Scraplifted!

So there's another challenge over at 365 that asks us to "scraplift" a card from one of the fab designers there. I *LOVE* Amy's work, so I chose to steal one of her lovelies and give it my own touch...

Here's Amy's beautiful card:

And here's how I mutated it:

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: NONE!

Papers: Cottage Wall DSP (SU!), Rich Razzleberry card stock

Inks: None!

Accessories: Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Butterfly punch, 1/16-inch punch (to make slit for bow), Button Latte, white embroidery floss

Thanks for the visit! :) Thanks, Amy for all of your lovely inspiration!

Ad-Inspired!

Here's a card I created that was inspired by this ad:

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Wings of Friendship Hostess set

Papers: Ruby Red, Apricot Appeal, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White card stocks

Inks: Glorious Green, Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black Classics

Accessories: Butterfly, Designer Label and Scallop Edge punches, Distress Tool from Cutting Kit

Thanks for your visit! :)

"It's twilight." Edward Cullen, Twilight

Ah, Edward... This card was inspired by a challenge at 365 Cards. Create a card with a black body, red-dominant patterned paper and bling.

I couldn't decide which way to go, so you'll see two more variations here. So far, I've just read Twilight and seen the movie. I've got New Moon sitting by my bedside table. The *MOMENT* I saw this challenge, I knew that I just had to use my Whisper White Shimmery card stock. :) I also had fun searching for a suitable quote (from Edward). I'm not sure how easy it is to read; I chose “Bring on the shackles — I’m your prisoner,” for this challenge. I also found “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…” and “Do I dazzle you?” on this FABULOUS quote website, http://www.twilight-quotes.com/. So much fun!

Here's what I came up with:

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: NONE!

Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Shimmery White and Rose Red card stocks, Rose Red Patterened paper (from a retired Hostess pack)

Inks: Basic Black Craft

Accessories: Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Pretties kit (rhinestone brads), Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Sizzix Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Backgrounds I Texturz Plate, Stampin' Up! Hearts and Brackets die, Designer Label punch, 1/16-inch punch

*To antique the metal frame around the quote, I pounced it in the Basic Black Craft ink and let it dry.*

Here's an up-close of the shimmery card stock... It's hard to get it in a photo, but there's a subtle shimmer (just like Edward's skin in the sunshine) to the heart and the piece on top of the Whisper White. FUN!!!

My variations:

One of these had to have red ribbon to signify, well, you know... The card behind it has a Handsome Hunter background to signify the trees that are Forks, Washington...

I had more fun dreaming up this card; I hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for visiting!

Anna, Our Little Ladybug

Oh, it feels good to stamp again! Anna's birthday is in two weeks and I'd realized that I hadn't gotten invites in the mail yet (family knows when the party is; I just had to make it official).

Ladybugs are the symbol for children adopted from China. Apparently, there was a large population boom of ladybugs in China at a time when there was a lot of happy news that families would be proceeding with their adoptions (the waiting is very hard). In addition to the fact that red is a good luck color in China, this ladybug population boom was seen as a good omen and now ladybugs represent the beautiful children adopted from China. Even though Anna was adopted from Taiwan, we thought this would make a fun theme for her second birthday party.

Here's her birthday invitation, patterned after the paper plates, etc, that I found for her party. I cannot take credit for the darling ladybug; I got the idea from "kaitysmom" on Splitcoast. :)

**Please forgive the tightness of this text; I can't get Blogger to let me double-space it!**

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: NONE! :)

Papers: Pixie Pink, Gable Green, Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stocks

Inks: Basic Black Classic and Stampin' Write; Real Red Stampin' Write

Accessories: Scallop Circle and 1/2-inch Punches, 5/8-inch Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon and Basic Black Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Mini Glue Dots

Thanks for the visit!

Rustic Dreams du Jour

I was enjoying a quiet moment (kids were napping), listening to "Lake Woebegone" from Garrison Keillor. The "country" feel of his stories (esp. the one where he beams his sister with a rotten tomato) inspired this card...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamp Set: Dreams du Jour

Papers: Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow, Bordering Blue and Night of Navy card stocks

Inks: Creamy Caramel, Bordering Blue, and Night of Navy Classics

Accessories: Distressing Tool, Very Vanilla 5/8-inch Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Sponges

I started with a sponge and inked over the Very Vanilla card stock with the Creamy Caramel (to give it the aged look). The butterflies were stamped in Creamy Caramel and Bordering Blue, but I stamped the ink off each time first. Finally, the ribbon was colored using my Creamy Caramel and Bordering Blue ink pads (Classic). I drug the ribbon between the pad and a Stampin' Sponge (to keep my hands clean). It gives the ribbon an uneven color, which was the effect I was trying to achieve.

Thanks so much for the visit!

Through the Window...

Here's a card I made for the 365 Cards challenge involving, among other things, window sheets...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Medallion Background and Circle Circus (new!) and Elegant Thank You

Papers: Bermuda Bay, Mambo Melon, Old Olive and Whisper White card stocks

Inks: Elegant Eggplant and Mambo Melon Classics

Accessories: Window sheet, Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge, and 1/2-inch Circle Punches, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig

Thanks so much for visiting!

STILL not stamping...

I plan to put ink to paper later today (I hope)... I'm actually working on putting supplies together for a crop I'm attending at a friend's house on Friday. Our daughter, Anna, whom we adopted from Taiwan, will be two next month. In my Scrapbook Time, we're still in Taipei, picking her up! ;) Gotta get movin'!


Paige commented on my previous post and it got me to thinking...

Wow! You have a lot of sets. How do you organize your sets? Have fun playing when you are done cleaning and organizing.


Thanks, Paige! My plan, now that I've reduced the number of sets on my shelves is to keep retired and non-SU! sets separated from my current SU! sets. I'll alphabetize the sets on the shelves. I've also made a list of all of the sets I own in the hopes of better knowing what I have. Part of why I've got 100+ sets to sell is that I just didn't know what I had. Anyhoo, once they're alphabetized on the shelf (I've got just one big one, so they'll be packed two-deep), I'll make a list in a binder, so that I can tell what I have without having to dig.

Of my current SU! sets, I'm going to make a list alphabetized by set name, too. I'm also going to attach a colored dot to the case that signifies the type of stamp (floral vs. sentiment or Christmas, for example). There's an astounding organization system that I read about (I'll add the link when I find it) and I plan to hijack that. The sets themselves will be organized in order of their appearance in the current Idea Book and Catalog. I'm afraid that I've been a demo for so long now that I view stamps in order of where they'd be in there, anyway.

Things are a mess in the studio right now, but as soon as I'm not thoroughly ashamed of how it looks, I'll upload some pictures. My eight-year-old daughter suggests I post "Before" pictures that I can pair later with "After." No... The only way I'll post "Before" pics is if you can be easily distracted by the "After" ones. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Ugh... Too many retired sets to count...

The time has come for me to clear out some of my retired sets and I had no idea what an undertaking this would become! Check out my posting on Splitcoast, if you're interested: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=447996

Ugh... Want the cleaning to be done so that I can go back to stamping...

I Heart Lists and Teeny Tiny Wishes

I've only *just* received these two new sets from the 2009-10 IB & C and I absolutely love the possibilities! I'm a fan of office ephemera and I look forward to using I Heart Lists for that reason. The Teeny Tiny Wishes set is one that I'll own and use forever. Talk about a ton of useful phrases!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: I Heart Lists and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Kraft, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla and Apricot Appeal card stocks

Inks: Handsome Hunter, Bravo Burgundy and Creamy Caramel Classics; Bravo Burgundy Stampin' Write Marker

Accessories: 1/16-inch Handheld, Spiral, 1/2-inch Circle, and Word Slot Punches, Stampin' Sponge, Very Vanilla Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig and Linen Thread

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Welcome Home, Daisy!

Dear friends of ours suffered the loss of a dear dog earlier this year. She'd been with them for over 16 years and is a cherished member of the family.

We just received the happy news that they've welcomed a new (lucky!) puppy into their home, named Daisy. Here's the card I made to send to them:

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: All in the Family and Short and Sweet sets

Papers: Very Vanilla and Pink Passion card stocks, Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper

Inks: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise and Basic Black Classics and VersaMark

Accessories: Scallop Oval, Scallop Circle, and Word Slot Punches, Tempting Turquoise Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon

Thanks for looking!

Look Who's Turning...

This is a new set in the 2009-10 Idea Book and Catalog and I thought it would be perfect for the ad-inspired challenge this week at 365 Cards.

Here's the ad we were inspired by:

and the card I created:This card will be perfect for my nephew's birthday next month... I might change it a wee bit to make the "3" stand out more, though. Red ink? Layer a smaller circle beneath the "3" on top of the Yoyo Yellow? Hmmm...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Look Who's Turning

Papers: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Bordering Blue and Yoyo Yellow card stocks

Inks: Whisper White Craft and Brocade Blue and Basic Black Classics

Accessories: Real Red Wide and Narrow Grosgrain Ribbons, Whisper White Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, 1-inch Circle Punch, Stamp-a-Ma-Jig (to make the numbers straight; I wasn't trusting myself)

Thank you so much for looking!

Phew! Busy with the New Catalog Launch...

Hello, there! It's been a busy couple of weeks, as I've prepped catalogs for the mail (the *NEW* Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog launched on July 1). Here's just one box of catalogs I needed to prep and send to club members and faithful customers. :)

I have also been culling my retired stamp sets and preparing them for sale. I might post them here; we'll see. The organization and pack-up of the studio is progressing nicely, as we prepare to put in carpet, a few walls and cabinetry. I look forward to posting again later today with a couple of new things I've been able to sneak in between everything else.