Stampin' Up!

Beauty of the Season

September 10, 2014 By Connie | 2 Comments

I love seeing cardinals flitting around the trees outside! We have a male and female that love our big tree right outside our family room! So, when I saw Stampin’ Up!’s Beauty of the Season stamp set, I knew I had to have it! I think I have all their cardinal sets! lol!

I made this up early last month to hold the gift certificate for my downline, Jane, who had Top Sales for the 2013-2014 Stampin’ Up! year! She lives in another state and couldn’t make the downline recognition meeting last month! I love how easy this gift certificate holder is to make…use it all the time! I played around a little with my Blendabilities when making this, too!

Here are the details:

The base is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, scored at 3/4″ and 4 1/4″. I rounded the corners of the flap and back with the Corner Rounder Punch and added a 3/4″ x 5 1/2″ strip of Nordic Noel Designer Paper across the flap. I used Sticky Strip on the sides to form the pocket.
I cut a 3 1/4 x 5 1/4 piece of Whisper White and stamped the cardinal image with Tuxedo Black Memento Pad. I used the Real Red and Crumb Cake Blendabilities to color the bird. I also used the White Gel Pen to highlight the eye a little more. I used Daffodil Delight on the beak. I outlined the branch with Crumb Cake to give it a little more definition, too.
I stamped the greeting with Tuxedo Black Ink on Crumb Cake and tore around it, then added it to the front.
Inside I cut down the gift certificate slightly so it would fit in the pocket. It fits in a regular sized medium envelope.

It came together pretty quickly! I have some other ideas using this set that I need to work on!

Don’t forget…it’s not too late to join our Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions 2014! We just finished one week of Halloween/Fall card sets and now are working on two weeks of Christmas! It’s not too late to join and you won’t miss anything…you can refer back to the projects 24/7 for up to a year! For only $19.95 US, you’ll get over 72 EXCLUSIVE card ideas not shown ANYWHERE else! So, stop by Create with Connie and Mary and sign up!

SUOC105 Cheerful Tags

September 9, 2014 By Connie | Leave a Comment

It’s time for a new challenge over on SUO Challenges! This time we are featuring Embellishments (Page 208-209 in the Catalog and those in the Holiday Catalog) on our cards! I knew right away I wanted to make a button snowman. I also just had gotten my Little Letter Framelit Dies in my last order and so I spelled out SNOW. Perfect timing!

Here are the details:

The base is 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Soft Sky Cardstock, folded in half.
On the 4 x 5 1/4 layer of Lost Lagoon, I rounded the top with the Corner Rounder Punch.
Along the bottom, I added a 2 1/2 x 5 1/4 layer of the snowflake pattern in All Is Calm Designer Paper. On top of that I added a 1 x 5 1/4 piece of the Stripe pattern in the same package.
I wrapped the length of Lost Lagoon Silky Taffeta Ribbon around to the back and adhered in place to hide the seam at the top.
To hide the bottom seam, I cut a 1/8 x 5 1/4 piece of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and adhered it.
The Little Letters Framelits cut the SNOW letters from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper and I lined up along the top of the DSP.
I stamped the tag image in Cheerful Tags with Soft Sky Ink on Whisper White and punched with the Note Tag Punch.
I punched a narrow strip of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper with the bottom of the Note Tag Punch and curved the top of the snowbank.
I used two white buttons from the Neutral Pack. The larger one placed on the bottom with Mini Glue Dots, the top one I punched a 1/4″ Basic Black circle and adhered it behind the holes for the “eyes”, then placed on top of the larger one.
I cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine and laid it between the two buttons, then tied a knot on the right side for the scarf.
I hand cut the brim and top portion of the hat from Basic Black and added a hat band of Cherry Cobbler.
I placed the tag on the front of the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Isn’t my snowman CUTE??? I love how he turned out! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team did this time over on SUO Challenges! Then come play along…if you are like me, you have a stockpile of embellishments!

Week 1 – Tee-Hee-Hee

September 6, 2014 By Connie | 8 Comments

WOOHOO! Over on Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions we are showing off the sets we used this past week with a BLOG HOP!!! Come take the tour and see what the designers have come up with. (Of course, you can only see the actual card sets if you are a subscriber!) In addition to using our stamp set for our Week 1 challenge, we also had to use one of the products in the Holiday Catalog…the Take Out Box! How fun is that? You probably have just come from Deb Currier’s blog…love her box, don’t you? Before you take the tour, here is some information about our Holiday Card “Create”tions 2014 session:

We are just finishing up Week 1 on our Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions 2014! We are doing one week of Halloween/Fall card sets and two weeks of Christmas! It’s not too late to join and you won’t miss anything…you can refer back to the projects 24/7 for up to a year! For only $19.95 US, you’ll get over 72 EXCLUSIVE card ideas not shown ANYWHERE else! So, stop by Create with Connie and Mary and sign up!

I used the stamp set Tee-Hee-Hee this week for my card set. Here’s a coordinating box you can use to go along with it! I choose to use the Take Out Box closed and tied Black Chevron and Tangerine/White Striped Thick Twine on mine…then tied on the tag.

Here are the details:

I stamped the bats randomly on the unfolded box with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and then folded it closed.
I cut a 2 x 4 piece of Basic Black for the tag and used the Scallop Tag Topper on the top.
At the bottom of the tag I added a 1/2 x 2 strip of Motley Monsters DSP.
I punched a 2 1/2″ Circle Moon from Crushed Curry and sponged the edges with Tangerine Tango.
I stamped two more bats with Tuxedo Black on scrap Whisper White and cut them out, then added them to the moon with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
I also stamped the greeting with Tuxedo Black on a scrap 1/2″ strip of Whisper White, then adhered to the front. I added a couple rhinestones next to the greeting and also on the black “sky”.
I added the tag to the box by tying it on the ends of the Tangerine Tango/Whisper White Thick Twine.

OK…so now continue on around the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions Design Team blogs to see what they did with the Take Out Box Challenge! Next up is Natasha Zandbergen!

CCMC319 Fall Fest Pumpkin

September 4, 2014 By Connie | 8 Comments

It’s Thursday and time for a Create with Connie and Mary challenge! We have a wonderful sketch challenge for you today…clean and simple! Grab your stamps and play along!

And remember, we are just starting our Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions 2014 this week! We will be doing one week of Halloween/Fall card sets and two weeks of Christmas! It’s not too late to join and you won’t miss anything…you can refer back to the project 24/7 for up to a year! For only $19.95 US, you’ll get over 72 EXCLUSIVE card ideas not shown ANYWHERE else! So, stop by Create with Connie and Mary and sign up!

So here is the sketch for this week’s challenge:

And here is my card! I love fall and pumpkins!

The details:

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 Sahara Sand cardstock, folded in half.
On top I added a 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 layer of Color Me Autumn Designer Paper. I picked a neutral background so the bright pumpkin would pop off the page.
I cut three ovals (second from smallest) with the Oval Framelits from Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I also embossed them with the Delicate Dots Embossing Folder. I sponged Tangerine Tango ink around the edges of each oval. The two bottom ones were adhered together, then added the top oval with Stampin’ Dimensionals to form the pumpkin shape.
I stamped the small leaves in Fall Fest with Cajun Craze, Mossy Meadow and Crushed Curry, then cut them with the Fun Fall Framelits.
I tied a small piece of Mossy Meadow Satin Ribbon in a knot for the stem and adhered it behind the pumpkin. I added another leaf stamped with Mossy Meadow ink to the stem.
Celebrate from Good Greetings (FREE this month with a $300 workshop!) was stamped with Mossy Meadow ink on Whisper White strip and cut the diagonal end.
I used one of the Autumn Woods Elements on top of the leaves for a little extra bling!

Now…make sure to go check out the rest of the Thursday Challenge Team ideas over on Create with Connie and Mary! And, if you haven’t signed up, you’ll find the Buy Now buttons right there for you to join!

Tee-Hee-Hee

September 3, 2014 By Connie | 4 Comments

I love the swap cards I received from my Control Freak Swapper pals! Each batch is always full of great ideas from these talented gals! Here’s the card that I did for the Control Freaks Fall Swap.

I really had a lot of fun playing with the Tee-Hee-Hee stamp set for this swap! I went back and forth with Designer Papers, but decided I like the plain Wild Wasabi and Black Checkerboard look, embossed with Delicate Dots Folder. Here are the details:

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 Whisper White, folded in half.
On top I added a 4 x 5 1/4 layer of Basic Black.
I cut 2 x 5 1/4 strips of Wild Wasabi, then cut them to 3 and 2 1/4 pieces. I placed them on the Basic Black in opposite corners to get the checkerboard look.
I cut a 2 x 3 1/2 piece of Whisper White and punched the top with the Angled Tag Punch.
I stamped the cauldron from Tee-Hee-Hee with Tuxedo Black Ink along the bottom. I used Dotty Angles and masked off the smaller portion that was above the cauldron and inked it with Wild Wasabi ink for the bubbles.
I punched 1/4″ circles from Silver Glimmer Paper and added them in the bubbles, and also trimmed a 1/4″ strip to go under the bottom of the tag. Then I added the Black Chevron ribbon tied with Old Olive Bakers Twine to the top of the tag. The tag was placed with Stampin’ Dimensionals on top of the checkerboard background.
Finally, I stamped Brew Up a Little Fun with Tuxedo Black on Wild Wasabi cardstock and punched with the 1″ Circle Punch and placed on the cauldron with Stampin’ Dimensional.

Fun, isn’t it??? I loved how it turned out!

We are just starting our Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions 2014 this week! We will be doing one week of Halloween/Fall card sets and two weeks of Christmas! It’s not too late to join and you won’t miss anything…you can refer back to the project 24/7 for up to a year! For only $19.95 US, you’ll get over 72 EXCLUSIVE card ideas not shown ANYWHERE else! So, stop by Create with Connie and Mary and sign up!

Holiday Home

September 2, 2014 By Connie | 10 Comments

I usually don’t show my Stamp Club cards…I try to keep them exclusive to my monthly Stamp Club Members. However, this one was just too cute not to share! I used Holiday Home and a little punch art! Anyone remember the movie “UP”?

I like to send out “just moved” or “moving” cards. This one is lots of fun! One of my members mentioned that she would be making these for her son-in-law who is a realtor! What a great idea!

Here are the details:

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 Basic Gray, folded in half.
I added a 4 x 5 1/4 layer of Cherry Cobbler.
On the 3 3/4 x 5 layer of Soft Sky, I stamped the trees along the bottom in Early Espresso Ink. I stamped Happy New Home in Tuxedo Black ink.
The house was stamped with Tuxedo Black ink on scrap Whisper White and the roof and trim colored with Smoky Slate Ink, the door with Cherry Cobbler and the windows with So Saffron. I used the Framelits to cut it out.
The balloons were Small Ovals punched from Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Bermuda Bay, Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie cardstock, along with the small heart (Owl Punch) for the bottoms. I added them to the front with Stampin’ Dimensionals. I used the White Chalk Pen to draw the “highlight” on the balloons.
I punched two clouds with the Cupcake Punch and added to the front with Stampin’ Dimensionals, too.
Finally, I used the Smoky Slate Marker to draw the strings for the balloons down to the house.

I love how it turned out! Do you like?

Fall Fest

September 1, 2014 By Connie | 7 Comments

Love this Fall set in the Holiday Catalog! And extremely happy there are matching Framelits to go along with them! They definitely made this card easier to make!

Here are the details:

The base is 4 1/4 x 11 Crumb Cake, folded in half.
I added a 4 x 5 1/4 layer of Soft Suede on top.
I used a 1 x 5″ piece of Color Me Autumn Designer Paper along the right side.
Next I cut one of the shapes in Apothecary Accents from Whisper White, stamped Hello Fall from For All Things on it with Soft Suede Ink, then cut off the bottom tab portion of it and placed it on the front with Stampin’ Dimentionals.
I stamped the leaves in Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Mossy Meadow, then cut them with the Fun Fall Framelits. I arranged them in a “cascade swag” on the front.
I tied a double bow of Linen Thread and added it to the front with a Mini Glue Dot.

I was super excited with how it turned out! Hope you like it, too!

Cheerful Christmas FREE TUTORIAL & Blog Candy

August 30, 2014 By Connie | 46 Comments

Wow…can you believe it is the END of PREVIEW WEEK over on Create with Connie and Mary…and you’ll need to be a subscriber to see the EXCLUSIVE card sets we will be showing? We start our Holiday Card “Create”tions on Sunday, August 31st and you won’t want to miss it!

Today it is my turn to offer a FREE TUTORIAL using Cheerful Christmas stamp set! I think you will enjoy the variety in my card set! The FREE TUTORIAL is available over on Create with Connie and Mary today! But first…check this out:

Want more ideas using products from the Holiday Catalog? Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions starts Sunday! This time we are doing an ALL CARD collection during the 3 weeks (one week Halloween/Fall and two weeks Christmas) for only $19.95! So head over to Create with Connie and Mary to learn more and subscribe today!

Here are my individual cards:

Inside:

And…don’t forget to leave a comment here TODAY to be entered for BLOG CANDY! Win a FREE subscription to our Holiday Card “Create”tions! Winners will be announced tomorrow. If you’ve already signed up and win…don’t worry, we’ll apply your win towards a future Card “Create”tions collection!

Stampin' Up!

OK…so now continue on around the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Card “Create”tions Design Team blogs to see what they did with the Take Out Box Challenge! Next up is Natasha Zandbergen!

So…now go collect that FREE TUTORIAL over on Create with Connie and Mary!