Getting Organized for Christmas

  All year long I try to remember ideas for Christmas gifts for the various family members, decorating ideas, recipes, activities etc.  This year I decided to get ahead of the game and make myself a little mini Christmas note book that I can keep all of my ideas and lists in one place.  It's small enough to fit in my purse so when I'm out and about I can jot things down right away and not have to rely on my spotty memory!  The only thing that I would do differently is try to find a smaller pen to use....the RSVP pen is a little bit big for my purse but you can't beat that it matches!

  I used some old and some new on this project.  The DSP is from the Sweet Pea paper pack (retired) but doesn't it look awesome with the Cherry Cobbler binding and ornament?  I think I might have a color combination for Christmas cards on my hands here. 

  The ornament stamp is from Delightful Decorations which I am thrilled made it into the big catalog from last year's mini catalog.  I bought so much from that mini that I was praying some of it would make it into the big catalog so I could keep demonstrating (and not blow the stamping bank account) this set as I love it and didn't get to use it as much as I would have liked to last year.  I punched out the ornament with the ornament punch.  I stamped the little star burst/flower (what do you think it is???) in Old Olive and then punched it out.  I adhered everything together and refrained from using a dimensional....I know right, no dimensionals???  I figured being raised up would just catch the ornament on things floating around in my purse and I didn't want it getting ripped off the mini notebook.  Last but not least I added a little BLING to to the ornament.

  Reminder to my local stamp club ladies--TUESDAY is Stamp-A-Stack at 7pm!!  Have you been working on your Stampin' Challenges?  I have the prize all set and can't wait to see what everyone has made!

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Delightful Decorations

Ink: Cherry Cobbler


Paper: Sweet Pea DSP (retired), Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: mini notebook, sticky strip, corner rounder, grosgrain ribbon, RSVP pen, ornament punch, small circle punch, Rhinestone jewels

Thank You Cherries

  I was in Target last week and I saw a card that had cherries on it and I thought it would be good inspiration for a card.  I also needed to make several thank you cards for the organizers and hosts of our neighborhood picnic which was held last Saturday.  So here's the card I came up with.  It's pretty basic but I like how the colors pop.  I also fell off the wagon and used an embossing folder....I just can't help myself!  All that white was just screaming for some texture!

  I don't know if you can tell from the photo (are they any better??  I'm starting to figure out the new camera) but I covered the cherries with Crystal Effects so they are raised and shiny.  If you don't have Crystal Effects you should get a bottle.  I use it all the time and I've had the same bottle for FOREVER so it really goes a long way for a little investment.  Another fun thing is that I trimmed a very very small piece of Wild Wasabi cardstock and used it as "thread" for my button.

  Off to Sam's Club & the playground!  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Fundamental Phrases

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Real Red


Paper: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi (button thread)


Accessories: Crystal Effects, ticket corner punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder,  scallop border punch, scallop oval punch, large oval punch, grosgrain ribbon, Brights collection button

The Birds Are Loose!

  I promised the other day that I would show a card that didn't use an embossing folder....it was hard but I did it!  I might have to look into getting some help for this problem.  One full card with out an embossing folder in sight!  I was browsing through cards online and came across this card by another demonstrator, Sam Woodruff and I totally loved how she used the birdcages to make the background paper.  I just had to CASE (Copy And Share w/ Everyone) the idea for one of my cards.  I think Sam's card is way better than mine but I tried to do her idea justice!

  I had decided that I wanted to use Tangerine Tango for this card and went to my trusty new Color Coach to get some ideas for other colors.  It suggests Tempting Turquoise & Old Olive.  I threw in Daffodil Delight on my own accord so if you don't think it goes with the other colors don't blame the Color Coach. 

  After I had stamped the background (which was super easy with the clear mount stamps) I played around for a little bit with what colors to use for the panels behind the cages as well for as my scallop circle.  I had all 4 colors cut and punched out and kept changing them in and out and nothing seemed to be just right.  Then I thought "what about black as an accent?". I tried it out and the black panel, ribbon and sentiment seem to balance out the other bright colors in just the right way.

  I stamped the 4 little birds and then punched them out with the 1 3/4" circle punch.  I mounted it on a Tangerine Tango 2 3/8" scallop circle punch which I paper pierced each scallop and highlighted the holes with a Signo gel pen.  I used my markers to color the sentiment from So Many Sayings (retired---I think I need to get some new sentiment stamps!).  I punched it out with my word window punch and adhered it to the circle with a little small strip of dimensionals.  Then I adhered my scallop circle onto the birdcage panel also with dimensionals.  I added the bow with a glue dot for the final touch. 

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!


Stamps: Aviary, So Many Sayings (retired)

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Black (marker)

Paper: Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Basic Black


Accessories: 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/4" Circle punch, Word Window punch, paper piercer, 1/8" Black taffeta ribbon, dimensionals

Happy Birthday Ice Cream Cone

 Just a quick card I did for a 5th birthday party this weekend.  The theme of the party was ice cream sundaes so I thought the cone would be close enough!  This one came together pretty fast once I decided what to do.

  First, I ran the Whisper White panel through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  Someday soon I promise to show a card without using an embossing folder! And then I used the ticket corner punch so this layer wouldn't be too boring.

  To make the cone I first cut a triangle out by hand using So Saffron cardstock.  I ran this piece through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  Then I sponged the edges and a little bit in the middle with More Mustard ink.

  The ice cream scoops were punched out with the scallop circle punch and the lower third of the circles were snipped off.  The Chocolate Chip scooped was stamped with the sprinkles from Sweet Scoops using Chocolate Chip ink.  The Pink Pirouette scoop was sponged along the edge with Pink Pirouette ink.  I topped the cone with a 'cherry'.  After not doing much with buttons in the past I'm beginning to really like them-- Now to just get the other 3 color collections!

  Of course I needed to have a happy birthday somewhere so I stamped the sentiment from Fundamental Phrases in Chocolate Chip and punched it out with the large scallop punch and layered it on a Pink Pirouette scallop oval.  A band of striped Pretty in Pink grosgrain ribbon (retired) behind the cone & sentiment finish this sweet card for a sweet birthday girl.

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!


Stamps: Fundamental Phrases, Sweet Scoops

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, More Mustard

Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Pink Pirouette

Accessories: Brights collection button, scallop circle punch, Perfect Polka Dots & Square Lattice embossing folders, ticket corner punch, scallop oval punch, large oval punch, Pretty in Pink striped grosgrain ribbon (retired) 

Summer Circles

   Here's a quick card I made a few weeks ago using Circle Circus and some fun summer colors.  I was trying to come  up with a design for a Christmas card for an upcoming Stamp-a-Stack (visit my Stampin' Up! website over on the right sidebar to view my upcoming events if you're in the Richmond, VA area and would like to join us) and obviously this went in a totally different direction but I still thought it was fun enough to show.

  The Wild Wasabi panel is embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and mounted onto a Whisper White base.  I stamped all of the circles with various colors and various stamps from the set.  I didn't start with an idea of how I wanted this panel to look I just started stamping until it was filled to my liking.  I didn't worry about overlapping circles or getting the whole image onto the panel.  Next, I stamped several of the circles and then punched them out.  I mounted them on a corresponding circle on the larger panel with dimensionals.  For a larger focal image I stamped the large scallop circle with Pumpkin Pie and then punched it out.  I added a smaller punched out circle to the top and finished it off with a Basic Rhinestone in the center.  This scalloped circle is also popped up on dimensionals.  A small grosgrain ribbon knot on the other side balances out the rest of the panel.

  This is a great card to make and have on hand and add the appropriate sentiment to later when you need it.  It can be a birthday, a thank you, a thinking of you, even a get well card...who wouldn't be cheered up looking at all this brightness??

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Circle Circus

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight

Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo


Accessories: Basic Rhinestone jewel, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Scallop Circle punch, 1", 3/4", 11/4" circle punches, dimensionals, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon

Pick Up Pick-Me-Up Card

  A friend of mine was having a hard week so I thought I'd send her a little card to let her know I was thinking about her and that I hoped things were going better.  And how you could not feel better after looking at this little cutie (If I do say so myself!)...

  This is basically the same layout as my Happy New House card from the other day.  Using the Top Note die and some small scaled DSP (Welcome Neighbor DSP & Sweet Pea DSP both retired) gives a nice backdrop to this cute little truck.  The truck was stamped on watercolor paper in Stazon and then water-colored with an aquapainter and reinkers.  The tires were colored with the aquapainter and a black Watercolor Wonder crayon.

  I stamped the sentiment with Stazon and then punched it out with the new 2 3/8" scallop circle punch.  I sponged some Rich Razzleberry along the edges so it wouldn't look so stark against all that color.  It is also popped up on dimensionals of course.  The Pumpkin Pie rick rack ribbon across the Top Note is some that retired last year (?) and it was all the ribbon I had in that color.  I guess I know something that will be added to my next order!

  And can you guess what I used on the Rich Razzleberry panel???  Yes, another card that I used an embossing folder on!  I think I'm addicted, is there a hotline or something?!  For this one I used the Square Lattice embossing folder.

  The final pieces of the Pick Up Truck puzzle are the 3 buttons from the Brights collection.  It just so happens that all 3 colors used on this card are from the Brights collection so I had a button of each color.  I threaded some linen thread through the holes and held the ends down by glue dots on the back which also held the button to the card.  Hopefully it wasn't too lumpy for the USPS!

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!


Stamps: Loads of Love

Ink: Stazon, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Paper: Rich Razzleberry, watercolor paper, Whisper White, Welcome Neighbor DSP (retired - Sale-a-Bration), Sweet Pea DSP (retired)


Accessories: Designer Buttons- Brights, linen thread, glue dots, Pumpkin Pie Rick Rack (retired), Top Note die, dimensionals, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, aquapainter, Watercolor Wonder crayons

Just Believe Demo to Demo Thank You

  I think one of the best things about the stamping world are the huge number of nice people you meet; either online or in person.  So many people openly share great ideas for projects, are ready to help someone out and are just very supportive of others in general.  I had a fellow demonstrator from Texas contact me a few months ago about a customer of hers that had recently moved to my area and wanted to find a local demonstrator.  This demonstrator and I exchanged a few e-mails and I contacted the customer and invited her to check out some of my upcoming events.  Then the craziness of summer happened and I fell behind on my stamping "to-do" list.  This is quite tardy in being made and mailed but I finally got off a little thank you card to the Texas demonstrator.  She went the extra mile to help out her customer and it's always nice to 'meet' someone new in the Stampin' Up world.  Here's the card that I sent her......

  I used 2 different challenges for this card.  The first one was the color challenge at Just Add Ink last week.  Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla & Crumb Cake.  The second challenge was a sketch challenge at Create with Connie & Mary.  I didn't follow the sketch exactly but it was certainly a driving influence.  I also CASED my friend Jenn's Fifth Avenue Floral swap card for the ribbon treatment; you can see that post here.  

  So what did I do here... the base is Crumb Cake.  I put the length of Rose Red grosgrain ribbon around the Crumb Cake base and secured it with some SNAIL and then a layer of Rose Red which was run through the Big Shot using the Elegant Lines embossing folder.  I used the ticket corner punch on the edge of that layer.  Then I cut a circle out of Always Artichoke using the Circle Scissors Plus and trimmed the edges that overhung the Rose Red panel.  I stamped it several times with the leaf stamp from Just Believe in Always Artichoke.  I didn't reink my stamp each time so there are variations in the depth of color.

  For the Thank You panel I inked up the stamp with my Always Artichoke and Rose Red marker and stamped it on to Very Vanilla.  The sentiment was stamped with Crumb Cake and again it was easy to line up with the clear mount stamps & blocks.  I used the ticket corner punch on this layer as well as the Always Artichoke layer.  And of course I popped this all up on dimensionals.

  The final 2 touches are the paper piercing along the edge of the circle and the strip of pearls (LOVE these!).

  Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Just Believe

Ink: Rose Red (marker), Always Artichoke (inkpad & marker), Crumb Cake

Paper: Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke


Accessories: pearl jewels, Rose Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Circle Scissors Plus, dimensionals, Elegant Lines Textured Impressions embossing folder, ticket corner punch, paper piercing tool

Sweet Thank You

  Hopefully this photo is better as it was taken with the new camera.  I think I still need to just take my photos in the daytime but it's hard to get into the stamp room to do much when the little boys are awake so I usually wait until the evening to stamp and photograph but even with the light box the colors seem a little off.  I'll keep experimenting and someday I'll get it right!

  Most of the cards that I've been stamping lately are still thank yous for all of our events in July.  This one is going to my brother-in-law and his family for the birthday gifts they gave the boys.

  I still love the Sweet Scoops set today as much as I did the first time I saw the preview of the Summer Mini catalog a few months ago.  It is a really fun set that can be used for all occasions.  ***Remember, the Summer Mini catalog is done on August 31 so that's the last day to order anything else you might need or want!***

  Something else that I still love is the Sweet Pea DSP pack (retired) that was in the spring mini.  I love it so much that it's still kind of hard to cut into for a project but I'm trying to be good and use it so my stamp room doesn't end up on an episode of Hoarders some day. So I used a piece of it to layer behind my ice cream cone.

  The ice cream scoop was stamped in Pretty in Pink and then masked so I could stamp the cone just right.  The cone is stamped in So Saffron.  I then stamped the cherry on top in Rose Red.  I punched it out using the smaller scallop circle punch and layered it on the new larger scallop circle punch.  To give the cherry some 'pop' I covered it with a small dab of Crystal Effects and then sprinkled a bit of Dazzling Diamonds. Definitely let this piece dry before handling it too much or sticking it into an envelope to mail.

  Some scraps of 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon (retired) are tied into a knot around the DSP piece.  Another cherry & the Thanks sentiment are stamped on the bottom.  The Thanks was inked up using the Chocolate Chip marker so I could omit the "Kind" and just keep the "Thanks".

Thanks for looking!  Happy Stamping!

Stamps: Sweet Scoops, Thank You Kindly

Ink: So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip (marker), Rose Red

Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sweet Pea DSP (retired)


Accessories: 1 3/4" & 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punches, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon