mail! But, I finally took the time because I do like to keep one of them to look back at!

The card base is Real Red. The next layer is a Vanilla CS (Not SU!). It is a shimmery CS like the Shimmery White that SU! carries. I wanted the softer look of Vanilla. After cutting the background Vanilla to size, I ran it through the Bigshot with the Petals-a-Plenty Impressions Folder and the Wooden craft frame to leave the oval unembossed in the center. You can't see it in the scan, but I also sprayed the Vanilla (before doing any stamping!) with the Shimmery Spray mixed from 90% alcohol and the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint. Gave it just a little more shimmer-you can't have too much right?? When doing that in large groups though-do it in a well ventilated area!! After that dried, I rounded the edges with the corner rounder. The main image was stamped with Real Red Craft ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice EP. Before stamping, I also added a dot of gold to the center of the 3 flowers using my Gold Encore reinker. Click on the picture above to enlarge if you can't see the detail. The edges of the Vanilla were sponged lightly with Real Red before I added a Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon.

This is the inside of the card. I generally don't to alot inside my cards, but this evolved from an accident and I decided I liked it and did it on all of them. Let's just say it pays to have a sample handy of what you are creating and to stop and think before stamping the verse inside.

If you are looking for things to do today, here is a link to all the previous Christmas cards I've made. Well, all but one that I can't find a copy of!

2008 Cardinal Christmas

2007 Snow Burst

2006 Snow Flurries

2005 Celery Tree

2004 Navy Stars

2003 Flaky Friends

2002 Warm Wishes

2001 Frosty

1999 Stitched Santa

Wow, what fun to look back at those! I can remember working on all of them and things that we were doing at the time. Have a great weekend all!!

With All My Heart-SUDSOL sketch

Well, this still qualifies as "later today", but just barely! I had trouble finding motivation for anything today! Didn't get much Christmas stuff put away either. Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

Here is the card I did tonight for the weekly sketch on SUDSOL. SUDSOL is a demo group to which I have belonged since right after becoming a demonstrator. One of their weekly challenges it a sketch and I decided tonight to give it a shot! The card base is Pretty in Pink and opens up, not to the side. The background is two different DSP prints from the Sending Love Specialty pack, both with a little layer of Chocolate chip behind them. The main image is backed with both Real Red & Chocolate Chip. I stamped the flower image on Very Vanilla after inking it with my markers in Real Read & Pretty in Pink. The DSP has all these colors BTW. I cut out the main image, added the Chocolate Chip Epoxy Brad, attached to a 1-3/4 circle of Chocolate Chip and layered on a piece of Very Vanilla CS. On the center of the Very Vanilla I stamped the small flower image with Pretty in Pink and colored in the center with my Chocolate Chip marker.

Enjoy! and most definitely add this DSP to your wish list! It is fabulous! The colors are awesome, and one side of each of the prints has sparkly effects-too fun! Later!

Reminders!

Happy New Year all!! Best wishes for a great one. Hoping first of all here for some warmer weather! You can't melt piles of snow when the temp is down near 0! Not fun!!

Anyway, a few quick reminders. We are nearing the end of the Holiday Mini Catalog sales period. January 4th is the last day to order items from there! I can tell you that the Build-a-Bear items are continuing, and the Shimmer Paint will also be available. Everything else: if you like it, get it NOW!! If you can't find your copy, click HERE to view it online. You can contact me to order, or order online. Go to my site here, and click the Shop Now button top right. From there, either sign in or register (if it's your first visit) by clicking the Customer Login button. It should show my name as the demonstrator, and give you the same prices as in the catalog.

Also, the Dormant List items are going away after January 4th. That list of sets has been available, but not in the current catalog. No more. The list shows the last catalog and page number the set was featured in, or you can enter the number online to view.

Contact me with questions, or with your orders. I will be placing an order for a few people locally on Sunday evening. I am busy on Monday (Jan 4th) so please get me your orders by Sunday afternoon if you need me to place it. Otherwise, you can order online through January 4th.

January 5th begins the Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration!! Great new things coming-stay tuned!

I hope to be back soon with a project to share. Have to figure out how to stamp and put away Christmas decorations! Again, Happy New Year all!!