Autumn Thanks

Happy 'fall back' day to those of you who live in the central time zone. Not only is tonight Halloween night but we turn out clocks back one hour. I made this card for two SCS challenges; the first was Friday's Limited Supply Challenge where we made a card to exemplify our weather. It has been dreary and rainy until yesterday afternoon when the sun finally showed up. Our trees here are just vibrant~ full of color and also beginning to fall; so I chose these DPs from SU! plus when viewing the IC challenge website last evening, I saw this 'Golden Leaf and Acorn" tray. I knew exactly what to do. I just love when things come together like that!

One of the tricks I learned a bit ago was how to quickly use two or more colors on a stamp like my sentiment without having to use markers for every area. Ink up your stamp with the predominant color (or in some cases it is best to ink up with the lightest color); then take a blender pen and 'erase' the ink where you want to add another color. Then use your markers and re-color the erased area. On my card here, I inked my 'Give Thanks' stamp using my close to cocoa stamp pad, erased the cocoa on the leaf area using my blender pen, then recolored the leaves with my Ruby Red marker. Huff, puff & stamp~ Viola! I have dedicated an older blender pen for this use. It is really fast!

Happy Halloween!

Recipe: Everything is SU! except the leaf brads.
Stamp: Holiday Best
Paper: Ruby Red, Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede, More Mustard, DSP- Autumn Traditions (SU!)
Ink: Ruby Red, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Leaf Brads (Target) & Scor-Pal

Blue B-day

Here's the result of a little break from making Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. It was fun to use the colors from the Basic Grey color challenge and the Paper Craft Planet sketch challenge. Additionally, by choosing a birthday theme, it qualitifes for the PCP birthday challenge in honor of Susanna Boyd. {There are prizes for the PCP b-day challenge so be sure to check it out before Sunday at midnight}.

Have a great Sunday!

Recipe:
Stamps: Birthday Whimsy (SU!)
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery, WW (SU!); DP- Cool from the Euphoria collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Modern Label punch (SU!), Scallop Rectangular Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Button brads (Eyelet Outlet); White embroidery thread.

Happy Saturday! I am happy to be home. I had a quick business trip this week~ a 24 hour trip from here in St. Lou to New Jersey & back. My team got some great info, so it was worth it. But I have missed my stamping!

Today I combined the sketch challenge from Wednesday with today's Inspirational Challenge.
I chose this Bustling Avenue dress from Anthropologie for my inspiration.

This card might be considered retro ('out of style' is a bit negative, don't you think?). I used a very old stamp from a SU! set called Tricky Treats. It was a 2001 set that I purchased inexpensively from the bay about three years ago when I had a very small stamp collection. That said, I still love it. I send Halloween cards to family and friends who aren't aware of stamping trends, old paper colors or last year's design paper. They usually love my cards and are very happy to receive them. Good thing they are not stamping enlightened because I also used last year's in color Tangerine Tango and last Christmas' DP from SU! called Frosty Days. And then, eyelets to boot.

Despite all the old products, I like how the card turned out. I especially liked this sketch from Roxie; but then I always like her choice in sketches. I like the little bats brads too, but my frugal nature is really showing through as these were part of a kit with the black eyelets that I purchased from an discount store that carries discontinued items.

Here in St. Louis, the trees are at their peak fall colors; they are just gorgeous. I hope to get out for a ride & see the natural splendor. I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Recipe:
Stamps: Tricky Treats (SU!); Happy Halloween (Studio G)
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Black, White, DSP-Frosty Days (SU!)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun (SU!)
Accessories: Bat brads & Black Eyelets (source unknown); Orange Embroidery thread (stash)

Best Witches

A double SCS challenge card for me today. FS141 and IC202.

The Featured Stamper on SCS this week is Dancer Riley. Her blog is awesome; if you haven't already checked it out, you'd better hop over there. I chose this card to case: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...;ppuser=113092.

I kept the same design, the four brads, and a similar fall color scheme. I changed the specific colors, modified the sketch a bit by switching the wave layer with a smaller scallop strip, and I changed the image.

The second challenge was yesterday's Inspiration Challenge.
I chose the stringbeads tiles http://www.xeniataler.com/index.php?...amp;cPath=1_14.
I was inspired to use the background DP and colors based upon the Xenia Taler tiles.

Nothing special about the techniques here; just plain old stamping. It was nice to have some time in the studio today. Have a good week!

Recipe:
Stamps: Best Witches (Hampton Arts for Studio G)
Paper: Wild Wasabi cs and textured cs, Really Rust,Very Vanilla (SU!); DP- Indian Summer (DCWV)
Ink: Basic Brown, Wild Wasabi, Really Rust, Summer Sun, Almost Amethyst (SU!)
Accessories: Blender Pen, Scallop punch, Mat Pack (SU!); Paper Pick (Tim Holtz); Green Brads (Karen Foster)

CC240, IC201 Thanksgiving

This card is for the SCS color challenge to use Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip and Apricot Appeal and for Inspirational Challenge. The IC201 challenge was to use TzaddiShop site as an inspiration. I chose this http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...ng_id=28427709.

The colors from the TzaddiShop's necklace & the color challenge reminded me of the new SU! DSP called Autumn Leaves (from the new Holiday mini catty). For the cutout leaves, I used my Bermuda Bay marker (I don't have the ink pad, but you could use that if you wish) and covered the entire stamp with Bermuda Bay marker. Next I took my Chocolate Chip marker and covered the edges and then thumped the center. It is a combination of thumping and rock 'n roll technique with markers. Here's a close up of the leaves.

Have a great evening!

Fall Leaves

Happy Sunday! I haven't had much time to stamp lately, so last night and today I took the opportunity to combine several challenges from the past week that interested me. When I don't create regularly, I get in a bit of a slump and have trouble with my creative juices and also cards take me a while to complete. So I humbly share this one with you.

It combines several challenges; first, the SCS LSC241 to not use embellishements and to make your stamped image the central theme. This was pretty challenging for me but when I added the scoring the card didn't seem too plain, but it is rather simple. The second challenge was the SC248 from last week, and last challenge was the IC200 challenge. I used the Chocolate Twist bag from Kir DeVires as my inspiration. The print on the bag reminded me of the DSP Autumn Leaves from SU.

One of things I did accomplish instead of stamping was to clean my studio. I had a very hectic summer and I quit putting away my supplies and papers after creating a card. Things just piled up; it was hard to find things and even harder for me to be creative in a messy area. In addition to needing to put things away, I had outgrown my organization and need to re-do my storage. A few weeks ago, my DH and I mounted rods for my punches and on Friday, I added corner shelves. I really love my studio, especially when it is clean and organized! This is my little haven away from stress and worry. I hope you have a special spot for just you!

Recipe:
Stamp: Tags & More
Paper: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, DSP- Autumn Leaves (SU!)
Ink: CHocolate Chip craft
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Scor-Pal

Holiday Card

This weekend we visited my youngest daughter who goes to college at Drake University in Des Moines. Our older daughter joined us, so we had a nice family weekend. My husband and I arrived home this afternoon and the first thing I wanted to do was make cards and play the Featured Stamper Challenge on Splitcoaststampers. It was really hard to act responsible but I did... and I unloaded, unpacked, and got ready for the week before starting cards. I finally got to play around 8:30p.m. Better late than never.

I made this card for the FS139 which honored Lois AKA "clownmom" on Splitcoast. Nothing tricky here; I think the DP makes a nice background for the ornaments. And knowing I had similar paper, I decided to case her "Joyful Ornaments" card.

Have a great week, friends!

Recipe:
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Teeny Tiny Sentiment
Paper: Handsome Hunter, Soft Suede, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, DP- Christmas Stack (DCWV)
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Rose Red
Accessories: Gold Brads (SU!), Modern Label punch, Ornament punch (SU!), Gold ribbon (Offray)

Sunday's Featured Stamper Challenge

Yipee~ I was able to play the SCS Featured Stamper challenge today. Seems like the weekends rush past; probably because we are so busy. It was a very productive weekend. I worked in the yard cutting back the ivy, did laundry, and made it to Micheal's and found some corner shelves on sale (I've been waiting for these to be discounted). DH hung a mirror in my studio today and yesterday we mounted rods on the wall for my punches. Wow! I am tired just reading the list and that's just a few of the things we accomplished. I bet your weekends are just as busy. I recall when the kids were younger, many fall weekends were filled with soccer games and birthday parties. So I guess it doesn't really matter where one is in life, weekends are usually busy!

Have a great week!

Recipe:
Stamps: Cheep Talk, Petal Pizzaz, Teeny Tiny Sentiments (SU!)
Paper: Pacific Point, Lavender Lace, WW (SU!)
Ink: Pacific Point, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Versa Mark (SU!)
Accessories: Top Note (SU!), ribbon- sheer lavender (MSI), blue (Offray), buttons (stash)

It's already Thursday?!

I can't believe that another Thursday has rolled around. We were gone this past weekend visiting my daughter for her college's family weekend. It was so much fun seeing her plus our other daughter joined us for a day. A double shot for this Mom!

Today we are doing a sketch for the Thursday's Digi Shack challenge. I hope you like my take (below) and I hope you can play along too. Check out the sketch here.

Recipe:
Image: Christmas Bells (The Digi Shack)
Paper: Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke, WW (SU!); DP- Wassil (Basic Grey)
Ink: Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke (SU!); gold spika pen (Too Marker)
Accessories: Blender pen, Riding Hood Red striped ribbon, gold brad, Boho Blossoms punch (SU!); Colluzzle ovals (ProvoCraft), frond punch (Martha Stewart)

TDS Challenge Card

Another Digi Shack Thursday challenge, and once again, I am preparing for the upcoming holidays. Today the challenge is "Fall in Love" challenge where you use only fall colors. I chose to add to my Thanksgiving cards and I picked this adorable little squirrel with a pumpkin from The Digi Shack (another $1 image).

I am not much of a CAS girl (clean and simple), but I am trying to adapt from my usual many layers and DSP and sometimes complicated sketches to a CAS style...at least every now and then. The stretching outside my comfort zone really helps my creativity and well...challenges me. However, my CAS cards always look "naked" to me so probably I add more than a purest would. But hey, you can only change a little at a time. Anyway, I am not sure if I pulled the CAS technique off, but this is definitely simpler than my usual card. But I like it mainly because of this adorable squirrel image. Hop on over and play.

Recipe:
Image: Squirrel with Pumpkin (The Digi Shack), Sentiment- Occasions Collection (retired hostess- Stampin' Up)
Paper: Craft, Whisper White, Dusty Durango (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Markers- Creamy Caramel, Dusty Durange, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Ribbon- Jersey (retired Stampin' Up), Bow-Easy