Well, I know I’m enjoying the last day of Convention…the time always goes by SO fast!  I love meeting up with friends I only see 1-2 times a year and the energy I get from being around all those creative people is unbelievable!  I haven’t missed a Convention in the over 7 years I’ve been a demonstrator!

For today’s Stamping 411 Sketch Challenge, I experimented with my Lattice Bigz Die a little.  I ran Rich Razzleberry cardstock thru the Big Shot with the Lattice Bigz Die, then cut the 4 square design in half, so I could line the bottom of the card with it.  I layered it over a design from Cottage Wall Designer Paper.  The base of the card is Rich Razzleberry, with a stripe of Melon Mambo.  I stamped the basil herb image from Herb Expressions in Old Olive on Whisper White, colored it with Stampin’ Up! markers and AquaPainter and layered it on Melon Mambo and Old Olive.  I did use the Ticket Corner punch on each corner of each layer.  I punched the butterfly with the new Butterfly punch from the Cottage Wall Designer Paper and added a Slot Punch body in Old Olive for contrast.  The greeting was stamped with Basic Black on the Rich Razzleberry base…hard to see in the picture.

Love this sketch!  I’ll be using it again.  Hope you try it out and post to Stamping 411 Mr. Linky so we can see your creations!

Have a GREAT weekend and safe travels to all my friends going home from Convention!

Woohoo!  Today is registration day for Convention.  We’ll pick up our bag and stamp sets and go thru Memento Mall and spend LOTS of money!  lol!  I’m sure we’ll find time to check out some of the display boards, too!  I also enjoy this day and seeing friends from past Conventions that I only see 1-2 times a year.

Today’s card is one for my SSUS (Sensational Stampin’ Up! Swappers) organized swap.  I used the Cottage Wall Designer Paper and colors for this one!  The base is Rich Razzleberry and layered with Pale Plum that I ran thru the Big Shot with the new Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder.  I used a strip of the Cottage Wall Designer Paper and layered it on Rich Razzleberry , too.  Finally, I used the new Stampin’ Up! Exclusive Two Tags Bigz Die with Whisper White to cut out the tag, added some Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon, tied up with linen thread and stamped the Lavender and greeting from Herb Expressions in Rich Razzleberry, too.

I was very pleased with how this turned out!  Tonight we head out to Lion’s Pantry (I’m told it is a must go to restaurant) with a couple friends I met at Leadership in January!  Fun!

It’s time again for the Tour de Freaks Blog Tour, this is Stop #1.  You may have just come from our fabulous Control Freaks Swap Mom, Lisa Martz’s blog…welcome to my blog, Inkspired Treasures!  At the bottom of this post, you will be directed to the next blog stop, the awesome Mary Brown!  There is a total of 12 stops on this month’s tour. 

Our topic of the month is NEW stamp sets in the NEW catalog!  I’ve fallen in love with several sets and I’m excited to see the ideas the gals have come up with showcasing these sets!  I know I’ll have several more sets on my wishlist when I’m done with the Tour!

My first card starts out with one of the first sets I had on my wish list, Herb Expressions!  This is such a VERSATILE set with the images and verses it contains.  This card is 5 1/4 x 5 1/4 and uses two of the new In Colors!  For my focal element, I cut an oval template from the Oval Shapes die with my Big Shot and used the reverse image to sponge So Saffron in an oval shape on Whisper White.  Then I stamped the "I’m Here for You…" verse in Basic Black in the center of the oval.  I over stamped the Thyme image with More Mustard within the oval, too, so it stays as a background behind the verse.  I punched the corners of the Whisper White with the Ticket Corner Punch and layered it on Crushed Curry, punched the corners of that layer, too. I started with a base card of Crushed Curry and added a layer of Dusty Durango.  I used some of the designer paper from Razzleberry Lemonade and layered it on Dusty Durango.  Then I wrapped two lengths of Crushed Curry Polka Dot Ribbon and adhered to the back of the Dusty Durango.  I colored the silk flower from the Pretties Kit with Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry reinkers, then added a Crystal Rhinestone brad in the center.  It is popped up with Dimensionals on the front of the card.

My next card is a sneak peak for Christmas!  Everyone who knows me, knows that I love snowmen!  My house is decorated with them from the day after Thanksgiving until the end of February.  So, of course, the minute I saw the new Level 3 Hostess Set, The More the Merrier, I just HAD to have it!  Luckily, Stampin’ Up! allows demos to preorder one of the Level 2 and Level 3 sets before the new catalog takes effect, so I’ve had this gem in my hands for a while! 

One of the things I wanted to do is to make a Snowglobe from the Snowmen.  The images of the 5 snowmen was just a little too large for my 1 3/4 Circle Punch, so I used the marker omit technique and only inked up three of the snowmen with my black marker.  Then is used the colors from the Holiday Lounge Designer Paper (Taken with Teal, Real Red) and colored their scarves and hats with my markers.  For the base of the snowglobe, I inked up Warm Winter Wishes from Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and  used the NEW Modern Label Punch (doesn’t it look like a real base?) to punch it out.  At the bottom, I layered the Holiday Lounge Designer Paper onto Kraft cardstock, then a layer of Real Red.  I wrapped some 5/8 Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon and tied a knot in the front to hide the seam.  I also added a couple Real Red Square Rhinestone Brads to the bottom right corner.  Finally, I added my little snowglobe to the top with dimensionals and adhered everything to the base card of Taken With Teal!  I’m thinking that this just might be my Christmas Card this year!  Too fun!

Finally, I’ve included something for the kids.  Except that I’ll be the one carrying this around in my purse!  I’m always needing something to take notes on.  I like this pad of paper because it doesn’t have lines on it…this allows me to make sketches for designs if something catches my eye while I’m out shopping!  (Yes, I really do scribble on the backs of receipts, etc., when I spot an idea!)  

This picture shows how I made a folder to surround the paper pad and covered the outside with the new Tall Tales Designer Paper…the whales are just too cute!  The DSP was layered onto So Saffron cardstock that I scored to size around the pad of paper.  I added the reverse Stripe print from the same DSP on the bottom and wrapped some Chocolate Chip 1/4 grosgrain ribbon around to the back to secure.  I added a Filigree Brad.  Then I inked up the whale image from Animal Stories stamp set in Close to Cocoa Craft ink and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder on So Saffron cardstock.  I punched it with the 1 3/4 circle punch.  I layered it on the Whisper White Scallop Circles cut with the Pennant XL Die on my Big Shot.  I LOVE how the scallops are large enough to fit behind the 1 3/4 circle punch!  I also used the same Tall Tails Designer Paper to decorate the inside of the folder.

Of course, if I were to give it as a gift, I’d need a card to go with it.  So I created a little 4×4 card in the same design to go with my little memo pad holder!  Just for You is from the Teeny Tiny Words stamp set.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my creations and bookmark my site in your Favorites file.  Or, sign up to receive email updates in the upper left corner.  It emails you every time I post something new!

Next stop is the awesome, Mary Brown!  I’m sure she will WOW you with her creations!

Have a great day!

INKspired Treasures

Today’s Bloggers Challenge was to case a card from another Bloggers Challenge player!  What fun!  Of course, the talent is amazing, so it was hard just to choose one person to case!  But, my card was cased from one I found on Tiffany Bauer’s Blog.  I love all the layers that she uses on her cards!

On this card she used a retired set called Always in my Thoughts and Kiwi Kiss colors that retired last month.  I decided to update her card with a new set from the NEW catalog called Herb Expressions, along with one of the new In Colors, Rich Razzleberry!

I started by using my Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry markers to ink up the Thyme herb in the Herb Expressions stamp set and stamped it on Whisper White.  I layered that on Orchid Opulence and then on Rich Razzleberry.  That element was mounted on more layers of Whisper White, Orchid Opulence and Rich Razzleberry and the 1/4 circles (Crop A Dile) were added in the upper right corner, and the 1" and 1 1/4 punched circles with Thyme stamped as an accent were popped up with dimensionals on the front.  I wrapped the Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Ribbon around that entire unit and secured it with adhesive, then used one of the Kraft Corduroy Buttons to hold both the ends together (wish we had these in the new In Colors!).  The base card is Old Olive with a layer of Rich Razzleberry, then the dotted pattern from Cottage Wall Designer Paper.  I love this color combination!

This was such a fun challenge!  I hope you enjoy your weekend!  Make sure to check out the rest of the ideas by clicking on the Bloggers Challenge badge on the right!