Fall Colors

So after posting Wednesday's card and going downstairs to clean up my scrap room, I decided to try my hand at another card using the same sponging technique but with a Fall theme.  And here it is!  The orange strip should have been a little more to the left,  but other than that, I think it will be a good class card. The colors are Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive with the leaves stamped in Early Espresso.  You might recognize the leaves as I have used this set numerous times in the past.  It is the Gently Falling set in the annual catalog.  The sentiment is another of the stamps included in the Express Yourself set.  Have a great Labor Day weekend, be safe and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Butterfly Bundle Special

In addition to the Best of Autumn stamp set, Stampin' Up announced a special beginning today and lasting through the end of September.  

Here is the link for the clear mount set: 

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=135311

 

And here is the link for the wood mount set:

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=135312

 

As always, if you have any questions, just call or email.   

Best of Autumn

The new "Best of..."  stamp set has been released.  Named the Best of Autumn, the images included in the stamp set are shown here.  As with the other "Best of..." stamp sets, the set is clear mount only with a cost is $14.95.  Considering that all but one image is from previously released stamp sets, I have none of the images!  Therefore, I will definitely be purchasing this set.

Here is a link to the set: http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=134390

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.  Have a great day!

Summer Colors

Fall is just around the corner, but I still have Summer on my mind.  So today's card uses the bright colors of Summer rather than the regal colors of Fall.  I came across a card on the demonstrator website that caught my eye and led to today's card.  I sponged ink rectangles first, the white being Craft Ink.  Once that ink was dry, I stamped the flower image (Morning Meadow hostess set) and the stem and leaves (Secret Garden).   The sentiment is from the A Dozen Thoughts set which includes 12 really nice sentiments.  Once the sentiment was stamped I realized that instead of stamping it over the sponged Melon Mambo, I should have stamped it just above the sponged area~~or I should have used a darker green.  Either way, the card is cheerful and we will be making a similar card at the September card classes.  Hope your day is cheerful!

Sweater Weather DSP

One of the products I purchased from the Holiday Mini is the Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper pack.  Today's card includes one of the patterns that I think is very pretty.  The plaid design and the predominant colors of Soft Sky and Chocolate Chip might be the reasons I was drawn to it. Adding Very Vanilla to the color combination for this card worked well. The sentiments are from the My Friend stamp set (annual catalog), stamped with Chocolate Chip ink.  While the butterflies were the finishing touches (in the design layout in my mind), once the card was finished I was wishing I had invested in a pack of the Neutrals Candy Dots!  I would put two of the dots in the upper right corner of the card.  For now, I might just add a couple of Chocolate Chip brads.  Today's forecast is calling for high temperatures in my area.  Keep cool and have a great day!

On Saturday, my mom went back to Sun City West.  I was sad to see her getting on the plane.   When John and I got back home from the airport, John decided to go down to southern Illinois to help his hunting buddies build their duck blind for duck season.  So it was just me and Cody for the weekend.  Lucky for me it was Cricut Sunday yesterday so the quiet of the house didn't last that long.  Nikki brought her little dog Nash (an adorable Maltese that she adopted) for a visit and Kathy and Sheryl were here working on their projects.  After the girls left, I made today's cards~~one layer cards stamped with an image and a line frame drawn with the matching marker.  The "Thinking of You" card was stamped using Early Espresso ink and the outline made using an Early Espresso marker.  The bundle of wheat image is from the Truly Grateful set in the Holiday mini and the sentiment is from the Four You set in the annual catalog.  The birthday card includes a sentiment from Delightful Dozen and the hat and balloon images from the Sketched Birthday set, both in the annual catalog.  I used Island Indigo ink and the marker for this card.  To make the outline of a frame, cut a piece of cardstock that is smaller than the card itself.  Center that piece of cardstock on the card front and trace around it lightly with a pencil.  After stamping the image, I use a clear ruler and trace over that pencil line with the marker, erasing any pencil marks that may show.  If you have a set such as Wetlands or Simply Sketched, you could easily make a nice set of cards to give as a gift since those sets include both images and sentiments.  Have a great day!

Trick or Treat

My blog posts have been a little non-existent the past days, but since my Mom is in town we are spending most of the time together.  It has been a wonderful few weeks, but tomorrow she goes back to Phoenix.  I will miss having her here but will get to see her again in a couple of months.  I had a little time yesterday afternoon to go down to my scrap room to play. The tree and sentiment images are from the Best of Halloween stamp set; bats and mouse are from a CTMH stamp set. The layout is one that can be recreated in various colors and for many occasions.  Have a wonderful weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Truly Grateful

The kids are back in school and that means that Fall is just around the corner.  Today's card was made using the Truly Grateful set in the Holiday Mini on page 19.  The Woodgrain embossing folder made for a good background layer for this card with a color combination of Baked Brown Sugar and Very Vanilla.  I did stamp the wheat using Soft Suede, but then colored it in using Baked Brown Sugar and Crushed Curry markers.  Both of those colors are far from my favorite SU colors, but they do look good here!  I might just be using Crushed Curry a little more in the future.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Today's card is a combination of old and new products.  The "old" is retired pieces from the Neutrals DSP stack and the new is the Stylish Stripes embossing folder.  The edges of all pieces of DSP and cardstock on this card were sponged using Smoky Slate ink and adhered to a white card base.  The sentiment was layered  on a decorative label layer I created using Stampin' Up's digital software and my e-cutter.  By the way, the sentiment is from the Wetlands stamp set, a set I wanted because of the goose and shore birds.  Little did I know that it would be one of my "go to" sets for the sentiments it includes!  My mom is enjoying her stay here and we have a full week of visiting with family and friends.  That being said, I better go get dressed for another great day.  You have a great day, too!

New Releases

New Christmas single stamps were released --YEAH!  This is a photo of the stamps available from $4.95 each to $9.95 each. If you click on the link below, you will be able to see the flyer and stamps much better!http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Flyer_SingleStamps5_Aug1213_NA.pdf

Stampin' Up also released a new photopolymer stamp set and I love it!  The name of the new set  is "Another Thank You" and includes 10 stamps.  The photopolymer stamps are clear, not rubber so you can see where you are stamping and are used with a clear block.  The cost is $13.95 plus tax and shipping.  The images in the set are to the right.    Click on the link below to see the flyer for this photopolymer set.

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Flyer_photopolymer_Aug1513_US.pdf

I will definitely be ordering this one! If you have any questions, call or send an email.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Circle Thinlets

On August 1st,  I posted a video showing the new Thinlet card dies Stampin' Up offers.  Today's cards were made using the circle Thinlet.  The card base for the Halloween card is Calypso Coral cardstock layered with DSP (not SU) on the front panel.  The house (Best of 25 Halloween) was stamped on a scalloped circle and layered on a black circle on the Thinlet.  On the reverse side of the Thinlet I added a circle using the same DSP.  After stamping the sentiment for the inside of the card  from one of SU's retired stamp sets, I punched it with a smaller circle and placed that circle so it would be hidden when the card is closed.  With school starting for many this week and next, I made a teacher card again using the circle Thinlet card die.  The "hello" is from the A Dozen Thoughts stamp set and the "teacher" is from the retired Family Reunion set.  The card needed a little something so I added a stamped tape image from Tape It and little punched apples.  The Thinlet dies are fun items to play around with, so you will be seeing Thinlet cards every now and then.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Blooming With Kindness

My friend, Lisa, recently ordered the Blooming with Kindness stamp set which prompted me to use my set to create today's cards.  One card base is vanilla and the other is white (which is not obvious in the photos).  Other than that, I used the same colors for both cards:  Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie and Always Artichoke.  I inked the flower stamp using the Pumpkin Pie ink pad and then colored little sections of the stamp (prior to stamping) using the Cajun Craze marker.  After stamping the image and the greeting, I then used one of the Labels framelits to cut it out.  Before adhering the image to the card I added a little interest to the card by stamping the border from Summer Silhouettes.  I can see this stamp set being used to make an assortment of cards for gift-giving as not only do you have the flower image (which can be inked in a variety of color combinations) but a nice selection of sentiments to add to the cards.  Have a great day and enjoy this beautiful weather we are having!

It was a busy weekend at my house.  Card classes were very enjoyable, as always.  Sydney was an overnight guest so that she could spend time with  great Grammy.  Needless to say, I have not spent much time creating, but I did  make this quick and simple card.  The sentiment is from A Dozen Thoughts stamp set.  The card base is Raspberry Ripple while the ribbon and ink is Rose Red.  Have I told you that I really like the Stylish Stripes embossing folder? So pretty!  After I finished this card I thought to myself that it would make a pretty Christmas card, replacing the "just because" with a Christmas sentiment.  Today my Mom and I are off to visit my son's house.  Grammy wants to meet his dogs, too.  So  we will have another great day!  Hope you have a great day, too.

Polka Dot Sweet Treats

I have not used Stampin' Up's treat cups in quite a while.  A couple of weeks ago I came across a photo of a treat cup favor and decided to create a few favors that are similar.  These favors are rather easy to create so long as you have a 1-3/4" circle punch and the circle treat cups (pg. 160).  The scalloped circle around the candy-filled cup was made using SU's 2-3/8" scallop circle punch, but it is not necessary.  These favors can be embellished in a variety of ways and depending on the occasion a greeting can be added, too.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Little Halloween Card

My first Halloween card of the season was fun to create and did not take a whole lot of  "perfection".  As a matter of fact, it was just the opposite.  I started out knowing that I wanted the card to measure 3-1/2" x 5" and include the Halloween Washi tape.  After stamping the Off The Grid background stamp on white cardstock, I started adding Washi Tape strips  By using black ink on both stamped images, the haunted house image (Best of 25 Years Halloween), can be stamped anywhere on the grid and you won't see the grid lines.  Well you will see the lines in the windows, but that will make the house a little spookier!  For the ink splatters, I added a drop of black ink refill on an acrylic block, soaked the brush part of an aqua painter with water, dipped it in the ink and splattered that over the card front.  I did the same thing using Calypso Coral ink.  Looking at the card now,  I think the grid could use a little spider.  I will have to go through my retired stamps to see if I can find one.  Have a great day!

Postage Due & Seam Binding

The Postage Due stamp set is very versatile and I continue to create cards using it.  The main stamped image on both of today's card is the Postage Due image.  The birthday greetings card is stamped with Crumb Cake ink on our white cardstock, wrapped with a pretty seam binding bow and layered on Crumb Cake cardstock.   The greeting was stamped on white cardstock and layered on a scalloped Crumb Cake oval.  The Soft Sky card is extremely pretty (my opinion).  The Postage Due image looks beautiful stamped on white cardstock using Soft Sky ink and layered on Soft Sky cardstock. But I have to say that the Stylish Stripes embossing folder (available in our Holiday catalog) with the Soft Sky seam binding wrapped around it is what makes this card so very pretty.  The little matching pearls were some that I had in my gem stash and they are a nice finishing touch.  I still laugh that I passed over this stamp for more than a year because I didn't think I would use it enough! Have a great day!

Block, Markers, Water...

...on watercolor paper.  Today's cards aren't as vibrant as yesterday's cards which were stamped on cardstock.  There are a couple of reasons: 

• not enough ink
• not enough water was used
• creator error--lol!

I am sure it was a combination of the above. And, there are a  few of my other attempts in the trash.  But, this really is fun to do and where you ink and with what color can change the look and feel of the card.  As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect" so I need a little more practice!  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Clear Block, Water, Markers

Happy Monday!  My Mom arrived safe and sound from Phoenix on Saturday and we have been enjoying the weekend with her. Sydney and Jenny baked a most delicious apple pie for us for to share~~and it was very delicious!  On Friday evening I was down in my scrap room cleaning up a bit when I got sidetracked.  I started playing around with my markers, water and a clear block.  These are two of the cards I created.  The greetings on both are from the Wetlands set as are the goose and reeds.  The tree on the sympathy card is from Serene Silhouettes.  When using this technique, no two cards will look the same.  The backgrounds on today's cards were made using white cardstock.  One thing I would change is to use a very dark ink when stamping.  As you can see, the Basic Gray ink on the birthday card looks faded.   On the other hand, the Early Espresso ink on the sympathy card is nice and sharp.   Have a great week!   

Silhouettes & Tape It

Black and white is such a crisp color combination.  Add another color and striking cards are created.  And here are two of my striking cards.  The flower image is from Serene Silhouettes stamped in Black Stazon on white. Layering that on the black cardstock with a scalloped edge is pretty.  But what I really like about these cards is the Tape It images, also stamped with Black Stazon. As of today, these cards do not have stamped greetings, but there is space to add a greeting later on.  The little heart and butterfly aren't covering little "oops" on these cards.  They adjust a little interest to each card.  Well, I am gearing up for a great weekend.  My Mom is coming to town for a visit and we are all looking forward to her arrival.  In the meantime, I need to clean the house and stock up on some of the goodies she can't get down in Phoenix!  Hope you all have a great weekend, too!

Thinlets Video

For those of you who receive my blog updates automatically, in order to view the video, you need to go to my actual blog, www.stscards.blogspot.com.  (The video is not appearing in the email.)  Scroll down to the "New Products" post and you will see the video HOPEFULLY.

New Product!

Today is the first day to order from the new Holiday Mini.  In addition to this and the Best of 25 set, Stampin' Up has also released a new product, Thinlits Card Dies.  I am sharing both the video and the flyer with more information regarding the new product:Hopefully the video will work!

Best of 25 Halloween

It is the first of the month and time for the newest "Best of 25 Years" stamp set.  This month's set is Halloween. The cost is $14.95 and the stamps are clear mount, not wood mount.   Following are the five images included in the set. 

This is definitely on my order as the images are images that I do not have.  (I especially like that haunted house!)  Have a great day!