Carols of Christmas Swap Card

Yes, I am still doing the 100 Days Project along with my scrappy peeps at the Scrap Gals Community group on Facebook. I did end up skipping a couple of days. I've been working long hours and had a couple of family things to go to. Next week I have to work 50+ miles away, so I won't have any time to be crafty. But I'm good with that. I can catch up or just extend my project to reach 100 pieces. Go with the flow, you know?

Anyway, I got a little time to finish up some swaps I've been working on for a demonstrator group I'm in, and I'm super happy with the way they turned out. I have to say, I'm in love with that black and white flannel looking paper. I wish I could buy a whole pack of just that pattern.

I almost forgot to take a picture before I sent them off to swap. So I had to take some in my car. Lighting isn't great, but it'll do.

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Whisper White, Crumb Cake 

Designer Series Paper: Merry Little Christmas 

Ink Pads: Basic Black Archival Ink, Real Red, Old Olive
Stamps: Carols of Christmas
Dies: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, 

Punches: Holly Berry Builder PunchRibbon and Trim: Burlap Ribbon

Adhesives: Tear & Tape, Stampin' Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive and a glue gun

Other Accessories: Delicate White Doilies, Crushed Curry Stampin' Write marker

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1). Your registration fee includes 8 projects, catered lunch, door prizes, samples galore, demonstrations and a fabulous time with friends! 

Colorful Seasons Snowflake Love!

Day 22. So ummm.......believe it or not, I wasn't going to get this stamp set. Yep. I didn't think it was for me. Then I started seeing all of the examples online. Still resisting. But, the more time you spend on Pinterest, the harder it is to resist. And eventually I had to cave and buy it. And I'm here to tell you, I'm so glad I did! This set is awesome. Seriously. It covers every season and I can't think of an occasion you wouldn't be able to use it for.  

I decided to try a new technique today. I've done this heat embossing resist technique you see here numerous times (The white snowflakes are heat embossed before inking the cardstock. The embossing makes them resist the ink and stay white). But I wanted to try sponging the background in an ombre effect. Oh yeah. This could be addictive. I just stamped and embossed the white snowflakes using Versamark ink and clear embossing powder. Then I used the stamping sponges (I cut them into 4 pieces so I can use them with different colors.) to rub the colors on one at a time to put the color down light to dark. Then, stamp the colored snowflakes on top. Easy peasy. 

Isn't that gorgeous?! I used the same three ink pads to stamp my sentiment as with an ombre effect as well. Just start by inking with the lightest color, then ink only part of the stamp in the next darker color, and finally ink an even smaller portion in the darkest color. I just learned that one at a stamping get-together a couple of weeks ago. You can do that with markers too. But it's nice if you don't have to buy more products than is actually needed to achieve the affect. Don't you agree?

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Whisper White

Stamps: Colorful Seasons

Ink Pads: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Dapper Denim and Versamark

Ribbon and Trim: 3/8" Metallic Edge Ribbon in Silver

Embellishments: Glitter Enamel Dots and Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Other: Snail Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals, Heat Tool

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

Winter Theme Gift Box

I have been loving the Colorful Season stamp set for all of it's autumn splendor possibilities. Because fall is my favorite season. But, last night I decided to explore it's winter potential. And boy did I! This box came together surprisingly quick using the Simply Scored Scoring Tool and a tutorial I found on SplitcoastStampers.com.

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Dapper Denim, Whisper White, and Bermuda Bay

Stamps: Colorful Seasons

Ink Pads: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Dapper Denim and Whisper White

Ribbon and Trim: Shimmer Ribbon in Pool Party

Embellishments: Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Other: Snail Adhesive, Stampin' Dimensionals

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

Baby Wipes Are Now My Favorite Tool!

Isn't this just gorgeous? Not to toot my own horn, but....toot! Ha ha.

So, yesterday I tried a technique that has been around forever. But it was my first try with it. Can I just say that I adore this baby wipes technique? This is so simple but has such an amazing, impactful affect on your cards!

I found a few tutorials for this on YouTube. Basically, all you do is take a baby wipe and fold it in half twice. I personally like a nice, substantial wipe. So I use Huggies. But it probably doesn't really matter. You'll want to put it on a paper plate or something to protect your work surface. Then, put drops of color from your Stampin' Up! reinker bottles onto the baby wipe. I actually didn't drop them on, I put the nozzle on the baby wipe and made a good size little spot of each one in several different places on the wipe. You can use as many or as few colors as you like. I used five colors on this one (they are noted in the below product listing).

Here is a picture of what my little homemade ink pad looked like:

Then, just take your stamp and pounce it on the inked up baby wipe. You'll want to make sure you are pouncing it in as close to the same spot on the wipe as possible each time because if you don't, you'll make your colors mix too much and it will start to get muddy. 

Next, just stamp it on your paper and then ink it up again for the next image. Easy peasy! I didn't need to clean my stamp in between each image because most of the ink did transfer to my cardstock the first time. But you might want to test yours to make sure. 

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Berry Burst, Crushed Curry, and Whisper White

Stamps: Colorful Seasons

Ink Pads: Early Espresso

Ink Refills: Berry Burst, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz, and Old Olive

Ribbon and Trim: Crinkled Seam Binding Ribbon in Berry Burst

Embellishments: Gold Sequins from Metallic Assortment

Other: Snail Adhesive, Tombo Mono Liquid Glue Adhesive

Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

On a Box Kick

Day 19 of my personal progress on the Scrap Gals 100 Days Project. I had so much fun making the last box that I decided to try another. I also used the flower from the Painted Harvest stamp set to make a wreath! I got the idea from another demonstrator on Instagram (Kristin Hayes), who got it from My Ink Pad to Yours. I love the Stampin' Up! demonstrator community! Everyone is always so willing to share their ideas.

This is the box without the tag. I really like that black and white designer series paper. So versatile! Not just for Christmas. And how about that crochet trim? This picture really doesn't do it justice. I love it!

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase on September 1st in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Real Red, Old Olive

Designer Series Paper: Merry Little Christmas Designer Series Paper

Ink Pads: Old Olive and Real Red

Stamps: Painted Harvest

Dies: Layering Circles Framelits Dies

Punches: 2" Circle Punch, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch

Ribbon and Trim: Black Vintage Crochet Trim

Other: Snail Adhesive

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

Autumn Gift Box

I don't usually do a lot of other paper crafting projects. My "thing" is cardmaking.  I also scrapbook, but that is another flat paper sport. Ha ha.

I really enjoyed making this gift box. It was fun, and.......inside the box? Lol. I made this using the gift box punch board. This is a tool in my arsenal that is very under appreciated. I probably would not have brought it out now if it hadn't been for a challenge issued to me by my upline. Thanks Loni!

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase on September 1st in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler

Ink Pads: Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler

Stamps: Painted Harvest

Dies: Layering Circles Framelits Dies

Punches: 2" Circle Punch

Ribbon and Trim: Cherry Cobbler Double Stitched Ribbon

Other: Snail Adhesive

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

Life is a Beautiful Thing

Hey all! This is Day 17 of my personal progress with the Scrap Gals 100 Days Project. I'm loving this challenge. I've never created this many days in a row! 

I made this card using the beautiful Colorful Seasons set along with the Seasonal Layers Framelits dies from Stampin' Up! Isn't the font in this set divine? I'm loving it!

I also tried a technique with this card that I have never really gotten to be as successful as it was this time. So that was exciting. That yellow background was made by inking up a stamp block with my ink pad, spritzing it with water, then just smooshing the paper on top of it. Super cool huh?

Those things that look like pebbles or something are actually sequins. My iPhone didn't catch their shine, but the rest of the photo turned out great. So I'll use it anyhow. Those sequins do look fab though, just so you know :)

I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink Pads: Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, and Cherry Cobbler

Stamps: Colorful Seasons 

Dies: Seasonal Layers Framelits Thinlits Dies

Embellishments: Sequins (Pulled from the gold sequin trim. Those are some tiny sequins!)

Other: Tombo Mono Liquid adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Don't forget to register for Fall Stampfest! Discount for early registration (before Oct 1)

Colorful Season Beachy Card--a Nod to the End of Summer

Day 16 of my Scrap Gals 100 Days Project. I thought I should do a summer card before summer is officially done. I am going to miss summer. I haven't done anything summery lol. Except camping. No swimming, water fights, or carnivals. I feel like I've wasted it. But, I am ready for the crisp fall air and beautiful autumn colors. And pumpkin spice everything! Lol.

I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pool Party, Scrap of Crushed Curry

Designer Series Paper: Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack (My absolute favorite paper ever!)

Ink Pads: Crushed Curry, Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake

Stamps: Colorful Seasons 

Dies: Seasonal Layers Framelits Thinlits Dies

Embellishments: Sequins from the Iridescent Sequin Assortment

Other: Fuse Fast Adhesive (Strong adhesive works well when gluing down paper that has been water colored and buckled a bit.)

Also, I wanted to invite anyone who actually reads my blog, :), to a really fun stamping event I am participating in this coming October. Fall Stampfest!

This will be the first time I have participated as a demonstrator. But I have attended in the past, and it is always really fun. It is scheduled for October 14 from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Here is a link to the Facebook Event so you can get more information. Contact me if you would like a ticket!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

More Painted Harvest!

OMG! I'm sorry guys, but I just love this set. I'll try to post something totally unrelated next time. I swear. :)

Isn't that to die for? I haven't ever tried the triple stamping technique before. I'm super happy with how it turned out.

I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Ink Pads: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, and Cherry Cobbler

Stamps: Painted Harvest (This will be available for order with the holiday catalog release on September 1st!)

Ribbon and Trim: Copper Metallic Thread

Other: Snail Adhesive and Tombo Mono Liquid Adhesive

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

100 Days Project Update (and the *new* Winter Wonder embossing folder!)

Yes, I am still doing my 100 Days Project. I just realized though that sometimes things are going to get in the way of me making an actual card or paper craft (*gasp*). So, I may need to expand my personal guidelines for this challenge. My main focus will still be on making my Christmas cards. Like this one I made yesterday with the new Winter Wonder embossing folder from Stampin' Up! This will be available on September 1st. I just inked up the inside of the embossing folder with Elegant Eggplant ink and then stuck my paper in and ran it through the Big Shot. So easy! Add some drops of water to get that rained on look. And I'm so in love with this panel. Can't wait to use it on a card front.

But, on days when I simply cannot get into the craft room (weekends are particularly difficult with family things going on), I'm going to give myself the freedom to do something else that makes me feel creative. Like, maybe some creative photography.

With that in mind, here is a photo I took at my dad's house on Sunday. Isn't it beautiful? I love taking shots with sunlight peaking through trees. They make me happy.

Well, that's it for me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you!

New Holiday Catalog Preorder Play

I got my holiday catalog preorder in a couple of days ago, and I finally had a little bit of time to dig in and play a bit. I loved this set as soon as I saw it and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. But, when I started to play with it, it was very outside my comfort zone. This is a watercolor set, and I do have a couple others. but this one has a lot more of an imperfect look to it. I'm a perfectionist with stamping, so it weirded me out a bit.
But, after I played with a couple of color combos and got it nice and broken in, I really love this flower! Hoping to get to play a bit more in the next couple of days.

For this fun little bit of play today, I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink Pads: Soft Suede, Crushed Curry, and Cherry Cobbler

Stamps: Painted Harvest (This will be available for order with the holiday catalog release on September 1st!)

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Day 10--Card Candy Swaps

Not much new to share with you today. These will look familiar (from Day 6 on Aug 6). I am using the main piece of the design for that card as a card candy swap for my Stampin' sisters this coming weekend. I know they will love them, and they weren't really too time consuming or hard to make. I forgot to give credit on my last post (though I did give credit on my other social media accounts) to the original designer. I CASEd that card design from Cathy Caines at The Cat Cave blog.

For these pieces I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake and small scraps of Old Olive

Ink Pads: Basic Black Archival Ink, Real Red, Garden Green
Stamps: Carols of Christmas (Pssst....this is an early release holiday set from the new holiday catalog!)
Dies: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, 
Ribbon and Trim: Burlap Ribbon
Adhesives: Tear & Tape, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Snail Adhesive

Other Accessories: Delicate White Doilies

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Watercolor Happy Birthday Card

This is my personal challenge Day 9 entry for the Scrap Gals Community Facebook group 100 Days Project. 

I am really loving the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die from Stampin' Up! I held off getting it for a while because I know I can cut something similar from paper on my Silhouette Cameo. But.....my Cameo kind of hates glitter paper. And I kind of adore it. Lol. The blade on the cameo gets chewed up really fast by glitter paper. And the cuts aren't usually that smooth, or it doesn't cut deep enough. Just an overall pain in the you know what. So.....that's a long way to say that this die makes my life easy. 

This card came together super quickly, and I think it will make a great impression on the recipient (my cousin). I can see myself using this for many simple and quick birthday cards in the future.

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products (current items available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :)

Paper: Thick Cardstock in Whisper White, Watercolor Paper, Glimmer Paper in Gold

Ink Pads: Bermuda Bay

Stamps: None (*gasp*)

Tools: Aqua Painter (large tip one), Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Happy Birthday Thinlits Die, Paper Trimmer

Ribbon and Trim: Sequins from a past Paper Pumpkin kit

Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals and Snail Adhesive

Other (Non Stampin' Up! products): Aquamarine looking polka dot scrap from my paper stash (I think this is from the Echo Park Capture Life paper pad.)

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Detailed Santa Christmas Card

This is my day 8 project for the Scrap Gals Community Facebook group 100 Days Project challenge. Don't yell at me for posting Christmas stuff already lol. I love Christmas. But that isn't the reason I am doing this. I have chosen to make my Christmas cards for my 100 Day Project. That way I don't have to scramble after Thanksgiving like usual.

I have been itching to use this Detailed Santa die for a while now. Just haven't gotten around to it. I have used it once or maybe twice before. But I just love this guy. Such a simple way to make a big impact on a card!

Don't you just love him? I think the curls in his beard are so cool looking. You could probably use those as waves on a summer card. Hmmm......food for thought. I'm not usually that creative, so I probably saw that done somewhere already lol.

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products (current items available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :)

Paper: Real Red Cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper (retired from last year's holiday catalog)

Ink Pads: Real Red, Garden Green

Stamps: Greetings from Santa, Carols of Christmas (for poinsettia)

Tools: Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Detailed Santa Thinlits Dies, Holly Berry punch

Ribbon and Trim: White Circle and Star Sequins from a past Paper Pumpkin kit

Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals and Snail Adhesive

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Watercolor Wings Birthday

Hey All! I'm back today to share my Day 7 project with you for the Scrap Gals Community Facebook group 100 Days Project. I finished this last night, but I couldn't take photos until this morning. It was too dark inside my house.

My personal goal for the duration of this project is to complete my Christmas cards by the end of November this year. However, today I decided to make a birthday card for a long-time friend of mine (way back from high school). She loves purple and we share a fondness for butterflies. I love that with Stampin' Up! I can customize my cards and gifts to the recipient. That's probably my favorite thing about this hobby.

Isn't that pretty? I'm very happy with how this card turned out. I especially like that dot stamp that I used for the background. It looks like bokeh. And I adore me some bokeh.

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :)

Paper: Vellum Cardstock, Whisper White Cardstock

Ink Pads: Lavender Lace (retired), Eggplant Envy (retired), Elegant Eggplant  You could use Wisteria Wonder and Rich Razzleberry for the two colors that are retired. I just used what I had on hand. Contrary to what hubby may think, I don't own EVERY Stampin' Up! product lol. Though I would love to.
Stamps: Watercolor Wings and Rose Wonder for the sentiment
Ribbon and Trim:White Sequins from a past Paper Pumpkin kit
Adhesives: Stampin' Dimensionals and Snail Adhesive

Products from my stash (supplier mentioned or unknown): Purple Core'dinations cardstock, Rhinestone jewels (SU does offer these items, I just used what I had already).

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

Deck the Halls Christmas Card

Hey All! It's a lovely Sunday here in Utah, and I have done absolutely nothing but play in my craft room all day long :) I love lazy Sundays.

This is my Day 6 card for the Scrap Gals Community 100 Days Project challenge. I am doing Christmas cards for my challenge because I never start on them util November, then I'm always in a rush. I'm getting a jump on it this year, thanks to this little happening!

I'm loving all of the creativity going on. If you want to see what others are doing, you can search the hashtag #SG100DaysProject on Facebook or Instagram. Or, if you are a scrapbooker you can join the group on Facebook. This is a really active and fun community. The group name is "Scrap Gals Community".

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products (available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :)

Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White and small scraps of Old Olive
Ink Pads: Basic Black Archival Ink, Real Red
Stamps: Carols of Christmas (Pssst....this is an early release holiday set from the new holiday catalog!)
Dies: Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Card Front Builder Thinlits Dies (also an early release--to coordinate with the Carols of Christmas stamp set)
Ribbon and Trim: Burlap Ribbon
Adhesives: Tear & Tape, Stampin' Dimensionals, and Snail Adhesive

Other Accessories: Delicate White Doilies

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.