A Touch From the Heart

Getting There....Slowly!

Things are slowly getting back to normal here.  The kids are eating like they were never sick while Dennis and I just look at food and.....well, you get the picture.

I did visit the Stampin' Studio yesterday to try out some of my new catty stamping goodies!!!  I ADORE the new Texturz Plates.  I was a little worried when Stampin' Up! didn't add any new background stamps this time.  I am happy to report that my Texturz Plates will help fill the background stamp void.  I will show you some samples of the results over the next few days!!!

There are a couple of things to tell/remind you:

- Today (January 31st) is the last day to purchase the Love You Much bundle.  I can honestly say that this is a really smart purchase.  The stamp set is general enough to be used for so much more than Valentine's Day.  It works for anniversary, wedding, a quick pick me up, etc....  Everyone needs a good heart punch.  The Heart to Heart punch gives you three different size/shapes of hearts in just one punch.  What a deal!!!  Finally, the patterned paper is gorgeous.  I love pink and red.....so for me, it was just a natural purchase.  It's chock-full of stripes, florals and polka dots. 

All of the items can be purchased separately, but when purchased together, you save 20%.  You get the stamp set, punch and DSP for $41.48.  You can view the flyer HERE.

Email me to place your order before it's too late!!!!  For some reason, the bundle is not on Online Ordering this morning!!  Sorry about that!!!

- Much to my dismay, the Coluzzle is no longer available for purchase.  The manufacturer (Provo Craft) has discontinued the item.  I KNOW......THIS IS SO SAD!!!  I love my Coluzzle.  I will continue to use it in my papercrafting holding my breath each time that I don't snap my last beloved blade!!!!  I hear the refill blades are really hard to find and the ebay prices are sky high!!!  Remember, Stampin' Up! has a new circle cutting system (which I will be ordering tomorrow) to help you cut those perfect circles.  I will post a tutorial as soon as I receive it.

- Tomorrow (February 1st) brings the most exciting promotion of the year.  SALEABRATION.  For every $50 in catalog merchandise you purchase, you will receive one item from the Saleabration mini catalog for FREE.  Wowza!!  I can't post the Saleabration mini catalog until tomorrow, but there are four stamp sets, one ribbon bundle and one patterned paper pack to choose from!!!

Well, I guess this post is long-winded enough.  I missed "talking" to all of you this week.  Dennis and I are off to look at a new washer and dryer.  Fun stuff!!!

I will be back tomorrow with a link to the Saleabration catalog and more details on Saleabration!!

Until then......Happy Stamping everyone!!!

My Absence

I am sorry for being absent for the past few days, but the Chesky household has been hit with the pukey bug.  Everyone is now on the road to recovery, but I haven't been to the Stampin' Studio since last Friday.  I miss my stamping time tremendously and my new catty goodies are here, but I am just too dizzy to stamp.  Not fun!!!!

I hope to be up and running tomorrow with a Blogger's Challenge post, but I am not going to promise anything.

Until next time....Happy Stamping everyone!!!

Best Wishes for a Wonderful Birthday

  Unfortunately I had to cancel my Just Cards class last night.  Christopher is sick with a tummy bug, and I didn't want to share his germs with my stampers.  I will reschedule the class to a later date.

This card was one of the four we were going to make.  I wanted to showcase the color blocking technique.  The card is very simple to make.  Simply change the colors to suit a boy or a girl.

stamps:  Crazy for Cupcakes, Cute and Curly (part of Curvy Label punch box), Dotted Lines jumbo wheel

paper:  Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Whisper White

ink:  Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Night of Navy

accessories:  Curvy Label punch, star punch, sponges

Time to check on Christopher.

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!!

Order from Patti.....24/7

Blogger's Challenge

 

Edited to Add:  Oops.....my bad!!!  I was supposed to have some Kiwi Kiss in here too!!!  Oh well!  Can we pretend that the little lamb ate too much chocolate and now his tummy feels sick (i.e. feeling green....I know....bad joke)?  Sorry about the mess up everyone!!!

TGIF!!!  It's been a long and trying week at work.  I am very much looking forward to the weekend with my family.

I also look forward to Blogger's Challenge.  This week's  challenge was a color challenge:  red, black and white/vanilla.

Of course, this time of year and the color red makes me think of Valentine's Day.  I wanted to challenge myself to come up with a non-valentine card.  So, I perused through my stamp set collection looking for one I haven't played with in a while.  I grabbed Pun Fun and got busy!!!

Now this stamp would be perfect for Valentine's Day minus the sentiment of course (unless you added another line....like....."for loving me" or something mushy like that!!!)  I kept the sentiment as is to make a cute little thank you card.

I stamped the focal image on watercolor paper with Black StazOn ink.  I colored him in with my Stampin' Write markers and my aquapainter.  I still owe you a tutorial on that technique, huh?  I will try to video one this coming weekend.

The focal image is matted on Basic Black leaving a large border on the right side.  I added three punched Real Red hearts (punched using my brand new Heart to Heart punch).  In the center of each heart is a little white half pearl from the Pretties Kit.

The black layer is matted on some Very Vanilla.  The next layer is Real Red which I would have loved to texturize with my new Sizzix Texturz Plates, but they haven't arrived yet.  Boo Hoo!  It would've looked awesome!!!!

Anyway, the Real Red layer is wrapped with some narrow Basic Black grosgrain ribbon that has been tied into a classic knot.  This layer is placed on a 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" Very Vanilla base card.

I hope you will click on the Blogger's Challenge icon on the right sidebar of my blog.  I'm sure my blogging sisters have come up with some other beautiful projects using the red, black and white/vanilla combo.

All of the goodies I used for this card are available from Stampin' Up!  If you would like to place an order, you can email me your order or place your order online.  Just visit my demonstrator website and click on "Shop Now" to see and/or order all the wonderful products Stampin' Up! has to offer!!!

Margaritaville

  Okay...it's really a dacquiri....but Dacquiriville sounds horrible!!!  LOL!!!

Minnesota winters are long and cold.  Right now we are seriously missing Buffoon Lagoon (nickname for our inground pool).  All the BBQs.....gatherings by the firepit....nighttime swims.  It's pure paradise!!!

So this card is a gentle reminder that the opening of Buffoon Lagoon is only four months away.

This Real Red base card measures 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".  The next layer is Kiwi Kiss followed by the Tangerine Tango layer.  The Tangerine Tango layer has different sizes of punched circles (also Tangerine Tango) adhered onto it.  The texture on this card is so cool.

I stamped the focal image (from Cheers to You stamp set) on Shimmery White cardstock using Black StazOn ink.  I used my Aquapainter and ink squished on the stamp pad lids to color in the image.  The drink is Tangerine Tango.  The strawberry is Real Red.  The straw is Summer Sun.  The glass is lightly colored with Going Gray.

The image is punched with my 1 3/4" circle punch.  I sponged the edges lightly with Tangerine Tango ink and some dotwork was added with my Real Red marker.

The final touch is a length of Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon tied into a classic knot.

Doesn't it just scream "summer"?  I don't want to wish Spring away as it is a lovely time of year here in MN (minus the allergies).  I just want winter to go away.....NOW!!!!  LOL!!!

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!!

Order from Patti.......24/7!!!!

Just Cards

  One of the monthly classes I hold here in my Stamping Studio is called Just Cards.  I LOVE this class.  We make four beautiful handmade cards while focusing on different techniques, card sketches and color combinations.  One of the cards is guaranteed to have a "funky fold".  The class is designed to push you out of your comfort zone which means you will have more inspiration to change up the way you make cards at home.  Life is all about learning.....and I LOVE to teach people how to find their creative genius!!!!

This project is one of the cards we will be making at Friday's "Just Cards" class.  Now, I must admit, this color combination is a bit out of my comfort zone.  I've been having a hard time liking Pacific Point.  So my goal for last night was to come up with a wild color combination (that uses Pacific Point) that works.  You know what....I LOVE this card!!! 

I still have spots available for my Just Cards class.  If you have Friday night free, send me an email to sign up.  I need to know by Thursday morning to get your project pack all ready for you!!!

Here are the "deets" (details):

Date:  Friday, January 23rd

Time:  7:00pm

Place:  Chaska, MN (email me for directions)

________________________________________________________________

Card recipe:

stamps:  Tres Chic, Always

paper:  Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Shimmery White

ink:  Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black

accessories:  Photo Corner punch, sponges, dimensionals, circle punches (1 1/4, 1 3/8), Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon

SHOP ONLINE WITH PATTI

Spring & Summer 2009 Catalog Now Online

  The Spring and Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog is available for your viewing pleasure.  It's a beauty....chock full of new stamp sets and accessories!!!

You can access the catalog on my demonstrator website.  Simply click on Shop Now to access the online catalog.

As always, if you have any questions, please send me an email, and I will get back to you as soon as I can!!!

It's Almost Over

Did you know that this is the final weekend to purchase from the Fall & Winter 2008 Idea Book and Catalog?

That's right.....we can start ordering from the brand new Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Book and Catalog on Monday, January 19th (starting at noon PT).

Have you seen it yet?  It is a beauty!!  BUT I sure will miss a few of my favorites that have been retired.

Here are the ones I will miss the most:

Canvas background stamp

Wishing You Cheer

Crab & Company

A Light Upon My Path

Have you ordered your retiring favorites?  If not, please don't wait until it's too late.  I've spent many hours trying to locate retiring sets for my beloved customers.  They always tell me they "should've bought it before it retired" and then spend oodles of money on it afterwards.  Not good!!!

Okay, my lecture is over. 

You can view the retiring stamps by going to my demonstrator website, click on Shop Now, then click on Specials.  All of the current promotions including the retiring stamps will be available for your viewing pleasure!!!

You can always email me your order or place an order online anytime!!!

P.S.  I still have some Spring & Summer 2009 Idea Books for sale.  I am selling for $5 each (plus shipping).  Just send me an email if you want one!!!

Blogger's Challenge: The Same but Different

 

Yeah......it's Friday.  I can enjoy the next two days with my family without thinking about work.  Hopefully, we can sleep in (sending the puppy subliminal messages to sleep until 7:30am).  We don't really have anything planned.....I love weekends where we can do whatever we want....no schedule!!!

Friday also means it's time for another Blogger's Challenge.  This week's challenge is the same but different.  Either we use the same card sketch using different stamp sets OR same stamp set using two different card sketches.  I chose option #1.

The first card features a sneak peek of Itty Bitty Buds (a Level 2 hostess stamp set from the Spring and Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog).  I stamped the stems using Old Olive.  For the flowers I used More Mustard, Ruby Red and Pumpkin Pie.  Some of the flowers are highlighted with markers prior to stamping or I used the Rock n Roll technique.  Oh yeah....forgot to say that the focal image is stamped on Shimmery White.  I thought it would look really cool using the Cracked Glass technique.  So I inked up the entire image with Versamark and sprinkled on Glassy Glaze.  Heat with the heat gun til melted.  Repeat this process two more times.  Stick the image in the freezer for a few minutes.  Take out of the fridge and lightly bend the cardstock to crack it.  I rubbed on some Chocolate Chip ink to highlight the cracks a little bit more. 

Other items used in this card are More Mustard cardstock for the base card, Close to Cocoa cardstock, Chocolate Chip Patterns dsp, Vanilla hodgepodge, Warm Words stamp set and Chocolate Chip narrow grosgrain ribbon.

Ready for the second card?  Here it is:

 

This time I used my Love You Much stamp set and Candy Lane DSP (part of the Love You Much bundle).  The base card is Chocolate Chip cardstock with a layer of Riding Hood Red on top.  I added 1 1/2" strips of the patterned paper.  The Pink Pirouette strip is stamped with the 3 heart stamp using Pretty in Pink ink (makes it show up better).  I sponged the edges with Close to Cocoa ink.  I stamped the scallop circle image 3 times.....on Close to Cocoa (punch entire thing with Scallop Circle punch), Riding Hood Red (punch the center with 1 1/4" circle punch) and Pink Pirouette (cut out only the heart with paper snips).  Add some Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon for the final embellishment.

There ya go.....same sketch....two totally different looking cards!!!!

I can't wait to see what my other bloggin' sisters have been up to.  Check out their projects by clicking on the Blogger's Challenge icon on the right sidebar of my blog.  I'm sure they are spectacular....as always!!!

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!!!

Order from Patti.....anytime....day or night.....in your jammies....sippin' your coffee!!!

If It's Not Baroque.....Don't Fix It

  I loved that line from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  In fact, I love that entire movie.  I went into labor with my son while watching that movie with my husband!!!  So it has LOTS of fond memories!!!

Today's card is really easy to make.  The large flourish (from Baroque Motifs) was stamped on a 4"x4" piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock using Versamark ink.  I sprinkled it with white embossing powder and heated it with my heat gun.

Now it's time to decorate my flourish using my punches.  The flowers are punched from Pretty in Pink cardstock using the Trio Flower punch.  I added a white halfback pearl to the center of each flower.  The little hearts come from the brand new Heart to Heart punch.  You can purchase this punch now as part of the Love You Much bundle.  You will be able to purchase the punch by itself starting on January 19th.  The perk of the bundle is that the products are 20% off when purchased as a bundle.  Gotta love when stuff is on sale!!!

The rest of the card is easy.  Add some Riding Hood Red ribbon on a diagonal....mat on Whisper White....and add to a Riding Hood Red base card.

This card could be used as a valentine, but since there is no sentiment, it could be used for many other occasions as well. 

Until tomorrow....Happy Stamping everyone!!