Visit my store today to get some great deals from Stampin' Up!   The awesome Simply Scored tool and the fun new Sweet Pressed Cookie stamps are 20% off until midnight tonight!    

Other great deals include fabric at 60% off, some stamp sets at 50% off, and even an awesome Big Shot die at 20% off!    Check out the flyer here with the complete list and discounted prices!   Happy Shopping!  

PP 73: Silver Tree

I have the privilege of substituting over at The Paper Players challenge this week!    I love these ladies, so it is always a thrill when I open up my email and see that I get to play along.   Jaydee has a gorgeous color challenge for everyone this week.   I think this is one of my favorite combinations for elegant Christmas cards. There's just something about blue and silver that I love!  

I decided to show another one of my older, but still current stamps a little love for this one.   Season of Joy was one of the very first sets I ever purchased and I still adore it.   I did have to pull out some retired ribbon as I didn't have any current Night of Navy ribbon.   I love the 1 1/4 striped ribbon and think it looks great used as a divider like this.  I'm definitely using this layout again for more cards!    The sentiment is from another current stamp set, Contempo Christmas.  

I hope you enjoyed my card for today.  Hop over to the Paper Players to see what all the other designers came up with using these gorgeous colors.   I know this week will be a busy one with the holiday, but maybe you can find a bit of time to escape to your crafty space and play along.   

Stamps:  Season of Joy, Contempo Christmas

Ink:  Night of Navy, Versamark

Paper:  Night of Navy, Brushed Silver, Shimmery White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Regals buttons, Night of Navy 1 1/4 striped ribbon, white baker's twine, Silver embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy, basic rhinestones

PPA120: Faux Linen Sketch

So lately I've been feeling pretty down and not really enjoying stamping as much as I usually do.  My cards are all feeling a bit plain and boring for me too.  Sad face, right?    Today I found myself a bit ahead of things, so I decided to sit down and do a challenge for fun.   I wanted to add a new technique into the mix as well.   I find that expanding my skills and trying new things a breath of fresh air, so I thought that might be just what I needed.   I decided to play along with the Pals Paper Arts sketch and to try the Faux Linen technique.   I haven't used my new Distressing Essentials kit very much yet, so it was a perfect time to put it to use!  

I used the Tea Stain ink on my image panel and I don't think it was quite dark enough to allow the linen texture to show up in my picture.  I know next time to go darker for that part, but I do like how the card turned out.  I seem to be drawn towards browns right now; maybe because of all the dead trees we have from the drought?   Or maybe cheery colors just aren't fitting my mood?   Either way, I do like mixing them up.  I never thought I'd be using Soft Suede as much as I have been!  It is a bit of an ugly color.  :)  All the panels are sponged to give them some depth and I pulled out my favorite retired ribbon, Early Espresso satin.  

Stamps:  Best Friends Forever, Nature Walk, En Francais

Ink:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Tea Stain distress ink

Paper:  Glossy White, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Neutrals Patterns DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Distressing Essentials kit, sponges, Early Espresso Satin ribbon

Online Extravaganza!

Here's another card we made at my all occasions class last week.   I think this is one of my favorite color combinations!   It is perfect for a masculine card of any type, even baby cards!    Paired with Circle Circus, it can become whatever type of card you need!    Just change out the sentiment for the occasion you need!

Stamps:  Circle Circus, Perfectly Penned
Ink:  Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso
Paper:  Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:   Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, Marina Mist 3/8 taffeta ribbon (retired)

On Monday, November 21st, Stampin' Up! will be kicking off an exciting online extravaganza!   If you remember last year, there were some great deals and sales, so don't miss out on this!   This time there will be a 24-hour only sale from November 21, 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM (Mountain Time, so be sure to adjust for your time zone!) on two items!

The rest of the sale will run from the 21st until the 30th.   Some hints of the deals to come:

*Free digital downloads valued at $40 when you purchase My Digital Studio Express

*60% off select designer fabrics

*30% off an exclusive ribbon bundle

I'll have more information on Monday, but you can find the deals starting at 12:01 AM (MT) in my online store!   

FM33: Shabby Owl

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project using "Paper Rosettes".
2. Or Make a project using "the Sketch Above".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Project with the Sketch using Rosettes".

* Here are some tutorials on Paper Rosettes if you aren't sure how to make one.

*From a Border Punch

*From a strip of Pattern Paper

* PDF - instructions 

It's Friday, so time for another fun Friday Mashup challenge!   I'm sure you noticed that everything is NOT coming up rosettes on my card.  Guess who can't make a pretty rosette?    Yep...it is that same person who also has a few attempts in their trash.    I am officially THE WORST rosette maker in the world!  Well, I did get one to turn out, but of course it was the one on my practice paper.  lol    I don't like being defeated by paper (or in this case, GLUE!), so I'll keep working on them!

My friend Linda inspired me to finally use my designer frames embossing folder this week.  She says it looks like a turkey platter, but don't tell my owl!   The rest of the card was inspired by another good friend, Ann.    When I see where I am now in my paper crafting and on design teams, I do credit much of that back to her.  Just following her blog really pushed me to try harder to make better cards and do the challenges that I so enjoy.   You can see her influence here with the distressed layers and pearls!   :)    I picture this card being perfect for someone going for a shabby chic nursery; it has that look, right?   

FMS11: The Open Sea

Wow! Where has this week gone already?   I can't believe it is already Wednesday!    You do know that that means though!   Time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!   My awesome friend Linda designed the sketch for this week.   Isn't it a cool one?   So many possibilities!   I pulled out one of my favorite sets, The Open Sea, because I just knew it would be PERFECT for this layout!  

See what I mean?  PERFECT!   Now this stamp set is still available, but if you missed out on the gorgeous matching paper, you can only find it on My Digital Studio.   I'm a bit sad about that as I love them together and should have bought an extra pack or four.   :)   You will be seeing some retired stamps and paper on here for a bit as I'm trying to be a good girl and use up some things.  I reorganized my room and found lots of goodies that need some love!  

I hope you'll go check out the rest of the samples from the design team and start thinking up some ideas for your own card!

Stamps:  The Open Sea

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Paper:  Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Nautical Expedition (retired)

Tools/Accessories:  Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Regals buttons, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine

colourQ 111, PPC41

I finally managed to clear off my desk and stamp today!    Yay!   My sweet friend Lesley is a guest designer this week over at Scrapbooker's Paradise, so I decided to try their sketch with the awesome colors from colourQ this week.  I thought they worked very well together and I love how my card turned out.  I have been on a mission to make sure all my stamps are feeling loved, so today I used a retired set from the Summer Mini that I hadn't inked up yet.    Now I'm sure you've never done this, but I thought I'd share how silly I am sometimes.  I loved this set, but never had an order large enough to earn it.   The day before the catalog expired I totally panicked at the idea of never owning it and put in an order to get it.   It has sat unloved since I got it, so I don't know what I was thinking!  :)

Stamps:  Love & Care (retired)
Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, Versamark
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Bright DSP stack, In Color Hostess stack (retired)
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Fancy Fan Letterpress Plate, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Itty Bitty punch pack, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, basic pearls, Rich Razzleberry 3/8 taffeta ribbon (retired)

Just Believe class card

Today I thought I'd share one of the cards we made last Friday night for my Girls Night Out class.   I think this was my favorite!   I took an idea from the Idea Book & Catalog and turned it into this beauty!   I love purple and green together; it is such a lovely combination.   Just Believe is a gorgeous set and you can do so many pretty things with it.   I'd highly recommend you put it on your wishlist if you don't have it already!

Before I go, I'd like to wish my sweet friend Anne Marie a very happy birthday!   I was hoping to make a card and post it today for her, but my poor room is in shambles.   I have been buying new shelving and reorganizing for a few days now.   We are supposed to have a rainy day tomorrow, so I hope it will be the time I need to finish up in there!

Stamps:  Just Believe, Tiny Tags
Ink:  Concord Crush, Lucky Limeade
Paper:  Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Beautiful Wings embosslit, jewelry tag punch, blender pen, Lucky Limeade ribbon, basic pearls