Spooky Banner

Here's a project you won't want to miss!  In the new Holiday Catalog SU offers several banner kits.  By far my favorite, is the SPOOKY banner.  Isn't it fun?  All you need is the Banner Simply Created Kit and the Halloween Banner Simply Created Accessory Kit and a few Big Shot goodies.  Or, you can skip the big shot and order the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit in place of the Banner Simply Created kit.  The Build a Banner kit comes complete with stencils to create the letters & backgrounds.  I'm not much of a stencil person so I opted to use my Big Shot Alphabet die.  Goodness knows I have the toys, I may as well use them.

My hasty photo doesn't show off the banner as well as I would like, but I think you get the idea.  All the big pieces (skull, bat, and spider web) are this fantastic black glitter that shimmers nicely. And the banner sections are WAY larger than they looked in the catalog--- each is about 5in across & 7in long.   Such a fun finished product!!  I can't wait to hang it up.

Want one of your own?  Then contact me today to place an order, or better yet attend one of my Spooky Banner Classes on Sept 22nd or 23rd.  RSVP today to reserve your spot!

Color Throwdown #249

Time for a little Color Throwdown action.  I went there looking for inspiration at the end of last week.  While masculine cards are super hard, I find masculine cards for 14 year-olds even more difficult.  At least the Color Throdown gave me a fighting chance by picking out my color pallet for me. :)  Between the fairly patriotic colors (I think Poppy Parade & Bermuda Bay are off just enough to keep things interesting) and the different textures, this one is going to work out just fine.  Now I just need to pop it in the mail.  Why is it I never seem able to get birthday cards off on time???

Mojo Monday 300/ Many Mojo

It's hard to believe that the ladies over at Mojo Monday are already on their 300th sketch.  What a huge accomplishment!  I so enjoy playing along, and it's always a great way to get my creative juices flowing.  Right now, I'm working on a bunch of masculine cards for my class at the end of the month and it's great to have a starting place.  So, I took the sketch and added a little bit of a manly flare.  My sentiments are courtesy of one of my Paper Pumpkin kits.  They are so much fun!  I get a new box every month with a surprise project and the stamps to go with it.  It's great fun to create the projects, but even more fun to then use the supplies on new projects.  You too can join in the monthly fun.  Just visit www.mypaperpumkin.com and follow the easy steps to set up your own monthly crafting escape.  List me as your demonstrator and join my paper pumpkin patch!

Masking Tape Magic Fish

It's been forever since I've actually had time to sit and design a card all on my own.  However, when I received the Weekly Inkling from Splitcoast Stampers this week and saw the tutorial for Masking Tape Magic, I caught the bug.  I just had to try it out!  So I inked up some strips of masking tape and created this great little background.   I think the card will be a great addition to my masculine cards class in July.  Cards for men seem to be so much harder to me and I think this one will fit the bill nicely.  Add to that the fun of leaning a new technique and we have a win win situation!

Beau Chateau Mojo/ Mojo Monday #289

I woke up early enough this morning to take a look at the Mojo Monday sketch, but not early enough to do anything with it.  So, the wheels in my head were turning on ideas all day.  It was kind of fun, really.  I knew I really liked the sketch.  In fact, I may make several different cards based on this one.  However, I wasn't sure what exactly I would do with it.  As the day went on, it became clear to me who this card would be for and that always helps with design inspiration.  Sometimes it's great fun to design just for the fun of designing, but it's important to remember the real WHY behind homemade cards.  The point of this particular paper craft is to  send a message and love to some one we care about.  That's what I love most about making cards--- the creative processes brings joy to me and the finished product is designed to bring joy to someone else.  So, this little beauty will go out tomorrow to remind a friend of mine who is going through a tough time that she isn't going through it alone.  Thanks to the ladies at Mojo Monday for giving me a great launching point for this design.

Cloudy Whales

While enjoying my snow day yesterday, I decided to try yet another card challenge.  This time, I hopped on over to the Creative Card Crew blog to see what they were up to this week.  It turns out they are focusing on clouds.  Sounded fun, but I didn't think it would really work with my need to make one more baby card.  Little did I know that clouds would play an important role after all!  I'm not sure if it was just lurking in the back of my subconscious while I was designing, but I quickly realized that the perfect back ground for this super cute little card was my clouds embossing folder.   I was even more excited to discover that my little whale paper clip would be another great addition to the card.  It's always fun to find a way to use new embellishments!! (As if the stamp, die, & paper weren't enough whales for a girl to have) This card also gave me a chance to pay tribute to one of my favorite SU colors that will go away at the end of this catalog season--- Bashful Blue.  It's being replaced by the former In Color, Soft Sky, but I'm not quite ready to let go yet.  So, let's make cards while the sun still shines--- or while the snow still falls!

Whalecome Papertake Challenge

Today ended up as a bit of an oddity.  There were big predictions for a nasty winter storm in my area, so my school district decided to call school for today off around 10:30pm last night.  Wouldn't you know the storm didn't amount to much--- for us anyway.  However, it was way too late to call school back on, so I've had a pleasantly not very snowy snow day.  :)

It gave me a great opportunity to craft!  I decided to check out some card challenges I've never attempted before.  I settled on the Papertake Weekly Challenge for this card.  On their BINGO card I selected "die cut, free space, buttons".  Of course, I only used one button & it is kinda tiny.  :)  No worries though, I think it still counts.  I've been itching to use my coordinating whale stamps, paper, & die from the Spring Catalog and it just so happened that my friend is in need of a baby card.  All things came together nicely and resulted in this little creation.  I think I'm just as happy with the inside as the out today, so I'll post a photo of that as well:
Heck, this one is so cute, I think it may be time for a 5 card class so we can all make it!

Lovely As a Tree Mojo/ Mojo Monday #288

Ah, it feels good to get back into the Mojo Monday groove.  It's such fun to start the week off with a little crafty inspiration.  I went over to the Mojo Monday site this morning knowing I needed to make a sympathy card.  I think their sketch lends itself nicely to the simple elegance I like in any sympathy card.  For this one, I took out an old favorite.  Lovely as a Tree was the very first stamp set I ever bought from Stampin' Up.  It's also been in the catalog longer than any other current set.  I think you can see why.  Its simple beauty makes it just so versatile.  The best part was using this specific stamp with my new ink pads for the first time. In the past, it was a pretty difficult stamp to ink evenly.  I knew that I would have to stamp a few times to get an image that had a complete center.  Well, no more!  This one was a first shot. :) I know the super juicy ink pads take a bit to get used to, but boy do I love them.

Paper Pumpkin gets Pierced

     At last, the very first Paper Pumpkin arrived at my door last week.  I've been excited about it ever since Stampin' Up made their first Paper Pumpkin announcement.  What could be better than new inspiration AND new product arriving at my door each month?

   This first round included EVERYTHING needed to make four cards.  They, of course, had an idea in mind (picture on the left) but I simply couldn't leave well enough alone (picture on the right).  I went a little crazy with my paper piercing mat packs.  All of the ready to go templates that match my punches were just too much to resist.  I stayed completely true to SU's layout for this first card, but think I'll see what all I can do with the elements they provided.  Stay tuned for a bunch (or at least 4) Paper Pumpkin renditions.

   Did you miss out on this month's Paper Pumpkin?  No worries.  You can sign up for April and still get this welcome kit.  It includes a "D" block plus everything you need to make the cards.  Then you'll sync up with everyone else in May.  Just visit the Paper Pumpkin today & sign up!!  

Tootsie Pop Kids Valentine

Are you still searching for just the right Valentine to create for your little one's class Valentine exchange?  Well, I highly recommend this one.  A friend of mine saw it on Pintrest and created a bunch for a little person she knows.  The idea was so cute I just couldn't pass it up for my own niece.  And my nephew liked it so much we made a much less pink version for his class too.  It gives me yet another reason to be an advocate for capping class sizes! I've now assisted in the creation of about sixty of these little beauties.  My aspiring stampers helped me with the Big Shot (and with keeping count of how many flowers we needed to make).  They loved cranking the dies through and keeping track of how many we made.  This project was the final straw in my battle to not buy the Fun Flowers Bigz Die.  I've been resisting for years (literally) and keep seeing fun projects where you just have to have this die.  So, now I can rest easier knowing that it is mine.  :)  Along with the Fun Flowers Die I needed the now retired Daisies Die (you can still get it through Sizzix no worries) to make the completed flower.  Of course, I also curled each piece using my bone folder for a more flower like effect.  Then it was time for Eleanor to add her own touch.  She stamped all the sentiments herself and wrote her name on the back of each sentiment too.   She is, after all, an aspiring stamper. The little photo shows the finished project.  Of course, it's a bit blurry as excited five year olds have a heck of a time keeping still for photos!  Her mom came up with the great idea to load the flowers into a basket with a bit of florist foam.  Now they are completely portable and ready for the party on Thursday. I hope her classmates enjoy them as much as we did!

Stamp Camp Hello There

This card from Stamp Camp West uses a new stamp set and a new set of framelets from the Spring Catalog.  I completely dismissed this set until I used it for this card.  Simply lovely.  I think it would make an excellent sympathy card although it's also cheery enough to work for almost any occasion.  My favorite part about making this card was the inside.  It's typical for me to stamp an image on the liner of a card, but rare for me to do anything else.  Adding the satin ribbon (a real winner from Sale-a-bration) and punching the bottom edge of the liner makes for a much more complete finished product.  It's inspiring me to take more time with the insides of my cards from here on out.  There is plenty of room for both creativity and a message to the recipient.  I would do well not to forget that.

Stamp Camp Feel Goods Vase

There are extra points for creativity for this card.  Isn't it just the cutest?  And where, you may ask, did they find the stamp & framelet for that little vase?  Well, that's simple.  It's actually the top of a Christmas ornament from the Holiday Ornaments collection.  Isn't that clever?  All the credit goes to Rochelle Heart from Stamp Camp West.  ;)

And check out the creativity involved in transforming the simple flower from Nature Walk into quite the colorful bouquet.  I was excited to pick out my own bits and pieces to create the flowers.  I'm sure each person at Stamp Camp created something different.  That's one of my favorite parts of stamping!
 
As promised yesterday, this card also features the International Bazaar designer paper.  It has quite the different feel though, don't you think?  It's one of the things I love the most about Stampin' Up designer paper packs--- you can make so many very different projects all from the same pack.

Stamp Camp World Treasures

Here's another Stamp Camp creation to share with you!  This time it features the International Bazaar product suite.  Tomorrow I'll show you another card that uses the same designer series paper to a very different effect.  Doesn't this one just shout "spring" to you?  Perhaps I'm rushing things a bit, but I'm longing for the cheerfulness of spring cards.

Along with the cheerfulness, I also love the simplicity of this card. It was quick and easy to make (thanks to new oval framelets and the ever essential punches) but still really pops.  Of course, any sentiment from the Fabulous Phrases set would work.  That truly makes this an "all occasions" card. ;)

I don't order the full World Treasures stamp set because I ordered the peacock stamp while it was available as a single stamp.  Now, I'm starting to rethink that decision.  Those flowers are pretty keen.  Now there is a whole new bunch of single stamps available   Interested in checking them out?  Reply to this post & I'll send you a flyer.

FTL 226/ Bloomin' Sketch

Today, I decided to try out a new sketch challenge.  I discovered the FTL sketches over on Clean &Simple Stamping yesterday and couldn't wait to try out this one.  So, I woke up early and got it mostly together before I left for work.  Sure haven't done that in a while!  Of course, I stamped the little flower about a dozen times with different color combos before I decided on this sort of batik look created with three different markers.  And, I'm still doing battle with my iphone to create super clear images...it looked great on the phone, but less so here. Bare with me while I figure out technology.  ;)

The set featured here is my very favorite from the Sale-a-bration offerings--- Bloomin' Marvelous.  Oh, and it's helped out a bit by the leaves from Very Vintage.   You'll forgive me for them being retired, right?  They are just such a perfect match!  I used some of my paper piercing mats (I now buy all that they put out) to add a little extra flare while keeping things simple.  I think the FTL sketches will be good for me.  They seem simple yet elegant.  It's good for me to remember that less really is more from time to time!

Stamp Camp Chalk Board

Okay, first things first with this one.  I need your help.  This card is another of the creations I made at Stamp Camp West.  The only really weird thing for me about SCW is that I'm often in such a hurry that I don't actually find out what set I'm stamping with.  I just grab the assigned stamp and go!  So, please enlighten me.  Which stamp set did I use here?  Extra credit to who ever can straighten me out.  I've searched the catalogs and come up blank.  Thanks in advance for your help!  Clearly it's one of the few sets I don't own. ;)

Even if I don't know which set I used, I know I had a great time creating this chalk board effect.  It's a little different than the one from yesterday.  For this card, we put Craft White ink on large acrylic block & spritzed it with a bit of water.  Then, we sponged some  Basic Black cardstock to create the chalk board.  The stamped images are done with full strength Craft White and not embossed.  There are so many uses for chalk board cards.  You can already see the contrast with the card from yesterday.   It would also make a great technique for a kid card, or a teacher card, or perhaps a coach.  Lots of options!

Stamp Camp Carry On

This was such a fun card to create!  I owe another huge thanks to the ladies over at Stamp Camp West.  There were a couple of cards that featured a chalk board technique (stay tuned for another one tomorrow) and I got a kick out of them.  It's amazing what you can do with a little White Craft ink & Basic Black cardstock.  This one features one of the hostess sets that I actually don't have--- Carry On.  Of course, now that I've made this lovely little card with it, I'm going to have to remedy this situation.  ;)

The rest of the images come from the Language of Friendship set.  It's an automatic favorite because its images are designed to fit punches.  We all know I really DO have to have all the punches, so it's an automatic winner in my book.  Just think...if you order the punches & the stamp set you're all set to get something free from Sale-a-Bration.  Or, if your wish list is a bit longer, you could spend $150 get the hostess set, more free hostess goodies, THREE Sale-a-bration items, and a pack of Silver Glimmer Paper.  Oooooh, you've just got to love that much free stuff!

It's a Napkin/ Color Throwdown #227

     Ok, this was the most fun I've had crafting in ages.  It's always great to stretch by trying a new technique and I've been itching to try this one since Stampin' Up Regionals this fall.  While there, I watched Connie Ingram demonstrate this sparkle extravaganza.  It's hard to capture just how glittery the main image really becomes using Connie's stampin' magic.  When I saw the color pallet over at the Color Throwdown, I knew this was the perfect match!
   
     You start with a pretty, but ordinary paper napkin.  Cut it to about the size you want & then use adhesive sheets to adhere it to a piece of cardstock.  Now it's like uber designer paper.  Then comes the fun part--- use heat and stick powder to coat the whole thing in Dazzling Diamonds glitter!!    The result is more sparkle than you can shake a stick at!

      The Perfectly Penned sentiment set adds words with just the right level of elegance for this creation.  Who knew how much fun you could have with napkins!

Stamp Camp Bloomin' Marvelous

See, I told you that you would see more of the Honeycomb Folder! This time, we sponged just the embossed bits with a little Crumb Cake ink to give the whole piece a bit of a distressed look.  Fun, huh? Granted the main background texture is "contraband" but this is such a lovely little card that I wanted to share it with you anyway.  It's another excellent creation from the ladies over at Stamp Camp West.  It features my favorite of the Sale-a-bration sets for this year--- Bloomin' Marvelous.  I just love the little butterflies!  Some folks insist that since the tiny tag on this card says "love" it must be a Valentine, but I disagree.  I think it's so important for us to send one another love all through the year, not just on the designated day.  Goodness knows we need it!

Stamp Camp Secret Garden

I attended such a fun event this weekend.  It's a stamp camp put on once a month by a group of 10 fabulous Stampin' Up demonstrators who sure know how to put on an event!  I'll be posting some of their creations here (my versions of course).  Please do forgive me because I'm not certain which demo is responsible for which card.  Let me know if you're interested in their events though--- I'd be happy to pass along sign up info.

This cheery card made me think of spring.  Just what we need when the snow starts to fly again.  It features some of the great new toys from the Spring Catalog.  I'm willing to bet you'll be seeing more of that excellent honeycomb embossing folder.  It's great fun and I plan to use it quite a bit myself.  As you can see, there is no need for bees to go along with it. ;)

The flowers and leaves are form the Secret Garden stamp & framelet set.  You know good & well that I did not hand cut those botanical beauties.  With a coordinating framelet for each stamp in the set, there is no need to cut.  That's why I have a Big Shot, right?

Stay tuned for more fantastic cards from my stamp camp adventure...

Introducing...The Paper Pumpkin

Boy oh boy, Stampin' Up has done it again.  They've made ensuring there is room in your life for creativity even easier.  This cool new creative outlet is called the Paper Pumpkin and it's a sort of "project of the month" club.  Here's how it works:  you sign up over at www.mypaperpumpkin.com and then you'll get a kit for a different project each month (starting in March).  The best part--- EVERYTHING you need to do the project is included.  They'll send you stamps, ink, accessories, and pre-cut cardstock to make your creation.  All this will arrive in a cute little bundle on your doorstep for just $19.95 a month.  That includes tax & shipping.  It's like having your own private class that you can complete in your jammies!!

And, as if that wasn't enough, you get a free gift of an acrylic block with your first Paper Pumpkin. :)  How fun!! If you're ready to join in the creative fun just head on over to www.mypaperpumpkin.com and sign up today.  Have no worries, you can cancel at any time or just skip a month whenever you need.  All the details are there for you on the Paper Pumpkin site.  

Please let me know if you decide to join the pumpkin patch!  I look forward to making all these great new projects too.  Of course, I'll post pictures of the projects I make here and be available for any Paper Pumpkin questions you have.  Just let me know!!