A Crabby End to 2014 Plus an Exciting Invitation I Received!

When I wrote "crabby," I meant it!

In our state, the crabbing season ends at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. As such, our friends must pull their crab pots one final time.  Last year was our first year accompanying them and this is what we were treated to:

A whole pod.  No lie.  Spyhopping, flapping their tails, swimming under our boat, etc.  We were motoring home (we live just north of this guy, up beyond his dorsal fin there) and came upon the pod.  We cut the engine and bobbed for 30 minutes or more, pointing and shouting at what we were seeing.  An added bonus was that my little sister and her children were visiting from Wyoming and this was a once-in-a-lifetime treat for anyone, especially the landlocked.

This year, we got to repeat the adventure (sadly, no whales), but we did get plenty of yummy crab and got to see sea lions, seals, a porpoise and lots of cormorants!

I created this card for my first Creative Crew challenge (that's the exciting invitation I mentioned above).  I'll be creating projects for the fun challenges released monthly at Splitcoast Stampers.  Check it out {HERE}!

I also entered this card in the Mojo Monday MOJO378 and Colour Me Card #52 Challenges.

Our charge in the Creative Crew challenge for this month was to create masculine projects.  This will serve as a Thank You note for our esteemed skipper!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  By the Seashore

Papers:  Soft Sky, Baked Brown Sugar, and Whisper White card stocks and All Abloom DSP Stack

Inks:  Baked Brown Sugar Classic

Artist's Flair:  Woodgrain TIEF, Stampin' Sponges, 2-inch Circle Punch, Burlap Ribbon

Check out the {Creative Crew Gallery}!

Don't forget:

Click {HERE} to shop!

Bonus! The All Abloom DSP Stack is a Weekly Deal through Monday, January 12! Click {HERE} to see the deals!

Endless Wishes in Week 1 of My Annual of {12 Weeks of Christmas} Series!

Welcome to the first installment of my yearly {12 Weeks of Christmas} Series! I love putting this series together each year, including posts about planning, cards, gifts, and fun holiday decor.  Each week, I'll give you a new idea to inspire or streamline your Christmas planning.  It's a super-fun time of year and I'm excited to give you our first taste!

This card was made with a great versatile sketch from the good folks at Mojo Monday. 

I used the Endless Wishes set from the Holiday Catalog.  Need a hard copy of the catalog?  Drop me an email.  Want to check it out online?  Click {HERE} to view it now.

This cute photopolymer set includes snowflake images with a ton of great Christmas-, winter- and holiday-themed sentiments.  *LOVE IT!*

The Designer Series Paper I used here comes in the fun Stack called Moonlight.  

I added a little extra pizzazz with Rhinestone Basic Jewels, the Decorative Dots TIEF, and Lost Lagoon Satin Stitched Ribbon.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Endless Wishes

Papers:  Moonlight DSP Stack, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, and Whisper White Card Stocks

Inks:  Lost Lagoon and Basic Gray Classic Inks

Accessories:  Big Shot, Decorative Dots TIEF, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Lost Lagoon Satin Stitched Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Outgoing Mail! New Video

Here's a new type of video which I'll post every once in a while to give you a quick glimpse of some projects which may not have been featured here or entered in any online challenges.

Below you'll find pictures of the projects as well as links to previous posts.

Click {HERE} to read a past post about this project.

Click {HERE} to read a past post about this project.

Click {HERE} to read a past post about this project.

Email me (button on the right) if you've got any questions.  Click the {SHOP} button in the top right to purchase from my Stampin' Up! online store.

Cheers to You! Water Bottle Tag

Welcome to the Studio!  This project was created for a friend who is undergoing medical treatment that requires her to increase her consumption of water.  It's a reusable water bottle and I've included some drink mixes.  I hope this makes the treatment easier for her -- she's a gem and I'm sad that she's burdened with this...

The body of the card was made with Pink Pirouette.  The other color is Baja Breeze.  These are the colors featured this week in the Dynamic Duos Challenge #11.  This card is also based upon the sketch for the 365 Cards Super Sketchy Sunday challenge.

I stamped the glass and straw in Baja Breeze and then stamped the contents of the glass a second time on another piece of Whisper White (this time in Pink Pirouette), used my Paper Snips to cut it out and mounted it with Stampin' Dimensionals to make it pop.  The flagged ends of the Baja Breeze piece were achieved with a square punch (click *here* for a post including a quick video tutorial).

I also punched a circle of Baja Breeze with my 2 3/8-inch Scallop Circle punch to jazz up the spot where the neck of the water bottle is...  I punched a 1 3/4-inch Circle through the Pink Pirouette piece, placed the scalloped circle over it and punched again from behind (wasn't sure I'd have the hand-strength to punch two layers of card stock).

The drink pouches were placed in a "pocket" made from a Decorative Label punch, popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Happy Hour (W126640, C126642)

Papers:  Baja Breeze (111352), Pink Pirouette (111351), and Whisper White (100730) card stocks

Inks:  Baja Breeze (126960) and Pink Pirouette (126956) Classics

Accessories:  Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon (122331), Decorative Label (120907), 1-1/4" Square (119865), 2-3/8" Scallop Circle (118874) and 1-3/4" Circle ( 119850) Punches, Paper Snips (103579), and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)  

A Little Mojo and Some Birdsong

Today's project was an entry for the Mojo Monday MOJO246, 365 Cards "Word of the Week:  Music" (think birdsong), and Dynamic Duos (Always Artichoke and River Rock) Challenges.

I used my Language of Friendship set, because I love the little songbird (punched out with the Bird Builder punch) and I thought the three elements in the Mojo sketch would be fun with the blooms from that set, as well.  Notice that I stamped one of the flowers and punched it, using the Boho Blossoms punch, popping it up with a Stampin' Dimensional.

The Dynamic Duo challenge allows us to use a neutral in our project, so I chose Crumb Cake (aka "Kraft").  I also ran my piece of Always Artichoke through my Big Shot for some added texture. 

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Language of Friendship (W122750, C122752)

Papers:  Always Artichoke (105119), River Rock (108640), Crumb Cake (120953) and Bashful Blue (105120) card stocks (*as I went to link this entry to the Dynamic Duos blog, I see that I was to only use the two colors highlighted -- I'll follow the directions better in the next challenge!)

Inks:  Always Artichoke (126972) and River Rock (126977) Classics


Accessories:  Boho Blossoms punch (119858), Bird Builder punch (117191), Big Shot (113439), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (117335), Very Vanilla 1/8-inch Taffeta Ribbon (119960), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Here Comes Summer! {Mixed Bunch}

As I write this, summer seems to have finally arrived...  The sun is out, the birds are singing and the sky is blue!  This card was created for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge, in which we were to use "Here Comes Summer" to inspire our projects.   

I started with Mixed Bunch and inked it in Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry.  The flowers were punched using the Blossom punch and the centers were punched using the one-inch and 1-1/4-inch Circle punches. 

Next, I fed a piece of Island Indigo through my Big Shot, using the Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Finally, Basic Rhinestones were added to give the project a dash of bling...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Mixed Bunch (W125535, C125537)

Papers:  Island Indigo (122923), Rich Razzleberry (115316), Baja Breeze (111352) and Whisper White card stocks (100730)

Inks:  Island Indigo (126986), Rich Razzleberry (126950), Baja Breeze (126960)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119277), Blossom punch (125603), 1" Circle punch (119868), 1-1/4" Circle punch (119861), Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Stampin' Up! Nature Walk for Easter...

Easter is upon us!  Here's an Easter Card I made for the "Super Sketchy Sunday" challenge at 365 Cards.I am so inspired by the sketches there!

I love the earthy feel of the eggs from the Nature Walk set...

I used my Scallop Edge Border punch to create the border along the Marina Mist and that always produces a slim scrap.  You can see I added it behind the Round Tab punch with "Happy Easter."

The Scallop Trim Border punch adds further interest...

I've been busy enjoying my kids' Spring Break and sewing the girls' Easter dresses.  I'll be posting the rest of the week's projects soon!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Nature Walk (W121925, C121997), Teeny TIny Wishes (W115370)

Papers:  Crumb Cake (120953), Marina Mist (119682), Bashful Blue (105120) and Very Vanilla (101650) card stocks

Inks:  Marina Mist (119668), Bashful Blue (105209), and Crumb Cake (121030) Classics

Accessories:  Round Tab (119864), Scallop Trim Border (118402), Scallop Edge Border (119882) and Scallop Circle (119854) punches, and Paper Snips (103579)

{Challenged}: Two-in-One Entry

This card was my entry for two challenges.  The "Shamrockin' It!" challenge at 365 Cards on St. Patty's Day and the Cardpatterns Sketch 157 inspired this card... 

I wanted a design with a shamrock that I could use year-round, so I created a shamrock using the small heart on my Heart to Heart punch.  

My color palette is courtesy of the Color Coach (Pink Pirouette, Sahara Sand, Always Artichoke).

My square punch makes for easy pennant-making (see my latest video here).

The pretty paper comes from the Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack (I used it for the shamrock and the vertical pennant behind the ribbon).

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Sincere Salutations (W115068)

Paper:  Subtles Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack (117152), Sahara Sand (121043), Always Artichoke (105119), Pink Pirouette (111351), and Whisper White (100730) card stock

Ink:  Always Artichoke Classic (105219) and Stampin' Write Marker (105113) (used in the stem)

Accessories:  Color Coach (120148), Scallop Trim Border (118402), Heart to Heart (119881) and 1-1/4-inch Square (119865) Punches, Pretty in Pink 1/4-inch Grosgrain Ribbon (109032)