Do your Black Friday shopping right here!

Don't miss it, this week only is Stampin' Up!'s great Online Extravaganza! Up to 50% off on selected items. To find out more click here so you can browse through all the products on sale! If you'd like to place an order through me please email me at stamp_for_smiles at embarqmail dot com (got that? There should be an @ and a . in there) or leave a comment here with your email address so I can contact you. Hurry, this sale ends Monday, November 30th!

~Kristin

Christmas Cardinal & Poinsettia

EXACTLY ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS! Sorry, just had to get that in there!
Good Wednesday morning everyone! This morning I've got for you... surprise... a Diva Sketch! Be sure to play along with this one- remember, in December we'll be randomly drawing one of our Featured Artists to win a prize from the Divas! So go play- your chances are GOOD!

So I followed the sketch pretty well this time, but we try to use current SU product which I sort of slacked on here. The ribbon is a retired Riding Hood Red taffeta and the background stamp called Stitched is also retired. Other than that- everything is current!

You all probably know how I am by now... that I do my best to steer away from the obvious in a challenge like this. Whatever first comes to mind I try to go in another, usually opposite, direction. So with this type of sketch I thought color blocking- meaning each panel a different color. SO, the exact opposite of that would be not only that they are all the same but the same as the card base as well- Sahara Sand in this case. To delineate between the two I stamped them with the background and sponged all the edges. First I sponged them with white, but that just didn't show up enough so I went over it with Sahara Sand ink. Much better!

In order to really make the red touches pop I decided to keep the other colors on the flower image very neutral- Sahara Sand with a bit of Mellow Moss for the leaves. That's it. But really I wanted the flowers to be the primary focus so when all was said and done they got a touch of Crystal Effects to make them shine. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by today! I sure hope you'll play along with us this week- go post your creation with our Mr. Linky so we can vote for YOU as our next Featured Artist and a chance to win some blog candy in December!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons, All Holidays, Stitched

Colors: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon, Crystal Effects, sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, Aqua painter

Pumpkin Patch

I saw these adorable pumpkins on LeeAnn Greff's blog and just had to copy them! They are fun, smell good and will be perfect for the Thanksgiving table! My daughter even enjoyed making one. The stem is a Cinnamon stick which makes it smell wonderful, and the vine piece is from the Scribbles Swirls Sizzlit. The large and medium pumpkins were done with 8 (each) scallop circles from the Circles Scallop#2 die and the Big Shot. The shorter one is done with 8 scallop oval punches.

You can make these fuller if you want by simply adding in more scallops. They would probably stand a little easier as well the fuller you make them. Since these (plus another big one I gave to my hostess recently) took 4 full sheets of cardstock I pulled out a not so favorite color Tangerine Tango. I just didn't want to use up the last of my Pumpkin Pie paper.

Sorry it took so long for me to post these. Since I gave the only completed one away I had to take the time to make more... and I've just not gotten much stamping done lately. Although I do have all our Christmas decorations up (except the tree)! This is extremely early for me!

Come back tomorrow for a cool Diva sketch challenge!
~Kristin

Peace, Love and Joy

Sick of Christmas cards yet? Sorry charlie! LOL. Here's a quickie- stamp a few snowflakes, sentiment in the middle, a few scallops and some ribbon. Not tough! I used Bashful Blue craft ink and Whisper White ink to stamp the snowflakes if you can see the slight difference.


Stay tuned for a cute fall project- perfect for the Thanksgiving table!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: All Holidays, Patterned Pines (one snowflake), Berry Christmas (other snowflake)

Colors: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Accessories: Scalloped edge punch, White organza ribbon, notched corner punch

Christmas Card Class Projects

Here are the last two projects for my class today. This one is obviously a remix of THIS card of mine you've likely seen before. I simplified it by making the embossing all in one color- no more white sentiment. I also changed the sentiment because I wanted to use the Season's Greetings on the card below. I'm not sure how I feel about eliminating the black scallops at the end of the tag. I doubt my customers will mind, but I think they were the fun unexpected little detail that I liked so much about the first design. Don't be surprised if I add them back in at the last minute. I also made this a one layer card instead of having the Kraft base mostly because another of my cards has the Kraft base and I didn't want to worry about running out.

Here is my last design for this class and I am excited about this one too. It is a very simple one layer card but I think it really has a WOW factor. The snowflakes were first stamped in white ink (Itty Bitty Backgrounds) then later I decided I wanted a little sparkle so I made tiny dots all over using the Tombo Mono Multi glue then dumped some chunky white glitter on top! Not only does the glitter sparkle but it also is chunky enough to add some texture and dimension to the card! I think this would be a great card to mass produce because it takes so little supplies and is fairly quick. Isn't that white organza ribbon gorgeous?! Did you know that it is actually cheaper than the taffeta ribbon? Yep!

As promised, here is a peak at all 5 cards together. This class will cost the attendees $16 and they are doing 2 each of 5 designs. The hostess is providing a light lunch and her class fee is FREE as a gift from me. I work really hard to keep the costs down for the guests (and who can beat 10 cards for $16??) which is why these are designed to be low cost, few layers, minimal embellishment cards that hopefully pack a WOW punch!

I hope you like them! If you live nearby and would like to schedule this same class be sure to contact me soon. Time is running out as my calendar, and yours too I'm sure, is getting full fast!

Thanks for visiting!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies (for 2nd card only, supplies for the top card are listed on the post for the original design)

Stamps: Patterned Pines, Many Merry Messages, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Colors: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Accessories: Chunky white glitter, White organza ribbon

Holiday Designs Using Berry Christmas

OK, so first up are these two cards with the exact same layout, colors and stamp set. I came up with these using a simplified version of this week's Mojo Monday sketch while designing for a Christmas card class I'm doing this weekend. I always enjoy trying to find non-traditional colors for Christmas because I make so many different designs and I get bored with red and green combos. However, these cards got scrapped for the pool of possibles... mostly because my husband said "eh. They just look like scraps thrown together on a card." That's what he said about the oen in the background, but I didn't yet have the front one done which I think is better. Doesn't matter because I've got my five designs all decided on finally.

Besides this one and this one that you've already seen, here is the third design that my guests will be doing 2 of. I CASEd this idea from this wonderful card by Sharon Graham which shows a fabulous way to use this set in a non-holiday way (sorry if you can't click on Sharon's card- she has it in the demonstrator only section of SCS). I love her idea, but obviously I needed the holiday in there so changed it up to be white poinsettias. They are my favorite at Christmas time.

The only change I'll make to this card for the group is that we're going to be using Versamark with white chalk for the flowers instead of white ink as shown here. This is for two reasons: one, because we'll be using the white ink for another project and I try to not duplicate so that we can split into two groups and work more efficiently. But also because the chalk effect looks so neat because it appears to leave a glow around the flowers. I'll post one of those when I have it put together so you can see the difference.

In case you're not familiar with the DSP that I used with the ornament punch for the vase it is in the Christmas Cocoa collection and is actually flocked- so it is fuzzy on the white areas and the recipient will get extra enjoyment from this unexpected surprise! My turning the ornament punch upside down you can easily see where to punch this pattern so that it aligns perfectly. Isn't that neat?!

Stop back tomorrow and I'll show you the last 2 designs (one of which is a remix of a previous card of mine) and the group of all five together! Thanks for visiting me today!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

(Top two cards)

Stamps: Berry Christmas, Party Punch (retired)

Colors: Rose Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose

Accessories: Regal Rose wide grosgrain, Rose Red and Old Olive brads, circle punches

(Vase card)

Stamps: Berry Christmas, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Whisper White, Ruby Red

Accessories: Ornament punch, Old Olive Marker, Large Oval Punch, Scalloped oval punch, Christmas Cocoa DSP

Shimmer Paint Designs

I've got an annual Christmas card party this weekend for a special group of customers and am in the design phase right now. Don't worry- I always do this. If I design too soon I get tired of the cards before the party rolls around. I have decided to use two designs I did this season so far- two of my favorites. When I have all 5 designs chosen I'll show you a group photo.


This design utilizes a Mojo Monday sketch I missed last week (MOJO112) and some Christmas Cocoa DSP. Did you notice that these two patterns have a sheen to them? Oh yes! It is quite pretty- but subtle. It also very nicely coordinates with the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint in SU's current Holiday Mini catalog. In fact, that is what I inked up this flourish from Baroque Motif with- Shimmer Paint. Isn't it lovely?!

This is an alternative my ladies will be able to make if they prefer. I've always wanted to try this 3D type of card so this is the perfect opportunity.

If you would like a Christmas card class of your own contact me soon because time is running out and dates are getting harder to schedule.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope to have more for you tomorrow.

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Delightful Decorations

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Accessories: Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Ornament punch, gold elastic cord, Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain, 1" circle punch, Christmas Cocoa DSP

For All You Do: A Diva Color challenge

Sorry for the delay! My Tuesday was full yesterday and I just couldn't get to my Diva card... then this morning I couldn't find my mojo anywhere... that happens sometimes. But I finally found some and got to work. I'm actually way happier with this card than I anticipated being. I am ashamed to admit that I have so many stamp sets that none of them individually get a ton of use... this one definitely falls into that category.

The color challenge for today is Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Real Red and Sage Shadow. I was really struggling to get the Sage Shadow on here at first, but after it was all stamped I decided to go ahead and add a bit more too, just to tie it in and be a little bold. This card is a bit over the top for me- all the extras that I sometimes leave off.

So go visit the Diva blog and see what great samples the other Divas did to inspire you. Then please play along- we'd love to have you join us this week! Gotta go chase down my puppy who is still recovering but feeling frisky and getting bored of being separated from the other dogs.

Thanks for stopping by today! Why don't you leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite part of my card is.
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: For All You Do

Colors: Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Real Red, Sage Shadow, Whisper White

Accessories: Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon, corner rounder, Fire Rhinestone Brad, Eyelet border punch, large oval punch, scalloped oval punch

Vera Inspired and Living Out Loud

Yesterday's Clean & Simple challenge on SCS was to be inspired by something on the Vera Bradley website and make a CAS card with that in mind. Here is the bag I chose- more importantly, the fabrice I chose. This fabric is called Carnaby and I just loved the colors! They closely resemble SU's Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry and I threw in some Morning Glory as well- all on a Basic Black background.

The zippered wallet shown here has a diamond pattern quilting so I tried to mimic that with my partial diamond embossed background. Since I don't have a fancy tool to do lots of score lines with I just used my 12" trimmer and the scoring blade. After a while I got tired of it so I decided I really liked the look of just half the card done like that. That's why you can't see score marks on the left side- there aren't any! I added in some Big Shot Daisies with some jumbo brads and voila.

Next up is the final scrapbook page I did last weekend. When I saw this title box (and coordinating paper) at a scrapbook store earlier this year I knew exactly who it perfectly fit! Living out loud is what my son does every minute of his life almost. I wouldn't trade him, although I do need some Tylenol every now and then. LOL! My other favorite phrase that I plan to do on a page for him someday is "Boys: Noise with dirt on them!" How true?!!!

The little blue journal box attached with Vintage brads is from the SU Simply Scrappin' Kit, Hoppy Memories (retired). I'm still not sure how this page will fit in my 12x12 albums- it will hang over the edges of the page protector I guess... but you gotta love that scrolled border! One thing I wanted to point out is the row of brads at the right of the picture- they are actually bullet points for details like his name, age, teacher and school... but I covered it with vellum for the photo just to be safe (and so grandma doesn't call and give me a hard time- LOL).

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to come back tomorrow for a new and fabulous Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge... and if you haven't yet played along with last week's challenge be sure to do that so we can pick YOU as our next Featured Stamped!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies (for the card, not scrapbook page)

Stamps: Wonderful Favorites

Colors: Basic Black, Soft Suede, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, Marigold Morning, Whisper White

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Big Shot, Daisies die, scoring blade, Jumbo White brads

Priceless Memories

Here's another one of those birthday sketches I mentioend. I really never get good pictures of blowing out candles like this. I just love these! The pics on the right side of the spread aren't great, but they hold good memories for me.

Here's a closeup. For this page, which is 100% Stampin' Up! I used the At Home Simply Scrappin' Kit I believe. The patterned strips, and decorative embellishments including the word Memories are all from this kit so made this page a snap!

Added some Designer Circle brads and a corner punch to tie it all together and finished it off with some journaling at the bottom. Not real detailed, and not overly exciting, but DONE!

So, does anyone at all know where I can get some Top Loading 12x12 pages for a Strap-hinge style book? I've searched high and low and they are either sold out (nearly everywhere!) or are so grossly overpriced with shipping (Amazon) that I refuse to buy them. In 2008 when I first found them I bought 5 packs of 5 pages each for $3.48 each!

Glad you stopped by today! I'm hoping to actually get some stamping in now that I've got my laundry underway and house picked up. Have a great day!

~Kristin

Today You are 5

Here's another of the layouts I finished this weekend. I really like how this turned out, especially since I didn't have the best pictures. Both pages use sketches that I believe came from the most current Creating Keepsakes magazine sketh insert. I love starting with a sketch when I scrapbook- somehow it makes me feel more creative by giving me a starting point then the freedom to do what I want with it.

I cannot boast that all things used here are Stampin' Up! Namely the cardstock is from some stack I had- I have used up most of my favorite colors of SU 12x12, especially the textured, so I had to dig deep into my stash for this. The nice thing is that they were a close match to our Night of Navy and Always Artichoke and Creamy Caramel- at least close enough to use the craft ink for the chipboard letters.

As far as I recall all the chipboard I used is from SU (or was) but I have gobs of chipboard and some of it is mixed up. The giant 5 was cut with my friend's Cricut. I think the punched stars really add impact and make a big difference on this layout- before I added them it was a bit plain and boring. On the page below did you notice there is a star punched from the corner of the picture! I love the look this adds in person- some extra dimension I guess.

I used the Modern Label punch to add some... I don't know, hinges or buckles maybe?? Put a Playground button and some brads and called it done! IN case you noticed, yes this is the second layout of my son's 5th birthday and believe it or not, there is another full layout coming as well. I guess that's what happens when you get lots of pictures at three different events celebrating the same thing. These won't all be in the same album so it won't be quite as redundant at least. LOL! The funny part was writing my journaling... the last sentence says "I can't believe our baby boy is 5 already!" but soon he will be 10! Yep, that's how far behind I am.

Thanks for visiting! More to come...

~Kristin

SUO Supplies: Small and large star punches, Modern Label punch, vintage brads, Playground button, Chipboard, Night of Navy, Creamy Caramel and Always Artichoke Craft ink, marker.

Getting Closer to my Goal!!

That's right, my scrapbook goal for 2009! I adjusted it after failing miserably last year so this year it is more attainable but still pushes me a little bit. I'm so excited to say that I've gotten 7 pages done this weekend!!

Here is the layout which uses 100% Stampin' Up! products. This is not unusual for me with my cards, but I've been scrapbooking for nearly 20 years (since I was a teenager!) so I have lots of products from before my last 5 years as an SU Demonstrator. Speaking of which, I celebrated my 5 year anniversary with SU in October and I think I forgot to mention it! What a blast it's been.

So here is the left side of this spread. I must say this was such an easy page and came together super quick (it helps that I actually had some really great pics from Christmas that year!). Just cut 2 matching strips of Thoroughly Modern DSP to put across the center of the Bermuda Bay textured 12x12 cardstock and barely trimmed a few pictures. Punched some labels, stamped a few trees (from Patterned Pines) and added some Felt Flurries Snowflakes! Ooh, I guess I should mention that my title was cut with my friend's Cricut... forgot about that little detail.

So here is the other side, closeup. I hope you like it! Can't wait to share the other pages with you... but I need to space them out so you don't get bored and so I have something to post for the next few days.

Gotta run, big football game tonight for our Wildcats!

Thanks for visiting! Hugs,

~Kristin

PS- my photography is still not the best and I don't have the greatest editing software for scrapbooking... please bare with me!

Wrapping Paper Inspired!

Hello! I've had one of those days so I didn't get any stamping in until this afternoon, and this card took all of 10 minutes to make, tops! My daugher wanted a card to match this present she wrapped for a birthday party this weekend. I love how easy it was and how great it matches the wrapping paper! We ended up using Chocolate Chip as the base with 1 1/4" circles in Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and WHisper white. Isn't that fun? I think I will make a few more since I have more of the paper left...

However, I am off to the vet. Our puppy I mentioned last Friday isn't doing so well. She has a gaping wound that we hadn't noticed until today so we're thinking she may have torn it open playing with the other puppy. Anyway, she's going to get some work done and I'm going to be stuck with a hefty bill, I'm sure. Ugh!

Kids are home from school due to fog this morning and parent teacher conferences this afternoon so they are cramping my stamping time as well. LOL! Actually, if it wasn't for my daughter hounding me I might not have stamped today at all so I shouldn't complain.

Have a great day, and hopefully I'll have some scrapbook pages to share sometime tomorrow or Saturday. That's what I have planned to do tomorrow...we'll see if it happens.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts

Colors: Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and WHisper white.

Accessories: 1.25" circle punch, Spring Bouquet flower punch, jumbo chocolate brad.

It's a Diva Wednesday Sketch Challenge!

Good morning ladies and gents! Today I've brought to you this week's Diva Coffee Break Designs sketch challenge. As you can probably see I did everything I could to make this sketch my own but still follow the general design. That's called stretching it a bit! Anyway, I saw an amazing card using thie stamp set Greenhouse Gardens with craft ink on dark cardstock r

ecently and knew I wanted to try that. My card is nothing like the one I saw other than the stamps and the fact that I used craft ink. Anyway, In order to not cover up too much of the stamping I decided to use vellum for my layers. Do you ever think to use vellum?? It doesn't happen much for me, but when I do it is always fun and new.

To get the look of the three circle images at the left I used Pewter Jumbo Eyelets with the trusty Crop-a-Dile... but decided to tone them down a bit so not too harsh looking on this soft pretty card by tying a bit of dotted Soft Suede grosgrain ribbon through each.

Well, I sure hope you'll join us this week for this great challenge! I'd love to see your take on this sketch!

Thanks for visiting me today,

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden, Full of Life

Colors: Soft Suede, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Blush Blossom, Whisper White

Accessories: Vellum, Ice Rhinestone brad, Pewter Jumbo Eyelet, Soft Suede dotted grosgrain, eyelet border punch, Markers for sentiment

Design Team Wannabe!

So here are two more cards I made yesterday for the CAS Design Team call for Winter term. They are both for the sketch challenge, which provided two different sketches we could use. I liked them both so did one for each!

This first one uses the little trees from the Merry Details sizzlit and Thoroughly Modern DSP. Add a silver brad and the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and voila! Easy Peasy!

This one is also for the sketch challenge (we had two choices). Another one using the Merry Details Sizzlit! This time I used the bird and snowflake. Hope you like them! TFL and thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Short & Sweet

Colors: Rose Red, Soft Suede, Whisper White

Accessories: Circle punches, Rhinestone brad, Merry Details Sizzlit, Vintage Brad

Bring on the Holidays!!

That's right I'm ready... as ready as I'll ever be. I am on a roll today and have made 4, count 'em FOUR Christmas cards! Wanna take a guess how many of them are non-traditional? Yep, all four! Don't get me wrong, we've got trees and poinsettias, Christmas sentiments and even some Christmas colors but in one way or another they are all a bit unconventional. Just the way I like it!

This first one is for today's Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoast to use white and ONE other color (black counts!). So this one fits the bill- all white with some Melon Mambo. I knew texture would be a requirement for such limited colors so started out using the Petals a Plenty Textured Impressions embossing folder in the Big Shot on the white. Then I changed my mind a few times and ended up making a poinsettia bloom with the 5 petal flower punch and some little dots from my standard hole punch. Added some Crystal Effects (Yes I do own this stuff... I just never think to use it) with a bit of Dazzling Diamonds on top for a little sparkle! Embossed the sentiment and called it done. So what do you think?

Announced today is a new call for the Winter term Design Team for the Clean & Simple challenges. I tried out last term and didn't make it so I'm trying again. I love these challenges and would really enjoy getting them early and making samples for everyone to be inspired by!

Of the 3 challenges this time I've done two of them with three different cards... so far. I fully intend to do the last challenge as well. This one is for the Inspiration challenge which was to go to THIS website and pick something to be inspired by. I chose THIS cute little spun glass ornament. Of course I reached for my Wild About You set with this cute alligator. His hat is made from the large Star punch with some white felt I had used for my daughter's skunk costume this year for Halloween. The sentiment is from an old set called Punches Three- a hostess set from 2008. Ribbon is a retired Old Olive twill which I love and really wish it would be a mainstay in the SU catalog! Funny thing is I designed this card with the Sleigh Bells ribbon from the current Holiday Mini in mind. Things happen!

The other two cards I made today I'll save for tomorrow. They are both for the sketches provided for the CAS DT tryouts. If you just can't wait you can check out my gallery on Splitcoast- I'll be putting them in there shortly.

Gotta go check on the pups and get my oil changed! Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies
Card 1: Stamps- All Holidays; Colors- Melon Mambo, Whisper White; Accessories: Big Shot, Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions embossing folder, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, 5 petal flower punch

Card 2: Stamps- Punches Three, Wild About You; Colors- Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Old Olive; Accessories: Scallop Square punch, felt, large star punch, scallop edge punch, Old Olive twill

Phew!

Wow, I haven't been here since Thursday and my hits are showing it. LOL! Sorry for the long delay. It's been a weekend let me tell ya! Long story short we had a very near tragedy with our puppy; my DH's football team won their first football playoff game!; and my sister let us know she is expecting! WOOHOO! I can expand on these after the real reason you came here, a creative fix, but for now here's what I've got. The colder it gets the more I get motivated to scrapbook, so here is the layout I did this weekend.

This layout is a sketch from Lyssa's blog: Song of My Heart Stampers. I loved this sketch and was excited to use it, even though it meant serious cropping of some great photos... but what better way to focus on the really important feature of a picture?! For this one I used some parts of a new-to-me Simply Scrappin' kit that I've been so anxious to use- Hoppy Memories. This kit is retired but I can honestly say that all SU Simply Scrappin' kits are AMAZING!! I'll have to count someday but I am willing to bet I have at least 20 differnt SS kits!

This is the second half of the spread which is why it has no title. This sketch is from a challenge on SCS back in May. You see, there is this awesome gal on Splitcoast who hosts a weekly Scrapbook sketch challenge. She has a huge gallery of wonderful scrapbook sketches, so when I need one I just head over there and scroll through until I find something that would work with the pictures I've got. This is an amazing resource! CLICK HERE to view this gallery.
The specific one I used is the right side of this one. This side of my layout is a little lacking on detail but the colors are pretty bold and I thought I'd better leave well enough alone.

So about my puppy... oh my! This sweet little face is only 3 months old and she is a little Houdini! She has managed to get herself into and out of some tight spots... until Friday. I went out to our kennel to feed her (and the other 3 dogs) and when I open the door to the building she was hanging by her hind haunches caught in the wire fencing that is supposed to keep her in! It appeared she might have been like that all night!

OMG, it was the most horrible site- her front legs couldn't touch the ground, her back legs couldn't touch she was wedged so tight she was cut in numerous places. The worst part was her little tail wagging as soon as she saw me and I had to leave her to run for help and wire cutters! I felt terrible. Anyway, when my kids and I finally got her out her back legs were so grotesquely swollen she couldn't move. I wish now I'd taken pictures, but at the time I thought she wasn't going to survive and I really didn't want to have those horrible images. She slept the entire day and night after we took her in the warm house and lo and behold, early the next morning she was up walking around! By the afternoon she was running, albeit limping, all around our property. Today she was romping and wrestling with her sister and mama! My poor kids- we prepared them for the worst- but they were so thrilled to see her moving my son said "either this is a miracle or she is one tough dog!" He wanted to change her name from Crystal Ann (long story) to Miracle. I told him if her name gets changed her new name will be "Stupid"!

This dog has already been into mouse poison at about a month old (because she escaped), and today she cut her mouth while playing somehow and she swallowed a squirrel tail that was tied to a string so the string was hanging out of her mouth while she was running. I had to pull it out and let me tell you it was disgusting! Who knows what that would've done had she swallowed the entire string. Isn't she a cutie though?

As for the other news, yes football season will be at least one more week long (go Cats!)... and while my parents and sister were visiting this weekend my sister gets a call from her husband who wants to talk to my son. They talk a while and when they hang up my son says "Mom, I think Uncle R just told me that our cousin is going to have a baby brother or sister." And I say "what do you mean you think? Is she or isn't she???" Now he's confused and not so sure. Well, sure enough, that's how we found out they are expecting baby number 2! WOOHOO! We're so excited for them! I told my sister I hope she has a boy so she can experience first hand just how different they are-having a boy is a whole different world.

So if you read this far (wow, you deserve an award!) now you know why I've been away and hopefully this makes up for the last few days of nothing!

Thanks so much for visiting,

~Kristin

PS- My supplies are SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) as always, but I'm just too tired to type them out. If you have any questions just let me know.

Razzleberry Peace

Somehow I managed to squeeze in 2 different challenges on Splitcoast without even realizing it... Tuesday's color challenge to use all neutrals plus one color or something like that. The other is the sketch challenge on Wednesday.

Believe it or not parts of this card came to me almost in a dream- rather, with the first thought that popped into my head one morning. Seriously, I almost couldn't go back to sleep, ALMOST. Then I looked at the sketch challenge it fit so here it is.

The sentiment isn't quite what I had in mind but for a variety of reasons this is what I ended up with- using the Billboard alpha and Big Shot. The snowflake is also done with the Big Shot and a sizzlit.

Can you believe there is no stamping on this thing?! That's right- the patterned paper is all from the Night and Day DSP pack.

So glad you stopped by today... gotta run!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: none!

Colors: Rich Razzleberry, Black and White

Accessories: Night and Day DSP, Big Shot, Snowflake Sizzlit, Billboard alpha, Square punch, scallop edge punch, Rich Razzleberry dotted grosgrain, jumbo silver brad

Are you up for a color challenge?

I'ts Wednesday and you know what that means... time for another Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge! I gotta admit, Christmas isn't where I was going with this at first... but that's where it ended up somehow. These colors weren't the easiest to work with for me- too similar in tone I guess. I decided to focus on the two I liked best together- Creamy Caramel and Bravo Burgandy and go from there. Turns out I like the Ruby Red flower on there and the Always Artichoke... well, it's on there.

First thing I did was emboss the Creamy Caramel piece with the Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions folder with the intent of using the other side but somehow I liked this better and decided to cut it into a trio. Added the cut out flower, stamped sentiment and some white organza ribbon and called it quits.

Now, why don't you stop lurking and go play along with the Diva challenge this week. Pretty please?!? Tell them Kristin sent ya too so everyone knows that my gals like a good challenge! Go on!

Thanks for visiting again and for your humbling comments!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Flowers, All Holidays

Colors: Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgandy, Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing folder, Key tag punch, White gel pen, White Organza ribbon, Modern Label punch.

Love you much

For yesterday's Mojo Monday contest challenge... My main image is stamped with black Staz On on glossy white paper, which my photo didn't exactly capture. The flower ended up black since I inked it that way so I just covered it with a red punched out flower with black brad.

So what do you think of this color combination? It just kind of happened... I grabbed my Pink Flamingo DSP from SU since I didn't get much use out of it before it retired, and went from there. The Cameo Coral in it use paired with Ballet Blue on the trusty Color Wheel so that's where the blue came from.

This morning I woke up with another idea for this sketch so I may be doing it again today after I take the kids to school.... we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Love You Much, I {heart} Hearts

Colors: Ballet Blue, Basic Black, Real Red (or Riding Hood Red?) and Cameo Coral

Accessories: Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain, black brads, boho Blossoms punch, Heart punch, Pink Flamingo DSP

Party Hearty Dude!

Today's Clean & Simple challenge on Splitcoast was to follow a given sketch. it is an awesome sketch and I really enjoyed creating with it. Today I started out in a different mode (imagine Roses and Rose Red) but somehow ended up going a totally different direction! I enjoy making masculine cards from time to time, especially because so many people find them hard to do and are often looking for ideas.

It took me a while to figure out which sentiment would be perfect since I don't have any teen slang sets. "Party Hearty" seemed just right to me and the look of stamping it over and over again seems to add a more casual feel. Did you notice the frayed end of the ribbon, held on by a staple? Those little touches are always what I strive to find, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so much. LOL!

The Bermuda Bay swirls meant to simulate water in motion is from my brand new Scribbles and Swirls Sizzlit die for my Big Shot. I can think of so many uses for this die and this is only the beginning- you can count on seeing it much more in the future!

Enough chatter, enjoy your day and thanks for visiting me! If you can't think of anything better to do why don't you go play along with this challenge?! Anyone is welcome! Or better yet, go play along with last week's Diva challenge for a chance to be made famous by being our next Featured Artist!! We'll be making our selections tomorrow probably so hurry!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Extreme Surfboard, Party Hearty

Colors: Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White

Accessories: Bermuda Bay Dotted Grosgrain (flip side), large oval punch, Big Shot, Scribbles and Swirls Sizzlit, corner rounder, Thoroughly Modern DSP, Stapler

Equestrian Christmas

I've borrowed some stamps from a friend of mine who is a horse enthusiast to make some coasters. While they are here I thought I'd make a quick card with a few of them. This is for today's Featured Stamper challenge on Splitcoast. I used to play along with the FS challenge often, but haven't in a long time. This week I chose THIS card by Miss Boo as my inspiration. Obviously I've changed it quite a bit- but I did keep the general layout the same. Nearly everything I've used is retired including all the stamps except the little embellishment in teh croner and on the horse. The ribbon and hodgepodge are both retired as well. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Equestrian Dream, Bareback, Gifts of Christmas

Colors: Kraft, Ruby Red, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Rustic Retreat ribbon originals, Hodgepodge Hardware

Your Friendship

Sorry I've been a bit irregular with my posting this week- it's been a busy one! Between a sick kid (again!), volunteering at school, Trick-or-Treating and the normal stuff I just haven't done much stamping. We also had our last regular season high school football game last night (my DH coaches) and their team went undefeated in the league! They are ready to head to the playoffs which could extend the season another 5 weeks potentially.

Anyway, on to the card... I used some of my new stuff for the first time including the stamp set Wings of Friendship which is a level 2 hostess set, the Texturz Plates Kit #4 (has the definition of Friend in it) and this beautiful vanilla taffeta ribbon. It is always a thrill to use new goodies for the first time! I am just loving the look of texturing the vanilla cardstock!

I also used the Fall-to-Layout #65 from the Clean & Simple challenge blog for the sketch. The color combo I just came up with myself. It is Rich Razzleberry, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive and a tiny touch of Pumpkin Pie on the bird's wing and chest. Speaking of the bird, in order to follow the sketch I first stamped the entire image including the bird, then trimmed it to a long narrow piece. Then restamped the bird and cut it out to pop up with dimensionals so it kind of stands off the card.

I hope you like it and am happy that you stopped by today! Have a great Saturday!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Wings of Friendship

Colors: Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie.

Accessories: Stampin' Up! Markers, Scallop Edve punch, Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, Big Shot, Texturz Plates #4

Go with all your heart!

Bordering Blue, Elegant Eggplant and Rich Razzleberry... so what do you think of this color combo? I really like it and think it could be done in so many ways that would be even better than this. This color challenge came from the Color Throwdown this week, #66. Great choice LeAnne! The flowers are colored with a combination of watercolor crayons and ink from the Rich Razzleberry lid with and aquapainter to blend them all. I didn't intend to cut them out at first, due to such detail, but the white paper I stamped on had some random rust colored smudge and I just couldn't trim it off. The sketch I used here is from this week's Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast - SC252.

Did you notice the Medallion stamped in Versamark on the top and bottom of the card? My pictures seem to upload darker than they appear on my photo editing software, so it might not be visible. Try clicking on the picture if you really want to see this detail.

Anyway, thanks for looking today. If you are stuck in a stamping rut, why don't you check out one of these challenges I've linked... or better yet, look at the very bottom of my sidebar on the right and click on "The Daily Dare" button for an entire list of challenges on any given day. It is a wonderful resource to get you going!

Have a great day!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies
Stamps: Asian Artistry, Medallion
Colors: Bordering Blue, Rich Razzleberry, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White with some touches of Old Olive and Always Artichoke on the leaves, and black craft ink for embossing the flower image.
Accessories: White organza ribbon, clear embossing powder (EP), 3/4" circle punch, stampin' dimensionals.

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

Thank Ewe!

Was finally able to enjoy some stamping today! This is for this week's Mojo Monday sketch as well as the Color challenge over on Splitcoast today! I love them both and am so happy I decided to combine them. What a fabulous color combo!

I hope you like it, but I gotta run. I finally get to volunteer in my son's 4th grade class today! I've been scheduled to for the last 3 or 4 weeks but have had a kid home sick every Tuesday!

Have a great day and be sure to stop back tomorrow for our weekly Diva challenge- it is a sketch and a good one!
~Kristin

PS- Ooh, in my haste I forgot to mention that the black piece is textured with SU's large dotted Texturz Plates.

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Pun Fun

Colors: Kraft, Basic Black, Melon Mambo

Accessories: Mambo dotted grosgrain, Liquid Applique, Heart to Heart punch, scallop edge punch, Latte button, black embroidery floss, and and the DSP is from Razzleberry Lemonade!

Stamped and stamped and stamped and stamped and stamped....

That's what I've done all evening last night and all day today so far and guess what I have to show you?! Zip, zilch, nada, big fat zero! Why, you ask? Well, this weekend I suddenly became overwhelmed by my stamps. I don't know how it happened- it came out of nowhere, but I had an overwhelming urge to purge!

No I'm not selling them (the hoarder complex ingrained in me will not allow that) but I had to get them out of here. At some point over the last year I realized that (a) I no longer know everything I have, (b)I found myself recalling particular phrases or images that I knew I had, but couldn't recall in what set and (c) became unable to come up with a name for a set when necessary.

So, on Friday night while listening to the football game on the radio I grabbed one of those large storage tubs from the garage and completely filled it... I mean overflowed it with retired stamps that I'm sick of (for now). I still have probably 100 retired sets left plus my current stuff, but now my stacks aren't leaning perilously close to toppling on my head.

I sent a few home with my mom this weekend (with the express and implied stipulation that I can take them back at any given time in the future). The rest I decided need to be cataloged! I'm tired of knowing I have a "thank you" in a pretty script about 2" long but can't find it anywhere. So, I am maybe halfway done with stamping every image from every set I own on to paper which I will categorize in a 3-ring binder for quick and easy reference!! I am excited to have it done, but am actually getting VERY TIRED of stamping right now. My right arm and shoulder are actually feeling very overworked. I may not be able to play volleyball tomorrow night and that would be a near tragedy!

When my binder is all done I will probably show you, but for now I am going to get cleaned up and go out on a walk. I'll leave you today with at least something good to look at, the last Deal of the Week from Stampin' Up!

Princess Party Kit, Regular price $15.96, Special price: $9.99

You can make your princess's fantasies come true with our Princess Party kit.

Pirate Party Kit, Regular price $15.96, Special price: $9.99

Hoist the Jolly Roger and get ready to have a swashbuckling good time!

Have a great day, and thanks so much for stopping by today!
~Kristin