Grand Blog Candy Winner!

I made this card for Wednesday's SCS Sketch Challenge....my second card for this challenge. I love this hostess set...Sidekick Sayings. I didn't like it at all when I first saw it back in July, but now...well, it's becoming one of my favorites. I really like the sentiments and the images that have a perfect little spot to add a splash of color or sparkle (or both!). I've used this three different ways in recent postings this month and each one has a completely different look. It seemed like the perfect card to post today as I'm wrapping up the end of my month long Grand Opening Celebration! First, let me say how GRATEFUL I am for everyone single person who stops by the blog and especially those who have taken the time to leave kind and encouraging comments! I started the blog on October 18th and in just a little over a month, my counter reads 14,700!! Now that's a reason to celebrate = ) ! If you ever wonder if it's worth it to leave a comment and if I read them all...the answer is YES!! And I appreciate every single word!

And now, it's time to draw a random winner from each of the weekly winners of the Grand Opening Weekly Challenges! Let's see, the weekly winners are: Nancy Riley, Chat, Regina Davis, Sue, Dawn Easton, Deb and Dawn Easton (again!).

And the GRAND PRIZE BLOG CANDY winner is (drum roll please)...........DAWN EASTON = ) !!!! Check out all her wonderful projects at her (TreasureOiler) SCS Gallery and her blog TreasureOilerDesignz

Congratulations Dawn and thanks again to the other girls who played along...It's been a lot of fun to see your projects!!! Dawn, I just need your address so I can mail your goodies off to you!

Tomorrow, I'll be giving away a $15 Stampin' Up Gift Certificate to one of my customers! I love giving stuff away!! During the month of November, for every $50 in merchandise they ordered, their name was put in a drawing. Tomorrow, one of those names will be drawn = ) !!!

Supplies for this card~
Stamps: Sidekick Sayings (hostess) and Time Well Spent (upcoming hostess set)
Paper: Creative License Kit (hostess), Navy, Wasabi, Sky, Whisper White
Ink: Navy, Sky and Wasabi
Accessories: Navy 1/4" gg ribbon, Rhinestone Brad, Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches, Stickles

Have a Fantastic Friday = ) !!!

Golden Wishes

I wish you could see this card irl...the colors are soooo pretty together! Lots of tiny gold accents that look great with the River Rock and Artichoke....and the Holiday Harmony DP adds a nice little elegant touch. If you're looking for an elegant combo for cards...you might try these, I think you'll really like them! And here's the funny part...I spent months hating River Rock, but not anymore! When it's with Artichoke, I totally love it!! I still can't get a decent photo of it, but that's a whole other challenge. I made this card yesterday, for Wednesday's SCS Sketch challenge #152. It was really a tough sketch for me...but in the end, I like how this turned out, and I think that's what the challenges are all about. I'm glad it wasn't easy, that probably means I learned something new...and I LOVE learning new things = ) !! The SCS Challenge today, "Ways to use it", is to use metallic papers...which I did with this card too. Metallic papers make great accents, especially this time of year...a touch of elegance and bling!!!

Supplies for this card~
Stamps: Sidekick Sayings and In the Spotlight (both hostess sets)
Paper: Artichoke, River Rock, Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DP, non-SU reflective gold

Ink: Versamark and River Rock
Accessories: Gold EP, Heat tool, Gold brads, Gold Cord, Gold stickles, 1/4" moss gg ribbon, blender pen (with the river rock ink pad)

Hope your day shimmers with happiness = ) !

Week 4 Grand Opening Challenge Winner!

Congratulations Dawn Easton....this week's Grand Opening Week 4 Winner!!!I was all ready to upload a card...then remembered it was time to announce this week's winner...so my card will just have to wait! Instead I'm excited to show you Dawn's wonderful winning project !! it's just darling... which is nothing new for Dawn. She's one talented girl. Check out her blog, TreasureOilerDesignz and her GALLERY at SCS...lots to see there too! She was inspired to make this bookmark from Sharon, aka Notimetostamp's weekly blog challenge....you can find all the challenge details plus a ton of cool things at Sharon's blog, just click right HERE! Many of us were really busy last week and didn't get to do challenges...so there is only one winner this week. Speaking of challenges, I need to jump over the Sharon's blog and get all the details for the bookmarks...after seeing Dawn's...I'm totally inspired!!! Dawn will be giving this sweet bookmark away at her daughter's book fair later this week...isn't that awesome?

Congrats Dawn and thanks Sharon for the providing the inspiration!

Week 1 winners: Nancy Riley & Chat
Week 2 winners: Regina Davis & Sue
Week 3 winners:Dawn Easton & Deb
Week 4 winner: Dawn Easton

One of you will be the winner of the blog candy....drawing to be held in just a few days, on Nov 30th!!!!

Easy Gift Card Holder

Here's a quick and easy Gift Card Holder...one you can make with just a few supplies. I had a lot of little pieces of Designer Paper left over at the end of the month, after my workshop projects...and wanted to design a bonus project for my customers...one that would coordinate with projects they'd already made at the workshops. I also wanted it to be quick, simple, and use only a few basic supplies. The basic design is very similar to the one SU sells in the catalog...which is a great option, but if you're interested in a wider variety of colors and have a few supplies available, here's how you can easily make your own. I added a tag to the one above, stamped from the Perfect Presentation Hostess set.


Supplies needed~
Papercutter/Scorer
Cardstock (6 ½ x 4)
Designer Paper (3 3/8 x 3 ¾)
Roll-on Adhesive
Stretch Cord (15”)
Slit Punch
Corner Rounder Punch
Cropadile & (2) Eyelets
Optional ~ Stamps, Ink, extra Embelishments


1. Cut Cardstock: 6 ½ x 4”
2. Cut 2 pieces of DP: 2 ¼ x 3 ¾ and 1 1/8 x 3 ¾
3. Score Cardstock: 1 3/8 and 4”


















4. Punch center panel edges with slit punch, approx ¼” from each edge
5. Punch all 4 corners of cardstock with Corner Rounder
6. Punch bottom edge of small DP piece and top edge of large DP piece























7. Adhere DP to cardstock…small piece to top panel (line up round edges) and large piece to bottom panel (line up round edges). Be sure you get the adhesive all the way to the edges of the dp on all 4 sides.


8. Punch holes in the lower edges of the top panel and attach Eyelets with Cropadile. *if you don't have a Cropadile or eyelets....just tie the stretch cord around the closed gift card holder and tie a bow on the front flap to close...then, get out your Christmas wish list and add a Cropadile and Eyelets = )!!!
9. String the cord through the eyelets and tie into a bow or knot.
10. Optional ~ add additional embelishments outside and stamp sentiment and images inside the gift card

*Please note...On the very first picture above, the eyelets are placed a bit higher...and that's not ideal. It will close much better if you place the eyelets lower, like the one below (with the joy sentiment). I made the 2 other examples before I'd discovered that they'd close better with the eyelets lower...they are just fine, but the lower eyelet placement is definitely better = )



the inside ~
That's it...Pretty simple, don't you think? It took me longer to write the tutorial than it did to make 4 gift card holders!! I will be using these for a lot of my gifts this year. I'm a big fan of gift cards and it's amazing how many varieties are available. I like to coordinate the colors with the gift card...and on a project this small and simple, it's no problem to coordinate colors and add a few extra embelishments!!

I used Real Red and Old Olive Cardstock and Dashing Designer Paper. Gold and Silver Stretch cord (only available until November 30th... in the Holiday Mini Catalog) and Gold and Silver Eyelets. The 5-Petal Flower Punch and Spring Bouquet Punch along with a Rhinestone brad for the flower medallion. The to/from and joy sentiments (from Perfect Presentation) were stamped on Shimmery White Cardstock in Old Olive Classic Ink.

Hope you're having a Marvelous Monday !

.

RAK from Michele = ) !

Don't you just love receiving a card or handwritten note in the mail? I sure do. I was so happy to find this little jewel in my mailbox yesterday!! I left a comment on Michele Force's Thanksgiving blog challenge earlier this month and was randomly chosen to receive this wonderful Thanksgiving card along with a sweet handwritten note from Michele!! Michele has a great blog that I enjoy visiting... just click HERE to check out her inspiring projects! Thanks Michele for brightening my day with this AWESOME card! I hope you and your family had a VERY happy Thanksgiving!

Speaking of RAKs....you have just 3 more days to enter my weekly blog challenge for a chance to be in the running for the blog candy. This week's challenge is easy, just make something using designer paper and give it away as a RAK...check out the details HERE. A Grand Prize winner, for the BLOG CANDY, will be chosen on November 30th!! = )

Megan's Snowman

My youngest daughter, Megan, is home from college and enjoying a little stamping time.... Here is one of her beautiful creations ~While I've been busy with workshops and orders, she's been creating away at my workbench. I love it when she's home and I love her cards...she is just a happy little ray of creative joy! She just started her very own gallery at Splitcoaststampers...click HERE to check out her new little gallery...and maybe leave her a nice comment while you're there = ) !!

I have some fun things to show you next week...maybe even a tutorial or two! I'm looking forward to doing some challenges and trying out some new stamp sets too. But for today, just enjoying my time with family = )!

If you find that you have some time to stamp and want to play along with the final week of my Grand Opening Challenges...click HERE for all the details!!

Supplies for Meg's Card:
Stamps: It's Snowtime Paper: Real Red, Wasabi, Creative License DP, Winter Bright DP Ink: Stazon Black and SU Markers Accessories: Silver Cord, non-SU snowflake die-cuts, Dazzling Diamonds glitter applied with 2-way glue pen, Silver stickles, self-adhesive die-cuts from Winter Bright SBK

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY = ) !!!

Week 4 Grand Opening Challenge

Week 4...the final week of my Grand Opening Weekly Challenges....is going to be easy! Make something, anything with Designer Paper and give it away as a RAK. It can be a card or a bookmark, like my examples, or anything else you can think of.


1) Create a card, or anything, with Designer Paper

2) Give it away as a RAK

3) Upload to SCS with the keyword: PSG1122

4) Leave me a comment under this post, with a link to your card or project.

The challenge is open until Weds Nov 28th at 5pm....then I'll choose 2 random weekly winners. THEN on November 30th, I'll draw a random winner, from the weekly winners, for my BLOG CANDY...to celebrate the Grand Opening for my Blog = ) !!!!

I only had time to make one card this week, so I combined 3 challenges for this card: the SCS color challenge (to use Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and White), the SCS Sketch Challenge, and Jen's Super Saturday Blog Challenge (to use flowers, ribbon and dp)! The bookmark was really quick...I used scraps and pieces from my workbench and combined them with the Winter Bright Scrapbook kit (I LOVE that kit). So, have fun with this week's challenge and just use your designer paper to bless someone in a special way!


Supplies for the card:
Stamps: Enjoy every moment (from the upcoming Spring/Summer Catalog)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink, Shimmery White, DP from Creative License
Ink: Wasabi & Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Spring flower bouquet punch, ticket corner punch, 1/4" hand held circle punch, Large Oval Punch,Paper piercer, Pink & Green brads from the Soft Subtle collection, Double stitched Wasabi ribbon, Crystal Stickles

Supplies for the Bookmark:
Stamps: Wishing you Cheer
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, Winter Bright SBK
Ink: Black Stazon, SU Markers
Accessories, Scallop Circle Punch, Double Stitched wasabi ribbon, silver brad, ticket and round corner punches, crystal stickles, paper piercer


ENJOY YOUR THANKSGIVING DAY! We all have so much to be thankful for = )

Week 3 Winners

Congratulations to Dawn Eastman, aka TreasureOiler on SCS & Deb, aka Dabbles by Deb on SCS... both were drawn as the 2 random winners of this week's challenge! Nice job girls and thanks for playing = )

Here is Dawn's beautiful card...be sure to check out her blog too ~ Treasure Oiler Designz...I visit there frequently and always love what I find!!

And Here is Deb's special card...be sure to check out her blog too: DabblesbyDeb...lots of fun and creative things to see!!

Dawn & Deb's names will be added to the other weekly winners and on November 30th...a Grand Prize winner will be drawn for the Blog Candy!!! I do want to give Nancy Littrell an honorable mention this week. She has played every week and submitted wonderful entries! I LOVE Nancy's cards and she is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. RAK's come quite naturally to her as well as creativity. Even though her name hasn't been drawn (yet), I encourage you to click HERE...to check out her SCS gallery, it's well worth the trip = ) !

week 1 winners: Nancy Riley and Chat
week 2 winners: Sue and Regina Davis
week 3 winners: Dawn Eastman and Deb
week 4 winners:
THE GRAND PRIZE BLOG CANDY WINNER: ?? to be drawn on November 30th!

I'll post the final Challenge...for week 4....tomorrow morning!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and your family a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!

If you need a last minute idea for a placecard/favor...this 2/4/6/8 box works just great! There's a tutorial on Splitcoast...I've searched and know it's there...but I can't find it. You basically take a half sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock (5 1/2 x 8 1/2) and score it at 2/4/6/8". Turn the cardstock and score again at 2" for the bottom flaps. It is my favorite little box design for a quick and easy favor/gift. This one is filled with a few hershey's nuggets covered in dp...the dark chocolate kind...'cause it's "good for you" (lol!).

Not much timefor fun/challenge stamping this week. Family, Thanksgiving preparations, workshops and incoming orders have taken up most of my time...but those are all good things that I'm very grateful for!! There will be plenty of time to do some fun stamping next week = ) !

I will be drawing the 2 weekly winners for the Week 3 Grand Opening Challenge later this evening!!

Supplies for this project:

Stamps: Dotted Autumn (grateful for you), Linen (bg), Autumn Harvest (leaves and pumpkin)

Cardstock: Mostly Mustard, Old Olive, Really Rust, Vanilla & Apple Cider DP

Ink: Really Rust, Old Olive

Accessories: Artichoke gg ribbon, corner rounder, paper snips, hemp twine, cropadile for hole punching

Snowman Soup

This is one of those projects that most have you have probably seen before, but it's a fun and easy little way to send a little Christmas cheer to someone special. On a cold winter morning, who wouldn't love to receive this sweet little packet! The STAR of this little project is the Snowman...he's sooooo cute! He can be found in the holiday mini catalog, the MERRY AND BRIGHT stamp set...and is only available for one more week! Just click HERE to see the entire set and the rest of the Holiday Mini Catalog!! Lots of great stuff in there.

You can google snowman soup and find a million corny poems....my little packet features this one:

"When it's so cold outside that you holler and whoop, it's time to bring out some snowman soup. Pour your packet of cocoa in a fun winter mug...add some yummy snowballs and find a place to get snug. Now pour in hot water, stir with the cane a time or two, take a nibble of chocolate, the snowman soup's ready for you!"

The packet itself isn't anything special, but when you add a few pieces of colorful cardstock, dp and ribbon...it comes to life! The Hershey's nuggets are wrapped in scraps (1 x 3") of Dashing DP. The snowman is stamped in Basic Black ink, colored with SU Old Olive and Real Red Markers and layered up on the 1 1/4, 1 3/8 and Scallop Circle punches. A little paper piercing on the scallop and the Cardstock is Real Red, Old Olive and Shimmery White. The finishing touches are 5/8" Olive ribbon, red gingham ribbon, silver cord and of course....Dazzling Diamonds Glitter applied with the 2-way glue pen on the snowman's cheeks and belly = )!

Recipe for snowman soup: Packet of Cocoa, Candycane, chocolate, marshmallows

Have a Bright and Merry Tuesday = ) !!!

Simply Dazzling Ornaments

Want to add a little Pizzazz to your tree, packages, bags and projects...here's a quick and easy way to do just that! I wish you could see this IRL...there is no way a photograph can do it justice...it's just so DAZZLING! It reminds me of Ruby Slippers from the Wizard of Oz!! I saw this project at the Portland Regionals and couldn't wait to get home and try it. I wasn't disappointed. It's really fun and really simple. Here's how ~



Here's what you need
On Board Trimmings (chipboard)
Sanding Block
Craft Ink
Heat and Stick Powder
Glitter
Heat Tool
Cropadile
Stretch Cord
Powder Pal Trays
Optional: Eyelets, Brads, Stamped Images, other Embelishments


Here's what you do

1. Choose a piece from the On Board Trimming and use the Sanding Block to smooth any rough edges. If you plan on this being a one sided ornament (with a photo or stamped image inside), trace the shape of your chipboard onto cardstock. You can cut this out later and use it for the back of your ornament.

2. If desired, punch a hole in the chipboard, using the Cropadile...so you can add ribbon or stretch cord later. You can also add an eyelet later if you'd like.

3. Cover the chipboard with Craft Ink. I used an SU Sponge, cut in thirds to apply the Craft Ink...very liberally. You can also use a dauber, but if it’s a big piece of chipboard, it will take quite a while. With the sponge, I sometimes get a bit of craft ink on my fingers, but it applies much quicker…so it's worth it, to me. The key is to get the chipboard "wet" with ink...both to give the chipboard color and to give the heat and stick powder something to stick to. My white ink is much wetter than the red, so it went on a lot quicker.

4. Sprinkle Heat and Stick powder over the Craft Ink and Heat it up using your Heat Tool. This doesn’t take long. You can easily see as it turns from a powder into hot liquid glue. For a little extra "glue" you can apply more Heat and Stick powder and re-heat.

5. While the “glue” is still hot/wet….sprinkle Glitter all over the Ornament. Carefully tap off excess glitter. Re-heat with the Heat Tool, just briefly, to set the glitter. Once the glue has cooled (this happens pretty quickly), I give the ornaments a good "tapping" into my Powder Pals Tray...to remove the excess glitter.

6. If it's a one-sided Ornament, you can add your insert (a photograph, stamped image, etc) and adhere the cardstock backing with some glue dots. For a two-sided Ornament, repeat the Craft Ink, Heat and Stick and Glitter steps for the other side. If any areas need a little "touch up" with more glitter...just use your 2-way glue pen and apply a bit more glitter. Sometimes the edges need a little touching up.

7. Add Eyelets, Rhinestone Brads, Stretch Cord, Ribbons, Stamped images or Photographs…so many possibilities! There are some fun examples on page 9 of the Holiday Mini (click HERE to see them...and the rest of the catalog too!)




For the first ornament, I used Real Red Craft Ink with Romantic Red Glitter. I stamped the snowman image from Wishing you Cheer, with Black Stazon onto Shimmery White Cardstock, colored him in with SU markers, and used the 2-way glue pen to add a little Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give him some shimmer of his own! I used glue dots to adhere the image inside and glue dots again to adhere the cardstock backing for the ornament. For the Snowflake, I used White Craft Ink with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. For the Star, I used White Craft Ink with Silver Shine Glitter.



These On-Board Trimming pieces will only be available for a little more than a week. Along with the Silver and Gold Stretch cord and all the other great items in the Holiday Mini Catalog can only be ordered until November 30th...then they're gone for good! There are some really great items in that little mini catalog...so take another look, so you don't miss out!



Have a DAZZLING Monday = ) !!!

Rick-Rack Criss-Cross

I know, I know...you're probably tired of seeing Criss-Cross Cards! But I'm not = ) !! I love this style of card. Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with a customer to design her Criss-Cross Christmas cards with this fun Dashing dp! This style of card is really nice for showing off your designer paper! Not much time to stamp today, but since I had several pieces left over from my examples, I thought I'd assemble them and finish up another couple Christmas Cards. Just incase you haven't made this type of card yet, here's Beate's tutorial on Splitcoast. It's a great way to give a gift card... you can keep it really simple and just place a couple glue dots on the back of the gift card and adhere it to the back of the insert. Greeting on the front, gift on the back...how's that for a fun and easy gift!! Here's another style that I made based on Cami's directions on how to make this into a vertical Criss-Cross ~ I apologize for the fuzzy photos...it's kind of a dark, drizzly day here on the Oregon coast and I just can't get enough natural light to get a decent photo. It rains here A LOT! Especially in the winter. Good time to stay indoors and stamp!

Supplies for the first card:
Stamps: Short & Sweet, In the Spotlight (flower)
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Dashing dp
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive
Accessories: 5-petal flower punch, Round tab punch, Spring Bouquet flower punch, 5/8" red gg ribbon, non-su green rick-rack, red rhinstone brads, sticky strip

Supplies for the second card:
Stamps: Wishing you Cheer
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Dashing DP
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Black Stazon, SU Markers
Accessories: Round Tab Punch, 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and Scallop Circle punches, Cropadile and red eyelet, 5/8" red gg ribbon, silver stretch cord, non-su olive velvet rick-rack, stickles

Have a great weekend = ) !!

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT sneak preview

Here's a sneak peak at a fantastic new stamp set that will be available in Stampin' Up's Spring/Summer Collection Catalog on January 1st...it's called "Enjoy Every Moment"!! I used my cropadile for embossing again...it's sure a quick and easy way to add a little dimension. I have a brief tutorial on how that works...click HERE to check it out. I was able to get this stamp set through a promotion that was offered to demonstrators who attended the Portland Regionals! The pieces in the set are so fun and versatile...the possibilities are endless.....just look ~

Isn't that a great stamp set? Get out your wish lists...this one will be great both for cardmaking and for scrapbooking. Here's a super quick "man" card I made with this set:

ENJOY your day = ) !!

Supplies for the first card: Stamp : Enjoy Every Moment Paper: Soft Sky Cardstock & DP, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White Ink: Timber Stazon, Sky Accessories: Cropadile for dry embossing, silver and rhinestone brads, ticket corner punch and slot punch, Paper piercer, double stitched sky ribbon, Stampamajig

Supplies for the second card: Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment Paper: Chocolate, Artichoke, Holiday Harmony DP, Vanilla Accessories: 1/2 inch circle punch, paper piercer

Grand Opening Challenge Week 3

This week's challenge is an easy one ~ with Thanksgiving coming up next week (for those of us in the US) this is a perfect time to create and send a card of gratitude:

1) Create a Thank you or Thanksgiving Card
2) Use some designer paper
3) Mail it or give it away
4) Leave a comment here and upload your card to SCS with keywords: PSG1115

I made my example card earlier this week...you can see it HERE. The challenge will be open for entries until 5pm Weds Nov 21. That evening, I'll draw 2 random winners from all this week's entries. Those winner's names will go into a drawing, with the other weekly winners, and on November 30th...I'll draw one lucky winner for the BLOG CANDY!

Week 2 Winners

I'm SO PROUD of everyone who participated in this week's Grand Opening Weekly Challenge! It was so fun looking at your cards and I loved reading the stories that went with each. For the second week in a row, you took paper, ink and designer paper and turned them into amazing acts of kindness! Big hugs to everyone!! I did a random drawing from all the entries....and the winners are (drum roll please...) ~




Sue, aka Suen on Splitcoast and Regina Davis, aka ReginaBD on Splitcoast! You can click on their names to check out their wonderful Splitcoast galleries and read about the special people who received these cards. These girls are not only talented, they have very kind hearts! Congratulations girls!! Your names will go into a drawing, along with the other weekly winners and on November 30th, one lucky winner will get the blog candy!!!





Here is Sue's card ~ I love how she stamped the little penguins right onto the big circles on the dashing paper...how creative and fun is that! I really like Penguins and this card is so cheerful, it totally makes me smile = ) !!!

And here is Regina's card...it's a beauty! I love that gorgeous velvet ribbon and those colors...so very pretty!!!Okay, here's a recap of our weekly winners, so far. I'll post the next challenge tomorrow morning...so stay tuned....and THANKS for playing and for all your random acts of kindness!!! Great job everyone = )

week 1 winners: Nancy Riley and Chat

week 2 winners: Sue and Regina Davis

week 3 winners:

week 4 winners:

THE GRAND PRIZE BLOG CANDY WINNER: ??(could be you....but only if you play)

86,400 Seconds

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you' ?" - William A Ward

Stampin' Up had this quote up on the demonstrator site yesterday. What a good reminder to all of us, to say thank you. So, let me take just a moment (or 60 of my 86,400 seconds) to thank each of you, for stopping by the blog and leaving kind and encouraging comments! Thank you so very much!!

My favorite cards to make are the ones I'm creating for a specific person, and that was the case with this one. I just received this new hostess set, Sidekick Sayings, and it was perfect for the thank you note I wanted to make. I really like the colors for yesterday's SCS color challenge; Kraft, Pomegranate and White. I had to dig around in my kit from Regionals to find some Kraft paper...and found one sheet. I've not been a big fan of Kraft in the past, but I've changed my mind....It was fun to work with = ). The Holiday Harmony dp worked great with those colors too! I just realized I ALMOST made a card without using a punch...almost. I did end up using the photo corner punch...whew, that was a close one! I love my punches.

Supplies for this card:
Stamp: Sidekick Sayings (hostess) Paper: Pomegranate, Kraft, Whisper White, Holiday Harmony DP Ink: Stazon Timber Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware in Pewter, Pewter brads, Paper Piercer, SU Markers, Photo Corner Punch, double stitched Pomegranate ribbon

I have something so fun to show you later this week! I have a brand spankin' new stamp set from the soon to be released SU Spring/Summer Collection Catalog. The set was an incentive from Regionals...and it just arrived in the mail yesterday. It is soooooo cool! Can't wait to show you!!

There's still time to enter this week's Grand Opening Blog Challenge...here are all the details. I'll be drawing 2 weekly winners this evening and posting a new weekly challenge tomorrow!

Thanks again and have a wonderful Wednesday = )

In everything give thanks: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Brown and Pink Rerun

This paper and stamp set were still out on my workbench from a card I made a few days ago. Before putting them away (they are among my very favorite colors)... I thought I'd make one more card. I also wanted to try Beate's weekend sketch challenge....and this is what I came up with. I made myself try sponging again. I am so bad with a sponge. I've seen all your beautiful cards with sponging...and love the look... but when I try, it just seems to look messy! This card gave me a good opportunity to try again, and... I don't dislike it as much as I usually do! I think I just need to keep working on it.

There's something about that white scallop piece that makes me smile. Some of you may be able relate to this...it reminds me of those pretty little white scalloped cardboard coasters (that was before we called it chipboard), that the waitress would place under my glass of soda when I was a little girl. Back then (in the old days)...going out to eat was a rare occasion and a big deal...so these coasters were a commodity! I used to collect them... what can I say, I was a pretty easy kid to please = ) !

Thanks again to Nancy Littrell...we did a little swap with DPs, and she shared this awesome Basic Grey Periphery paper with me. Nancy's Splitcoast Gallery is filled with wonderful creations. She's been a big source of inspiration and encouragement to me = )

Supplies for this card ~
Stamps: Blooming with Happiness (cake), Baroque Motifs (sentiment), So Much (circle dots)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Shimmery White, Basic Grey Periphery
Ink: Timber Stazon, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Mega Scallop Punch, Coluzzle, Photo corner punch, paper piercer, gold brads, Pink 1/4" gg ribbon, br/pink polkadot ribbon, SU Markers, Zig Gold Painty Pen, Cinnamon stickles, sponge dauber

BTW....You still have a little time left, to take part in this week's Grand Opening Challenge!

Have a TERRIFIC Tuesday = )

Deck the Halls with Elzybells

Happy Monday Morning to ya! I thought this Elzybells card would be a great way to start off the week. My daughter Megan and I currently have joint custody of this little stamp. She ordered this and another coordinating stamp (you'll see that a little later this week) and had them shipped to me. She's away at college, but will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas break....she wants to use this set for her Christmas party invitations...but until she gets home, they're mine to play with!!! She and I are both huge fans of SU stamps and supplies, but these Ellzybells have wiggled their way right into our hearts! After ordering them, she emailed me to let me know they would be arriving and offered to let me pay for half...now wasn't that generous of her (lol)! Now just incase you love these stamps as much as we do, here's the link to The Elzybells blog... but I must warn you, going to that site is every bit as addictive as opening an SU catalog...don't say I didn't warn you!

I use the SU Winter Bright Scrapbook kit again...I actually don't put it completely away because I keep reaching for it on almost every project. The dp in that kit along with the textured cardstock and self adhesive die-cuts are just wonderful....so wonderful, I just ordered my third set! I also used the All About Christmas wheel, well...sort of. I actually chopped it up in pieces and I'm going to mount it on wood blocks. There are so many great sentiments on that wheel, including this one I used, "Deck The Halls, Merry and Bright" ... I got a little ahead of myself, because now I realize I need backing for the rubber, in addition to wood blocks, but it seemed like a good idea at the time = ) !!

This card is also for the Splitcoast Tuesday Color Challenge...using Ruby Red, Wild Wasabi and Bashful Blue. The Winterbright Scrapbook kit was perfect for all those colors! Emily hosts a fun color challenge every Tuesday! It's a great way to force yourself to get creative with colors you might not otherwise use together. Really good learning tool!

And last, but for sure not least, this is for Jen's Super Saturday blog Challenge, to use 2 or more punches on a card! Jen always picks something really fun. I LOVE punches. This card used 5 punches, but that's conservative for me. I love punches because they save me time and are a great way to add interest to a card. You purchase them once, and they're right there whenever you need them! I have another great idea rolling around in my head for another card for this challenge...you just might see that later this week!

Supplies for this card:

Stamps: Deck the Halls/Elzybells, Perfect Presentation (snowflake), All about Christmas (sentiment)

Paper: Winter Brights sbk, Ruby Red, Wasabi, Bashful Blue, Shimmery White

Ink: Ruby Red, Black Stazon

Accessories: Zig Painty Pen, SU markers, stickles, silver cord, bashful 1/4 inch gg ribbon, bashful brads, dimensionals, 1/2-3/4-1 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches and photo corner punch!

Have a great day! And don't forget about my Grand Opening Weekly Challenge for blog candy to be given away at the end of the month ~ Here's the blog candy and you have unti 5pm Weds to enter this week's challenge!

Brown and Pink Birthday

This is for Jen's Super Saturday Challenge! She has a fun challenge every Saturday on her blog, Stamping Therapy (she also hosts a fun limited supply challenge every friday at splitcoast). This Saturday's challenge was to make a brown and pink birthday card. I love those colors together....love them!!! My friend, Nancy Littrell and I did a little swap with our DPs and look what I got in the trade...it's brown and pink! I didn't think I was going to get to play any challenges this week (sniffle, sniffle, whine, whine) because I've been busy, busy, busy working on Christmas projects for this month's workshops! But I'm all caught up and so glad to have a chance to play along with with Jen's challenge.

I'll be posting some of the projects we're doing at my workshops, a little later this month = ) .... stay tuned ... fun Christmas stuff !!

Supplies:
Stamp: Blooming with Happiness (retired hostess set)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla & Basic Grey DP
Ink: Timber Brown Stazon, SU Markers in Pink, Rose & Caramel
Accessories: Ticket corner punch, Photo corner punch, Antique gold brads, brown and pink polkadot ribbon, & 1/4" pink gg ribbon, cinnamon & crystal Stickles

Have a great weekend! = )

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my Dad's birthday!!! I got this stamp set several years ago, with Dad in mind. He restores Model-A cars. They're just beautiful and so much fun to drive. They have those little rumble seats in the back, that the kids (and sometimes the big kids) like to ride in. I had a piece of this Barorque Background dp out on my workbench from yesterday's posting and also had this stamp set out to remind me to make the card....turns out they worked really well together. I overstamped the image and sentiment with the linen bg stamp in carmel, to give it an antiqued look. I'd forgotton how much I like my little distressing tool...I used that on the image layers. The Hodgepodge Hardware added the final touches. I was a little crunched for time yesterday, and had to finish his card up pretty quickly. I think he'll like it, but the jury's still out for me. I've been working on bright, cheerful, glittery Christmas projects all week for my workshops. Lots of ribbon & dazzling diamonds!! I think maybe it's just that this card is a bit serious looking....maybe if I just added a bit of dazzling diamonds....or, maybe not = )

Supplies for this card:

Stamp set: Retired Vintage set (not sure of the name), Linen bg, Short & Sweet

Paper: Artichoke, Chocolate, Vanilla & Baroque background dp

Ink: Timber brown stazon, Carmel

Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Cutter Kit (distressing tool)

Grand Opening Challenge Week 2

This week's challenge...make a simple just because, no special occasion card using designer paper & send it to someone! Same rule as last week, you can't enter until the card has been given or mailed. I didn't have much time to make the example card today, this was REALLY quick...and so simple, I almost didn't want to post it! I let the DP (brocade backgrounds) do the work for me. I found a piece that was really lovely, and just added some gold cord and a medallion. My card is going out to a friend who I've been meaning to send a card to forever, but that thought keeps getting pushed to the "I'll do that later" category. Sometimes, I get a little caught up in wanting to make a really special card, so instead of just sending out that greeting, it gets put off. I think my friend will appreciate receiving the greeting in a simple card versus not receiving a card at all. So, the whole point of this week is to 1) let the dp do the work for you, 2) keep it simple, 3) send a note to someone, just because. Upload your card to Splitcoast, using the keyword (no spaces): PSG118. If you don't have a SC gallery, you can link me to your blog. It would be great if you could upload to Splitcoast...that way we can go into the PSG118 gallery & check out everyone's entries! And don't forget to leave a comment under this posting and link me to your entry. And the most important part...have fun = ) !!

This week's challenge will end at 5pm on Weds November 14th. I'll select 2 winners from all the entries in a random drawing...it was just too hard to select one this week...I'm going to keep it simple and just go with a random drawing for winners. At the end of the month, each of the weekly winner's names will go into a drawing for the BLOG CANDY...check out all the details on my November 1st post, "Time to Celebrate"!

Supplies for this card~

Stamp: Baroque Motifs

Paper: Old Olive, River Rock (textured), Brocade Backgrounds DP

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: gold emboss powder, embossing buddy, heat gun, gold stretch cord, 3/4, 1, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & scallop circle punches

Thanks to everyone who entered last week...it was really fun to hear your stories and see your wonderful projects!!

Week 1 Winners

I can't believe how hard it was to select winners for this week's challenge. Everyone who entered is a winner in my book! Your random acts of kindness spanned the globe...from the Oregon Coast, to Canada and one RAK even went as far as Australia! There were so many great choices, I decided to choose the random winner first. Then came the hard part...I had to choose between the remaining wonderful projects and it was nearly impossible. My daughter, Megan, is helping me judge, and she agreed, it wasn't easy. But finally, we made our decision....and the winner is ~

(drum roll please......)

Nancy Riley aka Stampinat6213 on Splitcoast and her blog is iStamp

Nancy made this great RAK for her neighbor who's been having a tough time at work. What a beautiful gift and thoughtful gesture! She used the Fall Flowers DP and included one of life's essentials....chocolate!! You can read more about her winning project at her blog.

And the Second (randomly drawn) winner is

(another drum roll please......)

Chat, aka nitestamper on Splitcoast and her blog is memystampsandi

She made 10, yes ten, of these beautiful gift baskets as a surprise for friends and family at a recent gathering! Wow...Chat, can I come to your house? She used the Apple Cider DP from the Holiday mini...I love that paper! You can read more about her winning project at her blog.





Both of these ladies are mega-talented stampers. Both have wonderful galleries on Splitcoast as well as awesome blogs I LOVE to vist...and visit...and visit!!! But there's more talent to be seen and appreciated ~ be sure to check out ALL the entries for this week. So much kindness and talent, you'll be inspired! Which reminds me, I'm having a little trouble with the links in the comment section...you can't click on them...and I'm not sure why?? So, you'll have to copy & paste their links, but, I promise, it's worth the effort.


I'll post the next challenge tomorrow, before noon. I want to give our winners, Nancy & Chat, a little time to bask in their glory!! Nice job girls! Your names will be entered for the grand prize drawing...for blog candy...at the end of the month!

Winners Week 1: Nancy Riley & Chat

Winners Week 2:

Winners Week 3:
Winners Week 4:

Simple Designer Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought you might like to see a simple project that we made at one of my workshops last month. The placecard holder is a piece of Really Rust Cardstock, cut 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 and scored at 2 3/4. I cut another little stabalizer strip for under the placecard, that is 3/4 x 4 and scored at both ends at 3/4. The Apple Cider DP is cut 2 1/2 x 3 1/2. The Very Vanilla is cut 2 x 3. I stamped the image from Dotted Autumn on the Very Vanilla. Adhered the layers together. Used my paper piercer to pop 4 little holes in the corners & added the Pewter Brads, tied a little knot in some Chocolate Taffeta ribbon and adhered in on with a Mini Glue Dot. This is so simple, but I think the finished product comes out looking really nice. And if you're making enough of these for each of your Thanksgiving guests, you need it to be simple. Don't forget to write the names before adding the stablalizer piece underneath...much easier to write while they're still flat = ) !!

The napkin ring holder was made with some Really Rust Cardstock & Apple Cider DP cut a 2 x 5 and 1 3/4 x 5. The trick with that was wrapping the cardstock around a small aerosol can to form the "ring". When trying to form a small piece of cardstock into a ring, it tends to want to crumple and bend, but if you find a little bottle or cylander that's about the same diameter of the ring you're trying to form...and wrap your cardstock around the cylander, it works really well. I closed the napkin ring with a small strip of Sticky Strip and added a couple of Pewter Eyelets with the Cropadile...I tried to use a little hardware on each piece for continuity. The finishing touch was some beautiful Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon.

The little box is a 2/4/6/8 box, with the top portion trimmed off and made into a handle. I used the sentiment from Dotted Autumn and punched it out and layered it up with my 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and Scallop Circle Punches. I used a couple of Pewter Brads to attach the handles. A little paper piercing and a knot of Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon attached with a Mini Glue Dot, finished it off! The 2/4/6/8 box template is on Splitcoast...I tried to find it the other day & couldn't...but I know it's there. The dimensions are really easy, it's just a 1/2 sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock (that would be 8 1/2 x 5). Scored at 2,4,6 & 8", then turned and scored at 2" for the bottom flaps. I hope that's a least a little helpful!

Supplies Used ~
Stamp Set: Dotted Autumn
Paper: Apple Cider DP, Really Rust & Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Pewter brads & Eyelets, Cropadile, 1 1/4, 1 3/8 & Scallop Circle Punches

HAPPY Wednesday = ) !!

I'll be selecting the winners of this week's challenge this evening and posting the winners, along with a new challenge tomorrow! There's still time to play...You have until 5pm Pacific time, to enter this week's challenge!!

Best Wishes

I made this card last week, but wanted to wait to post it ....just to be sure the receipient didn't see it before she received it! My friend Sandi, asked me to make this for a co-worker, Crystal, who was leaving their office. Crystal's co-workers wanted to give her a Stampin' Up Gift Certificate (what a GREAT gift!!)...and asked me to make a card to go with it. I didn't photograph the inside of the card, but it's 5 1/4 square, so there was plenty of room to place the coordinated gift certificate on the inside cover and the girls still had plenty of room to write their greetings on the other side. I love giving and receiving SU gift certificates! It's a great idea for the upcoming holiday season. No trips to the mall, one size fits all and it's a gift anyone will love = ) !!!

The design for this card was inspired by this card of Nancy Riley's that I cased a couple weeks ago...she is just such an inspiration to me = ) ... thanks Nancy!

Supplies for this card:

Stamps: Short & Sweet (sentiment), In the Spotlight (flower), Priceless (swirl)

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky cardstock & dp, Whisper White, non-SU metallic silver

Ink: Timber Brown Stazon & Soft Sky

Accessories: 5-petal flower punch, blue rhinestone brads, paper piercing tool, double stitched soft sky ribbon, silver cord

= ) Happy Tuesday !!!