Oh, Christmas Tree!

Oh Christmas Trees! Oh JOY! I love how these turned out!

First, I used the tree & presents from Punch Pals, stamped them in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla. I colored these with the smaller 'pen' end of the stampin' write markers in Real Red, Wild Wasabi and Daffodil Delight. I punched it out using a circle punch and layered it on a large scallop circle of Wasabi. I used my hole punch for the edges (I sooo want the Pendant Die Cut, but alas, it's not a necessity -yet-). I threaded the Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine through the holes, tying a bow with the long ends. Awesome!! This is popped up with Dimensionals. The card base is Crumb Cake, layered with retired DSP. The ribbon is 5/8" Espresso and 1/4" Celery grosgrain. Super simple and I love it!

I liked the wreath look so much, I had to make another! This one uses the tree from Fun & Fast, colored with the same markers. I used 1/8" Celery Taffeta to weave from front to back through the holes this time. The bow on top is 3/8" So Saffron Taffeta. Card base is Old Olive, layered with retired DSP & the same celery ribbon is layered over 3/8" Old Olive grosgrain.

I think I'll have to add the Music Notes Wheel to my next Christmas tree card, to promote the whole "Oh Christmas Tree" song idea!

Well, I'm off to make Snicker-doodles and more Gingersnaps. Hope you are all getting into the Christmas spirit! I sure am!

Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

Sepia CASE

I will start by saying Oops... One of the many card/craft blogs that I follow sent out a challenge last week about CASEing someone... I thought it meant go find a card you like of someone else's and CASE it. (CASE means to copy, for those that don't know.) 

So I started going around looking at all the blogs I follow and finding great cards and actually CASEing quite a few, as close to it as I could, anyway. Well, as it turns out, the challenge was NOT go CASE any card, it was go CASE a card made by a specific person. Well, oh well! So I'm not entering in that challenge (it's already over), but I'm still going to show off a few cards that I adore & their inspiration. I follow Leanne quite loyally and couldn't wait to make a Sepia Snow Flake card. Here's Leanne's card:

 And here's mine:

 (I know, I am bad at photography...And putting her picture next to mine is a little embarrassing. oh well. I keep telling my husband I need a nice place and lighting to take pictures. It's just not a priority...)

 Well, I didn't want to put as many layers and such on, and I HATE coloring (I'm just really bad at it!), but I love how simple it was! I actually went through the SU! catalog to see which stamp set she used... I LOVE her image! But when I found it, I couldn't justify buying the whole set for just one of the stamps, and since I really don't color, I could stick to the sets I have. I know, I'm so practical, right?! 

The card base is Crumb Cake, stamped with Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla Craft Ink with the snowflake image from Bright Hopes. I used the Lace Ribbon Border Punch to punch out the Soft Suede, tied on some Very Vanilla Seam Binding and stamped my image (from Greeting Kids) using Early Espresso ink on Very Vanilla cs. I used the coordinating inks and colored with a Blender Pen, Punched it with the Large Scallop Circle Punch and Sponged the edges with Crumb Cake. (yes, I sponge a lot.) ;)

I'll try to post another CASEd card tomorrow. I'm starting my Christmas baking and am making enough to fill a bunch of gift plates to take to some friends. (Mainly so I don't end up with 50 doz cookies and treats.) So I'll be busy baking along with everything else around here. My family is coming to our home for Christmas this year: brother, his wife, sister & her husband and their 4 kids, other brother and maybe his girlfriend, plus my own family of 5. It should be a packed house of crazy fun! (I hope!) My parents aren't mentioned, did you notice? They are missionaries in Africa! (I'll post a card & info in honor of them later.)

Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

Birthdays!

Today is special because it's my sister's birthday! This past Sunday was my very dear friend's birthday also, so today I will share with you the cards I made for them.

This first card is a CASE of Carrie's card here. The base is Rich Razzleberry, layered with Chocolate Chip cs and Old Olive dsp. Then comes the Pumpkin Pie cs, tied with Razzleberry 1/8" taffeta. The flowers from Bloomin' Beautiful are stamped with Chocolate Chip ink on Very Vanilla cs, colored with Blender Pens with Pie, Razzleberry and Olive inks. This is layered onto more Chocolate Chip cs. The little flower is from the Itty Bitty Punch pack, the leaf is from the 2-step Bird Punch, linen thread and a pearl. There you have it!

My sister was visiting around Thanksgiving time, and she likes to thumb through my cards and buy some off of me. Well this time all I had were the cards I intended to sell at the little gift shop I sell my cards to. Last week I found out I had made too many generic cards and needed more Christmas ones, so I kept this one out for her. She had really liked it and taken the time to look and notice the details!

 This card is for my friend of many years, and while we have been closer in years past, we have the kind of relationship where we can pick up right where we left off, even if it'd been a couple months since the last time we talked. 

The card base is Garden Green, embossed with the Polka Dot Embossing Folder. Some textured Chocolate chip, stamped with the Dot Dot Dot stamp using Early Espresso ink is under Pretty in Pink 3/8" Taffeta. The butterfly and flower image is from Of The Earth set, colored with Regal Rose, Garden Green and Daffodil Delight markers and stamped on Very Vanilla. Round some corners, tear an edge, sponge with Crumb Cake, stamp a birthday greeting (yes, I was late in sending her the card) in Daffodil, and pop things up on Dimensionals.

Well, there you have it! A little break from Christmas cards, but don't worry- they will be back in full force tomorrow! hehe

Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

Clean & Simple 169

Hello again! Yes, I know. I'm making up for lost time. ;) I've used a couple sketches and want to get them on here to actually PLAY in the challenges.

On that note, I used the sketch from Clean & Simple.

Card base is Whisper White, layered with some retired Christmas paper. The circle is stamped with the snowflake in Sahara Sand and the little edge I cut off is adhered to the inside of the card. The tree is colored with Stampin' Markers: Espresso, Artichoke & Daffodil, popped up on Dimensionals.

I love how simple it is. I'll probably be making a few of these for my Christmas cards, adding a sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

Joyful music

I will start by saying that my photography skills are seriously lacking... and my lighting is terrible. That being said, I love this card! First I started with the Stamping 411 sketch challenge 232. 

 

I love my Music Notes Wheel but don't use it enough! So when I saw this card by Lisa, I was inspired to pull it out!

The card base is Crumb Cake, layered with a roughed up piece of Wonderfully Worn DSP, which I rub with my Cajun Craze stamp pad. The center is Very Vanilla layered in Cajun Craze, both roughed up with the edge of my scissors and either brushed with a stamp pad or sponged. I used Espresso Taffeta ribbon and a Vintage brad. For the JOY, I 'thumped' it with markers of the coordinating colors and there you have it! Pop it up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

Let me know if you have questions.

Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

Ornaments with JUGS113

Just a quick post, to see if I can get back into blogging. Needless to say, it's been a very busy summer and fall.
For this card, I used the JUGS113 sketch challenge:
                                           

 I turned the sketch to fit my card... I used Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Naturals Ivory card stock, Crochet Trim, and Vintage Brads. The ovals are the Large Oval Punch and the oval Embossing Folder (Love this 2 pack!). Stamps are Style Beautiful (behind the oval) and a retired set from 2003. To achieve the softly aged look, I sponged everything with Soft Suede. Hope you all like it. Just leave a comment if you have any questions.
 Thanks for stopping by! ~Natalie

With Sympathy

The father of one of my acquaintances pasted away last month, so I made this sympathy card for her.

I don't have much practice in making Sympathy cards, for which I am grateful, but I do love the way this one turned out! It could easily be a wedding card, instead.

After stamping the branch image in black Stazon ink, I punched and attached textured black flowers using the Trio flower punch. Pearl Jewels are perfect for the centers of these little flowers, and help contrast the white and black even more.

A simple knot of Organza Ribbon just above the scalloped edge gives it an even more polished look.

Supplies:

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers

Cardstock: Whisper White, Textured Basic Black

Ink: Stazon Black (a permanent ink)

Embellishments: Organza Ribbon, Pearl Jewels

Punches: Trio Flower Punch, Scallop Oval, Med. Oval, Scallop Border

Oh my goodness! Where has the time gone?!

Birthdays (my husband's, then my youngest's), getting sick and then school break (during which everyone was sick but me)... These things all take up time! Besides the daily chores and busy family life!

Enough excuses! Lest you think I've been lazy and not stamping, over the next week or two I'm going to be sharing the projects I've been making during my blog absence! ;)

These two project are for a Make-n-Take for a Vendor Fair where I'm representing Stampin' Up! with a booth. I like to get the people to sit and see how easy it is! I love my craft and hobby, and enjoy sharing that with others!

This Cherry Cobbler card is something I saw this morning while I was looking at all the blogs I follow (I follow way too many, and LOVE my google reader!)...here is the original. I changed the dimensions and added Chocolate Chip butterflies, but other than that, it is the same!

I love using homemade bookmarks, although with nook, kindle & other e-readers (we have 3 in our family), I fear they may not be needed or wanted anymore. But kids come to vendor fairs with their families, so hopefully they will want to stop and make one! I know my girls (ages 4 & 5) love using them, even though the books they read really don't need them yet!

Hope you are inspired!

Supplies:

Stamps: Clearly For You

Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Marina Mist, Garden Green, Very Vanilla

Ink/Markers: Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose

Embellishments: Crumb Cake seam binding, Pearl Jewels, Jumbo Grommets, Early Espresso Grosgrain, Pretty in Pink Taffeta (I will also provide an assortment of ribbon for the other color options of bookmarks.)

Nature Walk Day!

Today I got out my Nature Walk stamp set! It's in the new Mini Occasions catalog, which is full of wonderful new sets and accessories!

I wanted to do some quick stamping, so I chose some sketch challenges to help me with my mojo. ;)

I used one sheet of Soft Suede cardstock (cut in half for my bases) and some scraps I had handy of my First Edition DSP. I enjoyed using my sponges and distressing with my scissors! I hope you like my newest creations!

Bird Cage: Clean and Simple sketch #127 I used Soft Suede for the bird cage image, and I wish it had come out darker, but it will do.

Birthday Wishes: InkSpirations Challenge #57 (again!) This card is for my husband's birthday next week. I think it's manly enough even for him. He doesn't like ribbon and such, so I compromised and used Linen Thread.

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss (retired)

DSP: First Edition (newsprint), Night of Navy DSP

Stamps: Punch Potpourri, So Happy For You, Nature Walk

Ink: Soft Suede, Night of Navy, Mellow Moss (retired)

Punches: Scallop Trim Border, Word Window, Modern Label, Boho Blossoms

Big Shot: Scallop Circle #2, Circle#2, misc Cuttle Bug Embossing Folder

Other: Linen Thread, Brads, Sponges, Mat Pack (to punch my holes), Blender Pens

Bliss!

I am having fun with the Bliss stamp set from Stampin' Up's new Sale-a-Bration catalog. I'm a little ashamed to admit that yesterday was the first time I had opened this set, and I have seen it used on so many gorgeous cards, you'd think I would have used it by now. Well, duh! I used it yesterday on my notebook, and just couldn't put it down today! No wonder everyone's been ooh-ing and aww-ing over it! It's marvelous!

Stamping411, sketch #190 (SSC190)

Here are a couple cards using some great challenges!

I've also been trying to use up my retired DSP... which will take quite a while, but at least it's getting used!

Stamps: Bliss set (Sale-a-Bration) if you need more info, just ask!

Cardstock: Naturals White, Rose Red

Ink: Rose Red

Paper: Retired

Other: Basic Pearls, Rose Red Seam Binding, Decorative Label Punch, Framed Tulips Embossing Folder (Big Shot), Sponge Daubers

Inkspirations Challenge sketch #57

Re-Decorated Notebook

Hello all! This week at MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers), my table decided to schedule a stamp night! How exciting for me! Someone had seen a notebook I'd helped a friend decorate for a Bible Study group and she asked if she could make one... Another asked for invites for her little girl's birthday party, and yet another needs birthday cards. Hmm, a lot to ask for? I'm just going with it! Hey! I get to share my love of paper-crafting! I'm jumping in with both feet!

So today I decided to tackle the notebook, and this is what I came up with! I will let them pick their paper and any decorations they want, like butterflies, scallops, flowers, hearts, etc. Plus, I have quite the ribbon collection, so they will have lots to choose from.

I found a bin of $1 notebooks @ the craft store and knew I could bring them to life!

Stamps: Bliss set (Sale-A-Bration)

Paper: Love Letters DSP

Ink: Pear Pizazz, Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

Ribbon: Crochet Trim

Seam Binding: Pear Pizazz, Baja Breeze & Crumb Cake

Punches/Die Cuts: Fun Flowers, Boho Blossoms Punch

Others: Corduroy Buttons in Baja Breeze & Crumb Cake (retired), Color Spritzer, Very Vanilla 5/16" brad

Tom Bow to glue DSP, Mini Glue Dots for Ribbon, Buttons and flowers.

Please leave your comments! I love to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Valentine's Treat Bags

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! My son is having his class party next week, and is taking Valentine's cards this week... Better get him signing all his little cards (he found Toy Story ones, or I would have made him some to give)...

Here I've used the Top Note Die Cut to make a folded top for a bag of chocolates. I used quite a few different punches (I love punches!) for the little labels, and changed up the words.

I've used up a lot of my retired Designer Paper! As you can see, I've made a variety of them! I had so much fun with these! I ran out of candy, so I'm off to get more today!

These will be for my children to give to their teachers at school, Sunday School, and MOPS. I'm giving them to my good friends, hair dresser, and will drop one off at our dear neighbor's house.

I hope you're inspired to get crafty and cute with your Valentine's this year! Enjoy!

Thinking of Spring

I liked the previous template so much, I used it again today. It's been a week since our blizzard, and I'm already sick of all this snow. As much as I'm trying to cherish each day, I'm ready for April!

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence (retired). Old Olive DSP, Cottage Wall DSP (retired).

Ink (used to sponge): Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive.

Ribbon: White Satin, 1/8" Rich Razzleberry Taffeta.

Other: Fun Flowers die cut, 5/16" brad.

Secret Sister Reveal Card

A customer recently asked for me to make her some cards for a secret sister exchange. She asked for a card to send on each holiday, a birthday and an extra special card to reveal who she was... She asked for hearts and question marks...

Matching gift tag and envelope...

What do you think? This took me a while to make, since I wanted to use a specific template, and then I just kept adding things. I'm so glad I took the extra time! Lots of sponging and punching and die-cut letters. Love it!