Holiday goodies

Ok, so some of my stalkers, er, fans, have been asking for some new projects. One of my sidelines made a cute little box with a belly band to hold some notecards. I took her idea and adjusted a bit (thanks Kristy!) to come up with this box that could hold any kind of goodies, in this case, lifesavers.

Ok, Diana, can you get off my back now?! Hee hee, just kiddin'!

{{holiday goodie box}}

Stamps: Cute & Curly

Cardstock: Ruby Red, Very Vanilla

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss

Accessories: Holiday Treasures designer series paper, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, curvy label punch, stampin' dimensionals, sticky strip

For my brother

I wanted to make a very special card for my older brother who will be attending a retreat soon, and I always struggle with more masculine looking cards. When I reached for the Winds of Grace stamp set, I remembered some fabulous cards I had seen using the masking technique. I stamped the sailboat image on a post-it note and cut it out and also punched out a circle with a 1-1/4" circle punch. I layered both masks over the sailboat stamped on glossy cardstock and used a brayer and sponges to apply several layers of colors. Sorry for the blurry scan...using a flash created a reflection off the glossy cardstock and not using a flash resulted in a blurry image. I figured it was better a little blurry than totally washed out with the flash.

{{sunset sailboat}}

Stamps: Winds of Grace

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Glossy White

Ink: Stazon Black, Baja Breeze, Groovy Guava, Really Rust, Ruby Red

Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, brayer, sponge, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, post-it note

September stamp club

Now that I've finished my stamp clubs for the month, I can share the project we did using chipboard letters:

I wish you could really see how wonderfully sparkly this card is IRL! But you'll just have to take my word for it. The chipboard letter was inked with craft ink, sprinkled with iridescent ice embossing powder and heat set. The bling-factor on that chipboard letter is simply fabulous! :-)

{{sparkling chipboard}}
Stamps: Simply Said
Cardstock: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: silver brads, iridescent ice embossing powder, heat tool

Inspired gift bag

Here's one of the projects I demonstrated at my new catalog /mystery hostess party last weekend:


The idea was inspired by a project at the Stampin' Up! annual convention. It's so easy to transform a plain white gift bag into a beautiful hand-stamped creation. Of course, you may like it so much that you don't want to give it away! ;-)

The coordinating gift card was created with scraps left over from the bag front. When I originally stamped the sentiment with Basic Grey over the Kiwi Kiss, it competed too much. So I "stamped off" once before stamping the image, softening the look of the Kiwi Kiss. With the lighter image, the sentiment seems to just pop. And instead of tying the card to the bag, simply punch a small hole at the top corner, cut a slit to the hole with scissors, and it fits perfectly around the handle!

Hope you like it!

{{gift bag}}
Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Upsy Daisy
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, White craft, Basic Grey
Accessories: Urban Garden designer series paper

The lights are on!!

Well, after 56 hours of no power, we finally have electricity! Wahoo! :) I know it was nothing compared to those down South that were hit directly by Hurricane Ike, but it definitely sucked! I can't believe how crazy I felt after being "unplugged" for a few days. The wind gusts registered at up to 78 miles an hour, sustained winds around 55 miles an hour! And during it, I was holding my New Catalog / Mystery Hostess party! Yep, I've got some serious customers! ;)

Here's one of the make-and-take projects featuring the Say It With Scallops stamp set that benefits the Ronald McDonald Charities:


That new satin ribbon is so fabulous - so smooth - and I can't enough of my new scallop square punch! This weekend, I'll post some more projects from my event, so stay tuned!!

{{hi}}
Stamps: Say it with Scallops, Polka Dot
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun
Accessories: scallop edge punch, square scallop punch, 1/2" circle punch, corner rounder, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla satin ribbon, stampin' dimensionals

Please stand by...

Thanks to Ike, we've been without power since Sunday afternoon and there's no indication of getting it back any time soon, so I'm posting this from my day job (shhhh!). I have lots of cute projects to share, so hopefully things will improve. See you soon!!

CASEing

For those of you unaware of the phenomenon known as CASEing, in the crafting world, it stands for Copy and Share Everything. If you're just lacking inspiration, or want to make a quick card without much thought, start with a project that catches your eye and CASE away! Tonight as I was checking in on some fellow bloggers, I found a few fabulous card ideas and thought I'd do some CASEing.

This card is based on a beauty created by Sara on "Desperate Stamper":







I fell in love with her card and thought it was so elegant. I only changed a few colors and accessories and am happy with how it turned out! :)

The next card was CASEd from Michele on "The Stamp Link":

I just loved her little umbrella cocktail drink and HAD to whip one up with that adorable "Cheers to You" stampset. Again, a few colors changes and done! I have to admit I broke out some contraband (aka non-Stampin' Up products) to add some shimmer to the drink. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Sara and Michelle for some fabulous inspiration!

{{best wishes}}
Stamps: Cute & Curly
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: scallop edge punch, curly label punch, white embossing powder, stampin' dimensionals, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, Button Bouquet, Pretties Kit, Certainly Celery designer series paper

{{cheers to you}}
Stamps: Cheers to You, Tart & Tangy
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Naturals White
Ink: Stazon Black, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Real Red, Certainly Celery
Accessories: horizontal slot punch, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, Sakura gelly roll pen

A moment of silence

Random projects

Ever since the Fall-Winter catalog came out last month, I've been meaning to make a new checkbook cover. So I pulled out the old insert and my poor checkbook was naked for a few weeks! I am really loving the color combination on the Washington Apple designer series paper so once again, I pulled it out for inspiration and ended up with a bright, cheerful cover:


One of my stamp clubs requested using chipboard so I wanted to show several ways to use it. Here's a simple card using chipboard covered with designer series paper:

And here's one using chipboard "au natural":

Thanks for stopping by! :)

{{checkbook cover}}
Stamps: Smarty Pants
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Washington Apple DSP, wide oval punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, Bashful Blue striped grosgrain ribbon

{{on my mind}}
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Cardstock: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: chipboard, pretties kit, Bella Rose DSP

{{season's greetings}}
Stamps: Snow Swirled
Cardstock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Basic Brown
Accessories: chipboard, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, star punch, large star punch, Holiday Treasures DSP, large oval punch, stampin' dimensionals

Hate to post and run....

...but I have a weekend full of commitment for my "day job." Just a quick and easy card featuring that fabulous new stamp set, Upsy Daisy. Have a great weekend!!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy

Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Always Artichoke, Whisper White

Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Always Artichoke

Accessories: paper crimper, large oval punch, wide oval punch, stampin' dimensionals

Expedited excitement!

For the very first time since becoming a demonstrator 3 years ago, I splurged and paid for expedited shipping. Wow, I could get really spoiled with that! :) Sitting on my doorstep today was my new Big Shot (!) machine and goodies from the new Holiday Mini Catalog that will mail later this month! After playing around with the Big Shot, I focused on the new Create-a-Calendar '09 kit. Included in the kit is:

• 1 sheet of exclusive, self-adhesive die cuts
• 12 pre-printed calendar pages with coordinating designer series paper pattern on the reverse side
• 1 Bashful Blue printed die-cut pocket
• 36" of Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon

And here's my finished project:

I wasn't too adventurous with the design - I pretty much copied the sample on the kit cover. Then I took at 4-1/2" x 9" chipboard clipboard (say THAT fast 5 times!!!) and covered it with a sheet of Washington Apple designer series paper in So Saffron. I applied So Saffron craft ink to the top of the clipboard, adhered some of the grosgrain ribbon and tied some to the top loop.

On the calender pages, I marked the big holidays with the "Mark the Date" stamp set and Riding Hood Red ink.

I think it turned out adorable! And for the small price tag, this makes such a wonderful gift item. You can keep the months in the folder and switch them out on the clipboard each month. Enjoy!

Breaking out the DSPs!

Woohoo, it's party time with the designer series papers!! :-) Here are two projects I made yesterday with the new Ghostly Greetings and Urban Garden DSPs.

I think the white and orange skeleton paper is so cute! It works perfectly with the Bad to the Bone guy in the Batty for You stamp set. I love this fun color combination!


I absolutely adore the soft, muted colors of the Urban Garden DSP. The center panel on this card comes from one of the sheets with this great design based on the Upsy Daisy stamp set. A little layering, a simple sentiment, one punch and that's it. This literally took me no more than 2 minutes!

{{Bad to the Bone}}

Stamps: Batty for You

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Basic Black

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Versamark

Accessories: Ghostly Greetings designer series paper, white embossing powder, heat tool, 1" circle punch, 1-1/4" circle punch, scallop circle punch, stampin' dimensionals

{{Sorry for your Loss}}

Stamps: Always in my Thoughts

Cardstock: Baja Breeze

Ink: Basic Grey

Accessories: Urban Garden designer series paper, curly label punch