No Peeking!

Hello Stampers!
Happy Friday and start of the weekend to all!
Thank you for taking the time to drop by for a visit.  I appreciate my readers!

As you are reading this, I'm over on the other side of the country, visiting Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, courtesy of Stampin'Up! and you, my wonderful customers.  Thank you for all of your support!   This trip is a smaller one--- it's called the getaway trip--- and I decided to make it a real getaway and leave the laptop at home.  I'll have photos to share once I return home, but I don't want to spend any of the short time we have there holed up in my room blogging and posting pictures.  I hope you understand.

The card I have for you today features a cute and whimsical set from the annual catalog called "No Peeking."  (You can take a peek on page 23).  Not only does this set make cute Christmas cards, but it also is great for making gift tags.  Isn't this a fun card??

The colors are Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeaid and Very Vanilla.  I pulled the colors directly from the Designer Paper called Festival of Prints.  This great paper is 4 1/2 by 6 1/2 in size and the pad contains 48 sheets for only $6.95. Check out this great Designer Paper on page 20 of the Holiday catalog.  I added some texture to the card with the new Chevron embossing folder and the ever-popular Perfect Polka Dots folder. Mr. Cutie Patootie Penguin was stamped in Cherry Cobbler and he's wearing a scarf of Cherry Cobbler baker's twine.  I admit I went a little punchy on this card ( it uses four different punches!)--- the 2 3/8 inch Scallop Circle punch, the 2 1/2 inch Circle punch, the 1 3/4 inch Scallop Circle punch (behind the Jolly Christmas sentiment) and the Decorative Label punch. 
With some quick stamping using only one color and some quick punching, this card went together like a dream, which is what you want a Christmas card to do. 

Have a great weekend and enjoy those warm temps ( I read it is supposed to reach the 80's!)
Happy stamping!
Susan

Popping Pumpkins!

Hello stampers and welcome to Wednesday and The Classic Card!

Wasn't yesterday just the most glorious fall day?  I love, love, love the cool crisp air and the blue sky and the leaves that are just starting to turn.   It isn't October quite yet, so I was quite surprised to see so many pumpkins popping up on porches when I went for a walk yesterday.  I usually wait until mid October to put my pumpkins out, but obviously I'm behind everyone else.  Guess I'd better get on it right away!

 

If you're thinking I might have a pumpkin card for you today, you are absolutely correct!  This charming card was made by one of my very talented downline members, Sara Miller.  Sara's cards are always among my favorites and this one is no exception.  Check it out...

Isn't that little popped up pumpkin cute?  And didn't she pick a great fall color scheme?  Of course she's smart and took the colors right from the beautiful Comfort Cafe Designer Paper (page 163 of the annual catalog).  The colors here are Soft Suede, Summer Starfruit, Cajun Craze, and Very Vanilla.  To make the pumpkin, she punched three ovals with the Small Oval punch (at the top of page 184 of the annual catalog).  They are sponged in Soft Suede to give them dimension, then glued together and popped up on dimensionals.  The twisty "vine" at the top is made with a very thin strip of Soft Suede card stock that has been curled with the bone folder.  The panels were cut with the Label Collection Framelits (page 191 of the annual catalog).  The "Happy Thanksgiving" sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes ( page 133 of the annual catalog) and punched out with the Word Window punch (page 183). 

Who wouldn't love getting a great card like this, come Thanksgiving?  I might make a few of these myself!  Thanks, Sara, for another fabulous card! 

Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Susan

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Hello Blog Readers!
Thanks for stopping by this fall Monday.

Yes, over the weekend a significant event occurred.  We crossed over into fall territory on Saturday, September 22nd, the first official day of fall.  And what a fun day it was!  My house was full of enthusiastic stampers who were busy creating a beautiful set of cards and a box to store them in.  Along the way there was lots of chatting, munching, and laughing going on.  If you weren't able to join in the fun, I hope that you'll be able to attend one of my upcoming events--- World Card-Making Day on October 6th, Stampin'Up! Bunco Night on Friday October 19th, and Stamp Out Breast Cancer (at my Think Pink event) on Sunday, October 28th. 

Here's a yummy recipe for Cinnamon Cream Dip that I served on Saturday.  It is delicious with crisp cold apple slices. 

1  8oz. block of cream cheese (1/3 less fat or regular), softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
ground cinnamon to taste ( I probably used about 2 tsp)

Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend with an electric mixer until the sugar is dissolved.  Chill several hours and blend again on high speed just before serving, until it is whipped and fluffy.
Serve with apples and/or pears... a perfect fall treat!

Well, I guesss that's enough rambling.  Let me show you a classic card... just the kind I like!

This beauty is the work of fellow demonstrator Terri Mills and I received it when I participated in a Holiday Mini-catalog swap.  I think you all know that Cherry Cobbler is my favorite red of all time and I love how rich it looks when paired with Brushed Gold card stock ( page 160 of the annual catalog).  The Brushed Gold card stock is easy to miss, as there are so many different kinds of card stock shown on that page, and of course the catalog doesn't do justice to its shimmery beauty (and neither does my photo)!

The stamp set Terri used is called Christmas Blessings (p. 19 of the annual catalog) and again, it is easy to miss as it doesn't jump off the page at you, the way some stamp sets do.  But when stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder, this set packs a powerful punch. The images in this set would also be awesome stamped in Jet Black Staz-On (waterproof) ink on watercolor paper and then colored with the Watercolor Wonder Crayons.  For the background, Terri used the new Lacy Brocade embossing folder (page 6 of the Holiday Mini-catalog), which has become a top seller and favorite of many of my customers.  This traditional pattern has a classic look that is timeless.  If you don't already own it, you're going to want to add it to your next order.  It is especially gorgeous when used with the new Core-dinations paper (also on page 6 of the Holiday catalog) and then when the paper is lightly sanded, the lighter core of the paper shows, giving a super elegant vintage-y look to your cards. 

I'm off to meet up with my SOS (Stamp Out Stress) group at Symposium Coffee in Old Town Sherwood this afternoon.  We'd love to have you join us sometime!  Thanks for stopping by for a visit and I'll see you on Wednesday for another classic card!
Happy fall and happy stamping!
Susan

Quick post, quick card

Hello stampers and welcome to the (almost) weekend!

Yay!  Friday is finally here and the weekend is just around the corner.  This is going to be a very quick post today, because I'm busy getting ready for my Fall Into Stamping event tomorrow (Saturday the 22nd)... the first official day of fall.  And what a fun way to welcome fall it will be!  Attendees will learn a new concept in card-making and then create their own masterboard which will be stamped with lovely fall leaves in gorgeous fall colors. 

The card I have for you today is quick, clean, and classic.  This would be a great card to create in quantity for Christmas 2012.  A bit of work on the Big Shot, a bit of stamping, a bit of assembling and you're done!  Sounds good, doesn't it?  Well, it looks pretty nice too!  Check it out...

The gorgeous embossedd background is made with the Holiday Frame embossing folder ( page 7 of the Holiday Mini-catalog).  This has been a very popular item and it's no wonder, as it adds beautiful texture to a card.  The little reindeer and the dotted oval are from the Joyous Celebration set (also on page 7).  The scrolly sentiment is from the Greetings of the Season set ( page 8 of the Holiday Mini).
The Old Olive die cut behind the deer was cut using the Labels Collection Framelits.  Some silky seam binding in Cherry Cobbler adds a shimmery touch of color.  If you'd like to make this your Christmas card, give me a call or send me an email (my contact info is shown at the top of my blog) and we'll get everything ordered for you so you can get right to work making this pretty card to impress all of your friends and relatives this Christmas.

Well, friends, I must dash!  I'm busy cooking up some yummy treats for the stampers who are joining me tomorrow.  Why not sign up for one of my upcoming events so I can pamper you with some fun stamping and delicious food?  My October Stampin'Up!date should be in your inbox, so please read it and sign up for one or more of my October events.
Have a great weekend!
Susan

Two for You!

Hi stampers!  Thanks for joining me on a Thursday!

I'm sorry I missed seeing you yesterday, but it was my day to have Allie and the day was spent in grandma and grandpa mode ... going out for breakfast, hitting the Carter's store, going for a walk down to the park, swinging Allie in the baby swing, feeding her lunch, then naptime.... the day just flew by!  But let me show you what I was working on during Allie's nap time. 

This is one of the swap cards that I'll be taking with me to Hilton Head Island in a few days.  I saw this color combination in a home catalog (on some draperies) and I thought to myself.... I could re-create that color scheme with Stampin'Up! colors--- Basic Gray, Pool Pary, and Summer Starfruit.  I love these colors together... so fresh and contemporary!  The stamp set is Raining Flowers and the saying is from the set Curly Cute ( just love that font!).  I punched card stock with the Fancy Flower Punch, the Scallop Circle Punch, the new smaller scallop circle punch that's in the Holiday Mini and for the smallest flower in the center I used the Boho Blossom Punch.  A printed Pool Party brad in the center holds all the layers together.  The Pool Party panel was embossed with the new Chevron embossing folder. The beautiful stitched satin ribbon in Summer Starfruit "pops" against the Basic Gray card stock.  Don't forget, you get a free bolt of the Stitched Satin ribbon of your choice for every $40 you spend in September.  September is almost over, so get your free ribbon while you can!  I hope you'll feel inspired to try a new color combination of your own.  Clothing catalogs and home magazines and catalogs are great places to find stamping inspiration. 

Here's another card that will be swapped during the Hilton Head trip.  Some of you will remember this from an earlier post ( and we also made a similar card at my Color Class earlier this year).  Being from Portland, I thought it was important to "put a bird on it."  This card is for an organized swap I'm participating in and was sent in advance to a demonstrator in Iowa who is one of the swap organizers.  We'll be getting in so late that evening that I might miss the swap entirely, so thought it best to mail it ahead of time.  This one features the fabulous Papaya Collage set from the big annual catalog.  The mystery of the name continues, as there's no Papaya anywhere in the set!  There's that beautiful stitched satin ribbon again, this time in Midnight Muse. 

Thanks for checking in with me on a Thursday and don't forget to come back tomorrow for another classic card. 
Have a great Thursday!
Susan

Fall in Love with Stamping

Hello stamping people!

Thanks for stopping in for a visit this nice September morning!  Did you get to stamp this weekend?
I hope so!  If you are missing your stamping "fix," I can help!  My "Fall Into Stamping" class on Saturday is full, so I've added another session on Sunday, September 23rd at 1:30.  If you'd like to join me, that would be great!  You'll make 4 fall cards (envelopes included) and a pretty box to store them in.  Check this photo ...

The cost is only $10--- a real bargain for 4 cards, envelopes, and box--- or the class is free with a $50 purchase.  Of course I'm also going to serve you some yummy snacks to keep your energy up for all that stamping. 
Please send me a quick email to sjrstamps@gmail.com if you'd like to join in the fun.  I'll have lots of different sentiments available so you can customize the cards to your liking.  You'll go home with all the instructions so you can recreate this set of cards at home.  What a great gift this would make!  I'll show you how to adapt this concept with other stamp sets and colors so you can use this idea for other seasons of the year. 

Please come back on Wednesday, when I'll have another classic card for you!
Happy Monday, everyone!
Susan

Oh, Deer!

Good Morning Stampers and welcome to Friday!

I sincerely hope all of you had a great week.... wasn't the weather just the best?  I'm thrilled that sun is in the forecast for the next week or so.  You know me... I'm a sunshine girl and I start to feel all gloomy and sad when the gray returns.  Thankfully, I'm so busy stamping and designing cards and thinking up fun stamping events that I don't have much time for gloom-- a good thing for sure!

I don't know why (maybe it's the good weather), but the weeks seem to be flying by at a faster rate than usual.  I just did a quick count, and Oh, Deer!  There are only about 15 weeks left before Christmas. Those weeks are going to zip by and before you know it, Christmas will be here.  Yikes! 
But never fear... it's Christmas Deer to the rescue!  Check out this handsome guy!

This is one of the cards I had on display at my Jingle Bell Jump event last weekend.  I just love this guy and even more so since he's single!  (Well, he's a single stamp, that is).  You can find him on page 19 of the big annual catalog.  He's stamped in Early Espresso on Crumb Cake card stock, and then cut out with one of the Label Collection framelits.  A pretty little cardinal is perched on his antlers, stamped in Cherry Cobbler. The textured background was done with the new Woodgrain embossing folder (page 33 of the Holiday Mini) and the new Core-dinations paper which you can see on page 6 of the Holiday Mini. After embossing the paper, I lightly sanded with the new Sanding System (only $3.95, page 6 of the Holiday Mini).  What an amazing background for Mr. Deer!  It gives such a nice rustic look to the card.  The sentiment is from the new stamp set Greetings of the Season ( only 11.95 in clear mount, page 8 of the Holiday Mini).  I stamped it in Cherry Cobbler, punched it out with the Decorative Label Punch and sponged around everything with Early Espresso. 
Some silky seam binding in Cherry Cobbler adds a pretty touch and is soft enough that there's no big knot to foul up the Postal Service's machinery.  I love how this turned out and I hope you do too!
This wouldn't be that time-consuming to make in quantity, an important consideration when choosing the design for a Christmas card. 

Enjoy this beautiful Friday!  Get outside and soak up some sunshine to store up for winter!

Thanks for stopping by today and please come back on Monday for another Classic Card. Oh, and if you should want to join me for a stamping good time, come over to my house at 1:30 on Saturday.  One of the cards you'll make uses the new Woodgrain Folder, the new Core-dinations paper, and the new sanding block, plus the new Wonderfall set and matching die. Fun stuff!  Just drop me a quick email at sjrstamps@gmail.com so I'll be sure to have enough paper cut.

Happy Weekend!
Susan

C'mon Get Happy!

Hi Stampers!
This week is just flying by!  I've still got lots to do, but I did accomplish one important task yesterday and that was to finish my swaps for the trip to Hilton Head Island, which is coming up later in the month.  I'm so happy to have that out of the way! 

If you haven't attended one of my stamping events recently, I'm inviting you to "c'mon, get happy!" and join a great group of stampers as we chat, laugh, and create.  As the song says "Forget your troubles, c'mon get happy, you better chase all your cares away."  And what better way to get happy than to stamp?  It's hard to concentrate on what's wrong in your life when you are stamping with friends.  All of the cares of the day just fade into the background as you find yourself caught up in the moment.  It is easy to feel overwhelmed as we try to juggle all the things we need to do, places we need to go, and people we need to deal with.  That's why we all need to unplug once in a while and do something just for the pure fun of it... not because it's on our "to-do" list.  There's a lot more to life than just checking things off our list of things that must be done

I've got some fun photos for you today... photos of people who chose to "get happy" instead of staying home to scrub the floors and do the laundry.  Don't you think they look happy???

 

These photos were taken at my Jingle Bell Jump last weekend, where everyone made two great Christmas cards and got lots of ideas for their 2012 Holiday cards.  I hope you'll be able to join in the fun very soon at one of my upcoming events!

Hugs,
Susan

Well, Duh! I guess a picture would be nice!

Yikes... I think I forgot something important.... like the picture of the card!  Here it is!

Feeling a Little Witchy?

Hello my stamping friends and happy Monday!

OK, I realize that for some of you, the words "happy" and "Monday" do not go together.  Just grit your teeth and soon your Monday at work will be over.  Tuesday will be a better day!

 I trust that all of you had a restful and relaxing weekend.  Did you get a chance to take a break from your usual weekend routine to stamp something pretty?  A little creative "me" time can do wonders for your disposition, so next time you are feeling a bit witchy, go off by yourself and stamp for a while.  I promise you'll be in a better frame of mind when you are finished.  And if you have some of the old-style stamp pads, you can really pound on them, thereby releasing even more negative energy. 

Check out this "witchy" card I received at a recent demonstrator swap... isn't it cute?  I can tell by her delighted smile that this little witch means no harm. Fellow demonstrator Marcy Morris created this fun Halloween card that would be enjoyed by children of all ages.  Here's a quick list of what Marcy used.  She started with a base of Basic Black card stock, then added a strip of the new Howlstooth and Scaringbone designer paper along the side.  The front panel is cut a bit narrower than ususal so the designer paper shows.  She stamped the focal panel in Basic Black with the new stamp set Googly Ghouls, which you can find on page 27 of the Holiday Mini-catalog, then colored the details with a Tangerine Tango Marker.  Adding a moon is easy when you cut a hole from a scrap of card stock and then sponge color in the cut-out area.  Marcy added texture by running her focal panel through the Big Shot with the Spider Web embossing folder, p. 189 of the annual catalog. The googly eyes make this card even more fun and they are easy to apply as they already have adhesive on the back.  She added a great touch with the scallop dotted ribbon in Tangerine Tango, p.172 of the annual catalog.  If you'd like to add the fun zig-zag edge to your stamped creations like Marcy did here, you'll need the Finishing Touches Edgelits at the bottom left-hand corner of page 190 (in the annual catalog).

There's still plenty of time to stamp up a few Halloween cards for your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, the neighbor kids and your co-workers.  You can make yourself even more popular by including some chocolate, which to me is the best part of Halloween.  You can keep all of the Starbursts and Good and Plentys and Skittles, but please save a Milky Way for me!

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you'll come back and see what I've got for you on Wednesday.
Don't forget to stamp something pretty today!
Susan

Snowflakes x 3 for a hot day

Hello Stampers and Happy Friday!
Thanks for stopping by today! 

Hasn't the weather been spectacular lately?  I'm just loving every minute of sunshine and I hope you are too.  I read a Facebook post from a young lady today who said she hates the weather and is hoping for rain.  To her, I say, "You must be crazy!"  We all know what's coming our way very soon, don't we?

Meanwhile, the weather forecast for today says that it will be hot one, so I thought I'd help you cool off by showing you a very cool card which was made by a very cool stamper, Cheryl Brown.  Have you noticed that the Triple Time stamping technique (which, by the way, is not a new technique at all) is showing up everywhere these days?  One popular blogger posted a card using this idea and then, copy cats that we are, everyone jumped on the triple time wagon.  Oh well, it's a fun technique that results in great cards so why not use it?

Here is Cheryl's card---

The stamp set, Snowflake Soiree, is on page 5 of the Holiday Mini-catalog.  Cheryl's color choices, Pool Party and Not quite Navy, give the card an icy look.  The sentiment is part of the stamp set, which I love---no additional purchase required!  After she stamped all the Whisper White layers, she ran them through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  I love how she used some white vellum to cut out a snowflake to add to the frosty feel.  The new snowflake die for the Big Shot can be found on page 14 of the Holiday Mini-catalog.  I'm a big fan of this new and improved snowflake die because it cuts three different sizes of snowflakes that can be layered for an amazing embellishment or you can just use one snowflake as Cheryl did here. The Pool Party seam binding adds a luxurious touch, as does the basic rhinestone.  Don't you feel cooler just looking at this card?

If you'd like a sheet of instructions, giving you the measurements for each of the 6 layers, please send me an email at sjrstamps@gmail.com and I'll email them to you. 

Well, my stamping friends, I've got a big weekend ahead with a class on Saturday morning and afternoon and then a private party on Sunday.  I'm blessed to be so busy!  
Enjoy the sunny weekend and I'm hoping you'll take a few minutes to stamp something pretty!
Hugs,
Susan

It's starting already!

Hello stamping people!  Thanks for joining me on this sunny September Wednesday!

Yesterday when I got out of the car in our driveway, I looked down and saw the most beautiful small leaf that had fallen from one of our Red Maple trees. Yikes... it's starting already and it is just 2 days after Labor Day!  This little leaf was about half Lucky Limeaid and about half Cherry Cobbler, to put it in Stampin'Up! terms... just a gorgeous mottled leaf!  I thought, "how beautiful," and then I looked up at those massive trees with zillions of leaves and I had another thought entirely and it wasn't a pretty one!  While I love fall and the amazingly vibrant colors of the leaves, raking them is not one of my favorite things.  Luckily, my "yard man"  (that would be John) is pretty good about keeping the yard looking neat and tidy.  When things get really bad--- leaves more than six inches deep--- I pitch in and help.  You are welcome to stop by... don't forget to bring your own rake!

So what, you are asking, does this have to do with stamping?  Well, I'm getting to that right now.  Of course I'm sure you've guessed that I have a card featuring fall leaves today, so here it is...

This card could work for almost any occasion... an autumn birthday, Thanksgiving, thinking of you, get well, etc.  Just pick a sentiment for the inside and you're in business.  I used several new products from the Holiday Mini-catalog on this card, most notably the new stamp set Wonder-fall, which is on page 33.  I used the Autumn Accents Bigz Die, also on page 33, to cut out the leaves. The third product I used from page 33 is the new Woodgrain embossing folder--- I just love it!
The colors of the leaves are Old Olive, Cajun Craze, and More Mustard.  The card stock colors are Crumb Cake for the card base, Core-dinations card stock in Early Espresso, and the horizontal accent strip is Cajun Craze.  You can find the new Core-dinations card stock on page 6 of the Holiday Mini catalog.  I embossed the Core-dinations paper with the Woodgrain folder, then lightly sanded off the top layer, exposing the lighter core of the paper.  This gives a wonderfully rustic look to the card. 
Some Linen Thread and a button from the Regals collection, p. 176 of the annual catalog add a nice finishing touch. 

We'll be making this card at Connie's party on Saturday September 15th at 1:30 at my house.  Please drop me a quick email (sjrstamps@gmail.com) and I'll add your name to the list of people who will have the fun of using some great new products.  That's all for today, stampers, as I am off to cut more paper for my upcoming Jingle Bell Jump this Saturday.  Have a great Wednesday and I'll look forward to visiting with you again on Friday.

Stamp something pretty today!
Susan

Laboring on Labor Day

Hello stampers and happy Labor Day!

I'm hoping you are enjoying a relaxing Labor Day weekend.  I have to admit that while I admonished all of you to kick back and just enjoy some well-deserved time off, I'm working, working, working on cards and a display for my Jingle Bell Jump event that is happening next Saturday, September 8th at my house.  To be honest, I've taken some time off from stamping this weekend too, but now it is crunch time and I've got work to do before next Saturday's event.

Since I think of Labor Day as the end of summer, I've got one last summery card for you today.  I know fall doesn't officially start until the 22nd, but Labor Day has always marked the end of summer for me since school started shortly thereafter.  It still seems strange to me that I won't be heading back to the library tomorrow! 

OK, enough rambling... here's the card

Isn't this an interesting card?  It was a make-and-take at our last demonstrator meeting and was designed by Kathy Milano.  We had fun tearing the card stock for the sand and sea-foam and punching the circles from More Mustard card stock for the sun.  The stamp set is called By the Seashore and can be found on page 93 of the annual catalog.  The card is Baja Breeze, the sand is Crumb Cake, and the sea-foam is Very Vanilla.  The shell is stamped in Baja Breeze on Very Vanilla and the starfish is stamped in More Mustard.  The sentiment is from Blooming with Kindness, page 87 of the annual catalog.

After today, I'll be moving on into fall cards and Christmas cards.  I hope you are planning on joining me for my annual Jingle Bell Jump this coming Saturday, Sept. 8th.  I've got plenty of room for you and a friend in my afternoon session.  Please drop me a quick email (sjrstamps@gmail.com) so I'll know you are coming!

Enjoy today and this glorious weather and don't forget to come back on Wednesday for another classic card.
Susan