Beautiful Blizzard / Dashing Deer Card

Here's another beautiful deer for you and today's is in gold.  I love our new foil-edged cards and envelopes.  They're all ready for you to use them to create something beautiful.  If you're in the area and thinking of signing up for my Stamp-A-Stack class, we'll be using some of these beautiful cards and envelopes for our creations.  They come in silver, also.

I love the graceful elegance of this leaping deer.

The cluster of snowflakes are from the Beautiful Blizzard stamp set.  I stamped them in gold.

October Events: 

Oct. 8 / Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $15.00
     Christmas Project, showcasing the Timeless Tidings Kit poinsettia.
     CLASS FULL.  REGISTRATION CLOSED.
Oct. 20 / Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / $20.00 
     6 Beautiful Christmas Cards
     PAY TO REGISTER ONE WEEK PRIOR TO CLASS.

November / December Events:
Nov. 12 / Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30     Mixed Media Christmas Project
     PAY TO REGISTER ON WEEK PRIOR TO CLASS.
Dec. 10 / Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $15.00
     Christmas Cards, showcasing the Timeless Tidings Card Kit.
     PAY TO REGISTER ONE WEEK PRIOR TO CLASS.

Place Cards from Thinlits Circle Card Die

What a bummer!  I made all the place cards and table markers and then was too sick to even go to the Valentine's Day Love and Laughter event.  I am pretty sick now and don't even have a voice.  My husband is so disappointed:)  Anyway, I waited until today to share these with you, so I wouldn't give anyone a peek too soon.

Table markers... and place card...

I made lots...

... and lots... 

... and lots... 

... and lots:) The white strip is for the helpers to write in names and table assignments.  I put a dot of glitter glue on each of the 3 little hearts.  I think they all turned out pretty cute.

Would you like to know how to make a place card?  Come back soon and I will share with you just how I made the place cards.  I will include directions for making my Thinlits Circle Card calendars, too.  Be sure you don't miss out!

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blog world.
Have a great day and come back soon for more design inspiration.

Click here to learn about my Stampin' Tokens program.

Now, go stamp something beautiful. 

Click here to learn more about upcoming classes and events.

Emboss your heart out!

I promised you more about my mystery box photo for my next post, but we must interrupt this post for fast breaking news.  This is too good to wait.  Please keep reading for today's exciting news and then come back for my next post and it WILL be about the mystery box, I promise.

If you know me at all, you know I love embossing.  I made a little ring of scalloped circles to make a sampler for all our embossing folders.  I used the Scallop Circle Die with the Big Shot to cut the circles and then embossed each one with a different embossing folder.

I can see at a glance just what design choices I have for making my next project.  I seem to be collecting quite a few:)  You may be wondering what I do when a folder retires.  If I'm keeping the folder, which I almost always do, I remove the sampler and place it on my retired samplers ring.  It keeps everything organized and I can still play with old favorites from time to time.

- 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.

Create Inspiration

Want some great inspiration?  How about my new 'Create' banner?  I loved making this.  It was fun, easy and fairly quick, for such a large project.  It's hanging in my studio and will hopefully inspire anyone who sees it.  The nice thing about doing this kind of project is that it all starts from a kit.  You have all your materials organized before you even begin to work on it!  Whatever else you'd like to add is limited only by your imagination.  You may even find that you become more creative because the initial work and organizing of supplies is already done for you:)  I think my new banner works to spruce up my studio --- big time!

I wanted you to see the entire banner, so I had to step back a bit to get in all the parts and pieces. 

Color story:
--Bermuda Bay
--Crushed Curry
--Crumb Cake
--Basic Gray

Here are some close-ups of each part.

Each letter comes as a plain white (blank slate) in the kit.  I stamped with Crushed Curry for a random background.  Then, I stamped the 'grid marks' in VersaMark ink, and embossed it with gold EP.  In real life, it has a nice shimmer to it.

The add-on kit comes with 12 x 12" tissue paper sheets to cut into streamers.  You can leave them plain white or add color by spritzing them with a reinker/alcohol mixture.  I spritzed mine with Crushed Curry and Bermuda Bay.

The add-on kit also comes with the little circles streamer, all stitched together.  I used those to stretch along the top of my banner.  The little circles come in all the colors in our color story + gold and silver.  

I love the cord that comes with the banner.  I used it to hang all the individual banner pieces.

You also get 12 sheets of 6 X  6" double-sided DSP with the add-on kit.  I cut those into scallop circles with my Big Shot and used them as accent layers behind the letters.

I still had lots of extra pieces in the add-on kit, so I used some of them for a scrapbook layout.  Come back soon and I'll share it with you.

The doilies layered at each end of the banner were also spritzed to add more color.  I used some of the 6 X 6" DSP pieces to make the flowers for each end of the banner, using the spiral flower die.  I sandwiched the streamers between 2 circles that came with the banner kit.

So, that's my banner.  Tell me what you think!  Be sure to stop by soon to see more class sneak peeks and lots of scrapbooking and card making inspiration.

Click here to learn more about the spiral flower die.

Click here to learn more about upcoming classes.

Let Stampin' Up! Products Help You Create A Party!

Today is Olive Jane's birthday party and her mom and I have kind of a tradition going of getting together and making all her party decorations.  Olive Jane is all about Minnie Mouse right now, so that's our theme.  Years ago, I learned from a fellow church member that, once you do something for two years in a row, it becomes a tradition.  We're there now!

Using Big Shot dies and circle punches, it was easy to come up with our decorations.

We've had a lot of rain and/or wind here lately, so I had to shoot these inside.  I realize that I forgot to take a photo of the birthday hat and the thank you, so I'll have to post those later.

 

 These are the favor boxes.  They will have treats in cello bags inside them.

The banner is held together with dotted ribbon pieces between each circle.  It will hang from the window (curtain rod) behind the party table.

It should be a really fun party.  Can you keep a secret?  We're giving her a big wagon for her birthday.  Shhhhhhh!

A Christmas Ornament

Here's a quick little Christmas ornament that can double as a card, complete with a message on the back.  You could even put a photo on the back.

All the pieces are cut on the Big Shot, so it's quick and easy to make it!  I added a little sprig of our new sweater trim to the top of the ornament, for a unique look.  Linen thread is pulled through a tiny hole, so you can hang it on your tree.

Have a great day and a great week!

Green, Green and Neil Diamond

I wanted to show you a card today that will get some music flowing through your mind.  My card design is inspired by a sketch challenge and I chose to do it in a monochromatic color story -- thus, the Green, Green song in my head.
I used the stamp set My Friend and, because it contains text stamps for 'hello' and 'my friend,' my daughter calls this stamp set our Neil Diamond stamp set -- thus putting yet another tune in my head.  I do love this stamp set.  It's surprisingly versatile and a lot of fun to use.

I used 2 of our In Color brads and made a double layer of my text strip, to create added interest.  I sponged the edges of both of the strips, to give extra texture.  The little knotted bit of ribbon is created by tying a knot around a tiny sprig of our crochet lace trim.

I used the Big Shot to cut a circle for stamping and then cut a larger scalloped circle to layer behind it.  My colors are Lucky Limeade, Always Artichoke and a bit of Pear Pizzazz.  The vertical strip is created using a technique called Mother of Pearl.

Here's how you do the Mother of Pearl technique:

• Place a bit of Frost White Shimmer Paint in a small container.
• Wad up a small piece of plastic wrap.
• Dip the plastic wrap into the paint and dab randomly over a piece of glossy white CS.
• Set aside to dry.
• Once the paint is dry, lightly sponge over the piece with Lucky Limeade ink, using a circular motion.
• Tissue off excess ink, as desired.

So today, I challenge you to go try this fun technique on a creation of your own.  Enjoy!

Hello, Wasabi!

I enjoyed designing this card with Wild Wasabi.  I love this shade of green and admit that I haven't used it for quite a while.  (You know how I love my Cherry Cobbler!)  I pulled out the Wild Wasabi because I wanted to use this floral piece of DSP from Beyond the Garden.  I guess I'm thinking ahead and wishing for a beautiful Spring.  I used the circle and scallop circle dies for the main layers and one of the framelit dies for a background piece.

I cut the framelit piece in half and pulled it apart --- to create a larger piece --- placing it under the Wild Wasabi and Whisper White strips and tied a beautiful white satin ribbon around it all.  The CS colors are Whisper White, Wild Wasabi and Pacific Point --- to coordinate with the piece of Beyond the Garden DSP.  It's difficult to see it, but I've embossed the little white strip with the Flower Garden embossing folder.

The inks are Wild Wasabi and Pacific point.  The stamps are from the Best Friends Forever and Elementary Elegance stamp sets.  I stamped off the leaf stamp, to create a lighter background behind the 'Hello' text.  In the close-up, you can see the sparkle from my Frost White Shimmer Paint/alcohol mixture that I used to spritz the front of the card.  This card is for a Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  It was a really fun challenge to try!