FM35: Shake it!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project featuring "A Shaker Card".
2. Or Make a project with a "Winter Theme".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Winter Themed Shaker Card. "

*Shaker Card Tutorial 

Oh yeah...you are going to have that song in your head all day!   I keep replaying the scene from Beetlejuice in my head as I sing it...   Anyway!  This week is my first turn to host a challenge at The Friday Mashup!  Woo Hoo!   I was a bit nervous about coming up with an idea, but I think it turned out to be a fun one!    I purchased a package of the Shaker Frames from Stampin' Up! ages ago, but never found the time to try them out.   By incorporating them into my challenge, I actually USED them!   It's nice to use the things you buy!  :o)  Here's what I came up with:  

I was inspired by my fellow Freshly Made Sketches design team member Jen Mitchell to pull out some of my retired designer paper and use it for a few Christmas cards.   This sheet was loose, so I'm not sure of the original name.   I just know it was gathering dust.  :)   My snowman is all snug in his shaker frame filled with mica flakes.    There was a bit of a trick to using the frames and the flakes, but I think I managed to pull it off okay.   I didn't end up screaming or throwing anything and that usually equals success in my world.   Now the photography?  Not so successful.  Whisper White and rhinestones never photograph well, so this card didn't stand a chance of looking good.   It is pretty cute in real life, so you'll just have to trust me on that!  

Be sure to come play along with us!   

Stamps:  Snow Much Fun 

Ink:  Real Red, Marina Mist, Staz On Black, Pumpkin Pie

Paper:  Real Red, Marina Mist, Whisper White, retired dsp

Tools/Accessories:  Circles # die, Window Sheets, 2 3/8 scallop circle punch, 1 3/4 circle punch, dotted scallop ribbon border punch, basic rhinestones, shaker frames, mica flakes

Oh my! I stamped today!

Believe it or not, I actually stamped something today!   Nothing like stamp club tomorrow night to get me in my room creating. :)    I am usually not a last minute person, but I sure have been cutting it close lately.  I hate that because my creativity is not its best under pressure.    I have a nice pile of rejects on the corner of my desk and one more project left to design.   I did repurpose one of my previous designs for one of them, but this one is brand new, hot off the presses.   Isn't it pretty?   I don't know why I've been feeling vintage lately.  It is so NOT my style, but I keep wanting to use browns and pinks and sponge everything!   This was my first time using one of the stencils from Stampin' Up! and I have to say, I'm a bit in love.  

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:  Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Paper:  Early Espresso, First Edition DSP, Blushing Bride, Very Vanilla

Tools/Accessories:  Kind Thoughts stencil, sponge daubers, Fun Flowers die, 3/4 circle punch, Antique Brads, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, basic pearls

Wish me luck getting that last project finished and the house clean!  I think I have my first official cold of the winter and I just want to snuggle in bed with the kitties.  

FMS13: Square Leaves

Time for another fun sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!    Lesley is our hostess this week and has challenged us with the awesome sketch!  The possibilities are endless as you can see from the samples from the design team.   I hope you'll find a bit of time to play along!

Are you confused?   I've been having a horrible time dealing with the holidays these past few weeks and I think that might be a part of why I haven't had any desire to stamp.   When I sat down to make my card for this week, I gave myself permission to make whatever came to mind, even if it was totally the wrong season.    My Spice Cake paper and Gently Falling stamp set are two of my favorite products, so I grabbed them, hugged them, and got to work.   While it is still not a masterpiece, I actually like it.   Well, minus the crooked sentiment. Don't you hate when you get to that last step and mess up?   I even used my stamp-a-ma-jig!   I think I was just tired by the time I finished and my eyes were crooked.   :)   

I hope you'll go check out the blog and see all the other gorgeous samples that the design team created to inspired and motivate you.  I can't wait to see what YOU create!

Room Makeover

While I haven't been stamping too much, I did get to redo my room a bit over the past few weeks.  It is much nicer to work in there now.   I feel like everything finally has a place!   I still need to get some baskets and bins for my shelves, but it feels like it is really starting to come together.    

This is the most popular area of the room.   My three furries battle over who gets the luxurious window seat.    Bandit usually wins of course.  :)

The Big Shot station is still in the same spot.  Nothing too exciting there.  It is fun to see my collection of dies grow each time I take new pictures.  :)   My birthday is coming up next month and it will be growing again when use my awesome Stampin' Up! birthday discount to get the Tasteful Trim die!  

My punches!   I might need to rethink this as my rack is a bit full.  I'll probably just lose the non-SU ones as I never use them them anyway.   There's always the back side of the door too, right?  

My bookshelf needs some work, but at least it looks semi-organized for now.   It was crowded and a hot mess!

My favorite part of the room, my stamps!   I can't seem to part with my retired ones, so there is a mix of current and retired on my shelf.   I still have way too many, but I'm trying to do better about that.   Lately my purchases have been Big Shot dies, accessories, or ink/paper to finish off my color family collections.  

Here's my desk with a card in progress.  I love that I can work neater now that things have a place to go!   I tried to keep the stuff I used a lot (ink pads, stamps) near my desk so that I can put them back right when I finish with them.  I also love having my computer/TV monitor right on my desk.   My awesome husband got that for me last year and it is great.   

Finally, all my new shelves that make up the other side of the room.   Bella is on her way to fight for the window seat or claim the bit of sunshine that's on the floor.   :)   I love these shelves from Target!  I have 3 large ones and one small one now and they are just perfect.   They just need some baskets and should be perfect!  

Anyway, just thought I'd share that.   I hated my room for ages and this has really helped.   All I did was purchase 3 new shelves and rearrange a bit.  I think it looks like a real craft room now!   I just need to work on decorating the walls a bit and figuring out exactly where to store everything so that I can work efficiently.  

Elegant Elizabeth

Here's another card we made at my last class.   I thought it would be work for different occasions, including a wedding or birthday.  (and yeah, black and white cards NEVER photograph well...sorry!)   I love the Elizabeth stamp; it is so elegant and I think all the sentiments from Teeny Tiny Wishes will fit in the oval.   We embossed it with black embossing powder and added some spritzing before matting it on a torn piece of First Edition designer paper.   Some pearls and black satin ribbon were the perfect embellishments to finish it off.

I apologize for my lack of posts recently.  I haven't been feeling that great due to the weather changes.   Every front that blows in seems to bring along whatever it is I'm allergic to.   The constant sinus headaches have just worn me out.   I hope that's what is wrong with my creativity; I haven't made a card that I truly love in a while now and it is a bit depressing.   Do you go through that?   I keep hoping for a break from exhaustion and headaches along with the return of my mojo.   I should get some new Valentine's Day stamps in this week, so maybe they will be the thing I need to get back on track.

Have a wonderful week!   Don't forget the Online Extravaganza is still going until the 30th.   There are some great stamp sets on sale for 50% off and a nice bundle of heart/love stamps/wheel that would be perfect for getting a head start on your Valentine's projects.

FM34: Chocolate Christmas

Here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project featuring "A Christmas Theme".
2. Or Make a project using the colors "Aqua, Chocolate and White".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Christmas themed project using the colors Aqua, Chocolate and White".

First, I apologize for the late post today!   For some reason, my scheduled post disappeared!   I can't find it anywhere on Blogger, so I have no idea what happened.   Hopefully I didn't create it on the wrong blog or it end up double-posting on this one.   Very weird!  

Anyway, the challenge for The Friday Mashup is a fun one this week!    I love any excuse to pull out my Holiday Happiness set and I thought it would be perfect for this challenge.   I don't know why I love this set so much.  Maybe it reminds me of the infamous Charlie Brown Christmas tree?  :o)    To give a bit more interest to my card, I added some bling in the form of Dazzling Diamonds and Basic Rhinestones.  

I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving!   We had a great day full of good food and good friends.   I'll try to post a few pictures later this weekend.   If you are out in the Black Friday madness, stay safe!   I'm heading back to bed with my kitties for a bit more sleep!   

FMS12: Gentle Spice

It is Wednesday and time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!   Jen created this gorgeous sketch for us to work with this week; isn't it awesome?!   I hope you can take a break from the turkey and bargain shopping to stamp along with us this week!

Here's what I came up with for this week.   Now to be honest, I don't love it.   I think I should have used MUCH LESS Soft Suede or something.  I do love parts of it, like the Spice Cake designer paper and the leaf from Gently Falling.   I just wish I could have showcased them a bit better.  I'm just starting to experiment with circles on my card, so hopefully my next attempt will work out a bit better!  

Be sure to stop by and see what the rest of the design team has created to inspire you this week.   I promise they did a much better job than my poor card!   :)

For all my American friends, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!   We already started preparing some of our goodies today and I'm so excited!   

Simple Gently Falling

I thought I'd share another card we made at my last class.   I LOVE this one because it combines so many of my favorite things...Gently Falling, woodgrain paper, baker's twine, and embossing!    I love how simple it is even with all those elements!   This is a color combination I've used before and one I will definitely be using again; I just love how it looks!

Stamps:  Gently Falling, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Early Espresso, So Saffron, Calypso Coral
Paper:  Early Espresso, So Saffron, Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge
Tools/Accessories:  Big Shot, Stripes embossing folder, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, color spritzer tool, paper snips