Thursday Showcase Challenge #301

Another week has flown by and here we are with a Thursday challenge! The weather in Minnesota has been gray and dreary with tons of rain. It's super depressing, but the leaves are changing color so that helps a little. It helps that in one month I'll be traveling to Orlando to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Stampin' Up! at OnStage Live. WOOO HOOO. Seriously!

In the meantime, here's my take on this week's showcase challenge. The showcase features products from the Frosted Floral suite on pages 35 & 36 of the Holiday Catalog.  It's beautiful, and a little bit untraditional. The paper is shimmery on both sides, and uses a lot of Blackberry Bliss, Tranquil Tide, and Gray Granite. Working with these definitely help reduce some of these early Fall doldrums.

While I was at it, I made a cute little milk carton box using the same products. I found the instructions for the milk carton at Pootles and decorated it using the items from the First Frost Suite. 

Color Challenge - DoStamper Stars Thursday Challenge #300

Congratulations to Dawn Olchefske for helping our team get to 300 Thursday Challenges. Wow! I've only been around for a few, but it's always fun to see what everyone does! This week is a color challenge and now that we've crossed into October, it's time for Halloween colors. I have fun making Halloween more than almost any other season, and have been known to collect tons of Halloween stamps. 

This year I pulled from my September Paper Pumpkin monthly subscription kit to embellish my project and used a classic Stampin' Up! set - Lovely As A Tree for the stamped background. The ghost, bat, and EEK sticker are from the Paper Pumpkin kit, and I created the sponged background using the colors from the challenge.

One of my favorite new products is a simple little die from the Winter Woods bundle, but I'm going to be using it a LOT! It's just a little curve, but put it in the middle of a rectangle and all of the sudden you have two rolling hills. AWESOME!

Products Used:

• Paper Pumpkin Subscription
• Highland Heather 
• Gorgeous Grape 147099
• Pumpkin Pie 147086
• Lemon Lime Twist 147145
• Lovely As A Tree 
• Winter Woods Bundle 

OnStage Orlando Display Stamper Application

Today is a great day! I'm putting myself and some of my favorite projects out there for consideration to be Display Stamper for the Stampin' Up! OnStage Live event in Orlando. Yep, I'm going! My first Stampin' Up! "convention" in my favorite convention location - Orlando!

A Display Stamper gets to create projects for the wonderful boards that are assembled for a the demonstrators in attendance. It's heaven for a cardmaker, and loaded with inspiration. I've seen similar displays at smaller events and always walk away with a few dozen (or hundred) photos & ideas.

For this submission I've created three cards, two 3-dimensional projects and a scrapbook page.

My British-inspired "Keep Calm and Carry On" is my rendition of the Union Jack created using an older hostess set. It's still one of my favorite projects and I'm happy to show it off again.

"When Live Gives You Lemons..." is an AMAZING stamp set and punch combo. Stamping the lemon on Very Vanilla cardstock with Pineapple Punch ink made my heart flutter and my stomach growl for a lemon sorbet. Pineapple Punch is a new InColor and probably one of my favorite yellows yet. I stamped with sentiment on vellum with Grapefruit Grove ink and added a little bow using a SU organza ribbon.

My hot air balloon card is an updated version of this card I created a while ago. I love the soft colors and puffy clouds. Ahhh....

This summer my daughters and I went on a cruise to Cuba and Mexico. I enlarged one of my favorite photos and paired it with last years delightful Fiesta Designer series paper. The rosettes were created using the Simply Scored tool and I die cut the word Mexico in the title with the "Large Letter Thinlit" dies. Coco anyone?

For my two 3-D projects I created a fun set of pillow boxes using the Garden Impressions 6x6 Designer Series Paper and a matching Box Stand Fun Fold card. This is an oldie but a goodie, and my mentor Dawn Olfchefske has a wonderful tutorial on her blog. The butterfly and flower were stamped on glossy white cardstock and I used the magical Brusho crystals to add the background. Unfortunately pictures just don't do Brusho on glossy cardstock justice. See how the card folds flat for mailing? Love it!

Thanks for reading - and please cross your fingers for me! I had fun making these projects and would be honored to be a display stamper! :)




   

Hello Again!

This week we get to welcome back a favorite color that's returned to the Stampin' Up! lineup, Mint Macaron! It was introduced as an In Color in 2015 and retired briefly last year. It's now found a new home in the Subtles family of Stampin' Up! colors. Today it's being paired with Cajun Craze and Soft Suede for our Thursday Challenge, but check out some other great color suggestions for Mint Macaron.

Have a little cake with that Stamparatus...

It's a new month, and a new year! Our pup Lucy just turned three and we're finally started to feel (a little) settled in Minnesota!

Today's card uses the Stampin' Up! Icing on the cake set - it's not new, but I'm so happy it's returned in this years Annual Catalog.  I also heavily used the Stamparatus. This tool allows for perfect placement of your clear or cling rubber stamps. I have to admit, it took me a while to fall in love with the Stamparatus. I've tried other brands, and I just never quite got the feel for it. The beauty of the Stamparatus is the ability to remove the clear plates, so you can flip and maneuver your stamps to get your image exactly where you want before committing the ink to paper. And if your ink needs a little more attention, you can restamp without worries of shadow images.

 This set is uses two-step stamping. In other words, many of the images have different stamps that are stamped in different colors to give the image a three dimensional look. Here I've got my image started on the Stamparatus and the bottom layer of one of the icing roses stamped in a lighter color. I'll later stamp the details in a darker coordinating color to get the effect.














See how the roses look now? I decided to cut them out later, but you can still get the idea. Check out also how I can use the Stamparatus to line up my greeting exactly!

Boom! The final card! (Ignore the giant smudge. It's not really there) :D

PS - Lucy, the birthday girl says Hello!

Sewing on Girl Scout Patches & Badges

Over the years of being mom to a Girl Scout I've learned a few things about sewing patches and badges onto a Girl Scout uniform. There are a ton of different ways, and I've tried most of them. he easiest and most secure method is using a sewing machine, and I'll share some tips.

Iron-On
Many patches come with iron-on adhesive already applied. Problem is, even these tend to fall off. Some do last a long time, especially the thinner patches like number, council identification, flags and badges. The adhesive on locally produced council "fun" patches isn't always so great and they don't stick even with perfect ironing technique. Ironing can be quick and a great option if you don't sew but you'll have to learn another method, as not all patches have iron-on adhesive applied.

Hand Sewing 
Hand sewing is great for longevity but it is REALLY HARD to sew through some patches that are heavily embroidered. Ouch!

Badge Magic
Honestly, I hate Badge Magic. This is a product sold in Girl Scout stores and expensive, about $8.75 per 8.5x11 sheets! You trace around your badge and cut out a piece and apply. Easy and quick, but in my experience, the patches don't even survive one meeting. We lost several patches which was kind of heartbreaking as some are irreplaceable. Most craft stores sell a product called Peel & Stick Fabric Fuse. I haven't

tried this but it appears to be a similar product, maybe it would work as intended!

Velcro
I thought I was really onto something when I tried adhesive velcro. I thought it would be quick and easy and give us some flexibility with moving patches if needed. But, the velcro caused the badges to stick out and generally just didn't look very cool.

Sewing Machine Method
My #1 method. Works with every patch and is quick, looks great and lasts forever. Downside, you need a sewing machine! (What a great excuse to learn how to sew!)

You'll need:

• Denim Needles
• Regular needles just won't cut it when going through the heavy twill of the vest & the thick patches.
• Thread - Purchase invisible sewing machine thread for your need and standard thread for your bobbin (I use white but you can use a color like green, khaki or blue to match your scout's vest or sash). JoAnns sells invisible thread in the thread section that is fine and smooth enough for your machine but durable enough for the patches. Don't use it for fishing line though!
• Use a longer stitch setting (I like to use 3) and go nice and slow.. 
• Enjoy your scout's beautiful vest!

Llama Llama Llama

Have any of you seen the show "Milo Murphy's Law" on Disney XD? It's an adorable show and if you liked "Phineas & Ferb" then  you'll love it (even if you're over 12 years old) :) A recent episode was FULL of llamas and is the inspiration for today's challenge card - featuring the soon-t0-be retiring Stampin' Up! Birthday Fiesta stamp set. If you've seen the episode then you probably have that song stuck in your head! :)

The best of this stamp set is the gorgeous coordinating Designer Series Paper, full of bright colors and patterns. There is also a coordinating die set. I cut the llama by hand and layered him over a white panel with a bit of the paper peeking through the back. I used the marker technique on some of the stamps to color them. 

My doggie Lucy wanted to say HI this week:
FEATURED PRODUCT LIST:

• Birthday Fiesta Stamp Set
• Fiesta Time Framelits
• Festive Birthday Designer Series Paper
• Layering Circle Framelit Dies

New Cricut & Some Cards

I've had a Cricut die-cutting machine since they came out, and finally upgraded to the Explore Air 2 a few weeks ago. My Expression worked perfectly fine, but I wanted to upgrade to some of the new features!

The top card uses the fun maze piece from My Favorite Things and the rest was cut out using my Cricut. The swiss cheese feature was super easy to put together in design space. I simply added the cheese holes to a rectangle using the slice feature.

I used the Cricut writing tool for the sentiment on the banner.

This card is CASE-d from the wonderful Melania Deasy - I love her style and beautifully blended backgrounds!

Maze Products

- MFT Maze Piece

- Cricut Explore Air 2

Happy Birthday Card

- Distress Oxide Inks

- Cricut Explore Air 2

I love this week's color challenge, it's full of fresh, vibrant colors that make me happy. I love color! I decided to step outside my comfort zone with the card size and made a non-traditional card at 3 1/2" x 6". The beauty of having the envelope maker is the freedom to play around with different card sizes.

I created the background for this card using my new Pacific Point watercolor pencil that came with this month's "A Sara Thing" Paper Pumpkin kit and then just layered several balloons and clouds on top.

More Happy Celebrations and Celebrations Duo TIEF

A few days ago during a YouTube binge marathon, I stumbled across the video below. I don't have the stamp set (yet), but I do have the embossing folders. I used my Happy folder along with my Stampin' Up! Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to achieve a similar effect with the birthday card below.

Check out the video below and my own card version. Hope this gives you a little inspiration this Monday!

FEATURED SUPPLIES:

• Gorgeous Grunge Stamp Set
• Happy Celebration Stamp Set
• Celebrations Duo Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Stamp Club Projects

Tuesday night was stamp club night and I wanted to share some of the projects we created. Just so you don't get too excited, this weren't my ideas. Haha!

The pink dress card uses the really sweet Beautiful You set, we only inked up the top portion, and used watercolor pencils to draw and color the skirt. Very clever!

I love the shooting star die on the Happy Birthday card set, and I ordered this bundle for myself after seeing it in action.

The green graduate card opens up to reveal a gift card for the recipient. And even though it's "interactive," it was really simple to put together!

DOStamperStars Create & Play Kit

Last week I received a fun surprise in the mail. An envelope from my Stampin' Up! sponsor Dawn with a few pieces of Party Animal Designer Series paper, half a sheet of Emerald Envy cardstock, and the instructions to simply create something and share it with the STARS group. Well then. My first thought was that this was some kind of test, to see if I had enough skillz to hang with the DoStamping Stars. I chewed on that for a while, then finally inspiration hit and I added the cute little fox and called it a day.

Turns it it wasn't a test at all. Just a creative challenge to get the juices flowing!

See the rest of the challenge entries here on Dawn's blog:

It's a Sara Thing!

There’s a big surprise coming in April to Paper Pumpkin! The kit was inspired and designed by Stampin’ Up! CEO Sara Douglass.

“Bold, vibrant, and artistic—with a little bit of sass,” is how Stampin’ Up! CEO Sara Douglass described the kit she designed for the April Paper Pumpkin.

Each April Paper Pumpkin kit will include a FREE gift. And check out that pop of lime green, that's a color I definitely don't recognize! Maybe a hint at one of the new In Colors? ;)

Contact me today to sign up by April 10th! You won’t want to miss this!

 (psst!  Buy a pre-paid subscription for Paper Pumpkin of 3 months or more by March 31st to choose FREE Sale-a-Bration stamp sets or papers.)