Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I know I'm late for the Christmas part, but I honestly haven't been around the computer recently.

I'm off from work until the 5th, so I'm hoping to actually get down into the dungeon and play with my stamps.

Oh, and make some cards with one of my Christmas presents:

the 72A set of Copic Sketch markers. :)

I've been playing around with them a little and I'm liking the results I'm getting. Next step: smaller images.

I'm hoping to post something tomorrow, but just in case I get completely sidetracked - as anyone who reads this blog is aware can happen regularly - have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Christmas is coming

And surprisingly, I actually have (some) time to stamp.

It's like a taking a deep breath. I finished the cards for my coworker (and have been paid), presents have been bought and wrapped, and thank you cards for work (they pay me for them) are up to date.

Oh, and yesterday's snow day wasn't bad at all. Yes, the roads were blech, I almost got run over by a snowplow, I watched a mail truck slide every which way, and we were afraid we were going to get stuck at daycare with all the snow, but it was a calm day kid-wise.

I also have my boss' Christmas present done. Since I have a TON of cards just sitting up here next to my computer - I bring them up from the Dungeon, take a picture and leave them here - I was encouraged to gift some of them away. So my boss is getting some of them - and a cute little gift set of a post-it note holder, beaded pen and a coaster calendar. All of which are really easy and quick to do (my trouble? Finding the time.)

Stamps: PTI - Butterfly Kisses. Paper: white, Elegant Eggplant, Cosmo Cricket dp (jumping joan, I believe.) Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Versamark. Accessories: acrylic 4x6 photo frame, post-it notes, UTEE, 4x4 coaster, staple, magnetic tape, RSVP pen, microbeads, tacky tape, Martha Stewart glitter.

The IC (inspiration challenge) was posted early last night. It's the Saturday challenge on SCS. This week's challenge is all about the work of Alexander Girard - and the company maXimo that markets it now. Here's the thread on SCS.

Inspiration is a funny thing. Things that inspire one person don't inspire another. I generally don't do the IC on SCS (wow, lots of acronyms) because I just look at it and think, "I'm supposed to make a card from this?"

This week was easy - a lot easier than others. I liked the attachment of the building blocks - the bright vibrant colors were refreshing. Especially since most of yesterday was consumed by white.

The snowflakes are stamped in Versamark on Very Vanilla cardstock, then embossed clear. I then sponged the color over them and added a rhinestone.

I stamped my sentiment on some SU twill tape in Chocolate Chip ink. My knot is tied off to the side to have the most stamping room.

**I never thought I'd ever say this, but I think my card would be better with kraft cardstock as the base. I don't own any, but I might have to get some from PTI the next time I order.

Stamps: PTI - Snowfall Additions. Paper: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion, Only Orange, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla. Ink: Versamark, Pink Passion, Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: clear ep, rhinestones, word window punch, twill tape.

Wishing everyone a very wonderful weekend,

I got an award!

Riley over at Stampin' & Dancin' with Riley (in my blog roll under Riley) gave me an award today. I don't get awards often, so it's a special treat.

I think in the rules for this award, you list 5 things you're addicted to.

1) Romance novels. Gotta love the happy ever after (or vampires. I like vampires, especially when they get happy ever afters.)
2) Stamps and associated supplies. I don't think I'll ever have enough stamps or ink pads.
3) Caffeine. I work with kids, 'nuff said.
4) The tv show Top Chef (oh and Project Runway)
5) Candy canes.

I'm going to pass the award to:
Shelly
Cammie
Connie
Keri
Jessica

It's a little warmer today than it was yesterday. Which is a plus. :)

Hoping for warmer weather and snow that falls only on the grass (not on the streets or driveways),

2 Hour delays and updates in general

Yesterday it was 46 degrees outside. Actually it was 46 degrees at MIDNIGHT (aka 9 hours ago.) It is now 15 degrees outside, the wind's whipping around and everything that melted over the course of yesterday is now ice. I could put on ice skates and skate around at the end of my driveway. I'd probably fall and hurt myself.

Since everything's ice, there's a 2 hour delay for the school district - meaning things will be crazy at work when I get in. Yay for working at the school district's daycare.

Excluding a few last minutes, Christmas cards are written in, envelopes addressed, and at the post office. I didn't think I was EVER going to get them done. I used all the cards I made this year - plus a few. I'm glad I get the urge to make Christmas cards when it's too late to send them out, so I have some that I just need to write in.

I think I'm done with my present shopping. Think is the main word - I keep coming up with more people.

************

In stamping news, I heard from my coworker who asked me to make a set of cards. Her best friend LOVED them and was impressed. This led to another coworker asking me to make her 3 sets of cards so she could give them out as Christmas gifts.

I should be working on those right now, but I was cutting ribbon and attaching it all through the Papertrey release party on their forum last night. I'll take some pictures of the cards as I go and post them soon.

I think that's all for now, so I hope everyone's nice and warm (because it's not here,)

TLC198 - Wineglass Shade

When I saw this technique posted at 8:30 this morning, I thought it was GREAT. I wanted to do this technique and upload it NOW!

Unfortunately, I didn't have a lunch packed, I hadn't eaten breakfast, and my car had snow on it still. All things that needed to be taken care of before I left for work at 9:45.

I promised myself I would do this challenge when I got home from work.

I did it!

I used SU's vellum cardstock and traced the pattern that Lynn (the TLC hostess) was kind enough to give us. I cut it out and scalloped the bottom using the a corner rounder punch with the guide taken off. It's a little tedious using this punch to make scallops, but I knew I could follow the curve of the vellum.

I stamped my snowflakes with Ripe Avocado ink. Since Palette inks don't dry as quickly on vellum as they do on regular cardstock, I sprinkled the snowflakes with Heat and Stick powder. After melting this with a heat gun, I added crystal glitter. I then assembled the shade, adding Bellas Baubles in pickle and clear rhinestones to the centers of the snowflakes.

It's simple, but I really like how this turned out.

Stamps: PTI - Snowflake Serenade. Paper: vellum cardstock. Ink: Ripe Avocado. Accessories: heat and stick powder, tacky tape, crystal glitter, baubles, rhinestones, corner rounder punch.

I'm not really looking forward to the freezing rain/snow combo we're starting to get now through tomorrow night. Can it be April weather now????

Wishing everyone safe driving,

Packaging

I got the set of cards finished for my coworker - she loved them. :) I didn't get a picture of them before I gave them to her, but they're pretty much identical to the set I gave to my Secret Santa (I used a brighter pink and red for the new set.)

I got a pair of really soft fuzzy socks for one of my best friends for Christmas. This is only part of her gift, so don't worry, she's getting some good stuff too. The best way to package them are those box in a bag things. They are so easy to make - here's a link to the tutorial on Splitcoast:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/boxinabag/

My dp was sprayed lightly with Honey Dew Glimmer Mist a few days ago so it would be dried and ready to go when I made my bag. The flowers on the front were originally white. I took 2 Bazzill flowers and 2 Primas and sprayed them with Honey Dew Glimmer Mist as well, then carefully dried them with my embossing gun. Carefully being the main idea - they're lightweight and went flying a few times in the process. I love the shimmer they have (though the Primas have more obvious shimmer - probably a difference in one flower being fabric and the other being paper.)

Stamps: None! Paper: white, round tab punched Certainly Celery, dp by My Mind's Eye (I think). Ink: Certainly Celery marker. Accessories: ribbon, tacky tape, Bazzill flowers, Primas, glue dots, brads, corner rounder punch, Honey Dew Glimmer Mist.

If it would stop snowing, I'd be happy. It's barely stopped snowing all week.

Wishing everyone good weather,

Goals finally accomplished

Of course it's a day late - when do I ever seem to do things for this blog on time? For this, I truly apologize to whomever reads this blog.

I made my CC (color challenge) card last night... and forgot my camera upstairs. I get home after 6 every night and it's dark outside already. It's kinda depressing - especially when you want to take pictures of your work and the best lighting in the house is fluorescent. *sigh* That's going to turn into rant, so I'll stop while I'm ahead. I wasn't sure about the color combination - 3 neutrals: vanilla, sand and black? I need to stop doubting Emily - who chooses the color challenges.

I like how this card turned out. The card base is cut using the largest scalloped circle Nestie die I have. The black layer is cut out with another circle Nestie. My image is stamped in Palette Noir ink and colored with 2 Prismacolor pencils and baby oil. I then added some shimmer to the snow with some Oyster Twinkling H2Os and sparkle to the card with Black Diamond Stickles.

Stamps: MFT - Baby, It's Cold Outside. Paper: Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla, Basic Black. Ink: Palette Noir. Accessories: baby oil, Prismacolor pencils, Twinkling H2Os, Stickles, Nesties, ribbon, word window punch.

And, my 4 Christmas card designs for 2008.


On a great note: one of my coworkers who saw the set of cards I made my Secret Santa wants me to make her a set for her best friend. Yay for the fact I'm making money off my craft! (slowly anyway)

Wishing everyone a good night!

The Verdict is...

My work Christmas party was last night - where we exchanged gifts.

My Secret Santa person was definitely impressed and felt spoiled. Some of the other coworkers at the table were amazed and I was told - yet again - that I need to sell my cards.

I'm glad she liked it.


My goal tonight: take a picture of my 4 Christmas cards, upload it, make a card for today's CC, and upload that.

In a way, I'm glad most of the tv shows I watch have ended - it leaves more time for stamping. :)

Wishing that I lived in a place with no snow,

The Christmas Gifts

I'm involved in a Secret Santa gift exchange at my work. I've been busy working on the gifties for my person.

I hope she REALLY likes pink. She wrote on her sheet that she likes the color, so I kinda ran with it.

You can scroll down or click here http://sarasstampingsanctuary.blogspot.com/2008/11/work-in-progress.html to see the cards and card holder I already posted.

Now, for the rest of the gifts.

I asked her specifically what candy she liked - she responded anything with peanut butter and chocolate. This didn't really help with what I was planning, but it gave me another idea.

I think it was Becky who's on the Papertrey design tem that first came up with using the thin plastic boxes the $15 Papertrey sets come in as a holder for the little Reese's peanut butter cups. (Trying to give credit where credit is due) It works beautifully - and you get 25 little cups in it.

So... here's the unfilled box - all decorated.

Stamps: PTI - Holiday Treats. Paper: Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss, Polka Dot dp. Ink: Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush. Accessories: Crystal Stickles, ribbon, classic oval Nestabilites, dimensionals, Tacky Tape.

Now for the project that required knowledge of her favorite candy.

I was in a candy store and displayed on a shelf was a candy tree. Made with the "fun size" candy bars, it was so cute. I decided that I had to try and make one myself for my Secret Santa person.

I tried. Which is the main thing. I've changed it slightly since I took the picture: I moved some of the bottom Snickers to fill in the top and I stuck a peppermint lollipop in the top for the "star."

Items used: styrofoam cone, Snickers bars, satin pins, peppermint lollipop.

I found some adorable Christmas socks at Walmart that were pink (of course) and red with peppermints on them and I needed something to put them in. I've seen these Box in a Bags on blogs quite a bit lately and they're cute. So I wanted to make one.

Stamps: none. Paper: Georgia Pacific white, Cryogen white (shimmer), Heidi Grace snowflake dp, Regal Rose (already punched). Ink: Regal Rose (marker and sponged), Tattered Rose Distress Ink (sponged). Accessories: Tacky Tape, corner rounder punch, ribbon, white gel pen, snowflake brads, classic scalloped circle Nestabilities, Bellas Baubles, Diamond Glaze, glue dots.

The last thing is a little gift set I made. I got a magnetic coaster calendar from one of my VSN secret sisters and I love the thing. I found a downloadable template of a 2009 calendar on Splitcoast and went about making my own.

This set is the coaster calendar, microbeaded pen, and a mini journal (which was unfinished when I took the picture.)

Stamps: Damask by Flourishes. Paper: My Mind's Eye dp. Ink: Palette Noir. Accessories: Sugar Cookie Glimmer Mist, ribbon, printed calendar, staple, magnetic tape, chipboard coaster, RSVP pen, tacky tape, microbeads, Martha Stewart glitter.

I think that's all!

Christmas Cards

It's been awhile since I posted about my search for this year's Christmas card (or cards.)

I finally decided which ones I wanted to make - I chose 4 sketches.

AND...

They're all done.

Completely stamped and assembled (and dry in some cases.)

All I need to do is make sure I have enough envelopes and get ready for them to be mailed out.

I'm impressed with myself. I didn't think I'd have all 48 done in a week.

Next up on the agenda: assemble the last bit of my Secret Santa present by Monday and upload some pictures.

Hope everyone has a great weekend (and had a Happy Thanksgiving here in the US)

Christmas Ornament Tutorial

My coworker Christmas gifts this year are one of the easiest things to make, they look pretty and it's not a labor of $$.

I decided to make all of my coworkers glitter ornaments in their favorite colors.

What you need:
Clear glass globe ornament (I found a 12 pack at Hobby Lobby for about $4 - before the 50% sale)
Stamp pad reinker (I used SU! Bashful Blue)
Glitter (I used Martha Stewart Lapis Lazuli, but any glitter works)
Paper towel
Small Funnel (I made mine out of a Post-it note and stapled it so that it wouldn't come apart)
Something to keep the ornament upright (I used the lid of a gallon jug, but I've used empty ribbon spools)

Remove the top to the ornament. Check the ornament for cracks.

Set the ornament on the base so you have free hands and add 10 drops of reinker into the ornament. **This is just a guesstimate on reinker - sometimes you need more, sometimes you need less. It all depends on the size of the ornament.**

Slowly spin the ornament to coat the inside with the reinker.

Once the inside is completely coated with ink, turn the ornament upside down on paper towel to remove the extra ink. I get ink caught in the lip of the ornament, so pressing gently into the paper towel helps.

I don't have enough hands for this step!!! This is where having a base is useful - set the ornament on the base, put the funnel up to the opening and gently pour glitter inside the ornament.

When you think you have enough glitter inside, cover the opening (or you'll have inky glitter everywhere) and shake. **If you look at the picture, I'm using the funnel to cover the opening of the ornament - mostly because I don't really want inky glitter all over my hands.**

When the inside is covered to your satisfaction, turn the ornament upside down over a trash can or container and shake to remove the excess glitter. (No picture because there wasn't any excess glitter for this globe.)

Set your ornament someplace safe (where it won't be touched by little hands or roll off tables) to air dry, then put the top back on the ornament.

Embellish your ornament to your heart's content. Add rhinestones, rub ons, ribbon, etc. Here is an ornament that I just finished.


I hope this was easy to understand and inspires you to make some ornaments for yourself and friends!

Work in progress

Which is obviously what I am.

But this is more on the lines of Christmas gifts. My work Christmas party is on December 1st; which means my heinie (which isn't little) needs to get in gear if I'm planning on doing anything for my Secret Santa person. So yesterday (Sunday) I sat down in my very messy dungeon and made part of my Secret Santa gift: a set of monogrammed cards with a holder for them.

This holder originally started out as the holder from the Au Chocolat tote and cards OSW on SCS - found here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243314&highlight=Au+Chocolat+tote I changed some things. There are supposed to be 2 handles - one on each long side - and I switched it to a piece of ribbon. The flourish is Tim Holtz Grungeboard inked in Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters and the initial (which happens to be the initial of my Secret Santa person) is Basic Grey BonBon chipboard covered in Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Peeled Paint.

Stamps: None. Paper: PTI - Sweet Blush, Berry Sorbet, Pink Patterns dp. Ink: Berry Sorbet, Distress Ink - Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters. Accessories: Tacky Tape, ribbon, brads, dimensionals, Grungeboard, Basic Grey chipboard, Distressed paint - Peeled Paint, mono multi glue.

The cards that go into the box are monogrammed with the help of Papertrey Ink. Borners and Corners Monogram Edition and Ambassador Monogram sets were a big help.

Stamps: PTI - Borners and Corners Monogram Edition, Ambassador Monogram. Paper: Select White, Sweet Blush. Ink: Palette Noir, Sweet Blush. Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, ribbon, dimensionals.

Wishing for a better day tomorrow,

Trying to Resist a Deal

In which I failed COMPLETELY.

Here's what's up:

I was on the other side of town this morning because I was asked to babysit. Danny's a great kid, smart as anything and a cutie to boot - the dog gave me more trouble than Danny did. Goofy dog that tries to eat anything including yogurt tubs and wooden blocks.

I'm not often on that side of town, so I drove out to Pages in Time in Jenison because I was on the hunt for Twinkling H2Os. I wanted more colors and they don't have them at the Pages in Time 5 minutes from my house.

There's a clearance going on - a STORE MOVING clearance. They moved to a different part of the building (a smaller part) and needed to get rid of a lot of stuff. It was 75% off items or $40 for a shopping basket filled up flush.

I had a dilemma: Fill the basket! Don't go to temptation, you have enough!

The title of my post - and the first line - say it all.

I filled the basket. 1 paint can of primas, 4 corner punches, 1 tin of metal letters, 1 package Basic Grey chipboard, alterable wine holder, snaps, eyelets, rub ons, brads, a 7 Gypsies handbag kit, 3 font cds and lots and lots of paper. And I'm just listing things off the top of my head.

All the Twinkling H2Os were gone. :(

Hope the week was good for everyone and Yay! for deals!

It's All About Becca

Yesterday's Featured Stamper and today's Technique Lovers challenge were the same person: Becca Stamps. Her gallery is great and I had a blast making my card yesterday.

The card of Becca's I CASEd (Copy and Selectively Edit) is this one: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/971519

I changed the colors, stamps, ribbon, well, pretty much everything but the sketch.

Stamps: Verve Visual - Thankful Blossoms. Paper: Lavender Lace, Wild Wasabi, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla. Ink: Palette Noir, Lavender Lace. Accessories: Tacky Tape, microbeads, glitter, corner rounder punch, brads, dimensionals, ribbon.

Today's Technique Lovers Challenge is based on a tutorial she has on her blog, Amazing Paper Grace. You can see it http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/circle-frame-tutorial/ Her video tutorial is fabulous - I watched it once and understood it enough to go and create.

I don't have that many decorative corner punches. Actually, I have 3 corner punches: a corner rounder, a ticket corner, and a stair step. I decided to use the stair step.

The tutorial says to use a circle Nestability die to cut your circle. Unfortunately, I just ordered my circle nesties on Saturday and they're not in my hot little hands yet, so I used my Coluzzle. I punched out the inside of the circle and taped it into place on a piece of Cryogen White shimmer cardstock (bought at Eclectic Paperie.)

I stamped the largest snowflake from PTI's Snowflake Serenade in the center of my medallion and added a rhinestone for some more sparkle.


Stamps: PTI - Snowflake Serenade. Paper: PTI - Pure Poppy, Cryogen Shimmer White. Ink: Pure Poppy. Accessories: Coluzzle, stair step corner punch, rhinestone, ribbon, dimensionals.

Hope that everyone had a safe and fun Halloween and that the week's great for you all!

The Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Is being shown today.

I had a lot of fun playing with this sketch. It's the 200th sketch challenge for SCS. I really liked the simplicity of the sketch because in the middle of the week, I'm not really in the mood to fuss.

The colors came from a website I found the other day - Color Throwdown (it's in my blog roll.) Every Wednesday they come up with a color combination to use. This week's colors were Orange, Purple and Green - and black of course. I forgot the black.

The stamp is from MFT's Essential Sentiments.

The purple layer is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder - Diamonds in the Rough.

The primas are sitting on squares cut out with a 1 1/4" square punch and a scalloped square Nestability die. The flowers are held together with Eggplant brads that I bought at http://www.pinkhedgehogpapercrafts.com/

Stamps: MFT - Essential Sentiments. Paper: Gable Green, Elegant Eggplant, Only Orange, white. Ink: Elegant Eggplant. Accessories: primas, scalloped square Nestability die, 1 1/4" square punch, brads, Cuttlebug, Embossing folder, dimensionals.

Hope you have a fabulous Halloween tomorrow!

The Sunday... errrr, TUESDAY Catch-up

The television is not my friend - especially on Sunday and Monday nights. Yes, those are my main television watching nights, but when I have cards to show and I have every intention of uploading said cards online... next thing I know, it's after 11pm and I need to get ready for bed.

*sigh*

The Featured Stamper on SCS this Sunday was Speedystamper - and I have to say I loved her gallery. I've been having trouble trying to find cards on Sundays that I want to CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) - mostly because the cards I really like happen to be either CASEd from someone else or a Sketch Challenge.

I found two cards this week!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1084228 This is the original card. I changed the colors, the sentiment, the stamp set... well, pretty much everything but the sketch.

Stamps: PTI - Out on a Limb. Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Select White, acetate. Ink: Chocolate Chip, Burnt Umber Palette, Tempting Turquoise. Accessories: Brads, word window punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, corner rounder punch, tacky tape, stickles, dimensionals.

The other card I CASEd is here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/864818 My card is a regular size card (4.25"x5.5") I loved the blended sky - which I did on glossy cardstock in a combination of Blue Bayou and Soft Sky. I found this Hero Arts stamp at Michaels and really liked it, so I stamped it in Palette Noir ink.

Stamps: Hero Arts - Travel Collage. Paper: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Glossy white. Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Palette Noir. Accessories: dimensionals, ribbon, sponges.

Here's to a great Tuesday (and a little warmer weather here)

A quickie post - I have about 25 minutes before I need to leave for work and I'm not completely ready to go.

This is the card I made on Wednesday night with Tuesday's color challenge: Pink Piroette, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip.

I stamped the rose (from Rubbernecker) in Burnt Umber Palette and colored it in with Pretty in Pink and Old Olive markers. The sentiment (from PTI's Mixed Messages) is stamped in Old Olive.

The frame for the rose is cut out with square Nestabilities and popped up on dimensionals over the image.

I decided to make this card into a shaker card with part of a shaker kit I bought from Jody Morrow (texasjodylynn) and a Heidi Swapp ghost star. It worked really well, but I misjudged where everything needed to be, so I have tails hanging off the edge of the card. Ooops.

Stamps: Rubbernecker - Valentine Rose, PTI - Mixed Messages. Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Select White. Ink Burnt Umber Palette, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink marker. Accessories: nestabilities, dimensionals, brads, microbeads, ghost star, shaker kit.

Have a great Friday!

It's a Quilted World

I am totally in love with Papertrey Ink's Quilter's Sampler stamp set. I think it's great that the stampers who can't sew a straight line to save their souls *raises hand because this is SO me* can create little quilts. This set has been at the top of my PTI cd stack.

This first card I made because I heard that a friend on SCS's husband died. I made this card to send to her.

Stamps: PTI - Quilter's Sampler, Quilter's Samper Sentiments. Paper: Basic Gray, PTI Select White and Aqua Mist. Ink: Charcoal Palette, Aqua Mist. Accessories: brads, ribbon, Nestabilities, paintbrush, dimensionals.

One of the things I'm a little frustrated about when dealing with the Palette inkpads is that you can't squeeze them to get some ink to color. I'm always afraid of cracking the lid, but I tried something new and it worked. You take a dry, small, stiff-bristled paintbrush (my paintbrush has 1/4" bristles) and brush some color directly from the inkpad and then color in the quilted squares.

After I figured out that dry paintbrush works to color in the quilt blocks, I sat down with my stamp set, all my colors of PTI ink (which is Palette formula), and paintbrush in front of the tv and colored in a bunch of quilt blocks.

One of the last sets of quilt blocks I colored in were these. I really liked the combo of Aqua Mist with Berry Sorbet.

Stamps: Quilter's Sampler, Quilter's Sampler Sentiments. Paper: Basic Gray, PTI - Select White, Aqua Mist, Berry Sorbet, Everyday Blessings dp. Ink: Berry Sorbet, Charcoal Palette, Aqua Mist. Accessories: ribbon, dimensionals, Sakura sparkle gel pen.

The ribbons on my cards are tied with a technique for stay put knots. I found a link on SCS to a tutorial and watched it. It's so easy to do - and saves a lot of hassle from regular tying.

Wishing you great creativity,

Back from my work weekend

The weekend was great - I learned a lot and had a lot of fun at my conference.

Then I got to see my best friend from college - who lives near Detroit.

When I got home, I rearranged my Primas (paper flowers.) I've just kept them in the containers they came in: milk bottles, plastic containers, organza bag, etc. I bought some Making Memories plastic cracker jars at Michael's (they come in sets of 3.) I sat down on the floor with the tv on and separated all my primas into jars by color. It's going to be a lot easier to find what I want to use.

Hope everyone's had a great day!

Thursday

Ahhh... the joy of short work days. I kinda like being a little lazy and taking my time in the morning, making a card or two, blogging, etc. I'd do this everyday, but I like to sleep in and that leaves little time for actually making cards and uploading them. Maybe at some point, I'll turn into a morning person.

I get to go to a 2 day conference for work. I leave tonight and it finishes up late Saturday. I'm excited.

Okay, back to the real reason of this blog: stamping. I've made some cards.

First card was for the SCS Color Challenge on Tuesday.

The colors were Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, and Chocolate Chip. I had the cardstock, not the inks, so I had to improvise. I used one of my new Stamping Bella images: Imogen the Fairy. She's stamped in Burnt Umber Palette on watercolor paper. I colored her with reinkers and an aquapainter. I need to practice this technique - I'm not good at it. Imogen's wings and dress have a little shimmer to them from Twinkling H2Os.

The background is watercolor paper stamped with the leaves from PTI's Out on a Limb Additions. It was misted with water to blur the images.

Stamps: PTI - Out on a Limb Additions, Stamping Bella - Imogen the Fairy. Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, watercolor. Ink: Burnt Umber Palette, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive. Accessories: aquapainter, Twinkling H2Os, Stickles, ribbon.

The other 2 cards are for today's Ways to Use It Challenge: Monograms.

Card #2: I took a letter from a Basic Grey chipboard set and embossed it in silver. I love this chipboard because Basic Grey was smart enough to make it self-adhesive. You don't have to use the Tacky Tape or the heavy duty glues with this stuff. Of course, if you're like me and don't realize that it's self-adhesive... it's embarrassing, but true.

Note: if you're embossing chipboard, give it time to cool before you touch it with your hands. It's thicker and holds heat longer than paper. I've burnt my fingers touching the surface of embossing powder on chipboard. I have a pair of crafting tweezers that I use to move chipboard after being embossed. Please be careful.

Other than the embossing, it's a simple card: 2 ribbons, 3 brads and I was done.

Stamps: none. Paper: Apricot Appeal, Dark Chocolate (PTI), My Mind's Eye dp. Ink: Versamark. Accessories: silver ep, ribbon, Basic Grey chipboard, brads.

The last card is the one that I thought of first when I read the word 'monogram'. I wanted something really simple, classic and clean.

When I had my card base, I ran it through my trimmer with the scoring blade on it and scored 2 lines 1 1/4" apart. I laid my piece of Aqua Mist cardstock in between the lines after I wrapped a piece of Aqua Mist polka dot satin ribbon around it. The monogram is PTI's Ambassador Monogram set and the Borders and Corners Monogram edition. They're stamped in Palette Noir and Aqua Mist respectively. It's punched out with 1 1/4" circle punch and layered on a 1 3/8" circle of Aqua Mist cardstock. The monogram is on dimensionals.

After I put the T in the monogram, I almost kicked myself because a set of 4 or 6 of these cards would be great in my work Secret Santa's present.

Stamps: PTI - Ambassador Monogram, Borders and Corners Monogram Edition. Paper: Select White, Aqua Mist. Ink: Aqua Mist, Palette Noir. Accessories: ribbon, dimensionals, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches.

That's all for now.

Wishing everyone a great weekend,