The Sky Is The Limit

The new Occasions catalog went life on January 5th. SU! never ceases  to amaze me with their beautiful new stamps and accessories. I already got a preview at OnStage and I could not wait to get my hands on the new product.

But not only did we get the new Occasions catalog, Sale-A-Bration (SAB) has started too. Between 01/05 and 03/31 you get one free product for every $50 you spend. It's my favorite time of the year to shop SU!. My fist pick from the SAB was the stamp set "Sky Is The Limit". Masculine cards are always very challenging, especially for Valentines day. But this stamp set makes it so easy to whip up some cards for every occasion.

I hope you enjoyed today's inspiration. Thanks for stopping by,

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

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.