Mummyfied Treat Card

What a great day it's been today!  I got lots of stamping and planning done for our stamping at church on Tuesday night.  It's always quite a production getting the different cards planned and then cutting all the cardstock, ribbons, etc and gathering everything needed to make 120-150 cards each month for our military personnel overseas.  This is really a labor of love for myself and all the ladies that come every month to make the cards.  It's wonderful to be able to do something to let our soldiers know that we appreciate them and all they do.  Anyway, since this time around I was using so many retired items, I thought you wouldn't be interested in them.  So I've got a cutesy Halloween treat card to share with you instead.  I'll be honest and tell you I've seen a good number of versions of this idea out there on the net, but you can always use one more.  Can't you??  Hope so, 'cuz here it comes!

Stamps:  Googly Ghouls and Grateful Greetings(retired)
Ink:  Basic Black and Basic Gray
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP
Accessories:   1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Modern Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Googlie Eyes, Sponge Dauber, and candy

As you can see, this is an easy tri-fold card.  It folds up nicely to hide the candy treat inside.  I chose to use a retired sentiment set because it fit the card so well. 

The hole for the mummy to peek through was made by the 1 1/4"Circle Punch punched on the fold only halfway in.  This gives you the perfect size to pop him in and it opens easily around the mummy.

Of course, one of the Googlies were used for his eye.  Having that extra touch just makes the card perfect.  And I saw the candy out for Halloween already and thought the orange color would work well with this idea.

Ok, here we go again with the twisted picture!  I really don't know why some of my pictures keep posting on their side.  When I take the pic and label it, it's always correct.  But as soon as it's posted, there it is laying down on it's side again!  What frustration!  I'm about ready to start pulling my hair out, but I don't have enough to spare so I better not!   grin

Thanks for stopping in for a peek.  Hope you have a great week ahead.  The weather's been gorgeous with sunshine and blue skies - perfect fall weather.  I need to get outside tomorrow and enjoy it instead of hiding in the stamp cave. 
Happy stamping - Sharon

Ornament Keepsake Card

Good grief!  I can't believe it's Friday night already.  Where has the week gone?  And for that matter, the whole month of September has just flown by!  I need to really buckle down and get making more cards!  Of course, that's always the plan, but seems like it doesn't really happen too often.  Oh well, I can still dream, can't I?  Ok, enough fussing and let's get down to business here.  This card took me two days to finish.  I knew the layout I wanted to use and what color to stamp the ornaments.  The problem came trying to decide what color to use for the background.  This is what I came up with...

Stamps:  Ornament Keepsakes and Petite Pairs
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive
Paper:  Whisper White, Night of Navy
Accessories:  Big Shot with Lacy Brocade TIEF and Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Old Olive and Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, retired oval punch, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

Have you tried out this stamp set and coordinating framelit set yet?  I'm telling you, you're gonna fall in love with it!  The framelits make it so easy to add layers of ornaments to your Christmas cards.  I want to add a whole tree-ful of them!!  Yes, it really is addicting making all these ornaments.  Can you tell?

I love the richness of these dark colors together, and the Lacy Brocade TIEF is a fitting background for the card.  I really debated about using rhinestones or glitter on the ornaments.  At this point I've decided not to add them, but that could change sometime in the future as I continue to look at the card.  Sometimes you just have to go back and give it a little sparkle, you know?

Well, that's it for today.  Hope you like the idea.  Make time to do some stamping this weekend.  It's good for you!   Hugs, Sharon

Scentsational Season Christmas

This is one of my favorite sets - and the reason is the Framelits set that matches it!  This duo makes your cardmaking quick and soooo much easier than cutting everything out.  Oh yes, I just love playing with these matching stamp and Framelit sets!!  It's one of the bestest things that Stampin' Up! has been doing as far as I'm concerned.  Here's what I worked on last week with it...

Stamps:  Scentsational Season, Joyous Celebrations, and More Merry Messages
Ink:  Garden Green and Daffodil Delight
Paper:  Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, and Be Of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper
Accessories:  Big Shot with Holiday Collection Framelits and Perfect Polka Dot TIEF, 1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Square Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, Glue Dots, and Dimensionals

Isn't this a bright and happy Christmas card?   I love using unusual color combos for Christmas cards, but then I have to come back to the traditional reds and greens.   It just reminds me of all the happy Christmases spent with my family growing up.  And this card has a whimsical feeling that would be just fine for kids and Christmas memories, don't you think?

I love all the different bits and pieces of the design coming together here. With the circles and strips, and layers and embellishments, there's lots of interest to keep you looking.

Okay, here I go with another picture flipped on it's side.  I'm going to scream if this doesn't quit, 'cuz I can't get it right side up!  Anyway, I used a skinny strip of the Real Red cardstock inside the card to mimic the strips of DSP on the front of the card to give it a different look.

That's it for today.  Hope you're enjoying your Sunday and finding time to relax and refresh yourself.  It's important to give yourself a break and just have a little fun stamping!  Hugs,  Sharon

Halloween Medallions

How strange it is when creative minds are thinking alike!  The past 2 weeks I'd been playing around making some new Halloween decorations.  You have to understand about this.  You see, Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but I have an evergreen swag with twinkle lights draped on the top of my entertainment center that stays up all year.  I just change out the little treasures that are nestled or hung from it every season.  And it was getting to be time for the ghosts and goblins to come out, but the old ones were looking a little droopy and faded.  So I've been working on new DSP medallions to go up there.  I wanted them two-sided so they could be for Halloween and the rest of fall too.  They were about finished with just a few fall ideas for the back to finish when the latest "Stampin' Success" came in the mail.  Imagine my surprise when I saw exactly what I'd been working on featured in the magazine!!  Wow!  Deja vu and all that, you know? 
Anyway, here are mine - a little bigger, but very similar!

 

I've no idea why 2 of the pictures flipped sideways and can't get them to behave themselves.  What a hassle!  Anyway, you can see just how cute they turned out and I can't wait to get them hung upstairs.   After seeing the layout in the magazine, I made the little one like one that was pictured there.  It was made with black cardstock that was cut 1" wide.  All the rest were made with Howlstooth and Scaringbone Designer Series Paper that was cut 2" wide.  I also used the Silver Glimmer paper to add some glitz to them because most of them looked on the dark side.  As you can see from the back of one, I added pumpkins and/or fall-toned leaves, so I can just flip them over to the backside and they'll do double duty through November.               These are so easy to make using the Simply Scoring Tool.  The larger ones were all scored every 1/2" and the little black one was every 1/4".  All the embellishments were stamped and punched with whatever seemed to fit nicely with the paper colors and prints.  I think my favorite is this one here to the left with the Tangerine Tango and Black striped DSP.  Love how it turned out with two layers of scallop punched circles layered on under the stamped bat.  (After I saw the magazine, I added a rhinestone to the bat like they had done.)

I can't tell you how much fun these are to make.  You can use any paper, in any color, for any holiday or special theme.  I'm already thinking up ideas to update my Christmas danglies (that's probably not a word, is it?).  Anyway, it's lots of fun, so give it a try. 

tip:  With the Silicone Craft Sheet in the mini catalog, it's so easy to glue these medallions together with your hot glue gun without worrying about sticking to everything.  You can even squeeze out a glob of glue right onto the sheet and work from there to put the medallion together!  Easy peasy for sure!

Okay, I'm done fussing with this post.  The entire layout has gotten jazzed and I'm too tired and frustrated to figure it out.  I am soooooo not computer literate!!!   Arrrrgggghhh!  Oh well, at least you can see the pictures and get and idea what I did.  Have fun stamping!  Sharon

A Daring Adventure Card

My sister Connie is a very creative stamper and comes up with cards I really enjoy.  They are always eye-catching and a little different.  A couple months ago she sent my hubby a birthday card that I really liked.  Since then, one of the items on her card has been retired - the twill tape.  I struggled to find something else to use instead, but didn't really like the looks of any of the ribbons or threads I tried.  So instead, I made her card without any extra embellishment at all.  I'm happy to say that I liked it just fine.  So here's the updated version of Connie's card that the ladies in Hostess Club made....

Stamps:  Daring Adventure
Ink:  Not Quite Navy and Early Espresso
Paper:  Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, and Baja Breeze
Accessories:   Big Shot with Square Lattice TIEF, and Dimensionals

Wow, that's probably the fewest items I've used on a card in a long, looooong while!  It has really clean lines, and the hardest part is just cutting all the little layers with only an 1/8" difference.  Sometimes embossing cardstock changes the dimensions a bit, so I did a little trimming on the Early Espresso layers to make them look right.

So if you're in the market for a masculine card, this one sure fits the bill nicely.  Thanks for the idea Connie!  It really worked out well even without the twill tape accent on it!  Happy stamping, Sharon

Triple Layer Fall Card

I have to be honest here - I have absolutely no idea what this technique is actually called.  I've always thought the cards using this technique were stunning and beautiful, but I never really knew how easy they are to make.  So if you're like me and were too chicken to try this out, I'm here to tell you how to do it.  You're gonna love it!!  I'm so excited about knowing how to do this now!  I spent Sunday afternoon with a group of ladies in Toledo stamping, eating, and having fun.  What could be better than that, right?  Oh yes, learning a new technique made it even better!  Here's one of the cards we made...

Stamps:  French Foliage and En Francais
Ink:  Sahara Sand, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and Old Olive
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla
Accessories:  1" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Piercing Tool and Mat, Linen Thread, More Mustard 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), and Dimensionals

Don't you just love this?  The colors are perfect for fall, and this wonderful leaf stamp set is one of my all-time favorites.  With a generic sentiment dangling on it, this card is also very versatile and can be used for those dreaded "masculine cards" that most of us struggle to come up with.

So, here's the low-down on making it.  Get all your layers cut and ready to work with.  Stack all the Vanilla (or White, whichever you're using) layers in the proper order and tack together with a touch of removeable adhesive.  Stamp the background on all of them together.  Stamp your other images overlapping onto the different layers.  Carefully peel the layers apart.  Attach each layer to the contrasting layer that goes with it,  and then put them all together.  The skinny unstamped edges on the second and third layers are covered by the contrasting layers.  Understand?  Can you tell on the close-up along the top edge behind the first layers there is a small section that is unstamped?  When I put the card together, I didn't have my glasses on and didn't notice that it wasn't lined up properly.  (The joys of getting older, hmmmm)  If the layer was a smidge higher, that unstamped strip wouldn't be showing at all.

Hope this made a little bit of sense.  If you can't understand what I'm struggling to explain, just leave a comment and I'll try to give you a clearer explanation.  It's really an easy technique and looks so nice when it's done.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!  Have fun stamping!  Sharon

Another Wonderfall Card

I can't seem to leave this awesome stamp set and die combo alone.  I keep grabbing it and making cards in all kinds of different color combos and layouts.  This layout today is similar to the earlier card posted, but there are definite differences.  Can you spot them?

Stamps:  Wonderfall and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, and Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Very Vanilla, More Mustard, Chocolate Chip, and Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:   Big Shot with Autumn Accents Bigz Die and Woodgrain TIEF, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, and Dimensionals

Don't you just love the woodgrain TIEF?  It is so fabulous and gives this card the perfect background.  And the different prints on the leaves are so much fun!!  It really makes the card special.

The background here is very simple.  Just a layer of More Mustard, then add sections of Cherry Cobbler and Chocolate Chip then run it all through the Big Shot.  Instant fabulous!

Hope you have fun trying something like this.  If you'd like to order any of these products to be able to make this card yourself, just click on the ordering button on the right and place your order.  In a little over a week, you'll get all these fun products delivered right to your door and then all you need to do is find the time to play!  Let's get started right away.  Happy stamping, Sharon

Mistletoe Christmas

What a week it's been around here!  Seems like there's been a sleep-deprivation epidemic going on here.  Not only aren't the grandkids getting enough sleep(teething and colds), but neither is my daughter, or myself for that matter either.  Seems like I've been walking around like a zombie this week and just not getting anything accomplished at all!  But I crashed last night and got 8 1/2 hours and was raring to go today.  So far I've changed bed linens, done laundry, run the dishwasher and unloaded it, made 2 projects for next week's class, and actually stamped for fun today!!  That stamping for fun thing hasn't been happening too often lately, so it was especially wonderful.  I spent a little time checking out other people's stamping projects and got totally inspired by Connie Babbert and this card.  I pretty much copied her card 'cuz it was so darn cute, but I let my main object hang off the card to give it a different look.  Hope this inspires you too!  Thanks for the fabulous idea Connie!

Stamps:  Christmas Blessings
Ink:  Stazon Jet Black and Gumball Green with Cherry Cobbler marker
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla with Be Of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper
Accessories:   Big Shot with Delicate Doilies Sizzlit, AquaPainter, 1/8" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon, and Dimensionals

Isn't it cute?  I love having a small 4 1/4" square card and then having components of the card attached outside of the square.  Just makes it stand out a little more than a regular sized card.  And it still fits into a regular envelope so there's no extra cost to mail.  When you're sending out bunches of cards at Christmas, that's a major consideration!

I think mistletoe berries are actually whitish, but they didn't show up enough so there was some artistic license used here.  Hope you don't mind too much!

That's it for tonight.  It's already close to 10:30 and I'm beat again.  I need to step away from the stamping or I'll never shut down tonight.  Besides, the book I'm currently reading is calling to me!  he he  Happy stamping and have a fab weekend - Sharon

Wonderfall Leaves

Hey, I'm back.  Sorry for the hiatus.  Life got in the way of stamping and posting for awhile, but I'm here today.  Not sure about tomorrow, but that's the way it is with 2 grandkids - both with colds, and the little one teething on top of it all.  What fun it's been lately!  ( did you catch the bit of sarcasm?)  Anyway, I have a fabulous card for you today.  At least I think it is!  And it's using all kinds of new goodies that I had fun playing with.  And here you it is...

Stamps:  Wonderfall and Fabulous Phrases
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Soft Suede
Paper:  Soft Suede and Very Vanilla with Comfort Cafe DSP
Accesssories:  Big Shot with Autumn Accents Bigz Die, Summer Starfruit Stitched Ribbon, Brushed Bronze Buttons, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips, and Dimensionals

Isn't this pretty?  I was so happy with how it all came together.  I chose to use two of the colors from the Comfort Cafe DSP for the ink on the leaves and tag.  Then decided that the Summer Starfruit Ribbon would be the perfect accent to brighten the card up. 

Just one more thing was needed - that Brushed Bronze button.  Oh, I just love it all together, don't you! 

It was easier than I thought it would be to die cut the leaves then stamp on them.  You can see exactly where you're placing the leaf on the inked up stamp so there's no problem.  Easy peasy!

tip: Even though the button has 4 holes, I just tied the ribbon through 2 and made sure the ends of ribbon covered the other two holes.  Otherwise, it would have all been rather bulky for going through the mail.   This way it's much flatter.

Hope you love this as much as I do.  The colors are perfect for fall.  Think I might try this again using another of the prints from Comfort Cafe - the one with the blue flowers.  What do you think about that??  Should I give it a try?  I will, but you never know exactly what it'll be until you start playing with it! 

Tonight the ladies are gathering at church to make cards for our military again.  If you're in the area, stop in and stamp with us!  Check in with me for directions.  The more the merrier!  Have a great week.  Hope to be back quicker this time!!   Rubber hugs, Sharon