You Plus Me

My parent live at an assisted living community called Courtyard at Jamestown. It is a wonderful place that I would hope to live at when the time comes that I need to have a little help.  I was having lunch there with my parents and the paper doily that is on this card was under the ice cream dish.

Stamps: You Plus Me
Paper:Baked Brown Sugar, Whisper White, Soft Suede & Pink Pirouette CS 
Ink: Soft Suede
Misc: Doily, Heart Border & Sweetheart Punches, Artisan Embellishment Kit, Blushing Bride Cotton Ribbon

I think that doily might be the prettiest paper doily I have ever seen!

Indescribable Gift

 From the side so you can see the dimensions.

Stamps: Indescribable Gift & Butterfly Basics
Paper: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette & Wild Wasabi
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Wild Wasabi Ink and Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette & Wild Wasabi Blendabilities
Misc: Dimensionals & Glue Dots

 I used both Dimensionals & Glue Dots, glue dots to attach the edge closest to the base of the flower and Dimensionals to pop the rest up.

You Plus Me- Sweet

Another card with You Plus Me!

Stamps: You Plus Me
Paper: Whisper White & Basic Black CS, Stacked With Love DSP
Ink: Real Red & Basic Black
Misc: Heart Punch & Dimensionals

On the Black Heart I colored all the little white hearts with Real Red.

From the Herd

Still playing with From the herd. This image was supposed to be for the card I used in our Wacky Watercolor Blog Hop, I was in a hurry and cut it too small for the frame, so I colored another and was going to throw this one away when I saw the sketch #169 for Freshly Made Sketches. This is the card I missed linking by 3 minutes that I spoke of last week.

So here is the card I made with my mess up

Stamps: From the Herd
Paper: Whisper White, Cajun Craze & Pear Pizzazz
Ink: Cajun Craze & Memento Tuxedo Black & Blenabilites
Misc: Circle Collection Framelit, Lucky Stars Embossing Folder & Regal Button

Here is the sketch.

So what do you think? A good save?

PCCCS#128

I decided to try the PCCCS#128 challenge. Here is my card.

I turned the sketch sideways.

Stamps: From the Herd
Paper: Kraft & Cajun Craze CS & Watercolor Paper
Ink: Stazon, Smoky Slate, So Saffron, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake, Baked Brown Sugar, Sahara Sand, Crisp Cantaloupe, Blushing Bride, Pink Pirouette, Marina Mist, Soft Sky & Pear Pizzazz
Misc: Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, Aqua Painter, Candy Dots & twine from the Simply Created Banner Kit

Stamps: Your Perfect Day
Paper: Whisper White, Blushing Bride & Pistachio Pudding CS
Ink: Pear Pizzazz & Memento Tuxedo Black ink pads, Pink Pirouette. Wild Wasabi & Soft Sky Blendabilities
Misc: Spring Flower Embossing Folder, Blushing Bride Coton Ribbon & Candy Dots

So many of my kids friends are getting married so I am stocking up on wedding cards!

Here is the sketch I worked from.

Click on sketch 

Guy Greetings

A big thank you to Marie Green for nominating me to be a part of the Creative Blog Hop. I recently met Marie online when she joined the monthly Watercooler Blog Hops. I have enjoyed her work and the inspiration I find in it. You can see her Creative Blog Hop  post at http://www.mytanglewoodcottage.com/2015/01/creative-blog-hop-butterfly-basics/

I decided to share a card using Stampin' UP's Guy Greetings, a great set for making masculine cards.

Stamps: Guy Greetings
Paper: Kraft, Early Espresso CS & Hip Hip Hooray Card Kit
Ink: Early Espresso & Soft Suede
Misc: Circle Collection Framelits & Fun Foam

I used the embossing gun to heat up the fun foam and than while still hot I stamped the car making a depressed image in the foam.

1.  What are you working on now?

Planning what to share with my club members at our next class.

2.  How does your work differ from others in your genre?

I do mostly cards, a little scrapbooking and just a bit of general papercrafting.  I mostly try to let the stamps be the focal point of my cards, I have to work to add ribbon, buttons or other embellishments.

3.  Why do you create what you do?

I create because it de-stresses me, I can escape for a bit and explore my creative side. I started at age five embroidering, then learned to crochet, then went on to quilting. Scrapbooking and cardmaking are hobbies I picked up after having kids, and with kids I need time to craft. 

4.  How does your creative process work?

Sometimes it doesn't, sometimes I think I have a great idea and I can't get it down on card stock. I do look at pinterest but rarely go back and CASE, I use all the ideas to help me come up with my own card, maybe using colors or a layout that I have seen elsewhere. If I am stuck I have been known to close my eyes and grab a stamp set and than just go where it takes me. I love color and texture so a CAS card is a challenge for me.

I hope you will continue to hop next week with some of the people that inspire me- Buffy Cooper has been a blogger I have followed and gotten to know over the years. Check out her blog and check out her talent! You can find her at http://buffycooper.com/. Marsh Reed is another blogger that I enjoy visiting you can find her blog  at http://www.coffeepotstampingcafe.com/

Watercooler Challenges

(click on the banner to go to the challenge blog)

This time the challenge is CASE the Occasions catalog. I am CASEing the card found at the top of page 34.

Stamps: Indescribable Gift & Gorgeous Grunge 
Paper: Whisper White, Blushing Bride & Baked Brown Sugar CS
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Memento Tuxedo Black & So Saffron Ink Pads, Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette & Wild Wasabi Blendabilities 
Misc: retired lace

I really rarely sell Easter cards and I don't send them either, so I changed this one into a birthday card.

Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop

Welcome to another Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop we are hopping in a circle so continue hopping until you return to your starting point, you will find plenty of inspiration along the way. Please leave a comment and let me know that you stopped by.

You may have hopped to my blog from my friend Marsha's blog, Marsha and I have been part of a couple different blog hops and I enjoy seeing her take on a project.

For the favorite past project part of our blog hop we are CASEing a hop members creation from last years Occasions/Sale-a-bration projects. I am CASEing Stefanie Pletscher I chose this card from last year.
Here is my CASE.

Stamps: Big Day (Sale-a-bration)
Paper: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay & Calypso Coral CS & Birthday Bash Specialty DSP
Ink: VesaMark, Metallic Gold Encore & Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pads, Burmuda Bay and Calypso Coral Blendabilities
Misc: Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Chalk Talk Framelits & Diamensionals

I think one of my favorite stamps is From the Herd.

Stamp: From the Herd
Paper: Whisper White, Wild Wasabi & Marina Mist CS
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink & Blendabilities
Misc: Lucky Stars Embossing Folder & On Film Framelit

I made two cards for our hop using the same stamp- A favorite Anything goes.

Stamps: Hey, Valentine
Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler & Night of Navy
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Bronze, Natural, Ivory, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight Blendabilities, Cherry Cobbler & Night of Navy Marker
Misc:Big Shot, Word Bubble Framelits, Glue Dots & Dimensionals

With the word bubble, after I cut it out but before I took the Framelit off the paper I used a Project Life Pen to trace around the inside of the Framelit. I  stamped and colored parts of a second image, cut it out and used Dimensionals to pop parts of the image up. For his hat I used a Dimensional in the center and a Glue Dot on each side of it so that it curves.

But- Hey, Valentine isn't just for Valentines!

Stamps: Hey, Valentine & Label Love

Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy & Crushed Curry

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Bronze, Blush, Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight Blendabilities 

Misc: Circle Collection Framelits, Big Shot, Stylish Strips Embossing Folder, Lucky STars Embossing Folder, Artisan Label Punch & Dimensionals

Hop on over to Terri's blog and see what she has in store for you.

It is coming...

Come back at 7:00 pm Mountain for our Watercooler Blog Hop!

Mojo Monday 381- Adventure Awaits

Here is the Mojo Monday Sketch 381(click on image to go to their home blog).

Stamps: Traveler & Adventurer Awaits
Paper: Lost Lagoon & Kraft CS
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar & Lost Lagoon
Misc: Window Frame Collection Framelits & Dimensionals

I love the sayings in Adventure Awaits- they do fill up most of a cards front.

Your Perfect Day- PCCCS127

I decided to try t a couple of sketch  challenges yesterday and missed the deadline by 3 minutes on one of them so I will post it next week.  This one will post just under the wire.

This is the sketch found at Paper Craft Crew Challenges(click on image to reach their homepage).

Stamps: Your Perfect Day
Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz & Baked Brown Sugar CS, Lullaby, Sweet Taffy & Irresistibly Yours DSP  DSP 
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive & Mossy Meadow & Old Olive Blendibilities(colored the Pearls)
Misc: Candy Dots, Pearl Gems, Bitty Butterfly & Elegant Butterfly Punches & Circle Collection Framelits

I was going for an ombre look, sadly I ended up covering the middle color with my image. Look how close the Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive Candy Dots look in color.

You Plus Me=Twitterpated

Another Valentine, loving red, black & white.

Stamps: You Plus Me
Paper: Whisper White CS & Stacked With Love DSP
Ink: Real Red
Misc: Heart Punch & Dimensionals

I think this one might be for my husband...

Adventure Awaits

I love this saying!

Stamps: Adventure Awaits
Paper: Whisper White & Lost Lagoon
Ink: Lost Lagoon
Misc: Zig Zag Textured Embossing Folder & Dimensionals

I swiped the Lost Lagoon ink pad across the raised side of the embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot

The stamped images in this set are large stand alone images!

Butterfly Basics

I find it difficult to make cards that combine lots of stamps that really don't go together and making them look like they should. Butterfly Basics is just such a set.

Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Paper: Naturals White, Basic Black & Vellum CS
Ink: Strawberry Slush, Rose Red, Hello Honey  & Mossy Meadow Ink Pads, Mellon Mambo and Wisteria Wonder Blendabilities
Misc: Butterflies Framelits, Big Shot & Dimensionals

The butterfly was glued to Vellum CS and than cut out and colored with Blendabilites. I stamped the flower on the card base than masked it and stamped the fern over it. I used Dimensionals to pop the butterfly on the card.

Moon Lake

I think this one is watercolored a little better, I'll keep practicing.

 Stamps: Moon Lake 
Paper: Very Vanilla, Lost Lagoon & Calypso Coral CS & Watercolor Paper
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Marina Mist, Tangerine Tango, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Basic Gray, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand & Soft Suede
Misc: AquaPainter

Sheltering Tree

This makes a fun Valentine!

Stamps: Sheltering Tree, You Plus Me & A Round Array
Paper: Whisper White CS & Stacked With Love DSP, Red Glimmer Paper & Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Ink: Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush, Real Red & Pear Pizzazz
Misc: Dimensionals

Those tiny hearts stamped in the trees leave are from You Plus Me.

Big Day Blendabilities

Instead of a Chalkboard I went with color.

Stamps: Big Day
Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Lost Lagoon & Whisper White CS, Stacked With Love DSP
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Calypso Coral, Smoky Slate and Bermuda Bay Blendabilities
Misc: Scallop Tag Topper Punch, Crisp Cantaloupe Thick Bakers Twine & Dimensionals.

I thought the colorful dots look festive!

Moon Lake- Blendabilities II

I went with the bird image this time.

Stamps: Moon Lake
Paper: Whisper White, Blushing Bride & Wisteria Wonder
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink & Blendabilities
Misc: Artisan Embellishment Kit, Blushing Bride Cotton Ribbon, Spring Flower Embossing Folder & Dimensionals

I layered a large Pearl in the center of one of the silver buttons from the kit

Chalkboard Big Day

For club last week we worked with the Chalkboard Paper and the Chalk Inks from the Occasions Catalog. The first card is the card we did in club and the second one is the one my 10 year old granddaughter made while I was teaching club.

Club Card:

Stamps: Big Day
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Pacific Point & Whisper White CS, Chalkboard Paper
Ink: Chalkbox Chalk Ink Aquamarine
Misc: Coastal Cabana Thick Bakers Twine, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder & Dimensionals

Jaylin's Card:

She changed a few things

Paper: Pink Pirouette & Mellon Mambo are the CS changes
Ink: Chalkbox Chalk Ink Rose Coral
Misc: Lucky Stars Embossing Folder

I think she did a great job!

Moon Lake- Watercooler Challenge

For the Watercooler Challenge instead of watercoloring I tried Blendabilities this time!

Stamps: Moon Lake
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz, Early Espresso & Whisper White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Soft Sky Ink Pads, Crumb Cake, Smoky Slate, Old Olive, Wild Wasabi, Bronze, Lt Night of Navy, Burmuda Bay, Soft Sky Blendabilities
Misc: Naturals Candy Dots, Big Shot & Chevron Embossing Folder 

I did I light wash of Soft Sky for the back ground, the rest was colored with Blendabilities.

Stop by the Watercooler Challenge page and join in the challenge.

Stained Glass Window Butterfly

Butterfly Basics and Butterflies Thinlits are bundled together for a 15% discount!

Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Paper: Naturals White, Basic Black, Vellum CS
Ink: Crushed Curry, Marina Mist, Hello Honey, Wild Wasabi, Rose Red Ink, Med Night of Navy, Lt Calypso Coral, Natural, Dk Pumpkin Pie Blendibilities
Misc: Butterflies Framelits, Dimensionals, Multipurpose Glue

For the butterfly I glued the Framelit Piece to Vellum CS with Multipurpose Glue than cut the vellum to the butterflies edge.  I colored the back of the Butterfly with the blendabilities.

A Happy Thing

A free Sale-a-bration set with a qualifying order!

Stamps: A Happy Day, Four Feathers,
Paper: Very Vanilla, Kraft CS
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink, Natural, Bronze, Lt Crumb Cake, Lt Melon Mambo, Lt Night of Navy, Med Wild Wasabi Blendibilities.
Misc: Big Shot, Feather Framelits(carried over!), 7/8" Natural Cotton Ribbon, Early Espresso Bakers Twine, Spring Flower Texured Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

With the Bakers Twine being white I thought it was a little stark against the Vanilla/Natural colors so I sponged with Crumb Cake Ink that was mostly sponged off the sponge first.

Lotus Blossom

Still stenciling with the Artisan Embellishment Kit. :)  The Greeting came from one of the Sale-a-bration catalog.

Stamps: Lotus Blossom

Paper: Crisp Cantaloupe, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz & Naturals Whute CS

Ink: Calypso Coral & Pear Pizzazz

Misc: Artisan Embellishment Kit & Dimensionals

For the centers of the rosettes I sponged a little Calypso Coral. 

The Lotus Blossom set has 7 stamps, 3 of the layer to make the lotus blossom(not used here)

Moon Lake

Moon Lake is a wonderful stamp set from the Occasions Catalog, however I didn't do it justice.  It seems that between the four surgeries last year that my watercoloring skills got rusty.  I'll have to keep practicing so that I can make some cards that I am happy with.

Stamps:Moon Lake & Wetlands
Paper: Naturals White. Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon CS & Watercolor Paper
Ink: Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake & Basic Gray

This set has 6 stamps in the set.

Butterfly Basics bundled with Butterflies Thinliits Dies

Don't forget that bundled together(11 stamps & 3 dies) you save 15%.  If you order the bundle in wood or clear mount it will qualify for Sale-a-bration, if you order it in photopolymer you will need to add another item.

Stamps: Butterfly Basics
Paper: Naturals White, Calypso Coral & Crisp Cantaloupe Ink & Calypso Coral Blendabilities
Ink: Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral & Old Olive
Misc: Artisan Embellishment Kit, Butterflies Thinlits Dies & Big Shot

This card would have looked better if the happy birthday was stamped with Calypso Coral.

Chalkboard Paper & Chalk Ink

The Occasions catalog has both chalkboard paper and Chalk ink! This card did not turn out as well as I had hoped but the chalk ink in the greeting turn out nice, the rest needs more work :). The stamp set is free with a qualifying order, yup it is a Sale-a-bration set with 5 stamps in the set!

Stamps: Big Day
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White & Chalkboard CS
Ink: Aquamarine Chalk Ink, White Craft Ink and Blendabilities.

The Chalk Ink turns out pretty on both the Chalkboard CS and Whisper White CS

Artisan Embellishment Kit and More!

Again I combined items from both catalogs.

I used the die-cut as a stencil again, I figure I can get so many more card made using it as a stencil instead of a card element and because there is 2 I can still use the other one on a card.

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Blackberry Bliss & Vellum CS

Ink: Blackberry Bliss & Mossy Meadow ink & Rich Razzleberry Blendiblities 

Misc:Artisan Embellishment Kit, Pearls, Butterflies Thinlits Dies, Spring Flowers Textured Embossing Folder & Big Shot

How about that butterfly, don't you love it? The Thinlit has 3 different butterflies. with all the details on this little butterfly it releases from the die easily if you place your paper on the platform and than layer it with a dryer sheet(I used a used one) last layer the die. The butterfly will pop right out.

I used a clear button, lg pearl. die-cut, lace and ribbon from the Artisan Embellishment Kit. I colored the large pearl with the Rich Razzleberry Blendiblities 

Artisan Embellishment Kit

With all the snow and freezing temperatures I went with Spring time colors for  this card. I combined products from  the Annual and Occasions catalogs.

Stamps: Papillon Potpourri & Sassy Salutations
Paper: Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz & crisp Cantaloup
Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz & Calypso Coral
Misc: Tea Time Doilies, Blushing Bride Cotton Ribbon, Blushing Bride Rosette trim, Die-cut card.

I used a die cut card from the Occasions Artisan Embellishment Kit as a stencil! I used a glue dot to add the rosette to the knot on the ribbon,

The Occasions catalog has a new Artisan Embellishment Kit. The description is "A fresh take on a past favorite! Kit contains 2 die-cut, double-sides Sahara Sand. white 3"x 4" cards, 18" Blushing Bride rosette trim, 1 yd Rose Red lace, 1 yd Blackberry Bliss thin velvet trim, 4 white doilies, 12 adhesive pearls, 1 lg metal flower button, 2 sm metal buttons, 2 clear buttons, 2 Blushing Bride resin flowers, 1 white resin flower"

A New Year

This year Stampin' UP! has added an additional 20 days to Sale-a-bration! This year it launches on the same day as the Occasions Catalog. So on January 6th not only can you start buying from the Occasions catalog for every $50 you spend from it and/or the annual catalog you can choose a free item from the Sale-a-bration catalog.

I will be giving you an early peek of some of the items from both catalogs starting today.

The first item in the Occasions catalog that caught my eye was "From the Herd". I am part of a group of demos that call ourselves the llamas, so when I saw this set I had to get it. the image reminds me of this photo.

 There is 3 choices for this set, wood, clear mount & photopolymer. The set has 13 stamps.

Stamps: From the Herd

Paper: Whisper White, Island Indigo, Soft Suede

Ink:  Early Espresso, Memento Tuxedo Black, & Blendabilities

Misc: Woodgrain Textured Embossing Folder & Big Shot

I swiped the Early Espresso ink pad across the raise portion of the embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot.

If you haven't bought yourself the Big Shot yet Sale- a- bration is the perfect time, By adding the least expensive item to your order you will get 2 free items from the Sale-a-bration catalog.