Will He Stay Or Will He Go?

Come on...sing along to this hit from the 80's - Should I Stay or Should I Go, by the Clash. (I'm really dating myself...but I don't care ;-)


Frosty you gotta let me know...
Will you stay or will you go?
This indecision's bugging me...
So you gotta let me know...
Will you stay or will you go?


I guess we'll know the answer tomorrow when the retiring list is posted! However, I have a sneaky suspicion that my very first Stampin' Up! set will be on it. But then again... that's what I thought last time, and good ol' Frosty survived!


Another old favorite that we might have to say good-bye to also is Flakey Friends. Here's another pocket card that I created using that set. Since there is some detail on the inside card I'll show it to you pulled out of the pocket. Now that I'm looking at this card, it makes me worried about two of my favorite background stamps...Print Pattern and Weathered, I sure hope those don't go! Or what about the Canvas stamp I used on the Frosty card?! I shudder at the thought!



Pocket cards are fun to make, but since more work goes into making them, I only send them to people that I hope won't throw them in the trash after a couple days. Can you imagine? I try not to even think about it, but I'm sure that's where a lot of my beloved creations end up. Oh well, I know I had fun making them and hopefully the recipient gets some enjoyment out of them before they get trashed.



For these pocket cards I cut my card stock in half long ways: 11"x 4-1/4". I scored at the 5-1/2" mark and either folded down the 1-1/2" flap or cut it off. When I fold down the flap I like to stamp it with a different background then I did on the rest of the pocket.



Since I'm sharing some pocket cards today and discussing the retiring list, here is another pocket card using a beautiful Christmas set that was in the 2005 Holiday Mini catalog. I'm sure glad I got this set when it was available! This one is called Christmas Cardinal. I've made so many beautiful cards with this set. The images are so detailed and fun to watercolor. I am hoping for some more beautiful line art images in the new catalog. Especially those that are nature related...those are my favorite!

Enjoy your day! Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see what is on the retiring stamp list!

Tis the Season...to be baking, shopping, and just plain busy!

It's definitely the season to keep on track! There is always so much planning that goes into getting ready for the holidays. That's why I figured I had to make some of these Christmas planners...I know I need all the help I can get to stay organized! The first one turned out so cute I figured I'd make one for my Mom, MIL & Aunt also. I think they all like theirs and hopefully they will find it useful.

Like the Thanksgiving Planner I shared here last month, I started with a cheap-o pocket folder and folded each panel in half to create 4 pockets instead of the original 2. This time instead of stamping the whole thing I used Dashing and Wintergreen papers to cover the folders. For the Dashing planners I used the Punch Pals set for the covers and did some paper piecing on the presents which is a fun detail. I stamped the presents twice - once on my white card stock and then again on the patterned paper. Then I cut out the gifts from the patterned paper - minus the tiny bows, as those were stamped on my main image, and then I glued them in place with my 2-way glue pen. It's a fun way to use scraps of patterned paper if you don't mind cutting, plus I think it really adds cute detail to the project.

I lucked out and found some really cute holiday post it notes and lined note pads that matched the colors I was using, so those went into two of the pockets. Along with a big clip to keep track of loose papers like recipes clipped from paper, coupons, etc... There is also a calendar and an envelope to keep track of the receipts from all the gift purchases I'll be making. (Note to self: better start shopping soon!) I figured I'd use this to keep track of all my lists such as Christmas Cards (Note to self: finish making cards!) and to do lists.

For the front of the Wintergreen planners I embossed the tree and poinsettia from Season of Joy in silver and used a Build-a-brad with a stamped snowflake for the center of the word joy. I just got those and they are really fun! Any image that can be punched out with the 1/2" circle punch fits on the base of the brad and then you cover it with a clear acrylic bubble. Of course each planner had to come with it's own matching pen, right!? For those, just unscrew the end and slip in a piece of rolled up patterned paper and you instantly have a matching pen!

Here's hoping we can all stay organized and enjoy the holidays - stress free! Now I better get busy with all my holiday tasks....

Elegant Holy Triptych

This is a trio of cards I created using my new Holy Triptych set. I knew I loved this set from the first time I saw it, but for some reason waited until now to finally purchase it. I knew if I didn't get it before the Holiday mini catalog ended, I'd be mad at myself later. (kind of like the Long Time Friend set I mentioned the other day!)

These are the first cards I've made with it so far. When photographing these I had hoped to capture the sheen of the gold embossing on the Shimmery White card stock, but it just didn't show up as pretty as they are in person. I also scanned them...but unfortunately the scan didn't do them justice either. They really are elegant looking.

I started by embossing the tag image and then adding each of the other three images to the tag with my stamp-a-ma-jig for exact placement, and embossing with the gold again. Then I water colored each image using my Stampin' Up! inks. I just love to water color on the Shimmery White card stock! It takes the ink so nicely and is easy to blend colors. Plus the shimmer just adds so much to special cards like these.

For the background, I used the Linen background stamp and the large swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs stamped in Eggplant. I think those two sets just naturally go together because of the swirl on the tag. I layered some metallic gold ribbon on top of some pretty satin eggplant ribbon and knotted it...way easier than tying a bow! Then the image is cut and mounted on brushed gold card stock and attached to the card front with pop dots. I just had enough room to fit the Merry Christmas greeting...which of course I also embossed in gold.

Time Well Spent is a Good Thing

I got a really cool gift in the mail this past week from Stampin' Up! It's a Level 3 Hostess set from the upcoming Spring ~ Summer Collection called Time Well Spent. Free stamps are always nice...plus it's a really cute set! I sure was happy to get it, but I didn't get a chance to play with it until today. I thought I'd share both the cards I've made so far.


For the first card, I went right for the big flower stamp first! I thought it would be a fun image to emboss in white and then watercolor with some bright, pretty colors. So that's just what I did! After that was done I chose colors for the rest of the card based on the colors I had used when watercoloring my big flower image. On the Apricot base I created a background using one of the smaller flower images from this set stamped randomly in White Craft. (it doesn't show up too good in my photo)


The sentiment is embossed in white also. After doing that I was wishing I would have done it on white so I could water color the word friend and the two flowers. That's when I decided to bleach that portion with my Aqua Painter filled with bleach. That worked out good, because the Rose card stock looked Apricot after it was beached...perfect! So I just quickly highlighted it with a bit of color, added some faux stitching at the top and a cute scallop border at the bottom made with my slit punch.


I just got a pack of the Soft Sky Designer Prints and I just LOVE them...so of course I had to add some of that to my card also...because like the other sentiment stamp in this set says..."Too much of a good thing is a GOOD THING!" I like the way this turned out, and can already visualize some fun scrap book pages using this set!


My second card was stamped in Basic Gray and also watercolored. When I was done, I used my Gelly Roll star dust glitter pen to add some highlights to the flowers and the butterfly. The Groovy Guava base was stamped with a couple small flower images from this set inked in white. I love sets that come with some smaller images that can be used for backgrounds too.


The butterfly was cut out and the wing area was slightly bent. I just glued down just the body portion, so it looks 3-D. This card also uses the Soft Sky prints. This polka-dot pattern is the flip side of the pattern used on the first card. Hope you like these cards...I'm sure they won't be the last I share here using this cute set!

Penguin Snow Globe

I must say...I just love the way this turned out! It is so sparkly that I tried to photograph it rather than scanning so I could capture the sparkle...but since my camera isn't too good it isn't as clear as a scan. Oh well...soon my photos should be improving dramatically as I finally ordered myself a new camera yesterday! WooHoo! I can't wait to get it!!! I've been looking, reading, researching and trying to decide for months now. I think waiting until yesterday paid off as I got it for quite a bit cheaper due to the after Thanksgiving sales. I ended up going with the Canon Rebel XTi. It's got 10.1 MP vs the 3.1 MP on the camera I've been using, so I expect a vast improvement. I was never happy with the indoor shots using my existing camera, so I'm really hoping I'll be happy with my new camera.

OK...enough of my rambling about cameras! To create the snow globe I cut the size circle I wanted using my Coluzzle then stamped my images, masking the penguin when stamping the trees. After I water colored the design I inked up the entire circle with my VersaMark pad and sprinkled it with Iridescent Ice EP. If you like glitter, but don't like it coming off every where...this is the way to go.

I was about to cut a base for my snow globe when I thought to myself..."hmmmmm, I wonder if the tab punch would work?" Sure enough, it worked great! All I did was add a little shadowing with my aqua painter and a little Artichoke ink to make it look 3-D. I was pretty happy with my discovery...but I'm sure others have thought of it first.

For my background I stamped tone on tone with Canvas and then added snowflakes using the Snow Flurries set and the little snowflake stamp that comes with the Punch Pals set. I highlighted the center of the large snowflakes using my white gel pen. Then added a strip of my favorite paper right now ~ Wintergreen, which I folded over to reveal the pattern on the other side.

Stamps: Punch pals, Snow Flurries, Canvas background
Ink: Black StazOn, Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke and various to water color
Card stock: Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Soft Sky & Wintergreen Double-sided Designer Papers
Accessories: Artichoke grosgrain, rhinestone brad, Tab punch & Window Word punch

I'm hoping to drag my hubby outside today to hang up some Christmas lights. Hoping it warms up a bit so he'll agree. Have fun with what ever you have planned for today!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was surprised to see snow covering the ground when I got up this morning! It sure looks pretty. Thanksgiving and snow sure means the holiday season is here...ready or not!

Isn't this little turkey the cutest?! I stamped with my upline last week, and she had this project as the make & take at a workshop she just did. Lucky for me she had some extra supplies all cut and ready to go so I got to make one too.


The turkey is made from punched out shapes from the scallop punch and then they are cut to form the turkey's body and his tail feathers. The beak, waddle and feet are punched out from the Spring Bouquet punch and cut into shape. Isn't that clever?


Stamps: Sanded background, Holidays & Wishes, Autumn Harvest & a retired stamp for the tail feathers (not sure of name)
Ink: Vanilla Craft, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Really Rust, Wild Wasabi & More Mustard - last 4 were used on tail feathers.
Card stock: Always Artichoke, Really Rust, Wild Wasabi & More Mustard, Very Vanilla


I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday spent with loved ones. Enjoy dinner...but try not to eat too much! ;-)

Long Time Friend

Today is the birthday of a long time friend of mine. I thought this card was perfect to send her not just because of the name of the set, but also because she is really into gardening. I had to dig (no pun intended, ha!) into my stash of already stamped images from this set to find this one of the basket and pots because I didn't purchase this set. I know!...what was I thinking!? Long Time Friend is on my list of sets I should have purchased, but for some reason did not. Oh well, at least I have a few images left, plus I know a few people who probably wouldn't mind if I borrowed theirs. ;-) Anyways...I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me whine, now did you?

There's not a whole lot to describe as far as how I created this card...just stamped the image with Basic Brown and watercolored with my re-inkers and aquapainter. I had a strip of designer paper left from the retired Spring Flowers collection that went perfect with the colors I used so I added that. Hey, it pays to re-organize the stamp area every so often...I found all sorts of good things I had forgotten about!

Stamps: Long Time Friend, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Fine Lace background
Ink: Basic Brown, Mellow Moss
Card stock: Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Spring Flowers
Accessories: Pewter Hodge Podge, Mellow Moss grosgrain

Have a great day! I'll be busy making pies for tomorrows feast!

Festive Punch Pals and a Dashing Snowman

Here are the other half of the workshop projects I showcased at the mother/daughter workshop this past weekend. The 2nd card I did was using the cute snowman from Punch Pals and some of the Dashing designer paper. This is another quick and easy card, but with the use of punches and the designer paper it looks more detailed.

Tip: When water coloring snowmen, I have found that Soft Sky is the perfect color to add a bit of shading & shadowing on my snowmen. I feel just a hint of color adds that little detail and really finishes him off rather than leaving him plain white. Don't forget to add a bit of shadowing underneath him to ground him...we don't want floating snowmen!

A hostess gift to the mom half of the Mother/Daughter team was a Christmas version of card candy using Punch Pals & Festive Favorites. These two sets work so well together! I figured she could use the pieces on her scrapbook pages, cards or even on gifts if she chooses to. On this one I even stamped the cello bag with White Stazon snowflakes. I just got the white Stazon so I had to try it out, right?!

For the make & take project everyone had a choice between two styles of bag-a-lopes. I showed you the floral version yesterday, today I will show you the other choice. These were made using 6x9 catalog envelopes. First cut the flap off, then score on 3 sides at 1". (not on open end) Wheel with your design of choice, embellish and fold into shape. This is a fun project that can create all sizes of bags depending what size envelopes are used and how you cut and fold them. The past several years I have made lots of different bag-a-lopes at Christmas time for my Christmas cookies.

Have a great day!

Big Bold Polka Dot Birthday

I had a Mother/Daughter workshop over the weekend. Most of the daughters were little girls around 10 years old. They were so cute, and I had so much fun teaching them how to stamp! They were such an attentive audience and I could tell they really enjoyed the projects we did. One of the cards I demoed was this one using the Big Bold Birthday set. Of course I had to use pink and other bright colors since that's what most little girls like! (and some of us big girls too!) It was a nice change because I've been using mostly all Christmas colors the past few weeks.

This card was really quick and simple. The background polka dots (on the Regal Rose layer) were stamped in White Craft. The Turquoise layer is from the Petals & Paisleys designer paper pack, as well as the striped piece that I added in place of ribbon. The hardest part to this card was cutting out the candle! This is such an easy set to work with and it's great because it has so many pieces.

I gave my little hostess I pack of card candy I made using the set In the Spotlight. Since each piece is mounted on acetate using a pop dot or temporary adhesive, she can easily peel them off and use them in her scrapbook or on cards. I also made a pack of card candy for my grown up hostess as well. Hers was made using a combination of two of my favorite Christmas sets: Punch Pals and Festive Favorites. I'll share that and the other card I demoed at her workshop with you tomorrow.

For the make & take project, we wheeled envelopes and then I showed them how to fold them into a bag-a-lope. they got to choose between a bag with flowers or one with snowflakes. Both bags used the All Through the Year set. The bag with flowers used the matching wheel: Garden Annuals.

Have a great day!

My Festive Favorite

I've got a million projects going right now! It's like that for me every year at Christmas... hopefully I'll get most of them finished in time! Since I can't share any of my half completed projects, or things I created for upcoming classes, I'm going to show you one of my favorite cards I made last holiday season. Since I didn't have a blog last year, this card will be new to most people, right? Anyways... I think this is my favorite out of all the cards I've made with the Festive Favorites set so far. The tiny snowman tag is just too cute!

The background on the card was first stamped with Print Pattern inked in Artichoke for half of the card and then I stamped over the entire base with Linen inked in White Craft. I like the way this turned out.

Then I just stamped the main image in Stazon and colored away! Since these images are so tiny and fairly detailed, I found it easier to color using my blender pen and inks. I had a bit more control this way.

I need to get down to my rubber room and get busy!!! Have a great day!

Folded Wintergreen Tree

This is a fun project to use up some of your scraps of Double-sided Designer papers. I learned how to create this fold last year at a group meeting where a member of my downline explained how to do it after I said it looked way too complicated for me to figure out! Thanks for teaching me Jodie!

Doing this fold reminds me of making a cootie catcher (remember those?) or a paper airplane. I guess the correct name for this fold is the Water Bomb Base Fold. There is a diagram with instructions if you want to download it here. However, I found it easier to follow by this list of instructions rather than looking at the diagram.

Cut 4 squares of Designer Paper: 3", 2-½", 2", & 1-½"

Fold each piece as follows:

• Fold in half- open up
• Fold diagonal- open
• Fold diagonal other way- open up and lay flat
• Now fold in the sides so you have what looks like a triangle
• Fold left and right sides of the triangle in towards the middle
• Stack on top of each other to form a tree

For the stamping part of this project: I first stamped the Celery card stock with the Canvas background and then added snowflakes with one of the stamps from Snow Flurries inked in Celery and then filled in with the little snowflakes stamp from Punch pals inked in Artichoke. I layered the tree on Artichoke and Soft Sky card stock, added a bit of Artichoke grosgrain for the trunk and a cute little snowflake button for the tree topper.

Give it a try!

Wintergreen Notebook & Cute Flower Clips

Today I thought I would share some projects that can be created using some of the beautiful double-sided designer papers that are on special this month. Since these papers are so nice and heavy, they are great for altering a number of items. The little monogrammed notebook was covered in some of the Wintergreen paper. I think these are my favorite papers right now! I love the colors...they are suitable for the holidays, yet can be used for any occasion I think. I just brushed a thin layer of decoupage medium (I like Royal Coat) on the covers and laid my paper in place. It dries pretty quickly, so I was able to apply more decoupage medium on top of the paper. (I use a foam brush to apply the decoupage medium) This seals the paper and acts as a protective cover to guard against fingerprints and dirt...they can just be wiped away. I gave this little notebook and bag of goodies to the November hostess of my stamp club. I made these cute flower clips a while ago to give as a little treat to my stamp club group, but I kept forgetting! I finally remembered to give them out at this last club meeting. I punched out the flowers shapes when I was visiting with my upline one day...she has a Cuttlebug and I never tried one before. (I know...what rock have I been hiding under, right?!) Thanks Karman!

I used some plain, medium weight coasters and some of the monochromatic Prints Designer papers in Rose Red & So Saffron. I was able to easily punch a hole through the coasters using my crop-a-dile and then added a Rich Regal brad to the center of each one. I glued the largest flower layer onto the big clip and then added the other 2 with pop dots. A bit of Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon tied to the clip finished these off. Cute, huh? I've got several projects in the works right now using more of these beautiful papers. Will share more soon!

Thankful

With today being Veteran's Day, I thought the topic of being thankful is a good one. Along with with being thankful for all the brave veterans who have defended our country, and those who still are, there are many things to be thankful for in life! Of course family, friends, health & happiness would top my list, but I am also thankful for all the creative fun I have because of Stampin' Up! On Friday night I enjoyed the evening visiting and sharing my November projects with my hostess club group. Our November hostess treated us to some scrumptious snacks...fondue with both chocolate & cheese and a beautiful tray filled with goodies to dip plus a nice bottle of wine. Thank you Cheri!

We did this Thanksgiving scrapbook page with a cute paper pieced turkey and pumpkin made from the Pick a Petal set and different punches. I have been wanting to use the spiral punch to create a film strip mat for a series of small photos since I got this punch months ago...I finally remembered to use it on this page. This works great for scraps of cropped photos like the oak leaves and bowls of food I used on my strip. All I did was punch them out with my 1-3/8" square punch and they were ready to adhere to the mat.

We used a strip of the Creepy Crawly designer paper to create the border along the bottom and photo corners on the title. Since there are white stripes on this paper and I was using Vanilla card stock for the rest of the project it looked kind of out of place. I easily fixed that by distressing the paper with my favorite jumbo wheel: Rough Around the Edges. I inked it up in Creamy Caramel and went right over the printed paper to give it some texture. I also used it on the journal block and title after I was done stamping those. But I didn't stop there...I also used the wheel inked in Old Olive to texturize all the Old Olive card stock. I can't say enough about that wheel...love it!!! All the edges of the card stock and paper were then "aged" by using the direct to paper technique with the Earth Elements chalk ink pads (retired) or a Chocolate Chip craft spot. For me it's a lot easier handling either of those smaller inks to distress than it is a full sized pad.

Stamps: Pick a Petal, Trimtastic, Lovely as a Tree, Letterpress & Typeset alphabets, Rough Around the Edges jumbo wheel

Ink: Old Olive, Really Rust, More Mustard & Pumpkin Pie

Card stock: Old Olive, Really Rust, Very Vanilla, Creepy Crawly

Accessories: LOTS of punches! Artichoke grosgrain, Vintage brads, markers: Old Olive, More Mustard & Pumpkin Pie for journaling

The other project everyone did was a Christmas card using Lovely As A Tree. I was inspired by this beautiful card from a blog I visit regularly called Paper Pleasing Ideas. Julie is so talented and does beautiful work!

To created this card a reverse masking technique was used. First, a mask was cut out of a piece of scrap paper using the coluzzle and the oval template. After I cut the oval out of the center of my scrap paper, I used a bit of 2-way glue on the corners to hold it in place on my white card stock. Then I sponged inside the edges of the oval with Soft Sky ink leaving the center mostly white. Keeping the mask in place, I added the 3 trees inside the oval with Versamark. Then I used the poppin' pastels technique to make them soft and appear in the background. After I was done with this I removed my mask and stamped the last tree image and the sentiment (with the help of my stamp-a-ma-jig). This card just has a simple, elegant feel to it...I love it!
Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Holidays & Wishes
Ink: Soft Sky, Versamark, Blue Bayou, Handsome Hunter
Card stock: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Whisper White
I need to run and getting busy on some Christmas cards for a class I'm doing. I need to get busy and make my own cards too! Enjoy your day!

Wintergreen Penguin

Brrr...it's cold outside this morning! It feels like penguin weather! I think I got spoiled with the gorgeous weather we had all through October, so these cold temps are a rude awakening to what we have in store for the next several months.


I just can't get enough of Punch Pals...especially this cute little penguin! This set is so much fun to stamp and color. I paired this set up with some of the Wintergreen Double-sided Designer Paper that is part of this months SU! special. I like being able to fold over the paper and have a different pattern show - like the stripe on the left of this card.


This is one of the cards we will be doing at my Christmas Card Class on Sunday. The shimmery white card stock I stamped the penguin images on is so pretty and nice to watercolor on.

Stamps:Punch Pals

Ink: Black Stazon, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky & Purely Pomegranate

Card stock: Shimmery White, Soft Sky & Purely Pomegranate, Wintergreen Double-sided Designer Paper

Accessories: Scallop, Ticket Corner, 1-3/8, 3/4" Circle Punches, Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, Rhinestone Brad

Have a good day...stay warm!

Playing with my Punch Pals

I knew when I first saw this set in the new catalog I had to have it! Sad part is I haven't had much time to play with it yet...but so far I do know it is very versatile and fun to use. I love the snowman and penguin images the best. I made this card using the same colors and some left over sparkley paper I created after making my first punch pal card seen here. (The description of how I created the background with the Emboss Resist technique is also described in the post.) I saw a super cute card on SCS and that inspired the layout I used here. I thought it was so cute how she cut out the snowmans head and had it popped up in the middle of the "tis the season" stamp, so I just had to try that too.

Unfortunately the colors are a bit off because I photographed the card rather than scanning it. I had hoped the photo would show more of the sparkle from Irridescent Ice embossing powder I used for the background on the main image. I think this color combo is a bit different than what you would traditionally think of for Christmas colors, but I like it.

Stamps: Punch Pals, Bold Snowflakes Jumbo wheel

Card stock: Sage Shadow, Lovely Lilac, Bashful Blue & Glossy White

Ink: Black Stazon, White Craft, Lovely Lilac, VersaMark, various to watercolor

Accessories: Silver eyelets, Blue gingham ribbon, Vintage brads, Ticket Corner, Scallop, 1-3/8", 3/4", 1/2" circle punches, Aqua painter

Have a great day!