Happy H*OWL*oween!

OK, corny title I know. And there are lots of cute sayings for owl stamps out there too! Anyway, thanks to my UPS guy (substitutes are always behind) finally arriving with my Top Note Die for my Big Shot I was able to complete my next Craft Fair project!! I am so excited I think they turned out adorable. Now I can't take all the credit... in fact, I really can't take any other than the labor involved. I completely copied this idea from Jackie Wright! I saw these on her blog the other day and just HAD to try them. So easy and fun and.. OK, I already said adorable. But I'm allowed to gush since it was in no way my idea. Go visit Jackie and tell her how stinkin' cute they are!!

The best thing about these is they are done entirely with Stampin' Up! punches plus the Top Note Die!! I used the scalloped circle, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1/2" circle punch and the 3/4" square punch. The cardstock is Kraft, Really Rust, Barely Banana (or So Saffron) and Chocolate Chip. Creamy Caramel ink is sponged around the edges for some dimension. For the beak I folded a 3/4" square in half then kind of bent the outside corners to make little tabs to glue down. I love the dimension this adds for a craft fair item, but if I were to do more of these for a classroom project for my kids I would probably use the photo corner punch for the beak. It would save time and effot and still look cute. Here's a closeup of one:

Thanks for poppin' in today! I'll see if I can work on my perpetual calendar now and get that posted tomorrow... we'll see. I'm feeling a bit cross-eyed.

Only 2 Days Left!

Don't miss out on the 15% off Never Before Seen Stamps promotion that is only going on through September 30th, that's tomorrow! Click on the link to the right and make sure you've got everything you want from this list! You may contact me to place your order or click on Shop Now! at the right and place your order yourself. (cards shown here are NOT my own design, they are provided by the Stampin' Up! Website)

I'm trying to be patient waiting for my UPS guy Rob today so I can put together some more craft fair items I'm excited about. They will be super quick so as soon as he arrives I'll throw them together and post a picture for you!

In the mean time, I am working on a perpetual calendar for ME! That's right- something just for me! If it goes well I might make a few to sell, but we'll see... Hopefully I'll get it done today and be able to post it soon too!

Also, an update on my winning entry for the SU contest... it hasn't posted to the SU website today so I'm guessing it will be tomorrow. I've been told it could be either so one more day of waiting I suppose...

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin~

Birthday Invite & More Craft Fair Stuff...

Yes I've been busy... too busy to post yesterday I guess. Here is the birthday invitation my daughter helped design that we've been working on this weekend. Can you guess what kind of party she wants? You guessed it- roller blading at the local roller-rink. We'll see how that goes with a bunch of 6 & 7 year olds! It is complete with black chunky glitter, brads (of course) and moving wheels. This wasn't too hard. I free-hand drew the basic shape then added details with the Word Window punch for the straps and the circle punches for the wheels.

Next up... beaded pens and magnetic chipboard coaster post-it note holders. Phew, that's a mouthful! I only had a handful of chipboard coasters (including three more I haven't finished yet) so I won't have many of these but they turned out so cute I think! I may just have to keep one for myself. Both sides of the coaster are covered with a Stampin' Up! pack of designer paper including (from left top) Ginger Blossoms, Urban Garden, Wintergreen, Summer Picnic and Spring Fling.

This is the first I've made the beaded pens. They were fun and not too hard. I have learned that you really need to use bright colors for them to show up under the clear micro beads. I've got 6 more of those I can make.

Everyday I am thinking of more things to make for these craft fairs coming up. I hope I have time to make most of them. Tomorrow when my Top Note Die gets here for my Big Shot I'll be making some cute Halloween treat bags that I found on-line- adorable! I'll be sure to post those as soon as I can. They should be fairly easy since they are entirely made of punches and the die cut.

Thanks for stopping by! (And a special hi to my Mom who says she read my ENTIRE blog yesterday! Hi to Dad too!)

Magnet & Coaster Tiles...

MORE craft fair stuff! I have been doing the quickest projects first so dug into my stash of tiles yesterday and stamped on every single one of them! Now I'm bummed I don't have more- the closest store to stock up is about 30 miles away. Anyway, the 2x2's are magnets (or will be when I glue the magnets on) and the 4x4 are tile coaster sets. I made four in each design. They will have corkboard on the back and packaged together somehow, probably with ribbon and a tag. I tried to cover a variety of styles with all of these, and while I certainly don't love all of them I hope someone will!

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow I'll post the Birthday Invite that my daughter helped design for her party coming up next month. Can I just say that I'm in big trouble with her... she'll be 7 and her design includes chunky glitter, 3 different SU punchs, brads and moving parts!

~Kristin

PS- Isn't early morning sunshine just wonderful?!? That's what I'm grateful for today!

Oh My! I WON!!

I am so excited! Do you remember this post here?? Well it is part of a class idea I submitted for a contest Stampin' Up! held for demonstrators earlier this month and I was one of 4 winners! I can't believe it. I worked really hard on it since the requirements included pictures, directions and pricing for a class. The winning ideas will be posted on the SU Website on Monday and I get to choose a free stamp set! Can't beat FREE! Well, sorry to be a tease, but I'm still not going to post everything until I actually am ready to take registrations for this "award-winning" class which will be held on November 23rd. RSVP's will be required by Nov. 9th so mark your calendars and stay tuned...

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

Working on Craft Fair Stuff!

I don't know what I've gotten myself into! I've signed up for not one, but TWO craft fairs. One on October 18th in Kenton, Ohio and one November 8th in Columbus, Ohio! I've never done one before where I could actually sell stuff so I'm furiously working to have a nice variety of gifts, stocking-stuffers and other hand-stamped items. I think my mom might be sending some of her hand-made decorative pillows for me to sell as well! She does the best work- my kids' beds (and mine too) are loaded with pillows from grandma. She even made all new pillow covers & coordinating throw pillows for our couch and loveseat!

For those of you who have asked (multiple times in some cases) if I would ever consider selling my cards... well, now the answer is finally YES! My stash is way bigger than I could ever send and while many of these are my favorites, it is time to say goodbye. I will have a LOT of cards for sale!

So far I have also made tile coaster sets, small tile magnets and luggage tags for suitcases, backpacks, diaper bags and more! This is just in the last three days! PHEW! I've got plans to make much more and a huge list that I could never possibly accomplish, but it's OK to dream, right?! I'll post pics as often as I can in the coming days and weeks.

If you are interested in attending either of these locations feel free to leave a comment or contact me and I'll get more information to you. I'm sure I'll post more details as the days get closer as well.

So far I only have pictures of the luggage tags I made yesterday so I'll post that now. Sorry I'm not going to list all my supplies for these but I can tell you that everything except for about 2 strands of ribbon are by Stampin' Up! In fact, it's only the white and offwhite ribbons on the "Game On" tag that are not SU. I have no idea if these will sell or not, but I'm thinking I might take my alpha stamps along and offer to customize them on the spot (on the back of course). What do you think? Any suggestions? I have three left that I can make but I got sick of them yesterday!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin~

My GSG Swap Card

These were due on Saturday so I think it's safe now to post my card without disappointing my GSG buddies that they saw it too early.

This is fairly simple and straight-forward. I really wanted to use some of the luscious Urban Garden DSP so I cut a piece into 1" strips then cut them to 2.5" long each. I needed 45 of these so they couldn't be too large or I'd run out of paper. Mounted these on the whisper white piece which is mounted on the Not Quite Navy card front. The card front is stamped with the Stitched background in whisper white- I love how that turned out! For the greeting I used the Wide Oval punch I finally got with the scallop punch behind it. The flowers and "friend" are from Pocket Silhouettes which is the set I signed up to use. "Friend" was inked with the marker and the edges of the oval were "sponge-daubed" with Baha Breeze ink. The entire thing is on Stampin' Dimensionals. Hope you like! Can't wait to get back swaps from my amazingly talented GSG pals!

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Stitched

Cardstock: Urban Garden DSP, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Whisper White, Baha Breeze

Accessories: Scallop punch, Wide Oval punch, Not Quite Navy marker, Baha Breeze grosgrain ribbon, Sponge Daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals

PS- Only 6 days left on the "Never Before Seen" promo! Check out the link at the right so you don't miss out! Remember, you may place an order at any time on-line (see Shop Now at right) or with my directly!

Wait! Don't leave!

You're in the right place! I just changed up my blog template, that's all. If you know me you'll know that I like change! I know, it's contrary to a lot of people, my DH included. But I am the one rearranging the furniture the night before I leave for vacation when I have a million other things I should be doing. Or changing my blog template instead of designing projects or adding new customers to my distribution list. It's a sickness I tell ya! I'm not even stamping to procrastinate today. I did make 2 dozen zuchinni muffins with the last of our zuchinni today!

I even got a HUGE order yesterday including the new BIG SHOT! and I haven't played with them yet. OK OK, I'm going! Hope you like the new template. Feel free to give your input. :)

A challenge to thank a caregiver you know!

Through browsing Lisa Henke's blog I have found a wonderful blogger, Cammie (Carolyn King) who is hosting a challenge to benefit something near and dear to her heart. She has asked for all who participate to please send a thank you to someone who cares for Alzheimers patients. Please see this post for details... but I'll tell you there are $1000 in donated products for the random lucky winner that posts the card he/she sent for this cause. I am glad to help Cammie out in her quest to thank these individuals- it must be a very difficult job for sure!

So, here is my card that I will be sending to a local nursing home. I don't know anyone directly that is a caregiver for Alzheimer's patients, but I hope receiving an anonymous thank you lets the recipient know she/he's appreciated!

On to the card details, the layout is from Beate's weekly Weekend Sketch Challenge. Who doesn't love Beate?! Colors are in recognition of the first day of Autumn today!

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out Cammie's great effort!

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Fresh Cuts

Paper: Haiku DSP, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Sponge dauber, distressing tool, label punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Chocolate Chip double stitched grosgrain ribbon, vintage brads, Crop-o-Dile (for embossing at bottom edge), scallop edge punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

Baby Album pages

As promised, here are the pages to the album I posted yesterday. If you haven't ever tried one of these chipboard albums you should! It was so much fun, and a real creative challenge to make sure everything "works" as far as what you see through the openings between pages etc. I actually did this in about 2 days I'd say. I have another one that says Friend that I need to start pretty soon. As a side note, there is absolutely NO stamping on this. I know, a travesty, but I was in a huge hurry and relied on my stash of Rub-ons and I have a new respect for those babies (loved 'em before too!). When in doubt, grab some rub-ons!!

If I may say so, my niece is pretty stinkin' cute so good pictures make a project like this fun! My sister and her DH are pretty good at capturing moments just right with the camera too. Anyway, I hope this doesn't bore you to pieces! I will list the supplies below in case you're wondering. TFL!

~Kristin

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Paper: Parisian Summer DSP, Whisper White CS, Pink Pirouette CS, Sahara Sand CS

Accessories: scallop punch, large oval punch, tons of SUO ribbon (many retired), Rub-ons: Love & Happiness, Eastern Elegance, and the NEW Chateau Bella, scallop edge punch

Non- SU Supplies

Accessories: album b y Bo Bunny, rub-ons "Little One", "Dream" & "Little Angel" are all from the same pack but I have had them for years and no brand name on them. Flowers with brads on "B" page- no brand again (sorry!), "Mom" "Dad" & "Lyla" on the last pages are by Making Memories; metal letters on front I bought at a garage sale with no brand.

My Niece's First Birthday

This weekend we celebrated my niece's first birthday! I bought this album to complete as a Christmas gift last year and am just getting to it. The album is by Bo Bunny but nearly everything else is Stampin' Up! only with the exception of a few of the rub-ons and the metal letters on the front cover. I'll post pictures of the individual pages with details this week some time. Hope you like it!

Sunset & an embellished mail organizer

I did this a few weeks ago and am not sure why I forgot to take a picture of it to share with you. I've had this mail organizer for several years (hence some of the smudges and marks on it) and I am ashamed to say the three windows came with preprinted pictures of some adorable little girl, though not my own, and I left it that way. Well, I can finally say I've done something to it. I stamped images for the three panels using Inspired by Nature, then went a step further and added rubons all over the place. It isn't perfect by any means, but it was fun and I'm not ashamed of it anymore!

Finally, yesterday's cards reminded me of a beautiful sunset, which we get to see off our back deck nearly every night! Here is a shot from last night, not the best photography, but you get the idea!

Striped Wipes Technique!!

I've done techniques with baby wipes before, and plenty with glossy white, but I've never done one that I am this excited about! How cool- it is fast and easy and fun! Love the look of it too. Anyway, here are two cards I've done with this technique. I thought and thought about how to further embellish them but in the end realized somethings are better left alone!

Hope you like and here is a link to the Tutorial for this technique. What do you think??

Stampin' Up! Supplies

(card 1)

Stamps: Stem Silhouettes
Paper: Glossy White, Eggplant Envy, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Eggplant Envy, basic black, whisper white
Accessories: Ink Refills: Eggplant Envy, Perfect Plum, Vintage Violet, Brilliant Blue, Buckaroo Blue; large oval punch, baby wipe, notched corner punch, Crafter's Tool Kit

Stampin' Up! Supplies

(card 2)

Stamps: Inspired by Nature
Paper: Glossy White, Basic Black
Ink: refills: Cranberry Crisp, Tangerine Tango, Marigold Morning, Kiwi Kiss, True Thyme, Basic Black
Accessories: spiral punch, wet wipe
Techniques: Striped Wipe

Eastern Blooms

Here's a card I did for yesterday's Sketch Challenge on SCS. I used the patterns pack which is a Level One Hostess set for Stampin' Up! Hostesses. The white piece is textured white cardstock which has been pierced, distressed and stamped on (sounds painful!). The stem from Eastern Blooms was inked completely with Baha Breeze then I used an old blender pen to remove the Baha from the flowers (as much as possible) then colored them with the Pretty in Pink marker. Not my favorite technique, let me tell ya. The large flower was inked with Pretty in Pink then I added a touch of Riding Hood red to the center and edges with a sponge dauber before stamping it. Glad you stopped by!

~Kristin (apologies in advance for the wonky spacing that will probably show up- argh! I still haven't figured out bloggers spacing issues!)

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Eastern Blooms
Paper: Textured White, Not Quite Navy Patterns, Pretty in Pink
Ink: Baha Breeze, Pretty in Pink, Red Riding Hood
Accessories: Sponge Daubers, Baha Breeze Grosgrain, Ice Rhinestone, Crafter's Tool Kit, Cutter Kit, Pretty in Pink marker

Holiday Greetings!

Are you ready for that yet- holidays I mean? I'm not sure I am as long as it's still warm out...

This is another of those posts from the past since I am knee-deep in projects and other efforts (think FIL's birthday, me in charge of special lasagna dinner tonight). I thought I'd share this card that is hands-down my most viewed (8574), commented (95) and requested card I've ever made. Isn't that funny?? I mean, I like it but gosh, I like others just as much.

Anyway, I offered directions in my gallery back when I posted this in October 2006 and I am still getting requests for them. Here is the abreviated version: first cut an oval from a sheet of thin typing paper and use it as a reverse mask- meaning lay it over the vanilla cardstock then sponge creamy caramel so make a subtle oval. Before removing the mask stamp trees from Lovely as a Tree and French Script (or other background). Remove the mask then stamp the entire piece with Linen & Weathered background stamps. Next, stamp the large tree and the greeting in craft ink (Handome Hunter in this example) and emboss with clear EP- throw in some dazzling diamonds while you're at it. Mat, layer, add some bradsm mabye some sponging and you're done.

The cool thing is I now see cards often with this basic technique- a masked oval in the background with a larger overlapping image and greeting- and I inwardly smile and take credit. :)

Anyway, maybe tomorrow I'll finish what I'm working on for my niece who just turned one and show it to you. It is so cute so far- if I do say so! I don't think she's blogging yet so it shouldn't ruin the surprise for her.

See ya tomorrow!

Gift Idea for Kids! Pen Pal Kit

Right now I don't have anything I want to post since my swap isn't due yet and I don't want to post that, and the sneak peek I gave a few days ago was of a contest entry I did for Stampin' Up! that I have decided will be my November Stamp camp so I'll show it in November (sorry for the teaser)... plus I am working on a birthday present for my niece's first birthday right now... In other words I am stamping but just nothing that I can share with you right now.

SO, I'm pulling something out of the archives that I've never shown on my blog. This is a birthday/going away gift I did for one of my son's good friends that moved out of state last year. I called it a PenPal Kit and filled it with stamped stationary, envelopes, mini pen, mini address book and stamps! I bought the mini storage trunk at Walmart then decorated the top and added divider tabs with all the goods inside! I think it was a hit... I know my kids really liked it and I was able to pull it together fairly quickly! Here are a few more views:

If you decide to try this I recommend buying the address book or stamps first and letting those guide your color choices. For this set I believe I used Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun and Bravo Burgundy.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to post a comment if you have any questions. I'll do my best to answer!

~Kristin

Pocket Silhouettes... (swap rejects)

I cannot get a good picture of this card for anything... it looks so nice in person, but just... I don't know, blurry and blah in picture. Well, you get the idea. So I have a swap due on FRIDAY and (shhh, don't tell) I just started designing for it last night. While I really like this one, it didn't make the cut because I don't have any more of the Pacific Point ribbon, and no other color will do- I tried! In fact, I actually cut apart the bookmark I made at convention to make this card- that's how desperate I was. (I can remake the bookmark with something else later- don't worry). The top row of flowers was stamped with white ink, middle row is Tempting Turquoise and the flowers on the label are in versamark.

Next up is another one I am happy with but after I made it I did some measuring and I don't have enough of the darker blue DSP left from Urban Garden to make 15 of these so it got scrapped as well (the idea, not the card). This is fairly self-explanatory I think. The sentiment piece is stamped on the new Large Oval with a scallop punched piece behind it. Colors are Baha Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Vanilla (decided later that Whisper White works better with these colors).

And finally, this one... another toughie to photo but I think I got it OK. This is done with the chalkboard technique. Stamped the flowers in white ink on the black cardstock then daub (yes that's a term) chalk over the ink which it sticks to. The scalloped strip at the top is Almost Amethyst a former favorite of mine, so I used that color chalk as well as the dynamic duo of Amethyst which is Lovely Lilac (check SU's color wheel if you don't believe me). For the stems I used Old Olive I believe. The label is punched out of vellum cardstock so the stems show through- which is the look I was going for and it worked. Of course the only downside is the backside of the brad is showing on the inside of this card. This is my first use of the filigree brads which I will continue to hoard until they are no longer available probably! That's just what I do with stuff I absolutely love! I'm not sure why this one got rejected- I guess I just wasn't sure it is up-to-par for Great Swaps stuff...

Does it look like I'm addicted to the new Scallop Edge punch?? Well, maybe so! And this stamp set... hey, it's on sale this month so why not! Plus, SU is looking for "Silhouette" projects for October's contest among demonstrators so maybe I'll send these in... we'll see. (If you're a demo thinking of submitting something consider these covered under a copyright blah blah blah, you know what I mean- don't copy them and pretend they're yours please.)

I will be posting these in my SCS Gallery sometime today so if you are looking for more specifics on product used check here. Just so you know, they are SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) like the vast majority of my stuff.

Thanks for looking and stop by again!

Kristin

Play Hard, Sleep Tight!

So I got a few pages done yesterday in my scrapbook and thought I'd share (since I have nothing else to share right now). This page, in my son's album, uses DSP from Jersey Shore- awesome paper for boy's pages as well as the Simply Scrappin' Kit called Creative License and the chipboard letters: Onboard Loads of Letters! I liked the natural color of the chipboard, but decided to add a little something to them....so the "play" letters were each stamped with the Canvas background in Brilliant Blue ink, and the "Sleep" letters were lined up and all stamped with On the Spot background all at once in Wild Wasabi. That is an easy way to jazz up chipboard and no mess! I used punches for the stars and made the moon by first punching a large oval out of paper, then right beside that hole it left, punch a new wide oval. Make any sense?!?

Anyway, I started out following 2 different layouts posted on SCS for scrapbook pages and ended up combining them (in other words not following either very well).
This page, although a different topic, is the same time frame and made to be the facing page in the layout. I used the same papers and ink colors. Journaling says "Whatever posessed us to let a 4 & 2 year old to eat melty, sticky ice cream cones in our somewhat new van I'll never know, but it was a treat!"

Well, thanks for stopping by today!
Kristin

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: On the Spot & Canvas backgrounds, Wonderful Words 2, Newspring Alpha

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Brilliant Blue

Paper: Jersey Shore DSP, Real Red

Accessories: Creative License Simply Scrappin' Kit, Wide oval punch, Large oval punch, large star punch, star punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Loads of Letters chipboard, Pumpkin Pie marker

Stampin' Up! at Country Living Craft Fair

Well, I'm back from the Country Living Craft Fair! It was fun, and would have been even better had it not been raining virtually the entire day. Or at least not pouring first thing in the morning when I needed to unload my car! It was nice meeting so many enthusiastic crafters, and either hearing them explain how much they LOVE Stampin' Up! or watching them discover the fun while stamping their own projects!

If you are visiting my blog today because we met there or you grabbed a catalog or brochure with my info, a great big HI! and thanks for stopping by!! If you would like to browse through my projects this is the place. If you are interested in my Stampin' Up! Website through which you can now place your own orders you may click here or look at the links in the left sidebar. I also have other links that you might want to check out as well. While you're here though, be sure to save me to your favorites so you can come back whenever you want!

I will be stamping later today, but this morning I'll leave you with the only picture I took yesterday (why oh why didn't I take more??). Come back again!

~Kristin

Sneak Peek!

Since I have nothing else to post right now I am giving you a sneak peek at something I'm working on but cannot post at this time (or I should say, am not ready to post yet). When I post the rest I'll include all the details for you!

In the mean time, I might not be posting tomorrow as I'm working a craft booth for SU all day. If I get a chance to upload something tonight I will, but it's doubtful. If not, I'll hopefully have something for you on Saturday!

TFL!

For Your Convenience: On-line Ordering now a Reality!

That's right, as of yesterday YOU can place your own orders at any time, with or without ME! Not that I don't want to talk to you, help you through an order or present a workshop for you... on the contrary!

BUT, if you wake up in the middle of the night and just can't go back to sleep without ordering the new Big Shot or you decide you want to cash in on a special on the last day and I am out of town, you can take care of it yourself! Just click on the logo in the left sidebar and it will take you straight to it on my Business Website!

I just browsed through it from a customer's perspective and I think it is really nice. Everything from our catalog is categorized for easy shopping. I noticed there are even links to our specials and to projects such as cards and scrapbook pages made with our products too!

Take a look and let me know what you think!

Color Challenge!

Yesterday I had a chance to participate in the Splitcoast Color Challenge (posted every Tuesday here). The challenge was to use Riding Hood Red, Green Galore and Going Gray. Well, like many others I had no Going Gray so had to substitute Basic Gray instead. I also challenged myself to get this done as quickly as possible as I had so much to do. Well, I didn't time myself but it didn't take too long which is probably why it's not the best card you've ever seen from me. I like it, just not my favorite. I keep eyeballing it wondering what I could change so that I LOVE it... let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: A Flower for a Friend, Little Pieces, Best Yet, Polka Dots BG
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, Green Galore, Whisper White
Ink: Green Galore, Basic Gray, Riding Hood Red, Versamark
Accessories: 1/2" circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, scallop edge punch, apple green grosgrain, Stampin' Dimensionals

Are you ready for a LONG post?!? Lots of pictures!

Does this card seem familiar? I CASEd myself for a Private Stamp Camp last night. The original card (also shown) I made for a color challenge, and though I like it I was afraid the colors might be a bit too funky for workshop guests so I toned it down some.

In the mean time I've found a new favorite color combo I think: Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Gray! This is actually on the new In Color color chart that SU publishes each year with the new In Colors. Their combo includes Not Quite Navy as well, which I chose not to use. If you don't already have this color combo chart I highly recommend it (as well as our color wheel) if you've ever sat down to make a card or scrapbook page and needed a boost to get started. I'd be glad to email it to whomever requests it! I print this chart every year and put it in plastic 3-ring binder sleeves (takes 2 usually) then tie them together with a small sample of the In Color ribbon! Then, I stick it in the large ziplock bag I keep all my In Color scraps in. Sounds anal?? Well, I guess so but it is so handy! I decided you needed a picture of these charts so here you go.

Up next, another of the cards we did at my Private Stamp Camp last night. This is a big take on the similar 3x3 that I posted a few days ago. This one is Sahara Sand cardstock (grabbed it by accident, but it works too!) with artichoke and vanilla. The vanilla stems are embossed with Vanilla embossing powder which makes them stand out and provides some depth and texture! I also switched the taffeta ribbon to this twill. I love it with this casual natural look. Obviously getting some use out of the new scallop square punch too!

Anyway, if you've made it to the end congratulations and thanks for hanging with me!

Good Monday Morning

I have a workshop this afternoon that I need to prepare for so this will be short & sweet... first up, a baby card I made last week and never posted... If you missed it I posted 2 baby boy cards last week so this week remembered I needed a baby girl card too! This Parisian Summer is perfect for a feminine card. I am also loving experimenting with the new square scallop punch. (Other supplies include: pink taffeta ribbon, rhinestone brad, silver hodgepodge, scallop edge punch, Felt Fusion Too and an embossing folder that is not by SU.)

Next up, 2 of the three scrapbook spreads I completed on Friday night. The third I am not showing just because it was my first of the night and fairly boring- no creative juices flowing on it. Once you see the other two you'll probably think "boy, if the first one was more boring than these it must have been really bad"! LOL! Just give me some time... I am a slow scrapper, 4+ years behind and need some time to get back into the flow!

The first layout here was done with the Designer Series Paper Jersey Shore- great bold primary colors for fun pages! Our last name is Moore (obviously) so I use that as a play on words sometimes. This one is called "Moore Cousins". There are 18 altogether, including step-kids and one great-grandchild! Phew- makes for large family dinners!! The brads are brilliant blue and the alphabet is my favorite, the retired Whimsical. Also used the small oval punch to label the pictures.

The second page is of our dog Daisy when she was a puppy. She is a little black 'n tan coon dog and the sweetest thing ever, although she is a barker (I think all coon dogs are). This page I used the Cerise prints paper and Close to Cocoa Prints (all SU retired papers). The title was done with the Mod Alphabet and punched with circle punch. Also used the scallop punch, jumbo eyelet and SU ribbon: Real Red grosgrain, Chocolate Chip polytwill & Real Red striped grosgrain.

Thanks for stopping in, hopefully more to come tomorrow!

Fun Weekend!

I'm back- Phew! What a weekend! What a blast at Cedar Point! My newest SIL invited my DD and I to join her for FREE at Honda Day at Cedar Point. She and my BIL work there but "the boys" (our DH's and my son and FIL) were all at a trapping convention so they were doing "their thing"! Anyway, we had so much fun! For the first several hours we took the 3 younger cousins to the smaller rides (they are 6, 7 & 8) while the teenagers went off on their own. Then we met up and left them all to hang out while my SIL and I ran off like teenagers to ride the big girl rides!

OH MY GOODNESS! I hadn't ridden a coaster for TEN years and was concerned that maybe I'd gotten too old to hang with the big dogs... well, let me tell you, we HUNG with the big dogs! We didn't have much time to ourselves so we did whatever was closest at the time, starting with the Corkscrew. An oldie but a goodie. Next, we did the unthinkable- the Dragster! We were so nervous while in line, I thought my sister-in-law would back out! But we did it, 125 miles per hour I believe, and it was over in mere seconds! You go from a standstill to 125 mph in 4 seconds I think- what a gut wrencher! Then it's straight up, literally, and straight back down again (I think they said 20 stories high!). YIKES! It was such a rush. Anyone who's been there knows just what I'm saying.

Next we did the Millenium Force which was even better, if that's possible and ended with the Mantis (a big disappointment after the other two). I only wish we had time for the Raptor and the Maverick and all the others. I told her next time we're leaving the kids at home with a babysitter. LOL! So much fun, and I'm so glad I haven't outgrown those coasters yet!


Anyway, I took a bunch of pictures but they are either blurry or just plain horrible (imagine a 6 year old taken a picture of the adults from her level... let's just say double chin shots that would never get published!). I will post this one of my DD since it is cute, and I have her permission. :) No we didn't win this gigantic shark, some young guy offered it because he didn't want to carry it. The kiddos fought over who got it and the adults fought over who HAD to take it. I WON! ;)

Tomorrow I will post a picture of a card and maybe the scrapbook pages I did on Saturday (although, I'll have to admit I'm better at cardmaking) but tonight the light just isn't working for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sorry no photo today, just excuses!

Sorry I won't be posting until Sunday at the earliest. Had to work on an upcoming workshop today, then a friend stopped by to scrapbook tonight, tomorrow morning will be going to Cedar Point Amusement Park bright and early and not returning 'til Sunday afternoon. Phew! What have I accomplished in the mean time?? Well, I did a very overdo fall cleaning in my bedroom (picture LOTS of thick dust!)- even pulled furniture out, did woodwork etc. I even found some missing objects and discarded many things! Also, did 6 scrapbook pages tonight and designed a few cards for an upcoming workshop... plus laundry, cleaned kitchen floor, picked up and did dishes. Isn't that enough excuses? Going to bed now.....

Oh, by the way, I was my OWN 14,000th viewer!! How cool is that?!?

Blog Bling from Allison!

Allison, from Sweet Impressions, kindly sent me a little "Blog Bling" the other day. Thanks Allison, what a fun surprise and an honor! Be sure to check out Allison's neat blog- she is the one who's card I linked as a big inspiration for yesterday's post. And no, I didn't bribe her for this award- in fact I hadn't even told her yet because I'd forgotten where I saw her beautiful card until I visited her blog!

So here are the rules of the award:

1. The winner can put the logo on their blog

2. Link the person you received your award from

3. Nominate 7 other blogs

4. Put links of those blogs on yours

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.

So here goes. I would love to nominate every blog I ever look at, but that would take... awhile! Here are a few that I found that have not already been awarded (as far as I could tell). Love your blogs ladies!!!

Britiney Jean

Jill

Kendra

Angie

Kim

Lynn

I'm going to stop there. I wanted to include Vera as well but the link to her blog isn't working for some reason... I'll try again later!

Sweetly Feminine

SU Supplies

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, It's Your Birthday

Cardstock: Pink Piriouette, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Parisian Summer DSP

Accessories: Scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop Edge punch, Swiss Dots CB folder, Narrow pink organdy ribbon (retired)

Here's the sweetly feminine birthday card I promised yesterday. Still not mentioning who this is going for just in case it hasn't arrived yet (yes, a hint might lie within)! The DSP I used here is from the Parisian Summer pack, which I just love! I used to just abhor girly pinky colors... who'd have known I'd love them as I get older?!? This layout kind of stemmed from Tuesday's sketch challenge at SCS. I strayed a tiny bit, but I think that's OK.

Since this paper is double sided I cut it long on the top and bottom then scalloped the edges and scored them to fold them forward and glued shut. I am really liking this look.

I know this is an SUO blog (Stampin' Up! Only) but every blue moon I might slip in something that is not available through SU. In this case it's the swiss dots cuttlebut folder that my dear friend Jackie Pedro sent me for my birthday in April! I just love the texture and detail it adds to a card! Will be using again for sure!

Next up is the cool color combo I came up with yesterday... Kiwi Kiss and Brocade Blue! Funny thing, I started out wanting to use my wide brocade ribbon, went to the color wheel to get started, saw Old Olive and went with Kiwi instead for a modern twist! Ended up not using the Brocade ribbon at all.

I need to add that this is not my favorite card in the world... I like the colors and the overall idea... but there's just something that I can't put my finger on.

The main panel is actually stamped on tissue paper then glued to kiwi cardstock and trimmed, then mounted on vanilla cardstock (the Faux Silk technique). If you happened to notice the image is backward (give yourself a pat on the back for knowing your stamps so well) I did that on purpose just because...

Thanks for looking! More to come.

SU Supplies

Stamps: Fresh Cuts

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla

Accessories: corner rounder, kiwi grosgrain, Styled Silver Hodgepodge, vanilla EP, tissue paper, distressing tool, small oval punch

Catching up on overdue cards!

I have some dear on-line pals that I've had on my list to send cards to and just haven't gotten to it for a while... so today's the day! I am posting these without listing who they are for... a few reasons, but mainly because they didn't make the mail box today.

This first one was something that came to me in almost a vision. I was inspired by a variety of cards and wonderful stampers, too many to name. I loved this idea by Sandee2 to make some of the grasses into cattails... but now that I'm viewing hers again I realize I should've left a tip of the grass above the brown piece... oops! I also LOVED this card by Allison which lead me to my "vision"with her colors and use of the grasses alone!

This chair (embossed in clear EP) is from an old retired set called Shore Thing that I've always liked. The edges are sponged with vanilla craft ink to make it look a bit more soft and thoughtful I guess. The grass is stamped both in Sahara sand and in Always Artichoke. The sentiment, from an old hostess set Warmest Regards as well as the antique brass hodgepodge are retired also.

Stampin' Up! Supplies

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Shore Thing, Warmest Regards

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Kraft

Ink: Sahara Sand, Always artichoke, Chocolate Chip craft, Very Vanilla

Accessories: sponge, Horizontal slot punch, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware, clear EP


This next set, in the same color scheme, is a couple of 3x3 cards that I was experimenting with. As much as I like the first one I almost dislike the second one. My sponging is a bit heavy I guess or else I'd like it better. On the left I first stamped the artichoke flowers then stamped them again in vanilla and embossed them in vanilla. The one on the right also has artichoke and vanilla but you can't see the lighter ink in the picture much at all.

Tomorrow I'll be posting a sweetly feminine birthday card showcasing the soft and pretty Parisian Summer DSP, as well as a fun color combo with the Faux Silk technique! Stop back!

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Cardstock: Kraft, Always Artichoke Patterns (level one hostess)

Ink: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Scalloped edge punch, Kraft taffeta ribbon