Sweet Stitched Christmas - Stampin' Up! Nothing Sweeter

Boo!  Happy Halloween to you all! I hope you've stocked up on the candy for all your trick-or-treaters tonight!  I have several giant bags of candy at the ready.  The last few years our trick-or-treater count has far exceeded the number of kids who actually live in the neighborhood so I need to be prepared to sugar up the masses!

On the stamping front we are on to Christmas cards!  Before we know it it will be time to be putting these Christmas cards in the mail so we must be ready!  I designed this card for my stamp club which met yesterday.  It's a very simple but sweet card that can be made and enjoyed by stampers of all skill levels.

  The color combo is a classic red and green with Cherry Cobbler and Mossy Meadow.  The Festive Farmhouse DSP works perfectly for this easy design.  My stampers at class had the choice between this plaid pattern and then the one with narrow red/green stripes.

  I love that this card is basic but with the detail of the stitching on the narrow Mossy Meadow band as well as inside the tree keeps it from being boring.  The small details really make a design stand out.  And I, of course, love the copper glimmer paper stars.  They add just the right amount of holiday sparkle.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Nothing Sweeter

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, Very Vanilla, Festive Farnhouse DSP, Joyous Noel glimmer paper (copper)

Accessories: Sweetly Stitched framelits, dimensionals

Dear Santa - Stampin' Up! P.S. You're the Best

  Happy Friday everyone!  We are back with another Fab Friday challenge to celebrate the day that everyone looks forward to all week!  It's a fun sketch challenge this time around and those squares are just calling for all kinds of creative interpretations aren't they?

  Since there are only 60 days until Christmas I decided to continue with the Christmas card theme from the last few days.  You just gasped didn't you?  Time to get on that holiday to-do list!  Here's a little card that might inspire you to write your wish list and send it off to Santa at the North Pole!  Or maybe even start creating your own Christmas cards to send out to those near and dear to you.

  This was a fun one to finally put down on cardstock since I have had the idea in the back of my mind for a few months now.  This Fab Friday layout challenge seemed like the perfect one to highlight that awesome typewriter.

  Nothing crazy going on here just some classic Christmas colors paired up with some texture and glimmer.

  I hope to see your card over in the Fab Friday gallery and since you have 2 weeks to enter there aren't any excuses really!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: P.S. You're the Best, Labeler Alphabet

Ink: Memento black, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Festive Farmhouse DSP, Joyous Noel Glimmer paper, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Tin Tile embossing folder, Cherry Cobbler twine, dimensionals, snowflake sequins (retired)

Sweet Christmas Tree - Stampin' Up! Nothing Sweeter

Christmas cards come together fairly quickly when you have a super cute stamp set and some fun Designer Series paper!  I was mixing and matching some different Holiday catalog products and came up with this fast and easy card with a hint of shine with the gold embossing.

  The card base is Cherry Cobbler and I used the really cool Sweetly Stitched framelits to made the rickrack detail.  There is also a scallop border so lots of options.  

  I love the sweet little star design from the Festive Farmhouse DSP and I have a thing for stars (ex. 1 being that I put up a Christmas tree in my front hall that has nothing but star ornaments!).  I embossed the sentiment using the Merry Christmas to All stamp set in gold.  I also embossed the Nothing Sweeter tree in gold using Tranquil Tide cardstock.

  I popped the cut out tree along with a gold foil star over the top of a length of Tranquil Tide mini ruffled ribbon.

  See told you it was a quick and easy card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Nothing Sweeter, Merry Christmas to All

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Tranquil Tide, Festive Farmhouse DSP

Accessories: Sweetly Stitched framelits, gold embossing powder, mini ruffled ribbon, dimensionals

Classic Christmas - Stampin' Up! Lovely as a Tree

  I just realized that the week is half over and my to do list is growing by the hour!  Yikes! And how is Halloween already next week?  My kids want to trick-or-treat (though they are getting close to be being too old in my opinion) and we still need to put together costumes.  It's fun to see them still get excited but it's just one. more. thing.  Onwards and upwards isn't that the saying? Let's start checking things off that list ok?

  Onwards to a Christmas card today.  I really like how this one turned out.  I think the colors and the images are really elegant and classic and the copper gives it some fun sparkle too.

 I pulled my colors straight from the piece of beautiful Joyous Noel Specialty paper.  I love how every sheet has the copper accents on one side; you don't have to be so choosy when cutting into it all!  When I cut this layer there were plenty of the Merry Merlot berries but they ended up all covered by the other layers!

 Mint Macaron is the card base and the layer under the embossed Tin Tile panel.

  The sentiment from the carryover Night in Bethlehem set is embossed in copper onto Merry Merlot cardstock. I layered the back with a strip of copper Joyous Noel Glimmer paper and adhered it across the card front.

  The Lovely As A Tree pine tree is a true classic and never disappoints.  I stamped it twice; once in Shaded Spruce (which I used by mistake instead of Tranquil Tide but it totally works) and in Mint Macaron.  I used a blender pen to pull the green inks from the trunk and then colored the trunk with markers in Crumb Cake and filled in with Soft Suede.

  I fussy cut the trees (takes way less time than you think...don't be put off that this set doesn't have framelits) and then layered them with dimensionals.

  The final detail is the copper glimmer star on the one tree.  The Starlight thinlet set (which carried over from last year's Holiday catalog) has a nice selection of stars for different projects and the little one was just right for my tree.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Night in Bethlehem

Ink: Mint Macaron, Shaded Spruce, Versamark

Markers: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Paper: Mint Macaron, Joyous Noel Specialty DSP,  copper Joyous Noel glimmer paper, Whisper White, Merry Merlot

Accessories: Tin Tile embossing folder, copper embossing powder, Starlight thinlets, dimensionals

Sweater Weather Colors - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  I know I've said it many times before but I am definitely a seasonal stamper in that I don't use some colors very often outside of a particular calendar season.  Many of the Regals collection colors only see the light of day during fall and Christmas.  But now that we are in what I call sweater weather I can break out all these Regal color combos and get stamping.

I have been stamping quite the collection of Thanksgiving cards that I really need to make sure I mail out on time.  I liked this layout challenge from Just Add Ink and I used up a few die cut pieces that I had cut and never used for the leaf element on the sketch.  Adding to the collection...

  Nothing crazy going on with this card but I hadn't used the Cable Knit embossing folder in a while either because you don't go for sweater-y cards when it's 90 degrees and 90% humidity.  It's a small window here in Richmond for sweaters but I'm going to take full advantage!

  The Detailed Leaves thinlets are really so delicate and pretty that the rest of the card doesn't need a lot of extras.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Paper: Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow, Crushed Curry, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Cable Knit e.f., Detailed Leaves thinlets, 5/8" burlap ribbon, braided linen trim, dimensionals

Sweet Green Christmas - Stampin' Up! Nothing Sweeter

  I had some stamping time on Friday afternoon before the boys got home from school and I was able to knock out a few challenges.  It was good to focus on some Christmas cards to get the creative juices flowing for designing projects for my next class.  My stampers are excited to see Christmas cards and I always have more ideas than time/space when it comes to Christmas!

  I was inspired by the soon to be closing challenge over at Color Throwdown.  It's it use kraft, green and white on a card.  It was really hard to make a Christmas card and not put some red on it!  Might have to try a similar design with a pop of red ribbon just to get it out of my system.  I also used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge again as I liked the circles to anchor the main images.

  I stamped the Call Me Clover card base with The Christmas Pines stamp set using Call Me Clover ink.

  Next I stamped the little gift box in Versamark onto Crumb Cake cardstock and embossed it in white.  I colored the ribbon with an Aquapainter and Call Me Clover ink.  I tested it first with the CMC marker but that ended up too dark for my liking so the aquapainter was a little less concentrated.  I added a layer of Wink of Stella for a subdued shimmer.  

  The Christmas tree is stamped in CMC ink on Whisper White.  I cut both images out with the Stitched Shapes framelits.  A little linen thread bow on the tree top brings a bit more of the Crumb Cake color to the card.

  The sentiment is stamped and embossed in white onto Call Me Clover cardstock and flagged before it's tucked under the popped up tree circle.

  I think this card design would be cute in a variety of color combos and mix and match the images in the circles to have a whole variety of coordinating but slightly different designs.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Christmas Pines, Nothing Sweeter

Ink: Versamark, Call Me Clover

Paper: Call Me Clover, Whisper White, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Stitched Shapes framelits, linen thread, Wink of Stella, dimensionals, white embossing powder

Lacy Leaves in Purples - Stampin' Up! Detailed Leaves Thinlets

  Wow!  We went from temps in the 80s last week to waking up to 39 degrees this morning.  At this rate we'll be shoveling a foot of snow by Sunday!  Let's hope that it levels off so we can enjoy some cool, sunny fall days.

  The Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week inspired me to make today's card.  I like the simplicity of the 2 circles even though I didn't end up using the circles but I thought the beautiful lacy leaf in the Detailed Leaves thinlets would be great in this sketch.

  There really isn't much stamping on this card but there is A LOT of ink!  Let's start with those leaves!  I used a few small pieces of Shimmery White cardstock and with an Aquapainter just painted a bit of all these purples onto the cardstock.  I was thrilled when the new Stampin' Up! color collections were released over the summer and that we gained some gorgeous purples.  I love that we now have some pinky purples and some blueish purples....so many more choices!

  I used Fresh Fig, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Blackberry Bliss and Rich Razzleberry.  I dried the cardstock with heat gun and then cut out 2 leaves.  Since the leaves are so pretty I didn't want to have too much other color so I used a Whisper White thick card base.  Then I layered a bit of Fresh Fig with some Wood Textures DSP.

  The sentiment is from Varied Vases and is stamped in Fresh Fig.  The leaves were adhered with the fin tip glue and a little knot of Braided Linen trim is on one stem.

  I hope you all have a fun weekend with a lot of stamping!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Varied Vases

Ink:  Fresh Fig, Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry

Paper: Whisper White thick, Shimmery White, Fresh Fig, Wood Textures DSP

Accessories: Detailed Leaves thinlets, Braided Linen trim

Glam Fall Thank You - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

I got inspired yesterday by the newest challenge at the Card Concept.  It's a glam pink and gold fall theme.  I wish I had a pumpkin stamp so I could have recreated the pink gold dipped pumpkin in the challenge graphic (below) but I'm pumpkin-less this season so I went with a woodsy fall theme in pinks and gold.

  I haven't used the Woodland embossing folder in ages so I pulled that one out to go with my woodsy theme.  I embossed a piece of Very Vanilla and then sponged some (non SU) gold ink on just the raised parts.  I then adhered that to a Petal Pink card base.

  Next I die cut the various pink pieces using the Detailed Leaves thinlets.  The band across the front is Flirty Flamingo and the 2 leaves are Petal Pink and Powder Pink.  I'm not generally a pink person but I kind of like these 3 together with a heavy dose of Vanilla to balance it all out.

  I layered the leaves over the top of a gold embossed wood cut image from Rooted with Nature.  The sentiment is from Tropical Chic and is stamped in Powder Pink.  The last bit of glam is vanilla/gold ribbon which is retired but went perfectly with the theme so I couldn't say no.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Tropical Chic

Ink: gold, Versamark, Powder Pink

Paper: Petal Pink, Powder Pink, Flirty Flamingo, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Detailed Leaves thinlets, Woodland embossing folder, vanilla/gold ribbon, dimensionals

  

Bold Christmas - Stampin' Up! Nothing Sweeter

 Sometimes good stamping ideas don't translate into good cards and I think my project today is one of them.  I like the colors and I like the stamp set but I just don't think I ended up doing either justice!  But that's the way of it sometimes and we just need to keep on stamping!  Since this is the only card in my unshared folder it's what you get and hoepfully tomorrow will be better!

  Part of the problem here is maybe trying to combine 2 challenges; color combo and layout.  They both ended last week but I liked both and wanted to see what I could come up with.  I think I might try this design again but with more traditional colors.

  On a better note the Take Your Pick tool is a rock star!  I used it to get my sequins placed just where I wanted them.  Definitely check it out on page 30 of the Holiday catalog.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Nothing Sweeter, Itty Bitty Greeting

Paper: Whisper White, Blueberry Bushel

Ink: Call Me Clover, Lemon Lime Twist, Versamark

Accessories: sequins, Quilt Top embossing folder, silver wmbossing powder, Sweetly Stitched framelits, silver/white baker's twine

  

Fall into Christmas - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  We are finally feeling some cool fall weather here in the RVA and it is glorious!  I wore pants this weekend...what you say? Pants?  I know it's crazy talk but there were jeans happening yesterday!  Since tropical storm/former hurricane Michael blew through on Thursday the weather has been much more autumn like and I am loving it.  I even bought my first (but not my last) gallon of apple cider.

  When the weather gets cooler I don't feel like such a weirdo sharing Christmas cards so that's what you're getting today!  And check out the title of this post "fall into Christmas"... see what I did there?  I'm using the Falling for Leaves set to create a Christmas card and I love how it turned out except for one small part but we'll get to that later!

  The current challenge over at SUO Challenges is to create a project with items from the Holiday catalog.  Done. And done. 

  This card starts off with a Mossy Meadow card base layered with a piece of Festive Farmhouse DSP.

  I used the open leaf stamp from Falling for Leaves and stamped it in Mossy Meadow all over a piece of Very Vanilla.  Then I used my Old Olive Stampin' Blends to color them in for a bit of custom DSP.  I love that this stamp set has so much versatility!  After I finished coloring I backed that piece with a layer of Cherry Cobbler.

  I used 2 different dies to create the accents around the sentiment.  The Detailed Leaves thinlets are used for the delicate open leaves in Mossy Meadow and the Pretty Pines thinlets are used to cut the little berry sprigs from Joyous Noel Glimmer paper in Merry Merlot.

  The sentiment stamp is from the Sincerely Santa which goes with the Sincerely Santa tag kit.  These stamps can all be used on card projects as well.  They are a really fun mix of fonts.  And now for the part that I don't like....I cut the sentiment out a bit crooked!  For some reason I have a hard time lining up those oval framelits!  Oh well!  Just tip your head a bit when looking at it!

  So I think I covered this challenge really well...except for a few dies everything else is from the Holiday catalog.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves, Sincerely Santa

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler

Stampin' Blends: Old Olive - light and dark

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Cherry Cobbler, Joyous Noel Glimmer, Festive Farmhouse DSP, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Detailed Leaves thinlets, Pretty Pines thinlets, Layering Oval framelits, Stitched Shapes framelits, dimensionals

Caffeinated Halloween - Stampin' Up! Coffee Cafe - Fab Friday 148

Happy Friday stampers!  Do you have your fun weekend plans all organized?  I hope you added some stamping time in so that you can join in with the Fab Friday challenge!  You've got nearly 2 weeks to play along so no excuses!

We have some fun colors this time!

With these colors you could go for the completely obvious Halloween theme like I did or really challenge yourself to a different kind of card!

Since Halloween is on a Wednesday this year I thought it might be appreciated if I sent in a card and a Starbucks gift card to Alex's teacher.  I'm thinking that she might need a big coffee to help her get through the day dealing with a bunch of sugar hungover 5th graders!  And it doesn't hurt that her favorite color is purple!

 
  The card base is Basic Black.  Then a layer of Pumpkin Pie topped with a Whisper White panel embossed with the Corrugated embossing folder.  Then a narrow Pumpkin Pie band across the middle.  Definitely use tear tape when adhering panels or adhering to panels embossed with the Corrugated folder as I didn't find that regular snail worked very well.

  The coffee cup, lid and sleeve are from the Coffee Cafe set which I haven't used in forever but is still super cute.  The cup outline and lid are stamped in Gorgeous Grape on Whisper White and the sleeve is stamped in black on Gorgeous Grape cardstock.  The sleeve is scored to give it that corrugated look.

  On the coffee cup I stamped the only Halloween sentiment I own from Itty Bitty Greetings in black. Next is a little Pumpkin Pie maple leaf from the Colorful Seasons stamp set.  I added a black baker's twine bow to bring a bit more black to the cup.

  For the sentiment I pulled out my Another Wonderful Year and stamped this appreciation greeting in black then punched it out with Everyday Label punch.  We don't have Stampin' Blends in Gorgeous Grape yet but the Highland Heather is a good substitute so I used them to fill in the outline on the sentiment.

  I definitely like these colors but confess that I don't think I could do anything but Halloween with them so I'm looking forward to seeing all the creativity in our Fab Friday gallery.  Check out the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team cards then play along!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Coffee Cafe, Another Wonderful Year, Colorful Seasons, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Black, Gorgeous Grape, Pumpkin Pie

Blends: Highland Heather - light & dark

Paper: Basic Black, Gorgeous Grape, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Accessories: Corrugated embossing folder, Everyday Label punch, Seasonal Layers thinlets, black baker's twine, dimensionals

Trees & Leaves - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

  I have had cause lately to send quite a few thinking of you or sympathy cards so my on hand supply is getting dangerously low.  I decided to re-stock a bit and came across the Paper Players challenge to make a project using trees and leaves.  Easy enough theme for this time of year even if everything is still green around here.  I went with the green theme for my thinking of you card.

  This card started with the panel of embossed Crumb Cake which ended up on my 'card parts' pile after it was rejected from another project.  It's embossed with the Tin Tile embossing folder (my current favorite!) and then lightly sponged with Crumb Cake ink.

  I backed the embossed panel with a bit of Soft Sea Foam and layered that onto a Crumb Cake card base.  I also used Soft Sea Foam to stamp and die cut the 2 leaves on the edge of the main panel.  It's a nice light spring-y green but I think it pairs nicely with the darker Shaded Spruce. I used a bit of narrow Shaded Spruce cardstock to anchor the center of the card.

  For the large oval (cut with the Layering Oval framelits) I stamped the large tree from Rooted in Nature in Crumb Cake then overstamped the sentiment in Shaded Spruce ink and then popped it up with dimensionals.

  The final (and only) adornment is the bit of knotted Nature's twine on the leaf stems.

  I hope I won't be needing to send this one out any time soon but if I must at least I'm prepared!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature

Ink: Shaded Spruce, Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Accessories: Nature's Roots framelits, Tin Tile embossing folder, Layering Oval framelits, Nature's twine, dimensionals

Fall Birthday Wreath - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  I get a lot of inspiration for stamping in my day to day life.  I see cool color combinations at Target in the bedding and decor departments.  At church I look at peoples clothes and jot down the Stampin' Up! colors to try out.  When I take my mom shopping at the local quilt stores I always leave with a list of colors and photos of fabric designs.  I also seem to find colors or styles that jump out at me in the Company Store catalog.  This bedding is what inspired today's card.  I liked the cluster of leaves and flowers in the brown tones with the subtle pop of the bluish/gray color.

  I thought that the Falling for Leaves bundle would be perfect to create a mostly monochromatic card in this style.  The coordinating Detailed Leaves thinlets are perfect for a variety of leaves.

  Once I saw that the current Just Add Ink challenge was to use vellum I got to work!  The card base is Very Vanilla thick then a layer of Very Vanilla embossed with the Tin Tile embossing folder (my favorite!!).  Using a sponge I lightly brushed some Crumb Cake ink onto the embossing to highlight the beautiful pattern.

  The sentiment circle is Very Vanilla and I stamped the large leaf stamp in Balmy Blue (not quite the same as the bedding but SU hasn't come out with this bluish/gray shade yet!) after stamping off once.  It gives a nice light pattern behind the Soft Suede sentiment from the Colorful Seasons stamp set.

Next, I cut a bunch of leaves out of Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and vellum.  For the Balmy Blue leaves I stamped off once so that the image would be lighter.  I used tear tape across the back of the circle and then added my die cut leaves all around it.  I even added a few little loops of the Nature's Twine in Crumb Cake for some more texture.

  After all the leaves were added I popped the whole wreath up on dimensionals on the card front.  This wasn't a hard card to make just a bit time consuming with all the die cutting.  But I think it turned out decently.

  Head out into the world and see where you can find inspiration for your next card!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves, Colorful Seasons

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Balmy Blue

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Balmy Blue, vellum

Accessories: circle punch, Detailed Leaves thinlets, Tin Tile embossing folder, Nature's twine, dimensionals

Joyous Christmas - Stampin' Up! Merry Christmas to All

We had a long weekend here for Columbus day so I had a bit of extra time to stamp and started diving into some more Christmas cards.  I had ordered the Joyous Noel Specialty DSP back with the preorder and it is beautiful and so easy to design a card using it.

  I used the current CAS(e) this Sketch challenge as my starting point and pulled my colors directly from the DSP.  Merry Merlot and Tranquil Tide are a knockout color combo for Christmas.  I love the jewel tones paired with the copper accents; it's so elegant.

  The Tranquil Tide card base is stamped with the Christmas Pines stamp set to tie in with the pine in the DSP.  I layered a wide DSP flag with a slightly smaller one in Copper Glimmer paper.  The Joyous Noel Glimmer paper is beautiful and a perfect match for this DSP; Copper, Merry Merlot and Tranquil Tide.

  The sentiment from Merry Christmas to All (in the Holiday catalog) makes for a beautiful focal point embossed in copper onto Merry Merlot.  I cut it out with the Stitched Shapes oval and popped it up over the flag.

  A Tranquil Tide mini ruffled ribbon bow finishes off the side of the sentiment panel.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Merry Christmas to All, Christmas Pines

Ink: Tranquil Tide, Versamark

Paper: Tranquil Tide, Joyous Noel Glimmer, Merry Merlot, Joyous Noel DSP

Accessories: Stitched Shapes framelits, Tranquil Tide ruffled ribbon, dimensionals, copper embossing powder

Colorful Leaves - Stampin' Up! Falling for Leaves

  I think my Stampin' Blends collection is just about complete.  I have all the colors except the In Colors and so I have a lot of color combinations to try out.  I gave my stampers all the colors to use to make their own cards last week at class.  And they jumped right in and I think they had fun doing adult coloring!

  The card design is very basic so the colors can really pop.  I left the background in neutral with the card base Crumb Cake stamped with the Falling for Leaves stamps in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  A strip of Wood Textures DSP lines on side of the card front.

  The real stars of the card are the fabulous leaves!  One is cut with the Detailed Leaves thinlets in Very Vanilla cardstock.  It is a beautiful, detailed lacy look and is perfect for fall cards.

  The other leaf is stamped in Memento Black and then colored with Blends.  My stampers were all so creative in their color choices and each card was unique and gorgeous.  This sample uses Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry.  Once the leaf was colored it was die cut and then popped on dimensionals.  A piece of Braided Linen trim was tied in a knot and then adhered with a glue dot to the leaf stem.

  This 2nd sample is colored with Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight and Bermuda Bay.  If you're looking for all the Blends colors don't forget the newest colors offered in the Holiday catalog so you can get a few more shades for fall and Christmas.

  And here's a puzzle for you that my youngest brought up the other day...he wanted to know why we don't say "fall time" like we do with "spring time", "summer time" and "winter time"?  We just say fall or autumn and it doesn't sound right at all to say fall time.  Things that 10 years think about!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Falling for Leaves

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Memento Black

Blends: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry (sample 1), Granny Apple Green, Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay (sample 2)

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Wood Textures DSP

Accessories: Detailed Leaves thinlets, dimensionals, Braided Linen trim

Vintage Goodness - Stampin' Up! P.S. You're the Best

  You can't get any more vintage than a typewriter and tin tile.  We paired up a new annual catalog stamp set with a fantastic new embossing folder and metallic paper from the holiday catalog to make a lovely vintage all purpose card at my last class.

  If you're ever stuck on picking out colors to get started with a card look to the catalogs and the Designer Series Paper.  The pros at Stampin' Up! have already designed and paired up lovely  combinations in the DSP and they are a great source of inspiration for colors.  For this card I used a group of colors from the Country Lane DSP in the Holiday catalog;  Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss and Crushed Curry.

  The card base is Mint Macaron with the little flower stamp from P.S. You're the Best stamped on one half in Mint Macaron ink.

  On the other side of the card front we used the new Galvanized Metalic paper and the new Tin Tile embossing folder which is my absolute favorite at the moment!  Just look at that detailed texture!! I'm on my 4th pack of this paper!  Don't judge me!  One edge of the embossed panel has a narrow strip of Blackberry Bliss cardstock adhered to the back to pull together the colors.

  The typewriter is stamped in Momento black with the splatter stamped in Crushed Curry.  The flower accent and sentiment are stamped on the piece of paper.  Using the regular Stampin' Write markers we colored in parts of the typewriter and flowers using the 3 colors.  After the typewriter was finished it is fussy cut and then popped up on dimensionals.

  The final detail is a little faceted dot in the center of the large flower.  The colors in the faceted dot pack coordinate well with the card colors since it contains Blackberry Bliss and Mint Macaron as 2 of the colors.

  This is a great design to make a few of and leave off the sentiment until you need to send the card.  I think it could cover a lot of occasions.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: P.S. You're the Best

Ink: Memento Black, Mint Macron, Crushed Curry

Markers: Crushed Curry, Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss

Paper: Mint Macaron, Blackberry Bliss, Galvanized Metallic paper, Whisper White

Accessories: Tin Tile embossing folder, Faceted Dots, dimensionals

Autumn Leaves in Copper - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

  If you're not a fan of the Rooted in Nature set you might need to leave me a comment as to why.  This set is by far my 'go to' set from the 2018-19 annual catalog.  It is so versatile to mix and match with sentiments from other sets to create really any type of card you need.

  Just yesterday I shared a card I made for Christmas with the little pine trees but I've done hello cards, sympathy, thank you, birthday...and now today I've got a lovely fall theme using all the cute little leaf stamps from the set.

  We made this at my stamp club last week and I just love these colors together.

  The card base is Sahara Sand which is a great crisp clean neutral for fall cards.  The leaf background is Very Vanilla and stamped with Merry Merlot, Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze.  The delicate leaf stamp was then inked up with the new Bright Copper Shimmer Paint.  Just dab a little bit directly onto the stamp with a sponge dauber.  An easy way to pick up the ink is to shake the bottle with the lid on (lol!!) and then tap your dauber into the lid.

  It was super hard to get a decent photo of the copper leaves but I hope this gives you some idea of how it looks.  It's nice a shimmery in real life.

  The panel behind the leaves is Early Espresso.  The wood cut is Early Espresso stamped off once and then fussy cut.  Another leaf is stamped in Merry Merlot and cut out and layered over the top with Very Vanilla cotton twine and a punched sentiment from Labels to Love.  The whole wood cut  grouping is popped on dimensionals.

  If you haven't fallen in love with Rooted in Nature yet I hope this design pushes you a little closer!  It's a fun, easy card to make.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Labels to Love

Ink: Merry Merlot, Pumpkin Pie, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso

Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Accessories: Bright Copper Shimmer Paint, Nature's Roots framelits, dimensionals, Very Vanilla cotton twine

Pine Tree Trio - Stampin' Up! Rooted in Nature

 As a Stampin' Up! demo sometimes I have to stamp way out of season to make samples to show at class.  I was playing around with some Christmas items from the Holiday catalog with the intention of making a few samples to have on hand and then the cart went off the rails.

  Do you see this card?  There isn't anything on this card from the Holiday catalog except the Cherry Cobbler twine.  Best intentions right?

  The card base is Mossy Meadow and then a layer of Wood Textures DSP that is embossed with gold stars.  The stars are from the carry over set Night in Bethlehem.

  For the main panel I embossed a bit of Whisper White cardstock with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder.  I added the 'tis the season sentiment in Cherry Cobbler and punched it with the Everyday Label punch.  The Festive Farmhouse cotton twine goes around the panel.

  The pine trees from Rooted in Nature are stamped in Mossy Meadow and then die cut.  I used the Starlight Thinlets to cut a gold glimmer paper star for the front tree.

  And sometimes when I have to stamp out of season I end up creating a card that I'm not completely thrilled with.  I'm going to have to give these colors and trees another go...maybe when it's a bit cooler it will come easier.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Rooted in Nature, Night in Bethlehem, Itty Bitty Greetings

Ink: Versamark, Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow

Paper: Mossy Meadow, Wood Textures DSP, Whisper White, Gold Glimmer paper

Accessories: gold embossing powder, Everyday Label punch, Festive Farmhouse cotton twine, Nature's Roots framelits, dimensionals

Fall Colors - Stampin' Up! Sheltering Tree

  We had a great weekend having fun with friends who visited from out of town to cheer on the JMU Dukes in their win against the University of Richmond on Saturday.  It's always great to get an out of town win and then celebrate with pizza and s'mores!  The kids all enjoyed it that's for sure!

  So even though it's football season it's not quite full on fall here.  The trees are still all green so I'm projecting with my card today with the lovely fall colors!  We will be raking leaves soon enough but for now the only colorful leaves are the ones on this card.

  The Sheltering Tree stamp set has been around for a while and I don't reach for it nearly enough but it makes lovely seasonal cards.  I paired it up with Colorful Seasons stamp set for a great autumn look.

  The card base is Crumb Cake stamped with a leaf from Colorful Seasons in Crumb Cake ink.

  The tree is stamped with Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red (stamped off once).  The grass is Granny Apple Green and the rake is Soft Suede.

  For the sentiment element I die cut a delicate leaf in Pumpkin Pie and then layered a smaller leaf in Real Red with the embossed sentiment from Tabs for Everything.  Both dies are in the Seasonal Layers thinlets.  A little piece of linen thread accents the leaf stems.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Sheltering Tree, Colorful Seasons, Tabs for Everything

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Versamark

Paper: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Granny Apple Green, Whisper White

Accessories: Seasonal Layers thinlets, copper embossing powder, linen thread, dimensionals