Merry Christmas!

What a busy year!  I keep telling my husband to help me say "no".  Sometimes I just can't help myself!  This year I made a pretty big decision to try to go back to school.  I started taking a class online and hope to get into a program for a graduate degree.  Stay tuned as I wait for word on whether I am accepted ;0).

In the mean time, I still love paper crafting, I just have to limit what I do as time is pretty precious these days.

Nonetheless, I still made our Christmas Cards this year.  I started later than usual and still had them in the mail in time (I hope) for a Christmas delivery.

I love the deer head silhouette (not a Stampin' Up! product)!  Such a simple image and yet so elegant.  The rustic look of the hardwood background helps put the deer in the right light! And the bling of the gorgeous red foil cardstock is the perfect amount of fun for this card!

Simple and yet it took a little to make them!

Wishing you and your family a merry and bright holiday season!

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Negativity is great!

For our Christmas cards this year I decided to use some die cut images for the focal point of the card. As I cut 100 pieces for our cards I started looking at the negative image that was cut and thought I would try to make something out of them.  Why waste?!?

These gift tags were so easy to make!  I cut the 6x6 paper from the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Pack (Stampin' Up! 2015 Holiday catalog) into 2"by 6" strips and then used the scalloped tag punch to punch the top of the tag.  Then I simply layered and stapled the negative images to the front of the tag along with some pom pom trim.  I love the way they turned out!  So fun!!

I had to make a wine bottle tag as well!  If I would have thought of this earlier I would have had 100 tags laying around!!

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Stampin' Celebration SC119 Going Worldy

Welcome back to the Stampin' Celebration monthly sketch challenge (SC119).  It was nice to take a break from making Holiday themed projects for this sketch!

I decided to use new products from the Stampin' Up! 2016 Occasions Catalog that goes live January 5th,  A lot of beautiful images and great products that I can't wait to use!   The Going Global collection is a fun set!  I love the embossing folder and the coordinating designer series paper pack has a lot of fun designs!

This is a really easy sketch and I can't wait to see what other projects I create by using it!

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Holiday Fun with the Crafty Chicks!

I had the honor of hosting craft night with the neighborhood Crafty Chicks club! This is the second year they invited me to design some holiday themed projects for them to create.

Here are some pictures of the projects I designed for them.  All projects used ©Stampin Up! supplies from either the 2015 Holiday catalog or the 2015-2016 Annual Catalog.  The projects were fun to create and I was able to get a lot of inspiration from my fellow papercrafters!

The first project was candy holder using a simple sour cream container design. We used the 6x6 Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Pack to make the container and then decorated it with a simple tag.  The 6x6 paper makes a nice big container so you can get a lot of candy kisses in the tube!

The Gift Tags were created using the Wonderland Stamp set and Winter Wonderland designer series paper.  I love the gold foil in this paper and used it as inspiration.

We also created a bottle tag (wine bottle, or in this case a bourbon bottle, hand soap, whatever your bottle of choice might be).  This project used the Peaceful Pines stamp set and matching die set as well as the Christmas Greetings thinlits dies.  Lots of fun bling on this project!

The last project is a gift card holder using the new Square Pillow Box Thinlits Die.  I love the rustic look on this card and whole-heartedly admit that this is very much inspired by Erica Cerwin at Pink Buckaroo Designs.  The pillow box pieces were stamped with the Hardwood Stamp set using Soft Suede ink.  The greeting is from the Project Life Seasonal Snapshot photopolymer stamp set.  I made a fork bow with the linen thread to give the bow some extra loops.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the projects!  We had fun making them.

Supply Lists

Making Spirits Bright Candy (sour cream) Container

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Wonderland Gift Tags

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Night of Navy Peace Bottle Tag

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Rustic Pillow Box Gift Card Holder

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Stampin' Celebration Peace

I am so excited it's December.  It's been a long year, very busy!  This month I get to use some saved up vacation time which gives me a lot of time to play in my craft room!  Good thing as I have not been able to make my Holiday cards yet!  Only 7 more work days left for me and then I will be free for 2 and a half weeks!  My cards may go out a little later than usual but they should still arrive in time.

Anyway, my excitement can wait a few more days!  I love this month's inspiration challenge at Stampin Celebration!  The buttons are adorable and I love the colors.

For my project I used the buttons as inspiration!  I kept the color combination at Very Vanilla and Kraft paper.

I used the chevron (embossing folder) in the background and the deer head silhouette (not Stampin' Up!) in champagne glitter paper (retired).  The greeting is from the Peaceful Wreath photopolymer stamp set.

I love the simplicity of the card!  Perfect for a busy season!

Hope you get a chance to play along with this challenge!  Looking forward to seeing what inspired you.  And may you stay peaceful this holiday season!

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Some Penguin Fun!

I needed to make some tags for the some holiday gifts and fell in love with a card that Kimberly Van Diepen posted at her blog Stampin by the Sea.

I loved this card so much I almost bought the stamp set, Christmas Cutie.  I didn't purchase it originally and was really close to doing so just because of this card!  Happens to me all the time.  However, this time I used a little self-control and decided to try to see what I could do using the stamps I already had.  

So here is my version of Kimberly's technique.

I decided to use the Snow Place stamp set from the 2015 Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog.  I decided that the Santa hat would help give this little guy a festive feel.

I loved the way Kimberly used the vellum to soften the background circle so I used the silver vellum paper to soften the real red 2" circle.  A little silver thread adds a little flair!

This tag turned out really cute.  I can't wait to use it to wrap some gifts!!

Helpful hint: Since the tag topper punches fit tags that are 2" wide, you can get 10 tags that are 2" by 4-1/4" tags or 8 tags that are 2" by 5-1/2".

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Stampin Celebration Grateful Sketch

Welcome to the November Stampin' Celebration sketch challenge!  I love sketch challenges!  Having a suggestion helps jump start the creativity and yet leaves enough room for the imagination to run wild.  What fun!

For my project I decided to use go with an autumn theme given the time of year.  I hope you aren't too tired of seeing autumn themed cards.  

I wanted to use the Lighthearted Leaves stamp set from the Stampin' Up 2015 Holiday Catalog.  I love the fun images.  The Into the Woods designer series paper from the same catalog helped to inspire the colors.  

I decided to make the focal point a banner and filled it in with a few different elements,  The greeting is from For All Things wood mount stamp set (2015-2016 Stampin' Up Catalog).

Hope you are inspired to play along with us!

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Stampin' Celebration Inspiration!

I was so excited to have the new Stampin' Celebration to help inspire me today!  I have not been in my craft room for over a month!  It was nice to clean it up and start fresh.  An inspiration also helped as my creativity is not flowing so well these days.  Probably been confined for too long. 

Anyway, nothing like a deadline and pretty pictures to get one moving again!

For this challenge I decided to use Tip Top Taupe and Delightful Dijon as my color scheme.  A beautiful combination of colors!  I also loved the rosette with the bird so I decided to use that as my focal point.

I layered a few elements such as the white jute ribbon that I sponged with Top Top Taupe ink and the scalloped Delightful Dijon cardstock.  

The card went together pretty quickly once I started putting it all together.  Maybe taking a month off actually helps clear the mind enough that I don't over think the design...

Can't wait to see what you create with the inspiration provided by Stampin' Celebration!

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Stapin' Celebration Sketch Challenge - Trio

Welcome back to the Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge.  I love what the design team created with this challenge.  Such fun and creative designs! 

The trio of triangles in this month's challenge inspired me and I thought I would have a little fun!

I purchased the Snow Place Photopolymer Stamp Set  and coordinating framelits dies from the Stampin' Up! 2015 Holiday Catalog.  What a cute set!

I love the penguins and so I thought it would be cute to make them into a pyramid!  Of course, from there the inspiration just oozed...  

I love the sign and the scarf.  I added the snowflake wooden element, which I colored with whisper white craft ink so it matched the card a little better.  I did not use the framelits for this card and decided to fussy cut each of the images. I thought they were simple enough and it was therapeutic!!  Sometimes it's what I need.

This is so cute!  I can't wait to use it.  I know exactly who I cant to give this card to (in a few months).

Can't wait to see what you design!

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Stanpin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge

Time for another Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge (SC114).

I just love the images in this month's challenge.  So many things drew me in, I even made a silver tassel with the new silver cord from the Stampin' Up! 2015 holiday catalog.  But alas, will have to save that for another project.

I decided to use the florals in my design.  I loved the baby's breath and wanted to try to create them!  I made small pompoms with white baker's twine and mounted them to the leaves from the Bouquet Bigz L Die from Stampin' Up!  The orange flower was also made from the Bouquet Bigz die. 

The added some color to the corrugated cardboard using a brayer and Tangeriine Tango ink.  I also colored white cotton ribbon with Night of Navy ink.

The greeting is from the Endless Thanks stamp set and I die cut the label using the Notetag Punch.

The pillow box die is the new Square Pillow Box Die Thinlit from the Stampin' Up 2015 Holiday Catalog.  I decided to use the Hardwood stamp image to give a rustic feel to the box and to make a nice backdrop for the flowers.  I stamped the hardwood image using versamark and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

I like how the box turned out and I can't wait to give it to a co-worked who helped repair a necklace I bought!

Hope you enjoyed my gift box!  I had a lot of fun making it.

I can't wait to see what inspires you this month!

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Colour Me BIrthday!

Wow, can't believe September is over already!  I had such a great time playing along with the creative designers at the Colour Me Challenge!  It was an honor to design along side them and to be invited into their blog.  I really love the color combinations they create and plan to play along in the future!  

The color challenge (CMCC#91) for this week is a choice!

I decided to use the darker set of colors to match the fall weather we are feeling here in Chicago.

I need to catch up on some birthday cards so I have them on hand when needed!  I also wanted to try use a technique to change things up.  While I love the background stamps Stampin' Up! has for us to use, sometimes it's nice to create something unique!

For this card I sprayed a piece of whisper white cardstock with wateer and then used an aquapainter to add Lost Lagoon and Delightful Dijon ink to the smaller rectangle background.  You have to work fast because the water dries quickly and the paper may start to pill a little.  I love the way it turned out.

I decided to add a little interest to the card by adding the monochromatic scallops to the base.

The butterfly has some silver thread behind it to add a little flare.

This color combination is gorgeous!  I really like the Delightful Dijon cardstock.  Really all of the 2015-2017 In Colors from Stampin' Up! are just gorgeous!  

Well, that's it for today!  Can't wait to see what you create with the color choices!  Both combinations are beautiful.

Thanks for following me this month and I really appreciate the encouraging words!  

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Colour Me Thoughtful

Welcome back!  I have been so excited to be a guest for the Colour Me card challenge the past few weeks!  Such a fun challenge and tremendous talent.  I am inspired by what the team creates!
This week's challenge is a fun color combination (CMCC #90).

This is such a versatile combination, I love the fall image and yet these colors can work with just about any theme.

I needed a sympathy card so I decided to use the You've Got This stamp set for my project.  With Old Olive in the mix it seemed like a no brainer to use a floral theme.  I have to be honest, I bought this stamp set back in May and have not used it yet!  I thought I better use it before the holiday stamps start rolling in lest it get lost in the shuffle.

For the background I used Crushed Curry and stamped off the color once before stamping on the whisper white cardstock.  I didn't want the crushed color to be too dark in the background.

For the flower and leaves I stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with black embossing powder and then fussy cut the flower and the leaves.  The flower is popped up with dimensionals to add a little 3-d effect.

I was pleasantly surprised at how mounting the greeting with tempting turquoise cardstock added a nice pop of color to the card without taking away from the focal point of the flower.  And layering the whisper white cardstock on the three different background layers draws the colors together nicely.

It's amazing what the design team did with these colors!  Can't wait to see what inspires you.

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Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge - Christmas wishes

Happy Monday everyone!  Time for another Stampin' Celebration Sketch Challenge (SC113).

I decided to make another Christmas Card since I fear the time will fly by so fast!

I love the Joyful Season Stamp set in the Stampin' Up! 2015 Holiday Catalog! In all honesty, when I first saw this stamp set I wasn't too sure.  Looking at what everyone has done with the stamp set help solidify the purchase!

I admit, I cheated a little and switched the sentiment and images ;0). And the grunge is in opposite corners (oops, guess my memory is not what it was).
But I love the end result and while this won't be the Holiday Card I send to my family and friends, it's nice to have for those special people in my life!  Too much fussy cutting!

Can't wait to see what you create with this challenge.

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Grateful Mashup

I am so happy!  I had a significant amount of time this weekend to make cards so I was able to play along with a challenge or two!  I know the next few weeks for me will not give me time to craft so I was especially happy to have the time this weekend!

I decided to play along with the Friday Mashup Challenge 226.  The inlaid die-cutting is a new technique for me so it was a nice challenge.

I decided to use Leaflets Framelites from Stampin' Up! for the inlay.  I just bought this set and was excited to be able to use it.

I did not use the sketch for the Mash-up so I guess technically I didn't mash anything up.  I actually borrowed the design in the (Video)  the design team used to explain the technique.  There isn't even any stamping on this card!

I love the idea of layering the greeting so that the various colors peak through the side view. It's very pretty!

I think I need more practice with this technique but all and all it was fun.

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Colour Me Birthday

Back again for a new Colour Me Design Challenge, CMCC #89!

I love the colors in this challenge.  Peacocks are beautiful and the blues and greens they have in their feathers are just gorgeous!

I decided to use these colors to make a birthday card.  I was hoping it would turn out somewhat masculine, or at least not girly!  I needed a few cards for some teenage boys this month;0).

For this card I used the Amazing Birthday stamp set from Stampin Up!.  I like using markersto ink up the Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday to You stamp and then fussy cut and layer.  Such a fun versatile stamp!

I used the star punch and the confetti star punch to add some color and pop to the white background.  I just love this effect.  The curled paper and the silver metallic thread add to the celebration!

Hope you enjoyed the card and the projects from the other design team members!

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Colour Me Merry!

Welcome back to another Colour Me challenge (CMCC #88)!  

This week's colour challenge is Real Red and Lost Lagoon.  For this colour challenge I decided on a Christmas card.  It seems early to me, but the way time goes by these days, perhaps it's not early enough!

I still love the rustic look of the Hardwood background stamp from Stampin' Up! It's so versatile and really adds character to any project!  I decided to keep the card simple with an ornament and greeting.  

My other favorite Stampin' Up! product is the Greetings Thinlits Die so when I saw the Christmas Greetings Thinlits dies in the 2015 Holiday Catalog I could not wait to use them!  While difficult to see in the photo, I die cut the greeting using red foil paper.  It adds a nice shine to the card!

I am inspired to start making my holiday cards for this year.  I will certainly need a little time to get the card designed and then replicate!

I am excited about seeing what you create with these color combinations!

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Sweet and Starry SC Inspiration Challenge

Welcome back.  It's time for another Stampin' Celebration! inspiration challenge!  

I needed a baby card for our former Nanny.  She was married about 2 years ago and expecting their first child.  Such a sweet time for them!  

Confession, I actually made this card for the sketch challenge we just finished but decided to use it for this inspiration challenge instead.  The colors were perfect for this inspiration as well as the baby theme.

I used Sweet Lil' Things Designer Series Paper from the Stampin' Up! 2015-2016 Annual Catalog.  I loved the images as they could be for a baby and yet the images are versatile enough to be used for other occasions as well.

I wanted to bring a rustic effect to the card so I used burlap ribbon and a wood grain stamp for the star.  For the woodgrain star, after stamping the woodgrain I die cut 3 of the smallest stars from the Stars Framelits collection and then glued them together.  I wanted a larger darker star behind the top star to add contrast on the burlap.  I had to make the layer by die cutting the next size from Early Espresso cardstock and then trimming the star down so it was not so large.  

I used linen thread to hang the onesie from the star.  A small glitter gold star and a fussy cut greeting finish the effect of the card.

I guess with all of the blue and brown color this could be a card for a boy.  If it's a girl I may have to make a new card ;0).

Hope you join us for this challenge!  I could see using this sketch for Holiday cards as well!

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So Sweet for a Baby Girl

A fairly quick post today to show you a card I made for a friend.  She had a baby girl on September 1st.  I originally made her a different card (check back tomorrow) and apparently my instincts were not exactly on cue.  So....

I decided to use the retro sketches rs#180 as inspiration for the new card.

For my card I decided to go with a rustic theme and stars.

I stamped Top Top Taupe cardstock with the Hardwood background stamp using Top Top Taupe stampin' pad and then punched the stars with the medium star punch (all Stampin' Up! products in the annual catalog).

The onesie is from the Baby's First Framelits Die set cut from Blushing Bride cardstock. And the greeting is from the Hello Life stamp set (you will see I liked this look ;0) ).  Layering on some stars punched with gold glimmer paper and the confetti star punch added some additional texture and bling!

Now, off to get a gift and mail everything off soon!

Hope you have a great day!

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Colour Me with Flowers

I am so excited!  I was asked to be a guest designer for the Colour Me challenge team!  I am happy to participate and it's a great way to push me to take time to do the things I enjoy!  So thanks to the team for including me!  

  I love the idea of designing with a given set of colours.  It's a great way to push the creativity factor!  This week's challenge, CMCC #87, is Mossy Meadow.

I love the monochromatic look.  For this challenge I decided to make an anniversary card using one of my new favorite sets, Wild about Flowers from the Stampin' Up 2015-2016 annual catalog. 

I decided to make light background using the Watercolor Wash background stamp by stamping off the first time on scrap paper and then stamping the image on the cardstock.  This way the background is not too dark and the leaves from Wild about Flowers can stand out in front of the background.

For the flowers I used the 4-petal flower punch from Itty Bitty Accents punches and folded, curled and cut out petals to get the various looks of each flower.  I like the 3-dimensional effect of the flowers.

I hope you enjoy the card!  Visit the other design team members from Colour Me challenge!  They are a talented bunch with some great ideas to share!

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Anniversary Sketch

Welcome back to another sketch challenge from Stampin' Celebration!

I decided to celebrate my in-laws anniversary with this card!  50 years for them this year.  Such an amazing thing!  They just got back from an Alaskan cruise and land trip so I thought some bright flowers wold warm them right back up!

For this card I used the Wild About Flowers photopolymer stamp set from Stampin' Up!  I bought this stamp set from the annual catalog because a colleague at work was retiring and I liked the sentiment.  I ended up falling in love with the wild flowers and have enjoyed using them on a few different projects!

I thought they would look nice on a tag against the hardwood background stamp!  And I like the way the Pool Party ribbon and greeting help balance the card.

I am sure my In-Laws will love it!

Happy day to all, what inspired you about the Stampin' Celebration sketch??

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