Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas and is enjoying the new year so far! This is the Christmas card that I sent out this year. I really love this new Christmas set by Stampin' Up!. The font used for the Joy is so pretty! And the words to Joy to the World make up the star shape. I decided to go for a less tradition color combo of So Saffron, Baja Breeze, and Not Quite Navy. My Nestabilities die got quite a workout but I loved the shape for my focal point.
I'm definitely enjoying how the pace of life has slowed down a bit and that I'm getting time to stamp again. How about you? :o)

Fall Paper Fun

For these two seasonal cards, I pulled out some retired fall design paper from SU called Autumn Meadows. For the first card I used an older sketch from Viva la Verve (Jan 2011) because I love the way it showcases the design paper and because its so quick and easy to follow. For the second card, combined inspiration from two different sources. I was inspired by my SU demo, Krista Fenton to use a second layer of the same color cardstock as my base but then ink the edges to create a border. A cute card I found in Stamp It Techniques (on page 46 by Ashley Harris) was my other source. She paper peiced a pumpkin using cute paper and used a clean and simple style by adding only a sentiment underneath in order to let the pumpkin stand out. I'm not used to leaving so much white space on a card but I like the effect.
Enjoy what remains of the fall!!

Classic Fall Leaf

Since it is the height of fall, I thought it only proper to share this classic fall card with you. This is my favorite use of versamark and chalk; it makes it so easy to create a blend of colors on the leaf so it looks realistic. I sponged the edge of the oval focal point in order to continue the soft look. For the background, i simply randomly stamped the acorn stamp using versamark ink. The images used for this card are from a retired Stampin' Up! set called Country Blessings, and my sentiment is from SU's Sincere Salutations.
Enjoy your fall!

Spool of Thread

This trendy card I made for my seamstress Mom for her birthday last week. I cased a fabulous card called "On the Mend" by Ryann Salamon that I found on page 83 of Stamp It cards, a special issue put out by Paper Crafts magazine. The card base isn't hard to create, but I never would have thought of this on my own. That's why I love the special issues, there's always so much inspiration. The images on the card come from SU's Sew Suite set, and the "thread" is pear pizazz ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Pumpkin Coffee

Pumpkin coffee has returned!! And I’ve been drinking my fair share lately :o) So along those lines, I have some retro cards to share with you that were created with a favorite SU set that has been around for a long time called “Espress Yourself.” The colors of my first card all come from the classic earth elements color family – chocolate chip, really rust, more mustard, and creamy caramel. To color in my mug, I used a versamark marker on the base so that it would be just a little darker than the cardstock and then used more mustard and really rust for the border and heart. My final step was to cover the heart with crystal effects making it smooth and shiny.

For the second card I used a classic pink and brown color combo and a fairly basic design of alternating panels in creamy caramel and close to cocoa stamped with the coffee bean stamp. The row of mugs is such a fun stamp to color; It makes me smile every time =D I secured it to the card base with eyelets on either end and then finished it off with some more crystal effects on part of each mug (which is hard to see in the picture but it really is there!).

Thanks for stopping by and happy fall!

Fall Mug of Tea

We’ve certainly had a cold snap here in New Hampshire this week, and I’ve been drinking a lot more tea!! So I thought I would share this fun card with you today. I started with a template that I picked up from mirkwooddesigns.com and printed it out onto a piece of Cajun Craze card stock. The flower stamp used to create my focal point is from the well-used and much-loved Heartfelt Thanks set, and the “happiness” stamp is from Warm Words. I added a stip of Always Artichoke punched with a scalloped border punch and a large chocolate chip brad for embellishment. My last step in creating the card was to spritz some Tattered Angels glimmer mist over the whole mug for some added interest. Then I “filled” my mug with Tazo tea, my favorite :o) This particular flavor is Green Ginger which is quite yummy!

Cheers!

Hello Little Pieces

I have a fun and simple card to share today. I made this with some retired SU stuff. I stamped shapes from Little Pieces on some Soft Subtles colors of cardstock and then punched them out using my little circle punch. I created a border for the circles by using the scoring blade of my paper cutter, and then stamped and embossed the "hello" sentiment from Sweet Shapes. Quick, easy, fun!!
Enjoy your Saturday ;o)