Feels like fall

We had our first official frost last night. Brrrr!! I think it's time to put the blankets on the beds! I haven't forgotten about the Happy Harvest blog candy winner- but first you need to see my card for today! I used Mercy's sketch for my layout and my Happy Harvest stamp set from i {heart} papers. I colored my image with my prismacolor pencils and gamsol then layered it on some squares cut with my nestabilities. The rest is pretty straight forward but please ask if you have any questions! Okay, now the winner of the Happy Harvest stamp set according to random.org is #3 RONDA C!! Ronda please email me your address so I can get your set to you!

I'm looking forward to a quiet night at home with a little bit of stamping tonight while the older kids are at confirmation. Did you know that this Saturday, October 3, is world cardmaking day?! There are many activities going on throughout the web so it should be a busy stamping weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Harvest"

stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press)

ink: palette burnt umber (Stewart Superior)

paper: chocolate chip, ruby red, very vanilla, urban garden DP (SU!); Bloom DP (MME); K&CO Bailey DP

accessories: prismacolor pencils (Sanford); square nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (Michael's); button (SU!); brads (Hobby Lobby); border punch (EK Success); hemp twine (May Arts)

There She Goes (again)

Today's clean and simple challenge over at SCS involves using the colors blue, green, pink and chocolate. I took out my new "Bloom" set that I just received from There She Goes and set to work! I stamped my flowers in Palette Burnt Umber on water color paper and then watercolored them with my SU! ink pads. I cut them out with my oval nestabilities and layered it on another oval of chocolate chip. The blue layer was embossed with a SU! texture plate. Clean, simple, complete! (Check out the There She Goes blog also for this week's challenge of spooky cracked glass!)

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a Happy Harvest stamp set!

"Bloom"

stamps: Bloom (There She Goes)

ink: Palette Burnt Umber (Stewart Superior); mellow moss, bordering blue, pretty in pink (SU!)

paper: mellow moss. chocolate chip, bordering blue (SU!); watercolor paper (?)

accessories: oval nestabilities (Spellbinders); sizzix texture plate (SU! exclusive); acrylic baubles (Michael's)

I've got Candy!!

I have a couple more Happy Harvest cards to share with you today. I used a new (to me) product on this one. It is called Crackle Accents and it is the coolest stuff! If you like the cracked glass technique but are a bit impatient with all of the steps (I'm raising my hand here), all you have to do is coat your project with this stuff right out of the bottle and let it dry (about 45 minutes) and it cracks on it's own! I stamped my grapes in elegant eggplant and then used reinkers to color them. I added the crackle medium and set them aside to dry. When I came back I was a little disappointed in how the ink bled outside of the lines but after looking at it again, I think it gives it an elegant look! I think next time I will try a permanent ink. I added some layers of soft suede and elegant eggplant card stock, along with a nestabilities labels 8 shape that I texturized with a Quickutz embossing folder. To see another Happy Harvest card and the fianle to my month as Jen's Guest Designer, go HERE!



Have you enjoyed this month's creations with Tracy's great Happy Harvest set (available only at i {heart} papers)? Would you like to win a set of your own? All you need to do is post a comment on this post and I will draw a winner on Tuesday! Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

"grapes"
stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press)
ink: elegant eggplant, soft suede (SU!)
paper: elegant eggplant, almost amethyst, soft suede, very vanilla (SU!); Basic Grey Wisteria DP
accessories: labels 8 nestabilities (Spellbinders); retro diamonds embossing folder (Quickutz); Inksentials Crackle Accents (Ranger); scallop scissors (Fiskars); ribbon (SU!); pearls (Martha Stewart)

Home Sweet Home Halloween Additions

Today's featured set from There She Goes is a companion set to Home Sweet Home (that was featured yesterday). This set is called Halloween Additions. I hope you have arrived here from Faith's blog but if you haven't you can head over to the There She Goes Blog to start at the beginning! After you have left a comment on each of the Trendsetter's blogs, be sure to go back to the TSG blog to enter your name in the Mr. Linky for a chance to win a Home Sweet Home Halloween Additions set of your own!

I couldn't decide which image to use for my card (they are all so cute and work well with or without the Home Sweet Home set) so you get this little spider card and a bonus card too! Lucky you! Isn't that spider just cute? Okay, I don't really think spiders are cute. In fact I usually freak out when I see one in my house and my husband or oldest son has to capture the critter and send it on it's merry way to the water treatment facility! But this little guy, along with that cheeky sentiment, really makes me grin! I found some DP by MME that just completes the whole scene!

This one is a clean and simple card. Oh, and looky there, some of that great Basic Grey Eerie paper (told you I was addicted!) I thought this sentiment fit just perfectly with these spooky halloween trees. I added some sparkly brads by Making Memories to highlight my saying and punched it out with a mega Marvy oval punch. I also roughed up the edges a bit. I added some zig zag stitching around the main image layer and then popped it up on some super dimensional tape.

Remember to join us on Saturday night from 8-10pm Central time in the There She Goes Forum for the release party! All 3 of the new sets will be available for purchase after the party.

Thanks for stopping by now hop on over to see HOLLY for some more fabulous Halloween Additions creations!!

"legs"

stamps: Halloween Additions (There She Goes)

ink: black

paper: really rust, basic black, whisper white (SU!); Boo to You DP (MME)

accessories: small and large tag punches, word window punch, paper piercer (SU!); dew drops (Robin's Nest); ribbon, hemp twine (May Arts); jumbo grommet (We R Memory Keepers)

"best Witches"

stamps: Halloween Additions (There She Goes)

ink: black

paper: kraft, basic black, elegant eggplant (SU!); Eerie DP (Basic Grey)

accessories: oval punch (Marvy Uchida); sparkly brads (MM); sewing machine

Home Sweet Home

It's my first official blog hop as a Trendsetter! Today we are featuring the new set Home Sweet Home that will be available Saturday night! I hope you have arrived here from Faith's blog but if you haven't you can head over to the There She Goes Blog to start at the beginning! After you have left a comment on each of the Trendsetter's blogs, be sure to go back to the TSG blog to enter your name in the Mr. Linky for a chance to win a Home Sweet Home set of your own.

I used my new Indian Summer paper by Basic Grey (I'm a Basic Grey fanatic you will soon see!) to compliment this sweet sentiment. I colored my vase of tulips with my prismacolor pencils and the vase has added sparkle from a spica glitter pen. The ribbon is double sided faux suede and is de-lushous! See that fancy smancy watermark?! Thanks Jessica- I love it and it makes me official! Now, get to hopping to your next stop Jackie (another newbie to the team!!)

Stop back tomorrow to see yet another new set from There She Goes!

"Home Sweet Home"

stamps: Home Sweet Home (There She Goes)

ink: black

paper: melon mambo, basic black, whisper white (SU!); Indian summer DP (Basic Grey)

accessories: ribbon (May Arts); swiss dots embossing folder (Provo Craft); circle, scallop circle and curved rectangle nestabilities (Spellbinders); lace doily border punch (Martha Stewart); prismacolor pencils (Sanford); rhinestone jewels (Hero Arts); black spica glitter pen (Copic)

I'm a Trendsetter

No, I'm not a fashion Diva (although it feels good when my 13 year-old daughter wants to wear my clothes!) I was asked by Jessica to be a part of the "There She Goes Clear Stamps" design team!! You can see the official announcement HERE along with the other new Trendsetters. I'm so excited to get started! Unfortunately, there was a setback by the stamp manufacturer so I don't have my sets yet (or anything to show you today) but there is a lot happening this week with There She Goes! On Friday we will be releasing 2 new stamps sets and bringing back a holiday favorite from last year. You can see sneak peeks of these 3 sets starting tomorrow with a blog hop! Also, because it is the first day of Fall it's the start of the Changing Of The Seasons Sale! There are 5 select stamp sets on sale for 15% off. This sale will be from Tuesday through Saturday. Here is the list of sets on sale:

Nature Of Friendship$18.70 (reg. $22)
Rejuvenate$15.30 (reg. $18)
Life’s A Beach $12.75 (reg. $15)
Tweeterpated $15.30(reg. $18)
She’s A Lady $12.75 (reg. $15)

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my news!

A Simple Tree

A quick card for today using the CAS challenge at SCS. The challenge is a sketch that you can find here. I received a package from i {heart} papers this weekend and, now that I'm feeling much better, I got to play with it! I used the tree from Tiny Trinity stamped in palette burnt umber and colored with my prismacolor pencils. I layered it on chocolate chip card stock and again on Earth Love DP by Cosmo Cricket. I roughed up all of the edges with my paper distresser. The ribbon is velvet corduroy and I left the edges raw so they too would fray.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to come back tomorrow as I will have something new to share!!

"tree"

stamps: Tiny Trinity (Unity)

ink: Palette Burnt Umber (Stewart Superior)

paper: very vanilla, chocolate chip (SU!); Earth Love DP (Cosmo Cricket)

accessories: paper distresser, button (MM); prismacolor pencils (Sanford); ribbon, hemp twine (May Arts)

Flutter

I love my Unity kits of the month! Now I'm loving the new Stampin Store Kits of the month! I just got the September kit from i {heart} papers yesterday! (So you'll be seeing a bit of that this week :P) This card uses the August kit of the month (available only through Unity). I stamped my heart with wings and used my prismacolor pencils to color it in before cutting it out. Then I took my stardust stickles and out lined the wings, and my xmas red stickles and outlined the heart. It's really hard to see in the picture but I stamped the Dream background on the black layer before mounting it on to the kiwi kiss card base. The pierced scalloped edge is made with my ornare piercing template.

I've come down with a nasty cold (hopefully it's not the swine flu!) so I'm doped up on Sudafed and I'm headed back to bed for a nap!

Thanks for stopping by!

"flutter"

stamps: different dreams, August kotm (Unity)

ink: momento tuxedo black (Tsukineko)

paper: very vanilla, basic black, kiwi kiss, DP (SU!)

accessories: xmas red stickles, stardust stickles (Ranger); prsmacolor pencils (Sanford); ribbon (Michael's); hemp twine (May Arts); button (We R Memory Keepers); piercing template (Ornare)

Birthday Bash

September 17th is a popular day in our family for birthdays! Today my oldest son turns 12, my niece is 9, my brother is 37 and my husband's uncle is 43! This card is for my niece. (If you want to see the card I made for my son, it is posted HERE). I used missmatch Ketto from Stampingbella. She reminds me so much of my neice, a little dancing princess (with a bit of a stubborn side!) She kind of looks like she could have an "attitude" don't you think? I also used Mercy's Tuesday sketch for the layout. I used my prismacolor pencils and reinkers to color her in along with my Copic Spica glitter pens for sparkle.

I'm off to make chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight. It's my son's favorite! Thanks for stopping by! Happy Birthday Alec, Ashlea, Roger and Marty!

"missmatch"

stamps: missmatch Ketto (Stampingbella); distressed dots (Unity)

ink: versafine onyx black, versamark (Tsukineko); pink passion, certainly celery, more mustard (SU!)

paper: pink passion, basic black, whisper white (SU!); DP by We R Memory Keepers

accessories: circle nestabilities, blossom nestabilities (Spellbinders); pink jewels (Mark Richards); spica glitter pens (Copic); black suede ribbon (May Arts)

The petal Press Release Day

It's finally time to release The Petal Press Happy Harvest stamp set! have you enjoyed our sneak peeks? Well, today it is available for purchase at i {heart} papers and you can find it right HERE! I have 2 more cards to share with you today so don't go running off quite yet!

The other day I was gushing about Stampin' Up's! soft suede paper and here it is again! This time I paired it with this beautiful Apple Cider Dp by Pink Paislee. I used layers of ruby red and soft suede and stamped my image with Versamark ink. I love the subtleness of this! The sparkly champagne ribbon is by American Crafts and the pearl accents are from Kaiser Craft.

I think this one might be my favorite card yet! I used Twilight DP from Memory Box and layered it on black card stock that I used my embossing border punch on. I stamped "thanks" from the Happy Harvest set and then outlined it with a black spica pen. I cut out the sentiment with the nestabilities tag trio and cut off one end so it would fit where I wanted it! The ribbon is black faux suede and is so soft! I used a piece of hemp twine to hold it in place. On the Tangerine tango layer I used an embossing folder from Quickutz.

Thanks for stopping by! (Now go over to i {heart} papers and snatch up that set before they are gone!)

"subtle pumpkin"

stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press)

ink: versamark (Tsukineko)

paper: ruby red, soft suede (SU!); Apple Cider DP (Pink Paislee)

accessories: ribbon (American Crafts); pearls (Kaiser Craft); circle and scallop circle nestabilities (Spellbinders)

"thanks"

stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press)

ink: basic black (SU!)

paper: basic black, tangerine tango (SU!); Twilight DP (Memory Box)

accessories: ribbon tag trio die (Spellbinders); black spica glitter pen (Copic); black suede ribbon, hemp twine (May Arts); embossing border punch (Fiskars); embossing folder (Quickutz)

A Paper and Ribbon Challenge

I am a sucker for patterned paper (have I mentioned that before?!) so when Deb, the challenge coordinator for i {heart} papers, announced the challenge for this month I was super excited! Each of us on the Design Team were sent this paper by Webster's Pages and this ribbon by May Arts. We were to use the large print side of the paper. I was a little nervous to cut into it since I only had one piece and it was so pretty. (That seems to be the main reason that I hoard the paper to begin with!!) Anyways, I wanted to show off the lovely flowers so I used the paper as my main image and then created a coordinating panel with my Victorian Piercerabilities. Can you see the dry embossing that I also did on that panel? It is another feature of the piercerabilities (another product that I seem to be addicted to!). My sentiment is from the Unity set Bevy of Butterflies and is cut out with my circle nestabilities. I added some stitching and a knot, button, twine treatment and it was done! I'm excited to see what the other members did with their paper and ribbon so let's go on a little blog hop and see what they created!

Amber
Carolyn
Cathleen
Deb (challenge coordinator):
Gretchen- that's me!
Kate
Kendra
Lynn
Megan
Tracy (DT coordinator)

Thanks for stopping by!

"thinking of you"

stamps: bevy of butterflies (Unity)

ink: chocolate chip (SU!)

paper: chocolate chip, very vanilla, melon mambo (SU!); DP by Webster's Pages

accessories: ribbon (May Arts); victorian piercerabilities, circle nestabilities (Spellbinders); button (Basic Grey); twine (May Arts); sewing machine

What a weekend!

We had quite a weekend! On Friday, my 75 year-old widowed aunt got remarried! It was such a great party and so fun to see some of my relatives who traveled to Minneapolis just for the occasion. They requested no gifts but my husband and I and my parents got them a nice bottle of champagne and this was the card we gave them. The smoky blue layer is by K&Co and was already embossed. I didn't want to cover it up too much so I just added a couple layers I made with my piercerabilities and a border punch. I also decorated the inside.

And here's a picture of the happy bride and groom! Aren't they cute?

My parents left for Oklahoma this morning after spending nearly 2 weeks with us. We had a good time but they were anxious to get home. Today will be spent catching up on my mountain of laundry but I'm going to MAKE TIME to stamp during nap time!!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Fairytale"

stamps: Full of Life (SU!)

ink: night of navy (SU!)

paper: night of navy, whisper white (SU!); DP by K&Co

accessories: ric rac piercerabilities (Spellbinders); oval and scallop oval nestabilities (Spellbinders); border punch (EK Success); paper piercer, heart stick pin (MM); ribbon (May Arts); glitter (SU!); pearls (Hero Arts)

Happy Friday!

I have another Petal Press peek for you today! Because these stamps are clear acrylic, they are easy to bend and shape. This time I used one of the images and curved it on my acrylic block to fit inside the embossing on my oval nestabilities! I colored it with my reinkers and an aqua painter. The card stock is soft suede. I wasn't too sure when I first saw this color but now I really like how versatile it is. Kind of a brown color, other times a greenish color. I used my top note die and layered it on another piece of the soft suede that I stitched around. The ribbon is an elegant embroidered satin by May Arts.

The first week of school/work is almost finished and we all survived! We're still getting used to the new schedule so this weekend will be a few days of catching up on our sleep!

Thanks for stopping by!

"fall"

stamps: Happy Harvest (The Petal Press) available 9/16 at i {heart} papers

ink: soft suede, pumpkin pie, so saffron, old olive, baroque burgundy (SU!)

paper: soft suede, baroque burgundy, whisper white (SU!); Pocket of Posies DP (Upsy Daisy)

accessories: oval nestabilities (Spellbinders); ribbon (May Arts); top note die, brads (SU!); sewing machine

Happy Harvest

The new set by Petal Press (and fabulous designer, Tracy) is called Happy Harvest. It is a kind of "build upon" set and is clear so it is super easy to use! For my card today I used the main pumpkin image and then the bouquet of fall flowers is another stamp that was easy to line up on top of the pumpkin! I used my prismacolor pencils to color in the image and then stitched around it with my sewing machine. I decided to use some non-traditional fall colors. I'm just not ready for fall yet! I think the flowers are supposed to be sunflowers but I colored them like my daises that are still blooming on my front step. (I'm really not a gardener like Tracy is so forgive me if I don't know what flowers they depict!) A little more stitching, a fancy border punch and some dew drops along with that cute vine trim complete the card. Be sure to stop by the other girls' blogs to see what they have cooked up with this set (you can find their links on my side bar!).

Thanks for stopping by!

"Harvest"

stamps: Harvest (Petal Press)- available Sept 16 at i {heart} papers

ink: versafine black onyx (Tsukineko)

paper: not quite navy, mellow moss, bordering blue, very vanilla (SU!); French Flea Market DP (MME)

accessories: prismacolor pencils (Sanford); sewing machine; dew drops (Robin's Nest); border punch (Martha Stewart); ribbon (Michael's); vine trim (Creative Impressions)

Just a little side note. I have to give Amy credit for this layout. I browse her gallery often and fell in love with this card. I knew this great new Petal Press set would be showcased beautifully with her layout. Thanks for the inspiration Amy!!

Petal Press

It's another big day at i {heart} papers and another big announcement for me! I was asked by Tracy, the i {heart} papers design team coordinator, to be a part of her new adventure. Tracy is the designer of a new stamp line being carried by i {heart} papers called Petal Press! Yeah Tracy!! There are 8 Petal Press design team members (along with Tracy and Kate) to share sneak peeks with you until the full realease on September 16! I will have my first peek ready for you tomorrow so be sure and stop by. It's a fall set and you are going to LOVE it!

Here are the new Petal Press Design Team members:

Ashley Cannon Newell

Carly Robertson

Cathleen Torina

Gretchen Belknap- that's me!

Jenyfur Pohl

Julie Lacey

Krysten Ng

Tiffany Johnson

Tracy Schultz – designer

Kate Baldwin – owner

It's the first day of school for my brood and the first day back to work for me so I'm off to get backpacks and lunches ready for the day. Have a great day and I hope to see you tomorrow!

Howdy Friend!

I had a few moments yesterday morning to play with the stamp set and Prismacolor pencils that Lesa sent me. All I can say is those pencils blend like butter!! I was using Crayola pencils and gamsol before and had to really work to get them blended the way I wanted them to be. It did work and was fun to do but when I tried the Prismacolor pencils they just flowed so much better! Now I understand what all the rave is about and I will begin to add to my collection. Thank you, thank you, Lesa!! After coloring my cowgirl, I used some distress ink in tea dye to add some "dirtiness" to her. I also used distress ink on the other layers of the card. I think it really makes the dry embossing stand out on the red layer!

Did you know that it is the 1st Saturday of September? Why am I so excited for the first Saturday in September you ask? Well, did you see THIS?! Yep, that's me- Jen's September guest designer for her Sketch for you to Try!!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Howdy"
stamps: Ride 'em Cowgirl (MFT)
ink: versafine onyx black (Tsukineko); Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink (Ranger)
paper: whisper white, basic black, blue bayou, real red (SU!)
accessories: black brads (Hobby Lobby); star punch, word window punch, linen thread (SU!); colored pencils (Prismacolor); ribbon (May Arts); paisley embossing folder (Provo Craft); paper piercer (MM); scallop scissors (Fiskars)

They're Back!

My parents and the kids arrived back home last night. I think they were happy to be back and sleeping in their own beds! Now we have a week to get back in the routine before school starts.

The card I have to share today uses the August store kit from Unity. Now that it is September, there will be a new store kit available soon! i {heart} papers has it on order!!

Isn't that arrow cool? It is actually a Quickutz die that I got on clearance! It has holes in it so I matted it on chocolate chip paper so it would stand out a little more. The orange ribbon is 100% silk (available at i {heart} papers) and is divine! It is sooo soft and manageable- love it! I used my piercerabilities to make the scalloped edge.

Thanks for stopping by!

"lucky"

stamps: August Stampin' Store kit (Unity)

ink: kiwi kiss, chocolate chip (SU!)

paper: very vanilla, chocolate chip, kiwi kiss, pumpkin pie (SU!); Bloom paper pack (MME)

accessories: arrow die (Quickutz); star snap (MM); fancy scalloped piercerabilities (Spellbinders); silk ribbon (Creative Impressions)

September?

Can you believe it is the first day of September already?! Next week the kids will be back to school and I will be back to work (at least I'll be getting a paycheck again!) We have one more end of summer fling this weekend and that is our annual trip to the state fair! We love to go and EAT!

I thought I would have so much crafting time this week while my kids were gone but I was a bit mistaken! I did take care of some much needed cleaning like windows and screens but my poor blog has suffered and I am sorry! I didn't forget about the blog candy though (although you technically had a couple extra days to enter :) so, according to random.org, the winner of the goodies from i {heart} papers is. . . CRYSTAL!

This morning my good friend, Laura, picked me up and we went on a field trip to an awesome craft store in Plymouth! She was laughing at me because my mouth was hanging open down many of the isles! I got some fun stuff to play with so I'm off to do just that today before the kids come home tomorrow! First, I have a quick card to share with you using today's color challenge.

I also had some VERY HAPPY mail yesterday from my new friend, Lesa in Oklahoma! I had made her a little gifty to give her when we met last week and included with her thank you card to me yesterday was Prismacolor pencils, an MFT stamp set and some papers and notes! Seriously, I was so touched- I was close to tears. I have wanted some Prismacolor pencils for awhile now but I just hadn't made the investment. (Especially when I make my kids get the off brand colored pencils for school because they're cheaper, KWIM?) I am so excited to try them and I just can't thank Lesa enough!! Oh, and here is the gorgeous card she sent.

Thanks for stopping by!

"dream"

stamps: August kotm (Unity); dream background (Unity)

ink: versafine onyx black (Tsukineko); crushed curry, bermuda bay, melon mambo, certainly celery (SU!)

paper: whisper white, basic black, crushed curry, melon mambo, bermuda bay (SU!)

accessories: swirls embossing folder (Provo Craft); polka dot embossing folder (Quickutz); silver grommet (We R Memory Keepers); black brads (Hobby Lobby); ribbon, glitter (SU!)