Encre, papier, ciseaux

I Love You S'More

This week's challenge from TCP was penguins, and they so happen to be my favorite character from their line of stamps, so I was eager to play along. I selected a penguin from a set I've had for a while called Candyland Christmas that I had not inked yet. The fact that he was roasting marshmallow inspired me the "I Love You S'more" sentiment, which I created using two alphabets, the snap alphabet from Karen Foster and the Simply Serif Mini Alphabet sold in the current SU! catalogue.

The main image was die-cut using the Apothecary Accents Framelits and accented with touch of Dazzling Details. I added two glimmer brads at each end.

 

Supplies
Stamps: Candyland Christmas (TCP), Karen Foster snap stamps, Simply Serif Mini Alphabet (SU!)
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Whisper White
Designer paper: Winter Wonderland (My Mind's Eye)
Inks: Basic Black, Primrose Petal, Garden Green
Accessories: Satin ribbon, Baja Breeze corduroy button, Apothecary Accents Framelits,
Dazzling Details, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Liquid Pearl, White envelope,
Subtles Glimmer brad, Oval die, Paper Piercer and Piercing template

No peeking!

Last week's Cat's Pajamas challenge was a color combo: Daffodil + Olive + Not Quite Navy. Love those colours together, so I went for it and this is the card that was born. I never seem to have enough masculine cards on hand so I made sure to add anything too girly to the card so that it could work for a man's card. That being said, I still it's still neutral enough that it could work for a girl as well.

The sentiment reads, "A Gift From Me," from a retired hostess set. Cute match for the bear image!

 

Supplies
Stamps: No Peeking (TCP), Le meilleur de tou (SU!)
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss (green and blue), Very Vanilla
Patterned paper: Authentique, Simple Stories (yellow)
Inks: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Not Quite Navy taffeta ribbon, Large Oval punch, needlepoint floss (DMC),
markers, Stampin' DImensionals, Envelope, Buttons, Tag punch, Circle Tab punch,
Paper piercer and mat pack

Make a Cake in 15 minutes

It was late and I had to go to bed, but I wanted to make a card, so I decided to see what I could put together in 15 minutes. If I'm being completely honest, it ended up being more like 20 minutes because of the last minute fiddling with the sentiment, but it was done really quickly. This is the kind of card you could put together in flash before leaving to the restaurant to celebrate someone's birthday! (True story - I've had a few customers admitting to doing that over the years!)

To gain on time, I used the PPA sketch #143 and coordinated papers and stamps (Patio Party DSP and Make a Cake set). The background was embossed with the Argyle embossing folder and the main image was punched with the Scallop Circle punch and matted with a Circle punch. I decorated the cake with an In Color Dahlia (in Summer Starfruit) and stamped the words "For You" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set, which, as you can guess from the amount of times I've used, is a sentiment staple. Finally, I tied a piece of Baja Breeze seam binding and added a white Designer button on top, held in place with glue dots.

 

 

Inspiration: PPA sketch #143

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Make a Cake, Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes)
Cardstock: Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petal, Whisper White
Designer paper: Patio Party
Inks: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Baja Breeze, Raspberry Ripple
Accessories: Markers, Argyle embossing folder, Circle and Scallop Circle punches, White envelope, In Color dahlia, Stampin' Dimensionals, Baja Breeze seam binding, Neutrals Designer button

 

Fall Celebration

This is another card I put together for our seasonal catalogue team training, to showcase the Wonderfall set. The background features double embossing: clear embossing on the leaf and acorn and dry embossing with the Woodgrain embossing folder.

The fun sentiment comes from the Seasonal Sayings set. I inked each letter separately with markers before stamping it on a strip of Daffodil Delight cardstock. The Gumball Green Core'dinations cardstock was embossed with the Lacy Brocade folder and sanded to expose the lighter center of the cardstock using the Sanding System.

 

TIP: The easiest way to stamp the die-cut leaves is to ink your stamp, put it rubber-side up on the table and then careful put the die-cut leaf face down on the stamp. Press gently and evenly on your cardstock with your fingers to make sure the whole image has transfered to the cardstock, then gently pull the cardstock up. This is the easiest way to stamp on the leaves and I found that it worked even better than using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

 

 

Color Combo: Basic Grey + Island Indigo + Gumball Green + Daffodil Delight

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Wonderfall, Mots de saison (Seasonal Sayings)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Basic Grey, Gumball Green (Core'dinations), Whisper White
Inks: Daffodil Delight, Island Indigo, Versamark
Accessories: White envelope, Clear embossing powder, Woodgrain embossing folder,¨
Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Autumn Accents die, Lacy Brocade embossing folder

 

Warm Wishes

I finally caved and bought the Festival of Prints paper stack. Not that I *need* any more paper, but those prints sure are cute! I wasn't sure about the small format at first, but it is actually just perfect for cards! The three patterns you see on this card (houndstooth, red flourish and bashful blue) all came from this stack.

The focal piece was die-cut using a Window Frames Framelits die and I used the matching piercing template to add a pierced border around it. The steam was stamped in Early Espresso directly on the blue paper and the cocoa mug was inked with markers and stamped on a separate piece of cardstock, then die-cut with the Holidays Collection Framelits (look how perfect my cutting is now that we have those!!). I washed the stamp, inked it again in Versamark and, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig, I overstamped the image in Versamark so that I could emboss it using the Sugar & Spice scented powder.

I stamped the candy cane in Cherry Cobbler on a separate piece of vanilla cardstock, die-cut it wit the Framelits and then I used my kraft knife to crate an opening in the mug to slide the candy cane into. You could also simply cut the cane at an angle and glue it on the image if you want to make your life easier.

To embellish the card, I tied a piece of Early Espresso taffeta ribbon around the top piece of patterned paper, added Neutrals Designer buttons at the end of each strip and a blue brad in the center of the mug. Core'dinations cardstock in Cherry Cobbler was used for the background as textured cardstock.

My favorite part is the sentiment, which comes from the Sinceres Creations set and reads, "Made for you with delight." I had never used this set on the front of a project before, always to sign the back, but I liked how it went with the cup image.

 

 

Inspiration: CPS Sketch #283

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: sational Season, Sincères créations
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler (Core'dinations), Very Vanilla, Festival of Prints DSP
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso
Accessories: Designer buttons (Neutrals), Early Espresso taffeta ribbon,
Holidays Collection Framelits, Sugar & Spice embossing powder, Brad,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Oval punch, Paper Piercer and template, Corner Rounder punch

 

Be Mine, Valentine

This card was copied from the seasonal catalogue, using the Affection Collection stamp set. All of the samples I had done with this set had gone away to SU! for convention and I wanted to make a quick sample to have handy to show my team when we had our training day, so drawing inspiration straight from the catalogue allowed me to put this card together quickly.

I really like the heart with wings image from this set. It's a cool one to have in our collection! The card background was done by stamping the flourish image repeatedly, with every second image stamped without reinking to create paler images. The sentiment with the cute font comes from the Wacky Wishes hostess set, a must-have for your sentiment collection.

The banner was done by layering a piece of vellum cardstock over Silver glimmer paper.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Affection Collection, Faites vos voeux ! (Wacky Wishes)
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Whisper White, Vellum
Inks: Basic Grey, Raspberry Ripple, Pool Party
Accessories: Rhinestones, Stampin' Dimensionals, white taffeta ribbon, staple,
Silver glimmer paper, White envelope

 

Reach for the Stars

Today's card was also born out of my paper scrap production. The TCP challenge that week was to use washi tape, which I only own in one colour (blue with polka dots) that happened to fit with the Simply Scrappin' kit I was finishing up. I wanted to add the sweet bunny over a polka dot sky and the colours of the kit fit the sky and moon theme so nicely. This card looks fantastic in person because it SPARKLES! The moon was entirely covered with yellow glitter which you can sort of see in the picture, but not really to its full potential. I added glitter on the washi tape polka dots as well. The gathered ribbon was part of SU!'s Ribbon Originals packages a few years ago, and the retired sentiment reads, "Make a Wish."

I made a matching envelope out of the remaining patterned paper using my trusty Simply Scored and Diagonal plate.

Supplies
Stamps: Wish (TCP), Un petit plaisir de fête (SU!)
Cardstock: Old Olive, So Saffron, Whisper White
Simply Scrappin' Kit: Blossoms
Ink: Versamark, Black
Accessories: Simply Scored and Diagonal plate, White embossing powder, Stickles,
Markers, Stars die, glitter pen, Vanilla gathered ribbon, Paper piercer,
Scallop Circle die, Washi tape, Stampin' Dimensionals

Baby Booties Gift Wrapping

Last week was my sister's baby shower. That's right, I'm going to be an auntie! Among other things my sister had put on her wish list were a pair of adorable baby booties that look like little Ugg boots (but not as outrageously expense as the real baby Uggs were!). I was all over that and went from store to store searching for them. Found them, and my sister later told me that the boots were the one thing she was hoping for the most, so nailed it! (And apparently, the cute owl plush toy I got them was another hit, as the dad-to-be seems to love it as much as I hope the baby will! It even inspired the cake served at the baby shower! But I disgress...)

I had to make sure everything was wrapped nicely. My sister isn't really into the whole hand-crafted thing too much but I couldn't bring myself to not make something special for the event. They are expecting a baby girl, so I picked some delicate My Mind's Eye papers. My sister's really into plum these days and the whole room has been decorated in those hues, but I didn't really have anything that fitted the bill in those colours. I used polka dot washi tape over the scotch tape to make the package prettier.

One element of design I really like is the white waffle paper I added at the top of the paper. I cut the edge out using the Adorning Accent Edgelit (the scallop one) and added the waffle paper between my patterned paper and the gift bag. Instant ruffle! 

A bow was added to the gift bag handle, made with an old taffeta ribbon I've had ever since I started scrapbooking. Back then, we didn't have any local store, so I had gone to the fabric store and gotten some ribbons by the yard. This is one of them. It is wired, which worked to my advantage here as I was able to give the bow its shape.

My sister was not telling us what the name of the baby was, so I put a B for "baby" as the monogram on the bag.





 

 

Supplies
Stamps: À noter (SU!)
Patterned papers: My Mind's Eye
Ink: Pink Pirouette (SU!)
Accessories: Flowers (Prima Design), kraft gift bag, sparkly gel pen,
Everyday Enchantment brad (SU!), Ribbon Originals (SU!), White waffle paper (SU!),
Adorning Accents Edgelits, Buttons (Autumn Leaves), border punch (Martha Stewart),
Pearls (SU!), vanilla wire ribbon (unknown), Liquid Pearl, chipboard letter (K & Co),
paper piercer, Vanilla satin ribbon (SU!), Circle Coluzzle, white tissue paper

Team Prize!

Last month, I held a training event for my team where we talked about all of the new products included in the Holidays catalogue. The day wouldn't be complete without a drawing for a prize, so I put together a sample of all of the accents from the catalogue and decorated my cello bag using the cute Moving Forward set (which is this year's Ronald McDonald House Charities set, so your purchase goes toward a good cause when you get this cute set for yourself!) and the Summer Smooches DSP.

I needed some tickets for the draw, so I embossed the Ticket wheel in Gumball Green embossing powder on two different colors of cardstock (Island Indigo and Daffodil Delight) and punched the tickets out using the Ticket punch. The girls loved this idea! Then I decorated an old paper clip container to match and used it to keep the tickets in.

To get the two patterns on the belly band added to the cello bag, I simply cut pointy ends on one end of the paper strip and then folded it in half, therefore showing the pattern on the back of the paper through the points.

  

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Moving Forward, Ticket wheel, Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes)
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Designer paper: Summer Smooch
Inks: Versamark
Accessories: Markers, Gumball Green embossing powder, Cello bag, Big Designer buttons,
Summer Smooch fabric brad, Ticket punch, Island Indigo ribbon, Brights Designer buttons,
Small Scallop Circle punch (Holidays catalogue), Stampin' Dimensionals, Oval Accent die

 

September Tour de Freaks - Monster Mash!

 

Psst... If you are reading this post on the 19th, please note that we are getting the tour ready and testing the links to make sure everything is working. The official tour begins on the 20th, so if you cannot make the whole round tonight, hang in there with us!

  

Welcome to our September Tour de Freaks! This tour is brought to you by the Control Freaks Stampers members and if you have been following the tour, you should have gotten to my blog by clicking on the link provided by the always inspiring Mary Brown on her blog. If you are just starting out, make sure to visit all thirteen blogs that are part of the tour today by following the links provided at the bottom of each post. Our theme this month is Halloween and Fall! Don't be afraid to have a look, our projects are frightfully wonderful!

 

 

My first project: Pick Your Poison

I have wanted for a long time to decorate drinks for Halloween and have finally found some cool soda bottles at my local store to do so. They even come in a handy container, all ready to be dressed up!

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Délices délictueux (Toxic Treats)
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black
Designer paper: Howlstooth and Scaringbone
Inks: Black StazOn, Basic Black, Basic Grey
Big Shot: Labels Collection Framelits, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Spider Web embossing folder
Accessories: Cotton ribbon, Circle punch, Champagne glimmer paper, Striped satin ribbon,
Tango Tangerine embossing powder, Silver Foil Smooch Spray

 

 

My second project: Halloween Doily

Our Halloween selection is simply outstanding this year! I just had fun with some of our new supplies to create this adorable card. (Namely, the Champagne glimmer paper, the Seasonal Sayings and Toxic Treats set, the Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP, the Copper button and the pinking Edgelits from the Finishing Touches set.)

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Délices délictueux (Toxic Treats), Mots de saison (Seasonal Sayings)
Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Designer paper: Howlstooth and Scaringbone
Inks: Versamark
Accessories: Markers, Copper button, Champagne glimmer paper, Circle cutter,
Labels Collection Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Neutrals glimmer brads,
Rhinestone basic jewels, Basic Grey stitched grosgrain ribbon, Finishing Touches Edgelits,
Paper Doily die, Tango Tangerine embossing powder

   

 

And now onto your next step on the tour, to view Jason Casper's projects!

 

 

... and Again!

This is the third and final card I was able to make with my Razzleberry Lemonade DSP scraps. Last one, I promise!

I used the Delicate Doilies die to mat the champagne glass image (from the Happy Hour set), which was inked with markers and over which I stamped and embossed my sentiment with Melon Mambo powder.

I used four squares of paper on the card base and "stitched" them in place using my unmounted In Stitches wheel. I added pink rhinestones (from a previous die-cut flower we used to carry in each corner - and now that I look at the picture, I just noticed that my card is missing one!! I'll have to go hunting for it.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: À ta santé! (Happy Hour), In Stitches wheel
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry
Designer paper: Razzleberry Lemonade
Inks: Versamark, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Melon Mambo embossing powder, Pink rhinestones, Delicate Doilies die,
Circle punches, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, White envelope

Happy Hour Again...

The Razzleberry Lemonade DSP fitted the Happy Hour stamp set so well, I decided to make a second card straight away using those two elements. You'll notice I used the Love Notes again as well since they were out on the table and a great size to stamp those drink glasses on.

I used my unmounted In Stitches wheel to add stitching around my pieces of paper and cardstock. I used a remaining piece of DSP along with the Simply Scored and Diagonal plate to make a matching square envelope. I always compliments on my decorated envelopes. People love that they fit with the card and are pretty as well.  I used to go back and decorate an envelope just when I was ready to send a card out. It was a very frustrating process because it took the longest time to locate the DSP or stamp set and ink, and even longer when my mom was asking for some cards to bring back home with her to sell to colleagues and I was desperately trying to make some matching envelopes really fast.

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: À ta santé! (Happy Hour), In Stitches wheel
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Whisper White
Designer papers: Razzleberry Lemonade
Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon, Big Designer button, White baker's twine,
Simply Scored and DIagonal plate, Love Note die-cut, Markers, Paper Piercer,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Rhinestone brad

 

Happy Hour!

Today's card is another creation that was born out of using my DSP scraps (Razzleberry Lemonade DSP). The colors of the paper reminded me of a fruity drink, so I paired it with the new Happy Hour set, which I fell in love with the minute I opened the new catalogue. I colored the drink using marker and stamped it on of the Love Notes die-cuts we used to carry, which I still have a bunch of. I layered it over a punched circle, added glimmer brads, a popped up slice of lemon and I added glitter to the rim of the glass.

The sentiment was embossed with Melon Mambo powder on the DSP. I also added a punched border and a piece of Pumpkin Pie satin ribbon (which I am still mourning). This card will be added to my pile of birthday cards for sale at the office.

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: À ta santé! (Happy Hour)
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Designer paper: Razzleberry Lemonade
Inks: Pumpkin pie, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Glimmer brads, Pumpkin Pie satin ribbon, Lace border punch,
White envelope, Markers, glitter, Melon Mambo embossing powder,
Love Note die-cut, Melon Mambo embossing powder, Stampin' Dimensionals

Hello, Sailor!

Just having fun playing with the TCP sketch and putting birthday cards together to replenish my box at the office. Birthday cards are what I sell the most of and I seem to be always running out! Especially masculine cards... Isn't this card just pure fun? I particularly like the look of the bunny with the mustache I added on him using a scrap of cardstock and the Mustache CutUp die. I like that some of the mustaches are small enough to be added on stamped characters! I know a lot of stampers admitted that they don't really "get" the whole mustache trend - I don't "get" it either, but I think it's whimsical and fun and I'm always up for supplies that are new and different. There's only so many flower sets this stamper can have!

Oh, and if you look closely at the little buoy on the boat, I have stamped and colored it separately, cut it out and then I wrapped a piece of red baker's twine around it to mimick a real buoy! It's all in the little details...

The ribbon I used at the bottom is one of the new In Color ribbons, Summer Starfruit. Don't forget that you can get those for FREE throughout the month of September with a $50 purchase of any products of your choice! Great time to add to your ribbon collection - or start building one!

Supplies
Stamps: Aye, Aye Captain (Cat's Pajamas), Quelque chose à fêter (SU!)
Cardstock: Poppy Parade, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Basic Grey
Patterned paper: American Crafts
Inks: Basic Black, Midnight Muse
Accessories: Envelope template, buttons, baker's twine, Mustache CutUp die, Wave CutUp die,
Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals, Paper piercer, Summer Starfruit stitched satin ribbon,
Poppy Parade twill ribbon

What a catch!

Last week's TCP challenge was an inspiration challenge and the colours were so nice, I decided to look through my, hmm, extensive paper stash to find some that would match the bright and cheery tones from the inspiration picture. I then looked at my stamps to see what could work and found this adorable penguin and fish, which matched the fish-patterned paper very nicely. If you look closely, you'll notice I added glitter to the fish to make its scales shimmer, which turned out really neat!

The card base was stamped with the retired Cheesecloth background stamp (which looks a lot like netting, so perfect for this card) and I die-cut the bottom of my striped paper with the Waves CutUp to again play up on the fish and water theme. I'm really happy with the end results. The bright colours just put me in a good mood!

 

Supplies
Stamps: Best Fishes (Cat's Pajamas), Cheesecloth (SU!)
Cardstock: Concord Crush
Patterned paper: Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Waves CutUp die, red narrow satin ribbon, buttons,
Cosmo Cricket journaling die-cuts, markers, Stickles, Simply Scored and Diagonal plate,
Corner Rounder punch, Stampin' DImensionals

Bright and Cheery Mitten

Doesn't this mitten just makes you smile? I don't remember where this color combo came from but I thought they would look nice on a winter card to cheer somebody up. I used the Nicely Knit wheel in matching colours to create the background and the cute rows from the Make a Mitten stamp set on each cardstock panel.

The main panel was die-cut using the new Window Frames Framelits (LOVE!) and embossed it with the Fan Fold embossing folder after embossing my sentiment (from the hostess set Wacky Wishes) in white powder. I used the matching piercing template (from the Festivities pack) and a white gel pen to add faux stitching all around the die-cut piece. I added scallop faux stitching at the bottom using another one of the piercing templates as well.

I colored the mitten with markers and used the punch to punch it out and add the punched "top" punched out of Lucky Limeade cardstock. I matted the mitten with a white Decorative Label and two turquoise brads. A piece of Rich Razzleberry stitched grosgrain ribbon and three Designer buttons topped with rhinestones finished the look.

 

Color Combo: Tempting Turquoise + Rich Razzleberry + Lucky Limeade

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Make a Mitten, Nicely Knit wheel, Faites vos voeux (Wacky Wishes)
Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry
Inks: Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Versamark
Accessories: White envelope, White gel pen, Designer buttons, Rhinestone basic jewels,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Window Frames Framelits, Fan Fold embossing folder,
Decorative Label, Piercing templates, brads, White embossing powder,
Rich Razzleberry stitched grosgrain ribbon

Un-Happiness

This is another quick page that was made with a Page Maps sketch and a Simply Scrappin' kit called Happy Me. It was a hostess kit a few years ago and I really liked it because I went through most of its contents while it was still available. I was able to put together this cute page and a few more cards that I'll share later to completely finish using the kit. Somehow, that makes me feel so accomplished!

The picture was taken at the last Quebec City Regionals at our team dinner. Julie had her right hand in a cast so one of her teammates cut her steak for her. She made a face at the camera, which made everyone crack up! I love that photo.

"Happiness" was already written on the Design paper, so to create the title, I simply used the Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Upper to add "Un-" in front of the word.

Inspiration: Page Maps Sketch (August 2012)

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Sweet Shoppe Alphabet Upper, Euphoria Alphabet
Simply Scrappin' Kit: Happy Me
Inks: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories; Rhinestone brads, Baja Breeze corduroy brad, Buttons,
Date stamp (office supplies), Marker, Stampin' Dimensionals

Pinata!

I pulled out some old Simply Scrappin' kits that are down to a few pieces and paired them with pictures and the latest Page Maps sketches to pull together some quick pages. This one was made with the Pina Colada SS kit and its bright colours just put a smile in my day. The alphabet set (Spunky Alphabet) is long retired as well, but it had just the right funky font that suited the page perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Spunky Alphabet
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red
Simply Scrappin' kit: Pina Colada
Inks: Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Rhinestone basic jewels, Eyelet, Markers, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Daffodil Delight pompom trim, Pumpkin Pie rickrack

 

Warm and Cozy Duo

This is another card that I made back when we had the catalogue preorder period. Not that different from the card I shared that was a convention sample, but a scaled-down version of the same idea.

You'll notice I adhered two clear bitty buttons over the dots of the paper (bottom left). I also embossed the circle behind the mittens using the Houndstooth folder.

By the way, have you seen our wonderful promotion where you can earn free In Color satin ribbon with every purchase of $50? You could get a roll of this gorgeous satin ribbon I used here on my card. I am seriously in love with this ribbon, but it's no surprise since I love satin ribbon (remember how sad I was to see the other kind retire?) and everything that shimmers. The stitching on it adds a little extra that gives this pretty ribbon some extra oomph.

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Y'a d'la joie (Chock-Full of Cheer)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Very Vanilla
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green
Accessories: Bitty buttons, Oval punch, Scallop Trim punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Houndstooth embossing folder, Vanilla envelope, Circle punch,
Gumball Green satin ribbon, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, Pearl basic jewels


.

Witchy Woman

This last piece of Designer paper I had from a retired pack was too fun to cut apart, so I had set it aside to use on a card front. I thought it would match very nicely with the Googly Ghouls set and the matching googly eyes, so this card came together very quickly since there was not a whole lot of embellishing necessary.

I stamped the spider from the Googly Ghouls set and added a few googly eyes amongst the flourishes. I then embossed the little witch with black powder, colored her in using markers and handcut her. I stamped the "Booo" sentiment on a scrap of Pumpkin Pie paper, added a googly eye in one of the O's, matted it with a scrap of green paper and added the witch with Dimensionals.

The fiber I knotted at left is actually the tinsel we used to carry in the Holidays mini a couple of years ago. Its texture reminded me a bit of the spiderweb, so I liked the match.

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Googly Ghouls
Cardstock: Going Grey, Whisper White
Designer paper: Halloween Night
Inks: Basic Black, Versamark
Accessories: Black embossing powder, Markers, Googly eyes, Tinsel,
Stampin' Dimensionals, White envelope

Googly-Eyed Skull

Those new google eyes are so fun - I just want to add them everywhere! I was still playing with my Spooky Bingo Bits when I made this card and I found that the google eyes were just the right size to add to the skull. I also colored his teeth with the Silver marker from the Holidays catalogue. The sentiment comes from the Pot-pourri hostess et and I also stamped the spiderweb from the same set on the grey scallop circle using the new luminescence ink but the camera didn't pick that detail up. In person, the spiderweb shimmers and catches the light very nicely. I used the new small Scallop Circle punch from the Holidays catalogue to punch the three images on the card. To make the tabs on both sides, I used one of the punches from the Little Labels set.

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Pot-pourri, Spooky Bingo Bits
Cardstock: Going Grey, Whisper White
Designer paper: Halloween Night
Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Luminescence
Accessories: Modern Label punch, Simply Scored and Diagonal plate,
Vintage brads, Small Scallop Circle punch, Stampin' Dimensionals,
Googly eyes, Silver marker, Little Lables punch


.

Halloween Foursome

This is another card that was born out of cleaning out my paper scraps. I also found an old chipboard piece that included four circle windows and thought it would be the perfect item to pair with my new, yet uninked Spooky Bingo Bits set. The sentiment I paired with it comes from the current hostess set offered in the Holidays catalogue called Pot-pourri. The "Même pas peur !" cracks me up!

I used the matching spiderweb image to decorate the inside of the card, along with a die-cut tag I found in my cardstock scraps.

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Spooky Bingo Bits, Pot-pourri
Cardstock: Going Grey, Whisper White
Designer papers: Halloween Night
Inks: Basic Black, Basic Grey
Accessories: Rhinestone brad, Die-cut tag, Simply Scored and Diagonal plate,
Silver shimmer paper, Kiwi Kiss ribbon, pinking shears, White gel pen,
Circle punches, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers, Blackm gingham ribbon


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Here Come the Newlyweds

This is a special-order card that I did a few weeks ago. The order came from a colleague which told me he wanted a wedding card for his son. "Something special - whatever the price." As you can see, I went all out on his card and had so much fun embellishing to my little heart's desire.

The only request my coworker had made was to have a bride and groom image on the card. Which was just fine because I don't own a whole lot of wedding sets and was planning on using the retired To Have and to Hold set, anyway.

If you are wondering where the wonderful lacy border comes from, it's actually one of the love note cards that SU! was selling in the last Occasions minicatalogue. I cut the border off and used it on my card so I could make it a bigger size. The center of the lace was embellished using brown glimmer brads and pearls.

For the main image, I stamped and embossed in Pewter powder the groom and bride image, masked it and spritzed it with a handmade mix of Baja Breeze spray I made using Champagne Mist glimmer paint and a ja Breeze reinker mixed in our new spritzing bottles. It worked great and looks great, too! The sentiment was stamped on the leftover piece of spritzed cardstock using the label from the To Have and to Hold set and a sentiment from the Petite Pairs set. I framed the image using the new Champagne glimmer paper, which looks amazing paired with Very Vanilla and Baja Breeze. I die-cut the frame using the Labels Collection Framelits and embellished the frame using pearls. You'll notice I used the inside part of the frame (die-cut) to decorate the envelope - no waste! The flowers at the bottom are flowers over which I glued the satin ribbon roses SU! used to carry in a previous minicatalogue.

The inside of the card was decorate as well. I used the gold marker from the Holidays catalogue to color the champagne and used pearls to embellish the bubbles coming out of the glasses. I used the second doily that I had die-cut with the Delicate Doilies die (the first one was used on the card to mat the main image) to mat the champagne image. The third doily was used on the back to mat my signature stamp.

On a side note, I had a new signature stamp made with the Monogram Stamp from p. 147 of the catalogue. This personalized stamp might get overlooked because it is used for stationary in the sample picture, but you can have anything you want written underneath your monogram - as long as your respect the letter count. I had mine say "Creation of Cindy Major". I'm really happy with how it turned out and it stamps really crisply, which I am also pleased about.

The finished card was so bulky, I had not only to make a matching handmade envelope, but add a little give in the sides and hold it shut using a belly band on the envelope, which looks really classy and finishes off the set very nicely. I stamped the hearts image and paper pieced each of them in a different color. I think if I was to receive such a fancy envelope, I'd get excited about what's inside before even opening it!

My colleague was very pleased with the end result, so much so that I ended up getting a little extra tip! On days like these, I just really love my job!

  

 

 

 



 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: To Have and to Hold, Quelques lignes (Petite Pairs), Monogram Stamp
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Designer paper: Elegant Lines
Inks: Versamark, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Pearl basic jewels, Champagne glimmer paper, Labels Collection Framelits,
Simply Scored, Vintage brads, Love notes cards, Scallop Circle punch, Circle punch,
Gold marker, Delicate Doilies die, markers, spritzer bottle, Baja Breeze reinker,
Champagne Mist shimmer paint, Scallop Trim border punch, Neutrals glimmer brads,
Ribbon roses, flowers, button, Crumb Cake taffeta ribbon

Sparkly Swap

Today's card was my Control Freaks Holidays swap card. I went back and forth on actually using this design or not and finally decided on keeping it. I went though a whole lot of tulle to finish my 31 cards, but I do like the look of tulle of projects. It gives texture but is still really delicate and see-though so there's a lot of different looks you can achieve with it. I'm also totally in love with the Champagne glimmer paper. And to think I almost passed on it because I didn't really like the colour in the catalogue. It looks so amazing on projects! I'm already on my second pack of the stuff.

The outside of the Midnight Muse cardstock was outline with the gold marker (also from the Holidays catalogue) and the cardstock was embossed with the new embossing folder. So elegant!

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Joyous Celebrations
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler
Inks: Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Cherry Cobbler tulle, Wide Oval punch, Pearl basic jewels,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Champagne glimmer paper, Labels Collection Framelits,
Midnight Muse ribbon,Gold marker, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Brocade embossing folder


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Frosty Postage

This card was put together using the oh-so-adorable Priority Mail hostess set. It can be used for various themes, but I chose  a winter theme for this one. I created the background on the Crumb Cake cardstock by stamping the winter sentiment repeatedly, a few times in Real Red, then in Night of Navy, then in Tempting Turquoise. I stamped the snowman three times in those same colors, punched them out with a circle punch and matted them with matching cardstock color, then added matching buttons in between.

The two side borders were created using one of the Framelits from the Finishing Touch set. I placed the Edgelits in the center of my strip of red glimmer paper and used the positive and negative parts on both sides of my Crumb Cake cardstock. I stamped the winter stamp image from the same set on Whisper White cardstock, embossed it with the Peppermint scented embossing powder, punched it out with the Stamp punch and added a Night of Navy brad before sticking it on the card using Stampin' Dimensionals. The card's background was stamped with an old favorite, Confetti.

Color Combo: Real Red + Night of Navy + Tempting Turquoise +
Crumb Cake + Whisper White

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Courrier prioritaire (Priority Mail), Confetti
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake, Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Inks: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Night of Navy
Accessories: Red glimmer paper, Finishing Touches Edgelits, White envelope,
Circle punches, Stamp punch, Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Peppermint scented embossing powder,
Designer buttons, White gel pen

Spring Birdie

One of the hostess sets that have been the most popular with my customers to far is the Four Seasons set and I have to say, I can see why! It's one of my favorite as well. It's just so full of personality! I like the size of it, too. It fills in a card very nicely and coordinates with punches, which we all love!

On this card, I used two packs of Designer paper: the Natural Composition one (gorgeous and so easy to pair with everything!) and the Floral District one. I let the DSP colors dictate how I inked the main image. I used markers to get a multi-colored look and make the image more interesting. I also stamped it twice so that I could punch out the center and pop it up with Dimensionals. The sentiment comes from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set (which is a must-have, in case you don't already own it!).I used white taffeta ribbon to tie a bow over the main image.

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Four Seasons, Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes)
Cardstock: Tango Tangerine, Whisper White
Designer paper: Floral District, Natural Composition
Inks: Lucky Limeade, Rich Razzleberry
Punches: Circle punches, Scallop Circle, Modern Label, Word Window
Accessories: White taffeta ribbon, White envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals, Markers

Santa Says...

I told you the other day that I was excited about this new hostess set (Christmas Wishes), and this is the second card I made with it, using the Santa in the hot air balloon image. I inked it with markers to get various colours on the image and I paired it with some oooold SU! DSP (you might have noticed I've been using older papers lately to try and skim my collection a little and finish those packs that are down to just a few scraps - you'll see a few creations that were made with those scraps in the upcoming weeks. There's nothing like using new stamps to infuse some renewed inspiration for your older supplies.) I really liked the idea of doing hot pink and teal for Christmas, a nice diversion from the usual green and red combo.

The clouds were made using the Cupcake punch and the grass/ground was created with the top of the cupcake cup on the punch. I lined up the scraps at the bottom of my paper to create the landscape. The pink rhinestones are also from SU! - they were part of the die-cut flower set that was sold in this Spring's Occasion mini. Perfect to use with those papers! The card is a long tall card that measures 3-1/4 x 6-1/2 in.

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps : Voeux festifs (Christmas Wishes)
Cardstock: Taken with Teal. Whisper White
Designer Paper: Love Ya
Accessories: Markers (Pool Party, Island Indigo, Chocolate Chp, Pretty in Pink),
Cupcake punch, Pink rhinestones, white envelope, Stampin' Dimensionals

Petal Patch Thank You Notes

As I was down to only a few small scraps of my Petal Patch DSP, I decided to put the pack to rest by making a few 3x3 thank you notes. Those will be going in my customers' shopping bags. There's something so satisfying about finishing a pack of papers - and also a little bittersweet because the packs I use all the way to the last scraps are usually the ones I love the most! This one is no exception. The soft colours really appealed to me and I've made many projects which I ended up loving over the years using that DSP.

You'll recognize the Perfectly Preserved set as well as the Bitty Banners one. On the single card below, I wanted to try a fruits on a shelf look, so I embossed a piece of Vanilla cardstock with the Stripes embossing folder to mimick paneling, and then added Designer paper that looks like flowered wallpaper on top. I cut a square in half to do a little napkin, which I decorated with a few pearls and then I added the fruits, which were die-cut using the matching Framelits. Easy peasy!

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved, Bannières Bitty (Bitty Banners), Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes)
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Designer paper: Petal Patch
Inks: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede
Accessories: Pearl basic jewels, Perfectly Preserved Framelits, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stripes embossing folder, Rhinestone brads, Twitterpated button, Brads, Twitterpated Designer Fabric,
Oval punch, Baker's twine, 3x3 envelopes, Bitty Banners Framelits

 

Preserved with Love

This card was a special request for a birthday. My coworker told me her mom loved to cook and I immediately thought I could put the Perfectly Preserved set to good use. I also went digging through my stash and found those old paper scraps that have the perfect homemaker feel to it.

I matted my focal image using the Window Frames Collection Framelits and used the matching piercing template to add piercing all around the bigger mat. The smaller mat was embossed twice with the Stripes embossing folder to create a gingham pattern. Blue brads were added on both sides of the mat. The top of the preserve was die-cut out of Designer paper and wrapped with baker's twine. I then added a small button from the retired Twitterpated pack.

Underneath the image, I added a touch of gathered tulle. I LOVE this new item from the Holiday catalogue. So much so that I'm already out of all three colours! (Although, to be fair, I should add that I did split those spools with one of my downline member.) I'll be buying more on my next order, for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom, Whisper White
Designer Paper: Petal Patch
Inks: Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Soft Suede
Accessories: White envelope, Window Frames Framelits, Perfectly Preserved Framelits,
Stampin' Dimensionals, Stripes embossing folder, Brads, Early Espresso tulle,
Blue gingham ribbon, Twitterpated button, Festive Paper-Piercing pack,
Adorning Accents Edgelits and embossing folder, Pearl basic jewels