Inkin' up the Dogs!

Blue Christmas........

This is the 3rd card we will be making at my Holiday Stamp-a-Stack:

 

The base for the card is Bordering Blue.  I don't use that color very often, but I seem to always end up using it at Christmas time!  The snowflakes are from a great set in the Holiday Mini Catalog called "Serene Snowflakes".  

I added some Dazzling Diamonds to the snowflake by using a 2-way glue pen.  I love Dazzling Diamonds! Every card is better with a little bling!

 

The card is finished off with Organza Ribbon and a silver brad to hold the snowflake in place.  

Those who are planning to attend my Stamp-a-Stack will be making a total of 15 cards.  (5 each of 3 designs.)  Here is a photo showing all 3 cards:

 

Thanks for stopping by today!!  

Supplies:  Serene Snowflakes, Many Merry Messages stamp sets; Bordering Blue, Kraft card stock; Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Bordering Blue classic ink; Whisper White Organza Ribbon; Snowflake Punch; Silver Brad; Dazzling Diamonds; 2-way glue pen.
 
 
 

Baby Shower Card

I went to a baby shower yesterday for one of the girls I work with.  I made her this card:

I used the "baby buggy" stamp from the hostess set called "Love Bug".  This is such a cute little set.  I had to keep the card gender neutral, because even though Laura knew the sex of the baby, she wasn't spilling the beans!  The greeting is from the "Short & Sweet" stamp set, which is one one of my all time favorites.  I use it all the time.  I love the font, and it has sayings for many different occasions.  If you don't have it, you should put it on your wish list!

I colored in the image using blender pens and my classic ink pads.  This is my favorite method of coloring.  To add a little shading, I used my Stampin' Write markers. 

 

On the top of the card, I did some faux dry embossing by using my Trio Flower punch to cut out some little flowers.  Faux dry embossing is simply where you use shapes of the same as your base color, and place them on the base.  The result is a raised up look, hence the "faux" dry embossing. 

 

This was a fun card to make, and really only took me about 15 minutes.  I haven't been feeling too well lately, so anything I do must be done quickly!  I strained a muscle in my neck a couple of weeks ago (no idea how!) and it is just not healing up.  I am feeling much better than I did, but still not 100%.  

I hope you enjoyed Laura's shower card.  In case you're wondering, Laura did reveal to us at the shower whether she was having a boy or a girl.  See if you can figure it out from her cake:

 

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great week!

Supplies:  Love Bug, Short & Sweet stamp sets; Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Whisper White card stock; Tea Party designer series paper; Basic Brown, Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Almost Amethyst classic inks; Blender pen & Stampin' Write markers; Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" circle, 1-3/8" circle, & Trio Flower punches; Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon.
 
 

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?

I have! But only if you count the sample cards I have made for my Stamp-a-Stack that's coming up, and some stamp club samples!!  I really need to get moving on mine, since I usually make about 125-150 cards!  How many cards do you make? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Here is a card that the girls will be making at my upcoming Stamp-a-Stack on November 7th (or 5th!)

 

It uses the new ornament punch along with the Delightful Decorations stamp set.  The background piece is embossed using the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder that is found in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  It makes a beautiful background!

I tied off the top of the ornament with some silver cord:

This card is pretty quick to make, and lies relatively flat so it goes well through the mail, without additional postage.  I try to keep all the cards that we make at the Stamp-a-Stack as flat as possible so people can easily mail them.  

I have another Christmas card to show you later this week.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:  Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White card stock; Delightful Decorations stamp set; Always Artichoke classic ink; Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder; Ornament Punch and Eyelet Border Punch; Red striped gg ribbon, silver cord.

 

Boo!

Do you need a quick and easy Halloween treat for those special trick-or-treaters???

These are so easy!  I used Tootsie Pops and wrapped them with coffee filters.  I stamped the faces on them beforehand using the ""Pumpkin Patch" stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Then I tied them with ribbon and voila!!  Doesn't get much quicker than that!

I wish I could take credit for this brilliant idea, but once again, I cannot! I received one of these in my 3-D swaps at regionals last month...but sadly, the creator did not put their name on it, so I don't know who to thank.

They sure are cute though!

 
 

Hope you decide to make some of these!  They're sure to bring smiles!

Thanks for stopping by today!
 
 

Goblin Greetings!

I did a workshop this past weekend for my friend Becky, and we made these two projects:

 

Both of them used the same stamp from the Sweet Centers stamp set.  This set works perfectly with the Sweet Treat Cups!  The card is a good example of how you can use that stamp without the Sweet Treat Cups! How versatile is that??

For the card, we stamped the image using Lovely Lilac classic ink.  Then we colored in the witch and Frankenstein using a Certainly Celery marker.  I colored the spider and the band in the witches hat with a black marker too.  We layered it onto a piece of Pumpkin Pie card stock.  The base color is Old Olive--with striped ribbon to match.  The greeting is from the "Grateful Greetings" set out of the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Everyone should have this set! It is SO versatile.  I love it!  

For the Sweet Treat holder, we used Lovely Lilac card stock and the same classic ink color.  We tied it off with a black grosgrain ribbon for a very simple but yummy treat!!  Aren't these Halloween M&M's fun?? The colors are electrifying!

 

We used the same technique on the inside of this treat holder as I did in this post here.  This allows the recipient to get into the M&M's without tearing apart the whole project! 

 

Thanks for stopping by today!  Halloween is right around the corner, so if you haven't thought about your Halloween stamping projects--now is a great time to do that!!

 

 

Autumn Tree

 

This is one of the cards we made at my September stamp clubs.  It uses the Branch Out stamp set--which is not in the current catalog, but can still be purchased from the dormant list.  I love this set, and can't imagine how it ended up on the dormant list!!

Are the leaves starting to turn color where you are?  They are here!  They've even started to fall in the last few days.  This is my favorite time of year!

To make the card, we inked the tree using Close to Cocoa ink, but then we removed the ink from the grassy area, and colored that with an Old Olive marker.  This card also uses two of the new "in colors", Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. 

 

We used the Horizontal Slot punch to punch a little place for the ribbon to tie through. 

 

It's a very simple fall card, but pretty all the same! 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you're enjoying the fall colors wherever you are!

Supplies:  Branch Out stamp set; Very Vanilla, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry card stock; Close to Cocoa, Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Old Olive classic ink; Dusty Durango polka dot ribbon; Horizontal Slot punch.

 

Christmas Cards from Cincinnati Regionals

Here are some of my favorite Christmas cards from Cincinnati Regionals.   

This card uses the Dasher stamp, as well as a corduroy brad (love them!) Susie Wood of Iowa is the demonstrator who made this card.  Isn't it great?  I found out at Regionals that Dasher is the #2 best selling stamp out of the current catalog.  I am not surprised, because I love him!  At $8.95 he is a bargain!  If you don't have him, please contact your friendly neighborhood Stampin' Up! demonstrator!

This card was presented to us by another Stampin' Up! demonstrator whose name I did not write down.  I was horrible at taking notes!  She had some great ideas though, and this was one of my favorites. 

To achieve the look, she embossed the Whisper White card stock using the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder sold in the Holiday Mini Catalog (#116824, $7.95)  Once the card stock was embossed, she turned it over so the negative image was face up.  Then she brayered the cardstock with Real Red ink, and the negative image is what you are left to see.  Isn't that brilliant?? I love it!  I hope my explanation was sufficient.  If not, please let me know!   

This card was presented to us by Stampin' Up! trainer Carrie Cudney.  Carrie is one of my favorites, and always has great ideas.  Sorry it's a little blurry, but you get the idea. 

Carrie scored a piece of rectangular Old Olive card stock to achieve this look.  The first score was at 1/2", and then she scored again 1/4" from there, then 1/2" from there, 1/4" from there, and so on, and so on, just going back and forth until the paper was all scored.  Then she folded the score lines to make it dimensional.  She added other details like stamping on the tree, scallops at the bottom, and the star at the top.  Isn't it cute?  After she scored it, but BEFORE she folded it, she put it on her paper trimmer and made it into the triangular shape.  Voila!  A tree!  I think this is so cute!  Do you love it?  Who needs a tutorial?  Let me know, I'd be happy to make one!

This last card features the party hats from the "Party Hearty" stamp set.  Who says you can't use those party hats for something else?  I think this is a brilliant idea!  This is another card that I have no idea who made, because I took a photo of it from the display boards.  I love it though! 

Thanks for stopping by today for some Christmas card ideas straight from Cincinnati Regionals!

Stampin' Up! Regionals in Cincinnati

Last weekend I spent in Cincinnati at Stampin' Up! regionals.  Regionals are fun and informative 1 day events that Stampin' Up! holds in different locations around the country--usually in the spring and fall.  I try to go whenever they are within driving distance for me. 

There were about 500 people at Regionals.  Once we made our way up 2 escalators in the convention center, this is what it looked like waiting to get in:

Once inside, everyone finds a table.  Then the swapping madness begins.  I made 50 card fronts and 25 3-D items to swap at Regionals.  It's basically a free-for-all!  You just randomly walk around looking for people who are ready to swap:

The day lasts about 8 hours, and we learn business tips, see some new technique ideas and project presentations, and we also get our own stamping time to work on some make & take projects.  Here are photos of a few of my make & takes made with the "Berry Christmas" set from the Holiday Mini Catalog:

My friend Sherri drove up from North Carolina to meet me for Regionals.  Here is a picture of us working on our make & take projects:

During a break, I was able to have my photo taken with Shelli Gardner.  Shelli is the Cofounder and CEO of Stampin' Up!  This was my 3rd Stampin' Up! event, and the first time I ever had an opportunity for a picture with Shelli (without waiting in line behind 100 people!), so I was very excited.

I received some GREAT swaps at Regionals.  I wish I could share them ALL with you!  I have taken a few photos for today, and I hope to share some more later this week.  My computer is giving me fits right now, and so far I have been working on this post for 45 minutes.  The problems occur every time I try to add a photo.  GEEZ!  So I'll only be posting a few today.

The first card was made by Cindy Hill and features the Grateful Greetings stamp set, Night & Day designer paper, and Dusty Durango polka dot ribbon.  Isn't it just too cute for Halloween?  I love it:

The second card was made by Debby Ohlhauser and features the Tasty Sweet stamp set, as well as Cast-a-Spell designer paper.  Debby used a variety of embellishments including Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the candies:

The last card for today was made by my friend Sherri Thacker.  Sherri used the Halloween Hoot stamp set, along with all new "in color" card stock.  I love Sherri's little "scene" that she came up with here:

I received a variety of swap cards for ALL occasions...but today I thought I would focus on Halloween.  I'll show you some other occasions later.

Last, but not least, after the day was over, we met up with about 20 other stamping ladies for dinner at the Rocky Mountain Brewery in downtown Cincinnati.  You'll never guess who popped in while we were there!!!

Yep, you guessed it!  None other than Shelli Gardner herself!  Of course we were excited to see her, and she graciously let me take her picture (AGAIN!) while she stopped to chat with us.  Wasn't I lucky to be at the very end of the table and closest to her??

The last pic I have to share with you is from Saturday night.  My friend Michelle went to Regionals on Saturday (Sherri and I went on Friday).  We met up with her for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory on Saturday night.  I haven't seen Michelle in about 3 years, so it was great to see her.  We LOVED eating at the Spaghetti Factory.  There aren't many around, so whenever I'm in Cincinnati I like to go there!  So here we are....me, Sherri, and Michelle....

Well that's enough about my trip to Cincinnati for today.  I have a million things to do, and not nearly enough time to do it all!! LOL.  Story of my life.  I will see you all later on this week!

Thanks for stopping by today and reading about my trip.

 

Halloween is a HOOT!

 

This is one of the projects we will be making at my Haunting Halloween Class on Saturday, October 10th.  This little matchbook treat is perfect for Halloween.  Here is a pic of the inside:

 

It holds 2 individually wrapped lifesaver mints.  How cute is that???

If you live in my area, you should have received an invitation to my class.  I hope to see you there!

 

 

Meow!

 

I received this card as a convention swap when I went to convention in 2008.  It was created by fellow demonstrator Tara Blakely of Wisconsin.  Isn't it great??  I've carried it around in my sample books ever since because it is so creative.  Friday night I did a workshop for some fun ladies and they all loved it!  I told them I would post some pics here so they could make some kitties of their own!

Tara used the Pick a Petal stamp set to create the cats.  The petal stamps were used for their bodies, and a flower center was used for their head.  The faces, ears, and tails were drawn by hand using Stampin' Write markers. 

Here is a close-up of the kitty faces:

 

and their tails:

 

The eyes, noses and whiskers were all drawn using the "thin" side of the markers, while the ears and tails were drawn using the "fat" side of the marker. 

This is such a clever idea, and thanks to Tara for sharing it!!  I hope you are inspired to get this set out and make some kitties!  I know I am!

Supplies:  Pick a Petal, Happy Everything stamp sets; Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla card stock; Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, More Mustard Classic Ink; Stampin' Write Markers; Caramel Gingham ribbon (retired), More Mustard (retired) & Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon; Ticket Corner Punch.