FSU Birthday

This is a birthday card that I made for my brother-in-law Craig, using this great sketch.  He loves my sister, FSU, and beer, so I combined them all into one card.

The colors are bravo burgundy and more mustard.  Those are the closest that I could get to the FSU colors.  My sister Sheri, will not really like this card since she is a University of Florida Alum, but I am sure she will appreciate it.  Unfortunately for her,  they live in Tallahassee, so I am sure each football season is hard for her to see all of the maroon and gold all around town, so I thought that I would throw this in for her.

We, however are Gator fans, so we side with her!  Mackie had her sights set on being a UF gymnast, but injuries got the best of her and she had to sideline her gymnastic career.  UF has a fantastic Women's team, and we still watch them whenever we can find the gym meets on TV.

I used the Well Worn DSP, and even though bravo burgundy is not on the list of colors, it still works well.  The sentiment is from Oval All and punched with the scallop oval punch, and layered on a large oval punch.  A punched line of the pinking hearts border adds just a bit of character on both sides.  A very simple card, but I find that when you are making masculine cards, CAS is always best.

I had the template for the beer, but it was a bit big, so I shrunk it down.  It is actually three pieces, the glass, beer, and foam.  Of course this is where I had to stamp the FSU.  I really hope that Craig likes his card, and had a great birthday.  We really miss them and hope to see them at Thanksgiving.

See how easy it is to personalize your cards when you make them yourself?  It is easy to use the recipient's favorite colors, or hobbies.  All the items on this card are available through my Shop SU with me button at the top of the page, and you can shop 24/7!  Hope you were inspired today, enjoy!

Stamps:  Oval All, Classic Alphabet
Paper:  Well Worn DSP, bravo burgundy, more mustard, very vanilla, so saffron
Ink:  more mustard, bravo burgundy
tools:  pinking hearts border punch, scallop oval border punch, large oval punch,

New My Digital Studio Releases

These are the new releases for My Digital Studio for September 27th,there is also a great new Holiday Hostess only brush set that has a release date of October 3.  All you would need to do to be eligible for hostess brush set, is place an order of $150 of SU items with me, you can choose the brush set as part of your hostess benefits.  Also, remember that I am running my own promotion of a brush set with purchase, click HERE for those details.

Look at all of the fabulous items you can make with it, all you need is the MDS software, and a printer and you are ready to go.  Most of the software is an instant download, so you can start as soon as you would like!  Contact me, if you have any questions!

Living for The Paper Players

Today's Paper Players challenge is a sketch challenge by Anne Marie Hile, she did a great job, take a look and grab your provisions and play along!  Here is what I came up with:

I came up with the idea to upholster the Spice Cake fabric with batting and make little tufts on each rectangle.  It was not too hard, just time consuming.

I made a scallop border punch piece, crimped, crumpled, and separated it and ruffled it on the back of each fabric piece.  I used a piece of burlap thread and threaded it through the back and tied a knot to make some tufting.

The sentiment panel starts with a large circle punch in pool party, with a very vanilla large scallop punch on top.  The french words from French Foliage was stamped and the edges sponged in more mustard and soft suede.

The love life stamp is from You're a Gem, and since by this time I was thinking that this would be a framed piece instead of a card, it fit good.  The leaves were embossed in gold and sponged with more mustard and soft suede, are also from the French Foliage stamp set.

The little burlap flower was made by 1/2 inch strips of burlap, overlapped and sewn to hold the shape.  Some twine was looped around as well.  Two hand cut circles of the Spice Cake fabric were attached under the beautiful antique brad.  I glued on a circle punch on the back so I can secure it to the card front.  Burlap is very popular right now, and this color matches soft suede perfectly.

It was all layered on a piece of beautiful Spice Cake DSP and matted on soft suede.  I will head out tomorrow to see if I can find a frame so it can be hung on the wall.  It is a pretty good size at 5 1/2 x 5 1/2, so it has a great impact. 

This is my last card as a Design Team member, and I will miss all of the sweet ladies that I have been working with the last month.  Your October Guest Designer is Cindy Hall from  www.prettyimpact.com I am sure she has some great stuff planned for you.  I hope you were inspired today, enjoy!

The Paper Players Design Team

Ann Schach

Anne Marie Hile

Jaydee

Julie Marshall

LeAnne Pugliese

Lesley Croghan

Nance Leedy

Tara Bilbao

Sandra Conner (September GD)

 

 

Stamps:  Fall Foliage, You're a Gem

Paper & Fabric:  Spice Cake DSP, Spice Cake fabric

Ink:  soft suede, more mustard, gold embossing powder

tools:  scallop border trim, circle punch, scallop circle punch, antique brad, twine, burlap

Ribbon Share Reminder and a Peek!

I am giving you all a quick reminder about the ribbon share, click HERE for the full information.  This ribbon will be ordered shortly, and I don't want you to miss out!  Holiday crafting season is upon us, and it is nice to have supplies on hand.  Remember, each share comes wrapped on its own wooden pin for easy storing and no wrinkles!

Also, a reminder about the My Digital Studio promo and contest going on as well, click HERE for the details, act now so you don't miss out on this fabulous special.

Now, I am hard at work in my craft room getting ready for Sunday's The Paper Players post, this will be my last week as a Guest Designer, I am going to miss being challenged every week to come up with a WOW card for you to enjoy.

I cannot show you a peek of that card yet, but I can show you a peek of my next Pretty Provisions for the Home project, here you go:

That is a lot of scallop circles, hmm, what do you think I am doing with all of them?  Come back next week and I will show you.  I will leave you with this picture of our pets, I found this picture from three years ago when I was looking for the 10th birthday pictures.

This is Barley, Schyler, Sasha, and Jody.  Jody our Siamese is no longer with us, he passed about six months after this picture was taken, he was a whopping 15 years old.  He was the very sweetest kitty ever, and we still miss him.  Such a cute gaggle of beloved pets.  They all get along famously!

My Digital Studio Promo and Contest

I am new to the Stampin' Up! MDS which is My Digital Studio, but I have seen some fantastic results using MDS.  There is website dedicated only to MDS and you can get to it by clicking HERE.  This website has samples, tutorials, products, any AND all info you need to get started on creating beautiful digital cards, scrapbooks, 3D items, oh the list is endless.  You use ALL SU items, stamp sets, colors, DSP, everything, how great is that?!  And you can decide to either print it yourself or have SU print it for you.  Wow!
To get this wonderful product to you, so you can see how fabulous it is, I would like to offer a promo with purchase when you shop with me. When you purchase the MDS Express through my SU shop, you will receive from me, your choice of a $3.95 digital download extra, or if you purchase the full MDS through my SU shop, you will receive a $5.95 digital download extra of your choice, from me.   Here is the link SHOP SU WITH ME.  The MDS has new releases every week and they download instantly, there is a wide variety of items, even items that have been retired, so if you have a past favorite, chances are good that it is still available through the MDS.  I cannot begin to scratch the surface on this wonderful addition to SU, so if you would like more info or have questions, contact me today!

Here are the two different entry level editions of MDS and what they include:

 

In addition, there is a contest running through Stampin' Up!, here is the info below:



Stampin’ Up! invites YOU to participate in our digital design contest using Stampin’ Up!’s My Digital Studio digital artwork! Let the Contest Begin!

• It’s open to all demonstrators and customers who have access to My Digital Studio in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada (excluding Quebec). Demonstrators and customers will be judged separately; ten finalists—five customers and five demonstrators—will be chosen by Stampin’ Up! judges, and the public will choose six winners--three customers and three demonstrators--via online voting.
• Submit your entry to MDSContest@stampinup.com. To enter the contest you will need to design one digital card and one single-page layout using ONLY My Digital Studio product. Submit all samples along with your full name, address, daytime phone number, and demonstrator ID number (if applicable). Include a photo release form (if applicable).
• Finalists will receive $100 US/$125 CAN in FREE My Digital Studio digital downloads from Stampin’ Up! and winners will receive $400 US/$500 CAN in free downloads! Winnings will not be combined. For example, if you are a winner you will not get the finalists’ prize plus the winners’ prize. Winners and finalists will also receive a digital pin for their DBWS site (for demonstrators), personal blog, or Facebook page.

Our panel of judges can’t wait to see your digital artistry on display, so submit your projects today!

Mojo Queen and Reminiscing

Ok, so I am not the Mojo Queen, but that kept sticking in my head for a title, since the sentiment does say "Queen for a Day".  Here is my Mojo Monday #207 for you all to enjoy:

Mojo Monday is back after a two week vacation, they came up with a great sketch, so I thought that I would let the DSP do all of the talking.  I used some retired SU DSP called Spring Silhouettes that I have been hoarding, I mean saving for a rainy day, and it has been rainy here lately so I thought I would pull it out.  This DSP I bought at least three years ago, since I used it for my daughter Mackie's 10th birthday party.  I will post some pictures of all of the cool stuff I made with it at the end of the post.

The Queen for a Day sentiment is from the stamp set You're a Gem, and it was embossed with wild wasabi embossing powder, a scallop circle was punched, and cut apart to make the scallop trim.

I pleated the DSP and added a dotted scallop ribbon border out of whisper white, when I secured the sticky strip on the back it lost some of the 3D effect it had ;( oh well.  It is still cute.

I made a baby paper bow using my video technique HERE, instead of the tails coming down, I layered them to the side for a different look.  Oh and see that cutie little frame peeking out from behind the sentiment?  That is the the rectangle frame from the new Designer Frames EF pack.  Love it. 

So now on to Mackie's 10th Birthday Party.  Another passion of mine is party planning, here is what I came up with using this paper pack.

My super sweet girl decided that she wanted to celebrate her BD at the local go-kart track (I was surprised) but after we agreed, and came up with the theme, we ran with it.  I made "pit boxes" that were personalized with each girls name, and had a T-shirt with Mackie's party info on the front, and the girl's last name on the back, a pit pass lanyard, a checkered flag, some candy in a container, a little clip, and I can't remember what else since it was 3 years ago.  It was very cute, and the girls had a blast.  Look how sweet and little she was, she has grown so much, and of course this was before Tate, he has added so much to our lives as well.  I do hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, there was great craft stuff I just had to share.  Enjoy!

Oh, one more thing, big CONGRATS to my husband's team on the win Monday at the Chicago Land Speedway, they really needed a win and are sitting pretty for now in the Nascar Chase.  Keep up the good work, Stewart-Haas Racing!!

Stamps:  You're A Gem
Paper:  Spring Silhouettes, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Ink:  Wild Wasabi embossing powder
tools:  rectangle frame from the new Designer Frames EF pack, dotted scallop ribbon border, scallop circle punch

Introducing....Pretty Provisions for the Home

Hi there!  I want to introduce a new branch of my crafting abilities.  I love interior design, it is my other passion, and I am always looking for new home decor ideas that I can do myself.  So when my friend Myndie said she loves the Stampin Up items, but wants to use them in a more home decor way, a light bulb went off in my head.  I thought that was a fabulous idea and started thinking about items to make.  So off I went and ordered Myndie and I some Spice Cake fabric.  Myndie has finished her project, and as soon as I get her pictures I will share them with you.  My Spice Cake fabric project is still underway, as soon as it is finished, I will share as well.

Here is my first project.  We really decorate big time for Halloween, it is one of my favorite holidays.  My first Pretty Provisions for the Home items are these luminaries!  I usually line our walk with them every year, but this year I thought I would make my own.

So off to the store I went, these are just plain white lunch bags that come in a pack of 12.

The top edges are punched using the pinking hearts border punch, though after I had made a few of them, I think it is best to do this step last, after all of the distressing to preserve your punched edge.

I lined the bags up on my scrap paper, and drew a template.  Since these all are going to be standing in a line, I wanted to make sure that the stamped images were all in the same places.

You can see my lines on the sides drawn at where I want the top of the stamp to line up.  It made it very easy to get all 12 of these stamped front and back in the same place.

After stamping the two main images from House of Haunts in early espresso ink, I stamped the water drops stamp from French Foliage in crumb cake ink.  Then I sponged the outer edges in soft suede, and sponged the inside around the house in crumb cake ink.  The moon was sponged with more mustard.  The sponging was done on all four sides, though the left and right side was a bit harder to do, it still can be done.

Here they are again, finished in our back yard.  Now of course these should not be left unattended if you are going to use a candle, and definitely put some sand in the bottom to hold them down.  One alternative you could do, is slice a small hole in the bottom and insert a light from a string of lights.  That way you could reuse them next year if you would like.

Of course Schyler wanted to see what I was up to outside, so she posed prettily for a picture, Sasha on the other hand will not stand still, so she was looking away.  Yes, that is a sweater that Sasha is wearing, she gets cold easily, so my aunt makes her the cutest sweaters. 

I can't believe how many leaves are already down, and can't wait to all of them change color, fall is my favorite time of year. So what do you think of my first Pretty Provisions for the Home item?  I do hope to do at least one project a week using my Stampin' Up! supplies, so make sure you subscribe to get all of my new projects.  I hope you were inspired today, enjoy!


Stamps:  House of Haunts, French Foliage
Ink:  early espresso, soft suede, crumb cake, more mustard
Tools:  pinking heart border punch, sponges

Baby Paper Players & FMS#2

It's back to nature this week at The Paper Players and our Clean and Simple Challenge doesn't get any easier! All we are asking is that you use an animal or a plant on your clean and simple card. Cats, dogs, trees, flowers, birds, butterflies, vines...flora or fauna...the choice is yours! So pull out your favorite plant or animal stamp and join the Players for another fun challenge.  Here is what I came up with!

My husband has a coworker that just had a baby girl, so I thought that this week's challenge would be a perfect opportunity for a baby card.  I just love this retired SU set Forest Friends.  It is on my keeper list, just because the animals are so darn cute.

Check out this little baby scallop oval.  I got this by punching a scallop circle punch offset to the left side, I then put it back in the other side and tried to line it up and repunch.  The top came out great, not so great on the bottom, but since it was an accident, I am happy with how cute it is.  Next time I will do a better job lining it up.  The Hello baby sentiment are two different stamps from the Pennant Parade stamp set.  The bit of ribbon I found when I was reorganizing my ribbon stash, it is retired SU ribbon from a ribbon pack.   It is great, I can see layering it with the new scallop dots ribbon.

The trees were stamped on pear pizazz card stock, pink pirouette DSP, and peach parfait DSP, and then punched with a circle punch, the tree trunks are stamped on early espresso and sniped out.  Each of the pear pizazz hills are embossed with the perfect polka dots EF and the square lattice EF.  The pink pirouette hill is textured card stock with a bit of the Victoria crochet trim around it.

Now where did I find this terrific layout?  The new Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog is where.  Check out the new blog HERE .  This is sketch #2, but if you want to play along with the sketch, you will need to do so ASAP, as this week's linky closes on Monday.  I am going to try to squeak this one in.

There you have it, I love how this card turned out, I will miss it when it leaves tomorrow to go to it's recipient, but that's what I made it for.   I hope I inspired you today, enjoy!


Stamps:  Forest Friends, Pennant Parade
Paper:  pear pizazz, bashful blue, early espresso, pink pirouette, peach parfait
Ink:  early espresso, peach parfait
tools:  circle punches, oval punch, scallop oval punch, ribbon, square lattice EF, perfect polka dots EF, victoria crochet trim.

Blog Candy Winner

Here are the results from the blog candy giveaway.  Thank you so much for all of your nice comments on my first video tutorial.  I am glad to be able to provide you with a new way of making bows!  The video and technique seemed to be a success!  On to the winner, here is the winning comment:

Sarah said...

Great job on your premier video. The papers bows add a big "wow" factor for sure. Thanks for sharing!

Sarah, please contact me within the next 48 hours and I will get your blog candy out to you ASAP!  Stay tuned for tomorrow's Paper Players challenge card, this card turned out to be one of my all time favorite cards that I have made.  It's a cutie!  See you tomorrow.

Ribbon Shares

Hey there!  Today I am going to show you a great tip about storing ribbon.  I have joined ribbon shares in the past, and have a bunch of cut ribbon, this is what it looks like after I have unpacked it.  I have some great lidded jars that I found at target and I usually put the ribbon in there.  But look what I recently came up with!  To share in this find, I am going to offer a ribbon share myself, and each share of ribbon will come on it's own wooden pin.  How great is that!

I currently do not have a ribbon share going, but check back with the next new catalog to see what ribbon I will be sharing.