Come join me for a color challenge...

I seem to be stamping cards for Halloween, then Christmas, then Halloween again. So it seems fitting that since I had my Halloween Stamp Camp last night, I should be stamping Christmas cards today! This Cherry Cobbler card features Deck the Halls dsp, which contains all of the colors in the challenge today - Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand and Cherry Cobbler. I used the spiral punch on the dsp, Cherry Cobbler seam binding, and champagne glass glitter on Tombow Liquid Adhesive on the Contempo Christmas saying. Super cute, super easy!

Wicked Cool Rich Razzleberry card...

This is one of the cards we'll be making tonight at my Halloween Stamp Camp. It uses Wicked Fun dsp, along with some Black Flourish Designer Jewels. I love using a purple color for Halloween - it's so rich! And this color happens to be Rich Razzleberry. The "Spooky" is embossed White Craft ink.

Stamps: Wicked Cool;
Ink: White Craft pad, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry and Daffodil Delight markers;
Paper: Whisper White, Wicked Fun dsp, Rich Razzleberry, Basic Black;
Accessories: Large Oval Punch, 5/8" Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, Black Flourish Designer Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Batty for You notecards...

Once again I needed a handful of thank-you notecards to put in my customers' Stampin' Up! bags with their orders. I love the Batty for You stamp set because you can stamp it, punch it and go!

The Pear Pizzazz card stock had been run through the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder for a previous project and so was leftover. The scallop circle came from the pennant die, which I used last night. I just needed the pennants for a SPOOKY sign at my studio, so the scallop circles were "bonuses." I added a little black lace trim and there you have it!

What's on your desk?

I have more Stampin' Up! deliveries to make today and needed more thank-you cards to put in the bags, so this is what my desk looked like this morning.

The scallop circles under the ribbon were leftovers from pennants I die-cut last night. I found some of them were perfect to layer behind my Frankenstein monster on the notecard.

Now go see others' desks (WOYWW 69) at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. And have a great day!

Growing Green and Woodland Walk watercolored card...

My club members made this Growing Green card this month. It uses Woodland Walk dsp, as well as crocheted trim. The words are from Teeny, Tiny Wishes, and are adhered to the Crumb Cake card front with dimensionals.

Stamps: Growing Green (118758 wood, 120624 clear), Teeny Tiny Wishes (115370);
Ink: Garden Green (102272) and Chocolate Chip pads (100908);
Paper: Very Vanilla (101650), Garden Green (102584), Chocolate Chip (100071), Crumb Cake (120967), and Woodland Walk dsp (117389);
Accessories: Aqua painter (103954), Victoria Crochet Trim (118481), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Scallop Oval Extra-Large Punch (119856), 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval Large Punch (119855).

Nite Owl-covered coffin for Halloween decoration...

I had a couple of items I wanted to alter before my Halloween Stamp Camp Thursday evening - this coffin was one of them. I picked it up at a craft store for $2.99.

I used SNAIL on the wooden bottom of the coffin and stuck it to a sheet of Nite Owl dsp, then cut around it with a hobby blade. I did the same for the lid.

The spider web sides came out of another piece of Nite Owl dsp, 1-1/8" wide that wraps all the way around the way around and is cut around the clasp. I used 5/8" Old Olive satin ribbon for the sides of the lid, knotting it, then added black lace ribbon over the top.

These Black Flourish Designer Jewels are really fun to add to projects. For more bling, I added an antique brad with the raven that I punched from dsp.

Stamps: Tiny Tags;
Ink: Basic Gray, Old Olive;
Paper:  Nite Owl dsp, Basic Black;
Accessories: Black Flourish Designer Jewels, antique brads, linen thread, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, 5/8" Old Olive satin ribbon, Black Lace Ribbon (Holiday Mini).

My 11-year-old's Long Fellows card for his dad...

My son created this cute dog card for his dad's birthday. He used the dog from Long Fellows (Level 2 hostess set), as well as a greeting from Family Phrases.

All of the paper came out of my scrap box - a piece of Blueberry Crisp dsp, Pacific Point card stock, even the half sheet of Very Vanilla. Markers were used to color in the canine.

Stamps: Long Fellows, Family Phrases, D is for Dog;
Ink: Pacific Point and Basic Gray pads, plus Chocolate Chip and Cajun Craze markers;
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Blueberry Crisp dsp, and Pacific Point;
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals.

Simple Countryside truck card...

It was my hubby's birthday yesterday, so I made this quick 4" x 4" card for him using the Countryside stamp set. It uses a piece of Jolly Holiday dsp, some Early Espresso card stock and 1/8" taffeta, as well as a sentiment from Three Little Words.

Stamps: Countryside (116998 wood, 120495 clear), Three Little Words (113254);
Ink: Old Olive pad (102277);
Paper: Whisper White (100730), Pear Pizzazz (119795), Jolly Holiday dsp (117159), Early Espresso (119670);
Accessories: 1/8" Early Espresso taffeta (119959), Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402), Decorative Label Punch (120907), Basic Pearls (119247), Word Window Punch (119857), Modern Label Punch (119849).

Stamping 411 Sketch with Blowing Kisses...

I've liked the stamp set Blowing Kisses from the first time I laid eyes on it in the catalog. I've only used it once before, so the Stamping 411 Sketch 170 was the perfect opportunity to get more ink on it.

I started with a Whisper White card, and added Poppy Parade card stock that's been punched with the scallop trim border. On top of that is some Pawsitively Prints II dsp and a knot of Poppy Parade ribbon.

I stamped the rabbit in Basic Gray and used an aqua painter and Sahara Sand on him, and Poppy Parade on the hearts. To give the bubble hearts that wet look, I added Crystal Effects.

If you want to use another great card sketch, visit here.

Stamps: Blowing Kisses (118740 wood, 120603 clear);
Ink: Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Basic Gray pads, Daffodil Delight marker;
Paper: Whisper White, Poppy Parade, Build-a-Bear Workshop Pawsitively Prints II (117396);
Accessories: Crystal Effects (101055), Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402), 1/2" Poppy Parade stitched-poly ribbon (119263), Stampin' Dimensionals, aqua painter.

Sketch challenge with In Wilderness stamp set...

I used this Sunday Sketch & Stamp sketch to create an earthy square card I think anybody would love to receive. I put together my In Wilderness stamp set for this card, inking up the bison and the words in Early Espresso. The paper is from the Woodland Walk dsp pack.

I ran a strip of Early Espresso card stock through the Square Lattice embossing folder in the Big Shot to add some texture to the card, as well as the three antique brads.

This card also uses several punches - the 1-3/4" circle for the bison, the wide oval for the sentiment, and the decorative label for a layer behind the words.

Sketch challenge featuring Butterfly Prints...

It's down to the wire for posting a Mojo Monday card, considering it's Sunday afternoon already! This is from this past week's Sketch 157. It features Butterfly Prints and Celebrations dsp, and is my niece's birthday card.

Stamps: Butterfly Prints (121049 wood, 120738 clear);
Ink: Pacific Point pad (111837), Pacific Point marker (120968), Pear Pizzazz marker (In Color pack), and Real Red marker (100052);
Paper: Whisper White (100730), Pacific Point (111350), Celebrations dsp (117164); 1-3/4" circle punch (119850), 1/8" Real Red taffeta ribbon (119251), Basic Rhinestones (119246).

Halloween is an American Ink favorite!

Pearl was kind enough to send me this photos from our American Ink gathering at Sherry's a couple of weeks ago. There were so many projects featuring Stampin' Up! decor elements, black jewels, Big Shot dies and more.

In the first photo, the SU! card tree is full of fabulous Halloween cards. And see the little pails of candy? Pearl enlarged a stamped image of the witch's legs in Wicked Cool and adhered them to tall candy holders.

In the middle photo, you can see the fabulous spread mostly baked by Cheryl, one of my downline. The cupcake holders are from the Perfect Setting die for the Big Shot, decorated with the Bitty Bat Punch and party picks that used several punches. I love the popcorn ball container Sherry decorated with Spooky Things Decor Elements (in the Holiday Mini).

There are more decor elements on the white pumpkins decorating Sherry's entryway. They also feature our gorgeous Black Flourish Designer Jewels.

If you'd like to order any of these items for your own Halloween bash, call or email me, or order it directly from here. (My phone and email are both at this link too.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Batty for You thank-you card...

I truly appreciate every Stampin' Up! order placed with me, and decided I need to express that more. So I'm dropping thank-you cards into the orders I deliver to my customers.

What's fun about this card is I used paper from my scrap box. The Tangerine  Tango card stock had been run through the Square Lattice embossing folder for another project and I had a couple pieces left over, so I cut them down for this card - as the background and for a layer behind the cute bat. The scallop circle is out of Concord Crush. I used dimensionals under a couple of the layers. And I love the Batty for You stamp set. It's so quick and easy to stamp an adorable note like this.

If you're my customer - THANK YOU. I really mean that (even if you haven't received a notecard yet). Have a great weekend!

Silent Night Deck the Halls dsp card...

There is absolutely NO stamping on this card, and I really like it. I trimmed around this Silent Night verse, which is on one side of the Deck the Halls dsp and adhered it to more of the dsp in that pack with dimensionals after sponging around the edges with Early Espresso ink.

The holly and berries were cut out of the dsp and adhered with dimensionals, then to finish the card, there are sparkly neutral glimmer brads.

Ink: Early Espresso pad;
Paper: Early Espresso, Deck the Halls dsp;
Accessories: Neutral glimmer brads, sponge dauber, Stamping Dimensionals.

New sketch with Peaceful Season...



I started with a Sahara Sand card, and added a distressed piece of Deck the Halls dsp to it. The little button brads are so cute! They're from Vintage Trinkets. And that Cherry Cobbler ribbon is actually seam binding in the Holiday Mini. The holly and berries at the bottom left of the card was cut from a piece of the dsp.

Stamps: Peaceful Season;

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke;

Paper: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Deck the Halls dsp;

Accessories: Vintage Trinkets, Cutter Kit, Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Seam Binding

An easy sketch to use for any occasion, including Halloween...

This layout was a card sketch featured on the Stamping 411 blog a week or two ago. I like it so much I'm revisiting the same sketch and papers (I used up the rest of what I'd cut for last weekend, and added a bit more) for Ginette's stamp club tonight. I substituted the Fang-tastic stamp set, so my stampers can choose between the cute witch or boy vampire.

The colors featured here are the In Colors Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz, along with Confetti White and the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder.

Stamping 411 Sketch 169: Merry Crittermas card...

I enjoy the Stamping 411 card sketches because they are quick and easy to do. For Sketch Challenge 169 I started with a Whisper White card and added a little Candy Cane Christmas dsp with Real Red card stock and Blushing Bride ribbon. I sponged Baja Breeze around the card front and the main image, which is from the Holiday Mini stamp set Merry Crittermas.

I used markers, as well as an aqua painter and ink pads to color the bunny image, then layered it on a Baja Breeze decorative label embellished with a few rhinestones. Of course the snow has to have some Dazzling Diamonds glitter on it too.

Check back here Thursday for an exciting announcement!

What's on your Workdesk 68?

This is the second week in a row I've taken part in What's on your Workdesk Wednesday. It's #68. Look at Julia's blog here to see others' creative spaces.


On my workdesk, the placemat is inky from a weekend of coming up with ideas for my stamp clubs this month. I was using a brayer, but ditched the idea because the technique I wanted to do just didn't look like I wanted it to. I started (and finished!) a card tonight using another's blog's sketch. You can see that in the next post.

A Cute Christmas with dazzling diamond dust technique...

If you want all-over sparkle, the Dazzling Diamond Dust Technique is for you!

Stamp and color your image (here, I stamped the stockings from A Cute Christmas in Basic Gray and colored them in with markers). Punch it out. Take a VersaMark pad to the entire colored image, making sure to get ink on every part of the card stock. Pour on Irridescent Ice embossing powder, tap off excess and heat. It's that simple!

This card also uses A Candy Cane Christmas dsp layered on Garden Green card stock with a knot of 1/8" Real Red taffeta ribbon. The card is Baja Breeze. This idea was inspired by Ilina Crouse.

Jolly Old Saint Nick tinsel card...

A little silver tinsel and silver glass glitter go a long way to adding sparkle to a holiday card.

I started with a Bashful Blue card and ran the front through the Northern Flurry embossing folder. The tag is a 2-1/2" x 4" piece of Crumb Cake that's been sponged with White Craft ink. There's a 2-1/2" piece of Garden Green that's been punched using the Scallop Trim Border, then I added a line of Tombow Liquid Glue, sprinking silver glass glitter on it.

The santa from Jolly Old Saint Nick was stamped in Early Espresso and cut out, with some White Craft ink sponged on. Santa is adhered with dimensionals. I added a 3/4" x 3" piece of Whisper White card stock with a sentiment from Many Merry Messages, and a Garden Green button from the Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons package.

The original card idea came from the Holiday Mini Catalog!

Builder Christmas wheels and Merry Christmas cards...

Here are the last two cards made at my Christmas card stamp-a-stack last Wednesday. The first is a 6" x 6" piece of textured Baja Breeze card stock, folded in half with a strip of Candy Cane Christmas dsp and Wild Wasabi card stock. We wheeled Little Cardinals, Little Christmas and Little Ornaments on a Basic Gray pad, then colored in the images with markers. The button is from the Regals Designer Button pack.

The idea for the second card came from the Stampin' Up! convention I attended in July. It starts with a Very Vanilla card that's been run through an embossing folder (Finial Press here, though Petals a Plenty is what I was look for and couldn't find). There are a couple strips of Jolly Holiday dsp with a strip of Cherry Cobbler cs that's been run through the Scallop Trim Border Punch. We punched out two Cherry Cobbler 5-petal flowers using that punch, crunched them up and distressed them and added a clear rhinestone brad. The sentiment, from All Holidays, was inked with markers and punched out using the Holiday Mini Decorative Label Punch.

A Cute Christmas & Tags til Christmas stamp-a-stack cards...

Here are three of the cards my customers made at my Christmas card stamp-a-stack a few days ago.

The first is a Very Vanilla card with colored squares that were run through the Northern Flurry embossing folder. The fourth square is a stamp from Tags til Christmas that was stamped in Cherry Cobbler, layered on a scallop square and adhered to the card with dimensionals. A strip of card stock with a Regal designer button completes the card. BTW, I chose the colors using the buttons pack! I CASE'd this idea from Jess Schnoor.

The ornament card is all Riding Hood Red and Whisper White. A white layer was run through the Pretty Polka Dots embossing folder. I added some glitter and a big rhinestone to the ornament, as well as a few inches of white taffeta ribbon in a knot.  The ornament is from Tags til Christmas, and the sentiment is from the Snow Swirled stamp set.

For A Cute Christmas card, I pulled the colors from the Candy Cane Christmas paper, using a Blushing Bride card base with Real Red for an accent. I CASE'd this card from here. We colored the image with markers, and added a bit of glitter to the snow for some sparkle.

I have two more cards from this event I'll add here tomorrow, so please come back! And enjoy your Saturday.

Got Treats for color challenge...

I found a new sketch to try at http://technostamper.blogspot.com/2010/09/monday-lunchtime-sketch-challenge-139.html. You can see the sketch below.

For this card, I pulled out my In Color pad of paper, and ran the Early Espresso card stock through the Big Shot in the Square Lattice embossing folder. I took advantage of this challenge to ink up my Got Treats stamp set. I love that little gingerbread man!

Stamps: Got Treats (119114 wood, 120627 clear);

Ink: Early Espresso pad (119670), Pear Pizzazz marker (119801 - In Color markers);

Paper: Whisper White (100730), In Color Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack (117158), Early Espresso card stock (119686);

Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder (119976), Blushing Bride 1/2" Stitched-Poly Ribbon (119267); 1-3/4" Circle Extra-Large Punch (119850).

Sherry's party favor box...

Sherry is this amazing woman in my American Ink group who volunteers to host our group meetings in her home every other month so that other demos who live around that area can easily make the drive.

And not only did she decorate her home for our meeting last weekend, she also gave me this clear party favor box as a gift! Is she the sweetest, or what?

The crown is from Stampin' Up!'s Artistic Etchings, and is stuck on a 1-1/4" circle, layered on a 1-3/8" circle, which is then adhered to a scalloped rosette. The rosette is made of two punched scallop circles. You snip from one scallop to the center and then do a fan folded back and forth. When you do that to two scallop circles, you adhere the ends to each other.

The photo really doesn't do the box justice. It's truly elegant looking in real life! Thank you, Sherry. You're terrific!

What's on your desk?

Where I stamp at home

I thought I'd show you my stamp area, along with others at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. My area is at the top of the stairs in a loft area that gets really warm (the fan is the most important thing on my desk!). I have wood-mounted stamps to my left and in front of me on the wall, and clear-mounted stamps - and the blocks - in the built-in bookcase to my left.

I really do have my area this clean when preparing projects. And I like having everything within reach. I keep the rolls of ribbon in front of me with several pairs of scissors, the flat punches stacked in the bookshelf and the lever punches stacked three deep on my ink pad holder. All of my 8-1/2" x 11" card stock is in the top drawer of the black filing cabinet.

I'm getting ready for a Christmas card stamp-a-stack tonight, so the green striped tote is holding three prepped card totes, and there are bags of things to take out to my studio tonight. The other plastic totes with lids on them are from other events I've done. I keep telling myself I'll make up the rest of those cards. And one of these days, I will! As for what's on top of the right side of my desk - it's a mess. There's a big shoe box with tons of scraps, packets from old make & takes, and random punched pieces that I didn't end up using. I like to clear out my scrap box a couple of times a year by "gifting" it to a favorite customer. They're thrilled and so am I.

Have a great day!

Kept uncluttered so I can use the paper cutter easily, and so my 9-year-old daughter can stamp with me. We just finished stamping and coloring her birthday invitations.

Where the clutter accumulates! This is the right side of my built-in desk. It gets cleared out once in awhile (not as often as it should!)

Flat punches, clear-mount stamps, markers, sponge daubers, glitter, and clear blocks

New Digital Downloads for My Digital Studio

You may order these digital downloads through my website's online store here. If you want to view the complete list of My Digital Studio download offerings, go to http://www.stampinup.com/ and click on Store, then Digital Crafting.

Item 123200     To the Nines Designer Series Paper     $4.95

Item 121434     Typewriter Numbers Stamp                  5.95

Item 121435     Timeless Stamp Brush Set                   3.95

Item 122161     Word Window Punch                           0.95

Item 121436     Favorite Thoughts Stamp Brush Set      1.95

Item 121437     In a Word Stamp Brush Set                 3.95

American Ink make & takes...

I can't say enough great stuff about the women in my American Ink group. They are talented and generous - especially when it comes to stamping. Every month I ask for volunteers to bring make & takes for everybody to craft. And every month we have lots of great stamping fun! In many other groups, demonstrators pay a fee to do the make & takes.


Sherry's wicked waffle paper make & take

Paula's mummy make & take with bloodshot eyes

Pearl's shimmery web make & take

 So a special thank-you to this month's make and take providers - Sherry, Pearl and Paula. I appreciate you!