A Fall Cupcake

On Wednesday, I went out to Matt's house to help him do a little shopping and painting. As a treat, Matt took me to Kiera Confections for one of their delicious cupcakes. I had the Simply Sweet cupcake--yellow cake with vanilla buttercream frosting and it was delicious. Later that day I was in my scraproom wishing I had brought a cupcake home with me. Since I didn't, I made a card with a chocolate cupcake, orange frosting and chocolate sprinkles--out of cardstock of course! I saved lots of calories, but I must tell you that if you are ever in McHenry, Illinois, you should visit Kiera's. The cupcake shop is on Route 31 north of Rt. 120 in a strip mall. Their website, http://www.kieraconfections.com/ gives more info about their cupcakes, parties and more. It is probably a good thing that I don't live closer or I would be holding my card classes at her shop and then needing a new wardrobe! By the way, I found the candy corn M&M's at the Walmart in Algonquin, Illinois. They are a little on the sweet side and a little later I will be using them in my 1x8 cello sleeves. Have a great evening and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Happy Fall w/Treat Cup

I read about the "exclusive to Walmart limited edition M&M's" and I stop in every Walmart I pass to find them. These M&M's are white chocolate inside, flavored like candy corn and the colors are yellow, white and orange. Well I have not had any luck finding the candy corn M&M's, but I did get a bag of the Harvest color M&Ms. The colors are Real Red, Bravo Burgundy, Chocolate Chip & More Mustard--actually, I decided those were the color names! Anyway, when I got home and opened the bag, I knew I had to make something with them. So here is my "happy Fall" card. I used Cherry Cobbler as the card base and layered that with More Mustard. I used the SU treat cup; Gently Falling, Fabulous Phrases and retired alphabet stamp sets; Stripes embossing folder; and tied it all together with the Cherry Cobbler ribbon. I like this card and the Harvest M&M's, but I still need to get those candy corn M&M's! I did see those candy corn M&M's on ebay, but I refuse to spend $5 for the candy and $5.95 to ship it! Maybe tomorrow I or one of my family members will spot them somewhere.

Perfect Plum Presents

Once again, the Turtle & Company stamp set had the perfect stamp. I embossed Perfect Plum cardstock with the oval frame from the Designer Frames Embossing Folder set and needed to do something with it. I stamped the image of presents on Very Vanilla and punched it out using the Extra Large Oval Punch. It was the perfect fit for the embossed oval! The combination of SU's cardstock, dimensionals, texture plate and crochet trim created a very pretty card. The bonus for this card is that it can be used for almost any occasion--birthday, shower, wedding. I used one of the greetings from Teeny Tiny Wishes and adhered it to the card temporarily. Once I took the photo I removed the "for your shower" and will replace it with the appropriate greeting when I use the card. The phrases from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set fit in both the Modern Label and Word Window punches. I purchase many stamp sets, but Teeny Tiny Wishes, Short & Sweet and Sincere Salutations are three stamp sets from which I really got my money's worth! Have a great day!

Peekaboo Frames...

...is the name of one of the Big Shot dies in the Holiday mini. A project using this die and pictured in the mini is an Advent calendar. I really have no need for an Advent calendar, but I still "needed" this die. There are five different peekaboo frames available on the die and I used one of the frames to make this 3x3 card. My peekaboo frame has a little cupcake (punched using the Cupcake Builder punch) on the front. Open the window, there's a birthday greeting from the Petite Pairs stamp set and a little cupcake from the Short & Sweet stamp set. The Peekaboo Frames die coordinates with the 25 & Counting stamp set, also in the mini and used for the Advent Calendar. I need to find myself a little stampin' time to see what else I can create! Have a great day and Happy Fall!

Stampin' Supplies List

As you look thru the Idea Book and Catalog or the mini catalogs that arrive in your mail box, do you say to yourself, "I wish I knew what I needed to make that card"? This information is available to you. Just go to my Stampin' Up website and under "Products" click on "catalogs". A page pops up from which you can download PDF files of the catalogs or for the supplies used in the IB&C or the Holiday mini. Following is an example of a supply list for a card on page 29 of the IB&C:

29c – Happy Blessings card Falling Leaves Set; Always Artichoke, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla Card Stock; Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, and Old Olive Classic Stampin’ Pads; Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon; Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I refer to this list every so often. As a matter of fact, I printed all 33 pages of the IB&C supplies list and the Holiday Mini Supplies List and keep them with my catalog. Hope you find this little bit of info helpful.

No Card--But A Fun Day

Our son finally closed on a house this week. He has been trying to buy a house for almost a year and between short sales and foreclosures, it has not been going well. But now that he is a homeowner, he has moved on from house-hunting to house-fixing--and so have we--LOL! Anyway, I need to share a small part of today. Sydney only had half a day of school today. So Jenny and Sydney came out to see Matt's new house and to celebrate John's birthday. The fun-filled day began when Sydney got out of the car wearing brown leggin type pants, brown cowboy boots, a celery green sweater tunic with a belt and a horse embroidered on the front and a purple cowboy hat! I saw her and bust out laughing and everytime I think about it I still laugh. But the day and outfit got better, as shown in the picture when she wanted the pant legs pulled up! Matt inherited a hammock with his new house and wanted Syd to try it out. She did even though she was not sure about it. Then Matt talks me into getting on it, too. Well, big mistake on my part because then Matt let go of the hammock and Syd and I both slid right off of it onto the deck. And all the while, my wonderful loving daughter filmed it while both her and Matt were laughing their you know whats off!!! John kept working on one of the bathrooms but he was out there to see us fall off the hammock. The entire day was filled with many cute and funny things. I know it was a day where you had to be there to really understand, but it was a day all about our family. We laugh with and at each other, we work together to get things done, we teach and learn from each other but most of all, we love and enjoy each other. I am so blessed.

So Worth The Wait

A special couple is expecting twins around Thanksgiving this year. I will be attending their baby shower on Saturday and while working on a card for the occasion, all the stamps I have with regard to babies were singular. I could stamp "welcome baby" or another greeting twice. Or I could stamp "welcome baby" and cross out the "y" and add "ies" but I really did not want to do that either. I know Mike & Kristin are waiting anxiously and patiently for their new little ones when I remembered the "So Wait The Worth" stamp in the Word Play stamp set. I inked the sentiment using Marina Mist and Pretty in Pink markers and then stamped the rattles (from the retired Teddy & Train set) using the same colors. The background was embossed using a Sizzix embossing folder, not from Stampin' Up. The pretty taffeta ribbon finished it off. I am so happy for this couple--they will be wonderful, loving parents. And I look forward to meeting their little bundles of joy! Have a great day.

Playing With Ribbon

I was straightening out my ribbon boxes earlier today and it became the perfect time to try using my ribbon in different ways. The Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon is a pretty substitute for leaves on this card. I cut a length of the ribbon, tied it in a knot and adhered it to the stem using a glue dot. Then I used retired Real Red taffeta ribbon to make a design across the front of my card rather than just adhering a straight length of ribbon across the card front. I ran a strip of adhesive across the card and then adhered the ribbon as I turned it back and forth along the line of adhesive. There are many more designs or patterns that can be achieved using your adhesive strip and ribbon such as pleats, layered ruffles and more. So when you have a little time and ribbon~~experiment! Have a great weekend.

A Rosette 4 You

The Borderlines stamp set has a very pretty leaf border and I was thinking about how I could use it on a card. A scrap from the Spice Cake DSP pack was on my counter and immediately I thought that combining the two would make for a pretty card. I stamped a border on each side of Very Vanilla cardstock and added a strip of Spice Cake DSP in the center. Not right--needs a little trim so out comes the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch and some Pool Party cardstock. As I assemble the card I know this card calls for a rosette. I have made a couple rosettes in the past, but they are time consuming. Nonetheless I cut and scored a 1" x 12" strip of Pool Party DSP for the rosette, added a Soft Suede circle, a Pool Party printed brad and a little "4 You" tag. And here is my creation which I do think this is one of my prettier cards!

Turtle & Co. for Ronald McDonald House

Each year, Stampin' Up designs an exclusive stamp set to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The sets have always been special and this year's exclusive RMHC set is no exception. My get well card features the little turtle from the set~~stamped upside down with the sentiment "hope you're back on your feet soon" stamped underneath it. I colored him in using Pear Pizzazz and Lucky Limeade markers. The color of the turtle prompted me to use Pear Pizzazz DSP and Lucky Limeade cardstock (embossed using the Stripes embossing folder) on a So Saffron card base. A couple of So Saffron brads and unraveled So Saffron retired ribbon finish off this absolutely adorable card! You will be seeing more cards from this set, but in the meantime you can see the entire set in the Idea Book & Catalog on page 16. Stampin' Up donates $3 to RMHC for each stamp set purchased. So not only are you getting a cute stamp set and bringing a smile to the faces of the recipients of your cards, you are also helping RMHC families who need our support. Have a wonnderful day.

Haunted Forest

I am not that into Halloween, so I truly do not purchase many Halloween items. This year I purchased the Halloween Hang-ups roller and the Haunted Forest stamp, both from the Holiday Mini. I stamped the Haunted Forest image on a Top Note diecut and then colored it in with my SU Markers. Sponging with Basic Gray and a little Daffodil Delight to highlight the moon was enough to give the card a "spooky" effect. I also ran the black cardstock thru the Big Shot using a retired texture plate and added a couple drops of Dazzling Details to the eyes of the owl and cat. (I am loving the Dazzling Details!) The cute little box was made using the Box #2 die. I rolled the Halloween Hang-ups image across the main portion of the box, randomly stamped a few spiders on the box top, added a Happy Halloween greeting to the top, filled the box with raffia and chocolate and SU's satin ribbon tied it all together. Have a good week and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Fall is In The Air

There is a little nip of cool in the air these days. And that little nip is encouraging me to make Fall cards. Trying different bleach techniques led to this card. The stamped and bleached portion of my card called for a Rich Razzleberry card base, but then I wondered what other color I should use. The oranges were too bright, the pinks too pink. To my surprise, River Rock was the winner! Due to the fact that I thought River Rock is ugly, I have never ordered anything River Rock and what River Rock I do own came as part of a collection; i.e., the neutrals cardstock, ink, etc. But here I am showcasing a card made with a color that I rarely used and on top of that, I also ordered a pack of River Rock cardstock--lol! The leaves are from the Gently Falling set in the Holiday Mini and the sentiment from Curly Cute set in the IB&C. Have a great day!

Bleach & Pastels

I have previously used bleach on a card or two, but yesterday I played with bleach and pastels. (Thank you France for reminding me of this technique!)I used the Gently Falling stamp set, bleach, Pastels (chalk) and a variety of Fall colors. It is hard to see, but on the More Mustard card I used Chocolate Chip cardstock and on the Always Artichoke I used Espresso cardstock. The two colors bleached out a little differently and therefore the same pastels took differently. The Mustard card has twine; the Artichoke has linen thread. The "Happy Thanksgiving" is from SU's Teeny Tiny Wishes set. And here is where I will say that I definitely got my money's worth with the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. I can remember the debate I had with myself over whether or not I wanted to spend that kind of money for a stamp set. And I am so glad I debated myself right into buying it. Not only are there 24 various sentiments, the stamped images fit so many of our punches perfectly. Now back to the cards. I am so pleased with the way these cards turned out, that the Saturday, October 1st class will include a card made using this technique. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Layering With Stamps

I recently watched a video by Stampin' Up demonstrator, Audrie. She demonstrated a card using masking tape for the frame. I tried masking tape but it would pull away the top layer of my cardstock when I was removing it. So I used strips of paper to make the frame and it worked well. The colors are Always Artichoke & Elegant Eggplant--truly Fall colors. The background stamp I used is a retired stamp as my collection is lacking in the background stamp department. But I am sure that the French Filigree background stamp would be just as beautiful. This is one of the cards we will be making at class on Saturday. If you are interested in attending the class, please let me know. Have a great day!

Labor Day Weekend

As we all spend this last summer weekend enjoying various community activities, I will be spending some of my weekend getting Operation Write Home cards ready to be mailed. The card pictured will be one of my "Hero" cards in which I will write a little note to let one active military person know that they are appreciated. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and if you see someone in military clothing, stop and thank him/her for their help and personal sacrifices in protecting our United States!

Fun Cricut Card

My son is going to a party celebrating a little boy's 3rd birthday. The invite he received was farm themed and Matt asked if I had any tractors for a card. I did not. But, Sure Cuts A Lot came to my aid! I typed "tractor svg" in the internet search box and up came a number of tractors I could download and use in my SCAL program. This svg was from a link on the SCAL forum and it was Amy who posted it. The tractor had a number of pieces and I did not use them all. But then, I don't think too many will notice that a couple pieces are missing. I added the birthday boy's name using the A Child's Life cartridge and the number "3" from the Sweet Treats cartridge. So all in all, I think it is pretty cute for a 3 year old. As far as my son is concerned, he is hoping to get a real John Deere when he closes on a house soon.

Holiday Mini Ordering Begins Today!

Today is the day for those who have been waiting to place an order from the Holiday Mini! I know that I will be placing an order this morning for a few items, including the Stitched Stockings Stamp Set and the Stocking Builder Punch. But even though I will be ordering Christmas things, I am still into summer mode when it comes to creating cards. That being said, here is another example using patterns in the Berry Blossom DSP which is in the IB&C. The sentiment is from the Petite Pairs set and the little flowers were punched using one of the Itty Bitty punches. Some corners were rounded and other corners were not. I am not really fond of Lucky Limeade, but the Berrry Blossoms DSP is helping me realize that Limeade can be used with a variety of colors. Have a great day!