Happy Fall!

FIRST UP ...
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TO PAY TO REGISTER FOR MY CHRISTMAS CARDS RETREAT!
DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP TO JOIN US.

When I let the furry babies out this morning, I felt the fresh scent of Fall in the air.  It was wonderful!!!  I love the change of seasons ... well, not so much with Winter.  On my planet, Winter would last for about 3 days, with a beautiful snow at Christmas, and then we'd edge right on into Spring:)  But I do love Fall.  Fall brings out the love of art in me ... through my love of color.  I look forward to walking in the leaves and marveling at all the colors I see.  God is in His glory in Fall, as He paints the world in vivid colors.  Fall speaks to my soul.

I'm struggling with the loss of my mother-in-law and struggling with the constant pain in my shoulder.  I will be back to more inspiration for you here on my blog ... this week, I promise.  Have a blessed day and enjoy the first day of the new season.

UP NEXT:

CHRISTMAS CARDS RETREAT / 1:00-5:00 / $35.00

Sunday, October 6

Pay to register by September 27.

Fee includes snacks and all your supplies.

You'll go home with 3 each of 5 card designs, using fun new holiday products ... that's 15 beautiful cards!

SCRAPS AND PRAYERS / 5:30-7:30 / $18.00 

October 14 / Pay to register by October 7.

We’ll be decorating a beautiful Copper Tea Tin for the season.

We’ll also be celebrating our Scraps and Prayers 10^th Anniversary.

Expect some special surprises at this class!

PAPER PUMPKIN CLUB / FREE FOR MY LOCAL PP SUBSCRIBERS 

October 22 / 1:00-3:00 / BRING YOUR KIT.
I'll show you how to turn some of the projects into cards.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A WICKEDLY FUN TIME! 

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE PARTY / 2:00-5:00 / RSVP REQUESTED

Sunday, November 3

Come enjoy holiday displays, inspirations, projects and more!

SCRAPS AND PRAYERS / 5:30-7:30 / $18.00 

November 11 / Pay to register by November 4

We’ll be making beautiful Christmas cards or a Christmas project.

PAPER PUMPKIN CLUB / FREE FOR MY LOCAL PP SUBSCRIBERS 

November 19 / 1:00-3:00 / BRING YOUR KIT.

SCRAPS AND PRAYERS / 5:30-7:30 / $18.00 

December 9 / Pay to register by December 2.

We’ll be making beautiful Christmas cards.

PAPER PUMPKIN CLUB / FREE FOR MY LOCAL PP SUBSCRIBERS 

December 17 / 1:00-3:00 / BRING YOUR KIT.

That's it for now.  
Thanks for stopping by my blog neighborhood.   
Have a beautiful day!

Square Pillow Box Party Favors

Before I share more cards from my Christmas Retreat, I want to show you the party favors that everyone got with their lunch.  Even though we were all about Christmas in my studio, it was still Fall in my dining room, so I kept the lunch favors within a Fall theme.  I love how they turned out.

I made them in 3 colors.  Each person got one in Soft Suede, Mossy Meadow or Rich Razzleberry.  I've already given away all the Rich Razzleberry favors.

Here are some ideas from Stampin' Up! for using the Pillow Box Thinlits.  I love how they cut off the top of the middle one and used it to hold 3X3" cards!

Click here to enjoy a video about making these adorable pillow box favors.

Here's a peek at my Fall centerpiece.  I love decorating for Fall almost as much as decorating for Christmas.

With my Christmas Open House just around the corner (November 1) I am already starting today to turn my studio completely into Christmas.  This is the crazy time of year for me when my porch and upstairs are beautiful Fall and my studio becomes all Christmas.  It's pretty fun... and a bit crazy!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Plain And Simple And Just Perfect

As you saw with my witch hat in a previous post, sometimes I just like to keep things plain and simple.  I took that path when making my new wreath, too.  I love it!

I made it as full as I possibly could and it's nice and fluffy.  I added just a simple burlap bow to it.

I did make all the little banners, too, so I can add one if I feel like changing the look.

I think it goes nicely with my witch hat.

Making new decor for this Fall has really been fun!  Now, I'm off to work on cards for my Christmas Retreat.  Wow!  Talk about fun!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or look on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Happy First Day of Autumn

Happy first day of Autumn!  This is a beautiful time of year.  This is the time of year I especially count my blessings as God puts on a real art show of perfect colors in nature.  Enjoy! 

Come back soon for my continuing series on OSW cards.  

Have a blessed day.

Give Thanks Card

It's time for another beautiful Fall card.  As I walked the puppies in our back yard this morning, I couldn't help but notice and enjoy the beautiful colors of the Fall leaves.  I love all the color variations and the wonderful textures.  It got my creative juices flowing for making more Fall cards. 

I'm actually in the middle of prep for my Christmas Retreats, so I'll have to keep all my ideas in my head until I get back to them.  This is the time of year when I switch from Fall to Halloween to Christmas and back again.  It's kind of crazy and kind of fun!

I used what I'd normally think of as the reverse side of the embossed layer on this card.  I thought it just seemed right for it.

Tip:
Sometimes you only a tiny 'sprig' of ribbon, as with my burlap on this card.  I cut a tiny strip of thickness from our burlap ribbon, tied it into a knot and attached it with Liquid Tombow.

Do you need some inspiration?   Go take a walk in your neighborhood.  Enjoy the beautiful Fall weather, the colors, the textures, the wonder of it all.  That will surely get your creative juices going.  Now, go stamp... then take a nap... then stamp some more.  Enjoy and Give Thanks for our beautiful Fall!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

More Burlap Leaves

I spent a few wonderful hours Saturday evening with my sweet Olive Jane.  The text today is in her honor... Grateful For You.  I love that little girl! 

Click here to review my info on the burlap leaves.

This card has stamped leaves and burlap leaves. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Wooden Leaves Fall Card

Happy World Card Making Day.  What a great day to stamp.  Yesterday, Jennifer and I did something we haven't done in well over a year.  We stamped together!  It was so much fun.  She created several gorgeous Fall cards and I worked on my upcoming cards for my October 25 Christmas Retreat.  I must say that I got into the groove so much that I started stamping again after dinner and the next thing I knew, it was 2:00 in the morning!  I 'd already finished all the projects for the Retreat (as well as the projects for my November 22 Retreat) and I now have EVERYTHING finished for my October Retreat.  Woo hoo!  What a great feeling!  I'll share some sneak peeks soon.  I have to get it all photographed, watermarked and uploaded.

SPECIAL NEWS:
If you live in my area and place an order (before tax and shipping) of $35. or more from now through October 15, you will earn $10. off the October 25 Retreat!!!  I think you'll like what I have planned for you.  We'll be making 3 projects using our gorgeous All is Calm DSP.  Each project has a special surprise inside it!  We'll enjoy a light lunch together and then we'll make 12 cards for Christmas --- 3 each of 4 designs.  They'll be using our wonderful Festival of Tress stamp set and coordinating punch.  By using the same papers on the projects and the same stamp set on the cards, it will save us time and we should be able to complete everything by the end of the class.  
I am holding the enrollment for the Retreat to 6 max!
               Register early to save your spot!!!

So... let's get back to Fall for a while.  We had a real chill settle in to our area yesterday.  It is no longer sitting on the deck weather, so we might as well stay indoors and stamp.

It is so much fun to play with our little wooden elements.  Here's a card using them, along with some gold highlights.  

Look super closely and you can see that the large leaf in the background is stamped in gold ink.

I left the wooden outline leaf natural and sponged over the solid wooden leaf in Mossy Meadow.

Now go stamp something and enjoy World Card Making Day!

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Simple Elegance Leaf Card

I have a very simple card to share with you today.  I think it's a perfect example of the beauty in simple elegance.  This is actually one of my favorites so far of all the Fall cards I've made.

The secret to the elegance of this card is the size and number of layers and the fact that the top layer is popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

I'll share more about the beautiful leaves in an upcoming post.  Have a beautiful day and a blessed day.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Here's the Scoop on My Card Design

Remember these 2 cards?  I liked the design of the one on the left so much that I used it to design the Fall card on the right.

... and remember these 2 cards?  I used the design on the left to inspire my Fall design on the right.

Yes, I'm sure you see the card peeking out on the far right.  That's for another time.  Come back and see lots more ideas for design inspiration for Fall cards... and more.  I've been super busy in my studio and have lots to share with you.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Hello Fall Card

We have a fun new stamp set and I've been playing with it a lot as I have fun making up some new Fall card creations.  This one features stamping and embossing and a familiar design.

It only takes a 1" strip of DSP to make the inside really look pretty.  I always add a white or vanilla to the inside of cards with a dark card base, so you can see your message on it.

Can you see the gold embossing?

I embossed a coordinating envelope, as well.

Did the card layout design look familiar?  Come back for my next post and I'll tell more about this layout, as well as the one I used in my previous post.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Sweater Weather Fall Cards

I want to share with you some of the cards I've made for Kelly's party Saturday.  Before we start, please note that this is my second post today, so be sure to keep scrolling down so that you don't miss a thing.

I love our new Designer Series Papers for Fall.  They're called Sweater Weather.  Isn't that a cute name?  The papers are double-sided, so you get lots of choices for which designs you'd like to use in your projects.  Here are some cards I've made using these papers.  We'll be making one of these at the Wildflour Saturday.

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Another Fall Frame!!!

I had so much fun making the Fall Frame for my Scraps and Prayers class that I decided to create a second one!  I think I like this one even more.  I could keep doing this, but I'll be using a Christmas theme for my next one --- for sure:)  I added even more colors and textures to this one. 

Here are some close-up views:

To create the wider mat, I just added on 1/2" to the bottom layer.  All layers are in increments of 1/4" so that you can see each of the colors as they work together in harmony. 

So, which frame do you like the best?  Have you tried one yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?  Get going now.  You'll be glad you did.  Thanks for stopping by.

Up next:

Wednesday, October 23:
Blessings and Banners Class / 6:00-9:00 / $40.
NOTE:  If you attended the Fall Wreath Class, your class fee is $35.
We'll make a beautiful album and a gorgeous banner.  The banner will coordinate beautifully with our Fall wreath that we made at September Stamp Club.
I now have more kits available, so registration is still open for this class. 

NEW:

Saturday, October 26:

Open House at the Wildflour / 11:00-4:00 / 256 West Main Street / Decatur, IL

Kelly and I are having a party!  Come by and make 2 cards - 1 for Fall and 1 for Christmas. 
Kelly will have some tasty treats for you and I will have some special promotions (Oct. 26 only) for ordering and for my Prairie Treasures booth in the Root Cellar.  Come and join in on the fun!  CALL 217-422-3300 TO RESERVE A SPOT FOR YOUR STAMPING FUN.

NEW:

Sunday, October 27:

Stamp A Stack for Christmas / 3:00...

There will be 5 designs.  

Choose how many of each you wish to make and pay your fee to register by Oct. 25.

Make   5 cards for $15. / 1 of each design

Make 10 cards for $25. / 2 of each design

Make 15 cards for $30. / 3 of each design

Make 20 cards for $35. / 4 of each design

Make 25 cards for $40. / 5 of each design
NOTE:  There will also be a Stamp A Stack for Christmas class on Sunday, November 24 (3:00)

Monday, October 28:
Deadline to pay to register for November Stamp Club.
We'll be making a beautiful Winter wreath in November.
The wreath will coordinate beautifully with the 'Joy' banner we're making at my Christmas Retreat (Nov. 16 or Nov. 17).

Next Stamp Clubs:
November 4:  
          Winter Wreath 
               (coordinates with the Joy banner we'll be making at my Christmas Retreat)
December 2:  
          Seriously Christmas
               (class includes a wonderful variety of fun projects for Christmas!!!)