Happy Heart Day

Today I stamped with a new Stampin' Up!® set, Happy Heart Day. I used Really Red, Whisper White & Bordering Blue Card stocks, along with the Basic Black Ink pad. I used my Water Color Crayons and Aqua Painter for coloring in. I added ribbon from the Jersey Ribbon Originals along with Black Gingham ribbon & a Black Brad. Once again, this is a new set from Stampin' Up!'s® Spring - Summer Collection, 2008.

A Beautiful Thing

Happy New Year! It has been awhile since I've posted, but I'm back and I hope to be adding new cards and projects on a regular basis again.

I've been stamping with new sets from the Stampin' Up!® Spring - Summer 2008 Idea Book & Catalog. Contact me for your copy! They are $5.00 or free when you set up a date for a workshop.

Both cards use A Beautiful Thing stamp set. I used Old Olive, Ruby Red & Whisper White Ink and Card stocks. After embossing with white powder I cut out the flower and added a ruby red brad. I punched out the saying with the Key Tag Punch, daubed it with Old Olive and added a Fire Circle Rhinestone Brad.



 

This is a 3 x 3 card that uses the same set, card stocks & techniques. I did add Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper and the saying is from Mark the Date.

 

More Christmas Cards

Today I'm adding two more stamped Christmas cards we've received. This first one is from Martha F. who is in my 3rd level down-line. She is a hobby demonstrator, buying for herself and sister. I think she did a great job using the All in the Family stamp set. As you can see from the card, they have four boys. I love, love love this card. Great job Martha!

Valerie W. made this really cute card. She used the Snow jumbo wheel and one of my favorite sets, Merry & Bright, which were both featured in our Holiday Mini Catalog. Once again, this card shows simplicity but with the ribbon and glitter it adds elegance. Valerie, I give you 5 stars. Beautiful!

Christmas Cards from Family & Friends

I've had no time to stamp but have received some beautiful hand-stamped Christmas cards, so I'm sharing them with you. Debbi F. made this beautiful card. Using the Big on Christmas stamp set, she embossed the Noel with black embossing powder, colored it in and added the gold Zig Painty for an extra special touch. Another great addition is the striped paper from the Dashing Designer Series Paper. I also love how she made it into a tag. The finishing touch was punching out a piece of River Rock using the Small Oval Punch, folding it, and attaching with a gold brad. I love it, Deb!

This next card was made by Charlotte A. She used the Snowflake Spot and Many Merry Messages stamp sets with Whisper White, Bashful Blue, and Night of Navy card stocks. It was stamped using Night of Navy ink along with silver embossing. She also added silver organdy ribbon. I love the simplicity and elegance of this card. Great job, Charlotte!

Seasons of Joy, Decorated Tin

Here is another tin that will hold a gift card. Again it uses the Season of Joy stamp set. As you know, it was in the Holiday Mini catalog, which is no longer available so I apologize for using a retired set. I've had this set for 2 months, and this is the first time I've used it. Maybe Stampin' Up!® will put it in their Fall & Winter 2008 catalog next year.

Yesterday we spent the day at the Winterthur Mansion and gardens in Delaware. If you are visiting the area, or live close by, I recommend their Yuletide Tour. The tour along with the snow we are getting today, really put me in the Christmas mood. Also this past week we visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. We have a yearly membership here and they too are decorated for the Holiday Season. Both of these places are worth visiting. Check out their websites if you want to know more. Have a great week and Happy Stamping.

Season of Joy, Altered Altoid Tin

Today I played with some tins I have been saving for quite a few years. This one shows an Altoids tin. I used Dashing Designer Series Paper along with the Season of Joy stamp set and a few of our Punches to alter it.

On the inside I used Wild Wasabi card stock along with some tissue paper. I also used the Tags for All stamp set. These tins are perfect packaging for your holiday gift cards. I'm playing with a couple more and will try and finish them up tomorrow. If you need more details, E-mail me and I'll be sure to get back to you. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Office Accoutrement, Mini Notebook

This is a small composition style notebook, and they are great to cover, especially with our Office Accoutrement stamp set. I used So Saffron Card stock, but first stamped it with the Canvas background stamp using So Saffron Ink. Once again I used my Craft ink pads on the flower, leaves and saying and once again clear embossed them. This helps the outside of my books to look great for a long time. I also used Petal & Paisleys Designer Series paper on the spine. To adhere it to the note book, I ran everything through my Xyron® machine. If you use this, make sure you have your paper in the right spot the first time, because there is no second chance. I also have used Stampin' Up's!® Anywhere Glue Sticks, and they also work great. Thanks for looking and have a great week!

3 Cards using "Festive Favorites"

December has arrived and so did the cold here in the northeastern part of the USA. We live in southeastern Pennsylvania and cold for us is anything around 32 degrees. No snow yet, but calling for freezing rain tonight. Yesterday I stamped most of the afternoon and here are 3 cards I finished using the Festive Four stamp set. The card is Real Red and using my Real Red craft pad I stamped the Print Patterns stamp on the top half of the card. I added Clear Embossing Powder and Heat Embossed it. One of the things I remember as a child was our families Christmas Cards. It was so exciting seeing the many different cards and who sent them. I remember the cards that had raised embossed pictures or lettering and thought, wow the people who sent these must be rich! Well when you raise emboss on any card, it does add a little richness.

I stamped the 3 images using our Basic Black Classic ink on to Whisper White card stock. I cut each of them out and colored them in using my Stampin' Write Markers. I punched out the smaller images using Tag Punches. I used either the All Holidays or Holiday & Wishes stamp sets for the sayings. These too I embossed using a Craft pad and clear embossing powder.

To finish off each of the cards I added Stampin' Up'!® Ribbons. Other card stocks used were Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi. I would love to here from you, so tell me what you think and if I left something out, feel free to ask. Click to E-mail Me!

 

Bundle of Joy

Our neighbor's have a new little baby boy, Robert Marshall. He was born November 20th and is a real cutie pie. As you can see, I'm finally getting the card made. I used the Bundle of Joy stamp set with Bashful Blue, Whisper White and Barely Banana card stocks & Ink. I also used the Large Oval punch & Light Blue Gingham ribbon. Any questions, just e-mail me and I'll do my best to answer.

With Gratitude, Thanksgiving Card

It's been a busy week. Our son Steve, daughter-in-law Amanda and their 2 daughters, Evelyn and Amelia were up from Greenville, South Carolina for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We had a total of 17 for dinner. Unfortunately our other son Ted Jr., daughter-in-law Stephanie and their 3 children Jordan, Teddy & Baylee shown here in the picture did not make it up. They too live in Greenville, but due to a new job, was unable to take off. Stephanie also is a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, very creative and a great stamper. She sent these Thanksgiving cards out to friends and family, which I think turned out beautiful! Since I have had no time to stamp, I'm adding the card to my blog. She used the With Gratitude stamp set, Sahara Sand & Pumpkin Pie Card Stocks, Always Artichoke Ink Pad, More Mustard & Pumpkin Pie Re-inkers with an Aqua Painter and then tied on some Black Gingham Ribbon. I hope you all had a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. I'm going to try and get some stamping in this coming week. Thanks for looking and if you have any questions, please e-mail me.

Glittering Candle, Peaceful Wishes

I love stamping on tissue paper and

applying the image to a candle. Here I used the Peaceful Wishes stamp set. I inked the pine sprig with my Always Artichoke Marker, because I only wanted to use half of the sprig. I used my Close to Cocoa & Chocolate Chip marker on the pine cone. After stamping on the tissue paper, I wrapped it around my candle and then used my Heat Tool to melt it to the candle. I rolled the candle on wax paper as I applied the heat, constantly rolling the candle so it didn't melt too fast or too much. As the tissue paper turns clear, you will know it is done. I then applied White Liquid Applique, which Stampin' Up!® no longer carries, but I think can be bought at your local craft store. While the applique is still wet, I sprinkled our Dazzling Diamonds glitter on it.

Big on Christmas, Noel

These next two posts use the Big on Christmas stamp set. On this one I used the Bright Bulbs roller stamp on Sahara Sand card stock. I inked it by rolling it in my Night of Navy Craft pad and then Clear Embossed. I then colored in with my Stampin' Write Markers. I did the same with N el on Night of Navy card stock only this time I used an old Blender Pen, dipping it in bleach and bleached out the letters. Be sure to pull the tip out of your Blender Pen and rinse thoroughly so it can be used again for bleaching, other wise it will fall apart. I stamped the O (ball) on Whisper White, colored in and then cut out and raised it onto the Night of Navy. I also used Real Red in my layering and used my Zig Painty on the edges of the layers and on the Christmas ball.

Big on Christmas, Let it Snow!

On these 2 cards I used my Basic Black Craft pad with Clear Embossing Powder, Real Red card stock, & the snowflakes from Wishing You Cheer stamp set. The one to the left uses Very Vanilla craft pad & card stock. I also bleached the SNOW, then added some color with my markers. The other one I colored in SN W using my White Gel Pen, the snowman face I stamped out on white, cut out and raised it on the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. I like the one to the left better because it has a vintage look to it. E-mail me with your comments or questions.

Three Thoughts, Simply Sent Cards

These Simply Sent Kits are wonderful. The one shown here is Three Thoughts. This kit has everything you need to create many beautiful cards. It has Chipboard pieces as well as self adhesive Die Cuts.

The kit also includes a 4 piece stamp set, More Mustard, Mellow Moss & Purely Pomegranate Stampin' Spots, Card Stock Assortment, Mini Glue Dots & 14 Whisper White Envelopes. If you have yet to play with Stampin' Up's!® Chipboard or the self adhesive Die Cuts, this would be a great kit to buy to see if you like them. I also used my White Gel Pen to accent the flowers on the one Mellow Moss card. Any questions please e-mail me, I would love to help you in any way I can.

Baby Cards, All in the Family

Here are two 3x3 cards I made with the All in the Family stamp set. The dots stamp is from my Happiness Background stamp. Ted, my DH, cut them apart and then made blocks for each one. I also used my Curvy Verses set and Circle & Scallop Punches. Have a great day!

All in the Famiy

I'm finally getting around to playing with 2 stamps sets that I have had for about a month. They are All in the Family & Family Accessories. It's fun adding heads, arms & legs to these bodies. I used Pretty in Pink, Whisper White & Certainly Celery Prints Designer Series Paper on the full size card and Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, Whisper White & So Saffron PDSP on the 3x3 card. I also used Stampin' Write Markers, White Gel Pen, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Circle & Ticket Corner Punches. The Greetings are from Hug & Wishes and All Holidays. During November, 100 percent of the sales from the All in the Family stamp set will go to the Dave Abbott Family Fund. Dave Abbott was a General Manager who passed away from a rare blood disease. He leaves a wife and 3 children. If you were planning on buying this set, this is the month to do it. Any question or if I can be any help, e-mail me. Have a great weekend!

Christmas Card, The Snowflake Spot

I've seen a lot of wreaths made with The Snowflake Spot stamp set, so I had to do one too. Using a pencil, I first drew a faint circle in the center of the Very Vanilla card stock. I then stamped a snowflake at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 & 9:00 (o'clock, get the picture?) I then stamped 4 more in between each of these. I then stamped 8 more in between those 8, but I stamped each of these off once to get a lighter shade. I used Always Artichoke & Real Red ink pads & card stocks, Red grosgrain, the Ticket Corner & Oval Punches. It's hard to see, but I also used my Glue Pen and some Dazzling Diamonds on the wreath. I had fun making this card and it was quite easy.

Christmas Gift Box

I was looking for something I could use my new jumbo Snow Wheel on and I came across these 4x4 kraft boxes which I bought several years ago. I rolled the wheel using the Night of Navy ink cartridge. I then stamped the snowflakes from Festive Favorites using the Whisper White Craft pad. I also stamped the snowflakes with the Night of Navy ink pad on white Christmas ribbon. It's a little stiffer than our grosgrain's and worked out perfect for making a bow. I used the snowflake from the In the Spotlight hostess set on Night of Navy card stock with the Whisper White Craft pad and punched them out with the Snowflake Punch. As you can see, this stamp was made to fit this punch perfectly. The tag is from Punch Pals and was also punched out using our Tag Punch.

Thanksgiving Center Piece

This Autumn spice candle is about the size of a coffee can. I purchased it at Pier 1 Imports. I love how it smells but I needed to "dress it" for Thanksgiving! I used my Autumn Dots Wheel and inked with my Clear Embossing Cartridge onto Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Pie 12 X 12 card stocks. I then embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. This candle is 13 inches around so I had to come up with an idea to hide the 1" gap. Well here is my solution. The saying is from God's Blessings & it's punched out with the Large Oval Punch. I used Sticky Strip to adhere it to the large oval Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware frame. If you warm the brads with your Heat Tool, they slide right into the candle. I also used Brown 1/4" grosgrain, gold cording and the Apple Cider Designer Series Double Sided Paper. (Try saying that fast 3 times in a row.) I have it on a long oval tray with chunky great smelling potpourri and since I'm cooking this year, it looks like I get to put it on my table! Send me an e-mail with questions or comments.

Flaky Friends Acrylic Note Pad Holder

I used Stampin' Up!'s Flaky Friends stamp set with this 5 X 7 acrylic frame. These frames work great for note pads. On this one I stamped the mittens, snowmen & tress using Basic Black ink onto Bashful Blue card stock. I colored in using my Stampin' Write Markers & Whisper White Craft ink refill with a Blender Pen. I attached the note pad with Sticky Strip and the gel pen with velcro. Very easy and they make great gifts. If you have any questions, send me an e-mail. Thanks for looking!