Sneak Peek!

Just a little sneak peek at some of the new things to be found in the Occasions catalog.  You can begin ordering from this catalog on January 4.  So many beautiful new products!

Thanks for looking!

Carol

The Sounding Joy Times Two

This is my first card using The Sounding Joy.  I think it is pretty, but, even though the colors look good together, I really think I prefer more traditional colors for my Christmas cards.

So, I made another card using the same stamp set.  The dsp is retired.  I think this one is a lot more traditional and elegant.  That pewter embossing powder has already become my favorite one.  And the rhinestones add a lot to this card.  My stampers made this card this month and most of them seemed to like it a lot.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Paper Players Sketch #74

I haven't had time to participate in a challenge for quite a while.  This was created for the Paper Players sketch challenge #74.  I love this lovely image from Beautiful Season.  I'm not too sure about the so saffron panel, but I was trying to pick up the little bit of that color from the tips of the leaves.  I am thinking a bashful blue panel would look good, also.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Polar Party

I used the fun Polar Party for this very simple card.  I added some of the new Mica Flakes to create some snow for this little forest of trees.  The trees were colored with markers and blender pen.  The dsp is retired.  A little whisper white grosgrain ribbon and it is finished.

French Foliage

This fall card uses the lovely French Foliage.  I stamped the leaves each in different fall colors to make a collage background.  The strips down the left side are Cajun Craze.  The scalloped circle is always artichoke.  I cut out 3 leaves and tied them with some linen thread.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

PPA118 Christmas Carol

I knew I wanted to use A Christmas Carol for my groups this month. Today's color challenge at Pals Paper Arts was the perfect fit for it.  I added some wonderful Mocha Morning dsp and some sweet lace trim.  A few pearls add some elegance and its done.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

SUStars Holiday Hoopla

Welcome to SUStars Holiday Hoopla Blog Hop!  This is stop #6.  You may have come here from Deborah Robb's Thoughts of a Grasshopper.  If you have started here you may keep on going full circle to see all the wonderful projects.  If you get lost along the way, just click here to see links to all the stops.

My first project uses the beautiful Comfort & Joy stamp set and silver glitter paper, both from the Holiday Mini.  The image and sentiment are both heat embossed with silver embossing powder. I added some rhinestones in the corners for a little more sparkle! This is one of the cards my stampers are making this month.  It was very hard to get a good photo.  Maybe because of the glitter paper or maybe because it is so dark and dreary here.  I was using a light box, but outside lighting still plays a part in it.

This project uses Christmas Lodge stamp set, Frostwood Lodge designer paper, and Dazzling Details from the Holiday Mini.  See the close up below for a better view of the Dazzling Details.  Just be careful to dab it on if you are using it on an ink that is not waterproof.  It may smudge the image a little bit, but it is great to add some sparkle to your projects.

Your next stop will be RaissaStamps.  Thanks for visiting my blog and enjoy the rest of your journey on this wonderful blog hop.

Carol

Scrappin' STARS Blog Hop

Welcome to the SUStars September Blog Hop!  A full list of stops can be found here.

You may have landed here from Nancy Keithley's blog found here.

We are focusing on scrapbook layouts this month.  I have used My Digital Studio to create my layouts.  I really love this program!

This first 2-page layout is one that I am fairly happy with.  I just brought another cat into our home.  She got mixed reactions from the 2 cats we already had.  Our little guy likes her pretty well.  He even bathes her sometimes.  But he will run and cry if she gets too rough (she still has claws!).

But our other female doesn't like her at all.  After 4 weeks, it is getting a little better, but still a lot of hissing and growling.

This photo shows one of the biggest reasons I love MDS.

I have loads of photos from my daughter's bridal shower.  When I started trying to create a layout of them I was trying to put lots of pics on one page.  And I still will probably have a collage page of several photos, but the point is that, with MDS, I can change up my layout as many times as necessary without using lots of paper and embellishments to do it.  I'll just keep trying until I get something I like.  I think the page on the right side is much better than the first one, but I am still not sure it is how I will leave it.  I can't seem to find exactly what I want.  So maybe I will end up doing 5 or 6 pages before I find the one I really want to put in my album.

I would encourage all scrapbookers to give My Digital Studio a try.  I think it is great!

Your next stop on the hop is Connie Smith's High Desert Stamper and can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the hop!
Carol

Christmas Lodge

This is one of the cards my stampers made this month.  Christmas Lodge stamp set can be found in the Holiday mini.  Dazzling Details glitter glue, also found in the Holiday mini, was used along the torn and blue-sponged edges and on the image wherever there is snow.  The girls really liked this card.

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I hope that will change after my daughter's wedding is over.  Do check back this weekend for the Scrappin' Stars blog hop.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Gently Falling

I absolutely love this wonderful stamp set called Gently Falling.  It is a beautiful addition to my collection of fall stamps.  But it could easily be used other times of the year by changing the colors of the leaves.  It is available in the new Holiday mini catalog.  The greeting comes from Grateful Greetings.


Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Halloween Sneak Peek

Another sneak peek from the Holiday mini that will be available tomorrow!  The image is heat embossed with black embossing powder.  The background was sponged using bashful blue, marina mist and night of navy.  Before sponging I added just a little color to the pumpkin and the tree trunks.

Thanks for looking!'
Carol

Scaredy Cat

This my least favorite of the five cards I made on Sunday.  In fact, I'm not crazy about it at all.  I will have to make another card with this set to redeem myself!  LOL

I have lots of strips of elegant eggplant and cherry cobbler left over from the wedding invitations, so don't be surprised to see more of them on future cards, especially at Christmas!  Hopefully the other cards will be prettier.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Paper Players Sketch #61 and a Sneak Peek

This card was created for the Paper Players sketch #61.  I looked at the sketch before I went down to my craft room.  I didn't have the sketch with me when I stamped and so I have a rectangle where there should have been a circle.  I am sorry about that.  I do like how this card turned out, though, so didn't bother to change it.

I used another beautiful stamp from a set that will be available on Thursday when the new Holiday mini begins.  The designer paper will also be available at that time.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Polished Stone Sneak Peek

This lovely stamp will be available this Thursday, Sept. 1.  I used three different ink refills and some shimmer paint to create the polished stone panel for this card.

I actually made 5 cards today.  I haven't stamped since I went back to work on Aug. 11.  Way too long, but I am always so tired when I first go back to school each year.  And I notice as I get older (LOL) that it takes longer to get over that tiredness.  At least there will be enough cards to have a post each day this week.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

That Time of Year Again!

Yes!  It is that time of year again!  I have already worked five days and the students come back tomorrow.  As I ease back into the routine, I can never find the time or energy to create anymore than I have to.  Hopefully I can begin to stamp again in the next day or two.

I do have a few things to show you!

 This is one of the cards we made in my stamp clubs last week.  My Friend  was used here along with new In Colors, Island Indigo, Pool Party and Calypso Coral.

This is another one of the club cards.  It used the Well Worn dsp and 2 of the new embossing folders--stripes and oval frame.  The sentiment comes from Happiest Birthday Wishes.

This is the card I made for my daughter's wedding shower this past Saturday.  The colors for her wedding are Cherry Cobbler and Elegant Eggplant.  I used those with  Easy Events.  I think she really liked the card.

And this final card was the one I made for my mother's birthday the previous weekend.  I used the wonderful Nature Walk set.  I think my mom liked her card, too!

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Top Picks

I had a nice surprise this morning when I visited Mary Jo Price-Williams' blog.  My card was chosen for one of the top three from last week's sketch challenge.  You can see the post here.







I also received another top pick last week for a scrapbook page I created for the Stampin' Royalty challenge.  You can see it here.



I really enjoy doing the challenges when I can find the time and it is an added bonus when my projects are chosen!

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

cQc96 and TSSC185

Working the challenges again!  This card takes care of the Colour Q challenge and Monday Lunchtime Sketch challenge.

I love this sketch because, even though it has many layers, it still fits my CAS style.

And the color challenge is pretty, although I would probably not have added the bashful blue into the mix.  The rest of the colors make up one of my favorite combos.

I used the hostess set, Faith in Nature.  Love the beautiful images in this set.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

CCMC160 and CRU#40

This card takes care of 2 challenges--Create with Connie and Mary sketch and color challenge from Color Roundup.  There is just something about this chair and flower image from Cherish Friendship that really gets to me.  Kind of a nostalgic feeling.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

Colour Q Challenge 95

I created this card for the color challenge at Colour Q.  I had the hardest time photographing this.  The coral always looked almost neon!  I think I took about 20 photographs to get one I finally wanted to use.  The ones in my light box were the worst surprisingly 

I haven't used Aviary  all that much even though I really like the set. I like the CAS design of this card.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Stampin' Royalty Challenge 82

The challenge at Stampin' Royalty this week is Summer!  I think that flowers (especially these golden beauties) are so summery.  I created this page in My Digital Studio.  I also used the sketch from mydigitalstudio.com.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Turtle & Company birthday card

This card was sent to my soon-to-be son-in-law for his birthday last week.  My daughter was here the weekend before when I was making his card and told me to put some frogs on it.  This cute little frog is part of the Turtle and Company set.  When you purchase this set $3 of the cost goes to RMHC.  I always buy the RMHC (Ronald McDonald House Charities) set every year whether I like it or not.  But I really like this one a lot.  It has several cute images and sentiments.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Mojo Monday 201

I used the sketch from Mojo Monday for this cute little snowman from Snow Much Fun.  I really love this stamp set from the new IBC.  It can easily be used for a variety of card styles.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

SUStars Blog Hop - Movers, Shakers and Summer Mini Make & Takers

Welcome to the SUStars Mover, Shakers and Summer-Mini Make and Takers blog hop. You may have arrived here from Charlotte Hollingsworth's Stamping Is My Therapy blog.

This is my very first blog hop.  I am really glad they added the Summer-Mini Make & Takers part because I like simplicity in my cards and have never done a mover and only a couple shaker cards.  I have a couple cards from the summer mini catalog.  I have had On the Grow for quite a while now and this is the first time I have inked the stamps.   

My first card uses Paisley Petals dsp, always artichoke dsp, cajun craze and whisper white.  The ribbon is always artichoke seam binding.  The image was colored with blender pen using markers and watercolor crayons.  I roughed up the edges of the whisper white and sponged and spritzed the panel with river rock. My image panel is attached with dimensionals

My second card uses Beyond the Garden dsp, daffodil delight, wild wasabi, rich razzleberry and whisper white cardstock. This image was colored the same way as the card above.  I stamped my sentiment on a banner and added a button from the brights collection.  The image panel is attached with dimensionals and the banner has a double layer of dimensionals just in the middle to make it stand out a little.

Your next stop on the blog hop is Denise Foor Studio PA.  If you get lost along the way you can go to the SUStars blog to find your way again!

Thanks for stopping by!
Carol

See what I have been up to!

My daughter was home over the weekend to do some wedding things.  One of those things was making her wedding invitations.  She came up with the design (funny thing-it is pretty much what I had in mind, also) and we both worked on them.  I cut the paper and she punched out the birds.   I punched the border and we both stamped the swirls from Priceless.  Then we both glued the pieces all together.  It did not take nearly as long as I thought it might.  And it was a lot of fun doing it together.  Made it more special for me anyway.  I am very pleased with the way they turned out.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

TSSC181 and Color Round Up 38

This is my last post for today!  This card is for the sketch at Techno Stamper and for the color challenge at Rubber Redneck.

When I looked at these colors I wasn't sure how I was going to use all of them and have anything that looked good.  So I played with the colors on MDS and finally came up with something I liked.

I had never made one of the circle flowers so decided to give that a try.  It was not really hard, just took a little extra time.  But with the simple sketch the card came together pretty quickly.  My husband seemed to really like it.  I think I do too!

Thanks for looking!
Carol

SC349 and CCMC158

I haven't done a challenge at Splitcoast Stampers for a long time.  Don't know why really...just haven't gotten around to it I guess.  This card is for SC340 and also for the color challenge found at Create with Connie and Mary.

I used Just Believe and Teeny Tiny Wishes.  


Thanks for looking!
Carol

PPA101 and CCMC158

Of the three cards I made today, this one is my husband's favorite.  I rather like it too.

I used the sketch from Create with Connie and Mary and the color challenge from Pals Paper Arts.  It is a very simple card using 2 stamp sets--Bring on the Cake and Circle Circus.  Added a little bit of marina mist ribbon and a circle brad.

Thanks for looking!
Carol

Which do you like better?

The card on the left was made a couple weeks ago for a sketch challenge.  I had used the retired taken with teal and some dsp that was also retired.  I wanted to make this card again using current items.  I didn't really like the two scalloped squares that I had tucked behind the dsp so I used a strip of island indigo behind the wisteria wonder that had been run through the square lattice embossing folder.  I used the island indigo to stamp the peacock and wisteria wonder and certainly celery markers to color it.  The image panel was matted on island indigo.  The ribbon border punch was kept the same using elegant eggplant.  The peacock comes from the Proud Peacock stamp set.

I like the new card a lot better than I do the original.  My husband also likes it better. Now which one do you prefer?

Thanks for looking!
Carol

PPA100 and Sketch Frenzy Friday

Pals Paper Arts is celebrating their 100th challenge this week.  The challenge is to use your favorite technique.  I never really thought about what my favorite technique is but I do know that I love to watercolor.  So that is what I went with.  I  stamped the bowl of cherries from Cherish Friendship with Stazon onto watercolor paper.  I often use whisper white for my images but watercolor paper really does work better, I think. I use a variety of mediums for watercoloring.  For this card I used watercolor pencils and markers with a blender pen.

The sketch for my card comes from Sketch Frenzy Friday.  Love the simplicity of this sketch.  My dsp is from a retired 6x6 pad.

Thanks for looking!
Carol
  

Missing in Action!

I haven't posted much in the last couple days, except the MDS page I posted earlier today.  I do have a good reason, though.

I have been searching for a good storage idea for all my ribbon.  I have lots of ribbon!  Anyway while surfing last week, I came across a fantastic idea (in my opinion) and printed out  a pic to show my husband and he liked the idea, also. Yippee!  Job half done!  I found the idea on Julie Edmonds blog.  Check it out here!

So yesterday my husband and I took a trip to Lowe's in Marietta.  We bought 10' of vinyl 4" gutter and the pieces needed to hang it on my wall below my peg board.  The nice guy at Lowe's cut it into 2 5' pieces so we could bring it home in the car.  Well, the end caps were not the proper ones, so we used the inside end caps that I had purchased to use to hold up the ribbon if I had empty spaces. haha    Anyway we got it put up and I started to put my ribbon into it.  Works great except for the largest ribbon reels.  We knew we would need to go back to get more pieces to put up the other 5' section.

So after church this morning, I said to my husband, "Let's go to Lowe's and get the rest of the stuff we need."  We decided to go out for dinner and so this time we headed for Zanesville.  We had a nice dinner at Red Lobster and then went to the Lowe's up there.  Well they had a wider (5") gutter so I bought another 10' piece (again had a very nice young man cut it in two pieces for me.  We made sure we got the correct end caps this time!  LOL!  So we came home and put up the new size right above the other one.  This one holds even the 1/4" grosgrain reels.  Yay!  I still could not fit in the big reels of In Color ribbon.  I chose to do the same thing that Julie did with hers.  You can see it in the photo below.

I have all my ribbons of each color right together.  I even had some room for some of my old non SU ribbon.  And I still have 2-5' pieces of gutter if I ever need to put up some more space.  Now the following photo shows the other part of the reason I haven't stamped anything in the last couple of days!

My table is a complete mess from moving things out of the way to put up my new storage and from sorting out retired stamps sets.  Tomorrow morning is clean up time down there in my room!  Maybe I can even get some time to do a challenge or two.

If you have read completely through this long, long post, I thank you!

Carol