Cute Christmas Greetings

Today I have a very simple, cute card that showcases the Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP. Now some designs in this paper pack have glitter and are sparkly, this paper has so many different images that it kind of stands up all on its own. I added a piece of Real Red 5/8” Grosgrain Ribbon (it’s actually covering up words that didn’t make sense the way I cut the paper) and mounted to a Garden Green card base. The greeting is from the Word Play stamp set and again uses Garden Green ink before being punched out with the 1 ¾” circle punch. A piece of Blushing Bride cardstock punched out with the 2 3/8” scallop circle punch help frame the greeting. The final touch is a Garden Green Button from the new Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons package (these buttons are huge compared to our standard buttons and work equally well with our fabric and paper projects).

There’s still time to make you personalized cards for the upcoming holiday season. Just give me a call and we can get together to look at samples and come up with a design that’s perfect for you and you’re family.

Hope you enjoy!

Diana

Grateful Thanks

Another beautiful weekend has come and gone.  We enjoyed spending time at the TBall game and then we were able to just relax and hang out as a family.  With all this nice fall weather I was definately channeling the colors of fall for this weeks Stamping 411 challenge. 

This weeks card started with the new Autumn Spice DSP and the Day of Gratitude Stamp set.  To create the multi-colored main image I used various Stampin' Write markers and colored directly onto the stamp rubber.  Then once I finished I "huffed" on the rubber to reactivate all the ink and just like that, multi-colors with only one stamp.  I took a Stampin' Sponge and added Cajun Craze ink around the edge of the Very Vanilla paper before matting first with Old Olive and then More Mustard cardstock. 

I added a piece of Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon along the bottom to anchor the card.  The greeting is from the stamp set is is punched out with the Small Oval Punch and then matted on a piece of Cajun Craze punched with the Oval Punch and attached with Dimensionals.  The final touch are two small pearls on the far edges of the larger oval.

  Now this was the sketch layout for the week, really open to all sorts of uses.  I love how this card turned out, nice and warm.

We had one big event this weekend, we officially adopted a new puppy, Mocha.  Here's a picture of Chris, Aidan, and Mocha right after we signed the paperwork.  Mocha's starting to get adjusted to his new home and we love him. 

Fall Candle

One things I absolutely love about all of Stampin' Up's catalogs is that every page is full of samples and projects that just make me want to buy everything so I can make everything.  One thing that really caught my eye in the Holiday mini catalog was the candle that was decorated with the Paisely Prints stamp set.  I knew this candle idea would be perfect for fall decorating.  This all came together when I found these great candles at a local craft store that look like a basket weave. 

All I did was add some Old Olive 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and an Antique Brad.  I stamped 3 leaves from the Paisely Prints stamp set with Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze classic ink.  I cut the leaves out with Paper Snips and used linen thread to attach them to the ribbon. 

Tada!  Instant fall decorations that will look perfect on the mantel.  This just goes to show how simple it is to create fabulous decor without costing a lot.

Enjoy!

A Christmas Sketch, with Bling

 After a very busy weekend, it's been strangely calming to get back into the work week routine.  When I saw this weeks Stamping 411 challenge I knew I would enjoy it because of all the possibilities.  One of my favorite Christmas stamp sets right now is Jolly Old Saint Nick, from the Holiday mini catalog and I knew it would be perfect.  I paired this with the Candy Cane Christmas DSP (love how two of the patterns are glittered!) and the Real Red Satin Ribbon.

To get the snowflakes around Santa I first stamped the Santa in Basic Black ink and then stamped him again on a piece of scrap paper.  Then I cut out the Santa from the scrap paper and placed it on top of the first stamped image so when I stamped the snowflakes they did not go inside the image.  The greeting is from the same stamp set and is punched out with the Oval Punch and mounted on a piece of Real Red cardstock punched with the Scallop Oval Punch.  The greeting is mounted to the card with dimensionals so it "pops".  The final touch is a couple of Rhinestones to add some extra bling!

What a cutie!  I love how cute this card turned out and the fact that Stampin' Up makes great products that coordinate so great looking cards are a breeze.  There's still time to make your families holiday cards so contact me to get some great ideas and order all these great items.

Have a great week.

Diana

Letterpress - Trick or Treat

One of the great new products in the new Holiday Mini catalog is Letterpress Plates for the Big Shot.  This are plates which allow you to emboss an image while also applying ink inside the emboss.  So I was finally able to play with my new Trick or Treat letterpress plate this weekend and it’s kind of cool.  It’s important to remember to that you get the best results with Craft Ink on these plates, versus our classic ink and one of our thicker papers (like watercolor paper).  I decided to use Old Olive ink on Basic Black cardstock.  I also used the Big Shot Crease pad versus the standard cutting pad; this is how it turned out. 

This image is so big it does take up the majority of the card front so all I did was matt it on Pumpkin Pie cardstock and tie some Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive ¼” Grosgrain ribbons.This is kind of fun and I’ll definitely be using these for more projects. 

One of our Christmas cards during the Christmas stamp-a-stack next month will use the letterpress plates, so make sure to attend so you can try them out for yourself.

Enjoy!

Diana

October Stamp-a-Stack

As promised I wanted to share the projects for this month’s stamp-a-stack.

You will absolutely love this new technique for background coloring so you won’t want to miss this.

There's still time to register so just email me to reserve your spot for this Sunday, October 10.

Christmas Greetings - Sketch Challenge

 What a great weekend! I was able to attend Stampin’ Up! Regionals in Baltimore, MD yesterday, and all I can say is “Awesome.” We had such a great time and learned so many new things that all I want to do is try everything immediately. I also had the opportunity to site with some great ladies from PA along with my travel buddy, Patti. So this morning I hit the stamps early and my first project with for this week’s Stamping 411 challenge. I really liked this week’s sketch since I don’t usually use multiple panels like this so it was something new.

This card uses the Bells and Boughs stamp set and the fabulous Deck the Halls DSP from the Holiday mini catalog. I used two different patterns and matted them on Always Artichoke cardstock before placing them on the Crumb Cake card base. I took a piece of Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon and wrapped it around all three panels. Then I tied a bow with the ribbon and the new Basics Glitter Brads (I saw this great ribbon technique on Gretchen Barron’s blog (check hers out here). The great is stamped with Early Espresso in and punched out with the new Decorative label punch. I used sponge daubers to apply Cherry Cobbler ink around the edge of the label before using Dimensionals to adhere the label to the card. The final touch is three small pearls in the top right corner.

I wasn’t sure how this card was going to turn out when I started but I really like how elegant it turned out.

Have a great week!

Diana

Stampin' Up Regionals

As you read this I'm in Baltimore attending Stampin' Up! regionals (whoo hoo)!  I've been looking forward to this for months and can't wait to meet lots of fun and talented people and learn some great new techniques.  In addition to fabulous presentations I'll be swaping cards with the other attendees and it's always exciting to see what others create.

I thought I would share a picture of one of my swaps.  It uses the Wicked Cool stamp set and turned out great.  This card also uses the Wicked Fun DSP, Raven Lace, and Rhinestones (who doesn't love a little bling??).  I stamped the candle sticks alternating with Rich Razzleberry and Cajun Craze Ink.  The spiderweb in the main image is stamped with Basic Grey and then "stamped off" one before stamping the cardstock to soften the image. 

I hope you have a great weekend and I can't wait to share all details.

Enjoy!

Diana