Connie Babbert

Creative Elements

August 29, 2011 By Connie | 8 Comments

Occasionally, I goof when I make up my packets of card supplies for a class or club. This month I had an extra packet of each Club card and I've promised myself that I would make the extras before I put the supplies away. Well, I saw the sketch today from The Paper Players (PP61) and knew that one of the card packets could be re-worked to fit in with their sketch! Woohoo! Love it when a plan comes together!

I decided I wanted to use Stampin' Up!'s new Creative Expressions stamp set in the big catalog! All the stamps I used on this card are in that set…and I didn't even use them ALL! It wasn't one that immediately grabbed me and said BUY ME…but I did get it free with my hostess benefits from the preorder I put in. And, it has really grown on me! I love it now!

Now, I'm not one who would have originally put these colors together, but I DO love them! I have Elizabeth Price to thank…I received a swap card at Convention from her with this color scheme. I paired it up with the LUCIOUS Mocha Morning Designer Paper! That paper is GORGEOUS! (Elizabeth is one of the Create with Connie and Mary Design Team Members for the Holiday Edition 2011! Makes sure to check out the announcement with the bios of the Design Team. Our Early Bird Special Price of $29.95 US for SIX weeks of daily ideas and tutorials just started!)

First I started with the base of Pool Party and layered on Soft Suede cardstock. I added the small strip of Mocha Morning Designer Paper down the center. I used Confetti Cream and cut out 1/2 of the Top Note with the Big Shot. Over that, I popped up the new Oval Frame cut from Pool Party and stamped with the backbround filigree from Creative Elements in Soft Suede ink. I stamped the long label in Basic Black on Confetti Cream and cut it out. I also stamped the butterfly and Create word in Soft Suede and cut out the butterfly and punched the Create with the Modern Label punch. The Oval Frame and the Butterfly were popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. I added the Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon around the card to hide the bottom of the Top Note. Then I added several Rhinestone Jewels to the label, the butterfly body and the Create swirl.

I love how it turned out and think it is pretty close to the interpretation of The Paper Players sketch by Jaydee! At least you can tell I was inspired by her sketch with my card!

I have a couple days FREE to create in my studio! My son had to use my car today since his broke down…now no excuses that I have to run errands either! Hope you have a wonderfully creative day, too!

CCMC 164 – Warmest of Wishes

August 28, 2011 By Connie | Leave a Comment

I wanted to use Stampin' Up!'s hostess only stamp set, Warmest of Wishes. That little Halloween Owl is just TOO cute! When we received this set for FREE at Convention, I was just TOO excited! So, I'm a LITTLE early using it…it is in the Holiday Mini that you'll be able to get next week with your hostess dollars! I was looking for a sketch and the latest Create with Connie and Mary CCMC 164 was sitting on top of my desk. Why not use it again? No rules that I can only use it one time, right? I adapted it just a little for my set. So, here is my SECOND card using the sketch!

I also had this strip of Pick Your Poison Designer Paper (Holiday Mini) sitting out from another project, so I took my colors from it. I started with a base of Pumpkin Pie. I layered on Basic Gray cardstock. I stamped the Halloween Owl in Basic Black in the bottom right corner of the Sahara Sand. I stamped him again on Pumpkin Pie, cut out the bag and his mask and placed it over the Basic Black. The beak I colored with Daffodil Delight Marker. I also "grounded" him by using a little Sahara Sand marker under his feet. Don't like to have my critters "floating" in the air! lol!

I decided to dress up the left side with ribbon and the Basic Black Taffeta was just muted enough to go with the Basic Grays in the Designer Paper. I added two Black Glimmer Brads by piercing thru the cardstock and then placed the brad around the ribbon to sort of gather it.

I stamped the words Happy Halloween from Stampin' Up!'s Delightful Dozen stamp set in Basic Black on Pumpkin Pie, then punched with the Modern Label punch and placed it above the owl. I like how this card turned out! Enjoy!

Did you see? Create with Connie and Mary has a NEW BLOG LOOK, getting ready for our SEVENTH Edition, the Holiday Edition 2011! We've started Early Bird Pricing…save $5 off the normal $34.95 US! At only $29.95, your subscription will get you 6 weeks of daily projects with FULL step-by-step tutorials, challenges, and a chance to win prizes. That is less than $1 a day, and is a HUGE bargain! Don't wait…sign up today!

Fall Trees Punch Art

August 26, 2011 By Connie | 28 Comments

Whew…I finally feel like I'm getting caught up on everything that was put on hold before the wedding and have time to look around at some different challenges to do! This Challenge Sketch PP60 from The Paper Players really caught my eye! It was designed by LeAnne Pugliese. Like LeAnne, I love the rule of three!

So, you can see from my card that I took a little liberty of the sketch and moved my sentiment…it just didn't fit on my card where the sketch placed it. I originally made the Punch Art Fall Trees for my August Punch Class. I switched up the layout of my original class card so that it would fit the Paper Players sketch this week. I've added a sneak peek of one of the new Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini stamp sets, It's A Wrap Holidays! I cut out just the greeting part "Give Thanks" to use on my card.

I started with a base card of Old Olive cardstock. I layered on Bashful Blue and sponged the clouds in the background with Bashful Blue Ink and the edge of a Scallop Circle. Along the bottom, I used Pear Pizzazz Patterns Designer Paper and tore the strip in half to make the ground. The tree trunks were made by using the Large Oval Punch on each side of a strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock. Of course, I used the Doily Triple Layer Punch to make the tops of the trees…in More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie. The detailed layer was placed over the solid layer of Old Olive. I used the scraps of the punches for the "leaves" on the ground. In the center of each tree is one of the new Mini Silver Brads. LOVE those tiny things! lol!

The greeting is from Stampin' Up!'s It's A Wrap Holidays as I mentioned and I just cut the Cajun Craze greeting to a 3/4" size and layered on 1" Square of Pumpkin Pie (we have a NEW 1" square punch in the Holiday Mini, too! Woohoo!!!) I added some Espresso Bakers Twine wrapped around the front to "ground" the greeting.

Out of the three cards we made at my August Punch Class, I think this was the favorite! Pretty quick and easy to make, too. Hardest part is finding those little punched "leaves" when they come out of the punch! lol!

Well, I'm hoping to have a productive day working on a few projects for our upcoming Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition!!! Early Bird pricing is starting SOON, so be looking for it!

CCMC164 – Snow Much Fun

August 25, 2011 By Connie | 6 Comments

It's THURSDAY and we have a sketch challenge this week for you on Create with Connie and Mary! It's a GOOD one, too! You need to check out the Challenge Team…all the cards are SO different! It's great how we all interpret things differently! Check them out over on Create with Connie and Mary. AND…we still have BLOG CANDY…a chance to win a FREE Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition 2011 subscription if you play along this week!

I'm back to using one of my favorite sets in the BIG catalog! I just have so much fun with this snowman set, Stampin' Up!'s Snow Much Fun! Here's my card! I hadn't given the tree from this set any love at all…so pulled it out to use on this card!

I started with a base of Baja Breeze cardstock and layered on the strip of Wild Wasabi cardstock along the left side. I stamped the tree with Black Stazon on Whisper White and watercolored with my AquaPainter and Wild Wasabi and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers. It is hard to see the sparkles, but I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch the small circles from the Silver Gimmer Paper (available September 1st!) and also added the Glimmer Paper on the right side with a piece of Scallop Edge Punch. It is SO sparkly in real life! The Whisper White was layered on Real Red cardstock.

Along the left side I added the strip of Candy Cane fabric (it's back and available in the big catalog!) and tied a knot. I added the greeting Merry Christmas from Stampin' Up!'s Petite Pairs stamp set in Black Stazon on Real Red and punched with the Modern Label Punch. As a final touch, I cut a rectangle of the same fabric, fringed the edges and gathered it at the top and placed it on Sticky Strip under the tree so it looks like a tree skirt! I think it adds a whimsical touch!

Make sure to check out the rest of the Challenge Team this week over on Create with Connie and Mary. Then get out your Stampin' Up! supplies and create a card using the sketch as an inspiration point! We love to see your work!

LOVE Pennant Parade Wedding Card

August 24, 2011 By Connie | 2 Comments

My friend, Lorri Heiling from Control Freaks Swappers, did a WONDERFUL pop-up birthday cake card for our organized Convention Swap. I loved it! I thought it would make a perfect wedding cake pop-up card, too! So…of course with my son's recent wedding, I had to make one for them using the colors of the wedding!

The base is Night of Navy cardstock and I embossed the top with Elegant Lines Impressions Folder. I stamped Stampin' Up!'s Pennant Parade image four times with Melon Mambo ink and punched with the Pennant Builder punch, then placed them across the front. The LOVE letters inside the pennants are from the lower case Sweet Shoppe stamp set with Night of Navy Ink and punched with the 1/2 Circle punch. There are just two bows of White Bakers Twine on each end. I added Happy I do day from Word Play in White Craft Ink in the bottom corner. But…inside is the magic! lol!

Once you open the top flap, it pulls up the Wedding Cake from the bottom pocket! Yes, sorry, I used some of the retired swirls from Brides Designer Paper. Wish they would bring that collection back! It was so great for weddings! On the top are 3 Melon Mambo flowers with the new Tiny Mini Brads in the centers. Now…I wanted to decorate the cake with flowers, too, like their real cake, but because it pulls up out of the pocket, you have to be careful not to put anything on it that would catch. So…I left it very simple and let the DSP be the star. lol!

So…here is a reminder of what their real cake looked like at the reception!

Come back tomorrow…it's Create with Connie and Mary Thursday Challenge time again! See you then!

Best of Everything

August 23, 2011 By Connie | 3 Comments

Wow…didn't mean to disappear for a couple days on you! I had a couple back to back classes and time just got away from me! I did want to play along with Technostamper's Lunchtime Sketch Challenge this week! It has some different layer arrangements this week…fun!

I pulled out the set that I received on the Stampin' Up! Alaska Cruise Incentive trip, Best of Everything…I love the whimsical images in this set! I matched it up with the fun colors in the Berry Blossoms Designer Paper package!

So, to make my card, I started with a base of Wisteria Wonder. I added a layer of Whisper White and a layer of Lucky Limeade. On the Lucky Limeade, I added the strawberry pattern from Berry Blossoms. The Wisteria Wonder pattern is the reverse side and I added that off the edge of the Lucky Limeade as the sketch requested. To hide the seam, I laid down Sticky Strip, then ruffled the Ruffled Ribbon in Lucky Limeade color across the front of the card. I LOVE this ribbon! Make sure you get in on my RIBBON SHARES…you'll get 3 yards of EACH color and it is SO beautiful with the coordinating inks and papers! Find out more about my RIBBON SHARES here...I have SEVERAL of them going on that just need ONE more person to fill them!

I stamped the strawberry from Stampin' Up!'s Best of Everything stamp set using my Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade Stampin' Write Markers, then cut them out. I added them to a 1 3/8" Circle of Whisper White and the Calypso Coral Scallop Circle. One was popped up with a Stampin' Dimensional and I added two Rhinestone Jewels to them. I stamped the greeting from this same set in Lucky Limeade and punched it with the Word Window Punch, then placed it on the Wisteria Wonder DSP.

I absolutely LOVE these colors together! I'll be using them a LOT more in the future!

August 2011 Tour de Freaks!

August 19, 2011 By Connie | 17 Comments

Yes! It is time for the monthly Tour de Freaks, brought to you by your Control Freak Swappers! Is it your favorite day of the month? It is mine! I love to see what the other Control Freaks share with us! They always have such wonderful ideas. You've probably just come from the awesome Patty Bennett's blog…love her projects! Or, if you are starting here, we have 13 stops and you go around the tour and end back here! Remember, the tour doesn't officially start until the morning of August 20th, so not all links may be working yet if you get here earlier!

The theme this month is a sneak peek of the upcoming Holiday Mini! I know most of my customers have received their copy in the mail within the past couple days! I'm hearing LONG wishlists! lol! I featured the stamp sets Gently Falling and Hand Penned Holidays in my projects this month, along with the WONDERFUL Spice Cake Designer Paper. I'm already ordering a couple more packages of it…LOVE it! Quite frankly, though, I had trouble getting started! Maybe it is a letdown after the wedding, or maybe just wishful thinking that summer isn't going to end! I decided to do sunflowers to go along with my Gently Falling leaves for my ensemble.

My first project uses one of the new Kraft Gift Boxes in the Holiday Mini! They are a great size for small gifts! I filled mine with a cello bag of candy corn! They are nice and sturdy and at a price of $2.95 for 4 of them, a pretty good deal! I covered each of the sides and top with Spice Cake Designer Paper, then wrapped the 1 1/4" Soft Suede Stripe Ribbon around and tied a knot on the front. I went looking for a sunflower and thought that Blossom Party Originals Die looked the most like one. I cut it with More Mustard cardstock, spritzed it with water and crumpled it, then added More Mustard Ink around the edges. For the center, I punched a 1 3/8" Circle of Early Espresso, then ran it thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I added Very Vanilla neutral flower button to the center and tied with the Early Espresso Bakers Twine so I don't have a "naked" button! I stamped the smallest leaf from Stampin' Up!'s Gently Falling stamp set with Old Olive and then the outline with Early Espresso and cut them out. The flower and leaves are popped up on the top with Stampin' Dimensionals. I added the greeting from Stampin' Up!'s Hand Penned Holidays in Early Espresso Ink on Pool Party cardstock. It really gives it a POP of color with the other all earthly tones.

I followed the same color scheme and design as the box on this card. I did make a double bow from the Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon for this one! I also used the Square Lattice Impressions Folder on 3/4 of the background Pool Party cardstock, leaving the bottom un-embossed so I could stamp Give Thanks on it.

The sketch this week from Stamping 411 inspired the design for this card. Again, I used the same elements as the box and previous card. Love how the Spice Cake Designer Paper patterns all coordinate together! Stampin' Up! sure makes it EASY to create!

I hope you enjoyed my Sunflower projects this month! Make sure you continue on the tour with the fabulous MARY BROWN! She always has such fantastic ideas!

CCMC162 Pennant Flower

August 18, 2011 By Connie | 9 Comments

Today is the Create with Connie and Mary Thursday Challenge! We have a fun color combination for you to try. But…don't do as Mary and I did! Mary used the wrong blue and had to re-do hers. She was laughing and emailed me about it. I finished my card, uploaded it and saw that I had used the wrong yellow! Both of us must have had a mental block when it came to this color combination! Really! It isn't that hard! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Challenge Team did with these colors…then play along. We have BLOG CANDY this month! You could win a FREE subscription to Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition just by playing along with this week's challenge!

Pennants are all the rage in stamping and scrapbooking! I love the new coordinating products that Stampin' Up! offers…the Pennant Parade stamp set, the Pennant Builders punch and the Perfect pennants die for the Big Shot! I had several punch pieces laying around from the Tangerine Tango Patterns Paper Stack and formed what looked to me like a flower! So…I built a flower from the scallop Pennant punches!

The base of the card is now So Saffron and I layered on Pacific Point that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I added a band of Whisper White that I stamped with Perfectly Penned Stamp Set in Pacific Point Classic Ink. I added Rhinestone Jewels horizontally and vertically around the greeting.

I adhered all the points of the Pennants together, then covered the center with a 1" So Saffron Circle that I ran thru with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I added a Itty Bitty Circle punched in Pacific Point and added the circle button with White Bakers Twine on top. I added the flower to the card with Stampin' Dimensionals!

Again, make sure to check out the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge Team this week! We'd love to see your creations using the Color Challenge!