Merry Christmas to You and Yours

When I first flipped through the Holiday catalog and saw the background stamp in the "To You & Yours Too" stamp set and the "Sleigh Ride Edgelits" a few pages later I immediately had the idea for this card. Originally I wanted to do a blue color palette but then I decided to step out of my comfort zone. The browns are usually not my first go-to colors but I love how it works together with the gold on the card. I am thrilled with the results. Sometimes you just need to challenge yourself.

To add a little extra interest I sprinkled the sky with some water drops and also spritzed it. Then I stamped the stars with Versamark and heat embossed with gold Stampin' Emboss Powder. To top it off I diluted some liquid glue with water and sprinkled that mixture on the card so the gold Stampin' Glitter I applied could adhere to that. The result is a wonderfully sparkling sky.

It's not your traditional Christmas colors but I think that's just one more thing that makes that card stand out .

Thanks for stopping by today,

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Standing Strong!

Splitcoaststampers has partnered with the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center for a month long card drive to benefit those affected by breast cancer. Every day in October SCS is hosting an new challenge. The most important part of these challenges is actually mailing the cards to MD Anderson - to shower the patients and their families with some paper love.

I made this card for HYCCT 2015 challenge 1503: 
 "I Am a Warrior!
Whether you are the patient, caregiver or supporter of a patient, your warrior strength is called upon during this challenging journey. For this challenge, create something that shows strength or inspiration [...]." The big old oak is standing strong despite all the turbulence around it.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Spooky Woodlands

Did you get a chance to browse through the new Stampin' Up! Holiday catalog yet? So many fun things to play with. Well, it's no secret, the Woodlands TIEF is one of my all time favorites. You can decorate the trees for all seasons of the year. And because Halloween is just around the corner I added some spooky eyes today.

In case you are wondering, the little black rhinestones I used for the spooky eyes are from the Witching Decor Project Kit, because all of the SU kits come with lots of extra material.

Thanks for stopping by today,  

Watercolor Wings Birthday

Just when you thought the butterfly stamp sets can't get any cuter and you have them all Stampin' Up! comes up with another MUST HAVE. The new Watercolor Wings set comes with coordinating dies and makes it really easy to design professional looking cards. And you can never have enough butterflies, right?

This is another one of the many cards that I made for Lydia's challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.com.

Winter Woodland

Finally! .....  The wait is over, at least if you are a demonstrator. Stampin' Up! revealed the new Holiday catalog at convention in July to demonstrators so we can get our preorders going, start playing and prepare for the season. I know the suspense when you have to wait to see all the new fun product can be unbearable. So if you don't want to wait anymore contact me today and join as a demonstrator.

Until then you might be interested in a sneak peak??????? I am also a member of the Splitcoaststampers Fanclub. They are hosting a fun week of challenges for the Fan Club members each year. May card today was for Lydia's challenge. I like those challenges. Oftentimes I have to push myself way out of my comfort zone but it is so much fun. If you are interested hop over and check it out.

Without further ado here is my card. Thanks for stopping by today.

Edit: I have received so many questions about how I made the card that I quick wanted to post some instructions. I used an Early Espresso marker to ink the dark areas on the embossing folder and ran it through the Bigshot. Then I took a sponge dauber to ink the raised tree trunks with Whisper White craft ink. For the snow in the trees I applied glue with the new fine tip glue pen and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds over it. The little bird is from the Sprinkles of Life stamp set. I took my marker and added a little triangle on the head and some tail feathers and voila it looks like a Red Cardinal. Hope that helps.

 

Creative Challenge

Stampin'Up! has issued a creative challenge for demonstrators to create a project with at least two of the four punches listed below. How fun, I love these kind of challenges.

The Punches

130698: Pansy Punch
133784: Hearts Border Punch
133785: Fun Flower Punch133786: Sweetheart Punch

And without further ado here are my two samples:

The first one is a shaker card. I went totally out of my comfort zone with that color combination but I really like it. I used the Sweatheart punch and the Hearts Border Punch for this card.

For the second card I used three of the four punches, the flower is made from the Sweatheart punch and the Pansy punch and I used the Hearts Border punch for the diagonal accent.

Stamp on a Feather ...

What? How awesome is that? It doesn't always have to be card stock - well, we kind of knew that. But I have never stamped on a feather before! I like to browse the blog of my dear fellow stamper Helga Hopen in Germany. She creates the most amazing projects. Please hop over there and check it out, you will be amazed. Long story short, that's where I found the feather that was stamped. I thought that was so ingenious I couldn't wait to CASE and try it myself! I used the black Momento ink for the sentiment and sponged the edges with Classic ink in Daffodil Delight and Rose Red to match the colors of the tulip. I am thrilled with the results and hope this is an inspiration to you as well. I surprised our board members with this flower at the last meeting because I think they have done a FABULOUS job this year. There couldn't have been a stamp more perfect than this one from the "Million & One" stamp set which is one of my favorites. Happy stamping and thanks for stopping by.

One More ......

I still have one more sample for the Adventure Bound DSP pack. The tree paper was just the perfect background for my owl. The owl is punched from the birch bark paper.

More Adventure Bound

I hope you are not getting tired of seeing more samples with the Adventure Bound DSP yet because I am really having fun with it.

For the card below I colored the buttons I made with the Simply Pressed Clay to match the card stock and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. Add a little sentiment and a sparkly red heart and voilà.

I really like how the barn window that reflects the tree scenery turned out. For the pennants I used the Burlap ribbon and attached some hearts that I punched with the Hearts Border Punch. For the window I used the Window Sheets to make it look more realistic. This card would work well for Valentine's Day, a wedding or just to say HI.

Adventure Bound Forest

Did I mention I am on a roll with the Adventure Bound DSP stack? After a slow start I could not stop anymore and my mind seems to explode with ideas. Come back soon to check for more samples.

The forest is all DSP. I just stamped the sun with the sun from the Kinda Eclectic set in Crushed Curry and added the heat embossed sentiment (Crushed Curry embossing powder). For the butterfly I used the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and stamped it twice. I punched it out with the coordinating punch, colored it and glued the two butterflies together to add a colorful focal point on the card. 

Adventure Bound Love Tree

And here is another sample for the Adventure Bound DSP stack. Clean and simple and so fun.

Adventure Bound Brick Wall

When I first saw this DSP in the new Occasions catalog I was in awe. I was so excited when it finally arrived at my house and I couldn't wait to start working with it. Now that it was finally sitting in front of me I had no idea how to use it. WHAT??? REALLY??? Well, I started stamping on it and it looked o.k. But when I cut out some single bricks and attached them with a Dimensional it started to come to life. Then I added some Flower Soft that looked like the green that grows on really old brick walls and now it has a wow factor. And it totally qualifies for a masculine card. I really like it now and hope you do too.

Once I got started with the DSP I had my mojo back and I was on a roll. So stay tuned and check back for more samples to come. Thanks for stopping by today.

Hello Bokeh

Hi everybody! Today I want to share a card with you that uses the Bokeh Technique for the background. Bokeh is a very hot trend right now and super easy to do. But careful, it can be so addicting. The vibrant background does not need a lot of embellishment. So I just added a simple hello cut out with my Hello You Thinlit Dies and a ballon. Voilà, isn't that a fun card?

Sheltering Tree

When I looked through the new Occasions Catalog one stamp set spoke to me (or should I say screamed at me) right away: Sheltering Tree. An absolute must-have. So versatile it can be used for every occasion year round. And since it's February  I dressed it up for Valentine's Day today.