The Inside Story... of 2 Fall Cards... and A Sneak Peek

I have 2 Fall cards today that are special inside and out.  We'll be making these at our Friday Night Cards class this week.  The first one is our bonus card.  Get a friend to sign up with you and you both get to make the bonus card.

Here's the fancy inside, with plenty of room for adding a special message.

Here's my sunflower card again...

... and the added surprise to the inside... Crushed Curry.  I like it!  I'll add a message when I'm ready to send it.

Here's a sneak peek at ALL the cards we'll be making this Friday night.  I'll share more on the Christmas cards throughout the week.

- 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.

A little paper weaving and scrapbooking...

I got so wrapped up in working on a couple of MDS projects that I almost forgot to do my post today.  Fortunately, I had it all ready to go, so here you are:

Paper weaving is a great way to use up strips of DSP scraps.  It's also great, if you're opening a new package, to not have to use very much --- so it's quite economical... and it looks great.

Today, I"ll show you 2 layouts --- one for fall and one for Christmas --- that both use weaving as part of the background for the pages.

The fall layout uses Spice Cake DSP and the stamp set Gently Falling.  It starts out with a crumb cake base and then uses 6 strips on each page.  You could lay them out as mirrored images or flip one around, as I've done here.

Close-up of left page:

Close-up of right page:

Close-up of stamped leaves:

Close-up of the weaving:

Tip:
It's super simple to line up your strips and have them be evenly spaced and straight --- just use our grid paper and it works every time.  I started my first strip leaving 2 grid boxes (1/2") from the edge of the CS base.  I left a space of 1 grid box (1/4") between each strip.  Secure just the end of the strip until you get them all placed, and then add more adhesive --- Liquid Tombow or Snail work well.

Here's a slight variation, still using weaving as a part of the background, to create a Christmas layout:

For this layout, I started (again) with a crumb cake CS for the base and then did my weaving with just 4 strips on each page.  I used the Frostwood Lodge DSP and then chose our Winter Wishes felt pieces for my accents.  I've kept it clean and simple so that I'll have room to add any journaling I might need or even a few more (smaller) photos.

In my next post, I'll give you a peek at the MDS projects I've been creating.  It's so much fun.  I ordered them all today, so I have cards and gifts all set for some lucky recipients.  If you're planning on ordering any MDS projects printed, you should get them ordered by Dec. 7, at the latest.

Happy Stamping!

December 5 and counting...

A New Little Shape from a Favorite Old Punch!

While still sharing Spice Cake projects with you, I'd also like to teach you how to make a cute little punched shape that I learned from my demo friend, Patty.  This is great for making tiny little labels and tags when you are using tiny little stamps.

Stamp a tiny text on a strip of CS in the direction shown.

Insert the strip into the decorative label punch as shown.

Punch it out and you'll have a strange little shape like this one.

Attach a sticky note to your piece, as shown.  The sticky note acts as your 'fishing line' so you can lower the tiny piece into the punch and be able to align it where you want it to be.

You're trying to line up the image in the opposite end of the punch from what you used the first time, so that you get little rounded 'knobs' on each side.

Punch it and here's your cute little new shape, all ready to attach to a card or project!

...and here's your cute little piece used as a tag on this card.  I used the Gently Falling stamp set and stamped acorns over a portion of the card base.  I had a TINY scrap of torn fabric that I wrapped around the pool party layer 3 times, pinched it together and tied it with hemp.  I added my new little shape as a tag and layered it with a cut out leaf.  Both the 'tag' and the leaf are on dimensionals.  I used my new Stampin' Up! Simply Scored tool to create the medallion from a 1 X 12" strip of Spice Cake DSP, attached it to a punched circle and attached that to my card.  I added more circles on top of the medallion, along with an antique brad.

Here's a little close-up of the tag and the fabric strips.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll try making the new little punched shape.  It's so easy and fun!
In my next post, I'll feature some of the wonderful buttons that coordinate with the Spice Cake suite of products and I'll share with you how to make a coordinating little treat holder.

Soft Suede Layout

Here's a layout we made at my Scraps & Prayers class.  Again, I'm using the Spice Cake colors --- pool party, more mustard, pear pizzazz --- and attaching everything to a soft suede background.  There's stamping in the background --- I used more mustard and river rock to give a subtle added texture to the background.
The leaves are stamped on very vanilla, using pear pizzazz ink.  I stamped off before adding the outline detail over it, using soft suede.
The stamp set is Gently Falling.  This is a gorgeous stamp set and really lends itself to LOTS of techniques to add beautiful color to the leaves.  You can add shades of color to the leaves with sponge daubers and can even emboss the outline details over the leaves.  I've only just begun to explore the possibilities for this set!
Be sure to check out yesterday's post for details on this stamp set and my classes!

 Here's the complete layout:

Here's a close-up of the leaves.  They are on dimensionals.  It was a lot of cutting, but well worth it.  I attached the leaves to pear pizzazz squares punched with the postage square punch and then attached those to more mustard squares.

Here's a closer view of the left page.  

I hope you can see the stamping onto the soft suede background.

I plan to add journaling in the empty spaces at the bottom of each pool party layer.

I am in love!

I confess.  I am in love with the new Spice Cake colors and the new stamp set Gently Falling.  The colors in the DSP are:

River Rock
Pool Party
More Mustard
Soft Suede
Pear Pizzazz

I would not have thought of all these colors together for fall cards and projects, but they are absolutely gorgeous together.

For the next several posts, I will be featuring combinations of the Spice Cake DSP, the Spice Cake fabric, the color combos and/or the stamp set Gently Falling.  Knowing me, there will probably be a few other stamp sets used, too, that are in keeping with this game plan:)

Before I show you today's post, let me remind you how the stamp set of the month works for my classes.  For Oct., the SSOTM is Gently Falling.

• Order the stamp set (wood or clear mount) any time between now and Oct. 6 and qualify for the SSOTM class on Oct. 21 at 1/2 price.
• Order BOTH the stamp set AND a package of the Spice Cake DSP any time between now and Oct. 6 and take the SSOTM class on Oct. 21 for FREE!

And now, here is today's post, using the Spice Cake colors and the Gently Falling stamp set.

The card base is pool party, with a layer of river rock over it.  I stamped the leaves onto very vanilla and then ran it through the Big Shot with the lattice square embossing folder.  The ribbon is pear pizzazz.

Here's a close-up of the leaves that I cut out and mounted on dimensionals.  The leaves are stamped with pool party, river rock, pear pizzazz and more mustard.  I stamped off (soft suede) to create a lighter outline over the leaves.

Check back often to see what other creations I have to share with you.  Thanks for stopping by!