Here Comes Santa...

I had a busy day with friends & family so I didn't get to stamping until way past my bedtime. I had this idea of using my A MUSE santa coat on a penguin today. This card is for the Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS. I wanted it to be very simple & all about the penguin. Not sure if it really works but I wanted it to so bad that I am okay with it!
I am leaving this card for Calvin. Since he is the youngest, he gets the first day of December. I usually leave a little note & treat. I can't wait to add M&Ms to his little tin! This card suits him so well. He loves to dress up & is a bit bold. He is the smallest of the clan but the loudest!

Here is the challenge rules today:
Stamps
miniature stamps
any backgrounds, flourishes, or borders optional
sentiment optional
Cardstock
Limit the layers
Tools
up to 2 specialty tools
any coloring tools
Embellishments
choose one type

Recipe:
Stamps: Santa's Coat (A Muse), Ho! Ho! Ho! (A Muse), Shorty (Memory Box)
Ink: stazon black, real red
Paper: basic black, real red, whisper white
Accessories: prismacolor pencils, red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, square rhinestone brad, stampin dimensionals

Foiled Joy

I would have never thought to buy metallic paper....I just don't think it is really me! Today's Way To Use It Challenge called for it and I am pleasantly surprised how fun it is! Of course, I don't really own metallic paper....but I have plenty of foil. I imagine that the real silver paper is a bit easier to work with. I might have to find out!
Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Paper: Dashing designer print, real red, very vanilla
Ink: real red
Accessories: oval punch, silver brads, aluminum foil, crystal embossing powder, silver cord, red 5/8" ribbon, stampin dimensionals, ticket punch, round tab punch

Sketch Take 2

Sometimes it just needs a little more....I just couldn't resist adding more.
Additions to the recipe: antique brass brads

Warm & Merry Christmas

I decided to try the Mojo Monday sketch this week. I still struggle with my current circle cutter so the oval was completely out. I saw a trick with using the round tab punch to make a 2 inch circle on someone's blog somewhere. There are some A Muse stamps that have been sitting in my stamp tub uninked and calling my name! I just loved today's color challenge: certainly celery, bashful blue and basic gray. I started with a 4 1/4" x 11" piece of basic gray scored at 5 1/2". I cut a piece of Wintergreen designer paper into 4" & 3 3/4". Then I cut it again at 1 5/8" I layered each of those pieces on a 1 3/4" x 4 1/8" piece of bashful blue. I cut 1 1/2" strips of basic gray velvet ribbon from the Beachfront ribbon originals. After I attached it velvet side down to the bashful blue with sticky strip, I folded the ribbon over & used a bashful blue brad to keep it in place. I used the round tab 2 times to make the circle in a 2 3/4" square of certainly celery. Then I used the round corner punch. The chimney was stamped on very vanilla with black stazon. I used the three colors of ink & my aqua painter to fill it in. Liquid Applique was added to the chimney & then I dusted it with dazzling diamonds. I bought some Making Memories mini rub-ons awhile ago. I used Merry Christmas 2 set. I rubbed on the snowflakes in each of the celery corners and then added the sentiment on my bottom panel. The kistletoe stamp was inked with basic gray and then stamped at the top & bottom corner of the panels. I used a the bashful blue stampin write marker to color in the bows & then added the applique to each of the berries. They were topped off with the glitter too. I really am not too sure about this one but it is finally done!!
Recipe:
Stamps: A Muse (chimney & kistletoe)
Ink: bashful blue, certainly celery, basic gray
Paper: wintergreen dp, bashful blue, certainly celery, basic gray
Accessories: basic gray velvet ribbon, liquid applique, dazzling diamonds, round tab punch, corner rounder, bashful blue brads, making memories rub-ons, stampin dimensionals




I also uploaded a card that my marvelous son Calvin made the other day! A future card maker??? Not too bad for 3! He definetly follows the MORE IS MORE motto!

Featured Stamper

Today's featured Stamper is TexasGrammy. She has an amazing gallery! I choose to case this card since I still am in need of more Christmas cards. I just love the Season of Joy set! I changed the colors, added brads to the tree, and changed the star.
Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: basic gray, purely pomegranate, certainly celery, whisper white craft
Paper: whisper white, basic gray, purely pomegranate, certainly celery
Accessories: certainly celery brads, stampin dimensionals, ticket corner punch, district ribbon

Something Fishy

The Inspirational Challenges on SCS are so much fun! This week's inspiration was a fish necklace. I used the fiskar texture plates for this one (both the ocean & scales). It sure takes time & patience but I do love how they turn out. Maybe Santa will leave me a cuttlebug under the tree?? :-) My aqua painter is getting lots of use too! The fishes were painted with purely pomegranate, pumpkin pie, and a spot of wasabi for their eyes. I used tempting turquoise around each fish to simulate the water. The ribbon is from SU ribbon originals, district & jersey.
Recipe:
Stamps: All Wrapped Up, So Many Sayings
Paper: Purely pomegranate, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, wild wasabi, whisper white
Ink: Purely pomegranate, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, wild wasabi
Accesories: fiskar textured plates (scale & ocean), aqua painter, stampin dimensionals, oval punch, Jersey ribbon, District ribbon, 1" circle punch, ticket corner punch

In Stitches

Thursday's Way To Use It Challenge called for stitches. I have used All In A Row for faux stitching but do struggle to keep those stitches straight, not unlike my REAL stitching! I am not too happy with this one but am ready to call it quits! I added some glitter to the image after it was inked using my aqua painter (one of my favorite things!). I also used some fun little button brads that a WONDERFUL friend gave me.
Recipe:
Stamps: All In a Row, Event Full, In the Spotlight, Tres Chic
Ink: purely pomegranate, sage shadow, blue bayou, groovy guava
Paper: blue bayou, purely pomegranate, sage shadow, groovy guava designer prints, whisper white
Accessories: white button brads, scallop punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1/16" circle punch, stampin dimensionals, sponge daubers, groovy guava double stitch ribbon, dazzling diamonds, 2 way glue pen

Family Photos

We attempted to get our Christmas photo taken on Thursday. Calvin really wasn't up for it! I had grandiose ideas of 2 different photos with 10 differences (like in the newspaper).....perhaps next year! It was wonderful visiting family but I am sure that the kitties are glad that Calvin isn't there to maul them anymore. Talk about TOO much love!

Limited To Snowflakes

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving! I am still amazed that the month of November is almost over! Is Christmas really around the corner? I am way behind! Speaking of behind....I have a few challenges to catch up on. This card is for the Limited Supplies Challenge. These are always such a challenge for me because they are SO limiting!! :-) I do love all the SCS challenges. They really push me to do new & different things. Plus, the other members come up with such inspiring cards!
Here were the rules for the challenge:
Stamps
snowflakes
sentiment optional
Cardstock
2-4 layers
only the neutral colors
Ink or coloring tools
mostly neutral
just a teeny tiny bit of color
Embellishments
choose one kind
mostly neutral, just a bit of color
Tools
one specialized tool

I used leftover paper from my open house so this was quicker than normal!
Recipe:
Stamps: Perfect Presentation, Short & Sweet, Season of Joy
Paper: gable green, basic gray, whisper white
Ink: basic gray, whisper white craft
Accessories: certainly celery brads, gray taffeta ribbon, stampin dimensionals

Pink Wasabi Sketch

This card is for both the sketch challenge & color challenge on SCS. It was a very quick card, my favorite kind! I most likely won't be doing any card making over the long weekend....till then!
Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: wild wasabi
Paper: glossy white, pretty in pink, wild wasabi
Accessories: pewter hodgepodge hardware, wild wasabi double stitch ribbon

Time To Wish Big

I finally got around to Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge. I inked up the large flower from the new hostess set for the first time and used my aqua brush to color it in with wild wasabi, groovy guava, and really rust. I also reached for those huge pearl brads for a finishing touch. A great friend of mine has a b-day on Thanksgiving day. I plan to drop this off tomorrow with some of her favorite dip (she begs me to make it!) at her work before we head out of town. Hope everyone has a marvelous Thanksgiving!

Recipe:
Stamps: Time Well Spent, All In A Row, Short & Sweet
Ink: wild wasabi, really rust, groovy guava
Paper: very vanilla, really rust, groovy guava designer prints, wild wasabi
Accessories: oval punch, stampin dimensionals, pearl brad, Sherbet & Fairy Tale ribbon

Football B-Day

I wanted to case this amazing football card from duckwaddelquack at SCS when I saw it last month. I don't have a cuttlebug or those amazing cork letters so I made due with what I do have. I stamped Happy Birthday on the twill ribbon & used my basket weave textured plate. I used some leftover chipboard letters inked with close to cocoa. This is for my nephew's b-day. He plays football & thought this would be the perfect card for him.

Barista Sign

Here is the sign I made for my marvelous sister-in-law. She owns a yummy coffee stand and needed a sign. It was made with the triangle box template from the SU! demonstrator site. I had to type "Your barista is.." & then print it out. I hope she likes it!
Recipe:
Stamps: Like It a Latte, Best Friend Alphabet Upper
Paper: Chocolate chip, groovy guava designer paper, Holiday harmony designer paper, whisper white
Ink: purely pomegranate, chocolate chip, groovy guava
Accessories: pewter brads, stampin dimensionals, color spritzer tool, 2 way pen, dazzling diamonds, groovy guava double stitched ribbon, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, oval punch, 1/16" circle punch

Limited Good Thing

I am still playing around with my Time Well Spent set. Amazingly, last Friday's Limited Supplies challenged required a heart image! Great timing! :-)
Here are the specifics of the challenge:
A) Use 2-3 stamps - one should be a heart image or sentiment.
B) Choose one designer paper pattern OR one embellishment.
C) Choose one specialty tool. (Optional)
D) Limit the layers.
E) Use any coloring tools.
I think I might have strayed a bit by adding both designer paper & ribbon! Oops!
Recipe:
Stamps: Time Well Spent, Little Pieces
Ink: purely pomegranate
Paper: very vanilla, purely pomegranate, Holiday Harmony
Accessories: stampin dimensionals, pomegranate ribbon, ticket punch, prismacolor pencil

Time Well Spent

Stampin Up generously sent all their demonstrators a level 3 Hostess set for their up and coming catalog. It is too cute! I thought that it went perfectly with Saturday's Inspirational Challenge on SCS. This was the first time I used some of these colors! Since I didn't have many of the inks, I decided to just stamp in black & then use my white gel pen. The sentiment was colored in with primsacolor pencils. I used a green & aqua ribbon to make a border for the card. This was a quick one!
Recipe:
Stamps: Time Well Spent
Paper: Lavender lace, regal rose, pumpkin pie, tempting turquoise, green galore
Ink: black stazon
Accessories: stampin dimensionals, prismacolor pencils, green & aqua ribbon, white gel pen

Sunday's Featured Stamper

This week's featured stamper is papermoon on SCS. She has an amazing gallery & is so supportive to everyone else at SCS! I just loved this card: Baroque Wishes. I changed the stamp sets and substituted chocolate chip for her basic black.
Recipe:
Stamps: Fabulous flowers, baroque wheel, short & sweet
Ink: craft white, chocolate chip, real red
Paper: chocolate chip, real red, very vanilla
Accessories: red rhinestones, chocolate chip taffeta ribbon, real red 5/8" ribbon, stampin dimensionals, oval punch

More Uncards

Okay, I need to stop soon! I was too lazy to stamp on this one....I let the paper do all the work. I love how SU paper works with their punches. This Apple Cider paper is just amazing!

Wintergreen Altered Lunch Box

I just love the colors of the Wintergreen Designer Paper. I have yet to make the tabs for the inside of this lunch box but I thought I would upload it anyways.
Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: sage shadow, always artichoke, soft sky, certainly celery
Paper: wintergreen designer prints
Accessories: buttons, rhinestones, ribbon (soft sky double stitch, celery, old olive), snowflakes

More Dashing Spirit

I am on a roll now...Sorry the picture isn't too good on this altered Starbuck's bottle but it is a bit late (or should I say early?) here.

Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy, Perfect Presentation
Ink: Real red, old olive
Paper: Real red, old olive, Dashing dp, very vanilla
Accessories: real red 5/8" ribbon, white eyelets, stampin dimensionals, green rhinestones, silver cord

Advent Calendar

Beate's tutorial for this is amazing! I loved it so much that I didn't change much. I used the same Dashing designer print paper. I used red as my base color & then used miscellaneous stickers & chipboard for the numbers. It took a lot of work but I know the boys will love it! I always put out a little treat every morning leading up to the big day, now I have a place to put it! Thanks Beate!

Fabulous Brads

I just love these pearl brads & have been waiting to use them. Today's Way To Use It Unique Brads Challenge was the perfect time! The felt flowers are from American Craft. I wasn't too sure about the colors at first but I think it turned out.
Recipe:
Stamps: Tres Chic, Fabulous Flowers
Paper: Real red, old olive, perfect plum, very vanilla
Ink: Perfect Plum
Accessories: pearl brads, jumbo eyelets, real red 5/8" ribbon, stampin dimensionals, red color pencil

Joy Sketch Challenge

I am trying to prepare for my SU open house on Saturday & fighting a bit of a bug at the same time! Not much stamping time around here.... I did manage to do yesterday's sketch challenge, although I am feeling a bit challenged myself.
Recipe:
Stamps: Season of Joy, Baroque Wheel
Ink: certainly celery, basic gray, soft sky
Paper: Certainly celery, basic gray, soft sky, whisper white
Accessories: metal JOY sticker, silver brads, gray taffeta ribbon, stampin dimensionals

Hostess Benefits

This card was made with all hostess sets. So Many Sayings & Event Full are level 1 sets while In the Spotlight is level 2. I chose the colors from today's SCS Color Challenge, although I don't own any Kraft so I substituted Sahara Sand. I also used some more Holiday Harmony designer paper. The image was colored in with prismacolor pencils. The white rick rack is from the Beachfront ribbon originals. The layout is from Mojo Monday Sketch #11.
Recipe:
Stamps: So Many Sayings, Event Full, In the Spotlight
Ink: Purely pomegranate, whisper white craft
Paper: sahara sand, whisper white, purely pomegranate, holiday harmony dp
Accessories: white rick rack, double stitch purely pomegranate ribbon, stampin dimensionals, ticket corner punch, prismacolor pencils

Blitz Treat Box

This tutorial is just amazing! What a wonderful holder of treats for the holidays! I chose the Holiday Harmony designer paper with a solid artichoke base. I am sure this would look even better with something in it but I just couldn't wait to post it! Off to bed....

Japanese Stab Binding Technique

I was hesitant to start the Technique Challenge (142) but I think it turned out! The Japanese Stab Binding technique was easier than I expected! These are for the boys to write their wish list in. The little book didn't take long at all!

I am still playing around with photoshop. I know that you are suppose to take the pictures in natural light but I never seem to have the cards done while the sun is up!

Recipe:
Stamps: Perfect Presentation, Big Bold Birthday (the presents were versa marked & crystal embossed on the designer prints)
Ink: real red, wild wasabi, perfect plum
Paper: Dashing designer print (a must have!), real red, very vanilla
Accessories: versa mark, wild wasabi double stitch ribbon, real red 5/8" ribbon, silver cord, red rhinestones, stampin dimensionals

Sweet Pea Weekend Sketch

Isn't it still the weekend? Boy, I sure love these long weekends! Time for another Weekend Sketch (#27) from the fabulous Fresh & Fun blog. I still struggle with my circle cutter, practice is not making perfect! I wanted to offset the little sweet pea & I tried something new with my ribbon. The verdict is still out on that one! The scallop on the circles are made with attaching 3/4" circles. I then punched them with my 1/16" circle punch. The image in colored with prismacolor pencils. I used auto fix on adobe photoshop. The real colors are somewhere in between! Which do you like better???
Recipe:
Stamps: Event Full
Paper: Bravo burgandy, regal rose, purley pomegranate, very vanilla
Ink: purely pomegranate, bravo burgandy
Accessories: certainly celery brads, certainly celery ribbon, double stitched pomegranate ribbon, prismacolor pencils, 3/4" circle punch, 1/16" circle punch, circle cutter, ticket punch, sponge dauber

CasedForest

Today's Featured Stamper at SCS is StampOwl. She has an amazing gallery! I just loved the card I cased & really wished I had that Hana Stamp set! I did my best with what I had! I am loving those long notes today!
Recipe
Stamps: Season of Joy, Short & Sweet
Ink: white craft, real red, summer sun, old olive, close to cocoa
Paper: not quite navy, old olive, whisper white, close to cocoa
Accessories: word window, red 5/8 ribbon, silver cord, stampin dimensionals

Inspired Friend

Saturday's Inspirational Challenge on SCS was wonderful! I just loved the colors. Since I am a bit behind with cards this week, I went for a simple look. I had to include all the marvelous colors though! It was such a cinch to make!
Recipes:
Stamps: In the Spotlight
Ink: tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, olive green, so saffron
Paper: sahara sand, whisper white, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie, olive green, so saffron
Accessories: scallop punch, 3/4" circle punch, stampin dimensionals

Limited & Rushed

We are taking off today to the west side of the state so I don't have much time. I really need to finish packing......
Today's limited supplies challenge card was to use this list:
Stamps
animals or critters
sentiment
background
Paper
2-4 layers
any solid or patterned paper
Tools
coloring tools
punches
any other quick tool
No embellishments

This card was pretty fast to do. I really liked how my sponging in color on the white looked yesterday so I decided to do it again. I tried a new combo for me: always artichoke, regal rose and creamy caramel. I really wanted to do a mirror image of the porcupine in the second window but it just wasn't working for me today.

Recipe:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, short & sweet, tres chic
Ink: close to cocoa, always artichoke, basic black, regal rose
Paper: always artichoke, regal rose, very vanilla, creamy caramel, wintergreen designer paper
Accessories: round tab punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, word window, stampin dimensionals, sponge daubers, prismacolor pencils

Too Much Fab??

Sorry, I haven't posted any creations lately. Yes, I have been making cards....tons actually! I am preparing for my Open House as a SU demonstrator next Saturday. I have made 8 cards already! 4 cards in 2 different color schemes. I will post those pictures later....

Here is my attempt at today's SCS WT139 Velvet & SC149. I strayed a bit from the sketch, using circles on the far right. I can't get enough of this Fabulous Flowers set. I have seen so many amazing cards made with this set uploaded in SCS and now I can make them!! I am not a huge turquoise fan, although I think it works well with the black & so saffron.

Recipe:
Stamps: Fabulous Flowers, Tres Chic, Baroque wheel
Ink: basic black, so saffron, tempting turquoise
Paper: whisper white, basic black, tempting turquoise, so saffron
Accessories: white velvet ribbon, yellow brads, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, 2 way glue pen, glitter, sponge daubers

Zany Kids

We are all a bit crazy, right? We are off to Jordan's first middle school orchestra concert. He is in a tie & everything! This picture is of him & his best friend. Then there are my zany younger kidos.....