A Bit of Halloween Fun and A Fun New Twist on the Thinlits Card Dies

If you're wondering why I disappeared, the answer is simple.  We've been on vacation and alas I could not get on the net.  We were on the Outer Banks and there wasn't even a McDonald's close to us.  We had a beautiful week and a wonderful time and it is soooooo good to be home again.  I'll share a few photos soon.  Now, back to stamping fun ---

I love our new Thinlits dies for making the circle and label cards.  How fun it is to come up with new ways to use them!  So far, I've shown you two versions --- by just cutting out the card and using the die as is and one with making an extended version with a flap.  Today, I have a third version, inspired by Sandi MacIver.

Here's my card:

With Halloween coming up so soon, I thought I'd share a fun Halloween treat idea with you today.  Aren't these cute?  With all the candy that comes out at this time of year, I love the idea of a fun and nutritional treat.  These would be cute for a party or for a lunch or snack treat for your little ones.

- 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.

Artistic Inspiration from a Photo

Subject matter doesn't get much better than a photo of my sweet Olive Jane.  Her sassy little outfit inspired this project I created.  I changed up the shades of the colors a bit, but the photo was truly my starting point.

My color story:

• Night of Navy
• Blushing Bride
• Marina Mist

... and, of course, a coordinating envelope with Blushing Bride liner from the Subtles DSP Stack

Here's her photo:

... and here's my project for today:

And yes, I had to put this stamp set together before I could make the card.  I love the Zoo Babies stamp set and just hadn't had an opportunity to use it yet.  I haven't made a baby card for a long time either, so this was 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 click on the left for sneak peeks. 

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

Artistic Inspiration from a Picture

Who doesn't love sunflowers?  They are gorgeous and they are BIG.  My friend, Robin, posted a picture on FB that inspired this project.  Here is my card project:  

Once I had my colors, the design started taking shape in my head.  I decided to stay with a sunflower and it all came together pretty quickly.  We'll be making this one at my November Friday Night Cards Class.  Don't worry; I'll remind you closer to time for it, so you won't forget.  I really like how my card turned out. 

My color story:

• Early Espresso
• Garden Green
• Crushed Curry

Here is Robin's picture that inspired it all:

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Up next:

Monday, September 30:

Deadline to pay to sign up for October Stamp Club / $45.

Sign up for October - December and pay just $40. per month + attend Scraps and Prayers for 1/2 price.

NOTE:
Priscilla has a Stampin' Party scheduled for Sun., Oct. 6, from 3:30-5:30.  Please let me know if you'd like to join us.  If you are unable to attend, but would like to place an online order through her workshop, please use this hostess code:
               T4TFFDD7


Next Stamp Clubs:
October 7:
          Spooky Banner
               (class includes instruction sheet for making a coordinating Spooky wreath)
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!!!)

Color Inspiration, Part 4... the Final Part AND a Little Tutorial

Today's post is the final part of my little series on using color inspiration to guide your artistic creations.  In my 3 previous posts, I've shared color inspiration from children playing in various settings.  Today's colors are all about nature.

Using colors in nature is always a guaranteed way to have a color story that works well every time.  Mother Nature knows how to do it!  I loved my container garden this year and the colors were a wonderful inspiration to me each time I saw them.

As an artist, I love playing with color.  My eye is always drawn to color.  As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I often look at objects, especially in nature, and think of which Stampin' Up! colors I could use to create a project using those colors or shades of those colors.

Here's today's card project.

My color story:
Elegant Eggplant
Wisteria Wonder
Daffodil Delight
Wild Wasabi

Here are a couple of the photos that inspired my color story for this card project:

... and back to the card ... and how I did it ...

This card is made with our Thinlits Circle Card die.  This particular card has an extra piece or flap on it that folds in from the right side.

Here's a little mini tutorial to share with you how to make this kind of card using the die.  The photos show it with the Thinlits Label Card die, but it's the same exact technique.  Try it with both dies and see which one you like the best.

• Cut your CS to 5 1/2 X 8 1/4" --- so you can get 2 cards from 1 sheet of CS.
• Trim off a teeny, tiny sliver from the long side if it will not slip under the die as shown in the photo below.  (It becomes a sliver under 5 1/2")
• Insert the CS into the die as shown, with the right hand end sitting on TOP of the die.
• Roll all the way through the Big Shot, creating a little crease line where you roll over the last part of the die.
• Lay your cut card onto your Scoring Plate and go over the crease to create a crisp score line.  (The score line will be at 5 7/8" on your Scoring Plate.)  
• Go over it with your Bone Folder and fold up to create the flap.
• Decorate 1 or both sides of the flap with 2 1/4 X 5 1/4" CS or DSP in coordinating colors.
• Finish decorating and embellishing your beautiful card.  It's that simple!

See the extra flap.  By laying it over the die on the right hand edge and rolling over it, you create a little crease.  This becomes your scoring line and just naturally creates the extra flap.  Easy!!!

Here's another look at a previous card that was made with the Thinlits Label Card die and cut in the same way.

You can decorate the flap, inside and out, with card stock or DSP.  You can add stamped images and/or write a message.  You are limited only by your imagination.  Have fun with it!

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you'll try making this new kind of card.  If you do not yet have these fabulous Thinlits, scroll down on the left side of my blog and click on the image to get all the details.  Have a great 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.

Color Inspiration, Part 3: Sketched Birthday

Let's continue my little series today with more color inspiration and using it to guide our artistic creations.  So far, I've shared color inspiration from Aaron digging in the yard and Aaron and Olive Jane playing on the deck.  Today, we'll see how I used color inspiration from Aaron and Ben in their new pool.  These are super fun colors to use.  It doesn't get much more vivid than this:)

Here's my card project:

My color story:
Pacific Point
Gumball Green
Tangerine Tango
Marina Mist 

I added a Whisper White top layer, to stamp my images and then attached the banner and the scalloped piece with dimensionals.  The ribbon is wrapped around just the white layer.  I will admit that I hadn't used this stamp set yet.  In fact, I had to put it together before I could finish my card.  I really enjoyed using it, especially the balloons.  Sorry, Oprah.  I hear you're afraid of balloons.  I just happen to like them.

Here are the photos for my color inspiration:

- 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.

Color Inspiration, Part 2 B: It's all about the boots!

Today, we continue my little series on using color inspiration to guide your artistic creations.  My first post in the series had colors inspired by Aaron digging in the yard.  Yesterday and today, our color inspiration comes from Aaron and Olive Jane playing on the deck.  The colors worked to make 2 totally different color stories, so I've divided the posts into 2 parts.  Aaron's was yesterday and Olive Jane's is today.  This stamp set is perfect for a card inspired by her outfit because she loves boots.  I'm sure she'd wear them a lot if she had a pair like these!

Here's today's card:

I could not get it to show up in the photo, but the card front is covered with a beautiful shimmer mist and the boots are embossed.
Tip:
When you have smaller areas to color, as on the boots, if you emboss first it makes it easier to color.
In this case, I also wanted the shiny look (that you get from embossing) for the soles of the boots.

The lined envelope just completes a perfect ensemble.  I used paper from the Brights DSP paper stack for the liner.

My color story:
Melon Mambo
Pink Pirouette
Daffodil Delight

Here's the photo that inspired my color story:

Come back for my next post:  Part 3 in my little series:)

- 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.

Color Inspiration, Part 2 A: Rev Up The Fun

Today, we continue my little series on using color inspiration to guide your artistic creations.  Yesterday's post had colors inspired by Aaron digging in the yard.  Today and tomorrow, our color inspiration comes from Aaron and Olive Jane playing on the deck.  The colors worked to make 2 totally different color stories, so I'm dividing the posts into 2 parts.

Here's today's project...  
  ... inspired from Aaron's shirt, his shoes and the wagon.

My color story:
Pacific Point
Smoky Slate
Basic Black

I will admit that, for today's card, I totally forgot about the red and focused on the gray and blue.  It's called Artistic License and the fun of being an artist is that you get to do that:)  Here's the photo that started my inspiration.  I'd like to note here that while inspiration can come in many different ways, it can also start you down a road that comes out so totally different that you wouldn't even believe where it all began.  Inspiration is what gets you going; it's not what keeps you going.  You make your own direction.  That's why they call it art and that's why I call it fun.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 B.  I will be sharing a project using colors inspired from Olive Jane's little outfit.  I'm off to nurse my allergies.  I love the Fall so much, but it is hard on my breathing. 

- 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.

Color Inspiration, Part 1

Color inspiration is everywhere and today's post is all about using it to guide your artistic creations.  In my 4 posts on my summer memories, I shared photos of Aaron digging, Aaron and Olive playing on the deck, Aaron and Ben in their new pool and plants in my container garden.  We'll take those 4 posts and see what I created using the colors as my guide.  Enjoy!

Today's color inspiration:  Aaron Digging

My stamp sets:
Gorgeous Grunge
You're My Hero

My color story:
Real Red
Daffodil Delight
Gumball Green

My photo inspiration:

I tried something new for the envelope liner today.  Instead of using DSP, I used CS.  It worked just fine.  I wanted a more simple, but bold look to go with the card.

Here's another card that I used CS for a coordinating envelope liner:

That's it for today.  I got busy this morning and ended up doing a much later post than usual.  There are days like that.  Have a great weekend and stop back to see my next color story.

- 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.

Dog Days of Summer, Part 4 - Final Part...

Today's post is the last in my little mini series of Dog Days of Summer.  Today, I want to share with you some of the gorgeous flowers from my container garden on our deck.  They are going fast now, so I'm glad I have these photos to remember how beautiful they were this summer.

We had lots of old favorites - pansies, marigolds, petunias, zinnias...

Our all-time favorites were the pots of yellow hibiscus.  When they were blooming several at a time, it was a gorgeous sight.  Somehow I didn't get a shot of them at their finest.

The bamboo stakes were a part of our plan to fight off the bunnies.  It really helped.  They were coming right up on the deck and eating entire pots of plants!  Ben maybe got a little carried away with 'helping' me add the stakes, but he had fun and it did help.  The bunnies probably wondered what on earth happened!

This beat up pot contains something new I tried.  It's called candy corn.  It's a vine and has very tiny little blooms that look like candy corn.  Of course, when I showed it to the boys, their response was:  "Can we eat them?"

Look how the planter arrangement with the frog grew over the summer!  The poor little guy can barely see out.  I love the vivid colors together.

Now, speaking of vivid colors, come back soon to see how I used my summer photos to give me color inspiration for my projects.  This is going to be fun!!!  Thanks for stopping by and continue to enjoy your Dog Days of Summer.

- 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.