Festival of Trees -- 12 Weeks of Christmas 2015, Week 1

Welcome to my first post in the 2015 Edition of the 12 Weeks of Christmas!  I created two projects for this post.  First, a card for the Mojo Monday challenge, MOJO418, based upon this sketch:

Using the Festival of Trees stamp set and coordinating Tree punch (save $$ with this *bundle*), this card was quick and easy to make. 

I used the Decorative Dots TIEF to replicate the circles found in the stamp image I used and created the circle shape with one of the Framelits from the Circles Collection.

The Metallic Gold Baker's Twine is vanilla in color, so I made the card body and circle with Very Vanilla card stock and used the 2014-16 In Colors Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow for my color palette.

 Finally, Rhinestone Basic Jewels fit perfectly in the little circles on the tree, so to add some glimmer and shine, I've placed some throughout the tree.

In this second project, I've used the same elements, but added the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I reach for that set *all of the time*. The line of dots in this image was an extra bonus! 

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Father's Day Card: {Forever Young}

There's something very poetic about this stamp set's name and Father's Day...  I love the tree and thought it made a nice focal point for this masculine card.  

I entered this card in the 365 Cards Heavy Metal Challenge last week and also in the CardPatterns Sketch 169 challenge for this week.  The antique brad at the top adds heavy metal, but with a touch of panache.

The sentiment is crafted from a Decorative Label punch (which I had fun trimming) and the stamped image from Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched out with the Word Window punch.

The card stock colors are courtesy of my Color Coach:  Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue.  I wanted to use the Marina Mist striped Designer Series Paper (from the Subtles Patterns Stack), and that drove the rest of the color choices. 

The Crumb Cake piece with the tree stamped upon it was fed through my Big Shot with the Labels Collection Framelit and the Crumb Cake piece beneath it was sueded.

The flagged end of the Marina Mist Designer Series Paper was achieved using my 1-1/4" Square punch.

Happy Father's Day to the men in my life!  We love you!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps:  Forever Young (W122570, C122572), Teeny Tiny Wishes (W115370, C127802)

Paper:  Cajun Craze (119684), Crumb Cake (120953), Marina Mist (119682) and Bashful Blue (105120) Card Stocks and Subtles Collection Designer Series Paper Stack (117152)

Inks:  Cajun Craze  Classic (126965)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Labels Collection Framelits (125598), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Word Window Punch (119857), 1-1/4 inch Square Punch (119865), Antique Brads (117273), Linen Thread (104199), 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)

{Stamp Set Spotlight} Home for Christmas: Day 1

This is one of my favorite sets, namely for this image. I love the intricacy of the design; it can be completely watercolored or you can do what I did, and highlight just a few elements of the illustration.



I inked this image in Jet Black Staz-On ink because it is permanent ink and won't bleed when I apply color with the Blender Pen, Stampin' Write Marker or Aquapainter. I can be a little heavy-handed with those sometimes! I opt for Staz-On over embossing for this particular image because the finer elements of this image can get lost in embossing (the wispiness of the garland, for example).



Stampin' Up! Supplies:



Stamps: Home for Christmas, Teeny Tiny Wishes



Paper: Old Olive, Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stock

Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Basic Black and Old Olive Classics

Accessories: Real Red Stampin' Write Marker, Decorative Label, Modern Label, 1/2-inch Circle and Word Window Punches, Real Red and Basic Black Wide Grosgrain ribbons, Mini Glue Dots


Thanks for your visit! I hope this season, you find yourself "Home for Christmas," no matter where you are...

{Stamp Set Spotlight} Snow Swirled: Day 4

Care for a cuppa? This is one of my all-time favorite projects to make.

I'm a fan of all kinds of tea (except those which are licorice-flavored, but Mom gets those, so we're both happy)! What a fun thing to make several of and to keep on-hand for quick gifts. They're not only appropriate for Christmas time, though... How about one for a sick friend? Nothing beats a cold better than a steamy cup of lemon tea (or mint). Got a friend or family member far away whom you'd love to hug? Send a cup of tea instead! I'm thinking of Mom again (she's in the Rockies and I'm in the Pacific NW)...
Here's the inside, with sleeves for two bags of tea...

I don't have any Old Olive ribbon thin enough to thread this button, so I used a sliver of Old Olive card stock. With a gentle touch, you can sew your button right on (with the help of a Mini Glue Dot, of course)...

A little sponging around the "Merry Christmas" sentiment gives more depth to that piece of Very Vanilla. Stretch those supplies, Stampers!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper ("DSP"), Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Classics

Accessories: Snowflake, Modern Label, 1 3/4-inch Circle, Scallop Edge and Medium Oval Punches, Button, Very Vanilla narrow grosgrain, Stampin' Sponge, Mini Glue Dot, vanilla embroidery floss

I'll show you step-by-step how to make this beauty in tomorrow's post...

{Stamp Set Spotlight} Snow Swirled: Day 1

This is a simple gift box that was made from one sheet of card stock. It's called a 2-5-7-10 Box and it's super-easy to make! Here are the instructions. The first thing to do is stamp all over your card stock (I used the snowflakes from Snow Swirled in Old Olive for some tone-on-tone detail). Once you're done stamping, just follow the instructions for cutting and folding and you're set! If you're new to the 2-5-7-10 Box, may I suggest that you try it first with a piece of scratch paper, so that you don't wreck something precious...

Some details that I added to this box to give it extra interest include:

• Basic Rhinestones (119246, page 188, $4.95 for 150!)
• Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper (117159, page 174, $9.95 for 12 double-sided sheets)
• Distressed Edge (on the Cherry Cobbler piece), using the Cutter Kit, 106958, page 199, $16.95)
• Scallop Edge Border Punch along top (119882, page 200, $15.95)

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Snow Swirled (111690), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370)

Papers: Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Classics

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Cutter Kit, Basic Rhinestones, Paper Trimmer (with Scoring Blade), Modern Label Punch, Designer Label Punch, Stampin' Sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals, Narrow Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for visiting!

Button, button, I've Got a Button!

Recently, while clearing out my stampin' stash, I discovered a slew (and I mean a SLEW) of samey buttons. Thought I'd combine some with a few fun buttons (Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Tempting Turquoise). They're all retired buttons, but there's a whole collection of new colors available on page 186 of the Idea Book and Catalog.

--To add some pop to the card, I thought I'd use my scoring blade on my paper trimmer and score borderlines for each button. Simple to do, and adds a fun and inexpensive detail to the card (you've already got a trimmer, right?!).

--To add further "punch," I used the Word Window Punch on a piece of Real Red (stamped first with Teeny Tiny Wishes, because that's so much easier than lining up the stamp on the punched image, remember!).

--I also used my Big Shot and the Perfect Details Texturz Plate to mimic the scoring of the Pumpkin Pie piece. I lined up my Early Espresso piece just so on the plate so that only the front half of the card body caught the texture, leaving me a smooth surface on which to write.

--Speaking of Early Espresso, I used little slivers as "thread" and gently tied knots in my buttons. With a gentle touch, this is an easy, fun and inexpensive way to add to your project. Linen Thread is what I used to tie off the other buttons. All of them are easily adhered with Mini Glue Dots.

--Finally, this color scheme is brought to you by the fabulous Color Coach! Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Real Red (and I added Tempting Turquoise)... Thank heavens for a little help!

Thank you for your visit today!

And the Winner Is...

Exciting news! One of the challenge blogs with which I participate awarded me with a "Spotlight Designer" award last week! The blog is 365 Cards and the challenge for which I won was for a card that was inspired by the 365 Cards blog itself.

Pam, the lovely host at 365 Cards, just updated the blog's look and what struck me most about it was the beautiful colors and how it seemed like a stained glass window. I've been wanting to pop the pieces out of my Lattice Die Cut and make it look like a stained glass window, so this was just the challenge for me!

The 365 Cards blog is also full of these lovely fall colors, so I knew this would be my 2010 Thanksgiving card.

Here's a video with some hints which I hope will streamline your process. My software updated (without my permission) and I'm still learning the new tricks... :)

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and Whisper White card stocks

Ink: Early Espresso Classic

Accessories: Big Shot, Lattice Bigz die, Two-Way Glue, Modern Label and Word Window punches, Early Espresso grosgrain ribbon

{Challenge! Card Recipe}: Easter Bunny

Happy April!


April is one of my favorite months (my mom and eldest daughter are April Babies). Add to it that Easter's in April this year, and I'm egg-specially enjoying the fact that it's April today! Tulips are ready to bloom (daffies are already blooming around here) and the trees are leafing out...


For a card recipe challenge last week over at 365 Cards, I created this simple one... I chose the Easter Bunny image from Eight Great Greetings. The stamp comes with "Happy Easter" on the bottom, but I cut the image apart from the sentiment and mounted them on separate sides of the wood block. This is a simple adaptation you can make as you mount your stamps to make them that much more versatile. I did this with my Fun and Fast Notes set, too.


The image was colored with watercolor pencils and a Blender Pen and the bunny's circle was sponged with So Saffron Classic Ink to make it stand out.


Stampin' Up! Supplies:


Stamps: Eight Great Greetings and Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Brocade Blue, So Saffron and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue and So Saffron Classics

Accessories: Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pen, 1 3/4-inch Circle Punch, Brocade Blue and Very Vanilla wide grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Sponge

Happy Easter, Stampers! Thanks for your visit!

{Sunday: Sketchy!} Easter Tulips

Hello and Happy Easter! Here's the sketch we were to follow at 365 Cards for the Super Sunday Sketch Challenge:

And here's my take on the challenge:
Have you seen my tutorial video about tying a simple knot? I used that technique here in the ribbon embellishment of this card...
A little sueded paper and watercoloring add to the softness of this card:

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: A Flower for All Seasons, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Melon Mambo, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stocks

Inks: Basic Brown Classic

Accessories: Melon Mambo grosgrain ribbon, Whisper White and Pretty in Pink 1/4-inch grosgrain ribbons, Whisper White Designer Hardware, Watercolor Pencils, Blender Pens, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Hope your week is a good one! We're on Spring Break around here, so we'll be having PJ Days and lots of scrapping and Easter fun... Thanks for your visit! Please drop me a line and let me know you were here!

{Challenge! Ad Inspiration}: Easter Basket

Happy spring!

Over at 365 Cards, we were asked to create a card inspired by this ad:Here's my card: I sueded a piece of Bliss Blue card stock (did you catch my video this week about Distressing techniques?) and then tore strips of Creamy Caramel to make the basket. I scored along another strip of Creamy Caramel for the handle.

For the eggs, I stamped Eastern Blooms flowers in and then used my Large Oval punch to make the eggs.

The Modern Label punch and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set give me my sentiment...
Another video is on its way... bow-tying!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Eastern blooms, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Whisper White, Bliss Blue, Old Olive and Creamy Caramel card stocks

Inks: Brilliant Blue, Bliss Blue and Old Olive Classics

Accessories: Large Oval and Modern Label punches, Paper Cutter with Scoring Blade, Whisper White Narrow Grosgrain ribbon, 1/16-inch Punch, Linen Thread

Have a great weekend! Thanks for your visit!

A Woodsy Happy Birthday to Uncle Coot!

First of all, I wanted to wish a very happy fortieth birthday to Uncle Coot! We love you very much and are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Uncle Coot is an avid outdoorsman, so for his birthday card, I went to one of my all-time favorite sets, Lovely as a Tree. Since he is also a woodworker extraordinaire (he does exquisite homebuilding, finishing work and has built some amazing furniture for my kids), I was also anxious to use the background stamp, Woodgrain. In an effort to capture rugged outdoorsman in papercraft, I opted to use three of my favorite techniques for texture. First, for the Bravo Burgundy piece, I sueded it and mounted it on a piece of Very Vanilla. The second rugged piece is a crinkled and crumpled piece of Brilliant Blue that I crumpled big-time, smoothed out, and then fed through my Big Shot with the Top Note Bigz die. Finally, for the piece with the pine tree, I used the Distressing Tool from the Cutting Tools to rough up the edges.

The birthday sentiment was inked in Garden Green then stamped on Very Vanilla and punched out using the Modern Label Punch. Finally, to make it stand out more and to tie it in with the rest of the card, I inked the edges with Bravo Burgundy. It's adhered to the Brilliant Blue piece with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Woodgrain, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Garden Green, Brilliant Blue, Bravo Burgundy and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Garden Green and Bravo Burgundy Classics and VersaMark

Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up! Top Note Bigz die, Distressing Tool, Modern Label Punch and Stampin' Dimensionals

Thank you so much for your visit to the studio! I will leave you with the beautiful morning we were given today... Not very rainy for the Pacific Northwest in January, but you won't hear me complaining!

Cat and Mouse

Over the summer, I had the pleasure of teaching some basic technology classes for the district in which I started teaching (before DD#1 was born). I had some overdue "Thank You" notes to send and the technology challenge at 365 Cards came at just the right time. The challenge was to be inspired by technology in your card. My additional challenge was to create cards suitable for men and women, as I had both to thank...

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps: Computer Quips, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Papers: Night of Navy, Baroque Burgundy, More Mustard, Bordering Blue and Very Vanilla card stocks

Inks: Night of Navy, Baroque Burgundy, and More Mustard Classics

Accessories: Blender Pens, Twill Tape, Linen Thread, 1/16-inch punch, Word Slot Punch, Paper Piercing Tool

Thanks for visiting! It feels good to be stamping again!

P.S. Oh, and what do you think of my header at the top of my blog? I'm trying to make one on my own that stands out and gives something interesting to look at... Thoughts? Suggestions? Tutorials to make it rock? :) Thanks!

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!