Christmas Lights (Video Sunday)

This project makes my mind crazy with possibilities! There are so many different ways you can decorate the lights (stamps, Copic air brush, twinkling h2o, glitter, tissue paper, even photos!) ... and an infinite number of ways to use them (Christmas of course, but how about birthdays, parties, cook-outs, weddings, oh my!). How great is this??? Remember to comment if you make the project so I can link to you.




happy stampin'

Wishing You A Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving

I may be absent most of this week. I am looking forward to enjoying a visit from my sister & her husband.

Thanksgiving blessings,

Advent Calendar (Video Sunday)

Totally AWESOME Chica video to share today. She has some great tips for using glue, so listen up for those. I love this project, and the way she interprets it. The only changes I would make are to use a punch or die cut machine for the circles, and spray paint for the first layer of paint on the mini pots. Enjoy!

(If you make this project comment me so I can link over to you!)



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Green snow?

Today's card is a gift card holder too - for double the fun! The colors are quite unexpected. I based the stamped image colors on the patterned paper, but I wasn't quite confident about adding green and orange to a snowflake image!

The card has a pocket fold on the inside bottom which holds a gift card perfectly. Since I didn't have an actual card, I just slipped in a paper for the photo, lol!



Here is a smaller photo showing the inside. I kept the card very simple, but you could definitely bling it up and add a ribbon too.

Guess I'll have to find a real gift card to insert inside. The best thing about this card is you can make it in a jiffy.

happy stampin'

supplies: Chocolate chip, sparkle and pattern paper; stamp image from Country Living Holiday kit and scallop punch by SU.

Winter Post

The weather this week is feeling more like winter ... or at least winter in the south! I have made zero preparations for Thanksgiving next week, but did manage to make a Christmas card!

This card uses my new favorite stamp set, Winter Post, from SU! I have several new sets that I hope to use making holiday cards, but this one tops my list {at the moment}. I can be a very fickle stamper for sure!

I used the sketch from CPS this week as my beginning point, but I didn't make a long card, I kept the card to an A2 size like usual. If you are planning to attend Girls Night Out on Friday - this will be one of our project cards.

happy stampin'

supplies: Winter Post, white, real red, bashful blue and pattern paper by SU; Snowflake embossing folder by Cuttlebug; red grosgrain by Offray.

Decorative Plates (Video Sunday)

I found this video on Lifetime's website. I had no idea Lifetime had craft webcasts, did you? Neat-o, another resource to bookmark! Today's video show you how to decopauge a clear plate. They make a monster plate for a child ... but since it's almost Thanksgiving (and Christmas is just around the corner) why not make a Fall plate, or a Turkey plate ... ? I think a decorated plate or set of plates could also make for a nice gift. If you make one, comment here and I'll link to your blog or gallery.



happy stampin'

Last of the series

You may be glad to know the series of card experiments are ending with today's post! Today's share is different from the others, it's not really an experiment with inks so much as it just uses the same image and I made it at the same time, so it was included with the group.

I can't remember where I found the color combo. It could have been a challenge, or I may have taken the colors from a color wheel. In any event, I like this color combo - it is brighter than colors I would normally choose.

When I inked the image, I selectively inked certain parts with the selected colors - spritzed the rubber stamp with water then stamped. By misting the rubber you are able to achieve a softer image. I then added glitter with a Spica clear glitter pen (yummie). Again, the scalloped oval was purchased from Paper Source.

happy stampin'

supplies: Butterflies (Inkadinkado), Scalloped Oval (Paper Source), Spica Glitter pen, cardstock, coral, turquoise and green inks.

Kreativ Blogger award

Cheryl at Never Enough Stamps is so sweet! She has nominated my blog. I believe we met through the Club Scrap message boards, but found we have so much more in common! I am supposed to nominate 5 blogs ... which is very difficult. So here are my nominations for blogs that are not only "Kreativ" but inspire me to be "Kreativ" too! They are listed in no particular order, and there are so many more blogs that are wonderful too!

• Keri
• Debbie
• Jan
• Lisa
• Pat
  

happy stampin'

Soft and Sweet

I love the way this card turned out! Continuing the experiments from last week, today's card is more like the first one I posted. The image was stamped in Versamark and clear embossed. I then spritzed pink and green inks diluted with water over the image. The one difference is that the image is stamped on ivory cardstock instead of patterned paper.

The scalloped oval was purchased from Paper Source in Georgetown. LOVE that store! I am totally psyched that a Paper Source is opening in Charlotte ... along with an IKEA. woo hoo! I am going to make a road trip once both stores are open! Anyone interested in riding along??

Oh sorry, I got sidetracked for a moment... excuse me. I thought I would also post a group shot of all the cards in this series. There is one more card to highlight - and I haven't shown it yet because it doesn't use the same technique of experimenting with clear embossing and inks. I will post it next. Until then ...

happy stampin'

supplies: Butterflies (Inkadinkado), Pattern paper (Basic Grey), Ivory scalloped oval (Paper Source), Sentiment and Pearls (Stampin' Up), cardstock, Versamark, pink and green inks, clear ep.

Butterflies in Pink!

More of the same ... the technique is the same as yesterdays: clear embossed stamped image, brayered over with a darker ink. On this card I stamped and clear embossed the same image on the cardstock background. If you read yesterday's post, you know all the details! I can't think of anything to add.

The scalloped rectangle was punched with a Marvy punch. I do like the differences in the appearance of the image. It's fun to play around with stamps and supplies when I have time! Here is a closer look at the embossed image:

happy stampin'

supplies: Butterflies (Inkadinkado), Patterned Paper (Basic Grey), cardstock, Versamark, clear ep, Marvy Scalloped Rectangle punch.

Butterflies

This card takes the same idea from Thursdays post, but instead of spritzing ink onto the embossed image, I brayered a darker ink over the image which gives more contrast resutling in a bolder image and keeps most of the patterned paper from showing through. This is the same image as in the last post.

I added a Cuttlebugged background, lightly swiping ink over it to bring out the leaves.

happy stampin'

supplies: Butterflies (Inkadinkado), Pattern paper (Basic Grey), Cardstock, Cuttlebug, Versamark and Night of Navy inks, clear ep, brayer.

Christmas Planner (Video Sunday)

I love this project! Our Stamp Club made something very similar last year using a double pocket folder. I think using a manila file folder is genius, and a little smaller so it fits in your purse easily! Click HERE to see the one I posted last October.



Please take note the person in the video is using a double stick adhesive similar to red line tape. This is important if you really plan to use and handle this folder over and over.






happy stampin'

Santa Tag

Hooray, I am completing this week's Copic challenge in a timely fashion! That's significant since I have been less than prompt the previous two weeks. Keri and I are incorporating a tag element for this week's challenge. Here is mine:

Originally I was planning to add a tag to a card, but ... I kind of like this tag just as it is. I have a second tag with a different image that is not complete so I may try it on a card for comparison.

Do you like the red rhinestones? Guess what - they were clear until I colored them with a Copic marker! Now they are the perfect shade for Santa's hat, cool beans!

To create this tag I stamped the image, colored with Copic markers, scribbled several markers on a palette and picked them up with a cotton ball saturated with blender solution and dabbed it outside the image area. I also overstamped with Weathered background from SU.

happy stampin'

supplies: Santa image (Inkadinkado); shipping tag, felt ribbon, felt snowflake, weathered background (SU), rhinestones (Hero Arts), Copic markers, Memento inks.

Because I Care

Today's card - and a couple of more to be posted soon - are a result of experimenting with my supplies. I wanted to use patterned paper, clear embossing powder and a mister.

This card was difficult to photograph. It is pastel, so the color is not rich and the embossing effect is sooo subtle ...


I stamped the image with Versamark and clear embossed it. Then I misted diluted ink over the image, wiping any excess ink from the embossing. In person, the effect is subtle and very soft. However to get the image to show up in a photograph I had to catch the light, and therefore some of the softness is lost. But I hope you get the idea!

happy stampin'

supplies: Butterfly image (Inkadinkado), Sentiment (Stampin' Up), Pattern paper (Basic Grey), Versamark, Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink inks, Nestabilities, cardstock, grosgrain ribbon.

Glittered Christmas Houses

In the last post, I mentioned that October had been unusually busy. Here is a photo of one of the additions to my already full schedule:


Have you ever seen anything cuter??? Please be sure to notice the milk on his nose! Oh ... it's sweetness in a petite bundle of soft fur! We have 3 little kitties in the house as I type. The mother cat wasn't taking very good care of them, and it was turning cold, so we decided to bring them inside until we could give them away. If you want a kittie - please, please contact me! We are keeping one and giving the other two away - hopefully soon!

I did manage to work on one Christmas project. I found some really cute papier mache houses at Hobby Lobby. They did have a hemp loop on them for hanging as ornaments, but I snipped off the hemp and plan to use them on a table for decoration. When I display them I'll sprinkle some snow around the base and maybe add a tree or two as well.

Church (from Michael's) and Martha Stewart's White Gold glitter and CHF's Faux Snow.

Smallest house with Martha's Aquamarine glitter and more Faux Snow.

Tall house with Martha's Blue Topaz glitter and Faux Snow.

If you use too much Faux Snow it begins to look like coconut! I scraped a little off the roofs because I went a little overboard to begin with!

Stay tuned - after being a slack blogger, I have a series of cards to post and a Copic challenge later in the week!

happy stampin'

Compassion International

One of my favorite blogs is The Pioneer Woman. This week her husband and two daughters are in the Dominican Republic with Compassion International and other bloggers to promote the need for child sponsorship. The posts from "Marlboro Man" have been wonderful. I wanted to encourage you, if you are interested in knowing more about child sponsorship, to read the posts about their experiences in the DR. If you currently sponsor a child, or have sponsored one in the past, I think you will be very interested in the posts as well. He gives insight into the lives of these families and the importance of faith, love and hope that Compassion brings to the community.

You can find the first post here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/2008/11/from_marlboro_man.html
There are more updates each day.
thanks for checking it out,

Santa

October was a busy month! The biggest challenge was a change in my work schedule ... I may be getting used to the changes after 4 weeks - but I'm not totally sure! I did have some projects going on, but didn't have much time to photograph and post anything new! I hope the posts that have made it on the blog have been ok until I get back into a routine.

Today's card is from last week's Copic challenge that Keri and I are doing. Keri was good and got her card posted on time, me ... well ... I'm a week late but at least I'm posting it now. Our challenge was to use the Copic Airbrush System (ABS) on a card. Keri's is HERE and it's gorgeous! Another quick congratulations to Keri on being selected to the Spellbinder's blog team. Keri is very talented and has already posted a great tutorial on using the Nestability dies to their fullest potential!

I worked, reworked and reworked some more until I felt it was passable. I'm still not happy with it, but it's ok and I did learn a few things along the way. I just bought a few new colors of Ranger's Distress embossing powders, and I wanted to use them. Probably not the best idea for this image. First lesson: Pay attention to your image and really think about how to best treat it before you start.

I over stamped the image after I didn't get the effect I was seeking with the distress powders and embossed again, this time in clear. Hum ... didn't make much change. Second lesson: You can't correct some things, just move on!

Next I airbrushed. And airbrushed, and airbrushed! Everything on the card except the twill is airbrushed! I kept adding more color, taking some out with the blender pen, then adding more. There is actually a little girl's face to the right of Santa's ... but you can't see it because nothing I did made her look realistic! She actually started looking scary at one point. When an element just doesn't work what else can you do but cover it with an embellishment! So I gave up and stamped "Believe", airbrushed some color over it, cut and embossed with Oval Nestabilities and stuck it down! Third lesson: If it doesn't work, cover it up!

Funny story about this card. As I worked, I struggled to keep the face clear ... my son took the card to my husband and asked him what he thought it was. My husband said, and I quote, "Well, I think I can see a face in that rock." Oh my goodness! It was obviously worse than I thought!

So - whether you see a Santa, or a rock, at least I posted my challenge card! lol. I hope you like it! It is loosely based on the CPS Sketch Challenge from last week too!

happy stampin'

supplies: Santa (Inkadinkadoo), "Believe" Cornish Heritage Farms, Ranger embossing powders, Copic markers and ABS, Nestabilities, twill, Versamark, Memento inks, Stampin' Up cardstock.

Wall Decor (Video Sunday)

I am going to post crafty videos that I find interesting on Sundays. Hopefully I can find one video every week - but only time will tell. I posted the first video last week, so here is week two of Video Sunday. You will see a Stampin' Up Decor Elements project about 6 minutes into the segment:

happy stampin'