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