Happy Retirement!

Do you do "rustic" and "distressed"? I read a fellow stamper's blog recently (whom I adore!) that said she NEVER does distressing or sponging- just not her style. I thought about that for a moment and thought- "Gosh, how can she live without distressing sometimes??" Well, you've probably noticed that I do this a lot- not that I don't love a super clean style, I DO, but sometimes distressing can hide mistakes like ink smudges or uneven cuts, even an old cutting blade that roughs up the edge. It also lends nicely, I think, to masculine cards and more earthy and natural styles (like mine).

Anyway, I just found it interesting that some never do this and I still LOVE their cards! Neat! So what about you? Have you ever distressed or do you rely on these techniques often?

In any case, this card is all about distressing! First I clear embossed the pheasant then used an oval template to sponge a one-layer "frame", with a bit more ink around the bird to make him stand out more. Isn't Soft Suede (our new In Color) just perfect for this?!! It reminds me of those old time sepia photographs!

After I stamped the wheat from this same set- Autumn Days- I punched the horizontal slot (vertically- LOL) to thread the dotted grosgrain though. Distressed the edges, stamped the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes with the SAMJ then.... brace yourself, it was hard... I crumpled the whole thing like it was going in the trash! You should've seen the looks on my kids' faces!

Hope you like!
Thanks for stopping!
~Kristin

PS- This was scheduled to post on Tuesday night but it didn't work. Sorry 'bout that!

Razzleberry & Rub-ons

Not much time to stamp lately, but I was able to whip this one out today. Since I had a few minutes I decided to check out the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS today featuring Dawn L. HERE is her card that I decided to CASE. I basically used her layout and design but changed everything else. Everything is coming in the new catalog except the rub-ons (old Eastern Elegance by SU). The rest is all in the new In Color Rich Razzleberry!

Hope you like it! I am finding that my older rub-ons like these don't work as well once I let them sit too long- I really struggled with the tiny flowers and had to add the rhinestone brads to help hide some booboos! Isn't the white just sharp against that Razzleberry?!!

Gotta run, thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

Happy Bird-Day!

Excuses, excuses... that's all I've got for being so late on my Diva's Coffee Break Design challenge today. I had a migraine for most of the day, but my biggest problem and most valid excuse is miserable computer problems. I uploaded my picuture probably a dozen times to my computer from my camera but it just wasn't there. I don't know what it was but I ran defrags, deleted gobs of old programs, and rebooted like 10 times and finally was able to manually upload one at a time! YIKES!

Anyway, I'm finally here (and I know it has been so long since I posted last- sorry!!). We've been doing some major landscaping projects in this crazy heat and are now planning to be out of town for a while so I'll hopefully get some stamping done tomorrow so I can post ahead a few.

So here is the sketch we were to use for today. It is very symetrical for my asymetrical nature but that is the challenging part- and I think I like how mine turned out. I love this color combo of Real Red, Apricot Appeal and the new Soft Suede!

The little birdie from Pun Fun is watercolored with ink from the lids and an aquapainter. The hat and candle are from Party Hearty.

What do you think of the little pumpkin pie felt flower and styled silver hodgepodge brad? I think the pumpkin is nice with the apricot.

Anyway, hope you have time to play along with me and the other Divas! We'd love to have you join us! Check out the DCBD blog for more samples and Mr. Linky.

So glad you stopped by today!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun, Party Harty

Colors: Soft Suede, Real Red, Apricot Appeal, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Soft Suede dotted grosgrain, Styled Silver Hodgepodge, Felt Flowers, corner rounder

Big on Big Shot

Sparkleplenty100 kindly invited me to join in on the Midnight Madness sketch challenges today and I actually did it. I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off while babysitting for my niece, but she took a nice nap and my DD is being an awesome babysitter! I'm not exactly on target with the sketch as I used an oval instead of a rectangle for the main image, but I think you'll see the resemblance to the sketch. I also enjoyed participating in the color challenge on SCS from yesterday: Baha Breeze, Ruby Red and Whisper White. I hadn't used Baha Breeze in a while, and needed to for a final hurrah! I managed to just squeeze the Ruby Red in there on the sentiment. TFL!

The flowers are all punched out of glossy white cardstock- mostly just because it was laying here, but I like the extra shine it adds. I think I'd like this a touch better without the bracket at the top right, but I felt I should use it in order to follow the sketch provided- especially since there are prizes involved! ;)

Thanks for stopping by. I may be MIA the rest of the week until Sunday or Monday due to babysitting. In case you're wondering, she's 21 months old and I'm well beyond that age with my own so I just know I'm going to be worn out! Thanks for bearing with me and have a great weekend!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Paper: Baha Breeze, Parisian Breeze Specialty, vellum cardstock, whisper white
Ink: Ruby Red
Accessories: Big Shot, Jumbo white brads, boho blossoms punch, Flower Burst embosslit, Little Leaves Sizzlit

Textured Floral

We've got an inspiration challenge for you today over on Diva's Coffee Break Designs!! Check out this beautiful swatch- isn't it just divine? I had so many different ideas for this but not enough time so only did one. I started with the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Die and the Big Shot with the kraft cardstock. Once I got that gorgeous raised image I gently rubbed my Always Artichoke inkpad over the entire piece so only the raised parts would get ink (and a few of the edges too, but that's OK with me).

Once I had the rest of the card put together I decided to add a touch more color to the roses with the aqua painter and some artichoke ink. I spread it so it was very subtle- just adding a bit of shadow really.

The rest is probably fairly straight forward. I did use the sentiment and the small stem of flowers at the left from Fresh Cuts stamp set. And the large flower from Fifth Avenue Floral is stamped in white on the navy piece.

I must admit that the wide organdy ribbon in navy is by SU, but it retired quite some time ago. I sure do miss those lovely organdy ribbons!

Thanks for looking and be sure to check out the Diva blog for links to all the Diva's- then play along!! We'd love to have you!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Fresh Cuts

Colors: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Craft, Vanilla

Accessories: corner rounder, small oval punch, silver brad, Manhattan Floral Textured Impressions Die, Big Shot, Aqua Painter, Wide Navy Organdy ribbon

Simply Masculine

Yippee, I finally got to play along with the Mojo Monday sketch after missing a week or two. Well, today I was trying to clean off my desk some and noticed how nice the new Dusty Durango and Soft Suede look together... who am I kidding, Soft Suede looks good with nearly everything I think! Anyway, I just picked up a piece of Apricot Appeal to go along and here's what I came up with. The wheat and sentiment are both embossed in vanilla EP after being stamped in Versamark. The bottom half of the card is stamped with the retired Canvas background stamp for a bit of a worn, natural look; as well as the sponging and edge distressing. There is also a hint of the Weathered background in versamark on the Apricot layer- can you see it??

Anyway, I think this qualifies as simply masculine, don't you?! I love how rich the colors look toghether- not that I'm ready for fall by any means! Also, in case you haven't already noticed how versatile the new In Color ribbon is, I'm going to point it out. Notice how it isn't dotted on both sides so it can be used for whimsical or more sophisticated or even masculine cards!

Thanks for stopping and be sure to come back tomorrow for our Diva's Coffee Break Designs challenge! We've got a gorgeous inspiration piece to get you started!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Autumn Days, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Canvas background, Weathered background

Colors: Dusty Durango, Apricot Appeal, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Distressing tool, sponge, Vanilla EP, linen thread, library clip, Soft Suede grosgrain

Lemon Friendship

Yesterday's CAS challenge on Splitcoast was a sketch which also used a repeating stamp pattern on the main panel. I hadn't used my Tart & Tangy in a while so thought it would be perfect for the repetitive stamping. I was thinking that this sentiment set called Think Happy Thoughts is retiring but now I don't see it on the list so I was mistaken- woo hoo! This set is perfect when you want a circular sentiment!

I made the Gable Green layer open for the card so the back layer of YoYo Yellow could be scalloped all around. Hope you like it... off to stamp some more while my DD is entertained and I have the house to my self... ooh, but I SHOULD be out pulling weeds!

Thanks for stopping in!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Think Happy Thoughts

Colors: Yoyo Yellow, Gable Green, Basic Black

Accessories: Scallop edge punch, scallop circle punch, circle punches, black grosgrain ribbon

More Circle Circus

As promised, here are the other three. Since I held off getting these three colors of ribbon until my first new catalog order I had to improvise... in the mean time I am experimenting with some color combos with our new In Colors. First up is Dusty Durango and Brocade Blue. Next: Crushed Curry with Soft Suede, then: Melon Mambo with a soon-to-be retiring In Color Pacific Point.

Hope you like! I'm thinking I should be focusing on the In Colors that will be retiring soon because I have a bunch of ribbon left! We'll see- so hard to avoid the yummy new stuff.

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Kristin

Supplies

Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Dusty Durango, Brocade Blue, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Pacific Point.

Accessories: Big Shot, Scallop border punch, Curvy label punch, brocade blue wide grosgrain, Pacific Point grosgrain, Soft Suede grosgrain, Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder.

Circle Circus Trio

I made the Rich Razzleberry (left) one first with the stamping in black, and decided I liked the design so I remade the same card in all of the In Colors. Here are the first three since I already have the ribbon to match these. For the other three colors I came up with new color combos I like since I don't have the coordinating ribbons (YET!). You'll see those tomorrow.

These were fast and easy. I used the Big Shot to do the dots at the bottom but I must admit I did not use the Texturz Plate that SU offers. I struggled getting just the row of dots at the bottom of the card without the foam layer squishing out and wasn't happy with the results so I switched to my handy-dandy Fiskars Swiss Dots embossing folder. The NEAT thing about the Big Shot is the flexibility in being able to use so many other brands of dies and folders with it!

Aren't the dots in the ribbon so neat with the embossed dots and the doodled dots at the top, plus this fantastically fun stamp set?!? I can't wait to order the rest of the coordinating ribbons! And what do you think of the sentiments?? Those are all from the same NEW set called Teeny Tiny Wishes and there are 24 sentiments in total- it is such a functional set! Love it!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

Supplies

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Circle Circus

Colors: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razleberry

Accessories: Dotted grosgrain ribbon in colors listed above, White Gel Pen, Curly Label punch, Big Shot, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Another Sneak Peek!

Wild about the new Razzleberry Lemonade DSP! Here is a sneak peek of this gorgeous paper (2 of the patterns anyway). I just love the fun summery colors- reminds me of a cool drink or a cold yummy popsickle on a hot day! The stamp set I used here, Wild About You, is on the Last Chance list so don't miss out on it if you have been considering it.

I did this for yesterday's sketch challenge 232 over on SCS. I enjoyed combining the "old" and "new" here. The ink I used is Pumpkin Pie and the new In Color Melon Mambo, plus the white ink which I embossed with white powder.

Thanks for looking! Another set arrived today so I am hoping to get even more play time- especially since it is raining! See ya soon!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Wild About You (retiring!)

Colors: Melon Mambo (new In Color), Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Accessories: Razzleberry Lemonade DSP (available July 1!), square scallop punch, white taffeta ribbon, distressing tool, Word Window punch, White embossing powder

I'm back!!

And I've got new goodies to share! What a fabulous surprise today when my favorite UPS guy shows up a WHOLE DAY EARLY! My delivery was scheduled for tomorrow. Man oh man am I thrilled with our new In Colors! I think this Soft Suede is going to be my new favorite for WOW color combos!! This time I've combined it with the new Bermuda Bay for a striking combo. This is my new stamp set and sneak peek into the amazing new catalog (available in just 21 days!!). It is called Autumn Days. I inked up the pheasant with Soft Suede and a touch of Bermuda Bay on his head (this will be much easier once I have the markers!! details below) then cut him out and added a hint of Rich Razzleberry and more Bermuda Bay to his feathers with a sponge dauber. Don't you just love the names of our new colors?

You may have caught a glimpse of my family's lifestyle through my blog, which is very outdoorsy and my personal taste definitely leans towards earthy and natural so I just couldn't pass up this beautiful set with the pheasant and many leafy designs. I'm sure this wheat will be one of my favorites!

So what do you think of the new dotted grosgrain? I thought the dots were a bit much for this more masculine card (which is for my hubby for our anniversary coming on next week) so I turned it over and just let a bit of the dotted side show on the bow. They add some fun whimsy!

For the sentiment I embossed versamark ink with clear powder, intending to sponge a bit of vanilla over it so it pops... but guess what, it popped all on its own. So I left off the vanilla ink.

Did you know that the In Colors this year will be available in MARKERS?!!! Yes, that's right- we've been begging for these! Markers are a fabulous way to ink up just portions of a stamp, add coordinating details like dots and doodles, and also excellent for personalizing the inside with a note and the envelope with your hand-written address! I use my markers all the time and can't wait to order these!

Well, that's all for today. I'm going to leave you with a picture from my garden!

Thanks for visiting! Be sure to visit the DCBD blog to see all the other Diva's and their beautiful creations! Then be sure to play along with our sketch challenge.

~Kristin

SUO Supplies:

Stamps: Autumn Days, Sanded background, Sweet Little Sentiments (current level 1 hostess set that's soon to be retired)

Colors: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, vanilla

Accessories: Key Tag punch (retiring!), clear EP, Versamark, Jumbo Antique Bronze eyelet, Bermuda Bay dotted grosgrain, sponge dauber, distressing tool

Late for Diva Day!

Sorry I'm late for our weekly Wednesday Diva challenge! My new catalog came today and I just can't stop going through it... and that means all my new goodies came today so guess what?!! My Diva challenge will be done with new stuff! Woo hoo! Loving the new In Colors- can't wait to show you.... be back soon.
~Kristin

PS- I got a new cell phone yesterday too so I've been wanting to play with that... and my phone is ringing off the hook today! Yikes- so many things to do. At least my kiddos have friends over so they are entertained! BRB

My first circle card!

Guess what?! This is the first circle card I've ever done I think! Can you believe it? My downline let me borrow this large scallop die for the Big Shot (thanks Debbie, I promise to get it back to you ASAP) so I just decided to go for it! They aren't hard at all... in fact, I did this for yesterday's Clean & Simple challenge over on SCS. I was out of town until late last night so didn't get a chance to stamp at all over the weekend or yesterday so today's the day!

The CAS challenge was actually a color challenge this time- to use Kraft with any pink or coral color as well as any other one coordinating color. I dug through my bag of kraft scraps and found this circle which is how I decided on the circle card in the first place! The flowers were already punched and on my desk so I just cut the vanilla layer and the Cameo Coral scallop, stamped and was done. There are some tools involved, but I'd still call this CAS, how about you?

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Priceless

Colors: Cameo Coral, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Black ink

Accessories: Scallop Circle die, Flower Blossom die, Big Shot, Boho Blossoms punch, kraft corduroy button, kraft taffeta ribbon

Beach Towel Inspired Birthday!

OK, I'm back with this week's CAS challenge from SCS. I browsed through the Land's End beach towels and totes until I came up on this beach towel. I thought it is fun and colorful and something I'd like to use for inspiration. I picked this, and matching colors, a few days ago but didn't actually make my card until today.... which is when I decided to change from Green Galore to Kiwi Kiss without consulting my inspiration piece. Oops!

Well, you still get the idea I think! I also used the sketch that I posted yesterday hoping to do better on my second try. I'm much happier with this one!

I used papers from a variety of old SU papers: Bella Rose, Berry Bliss and some a print pattern that I think is in Purely Pomegranate... Everything else is current, I swear! (but not for long)

Hope you like it! Why don't you go check out these CAS challenges- they are fun and simple and usually pretty fast.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies:

Stamps: On Your Birthday

Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose, Berry Bliss, Purely Pomegranate Prints

Accessories: Daisies #2 die, Big Shot, 3/4" circle punch, button bouquet, linen thread

Quick & Easy: Miss you!

ETA: New picture... a little better.

What a fabulous sketch from the Clean & Simple Stamping blog but no matter how many photos I take I can't make this look like a "WOW" card! LOL!

The paper strips I used are from Pink Flamingo DSP by SU and the image is an oldie- a 2006 SAB set called Send a Celebration. I stamped it twice and cut out the pieces then layered them on a black circle... maybe if my circle had been turquoise it would work better?!? The "Miss You" is from Take Three stamp set which I inked using the black marker and then placed using the Stamp-a-majig (I know, it's still a bit crooked).

Well, even though it's not a WOW I wanted to share anyway since the sketch IS! What a perfect way to make a quick and easy card with impact that also can use up your scraps!

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to play along with this week's CAS sketch on SCS today since my best pal Lisa Henke has been announced as one of the newest Design Team Members!!! Congrats Lisa!!

Later,
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Send a Celebration, Take Three

Ink: Black

Paper: Whisper White, Pink Flamingo

Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, SAMJ, black & turquoise markers, white gel pen

Marigold Clematis

I'm late again, I'm sorry! This week I have no excuses I just forgot! I'm sorta glad I did though because I'm so happy with this card. I did break the DCBD rule of only current SU product however, so I will make another one that is "legal"... but I had an idea in my head this morning and just had to get it out on paper. I've been eyeing these colors together for a few days since I noticed my inkpads next to each other in my color caddy. They are old In Colors Marigold Morning, True Thyme and River Rock. Ever since I read a little hint yesterday about the potential for retired In Colors maybe being used again in some way, I've been excited and super glad I still have them ALL!

For this card I used today's sketch challenge on SCS with the three narrow panels. Funny thing is I had no intentions of making them a fence at first- I actually started by tearing one end. One thing led to another and I decided to round the ends by sliding them into my large oval punch (same punch that is behind the butterfly image). Added the slats with some retired River Rock grosgrain and added some sponging for depth.

Next, due to the DCBD Challenge to use the Big Shot today, I tried like the dickens to use those leaves behind the butterfly somehow but they just muddied up the look I was going for... finally I figured out that if I stack three of those leaf cutouts and add some little flowers it looks like a clematis growing up the fence (I LOVE clematis!) - at least I think so. The flowers are punched from Marigold Morning CS with the Boho Blossoms punch (that I've used every day lately- how did I live without that thing?!?) then slightly brayered with some Pumpkin Pie ink and crumpled before adding the brads.

The background stamped on the fence is Pretty Petals in versamark. I think the butterfly piece kind of looks like a Welcome placque hanging on a fence but I really didn't want to stamp Welcome so I added the "For You" sentiment at the bottom corner.

Here is the inside. I used another flower made the same as the front and the other images from this stamp set. I tend to let the inside go until I am ready to send the card, but sometimes they end up getting overlooked so today I just did it while I had the stuff out.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll go check out the other Diva's and their gorgeous creations for this week! Then you can play along with our challenge and link to the Diva site so we can check you out! Have a great day!

~Kristin

SUO

Stamps: Great Friend, Pretty Petals

Cardstock: True Thyme, Marigold Morning, River Rock, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Marigold Morning, Pumpkin Pie, True Thyme

Accessories: Big Shot, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Wide Oval, Vintage Brads, River Rock double stitched grosgrain ribbon, sponge, Boho Blossom Punch

Clean & Simple Challenge- a Makeover!

Last week's CAS Challenge on Splitcoast was to makeover one of your own cards in your gallery. I had no trouble choosing one that wasn't my favorite! I liked the concept of this one but thought it was a little tacky maybe so decided to tone it down by making it more monochromatic and using only 1 style of flower for the curved border. I still think it needs some ribbon maybe, but I was trying to keep it simple not make it less so!

So, I kept the design and changed everything else from the colors to the paper and stamps. This time I used the Parisian Breeze Specialty cardstock (that is nearing extinction!) as well as the daisy flower from the Spring Bouquet punch. I did keep the Curly Label punch, but changed from a glittered sentiment to a simple embossed one.

Hope you like it and find this challenge intriguing enough to play along!

Thanks for visiting!
~Kristin

Fabulous new offers from Stampin' Up!!

Hostess Bonus Promotion: It Pays (More) to Have Fun

From June 1-30, in addition to the already fantastic hostess benefits, get even more hostess awards when you host a qualifying workshop:

• Hold a $250-$399.99 workshop and receive an additional $20 in hostess free dollars!


• Hold a $400 or more workshop and receive an additional $40 in hostess free dollars!*

Earn more rewards while having fun with friends and family this summer! Contact me today to schedule your workshop (my email address is in my profile at the top right).

*Awards are not accumulative; hostesses receive $20 in free merchandise for a single $250-$399.99 workshop, and $40 in free merchandise for a single $400+ workshop.

Remember the old "Retired List"?? Well, now it's called the Last Chance list since the stamps and accessories listed are all now available for the last time EVER! This year the list has two great features: a 50% off section and a 25% off section that you won't want to miss!! You can also see the products from the entire list HERE.

For your convenience I am also going to link the .pdf versions so you can simply see the product name and it's new cost which you can then refer to in your catalog.

Last Chance Decor Elements List

Last Chance Stamp Sets List (alphabetical)

Last Chance Stamp Sets List (numerical)

Last Chance Accessories List (while supplies last)

Thanks for stoppin' by! If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll find an answer for you!

~Kristin

Bashful Pumpkins!

I was browsing through an issue of CARDS magazine the other day and saw a card with a similar layout to this and immediately thought "ooh, I bet I could do that with my Thoughts and Prayers tree!" This is the first time I've used the Boho Blossoms punch. I punched the flowers then distressed them by crumbling them and rolling them up then seperating the layers so I got two from one and they are very thin and flimsy.

The color scheme is from last week's color challenge on SCS: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue. I also added some Sahara sand and vanilla in for my neutrals.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

PS- did you notice the paper piercing? Can you believe the Crafter's Tool Kit (p. 188) is on the "Last Chance" list?!? I am stunned. If you don't have it, check it out- I use it nearly every day!!

SUO Supplies:

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Define Your Life

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Paper Piecing Tools, So Saffron brads, Boho Blossoms punch, Eyelet border punch, So Saffron grosgrain ribbon