Blog Archives

In{k}spired Isaiah 41

8/19/2013

For this week's In{k}spire Me #109, I decided to go "square," as the sketch suggested - I still have lingering insecurity about that shape card. Lucky for me, my man Isaiah was there to talk me through it, lol! LOVE this quote - a reminder I need too often - to ask for help when I most often try to pretend I CAN do it all alone... His is the help that never fails me!

Flower Shop & Our Daily Bread Scripture Collection 1 stamp sets; Pear Pizzazz, Calypso Coral & Whisper White CS; Early Espresso, So Saffron & Calypso Coral inks; Pear Pizzazz seam binding ribbon; Little Leaves sizzlet; Pansy Punch.

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Freshly Falling Leaves

8/18/2013

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Hm, I'm noticing a trend in my usual sketch haunts this week, sort of a double or triplet shape theme, lol. All the sketches show them as circles, and I am scratching my head trying to keep each card fresh and unique! So for this week's Freshly Made Sketch #99, I abandoned the circles, and went straight to my favorite leaf set! This also gave me the chance to finally ink up another Convention acquisition - Tags 4 You. You know how excited when a new punch shape makes the scene!
Tags 4 You & Gently Falling stamp sets; Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze & Very Vanilla CS; Crushed Curry, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze & Always Artichoke inks; Corner Rounder & Label Bracket punches; Woodgrain embossing folder; Designer Naturals button; Linen Thread.

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Sunday Christmas Fun! (With Another Thank You!)

8/16/2013

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Well, it's kinda hard to STOP stamping holiday cards, now, lol! There's all these little pieces left laying around that I didn't get to use for class, so I'll just keep the theme up! When I saw this week's Sunday Stamps #56, I OF COURSE saw little ornaments, and my one regret for the card class planning was that I didn't use the washi tape! Problem solved! And OF COURSE, we will totally be using it on other projects anyway...
Ornament Keepsakes & Christmas Message stamp sets; Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS; Season of Style Washi Tape; White Baker's Twine; Basic Jewel Rhinestones, Corner Rounder punch.

And now for the latest photopolymer release: Another Thank You!
If you're anything like me, my thank you card box can never be too full, and this set is great for MANY quick notes - check out the giant swirly one - so cool! Think I'll be picking this one up myself!
10 stamps for $13.95 is a great deal, too! Click on the picture for the full flyer!

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It's Christmas in August! (And New Singles!)

8/15/2013

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I have had SO MUCH FUN putting together this month's Christmas in August card class! With the carry-over stamps from last season, and all the sophisticated-but-easy new toys and designs from this year, there really is something for everyone!
I tried to focus on some stamp sets I know we all still have, and how to combine them with our new items - and of course, SOME all-2013 stuff that is just TOO tempting! I can't wait for you guys to try these! You'll be smit, I know! You know my goal: hand-made Holiday cards from all of us, lol...
So, RSVP now for the Christmas in August card class, on Thursday, August 22, 630 pm, or Friday, August 23, 10 am if you prefer a day class. Drinks and treats will be on offer as usual, of course! And save the dates for 8/29 or 8/30 for our Fall/Halloween Reversible Wreath bonus class - I have the sample all set for you to check out already!

And just in time for our class announcement (weird, huh?) Stampin' Up! has released their latest set of single stamps - The Holiday Assortment! This is a fabulous collection, most of which go with a framelit or punch as well, and they range in price from $4.95 to $8.95. Click the picture to view the full flyer and check out all the details!
I have printed copies to share with you next week in class, too!

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Pumpkin Gift Bag & Crafty Gratitude

8/14/2013

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Oh cool, time for another installment of My Pumpkin Challenge's August "All Goes!" This time, I knew I wanted use more of the latest kit - "Party Pennants." The size of the banner pieces really made me think of a gift bag - how to dress it up?? So I started by rooting through my accessory stash to see what I had in the coordinating colors, and this is where I ended up! I also got a chance to break out the awesome Simply Created Build A Banner kit - even if you never make a banner (and I don't know why you wouldn't!) the stencils alone are worth their weight in gold! I used one of them to place the polka dots on my gift bag - worked like a charm! I'll be saving this for hubby's birthday in October - yay!

July Paper Pumpkin - Party Pennants; plus, Kraft gift bag (eBay by the case!); Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango & Island Indigo inks; Apothecary Accents Framelits; Essentials Piercing Template; Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon; Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin; Simply Created Build A Banner kit.

Also, for this week's Paper Craft Crew #54, I knew I wanted to pull out my new "Thanksgiving" sets, and maybe make something autumnal out of them. This is the result. I have to say, I find Sahara Sand to be a challenging color to work with! I decided that I thought it was best set off with white, but that sort of clashed with my Fall theme, so, well, I feel like I've been tinkering long enough, and it's time to stop! I think it should be like emissions, lol. You know, after you've spent enough $$ on a bad test, you get to stop where you are? After you spend enough time on a card, you have to be courageous enough to quit while you're ahead! Sahara Sand & Always Artichoke get to be one of my new fave color combos, though!
Make sure to stop by Paper Craft Crew and play along - can't wait to see what YOU can do!
Truly Grateful & Magnificent Maple stamp sets; Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke & Whisper White CS; Sweater Weather DSP; Early Espresso, Crushed Curry, Always Artichoke; Cajun Craze & Soft Suede inks; Deco Labels & Bitty Banners framelits; Woodgrain embossing Folder; Regals Candy Dots.

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Retro Ornaments

8/13/2013

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Oo, here's another Christmas card option for the upcoming Christmas in August class, thanks to Retro Sketches #76! When I first saw the sketch, I was sorely tempted to pull out our now retired {sob} All Dressed Up set, don't get me wrong - but then I pictured sparkly ornaments, hanging from their branches, and these won out! I think there will definitely be some version of this on Aug 22, ladies!
Ornament Keepsakes & Christmas Messages stamp sets; Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS; Season of Style DSP; Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive & Chocolate Chip inks; Holiday Ornaments framelits; Essentials piercing pack; Basic Jewels Rhinestones.

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Clean & Simple Butterflies

8/12/2013

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This week's Clean & Simple #253 gave me the idea to look for different shapes I could group together again - there were so many possibilities, it was hard to pick just one! I ended up with butterflies for circles! I also felt like this might be a gently cheering card for condolence as well, which led me to the sentiment I used.
I seem to be really stuck on these springy colors these days - hm... I do have gardening on the mind!
Best of Butterflies, Blessings From Heaven & Secret Garden stamp sets; Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, So Saffron & Whisper White CS & inks; Butterfly (retired) & Corner Rounder punches; Beautiful Wings Sizzlet; Basic Jewel Rhinestones.

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Fab John 15

8/11/2013

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Hm, that's a funny title! Maybe some folks will think John is pretty fabulous, lol, but for me, it's the marriage of Fab Friday #24 and some scripture!
This week's challenge was a color one - everyone seems to be on the same track with those now, {groan}, and from outside my usual palette, too, kind of pastel-y, but FRESH. Gotta love that! I think I might be getting in a rut with using color challenges to create home-made DSP, but that's what sprang to mind! For the background images, I "stamped off" before stamping the card stock, to make them even more subtle...
Daydream Medallions & Our Daily Bread Scripture Collection #4 stamp sets; So Saffron, Crumb Cake & Whisper White CS; Crisp Cantaloupe, Crumb Cake, Pistachio Pudding & So Saffron inks; Crumb Cake Taffeta Ribbon, In Color Boutique Details; Corner Rounder Punch.

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A Happy In{k}spiration!

8/9/2013

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So, In{k}spiration #108 landed in my inbox this morning, AND it was a color challenge, BUT it had one of my fave colors ever in it - Elegant Eggplant - so I didn't automatically run screaming, lol!
Still breaking in one of my convention sets, too - it was fun to create a colored tile pattern for this card, I think it worked out pretty well. Yes, it's another "Love Your SAMJ" card (that's code for Stamp-A-Ma-Jig) but it actually did come together really quick - the clock just passed 15 minutes! Whew! Simple, I think, but striking...
Hello, Lovely stamp set; Sahara Sand, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry & Whisper White CS & inks; Crushes Curry Chevron Ribbon; Basic Jewel Rhinestones.

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Fresh Hanukkah

8/8/2013

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When I saw this week's Freshly Made Sketches #98, with its little round accents, I decided to go circles all the way! This Jewish Celebrations carry-over set from last year's Holiday Mini was the perfect vehicle for that, and I got to use my new Circles Collection framelits, too! Woo hoo! Getting in the spirit of this month's Christmas Card class, can you tell?
Jewish Celebrations stamp set; Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Midnight Muse & Basic Gray CS; Midnight Muse ink; Versamark & Silver Embossing Powder; Circles Collection Framelits; Neutrals Button; Jumbo Pearls; Silver 1/8" Ribbon.