Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Oh Snap!

 Hello stampers!!!

It's a drizzly, yucky day around here...which means a perfect day to spend in my craft room!  This is my last week of winter break and I have enjoyed a better part of it playing with all of my new pre-order items.  In my world, this is the perfect way to rest, relax and recharge for the next few months of the school year.

The January-June 2021 Mini Catalog goes live on January 5th and Oh Snap is a stamp set you will want to snag!  There are so many great sentiments to go along with the adorable little jungle critters.  I loved using my Stampin' Blends to bring these little guys to life!

I have been working on my January card class cards and knew that "Crocodile Kisses" was a must for this class!  I used the super cute Snail Mail DSP and coordinating Resin Hearts to make this sweet and simple Valentine card.


Next us is a sweet little hello card.  I love the little fishies and frog!  I used the Old World Paper 3D embossing folder to give a little rippling water background...perfect way to tie in Annual Catalog items with Mini Catalog items!


I'm always running short on birthday cards, so this one was a must! It was fun to create my own background with just ink, paper and stamps!  This card was inspired by one of the Mini Catalog samples and the latest Freshly Made Sketches.

If you love to color, this is a set that you will want to add to your collection for sure! And it's just so darn cute!  I can't wait to share all of these samples with my customers next month!

Thanks for dropping by!  And since this will likely be my last post of 2020...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy Stamping!



Sunday, December 27, 2020

Flowering Cactus ~ Monday Montage #180



Welcome to an all new Monday Montage Blog Hop!  You won't want to miss a single creation from this amazing group of stampers!  We were going to take a break until after the New Year, but many of us were ready to get back to our craft rooms and share our projects with you early!

Christmas is over and we have un-decked our halls...can it be summer now?  Total wishful thinking as our winter is just getting started.  Putting Christmas away also meant doing a deep cleaning and getting my craft room back in order after the annual Christmas explosion!  This also means I FINALLY got all of my new pre-order stuff out of the box and put away...except for a few new things that I HAD to play with.
I fell in love with the Flowering Cactus Product Medley in the upcoming January-June 2021 Mini Catalog and just had to have it!  I love cacti and succulents, so this sweet little kit was right up my alley.
I just love the sweet little cacti and the felt flowers are absolutely adorable!  

I stamped the heart shaped cactus in Mossy Meadow and the fun little round guy in Mint Macaron, topping each with a little felt flower.

I stamped a couple different sentiments in Calypso Coral and Highland Heather and finished off each card with a Linen Thread bow.  Did you notice the Calypso Coral Linen Thread?!!?  It's sooooo pretty!

A little bit of Subtle 3D texture was added behind the beautiful cactus DSP that is included in this product medley.  I will be having to get more of this for sure!

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Highland Heather, Whisper White, Flowering Cactus DSP
Ink ~ Mossy Meadow, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Highland Heather
Stamp Set ~ Flowering Cactus
Other Supplies ~ Flowering Cactus Dies, Flowering Cactus Die-Cut Felt Sheets, Layering Circles Dies, Linen Thread, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder

I can't wait to see what the rest of our Monday Montage crew has in store for us!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Now, on to the next stop on the hop!

Happy Stamping!

We've added a list of everyone's home pages so you can hop along in any order you wish!  Just make sure you don't miss any!



Friday, December 25, 2020

Let it Snow ~ #TGIFC296

Merry Christmas friends!

We are wrapping up the year at  TGIF Challenges with a Theme Challenge...Let it SNOW!
We won't be having a white Christmas where I live, but we will have a frost covered Christmas.  I don't know about you, but I love it when the ground and everything around us is covered in frost!  And while we may not have snow, I can still create some in with paper and ink!
I had not yet pulled out the adorable Snowman Season stamp set and could not let the year go by without inking this cute guy up!  I created a snowy background by heat embossing the Let it Snow sentiment and some snowflakes, then sponged some Seaside Spray to create a wintery wonderland.
I used my favorite Trimming the Town DSP in the background and colored the jolly little snowman cap in Poppy Parade.  Merry Christmas was also stamped in Poppy Parade and fussy cut.  A few little Snowflake Adhesive Backed embellishments and called it good!

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Misty Moonlight, Whisper White, Trimming the Town DSP
Ink ~ Poppy Parade, VesaMark, Memento, Stampin' Blends:  Poppy Parade
Stamp Set ~ Snowman Season
Other Supplies ~ Snowflake Adhesive Backed Embellishments, White Embossing Powder

I know Christmas may look very different for many of us this year and our gatherings may be smaller, but I wish you all the Merriest Christmas and many blessings in the New Year!

Happy Stamping!

 

Saturday, December 19, 2020

So Sparkly

Welcome to an all new Control Freaks Blog Hop!  This month we SO sparkly!!
You may just be joining the hop or you may have gotten here from my stamping BFF Wendy Weixler.  I always love her creations!!

I'm still mourning the loss of my favorite Glimmer Papers, so my cards are a little bit more shiny than sparkly, but that's okay....right?  
Yes, I am still working on Christmas cards. Can I let you in on a little secret???  This is the first time in a while that I have actually sent out some of my handmade cards instead of the quick and easy photo cards.  Thanks to COVID, I've had a bit more time to create this year, but still not quite enough to get all of my cards sent out on time.  It's the thought that counts, right? 

I decided to pull out the Sweetest Time Bundle for my first card. I haven't made much with this bundle, but it's still one of my favorites.  I love the sweet sentiments and pretty images. I went with less traditional Christmas colors and kind of love how this turned out!  I heat embossed each candle with silver, then added a layer of holly and greenery.  I gave it just a touch more of sparkle and shine with some silver holly berries and some bling.

Next ups is a cheerful and fun birthday card using the Stitched Stars dies.  I don't know why I waited so long to use these dies. I LOVE them!  I stuck with the same color combo of Misty Moonlight, Bermuda Bay and Granny Apple Green and threw in  some bits of Silver Foil.  Kind of simple, but fun, right?  The sentiment comes from A Grand Kid...such a great stamp set!


The sparkly hop doesn't stop here!  Next up is the talented Melissa Davies.  You don't want to  miss what she has to share this month!  Thanks for hopping with us! We are forever grateful for all of you!


Happy Stamping!



 

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Sweet & Magical Mickey Ice Cream

 

 



Welcome to an all new Monday Montage Blog Hop!  You won't want to miss a single creation from this amazing group of stampers!

My preorder box arrived last week, and sadly, sat unopened in my disaster of an office.  I told myself I could not open the box until I made my way through the pile of Christmas gifts that needed to be wrapped.  Well, I made it through half of the pile and I could not wait any longer.  I have a sweet little friend celebrating her birthday this week and I knew the adorable Sweet Ice Cream stamp set would be perfect for her card.  As I was creating her card and punching out the ice cream, I quickly saw little Mickey Mouse ice creams.  So, of course I had to set her card aside and put my idea to work!

What do you think?!?
Aren't these the cutest?!?! I don't know about you, but I can not wait until Disneyland is reopened and it's safe to travel again!  

To create this card, I stared with a Whisper White card base, embossed with my favorite Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folder.  Then I added a polka-dotty strip of Trimming the Town DSP.  A Crushed Curry Stitched Shapes circle was the perfect background for my little Mickey and Minnie ice cream bars.  Next up...the sentiment.  I love that the Happy Birthday font kind of has a Disney feel...just what this card needed.  I heat embossed the sentiment in white, the fussy cut it, along with the "Hope It's Sweet".  I finished it all of with my favorite All the Trimmings embellishments.
Now I just need to hurry up and wait for a Disney-loving friend to have a birthday...and keep on waiting for Disneyland to open back up!

Supplies Used:
Paper:  Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Poppy Parade, Trimming the Town DSP
Ink ~ Crumb Cake, VersaMark
Stamp Set ~ Sweet Ice Cream
Other Supplies ~ Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folder, All the Trimmings Embellishments, Stitched Shapes Dies, Ice Cream Cone Builder Punch

This will be our last hop for 2020...we are going to take the rest of the year off to enjoy time with family and friends.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and cheers to a fresh New Year!

I can't wait to see what the rest of our Monday Montage crew has in store for us!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Now, on to the next stop on the hop!

Happy Stamping!

We've added a list of everyone's home pages so you can hop along in any order you wish!  Just make sure you don't miss any!



Friday, December 11, 2020

#TGIFC294 Sketch Challenge

Hooray for Friday and an all new TGIF Challenges!  We have a simple sketch that is open to so many possibilities!  
One of my favorite school secretaries is retiring at the end of next week and I am so sad to see her go, but so happy for her as well!  This has not only been a tough school year for teachers, but for the secretaries as well.  What better way to send her off than with a beautiful card full of well wishes?!?!
The Forever Greenery suite continues to be one of my favorites.  Green is one of my favorite colors and you get ALL the shades of green in the Forever Greenery DSP.
I stamped a few different pieces of greenery, all in different colors, then layered them on top of and underneath one of the beautiful Gold Hoops.  I completed the sketch with a strip of DSP and a simple heat embossed Congratulations sentiment.
I added a few sprigs of Brushed Metallic cardstock, some Gold Metallic Pearls and finished it all off with some Forever Greenery Metallic Trim. A few splatters of Soft Sea Foam were stamped for the final added touch!

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Pretty Peacock, Whisper White, Just Jade, Forever Greenery DSP
Ink ~ Soft Sea Foam, Pear Pizzazz, Just Jade, Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce
Stamp Sets ~ Forever Fern, Itty Bitty Greetings
Other Supplies ~ Greenery Embossing Folders, Gold Hoops, Forever Greenery Trim, Metallic Pearls

It was nice to take a little break from creating Christmas cards, but now it's time to get back to it!  I still have a few more to make and get sent out next week.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Happy Stamping!



 

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Polar Bear Cocoa ~ HSSCC#354

Happy Tuesday my friends!  I hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

Can you believe this is our last Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge of the year?!!?  It has been another great year of creating with all of you and I look forward to continuing with you all next year. Today we have a cheerful color challenge to wrap thing up.

I saw Patty Bennett's  adorable Warm & Toasty Polar Bear card a few weeks ago and knew I had to CASE it.  The cute little bear pairs up perfectly with the Press On stamp set.  

If you know me, I love any image that I can color with my Stampin' Blends, so of course I had to break them out for these cozy little cups of cocoa.

Supplies Used:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Trimming the Town DSP

Ink ~ VersaMark, Memento, Stampin' Blends:  Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Misty Moonlight

Stamp Sets ~ Warm & Toasty, Press On

Other Supplies ~ Layering Circles Dies, Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folders, White Embossing Powder

I can't wait to see what you create with this weeks Color Challenge to wrap up the year!  Thank you for joining us!

Happy Stamping!




Friday, December 4, 2020

Deck the Halls

Happy Friday my sweet friends!  I hope you have had a fantastic week!
Normally, I would be holding my monthly classes this weekend, but due to our current state orders, no classes will be held this month.  But I'm not going to let that stop us from stamping!  I decided to offer a full month of fun challenges for my customers to participate in each week.  We did this in the spring and had so much fun!
This weeks challenge was Deck the Halls...a time to share some fun homemade ornaments, something made from ornaments or even a card with ornaments on it.  Christmas Gleaming is one of my favorite holiday stamp sets and I am so happy it carried over to this year!
Poppy Parade and Mossy Meadow have been my go-to Christmas colors this year. I love how bold and rich these colors are...and even more so with some black and white ornaments.
I added some fun texture to this card using the Subtle and Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folders.  I dressed things up with the festive Poppy Parade All the Trimmings Ribbon and some Gilded Gems embellishments.
I'm actually sending out Christmas cards that I made this year.  Can you believe it?!?!  I am usually too lazy to make  them all and take the easy photo card route.  But, with the extra time I've had this year, I'm happily sending out my hand made creations.  YAY!

Supplies Used:
Paper ~ Mossy Meadow, Poppy Parade, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink ~ Memento, Mossy Meadow
Stamp Set ~ Christmas Gleaming
Other Supplies ~ Gleaming Ornaments Punch Pack, Poppy Parade All the Trimmings Ribbon, Gilded Gems embellishments, Stitched Shapes Dies, Subtle and Dainty Diamonds 3D embossing folders

Any big plans for the weekend?  I am hoping to finish up my Christmas shopping, then taking on the task of wrapping.  Wish me luck!

Happy Stamping!