Stampin' Up!

Folded Christmas Trees

September 21, 2011 By Connie | 43 Comments

When I saw the sketch challenge today over on SCS, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. It is also for the Paper Players Challenge #64 for plants or animals.

I've been wanting to do a variation of the Folded Christmas Tree card that I originally made last year. You can see it HERE. That card is the MOST viewed card over the past 4 1/2 years that I've had my blog. Even in the summer I get at least a dozen hits on it a day. There is a FREE TEMPLATE over there, too, for the full sized one I did on that card!

For this card,I used 3" circles of Holly Berry Designer Paper to make the trees and folded them according to the template. I layered them onto the three Real Red panels that I ran thru the Big Shot with the new Snow Burst Impressions Folder in the Holiday Mini. I added tree trunks and a small star from Silver Glimmer paper for their tops. The red panels were layered on Early Espresso cardstock, then placed on a layer of Very Vanilla. I stamped Season's Greetings from Stampin' Up!'s Curly Cute stamp set in Real Red along the bottom. I wrapped the Old Olive Dotted Scallop Ribbon around and tied a knot. Everything was layered on the base card of Pear Pizzazz.

Now, that was Version TWO. Here is Version ONE that I started with. This one was a little more streamlined. I used the Very Vanilla in the background behind the trees and the Real Red for the panel behind them. At the bottom, I left off the bow, but added score lines to dress it up a little. The base on this one is Wild Wasabi.

So…what do you think? Which one do you like better? Would love to hear your comments!

We're just getting started with the Holiday Edition of Create with Connie and Mary! It's a perfect time to join! This week we've been working with the Halloween products…next up is our Fall/Thanksgiving week! Our Design Team and Guest Designers have been working hard on some VERY creative projects that you won't see anywhere else! Nope…not even previews! They are exclusive to Create with Connie and Mary subscribers! These make great class projects AND great gifts! The step-by-step photo tutorials stay up until next year so you can refer back to the projects over and over again. Join us…you'll be glad you did!

September 2011 Tour de Freaks

September 19, 2011 By Connie | 17 Comments

It's TIME again! The September 2011 Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! We have a few less people this month, but still have the same awesome projects from the ones that were able to fit into their busy schedules! Our theme is "Fall into Step" this month…projects for Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving! You've just come from Wendy Weixler's blog...great projects!

My first project is a cardstock and Spice Cake Fabric Purse Clutch that was originally intended for another project, but I decided that I'd use it for the September Tour de Freaks instead. I know you will love this idea! The inside is quite spacious…enough for a nice sized package of homemade goodies or a small gift! Now…I KNOW you will want the tutorial…and I PROMISE I have one for you on Friday of this week (Sept 23) in a CHRISTMAS version! So make sure you stop back on Friday to get it! I loved using the Spice Cake Fabric to make ruffles on this little clutch purse! And…the designer button…SO much fun!

And here is the inside…like I said…big enough for a nice sized treat or gift and it looks like a little clutch purse! Hmmm, it really would hold a travel tissue, cellphone, lipstick, mints…

There is NO sewing on this. The base is More Mustard cardstock. I used strips of the Spice Cake fabric on the front. I added Early Espresso trim across the top. I punched two Decorative Label Punches from More Mustard for the clasps, embossed with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. The 1/2 velcro dots hold the clasps closed. I added a BIG designer button on the front with glue dots…added Linen Thread in the center. Again, I'll have a FREE TUTORIAL for you on Friday with the Christmas version, so stop back!

The second item is a Top Note Nugget Holder that I made for participants of my Class the other night.

I cut the Top Note from Soft Suede and Spice Cake Designer Paper, then cut off the edge of the designer paper one and adhered it over the Soft Suede. I scored 1/4" from the center point on each side for the spine. I wrapped it with a Belly Band of Pool Party, embossed with the Herringbone Folder, then added a Big Designer Button tied with Spice Cake Fabric in the holes. I added the Large Oval with Grateful stamped from the Always Thankful stamp set. The belly band slides off to show off the nuggets inside:

I wrapped the nuggets with more Spice Cake Designer Paper and adhered them to the bottom of the Top Note. It makes a FUN project and little gift for a friend or co-worker! I think I'll make these for the place settings at Thanksgiving this year!

Even though neither project involved stamping, I think I showed how versatile the Designer Fabric and Designer Papers can be!

Next stop is the FABULOUS Mary Brown! I know you will love her projects…take a look!

Pick Your Poison Quick Accents

September 18, 2011 By Connie | 10 Comments

I've been wanting to play along with the Freshly Made Sketch Challenge (FMS2) ALL week and finally had time to sit down and design something for it! My mojo left the house for a couple days last week…think I was working her a little too hard! Today, I spent most of the day on the computer doing "paperwork" type stuff and then running errands with my husband. Here is the sketch I used:

And here is the card I did using the Pick Your Poison Quick Accents that I had left over from a Create with Connie and Mary project. This week, this is one of the products in the Holiday Mini that we are featuring! Now, normally I would convert this sketch to a rectangle type card, but something inspired me to go ahead and leave it as a square. I plan on sending this to my mom and dad for Halloween, so I don't mind paying the extra postage for them. Or…maybe it will go to my son, Adam and his wife, Beth…decisions!

I started with a base of Pumpkin PIe cardstock in a 5 1/4 x 10 1/2 size. I added the Basic Gray cardstock after I roughed up the edges with my Cutter Kit distressing tool and inked with Basic Gray. In the center is a layer of Pick Your Poison Designer Paper layered on more Pumpkin Pie and the edges all distressed. In the center is the Poison Quick Accent adhered to a piece of Basic Black that is distressed, too. I cut the Basic Black 1 1/4 Striped Ribbon and frayed it, then adhered it ruffled on the front of the card with Sticky Strip. There is a Rhinestone Jewel to dot the i in Poison. I spritzed the entire thing with my Color Spritzer Tool and Basic Gray.

Finally, I decided it needed a little feminine touch. I cut the flower from the Blossom Party Die with Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I added a Basic Black 1/2" Circle punched from Black Faux Diamond Dust cardstock that I made with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder. I rolled down a couple of the corners for a little added texture, too! So…even though the "message" is kind of scary, the flower saves it from being TOO spooky, I think!

We announced the winners of the blog candy from the past couple weeks…did you win? Create with Connie and Mary has just started the six weeks of the Holiday Edition 2011! Make sure you sign up…we have some fabulous projects by some FABULOUS designers! Join us! You have access 24/7 and we leave our site up for over a year so you can refer back to the projects we've done!

Out on a Limb

September 17, 2011 By Connie | 6 Comments

Wow…thank you SO much for the wonderful response to my Trio of Treats Tote! I'm glad you enjoyed the FREE TUTORIAL and the chance to use some of those empty containers you have sitting around! I hope you also signed up for the Holiday Edition of Create with Connie and Mary, cause I tell you there are MORE fabulous projects in store for you! BUT…you need to be a subscriber to see them…we do NOT preview our projects. They are exclusive to subscribers only.

It's not too late! TODAY is the LAST DAY to sign up for the Holiday Edition at the special Early Bird Price…save $5 off the regular $34.95 US price…only $29.95. We will be sending out passcode information Saturday and our Holiday Edition officially starts on Sunday! We'll be announcing the winners of Blog Candy on Sunday, too! Click on my BUY NOW button to the right on my blog!

And, we are announcing our LAST GUEST DESIGNER today on Create with Connie and Mary! You will love her project…so go find out more about her!

But, I wanted to share a card with you that shows one of the sets we will be featuring next week on Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition…It's Halloween Week! That will be followed by Fall/Thanksgiving Week, Special Product Week and then 3 full weeks of Christmas. There is a little something for everyone! Of course, you can switch out the sets/supplies for many of our projects with other ones! My card uses Out on a Limb today!

This card was fun to make! I started with a base of Cajun Craze cardstock and layered on Basic Black. I ran a piece of Basic Gray cardstock thru the Big Shot with the Spider Web Impressions Folder, then highlighted the raised areas and edges with Basic Black Ink. For the focal element, I stamped the spiders from Out on a Limb at the top of the Whisper White with Basic Black ink, then stamped EEK from Spooky BIngo Bits (told you I love that set for the greetings!) in Cajun Craze. I added a little strip of Frightful Sights Designer Paper and a rhinestone jewel. Then I added a small strip of Silver Glimmer Paper across the top of the Whisper White.

It screams FUN to me!

Again, make sure to check out who our last Guest Designer is over on Create with Connie and Mary! And remember:

EARLY BIRD SAVINGS ENDS SATURDAY AT 11:55 PM EST.

CCM – Trio of Treats Tote!

September 16, 2011 By Connie | 143 Comments

BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!

EARLY BIRD PRICE ENDS SATURDAY!!!

Yeah! It is FINALLY my turn to share my Preview Session FREE TUTORIAL Project for Create with Connie and Mary! We've had a fabulous two weeks of sample FREE TUTORIALS from each member of our Design Team. We've introduced all of our Special Guest Designers…except ONE…she will be announced tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow (Saturday), it is the LAST DAY to take advantage of EARLY BIRD SAVINGS…$5 off the regular $34.95 US price for 6 weeks of the subscription! You pay only $29.95 US for over 36 step-by-step Photo Tutorials! That's less than $1 per tutorial, featuring products from the Holiday Mini! But…most of the ideas could easily be adapted with other stamp sets and papers! These projects are EXCLUSIVE to Create with Connie and Mary! You will not see them previewed ANYWHERE before or after the subscription…they will only be viewed by our subscribers!

So…here is my fun project! I call it a Trio of Treats Tote! I dressed mine up for the Christmas holidays, but it would be fun for Halloween, Thanksgiving or even as a hostess gift with any of our designer papers! Isn't it cute? I love to give little treats to family and friends at the holidays.

The front I decorated with a pleated lolly cut in half to surround the Decorative Label Punch. A medallion from the Merry Medley On Board was traced onto Wild Wasabi cardstock, cut out and embossed with the Snow Burst Impressions Folder. A couple Designer Buttons tied with Linen Thread on the sides…and that GORGEOUS Quilted Early Espresso Ribbon has SO much shimmer to it. But…look what's inside! Unwrap the ribbon and the front folds down!

Can you tell what the containers are? Yes! I recycled three of the empty brad/button containers to hold candy treats! I made a little pocket inside to hold the three containers from sliding out…and decorated the tops of each one! Now, I wish they were actually Christmas candy…fun to do a trio of different kinds…but it is a little early for Christmas type candy to be out on the shelves! I used Starlight Mints! This really is a FUN and EASY project! Go check out my STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL over on Create with Connie and Mary…and sign up for the Holiday Edition of Create with Connie and Mary! You will be SO glad you did! Password information will be sent out on Saturday!

Oh! Don't forget! I have BLOG CANDY today…leave a comment for me on THIS BLOG POST and you will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE subscription to the Holiday Edition 2011 of Create with Connie and Mary. Don't worry, if you have already joined, we can refund your $ or apply it towards the next session of Create with Connie and Mary!

Hope you enjoyed my PREVIEW PROJECT!

CCMC167 Dark & Dreary

September 15, 2011 By Connie | 4 Comments

Today it is time for another Create with Connie and Mary Thursday Challenge! We have a FUN color challenge for you today!

We are almost at the END of our Preview Session…and the Early Bird Special pricing! Saturday is the LAST DAY to take advantage of the $5 off price…making it only $29.95 US for over 36 projects with FULL STEP-BY-STEP tutorials! If you don't know what one of our tutorials looks like, check out a couple of the ones from our Design Team that have posted over the past 10 days! We know you'll want to be a part of our subscribers…I can honestly tell you that the projects I've seen so far are beyond FABULOUS!!! They will be great for Stamp Camps and Classes or to give away for holiday and Christmas gifts! You DON'T want to miss it and you don't need to be a demonstrator to subscribe (although you can take this as a tax deduction!)

We have a FABULOUS lineup on our Design Team and our Special Guest Designers! Our Design Team includes, Elizabeth Price, Debbie Henderson, Robin Messenheimer, Mary Brown and myself who will be doing projects every week during the six week subscription. Our Special Guest Designers are Wendy Weixler, Deb Currier, Melissa Davies, Sandra Farrell…today's announcement is CARRIE GASKIN…joining us again for this Edition. And we have another one to be announced on Saturday! They each will be doing one project for our subscribers over the six weeks…and they are WONDERFUL projects! So…hurry over to Create with Connie and Mary and sign up NOW…or click on the Buy Now button on my right sidebar of my blog!

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OK…back to our Create with Connie and Mary Color Challenge CCMC167! Here it is…Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Basic Gray.

For my card, I chose to dig out a Halloween set from last year that I used a LOT, Dark & Dreary! I combined it with a fun new set this year called Spooky Bingo Bits! Those little images are SO much fun and I love the greetings in it! I also had to add the neutral Basic Black for a few accents.

I started with a base of Old Olive cardstock. I layered on Cajun Craze cardstock that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Stripes Impressions Folder. I added some aging with a sponge dauber and Basic Gray Classic Ink on the stripes. Then I took the stripe pattern from Frightful Sights Designer Paper going horizontal for contrast. I hid the seam with some Old Olive 1/8 Taffeta Ribbon.

For the focal element, I stamped the candelabra from Dark & Dreary stamp set in Basic Gray on Whisper White, then colored the candles with Cajun Craze and Basic Gray. I added two Rhinestone Jewels. I punched it with the Decorative Label Punch and placed it with Stampin' Dimensionals on a piece of Old Olive cardstock. I stamped the spider web from Spooky Bingo Bits several times on the Old Olive with Basic Black ink and stamped the word Spooky in Basic Black at the bottom. I layered the Old Olive on 1 1/4 punched circles of Basic Gray cardstock. Fun and whimsical, huh?

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Challenge Team did this week over on Create with Connie and Mary! Great variety this week! Then get out your stamping supplies and play along…upload your creation to Inlinkz over there!

Psst….shhh…don't tell Mary I told you, but you REALLY are going to want to stop by my blog TOMORROW for some "sweet stuff"…and a great idea! Shhhh…..

Kidoodles

September 14, 2011 By Connie | 8 Comments

YES…we have more BLOG CANDY today over on Create with Connie and Mary, Debbie Henderson, from our Design Team, has a FREE TUTORIAL on her SPOOKY project! Here is a SNEAK PEEK picture of her new take on a fun project!

Go check out and download her FREE TUTORIAL…then sign up for the HOLIDAY EDITION of Create with Connie and Mary. You won't want to miss this Edition! We have some FABULOUS projects to share with you! Early Bird Pricing ENDS this week…over 36 projects for $29.95 US! That's less than $1 per TUTORIAL! We'll be sending out the password information on SATURDAY…then the session for SUBSCRIBERS ONLY starts on Sunday! Over there you can see how to get to leave a comment on Robin's blog for BLOG CANDY…a free subscription to Create with Connie and Mary!

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Carrie Gaskin has started a new challenge KAPOW Kreative Challenge blog and I thought I'd play along this week. Her color choice for KKC01 WAS a challenge! lol! Nice, bright colors!

I used a new set, Kidoodles! Now, I don't have any little kids left at home, still waiting on grandbabies! But, I just thought this set was TOO darling to pass up! Here is my first card with it…like I said…COLORFUL! lol!

Do you ever have those days with plenty of time…but lack creativity? That was my day. I just wasn't feeling very creative! I'm not sure I'm crazy about this card, even now, but really don't know how to "fix" it! I think it is cute, though, so I'll leave it alone!

The base of the card is Old Olive and I layered on Island Indigo. I punched some 1", 3/4" and 1'2" circles of Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive and Island Indigo and randomly placed them on the Poppy Parade layer. Then I ran the background thru the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder. I love the "inlaid" look! I wrapped some Island Indigo Ruffled Ribbon around to the back to adhere, and added an In Color Printed Brad on the side.

The little elf image was stamped with Black Stazon on Whisper White and colored with Stampin' Write markers and the AquaPainter. I added a Rhinestone Jewel to his belt buckle. I cut it out with the 2" Circle and layered on the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals on the front.

Don't forget…go check out Debbie's FREE TUTORIAL on Create with Connie and Mary…and sign up for our Early Bird Special Savings while you are there! We're almost ready to start…don't miss out!

Field Flowers

September 13, 2011 By Connie | 9 Comments

Well…how did you like Robin's FREE TUTORIAL on Create with Connie and Mary yesterday? Pretty awesome, wasn't it? We have another SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT today on Create with Connie and Mary! A brand new Guest Designer for us…one of this year's ARTISAN AWARD WINNERS! Make sure you stop over to see WHO it is and find out a little bit about her! She also has a card with a sneak peek of the stamp set she'll be using on her project! And…while you are there, make sure to sign up with our Early Bird Special…a $5 savings off the regular price just until SATURDAY, September 17th! With over 36 step-by-step tutorials, it is less than $1 per project! You won't see these projects previewed ANYWHERE…they are only viewed by our subscribers! Don't wait…click on the Buy Now button on my right sidebar to take you to Paypal for $29.95 US!

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This week, The Paper Players has a COLOR CHALLENGE to try! I couldn't resist playing along!

I loved the colors and immediately thought of my new Field Flowers stamp set. This is SUCH an easy two-step stamping set to use! It seems to always make great looking cards! No coloring either…my favorite kind! lol!

I started with the base of Rich Razzleberry. I added some Old Olive print from Paisley Prints Designer Paper, layered on Old Olive cardstock for the bottom background. I decided to do some angled panels of Old Olive and Basic Gray, layered under the Whisper White focal element. I stamped the stems in Old Olive and the tops with a stamped-off base flower, then darker outline on top. I stamped the centers again with Old Olive ink.

I wrapped the Old Olive Dotted Scallop Ribbon around and tied a knot. I added the greeting stamped in Basic Gray on Old Olive and then used my Decorative Label Punch…yep…I put it back in the punch after I first punched it and made it a smaller sized label! Cool trick, huh? My customers loved it last month! I added a couple Pearls for some bling along the side. I think this will be my daughter-in-law's birthday card…now just to find a gift! lol!

Don't forget to check out Create with Connie and Mary and our Guest Designer Announcement today!!!