Birthday Sketch

Good morning!  Are you ready for another wonderful sketch from Diva Coffee Break Designs?  I had some time to play a few days ago and enjoyed whipping this clean & simple card out.  I exchanged one of the layers on the sketch for a "layer" of dry embossing with my Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  What do you think? 

The row of candles on the Concord Crush layer is from the single candle in the Party Hearty stamp set.  This color scheme was selected at random by flipping through my new SU Color Coach- love that thing!  Did you noticed the scallop rectangle that my sentiment is on??  That is the new Clearlit Scallop Rectangle die that is used with the Big Shot.  I totally thought it was bigger than that when I looked at it in the catalog but it is the perfect size for a nice sentiment piece I think! 

I topped it off with a flower from the Boho Blossoms punch (cut in between each petal) and a Concord Crush glimmer brad.  Hope you like it- I had fun making this one!  Go check out the other Diva's creations then play along, why don't you!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Party Hearty, Well Scripted

Colors: Crumb Cake, Concord Crush, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango

Accessories: Concord Crush ribbon, Scallop Rectangle Clearlit, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, In Colors Glimmer Brads, Boho Blossoms Punch

Sanded Northern Flurry

Last but not least... here's my third card made with the fun new Northern Flurry embossing folder.  This time I embossed it onto a piece of this Concord Crush patterns paper (a Level 1 Hostess set) then gently went over it with my sanding block.  This technique reveals the white core of the paper to highlight the raised pattern.  I added some chunky glitter to the snowflakes and also to the main stamped piece for snow.  This round snowman tag is from the new stamp set Tags Til Christmas and actually has a "To: and From:" sentiment on it which I just covered up with the glitter and my own Modern Label punch with a stamp from Teeny Tiny Wishes. 

I have one more Christmas card I'll add either later today or tomorrow using the Elegant Lines embossing folder and new Glimmer Brads from the Holiday Mini Catalog that is available on September first.  After that I'll try to just sprinkle them in here and there.  No one wants to be sick of Christmas cards already in August! 

Thanks for stopping in!  I'd love to hear from you!  Let me know what you prefer- this XL photo or the Large from previous posts.
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Tags Til Christmas, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Concord Crush, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White (Poppy Parade for the snowman's scarf)

Accessories: Big Shot, Northern Flurry Textured Impressions embossing folder, Concord Crush ribbon, Chunky Essentials glitter, Modern Label punch, 1 3/4" circle punch

Diva Coffee Break Design Sketch Challenge- DCBD151

Are you ready for another Diva Coffee Break Designs Wednesday?!? This week we've got a sketch for you and we'd love to have you play along! If you haven't noticed we've started showcasing a "Featured Artist" each week and that artist is chosen from those of YOU that play along with our challenge and link to the DCBD blog! There is a VERY good chance of being chosen... in other words get on over there and check it out. We'd love to drive a little traffic your way and let you bask in the warm compliments you'll surely receive!

Here's our sketch this week... I've taken some liberties with it, but I think you'll still see a resemblance! I do have three panels even though the center one is larger and overlaps the smaller two. Speaking of the smaller two, they each have been stamped with the grass stamp from Inspired by Nature in Vanilla ink- I'm pointing this out because it was tough to capture in a photo. I love this stamp set and had neglected it lately with all my new rubber- so it gets a chance to shine today. This is a perfect stamp for using those markers on! Here I used Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand and Basic Black.

Did you notice the ribbon treatment? Both the top and the bottom ribbon are threaded through a slot punched through the main flower panel. The black strip at the bottom I found in my scraps- already punched with the Curly Label punch! Let's see what you can do- go visit the DCBD blog and get inspired by even more great designs!

So glad you decided to visit today! Thanks for your sweet comments, as always!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Inspired by Nature

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, Basic Black

Accessories: Rich Razzleberry Ribbon, Horizontal Slot punch, Modern Label punch, Curly Label punch

Love You a Latte!

I've admired the sample on page 63 in the Stampin' Up! catalog ever since I first saw it. The colors and layout, and especially the unexpected piercing in the shape of a heart. Unexpected details are what I always strive to come up with. This is a fairly close CASE (Copy and Share Everything) of that sample- I used a different stamp set (Pun Fun) and I added a stamped detail to the right edge on the inside of the card so it shows when it is closed.

My image isn't "out of the box" due to it's limited shape, so I popped up a few punched hearts for a little dimension instead. I think nearly any image could be used in place of the kangaroo in the sample. The coffee cup I used was stamped with black Staz-On so I could use my aqua painter. I inked it up by squeezing Bermuda Bay ink into the lid of the ink pad before opening then picked it up with the aqua painter. The lighter color on the bottom is also Bermuda Bay after most of the ink had been brushed away on my grid paper.

Hope you like it! Why don't you consider piercing a shape on your next card? You could use a punched or die cut image as a template if you don't want to free hand, or just sketch something lightly in pencil like I did then erase it when you are done.

Here's a card my daughter did at the same time. She turned hers horizontally (mainly because of the paper I gave her to work with). She chose the colors (Eggplant, Bermuda Bay & Almost Amethyst) and did everything herself except tie the ribbon. She's getting pretty good, isn't she?! :) This is her birthday card for her cousin who we'll be seeing this weekend in Cincinnati as well.

I'm at SU's regional meeting in Cincinnati today and probably loving it! Can't wait to show you the projects when I get back! Happy Birthday to my niece Lyla today also!

Thanks for visiting,

~Kristin

PS- Question for you: I frequently combine current SU products with retired ones. How do you feel about that? Does it help when I tell you in the supplies list what is not current or does that matter? Let me know your thoughts, I'm curious!

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun, Beyond the Basics (retired)

Colors: Bermuda Bay, Kraft, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss (former In Color), Black Staz-on

Accessories: Bermuda Bay dotted grosgrain, Heart to Heart punch, Paper Piercing tools, distressing tool, aqua painter.

Who's up for a color challenge??

Well I've got one for you sponsored by the Diva's Coffee Break Designs! This week we have these four luscious colors to work with and it was fun. I do have to apologize and admit that I ran off to our county fair yesterday, ended up with 6 kids to chase from ride to ride, and got home late (after a gigantic downpour!) and completely forgot about my Diva card- OOPS! So I whipped something out after 10pm last night and was able to put the finishing touch on this morning before getting it posted.

Hope you like it! This is the Branch Out set which I've been feeling bad about not using much lately, as well as a sentiment from Think Happy Thoughts. When it was all done I added the sponged shadow beneath the tree because it felt too stark, but now I'm not so sure I should have... what do you think? (It's OK to be honest- I'm a big girl).


Thanks for stopping by and visiting on this lovely Wednesday! Hope you have a fabulous day and have a chance to stamp something for yourself! Hey, while you're at it, why don't you go play along with our Diva challenge- I'd love to see it!


~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Branch Out, Think Happy Thoughts

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay

Accessories: Crimper, Corner Rounder, Circle punches, Scallop edge punch, Scallop Circle punch, Build-a-Brad, sponge.

A Fun, Clean & Simple Challenge!

Front
Inside

So here's my contribution for yesterday's CAS challenge on splitcoast. We were to choose something from the Bags and Boots section of Anthropology.com! I chose this bag. The top picture is the front of the card which I did by brayering ink into the Manhattan Flower embossing folder before running kraft cardstock through the Big Shot. The small piece on the inside was a scrap I tried this technique on before deciding I liked it.

To mimic the look of the bag I chose the kraft and Bermuda Bay for the colors and decided to "stitch" around the flowers by paper piercing. I never thought to do this before but really like it.

Hope you like it, and maybe even decide to play along! Stay tuned tomorrow for another great Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge! Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: It's Your Birthday (retired), On Your Birthday

Colors: Kraft, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White

Accessories: Manhattan Flower embossing folder, 3/4" square punch, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware (retired), Bermuda Bay grosgrain, Paper Piercing tools, Big Shot, Vintage Brads

A Fabulous New Fold: Venetian Blind!

I first noticed this awesome new type of fold on Julie Semone's DCBD card two weeks ago. I was immediately enthralled and decided I would certainly try it out! Thankfully Julie linked directions to Nancy Legate's blog which has a typed tutorial available! Thanks Julie and Nancy!

My parents' 40th wedding anniversary was this weekend so we went up north to celebrate and this is the card I made for them. The directions show this card on a typical card front so you can have a stamped message inside as well as behind the blind, however I only made mine a card front because I wanted the focus to be the message behind the blind.

The nice thing about this technique is that even if your stamping isn't all-star material (like here) the look of the folds makes it look much better I think. If it hadn't been for the folds I would've pitched this piece and started over.To open you pull the cords straight out to the sides (this is in Nancy's step 12 but I missed it and nearly tore my card apart). Here's the inside.

If you are like me you can mostly figure out a card just by looking at it- without formal instructions of any kind. However, that wasn't the case with this card. The folding I could've figured out, although having measurements done for me was wonderful. But threading the cording through the holes was complicated and would have been near impossible for me without following the step-by-step tutorial. I did make a few changes to Nancy's directions that worked better for me, which I would recommend, but don't hold your breath waiting for me to make up my own tutorial... just takes too long and I'd rather be stampin'! If you don't intend to make this card SKIP THE ENTIRE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

{In case you do try this out yourself here are the changes I would make: I believe the picture in step 4 is a bit different from the actual directions. You may have noticed mine has an extra hole at the bottom (doesn't show real well- you may have to click to enlarge) that I didn't thread through. I have 10 holes on each side but I didn't use the bottom one because the directions say there should be a 1/4" flap at the end that doesn't need punched. Actually the flap shown in the tutorial that has no hole is 3/4" I believe... SO, you could follow the directions as they are and your card will look like Julie's I linked above with the 1/4" flap on top of the cording, or you could read the direcitons for step 4 to say "Fold the scored area like an accordion, starting at the top with a valley fold. There will be a 3/4" flap at the end that you should not punch..." if you do this it will lay like mine but without the extra hole that I have that is not needed. Also, step 5- I believe the measurements should read 1/4" from the side and 1/2" from the bottom. Otherwise there is not enough room for the sticky tape as shown in the pictures. My sticky strip had to go above the bottom piece of thread as opposed to below where it is supposed to be. It worked OK, but I did end up adding some mono glue to hold it further. Clear as mud? }

Thanks for stopping by! I've got some surprises in store for you beginning next Tuesday (Sept. 1) which I'll be working on this week. I'll try to squeeze something else in in the mean time for you to enjoy. Have a great week!

~Kristin

Almost SUO Supplies:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Greenhouse Garden, Kanji (retired), In My Thoughts (retired), Stem Silhouettes (retired), Organic Grace (retired)

Colors: River Rock (retired), Dusty Durango, Rich Razzleberry, Ballet Blue, Soft Suede, Black

Accessories: Crop-a-Dile, Linen Thread, Modern Label punch, Filigree Brads, Non-SU Watercolor paper (crummy Walmart stuff that I don't recommend- ink smears!)

Thinking of you...

It figures. I thought I was so on the ball doing a challenge the actual day it is posted only to realize that today is THURSDAY and the sketch challenge on SCS is posted on Wednesday! Oh well- it was fun and got me stamping. In fact, I made THREE cards today- that's right. My kiddos are back to school and my hubby had a teacher work day today so I had the house to myself and spent it doing what I love best!

I've been wanting to put this gorgeous DSP Cottage Wall to use and finally got a chance to do so with this sketch. I love stripes and having coordinating patterns to go with them is almost intoxicating- LOL!

I've linked two pictures of this card because neither show it quite how I wanted. The butterfly is stamped with Rich Razzleberry and embossed in clear powder for that extra sheen. Are you wondering how the powder stuck since we don't have craft ink in our In Colors? Easy! TIP: Ink the stamp with versamark then immediately ink it with the Classic Ink of your choice, then stamp and emboss like normal. Works like a charm!

TFL! More to come!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: For All You Do, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Cottage Wall DSP, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Pale Plum, Whisper White

Accessories: Clear EP, Versamark, Modern Label punch, jumbo white brad, scallop edge punch, Razzleberry dotted grosgrain, corner rounder

Fun & Fabulous Color Combo!

If you know me at all you know I adore fabulous color combinations and experimenting to come up with them! Well, the new In Colors Rich Razzleberry and Soft Suede are turning out to be great for this experimenting!

First up, this card using the awesome new Sizzix Bigz die called Lattice. Ooh, this is the first time I've played with it and man did ideas start swirling! Wish I had time to do them all at once.

For this card I used the largest of SU's circle punches, the 1 3/4" which fits nicely under the lattice with an edge showing. I just chose some fun colors I'd be eyeing together and put it together so quickly. These colors are: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky (old In Color) and Kraft. Just added some vintage brads, used the new Modern Label punch and a phrase from my new favorite sentiment set Teeny Tiny Wishes. Popped it up on some dimensionals and it was done- so quick! Imagine this very same layout in YOUR favorite colors!!
This card uses this week's Splitcoast sketch... and some fun new things. The DSP is from the new pack called Autumn Traditions. Also used a new set called Paradise with some fabulous tropical leaves great on their own or for combining with so many other sets. THe background is textured with SU's Texturz Plates and the Big Shot. Again used the Modern Label die with my Teeny Tiny Wishes sentiment and added a corduroy button in Kraft with a tiny sliver of Rich Razzleberry paper tied on.

So glad you decided to stop by today!

Up tomorrow: A remake on a recent card. Have you ever finished a card and just kept coming back to it thinking something just wasn't right? Well I do that all the time, and often I opt to just tear 'em apart and move things around (rather than starting over- that's no fun). I'll show you what I mean tomorrow.

Have a great day!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, Paradise

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Kraft, Very Vanilla and Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Texturz Plates, Lattice Bigz Die, Kraft Corduroy button, Vintage Brads, 1 3/4" circle punch, Modern Label punch

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! I'm about to lose control and I think I like it!

Yes, I get that excited over a card every now and then! This card just might be my favorite card that I've ever made to date... I can't wait to send it to someone, but then again I think I'd like to hold onto it. This textured cardstock which is VERY near SU's new Soft Suede was a gift from my friend Lisa. She sent me a sampler of a variety of these papers that have an awesome lighter colored core so when you sand a raise portion the other color comes through (yes, I'm finally getting around to trying it out Lisa- thank you!!). Guess what color this core most closely matched?! Soft Sky! Remember Soft Sky, an In Color from '07-'08?? Add a hint of Taken With Teal and some Bermuda Bay dotted grosgrain and ....yum!

The raised part is that new Textured Impressions Embossing folder I mentioned yesterday. I just embossed then sanded over it with one of my SU sanding blocks- and voila! Ooh, guess what- these dew drop thingys were from Lisa too. I just adore those things and can't wait for SU to start offering them in our luscious colors!

The sentiment panel is made with the large and wide and scalloped oval punches. The wide is punched through the outer layer of the card so the sentiment can be adhered inside and seen through the window. I enjoyed using the awesome In Color markers to ink up this image from Oval All!

So, I will apologize that this isn't SUO to my followers that appreciate my 100% SUO posts... BUT, this can give you an idea of why SU colors and stamps are so awesome and versatile.

Well, thanks for stopping by! Hope you like it as much as I do... or if not, at least tolerate my excitement. ;)

~Kristin

Supplies are SUO except where otherwise mentioned

Stamps: Oval All

Paper: Soft Sky, Taken With Teal, Non-SU textured cardstock (sorry, I have no idea of brand)

Accessories: Textured Impressions Elegant Bouquet, Bermuda Bay dotted grosgrain ribbon, Wide Oval, Large Oval, Scallop Oval punches, corner rounder, scallop edge punch, distressing tool, non-SU dew drops

{Another Diva Challenge}

Oh boy am I in trouble... I am a whole day late for the Diva challenge. Yesterday was just one of those days... I got my card done but couldn't get it uploaded. I am in the market for a new external hard drive (seriously considering a 1TB- that's Terabyte if you're like me and didn't know what is bigger than a GB. A TB = 1000GB!!) because my computer is 100% FULL! Yes, FULL! And I have 100s of pics on my camera that I can't upload without deleting something that is already there.

Anyway, that's my excuse for this week.

So our challenge this week was to this color combination:

I usually struggle with this many colors so I decided to kind of take an easy route by using one image and stamping it in all the colors... although now I'm seeing that I didn't use any black- crud!

The image I used is from the new Circle Circus, and the sentiment is from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes. I also used the Polka Dot background which I just now realized is retired. My bad! I put garage sale sticker dots on all my retired sets so I can remember what is current, but somehow I missed that stamp when I did my dots recently.

Hope you like it and decide to play along with the Diva's! Your card just might get featured on the Diva blog! Also stay tuned for the announcement of the three new Diva's to join our team!!!


Thanks for hanging with me this summer, even if I am posting sporadically!

~Kristin

SUO SUPPLIES
Stamps: Circle Circus, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Polka Dot Background

Colors: Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Horizontal slot punch, Old Olive wide grosgrain, linen thread, My Way punch, Button Bouquet, SAMJ

Whale Wishes: a disappearing post!

Here is the post that disappeared this week while I was away from home. I loosely cased a sample in the new catty (don't have mine here to tell you the page number right now). I say loosely cased because the colors and stamps are all totally different- the part that inspired me was the general layout of the main image in the center with little accents trailing off the corners of the card.

My whale was stamped on Tea Party DSP and raised on SU dimensionals. He was also stamped on the white layer in Rich Razzleberry. Circle Circus was used for the rest of the detail- in Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Almost Amethyst (yes I was experimenting with color again). I added a few of the 5/16" jumbo brads in white and popped up a few more details and done.

As I mentioned the first time I tried to post this, I had several moments while making this card that I doubted how it would turn out... but I stuck with it and am happy I did. It isn't a work of art, but I think it is worthy of sending anyway.

Off to do some raspberry pickin' and some yardwork before it gets too hot... then I'll be back in to play!

Thanks for stopping by,

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun, Circle Circus

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Black Staz-On

Accessories: 5/16" jumbo white brads, Tea Party DSP, SU Dimensionals

Whale Wishes- Another catty inspired design!

Well, this is a loose CASE at best, but I sure liked the card on the bottom of page 107! (Same page my DD copied yesterday.) Obviously mine is a different color scheme and uses totally different stamps, so the only thing I really copied is the design concept. First stamped the whale from Pun Fun (what a fun set!) on the white and also on a pattern of Almost Amethyst from Tea Party DSP, then I randomly stamped images from Circle Circus on a diagnal patern across the card.

I was experimenting with color combos, as usual, so this ended up with Almost Amethyst, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and the new Rich Razzleberry. Added in a few jumbo white brads and good to go. At some point while making this card I had the sinking feeling that it just wasn't going to work out... but I stuck with it and am reasonably pleased with the results- not a work of art, but worthy of sending I think.

The moral of the story is, when you're lacking inspiration go straight to the Stampin' Up! idea book and catalog- especially this newest edition- it is just full of stunning examples that are easy to use for inspiration (or exact copies if you're so inclined!).

Hope you are having a great day! I'll be home soon,
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun, Circle Circus

Colors: Almost Amethyst, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Whisper White

Accessories: Jumbo White brads, Stampin' Dimensionals

Hello deer baby

Yippee, finally got some time to stamp yesterday after getting back from camping. Leaving again today for a few days so I'm going to try and schedule a few posts... we'll see if it works this time (come on Blogger!!).

I found a card in the New Idea Book & Catalog (which YOU can now order from as of July 1st- woohoo!!!) on page 141 that I just loved- a unique layout and beautiful color scheme. I copied the layout and the monochromotic idea just in different colors. The deer is from Forest Friends and the sentiment is from the new fantastically versatile Teeny Tiny Wishes!! This set is a must have, let me tell ya!

Don't you just love how the rhinestone brad looks with the new In Color Bermuda Bay?!! The softer shade of aqua is an older In Color Soft Sky- I just love experimenting and mixing up all the fabulous In Colors from the past with the new ones just for fun!!

Well, that's what I've got for now but stay tuned for more... coming up: a card my daughter designed herself (and it's cute!) and another new catty inspired card.

If you don't have your hands on the new catty yet I'd be glad to get one to you- only $5 plus shipping.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a fabulous summer!

~Kristin

PS- Don't miss it!! This month SU is offering a new "Deal of the Week" each week starting now! To find out how to get a favorite product for 30% off click HERE! If you'd like to order through me please email me (I will be checking while I'm gone) so I can place it for you.

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Forest Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky (retired In Color)

Accessories: Round Tab punch, Bermuda Bay dotted grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge punch, corner rounder, white taffeta ribbon, distressing tool, Square ice rhinestone brad.

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

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

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