I've been waiting to post this card because I can't find who I CASEd it from and was hoping I could find it so I could give her credit.  If it was you, please let me know!

We made this in our club meeting this month.  I used the tree from Lovely As A Tree because I didn't have the set she used.  We stamped it in Versamark and embossed it in white embossing powder.  After it was embossed we used Garden Green ink to sponge over it, start at the middle and work your way out so it isn't too dark around the edges.  That also prevents large circles of ink you get when you first dab the sponge on with fresh ink. 

We embossed the strip of Whisper White paper with the new Snowburst embossing folder which made it really easy to tear across the top and fold down. 

It is a good thing I had another card ready to blog with.  I have a sinus infection AND vertigo right now so I haven't felt like stamping for a couple of days.  I'm hoping to be feeling better tomorrow.  I reckon I better go drink another cup of yarrow tea before I go to bed.

Christmas Countdown

I had a class today where they made these cute tin Christmas Advent countdown calendars.  We had originally wanted to make the one shown on page 36 of the Holiday Mini Catalog but I had heard other Demonstrators saying that the class took 7 hours to complete!  They are beautiful art pieces but when I saw a version in a tin I knew that was the one I wanted to make.  It only took about 2 hours and they are very cute so I'm glad I decided to go with the simpler version. 

We put pieces of the plaid paper from the Frostwood Lodge DSP pack on the cover and inside the tin.  The number stamps from 25 and Counting were stamped on Whisper White Cardstock and layered onto Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green Cardstock that had been punched with the Postage Stamp punch.  Magnets were put on the back of each one so they can be stored inside the tin and changed out each day.Mostly I alternated the numbers with red and green ink but when I got to Baby Jesus it was time to use red and I just couldn't stamp him in red!  I thought about it and decided that Soft Suede ink would be better.  Then I decided that the reindeer and cup of cocoa should be Soft Suede too.  Then the numbers with snow had to be blue.  I reckon I'm a little obsessive sometimes, right? 

Between Bastings

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I thought I would take a few minutes between bastings to post a quick turkey, the symbol of this day of gratitude.  I have so much to be thankful for so I love Thanksgiving and the chance to concentrate on my blessings.  I was raised in a great family on a wonderful farm and learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ early in my life.  I had the opportunity to go to college, met and married a good man and we were blessed with 4 children.  There were, of course, trials that went along with all these blessings but those trials strengthened me and made me the person I am today. 

Thanksgiving dinner is nearly ready and we will be enjoying our dinner soon.  I hope your Thanksgiving dinner has been wonderful and you have had friends and family around to share it with.  Thanks to all of you who follow my blog and are my friends and customers.  I am thankful for all of you.

Here is a little turkey, made with the fan fold technique we all learned in elementary school.  I did the turkey's body with the owl punch and added him to the front of this multiple layer Spice Cake fan fold tail.  Enjoy him and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Another Christmas Card from the Nov Club meeting

The ladies wanted to try embossing so I ordered some white embossing powder for this card.  Can you believe I ran out of white embossing powder!  I saw a card made by Ellen LaFever that I really liked and I copied it fairly close, just changed the colors and embellishments.  I used the tree stamp from Lovely As A Tree and stamped it in Versa Mark and embossed it with white embossing powder.  Then I took a sponge and sponged some Garden Green ink over it, starting in the middle and going out.  That way you don't get the too dark areas around the edges.  I used the Snowburst embossing folder for the dry embossing of the snow hill, tore it along the top and folded it down.

The red Glimmer Brad wrapped around it brightens the Merry Christmas sentiment but I kept thinking it would look better embossed in white too so I suggested it in class and once one of them did it that way it looked so much better that everyone else did.  I reckon that you will have to imagine it though because I didn't take any pictures!

Watercolor Christmas Card

Here is one of the cards we made in our club meeting this week.  We used watercoloring to color in the image from the Tidings of Joy stamp set.  I've noticed that nearly all of my stamps are solid stamps that need no coloring so I wanted to do something a little different this month.  I like the Tidings of Joy stamp set so I ordered it to use to teach some watercoloring techniques.

We used a combination of Watercolor Crayons and Watercolor Pencils, both are Stampin' :Up products that make it fun to color a stamped image.  You can go bold or more subtle like I did on this card.  You can get some good shading if you take just a little time with it.  I was tired and in a hurry to get the card finished so I could go to bed so I didn't do as good a job of coloring as I could have. 

I love that image of Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus.  It is sweet and simple and everyone, including the animals look peaceful.  With just over a month left until Christmas I need to decide if I'm going to use this Tidings of Joy set for my Christmas cards or go with O Come Let Us Adore Him with the wisemen on it.  I don't have much time to decide and start getting them made!

White Embossed Doily

When I saw the Hello Doily stamp in the new catalog I knew it would be one of the first stamps I would order.  It is so pretty and reminds me of all the doilies my mom used to have under her vases and on the backs of chairs.  At the regional meetings I got 2 different swap cards using it with white embossing powder.  They are both gorgeous!  This first one was made by Any Linkel.  It is stamped on Concord Crush cardstock.  After embossing it in white all she had to do was tie a ribbon around, stamp and punch out the sentiment and add a Basic Pearl.  Very easy  but a beautiful card don't you think?

Second, Judy Fetters stamped Hello Doily on Whisper White cardstock and embossed with white embossing powder.  She took a sponge dauber and, starting at the center, applied Rich Razzleberry ink in a circular motion.  Starting at the center means that by the time you get to the edge of the doily the ink will be lighter and you won't get dark circles around the edges.  I reckon that would look as bad as dark circles under your eyes!

Again, tie a bow, add Basic Pearl and a sentiment and another wonderful card finished!  That is the great thing about a perfect stamp, you don't have to work as hard to get a beautiful project.  I really like quick and easy!  As busy as we all are these days we need all the quick and easy we can get.

Scored Card

Here is another swap card I got at the Stampin' Up Regional meeting.  This one was made by Zoe Rhodes.   I love the look the scoring gives this card.  This look is so easy to achieve with the Simply Scored too.  You can add this dimension to many projects that don't need the scoring for folds like the pleated flowers that are so popular right now.  This card is nice and flat for mailing but carries that "WOW" factor we like to get out of our projects.

This is a quick and easy card, the soft colors combine with the scoring technique to create a great card.

Fall Cards

  Happy Harvest!  I love Fall.  The only thing I don't like about it is that Winter follows and I don't like the cold weather or the bare trees.  Funny how much I enjoy seeing the leaves change color and watching them fall and I even enjoy raking them but I don't like the bare trees all that leaves behind.  I think I enjoy raking leaves is because we had so much fun with it when we were kids.  Not only did we rake huge piles to jump into and crawl and hide in, we raked piles into our play houses and raked roads from my sister's house to mine and then on to our other sister's "house".  It was great fun and filled many a Fall afternoon.  If you remember the picture I posted of  my house last week, the home I grew up in is just through the woods and also had a large yard with lots of trees so the leaves were ample.   

Anyway, these pretty cards are some of the swap cards I got at either the Birmingham or the Louisville Stampin' Up Regional meetings.  These all use the amazing 2-step set, Gently Falling.  I've seen so many beautiful Fall cards made with this set.  They are all great but I wanted to show a close up of 2 of the cards.  This great Fall card from my talented friend, Mary Robinson features a fun and easy technique where you stamp a background for your stamping with one of the clear blocks.  Just ink up the block without a stamp on it and stamp on your cardstock.  It leaves a nice shadow as a base for your focal image.  I love the Fall colors.  I reckon I might have told yall how much I like Fall, right?

The other card uses the masking technique.  Although it takes a little more time to get ready it is a relatively easy technique.  In this sample it requires a bit of cutting but once you have a mask cut out you can use it quite a few times so it is really worth the time.  This card was made by Janice Jones.  She stamped one of the leaves from the Gently Falling set onto a post-it note and cut it out.  Then she placed it on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and sponged over it with Soft Suede and Pool Party ink.  The En Frances background stamp could be stamped before or after the sponging, just do it without the mask.  Layering the artwork on Soft Suede and Pool Party cardstock and tying a bit of torn Spice Cake fabric around it finishes off this card very nicely.  Fabric makes a nice, inexpensive bow on your stamping projects and I love that Stampin' Up has fabric to match some of it's Designer Series Paper.  It's great when they introduce products that makes our stamping easier and more versatile.

Easy Woven Card Technique

So, did you get to download the free Digital files and play with them over the weekend?  There were some great files!  I went to a weekend crop at a camp in Land Between The Lakes in KY.  It was very nice and I slept much better than I was expecting to.  I taught a Christmas Treats class there that I will be teaching again soon, I'll post when so you can sign up if you can come.

I haven't added the sentiment yet but I finished up this card Saturday and wanted to share.  I'm thinking it will be a Happy Thanksgiving card for my Sister in Law.  I like to leave the sentiment off sometimes and add it when I need a card.  Since Stampin' Up papers and inks all match I can easily stamp a sentiment in Soft Suede ink and it will be complete!   I reckon I need to sponge a little ink around the Word Window punch so it fits with the card better.

I have see several of these woven cards lately and since I have been a basket weaver I love the look and needed to try it myself.  If you haven't done this technique, it is easy and fairly quick.  I stamped the image from Lovely As A Tree 3 times.  One I left whole and I cut the other 2 into strips, one horizontally and the other vertically.  Then I picked a few of the strips and matched them up to the main piece and attached them.  I had enough strips left to do another card too so you might want to stamp 4 images in the first place and leave 2 whole.  When I first made the card it looked bare so I pulled off the strips and sponged some Soft Suede ink around all the edges.  Perfect touch!

Here is another card I made Saturday.  Again, no sentiment and very simple.  I still haven't decided if it is finished or not.  I'm wanting to add ribbon but I'm thinking I need to move the flower up about a half inch and then put the ribbon between it and the sentiment.  Or maybe I will put the ribbon under the sentiment and not need to move the flower.  If you look closely you can see that the flower  is outlined in the Dazzling Details glitter glue that is new in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  I thought about spongine some Not Quite Navy ink around the flower petals but haven't decided if that would help or not.  What do you think?

Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Stampin' Up! for a four-day online event designed to introduce more of our demonstrators and customers to our digital content. Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 5, but we'll keep the celebration going from November 4-7! The event will include free downloads, blog posts with exciting project ideas all weekend long, and the announcement of the 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners.

Check it out at http://mydigitalstudio.net/

This event is for everyone, if you have never tried digital projects, there are free downloads you can get to "test drive" this fun way to create.  If you already do digital work, the downloads are free for you too!  What have you got to lose?  This is a great time to try our digital program without spending the money to buy it.  Of course, if you love it and want to buy MDS, I'll be glad to help you out with that!

Join us this weekend for:

FREE digital downloads

Project ideas

Announcement of 2011 My Digital Studio Contest winners

I downloaded the free digital products and created this layout.

I love the torn tape look for this layout!  I'm thinking I'll use that digital download a lot.  It comes in the Crumb Cake color that I used as well as clear, Whisper White and Very Vanilla and Basic Grey.  I'm thinking duct tape too!  My niece made a duct tape prom dress a few years ago, she needs that download!

What's included in the free downloads?  127 digital images in all!  FREE!!!  Come on and play along.  I'd love to see what you create with your free downloads!  After getting your free downloads – take a moment to complete a survey at  My Digital Studio.   After completing the survey you will have access to FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS
Why complete the Survey
– Because it will help us continue to provide top quality digital products to meet your needs.
– Because it could mean even more FREE downloads – If we get 5,000 customers to fill out the survey and get the free downloads, we’ll give everyone another FREE download. Want to make sure you get it? Then encourage your friends, family, coworkers, and other contacts to go to MyDigitalStudio.net  between November 4-7 to fill out the short survey and get their FREE downloads. Spread the word by sharing the link from My Digital Studio’s Facebook page and “like” us while you’re there.

Don't own My Digital Studio?  That’s ok – you can use our Digital Downloads with any program you already own.

Another Beautiful Fall Day

I love days like today!  The weather was perfect, sunny and warm.  After some very cold days the last couple of weeks you really appreciate a perfect day more.  It is supposed to rain tomorrow, but the Fall rain helps with the gardens in the Spring so I don't mind a rainy day now and then.   I have several Fall cards to share with you now.

Here is a swap card from Sue Erickson.  I love everything about this card!  She used the French Foliage stamp set with fall colors that speak to me  :~)

I don't know who this card is from, she put the instructions for making it on the back of her card but didn't add her name.  Sounds like something  I would forget to do too.  She used the Give Thanks stamp from It's a Wrap Holidays stamp set.  I like that she found another way to use the set besides wrapping it around a mini candy bar.  The card has lots of texture with the Texturz Plate and punch art.

Last is another card with Fall colors but not a typically Fall stamp set.  It is from Bobbi Simpson and uses the floral stamp from the Love and Sympathy set.  Then she added texture with the Square Lattice embossing folder and copper brads.

I hope you have a beautiful day wherever you are!

It's November!

Fall is in full swing, the weather goes from being beautiful one day to freezing the next.  We just have to keep checking the weather to be prepared or we end up like I was today, wearing a sweatshirt when it is 70 degrees!

I had a workshop today and it was great, we did a punch art turkey and Santa.  The turkey was on a skinny bag and the Santa covered a Hershey Nugget.  The ladies enjoyed the punch art, it is one of my favorite things to do.  I'm so glad Stampin' Up has such great punches and there are so many creative demonstrators who share their ideas so I can look good at workshops!

Here is a beautiful Fall swap card from Shirley Hotop.  It features the glitter window technique.  See how the Dazzling Diamonds are in the middle of the circle?  It is a great technique that will surely come to a class I teach real soon.  It would be great for a Christmas card too, hummm, which stamp set can I use???

There wasn't a name on the back of this swap and I can't seem to get the colors right in the new photo program so it is kind of washed out but it is very pretty in person. 

Here it is opened.  It is a mini post-it notes easel card.  It is so cute and is a great way to let someone know you are thinking of them.

I thought I'd share a picture of my house.  It is in there somewhere!  This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago when the leaves were just starting to change.  They have nearly all fallen off now so if I had remembered to take a picture today you cold actually see the house there among the trees.  My husband spent quite a bit of time raking the yard Saturday.  I reckon I know what he will be doing again this weekend!

Happy Fall Yall!