A couple of gifts for friends

These are a couple of sets of monogrammed cards I made for my Pastor and his wife for Christmas. I always like to give them a little something and figured that they probably never get done writing out notes to folks in the church. I used the Just-Right monogramming system to do the monogram and used a variety of Stampin' Up! and non-Stampin' Up! related paper, cardstock and embelishments to finish them off.

Christmas in NC

While I'm working on/updating my blog I thought I'd share with those of you still following me, what we've been up to here during the holiday season. I did some digital scrapbooking both of my new house during the holidays and the cookie exchange I held early in the month. Both were done with the My Digital Scrapbooking software from Stampin' Up! I'm really enjoying archiving these pictures like this. Enjoy!

Blog Redo/Update

Sorry I've been gone for so long... I've been working on an update for the blog. I promise I'll be back when I'm updated. Great samples to share. See you in 2010.
Amy

Simple Falling Leaves

The foliage is at it's peak here in NC. The colors are radiant and plentiful. It's a gorgeous time of year. So in honor of that, I'm posting a couple of simple cards using the Falling Leaves set. I really like this set because of the images and it has a Thanksgiving greeting in it and I don't have anything for Thanksgiving.









The first card, on the left is done in Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. It has a piece of the Autumn Meadows DSP and some wide Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon. From the ribbon I hung a tag. The tag is made with a series of punches. First the image is punched out with the 3/4" circle punch and then layered on the 1 1/4" circle of Really Rust and then on a Chocolate Chip scallop circle. Lastly I stamped the tiny little acorn from the set in Really Rust and cut it out and mounted it in the middle of the tag with a dimensional. I hung the tag with copper cord.

The second card, on the right, is even simpler. Is is a Chocolate Chip card with a layer of Taken with Teal and then a layer of the Autumn Meadows DSP. I stamped two of the leaves from the set- one in Chocolate Chip and one in Taken with Teal and cut them out. Then I stamped the greeting in Chocolate Chip at an angle across the front and added the leaves with dimensions at the end of the greeting.

These are both 4 1/4" square cards and are perfect for quick fall greetings for friends and family.

Stamps: Falling Leaves
Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal
Cardstock: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Punches, Copper Cord, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Dimensionals

Convention Digi-Scrap

Here we go with another digital scrapbook page using My Digital Scrapbook. Have I mentioned how much I really like this program? Yes, I guess so.

So this page has pictures from several of the Stampin' Up! conventions I've gone to with my great demonstrator friends. On this page, I've taken six pictures and put them in circle frames with the seventh picture being the spotlight in the middle-- with a little title added over top. Then I added a tag to each picture with embedded text. I added a few flowers and buttons on the right using a digital simply scrappin' kit and lastly, I used some designer paper for the background.

I'm sending these to the printer this afternoon and plan on having them "live" to show my club members this week.

I realize that it's hard to imagine how this works, but if you'd like a demo, just let me know. You'll be amazed how easy it is to make fabulous pages.

New Promotion

Holiday Gift-Giving Guide

Dates: November 1, 2009-January 4, 2010

Details: You'll love the convenience of the Stampin' Up! Holiday Gift-Giving Guide! With gift ideas for kids, teens, neighbors, and more, it's your one-stop shop for all your holiday needs.

Plus, when you spend $50 on products in the guide, you'll get a Décor Elements for FREE (up to a $16.95 value)!

Holiday Card Class-- Pt 4

I hope you've gotten some ideas from looking at the cards I did for the holiday card class. This is the fourth out of five. This card has a lot of BigShot items on it. The card itself is a 4 1/4" square made of Kraft cardstock. It has a layer of Real Red that I ran through the BigShot with the Plenty of Petals embossing folder after punching the edge with the scallop eyelet punch. There is also a strip of Soft Suede cardstock above the red piece and narrow ivory grosgrain ribbon around.

The tag is made from the Christmas Cocoa DSP and is made with the Merry Embosslit-- both from the Holiday Mini. After the tag is popped out with the BigShot I took a buffer to it which rubbed the brown paper off the top and the white middle shows. The trees come from the Merry Details embosslit in the mini and are in Real Red and Old Olive. Lastly, I stamped the word "Christmas" from the retired Everyday Flexible Phrases set and added it at the bottom of the tag. The tag was added to the card with dimensionals.

Set: Everyday Flexible Phrases
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Kraft, Soft Suede, Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: Christmas Cocoa DSP, Red Brad, Merry and Merry Details embosslits, Plenty of Petals Embossing Folder, BigShot, Buffer, Scallop Eyelet punch, Ivory Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

Holiday Card Class-- Pt 3

This is the third of 5 cards we did last week at the Holiday Card Class. This card uses the Patterned Pines hostess set and the greeting comes from the Four the Holidays set.

For this card, I first stamped the red tree on Very Vanilla cardstock. then I masked it and stamped the other two smaller trees in Old Olive. I rounded two of the edges and layered on Chocolate Chip cardstock. Lastly I added the gold brads on top the trees. While I was at it, I stamped the Merry Christmas greeting at the bottom of the Old Olive card in Chocolate Chip.

Across the middle I added a corrugated strip of designer paper from the Merry Moments set and added a narrow red grosgrain ribbon on top. I layered the Old Olive card on a Chocolate Chip layer and that's it! Classic and pretty card.

Sets: Patterned Pines, Four the Holidays
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Merry Moments DSP, Gold Brads, Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner Rounder

Holiday Card Class-- Pt 2

This is the 2nd card we did at the Holiday Card class. I apologize that the picture is a little dark. There's a lot going on on this card, but folks really liked it.

The card itself is Elegant Eggplant--gorgeous-- with snowflakes from the Serene Snowflakes set stamped on the background in Elegant Eggplant. I added the greeting on a piece of Very Vanilla, cut like a ribbon, with the "Peace, Love and Joy" greeting.

The focal point is Very Vanilla cardstock with the small snowflakes from Serene Snowflakes stamped in Versamark layered on Old Olive. You can't really see this in the picture, but if you haven't tried using Versamark and Vanilla or White, try it. I really like the subtle effect.

The tree is made from one of the Scallop Circle BigShot dies and is Old Olive. It takes 1/2 of the scallop circle to make the tree. You cut two of the scallops out, cutting it to a triangle at the top. Then cut three of the scallops out. Then four.... then five. Layer it all together to make the tree. Add a trunk out of Chocolate Chip cardstock and a star using the Star punch and the Shimmering Gold cardstock. Then I added the Eggplant bird using the Merry Details embosslit die from the Holiday Mini. I put the entire tree on the Vanilla cardstock using dimensionals.

Let me know what you think. I really like this card.

Sets: Serene Snowflakes, All Occasion Greetings
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Versamark
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Large Circle Scallop die, Merry Details embosslit die, White Gel Pen, Star Punch, Dimensionals

Holiday Card Class

I held my holiday stamp-a-stack class on Monday night and it was a big success. Everyone completed 15 cards-- 3 each of 5 designs. They have a big jump start on their cards this year.

This is the first card... so simple. It's basically just a Whisper White card on a layer of Real Red. I used the Ornament Punch to punch out an ornament from the top layer of the white card. I also punched an ornament out of the Christmas Cocoa specialty designer paper. This set of paper from the Holiday Mini is awesome. There are 4 sheets of double sided paper and then two sheets of white flocked paper (including the red bulb paper on my card). It is just gorgeous and the mini catalog does not do it justice.

I adhered the red designer paper bulb into the punch out. Then I stamped in Basic Black the greeting which is from the Two Cool Dudes stamp set. Then I wrapped the Silver Cord around the card twice and tied a bow. It's a very simple, but elegant card that I really like.

Set: Two Cool Dudes
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red
Accessories: Christmas Cocoa DSP, Ornament Punch, Silver Elastic Cord,

Cleanse Update

Remember, I never ever thought I could do this. I thought I would crack immediately and eat a Reece Cup... but tomorrow is the last day-- Day 21-- and except for a very few minor slips, I DID IT! A few things that have happened over the last three weeks...

1. I realized that I can eat healthier. It didn't kill me. I'm still alive... and I actually like a lot more veggies than I thought.
2. I'm still craving a bit, but nothing like I did before. I went to an event last night and didn't even really want the chocolate cupcakes. I ate vegies and hummus and was happy.
3. I do feel like I've broken some bad habits... I hope I can keep them broken. I'm the type of person who could easily fall back into them.

So, everyone wants to know two things. First, was it worth it? Yes, definitely. In terms of outcomes, my sleeping is definitely improved... a huge plus! This was an initial goal. I think my stomach is feeling better. I have a lot of times when I feel like there is nothing but acid in there, just eating through-- nice visual I know. I haven't really felt that way for a couple weeks. Yeah! Seems like my allergies have been completely missing this fall and it may be attributable to this. And, the bonus is I've lost about 8-9 lbs and several inches in my hips and waist. It's not exactly how much I hoped to lose, but yeah for me! It's a start!

So, if you're thinking of doing the Standard Process cleanse, I would totally recommend it. A couple of recommendations:
1. Remember that it's a cleanse first and can lead to weight loss secondly. If you are thinking about it as a weight loss tool only, I think it can be misleading.
2. It helps to have a partner to do this with. It would have been nearly impossible for me without the support. Thanks Lisa and Mom.
3. Clean our your refrigerator, freezer and pantry before starting. If there is a temptation, you may fall for it. If not, you'll eat what's there-- fruit.
4. Avoid social events as much as possible during the three weeks. It just brings about temptation and if you have NO will power like me, that's all it takes and you're off the wagon.

My goal is to keep this up. I plan to continue drinking my yummy protein shakes with banana and pineapple for breakfast and eating fresh fruit and veggies every day. No more soda buts lots and lots of water. And, last, but surely not least, sweets in moderation. This is my downfall! But I'm committed.

The second thing that people keep asking is what have I missed the most and what will I eat on Monday. Three things that I've really missed and want-- an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese from Brueggers, a piece of pizza-- just plain cheese please-- and a piece of chocolate cake-- with or without icing is fine, I like the cake. So, I don't know for sure yet what I'll eat Monday. Certainly not all of that. But I do plan on going out with my cleanse partner for a girlie drink and a shared piece of chocolate cake to celebrate our success.

Halloween Page using MDS

Here's another cute page, using My Digital Studio. I really like this page. Every year I go trick or treating with my best friend's kids and this page documents some of my fun Halloweens. This page uses designer paper from the Night and Day DSP and also includes the Sans Serif Alphabet and stamps from the Eat, Drink and Be Scary set. I also added some black grosgrain ribbon and a Pumpkin Pie button on the witch hat. I like the way these elements compliment such fun pictures.

In Honor of Jasmine

In honor of my girl-dog Jasmine who has been very sick lately, I'm posting my third and final MDS page featuring here. She is having surgery today for a herniated/ruptured disc in her neck. We tried to first treat it with meds, but she's been miserable. They just weren't helping much so I took the plunge with the surgery. But, it's totally worth it, especially if she's all better now... which the vet expects.

This is a more simple page with a designer paper background and some stamps. You can use your favorite stamped images on your pages, without any ink...just with the click of the mouse. Contact me if you'd like more information.

Jasmine is about to pounce

Here is another scrapbook page, using My Digital Studio. I'm gonna do a few posts in a row of my crazy beagle... hope you don't mind.

This page features her in a trip to Ohio. We were at my dad's place which is in the middle of nowhere in Southern Ohio. He had just gotten a new kitten and Jasmine was taunting it. She loves to chase and tease cats.... so this one was no exception. I love the main photo-- her eyes and her stance. She's ready to pounce.

This page uses several elements. It has a Going Grey cardstock background. It has black grosgrain ribbon and a silver decorator brad. The heart is from one of the Simply Scrappin' kits and I just added her name. As you can see, when you create these pages digitally, you are using the same Stampin' Up! projects you would use if you were creating a 3-dimmensional version of it. It's very fun! Once I print this out, I'll probably add the silver brad on top of the image to give some texture. It's a very simple page, but I love it.

Digital Jasmine

Here is another digital scrapbook page... this one of my sweet girl Jasmine. This page has a lot of different elements that are available in the My Digital Scrapbook software. I used a cardstock background (rather than designer paper), I used a punch below the word "sweetness", ribbon and brad embellishments and the dog stamp from the "Man's Best Friend" set. The possibilities are endless with this program.

MDS at the Beach

Another digital scrapbooking page using My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! This page highlights a beach trip to Emerald Isle with my best friends and their kids. I'm having so much fun using this software, organizing photos that have sat around for years. I'm excited to print these pages out and then add some real embelishments to finish them up. If you want to know more about this fun project or the MDS software, let me know.

My Digital Studio

I've been playing around withe new digital scrapbooking software from Stampin' Up! called My Digital studio. I'm having a blast! This is a great package... lots of options, colors, images and it's pretty user friendly.
I love playing on the computer, designing and creating so this is a fabulous fit for me. The worry is that I will become all consumed and forget about stamping!

If you'd like more information on this great new product, just let me know.

What I'm up to

I wanted to share a little about my latest endeavor. My mom, friend and I are all doing a 21 cleanse called Standard Process. It was recommended to me by my fabulous chiropractors who have done it several times with great results. My main goal was to improve my sleeping and try to find a little relief from joint pain due to fibromyalgia. The secondary goal was to lose some weight. This particular cleanse is not only known to improve chronic health issues, but also jump start your metabolism, curb cravings and lose weight.

We looked into several cleanses and decided on this one for the following reasons. First, it was recommended and my chiropractors are resources if I need anything or have problems. Actually there is a group of about 8 of us from the practice who are all doing it together. Second, some of the others I looked at involved liquefying everything you eat and I know myself and I need to chew! Lastly, many of the others involved colonics and enemas and although I was committed to doing this, let's just say... I wasn't that committed.

With this cleanse, you eat only fresh fruits and veggies, brown rice and lentils, for the first 10 days. Then you add in lean protein-- chicken, fish and eggs. You also take supplements and drink two protein shakes a day. And, you drink tons, and I mean TONS of water.

So we all started a week later than the others because I had the H1N1 flu and I didn't want to do this on top of the weakness of the flu. To be honest I wasn't 100% sure I'd be able to do this... but we're on day 9 now and doing great. I had some serious cravings days 2-4. Day 2 I would have died for chocolate cake and I could have hurt someone for a bagel on day 4! Carbs, carbs, carbs! But since then it's gotten much better and the cravings aren't as bad. However, I will tell you that I'm dreaming about chicken and cannot wait until Thursday when I can have it!

So what have I learned?
1- I am completely obsessed with food-- and my booty shows it! I think about it all the time. It's really ridiculous. And, since I can't eat anything I want now, I've not been thinking about it so much.
2- There really are very few veggie only recipes. Everything I've made has had a different name and different process, but ended up being veggies over rice.
3- It all works better if you exercise.
4- I come from a long line of food lovers-- dang genes.
5- I have a very very very tiny bladder!

And what are my goals?
1- I want to lose as much weight as possible. 5 lbs so far. YEAH ME!
2- Everyone has their weakness and mine is sweets... I tend to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I want to start thinking of sweets as a treat and eat cake for birthdays-- not lunch!
3- Continue to drink more water and exercise.
4- I plan to continue to eat a large portion of veggies every single day. They are actually quite good and fill you up.

They say that it takes 21 days to break habits, so I'm hoping that I can start looking at food as sustenance, rather than a hobby. I'll keep you posted!


Now on to the card-- a simple card today with a cute little masked chickie!
This is called a Criss-Cross card and you can find the directions here. For this card I used Summer Sun cardstock and layered designer paper from the Night and Day series on top. I made a belly band out of Summer Sun and did a scallop along the bottom with the Scallop Edge punch and added some narrow black grosgrain ribbon. For the insert I created a Whisper White card, layered on Basic Black. Then I stamped the little chick in Basic Black and colored it in with markers. The tab was punched out of Summer Sun cardstock and the greeting "Twick or Tweet" was stamped in Basic Black. I added three black brads on top of the tab and was finished. Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Isn't this the cutest thing! This is the second card that I did for last month's clubs. It's a perfect Halloween treat and uses the Pumpkin Patch stamp set and the Sweet Treat cup in the middle.

The best way to make this card is to stamp the grass in Old Olive ink on textured Old Olive cardstock and adhere it to the bottom of the white piece. Then punch a 1 3/4" circle in the very middle, just above the grass. Then stamp your pumpkins in Only Orange, Basic Black and Old Olive.

Next, put a little adhesive on the back, around your punched out circle and insert your Sweet Treat cup. With the piece upside down, add candy corn (or whatever you want) into the cup and pull the sticky off the rim of the back of the cup. Put a small piece of cardstock over the circle to cover it up so the candy won't fall out. Next adhere the entire thing to the layer of Basic Black cardstock.

The card is Only Orange cardstock, layered on a piece of Basic Black. Add a small piece of torn polka dot paper from the Day and Night DSP set on the left side. Also add some narrow black grossgrain ribbon and threat the tag through it before tying it. Then add your pumpkin piece and you are done.

Thanksgiving Leaves

Today I have another sample using the Autumn DSP and the Falling Leaves set. This is a card I did for my clubs last month and they really liked it.

First, I added the two papers from the Autumn Meadows DSP pack. Then I stamped three of the leaves from the set in Really Rust, Taken with Teal and Chocolate Chip and punched them out with the large oval punch. I punched out three oval scallops in Chocolate Chip and backed the leaves on them. Then for texture I added the gold brads at the top of each leaf and put them on the card with dimensionals. Lastly I added the greeting and the wide grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip. These will be my Thanksgiving cards this year.

Falling Leaves Quilt

I really like this card. It's simple in design, but time consuming in that it involved sewing.

This simple quilt design has three components; pieces from the Autumn Meadows DSP, leaves from the Falling Leaves set stamped in a variety of colors on Very Vanilla cardstock, and colored squares with leaves from the same set stamped in Versamark. I used the small square punch to punch out 12 squares using these three designs. I adhered them down on a Chocolate Chip card and then sewed a zig zag stitch all the way around, to make it look quilted.

The greeting is also from the Falling Leaves set and is stamped in Chocolate Chip, punched out with the small oval punch and layered on a chocolate chip scallop oval. The last element, to add some texture, is the narrow chocolate chip ribbon.

Hope you like!

Enjoy Every Bite...

I bet you wondered if I fell off the face of the earth? Well, I'm still here. I got slammed with the swine flu and was down for the count for almost 2 weeks. I hope none of my stampin' friends gets this nasty bug. It's not fun. But, I'm back... and have lots of new samples from the Holiday Mini to share with you. Let's start with Halloween samples... my favorite holiday!
I love this skeleton. I think the dog hanging off him is too funny. This set is called Twick or Tweet. We did this card at a recent new-mini catalog class I held and it was a hit.

This card is Old Olive, with a layer of Elegant Eggplant. Corners are all rounded, to go along with the circle focal point. The designer paper is from Cast a Spell DPS and the is just folded randomly accordion style. The Eggplant rick-rack (ribbon) is from one of the designer ribbon sets.

I cut out the Kraft and Basic Black circles prior to the class. We stamped the skeleton in Black on the Kraft circle. This skeleton has some spooky looking eyes, so I added the googlie-eyes to make it more fun, and less scary. Then we stamped the dog again on Whisper White cardstock and colored him in with Really Rust ink with the Aqua Painter. We added him to the skeleton with a dimensional. Then I added three black brads on the left of the circle. The words "It's Halloween, Enjoy Every Bite" are stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White cardstock and added to the left side of the circle.

Fun card. I love this set and this card. Happy Halloween.

New Mini Available and New Card

I'm so excited. The new winter mini is now available for purchases. There are so many great things in this mini-- including the new digital scrapbooking software. This is going to be so awesome for me. I've told you before that I don't scrapbook enough because I'm a little OCD and a perfectionist so each page can take me 2+ hours... which gets me nowhere. I do like to do computer design so I think this is going to be perfect for me. The digital software is not available to order until October 1st, so as my grams would say, hold your taters for just a little longer.

On another note, I have not been stamping at all and I've vowed to get in the craft room and play tonight. So, hopefully, I'll have something fun and new from the mini to show you tomorrow. But in the meantime, here is another sample from the For All You Do set.
This is a 5x5" Whisper White card that features the Square Scallop BigShot die in Elegant Eggplant. Above that is a layer of Certainly Celery and then a layer of white, both of which are corner rounded. The images are from the For All You Do Set and are stamped in Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant. The butterfly is two stamps, one is the butterfly, stamped in Almost Amethyst, and the second is the dots, stamped in Elegant Eggplant. I then cut the butterfly out, folded up the wings, and mounted it on the card. The ribbon, added for some texture, is the wide grosgrain in Celery. It probably could use a greeting, but I put it inside instead of gaudy-ing up the front.

Set: For All You Do
Ink: Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant, Almost Amethyst
Cardstock: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Square Scallop Die, Corner Rounder, Celery Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

Tree of Life

Check out the latest edition to my new house. This is the Thoughts and Prayers Tree and the Milestones and Moments saying from Stampin' Up!'s Decor Elements/Definitely Decorative vinyl line. Once I decided on my house the first thing I thought of doing was putting this tree up in my stairway. It took me a couple of weeks to get it done, but with a little help from my friends Kate and Susie, I got it up last night. It was actually quite easy. I'm so happy with it. Love the way it looks. It's perfect for that stairway wall.

For all you do

I'm back. Quick card today. This is another from the pink and brown series. The cardstock used for this card is Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. The polka dots are from the Dots and Delicates rub on set. The flowers are from the For All You Do set and are stamped in Melon Mambo and the ribbon is the Melon Mambo polka dot grosgrain ribbon. Easy breazy!

New House Hiatus

I'm gonna be a non-blogger for a week or so... don't miss me too bad! I just moved into my first house and took the week off work... so I won't be able to post much. I will be back with some new samples next week though. Happy Stampin' !

Really love this Melon Mambo color with the Chocolate Chip. This is a Chocolate Chip card with a layer of Whisper White with Melon Mambo on top. I used a Rub-on from the Dots and Designs pack- that runs down the middle of the Melon Mambo strip. And then I added some paper piercing and 4 silver brads in the corners. I also stamped the greeting from Thank You Kindly in Chocolate Chip ink.

Lastly the butterfly... from the For All You Do set. In order to get this butterfly I stamped one and cut it out. Then I traced around it with a pencil on Whisper White cardstock and stamped the dotted block in Chocolate Chip ink on top and then cut it out. I put it on the card with a glue dot and bent the wings up. Hope you like it.

Stamps: For All You Do, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Silver Brads, Paper Piercer, pad and guide, Dots and Designs Rub-ons, Glue Dot

I got some of the window sheets, the seasonal set, and have been playing with them a bit. This is a 4 1/4 square card and the card s Very Vanilla with a layer of Chocolate Chip and Old Olive underneath. The stripe down the left side is actually a rub-on and I added some narrow olive grosgrain over top.

The focal point is a piece of the Seasonal Window sheet layered over Chocolate Chip and Old Olive cardstock. I added it with dimensionals but added a small olive library clip for some added pizazz. The only stamping this card has it the greeting in Chocolate Chip down the side.

Sets: Thank You
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Narrow Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Seasonal Window Sheet, Library Clip. Dimensionals

Lovely Medallion

This is a card that I did with my club last month. It's a relatively simple but elegant card. It uses the new color Crushed Curry, which unfortunately does not come out great in the photo. the color really isn't as bright yellow as it looks here.

For this card, I stamped the Medallion background stamp in Crushed Curry on the left side of the White cardstock. Then I restamped just the middle of the stamp in Chocolate Chip ink on White cardstock and punched it out with the 1 3/4" circle punch. Layered on top is a flower from the Prettie's kit and a Latte button. This circle is put on with Dimensionals with some Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon threaded through and tied in a knot. The greeting is from the Thank You set and is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.

The card is Chocolate Chip, with a layer of Crushed Curry between the Chocolate and White.

Sets: Medallion, Thank You
Ink: Crushed Curry, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, Pretties Kit, Latte Button, Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

Punkin Row

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. Everyone gets to be a kid on Halloween. Fun! So I always enjoy working with cute Halloween images. This image comes from the level 3 hostess set The More the Merrier.

I stamped it in Stazon Black on Watercolor Paper and watercolored the image with ink pads and an aqua painter. The colors I used were Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Soft Suede and Chocolate Chip.

The card is Pumpkin Pie with a layer of Chocolate Chip behind it. For the background I added a piece of scrunched up Chocolate Chip cardstock on the left and a piece of Old Olive cardstock along the bottom Then I added some paper piercing along the left side and some narrow olive grosgrain ribbon for texture. The greeting was stamped in Chocolate Chip.

I hope you enjoy these happy pumpkins as much as I do.

Set: The More the Merrier
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Soft Suede
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Watercolor Paper
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Narrow Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer

Circus Flowers

Another very easy card here. I used the Circle Circus set and stamped the four images on Whisper White cardstock. The colors used are Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Summer Sun and Melon Mambo. Then I punched them out with the appropriate circle punch.

The card is Gable Green with a layer of Tempting Turquoise on top. I put each circle on with dimensionals and added a thin Gable Green stem. I added the simple tag, which I just cut out of Whisper White cardstock, with a greeting from the Really Retro set.

Sets: Really Retro, Circle Circus
Ink: Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Summer Sun and Melon Mambo
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Whisper White
Accessories: Circle Punches, Melon Mambo ribbon

Mini Notes

I created this set of little mini 3x3 gift cards using images from the level 3 hostess set The More the Merrier. This is a really cute hostess set and I hope it makes you all want to host a workshop to get it.

The first card uses the row of cupcakes from the set and I just inked up one and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock, watercolored it in with the aqua painter and then layered it on Mambo Melon and then Chocolate Chip Cardstock. The card itself is Mambo Melon and has been run through the Big Shot with the little dot texture plate. The ribbon adds a little texture at the top.

The second card uses the row of pumpkins and again, I just inked up one and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock and watercolored it with the aqua painter. It was then layered on Only Orange and Basic Black circles. I added the white dots around the black layer with the White Gel Pen. The card is Only Orange with a strip of Basic Black on top and a layer on the back. The greeting is stamped in Basic Black and the ribbon is the gingham black ribbon.

The next card uses the fall/acorn stamp and is stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White cardstock and once again is watercolored with the Aqua Painter. The acorn is layered on a rust and then chocolate chip layer. The card is Really Rust and I stamped an image from the Sprinkles set in Versamark on the back. The designer paper comes from one of last year's sets of paper and is ripped before adding it to the card. The back layer of the card is Chocolate Chip cardstock.

The final card is the simplest of the bunch. It uses the row of birdies stamp from the set and again I just inked up one with Basic Black and stamped it on Whisper White cardstock. The image is watercolored with an Aqua Painter and then the circle is layered on a layer of Crushed Curry and a Real Red scallop circle. The card is Whisper White with a bottom layer of Crushed Curry that has been run through the Big Shot with the texture plate. The greeting was stamped in Basic Black.

This is a really versatile set with lots of different images that make it easy to make a set of cards like this.

Class Project #6

I found this cute little purse idea on someone's blog a while ago but I have no idea where. So I apologize for not giving credit.We made this little purse using the BigShot at the class also. We used Melon Mambo and Chocolate Chip cardstock as well as the Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper.

The front and back are made using the Top Note Die and then the small polka-dot texture plate. The top is made with the Scallop die and I cut the circle of the designer paper using the Creative Memories cutting kit. There is a little box on the inside that you can add stuff too. It's a 4 x 6 piece of Melon Mambo scored at 2 1/2 inch from each of the long sides and 1 inch from each other short sides. Fold together and use sticky strip to adhere it together.

I added a velcro dot to hold it shut and used the 5 Petal Leaf Punch times 2 with a Jumbo Eyelet in the middle for the embellishment on the front. Lastly, I punched two large holes on the top and threaded wide Chocolate Chip grograin ribbon through for the handle.

Class Project #5

A new favorite set of mine is the background stamp Medallion. This is one of Shelley's designs.

For this card, I stamped the medallion in Versamark and did the poppin' pastels technique. I sponged the red Stampin' Pastel over the Versamark ink with a cotton ball and the chalk sticks to the Versamark.

Then I stamped the middle of the medallion again in Versamark and sponged it with red pastel and put black pastel around the edge. I punched the middle out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and added a 1/2 bead from the Pretties set in the middle with a glue dot. Then I added the middle to card with dimensionals.

Lastly, I made 3 swirlies with the Swirls and Scribbles Sizzlet die and the Big Shot. These were adhered to the card below the middle piece.

The greeting comes from the Fresh cuts set and was stamped in Basic Black and the edges were rounded with the Corner Rounder punch.

Sets: Medallion, Fresh Cuts
Ink: Versamark, Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red
Accessories: Stampin' Pastels, Swirls & Scribbles Sizzlet die, Pretties Kit, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, 1 3/4" circle punch

Class Project #4

Love this card that we did at the new catalog class last week. I really like this combination-- Almost Amethyst and Elegant Eggplant.

The top layer of this card was run through the Big Shot with the Elegant Bouquet texture plate. Then we scalloped the edge, and added another scalloped edge in Eggplant.

The card is Elegant Eggplant with a layer of Almost Amethyst on top. The greeting is from the Oval All set, stamped in Basic Black and punched out with the Large Oval Punch and layered on an Elegant Eggplant scallop oval. The ovals are added to the card with White Taffeta ribbon.

I hope you enjoy this card. It's elegant and could be used for any occasion really.

Set: Oval All
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Elegant Bouquet Texture Plate, White Taffeta Ribbon, Large Oval and Scallop Oval Punches, 1/8" punch, Scallop Edge punch, Almost Amethyst and Elegant Eggplant Markers

Class Project #3

Cute new set called On a Pedestal is featured here. Using the new Melon Mambo color, along with Certainly Celery and Chocolate chip, this was a favorite at the new catalog class last week.

First, I stamped the pedestal in Chocolate chip, then stacked the words on top in Basic Black. I stamped the cupcake in both Certainly Celery and Melon Mambo on scrap white cardstock and cut them out, layering the Melon on the Celery and adding a little dazzling diamonds. I stamped the candle right where the cupcake would end and then added the cupcake with dimensionals. This focal point was mounted Melon Mambo and I added the scallop on the bottom to mimic the scallop on the pedestal.

The card itself is Melon Mambo with a layer of Chocolate Chip on top. I added a strip of Razzleberry Lemonade DSP and some Celery twill ribbon across the middle. Cute set, cute card. Hope you enjoy.

Set: On a Pedestal
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Accessories: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/16" Punch, Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds, Two-Way Glue Pen, Basic Black and Summer Sun markers, Celery Twill (from Sale-a-bration)

Specials

Wow, Stampin' Up! is on it these days. You'd think the great new catalog and fabulous mini coming up would be enough. But they are also offering a couple of great specials.

First is the special of the week. The Vanilla Hodgepodge kit is on sale for 30% off. It's only $18.99. Visit my website or contact me to order today.


If you've ever considered becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator-- the time is now. Through the end of August you can sign up to be a demonstrator for only $85 and receive all of the kit materials below. What I love about this kit is that it has all of the new In-Color pads and cardstock along with one of my favorite new sets For All You Do. The product in this kit alone is valued at over $80-- and you essentially get all of the business supplies for free. If you are interested, contact me today and we'll get you signed up.

Razzleberry Crazy

Simple Razzle Dazzle card in the new Razzleberry in-color. I'm really diggin' this color as purple is my second favorite color. This was a simple card. Just stamped the Razzle Dazzle flower and greeting in Razzleberry on Whisper White and then layered it on Razzleberry and the more Whisper White. I wrapped a bit of the new Razzleberry polka-dot ribbon around the right corner and topped with a Latte white button with a small clear rhinestone brad through the holes. The background is textured Razzleberry cardstock with Razzleberry Lemonade DSP on the bottom half. The card itself if Whisper White.

Set: Razzle Dazzle
Ink: Razzleberry
Cardstock: Razzleberry, Whisper White
Accessories: Razzleberry polkda dot ribbon, Latte button, Rhinestone brad, Razzleberry Lemonade DSP