CAS Northern Flurries

Hi there! How is your Tuesday going so far? When I saw this color combo for this week's challenge at The Play Date Cafe I knew I wanted the silver to be front and center...I just wasn't sure how to do it. I pulled out Basic Grey, Soft Suede and Brushed Silver card stock as my color combo. I just got the Northern Flurry embossing folder in my order last week and have really been wanting to break it in. I guess that was my starting point for this clean and simple (CAS) creation.

This embossing folder is so pretty on it's own, especially on the sparkly silver card stock. I added some jewels to the center of the snowflakes, then to the corners for a little extra sparkle. The sentiment is heat embossed in silver on Soft Suede card stock. I originally added Soft Suede ribbon then just felt like it wasn't quite right, so I layered a piece of Basic Grey ribbon over the top. It seemed to work better together. I am really happy with how it all came together. What do you think? I struggle with CAS cards because I always feel like I should do MORE with them....ugh! 

*For the inside, I just kept on embossing using the ornament and sentiment from the Contempo Christmas set:

One last thing, I wanted to share a little "furry-love" with this photo from Mr. Emmitt Rowley, taken on Thanksgiving. He has a few toys that are his absolute favorites and this little bull is one of them. (note the hind legs by-the-way...CUTENESS, right??) We had a vet visit today for a check-up and vaccinations, because we have finally come to the conclusion that he is most-likely a permanent "house-guest".  All went very well at the vet and afterward he went to Petco for some treats and a new toy. :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Perfect Punches (front) and Contempo Christmas (inside) 
Ink: Versa-Mark
Paper: Soft Suede, Basic Grey, and Brushed Silver card stock
Accessories: Northern Flurry embossing folder, Silver embossing powder, Scalloped Circle punch, Ornament punch, Embossing Buddy, Soft Suede Polka Dot ribbon (retired), Basic Grey Taffeta ribbon (I think it is retired, too??)  and Jewels

Thanks for stopping by today! 
Happy stamping, 

Paper Player's Challenge #26-Jaydee's Technique Challenge

Howdy and Happy Sunday! I'm a wee bit behind today in my post for The Paper Players. I was under the weather last night and most of today, but am finally here with my project for this week's fun and fabulous challenge. (Thanks to the DT for being incredibly patient with me!) Jaydee is our lovely host this week and she challenged us to break out the embossing powder for some wonderful "wet embossing":

I don't know about you, but I LOVE my heat gun! Even though every time I use it I sustain an injury of some degree, haha! The shiny effect is just so cool and it always adds a bit of POP to any project. If you love your heat gun, too (or if you haven't dusted it off in a while) come play along with us this week at The Paper Players. It's a LOT of fun and I am very excited to share that they asked me to stay on and play as a Guest Designer for the next 2 weeks, too. Whoo Hoo! (*happy dance, happy dance*) Head on over to The Paper Players blog to see what the fabulous gals in the Design Team "embossed up" for inspiration this week.

For my card this week, I went with another non-traditional, holiday color combo. I know, I know, I will put the Snow Swirled stamp set to rest after this card, I promise. I use it entirely TOO much, sorry! :) It is just one of my favorite holiday sets. My color combo is Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver and Elegant Eggplant. This card was originally planned in Perfect Plum, but while getting it assembled today I switched it up to Elegant Eggplant because "something" compelled me to use that color. (Hopefully I'm getting a little chuckle from the gals on the DT and my friend Christina, too!) 


I embossed the tree, the snowflakes and the sentiment in Elegant Eggplant craft ink and clear embossing powder. I love using colored craft ink with clear embossing powder because it is a little more forgiving then colored embossing powder, if you do what I do a LOT and forget to use an Embossing Buddy. (Teeny tiny "oops" on the tree...look away, nothing to see here...) The DSP is the (ret.) Night and Day...which was originally released for Halloween. You can't really see it in the photos but I "smooched" the DSP with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz to add a little sparkle and play off the silver card stock. All of the rest of the supplies used are listed below. The inside was embossed as well...forgot to add that. I really hope you like it! I would love to hear what you think so if you would, leave a comment and let me know! :) 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Snow Swirled (again! haha!)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant craft ink and Versa-mark (for snowflake on the inside)
Papers: Basic Black, Whisper White, Silver, Elegant Eggplant card stock and Night and Day (ret.) DSP
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Silver Embossing Powder, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Basic Black 1/8" Taffeta ribbon (my new fav!), 2" x 1 3/8" XL Oval punch, 3/4" Circle punch (inside), 1" Circle punch (inside) and lots of JEWELS! 
Non-SU! Accessories: square scalloped die cut


Thanks for visiting! 
Have a HAPPY day! :)

Hello Baby! (Paper Players Sketch Part 2)

Hello and Happy Friday...or as we are calling it in our house, "Turkey Recovery Day"! I hope everyone here in the U.S. enjoyed their Thanksgiving, yesterday. We had a fantastic time with our great group of friends (and the abundance of food that was also in attendance). We were sent home with enough food for at least 3 more meals. Yikes! Today, though, we are in "turkey time-out" and I'm making some good ol' Texas chili for dinner. Mmmm! My only shopping was done from my Mac today, I was not about to brave those crowds. No way! How about you, did you shop today? 

I mentioned earlier this week that I had two other cards that I created from Nance's sketch Challenge over at The Paper Players this week. Well, I almost forgot to post them and the challenge ends tonight. Eeek! You still have 9 more hours to play along with us this week! ;) Also I completely forgot to take a photo of BOTH of the cards before I mailed one of them off on Tuesday. I hate when I do things like that...turkey on the brain, I guess. To distract you from my "whoops", I present you with this ONE happy baby card! How can you not smile with that cute, little, orange giraffe from the Fox and Friends set? 

Since this card is for a little girl, I thought it would be fun to add "Baby's First BLING" to the card with 2 sizes of pink jewels and some super-shiny ribbon. All little diva's have to start somewhere with the sparkle, right? There are lots of DOTS on this card, to play off that adorable giraffe image. The card came together really easily, inside and out, with the help of my punches, too. I think it is a fun change from using the same ol' pastel colors on a baby card, which really just wouldn't suit the parents of this particular (soon-to-be) munchkin.  

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red classic ink

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Rich Razzelberry, Very Vanilla card stock and Sweet and Sour Specialty DSP

Accessories: 2 3/8" XL Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/4" XL Circle punch, 1 3/8" X 5/8" Oval punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Heart-to-Heart XL punch, Scalloped Trim Border punch and Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder

Non-SU! Accessories: shiny pink ribbon and pink jewels

Thanks for stopping by today! 
Have a great day! :)

Get Your Jingle On

Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you, I REALLY made a red and green Christmas card today! I like it, too! Crazy, huh? I'm trying to get over that little quirk of mine, embrace my "Christmas Spirit" and just go with those traditional colors. Maybe it had to do with my favorite man in the BROWN suit (he's kind of like Santa, isn't he?) who delivered a box of new stampin' goodies to my house yesterday. I finally ordered the Tags til Christmas set and couldn't wait to ink up that ornament stamp. I think I have established that I love my Ornament Punch, mucho! :) 

I was inspired by this week's challenge at Fresh Brewed Designs, which is a Winter/Christmas theme.

Then, I saw this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and was immediately ready to "get my jingle on":

I guess my color inspiration came to me after running errands earlier today. Yeah, I BRAVED the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving. I like to live on the edge, what can I say? Holy cow, it WAS brutal, though. Never again! I did manage to pick up two of my favorite things while fending off the crazy shoppers today. My "favorite things" from this shopping trip are not NEARLY as cool as Oprah's, but they make me happy. Here they are: 

(If you have never tried these Mint Truffle Kisses, RUN to get them ASAP!)

*note how the bag has already been ripped open

So, thinking about coffee and chocolate, I went to a (retired) Simply Scrappin' set, Christmas Jingle. I bought this kit last year with the intent of making a boat-load of holiday cards with it. But, like most of my coveted retired DSP, I couldn't bring myself to cut into it. To all the "supply hoarders" out there...YOU understand what I'm talking about, don't you?? Yup, it is time to start using up this stash of goodies I own...

I made sure to add an appropriate amount of "bling" in the form of pearls. (If SU! ever gets rid of these I will probably need therapy, not kidding!) I decided to use the "Joy" sentiment from The Snowflake Spot (ret.) because it played off all the dots and pearls. It's just simple and I love that! 

I dressed up the inside with the sentiment from the A Cardinal Christmas set. There you have it "jinglin' in the holiday spirit"! I'd love to hear what you think about the card, grocery shopping today, chocolate...or anything else! :) Please leave me a comment, I appreciate them and I am happy you took time out of your day to visit me. 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Tags til Christmas, The Snowflake Spot and A Cardinal Christmas
Ink: Real Red classic ink
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla card stock and Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit (ret)
Accessories: PEARLS!!! Ornament punch, Gold elastic cord (ret), Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain ribbon and 1" Circle punch
Non SU! Accessories: oval and scalloped oval die cut


Have a happy day! :)

Thankful Thoughts

Hello bloggin' friends and Happy Tuesday to you! It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in two days. This year my husband and I were invited to spend the day with a group of friends, enjoying the traditional turkey dinner and sharing good times. There will be 26 of us in all, so I'm sure it will be a fun (not to mention, cozy) time. I'm happy ALL I have to cook for the day is a potato casserole and something for dessert! Gotta get that figured out soon, though. Nothing like having to visit the grocery store the day before a holiday...sigh! I wanted to make a card today for our friends who are graciously hosting this event at their house this year. 


I was inspired by the challenge this week at Sentimental Sundays, "Thoroughly Thankful" (plus a sentiment). I have wanted to play along with this challenge for a few weeks now. I visit the blogs of few of their DT members regularly and am always really inspired by their creativity. (**waving hello to Cheryl, Kristina and Melissa!**) 


This morning, when I hopped over to the Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge blog, I fell in love with the design below and was ready to give it a go today. I was really excited to be picked in their Top 5 last week, too! Whoo hoo, that was pretty awesome news! Thanks so much gals! :)

I inked up my Day of Gratitude set and grabbed the coordinating Autumn Spice DSP to create my card. I love, love, LOVE this set and the rich fall colors. I actually really like how this card came out! It is a rare thing that a project comes together easily for me...I am kind of meticulous about certain things. (If you have ever stamped with me in person...and you know who you are...pipe down out there! Haha!) 


I'm also entering this one in the Fresh Brewed Designs challenge to "Show off your Style" this week. I also visit 2 of their DT members blogs regularly (**now I'm waving hi to Kathy and Kelly!**) and wanted to play along. This card has a lot of elements that just make me happy, like bold colors, lots of shapes, lots of patterns and of course, BLING! 

I made sure to give the inside of the card some love and attention, too. What do you think? :)

Stampin' Up Supply List: 
Stamps: Day of Gratitude
Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Early Espresso classic ink
Paper: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla card stock and Autumn Spice DSP
Accessories: 3/4 inch Circle punch, Corner Rounder punch, 1 1/4" Square punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Scalloped border punch (inside), 1" Circle punch (inside), XL Oval punch (inside) and pearls
Non SU! Accessories: sheer ribbon

Thank you for visiting today! :)
I hope you enjoy the rest of your day today, 

Simple Snowflakes

Happy Monday! The countdown to Thanksgiving is on! I'm not sure where this year went, but I'm not ready for the holidays yet. How about you? I decided to whip up some more Christmas cards today, in my quest to make sure they actually go out on time this year. (Last year, I was mailing the last of the cards out on Dec 28th...not this year, no way!) The bright and fun color combo of Real Red, Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise came from this week's challenge at The Play Date Cafe. I've decided that I really CAN love red and green on a holiday card as long as another color is thrown into the mix. ;)

I was also inspired by the challenge at Pals Paper Arts, to incorporate fabric or ribbon on a CAS (clean and simple) card:

This polka dot ribbon (sadly, retired) is one of my favorites. It's just F-U-N! I really wanted to try something a little different with the ribbon and I really like how it came out, very simple. I also used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder to create some "fabric-like" texture in the background. The snowflake image is from the Patterned Pines set (ret.). 

That punched sentiment on the inside, is actually covering an "oopsie" where I originally stamped the sentiment crooked...and I mean REALLY crooked. Ugh! I was not about to redo the whole thing, so I decided to cover it up. Whew! Saved by the punches! 

If you have been following my posts on "Schnauzer-Gate 2010" (the little guy we found on our front porch on Nov. 8th), I have a small update. Unfortunately, we have still been unable to locate his owners. No one really seems to be looking for him. :( We did decide to give him a name though, because "the Schnauzer" or "Piglet", just didn't seem to be working anymore. My husband thinks he looks like a little football so, I threw out the first name of his favorite, retired Dallas Cowboys player and it just stuck. With that, may I present to you:

Emmitt Rowley von Bismark

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 

Stamps: Patterned Pines and Jolly Old Saint Nick (inside sentiment)

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive and Tempting Turquoise classic ink

Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stock

Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Real Red 3/4" Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon (ret), jewels, Eyelet Trim border punch, Medium Oval punch and Scalloped Oval punch

Non-SU! Accessories: square button 

Thanks for stopping by! 
Enjoy your day! :)

Online Spectacular Begins Today!

Today, Stampin' Up! announced loads of fabulous deals in the Online Spectacular Sale! There are so many great products at 20%...30%...40%...even 50% off! This promotion only lasts until November 30th, so order soon! You can even shop from the comfort of home at my Online Stampin' Up! Store.  

Click here for the complete list of sale items.

Click here to shop at my Online Store now. 

Happy Stampin',

Paper Players Challenge #25-Nance's Sketch Challenge

Happy Sunday! It's time for another fun and fabulous challenge over at The Paper Players! This week Nance has whipped up the following sketch for us to play along with:

I had a lot of fun coming up with my card(s) for this challenge. Yes, I said cards! I couldn't decide on my theme for my submission as a Guest Designer this week, so I made 3 cards before finally choosing the one you see here. I will post the rest throughout the week, stay tuned. :) Please come play along with us at The Paper Players this week, it's a lot of fun! 

Stop by and visit the lovely ladies on the Design Team for more awesome inspiration: 

Lesley

Nance

Ann

Jaydee

LeAnne 

I'm back with another installment of my "Cards Too Big for an Envelope" series! I am completely hooked on bulking up my creations lately. I like to call these cards "multi-purpose" because chunky cards can also be used to wrap a gift. (Click here to see my earlier post) With this one though, (here is the awesome part)...it really CAN fit in an envelope! Yup, the 3-D ornament can actually be flattened for mailing. Ha! Just make sure to tell the recipient to "fluff it up" upon reciept.

I created these dimensional ornaments from 8 punches of Love Letter DSP with the Ornament Punch. They can be made with as few as 5 punches but I like lots of dimension, so I went with 8. Maybe it's a Texas thing, but I say, if given a choice, just go BIG, ya'll! :) Simply take your punched ornaments (in whatever number you feel comfortable with), score them down the middle, fold 'em, stick 'em together, then fan 'em out to create this technique. This isn't my idea, although I can't seem to find a link for a tutorial to share...oh no! If you would like instructions, let me know and I can email you. I'm not sure I would even know how to post a tutorial in any way, shape or form. Eeeek, scary for me! 

The "Merry Christmas" sentiment is heat embossed for some shine. I also used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder on the Basic Black card stock to play off of the polka dots on the ornaments. Finally, three little pieces of bling were added to the bottom just because I never hold back on the bling! I also dressed up a coordinating inside (my new favorite thing). Somehow, this card reminds me of a "Santa suit". Maybe it's the color combo. What do you think? 

Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Contempo Christmas (sentiment, inside and out) and Delightful Decorations (little snowflake inside)
Ink: Basic Black and Riding Hood Red classic ink and Basic Black Craft ink (for the "Merry Christmas" sentiment on the front)
Paper: Love Letter DSP, Riding Hood Red, Basic Balck and Very Vanilla card stock 
Accessories: Ornament punch, Scalloped Border punch, 3/4" Circle punch, 1" circle punch, Corner Rounder punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Clear embossing powder, jewels and Gold elastic cord (ret.)
Non SU! Accessories: gold glitter glue and sheer red ribbon

Have a great day!
Thanks for visiting,

Gate Fold Holiday Greetings

Hello and Happy Thursday! I hope this week has been going well for you out there. I have been wanting to try out the Technique Challenge over at the "Just Us Girls" blog since they posted it but just couldn't get motivated on exactly WHAT I wanted to make with it. Today was the last day to play in the challenge so it was now or never: 

As I sat at my desk trying to come up with an idea, I saw this week's color combo at The Color Dare and was immediately inspired to make a non-traditional Christmas card. I probably have mentioned before that I LOVE Melon Mambo, right? :) I wasn't so sure about Pacific Point at first (I never have gravitated towards that color) but the three colors work really well together.

Color Dare #85

Pacific Point

Melon Mambo

Blushing Bride

Gate Fold cards are actually pretty easy to make. Never tried one before? The gals at JUGS shared a link to a great tutorial from Splitcoast, you can find it here. I thought it would be fun to try to NOT use any patterned paper on this one, to keep the focus on colors and the Snow Swirled tree. I did add some Smooch Spritz to the polka dot layer for some added sparkle. (One of my layers is a little unevenly cut, as well...oops, just caught that!) For the sentiment I just inked up the "Merry Christmas" portion (with a Pacific Point marker) of the sentiment from the Best Yet (ret.) set. I then decided to use a ribbon to tie it closed, so I kept the ribbon ends a little longer then usual. 

The picture below, is the card all opened up. I added some stamped snowflakes with glitter to the side panels to dress it up a bit more. What do you think?

For those of you inquiring about "Schnauzer-Gate 2010", nothing has changed. The little dude is still here with no responses to our many posts all over the city. Yesterday morning, I was downstairs when I realized it had been some time since I had seen either Ozzy or "the Schnauzer" (that's what we have been calling him). That is usually an indication that they are sneaking a snack of the forbidden kitty food. When I finally found them, in our bedroom, I caught them snuggled up together keeping an eye on the neighborhood through the front the window. Oh, these dogs... 

Stampin' Up! Supply List:
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Best Yet (retired, outside sentiment)
Ink: Pacific Point classic ink and Blushing Bride classic ink (sponged around the tree)
Paper: Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride and Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Melon Mambo polka-dot ribbon (ret.), Small Oval punch, Medium Oval punch, Smooch Spritz in Vanilla Shimmer and Pacific Point marker
Non-SU! Accessories: Oval and Scalloped Oval die cuts, 2 colors of pink jewels, silver star, pink glitter glue, lace border punch (inside) and sentiment stamp on inside of card. 



Thanks for visiting! 
Have a HAPPY day! :)

Birthday Cupcakes!

Yup, so I have been a BAD blogger over the past week.  (shame, shame) I blame it on the "misfit-Schnauzer" that has descended on our home. Between his rescue-efforts and keeping him (and the other fur-kids) amused, I haven't had a ton of extra time. It's not entirely his fault though, in all reality, life has just been busy lately. Yesterday afternoon, I FINALLY had some time to spend in the "craft room" and I decided to catch up on the multitude of birthday cards I need to create for November and December. 

I saw two challenges that helped me to inspire me to come up with my idea for the card: 

Tuesday Morning Sketches- Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes

and
Flourishes (last week's challenge)- Glitter

Maybe I'm still still riding the wave from my own birthday on Sunday, but let's be honest, cupcakes are ALWAYS a great choice! Mmmmm! I went with the Birthday Bakery set (hostess, level 1) because I have been wanting to try it out. 

I used Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Whisper White for my color combo. The DSP is Candy Lane (ret.). I was just in a PINK mood yesterday, which isn't really all that shocking, I know. :) What goes better with cupcakes then sprinkles...oops, I mean SPARKLES. So I added a "few" to the card front. Why NOT? As always, I brought the "party" to the the inside0 of the card, continuing the SWEET theme. (The stamped sentiment inside is from the Perfect Punches set.) 

So, what do you think? I don't know about you but I'm seriously craving cupcakes, now! :) Before I head off to visit some bloggin' friends this morning, I just wanted to post a quick reminder about the AMAZING Stampin' Up! promo going on right now where you can get $310 of SU! product for ONLY $87.50!! 

It all ends November 30th!

 Click here for more details. 

Thanks for visiting today!