More fall fun

I’m still waiting for chilly weather to reach Texas, but it’s not keeping me from enjoying all the fun to be had in the SU’s holiday mini.  One of my favorite new sets is Happy Blessings.  The little scarecrow is oh so cute, and a load of fun to color in.

(all images copyrighted with Stampin’ Up)

Stamp Sets: Happy Blessings

Paper: Bella Rose dsp, tangerine tango, always artichoke, SU watercolor paper, very vanilla

Ink: Timber Brown Staz On, Riding Hood Red

Other: SU Markers, blender pen, aquapainter, Stampin’ Sponge, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 circle punches, stamping dimensionals

I had so much fun making this card.  SU’s watercolor paper makes watercoloring a breeze.  I blended the colors using blender pens in the more detailed areas (like the wheat), and the aquapainter in the bigger areas like the scarecrow’s body.  And, I love the fact that I was able to get this vibrant effect with SU’s markers!!!!

My love affair with the bella rose dsp continued with this card.  I find that designers series paper finishes off cards and projects so nicely, and bella rose is an excellent example.  The chocolate polka dot pulled the whole card together, and took it from looking like any old card.  It made the card look more professional.

Finally, I stamped the greeting, and used my 1 1/4 inch circle punch to cut it out.  Then I sponged riding hood red ink around the tangerine tango layer that cut out using my 1 3/8 inch circle punch. I place the sentiment on the card with a stampin dimensional so that it gave the card more depth.

Writing this post is making me want some yummy candy corn.  I may have to go out and get some.

A Fair in the Fall

This is my first fall living in Texas.  I am just beginning to see what fall looks like here.  But, I have found in Dallas it means the Texas State Fair.  And, the fair means lots of fried food.  Aaron and I split pretty much everything so it wasn’t too overloading from moment to moment, but I was beyond full at the end of the day.  My favorite food of the day was chicken fried bacon.  I fully expected it to be gross since I’m not a fan of crispy bacon, but I loved it!

So far I been having a lot of fun with my holiday mini sets.  And, there are lots of great options for fall, halloween, and thanksgiving in the mini.  Here’s a mini basket I made to celebrate the season.

(all images copyrighted at Stampin’ Up)

Stamp Set: Happy Blessings

Paper: Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Always Artichoke, Bella Rose DSP

Ink: Tangerine Tango

Other: Stampin Dimensional, Crop-a-dile, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, paper crimper, big shot scallop envelop die, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch

This little box was so much fun to make.  The scallop envelop big shot die doesn’t just make a cute envelope.  It also makes a very adorable little box.  I cut out four envelopes, and adhered them together.  I then cut two strips of Bella Rose DSP, and put them around the box.  Then I used sticky tape to hold the scallop edge down.  I then cut out the pumpkin and layered it with Always Artichoke using the two circle punches.  Then I punched a hole in each side of the box using my crop-a-dile, and threaded through a strip of the two ribbons.  Instead of using two strips of chocolate chip ribbon I cut one in half.  I then braided the ribbons, and used sticky tape to attach it back to the box.  I loved the texture and color difference that it created.  Finally, I cut strips of Pumpkin Pie cardstock, and put it through my paper crimper.  I then sponged the crimped strips with Riding Hood Red ink, and placed them in the box.  And, of course I added the gift my hostess will receive this weekend.

Monkeying Around

So, I’ve been doing lots of stamping, but giving away cards and scrapbook pages before taking pictures of them. But, I stole this card off our mantel after his birthday managed to get a picture of this birthday card for my husband. I know not everyone likes the sock monkey, but I love him! He’s great for paper piercing and coloring in.

(all images copyrighted at Stampin’ Up)

Stamp Set: Sock Monkey

Ink: Brown Staz on

Paper: Bella Rose DSP, Not quite navy, riding hood red, confetti cream

Other: SU markers- old olive, always artichoke, kiwi kiss, not quite navy, close to cocoa, chocolate chip

Chocolate Chip Twill, brown journaler, slit punch

This card is a classic example of just add one more thing. I started by coloring the monkey, and kept going outside the line so I decided to blend the color in the background to give it a kind of older appearance. Well then the not quite navy screamed for distressing so I took my thumbnail to the edges (really need to get the distressing tool). Even that didn’t seem to be enough so I added some faux stiching on the not quite navy. And, finally I sponged on some staz on brown to the edge of the confetti cream. When it still wasn’t fitting I thought it would look better with the ticket corner edge so since I don’t have that punch I used my slit punch to get the same effect. Finally, it looked right! The same thing happened to the card base. I place the Bella Rose DSP onto riding hood red, but it wasn’t quite right so I added the chocolate chip twill. It was perfection, but who knew a boys card could be so fussy?

Stamping as Therapy

If you’ve spent any decent amount of time with a group of stampers you have probably heard the phrase, “It’s cheaper than therapy.” It’s usually a lovely joke expressed towards those that need an extra push to buy the latest big thing or towards non-crafters that gawk at what some will spend on a “hobby”. I never thought I’d actually look to stamping to get me through a hard situation.

If you’ve noticed this blog has been lacking posts as of late. My family and I have been through a personal tragedy, and this blog, amongst other things, has moved to the back burner. But, as the weeks have moved on I’ve found myself moving more and more towards my stamps. Not, because stamping is actual therapy (if you need help you should most definitely seek professional help, and I don’t mean emailing Shelli), but because it’s an activity I love. And, while I’ve had the wonderful support of friends, family, and my amazing husband I needed something to keep my hands busy and calm my mind. And, the simple act of stamping brought me such a simple joy. Slowly but surely my life is beginning to radiate with joy and happiness again. I owe that to my family and friends, but also to this simple hobby. When my mind gets too busy and talking to someone doesn’t seem to help I can pick up a stamp and make something beautiful. And, on the days when the world seems anything but beautiful that’s a gift only God could have given to me. I have experienced His grace in abundance this past month, and I’m glad that He gave me the gift of a craft that allows me to share that grace with others.

I received my holiday mini preorder last week, and I’m having so much fun playing with my new stamps. I firmly believe this is our best mini catalog yet!

Here’s the card I made today:

(all images copyrighted at Stampin’ Up)

Stamp Set: Season of Simple Grace

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Gold Encore

Paper: Baja Breeze, Confetti White, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Ride, Kiwi Kiss

Other: Riding Hood Red Taffeta, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, crop-a-dile, stamp-a-ma-jig

I love how this card came out. I’m a sucker for religious stamp sets, because it’s how I started stamping. I was sick of trying to find a Christian Christmas card that didn’t look boring or old fashioned in a bad way. So I started making my own, and the next thing I know I was hooked. So, when I saw this set in the mini catalog I knew I had to have it.

First I cut out the baja breeze, and adhered a piece of torn confetti white to the bottom of the piece of cardstock. I then stamped the holy family in chocolate chip. You may have to use a marker/blender pen to color in brown if there are any gaps along the confetti white and baja breeze border. I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the star in gold. There is something about Christmas Cards that just screams for gold. In fact if I make this card again I will probably sponge gold along the chocolate chip border. After the star was dry I mounted it onto the chocolate chip layer, added the kiwi kiss strip to the card and mounted it to the card base. I then punched out a circle in kiwi kiss, folded it in half, and glued it to the card. I then punched two small holes with the crop-a-dile, and tied some taffata ribbon to the card. I find the taffata ribbon the perfect color and feel for Christmas. I also like the simple not for this card, because it doesn’t overwhelm the design and is easy to do. Easy is always good if you are looking at doing multiples of a card.