FMS4: Snow Much Fun

Time for another sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!   I hope you are enjoying the challenges as much as the design team.   I'm having a fabulous time creating and I am so thankful to Lesley for giving me a chance to be a part of this great challenge blog.   Now on to the card...

And before you say anything...Yes!  I totally realize that I'm addicted to this stamp set.  :)  It is seriously Snow Much Fun!  Ha!   Here I used my buddy the Color Coach to find a bit of a non-traditional color combination.   I love how it turned out, but how could I not when I'm using 3 of my favorite colors AND my favorite stamp set?!    I hope you enjoy it as well and will be inspired to create your own card for this fun sketch.   

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun, Petite Pairs

Ink:  Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Staz-on Black, Crumb Cake

Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, ticket corner punch, Decorative Label punch, circle punches, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, blender pen, Dazzling Details

Be sure to check out the rest of the design team as well!

Be sure to check out the rest of the cards from our fabulous design team and our featured designer, LeAnne!

Tui Nathan

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Jen Mitchell

Stitched Stockings

Thursday will be the first of my new "Try It Thursday" events, so I've been working on some ideas today.   This month I'm featuring the Stitched Stockings stamp set and the Stocking builder punch.  Aren't they awesome?    I have had so much fun playing with them today!   I'm sure I'll change my mind a million times before Thursday on the actual projects we'll do, but it's always good to have plenty of ideas to show.  :)   

This was one of today's projects, a cute gift tag.   Wouldn't this be adorable on a Christmas package?   I LOVE the silver glitter paper.   It is so sparkly and pretty!  

My second project was this adorable baby card!   When they introduced us to these products at Convention, they showed uses other than just Christmas.  Using them as baby booties was one idea and I think they work perfectly for that.   

Finally, I HAD to make a Christmas card.  :)  My score lines didn't photograph that great, but they add some nice elegance to this card and the top one serves as a perfect place to hang stockings.  

I hope you enjoyed my projects!  Stay tuned for more tomorrow along with my card for Freshly Made Sketches.  If you have any questions about any of the cards or Stampin' Up! in general, give me a call or send me an email!  

PP65: Anne Marie's Sketch

I have the pleasure of stamping with the design team at The Paper Players this week!   They are such a great group of ladies and I always jump at the chance to be a part of them.  Thank you, Nance, for giving me the opportunity to stamp in your place this week.  :)  Anne Marie is our hostess for this week and she has challenged us with a sketch.  Now I definitely found it to be a challenge, but I like the end result(s).   Channeling my inner Lesley, I made two cards!    I'm curious which one you'll like the best.  :) 

This was the first card that I made yesterday morning.  I had some new toys arrive on Thursday, so I had to try them out!   The Northern Frost decorative strip die is now my new favorite Big Shot die!   All the snowflakes are gorgeous and look amazing on cards.   I also added some of my new mica flakes to give my card a snowy look.   It always makes me sad that glitter doesn't seem to photograph well; this card has falling snow and a very snowy ground.   

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun

Ink:  Staz On Black, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Pumpkin Pie

Paper:  Pool Party, Island Indigo, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Northern Frost decorative strip die, In color printed brads, mica flakes, Dazzling Details, blender pens

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I had an idea for another card and it is my favorite of the two and the one I used as my "official" card.   Dasher is one of my favorite stamps and I was happy to dream up an idea using him.   I plan on using this as a thinking of you card this winter; I have a special aunt who I think will love it as much as I do.   Now I want to get some brushed silver card stock because I can totally see this card in Night of Navy and Silver.   

Stamps:  Dasher

Ink:  Versamark

Paper:  Basic Gray, Basic Black, Neutrals designer paper stack, Whisper White

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Frost decorative strip die, Neutrals glimmer brads, heat tool, black embossing powder

I hope you enjoyed my take(s) on the sketch.  Be sure to check out The Paper Players and see what the other designers have created to inspire you.  I hope you'll join us this week and share your beautiful creation with us.  

colourQ #103

I was feeling very Teneale-inspired today and LOVE how my card turned out.  I love to stalk visit her blog because it always inspires me to try new things and work on my stamping skills.   My card today uses the color's from this week's colourQ challenge.  Aren't they gorgeous together?    One of my favorite things to do is mix embossing folders and I did it again on this card.   I love the Stripes folder; you can really use it on any type of card you make!    I have to give myself a pat on the back after I stamped my image panel.   I STRUGGLE with two-step stamping, but I finally got it to turn out!   I first inked up the image with Poppy Parade and Pear Pizzazz and then used Calypso Coral for the second step.   Yay me!   :)

Stamps:  Simply Soft, French Foliage, Petite Pairs
Ink:  Wisteria Wonder, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral
Paper:  Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Framed Tulips embossing folder, Stripes embossing folder, sponges, Whisper White 3/8 taffeta ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig

JAI 86: Just Add Snow

I was in a snowman kind of mood today, so decided to make a Christmas card using this week's Just Add Ink sketch.   The lovely snowflakes are from my new Northern Frost die that came in my order yesterday.  I love it already!  The different snowflakes are all so pretty.   I think it works perfectly with my Snow Much Fun stamp set.    Isn't he cute?  I added a bit of bling with some Dazzling Details and Basic Rhinestones.  (and of course you can't see my sparkly glitter, but it is there!   :)

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun
Ink:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Staz On Black
Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Island Indigo
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Northern Frost sizzlit strip, Dazzling Details, Basic Rhinestones, blender pens

September Thank You Treats

I love my customers and I always like to include a little something in their orders to show my appreciation.  This month I used the 1 x 8 cello bags from the Holiday Mini to make these cute little candy treats.  Aren't they adorable?   You can make toppers for any occasion and customize them to work with the colors of your candy.   I can't wait to make some for Halloween, Fall, and Christmas!   Here I used my much neglected Funky Four set to make some playful treats.   :)  

Lovely Fall Colors

Ann presented an interesting challenge at the Paper Players this week:  make a card with plants or animals.   I thought about using my Sock Monkey stamp, but since it seems that nobody loves him but me, I went with another favorite set, Lovely as a Tree!   I figured French Foliage needed a rest, but I still wanted to use this awesome color combination that I seem to be stuck on.   It's a great way to use up those two packs of More Mustard that I accidentally ordered last year!   :)   I also used a fun technique called thumping to get those pretty colors on my tree.   If you like beating things, it's totally the technique for you!   Just don't abuse your markers or stamps too much.    My layout comes from this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   Lesley made two cards using it, so I figured I'd try to keep up.   Finally, the challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments was to impress with embossing!

Stamps:  Lovely as a Tree
Ink:  More Mustard, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze
Paper:  Naturals White, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Neutrals DSP stack
Tools/Accessories:  Jewelry Tag punch, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Early Espresso taffeta ribbon (retired),  that punch with the really long name (Dotted Scalloped Ribbon Border Punch I think?)

And speaking of animals, can someone please tell me how this could even remotely be comfortable?

FMS3: Falling Leaves

It's Wednesday, which means it is time for another sketch and a new featured designer at Freshly Made Sketches!  Isn't this a fun sketch?   Lesley really started us off with such a great set of sketches.    I love this one; the possibilities are endless on what you can do with it.   I had just gotten my Spice Cake designer paper when I saw the sketch, so I immediately grabbed French Foliage and went to work on my card.  Our weather is still pretty warm, but I enjoy hearing about the leaves turning up north.   I miss that as Fall is my favorite time of year.   Maybe I should get a leaf die and make my own pretty leaves and scatter them all around my room.  :)  

Aren't those colors lovely?    I think they are the perfect combination for this time of year.   I'm not a huge fan of More Mustard, but pairing it with the right colors makes a HUGE difference.   I think French Foliage would look stunning in any color; it is just one of those sets that you can't go wrong with no matter what you do.  I love the leaves that I stamped and cut out.   A bit of curl with the bone folder brings them to life on the card.  

I hope you enjoyed my card and find the inspiration to play along with us this week.   

Stamps:  French Foliage

Ink:  Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze

Paper:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Spice Cake DSP, Very Vanilla

Tools/Accessories:  Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (I'm sure they could have found a shorter name for that), Early Espresso Taffeta ribbon (retired), Paper Snips

Be sure to check out the rest of the cards from our fabulous design team and our super featured designer, Nance Leedy.  

Tui Nathan

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Jen Mitchell