Rich Autumn Leaves - Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons - Fab Friday 122

  I went to share a card the other day and realized that the last batch of photos I took of about 8 different card designs were so poor that I couldn't possibly post them in that state!  I haven't had a moment to re-take them as I had stamp club this week and that seems to take quite a lot of time to prepare for.  I am back with a card for Fab Friday though today!  The rest of the cards will have to wait for another day!

  We have a rich, autumn color palette for this color challenge.  They are perfect for the cool fall temperatures and changes in the leaves.  We've not had any cool fall weather and the the trees still have their green leaves here in central Virginia but I will be ready when things change with this great color combo!

  Cajun Craze, Tranquil Tide and Rich Razzleberry.  I can't wait to see what people come up with for these colors.  I never would have put them together but I like the end results.

  I went with the obvious fall leaves and the beautiful maple leaf from the Colorful Seasons stamp set is just the right image to emboss.

  Gold is a wonderful accompaniment to the deep jewel tones of the challenge colors.  We made a very similar card at my stamp club with just some slight changes and my stampers just loved the gold embossing on the leaves.

  After watercoloring the leaves I also embossed the frame from Labels to Love and punched it out with the Everyday Label punch.  The Rose Wonder 'happy birthday' works nicely in the gold frame.  

  The background is a piece of Woodgrain DSP which give this card a nice rustic look I think.

  Definitely head over to Fab Friday and see all great inspiration for these colors and then get to work on your own creation.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Colorful Seasons, Labels to Love, Rose Wonder

Ink: Cajun Craze, Tranquil Tide, Rich Razzleberry, Versamark

Paper: Very Vanilla, Woodgrain DSP, watercolor paper

Accessories: Seasonal Layers thinlets, gold embossing powder, dimensionals, Everday Label punch, Natural trim gold

Mitten Season - Stampin' Up! Many Mittens Framelits

  It's hard to think ahead to Christmas when the temperatures are still in the 80s and everything is still lush and green but I've been pulling out my new Christmas sets to just get some samples made to show my stampers and to get a head start on filling up my Christmas card boxes.

  Today's card is a super simple card with only a tiny bit of stamping but it's a great way to show off the Many Mittens framelits and the adorable knitted look.

  The card base is Smoky Slate and I embossed the big Winter Wonder snowflake off to the side.  The knitted detail mittens are die cut in Pool Party cardstock and then backed with solid die cut mittens in Whisper White cardstock.  The top mitten is popped on dimensionals.  I added a rhinestone to the center of each and put a baker's twine bow on the edge of one.

  The senitment is from the carry over set Christmas Pines (in the annual catalog) and is stamped in Versamark and then embossed in white.

  While I didn't use any of the Smitten Mitten stamp set stamps on this card they are adorable and really go well with the coordinating framelits for so many different looks and they are 10% off when you buy them as a bundle!  This is a great set for winter cards and not just Christmas; think after Christmas thank yous, winter birthdays, a head start on Valentine's day (there are hearts in the set and the word "smitten"!).  

  I will definitely be using this suite often in the coming months.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas Pines

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Pool Party

Accessories: white embossing powder, Winter Wonder embossing folder, Many Mittens framelits, dimensionals, baker's twine, rhinestones

Crisp and Clean Fall Leaves - Stampin' Up! Vintage Leaves

 Today's card features one of my favorite sets.  It's been around for a few years and I still reach for it for a classic nature card.

  Nothing fancy going on here just a little pop of gold with some sequins and embossing.  

  I'm off to tackle all the chores that I should have done over the weekend but ignored to to do things that were more fun!  At this age I should be smarter; Mondays are bad enough on their own!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Vintage Leaves, Sheltering Tree

Ink: Versamark, Tranquil Tide, Fresh Fig

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Tranquil Tide,  Tasty Treats DSP (retired)

Accessories: gold embossing powder, gold sequins, dimensionals, 1/8" Fresh Fig Sheer ribbon, Leaflets Framelits

Winter Wonder Christmas - Stampin' Up! Snowflake Sentiment - Fab Friday 121

We're back at Fab Friday today for another great challenge to get that creative mojo going just in time for the weekend!  It's a sketch this time around so sky is the limit!  The Design Team always has such unique ways of interpreting the sketches and it's so fun to get new ideas for their designs.

  It's a very clean and simple design but you can dress it up or keep it minimal so there are a lot of possibilities here!

  Here is what I came up with:

  I decided to let the giant Winter Wonder embossing folder snowflake take on the oval element of the sketch.  I brought some sparkle in with a layered circle of Silver Glimmer paper and just the center of the embossed snowflake popped up with a rhinestone in the center.

  The stamping is minimal as I only used one greeting stamp from Snowflake Sentiments and the Everyday Label punch.  The inks on the sentiment are Garden Green and Lemon Lime Twist.  The label is layered over the top of retired Pool Party ribbon and a narrow strip of Silver Glimmer paper.

  I brought in another snowflake for the side of the label using Pool Party cardstock and the Swirly Snowflake thinlets.  Another rhinestone is used for the center.

  Definitely check out the rest of the samples and then play along.  Our challenge runs for nearly 2 weeks so that's plenty of time to join in!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Snowflake Sentiments*

Ink: Garden Green, Lemon Lime Twist

Paper: Quilted Christmas DSP*, Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Pool Party, Silver Glimmer

Accessories: Winter Wonder embossing folder*, Swirly Snowflakes thinlets*, Everyday Label punch*, 1 1/4" circle punch, Layering Circles framelits, rhinestones, Pool Party ribbon (retired)

*Products from the 2017 Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog

Bright Birthday Sundae- Stampin' Up! Cool Treats

Do you have your sunglasses handy?  Might want to be prepared before viewing today's card!  It's a bright one!

  I made this one a while back for a few challenges.  It was a fun card to put together.  While I know some people think Lemon Lime Twist is too bright I am loving this fresh color.  I used it for the card base and also used the LLT ink to stamp the spoons as the background.  The Cool Treats stamp set and coordinating Frozen Treats framelits made this card a snap to put together.

  The offset angled panel is so different that it took me a bit figure out how I wanted to use it but a plain Whisper White layer seemed like a good way to go since I already had some brightness going on!  I added a clean and simple white baker's twine bow tied to the side to balance the angle.

  The sentiment is stamped along the edge in Basic Gray.  The bowl is cut from Lemon Lime Twist cardstock and then embossed with the new Quilt Top embossing folder.  The ice cream scoops are cut from Whisper White and then I used a sponge to add Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Lemon Lime Twist ink around the edges.

  The cherry is cut from Real Red and then covered in clear Wink of Stella.  The sundae is popped up on the card front with dimensionals.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Cool Treats

Ink: Lemon Lime Twist, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Basic Gray

Paper: Lemon Lime Twist, Whisper White, Real Red

Accessories: Frozen Treats framelits, white baker's twine, dimensionals, Quilt Top embossing folder*, Wink of Stella

*Product available in the 2017 Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog

Welcoming Front Door - Stampin' Up! At Home with You

Today's card features a stamp set that can be used across all the seasons.  Like my card from yesterday it's wonderful to have a versatile stamp set that you can make beautiful card with all year long.  At Home with You has a great front door stamp and lots of ways to personalize it.  From holiday garland to wreaths to flower pots you can create a beautiful front door scene that works for any season.

We used the At Home with You bundle at my last stamp club to make this card.  When I designed the card I wanted to have a bit more of a fall feel so I chose colors from the Regals collection.

  The card base is Whisper White thick then we embossed a Sahara Sand panel with the new Pinewood Planks embossing folder.  It's perfect for creating a house background for the door.

  The door/door frame was stamped in black onto Whisper White and cut out.  It was stamped again in black onto Island Indigo.  We hand cut just the Island Indigo door and then used the little window die to create the open windows so we could back it with a small piece of So Saffron.  I love this details as it makes for a warm welcoming glow.  The door panel is adhered to the white frame.

  The floor of the porch is a strip of the Wood Textures DSP.  The door mat was cut from a pattern in the Painted Autumn DSP in the Holiday catalog. As soon as I saw that zigzag pattern I knew I wanted to use it for a door mat!

  The final detail is the wreath which was stamped, die cut and then colored with markers.  Again I chose fall inspired colors for it.  Using the adorable mini dimensionals the wreath is popped up and tied with a little linen thread bow.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: At Home with You

Ink: black  Markers: various colors

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, So Saffron, Island Indigo, Wood Textures DSP,  Painted Autumn DSP*

Accessories: At Home framelits, mini dimensionals, Pinewood Planks embossing folder, linen thread

* Product found in the 2017 Holiday Catalog

Fresh Fig Autumn - Stampin' Up! Colorful Seasons

  It's time to get all those fall themed stamp sets out to be ready for those fall birthdays, thank yous and other occasions you have coming up.  One of the things I love most about the Colorful Seasons bundle is that the images are great for any season.  You really get your money's worth with the Colorful Seasons bundle and can use it all year long.  Let's face it; most of us don't have unlimited crafting budgets so we need to be smart about our purchases.  I think the Colorful Seasons stamp set is a very smart purchase!

  For today's card I used the new In Color Fresh Fig and added in some gold embossing for a fall inspired birthday card.

  The card base is Crumb Cake and then a smaller panel of Fresh Fig stamped with the 2 solid leaf images from the set.  Before adhering the panel to the card front I wrapped a length of 1/8" sheer ribbon around it and tied a bow to the side.  

  Next, I embossed several leaves in gold on vellum cardstock and then die cut them with the Seasonal Layers Thinlets.  The gold and Fresh Fig are a beautiful combination don't you think?  

  The label shape from the Rose Wonder stamp set was also embossed in gold and die cut with the coordinating Rose Garden thinlet.  The sentiment (also from Rose Wonder) was stamped on the label in Fresh Fig ink then popped up with dimensionals over the ribbon.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Colorful Seasons, Rose Wonder

Ink: Fresh Fig, Versamark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Fresh Fig, Vellum, Whisper White

Accessories: 1/8" sheer ribbon, gold embossing powder, dimensionals, Rose Garden Thinlets, Seasonal Layers thinlets

Warm Coffee, Warm Heart - Stampin' Up! Coffee Cafe

 It's time to gear up for our first weekend of the school year; soccer games, college football games, NFL football games and activities at church.  Whew!  I'm kind of tired just thinking about it all!  I've poured myself a big mug of coffee as I think I need a kick in the pants to get my day going!  In the meantime I'll share this card that we made last week at stamp club.

  The Coffee Cafe suite makes cute cards for all the coffee lovers in your life.  I designed this one with a sentiment from another stamp set to appeal to a wider audience; not everyone loves coffee (I know it's hard to believe but it's true!) but everyone would appreciate getting a card with a "you warm my heart" sentiment!

  The base is Soft Sky and is stamped in the same color ink using the new Burlap background stamp.  A piece of the Coffee Break DSP cut into a flag is the start of layering for the main elements of the card.  

  The coffee cup is stamped with Garden Green onto Whisper White and cut out.  The lid and sleeve are also stamped in Garden Green ink onto Garden Green cardstock and cut out.  Since I didn't get the coordinating framelits for this set (let's face it, these shapes are so easy to hand cut it's a no brainer!) I don't have the die that embosses the corrugated cardboard texture on the sleeve so I just used my Simply Scored to add the texture.  Easy peasy!

  After the cup was put together the sentiment from Sheltering Tree is stamped on a narrow piece of Whisper White in Soft Suede ink.  A little Garden Green heart from the Coffee Cafe set reinforces the sweet sentiment.

  The cup ensemble is popped up on dimensionals over a folded strip of 3/8" Shimmer ribbon in Pear Pizzazz.

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Coffee Cafe, Sheltering Tree, Burlap background

Ink: Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Garden Green

Paper: Soft Sky, Garden Green, Whisper White, Coffee Break DSP

Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Shimmer ribbon, dimensionals

Champagne Congrats - Stampin' Up! Tree Rings

 Well my family made it through the first day of school and no one complained about doing it all over again today so I guess I can call it a success.  My mother in law asked how the boys' first day went and I told her they both made it home alive with all of their belongings still in their possession so it was a good day in my book.  Clearly I have low standards!

  With the quiet house I was even able to clean up my stamp room and finally put away all the gear I had out from stamp club last week.  I started a card but then it was time to meet Alex at the bus stop so that card is a work in progress.  Luckily I have some projects to share from before I went on vacation.  There were a few fun challenges that I made cards for the week before we headed to the beach and I even photographed them intending to blog while I was away.  Yeah, that clearly didn't happen!  The sand and ocean were just too nice to waste any time in front of the computer.  But it all works out since now I have some things to share this week since I didn't have time to stamp much last week.

  This was a card that came together quickly once I pulled out some of my new Holiday catalog goodies.  I started off with a Whisper White thick base.  Then I embossed in white the new background Tree Rings onto Sahara Sand cardstock.  Tree Rings has such a neat pattern and when it's embossed it's even better!  

  I used the Bold Butterfly framelits and the new Champagne foil paper to make a clean, crisp, shiny butterfly.  I added a tail using the Year of Cheer washi tape.  I popped the butterfly up on the cardfront with dimensionals.  

  To make the sentiment I used the Sunshine Wishes thinlets and cut 'congrats' 4 times and adhered them all together to make a nice substantial element to layer over the butterfly. 

  Finally, I pulled out some retired sequins and added a few to the card front to finish off the details.

  I really like how this one turned out with the monochromatic color scheme but with the shine from the metallic elements keeping it from being too same-y same-y.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

  Stamps: Tree Rings

  Ink: Versamark

  Paper: Whisper White, Whisper White thick, Sahara Sand, Champagne foil*

  Accessories: white embossing powder, dimensionals, Bold Butterfly framelits, Year of Cheer washi tape*, Sunshine Wishes thinlets, retired sequins

*products available in the 2017 Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog

Berry Burst ConeFlower Thank You - Stampin' Up! Daisy Delight

  And now back to our regularly scheduled program!  First day of school here in the Richmond area so my boys are off to 4th grade and 6th grade and I'm back to hopefully being more regular with posting to my blog.  The boys are at different schools this year with different start and end times so I've got to work out the new morning routine to make sure every one is where they need to be at the right time.  Day 1 of 180 was successful!  Fingers crossed for the rest of the year.

  Today's card is one that I designed for my stamp club which was last week.  I had been waiting forever to be able to show the Daisy Delight bundle as it kept going on backorder since way back in April when demonstrators could order it after the spring On Stage event.  It's such an easy set to create with.  Clearly the daisy is a popular flower but I love how you can make the daisy into a coneflower with some snipping which is what we did to make this card in class.

 I especially love these colors together; Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide and Early Espresso.  I think it's a great fallish color combination.

 To make these flowers, the daisy is stamped 3 times in Berry Burst onto Berry Burst cardstock and then the centers are sponged with Berry Burst ink for some shading.  After punching them out with the Daisy punch they are snipped in half and then the halves are layered and adhered with the petals alternating.

   The centers are stamped with Early Espresso ink onto Early Espresso cardstock and then cut out.  The stems are stamped in Tranquil Tide onto Whisper White and then the flowers are adhered with one being popped with dimensionals.

  A bit of 1/2" finely woven ribbon is wrapped under the Whisper White layer, then adhered across the stems, and flagged at the end.  A gold faceted gem "anchors" the side of the ribbon.  I gave my stampers the choice of Tranquil Tide and Berry Burst ribbon and the gold and silver faceted gems to use.

  The thank you is stamped in Early Espresso and then the flower panel is backed with a piece of Early Espresso cardstock and then it's all mounted onto a Tranquil Tide card base.

  I had a few card packets leftover from class so I made them up for all of the teachers my boys have had in elementary school.  We've been so lucky with the fabulous teachers they've had that every first day of school I like to leave a card in their mailboxes to let them know they are still appreciated and to wish them good luck with the new school year.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Daisy Delight

Ink: Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide, Early Espresso

Paper: Tranquil Tide, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Berry Burst

Accessories: Daisy punch, finely woven ribbon, faceted gems, dimensionals

Pick a Pumpkin Wreath - Stampin' Up! Pick a Pumpkin - Fab Friday 120

  It's been a busy 2 weeks since I last had time to share a project!  We had a wonderful week at the beach with family and then once we came home I had stamp club to prepare for as well as all the back to school activities for the boys.  It's our first year in middle school so it's a whole new ball game with fees, gym uniforms, lockers and laptops so we've had a lot going on!

  But now it's time for some stamping with the team at Fab Friday!  We have a fun group of colors for this challenge.

  When I first pulled these colors out, I thought they seemed summery and fresh so I was going to try to do a card a long those lines.  Then I saw my stack of new stamps from the just released Holiday Catalog and decided to see if I could make these colors work for a fall card.

  The Pick a Pumpkin stamp set and coordinating Patterned Pumpkins Thinlets seemed like the perfect match for these fresh colors.

  I started this card off with a base of Whisper White thick topped with a panel of regular Whisper White cardstock that is embossed with the new Quilt Top embossing folder.  I love this embossing folder and know it will see a lot of use in the coming months.

  Next, I die cut a bunch of the leaf sprigs in Tranquil Tide and then adhered them to a Whisper White ring to form the wreath.

  The pumpkins and gourd are stamped in the other challenge colors; Tangerine Tango, Peekaboo Peach and Lemon Lime Twist.  After inking up each stamp I used a blender pen to remove the ink from the stems and then re-colored them with my Tranquil Tide marker then stamped them onto Whisper White.  Once they were cut out I arranged them on the edge of the wreath and then popped the whole thing up with dimensionals on the card front.

  The little scripty 'hello' sentiment from the Tabs for Everything set is stamped in Tranquil Tide and cut into a little flag.  A tiny linen thread bow finishes off this card.

  I hope you'll take at look at the new Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog as there are soooo many great new products to get your fall and Christmas crafting off to a great start!

  And after you place your order, sit down and stamp along with the Fab Friday challenge while you wait for Mr. Brown to deliver your new goodies!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pick a Pumpkin, Tabs for Everything

Ink: Tranquil Tide, Lemon Lime Twist, Peekaboo Peach, Tangerine Tango

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Tranquil Tide

Accessories: Patterned Pumpkins thinlets, Quilt Top embossing folder, dimensionals, linen thread