Howdy, Stampin' Peeps! Can you believe that today is the very last day of September? I don't know about you, but I would like a re-run! The weather was so beautiful and I'd like to experience it again so I could wring out every bit of beauty to store up for the coming winter. Too bad we can't do that, isn't it?
I've got a really corny card for you today. Well, it's actually a-corny. Take a look and you'll see what I mean...
This great Thanksgiving card is the work of Shannon Carrier, one of the stampers I meet with on a monthly basis for our Stamp2gethers. She used the Acorny Thank you stamp set from the Holiday catalog on page 45. She stamped the acorn in Hello Honey and the acorn cap in Blackberry Bliss. Using the matching Acorn Builder punch (also on page 45) , she punched out the two images and layered them on the card with dimensionals to add depth.
The card base is Very Vanilla and then layered on top of the base is a panel of Crumb Cake card stock with a hole cut out using the 2 1/2 inch circle punch. The sentiment is from the same set and the little banner was cut out by hand. If you happen to own the Bitty Banner Framelit dies, you can cut the banner out with those and save yourself the work of "fussy cutting." Some of the new striped cotton ribbon in Blackberry Bliss completes this quick,easy, and cute card.
Thanks, Shannon, for allowing me to share your work with my readers!
Stay tuned, stampers, because I've got more inspiration coming right up on Friday! Until then, stamp something pretty!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Whew! What a busy weekend! It was all stamping, all the time this past weekend, and while I'm a bit tired today, it was fun!
This afternoon I'm meeting with my SOS stampers (Stamp Out Stress) at Symposium Coffee in Old Town Sherwood. We meet the last Monday of the month at 1 pm in the upstairs conference room. We chat, drink coffee, and make 2 cards/envelopes. The cost is just $5, plus I encourage a beverage purchase since they let us use the room without charge. If you'd like to get out of the house and have a little creativity break, we'd love to have you join our fun group of stampers for a little therapy session. There's nothing that de-stresses like crafting and being creative!
Since it's now officially fall (as of last Wednesday), I thought I'd stick to fall cards this week. Today's card is one that we made on Saturday at my Fall in Love With Stamping class. It got a "wow" from everyone at the class, but it so simple to make. Here, let me show you...
I just love how the birch trees show up as white against the Crumb Cake background. This look is achieved by brayering Crumb Cake ink on the inside of the Woodland embossing folder (page 39 of the holiday catalog). Apply the ink to the side of the folder that has the Sizzix logo on it. Then just place the paper inside the folder, close it, and run it through the big shot. Voila... the white trees are raised from the Crumb Cake background!
The leaves and birds are from the coordinating stamp set called Among the Branches, also on page 39 of the holiday catalog.
There are lots of great backgrounds that you can make by using a rubber brayer (a rubber roller on a handle) to apply ink to the inside of an embossing folder. If you don't have a brayer, you definitely need one. Check out page 163 of the annual catalog to see one. It's a great tool to have and it's only 12.50.
OK, stampers, that's my post for Monday, September 28th. If anyone can tell me where the month of September went, I'd really appreciate it! Wasn't Labor Day just a week ago? Who do I need to speak with to get the rest of my month back?
Enjoy this fabulous sunny fall weather!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Hello Friday!
Are you ready for the weekend? I think I've got all my (stampin') ducks in a row for tomorrow's Fall in Love with Stamping class. The paper is cut, the house is almost set up, and the treats are cooling on the counter (Pumpkin Spice cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Icing.... yum-o)!
Looking back on the cards I've posted this past week, I think I should have billed this week as Watermelon Wonder Week, as each of the cards featured Watermelon Wonder as the dominant color. I used to choose Calypso Coral when I wanted a warm, bright color, but since Watermelon Wonder came into my life, I've been loving this rosy, happy color! It is one of the new In-colors this year, which means we'll have it next year too, and then it goes away to be replaced by a new In-color. Waaaa! I want to keep this color forever! Knowing that it won't be around too long, I plan to use this color a lot. Oh, I guess you'd like to see the card?!? Here it is...
I used the Sweet Li'l Things DSP (also showed on Wednesday) on this card, along with Watermelon Wonder, Tip Top Taupe, Delightful Dijon, and Whisper White card stock. I stamped the flowers from Birthday Blossoms in Watermelon Wonder ink on Watermelon Wonder card stock, then punched them out with the coordinating Pansy Punch. The ovals were cut with the Oval Framelits. The flower centers were punched from Delightful Dijon card stock with the tiny flower from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (page 166 of the annual catalog). I used some of the new Dotted Lace Trim (page 159) and the new White Perfect Accents (page 161) to dress up this girly card. I'm sure you've got a friend, aunt, grandmother, daughter, niece, or neighbor who'd love a card like this! While you've got your stamps out, why not make several in different color combinations? Then when a birthday rolls around, you'll be prepared with a great card!
Whatever you've got planned for the weekend, I hope it includes a little time to be creative with stamps, ink, and paper! There's no better therapy than a little time spent stamping!
Hugs and happiness!
Susan
Welcome Wednesday and Welcome Fall!
The week is marching on and so am I! It's time for another post on The Classic Card. As I mentioned on Monday, I'm taking a short break from holiday cards and showing you some everyday cards for other occasions.
Here's today's stamping inspiration...
This pretty card is the work of Janet Jones, one of the demonstrators in my downline. This card's layout is based on Sketch #58 on the Freshly Made Sketches site--- www.freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com
If you are ever stuck for a creative card design, Freshly Made Sketches will give you all sorts of inspiration! That pretty small-print DSP is from a collection called Sweet Li'l Things (page 143 of the annual catalog) and while it is designed to make baby cards, most of the prints are just cute tiny prints that could be used on all sorts of cards. It's really one of the most versatile DSP collections in the catalog. (Translation of "DSP", in case you don't know can be either Double Sided Paper or Designer Series Paper). This paper can be seen on pages 142-144 of the annual catalog.
The sentiment is from the Timeless Love set on page 29 of the annual catalog. Janet stamped it in Jet Black Staz-On ink, then colored the flowers using ink pads and blender pens.
Who makes your heart smile? Your grandchildren? Your best friend? Your son or daughter? Your spouse? Whoever it is, wouldn't they love to hear that they bring a smile to your heart?
I hope today will find you making and sending a card to someone dear to you!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Hey there, stampers!
How was your weekend? Don't you wonder how long this beautiful weather can possibly last? It seems strange to me to be showing fall and holiday cards on my blog, while I smell the neighbor's barbecue wafting in my open window and hear ducks quacking on the pond like it is mid-summer.
This past weekend was the last weekend of Summer 2015, as fall officially starts on Wednesday, September 23rd. While I've allowed seasonal cards to take center stage recently, this week I'm going to give you a break and show you some general cards.
After all, people still have birthdays, still need encouragement, and still need to know you're thinking of them. Next week, I'll again feature holiday-themed cards for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. There are so many great stamp sets and accessories in the Holiday Catalog that I could go from now until Christmas and not show you all of the amazing cards that could be made.
Here's my non-holiday card for today...
Even though this is a birthday card, it is made from a set in the Holiday Catalog called Your Presents (page 32). This is actually one of the make-and-takes we made at the Stampin'Up! Convention in July. The happy birthday sentiment is from the Tin of Cards stamp set on page 110 of the annual catalog. I love the clean and simple look of this card and love how just a few sequins and some silver cording add a bit of sparkle. And see that pretty striped envelope? That was made with the new envelope paper (page 149 of the annual catalog). It is the perfect weight for making envelopes and with the Envelope Punch Board (page 150, annual catalog), you can make envelopes in tons of different sizes, so you are no longer limited to standard sized cards! You are free to make tall, skinny cards, oversized cards, square cards, teeny tiny gift cards, and every size in between. Best of all, the Envelope Punch Board is super simple to use. Just let me know you'd like to try it out and I'll show you just how easy it is to make your own envelopes!
Well, my friends, that wraps it up for Monday! Lucky me... I get to get a crown today! I wish it was a stampin' crown for being the Stampin' Queen, but alas, it is just an extremely expensive crown for one of my aging teeth. Isn't getting older just a barrel of fun? But, as the saying goes, "any day above ground is a good day!"
Hope you're having a good day too and that your work week has started off on a happy note!
Hugs and happiness!
Susan
Hi again!
As I mentioned on Wednesday, I've got an elegant Christmas card for you today. I think there are four basic types of Christmas cards... cute (think snowmen, Santas, and cute animals), elegant (think sparkling trees, ornaments, wreaths, snowflakes), rustic country (deer, skis, log cabins, natural trees, fireplaces, birds) and the fourth type is religious (nativity scenes, doves, angels, stars).
Whatever type of card floats your boat, Stampin'Up! has a stamp set that you'll love!
Here's the elegant card for today...
I used the new Embellished Ornaments set that's on page 15 of the Holiday Catalog. The colors are Cherry Cobbler, Mossy Meadow, and Whisper White. This set also has a coordinating set of Thinlits to make cutting quick and easy. I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the greeting. I cut the ornament hanger from silver foil paper
(page 148 of the annual catalog).
This card would be easy to create in quantity, leaving you plenty of time for other holiday pursuits, such as baking, shopping, wrapping, and decorating the house.
The weekend is almost here! I hope you've got something relaxing planned. Please come back on Monday for more stamping inspiration!
Happy weekend, everyone!
Susan
Hey there, stampers!
I don't want to alarm anyone, but Christmas is sneaking up on us while we're busy with back-to-school activities and looking forward to cool fall weather, wearing sweaters, raking leaves, and drinking Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
The fun stamp set I'm showing you today has a perfect saying for all of us who tend to forget that the Christmas holidays are only weeks away... "Snow Way! It's Christmas already?"
Here's a card I made with this set...
You can see this cute set on page 33 of the Holiday Catalog. There's the penguin, plus two snowmen and tons of accessories so you can dress them up, such as a top hat, a Santa hat, a scarf, a tie, ear muffs, buttons, a bow tie, a candy cane AND an ice cream cone. Of course there's a set of Framelits so that you can cut everything out easily with your Big Shot.
To make this card, I cut a square hole in a sheet of card stock to make a mask and sponged through the hole with Soft Sky ink to create a square background. Then I stamped the snowflakes from this set in Pool Party, which is just a shade darker than Soft Sky. I stamped the penguin in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, then cut him out with the matching framelit. The scarf and candy cane were stamped in Real Red and also cut out with their matching framelits.
If you're a fan of cute Christmas cards, then this just might be the set for you! If you're into more elegant Christmas cards, then I have a card that I think you'll love when you come back on Friday. I'll hope to see you then for another Classic Card.
Hugs and happiness!
Susan
Hi stampers!
Well, it's a new week and time for a new card!
I've got a little granddaughter, Allie, who just turned 4. She's a sweetheart and she loves owls. So when I saw the cute owl in the Howl-o-ween Treat stamp set (page 49 of the Holiday Catalog), I knew I'd be purchasing that set, just so I could make some fun owl cards for her. If you are a fan of owls, you're going to want to add this set to your stamp collection. The images in this set are more cute than scary and the large "trick or treat" sentiment would be perfect for stamping on treat bags.
It seems like people either love or hate Halloween.. there doesn't seem to be much middle ground. I think of it as a fun and harmless holiday that's "all about the candy." Kids love to dress up and love sweets and I don't see Halloween as anything more than a fun tradition for kids. So in the spirit of innocent fun, here's a cute card for Halloween...
The colors in this photo are really "off" and I apologize for that.
I'm not sure why my camera went so wacko on this one.
The colors here are Tangelo Twist, Rich Razzleberry, and Old Olive. Has anyone else noticed that many Halloween decorations feature the combination of orange, purple, and green? Of course there's usually some black thrown in there somewhere too.
The Designer Series Paper (DSP) is called Happy Haunting (page 47 of the Holiday Catalog). The sentiment, from the very versatile set "And Many More" (page 105 of the annual catalog) was stamped in black. It's difficult to see, but I used some plastic googly eyes to make this owl a bit more fun. I stamped Mr. Owl in Rich Razzleberry on Whisper White, then cut him out by hand. Of course there are framelits to go with this set, but I just haven't purchased them yet.
I'll be making more cards like this... one for each of the grandchildren. I'm hoping that their moms will save my hand-stamped cards. At some point in their lives I hope the grands will appreciate these hand-stamped tokens of my affection.
Thanks for visiting my blog today. Hope your week is off to a smooth start!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Friday is here!
I've been working like a little beaver all week, getting ready for the Holiday Catalog Kick-Off tomorrow. The paper is cut, the boxes are full of the stamps, ink pads, and punches. The tables will be set up today and I'll also be doing some cooking today in preparation for Saturday. There's a lot to do, but when the doorbell rings on Saturday morning at 10am, I'll be ready!
Today I want to share a fun fall card with you that I'll be presenting at an upcoming event, which for now will remain my little secret. I don't like to say in advance what we're making because I think a surprise is fun. But this card is definitely on my agenda for an event later in the month.
Tomatoes and corn say summer to me, while apples and pears say fall. So when I saw this pretty pear paper in the Farmer's Market Designer Series Paper collection, I knew immediately that I would be using it for a fall card. I used Hello Honey and Old Olive card stock, colors pulled directly from the DSP. I wanted a pear to use as a landing spot for the sentiment, but there's no pear framelit in the Stampin'Up! catalog. So I simply drew a pear, traced it onto Hello Honey card stock and cut it out. A stem in Early
Espresso, and a leaf in Old Olive make it look a bit more realistic and sponging around the edges with Early Espresso makes it look a bit more rounded.
The sentiment "Thanks for being you" is continued on the inside of the card with
"Always kind, always giving, always there." This is from a wonderful set of sentiments called "Me=Grateful" on page 17 of the annual catalog. If you are blessed with the kind of friends and family who are always there for you, who have seen you through some dark times, who bring food when you're sick... then you NEED this set to express your gratitude for their love, support, and thoughtfulness.
OK, my friends, I'm off to continue working on my Holiday catalog Kick-off tomorrow. If I won't be seeing you tomorrow, I hope you have a great weekend!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Hi there, stamping friends!
While I mentioned on Monday that I'd be showing some fall cards this week, I guess today's card isn't strictly a fall card since it doesn't feature leaves, trees, acorns, pumpkins, or any other typical fall images. However, I think it definitely has a fall vibe, especially since the dominant colors are Mossy Meadow and Cajun Craze.
If you're like me, you can come up with a floral card blindfolded and with one hand tied behind your back. Floral, feminine cards are my strong suit and I'm pretty sure that's true for most of the female stampers I know. Coming up with a masculine card.... now that's a difficult task, made even more difficult because many of the embellishments I usually add (glitter paper, ribbon, lace trim, bows) are off-limits on a masculine card. The lack of these "pretties" makes this card seem a little plain to my girly eye, but I'm betting that a guy wouldn't miss those things at all. Another "plus" to this card is that it's nice and flat, so no lumps and bumps to deal with at the Post Office.
After all this yammering, I guess you probably would like to see the card, right?
The first thing you need to know is that this is a Z-fold card. You start with a half sheet of Cajun Craze card stock (5 1/2 by 8 1/2), then score it at 2 1/8 and 4 1/4. The Mossy Meadow plaid paper is from the Merry Moments Designer Series paper collection on page 143 of the annual catalog. It reminds me of a plaid flannel shirt, so I thought it was perfect for a masculine card. The hunting dog is from the set "The Wilderness Awaits" on page 86 of the annual catalog. This set has some great images for masculine cards, including a fox, a deer (or is that an elk or a moose?) and a mallard in flight. I stamped the dog and the sentiment in Early Espresso. I'm not great at coloring, so I opted to keep it simple, but you certainly could add some color with your ink pads and a blender pen.
If the weather man is correct, we should be having some warmer days for the rest of the week, so I'm planning on grilling some chicken and cutting into the watermelon that's been waiting in my fridge for a warm day. Enjoy, because we know that the blustery days of fall rains are not far off!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Hello Stampers!
Happy Labor Day!
Speaking of labor.... I've been doing a lot of that over here to prepare for many upcoming September events. As most of you probably know, this coming Saturday is my New Catalog Kick-Off.
You're going to make 2 great Christmas cards and enjoy stamping, chatting, snacking, and door prizes. The morning session (10-noon) is full, but there are still 4 spots open for the afternoon session (1-3). Please let me know if you'd like to attend. I'd love to see you and share a fun afternoon of stamping with you. Oh, and this event is free!
I've decided not to show you the two cards we're going to make on Saturday, because I think it is more fun if the cards are a surprise. So this week I'll be showing you some cards for fall. Then maybe I'll show you some of the Christmas cards I've been working on in the next couple of weeks.
So here we go, down a winding path into the woods with beautiful autumn colors on the trees, a brilliant blue sky overhead, and gorgeously colored leaves slowly drifting down. Can't you picture just such a scene? We're not quite into those days yet, but you can really feel change in the air with the cooler temperatures and rain that we've had the last couple of days.
Although this might look like a time-consuming card, it really is quite simple. This is the Happy Scenes stamp set combined with the Hearth and Home Thinlit Dies. You can see both of these products on page 11 pf the Holiday Catalog. I simply stamped the scene in Jet Black Staz-On ink, then sponged on some Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron ink to suggest an autumn sunset. I colored the leaves with my Cajun Craze marker and the pumpkins with my Pumpkin Pie marker.
I cut the window frame from Early Espresso card stock and adhered it over the scene with some dimensionals that I trimmed down so they wouldn't show. The window box was cut from Crumb Cake card stock and stamped with the sentiment "Thinking of you with a grateful heart." What a perfect Thanksgiving card this would make!
Have a happy day, stampers! I hope your day is full of relaxation, not work!
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Happy Friday and welcome to the Labor Day Weekend!
This weekend signals the last of summer, so I hope you've got a BBQ or other summery activity planned to send Summer 2015 off in style. I haven't made any plans yet... guess I'd better get busy and think of something to do.
I've got a fun card for you today, featuring an adorable stamp set in the new holiday catalog called Thankful Forest Friends. There's a cute bunny, a fun fox, and this sweet bear in the stamp set, along with a couple of great sayings. Say hello to Mr. Bear...
I made this card for a swap with other demonstrators at a recent meeting I attended. We were supposed to use sketch # 58 from Freshly Made Sketches, a sketch challenge blog. I followed the sketch to the letter and I love how this card turned out.
If you're ever stuck for a card design or layout, go to www.freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com and you'll find all sort of great sketches to follow.
Here's what I used:
Stamps: Thankful Forest Friends (page 43 of the holiday catalog)
Ink: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Early Espresso
Paper: Into the Woods DSP, Soft Suede card stock, Whisper White card stock
Accessories: Candy Dots, 2014-2016 In-Color Washi Tape (p. 157), 2 1/2 " Circle Punch, dimensionals
Make your Labor Day Weekend a memorable one and please come back on Monday (Labor Day), for more stamping inspiration.
Hugs and happiness,
Susan
Hi there, stamping friends!
Was it just a little windy at your house last Saturday? Honestly, there were a couple of times when I thought the birch tree outside my stamp room window was going to crash right through. And now our neatly-mowed lawn is a big mess, thanks to all of the leaves that were ripped from the trees. Only a very few leaves show any fall color yet, but the day is coming when our yard will be knee deep in leaves. It makes me tired just thinking of all of the raking!
While waiting for those leaves to fall, let's spend a little time on this card which I created for our Stamp2gether meeting last week.
Those pretty leaves are from the set Vintage Leaves (page 88 of the annual catalog) and were stamped in Hello Honey, Always Artichoke, and Cherry Cobbler. I "antiqued" the panel by stamping over the leaves with the dots from Gorgeous Grunge in Crumb Cake ink. The card stock colors are Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, and Hello Honey. The great sentiment "Let our lives be full of both thanks and giving" is from the Lighthearted Leaves stamp set on page 44 of the Holiday Catalog. I embossed the Hello Honey panel with the new Boho Chic embossing folder (page 174 of the annual catalog). If you don't have this new folder, add it to your wish list as it makes a great background. Last, some of the new 5/8 " Striped Cotton Ribbon in Hello Honey (page 159 of the annual catalog) ties the whole card together.
I'm not going to suggest that you go into full-steam-ahead card production mode for Thanksgiving, but a few special friends/family members would appreciate getting a card like this from you, I'm sure. Well, that's it for today stampers! Please come back on Friday for more stamping inspiration, unless you are getting ready to leave town for the Labor Day Weekend. In that case, be safe and have a wonderful time!
Hugs and happiness!
Susan
