Tour de Freaks

Control Freaks June 2020

June 19, 2020 By Connie | 4 Comments

Hi! Welcome to the monthly Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! The theme this month is NEW CATALOG! Let’s show off our new goodies! So many fun products in Stampin’ Up!’s new Annual Catalog!

You’ve probably just come from the awesome Wendy Weixler…she does gorgeous work! Just click on the link below to take you around the entire blog hop for some GREAT inspiration!

WHISKEY BUSINESS

Both my boys have become Bourbon connoisseurs, so this stamp set was on my radar from the very beginning when I saw the new catalog! In fact, I’ve been known to enjoy some Chocolate Bourbon myself! I created this card and matching tag on the cello bag that holds a small bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon.

Here’s the card:

Stampin’ Details:

- The base is 4-1/4 x 11 Night of Navy cardstock, scored at 5-1/2 and folded.
- On top is a 4 x 5-1/4 layer of Cinnamon Cider cardstock.
- A 2-1/2 x 4-3/4 piece of World of Good Designer Paper in the Navy check pattern is added to the right side.
- A 2-1/4 x 3-1/2 piece of Whisper White cardstock is added to the left side.
- You’re Top Shelf is stamped with Memento Black Ink on a 1/2 x 3-1/2 strip of Cinnamon Cider cardstock, then a 1/2 x 3-3/4 strip of Brass Cardstock added under it, then added to the front.
- The Whiskey decanter and glass were stamped with Memento Black Ink, then colored with Dark Mango Melody, Light & Dark Cinnamon Cider Blends. Around the glass was colored with Light Soft Sea Foam Blends. They were hand-cut and added with Stampin’ Dimensionals to the front.
- A Champagne Rhinestone was added to next to the greeting.
- Some Wink of Stella was added to the decanter and glass to make them reflective.

For the tag:

Stampin’ Details:

The tag is a 2-1/2 x 4-1/4 piece of Cinnamon Cider cardstock. The top corners were rounded and the circle punched with the Detailed Trio Punch.
A 2 x 3 piece of World of Good DSP was added towards the right side.
The Whiskey decanter was stamped with Memento Black Ink on Whisper White cardstock, the colored with Dark Mango Melody, Light & Dark Cinnamon Cider Blends. Around the glass was colored with Light Soft Sea Foam Blends. It was hand-cut and added with Stampin’ Dimensionals to the front. It was hand-cut and added to the front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
The greeting was stamped with Cinnamon Cider Ink on 1/2 x 2-1/2 strip of Whisper White, then added across the front.
Two Champagne Rhinestones were added to the bottom and Wink of Stella to the decanter.
The Bufffalo Trace Bourbon bottle was added to the Printed Gusseted Bag and tied with Bumblebee Ribbon.

LOVE this stamp set! OK…next up on the Control Freaks Blog Hop is Bree Renwick! I know you’ll enjoy her projects, too!

Jan 2016 Tour de Freaks

January 19, 2016 By Connie | 5 Comments

It’s time again for the Tour de Freaks! Our theme this month is “Love is in the Air”…very appropriate for Valentine’s Day that is coming up soon! You’ve probably just come from Wendy Weixler’s blog, her projects are darling, aren’t they? Click at the bottom to continue around the tour…there are 11 stops this time.

I chose to use Love Blossoms Suite of products for my projects since they are definitely great colors for Valentine’s Day. I’ve been wanting to do a little banner for my lamp shade. The lamp sits on a table that is visible when my customers come down the stairs and I try to change out the tablescape each holiday. Here’s a closeup.

Here it is draped on the lamp shade (sorry I can’t show you the entire Valentine tablescape…it is so cute, but it has some private class items on it!)

Some quick details:

The Thick Whisper White background on the banners is 2 x 4-1/4, punched with the Triple Banner Punch. The Love Blossoms layer on top is 1-3/4 x 4, punched with the Triple Banner Punch, then adhered together with the White Baker’s Twine sandwiched between the two layers.
On three of the banners, Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper was punched with the Sweetheart Punch and the Little Letters Thinlet Dies “L, V, and E” were die-cut from Red Metallic Paper and adhered with Tombow Multipurpose Glue to the Glimmer Paper hearts.
On the fourth banner, a 3/4 x 3-3/4 strip of Glimmer Paper was punched with the Triple Banner Punch and adhered down the center. The heart from Bloomin’ Love stamp set was stamped with Real Red on Blushing Bride cardstock and hand-cut. Over top the Be Mine was stamped with Tuxedo Black Ink in the center of the Garden Green banner and hand-cut. It was placed on the banner with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Plus, the letter “O” from the Red Metallic Paper was added on the banner.
Three of the larger outline flowers were stamped with Tuxedo Black on Real Red and three of the smaller outline flowers were stamped with Tuxedo Black on Blushing Bride. The larger outline flower was also stamped twice more with Tuxedo Black on Garden Green and the petals cut to form leaves on three of the banners.
Small flowers were added to the larger flowers with Mini Glue Dots, and the leaves tucked under them. Perfect White Accents were added to the center of the flowers.
The Clear Wink of Stella was added to all the petals for lots of shimmer!

That’s it for the banner! The leftover piece of 2 x 3-1/2 Red Metallic Paper that I cut out the letters, I used for my card.

The base card is 4-1/4 x 11 Real Red, folded in half.
A 4 x 5-1/2 layer of Whisper White was added to the top.
A 2 x 3-3/4 strip of Blushing Bride Glimmer Paper was added on the left side.
The Red Metallic Love was adhered to a 2-1/2 x 4 piece of Love Blossoms Designer Paper with Stampin’ Dimensionals, then adhered to the cardfront.
The heart from Bloomin’ Love was stamped with Real Red on Blushing Bride and hand-cut.
The large outline flower was stamped with Real Red on Whisper White and cut out, the small outline flower was stamped with Real Red on Blushing Bride and adhered together with a Perfect White Accent in the center.

Lots of shine and glimmer on here!

OK…next stop is the fabulous Cindy Elam! You’ll love her projects, I’m sure! Then just continue on around the tour!

August 2015 Tour de Freaks

August 19, 2015 By Connie | 4 Comments

It’s time for a Holiday Catalog Preview Tour de Freaks brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! I can’t wait to see what everyone came up with using the products in the new Holiday Catalog (customers…you can begin ordering on September 1st!) You probably just came from Dawn Olchefske’s blog...love her projects, don’t you?

I chose to do a Halloween theme for my Holiday Preview projects…I told you I bought ALL the Halloween stamps, didn’t I? lol! I can’t resist! So…I made a decorative Halloween frame with a matching card using the fun set, Witches’ Night! It goes with the Witching Decor Project Kit that I need to make up soon!

Here’s a closeup of the Halloween Frame:

The shadowbox frame is 5 x 7 and I used two patterns from the Happy Haunting DSP in the background, with Black Glimmer Paper to hide the seam. They were layered on Basic Black cardstock.
The Witches’ Night greeting was stamped twice…once with Tuxedo Black Ink and once with Tangelo Twist Ink, then cut with the Lots of Labels Framelits. The center greeting of the Tangelo Twist one was cut out and adhered over the Black one with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
BOO! from Boo To You Framelits was cut from Black Glimmer Paper and two googly eyes added to the OO!
And in the next photo you can see that I wrapped the precut Spider Web Doily around the outside edge of the frame, and hung a spider from Linen Thread from the web.

And the card, I basically used all the same elements, cut down to card size…so you can see the dimension a little better here.

So, do you like? I’m happy with how they came out and can’t wait to put the frame in my holiday display this year!

Next up on the Tour de Freaks is Judy DiScipio, and I’m sure you’ll love her projects! Then continue around the tour until you get back here!

Dec 2013 Tour de Freaks

December 19, 2013 By Connie | 7 Comments

Wow…it's time for the December Tour de Freaks! This month's theme is using products from the Occasions Mini Catalog! I know we are all anxious to move on from making holiday cards! You've probably just come from Wendy Weixler's blog...weren't her projects fabulous? Make sure you continue on around the entire tour…we're SMALL but MIGHTY this month!

I'm showing off Stampin' Up!'s stamp set, Peaceful Petals, from the new Occasions Mini. It will be available beginning January 3, 2014! I made a card and matching calendar…mainly because I need a new calendar for my Studio! lol!

Here's a closeup of the calendar. The base is a 4 1/4 x 11 sized card, folded in half. Then I added a scored piece in the center to help it stand up. That is 4 1/4 x 5, scored with the 5" along the top at 1, 2 1/2, and 4 and adhered the flaps inside.

Here is the back side that I decorated, too. I used the new Watercolor Wonder Designer Paper.

And, of course, the matching card. The flowers and leaves are watercolored with Stampin' Write Markers and an AquaPainter. I added a pearl to the center of the flowers.

Doesn't it just say SPRING to you?

OK, next up on the Tour de Freaks blog hop is Patty Bennett! Her items are wonderful as usual! Enjoy the tour and see some FABULOUS Occasions Mini projects!

October 2013 Tour de Freaks

October 19, 2013 By Connie | 8 Comments

Woohoo! Time for the Tour De Freaks brought to you by the Control Freak Stampers. This month our theme is Grateful…perfect timing with November Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner. You've probably just come from the fabulous Wendy Weixler's blog...love her ideas, don't you?

I just finished a Vendor Fair and one of the things I made were some Christmas and Winter Nugget Tins. So when I was thinking of a project to make for this blog hop, and the tins were laying on my desk, I thought one would be perfect as a thank you for the hostess of Thanksgiving dinner. Of course…in my family, that would be me! lol! Of course, I made up a matching card, too!

Aren't they nice and colorful? Kind of like the trees are around here…this is supposed to be our peak weekend of fall colors! So, let's start with a closeup of the card…love the touch of burlap in the Burlap Ribbon…I trimmed off the seam edges to give it a more rustic look. I also added a touch of sparkle with the Champagne Glimmer Paper. Love that striped embossing folder, too!

And here is a closeup of the Nugget Tin. I love the Autumn Leaves die used with Sweater Weather…so many fun prints in that Designer Paper package!

Each of the Hershey Nuggets are wrapped with Designer Paper (overlapping the DSP so that the glue doesn't hit the wrapper and taint the taste of the chocolate.) I tied Linen Thread thru the Naturals wood button and placed on the front with the Harvest of Thanks "Gratitude" greeting. The belly band slides off to open up the container. I used a cardstock "divider" inside so the nuggets stay in place.

I hope you've enjoyed my "Gratitude projects"! Next stop is Mindy Backes…I always admire her projects! Then continue around on the tour until you are back here to complete it!

February Tour de Freaks

February 19, 2013 By Connie | 10 Comments

It's time for the February Tour de Freaks…brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! It's the best time of the month, don't you think? I love seeing my fellow Freaks come up with some great ideas! This month we are featuring the Spring Mini. Pretty easy considering all the FUN stuff in that mini! You may have just come from LeeAnn Greff's blog…didn't you love her projects? Make sure to take the entire tour, we have 12 stops…it will bring you back around to here!

I decided to feature the Oh Whale stamp set. I just recently completed a baby ensemble using this set and it was so much fun! My first is a card. This dotted print in the Sale-A-Bration Designer Paper, Sycamore Street, truly is my favorite right now! Wish I had it in all different colors! lol! I've been using the little heart on the Whale Clearlit as the fin, it fits perfectly…and tying the Baker's Twine around the tail is just so fun! Although it is a little hard to see the right edge of the card, it is normal 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 sized card. Yep, I have another one of those 2 1/2" Pool Party Core'dinations Circles left over from another project featured behind my whale.

My next project has been in my head for a while…I finally decided to keep it for this month's tour. Specimen Art is so popular right now. And, I love when they have a uniform theme going and highlight one of the specimen with a different color. So, that's what I did with my frame. It is a 10×10 shadow box frame I picked up at the big box craft store. The background is 10×10 Pool Party cardstock and I layered on a 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 Whisper White background. Then I cut all the whales with the Clearlit and Sycamore Street Designer Paper and popped them up with Stampin' Dimensionals. The different whale was stamped with Island Indigo, I added the heart fin and Baker's Twine on the tail and a rhinestone for his eye!

Wouldn't this be fun in a baby's room? Add the name, birth date, weight and length along the bottom and have a personalized birth announcement, too! It is so much more impressive in person than this photograph shows!

Make sure to continue on around the rest of the tour! Next stop is Justin Krieger's blog…I know you'll love his ideas for our February Tour de Freaks!

January Tour de Freaks – Sale-A-Bration!

January 19, 2013 By Connie | 12 Comments

It's time for the January Tour de Freaks…brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers! We are featuring Sale-A-Bration products! It is ALMOST here…the best time of the year! You probably just came from Jan Tinklenberg's blog...isn't she fabulous?

I've used a couple of the Sale-a-Bration sets in my projects this month…and the lovely Sycamore Street Designer Paper! I know I'll stock up on this DSP! My first card came to me in my sleep…literally! I must have been thinking about what I wanted to do and I woke up with this idea! Don't you love the Soda Pop Tops? And those wonderful LARGE rhinestones!

My second card uses the same Sycamore Street Designer Paper and the fun little butterflies! I also was challenged on how to use the Needlepoint folder on an angle…finally had to make it into a layer to get it to fit!

And my third is a little project…a Sticky Note Pad holder! I received one in a swap at Leadership (Jackie Van Sickle)…I haven't made one of these in YEARS! I switched it up using more Sycamore Street Designer Paper and the Madison Avenue stamp set. And…I used one of the little Soda Pop Tops for the center of the flower with a rhinestone jewel. I love that look, don't you?

Measurements are 3 1/2 x 11, score at 5 1/4, 5 1/2, 5 3/4. I rounded the corners, then decorated with the Oval Framelits and the Vine Street Embossing Folder. It is held closed with a half of a velcro dot. And here is the inside:

What a fun little project for your next class! I know we'll be doing one in my Stamp Clubs this month girls…so be watching for it! Hope you enjoyed my projects this month. Next stop on the tour is the wonderful Justin Krieger at JK Cards Online. Everyone is linked, so just go around until you get back here! Enjoy the blog tour!

December Tour de Freaks – Winter Fun

December 19, 2012 By Connie | 11 Comments

WOOHOO!!! It's time for the Tour de Freaks…brought to you by the Control Freaks Swappers! We have some Wonderful Winter Fun for you during this tour! So…grab a cup of coffee or cocoa and take the tour for some AWESOME ideas! It's a short one…only 9 stops, so won't take you long at all! You've probably just come from my friend, Mary Brown's blog...weren't her projects cute? I always love her work! If you are arriving here prior to the 20th, please note that not all links may be working yet.

My first project is a spin-off of the Heart framelit Christmas Tree card that I did for the November Tour de Freaks. This time I turned it into a Snowman triangle card! Isn't he FUN…and he is getting ready to throw a snowball at you! Too bad the photo doesn't show all the Dazzling Details glitter on the body of the snowman…he is super sparkly!

OK…here are some quick directions…I know I had several ask for the Christmas tree and it was done the same way. If the snowman looks familiar, it was one left over from my charger plate project I shared here on Monday.

I cut a base 4 x 8, folded in half. Then cut it with the Perfect Pennants die. Place the open ends right on the bottom wide part of the largest pennant, then cut. The resulting triangle will be slightly shorter than the full pennant, so the fold at the top keeps it from cutting thru. I used Cherry Cobbler cardstock for the inside of my snowman for some contrast.
I then cut two large pennants out of Whisper White, layering them on the outsides of the Cherry Cobbler triangle and cutting off the excess at the top. It just gives it some extra stability.
I made the snowman front from the three largest circles on the Circles #2 die, then embossed with the Northern Flurry folder. I sponged around the edges with Crumb Cake.
I started building the snowman by adhering the the sizes together on top of each other. I tied a scarf of Gumball Green Sweater Trim around the neck. I colored pearls and rhinestones with black Sharpie for the eyes, mouth and buttons. A little triangle of Pumpkin Pie for the nose.
For the back of the snowman, I only used the largest two circles…not the head circle so that it doesn't interfere when the card opens.
The hat is two of the 1 1/4 squares back to back, trimmed on a slant and the Word Window for the brim on each side. I used a sliver of Red Glimmer paper for the hat band, then the small Itty Bitty flower out of Silver Glimmer with a rhinestone in the center. I used more Dazzling Details along the top and brim of the hat.
I cut slivers of Early Espresso for the branch "arms" and added a 1/2" circle Snowball at one end.
I also punched six more 1/2" circles for the pile of snowballs on the ground, sponging around each with Crumb Cake.
I stamped Merry Christmas from Family Reunion (love that font!) in Basic Black and cut flag ends. It is popped up on the front with Stampin' Dimensionals and some added Dazzling Details.

My second is a fun ornament for your tree. My Christmas tree is decorated in lots of Snowmen and Frosty Friends so I thought this would be a fun addition. It also opens for a FUN treat inside. Can you tell what Stampin' Up! product that I used????

Here are some details for covering the empty brad/button container!

I punched a 2 1/2" Circle of Basic Black cardstock for the top and adhered it to the lid.
I covered the sides of the bottom piece with 1/2" x 11 strip of Basic Black cardstock (cut off excess). Then punched a 1/2 x 12" strip of Red Glimmer Paper with the Scallop Trim Border Punch to adhere over top of the Basic Black for the hat band.
I cut a 3/8" strip of Basic Black cardstock for the sides of the lid.
I used my scissors to pierce a hole in the top and fed two ends of a loop of 3/8" Stitched Grosgrain Real Red Ribbon thru the hole and tied a knot inside the lid to secure.
I added some "holly" leaves by punching Gumball Green with the Large Oval Punch, the taking "bites" out of the sides with the same punch, creating the holly leaf look. I punched three 3/8" Itty Bitty Circles from Red Glimmer Paper and popped them up on top of the leaves with Stampin' Dimensionals.
Finally, I cut a 3 1/2" Circle from the die out of Basic Black cardstock and adhered the container's bottom to it with Sticky Strip.

Isn't that a fun ornament for your tree…AND…you can fill it with something small…like M&Ms or peppermint candies like I have! I love my snowman hat ornament!

Well…hope you have fun taking the rest of the tour! Next stop is Justin Krieger...I'm sure he will have some FABULOUS ideas, too!