HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I have been so busy lately with little time left to do what I love, stamping. So when I went to find a project today that was Halloween themed, I realized that I had posted all of them. I then decided I would go back into my archives to find a card I had done previously. I did this card last year but thought I would post it today. The supplies that I used for this card were:

PAPER: Lovely Lilac (RETIRED), Old Olive, Basic Black, Whisper White

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Black Marker, White Gel Pen, Large Oval Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch

Although the Lovely Lilac has retired, you are able to substitute it with another color. "Frankie" is still an oldie but goodie. Happy Halloween!

Another Card From Stamford

Here is another card that Kim designed and we made from the "Just Believe" stamp set that Kim gave us. She used very earthy colors for this card. The supplies that she used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Just Believe

PAPER: Whisper White, Crumb Cake

INK: Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Chocolate Chip

ACCESSORIES: 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon

I quickly posted this card because I forgot this morning before I left for Susan's. We were working on projects for our next class. I was also working on a project for Lori's baby shower. So it was a very busy day. Hope you enjoyed your day.

My Dear Kind and Wonderful Friend

On Sunday, I attended Kim's downline meeting at Erin's place. We did things a bit differently at this meeting and did a shoebox swap. This was the card that I made. It is a Triangle Trifold card. I had not made one of these for years. Buffy taught me how to do one when I first started with the group. I decided for this meeting, I wanted to do something that I had not done in a while. So after some thought, I came up with this card. As you can see, it is a card that fold up into a small square, It is a unique way to send a sentiment to someone. For this card I used"

STAMP SETS: All Holidays, Baroque Motifs, Occasional Quotes

PAPER: Daffodil Delight, Peach Parfait. Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Pear Pizazz, Sunny Garden DSP

INK: Pear Pizazz, Peach Parfait

ACCESSORIES: Poppy Parade 1/2" Stitched Poly Ribbon, Blender Pen, Poppy Parade Marker

I love this color combination because it looks so cheerful. Besides the sentiment, colors can also convey feelings. I think the colors here are a good example of that. Using a unique card fold such as a Joy Fold or Triangle Trifold gives your card extra Pizazz. Anyone who receives a card with a different fold will feel special. They think that you really care about them if you took the time to do something a little special while creating a card for them.

Well I am off and running again. I am going to bake that final batch of cookies for the shower and order the food. Soon this shower will be over and I won't know what to do with myself. I take that last statement back. I know what I will do, I will stamp, stamp, stamp! Go out and enjoy your day!

Angelic Joy

Just a quick post today. Here is another quick and simple card to use at the Holiday Season. This card was made with the stamp set, "Angelic Joy" which can be found in the new Holiday Mini catalog. this is a perfect card to send out to friends and family who like receiving religious cards. I colored the angel by using Aquapainters. Shimmery Paint was used to create the shimmery angel wings, halo, and robe. I think it highlights the angel quite well. he supplies that I used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Angelic Joy

PAPER: Very Vanilla, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Marina Mist DSP

INK: Black Staz-On, More Mustard, Blushing Bride, Marina Mist

ACCESSORIES: Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Pearl Mist Shimmer Paint, Aquapainters, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensionals

I had a customer who really like this stamp set tell me that she thought that this stamp set would also be good to use for sympathy cards in addition to Christmas cards. I agree with her. I think the angel and the sentiments in the set could be used for other occasions. I enjoy talking and sharing ideas with my customers. I think that sharing ideas is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Well I am off and running for the day. I want to start to bake cookies for the shower. I do not want to let everything go to the last minute. I hope that you enjoy your day!

My Bag

I have told you many times that I do not like to make bags. I get so nervous making them. My friend Buffy, loves to make bags and makes them all the time. I wish I felt more confident when it comes to making bags. Susan and Buffy keep telling me that I should practice more and it would come more easy to me. This was the bag that I made in Stamford when Cindyrae showed us how to make them. The supplies that I used for this bag were:

PAPER: Greenhouse Gala DSP, Whisper White

ACCESSORIES: 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Jumbo Eyelets, Crop-o-dile, Scallop Edge Border Punch

I do like my bag and hopefully I will overcome by "Bagophobia". Since my daughter is having a baby in December, I think I will try to make a bag using the DSP "Nursery Suite Specialty Paper". When I do you will be the first to see it.

Tomorrow I will be busy with our third in our Holiday Stamp - A - Stack series. So I will not get a chance to post tomorrow. Go out and enjoy your day and your weekend!

October Technique Class- Project 3

This is the last card in my October Technique Classes. This card was created by using the Colored Soot technique. I use this technique in the Fall because it just seems to lend itself more to Fall cards. The only thing using this technique is that you have to be very careful when doing it, otherwise you can have some very serious consequences. To get that soot, you must use a burning candle. So this is something that you do do not want young children trying. Sometimes I wonder if I should be trying it! I really like the effect that the it gives those colored leaves. I used the "French Foliage" stamp set. The technique piece is the dark patch on the left hand side of the card. I know that it is difficult to see . This was the fifth picture that I took of this card. It was very hard to get a good picture of this card. But I know if you would see it in person, you would love it.

Well this afternoon, I will continue to paint the centerpieces for the Baby Shower. After the shower, I will post pictures of the decorations and centerpieces. I will admit that besides the invitations I did not stamp anything but I have been involved doing things. Well the rain is finally going away and it is to be a nice day. So go out and enjoy your day!

Delightful Regional

I had such a good time at Regionals in Baltimore the other week. The best part of Regionals is that I was one of the winners of the Prize Patrol. Here I am with the stamp set that I won, "French Foliage". That is such a beautiful stamp set which is available in the Holiday Mini. Several times during Regional, they post 9 Demonstrator names and their Demo number up on the screen. Of course if you are a winner, you get to stand up, jump around and scream until they come over with your prize. Kim was able to get my picture with the girl who gave me my prize. Do I look happy here or what! What a great day!

October Technique Class- Project 2

The technique that I used on this card was Serigraph. That was used in that large multi-colored rectangle on the card. I used the "Days of Gratitude" stamp set on this card. Serigraph is a collage looking technique which means there is a lot of different pieces , colors, and shapes. A collage is very busy and that is why for this card I purposely made the rest of the card more simple. By keeping the rest of the card more simple, your eye focuses more on the more decorative collage part. For this card I tried to stick with the traditional colors that are normally used to convey an autumn feel.

The last few days here, it is really beginning to feel like Fall. The temperatures are beginning to drop and the leaves have started to change their colors. This is my favorite time of year and I enjoy it so much. So now you go out and enjoy the day!

October Technique Class- Project 1

This is one of the cards that we will be making this month at my Technique classes. This is called a Shadow Card. It is a quick and easy way to make a three dimensional card which will fold flat and fit in an envelope. It is fun card to give and your friends and family will love to display it. The set that I used for this card is an older set but still in the catalog. I loved this set as soon as I saw it. It reminds me of all the older farms in Fall that are in the area that I live. I actually used 3 different stamp sets for this card even though there is not much stamping on the card. The stamp sets that I used for this card were "Days of Gratitude" ( the acorn ), "Harvest Home" ( the farm scene ), and "Autumn Days" (the leaves ).

Cards and scrapbook pages come in all different types. Some are simple and some are more complex. There is nothing wrong with a simple card. This one card is very simple but makes a statement. If you wanted you could add a sentiment to the front or stamp your sentiment or message on the back. This card looks better in person. It is hard to see the depth of the card which creates the Shadow Box effect.

I am off to do those pesky annoying chores that have to be done today. But I am hoping that this weekend I will be able to get some fun stamping done. My next big project for the next 2 weeks is to finish the centerpieces for the shower. There is always something that needs to be done. I hope all of you can go out today and enjoy your day!

Love At First Stamp at Regionals

This started out as a project that we worked on at Regionals. One of the projects in our Make & Take packets was a scrapbook page. Of course the "Day of Gratitude" stamp set was used to create this project. Being the creative people that we are, we all stamped and placed our leaves and sentiment in different places making each page very special. Doing that made each one of our pages looked different except for the photo. If you look closely, you can see all of us from the group who attended Regionals. Seven of us were able to attend and what a good time we had! Our upline Kim is sitting in the middle of the picture. For this project we used:

STAMP SET: Day of Gratitude

PAPER: Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Early Espresso

INK: Old Olive, Cajun Craze

ACCESSORIES: 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch

Of course on the way home from Baltimore, we HAD to stop at IKEA! That is where we picked up this frame which was perfect to finish off our project. What a nice idea and keepsake from a great weekend together. Enjoy your day!

Regional Project 2

This is the second project that we made at Regionals during the Make & Take sessions. this card was also made with the "Day of Gratitude" stamp set. This is a very quick and simple card to make. I love the colors that were used because it oozes that it is Fall. The supplies used for this card were:

STAMP SET: Day of Gratitude

PAPER: Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Whisper White

INK: River Rock

ACCESSORIES: 3/4" Circle Punch, Gold Brad, Piercing Tool

It is amazing how many different ways that you can use this stamp set. I would never had to use this stamp from the set to create a pattern. Sometimes you just have to take a stamp and just experiment and try a lot of different things. You just need to play! You will be amazed at what you come up with. So my tip for today is...Don't think that there is only one way to do things when it comes to stamping. Don't be afraid, just play around with it and you might be surprised what you come up with. Now go out and enjoy the day!

Regional Project

Sorry I have not posted lately. I have been busy running Dad to the Doctor, trying to get Baby Shower centerpieces done and looking for a new stove. While I was in Baltimore at Regionals, my stove stopped working AGAIN! Since we bought it 6 years ago, it has had this one part replaced 5 times! This stove has been a real lemon. And although it is not that old, we felt now was the time to replace it instead of having it fixed again. We decided that we did not want to keep dumping money into something was never going to be fixed properly. So after a very busy week, I just had to sit down and post something.

At Regionals, we received the stamp set "DAY OF GRATITUDE". Although it was not my favorite when I first saw it in the Holiday Mini Catalog, I really liked it when I saw how many different ways that you could use it. This is one of the 6 projects that we made there. I thought this card was so nice. You can even see the stamping done on the envelope. The supplies used for this project were:

STAMP SET: Day of Gratitude

PAPER: Cajun Craze. Whisper White, River Rock

INK: Cajun Craze, River Rock

ACCESSORIES: Piercing Tool, Library Clips, River Rock, Cajun Craze and Old Olive Markers

Because this stamp set is very intricate, using the Stampin' Markers is a great way to add a variety of colors to the stamp. This week is another busy week but hopefully I will make time to post more projects this week. I am off to continue painting the centerpieces. Hope you enjoy your day!

Regional Group Gift

Well I am back from Regionals and we all had a WONDERFUL time! It is amazing how talented these people are. I got a lot of great swaps. I can not believe all the different ideas that everyone comes up with. I always come back from a Regional with so many new and good ideas. Can't wait to share them with my customers.

When our "Love At First Stamp" group goes to various events, we always make little gifts for each other. This is the gift that I made for everyone. It is another Anti-Bacterial Gel holder. This is a more elegant looking version of the one that I made for Pennie for her event 2 weeks ago. The supplies that I used for this project were:

STAMP SETS: All Holidays ( for sentiment inside ), Elements of Style

PAPER: Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette DSP, Melon Mambo DSP

INK: Early Espresso

ACCESSORIES: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Pearls, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Beautiful Embosslit, Large Oval Punch, Pocket Size Anti- Bacterial Gel, Sticky Strip

Tonight I have a workshop at my friend Jodie's. She is having some of our friends over to make these holders but only we are going to make them with a Halloween theme. Every year she invites this group over to make something with a Halloween theme. She invited them over after work and is also making dinner for us and some others will be bringing dessert. I know we will be having a great time tonight. Nothing is better than stamping and eating with friends! Enjoy your day!

Regional Swap

This is one of my 2 swaps that I made for Regionals in Baltimore. I thought this would be an easy card but it used more supplies than my other swap! I think that I have a lot going on but it is more subtle. I really like this card and I might just make this for my Christmas card for my friends and family. The part that took me the longest to do was coloring the bells. The supplies that I used for this swap were:

STAMPS SETS: En Francois, Bells and Boughs, Gifts of Christmas

PAPER: Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Brushed Gold, Naturals Ivory

INK: More Mustard, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Versamark

ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Matchbox and Tags Die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Gold EP, Heating Tool, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Blender Pens, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Alcohol

If you look very closely, the Chery Cobbler Strip between the Artichoke and Gold was run through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder. I then took a mixture of Shimmery paint and alcohol and spritzed it over the embossed piece. It gives such a neat look. It has just enough glimmer and sparkle to create interest. You are probably are wondering where I used the En Francois stamp set. I used it on the right side of the card. I stamped it on Cherry Cobbler with Cherry Cobbler ink. It was subtle enough to add texture to the card but not enough to take away from the card.

Well, I am off to Baltimore. Will let you know all about it when I get back. You enjoy your weekend! I know all of us in Baltimore will!