FMS6: Bright Hopes

It's time for another sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This one has a lot of fun elements, so I think you'll have a blast playing along with us!   Lauri Ingram is our featured designer this week, so be sure to stop by her blog to say hello.   She has some gorgeous clean cards on her blog and I love her beautiful creations.  

Here is my second take on the sketch.  I'll show you the first one in a bit.  :)     Jen Timko, one of my fellow design team members, made some beautiful cards with the Bright Hopes stamp set and I had to have it after seeing them.   Isn't it gorgeous?  It is such an elegant set of stamps and one I know I'll be using for years to come.   I paired the set with some equally elegant colors, River Rock and Cherry Cobbler.   I love how it turned out!  I haven't purchased the Cherry Cobbler embossing powder yet, so I did the next best thing and inked my stamp with Cherry Cobbler, then Versamark, and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. It gives it a much richer look than simply stamping it in Cherry Cobbler alone. 

Stamps:  Bright Hopes

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Versamark

Paper:  River Rock, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Neutrals Designer Paper stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Northern Frost Decorative Strip die, heat tool, clear embossing powder, embossing buddy, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, Basic Rhinestones

This was my first card for the sketch.   I think it turned out nice, but it wasn't quite what I wanted for the challenge.   I do love non-traditional colors for Christmas and I can't say that I've seen many pink and brown ones.  :)    Greeting Card Kids is such an adorable set of stamps and I'm so glad I finally purchased it.   

Stamps:  Greeting Card Kids

Ink:  Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue

Paper:  Blushing Bride, Early Espresso, Whisper White, 2010 In Color Hostess stack (retired)

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Fancy Favor die (for the border), Backgrounds #1 Texturz plates, Northern Frost Decorative Strip die, blender pen, mica flakes, Early Espresso taffeta ribbon (retired), In Color Glimmer brads

Be sure to stop and say hello to my fellow designers:

Tui Nathan

Lesley Croghan

Linda Callahan

Jen Mitchell

Cindy Hall

Jen Timko

Christmas Cards Class

I started working on the cards for my upcoming Christmas cards class today.   To keep the postage cost down, I'm going for cards that have a bit of wow to them but can still be mailed with a regular postage stamp.    This one is gorgeous up close; the embossing adds a bit of texture and both the snowflakes and snowman are sparkly with Dazzling Diamonds.  I think I'll make up a few more with different colors to mail out for the holidays.   I love my Snow Much Fun set!

If you'd like to make some Christmas cards  to send out to your family and friends, come join me!  No experience required!

Here are the details for the class:

Christmas Cards #1

Oct 22 
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM  (Central)

We'll be making a total of 9 Christmas cards (3 each of 3 different designs) during this fun class.    Drinks and snacks will be provided so we can relax and enjoy a day of creating together.   Cost for the class is $25 and includes envelopes.  As always, please bring along your scissors and favorite adhesive. If you don't have adhesive, you can purchase it the day of the event for $7.   Please RSVP by the 18th to hold your spot.  

PP67: French Foliage

I've been so busy with classes and clubs for the past two weeks and missed out on doing my challenges.   Last night I decided to take some time to play along with The Paper Players.  It has been a while since I got to play along with them on this side of things and I've missed it.   Jaydee is the hostess this week and presented a fun color challenge.   I was a bit stumped at first because the only Bravo Burgundy I had was a scrap of ribbon and a marker.   That's why they call it a challenge though, right?  :)    

Here's what I came up with; isn't it pretty?    I was in a mood to really spend some time on a card last night, so this one has lots of things going on.   I brayed the embossing folders, added some distressing and spritzing (totally channeling Ann), and fussy cut some leaves.    I think it was well worth the time and has a bit of a wow factor when you hold it and look over all the details and feel the texture.   I used last week's Mojo Monday sketch, but not in time to submit it.   

I hope you enjoyed my card today.   I know I had a blast making it.   :)

Stamps:  French Foliage, Tiny Tags

Ink:  More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Bravo Burgundy (marker)

Paper:  More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper and Square Lattice embossing folders, Cutter Kit, Jewelry Tag punch, Scallop Edge border punch, brayer, color spritzer tool,  sponges, linen thread, Bravo Burgundy ribbon (retired)

My Digital Studio Christmas Tag

Isn't this cute?   I was playing around in My Digital Studio tonight and thought I'd make up a few Christmas tags.   I fell in love with the Holly & Jolly Rub-ons last year and was so happy when they were offered on MDS.   Those trees are just too darn cute!    Having access to retired products is one of the reasons why I love this program so much.   There have been times when I loved a stamp, but it just wasn't in my budget at the time or else I forgot to order it and it retired.   My Digital Studio allows me to get some of those and usually a bit cheaper too!  I was able to go back and buy the Motorcycle stamp that I missed out on a few summers ago and I can print it on some Whisper White and color it in just like a stamped image.

With Christmas coming up, of course we are all starting to think about gifts.  These images are part of a calendar that I made for my brother last year.   He LOVED it and couldn't believe that I made it all by myself.  I bought MDS and  in just 3 days, I taught myself how to use it and made the calendar!   I was able to share all the pictures I'd taken of his dogs in a way that he could enjoy throughout the year.   I was quite proud of my first effort.  :)    I hope to do one for my whole family using pictures from our childhood.   The good thing is that I can make it once, but get it printed as many times as I need!

If you'd like to know more about the program or would like to see it in action, let me know and we'll get together for a little digital stamping.  :)  It is a great program that does so many things including photo books, calendar, greeting cards, blog headers, tags, etc.   My goal is to start using mine more, so be on the lookout for more projects here on my blog.

Friday Mashup: Halloween

I finally found some time to do a challenge today!   I made my next design team card for Freshly Made Sketches (well, I did two because I didn't love the first one) and then I had a bit of time left to do a challenge card!  I decided to try the challenge at The Friday Mashup and really mash it up and do both Halloween and the colors!  

Isn't this fun?   I love the embossed panel and of course my witchy owl.  I couldn't get a good picture where the sentiment didn't look so washed out, so you'll have to use your imagination a bit there.  

Stamps:  Teeny Tiny Wishes, Wicked Cool

Ink:  Staz On Black

Paper:  Concord Crush, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black, Whisper White, Brights DSP stack

Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Spider Web embossing folder, Little Leaves sizzlit, Owl builder punch

Simply Sent Special

One of the specials for October is a free coordinating stamp set when you purchase 2 of the Simply Sent Kits.   These kits are great for new stampers and for those times when you need a quick card, but still want something with a handmade look.   I plan to pick up several of them to give as gifts for the holidays.  I think 2 of the kits, the free stamp set, and a marker or ink pad all wrapped up would be a nice gift for both friends and family members.   It's a great way to share your hobby with others and possibly gain some new stampin' buddies. :)

Now the kits themselves are great, but I decided to play around with mine a bit this morning and add in a few extras to dress them up.   :)  Just goes to show how they work for all levels of stampers, even demonstrators! I love that I have a gorgeous card and a matching gift box to give to someone special this Christmas.   (Big thanks to my fellow demonstrators Leena and Lael for the inspiration and box tutorial).   After making these, I decided to get 2 of this kit and add in a spool of ribbon and a package of the basic pearls for that special person on my gift list.  I hope she'll like it.  

If you'd like to order your kits, you can find them in my online store here or you can contact me to place your order.   Remember this special is only good for October, so don't wait too long or you'll miss out.

Club Project #3: Stockings!

Whew....I finally finished preparing for my clubs this week!  I was so used to prepping for 4 or 5 people, so going up to 12 was a wow moment for me.   I hope the ladies will enjoy them all.   I had to pull out my new favorite Stitched Stockings stamp set and its matching punch.    I also got in some fun new designer paper, Frostwood Lodge.  Isn't it cute?!   I can't wait to cut into the woodgrain paper in that one!   :)

Stamps:  Stitched Stockings, Petite Pairs
Ink:  Wild Wasabi, Garden Green
Paper:  Real Red, Whisper White, Garden Green, Frostwood Lodge designer paper
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Houndstooth embossing folder, Stocking builder punch, Mini Clothespins (TOO CUTE!), Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps

Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps are a brand-new product and perfect for crafters and non-crafters, alike--not to mention kids!

The easy-to-use cookie stamp has a solid wood handle with three interchangeable stamp images: a heart, a jack-o-lantern, and a snowflake.

Just make your favorite shortbread cookie dough (or one of the two included recipes) and stamp away! Create beautiful, hand-stamped cookies in a flash. The stamp images are completely food-safe and child-friendly.

Now I'm not a cookie maker, but the easy recipes that come with the stamps make yummy cookies that work well with the cookie stamps.    I've made both and they received rave reviews from my sweet customers. 

 Assembled ingredients; not too many, right?   Long lists of ingredients scare me, so this was a good start. 

My Kitchenaid mixer whipped up the dough easily and I was ready to start rolling!

Next step, roll in sugar. Mmmm...sugar!  :)   

Now comes the fun part, stamping!   Doesn't this look fun?   You just press down on the balls and lift!  You get a nice flat cookie with a cute image in the middle.  Easy peasy!  

Aren't they pretty?! The heart stamped cookies are the sugared shortbread that I made for my club last month.  Below are the sugar cookies that I made for my class last week.   Both are yummy, so you can't go wrong with whichever one you decide to make!

Are you ready for the details so you can order yours today?   :)

Item Number  125152  Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps:  Includes solid wood handle with three interchangeable stamp images, two recipes, and tips for use.   $16.95

Don't forget these coordinating products that will help you make some beautiful gifts for the holidays!

19	Simple Snowflake Single Stamp	$8.95
20	Homemade Single Stamp	$9.95
162	Creatively Yours Set	$18.95
194	Baker's Twine	$2.95
224	Lots of Tags Sizzlits Die Set	$21.95
15*	Kraft Gift Box (4)	$2.95

If you'd like to give these a try, come to my Try It Thursday class on November 17th!  The cost is only $10, but I'll waive that if you purchase the featured bundle that day. Either way, you'll go home with a completed project or cards and have a fun time stamping. :)  This event will feature the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps, the Kraft Gift Boxes, and Stampin' Up! fabric.   Please RSVP by the 13th to reserve your spot.