HOW TO STEP IT UP! :-)

Happy Friday all!! WOW! This week really went by fast and I have so much still to get done, LOL!  As we head into the long weekend, I wanted to share one of the workshop cards I did last weekend.  The first pic is the card that they actually did in the workshop using one of my total new favorite stamp sets from this catalog called Notably Ornate! It is such a gorgeous stamp set - I mean, could you make an ugly card with this if you tried?? I think not, LOL! The base of the card is Crumb Cake (loooove it!!) and we stamped it with the En Francais background stamp using Crumb Cake ink so the background was subtle but still added some texture.  The main image is stamped on a Very Vanilla Top Note die(cut with the Big Shot) in Early Espesso and can I just say, I love love love this combo??!! Total YUM in my book, heehee! The swallow is stamped in Cherry Cobbler (anyone else notice all of the new colors are food related? Always makes me hungry, LOL!) and then cut out and snailed down.  Along the bottom is some of the beautiful Victoria lace ribbon, to which we added some 3/4 inch circles with the center one sporting one of our fabulous pearl embellies!  Simple but beautiful, right?? Well, I will tell you this - they loved it!  But, I decided to take it one step further and demonstrate how to take this already beautiful card and "step it up"! Or, as Emeril would say - "kick it up a notch", heehee!!! So, here is what that card looks like!

As you can see, there are definitely some differences, although the bones of the original design are still there! What I did was show them how to make this card a little more vintage by using our fabulous new distressing kit.  As you can see, the Top Note Die has been distressed with the Tea Stain Ink after spritzing with water and adding some wrinkles to the paper - the only kind of wrinkles I like *wink*.  The card base has been sponged with Soft Suede, and the Top Note die has been inked with Early Espresso, adding to that vintage look and feel. Lastly, I showed them how to tea stain their ribbon, then added one of our gorgeous vintage brads in place of the circles.  A couple more mini pearls added to the sentiment and voila! a step-up card with lots of texture and dimension.  I gave this card to my hostess and I feel safe in saying that all the ladies enjoyed the demonstration of how to distress using our new kit! I hope you like these two cards, they sure were fun to make! I will leave you with the recipe and if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email, I am happy to answer any and all questions you may have! So, now that we are headed into a long weekend, I have decided that the first order of business will be to spend time with my kiddos hanging out back around our fabulous new pool and enjoy one more weekend before summer is officially over!  I have to say, I am really enjoying the new pool and the backyard - it is soooo nice to just go out and sit for awhile and listen to the windchimes and the waterfall.  It is really peaceful and it makes me happy!

Here are some pics of my new little piece of paradise! Sorry for the glare, the sun was really bright when I took these but you get the idea! Isn't that slide fun?? We have a great time racing down it.  And, the waterfall is wonderful - there is a bench seat underneath that is kind of cool to sit on and let the water wash over you! The pool is salt water and I love that I don't smell like chlorine when I get out of the water - just feels great!  Here are a couple more pictures, one with Tyler hanging out underneath the waterfall....I think it is safe to say that the kids are loving the fact that we have a pool in the back yard again and have been in the water every chance they get!

I don't blame them, I am loving it myself! Have a wonderful weekend all - thanks so much for stopping by, it really is great to read all your comments! I will be back on Monday with another fun workshop project to share! Until then, Happy Stampin'!

HOLIDAY MINI SAMPLES - LOVIN' EVERYTHING ABOUT IT!

Oooh, the new Holiday Mini is chock full of total YUMMY stuff and I am having soooo much fun playing with it all! I got out all the fun new sets, embellies, and dies and went to town! Paper was flyin', Ipod was blasting, and I was getting in my stampin' groove, LOL!!! Seriously, this is the BEST mini by far since I became a Demo three years ago, and I have thought they were all pretty fabulous! This one though - ACK!! LOVE IT!!!! So, I have a couple of cards I want to share with you today using some of the vintage products in this little mini! This first card is made with the fabulous new Christmas Collage background stamp.  This card came together so super fast and really turned out great! The base of the card is Soft Suede, and then I stamped a piece of Very Vanilla card stock with Cherry Cobbler classic ink. Then, I stamped the image again, this time in Always Artichoke classic ink,cut out the 25 circle, and popped it up on dimensionals.  I colored in the poinsettias with my Cherry Cobbler stampin ' write marker, and then used my Always Artichoke marker for the holly leaves.  I also used some of the Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon across the bottom - this ribbon is just gorgeous, I love it! Lastly, I added one of the new large Deck the Halls big designer buttons and used two of our rhinestones to give the card some pop! Very easy, but love the way it turned out!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Soft Suede, Very Vanilla card stock
Inks - Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler stampin' inks and stampin' write markers
Stamps - Christmas Collage
Accessories - Very Vanilla 1/2 inch seam binding ribbon, Deck The Halls Big Designer Buttons

This next card is also of the vintage variety. I used a lot of the same colors because I wanted to use the Deck the Halls Designer series paper.  The base of this card is Always Artichoke and I ran it through my Big Shot being careful to leave enough at the top edge to create my card.  I used the Bigz Scallop Square Die - it makes a wonderful card shape! There are lots of layers to this card, I just love layering, LOL! Cherry Cobbler card stock is combined with two different layers of the DSP.  The main image is stamped on Very Vanilla card stock and mounted and DSP that was also run through the Big Shot, this time using the new die in the Holiday Mini called the Scallop Squares Duo - love it because it has two different size scallop squares and is great or layering and adding dimension to your projects! The image is from the new stamp set called Bells and Boughs, which has a very vintage feel and is abolutely gorgeous! I used the poinsettia centerpiece stamp because I love coloring it! I used my Cherry Cobble stampin' write marker, then went over it with my Versamarker, added some clear embossing powder, and heated it with my heat tool. I actually repeated this step because I really wanted the flowers to stand out and they really do although it may be hard to see that in this picture.  Then, I used my Always Artichoke marker and colored the pines, making this image so rich with color! And, more seam binding ribbon on this one although I used the Always Artichoke this time - love, love, love this ribbon!! Just gorgeous!!! Another vintage button had to be used to - yep, I am addicted to the buttons, LOL! I added some twine and actually tied a bow on this one - YUMMY!  The sentiment is stamped on Very Vanilla in Always Artichoke, punched out using the Curly Label die, then popped up on dimensionals.  I did add a little accent color with my Cherry Cobbler marker just to pull the whole card together! A little more work on this one, but soooooo fun to make!!! I am having such a good time playing - I will be showing you some fun fabric projects tomorrow so make sure you check back to see what I have been up to!! Thanks so much for stopping by, I am off to stamp :-) 
Card Recipe:
Paper - Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock, Deck the Halls Designer series paper
Ink - Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler classic inks and stampin' write markers
Stamps - Bells and Boughs
Tools - Heat Tool, Curly Label Punch, Big Shot
Accessories - Deck the Halls Designer button, Always Artichoke 1/2 inch seam binding ribbon, Bigz Scallop Square Die, Bigz Scallop Square Duo Die, twine

NEW HOLIDAY MINI IS HERE - WHOOOHOOOO!!!!!!

Check it out - the new Holidahy Mini is here and it is chocked so full of yummy goodness I could barely contain myself, LOL!!! If you need a copy of this mini, you can go online in my online store , check out the sidebar here, or you can email me and I will get a copy right out to you! Nobody should miss out on all the fabulous new products in this baby - fabric, jumbo buttons, new Big Shot Dies, way cut designer series paper, did I mention FABRIC??!!!  Yep, we have it - and sooo much more! So, why are you still sitting here reading this? Go and check it out but beware:  your list of have to have will be looooonnnnngggg heehee!!! Smooches!!!

SKETCH CARD CHALLENGE AT STAMPIN' CONNECTION!

Happy Wednesday all!! I have been VERY busy stamping away this past week and have just not had the time to post - not enough hous in the day, LOL! But, I finally had time to sit down and do my sketch card for this week's challenge - the sketch is actually mine this week but my team-mates bailed me out by posting some samples for the sketch :-)  This is mine - I used a Hostess Set called Silouette Sentiments and paired it with the beautiful Greenhouse Gala designer paper.  I just love the colors in this paper, they are soooo yummy together!!! And, since I have Early Espresso now my poor Chocolate Chip has been neglected so I will need to get it back out and play with it, LOL!  I used my stampin' write markers to color my images in so that my card had a soft watercolor look and feel to it and then sponged around the bottom of my image with Pear Pizzazz ink.  The top of the card was lightly sponged with Baha Breeze ink to add some dimension. It also makes the card soft which I love :-) I kept my card simple, but I still think it is pretty.  I have a friend that this card will go to - she lost her mom this week and I know she is hurting so I wanted to send her a card and let her know I am thinking about her!  Super quick post today as I have lots to do to get ready for my big Harvest Craft Festival next weekend and some fun classes! I made a promise to myself though that I am going to take the time to share my creations here and check out what all of you have been doing - I miss blurfing!!!  I hope you all are having a fabulous week and thanks soooo much for hanging in here with me and stopping by - please leave me a comment to let me know you were here!!!! Until tomorrow, Happy Stampin'!
Card Recipe:
Paper - Early Espresso, Baha Breeze, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White card stock, Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper
Inks - Early Espresso, Baha Breeze, Pear Pizzazz Stampin' pads, Early Espresso, Baha Breeze, Pear Pizzazz stampin ' write markers
Stamps - Silouette Sentiments (hostess set)
Tools - none
Accessories - Early Espresso 1/8 inch ribbon, 3/4 inch and 1 inch circle punches, sponge